#(for clarity I don’t want to kick him. I want to kick those other people.)
Text
Reunited (A Bad Romance AU)
Series: What If
Original Series: Bad Romance
More: Bad Romance Continues
Fandom: The Royal Romance
Pairings for chapter: Riley x Max (past), Riley x Drake, Riley x Liam
Word Count: 1,333
Rating: MA
Warnings for this chapter: Mature themes
A/N: This is for the @choicesprompts Rewrite Challenge. This clip came up on Facebook and it reminded me of Who Said Anything About Divorce? One of my Bad Romance AU's. So here's another. What if Liam had gotten his shit together much sooner? Also, in the original it's Max she enters with and here I've made it Drake.
Mashup: TRR x Friends
My other stuff: Master List.
Fydelia, the night the Engagement Tour kicked off….
Riley Brooks entered the estate at Fydelia on the arm of Drake Walker, the man who had just spent the last three weeks with her at Ramsford. He had wiped her tears, soothed her anger, and warmed her bed.
Much to Maxwell’s chagrin. It was bad enough she had dumped him for Liam. Once that went south, he’d had to watch her fall into Drake’s arms.
He parted ways the moment they were announced, slinking off to the bar to busy himself with tonight’s objective: Getting shit-faced drunk.
Riley ignored the whispers and gasps as they moved through the ballroom. She wasn’t sure which was causing more of a stir. That she had the gall to show herself after those pictures of her and Max had been leaked to the Cordonian Star or that she was there with the king’s best friend, the other commoner outcast.
She swiped a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and held it up in a toast to the gawkers with a brilliant smile, “Lovely to see you all again!”
Soon enough, Riley and Drake came face to face with Liam and Madeleine. Riley was taken aback by the pain and longing she saw clearly etched on Liam’s face. His voice was full of desperation as he uttered her name, “Riley…”
She blinked back her tears and straightened her spine, “Liam.”
One look at Drake’s arm wrapped possessively around her waist and Liam’s eyes filled with fury. “What the hell is this?”
“Come on, darling,” Madeleine started to walk away, pulling Liam with her but he yanked out of her grasp and spun back to the other couple, “Riley, please! We need to talk!”
“I can’t imagine what about,” she ran a finger down Drake’s chest while her eyes stayed locked on her former lover.
Liam’s voice held a warning note, “Riley…”
“Yes, Liam?”
“I…” his mouth opened and closed as he fought an internal battle.
Madeleine moved back to his side, sinking her nails into his arm as she hissed quietly in his ear, “People are starting to stare, come on!”
“Yes, Liam,” Riley made a shooing motion, “Go on, you have your perfect little noblewoman and you’ve knuckled under to the pressures of the court beautifully. Go make Daddy proud and leave me alone. I don’t need you anymore, I have Drake now.”
Liam’s eyes darted from Riley to Madeleine to the crowd around them that was growing every moment as people came to watch the drama unfold.
At that moment, he saw two futures stretching out before him. He realized with sudden clarity that one of those futures was rapidly expiring.
He drew in a deep breath. Desperate times called for desperate measures, “It’s true, I behaved horribly but it’s only because I love you. There are things you don’t know, reasons I had to pretend to reject you-“
“Oh, that wasn’t pretend Your Majesty! That was very real! I was there, remember?”
Shoving Madeleine carelessly aside, his voice rose, and he didn’t care who heard, “I was wrong, Riley! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? I was wrong and I would do anything to have you back in my life!”
“Too little, too late, Li!” Drake interjected, tugging her closer to him, “She’s moved on.”
Liam’s eyes never left Riley as he asked, “Has she?”
Riley shook her head, “I can’t believe this!”
“I never should have broken up with you!”
“Broken up with me? You didn’t break up with me, Liam, you got engaged to another woman five minutes after fucking me in the hedge maze and you did it without giving me so much as a heads up!”
Liam ignored the gasps from the onlookers and Madeleine’s yelp of surprised fury as he defended himself, “I know! But I can explain all that! Riley, I think about you all the time! You’re all I can think about, I’m fucking lost without you! Do you…do you ever think about me?”
“No!” Drake scoffed.
“Yes,” Riley said softly.
“What?” Drake’s head snapped from Liam to Riley in shock and disbelief.
“I don’t know what to say, Liam,” Riley glanced around the room. Dancing had stopped, the room had gone silent, and every eye was locked on the two of them. Here was the man she loved not giving two fucks what the court thought…finally.
“Say something,” he implored her, “anything!”
“This is all so….romantic…”
Drake’s mouth fell open, “Or….” Because come on. The man had dumped her, very publicly, while he had picked up the pieces. “Too little too late, maybe?”
Liam ignored Drake as he plunged on, “I understand I may be way out of bounds here but is there any chance you would take me back?”
Riley considered his offer. Part of her wanted to say no, to punish him for what he had put her through and part of her just wanted him back, wanted the aching hole his absence had left filled again. And yes, there was a small part of her that wanted to rip him away from Madeleine in vindication. What better way to send a big fuck you to the nobility than to take, and marry, their newly minted king right out from under all of them? Especially the simpering evil countess of cruelty that was currently turning six shades of purple as Penelope and Kiara held her at bay.
The pleading in his eyes is what finally pulled a simple, “Maybe,” from her lips.
“Riley, sweetie,” Drake pulled on her arm in an attempt to turn her attention back to him, “This conversation is starting to make me a little uncomfortable.”
Riley turned to him as if just remembering he was there. She placed one hand on her chest and the other on his face, “Oh, God. I am so sorry but…” her eyes flicked to Liam and then back to Drake as she gestured toward the king, “I mean, there’s so much history between us, you know?”
“I’ve known you exactly as long as he has!” Drake protested.
“I’m sorry too,” Liam clapped him on the shoulder, “but Riley and I belong together, and I was a fool to think I could pull off this charade.”
A charade Drake had been fully aware of but apparently chosen not to tell Riley about. He’d deal with his errant best friend later. Right now, he knew he needed a grand romantic gesture to win her back.
Liam turned and held out his hand to his fiancé, “Madeleine?”
She reached back, “Liam-“
“I’m sorry,” he told her as he pulled the engagement ring from her finger, “But I made a huge mistake proposing to you.”
Madeleine gasped and fell back in shock. Bertrand, who had appeared from nowhere, caught her in his arms, “Maddie!”
“What the fuck?” Savannah watched him in confusion.
From across the room, Godfrey was spluttering and insisting Liam couldn’t do this, but two guardsmen held him at bay easily.
Liam dropped to his knees in front of the woman he actually loved, “I love you and I’m so sorry I let the protocols of court get in the way of that. Marry me, Riley, please. I can’t live without you, and I don’t care who knows it!”
“Oh, Liam, I love you too!” She let him place the ring on her finger. When he retook his feet, she flung herself into his arms.
There was a smattering of applause and a mixture of noises ranging from outrage to approval from the crowd.
“Ok, guess we’re seeing other people,” Drake grumbled as he made his way to the bar, “Whiskey, neat, and keep them coming!”
Max turned to him with a gloat, “Welcome to the club. I told you it wouldn’t last.”
“Shut up, Beaumont,” Drake threw back the first shot, “I don’t care what just happened out there, this isn’t over!”
“No,” Max agreed as he gave Drake an appraising look, “It isn’t.”
#choicesprompts#rewrite challenge#trr au#trr poly#trr#bad romance au#what if#bad romance#angelasscribbles#the royal romance#drake walker#liam rys#choices fic writers creations#cfwc fics of the week#the royal romance fanfic#choices#choices stories you play
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
Antagonist
Chapter Fifteen: Future Plans
Mentions of: Drugs, Slight Angst, Feelings, Feelings, Lots of Feelings, Lots of Banter, etc.
A/N: This is probably one of my all time favorite chapters I’ve ever written oh my god
Tags: @vandeaad @mama-miya @dead-bxxxtch-walking @prettycutebunny @froegis
It’s been a long while since you talked with Susie. You don’t want to talk to her, and if you do see her again by chance anytime soon, you’ll apologize. You weren’t a good friend to her, and you used her as a placeholder for your sister. But she’s not your sister, and she never will be.
You realized that you were grieving, that you accepted the fact that you’re going to spend eternity here. But why do you have to? Maybe there’s a way out and the others just don’t know about it yet. Maybe you can escape.
You asked around, and none of the survivors knew anything, but maybe they just gave up too quickly. But you’re not going to give up, you’re going to find a way out of here if it’s the last thing you do. You’ll die trying if you have to.
And now, here you stand, in your cabin, staring down at the notes you’ve written on The Entity, blunt in hand, listening to your music. Smoking gives you clarity and helps you think of new things.
It also helps with the anxiety you’ve been suffering from. Talking with survivors like Bill, Leon and Kate helps too, but it can only do so much. Plus, you’ve been very irritable lately, and you don’t want to ruin anymore of the friendships you already have. It’s better to distance yourself, so you won’t miss them when you escape. But you know no matter what, you probably will.
As you stared down at the drawings in your journal, you listened closely to the music playing.
The door was open and the wind appeared, The candles blew and then disappeared,
The curtains flew and then he appeared, saying “don’t be afraid”
You were so consumed in the song that you hadn’t even realized someone was waiting at your door.
She had become like they are, She had taken his hand,
She had become like they are, Come on baby, Don’t fear the Reaper
As the song ended, you heard the loud banging against the door, making you jump. Pulling off your headphones and pausing your tape, you walked over and answered it, shocked by who was standing there.
“Frank?” How did he get here? How does he know your cabin? Has he been here before? What does he want? The last thing you need right now is another Legion member at your place and in your buisness.
Before any of those questions could be answered, he pushed past you, letting out an annoyed huff and walking inside. “Finally, it took you long enough.”
“Jeez, make yourself comfortable, why don’t you?” You growled in annoyance, watching as he plopped down on your bean bag chair, removing his mask and tossing it onto your bed.
“Listen, Toots, I’m not in the mood to play this game right now. I spared you and gave you my weed. You let me stay here for a bit, and we’ll call it even.” He told you.
“Wait, I owe you for not killing me when it’s basic human decency? Seriously?” You remarked snarkily.
“You know killers get punished if they don’t kill anyone. We don’t get a choice. Now, I know you’ve been smoking, I can smell it. So can you please pass the blunt here?” He asked.
You snickered at that, picking up the blunt and handing it to him. “So you do have manners.”
“Sometimes. But just like most people, I only have manners when I really want things.” He admitted with a smirk, making you chuckle.
You decided to take a little break from your research, sitting down on the bed beside him. If you weren’t so baked right now, you’d probably be yelling at him and kicking him out. But you’re relaxed and you don’t care, since you’re going to be gone soon. You might as well just stop giving a fuck and let go for a bit.
“So why are you here?” Frank just shrugged in response. If he’s being honest, he doesn’t know the answer to that himself.
He was just pissed. He and Julie got into yet another fight and he just can’t deal right now. He couldn’t stay at the lodge, he just had to leave, and the next thing he knew, he was standing at your door, knocking.
He didn’t even know if you would answer or if he could even come into your lodge, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to talk to The Legion or some other killer. He just wanted to see you. And he has no idea why.
“What were you doing before I got here?” He replied, taking a hit from the blunt and glancing over at your journal on the table. “You didn’t answer my question, why should I answer yours?”
“Fine. You don’t have to answer it. I guess I’ll just figure it out on my own.” He jumped up from the beanbag chair, running over to your desk. Catching on to what he was doing, you followed after, trying to stop him. But he was too fast.
Using one hand to hold you back and the other to flip through your journal, he read it, ignoring all your yelling and swearing, and clawing at him to get your journal back. Finally, you managed to push him away, snatching it from his grip.
Angrily, you threw it into your drawer, slamming it shut. “Fuck you! Get out! Get out now!”
“Okay, okay, no, I’m sorry, alright? I’ll stop.” He laughed at your attempts to push him out of the cabin, before becoming sincere. That’s the first time you've ever heard an apology from him, and for some reason, a small part of you likes seeing this side of him. So you let him stay.
“Those drawings you did were good. Those sketches were The Entity, right? And that girl…is she your-”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” You mumbled, picking up the blunt that had fallen on the floor during the struggle, taking a long drag.
You sat back on your bed, leaning against the wall, while Frank returned to the bean bag. “Do you ever want to leave this place?”
“Of course. I mean, it does have its perks, but it’s also a shithole. Believe it or not, I miss the real world, no matter how horrible and corrupt the people are in it. I miss feeling things, besides just rage and blood lust.” He confessed.
“Well you do feel things other than bloodlust and anger, otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting like this.” You told him, passing him the blunt.
He grinned at you. “I guess so, but those feelings are muted. It’s like I’m forgetting how to feel them.”
You nodded, feeling a similar way. You suppose since you’ve been here for a shorter period of time, you’re more intact with your feelings, feeling anger, depression, but also hope. Still, your feelings of fear and despair can be much stronger at times.
“What about you?” He asked.
“More than anything. I miss my sister so much. She was my whole world. Sometimes, she was the only thing that kept me going, and now, I lost her, and I can’t- fuck. Sorry, this sounds so cheesy.” You admitted, cringing at your words. You tried your best to swallow the lump in your throat, holding back tears.
It was silent for a couple of minutes, before Frank spoke again. “Well, if you did get back, what do you think you’d do?”
“Probably make up for lost time with my sister, and work as a tattoo artist.” You replied with a shrug.
“Tattoo artist, that's cool. Do you have any tattoos?” He questioned, intrigued by this new side of you. You gave him a sly smirk. “A few. My Father hated tattoos, so I just had to get some and hide them from him.”
You turned your back to him, showing the sparrow tattooed on your left shoulder blade. Most of the time it’s hidden with the flannel you wear, but you’re just in your tank top right now, so he can see. “Of course you’d get a bird tattoo.”
You whipped your head when you heard that, glaring at him. “What do you mean, ‘of course?’ You’re the one who has a flaming skull tattoo. That just screams angsty teen wannabe bad boy.”
“Fuck you.” He spat with a chuckle and you laughed with him. His laughter sounded so warm and genuine, not like the bitter and menacing laughter you heard before.
His smile faded and suddenly, he got to his feet. He must’ve been called to a trial. “I gotta go. But I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.” You waved, watching as he left.
Maybe Frank isn’t so bad, after all.
#dead by deadlight#dbd#dbd killer#dbd x reader#killer x reader#dbd legion#legion frank#legion dbd#frank morrison#frank morrison x reader#frank legion#frank dbd#legion x reader#the legion#dbd frank#susie dbd#dbd susie#bill dbd#dbd bill#leon dbd#dbd leon#dbd kate#kate denson#killer x you#dbd survivor
26 notes
·
View notes
Text
dragon reborn ( the wheel of time book three ) - robert jordan sentence starters
change tenses/pronouns as needed !! some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying
tw : death , violence
‘a corpse is not dangerous to anyone.’
‘it is not treason to do what must be done. and even blasphemy can be tolerated for a cause.’
‘it is possible to oppose evil without doing violence.’
‘violence harms the doer as much as the victim.’
‘what is wrong with wanting to live your life without all this upheaval?’
‘death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain.’
‘just because fate has chosen something for you instead of you choosing it for yourself doesn’t mean it has to be bad.’
‘there are ways to change things. ways to avoid even fate.’
‘I will fight the best I can. because there’s no one else, and it has to be done, and the duty is mine.’
‘i’ll fight, but I do not have to like what I have become.’
‘men! too blind to see what a stone could see, and too stubborn to be trusted to think for themselves.’
‘you must learn there is a time to speak all of the truth, and a time to govern your tongue.’
‘the world is strange, and all things change.’
‘should and would build no bridges.’
‘I hope you realize you’ve climbed into a pickling cauldron with me, and the fire may be lit.’
‘nobody is threatened by someone they can order about.’
‘of course I am afraid. I am not a fool. but not afraid enough to quit before I have even started.’
‘a flapping tongue has killed more men than sudden storms ever did.’
‘most of those we call heroes only did what they had to do.’
‘once you decide to gut a fish, there’s no use waiting till it rots.’
‘this is what I want! why can’t I have this, too?’
‘I have built a bridge out of straw. worse than straw. wishes.’
‘who’s out there? you’ve rustled enough leaves to wake the dead, so you might as well show yourself.’
‘you are even ruder than I remembered, (name).’
‘if a woman does need a hero, she needs him today, not tomorrow.’
‘two chances I’ve had, more than most, and I threw them both away.’
‘I don’t know anything. I suspect more than is healthy for me, but I know nothing.’
‘kill a man who needs killing, and sometimes others pay for it.’
‘nimble fingers and nimble wits will take you a good deal farther than a sword and muscles.’
‘do not question me. you do know know what questions to ask, and you would comprehend less than half the answers if I have them. which I will not.’
‘death comes for us all. we can only choose how to face it when it comes.’
‘what you say comes near truth, yet misses it entirely.’
‘for the young, death is an enemy they wish to try their strength against.’
‘for those of us a little older, death is an old lover, but one we are not eager to meet again soon.’
‘i’ll help anyone who can pay. only fools in stories do something for nothing.’
‘if I ever look like acting the hero again, you kick me.’
‘you speak as if you are already dead.’
‘times change. people change. too much change for me.’
‘what is said in anger is often repented.’
‘men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.’
‘we must live together, or we will surely die together!’
‘is this a story I want to be in?’
‘if I live through this, I will make you pay.’
‘this time we do not run. we dare not run. this time, we fight.’
‘I will not pretend I am not afraid. but I swore I would be one of you, and I will.’
‘perhaps you are too stupid to know when you are defeated.’
‘it is a tight roll of the dice any way you look at it, but my luck runs good. you could do worse than betting on my luck.’
‘you were ever a fool, ever ready to follow your heart before power.’
‘I thought you were neatly out of the way. no matter. you were only an annoyance’
‘you have come to the point now, and there is no further time for learning.’
‘I came to bloody rescue you.’
‘you can explain why you look as though you’d been fighting bears later, if you want.’
‘perhaps you are not entirely to blame. we can apportion guilt later.’
‘until you do understand, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.’
‘as much as it pain me to say it, (name), you are right.’
‘I saw what speaking earned you. I am no fool.’
‘nothing is done for you, yet.’
#rp memes#rp sentence starters#rp prompts#literature prompts#literature sentence starters#the wheel of time series sentence starters#the wheel of time series prompts#the dragon reborn sentence starters#the dragon reborn prompts
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
Rope Burns (Alt Prompt)
Day 5 for @febuwhump. (Yes I know I'm late I'm catching up. I'll add all these to ao3 soon too.)
Eddie Munson
Words: 1210.
Warnings for a mob murdering Eddie 🤷🏻♀️
Eddie should have known it wouldn’t be so easy.
Well, easy might have been an over-simplification. But in comparison to dragging yourself out of hell and fighting to clear your name of all those pesky murder charges, not to mention the most intense physical therapy known to man, yeah, maybe Eddie thought things might eventually get a little easier.
He never thought he’d find himself wishing that Jason Carver survived being torn in half, but here he was. According to Lucas, Jason had seen just enough before he died to turn him into a believer. In the very last moment of his life he supposedly had a look of total clarity on his face. Lucas swears that he would have switched sides if he made it. That would have stopped Eddie from getting jumped twice a week by everyone who knew Jason, Chrissy, and Patrick. Even people who had ostracised Fred after the car crash were on his ass. Eddie wondered if Jason would appreciate the irony of being his saviour.
It looked like he was about to find out.
The jeers from the ground below him snapped Eddie back to the present. He was kneeling on top of his own van, ambushed in the woods by a bunch of fucking teenagers wearing Hawkins High sports jackets. One quick kick to the back of his head was all it took to get him pliant enough to be dragged onto the roof and tied up. Hands firmly behind his back with zip ties and ankles swiftly broken with a golf club. The rope around his neck was flung up over a nearby branch. It was cutting into his skin now, getting tighter every time it was pulled by whoever was taking their turn yanking on the other end.
He had long since stopped trying to reason with them. It was obvious now how this would end. Eddie had originally started off with his usual sarcastic quips, trying to frustrate them enough to leave him alone, and moved onto yelling for help when that didn’t work. No one heard him. There was a reason he came so far into the woods. It was private, people never came around here. Realising that the group must have tracked him the entire time he was out of the house today was when it clicked with him that this was a plan. They weren’t just the usual band of small town bastards out to mess with him. No. They were here to kill him.
Eddie hissed in pain as a knife slide over his inner arm, elbow to wrist.
“How’s that feel, Freak?” crowed the boy standing behind him.
“Feels great,” mumbled Eddie, his airways straining against the rope now, vision starting to blur.
The rush of blood from his arm down over his hands was making his stomach turn. Eddie hated blood. The smell of it cut through the scent of wet leaves around them. He was glad at least that he didn’t have to see it.
Eddie yelled as the boy kicked at his feet, right into his broken ankles. He swayed off to the side but the rope stopped him from falling. He gasped for air and felt his lungs start to burn before he was righted by a rough hand grabbing his hair.
“Let’s just fucking do this,” someone on the ground called. “I don’t want to get caught out here,”
“Yeah!” agreed another voice. “Just push him off the edge and let’s go,”
The hand in Eddie’s hair wrenched his head back so the person could look down into his face. The kid didn’t look more than seventeen.
“You know,” he told Eddie. “I think they’re right. I’m getting bored,”
For a split second Eddie had a naïve flash of hope that maybe they might leave him alone. It was snuffed out as soon as it appeared though, when his head was steered down so he could watch as two of the spectators tired the end of the rope around the base of a tree.
“Any last words, Freak?” he was asked.
Eddie wanted to say yes. He wanted to plead his case and say that he’d tried to save Chrissy, he never touched Jason or Patrick or Fred, he would never dream of hurting Max. He wanted to tell them all about his uncle and how hard his death would hit the man. They would be murdering Wayne too because he wouldn’t survive another heartbreak this big. Eddie wanted to talk about the kids from Hellfire and if they could just speak to them they’d see that he was a dork with no badness in him at all. He wanted to ask to see his bloody arms, and hope that maybe fainting at the sight of his own blood would prove he didn’t have it in him to be a murderer.
Eddie said nothing. He knew nothing would work. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. Eddie thought of all the good memories he could muster. He thought of winter nights in the trailer with Wayne, watching black and white Westerns on their small TV. He thought of belly laughs during DnD sessions. He thought of Steve Harrington and the stolen smiles and glances of the last few months. Soft brushes of fingertips on the couch when no one else was paying attention. He thought of everything that could have been.
Eddie wondered if his Momma would be waiting for him when it happened. If he’d feel her arms around him as he cried for the life that he left behind. The thought that he might hear her laugh again made him brave. She always called him her Little Soldier. If he skimmed his knee or hurt himself she would coo in his ear while she tended to him, promising that he was doing so well. She called him fearless and made him feel like he could do anything. He was a coward without her, and it was only her memory that helped Eddie hold his ground against the bats. He would have courage now too. For her.
“Well?”
Eddie shook his head and kept his eyes closed. Tears were falling freely down his face now. He wasn’t ready to die. He had no choice.
Eddie felt a shoe rest between his shoulder blades and a cheer came from the group on the ground. The boy behind him kicked hard, and Eddie tumbled over the edge of the van’s roof.
His instinct was to open his eyes to find an escape route but he kept them screwed shut. He didn’t want any of these people to be the last thing he saw. His feet weren’t quite touching the forest floor but even if they were, his broken ankles would have stopped him getting any purchase against it. His legs flailed against his will, the momentum from the fall causing them to swing.
Eddie felt his eyes roll into the back of his head and the pain in his chest screamed for relief. The tell-tale sounds of people running away through twigs and bushes went quiet quickly, their squeals of delight fading away. Or maybe that was just him.
Eddie’s legs stopped kicking long before he was found.
#febuwhumpday5#febuwhump#febuwhump2023#seth writes#eddie munson#stranger things#eddie stranger things#warnings apply#tw murder
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
a transcript
"[BEGINNING RECORDING]",
"SPEAKER 1: What the hell do you mean you wanna merge 'em?",
"SPEAKER 2: You heard what I said, ________...",
"SPEAKER 1: Have you lost your mind? This kind of thing-- this doesn't happen! You can't just roll 'em over like it's nothing! What makes you think they would rather be a small fish in some other squeeze? You're Oliver fuckin' Twist showing up with your supper bowl!",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: See, this is what I mean. Y'think you're a wizkid, but there's no love a pappa can have for his boy that will get 'im to put his foot in his mouth for you. And that's a fat ass fuckin' foot you're lookin' to swallow.",
"SPEAKER 2: That's true.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 2: Check.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: Something tells me you ain't done.",
"SPEAKER 2: Of course I'm not.",
"SPEAKER 1: Okay, then. [snorts] What, you hired one of those snake-people that are showin' up now, to bind them up? 'Fraid I don't think they're into that.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 2: You're gonna laugh.",
"SPEAKER 1: Cut the crap, ________... What is it?",
"SPEAKER 2: Got the killer on the payroll.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: [in a half-whisper] So what if you got another guy? Like that's a problem, you fuckin' monkey. What, you plannin' to burst into their house with twenty or so fellas and start--",
"SPEAKER 2: I mean the Eye Killer.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: The bitch that got caught?",
"SPEAKER 2: [sighs] That same one, yeah.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: [still whispering, now aggressively] ________.., have you ACTUALLY gone fuckin' crazy? Point one still stands, but what's the first rule? You can't have a girl who's on national fuckin' television whack one of 'em and not have every single fuckin pig in the country stick their fuckin' head in! What's the fuckin' deal, huh? You want another RICO?",
"SPEAKER 2: There's not gonna be another RICO. No one is going to die. Sit your ass down and fuckin' listen to me, here.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: ...alright.",
"SPEAKER 2: Good. You got a lighter?",
"SPEAKER 1: Thought y'didn't smoke.",
"SPEAKER 2: You thought wrong.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 2: Let's start from the top. I've been talking to their kid. Fella tipped me off to his folks; good guy, terrible at his job. He's helping me set an arrangement with his folks. They know I'm going there, I know they're going there. We both get our friends to bring along, y'know, for clarity's sake. Two precious little rats in the nest.",
"SPEAKER 1: Ah. So whoever decides to get a little too friendly...",
"SPEAKER 2: Lets every other wiseguy in all of the States know that shit's going down. Once word's out, the others are going to smell blood in the water. Then we're both gone. [mumbling] We'd be damn lucky to just get caught.",
"SPEAKER 1: Okay, fine. Let's say that works. What's that girl meant to do in all of this?",
"SPEAKER 2: The guarantee that the word gets out if shit goes south. Besides, that murderer, she... has an interest. On both of us.",
"SPEAKER 1: You an' the don?",
"SPEAKER 2: No, the kid and I. Think she likes him more than me, frankly. Either way, even if I wanted to wet those sons of bitches, I don't think she'd take it very well. ",
"SPEAKER 1: Right. I mean, it sounds like this girl's more trouble than she's worth. We could just--",
"SPEAKER 2: Don't--!",
"SPEAKER 2: Say that. About her. Or anything. Aloud. Say it in your own house if you want, but don't say that shit near me.",
"SPEAKER 1: Ah. [laughs] Nearly got me there, thought it was serious. You went pale as a baby's bum, though, what's the catch? Check, by the way. ",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 2: It's not funny. Fucking... listen. I don't know what she is, but whatever she is, she isn't human. You've seen the trial, you've seen her change. And that monster, demon, whatever you want to call it-- any other man in the garbage biz can be bought. You know that. Everyone's kicking up to someone. Her? She's fucking unshakeable, that's the one thing I can guarantee you. She wants us. The moment any of us even think about fucking with her, we're dead. But. But... if we get her to work with us, it would change... everything.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 1: Hey, now, you know I'm no fucking rat, but you have to know that what you're saying sounds crazy, right? Even if it works, what the fuck does any of that mean? I'd take a bullet for you, but it sounds more like you're trying to curse me, or someshit. I can't be a part of that.",
"SPEAKER 2: Fine, then.",
"[clack]",
"SPEAKER 2: So what are you going to do?",
"SPEAKER 1: I'm... you're not slidin' this one past the Don.",
"SPEAKER 2: [wryly] So much for not being a rat.",
"SPEAKER 1: I'm in here like everyone else to make some fuckin' money, not to sell my soul or whatever the fuck you're plannin'!",
"SPEAKER 2: [sigh] I like you, you know? You're a good man. So I'm giving you five seconds to reconsider, ________. Plenty of time to think about where you stand in all this.",
"SPEAKER 1: At least look at me in the eye when you're threatenin' me, asshole.",
"SPEAKER 2: Five...",
"SPEAKER 1: What the fuck are you lookin' at?",
"SPEAKER 2: Four...",
"SPEAKER 1: You fuckin'-- I'm leaving!",
"SPEAKER 2: Three...",
"SPEAKER 2: Two..."
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Thess vs Old Fandoms
One of my longer-time friends happened to remember an old fandom I was a part of at one point, and tagged me into a post about merch from that fandom on Facebook. Ironically, he’s one of the few people I check Facebook for, so ... y’know, it’s nice that he remembers my interests from that far back. (I think he post-dates my involvement in that fandom, actually - I seem to recall him being a friend from my forum-and-chat Mage: The Ascension days. So seriously, that’s archaeological level knowledge of my fandoms.)
Thing is ... my reaction to that fandom these days is ... kind of not great. I don’t like to think about it. I mean, I really don’t. I kept some of the friends I met along the way, and am grateful beyond measure for them (particularly a certain bestie who I met out of a Six Degrees of Fandom Friend situation and a breakdown-related road trip of epic proportions). I got practice at storytelling, which gave me confidence (and honestly helped me figure out that while I can write, I am a much better storyteller than I am a writer, and I excel at the “Yes, okay, and then what?” game - hence being perfectly happy to Forever DM). But so much else happened in that fandom that, looking back ... I didn’t hate it, and the piece of media itself was what I needed at the time, but there is no going back to that.
I mean, it doesn’t help that it gives me active flashbacks to the ... I can’t even say ‘despair’, exactly, but absolute desperation for everything to just ... stop. I mean, I was depressed, sure, but at the end of the day, what manifested was me alternating between wanting everything to just shut up, go away, and stop hurting me already ... and finding something, anything to hang onto long enough for that “I want it all to stop” feeling to settle back to a level that wasn’t going to involve self-harm or worse. I made some very poor decisions. I misconstrued an awful lot. There was a great deal going on in my head about who I was supposed to be versus who I actually was (and that latter ... well, I didn’t have the vocabulary for half of it) and nothing was helping me figure any of it out so I vacillated between “Maybe this’ll help” and “Fuck this - stop the world, I want to get off”.
I have clarity on a lot of it now - I mean, it’s been two decades - and honestly, even the good times contained a lot of individuals and situations that were not healthy in any way, shape, or form. Cliques formed and I didn’t necessarily want there to be but once you were considered by a certain section of the fandom to be a Big Name Fan for some reason, trying to get out of it was impossible. I didn’t want that; I just wanted people to enjoy what I was writing. And a lot of people did! Unfortunately, a vocal minority of that “lot of people” felt within their rights to nag me about when the next chapter / episode / whatever of what I was writing was going to come out and I felt beholden to those people. Then there were the ones who just hated the entire concept of my writing and put me on blast repeatedly. So on one hand I’ve got people pressuring me about getting things out NOW NOW NOW on top of the stupid BNF label, and on the other I’ve got rejection sensitivity dysphoria working overtime because of bullying ... and I burned out. I mean, none of that is healthy for anybody, but when you’re already neurodivergent in ways you don’t entirely understand, it’s a mess.
I developed some unhealthy friendships. I can’t blame some of them, or even most of them. At that time, they were mostly in the category of, “I want to help you get better but I don’t even know how to help myself get better so...” Which, again, not anybody’s fault. But that kind of thing kicks off my instinct, borne of a lot of what I have to concede is emotional abuse, to set aside my emotional needs in favour of the needs of others. I am in a place now where I can set boundaries in that regard, which is good because it saves my spoons for cases where I can actually help instead of doing all the emotional labour. I differentiate between friends who are trying and maybe failing to get better, and need a bit of support, and those who simply won’t put in the emotional effort and expect people to deal with them on their emotionally unhealthy terms. At the time, though, both were more of a drain than I realised at the time, so it’s probably no wonder that I felt like everything was falling apart, when so many of my friends were.
Long story short - I am not that angry, confused, miserable person who needed that piece of entertainment media anymore. Now I see it as something that I actively don’t need, just because of some of the mental and emotional states it exemplifies. Don’t get me wrong - I’m still angry, confused, and miserable a lot of the time. However, I am angry, confused, and miserable about actual things now, not about how “no one gets me”. I don’t have to hide behind a cynical attitude and a book. I can and will be my own advocate. I will not exemplify what is effectively apathy, or at best grudging, minimal-effort rebellion. Hell, I didn’t even exemplify that in my fan works at the time. Now? Thank you, but no thank you. I would prefer not to have merchandise that reminds me of a time when I glorified showing as little emotion and genuine engagement in the world as possible, and was fighting a war with my own damn death wish most of the time, and clinging to really unhealthy shit as the only weapons I had available to fight off the “Fuck this; I’m done” urge. I have way, way healthier ways of beating that shit off now, even on the worst of days. More fun, too.
Sometimes we outgrow things. I’m really proud to have outgrown that. And am also very happy that it’s been a few years since the last “Are you ever finishing that series?” email. I mean, it was still long after I left the fandom for good, but I’m grateful to have finally managed obscurity and for my old username to be relegated to the “Whatever Happened To...?” wall.
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hey Everyone, Here’s a brief list why I think it would have been so very fun if Preston had died in GG6?
By fun I mean ouchie but this has always been one of my favourite AUs.
It’s been awhile since I read book 6, so these are just some quick thoughts
Firstly: Why kill Preston in book 6? And that's because he did in earlier edits of the book. Like all the “Who won’t make it to Graduation” promo back in the day, that was Preston dying. Ally took it out sometime before the final draft obviously but I think it was pretty late and she implied it was a messy death.
I don’t think most of this matters when Preston dies, but the most obvious place is when escaping the prison, where instead of Bex taking a bullet and being alright, Preston takes a bullet and isn’t alright. And so for clarity, this list assumes he dies then
Macey - A nice and obvious one but with lots of layers.
Macey has known Preston for years, he pre-dates her spy lifestyle, but he keeps getting drawn into this life, it doesn’t suit him and it’s dangerous. The other girls at Gallagher ‘see’ Macey, as one of their own, a sister. Bex/Liz see her as a best friend, someone to trust. Cam sees Macey as someone struggling with a legacy and her own expectations. But Preston sees Macey as who she really is; Not what she can’t do, Not what she can do, Not what she looks like, Not who she wants to be, Not who she expects to be, Not who she wishes to be but who she really is
And one of Macey’s main motivation in books 5 and 6 is keeping Preston safe. She’s trusting these girls, trusting these adults and trusting all this training to be able to do this.
Cammie - Our main girl
Cammie probably knows her runaway summer would have been so much worse if she hadn’t found Preston. He saw her kick a few adult men and recognised what he saw changing and growing in Macey, she already had. She doesn’t remember him saving her, he won’t remember saving him because she didn’t, he died.
Cammie also see’s both father and son die, couldn’t save either. But at least Preston doesn’t have to experience the pain of losing a parent (she knows how that feels)
Failure & it’s consequences - honestly the main point here
The girls have had missions go wrong before but its always been recoverable. In fact, let’s take an aside and remember the first time we see them fail in LYKY - the bottle/josh meet lesson, at the end of that Joe gives a very clear warning, if shit goes wrong, people can die. Now isn’t that fun.
You can’t work out another plan once someone's dead. This is a real life changing impact and consequence of them messing up.
The rescue mission was unsanctioned by the adults (as this is a quick list, we’re not touching implications for them) so its on the girls. They didn’t ask for help to get him out of Italy and it got him in prison, they didn’t ask for help getting him out and he’s dead, they risked their own lives for nothing, nothing else came out of that mission it was just rescue Preston.
It’s also going to kill moral, a massive failure right as we climb into the climax.
And there is the unknown, they changed fate, if he’d stayed in the prison the circle may have never have come for him, he might have been fine. But they chose to try and rescue him, and sealed his future, into a coffin.
The Circle & Preston as earnestness
Its very likely, if Preston died, he would died before ever fulling clearing his name, people would have never known if he had a connection to the circle.
And I think that's important, because Preston is such a good character. In political situations we see him follow the flow in dances, but he is kind to the old lady votes with an extra layer of sincerity that most wouldn’t expect from him. He worries about Charlie and Cammie and Macey because he sees and cares for people.
He is such a sincere, kind, open hearted person, who would die with a stain on his name he did not deserve.
... trust me those are quick thoughts
#Also sorry I'm not very good at writing down my thoughts#like i dont even know if this makes sense#prestons death would have been deliciously angsty#however i totally understand why it was cut its a massive tone changer#gallagher girls#ally carter#united we spy#cammie morgan#preston winters#macey mchenry#gallagher girls AU
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Two demons took to the air, black wings gleaming darkly in the bright sunlight. Below them, animals that crossed their shadows shivered, briefly affixed to the ground in terror or scurrying away in fear.
Crawley pointed to some flying geese, whose large outstretched wings wobbled as they tried to keep up with the two demons, but were quickly left behind.
“This place is very strange. Kind of disturbing,” Legion said, pointing up to the sky. “Why does the light keep changing? It seems to be constantly changing, and not just because something is broken. Or is something broken? Something’s always broken Downstairs...”
“Oh, you know, rotation of the planet around a star. Makes the light shift all the time. Even when things are dark.”
“So we’re on a planet? For reals?” Legion gasped. “Is that what the Earth is?”
“Yeah, it’s really a planet. Not a very big one either. I went up to check it myself when I was first here. Strange, isn’t it? Used to be that this kind of place was no more than gathered dust around a star, and we’d only care about the layout of big clusters of stars. Brightness, color, clarity, intensity... Never thought I’d spend so much time on a planet, much less have to care about what’s going on on the planet.”
“But all this fuss for a planet, doesn’t that seem a bit...much?” Legion wondered.
“Don’t ask me, I’ve never been anywhere close to the planning committee people.”
“Oh, so Lord Asmodeus doesn’t tell you-”
“Nope, not a word,” Crawley sighed. “Doesn’t even ask me my opinion, if you really want to know. Not about anything actually important."
“Oh. I thought…Erm, never mind, I don’t know what I thought. You won’t tell him, will you?” the higher-ranked demon asked, anxious. “You won’t tell him I was inquiring into his business…”
“Course not. Not your fault for asking. Won’t...erm, I wouldn’t hold it against you. Never.”
“Thanks, Crawley. You’ve always been good to me.” Legion’s smile was sweet but held an edge of nervousness.
“So erm, you might be wondering what’s on Earth that’s worth seeing. Well, lots of things are. But this, this is very impressive indeed!” Crawley landed, black wings stirring the dust of the earth.
“Oh, wow. The ground really is very different up here, isn’t it?” Legion said, stirring the dust with a gentle exploratory flap of black wings. “Look, everything moves! Even those things on the ground, what is that?”
“I think it’s called grass. Quite nice, isn’t it? Feels nice to touch, kind of soft, you should try it. But it’s not always soft, sometimes it’s scratchy and can draw blood... But that’s not what I was talking about, it’s- Oh.” Crawley’s brow furrowed as he looked over the plain. “That’s odd, I thought…isn’t there supposed to be a big migration here?”
“Migration? What’s that?”
“Well, every year around this time of year – I think – hundreds, thousands of these big shaggy beasts roam through here…”
“Big shaggy beasts. You mean like that thing? With the four legs?”
A solitary camel glared and made a rude noise at the two demons, before turning slightly so that it could keep the two within sight as it chewed mouthfuls of grass.
“Not quite, they’re more...well, less hump-ish. Oh, I think I’m in the wrong place. Or it’s the wrong time of year?” Crawley frowned. “For a small planet, Earth is a bigger place than you’d think-”
“It’s very large. Impressive. I didn’t think I’d ever see something bigger than a Hell-hound. What do you do with a beast so large?”
Crawley shrugged. “I don’t know. But we should stay away from it.”
“Why?”
“This beast – a camel – is one that kicks and bites. And spits. Best to stay out of spitting range, it’s a beast with a terrible humor.”
“Maybe it just doesn’t like your jokes.”
Crawley grinned. “Well, you try telling it one and see if it likes it.”
“Nah, I’ll take your word for it. What else is there to do on Earth? Other than look at the changing quality of light and the creatures?”
“Well, there are things you can eat here.”
“They’ve got food here too?”
“Sure, like fruits. Erm, some examples, uh, apples, pears. Cherries. Fruits are sweet.” Crawley paused. “Wait, unless they aren’t sweet. Like avocados, those aren’t sweet.”
“An avocado? What does it advocate?”
“Clean living,” Crawley said. “I think.”
x
#crowley#crawley#good omens#disposable demon#good omens demons#eric the disposable demon#who is named legion here#mistakes were made#3333 B.C.
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Mai’s Emotional Extravaganza!!! day 7
And the story continues
@maiweek
free expressions.
Notes from the diary.
On passing time in prisons
Was I prepared all my life for it? People suffer in prisons from extreme boredom, and here I am, having suffered from the boredom all my life feel rather fine. Of course, I also knew everything there was to know about prisons in Fire Nation because my Uncle is in love with his job.
To be perfectly honest (and even taking a chance that this diary will be read by guards/warden/whoever) I wasn’t that fine at the beginning. Because… reasons. But now, several days later – I think maybe a week, the time is harder to count here – I am all better. After endless hours of staring at the walls, I asked for paper and ink, and was given them to use at my discretion. I think the nice guard is not really that nice, but trying not to antagonize me as the warden’s niece (even though Ty Lee and I are transferred to the jail near the capital, and the warden here is not related to me.) Ty Lee says the guard is just that nice. What is she doing as the prison guard then? That’s Ty Lee for you. She got transferred with me, and the next day she found and befriended the warrior girls we defeated earlier. In previous life, feels like. She even convinced them not to hate me, since I saved life of their leader. I protested that I didn’t mean to, but fine. It’s not that I want to be hated, either. I don’t know that I would have saved anyone’s lives if there was no Zuko with them. On the other hand, we wouldn’t be there at all, and their escape might have worked fine if Azula were not there. I am glad all those people alive, I don’t fancy anyone falling into boiling water. Euugh. I keep re-thinking that day. What if Zuko wasn’t at the Boiling Rock? Or didn’t get caught? Or Uncle didn’t tell anyone? But everything before Boling Rock was so dreadful, I can’t imagine keep living like that. I am glad to have had that chance to talk to Zuko and get an honest answer from him. I wish it happened earlier. I am glad to have that perfect moment of clarity when everything was bright and right and obvious. I am glad I told Azula… I am glad I didn’t die. I am glad Ty Lee is here with me. Even though we are in prison. Even though she tried to get me to meditate by talking about auras. Between fighting with Azula and listening to Ty Lee talking about auras I would choose fighting Azula any time. But that wasn’t an option, so I indeed started meditating.
Sozin’s comet is coming soon, and something is going to happen. I am sure Zuko and his new friends will win. How could they not, with Zuko being that stubborn idiot who determined to do things right. We don’t get any news here, but maybe my connections would help at least to know what happens. If after all that he dares not to win, I’ll break out of this prison and kick his ass.
[ID: Screenshot from avatar the Last airbender, episode Sozin’t Comet part 4 / Avatar Aang. . Text I added: Does he know I love him, of should I just tell him? Maybe later]
Kiss of Fire // Gaby Moreno and Hugh Laurie
And though I see the danger, still the flame grows higher
I know I must surrender to your kiss of fire
Just like a torch, you set the soul within me burning
I must go on, I'm on this road of no returning
Yes, it is too dramatic. But then so are those two.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Infinity Pool: I once was lost, but now I’m filthy.
You're a writer. You wrote a book, but it's been about six years since then, and you've been bone dry for inspiration.
You're beginning to question whether you ever had any talent at all.
You decide that the best way to kick writer's block is to go to a resort in a foreign country, engage with murderers and other degenerates,
get shot at, soak yourself in a world of clones and death, and maybe have an orgy or two with some strangers.
Sound like a good idea?
It's a great idea if you're Alexander Skarsgard (playing James, our writer).
He even dragged his lovely wife (played by Cleopatra Coleman) along. He married rich; she's funding this crazy plot.
Nothing quite like murder to clear the sinuses and creative struggles.
James meets a couple (Gabi and Alban) who after helping him out of a serious situation (sort of), then lead him into the craziness I described above.
Look, the casual moviegoer has probably not even heard of this movie. And honestly, there are plenty of reasons for you not to watch this smut. So, let me save you the time. I watched this smut so that you don't have to :)
But, as far as the horror movie fans... well, yeah, still good reasons not to watch this smut.
Maybe you've heard that this movie is STRANGE, GORY, and SEXY. Two out of three ain't bad. Idk about sexy.
I mean, if you call an orgy between mostly middle-aged people, who are simultaneously splattered with all kinds of bodily fluids (it's a juicy movie:) including blood, and also wearing creepy masks, sexy... then maybe some of these scenes will do it for you.
Some might say "What about Mia Goth? Sexy, right?!"
I think those people are confusing "sexy" with crazy and manipulative.
I've been there, especially when you get a few drinks in you; you'll start seeing "sexy" all over the place, but... nope, it's just crazy.
This movie IS gory though, but not as much blood as I thought it would have. Movies like "Saw" and "TC Massacre" are way worse/better in that dept.
And, STRANGE? Oh, yeah...
I feel comfortable saying that it's one of the strangest movies you'll see all year.
These masks
This pool
Whatever the hell this is
My buried lede of clones
At times, naseating directing style
punching and stabbing people to literal pulp
Freaky, unneccessary images
And I loved all of it!
All of the above!
I could have done without the orgy stuff, but maybe that's gonna be Brandon Cronenberg's (the director) signature.
Random, Nasty, Horror Movie Porno. So, maybe we should just get used to it. Perhaps it'll be the new trend.
I can see it now - Leatherface pauses (mid-kill), puts down the chainsaw, and takes off all of his clothes, slowly, to Sam Smith’s “Unholy”.
The violence is gross, but artistic (somehow).
People rave about Mia Goth's performance (and it's excellent), but I was also impressed by Skarsgard. Well, as much as one can be impressed by the acting in a horror film:) He was good though!
There's a group of rich people who Gabi (Goth) introduces James to, and they are horrible. I loved hating them! They're the type of people in horror movies that you can't wait for the monster to get to, but then you realize, they ARE the monsters.
It is a purposely uncomfortable movie.
I loved the character of James. He doesn't quite belong anywhere in this movie. He never really has any clarity of what's happening to him.
And neither does the audience. The only thing that's clear is that he's getting pulled closer and closer towards a dark place.
The ending will have you staring at the screen trying to figure out what the hell you just watched.
Let me help you:
There's no mystery. No hidden meaning. No layers. You'll have to accept that what you watched is all that there is.
It's dissatisfying on purpose. Sure, I guess you could derive some social commentary if you wanted to, but... meh.
You want a lesson? - I'll give you one.
When you get lost in life, and lose your sense of self, don't stay there long or you will be taken advangetage of... and sure as hell don't go to some foreign land with weird laws.
Instead:
Frequent a bar. Go to church. Go to Disneyland. Buy a sports car. Have sex with people 20 years younger than you (legally:).
Join that cult you’ve been thinking about.
Do something different with your hair.
Normal stuff, you know??
No Mia Goths and no clone orgies.
Did I have any problems with the movie? Not really. I've heard the complaints from others, and they're mostly valid, but I'd counter by saying that that's why I loved it!
I'm proudly in the minority, but... Grade: A+* from me.
(asterisk* - AGAIN, it’s weirdf AF, but that’s right up my alley)
Have you ever gone on a trip outdoors and gotten dirty? You're bothered at first, but then you get more dirty? And after that. you just don't care anymore. You're all in.
Afterwards, you could say to yourself "Wow, I'm a filthy and disgusting human being. What's wrong with me?" OR say to yourself
"Wow, that was fun and thrilling." and take a shower. It's up to you.
#InfinityPoolMovie#johnpraphit#Moviereviews#smut#praphitproductions.com#AlexanderSkarsgard#MiaGoth#HorrorMovies#BrandonCronenberg#Praphit#Monsters#richpeople#artsy#violence
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
280 pt 2
The following day I recount my Pilates assessment to V who has a cold and spins slightly in my ergonomic chair. I ask her if she had to do the same strange exercise - a kind of solo line-dance punctuated by making dramatic steeples with my hands - that I was asked to do by the instructor, and when I demonstrate V looks at me bemused. “He said it helps extend my spine”, I explain, “I don’t know if this is true, or if I was just dancing for him…” We gossip mercilessly about British art people and note how it should be a crime to be as boring as some of them are in conversation. I compare one curator’s blandness to the upmarket coffee shop Gail’s. “I think she is Gail”, I say. V laughs and spins in the chair, coughs, blows her nose. I show her an Instagram post of restaurateur (B telling me this word doesn’t contain the letter “n” still ringing in my ears) Margot Henderson trying her hand at influencing by posing excitedly near an Audi. #AudiUKPress, reads the caption, followed by some other things which don't require hashtags and an errant question mark
We meditate together, and then V brings up how mean I was the previous day. I ask for clarity because all I remember is the intense fatigue of having played the same five songs with the same three men all afternoon. The third volume of SML PTNGS is being rushed to print in May, and T in her furiously organised and detail-oriented spirit has located upwards of a hundred small paintings that were never found or documented from 2018 til now. When V came over to discuss it, I shit-talked the gallery team for not having raided my studio thoroughly enough over the years, and I guess shit-talked V by association. Nobody ever seems to be able to fully handle how many paintings I make, least of all me. I am not a natural archivist - each painting essentially becomes someone else's problem to me once I've finished with it. I am proud to be prolific: it satisfies the child in me itching to pelt my parents with proof of achievement. I am also ashamed in equal measure, seeing in the haphazard stacks of art how materialistic my low self-worth has made me, how much it takes to get me to equilibrium. And maybe materialistic isn't quite the right word. Would we call a severe hoarder materialistic? Or does it dull the complexities of those who need physical objects around to let them know it's safe not to believe in scarcity?
Anyway I was pissed in the abstract at previous employees of V who weren't keeping abreast of my archive, my "precious paintings", the same ones I gladly kick across the floor or run over with my paint trolley if they're in my way. I want the gallery to invade my studio, but also want its privacy respected. I want them to find the paintings but not the receptacles from weird food I've eaten. I want assistance but I don't want to hire an assistant. When I frame it all this way I wonder why any gallery would sanely have me on their roster. Then I remember I bring in the big bucks. Then I feel sad that that's all I am, then angry at myself for unjustified cynicism, grateful for V and the proximity of her team, then guilt, then shame. Or what I call Thursday night
0 notes
Text
A Little HP Discussion
@vaguely-existing
Hello! I’m the anon from @/queer-distasters HP discussion. I wanted to respond to your statements/questions without clogging up Nico’s notifs and making him uncomfortable. For clarity and transparency, as I simply want to discuss this and not argue with you (or anyone else), I’ll copy&paste your reblog below the cut and go from there.
Also anon, bear in mind that The British Bitch isn't just transphobic. She's racist toward indigenous peoples of all places, Asians, Jews, and probably more but those all come to mind JUST FROM HER HELLA POPULAR BOOKS. She has set back ALL queer people's rights, ESPECIALLY in the UK which is a clusterfuck when it comes to queer and especially trans rights and general respect. She is fatphobic. She is misogynistic. She is also a misandrist (yes she's very obviously both)
To boil it down, any hateful or divisive stance she comes across, she seems to immediately absorb into her personality.
So here's my question for anon and anyone else who supports(...shit what's her name again?):
Do you really think interacting with her or anything she has written isn't subconsciously filling you with prejudice? And if you don't, maybe practice introspection
So, firstly, I’m very aware of her issues. The books themselves are full of misogynistic and misandrist under-toning, stereotypes and themes, there’s the frikking Dumbledoof Gay situation (don’t even get me started /hj ), the goblins, the house elves and the SPEW gag. That’s just within the main series itself (and a few tweets, of course), if I’m not mistaken.
Those, of course, are only a handful of the many, many issues, as you’re clearly aware (props on being so educated on the matter, btw /gen.)
Now, to make it very, very clear: I do not support J.K.R. I don’t like her, I like what she’s chosen to do with her platform, I don’t like all the bullshit she put in the Harry Potter series (misogyny, misandry, racism, fatphobia, etc.) or the bullshit she pushes. I don’t buy merch anymore--the last thing I bought was some chocolate a year or so ago--and I don’t even stream the movies. The new game is abhorrent and blatantly racist, and I will shout that from the rooftops if I have to. JKR, to put it plainly, is a shit human being. She is.
I do not support her or anything she stands for--I am a nonbinary bi-abrosexual woman and a feminist. I am exactly the kind of person JKR says doesn’t exist, exactly the kind of person JKR would argue doesn’t deserve to feel safe or respected (also: fuck you, Forstater). From one not-cis person to another (I don’t want to assume what broad terms you’re comfortable with here): I get it. I hate her. I wish she wasn’t the author of one of my childhood self’s favorite franchises and I wish I could support her in good faith, I do, because I loved that series, still love a lot of parts of it, but the fact of the matter is she doesn’t deserve it and what the hell kind of person would I be if I consciously supported someone who hates my very fucking existence?
(Note: I do not mean the aggression toward you.)
But, with that out of the way: Your question. It caught me off guard because on the one hand, you have a point, but on the other not quite.
Firstly, I’d like to state very plainly that I practice introspection regularly. I’m an author and I try to stay up to date on politics, so I’m always confronting things I didn’t know were issues one way or another (emotionally, politically, personally, globally, take your pick), and figuring out where I stand in regards to those issues. I was raised in a fairly standard household, with fairly standard gender roles. Thankfully, I got into the “feminist scene” so to speak fairly early on, so I got a sort of headstart on unlearning things. There are certain prejudices regarding gender especially that I’m still working on kicking out, I’ll admit that. I gained those prejudices in the first place due to the environment I was raised in and the media I was exposed to. Some of that was the Harry Potter movies, yes, some of it was Disney movies and some of it was my own family. I recognize these things and I’m actively unlearning them.
Secondly: no, I’m very very certain that reading the Harry Potter books aren’t filling me with prejudice. I started reading them as a nonbinary raging feminist and, 6.5 books later, I’m still a nonbinary raging feminist. I’ve actually learned more since I started reading them because I’ve been searching online for other people’s opinions on the issues in the books and within the HP fandom, and I’ve been able to use the books as reference for examples of “shitty takes” within fiction (just put HP right next to all the other ones /hj ). I’m actually working on a video essay series on all the issues with Harry Potter--both the bigotry and political issues and the writing issues--and its fandom. I’m not one to be easily influenced by media and I’m very conscious of my thought processes and patterns. I know that goblins are often used as an anti-semetic metaphor for Jewish people and that traditional uses of goblin tropes can be hurtful (often are hurtful). But I didn’t know that until after I started reading HP because I started getting involved in what fans/non-fans had to say about it. I never made the connection of goblins=Jews (which, of course, isn’t actually true, but stereotypes and racism) until I entered the conversation about it. My point being: consuming media that has a lot of issues can actually be more beneficial than completely avoiding it (for some people, not everyone, of course! Don’t read something you know might actually hurt you and please don’t give your money to shitty people if you can help).
Now, of course, I am an adult. I have pretty well developed critical thinking skills, so I know how to traverse difficult situations and topics (usually... there are some things that I don’t know how to talk about, yet, but I’ll get there). I went into the HP books aware of (most of) their issues and on the lookout for them. When I was a child, I was in no such frame of mind, nor did I have the mental capacity that I do now. It probably would have been different if I’d read HP as a child--I probably would have absorbed more because I was young and in awe of, what I thought was, an amazing story and an Amazing Author (which... HP set a precedent for children’s coming of age fantasy, but it wasn’t... it’s not made of gold in any sense is what I’m saying but you know that already).
Alright, I think I’ve covered everything for now! :D Again, I do not intend to seem aggressive toward you or anyone who is... would “anti-HP” be the term? I don’t want to seem aggressive, and I apologize if I came off that way. I also don’t intend to start some sort of flame-war or something. I only want to have a nuanced discussion with an educated individual. /gen.
(oh, and the OG thread.)
#just...#/genuine#all the way around#Harry Potter#HP discourse#anti-jkr#anti-hp sentiments#which is fine#ask to tag
1 note
·
View note
Photo
For a relatively short exchange, this scene is jam packed with characterization for Loki.
It’s also our first reliable look into what Loki was like before Thor 1. Not as described by others, but first hand and from his own mouth. I think that deserves a closer look, to see what we can learn about Loki and how he thinks.
This scene is significant because it tells us what Loki’s personality is like when he’s not running for his life. It tells us who he was before his trauma and what his core beliefs are underneath those layers of humor and bravado.
Better yet, since he’s alone we can assume that every line in this scene is presumably true, or at least Loki believes it to be true since he has no audience but himself.
The dialogue centers mostly around the statement “You deserve to be alone, and you always will be.” I’m not going to focus too much on the “alone” motif since I already dedicated an entire meta post to it.
What I think is more interesting about this scene is actually the looping, and the stages Loki goes through in trying to deal with it. There’s a lot of really interesting character traits on display in that progression.
Loop 1: A Warm Bath and Glass of Wine
The first loop entails Sif lecturing Loki about cutting her hair, kicking him in the balls, and storming away. Loki kneels on the floor and he gives us this great line:
“A bad memory prison? How quaint. Some punishment. I remember exactly what I did after that. I went and had a nice, hot bath and a glass of wine, and I never thought about it again. Because it was just a bit of fun.”
So we can take this to be Loki’s default reaction to pain and criticism. When put into an unexpected conflict without any forethought or outside influence, this is what he says/does.
1) Downplay the damage/threat. How quaint.
2) Dispel/soothe the emotion. Nice hot bath.
3) Minimize the impact. Never thought about it again.
4) Deflect responsibility. Just a bit of fun.
Keep those in mind as we move forward, since we’ll be using them to make sense of what else Loki says in this scene.
Loops 2 and 3: Okay, Sif, Hang On
This bit is about Loki realizing just how bad his predicament is.
L: Okay. Okay, Sif. Hang on.
S: No, you hear this. You deserve to be alone... And I always will be.
L: Alright, I get it. Listen. You are a reconstruction of a past event created by the organization that controls all of time. So you need to trust me and you need to help me escape. Yeah?
S: Pathetic. (she kicks him again)
L: (winces and groans)
As we all would expect from him, Loki’s first impulse is to try and talk his way out of it. What he says to achieve that goal is pretty revealing though. Because he doesn’t try to ease Sif’s upset by apologizing or explaining or offering to magic her hair back.
Any of these would have been more likely to save his nads in the given circumstance, right? The present threat is Sif, and she’s mad about what Loki did to her hair. But Loki doesn’t really see that. Rather, he treats her as a means to an end.
“So you need to trust me and you need to help me escape. Yeah?”
To me, that choice reveals something of a blind spot Loki has to the feelings of others. Even if he doesn’t actively like hurting people, he does prioritize their problems below his, and quite shamelessly. And at least on his first impulse, he doesn’t seem to feel much remorse or empathy for them.
Usually in fanon we attribute this callousness to his trauma. He’s learned that no one can be trusted and no one cares, and so he doesn’t allow himself to care for others.
But between his Loop 1 sentiment of “It was just a bit of fun” for an event which caused real hurt to Sif, and his Loop 2/3 behavior of “you, stop being mad and help ME” I think it’s reasonable to say that selfishness/low empathy are traits Loki possessed pre-trauma.
Loop 4-????: Happens Off Screen
It’s unclear how many times Loki loops while the camera is following Mobius, but the implication is clear that it was been many, many repetitions. Somewhere in this his denial and deflection must break, because we come back to a much humbler, more pleading Loki.
The Final Loop: I Crave Attention
S: You conniving, craven...
L: Sif. Sif.
S: ...pathetic worm.
L: Please, please, no more. Please, I beg you. I'm a horrible person. I get it. I really am. I cut off your hair because I thought it'd be funny. And it's not. Uh... I crave attention... because I'm... a narcissist. And I suppose it's... It's because I'm scared of being alone.
HOOO BOY, so this is quite a tough bit to analyze. There’s a lot of interpretations you could make, and a lot of topics to delve into. For the sake of focus, I’m going to ignore the narcissism question. That one really needs an entire post, and I want to focus on something else here.
That being, Loki’s way of processing conflict/punishment.
I’ve always found it strange how Loki takes such pride in being called a liar and cheat when he simultaneously has this chip on his shoulder about how nobody likes him.
Those two traits don’t seem to play well together, and I always scratched my head over how they coexist in his character. If he wants people to be nicer to him, maybe he should stop antagonizing them? Yeah?
Well, here we’re finally given a clear reason. Loki craves attention, he hates being alone. So how does he avoid it? Pranks and mischief.
Fair enough.
But then, if all his pranks lead to this outcome--outrage, retaliation, insult--why doesn’t he ever learn? How is it that after 1000 years of this behavior, he hasn’t found a better way to get the attention he craves?
Loop 1: Downplay, dispel, minimize, deflect. He accepts zero accountability for the impact of his actions, and doesn’t think at all about how they affect other people. Just a bit of fun. I had a hot bath and a glass of wine, and never thought about it again.
The only reason he reaches the level of self awareness on display in the Final Loop is because the looping forces him to contemplate his actions and the impulses within him that lead to that behavior.
This is projection on my part, but to me he acts as though this kind of deep reflection is a new thing for him. He sounds like someone sharing a revelation that he’s just had about himself. We’re being shown that Loki is a man of action. He will always move forward if he can, possibly because looking back to so painful that he can’t bring himself to do it.
Circling back around to the pride Loki has for his knavery, let’s suppose that he’s been on this negative reinforcement cycle since childhood. He’s always acted out to get attention, then received retaliation and insults for it, and then pushed the bad feelings out of his mind with creature comforts and mental gymnastics.
What happens over time, when you’re being constantly told that you’re a pain in the ass and no one likes you? Most of us would take it to heart, but Loki doesn’t. He has a big ego, big enough to resist that constant barrage of hate coming at him.
So how does he marry these two conflicting realities?
He turns it into an identity, the God of Mischief.
In his head, Loki excuses himself of blame by shifting the culpability to his moniker. It’s not that he’s immature and petty, he’s just a “trickster.” It’s in his nature to cause trouble, so he can’t help it. You wouldn’t dangle a steak in front of a tiger and blame the tiger for striking, would you? And if other people can’t take a “joke” then that’s not his fault, that’s on them for not having a sense of humor. It was just a bit of fun.
Here we see the union of these two halves of Loki, the lonely ice runt and the mischievous scamp. (And a little bit of the original Loki who Thor accused of being incapable of growth!)
By refusing to think about others, and excusing himself from responsibility, Loki successfully preserves his self worth and insulates himself to most of the negative emotions he experiences.
Pain, embarrassment, and grief aren’t pointless emotions though. They are vital feelings that serve to regulate our behavior, and that push us to conform to the ways of our social circles. Without them, we annoy and upset others. Be annoying for long enough and you will eventually find yourself, well, alone. As Loki is.
Thus “Mischief” is a self-defeating loop, and Loki is just as caught in it as the cell Mobius trapped him in.
In order to be free of both traps, Loki has to stop running. He has to take a deeper look at himself and realize how much he is getting in his own way. The entire scene is one big parallel between these two “loops.” Pretty neat, huh?
Sadly these kinds of thought loops are really difficult to break, they’re buried so deeply in our personalities and habits that we usually don’t notice them until life forces us to address them.
The cell is Loki’s wake up call, and thankfully he does seem to rise to the occasion. He tells Sif quite clearly what his problem is, and he does it with beautiful, painful honesty.
Which is why it’s so fucking awesome for Mobius to acknowledge that, and to finally give Loki a taste of positive attention.
You don’t deserve to be alone. I believe you can be anything, even something good. Whatever you two did, it was powerful enough to bring this whole place down.
It’s a beautiful scene. Well written, meticulously acted. The clarity of vision in the pacing and shot selection, it’s really something special.
#loki spoilers#loki#mcu#mobius#meta#discussion#discourse#scene study#long post#sif#time loop#tva#character study
546 notes
·
View notes
Text
Miss American Pie
Chapter Five: This Will Be The Day (Finale)
Warning: this series features a romantic Yelena Belova x Fem!Reader pairing.
Summary: Everyone has returned but the battle for humanity against Thanos wages on.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
You wake in a coughing fit, the rubble surrounding you sears your lungs. “Natasha.” You call into the rocks and flickering lights. Clearing your throat, you try again. “Natasha!”
“Here, I’m here.” Her voice is rough, pained.
You push yourself toward the sound, through the dust you can make out her hair. “You ok?”
“Mostly.” She’s laying face up, a few scratches visible.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I can’t move.” She nods at the piece of collapsed cement. “My leg is broken, you should go.” Nat says, staring up at the sky.
“I should’ve never let you go to Vormir. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” You try uselessly to budge the blockage over her leg.
“What is Vormir?” She asks.
“Doesn’t matter.” You swallow the lump in your throat. “How much do you remember?”
“The red room.”
“Do you remember getting out?”
“No one gets out.” She shakes her head.
“We did.” You inform her. “Yelena did.”
“Yelena?” Her gaze finds yours. “You know Yelena? Is she here?”
“Yes, I know her.” You press your lips together. “She’s not here though.”
“The rest of this building is coming down. If you were really trained in the red room you have to know that.” Natasha frowns. “You need to leave.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Don’t be a hero.” She whispers. “Let me go, it’s ok.”
“No, it’s not.” You argue. “I won’t do it again.”
“What about Yelena?” Natasha gives you a pointed look.
“She’ll understand.” This is what she would do.
“Hey,” Natasha pushes herself up on her elbows. “Would it be a good thing or a bad thing if a giant man in a metal suit carrying a smaller man and a raccoon appeared behind your head?”
You turn toward the man in question. Scott Lang. “It would be a good thing.”
———————————————————————
Natasha is taken somewhere safe. She can’t fight.
As the strange doctor and his disciples start opening portals you see that you’re not alone. Through one comes Alexei, Melina and Yelena.
Her white suit is pristine, dirty blonde hair held away from her face in ponytails.
On shaky legs you move toward her, taking your rightful place at her side. Facing what lies ahead together.
Yelena catches your hand, “this isn’t much of a welcome home.”
You can’t help but laugh, “pretty cool way to die though.”
“Very,” she agrees. “Natasha?”
“She is a little worse for wear.” You warn her, “but alive…and safe.”
Yelena gives you a watery smile, squeezing your fingers. “And you?”
“A tower fell on me.”
“Of course it did.”
Thanos’ army is nothing to scoff at. Giant airborne creatures hover over his troops. Larger monsters stand in their ranks, space ship overhead ready to destroy.
Steve is almost unrecognizable, covered in dirt, his shield battered and broken. But you know it is time when he gives the order. “Avengers, assemble.”
Fighting is easy, it’s what you know. What you were trained to do. Fight to stay alive, fight for what you believe in, fight with Yelena; for Yelena.
The two of you move together like a well oiled machine. Like riding a bike, even after all this time you could never forget.
“We’ve got company to the left.” Yelena says through gritted teeth, kicking at the alien creature beside her. Dropping an empty cartridge to the ground and reloading her gun seamlessly, firing several shots.
Despite everyone’s best efforts they just keep coming. “Do we have a plan here?”
“Getting there,” Steve replies. “Anybody have eyes on the gauntlet?”
“Yeah!” Clint rushes past you with the glove in hand. “What am I supposed to do with it?”
“Get it out of here!” Tony insists.
“What’s happening?” Alexei shouts over the chaos. “I still don’t have ear piece.”
“Just keep their army away from that guy in the tank top.” You grunt, falling backwards from the force of one of Thanos’ soldiers colliding with you.
“We have to get the stones back where they came from.” Rhodey reminds everyone.
“The time space tunnel is completely collapsed.” Tony points out.
“That isn’t our only time machine.” Lang cuts in.
“Does anyone see an ugly brown van out there?” Captain America’s voice hums through the ear bud.
“I do,” a female voice chimes in. “But you’re not going to like where it’s parked.”
After grappling for far too long, you manage to knock the creature from you. Using your knife to dismember it.
“Next time, we get the cool laser guns.” Yelena yells loud enough to be heard by everyone on the network, as she hauls you to your feet.
“Friday, please add laser guns for the ballerinas to my grocery list.” Stark gives his smart ass remark.
“What’s the word on the van?” Rhodey wonders.
“Working on it now.”
The ship at Thanos’ disposal begins raining fire, no regard for their own troops.
“We’ve got people going down!” Rocket hollers.
“Clint,” you call into the microphone. “How’s that gauntlet?”
“Moving down the field.” The archer replies, “I’m alright too, thanks for asking.”
“Good.” You bite back a smile.
Hell continues breaking loose around you. Glowing circular orbs unfold in the air above, providing coverage from the missiles. You’re not sure if this is winning or losing. It feels like a bit of both.
———————————————————————- Thanos and his army are dusted away. Leaving you surprised and still swinging as the shock wears off.
You won. You. Won.
And you lost.
You lost Tony Stark. The man you’d barely known, but offered you clarity that will stay with you forever.
You lost the Natasha you’d come to know over the five years that Yelena was gone. Some parts of the redhead stripped away for the price of the stone.
But she’s still here. Waiting in the wings to be greeted by Yelena and their little makeshift family. You share a look of understanding when your eyes meet over the blonde’s shoulder.
Others come, Banner refuses to leave her side. Despite the fact that Natasha doesn’t remember him.
Clint falls to the ground at her feet. Breaking down at the sight of his friend, his family alive and well. She doesn’t remember him either, but welcomes him into her arms somewhat awkwardly.
Her expressions flicker from happy to overwhelmed. Hesitant to open herself up to the possibility that she is wanted, needed and loved.
Too confusing for the girl who only remembers the red room. Adjusting to this life will take time.
Everyone begins clearing out, their jobs finished. Rushing home to reunite with their loved ones. Tomorrow will bring about new challenges. The world is in shambles, and so are you.
Steve decides that he should be the one to return the stones. His goodbye tells you that he has a bit more in mind. But this is his life. His choices, not yours.
“Well, I guess we should head out too.” You say after a while. Your car is gone, lost in the wreckage from the explosion.
The setting sun is eclipsed, causing all of you to turn your gaze upwards just in time to see the ship’s door open.
“Is that a raccoon?” Melina asks, pointing toward Rocket.
“Do you want a ride or not?” Rocket shoots back.
“Not the avenger’s super jet, but it will do huh?” Alexei smiles, this is his dream.
“This is better!” A man’s voice carries down from the interior.
“Well,” Yelena shrugs, “if you say so.” She leads the pack up the ramp and onto the ship.
“Fanny and the pigs will be expecting dinner soon.”
“How are they?” Melina asks, “have you been taking care of them.”
“That was me!” Alexei says proudly, bending at the waist to gather Natasha into his arms. “Aye honey,” he grunts, hoisting her up. “You are only little girl in my heart.”
Nat pushes against his chest in retaliation.
“Do you mind if I hitch a ride too?” Clint asks.
“The extra stop will cost you,” Nebula stares blankly at him from her seat.
“They always do.” He remarks, trotting up the ramp.
Bruce paces at the foot of the metal grate, watching the rest of you load up. “I gotta hang back, make sure Steve gets there in one piece.”
“After what happened with Scott the first time I’d say that’s probably the best bet.” You agree, standing near the entrance.
“Yeah,” he smiles, kindly. “Keep me posted on Nat, will ya?”
“I will,” you return the smile.
“I’ll see you around.”
You nod, “I’ll see you.”
The captain of the ship introduces himself as Star-lord, and after a moment without response, Quill.
“Any requests?” He asks, finger hovering over the control panel.
Alexei creeps over to the younger man, quietly relaying a message.
“Alright,” Quill nods. Stroking the keys until a familiar set of notes ring out.
“A long, long time ago-“ The singer croons.
You let out a chuckle.
“I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, that I could make those people dance. And maybe they'd be happy for a while.”
“We’re really doing this?” Yelena puts a hand to her head, the corners of her mouth turning upward.
“But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step.” The melody carries on.
“It’s your song.” Natasha turns to her sister.
“I can't remember if I cried. When I read about his widowed bride.” Melina’s eyes are far away, carried back to their years in Ohio. Before the world had been so cruel.
“Something touched me deep inside, the day the music-“
“Died.” Yelena joins in, lulling her head to the side to gage your reaction.
You sigh, all of this beyond surreal. But you allow yourself to live in this moment, because you might not get another. “So bye, bye Miss American Pie…”
“Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.” The roaring chorus of voices fills the silence you’ve grown used to. Fills the parts of you that were empty for so long. “And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye. Singin', “this’ll be the day that I die.”
“This’ll be the day that I die.” Yelena sings, her face alight with a childlike glee.
——————————————————————-
Melina, Natasha and Alexei stay with you for a while. A few weeks as Natasha heals and becomes acclimated to her life.
She claims to hate the attention, but deep down you know she’s full of it.
The Ohio house is bursting at the seams with five adults, nine pigs and one dog.
That isn’t enough to keep visitors at bay. Namely Clint, his wife Laura and their three children.
Things feel a bit off when everyone begins moving out. Alexei, Melina, and their pigs return to the farm outside of Saint Petersburg.
Natasha finds herself drawn to New York, with Bruce and the makeshift building he’s using as a lab.
You adjust to the steady thrum that is daily life, with Fanny and Yelena.
After dinner you load the dishwasher, drying your hands on the nearby tea towel before selecting a cycle.
“So how does it feel?” Yelena asks, leaning against the doorframe.
“Hmm?” You turn to face her.
“Being a hero.” She clarifies, a smile playing at her lips.
“I’m not-“
“Oh cut the crap, Y/N. You saved the world.” Yelena narrows her eyes at you.
“I did it for you.” You say simply, because it’s true.
Yelena closes the space between you, “why?”
“You know why.” You whisper as she cups your face in her hands, gently stroking her thumb over your cheek. “It’s ok if you wouldn’t have done the same.”
“I’d do more for you, and worse.” She assures you. “But do you really want to spend the rest of your life fumbling around feelings in the dark when you could have someone who-“
“I want you. I only ever want you.” You beckon her closer. “Anyway I can have you, that will be enough for me.”
Sometimes wires get crossed and you want things you never have before. And she provides them before you have a chance to ask. You give back to her tenfold, so that neither glass is ever empty. That is love. True love, the only way you’ve ever known it.
“I am yours…in every way a person can belong to another.” Yelena breathes, “and then some.”
Series taglist: @jeyramarie @freeshavocadoooo @ilovewinter101 @3and30aresoultwins @yelenabelovv @miphas-trident @1800-fight-me
If you loved this series as much as I did, you can check out the prequel here!
#yelena belova x reader#yelena belova#marvel fanfiction#black widow fanfiction#black widow#yelena belova fanfiction#yelena belova imagine#yelena belova x y/n#natasha romanoff x you#natasha romanoff fanfic#natasha romanoff imagine#yelena belova x you#yelena belova x female reader
269 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hunter X Unwell Reader
Plot: Hunter takes care of the reader as they've fallen ill.
Warnings: Detailed description of being unwell accompanied by a lot of fluff.
--------------------------
Loved
Upon waking, you realized how quickly your heart was beating and how hot you felt. Everything seemed to hit you at the same time, the temperature you appeared to be running made you feel like you were on Tatooine wearing all of the gear you usually wear during missions on Hoth. Your head alone made you wince, shutting your eyes as it grew sharper and more tense - your entire body felt fragile and weak and you were certain that you wouldn't be able to get yourself out of bed without falling. Then again it must be worth a try? Your throat felt dry and coarse, the feeling making you feel like you could die without it. Attempting to sit up, you pulled your legs out of bed and placed them upon the floor - that previous pain you felt really kicking in now as if it hadn't already.
"Kriff." Your voice mumbled, a sharp pain accompanying it. Pushing yourself up with what remained left of your energy, your body threw itself against the closest wall to keep your body from falling. Quickly Pressing a button on the doors control panel, they finally opened so you could drag yourself into the Havoc Marauders hallway. Your legs began to shake as they held you up and you knew that you wouldn't be able to hold yourself up much longer. "Hunter?" Your gentle-toned voice rang out, worry and fear coating it. Being unwell has always been a struggle for you due to constant thoughts filling your head saying that you'd only get worse and end up dying. Heath anxiety was always a nightmare to deal with and you lay all your thanks to Kamino for giving that to you. Rapid footsteps come closer and closer toward you, completely grateful for the sound as your legs give out resulting in you falling in what felt like slow-motion. Waiting for the hard floor to greet your body, which strangely never came, your eyes opened to see Hunter's worried gaze as you realised you were now in his arms completely vulnerable and weak. They had never seen you like this before, you had never called out for help as you were always making sure that their reckless selves didn't get injured or hurt.
"Y/N!" Hunter spoke, "What's wrong?" Closing your eyes, you hesitantly laid your head against his shoulder with your breaths completely ragged.
"Not well." You managed to croak out, whimpering a little at the wave of pain that engulfed your body. Hunter nodded and began to rush back with you to the cockpit where all of the other members were working on their own individual projects. You had definitely woken up late as all of the others never woke up as early as you did, at the sight of them you knew it was early into the afternoon.
"Tech," Hunter breathed, "Run a med scan for y/n stat." Tech turned in his seat at the never-before heard request for you, the others staring at you completely terrified. He soon stood, running the device over you before gazing at the information he had received.
"They have the flu." Everyone turned to him with puzzled and worried looks that intertwined. They were clones, they rarely got sick but when they did it was absolute hell. "The flu is a common Illness among humans which features a fever, aching body, exhaustion, cough, sore throat, headaches, loss of appetite, stomach Pain and being sick." He took a deep breath in, "It's a short term illness that will resolve itself in all due time, about five to seven days. Since y/n grew up on Kamino though, this may be one of the first times they're unwell, meaning that everything will feel one hundred times worse. Hunter gently sat down, keeping you against him as he used his fingertips to thread through your hair something you were usually too proud to let him do but you really needed this right now. Whilst leaning into his touch much to his joy, you attempted to speak.
"No... No tests." Echo looked over at you completely sympathetic, knowing how Kamino must have poked you with every needle available to see how illness affected you. You used to be an experiment for them to see how they could Improve their clones and if anything it just damaged you instead rather then improving them.
"No tests, Mesh'la." Hunter reassured you continuing to thread his fingertips through your hair, feeling your forehead against your burning temperature. "I promise." His gentle promise seemed to soothe and calm you straight away as you hid your face against his neck.
"How can we help her?" You heard Wreckers voice pipe up, he was always so sweet and fun to be around so when that serious tone drained away his usual laughs you couldn't help but pout.
"Plenty of liquid and food, especially rest and medicine which we will have to retrieve from Ord Mantell." Echo nodded, gazing over at Hunter who couldn't look away from your fragile form clinging to his body for any kind of comfort. "We need to do a Supply run anyway so we can collect it with ease."
"Would you mind staying, Hunter?" Echo questioned as he stood to gather any necessities for the supply run they decided to go on. "I think it's best for one of us to ensure they're safe." Within a heartbeat, Hunter had agreed as the others left to gather everything needed. Now it was just the two of you, leaving Hunter who was more than happy to take care of you. Lifting you up, he carried you to his bunk to softly lay you down under blankets and placed a cold cloth on your forehead that he retrieved from the fresher for you.
"Don't go." He had heard you whisper, a moment of clarity washing over you as you shifted a little to turn to him clinging to the pillow that smelt like him. A chuckle left his lips as he sat on the bed with you.
"I won't go anywhere, y/n." Those words alone gave out immense comfort before you pulled back the blankets for him to cuddle with until things stopped hurting as badly. Once he had cuddled back down with you, holding you delicately in his arms he began rubbing soft Circles against your back. "When they get back I want you to take the medicine and make Sure You drink plenty of water and have a little something to eat. Understood?" His words were more like soldier-talk, but you understood he did that when he was stressed or worried. A simple nod was returned by you before you hid against the warmth of his chest beginning to get some well-needed rest.
"Y/n…" A softer voice spoke which made you wince and furtherly hide against Hunter's chest, gripping his blacks. "Mesh'la, you need to take your medicine…" Opening your eyes, you Peeked above the comfort and safety of Hunter's blankets and his body - clearly not impressed that you were awoken by them.
"They seem angry..." Wrecker spoke, a little spooked at your angered expression.
"They will be." Hunter chuckled, his thumb running across your cheek causing you to melt into his touch with a smile.
"They've woken up to us needing them to take medicine, waking them from what relief sleep offered from y/n's flu." Tech gently crouched so he could see you clearly, Showing you a glass of water and a tablet. "Please take this, Cyar'ika." Nodding at his gentle tone, you took the tablet and water much to their glee.
"Good job, Mesh'la." Echo spoke with a Smile, "We will leave you both be. Shout for us if you need us okay?" Hunter thanked his brothers before turning back to face you, wiping some water away from your mouth.
"Why don't you sleep now y/n?" He smiled, pressing a kiss to your forehead as your eyes began to shut - excited for some relief from your aching body. "You'll feel better soon, I won't leave your side." His Previous kiss soon moved to your cheek as he held you even closer, protecting you from everything and anything. "I love you." With that, you finally drifted off with a smile, entirely in love with everything about The Bad Batch. Despite being unwell, you knew that you were free from the past and got to enjoy a well deserved future filled with people you loved and people who loved you too.
120 notes
·
View notes
Text
the poppy war - r.f kuang sentence starters
change tenses/pronouns as needed !! some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying
tw : drugs , death , murder , nsfw , prostitution mention , language
‘take off your clothes.’
‘why would anyone drug themselves before a test?’
‘you’re about to be a very lucky girl, sweet.’
‘wow that’s great. really great. Terrific.’
‘your folks are assholes.’
‘well fuck the heavenly order of things.’
‘don’t you have actual responsibilities?’
‘I don’t want to get on _____ ‘s bad side.’
‘you would make a terrible prostitute. no charm.’
‘what is so wrong with getting married?’
‘do you want to die?’
‘everything is spilling out of my head as quickly as I put it in.’
‘please do not commit spousal homicide.’
‘give me a way out of this shithole.’
‘hello, I’m praying.’
‘I seduced him with my nubile young body. you caught me.’
‘you can’t scare me into a confession, because I’m telling the truth.’
‘and that means you’re shit at your job.’
‘if you cross them—- if they even think you’ve looked at them funny—- they can and will hurt you.’
‘it’s easy to lose a language when you never speak it.’
‘you’re offending them with your very presence.’
‘they’ll make you an outsider, because you’re not like them.’
‘no matter what they say, you deserve to be here.’
‘I’ll kill you. I will fucking kill you.’
‘I went out in the sun once. you should try it sometime.’
‘oh, you’re the one ____ hates.’
‘you’d be a prick too if your family was both rich and attractive.’
‘honestly? I think he just comes in here to get high.’
‘I think you’re flattering yourself.’
‘unless you’ve got a weapon, don’t aim for the face. the neck’s a better target.’
‘we aren’t here to be sophisticated. we’re here to fuck people up.’
‘this is the only kick you’ll ever need, really. a kick to bring down the most powerful warriors.’
‘power dictates acceptability.’
‘he hasn’t done anything to earn my respect. all he’s done is act high and mighty.’
‘you’re nothing. you shouldn’t even be here.’
‘consider me bullied and intimidated, just let me sleep.’
‘he’s playing with her. he’ll end it soon.’
‘they’re good at fighting, but not much else.’
‘spend a lot of time looking at ____’s eyes do you?’
‘a betrayal of that sort would not have been out of character.’
‘come on, you belong here too.’
‘they’re not going to get rid of me like this. not this easily.’
‘I’m calm! I’m extremely calm!’
‘you’d rather kill your own people than let the opponent’s army walk away?’
‘you don’t let an enemy walk away if they’ll certainly be a threat to you later.’
‘he can’t stop raving about you.’
‘oh, don’t pretend to be bashful. you love it.’
‘you’re a walking disaster.’
‘anyone this obstinate deserves some attention, if only to make sure you don’t become a walking hazard to everyone around you.’
‘I heard he got drunk on rice wine last week and pissed into ____’s window. he sounds awesome.’
‘it’s me, your favorite person in the whole wide world.’
‘I do not have a problem. you are making up this problem for reasons unbeknownst to me.’
‘you’re killing the mood.’
‘they were weak as shit. scrawnier than you, even.’
‘you’re a real asshole. you know that right?’
‘your state of mind is just as important as the state of your body.’
‘sometimes you must loose the string to let the arrow fly.’
‘because I want to break his stupid face.’
‘he’s the most dangerous when he’s desperate.’
‘from this point on you’re just going to be a danger to yourself and everyone around you.’
‘you’re too reckless. you hold grudges, you cultivate your rage and let it explode, and you’re careless about what you’re taught.’
‘I knew I was the only one that could help him.’
‘they honed his rage like a weapon, instead of teaching him to control it.’
‘one urinating statue for my easily entertained friend.’
‘I don’t believe in gods. but I believe in power.’
‘one might say you’ve been obsessed with ____.’
‘don’t look to your left. pretend you’re taking to me.’ / ‘I am talking to you.’
‘we’re studying very weird things.’
‘I don’t actually know what I’m getting into.’
‘here is what happened: you called a god, and the god answered.’
‘you know that if you don’t get answers now, the hunger will consume you and your mind will crack.’
‘you’ve glimpsed the other side and you can’t rest until you fill in the blanks.’
‘supernatural is a word for anything that doesn’t fit your present understanding of the world.’
‘I’m supposed to take it as true that you’re a god?’
‘I’m not a god. I am a mortal who has woken up, and there is power in awareness.’
‘are we getting high? oh, wow. we’re getting high.’
‘ah. the law. so inconvenient. so irrelevant.’
‘we are not madmen. but how can we convince anyone of this, when the rest of the world believes it so?’
‘the price of power is pain.’
‘I understand the truth of things. I know what it means to exist.’
‘prey do not question the motives of the predator. the dead do not question the living. mortals do not challenge the gods.’
‘I killed for you. I would have done anything for you.’
‘I have seen the end of things. the shape of the world has changed.’
‘war doesn’t determine who’s right. war determines who remains.’
‘it’s alright. I know what you are.’
‘I thought I was the only one left.’
‘we have developed the power to rewrite the fabric of this world. if we don’t use it, then what’s the point?’
‘I don’t mess with that shit. it screws you up.’
‘I understand the appeal, I really do, but I like having my mind to myself.’
‘he’s a charmer. like a new puppy. you think he’s adorable until he pisses on the furniture.’
‘there’s no routine. no discipline. nothing you’re used to. am I right?’
‘so you’re the last of your kind. that’s sad.’
‘If you hold the fate of the country in your hands, if you have accepted your obligation to your people, then your life ceases to be your own.’
‘____ feared, and so he held you back.’
‘great danger is always associated with great power. the difference between the great and the mediocre is that the great are willing to take that risk.’
‘don’t ever let go on that anger. rage gives you power. caution does not.’
‘don’t give in... you’ve been so brave... but it takes more bravery to resist the power.’
‘the nature of this god is to destroy. the nature of this god is to be greedy, to never be satisfied with what he has consumed.’
‘so. screaming at rocks. is that, like, normal behavior here?’
‘fix this. prove your worth. do your fucking job or get out.’
‘I saved your life. doesn’t that make us at least a little square?!’
‘I was scared of you. and I lashed out.’
‘I thought I was better than you, and I’m not. I’m sorry.’
‘when I killed it, it felt like murder.’
‘look, I’m happy to discuss this, really, but I’m currently leaking life out three different wounds and I think I may pass out. would you give me a moment?’
‘well maybe ____ should get his head out of his ass.’
‘ ____ is more fragile than you think.’
‘look, asshole, I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’
‘they say he can read the future. shatter minds.’
‘you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. I am not your friend.’
‘he’s not human. he—- I don’t know what he is.’
‘but ___ was never allowed to be human.’
‘do you trust me?’ / ‘no. but that’s irrelevant.’
‘you don’t know what true suffering is.’
‘I have seen more than my fair share of suffering.’
‘that boy is beyond redemption. that boy is broken like the rest.’
‘I don’t want to be saved! I want power!’
‘that power will destroy everything you’ve ever loved. you will defeat your enemy, and the victory will turn to ashes in your mouth.’
‘we’ve missed something. something’s been laid out for us, but we can’t see it.’
‘fretting won’t make the dead come back to life.’
‘there was nothing human in those eyes.’
‘It was a nightmare, and I couldn’t wake up.’
‘I don’t need your pity. I need you to kill them for me.’
‘whatever it takes. swear it on your life. swear it for me.’
‘I won’t judge him. I don’t dare, because I don’t have the right. and neither do you.’
‘you asked me why I wouldn’t stop him. now you understand. you can’t stop an avenger. you can’t reason with a madman.’
‘I am afraid of what he might do in his quest for vengeance. and I am afraid that he is right.’
‘I am about to do something terrible. and you will have a choice.’
‘they give nothing to the universe, and the universe owes them nothing in return.’
‘you cannot survive my death.’
‘you’re trying to deceive me. you don’t get to deceive me.’
‘this is not the way. this path leads only to darkness.’
‘when are you going to stop being such a damn coward? what are you running from?’
‘you will turn the world to ash, and only demons will live in the rubble.’
‘you dress up your crusade with moral arguments, when in truth you would let millions die if it means you get your so-called justice.’
‘you have not cared about anything for a very long time. you are broken.’
‘I am terrified. but only because I’m starting to remember who I once was. don’t go down that path.’
‘your country is ash. you can’t bring it back with blood.’
‘I’m so sorry. I tried to warn you.’
‘you know the worst part? we’re so close to home.’
‘did you miss me? did you miss this?’
‘I just gave him some of his favorite medicine.’
‘resistance here means suffering. there is no escape. no future.’
‘you have nothing to fight for anymore’
‘what are you defending? you owe ____ nothing.’
‘we were disposable. we were tools. tell me that doesn’t make you furious.’
‘I am sick with fury.’
‘I will die on my feet. I will not die a coward. and neither will you.’
‘we could stay here. we could stay here forever. we wouldn’t have to go back.’
‘you’ll have to live with the consequences. but you’re brave ... you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.’
‘I have lost everything I care about. I don’t want peace, I want revenge.’
‘I don’t need to sleep. I need to feel nothing.’
‘do you want forgiveness? I can’t give you that.’
‘we avenged him. he’s gone, but avenged.’
‘you have to believe that it was necessary. that it stopped something worse. and even if it wasn’t, it’s the lie we’ll tell ourselves, starting today and every day afterward.’
‘aren’t you supposed to be a seer? do you ever see anything useful?’
‘we have an enemy whom we love.’
‘I’m going to find and kill everyone responsible. you cannot stop me.’
‘oh I’m not going to stop you.’
#rp prompts#literature prompts#literature sentence starters#sentence starters#rp meme#rp sentence starters#the poppy war sentence starters#the poppy war prompt#the poppy war meme
249 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
kinkyfeline69
KinkyFeline
wonyoiz
red
xraeg
İsimsiz
tamicagoreeus
Tamica goree
thatonepromptblog
That One Prompt Blog