#Ana watches Political Animals
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Best Live Action Short Film Nominees for the 96th Academy Awards (2024, listed in order of appearance in the shorts package)
This blog, since 2013, has been the site of my write-ups to the Oscar-nominated short film packages – a personal tradition for myself and for this blog. This omnibus write-up goes with my thanks to the Regency South Coast Village in Santa Ana, California for providing all three Oscar-nominated short film packages.
If you are an American or Canadian resident interested in supporting the short film filmmakers in theaters (and you should, as very few of those who work in short films are as affluent as your big-name directors and actors), check your local participating theaters here.
Without further ado, here are the nominees for the Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s Oscars. The write-up for this year's Documentary Short nominees is complete; expect the write-ups for Animated Short soon. Films predominantly in a language other than English are listed with their nation(s) of origin.
The After (2023)
From Netflix, Misan Harriman’s The After is perfectly adequate during its opening minutes as business father Dayo (David Oyelowo) plays along with his daughter, Laura (Amelie Dokubo), as they travel to meet her mother, Amanda (Jessica Plummer). Everything following those first few minutes is, charitably, a filmmaking disaster. Once a black-clad attacker stabs Emily and tosses her off a bridge. Though Dayo and a few other bystanders have successfully restrained the murderer, Amanda, in dismay, throws herself off and commits suicide. Fast-forward a year later and we see that Dayo has left his previous jobs and now works as a rideshare or taxi driver in London. In between ferrying passengers to and from their destinations, he listens to the final voicemail from Amanda, gazes longingly at a family photo, and reminisces about the past.
The After lost almost all of my goodwill after the horrifically staged murder scene (from which the film never recovers). Grief – how one processes it, the stages it takes, how it affects our relationships with others, and any residual trauma – is en vogue in modern short filmmaking. Way too many films touching upon this subject have little to add – cinematically, thematically – for the audience; the most worthwhile films in this subset will filter grief through a specific cultural lens. The After accomplishes neither, despite Harriman’s claims that his screenplay, co-written with John Julius Schwabach, took the Black Lives Matter movement and the isolation of COVID-19’s height as inspiration (the murderer is not a police officer nor is there an implied racial animus; there are no signs of the pandemic here). The final scene, involving a family that Dayo is transporting to their posh home, is unbelievable tripe – contributing nothing to this dreadful exploration of grief. The placement of Birdy and Rhodes’ “Let It All Go” is sheer musical tastelessness. All that remains is David Oyelowo’s performance and, no matter how much he splays out his body in sadness, this film needs more than that to save itself. It might not even have a prayer.
My rating: 4/10
Red, White and Blue (2023)
Going into Nazrin Choudhury’s Red, White and Blue, I suspected, with a title like that, that there was some political bent to the film. I may have detected its messaging later than I would like to admit, but that is not where my significant reservations towards this film lie. Somewhere in present-day Arkansas, single mother Rachel (Brittany Snow) works at a diner afternoons and evenings. She often has her two children, older sister Maddy (Juliet Donenfeld) and younger brother Jake (Redding Munsell), over after school so she can watch over them while she works. After a generous tip from a customer, Rachel (whose fridge magnets hold layers of unpaid bills) forms a plan to take Maddy on a short road trip northwards, leaving her brother temporarily in the care of a family friend. It seems strange that she is only taking one of her children on this trip, but – in a shocking plot twist – we learn that Maddy (who, if this short takes place in its release year, is ten years old) needs an abortion.
In 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, found that having an abortion is not a constitutional right, overturning years of precedent in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). Effectively, this turned abortion regulation over to the states. Arkansas was among those states that made abortion illegal. The outrage stemming from Dobbs v. Jackson was Choudhury’s impetus to write and direct Red, White and Blue. Politics and cinema have intertwined ever since Vitagraph Studios filmed a series of propaganda shorts in support of the Spanish-American War in 1898. But Red, White and Blue commits the age-old mistake by prioritizing its messaging over cinematic craft. Dull lighting and camerawork, merely satisfactory performances, and a lengthy driving-musical montage that does little for characterization or narrative make for an awkward, stilted viewing experience. Its reveal is an extreme situation that could have been just as powerful if Choudhury instead used a more pedestrian example.
My rating: 6/10
Knight of Fortune (2022, Denmark)
Also known in its native Danish as Ridder Lykke, Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s film is rich with Scandinavian humor. In other words, absurd situations amid dark or tragic moments – your enjoyment may vary. The film, available via The New Yorker for American, Canadian, and Mexican audiences, features the elderly Karl (Swedish actor Leif Andrée), who has has just arrived at the morgue to see the body of his late wife. He purposefully delays opening the casket to view his wife’s body by attempting to fix a flickering light nearby and using the restroom. In the restroom, he encounters his next-stall neighbor, Torben (Jens Jørn Spottag), also there for his respective decedent wife. Karl continues to avoid seeing his wife’s body by accompanying Torben into the room where his respective wife’s body lies. If the shenanigans regarding the broken light and the bathroom stalls were not already an indication, this is no conventional narrative about grief (yet another nominee about grief!) as Knight of Fortune further plunges into the absurd. Andrée and Spottag – neither of whom have had significant credits in films distributed beyond Central Europe – are both fantastic here, imbuing the relationship between Karl and Torben with pathos despite the peculiar situation.
Noer, who also wrote the screenplay during a time of personal loss, reminds audiences that grief takes numerous forms, and refuses to pass judgment on any of the grieving characters. The humor is never at the characters’ expense either. What makes Knight of Fortune valuable is its depiction of a grieving man who will do much to postpone his final goodbyes and permitting the audience to laugh (as laughter, strange as it may sound, has a place in grieving). Andrée’s performance and Noer’s direction and tonally controlled writing allow the audience to empathize easily with the protagonist’s plight, amid the unfamiliar and cold glare of the morgue’s flat lighting and its eerie quiet.
My rating: 8/10
Invincible (2022, Canada)
Vincent René-Lortie’s Invincible qualified for the Academy Awards by winning Best Live Action Short at the 2022 Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Despite CICFF’s moniker, this is not a short appropriate for younger children. Here, we follow fourteen-year-old Marc-Antoine Bernier (also known as just “Marc”; Léokim Beaumier-Lépine in a terrific lead performance), as he has just spent a weekend with his family on an idyllic leave from a juvenile detention and rehabilitation center. Now, back within the center’s gates, Marc has made a critical decision. Before that fateful moment, René-Lortie allows us glimpses of Marc's life at the juvenile detention center: Marc’s attempt to cause havoc to his cell’s fire-extinguishing sprinkler system, a class in which the students share the poems they have composed, and the joys of swimming in the outdoor pool. Soon after, Marc-Antoine escapes. While on the run, he steals a car and commits suicide.
At the top of the end credits, René-Lortie reveals that this film is a tribute to his late friend, Marc-Antoine Bernier, and Invincible is a retelling of his friend’s last hours. According to interviews, René-Lortie and the Bernier family are unsure whether or not Marc’s death was an accident or a suicide. Whatever the case, Marc was clearly troubled.
René-Lortie uses a 4:3 aspect ratio to “entrap” our protagonist in the frame, but, disappointingly, he does little else with the Academy ratio. In yet another missed opportunity in an otherwise fine film, René-Lortie fails to submerge the viewer into Marc’s psychology (René-Lortie is absolutely not framing his friend as unknowable), which makes some of Marc’s actions less understandable in the moment. Nevertheless, René-Lortie deserves plaudits for this sensitive tribute to his absent friend.
My rating: 7/10
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
Since it has been some time since I last reviewed a Wes Anderson movie, I must admit a bias: I am an Anderson skeptic. Not a popular position to take, but the aesthetic rigidity of Anderson’s movies has only served to take me out of his movies emotionally. One of Anderson’s principal aesthetic influences, director Yasujirô Ozu, also made films that were just as aesthetically rigid. But Ozu’s style, with an unmoving camera and naturalistic acting, never interferes or undermines the emotions he tries to evoke.
Not so with Anderson, as evidenced in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a 39-minute Netflix production based on Roald Dahl’s short story of the same name. With partial narration from Ralph Fiennes playing Roald Dahl, Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) happens upon a book recounting a Dr. Chatterjee’s (Dev Patel) observations of Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley), who can see things without using his eyes. Inspired by this account, Henry, a serial gambler, decides to learn from Imdad’s meditations and, after almost four years, learns how to read playing cards just by examining their backsides. Eventually, Henry, realizing he has not much time to live, donates his considerable blackjack winnings to children’s hospitals and orphanages.
What I appreciate most about Henry Sugar is its dedication to presenting itself as set-bound. Anderson’s 4:3 screen aspect ratio and off-Technicolor palette combines with stagehands immaculately wheeling parts of the set on- and off-camera for when the story requires it. This takes immaculate blocking and a keen eye for movement – something Anderson clearly has in spades. However, where some are claiming Henry Sugar to be the cinema’s response to audiobooks, I must digress. Henry Sugar adapts the entire Roald Dahl text, and it often seems as if Anderson is intentionally having his actors rush through the material in order to keep the film under the forty-minute limit that defines a short film. There is little to no room for thespian interpretation and inflection as they enunciate the text. For me, this is only slightly better than reading Dahl’s text in a monotone voice. If the production design was not so impressive, this would be an otherwise insufferable experience.
My rating: 7.5/10
^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.
From previous years:
85th Academy Awards (2013)
87th (2015)
88th (2016)
89th (2017)
90th (2018)
91st (2019)
92nd (2020)
93rd (2021)
94th (2022)
95th (2023)
For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.
#The After#Misan Harriman#Red White and Blue#Invincible#Nazrin Choudhury#Lasse Lyskjær Noer#Vincent René-Lortie#Wes Anderson#David Oyelowo#Brittany Snow#Juliet Donenfeld#Léokim Beaumier-Lépine#Ralph Fiennes#Benedict Cumberbatch#Dev Patel#Ben Kingsley#Oscars#96th Academy Awards#31 Days of Oscar#My Movie Odyssey
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Earlier this year, "Cow," Andrea Arnold's heart-rendering documentary about a sweet-faced bovine, living her life at a (reasonably) compassionate dairy farm in England, was released to significant acclaim. Though animal lovers might have viewed it as a film about the continued exploitation of farm animals for human profit, Arnold herself tried to keep her own feelings on the subject out of the text, as it were.
She wanted to make a film that was balanced (hence, her choice of a small, non-conglomerated farm, where the workers actually seemed to take care of the animals), not a direct political statement. When it was released, she said she wanted to represent the life of such a creature, and the price that they pay in service to human demands.
I kept coming back to that idea, the behind-the-scenes suffering of living things in order to provide what people want, while watching Andrew Dominik's take-no-prisoners film "Blonde," based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, about the life of Marilyn Monroe (played by Ana de Armas), one of Hollywood's most famously enduring movie stars, and the heavy price she paid to give studios, executives, husbands, and movie audiences what it is they wanted.
#sweet smell of success#ssos#piers marchant#movies#films#arkansas democrat gazette#blonde#andrew dominik#marilyn monroe#ana de armas#joyce carol oates#Bobby Cannavale#adrien brody#Xavier Samuel#evan williams
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Washington Post reporter Ben Terris just went ahead and asked it: Tim Scott, are you a virgin? Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks. https://shoptyt.com/collections/justice-is-coming Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live Read more HERE: https://www.mediaite.com/weird/reporter-asks-tim-scott-if-hes-a-virgin/ "It’s interesting which details and interviews re-emerge about a presidential candidate as they announce their run for office. Washington Post reporter Ben Terris remains in the process of writing his soon-to-be released book The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind. The book is described on Amazon as a profile on Washington power players who have tried to navigate the raucousness and political upheaval DC has seen in the last several years." *** The largest online progressive news show in the world. Hosted by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian. LIVE weekdays 6-8 pm ET. Help support our mission and get perks. Membership protects TYT's independence from corporate ownership and allows us to provide free live shows that speak truth to power for people around the world. See Perks: ▶ https://www.youtube.com/TheYoungTurks/join SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE: ☞ http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=theyoungturks FACEBOOK: ☞ http://www.facebook.com/TheYoungTurks TWITTER: ☞ http://www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks INSTAGRAM: ☞ http://www.instagram.com/TheYoungTurks TWITCH: ☞ http://www.twitch.com/tyt 👕 Merch: http://shoptyt.com ❤ Donate: http://www.tyt.com/go 🔗 Website: https://www.tyt.com 📱App: http://www.tyt.com/app 📬 Newsletters: https://www.tyt.com/newsletters/ If you want to watch more videos from TYT, consider subscribing to other channels in our network: The Watchlist https://www.youtube.com/watchlisttyt Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey https://www.youtube.com/indisputabletyt Unbossed with Nina Turner https://www.youtube.com/unbossedtyt The Damage Report ▶ https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport TYT Sports ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytsports The Conversation ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytconversation Rebel HQ ▶ https://www.youtube.com/rebelhq TYT Investigates ▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNJt9PYyN1uyw2XhNIQMMA #TYT #TheYoungTurks #BreakingNews 230522__TB03TimScottVirgin by The Young Turks
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Political Animals Ep 4: oh god, here we go
-“I love you, Mama.” He just wants people to be proud of him.
-okay, please play the piano in your briefs all the time, thank you. And omg his sexy drawl of a voice
-“Last December he was really happy”😭 baby. (Just take my heart already)
-Like, Dear Sebastian, you play these type of characters incredibly. Actually, any character you play is incredible.
-UGH this is why he attempted to take his life isn’t it? Because of that politician dude? broke his heart....this is my prediction at the moment.
-oh. Okay. That flashback scene “you’re the most important woman in the world and you won’t help me!?” 💔💔💔💔💔💔
That was fantastic acting.
-BABY
-I really don’t like the uncle from Kings in this one either. Fred. That’s his name.
-Poor Ann.
-poor TJ. God dammint.
-oh my heart.
-💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
-my poor heartbroken cinnamon roll. 😢
-like..:he just wants support and to be loved and he was so genuine and happy and that stupid ass douche bag was the one who broke him. Ugh.
-also, it just hit me that Sebastian has acted with Sigourney Weaver. That’s amazing.
-I mean. I don’t need a heart, that’s fine. Nope. No heart. God, I’m tearing up right now.
-TJ😢💔😢💔😢💔😢💔😢💔
-this episode, oh my god. Oh god oh god oh god
@buckisthatyou @pietro-t1me WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT I’M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION.
MY BABY
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“KINDRED”, 2 - Tommy Shelby x Reader
Summary: Tommy meets a librarian that he discovered to be the chief of an underground organisation. Needing man enough allies to dirty their hands in the battle against Oswald Mosley, he shakes hands with the devil. Feelings intertwine with business, a mix that leads to unalterable ends...
Warnings: Swearing, romance, fluff.
Word Count: 6K+
❰ Previous Chapter
(...)
Several days later.
You were walking London’s street with the confidence of someone that ruled the place. Your back, straight, your head high as the air moved your hair gently, as if you were starring in an old Hollywood movie.
Your suit fitted you perfectly, a little loose so you were comfortable. You were wearing the jacket closed, one hand in your pant’s pocket as the clicking sound of your high heels resonated against the cobblestones of the empty streets.
It was early in the morning, so early the thick mist nearly extinguished the cigarette hanging on your red painted lips, but your gaze was already as determined as one can be.
‘This day will be great’ was the mantra you were singing in your head. You were supposed to open the library in less than an hour now, and you had to meet with your new employees to discuss the rules before opening.
You thanked God some of them were already a part of your organisation, which made it easier as they knew the way things needed to be done under your management.
Entering the building, the women were already waiting, in uniform and standing in a perfect line side by side.
You offered them a warm smile coming closer to them as you took your woollen coat off.
“Misses and Madams, let me welcome you to the Bridgehead Library. Now, you may or may not know me, I’m Y/N, you, strong fighter for women’s rights & aspirant to a world where we would walk the streets unafraid of any danger. Because we know how it is, for those of you that are single moms, for those of you that were disowned by your own family, those of you who don’t want to get married.”
You paced back and forth in front of the aligned women, looking at each one of them straight in the eyes, as talking with a firm and confident tone.
“You’re not taken seriously, you’re misused and abused. You fear the barmaid will not serve you a drink cause no man stands on your side, you fear the man that is staring at your body will be lurking in the shadows, following you, and rip off your clothes when you’ll be in an empty street.”
You stop in front of a face you saw in the files of Thomas Shelby while doing some research on him. You identify the individual as Ada Thorne, born Shelby, Tom’s sister.
“Well, you should know, for as long as you're willing to work here, none of the things mentioned before should ever happen to you. And your family will be fed and more... I guarantee you fifteen pounds a week. If anything… A-ny-thing may happen to you due to your gender, consider turning to Bridget, we will find a solution.”
You motioned to a blonde-haired woman sitting legs crossed at the principal desk to their right. Her hair was middle length and perfectly waved to one side as the other was tucked behind her ear.
The named Bridget glanced up to you before colliding her lit matchstick with her cigarette.
“You’re under my protection, use my name for doing whatever pleases you, whenever you want. This is your ticket to a brand new life, for all of you. And all of us, together, we can achieve great things. If the counsellor job isn’t enough for you, I invite you to turn to Ana.”
You pointed a brunette on your side, her facial expression was passive & aggressive, but for some reason, it was comforting. As if you knew you were in security in her presence.
“Now, as for the library…” You gave your instructions.
As soon as you finished your speech, it was 7, the hour of the opening.
The day was slow at the beginning, but soon enough the library was packed. Not only by people here to find a book, but packed with numerous women, all in a single file that led to a small room at the back of the first floor that had been designated as Ana’s office.
It was almost impossible for Ada not to wonder what was going on.
Were all these women wanting to find another job than counsellor?
All employees tried their best to keep quiet the visitors, following your orders, but as Ada was passing by the single file to pick up and put back books, she could hear murmurs.
The individuals were talking about politics, but something so far from what she had ever heard.
Some were talking about the tragic death of a certain Emily Davison before the war at the Derby Epsom and how they rallied the WSPU(Women’s Social and Political Union).
Others were talking about a recent speech by Emmeline Pankhurst to which they couldn’t assist due to coppers. The Shelby sister surmised that woman must be the leader of the political party given the amount of respect they paid her.
No need to say Ada was drowning in a tide of data and names she vaguely heard of before.
She didn’t pay that much attention to the women’s cause. Even after the death of her Freddie, after which reality smacked her back into the world she was living in.
It was either her family or her convictions, as being a Shelby meant drifting from the oppressed to the oppressor. But she was so focused on not being a Shelby that she closed herself to other opportunities.
She wanted to be a part of something bigger and better to help those in need. But she ultimately admitted to herself she needed her family in order to survive, which led her to jump off the communist boat.
But a part of her was always keeping her beliefs close to her heart.
(...)
*The library, fourth floor*
You turned the keys in the lock, opening your door’s office. You switched on the light and when turning back, stumbled on a man sitting crossed legs, at the edge of the sofa.
When he was sure he made his presence known, he lied backwards, extending one of his arms on the armrest, his head held high.
He was dressed in an elegant dark blue suit, white shirt, the chains of his watch knotted around one of his buttons with a fine red & blue tie around his neck.
Right above his upper lips was a full mustache, and as your gaze reached his dark eyes, you glimpsed the stranger’s neat hair flattened backward.
“What a surprise.” You let out, walking to the desk as if it was normal for him to be here. You then hung your coat on the coat rack, turning your back at Mosley.
“A good one, I hope.” The man put on his fake smile, lying eyes everywhere he could on the woman’s silhouette in front of him.
“Always, Mr Mosley. How could you be any other thing than a pleasure to see,” you came back to where he was and sat in one of the armchairs ahead “and meet.” You added, offering him a smile.
“It’s a shame we never had time to properly exchange--”
“That’s why you crept into my office.” You cut him and nodded to herself, your knuckles hitting on her thigh.
A chuckle escaped the man’s lips before he stared even more at the light-haired woman.
“It is to be said, your name doesn’t get quite unnoticed in society or amongst politicians.”
“So you’ve heard of me, even more charming.” Your voice dripped with sarcasm.
If he thought he could cajole you that easily, he was wrong.
“Not only have I heard of your deeds, Miss you, but I’ve been reported daily about the people you keep company with.” He stated as if it was normal for him to send people spying on whoever.
You remained silent, waiting for the man to say more.
He was gauging your reaction towards his words, lurking at any sudden change in your expression, but you kept on an unreadable face. Mosley tilted his head to the side, curiosity animating his iris.
“Leading me to question the nature of your relationship with Mr Thomas Shelby.” He continued, squinting his eyes.
“Perhaps socialists are your thing?” He spitted that last part with all the distaste he felt toward both the worker class and Tommy.
By the way your piercing eyes didn’t flinch a bit at his sneaky comment, Mosley surmised you weren't impressed, which eventuated in him smiling while keeping up the stare.
“Did you come all the way down to my library to give me a lecture on your inauthentic Dasein, Mr Mosley? There are doctors for that.”
A rictus at the corner of your lips distracted the eyes of the man in front you, who unwittingly broke the stare.
You won.
You took great delight in the void of Mosley’s expression that surely didn’t understand what you just said.
“Oh, beg pardon. Perhaps I’m using concepts you don’t understand.” You didn’t even cover the fact you were making fun of his ignorance, your eyes still as sharp as razors.
“Don’t you know Heidegger, Mr Mosley? He discusses a neat difference between what he calls Sein, that covers what Is, what constitutes human existence with the Dasein that covers the phenomenological analysis of human existence. In other words, he says there is a gap between how things are and how we perceive them.”
You got up and walked to your desk, making sure to pass by him pretty close so your perfume would meet the man’s nostrils.
You then opened the ceramic piece in which you kept your cigarettes, and as you grabbed one, you concluded.
“When it may seem to you something is occuring, that doesn’t mean it’s actually happening. It just means your senses want to believe it is happening for numerous reasons, but the main one is almost always the fear of something. You don’t believe it wittingly of course, it’s your inconscient working. But still, you just confided in me an unconscious worry named Thomas Shelby.” You ignited your cig.
By using a psycho-philosophical reference, you were showing him your hand, how studious you were, which meant he couldn’t look down on you or intimidate you easily.
His attempt to pressure you wasn’t working. And you were setting the standards high.
Mosley didn’t miss any of your movement since you got up. Eyeing you top to bottom. It was crystal clear your monologue satisfied him the most. He, that considered you as illegitimate of the high-society status you had been given.
Perhaps he was wrong?
“May I add, no offense here, that whatever concerns him, or me doesn’t concern you a bit? I’m afraid you came here in vain.” You smacked her lips at the end of her sentence, faking to be annoyed by the fact he lost his time coming here.
“I found you, Miss Y/L/N, I found you.” He repeated, fluttering his eyes as tilting his head to the side.
His way of intensely eyeing the individual he was speaking to would be quite uncomfortable for you if you hadn’t been a woman in a man’s world for so long.
No wonder why this man was so feared and yet adorned. His whole character emitted mysteriousness while arousing wonder and curiosity. It was hard, nearly impossible to read his face or even get in his mind, but you didn’t need that to face him head-on.
“And to answer your question, no. Socialists aren’t my thing, Kings are.” His brows raised at the end of your sentence.
You stared at each other some more, Mosley trying to discover the implied meaning of your sentence as you were internally laughing seeing him struggle.
“Anyway, I hope you’re finding our city to your liking. You’re from Birmingham after all.” He paused and got up, walking closer to the door with a hand in his pants pocket.”Talking of which, may I ask why not opening in a library there?” It was obvious the displeasure he felt towards your decision.
“I’ll call it ‘modern conquering’.” You responded with enthusiasm.
(...)
Ada poured wine into two cups when hearing the keys turning in the lock of her house. She first thought it was Ben, her lover coming back from his office, or wherever he was working as they weren’t truly speaking of work when together.
Her eyes widened at the sight of her brother when she turned back to the entrance of the living room. “Tommy?” Her high pitched tone expressing her surprise.
“Let’s sit down, Ada.” The man always looked worried and thoughtful, but this time it was different, his eyes were actually reflecting emotions, which usually never are.
“What’s happened”
Tommy came nearer the table and pulled a chair for his sister, without looking at her. “Sit down, eh?” He repeated before sitting down himself.
Ada didn’t stop looking at her brother, she knew him too well. Something wasn’t right. She pulled a chair for herself.
Tommy tried his best to look at the face of his sister while talking but he just couldn’t, his eyes kept drifting away. “Ben younger is dead. Someone put a bomb in his car.”
As the brunette wasn’t talking, her mouth slightly opened in shook, he kept on talking, “I don’t know how you felt about him or how bad this is going to hurt, but whatever happens just remember you have a baby inside of you.” He pointed to her tummy.
His sister let her back hit the chair noisily, searching the void for answers. “God.” She hardly sighed. “Anyone you touch. Which means anyone I touch. Which means anyone any of us touch. He never knew I was pregnant… I hadn’t told him.”
Tommy that was looking at her to support her pain, once again looked down hearing the hard truth.
“God, I didn’t love him.” She sighed heavily. “But I liked him. He was decent and good. And I wasn’t gonna marry him. The baby was a mistake but that’s okay… because I didn’t ask anything of him. God he didn’t deserve us.” A tear rolled down her cheek before she exhaled loudly again.
“Well I’ve spoken to his family. They’re going to take care of the funeral” Tommy said as Ada sniffled. “It will go down as an IRA assassination of a British military officer.” He felt the need to divulge her all he knew.
“But what was it really?” She calmly asked, looking intently at him her head tilted to the side.
Tommy smacked his lips and breathed deeply. “It was… a consequence of good intentions. My good intentions.”
She scoffed.
“I pushed him to report on the fascists. I thought it was the right thing to do. And as a result, Section D or the Branch or intelligence had him killed.”
She scoffed again, looking away this time.
He abruptly took back in hands his beret he previously dropped on the table and started fidgeting with it, looking down. “There was a kid, died in the explosion. He was ten years old. It’s funny isn’t it, how it works?” He cleared his throat and got up, starting to move forward the door.
“No, Tommy.”
He stopped, his back still turned to the woman.
“Don’t give yourself this excuse. “ Ada’s eyes were filled with tears, some of which hurtling down her face to her chin.
“He was ten years old. if I would stuck to what I do, he’d still be kicking a ball in the street. It’s funny isn’t it?” The meaning of his words was amplified by the thunder rumbling outside.
(...)
Days later.
It was the end of the day, employees had started to leave when Ada came to the entrance.
“Can I get the changing room keys?” She asked Bridget, who was sitting behind the desk, lost in a book.
“Ada Shelby? Miss you would like to borrow you a moment.” She pointed to the stairs behind her. “She’s waiting for you.” The desk lady invited the woman standing in front of her to get on her way.
Ada rolled her eyes at the mention of the Shelby name. “It’s Ada Thorne.”
The light-haired woman smiled at Ada’s comment.
She got up to the second floor and then to the third one before she wondered what her boss had to say that somebody else couldn’t tell her.
Ada rapidly caught sight of the wooden door at the end of the long corridor. She stops walking when hearing voices, a male and a female one. She stops, not wanting to get into their intimacy, but the door wasn’t completely closed, which allowed the voices to slip out pretty clear.
Not too long after she heard steps approaching and moved backward, so it didn’t look like she was eavesdropping. The door ultimately opened, and the fascist man she saw only once before with Tommy passed by her, without even glancing her way.
She knocked on the door and cleared her mind.
“Come in.”
She cleared her throat. “Miss Y/L/N, am Ada Thorne, you asked to see me?” She peek into the room.
“Yep, come in. Take a seat.” You motioned your hand that was holding a cigarette to the chair in front of her.
Her back flat against the backrest, your E/C’s eyes entered those of the Ada’s.
You were searching for the same light that was twinkling in Thomas’ eyes, in vain.
“Do you know who I am, Ada? I can call you that, right?”
“I heard about your achievements in Paris. What you did for women.” The brunette answered, uncertain of where this discussion was going.
“Do you know what I do?”
At the question, the woman ahead of you didn’t know what to answer.
Was there even a correct answer for that?
Of course, she knew part of her activities was illegal, she wasn’t blind. And, come on! She was a Shelby too, she could feel those things thanks to her brother’s choice of life.
But what her boss wanted her to say, exactly? And for what reason?
“You’re talking about the illegal part?”
“The criminal one” You snapped back.
Ada’s eyes widened.
“I surmised you didn’t. Why did you think there were that many women in here today? I offer them jobs in my London’s counterfeit money’s enterprise.” You leaned forward to Thorne, squeezing the cig into the ashtray.
You crossed the fingers of both your hands together. “You don’t really want to work here.” You forced out the words as if to convince Ada.
“Understand this library covers an underground organisation that is beyond you. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re not particularly involved in the “business” of your own family. Tommy gave you a title in it but still, you’re here, working in a library to prove yourself something.
Why would I want someone like you in here? Someone that is unsure of what they are, what they want.”
The venom entered Ada’s ear going directly to her chest, depriving her of oxygen for a short instant. But her eyebrows surely knitted in anger.
“Stop acting like you know everything when it is clear you understand nothing.” She gained composure again.
“I heard, you didn’t even want to be a Shelby in the first place, running away from your home and your family.” You nodded, your eyes still deep into Ada’s.
“You ‘hear’ things and you take it as the absolute truth? And you’re the leader here.” Thorne chuckled to herself, her eyebrows raised high.
You sneered at the comment.
“What is the problem with my family anyway? If you want to fire me because I’m a Shelby then just do it. I’ll not come burning your library if that’s the matter.”
The librarian cackled, putting your head into your joined open hands, elbows on the table. “God! No! That’s not that. It is more about the fact that the first time you’re getting involved in that kind of organisation it’s not your brother’s. Not your family’s.”
Ada looked away, realizing what the light-haired woman meant. She, who never was included in the family business, rather by choice than by abandonment of her family, was employed in a pseudo library that was covering for dirty activities.
“It’s ironic indeed. But what makes you think I wouldn’t want to work here knowing the truth?”
You shrugged. “You never worked with your brothers. Even your aunt, Polly is actively working there.”
“It was my choice.”
“So you’ve changed your mind.”
Ada dismissed the talk, another question seeming to be more urgent:
“But why didn’t you just let me be unaware of all this and be like the others.” She retorted.
“Because you’re not ‘like the others’. You’re a Shelby and a Thorne. Your brother is sitting at the House Of Commons amongst politicians while getting his hands dirty here and there, and your deceased husband was a very known communist leader. You’re everything but random, understand that.”
“So you’re telling this to me out of goodness?” She laughed at you without even hiding her reluctance toward this eventuality.
“Respect.” You rectified with a solemn tone.
The brunette stops laughing, her expression becoming serious again. She didn’t quite get your the true motives, but she had other questions.
“What are your relations with my brothers, are you enemies?”
“No.”
“Allies, then?”
“No.”
Even if you told Ada about the true roots of this library, she wouldn’t talk about the arrangement between her and Thomas. It wasn’t your place to do so, and you didn’t think Ada needed to know, at least for now.
“It’s not like you’re going to get your hands dirty anyway, but if anything should happen to me, they will associate you with me, so they’ll come for you.”
“Who’s they?”
“Coopers, I don’t have them in my pocket.”
Thorne seemed to be in her head, probably rethinking her intention to keep working here as a counsellor.
“You were already working here with the old owner so I’ll let you choose rather you want to stay or leave. But don’t stay because you want to prove something to yourself, or your family. I don’t need a crybaby. If the communist cause you defend isn’t matching with the cause I fight for, leave.”
Your words cut in pieces the thick atmosphere that had settled between the two women.
(...)
Thomas convened a family meeting.
Everyone was already waiting for him at the pub. Charlie Senior and Curly were sitting at a table drinking from the bottle, while Johnny Dog and Jeremiah were sipping on whiskey at the counter, next to Aberama Gold, too occupied looking at his future wife Polly.
She were sitting at a table with her son and his wife, Gina.
As Arthur and Finn passed the door, the oldest Shelby got behind Michael and didn’t miss the occasion to stumble wittingly on his cousin’s chair, pulling away the younger’s back from it.
Next, he hassled to sit near the counter, pouring himself some liquor that he drank in one go. Finn reluctantly came and sat at the table between Gina and Polly.
Tommy finally arrived, walking around the table to place himself in front of everyone.
“First of all, an apology from Lizzie. She can’t be here. Charles has a violin concert. Also, welcome to Mr Aberama Gold. He and Polly are to be married in three weeks with my blessing. From now on, Aberama will be welcomed at our meetings. First item: business. A bereavement. Colonel Ben Younger, who may perhaps have become a member of this family, was taken from us, four days ago, by dark forces. We’ve made some investigations, we think we know who planted the bomb. In the meantime, our thoughts are with Ada and the baby inside of her, who may one day, sit at these meetings but… Hopefully under happier circumstances.”
“Let’s drink to happier circumstances.” Pol’ offered while pouring some whiskey in her and Tommy’s cup.
“Yeah.” Arthur agreed, raising his glass. “To Ada.” He added, soon joined by all the people in the room.
Tommy coughed at the burn of the whiskey and continued his speech, “Item number two: an announcement regarding Michael.” He coughed again as if to release some tension in him, his hand rose toward the younger Gray.
“Before you go on, Tommy, there’s something I’d like to say, to the whole family directly, regarding finances and the future of this company.” Michael stated, getting comfortable in his chair, and from the corner of his eye, he could see his mother glaring at his wife.
Gina ignored her, looking down and smoking a cigarette.
“According to your own estimations, this new venture of the delivery and shipment of opium will bring into the company around £2 million per year. Therefore, due to the amounts involved, I think this company should be restructured.” He continued, looking fearlessly at a pissed Tommy.
“Michael. I think this can wait ‘till outside the family meeting.” His mother tried to postpone the confrontation.
“Restructured in what way?” Tommy asked, not because he was genuinely interested, but because he needed to know if Michael’s betrayal had limits. Which it didn’t have.
“Because of the amount of money involved, shipment and dispatch will become the primary source of income in the company. It’s simple mathematics.” Gina proudly announced, deciding to match her husband’s audacity as she looked Thomas the wrong way.
Her husband got up, going behind her as he placed his hands on both her shoulders rubbing them gently. “With the help of my wife, I will organise an expansion into America, where the narcotics business is just beginning to grow. I have very good contacts in Detroit, New-York, Boston, who I’ve already spoken to about this. And Gina has family who are very experienced in this kind of business.”
It seems like the woman surely gained composure thanks to the assurance in her husband’s voice because she finally decides to look back at Polly, who was staring at her the whole time with an unpredictable longing to plant her butterfly knife in her.
Gina, quickly glanced away as if to snub her husband’s mother.
“According to the conversations I’ve had with them, with a regular supply of pure opium from China, within a short space of time, the American narcotics business will bring in $20 million per annum. Enough money for you to enjoy an easing burden you all now feel. See, I know that the scars and the wounds, they’re on the inside, not on the outside. And as a member of the new generation, I am able to take that burden off your weary shoulders. A new decade is coming. There’ll be new opportunities and new territories, more money than we’ve ever had before.”
He stops looking around to everyone to pause on his cousin only.
“Tommy, you can still do the good work that deep down you want to do. Mum, you can get married and live in that big house.”
Polly happily glanced at Aberama, letting herself dream of a good life for a second.
“Arthur, you can be the man that Linda wants you to be.”
“Fuck Linda.” Arthur interrupted.
Michael turned to Finn, walking toward him to rest behind the seated man, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it proudly.
“Finn, you’ve proved yourself. You’re part of the new generation. You could come to New-York with me.” Michael finished his speech. His wife handed him a file that he gladly took in hands. He walked to Thomas and dropped the file on the table that rested between them two.
Tommy’s eyes went to the file before lifting to Michael’s determined face.
“Here is my proposal. A full restructuring of the company. I will be managing director… and you can be non-executive chairman. But under an assumed name to protect your reputation. I found the name of a dead man. You will be registered as Mr Jones.”
He turned toward the other people in the room. “You will each receive a percentage of the profits as an annuity. And you will no longer have to engage in any of the associated activities.”
Michael then grabbed the file to hand it to Tommy.
“Take a look at the future, Tommy. At least read it with an open mind.”
The head of the Peaky Blinders paused, looking at Michael intensely before taking the file. “It’s cold in here, Michael.” He finished, turning to the fireplace and throwing the catalogue there.
Johnny Dog let out an excited laugh, surely due to the heavy atmosphere the two cousins had settled.
“Tommy the Americans want to deal with me.” Michael’s jaw tensed as his voice raised with impatience.
“Item number three--” Continued Thomas as if nothing happened. But he was cut off by Gina’s venom:
“Tell him the truth.” She seemed unsatisfied with the way his husband chose to handle the situation. Tommy’s eyes hassled toward the young woman, speechless. “Go on. He can take it.” She continued.
His eyes went back to Michael that looked away, immediately, as if he didn’t want to come to this end.
“Tell me the truth, Michael.” Tommy encouraged, exasperated by this whole scene.
“The Americans don’t want to deal with an old-fashioned backstreet razor gang. Those days are done.” Michael gained composure again, looking blankly at Tommy.
The latter couldn’t even correctly react that some men entered the pub, needing some help to handle Bartley, who was convinced he was still at war. Everybody got out of the room in a hurry except for Michael, Gina, Tommy & Pol’.
Passing by Michael to get out, Arthur leaned to his ear slowly, “Fuck the Americans.”
Tommy turned around, hand on the wooden piece as he was leaning above the fireplace, looking intensely into the orangish flames.
“I’m doing this for you Tommy. It’s time… And you know it.”
The concerned one, closed his eyes taking a deep breath in and tried to calm his nerves and think. But nothing came to him, he couldn’t even properly swallow how much Michael’s betrayal had extended, the worst was that he was sure, it wasn’t the end of it. His cousin probably wanting to take everything from him slowly he surely voluntarily omitted things.
“Tommy, Mum’s leaving. John’s dead. Arthur needs help. Ada’s man was killed in your own backyard because you fucked up.” Now that there weren’t people to impress, Michael let the anger he felt toward his cousin’s actions.
The elder blue-eyed man couldn’t stay calm a second more, he abruptly turned around, grabbed the bottle of whiskey that was on the table and violently threw it in the fire, creating the flames to only grow bigger. Gina was scared, she held her chair with tightened hands and Polly and she jumped with surprise on their chair.
He turned again to Michael as the latter held him a butterfly knife already open.
“Go on, Tom. Go on cut me. Like the good old days. Or… See this for what it is. A natural succession that someday must happen” His arm going down again.
At this point, the Shelby brother had calmed down, finding funny the proposition he was offered. His lips smacked and breathed deeply, looking at anything but his opposant. He shook his head in disbelief, “I gave you an opportunity, Michael. You betrayed me. Don’t be here when I get back.” He looked at his younger cousin, deceived by him and angry at himself.
After losing $2 millions in the Wall Street crash., Tommy gave him an opportunity to come back to England and pay him what he owed him, but even there, in the boat, Michael met with people that are Shelby’s family enemy. When that happened, Tommy gave him the benefit of the doubt. And now this? Michael went too far, and this time Tommy will not close his eyes on it. The only reason his cousin was still breathing was that he's Polly’s son.
He walked around the table and addressed Gina, smacking his fingers as he pointed her, leaning forward. “You. You can tell your family--”
“Let me guess.” She interrupted him, the same satisfying face she had at the beginning of the meeting. “Don’t fuck with the Peaky Blinders.” That wasn’t a question.
Michael grinned, as Tommy quickly got out of the pub.
“Right?” Gina mockingly asked.
(...)
Tommy was spending most days at the House Of Commons lately doing speeches in favor of fascism to the greatest pleasure of Mosley.
That day, he was there from early in the morning to the evening. It was already around 10, but his assistant opened the door to his office, saying someone was there but without having an appointment.
“Who it is?” He asked, raising a brow, one of his hands went in his pocket to check on his watch.
“The librarian.”
It’s been nearly two weeks since your last meeting and at the simple mention of you, he would find his blood boiling in anticipation of the wave of feelings you brought him.
His pulsions talking for him, the Shelby brother ordered to let you in without questioning why you were here that late.
“Mr Shelby, you asked me to get information about a certain Michael Gray?” You came in like a tornado, your voice filled with sarcasm mixed with enthusiasm as you were the one pushing him to act on his cousin’s betrayal weeks ago.
How ironic was it that he had to learn the hard way you had been right since the very beginning, you surmised something must’ve happened between the younger gray and him given the determined words he’d written on the note he left at the library sat in one of the two chairs facing his desk. “No time for formalities.” You agitated the folder in her hand.
He almost gasped at your movements, he had forgotten how sensual you were.
Whenever they would meet, you would succeed to arouse something in him, maybe even igniting a fire that couldn’t be found when you weren’t around.
“You might want to read that!” You nodded to yourself, your brows raised high as if you detained the most important information of the decade.
“You do me the lecture.” His playful tone made you look up to him. Your head tilted at the sight of the glasses hanging on Tommy’s nose as you released a little “huh” from your lips.
He squinted his eyes, not knowing why the actual fuck did you do that. Did you just judge him or was he dreaming?
He took off the glasses and placed them on the table, not wanting to deal with that face you just made again, all while remaining silent and invited you to begin.
You clicked your tongue in disapproval. “Do you think it’s going to be free, Mr Shelby?” You looked intensely at him, your own eyes devoid of emotions.
He hated the fact you were able to just erase your emotion from your face and your eyes as he desperately wanted to see things in them. But him being him, he too put on an expressionless face.
“What do you want?”
“Everything, but you can’t give that to me. So I’ll just answer ‘whatever’.”
He frowned, not understanding her point.
“When I’ll need something, you’ll be answering present without the option to say no.”
He remained silent, quite taken aback by how forward you was. His jaw clenched, tension building up in the room. If stares could send lightnings, they’d both be nothing but a pile of ashes by now.
Reading his silence, you deduced it means he was alright with the deal and proceeded to answer his previous wish, do him a lecture.
“It is written here that Gina Gray’s family isn’t rich, but they weren’t starving either…” You begins. You then allowed a sweet “bla-bla-bla” to come out your lips as passing over the words searching for a specific part.
Tom didn’t miss your deeds a bit. From the enthusiastic tone in your voice to your serious face. He looked at the way your were sitting, legs crossed with the file on your thighs as you was slightly leaning forward.
No wonder your were excited to show him your findings while handling business like a boss. He caught himself thinking your were cute.
It was the first time he’d seen your that commited. He’d seen you focused, but you were always passive whereas now, your seemed completely into what your were talking about.
“The part that interests us is this one ‘Has an uncle that meets up at the docks several times a week with a group of people being a part of the drugs industry. It seems they cover their activities by the image of a protestant group and illegally sends rifles under God’s cause to our beloved Scottish friends, in other words, the Billy boys. And this, on a daily basis.”
You patted the paper.
“It is written here, they counted around 6 boats per month, Tom.” You raised your kindling gaze to the icy blue-eyed man.
He paused, his lips slightly opening before sliding a hand on his face and looking down.
It seems Tommy didn’t believe what he was hearing.
He leaned on the desk and opened the wooden box where his cigarettes were.
His back harshly met his chair as he stared at the woman, blinking.
“I’m serving it on a plate, to you, Thomas.” You”d serenely let out, as if you understood him without having him saying anything. “Just deal with it.”
“How much do you trust this contact?”
“I trust him with my life.” You responded.
With this partnership, he didn’t proceed the same as usual by offering something in return. He didn’t have the time to give you a proper offer that you'd already started to work in favor of his plan against Mosley, so this relationship was more based on the trust they have into each other rather than a commun exchange of services.
Today was the first time you’d ask him to return the favor, and it was today as well that the man had to wittingly choose to trust her blindly.
He coughed and lighted his cig, and put an elbow on the wooden desk as he was still deeply in thoughts.
You got up, moving slowly and leaned on the desk, hands flat on it, her face not even a centimeter away from his. “If you don’t trust that,” you pointed at him and then at you, “end it.” You finished.
The mood automatically shifted due to the tension that has quickly installed between the two individuals.
Not for even one second did you imagine things to get this sensual. Here you were, desperately searching other's eyes out of each other’s grip.
Tommy’s eyes hungrily drifted to your lips, and stayed there more than it should’ve.
You moved back and turned your heels, leaving the room.
Too much in too little time. This. What that even was, and what did it mean?
This was the reason why you never got emotionally involved in business . But that was different now. But for you, that always kept the idea that the past wasn't supposed to repeat itself, the present was slapping maybe too hard.
Thank God you succeeded at getting out, not because of Tommy, but utterly because of yourself. If you had stayed so much as one second more, you didn’t know what you would’ve done, or maybe you did know but preferred to bury it away.
It was easier that way.
Following Chapter ❱
#Tommy Shelby#tommy shelby x reader#tommy shelby x y/n#thomas shelby#thomas shelby fanfic#thomas shelby imagine#thomas shelby x reader#thomas shelby x y/n#Peaky Blinders#peaky blinder#peaky blinder imagine#peaky blinder fanfic
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“Farid! I thought you didn’t celebrate Halloween.”
“I don’t! I just...well, Saffron was telling me that Hogwarts hosts a party every year, and I couldn’t help but wonder how you all celebrate Halloween when you already dress like witches and wizards all year ‘round -- I mean, Malik used to always go hardcore on helping his friends with their costumes every year...but I guess magic probably helps out a lot, huh? A-anyway, I heard you and Dylan and Saffron were going, and Dylan and Saffron helped put a costume together for me in case I wanted to come, so...”
“(laughs) I thought I recognized that shirt! Well, trust me, it looks a lot better on you than on my brother. Nice ears, by the way.”
“Th-thanks! I did my best...though I reckon Malik would’ve made them better, he’s great at this stuff. ...You...look really nice too.”
“Thanks -- but you don’t have to be polite. I’m sure it’s a bit more revealing than you’re used to.”
“W-well, yeah, it is revealing, but -- well, it’s still pretty. And you look pretty -- I mean...you look pretty great, in it. Pretty cool.”
“Nice save.”
x~x~x~x
Hey guys! Last Halloween season, I did a set of three art pieces for my kids at the time (Carewyn, Jackson, and Ana) with their love interests, all dressed up as characters from some of my favorite animated movies! So this year I decided to continue this tradition, with the first installment in this set being my newest MC, Farid Sikander, dressed as Ian Lightfoot from Pixar’s Onward, and his future wife, Reva Amari @lifeofkaze, dressed as Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin!
When brainstorming ideas of who to cast Farid as, I briefly considered Wart from The Sword in the Stone, so as to make a light reference to The Green Knight, which is a movie Dev Patel stars in...but honestly, not only did I find The Green Knight kind of underwhelming when I actually saw it, but when I remembered Ian, I realized it was a much better match for Farid’s character. My favorite aspect of Onward as a film is hands-down the brotherly relationship between Ian and Barley, and Farid is definitely the less self-confident, anxious Ian to his big brother Malik’s bold, passionate Barley. For someone who never really had a very good father figure in her life, it meant a lot to me, to see a film acknowledging that that absence doesn’t have to mean you miss out on the important things. Who helped me learn to drive? My mum. Who had heart-to-heart moments with me? My mum. Who laughed a lot and cried a lot with me, and supported me, and protected me? My mum. And like Ian, even though I’ve never had that father figure in my life, my life is far from incomplete. There were those who have loved me and helped fill in those gaps.
Reva I likewise fought with myself about. The two final choices were Merida from Pixar’s Brave and Jasmine, and although I originally liked the thought of contrasting Pixar characters...Jasmine, quite honestly, is one of my absolute favorite Disney female characters ever, and I just thought Reva would look so bad-ass dressed like her! When I was a kid, I adored watching the Aladdin TV series (which Disney+ has seen fit to NOT add to its roster yet 😒), and I absolutely loved watching all of the epic adventures Aladdin and Jasmine would get up to with their posse, exploring all sorts of cool places and facing off against all sorts of creative bad guys. And yeah, considering Reva's a rebellious sort with a passion for flying, I figured she’d suit a sassy, freedom-loving princess who regularly flies around on a Magic Carpet! (Plus admittedly, Jasmine’s got pants. Even if I’m not as athletic as Reva and thus wouldn’t be as confident showing off my midriff, I would 150% wear those pants, they look so friggin’ comfy.)
Happy Halloween, everybody! Hope your night is magical! 💛🎃💜
#reva's favorite holiday is actually halloween too so yeah she was ttly thrilled to see her crush actually taking part a little#even if because farid is muslim he doesn't really celebrate halloween#he's just going because it's a costume party no other reason *nod nod*#and his friends are there so#farid sikander#reva amari#my art#hpma#magic awakened#dylan amari#saffron summers
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Violet Evergarden: the Movie Review
Okay I’mma keep this short cuz WTF was that ... This is gonna be more of a rant than a review tbh. OBVIOUSLY SPOILERS OF THE MOVIE AND OF VIOLET EVERGARDEN IN GENERAL
I was hyped to watch this movie cuz I had been waiting to watch it for FOREVER. The movie only came onto Netflix recently, and idk why I just didn’t watch it on my illegal anime website or anything. I’ve only watched Violet Evergarden through Netflix.
And ... I hated this movie. Cuz what the fuck. Character development? GONE. Plot holes? EVERYWHERE.
Okay lemme just explain the gist of what happens in the movie. The movie is told in this like flashbacky type of thingy, like reflecting on the life of Violet, but tbh I wasn’t that emotionally invested in Ana’s daughter or whatever, it lacked a lot of sincerity idk. So this whole flashback/reflection aspect didn’t really matter.
The real beef of the story, and of course what anime-only Violet Evergarden fans were all waiting for was ya know, WAS THE DUDE ALIVE OR NOT??? Well we get our answer. No shit he alive. But this fucking movie made me wish he was dead. Yep it’s Kaze Hikaru all over again, where I’m wishing my faves just died because it somehow would have made the story BETTER.
Okay so yeah the Gilbert guy somehow miraculously survives that whole thing that happened and is obviously separated from Violet since she ran off. Ignoring the obvious plot hole of how tf he got outta there and was able to get medical attention and all that, he ain’t got his dog tag anymore, so when peeps find him, they don’t know who tf he is, but that brings up the extra plot hole of wouldn’t they recognize his army uniform and what country it was for??? IGNORING THAT TOO, he gets better and just .... DECIDES TO FUCK OFF TO AN ISLAND???????????? Mans literally ran away from his responsibilities as the head of the family, being a commander, Violet, all of that, and just lives on this small town on an island????? AND he told no one too that he was alive, even though he had the complete ability to head back into civilization or ya know just send a letter or whatnot. So literally his whole family, friends, EVERYBODY think he dead fr fr. And ya know how I said this was like a flashback thingy? So yeah mans parents and everybody went to their graves thinking he died like wtfffff.
Also while he stayed on the island, since he didn’t contact anybody or do anything, he had no idea how Violet was doing either, mans just left her to fuck off and fend for herself like HUH???? AND THE WHOLE MOVIE AT THIS POINT IS JUST HIM REFUSING TO SEE HER WHILE VIOLET IS TRYING SO HARD TO SEE HIM???? They deadass only talk face to face at like the last ten minutes or so of this goddamn movie. AND THE WORST PART IS THAT SHE FUCKS OFF TO THIS ISLAND TOO????? All that character development in the TV, everything about her developing emotionally and learning to live without the Gilbert guy?? BYE TO THAT YALL LOL The moment that she properly reunites with Gilbert she decides to live with him on the island and basically runs the post office there. And it’s just so damn weird and random feeling cuz the movie makes it like “yay everyone is happy and it’s so cool and Violet was loved and awesome.” but like ... sis already gave up her damn arms for this guy and now she gave up her whole life basically and her whole growth just to stay with him. I am so damn fucking DONE.
And what makes me even more mad is like THE LIGHT NOVEL ENDS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I haven’t read the light novel itself, but based on a bunch of people’s reviews and commentary, it looks like in the light novel, same thing Gilbert is alive and all that, but he’s actually been supporting Violet secretly in the shadows this whole time, making money as well as keeping his position as the head of the family and protecting Violet from being used in politics/military. And ya know IT’S NOT A SECRET THAT HE’S ALIVE IT’S JUST A SECRET TO VIOLET IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE YEAH SHE DOES EMOTIONALLY GROW AND WHATNOT. So like, in this one, he had a genuine reason to not see her, and their reunion made sense, he met her when she was matured and more understanding of the world and such. While in the anime, he refuses to see her out of like shame??? For the whole running away part???
I’m just so done, and I feel so robbed of what this anime could have been, especially knowing what the plot actually was in the light novel. The anime movie reverses all of Violet’s growth and absolutely changes her and Gilbert’s personalities. Like it genuinely baffled me how someone who cared SO MUCH about Violet just didn’t even bother to check how she was doing for so many years???? And how he was so responsible and caring but said fuck my family and friends, let them all think I’m dead! It was so bizarre and out of character and just overall nonsensical. And the fact that Violet didn’t GAF about that at all and just went to live with his pisses me off. I’m so done and I can’t believe my memory of such a beautiful and emotional anime series is muddled and made bitter by this movie.
IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET THEN DON’T. I REFUSE TO SEE IT AS CANON.
I should add though, that I LOVE KYOANI. And I’m aware the development and production of this movie was delayed due to the tragic arson attack. I am in no way criticizing the movie on that sense. The animation, the music, and all the “elements” of the movie were still excellent. It’s just such a shame that they didn’t follow the plot of the light novel.
#violet evergarden#anime#anime movie#violet evergarden the movie#anime review#shoujo#shoujo anime#romance anime
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tagged by @thebusylilbee (thanks blop!!)
1. what do you prefer to be called name-wise? ana is good!! only my fam use my whole first name, although i’m using it more professionally now
2. when is your birthday? like a fortnight ago haha
3. where do you live? finally back in melbourne after maaany years away 🤙 feels weird but good!!
4. three things you are doing right now? drinking a smoothie, watching drag race down under, scrolling through tumblr
5. four fandoms that have peaked your interest? these days the only fandoms i’m in are hannibal and the terror and (to a lesser degree) lotr, but twin peaks has definitely peaked (haha) my interested now that i’ve started
6. how has the pandemic been treating you? it’s a lot better than it was when I was in europe earlier in the pandemic. here in victoria we’ve just been in another short lockdown which sucked but i’m not actually complaining since life’s been basically normal otherwise
7. a song you can’t stop listening to right now? ‘I lied’ by lord huron and alison ponthier
8. recommend a movie: it’s been 2 months since I watched cronenberg’s eastern promises and I haven’t stop thinking about it since. never thought I’d like it but it’s fast become a new favourite
9. how old are you? 25 🤙
10. school, university, occupation, other? taking time off before I got for a phd so rn I’ve just been getting settled back in australia and taking on small projects (working with multicultural NGOs, writing articles, etc)
11. do you prefer heat or cold? heat... i miss summer so much rn
12. name one fact others may not know about you: I have both terrible and excellent luck with road accidents, in that I’ve been in a concerning number of car crashes (5 at least?), was hit by a car as a pedestrian AND was in a motorbike crash, but the good luck kept me safe from anything more than a few bruises/scratches and whiplash lol
13. are you shy? definitely not
14. preferred pronouns? she/her
15. biggest pet peeves? picky eaters (specifically when it’s bc they don’t want to try other cuisines), rudeness or impoliteness (especially to workers),
16. what is your favourite “dere” type? this is some old tumblr anime thing right?? I have no idea lmao
17. rate your life from 1-10: idk what I’m doing with my career rn but life still a good 8 I reckon, I’m pretty happy
18. what’s your main blog? this one!
19. list your sideblogs and what they’re used for: @dinokink for funny posts and memes, @daysinarcadia for aesthetic stuff
20. is there something people need to know about you before becoming friends? idk just be friendly and fun and we’ll be good. I don’t have a whole lot of patience for people being standoffish or overly-polite ig
I tag @pendraegon @btvs @fisherwill @enlightenedromantic @lesmiserabelles and @orpheuslament (but no pressure!) <3
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°˖✧ Studyblr Introduction ✧˖°
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𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦! ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ
𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 3 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘣𝘭𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘗𝘋 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵. 𝘔𝘺 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩. 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘣𝘭𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 \(^ヮ^)/ .
𝘚𝘰 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘺𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 3 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
About me
You can call me Ana (you can even give me a nickname if you want (´ ε ` ) 💜)
I'll turn 16 this year. I'm a 10th grader and an aspiring medical student.
From India
Demiromantic and Bi-curious Ace || she/ her || Libra || ENFJ 2w3 || Ambivert
I've high functioning bpd (boderline personality disorder)
I can drink 3 cups of coffee and go straight to sleep and this is just one example of what is fundamentally wrong with me as a person
Learning to love myself
I'm a good listener
It's never too cold for ice cream
Your local therapist and comedian friend (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
Gryfinndor // Cabin Athena (#6) // Divergent
BTS Army (V biased but I love them all)
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
The classes I'm taking this semester are:
English
Bengali
Science
Social Science
Maths
IT
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
Interests
I try my hand at drawing from time to time
I like taking pictures and capturing moments in my camera
I go for trekking every year
singing and listening to music
I love love reading
Procrastinating
Daydreaming
Making scenarios in my head 24/7
Romanticising life
Binge watching kdramas and cdramas
Fangirling over kpop groups
Fooling around on Picsart,
Intersectional feminism and world politics,
Greek and Roman mythology,
Meeting new people ( I like getting to know new people. Everyone is so different and yet so similar, it's intriguing ).
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
I obsess over : Cats (and furry animals), Washi Tapes, Cute stationaries, Glitter, Sunsets, Moon, Night sky, Clouds, Hand written letters, Poetry, etc.
Fav Aesthetic : Dark and Light Academia, Cottagecore, Soft Aesthetic
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
Content
Study tips and advices about random stuff
Notes
Writing excerpts, snippets and poetry
Mental health and BPD related stuff
Will be reblogging study tips that I find useful
Reading updates
Tips about how to study with an mental illness
A lot of rambling and venting
And some other random posts
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
Goal
▪ Track my daily progress
▪ To hold myself accountable & try to be more consistent
▪ Be more productive and stop procrastinating
▪ Survive this semester (and score atleast 97% in my boards)
▪ Become a better person : )
▪ To not overwork or stress myself
▪ Bring back some balance and discipline in my life
▪ Reduce phone usage
▪ And make some new friends along the way <3
*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧
Lastly, here are some of my favourite studyblrs/ inspiration : @typicalstudent @fivestarstudying @evalearns @mattstudies @lara-studies @brackenblythe @why-the-heck-not @365text @can-i-get-some-self-discipline @myhoneststudyblr @keshiology @studythenight-away @withvellichor @latinandlattes @emmastudies @myhoneststudyblr @luminous-studiess @bestudying @stillstudies @peepstudies @lostlxmb @yukkuristudies @pltuo @studypetals @studyquill @gabiestudies @myrtleandberry @moonshinestudies
If you have read till here, thank you so much. I hope you have a nice day ahead. Happy Studying! ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
P.S: My message and ask are open. Feel free to drop a message or ask a question (o´∀`o) (even if we aren't mutuals).
•❅─────────✧❅✦❅✧─────────❅•
#new studyblr#study aesthetic#academia#studygram#studyblr#studyspo#studying#studying with mental illness#study-with-ana
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Prototypes, Pekingese, and Other Things That Might Test Your Patience
Steggy Week 2k20, day 1
Prompt: Domestic Bliss
Summary: Sunday afternoon, Steve comes home from the movies and finds Peggy sitting on the sofa, having what seems to be a staring contest with the ugliest little dog he’s ever seen.
AO3 link here. Thanks to @steggyfanevents for organizing!
Sunday afternoon, Steve comes home from the movies and finds Peggy sitting on the sofa, having what seems to be a staring contest with the ugliest little dog he’s ever seen.
To be clear, the dog is the kind of ugly that probably means that its ancestors came over on the Mayflower and it is the result of centuries of very carefully considered and high-standard breeding which would put Steve’s own pedigree to shame. That said, the animal has been left with a flat face, watery eyes, sharp little teeth, minuscule legs, a coat that probably weighs more than its actual body, and an apparent tendency to snuffle even when at rest.
None of this makes a good first impression.
“Hello,” Steve says carefully, closing the door. “I thought you were finishing up the Beckworth operation today.”
“We did.” Peggy breaks her stare with the dog on the floor in front of her, sounding sour. “The first part went absolutely swimmingly. He was entirely willing to reveal the location of the safe while showing off for Gladys.” She gestures to a curly blonde wig lying on the side table. “The distraction was timed perfectly, and I was able to crack back in while he was gone and remove the prototype before calling for backup. We arrested him without incident. It was all as smooth as you like, textbook even, until I gave the prototype into the care of Fletcher in evidence collection - you’ve met him, ginger, entirely too tall? - and the man immediately dropped it on the floor only to have it eaten by this thing.” She glares again at the dog. “And now it has to be watched while we wait for the prototype to...pass, so it can be used as evidence and then handed over to Howard and his merry band for examination.”
“Ah.” Steve lowers himself into a chair, keeping a careful eye on the dog. It seems the type to be easily unsettled by simple things in its surroundings. “And it needs to be watched here? By us?”
“Well, after what happened today, I’m certainly not going to give more responsibility to Fletcher or any of the so-called experts in evidence collection.” They’ve barely finished staffing the various departments over at SHIELD, but Steve now suspects based on her tone that they might be going back to the drawing board in some places. “Of course, I wouldn’t trust Howard to take care of it himself, and Jarvis and Ana have been told by the adoption agency to be on the alert in the next few weeks—”
“Hey, that’s great!”
“It is, but of course it means that they should have as much time as possible to prepare themselves, which does not at all fit with taking responsibility for this. And, of course, I’m trying to build a more official reputation for the organization. As reliable as Jarvis has proven himself to be, I’d like us to try to appear slightly less homegrown than we have in the past, at least for the moment.”
Steve looks around himself at the living room of their home, then down at the dog, which has started to pace and sniff around itself. “So it’s up to us.”
“Yes. But I can’t imagine it will take long for the prototype to reappear, and then they will both be off our hands.”
Peggy comes home on Monday evening and, flipping through the mail on her way down the hall, nearly forgets to even look for the dog until she reaches the kitchen where Steve is washing dishes.
“You didn’t call,” she says, “so I assume that the prototype is still…”
“As far as I can tell,” Steve says, looking a little worn. “And I’m pretty familiar with what did come out of him today.”
“How was—” she tries, just as a high, incessant yapping starts from the front room.
“Sorry, he’s been looking out into the yard all day, going nuts over squirrels, birds, the mailman, anything. It’s a good thing there weren’t any Girl Scouts going door to door today,” Steve apologizes before calling tiredly toward the next room, “Knock it off, Eliot.” To Peggy’s surprise, the sound turns to a whining, nasal growl, which is at least softer.
“You gave it a name?” she asks, kissing him quickly as she leans to put the mail on the counter.
“He didn’t come with one that I could figure out, and I had to call him something.”
“And why decide on Eliot?”
Steve finishes drying off his hands, then points into the trash can where there’s a pile of shredded paper mixed in with the usual garbage.
“I guess the books looked at him funny because he started clawing at them pretty early on. I managed to move most of them up to higher shelves before he got them too bad, but he really did a number on Middlemarch. Moby-Dick, too, but he didn’t exactly seem like a Herman any more than he looked like a George. And I guess I could have called him Pepper, because he knocked that over too, but he’s the wrong color.”
Eliot comes, nails clicking, into the kitchen to bark at their feet. Peggy stares down on him. She sighs.
“Well, your instincts about Melville were spot on, at least,” she tells the dog, and takes her husband upstairs to show her gratitude for his forbearance.
When Peggy calls Tuesday morning and tells Steve that she’s scheduled a veterinary appointment for Eliot that afternoon, he groans aloud down the phone line.
“He’s actually finally quiet,” Steve says, watching from out of the corner of his eye as Eliot yawns, peers out the window, and seems to start dozing again. “If I take him out somewhere new…”
“Yes, but that place might be able to offer some guidance about when we might get to see the prototype again, and therefore when we might never have to see the dog again.”
Eliot shies away from anything particularly cold or shiny at the vet’s office in a way that Steve remembers from his own earliest medical experiences. He keeps up a constant, quiet growl; Steve considers it polite if anything based on the lowered volume, and luckily none of the staff seem overly concerned or insulted. Then again, they aren’t actually that helpful either: the vet cheerfully informs Steve that these things usually pass by themselves within a few days, and as long as Eliot is still able to eat, drink, and play normally there’s no reason to be concerned.
“You can come back in if something changes, and of course, if you’re really concerned, I can refer you to a colleague about an hour away who can do an x-ray of the little fella,” the vet offers, and then quotes a price for it that makes Steve laugh reflexively at what must be a joke. (It isn’t.)
The only helpful piece of advice comes at the end of the visit.
“Fur like that,” the vet says, going over to the door, “I’d expect you must be showing him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, dog shows, contests, like that.”
“You mean we can get him trimmed if we don’t care about all that?” Steve asks, relieved. He’s wearing his only pair of brown trousers today; even though Eliot sleeps downstairs, somehow strands of his long fur have migrated onto the black and gray pants which fill most of Steve's wardrobe.
The vet looks surprised. “Sure, though it’d be a shame. He’s a pretty fine specimen, after all.” He tilts his head, turning thoughtful. “Say, if you don’t really want him for that, I have a friend who’d love to get his hands on a purebred like this. Pay you nicely for it, too, what do you say?”
Steve looks over at Eliot. Despite the standoff the dog is having with a row of bottles on the doctor’s counter, he looks up at Steve with something very human and pleading and familiar in his eyes.
“No, thanks,” Steve finds himself saying, picking Eliot up in one arm. “I think we’ll hang onto him for now.”
Steve is as surprised as Peggy when she comes home Wednesday to find the dog lying politely at the foot of the armchair while Steve sketches. Eliot’s paws are forward, his face relaxed on the carpet between them. Steve had apparently been successful in his mission for the day; the nimbus of tawny fur is gone, trimmed to a more manageable - and, she’ll admit, attractive - level. She can actually see the dog’s eyes clearly now, blinking slow consideration, and his tail puffs up sweetly rather than billowing wildly outward.
“Well, this is quite the change of pace,” Peggy says, keeping her voice pitched low on instinct. Eliot turns to look over at her, but returns to staring peaceably through the window where the tree in the front yard shifts slowly in the breeze.
“Yeah,” Steve says, glancing down with...is that fondness? “He isn’t so bad once you get used to him. Or once he gets used to you. Melinda, the girl at the dog barbershop, said that he probably just needed to figure out how to handle a new place and new people, and that his breed can be a little bossy and vocal.” He pauses. “Also, she said he might have just been hot and annoyed from all that fur.”
“Well, he's at least sensible,” Peggy says, sitting down too. She knows she should go and change, should at least unpack her case, but there’s something comforting about sitting there, just listening to the scratch of Steve’s pencil, the constant sound of Eliot’s breathing. Without her thinking much about it, without even asking if there’s been any update on the prototype, she decides to stay a while with the two of them.
“He’s still not exactly the cutest little thing,” Bucky comments when he comes for a walk with Steve and Eliot on Thursday afternoon. Eliot doesn’t pay him any attention, sniffing busily at the sidewalk in front of himself as he trots along (although Steve knows that he’ll run out of energy pretty soon and slow to a crawl).
“Looks aren’t the only thing that’s important,” Steve points out, moving over so Mr. Sabitini and his grandsons can pass by. “Character plays a big role in things, and Eliot’s got plenty of that; he might be mouthy, but he's pretty intelligent, and considerate too. Yesterday he saw a boy drop his ice cream on the ground and started to nose it back to him.”
Bucky snorts. "Probably trying to sneak a few licks in for himself."
"I don't think so." Steve’s voice is firm, his glare hard.
Bucky stares, then shoves a hand through his hair. “Oh God,” he says. “You’re starting to identify with the mutt. You should have just called him Steve Junior.”
“What? No, I’m—” Steve starts, then shoves him over the curb into the street. “Shut your trap, Barnes.”
“Just calling it like I see it,” Bucky laughs, and he gets back onto the sidewalk only for Steve to shove him over again.
At dinner on Friday evening, Steve tells Peggy about how Eliot has started to just bark a polite little greeting to the squirrels on the lawn, as if welcoming them to the home to which he’s graciously allowed them access, and then asks how the Beckworth case is coming.
“The prosecutor is optimistic, which I consider an accomplishment for him - he’s usually quite doleful. Of course it would be better if we had the prototype in hand, but we have the schematics and the testimony from the assistant…”
“What’s wrong?” he asks, as she trails off.
"Mr. Beckworth is seemingly quite...upset that we have taken custody of his dog. I read the report from his latest interrogation and it was all he spoke about.”
Steve swallows a bite of chicken. “He’s probably pretty worried about his life’s work being trapped inside him.”
Peggy shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I think he’s actually concerned about him. Unless he’s playing some sort of game, I believe he truly loves the creature.”
“Well, he’s actually pretty easy to love,” Steve says. “He just shouldn’t have to put up with criminals.” When he palms and drops a piece of his chicken on the floor for Eliot to sweep up, he tries to think of it as more of a consolation than a bribe. Peggy sees and shakes her head; apparently she’s missed the distinction
Peggy calls to say that she’ll be working late on Saturday, so Steve tells Eliot, “Guess it’s just you and me for dinner tonight, fella.” He thinks of what Bucky or Peggy would say if they heard that, groans, and then shrugs, because they didn’t hear it so who cares?
Eliot whines as Steve goes upstairs and shuts the bedroom door, but the house is definitely furrier than is preferable even after the haircut and the establishment of a daily brushing regimen, and there are some lines they haven’t crossed, at least not yet, so Steve goes to bed alone.
He wakes up alone too, several hours later, wondering for a blink what pulled him from sleep. Then he hears Eliot’s growl from down in the kitchen followed by a yip, as if someone’s kicked him.
For a moment, as he makes his quick, silent way down the stairs, he gropes for his shield, something he hasn’t done in years. But before he can really miss its presence, he hears Peggy say, “I’ll thank you to unhand my dog,” in a way that he can tell means she’s aiming her gun.
“I don’t know who you think you are, lady,” says a voice, “but this is Ned Beckworth’s dog.”
“It was,” Peggy says, perfectly calmly. “But Mr. Beckworth is awaiting trial, as you soon will be as well, and now it’s my dog. Just as this is my house you’re standing in, and my husband coming up behind you, so put Eliot down, if you please.”
Looking from the doorway into the dimness, Steve can only see the backs of the two men who have broken in, moderately sized and wearing black. One of them has Eliot under his arm, a hand over his muzzle even as he tries to wriggle away. When the stranger doesn’t move, Steve says, “She really will shoot you if you don’t let the dog go. She’ll get your leg no problem, even if you’re trying to use him as a shield,” and Eliot is reluctantly and a bit too forcefully released. He takes a minute to regain his footing, nails scrabbling on the linoleum after being dropped to the ground, but before Steve can say a word, the dog has vomited copiously onto his captor’s shoe before skidding over to Peggy and pressing himself against her leg. The prototype, its light still blinking a calm blue, lies in the middle of the puddle.
“Excellent aim, Eliot,” she says dryly, without taking her eye off the now loudly disgusted housebreakers. “But your timing leaves quite a bit to be desired. Steve?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it.”
Between the two of them, they pretty easily subdue their unwanted guests, and wrap up the prototype to deliver to headquarters in the morning. (Peggy says she’ll trust a retrieval team to take care of prisoner transport, but the prototype stays with her from this point forward. Steve, cleaning up the mess on the floor, says she is welcome to it.) Eliot obeys commands for “sit” and “quiet” for only a few seconds at a time before once again starting to dart distractingly around the room, barking. Still, once everyone else has left, he curls easily into Peggy’s lap and allows himself to be petted.
“He acquitted himself well,” she says as Eliot’s tail flips through the air, clearly pleased by her attention to his ears, “even if he isn’t exactly anyone’s picture of heroism.”
“Neither of us exactly was either,” says Steve, “so I think he’ll fit in fine.” He pauses. “Don’t tell Bucky I said that. He'll just start again about me over-identifying.”
She laughs. “I wouldn’t dream of it, even if he might have something of the right of it.”
Eliot barks in what seems to be agreement, but Steve knows for a fact that, if the dog could talk, he’d sell Steve out in a minute if offered a half decent steak.
As Sunday dawns, the three of them are still sitting in the living room, asleep together.
#steggyweek20#Steggy#Steggy fic#Steve Rogers#Peggy Carter#kinda wild to me tbh how the prompt that should have been 1000% in my wheelhouse left me scrounging for something but here you are!
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𝓐𝓷𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓪 𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓿
𝓑𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
Name: Anastasie
Actual Name: Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia ; Anastasia Romanov
Nicknames: Ana
Gender: Female
Birthday: 18 June
Star Sign: Gemini ; Ox
Height: 157 cm
Weight: 50 kg
Eye Colour: Bright blue
Hair Colour: Strawberry blonde
Homeland: Russia
Family: ??
Vampiric Type: Pureblooded Vampire
Quote: “There have always been lines separating me from the rest of the world, whether they were satin ribbons or iron rails.”
𝓕𝓾𝓷 𝓕𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓼
Dominant hand: Right
Favourite Colours: White, silver, gold, pink
Favourite Food: Honey milk tea, anything Sebastian makes, fresh cream, desserts
Least Favourite Food: Anything too bitter
Likes: Animals (Vic especially), cafe-hopping, cold weather, snow, stuffed animals, dolls, being spoiled by Comte, long baths
Dislikes: Loud sounds, guns, knives, violence in general, studying, being cooped up in the house, nightmares
Hobbies: Collecting hair ribbons, sewing clothes for her dolls, knitting, going for long walks, riding, comparing sweets from different cafes and restaurants, star gazing, cloud watching, watching sunrises
Special Skills: Climbing trees, jumping onto rooftops to travel across Paris, dancing
Love Interest: Undecided
𝓟𝓱𝔂𝓼𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓕𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓼
Style: Her casual style is fairly fancy and feminine, with muted or dark tones. She is particularly fond of wearing modest, gothic style outfits, with frills and ruffles and ribbons. She has shown a fondness for white dresses, and most of her wardrobe consists of them. She wears either ballet flats on her feet or low-heeled Mary Janes. During colder weather, she tends to wear furs and coats.
Accessories: A pearl necklace hangs from her neck.
Hair: Her hair is strawberry blonde and falls in soft ringlets to her waist. Her bangs just reach her eyes, and parts of her hair are pulled back in braids, away from her face and secured with a hair ribbon at the back.
Makeup: None.
Body type: Slim and slender as a willow. Small hips, breasts, and thighs. Unnaturally graceful.
𝓥𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓼
Songs to describe her: Once Upon a December by Liz Callaway ; Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ; Stay Alive by Rie Takahashi
Voice actress: Horie Yui ( specifically, her role as Kushina Anna in K Project )
𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪
Personality: The youngest member of the mansion, Ana is an introvert by nature and can come off as being shy and closed off to those unfamiliar with her. Compared to the louder and more eccentric members of the mansion, Ana is conscientious, polite, and quiet, behaving with perfect manners most of the time. She can have a sharp tongue as well, murmuring pointed insults under her breath with a perfectly straight face; of course, in a house full of vampires, her comments do not go unheard. There is a kind side to her as well; Ana is observant and can tell if one of the residents is having a particularly bad day, in which Ana will bring them their favourite food to make them smile again. She blushes easily and stammers when she is complimented.
She is surprisingly insecure about her lack of memory, which troubles her immensely, especially since she cannot remember anything in her past, only vague impressions and fleeting sensations that leave her with a sense of unease, and also, a lingering sadness that haunts her.
Surprisingly, she has a sharp streak of mischief and is prone to causing havoc in the mansion when the mood strikes her; most of the time her pranks are pinned on someone else, much to her delight at having managed to evade punishment. She is also quick to agree when other residents ask her to help in their schemes.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Strengths: Independent, kind, straightforward, observant, calm, self-controlled, thoughtful, brave
Flaws: Mischievous, seemingly indifferent, non-violent, solemn, rebellious
𝓟𝓪𝓼𝓽
Anastasia Romanov hails from Russia and is the youngest daughter of the Romanov family, a family of pureblooded vampires who once ruled over humans. When the humans rose up against them in rebellion, the family was forced to flee from their castle. In the chaos and confusion, Anastasia was separated from her family and was supposedly shot and bayonetted to her death by the angry mob. However, she would awaken once again, only to find herself staring up into Comte’s golden eyes, and herself void of all her memories. Comte would later bring her to his mansion, where she would spend her days in the company of other famous men in history. However, she still cannot remember any of her past and believes that she was turned by Comte into a lesser vampire, and Comte has not corrected her.
𝓡𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹𝓼
Comte de Saint-Germain: Comte was the one who found and saved her; Ana was reportedly found by him, bloodied and dazed and refusing to speak for days. As Ana puts it, “The only face I can remember from my past is his.” The normally impassive Ana adores him, visibly brightening up in his presence, and their relationship is similar to one of father and daughter. Comte is equally guilty of spoiling her, bringing her along on his trips and taking her for outings whenever he is free. He has also kept her largely sheltered from her past.
Leonardo Da Vinci: She feels a certain kinship and connectedness to him; this is due in part to both their statuses as pureblooded-vampires. If not found with Comte, Ana can most likely be found with him. Ana likes him almost as much as she loves Comte, and is even willing to climb trees to pluck apples for him to eat.
𝓣𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓪
She hates doing schoolwork and has climbed trees to avoid her tutor, Isaac. Ana has also reportedly tried to bribe him with apples and Comte’s money so that he’ll raise her grades or let her off the hook for the day.
In terms of speed, she’s the fastest vampire at the mansion.
She can do her own chores and tries to help Sebastian with his work.
Ana has tried making clothes for Vic and King, and has the two dogs model her clothing when she feels bored.
She sometimes calls Vic “Jimmy” by accident, but has no idea why.
Lately, she’s been having trouble sleeping as bad dreams keep her awake.
Like Comte, she can also be protective of the residents in the mansion.
#ikemen vampire oc#ikevamp oc#ikevamp ocs#ikemen vampire ocs#cybird ikemen oc#cybird ikemen ocs#ikevamp#ikemen vampire#GUESS WHO MADE ANOTHER OC#ITS ME
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A Republican Congressman is under fire for lying all over his resume including potentially stealing money from Gofundme. Jayar Jackson, Rick Strom, and Sharon Reed discuss on The Young Turks. Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live Read more HERE: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bggm/andy-ogles-gofundme-child-burial-garden-money "House Republicans keep running into the problem of embellished resumes and—oddly—sketchy GoFundMe fundraisers. Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles reportedly raised more than $23,000 on the fundraising platform in 2014, pledging to use the money to build a children’s burial ground named for his stillborn child. The burial ground was never built, however, and Ogles won’t say what he did with the money, according to Nashville TV station WTVF. This is on top of New York Rep. George Santos’ own GoFundMe problems, which are reportedly under investigation by the FBI. Ogles is one of the most right-wing members of the GOP caucus that won back the House last November. After winning a primary that virtually secured election in his safe Republican district last year, Ogles said his campaign was animated by a “political war, a cultural war, and… spiritual war” against the left." *** The largest online progressive news show in the world. Hosted by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian. LIVE weekdays 6-8 pm ET. Help support our mission and get perks. Membership protects TYT's independence from corporate ownership and allows us to provide free live shows that speak truth to power for people around the world. See Perks: ▶ https://www.youtube.com/TheYoungTurks/join SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE: ☞ http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=theyoungturks FACEBOOK: ☞ http://www.facebook.com/TheYoungTurks TWITTER: ☞ http://www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks INSTAGRAM: ☞ http://www.instagram.com/TheYoungTurks TWITCH: ☞ http://www.twitch.com/tyt 👕 Merch: http://shoptyt.com ❤ Donate: http://www.tyt.com/go 🔗 Website: https://www.tyt.com 📱App: http://www.tyt.com/app 📬 Newsletters: https://www.tyt.com/newsletters/ If you want to watch more videos from TYT, consider subscribing to other channels in our network: The Watchlist https://www.youtube.com/watchlisttyt Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey https://www.youtube.com/indisputabletyt Unbossed with Nina Turner https://www.youtube.com/unbossedtyt The Damage Report ▶ https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport TYT Sports ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytsports The Conversation ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytconversation Rebel HQ ▶ https://www.youtube.com/rebelhq TYT Investigates ▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNJt9PYyN1uyw2XhNIQMMA #TYT #TheYoungTurks #BreakingNews 230317__TB02RepublicanStealing by The Young Turks
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Alright. Political Animals Episode two:
Okay but, the uncle from Kings (I DONT TRUST YOU BECAUSE OF KINGS). And the brother from Heroes.
*that part off of TJ’s chest...... YOUDIDNTTELLMEYOUHADABOYFRIEND 😂
-boxer. Briefs. That’s it.
-he’s a barefoot cinnamon roll.
-The relationship between TJ and his grandma is beautiful and pure....wait.... aw man.
-Sigourney Weaver is fantastic
-okay seriously TJ...there goes another piece of my heart. It’s okay.
-okay, Nana is awesome
-Seb’s fluffy curls of fluffy hair
UGH, why did I decide to watch this!?
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Closure
Pairing(s): Steve x reader, Steve x OC!Ana, Reader x OC!Mike
Synopsis: (Y/N) and Steve are paired up as partners for a year. The problem is she hates the golden boy. Quickly she learns that he isn’t as horrid as she once imagined and they become best friends. Will (Y/N) realize before it’s too late that she’s madly and deeply in love with one Steven Grant Rogers?
Word count: 5,100 whoops
Warnings: Some fluff, some angst. Swearing. Mentions of stitches, but now graphic descriptions of gore. A super clueless reader. Bucky is a bitch in this. Jealousy.
A/n: I should have been writing my Stan Uris request (which I’m more than have done with) or my next chapter of can’t fight this feeling (it’s getting there you guys!) but I wrote this bad boy instead. I hope you guys enjoy it and are staying safe and healthy during these crazy times.
Steve was never the man you planned to fall for. Hell, you hated the man for three years. You thought he was pretentious and full of himself when he snootily corrected you on a mistake only he noticed. Everyone praised him, said he was so fantastic; he could do no wrong, he’s America’s golden boy after all.
A few years had passed since the incident where he corrected you on an almost nonexistent mistake in the middle of a mission. You two were suddenly paired up by Fury to be partners on any future missions. Bucky was still recovering from all the pain Hydra caused so he couldn’t be Steve’s partner, but you had been hoping to get either Nat or Tony as yours. But life never works out how you want.
Being partners also meant you two had to train together too, help you bond and become a stronger pair on missions. Blah blah blah. You had a sprained wrist from a mission you had just been on, it was supposed to be a simple in and out until the shield agent helping you made a mistake. The worst part is that you happen to be dating that shield agent, Mike can’t go thirty minutes without apologizing. The more he does it the more it gets on your nerves, so you always try to take hold of the conversation and steer it away from that topic.
So as you're in the gym for your first training session, sitting on a bench board out of your mind watching America’s golden boy workout his already perfect body, you text Mike and complain about being stuck with the blonde soldier. Steve breaks the tense and awkward silence randomly, causing you to put your phone down for the first time since entering the gym.
“Do you know how to work this thing?” his thumb is pointing over his shoulder at one of the many treadmills, he’s giving you a sheepish smile.
“Oh, yeah, of course,” you smile softly, quickly getting up and pressing the buttons, setting it up for him. “There ya go.”
“Thanks,” he lets out a sigh, running a hand through his slightly sweaty blonde locks. “I’m still new to all of this technology stuff.” You don’t respond, not verbally at least. You give him a warm smile and small nod, his grin seems to grow at your first real interaction.
As your time with him in the gym becomes more frequent when you're healed, you notice that he doesn’t actually need your help setting up the machines. He even sets them up for you if he beats you to the gym that day. You realize that it was really just an icebreaker, this way it wouldn’t be as awkward and you would finally talk to him. It turns out he doesn’t even remember correcting you all those years ago, so maybe he isn’t as bad as you’ve always made him out to be.
--
To nobody's surprise, but your own, you and Steve become fast friends. You didn’t think much of it, he’s your partner and you two are supposed to get along. So the friendship was a good thing, right? Steve soon became your confidant, the one you would seek out if the mission was hard or if you and Mike were in yet another fight. Besides that, Steve was just a great person who was fun to be with.
He was surprisingly political for a man that was frozen in ice for seventy years, so he’ll talk your ear off about what’s going on in the world. It’s not too surprising, you suppose, he was political propaganda and has an unwavering moral compass, so it’s to be expected. He keeps you educated and up to date, something that amuses your teammates when they see you guys hang out. You and Steve will have animated conversations about World War II, comparing the political climate and leaders back then to now over lunch. What really amused everyone was how quickly those serious conversations could flip and turn into pop culture talk. If one of you says a reference from a show in your conversation, it immediately switches to that show or ones like it.
You had introduced Steve to friends, and he had come running to you as soon as Ross and Rachel had their we were on a break fight. He was so distraught over the show, he wanted Ross and Rachel to just talk out their problems. You thought his reaction was adorable, and so did Nat who was quietly laughing to herself in a corner.
There were days where you didn’t even have to talk, content with sitting in silence and filling out mission reports. Typically spent listening to songs from the forties, or you trying to get him into modern music. Everyone was shocked, especially Bucky who is now back from Wakanda good as new apparently, that you got Steve to get a cellphone. The super soldier frequently texts you with questions or to complain that he misses you if you’re too injured or sick to make it to training.
--
Very rarely was Steve moody, one reason you were glad when you got him and not Tony, but when he was it was unbearable. He had gotten in a fight with Bucky and ignored you in training. No setting up the machine for you, even though he was already running on his treadmill when you got to the gym. No offering you water after a tough set, or apologizing if he thought he pinned you to the mat too hard, which he always did.
“Stevie, what’s wrong?” you finally broke the silence.
“It’s nothing (Y/N)!” there’s a flash of anger towards you in his icy blue eyes. “I’m done training for the day.”
“But we still have another hour!” you holler at his toned back, white shirt clinging to the sweat, as he walks away from you.
“I don’t really care, I don’t want to talk,” Steve doesn’t turn to face you. His voice drops so low he thinks you won’t hear him, but you do, “I don’t want to be around you right now.”
Your heart squeezes at his words. Was Mike right when he called you too much the other night? Were you so annoying that both your boyfriend and your best friend didn’t want to be around you?
Steve’s blue eyes softened as he apologized for his actions the next morning. He didn’t know you heard his last bit, but you weren’t gonna tell him you did. So you just dealt with the little bit of your self esteem chip away, but that was nothing new.
--
You’re knocking on his door in the middle of the night, instantly regretting it when you see the dark bags under his sparkling blue eyes. His arm flexes as he rubs a hand over his face, gray sweatpants hang low on his waist, and his navy blue shirt is slightly twisted from tossing and turning.
“Sorry,” you sniffle and quickly apologize. You start to walk away but Steve’s thick fingers wrap around your wrist and pull you towards him.
“What's wrong?” the sleep gone from his eyes, replaced with worry at the sight of your tear stained cheeks.
“It’s nothing,” you sigh, running your hands through your hair. “It was stupid.”
“Is it nothing or is it stupid? ‘Cause it can’t be both Doll,” his voice is soft and inviting, it makes you start crying all over again.
“Mike and I got into such a bad fight,” you cry, he immediately pulls you into a hug and into his apartment. He ushers you over to a stool in the kitchen, grabbing you both a beer, claiming that you look like you could really use one. “He threatened to break up with me, he just kept saying that I have too much baggage from before. Telling me that I’m too annoying, too clingy, too much.”
The super soldier stayed up with you all night, letting you cry and vent about your relationship troubles. Again. He even took you out for breakfast when morning rolled around, you two laughing over what seemed like a gallon of coffee. While you had never woken him up before, you two had talked for hours if Mike had done something stupid or hurt you.
Steve and Mike had been sort of friends before this, having worked with each other on missions before your partnership. But the words that Mike had been spewing at you hours earlier made it so that Steve could never look at him the same way again. Who could be that cruel to you on purpose?
--
The Avengers were going to a local hospital to surprise the sick children in the cancer ward. You’re paired up with Bucky much to your disappointment, everyone wanted Captain America and Black Widow together, they were well known. You don’t dislike the ex assassin, but he’s practically Steve’s brother which makes you infinitely more nervous around him.
As you're waiting for the all clear from one of the oncologists you get a text from Tony with an updated schedule, one child was able to go home a day early so they were no longer there so a new room with a new kid was added. You briefly smile down at your lock screen, a picture of you and Steve making stupid faces in your uniforms- he even let you hold his shield.
“Is that you and Steve?” Bucky’s long strands of hair hit the side of your face as he leans down to get a better look of the picture.
“Uh- yeah,” you turn to look at his face, a small frown of confusion graces your features. His gaze goes from curious to a large frown, confusing you to no end.
“Why did you guys take it?” he asks, crossing his thick arms across his chest, making sure to flex them.
“Uh, we had just gotten back from a long mission and we needed to decompress,” you smile fondly at the memory of the bleach blonde man making you laugh when you didn’t think you could even smile. He somehow managed to take your stress away, he always knew how to make it better; you’re convinced it was a power that came with the serum. “We were just goofing around and having fun, Steve suggested we take a picture to remember it.”
“You’re so annoying,” he rolls his eyes and shakes his head, brown locks creating a curtain around his face. Your jaw momentarily drops open in shock, but you quickly close it as the oncologist comes back to the two of you. You put on your well practiced mask, cheering up the kids was far more important than your measly little feelings.
For some unknown reason Bucky told Steve about the interaction. Steve immediately apologized the next day for Bucky’s actions, but it meant next to nothing coming from him and not the man with the vibranium arm. Steve just kept going on about how Bucky’s brain still wasn’t back to hundred percent yet, but you knew Bucky had meant what he said.
--
“Are you sleeping with him?” Mike storms into your apartment that Tony gave you in Avengers tower, perks of the job.
“What?” your eyebrows furrow, you aren’t a cheater. “Who?”
“Steve,” his name comes out of Mike’s mouth like it burned him, but you can see the sadness in his eyes.
“Of course not!” anger starts to fuel you, how dare he make these accusations about you and your friend!
“Sharon came up to me at work today and said she wouldn’t be surprised if you two were sleeping with each other behind my back!” he defends. Of course it was Sharon, you restrain yourself from aggressively rolling your eyes at the annoying woman's antics.
“Steve and I would never do that! And you know that. You also know that Sharon is obsessively in love with Steve and is most likely jealous of my friendship with him.”
The conversation ended there that night, but you knew it wasn’t over yet. Mike left shortly after to go to his apartment twenty minutes away from the tower, and you were left to wonder why the hell Sharon would ever suggest a thing. Steve was just a friend! Right?
The next day during training you were complaining to him about Sharon and Mike as you were punching one of the many bags filled with sand. Knuckles bruising and bleeding, but you don’t notice. Far too occupied with everyone sticking their noses where they don’t belong, just looking to start drama within the Avengers.
--
You and Mike had gotten into yet another fight about Steve a month later. This time you didn’t want to go to the man at the center of your problems, so you went to two of your friends Marie and Trisha. They’re both Shield agents that work with Mike, so they know the both of you enough to give you good advice.
“He just keeps getting so mad at me for being friends with Steve!” you complain to the two girls, who roll their eyes at the words they’ve heard come from your mouth a thousand times before.
“So break up with him,” Marie shrugs like it’s no big deal, checking her nails.
“But I love him,” you blanch.
“Do you though?” Trisha asks with a judgmental eyebrow raised.
“Of course I do! We’ve been together for two years, I see a future with him,” you furrow your brows at how rude they seem. “But do you think he’s right? Do you think Steve likes me?”
“Not even close!” Trisha laughs. “(Y/N), he would never go for someone like you, he could have any woman- or man- that he wants.”
“Dump Mike and forget Steve, they aren’t worth your time,” Marie looks up from her nails to give you an annoyed look.
So much for friends, huh. But Trisha was right about one thing, Steve would never go for someone like me. I’m not special, I’m not beautiful; I’m just annoying and I carry too much emotional baggage for anyone to deal with. You walked out of shield headquarters that day feeling worse than you did when you came, and no closer to solving this whole Steve Mike business.
--
Steve was reading the briefing for your next mission when you entered the common room in the tower. You plopped down right next to him, swinging your legs over his lap and resting your head on his shoulder to read it too. He threw the arm that you’re leaning on across your shoulders to make it more comfortable for the two of you. You and Steve would sit like this all the time; during movies, reading up on missions, while talking about anything and everything.
It made Mike uncomfortable, and maybe you were naive because you never understood why. Steve was your friend, and friends cuddle. Plus it was extremely comfortable and some days you just needed it. The first time you did it you did as a joke, trying to make Steve uncomfortable, it was a game you two play. But you both quickly found how much you both liked it and you do it without giving it a second thought now. Plus, it’s a nice added bonus when Sharon sees it and gets upset.
--
Before you and Steve knew it a whole year of partnership passed, and Fury decided to change partners around. Steve obviously got Bucky and you got Nat. While she was your original first choice, now all you wanted was for Steve to have your six. There wouldn’t be anymore inside jokes, long talks, or silly photos to take. You would miss the way his nose crinkled when he would laugh at one of your stupid jokes, or how his face would scrunch up and the tip of his tongue would peak out from between his lips when would sketch you during your free time.
If losing him as your partner weren’t enough, he was moving out of the tower. He found a cute little brownstone to move into, him and Bucky were going to be roommates. You believed Steve when he told you he would come visit you all the time, but it was just an empty promise. You felt like you were losing a piece of your heart and soul. Steve had become your best friend and you weren’t sure when you would be able to see him again. He left the tower one night, never telling you goodbye first.
If anything good came out of Steve’s move, it was that you and Mike weren’t as rocky as you once were. You were crushed that you didn’t have Steve by your side anymore, but you would never tell Mike that. He’d never understand how you missed the super soldier as a friend. He and I would still text occasionally, or talk briefly if we ran into each other in the halls, but it was never the same. And it never would be.
The next time you saw Sharon she was smug, as if she were gloating because you weren’t close to him anymore either. But that all changed when Steve entered the tower with a shorter woman with long black hair on his arm named Ana. She was a nurse for shield, apparently they had met when she insisted he get a cut stitched after a bad mission, even if he would be healed within a few hours. You used to make Steve get checked out after every mission, made sure he took care of himself, but you were useless now.
“She’s cheated on every guy she’s been with,” Sharon whispered to you as Ana swung her own legs over Steve’s lap and curled into his side. The smile on his face was so wide and loving, it was honestly revolting. Nat, Tony, and Sam all turned to watch your face at the interaction, you masked any possible emotion. But Tony saw the hurt in your eyes, you had officially lost Steve. But he was never yours to lose.
You pushed off Sharon’s words, why would she tell you the truth when she hated you so much. But when Trisha and Marie texted you out of nowhere freaking out about her being a cheater you knew it was the ugly truth. Steven Grant Rogers, the love of your life as you always jokingly called him, was going to get his pure heart broken by someone who would never love as much as he loved her.
--
Mike caught you one night, when he came over to surprise you with dinner, looking at the drawings of you that Steve had done while swiping through the pictures you had taken with the blonde. Mike, seeing that you were grieving the loss of such an important friendship didn’t say anything about it. Instead you guys ate your food and talked about your future together. He kept repeating that he wanted to marry you one day soon.
While the prospect of spending the rest of your life with Mike was exciting and inviting; it was a nice safe choice. You couldn’t help but wonder, would Steve go to your wedding? Would he be your man of honor like you two joked he would be? Or did he not care about you now that you weren’t partners anymore? Because your life would be gray without him in it.
--
Tony threw his yearly charity gala. You were dressed in an ombre blue dress that made you feel like Cinderella. Mike had surprised you and paid for you to go all out and get your hair and nails done. What you didn’t know was that Mike was trying to spoil you so you would be happy again and maybe fix your crumbling relationship. While your relationship was fine, better even, when Steve had moved, it was falling apart now as you wallowed in self pity over the fact that you lost your best friend.
You had begged Mike for hours to go dance with you, but he wouldn’t. He just told you he didn’t want to and sat at your table sipping his drink. Steve and Ana were spinning around the dance floor, they looked so happy it hurt. You couldn’t help but stare, that could have been you. What did you have to sell to get Mike to seem like he cared about you and to dance with you? A kidney? An arm or a leg? Your soul? Because you would do it.
Nat and Wanda saw how depressed you looked, so they pulled you onto the floor with them. And for a few minutes everything felt right in the world, you were finally happy. But that ended as soon as it began when Ana bumped into you while she was dancing, you would have fallen if it weren’t for Wanda and her powers. She giggled out a fake sorry before pulling Steve in the opposite direction.
When you sat back down next to Mike again you couldn’t tear your eyes off of Steve. Who had he become? He was so enraptured by Ana that he didn’t even try to talk to you like he always did at big events like this. What you didn’t know was that while you were holding back tears Mike was trying to talk himself into breaking up with you. He knew you weren’t happy anymore, that you would much rather be with Steve. Even if you didn’t know that yet.
--
After a long talk with Fury it was decided that it would be better for everyone if you went back to being a normal shield agent instead of a part of the Avengers. While it stung a little and felt like a downgrade, it was what you wanted as well. To make things even better, you were now paired up with Sharon. Your long hours together proved she wasn’t as horrible as you once thought, but she was definitely not your favorite person.
Mike started working in a new sector where he was partnered up with a new agent named Jana. He spent more time with her than with, you so you started hanging out with Trisha and Marie regularly again. The two girls tried to get you to shit talk Ana with them, but you wouldn’t. Steve was happy and that’s all that mattered to you.
Mike broke up with you. He sent you a text at three in the morning telling you it wasn’t working. You wholeheartedly agreed, nothing felt right anymore, but you would have preferred the break up in person. That was the decent thing to do.he started dating Jana, and you were happy for him too. Just like Steve, you wanted him happy.
--
Months passed after the break up and you were still friends with Mike. He was your partner and your friend before the relationship, so you were sure as hell going to be his friend after the end of your three year relationship. Your break up wasn’t a secret, it seemed like everyone at shield knew the details of it.
Mike, Jana, Maria Hill, and you were all eating lunch together when a familiar blonde haired blue eyed man walked through the cafeteria. Your heart started to pound, you hadn’t talked to Steve in almost a year and hadn’t seen him in even longer. Mike gave your arm a quick squeeze as Maria was getting ready to go talk to him. But Ana locked eyes with you as soon as Steve waved at you, and pulled him away from you. Mike pulled you into his side and Jana gently rubbed your hand that was sitting on the tabletop.
Maria runs away from you and Sharon and up to talk to Steve when she sees him in the hall later that day. You and Sharon share an unsure glance before following Fury's right hand woman. Steve has a long talk with Maria about an upcoming mission she is accompanying him and Bucky on. He even talks with Sharon about a new technique Nat taught her when the redhead visited a few weeks prior.
“Hey Rogers,” you give him a small smile when his eyes finally land on you.
He opens his mouth, ready to speak to you for the first time in ages. But before he could get any words out Ana let out an annoyed sound, sent Steve a look, and stormed off. Steve gave you an apologetic smile before running after his girlfriend.
Your mouth opens as you let out what would have a mix between a sob and a scoff if it hadn’t come out silent. It felt like something was wrapping around your heart, giving it a painful squeeze. That feeling snaked up and constricted your throat, momentarily causing you to forget to breathe. Maria is looking at you with soft confused eyes while Sharon is glaring at Steve’s back as he runs after Ana.
Ironically, you ran crying to Mike. It was a sick twist of fate, after a year of running to Steve when things went wrong with Mike, he was now the one helping you when it came to the hurt America’s golden boy caused. He took you out for dinner that night and spent hours comforting you. Because after all this time you finally realized it. You’re in love with Steve, you have been for years. But now you’ve lost him for good.
--
“Are Steve and Ana still together?” Wanda asks when you visit her and Nat at the tower.
“I think, why?” you glance between the two redheads confused why they would be asking you this and not Steve.
“Well her and this other shield agent came with us on a mission,” Nat admits. “And the entire quinjet ride she was hanging all over him.”
“We had to spend the night there,” Wanda says slowly, like the next words out of her mouth could change everything. And they do. “I caught her sneaking into his room.”
The world around you seems to slow and your fragile heart seems to crack even more. You knew it. You knew that bitch would hurt your Stevie.
After leaving the tower for the night you immediately message both Marie and Trisha because they were right. At the office the next day you join in on the shit talking for the first time. Nobody hurts your Stevie.
--
Tony invited you to the charity gala again, he kept whining that he missed your annoying ass. So you're put on a gorgeous deep red dress with a slightly bedazzled bodice. You're at the bar with Tony, Nat, and Wanda when Sharon comes running over; her dress, Trisha, and Marie trailing behind her.
“Is Steve still with Ana?” Sharon asks, slightly out of breath.
“Why do people keep asking me this?” not only are you confused, but you're angry that it keeps coming up. “How am I supposed to know? Steve and I don’t talk anymore.”
“Ana came with the guy who’s room she snuck into,” Marie eyes you nervously as she speaks.
“That's her ex,” Jana adds as her and Mike join the group forming at the bar.
“Check their socials!” Trisha hollers unhelpfully. But you do anyway, and what you see breaks your heart.
You check Ana first, but after typing her name into the search bar nothing comes up. Mike quickly looks her up and shows that she still pops up on his phone, she obviously blocked you. Ana and Steve were still her profile picture, but you weren’t satisfied with that.
Your fingers fly as you type in Steve’s name. He pops up, but you suddenly aren’t friends with him anymore and the option to send a friend request isn’t there. Your cracked heart shatters. Everyone around you seems to fade and all you hear is white noise, you never meant anything to him. You don’t realize you're crying until your tears hit the picture of him and Ana laughing which is his new profile picture.
Tony makes you another rum and coke, which you chug. Screw Ana. Screw Steve Rogers. And fuck feelings. You spend the night dancing with Nat and Wanda when they aren’t with Clint and Vision. Mike, who refused to dance with you a year ago, even took you for a spin around the dance floor.
--
You eventually cut Trisha and Marie out of your life, they were nothing but trouble. They were bad influences, trying to get you to be a meaner person than you were. And it worked for a while, you had let them manipulate your hurt into anger since that was an easier emotion to process. Shortly after the gala you got transferred to a shield base in Sokovia, Wanda and Pietro excitedly showed you around their home. Sharon texted you a year after you left that Steve had apparently broken up with Ana.
It has been almost three years since the day of that gala and about two since Steve and Ana had broken up. Mike is still your best friend, he’s planning on proposing to Jana soon. He’ll occasionally see Steve and tell you how he is. Recently you decided to look him up on Facebook again to see how he was doing; he looks good, happy. You had the option to send him a friend request again, so you did. And within ten minutes he said yes.
It has been about a month since that happened, you haven’t messaged him and he hasn’t messaged you. You’ll react to some of the old photos from the forties that he’ll post, or the memes he posts about Stranger Things, another show you had gotten him into. Facebook friends doesn’t seem like too much, but for you when it comes to Steve it means the world.
While you don’t have that connection you had with Steve once, him accepting is like he’s accepting your apology for how poorly you acted when it came to Ana. You finally got your closure.
And with that you put down your pen and close your composition notebook. The one you're shield appointed therapist, you had to talk to her for your yearly eval, had suggested. She thought it might make you feel better to have all of the words written down, all of the truths and emotions out in the open. You realized far too late how you really felt, and the notebook was the only way to fully process everything that had happened these past four years.
Forever tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen @rexorangecouny
#steve rogers x reader#steve rogers x you#steve rogers x y/n#avengers#steve rogers#captain america#captain america x reader#captain america x you#captain america x female reader#captain america x y/n#steve rodgers x reader#steve rodgers imagine#steve rodgers x you#captain america one shot#captain america imagine#steve rogers imagine#steve x reader#rogers x reader#avengers one shot#avengers x reader
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hello hello !!! im ana !!! i recently made a new blog for banana fish because it very heavily affected me when i watched it in august 💔 its easily my favorite anime/manga and i was just hoping to share some of my art / make new friends :,))) here r some facts abt me !
- im infp /enneagram 6
- ive been a traditional artist for the past couple of years but recently switched to digital
- i live in the us unfortunately </3
- im a hugeee leftist, and i hope to study political science ! homophobia, racism, sexism, antisemitism, and any of the sort will not be tolerated and instantly blocked
- im 16, if youre below 13 pls lmk ! i do not want to make anyone uncomfortable:,)
- my top 5 animes are banana fish, snk, yuri on ice, devilman crybaby, and hxh
- im a figure skater !!
i really hope to meet new people :)) <3333
#ash lynx#banana fish#eiji okumura#asheiji#anime#weeb#otaku#jutlung#max lobo#aslan jade callenreese#aslan callenreese#angeleyes#garden of light
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His Queen, Chapter Four
A prequel to southernpeach13’s Princess saga.
********************************************************************
"Phone for you, sir."
"For me?"
"They did ask for McCullen the third, sir."
James takes the offered handset. It's not often a call comes to this number for him and not his father.
"Did they say who was calling?"
"A young lady, sir. She said you'd know who it was."
His hopes leap and he tries not to let it show on his face. He angles away from the line of engineers working on their computers in the lab
"Hello?"
"James?"
After two months, the sound of her voice melts him. He steps further away from the engineers, cups the phone to him.
"Ana. How are you?"
"I'm doing well, thank you."
She doesn't sound well. Even over the phone her voice sounds strained.
"Thank you for the flowers. I kept the vase."
He'd sent an arrangement to the funeral. Under the family name, not the company's.
"Of course, love. Glad you liked them. I'm sorry for the occasion."
"It's not your fault."
That's debatable. James casts about for something to say. He wants to keep her on the phone, but he doesn't know what to talk about. He wants her here, in front of him, in his arms again.
There's silence on the line. Have they lost the signal?
"Ana?"
"I'm here."
She sounds very small and unsure.
"Ana, listen...are you alright? If there's anything you need..."
Another long pause. He's about to call her name again, when she speaks.
"May I come see you?"
"What? Here in Scotland?"
"Yes."
His heart does a flip and clicks its heels.
"Yes!"
A few heads turn his way. James clears his throat and softens his voice.
"Ahem. Of course, my dear. I'd love to see you again. Sometime during the winter holiday, maybe?"
"I was thinking maybe sooner."
"Aye?"
"I'm in the country now."
What country? This country?
"You're in Scotland?"
"Yes. So could I...That is to say...How soon do you suppose I might see you?"
He's so elated his brain doesn't register how tense she still sounds. A big, foolish grin stretches across his face as he says,
"As soon as you like. Name the time and I'll be there."
"Can you come get me right now?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
He's a little less elated after twenty minutes on the road. It's pelting down rain, and the roads out here aren't all paved, much less lit. He's frowning into the night, watching out for potholes and stray sheep, and wondering what possessed the girl.
Still, he looks forward to asking her in person. The two months since they've seen each other have passed with her in his mind every day. There's a bag in his room, sealed air tight, with two of his shirts in it. One is stained with the marks of her fingertips, her brother's red blood aged to brown. The other is stained only with James's own sweat, but thick with pheromones. Neither shirt has been washed since the jungle, and neither ever will be. They smell of her.
James turns a final bend and the headlights wash over a tiny, pale figure whose umbrella has long ago ceased to be any help. Anastasia huddles near a small wood bench, under an awning which is no use against the rain blowing sideways. The headlights catch her glasses and light up their lenses. She looks like a small, shivery animal caught in their beams.
James pulls to a stop. Ana looks at the car, but doesn't approach. He rolls down the window.
“Did ye call a cab?”
She runs over and leans in the window, kisses him through the open window. Her lips are wet and cold form the rain. Her teeth chatter so hard she can't get his name out.
"D-d-j-Hz-Djzhames!"
"Get inside, love. What're you doing out here in this mess?"
She struggles with the umbrella, trying to wrestle it closed, until he reaches through and takes it from her, ushering her around to the passenger's seat. He slides it shut and pulls it in, rolling up the window as she falls into the seat and shuts the door. The rain patters down on the hood, but they are now shut away from it.
James just looks at her. For the second time, she meets him with clear fluid dripping from the end of her nose.
But this is no polite little tear. She's streaming with water. Rivers run down her face and her hair, plastered to her, is like a black waterfall. Her glasses are a field of droplets. If he'd known she was going to go swimming, he'd have brought a towel.
"Why aren't you in some nice, dry hotel somewhere?"
"I came as far as the bus would take me, then I asked directions and hitchhiked. This was as far as I got, but I found a phone."
"Hitchhiked? Ana - "
"I needed to see you."
Well, he can't be mad at her for that. She leans forward, kisses him, getting water all over the both of them. Her smell is warm under the cold wet. Warm and soft, and somehow milkier than he remembered. He adores her smell, but there's something rotten in it. A sour, overripe scent, like bad wine. The smell of an omega who's not just in distress, but suffering from some chronic strain.
James squeezes water from her long hair. She leans over the gearshift and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her shivering form and holds her.
"Ana, what's this about?"
Her words are muffled against his chest like two months before, but he hears them clearly:
"I'm pregnant."
#his queen#their princess#fanfiction#anastasia cisarovna#james mccullen#baroness#destro#baronestro#gi joe renegades#cobra#gi joe
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