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gavisuntiedboot · 1 year

Note

Hello, if your taking requests at the moments I have one that I’d love to see though it may be a little difficult!

Gavi and the reader (an actor) are dating but are in different counties due to the reader going aboard to film a new show! The young couple decide to go on an Instagram live together to hang out & a lot of fans join!

Hello and welcome to a new series I’m calling “boot on the bus”, where I see how much I can write of an ask on my bus ride home. Whatever state it is at at the end of my ride, I post! (Also so sorry to this anon who sent me this req literally months ago)

~~~

[incoming call]: pablito ❤️😡

“Hello?”

“Amor!! Finally!!”

“Pablo, why are you making an international call right now?”

“I can afford it. You have three seconds to explain to me why you haven’t been answering a single one of my FaceTime calls. I’ve been worried and, more importantly, bored out of my mind!”

You laughed lightly and relaxed back into the plush cushions of the hotel couch. You had forgotten that the last time you were out of Spain for filming was before you had met Gavi. Being on a successful HBO original came with a lot of perks, but also a lot of pain, both physical and emotional. You had joined the royal drama “Heavenly Bodies” in the middle of its first season, instantly being thrown into a love triangle between the two male leads. Viewers ate it up, creating theories and art (and ofc fan fiction) about you and your costars, foaming at the mouth to know what would happen next. The high demand lead to your current situation, where you were cooling off in a high hotel room overlooking Dubai, listening to your boyfriends complaints 2 months earlier than scheduled.

“I haven’t gotten any of them, Pablito. FaceTime is blocked here.”

You heard a loud scoff over the phone.

“If you are too busy to talk just say that, princesa. How could FaceTime be blocked in Dubai? That makes no sense!”

“Google it.” You retorted, laying back on the couch and cracking open a cold soda. You heard yells of “Ale! Google this for me!”, followed by a long pause.

“Oh wow. It is blocked.”

“See!” You yelled into the receiver, causing Gavi to complain about his sensitive eardrums. You sat back down, continuing what would probably be a very expensive phone call with your boyfriend. As you two talked, he sighed loudly, and you heard his body hit the couch.

“I miss seeing your face, princesa. Don’t get me wrong I love the sound of your voice, but it’s just different. Is there no way we can video call?”

You could basically hear the pout and puppy dog eyes in Gavi’s voice, and it made your heart swell. He was so enamored by you, so taken by the way you looked and spoke and laugh, that all he wanted was to once again cup your face in his hands and pull you in close enough to share his breathing space.

“Well, we could always just go on live together.”

“Huh?”

“Like do a live stream. On instagram or something. We would both be calling but there would just be other people there.”

Gavi paused once again, playing around with the idea in his mind.

“But what if I… want to say “not appropriate in front of people” stuff?”

“That’s what Snapchat is for.”

His laugh resounded through the phone, and you couldn’t help the large smile that squinted your eyes and filled out your cheeks.

“Okay, Vamos, let’s do it.”

You got onto instagram and started a live, inviting Gavi to join. Every one of your 10.5 million followers who has their notifications on started to pour in, the messages of “I love you 😍” and “hi from Brazil 🇧🇷” flying at unreadable speeds. Gavi’s end connected a second later, and the fans went mental. Gavi was beaming like the sun when the line connected, finally able to see your face again.

“Hello again, Amor. I missed that pretty smile.”

Your fans and Gavi’s were now in the chat trying to prevent a mass cardiac arrest incident.

Ynbiggestfan: MOTHERRRRR AND FATHERRR

gavi3096: nobody let Madrid see this they’ll know how to make him soft

Ynandgavicloset2: the way he calls her amor time to take a nap on an electrical wire in the rain

You weren’t reading any of it thought. You were staring at Gavi who was staring at you, the two of you making idle conversation about your trip and your show and his upcoming matches. He looked at you with so much love and affection that it made you blush, turning you into a much more shy and cuddly mess than people were used to. The sexy and strong power couple were now just a bunch of teenagers giggling and kicking their feet on instagram live. A strand of hair fell in your face, and Gavi reached out to his phone before remembering he couldn’t sweep it from your eyes on a different continent.

“Princesa, from now on, no filming on location unless I can come.”

“Why Pablito? Can’t live without me?” You teased, expecting a sharp reaction.

“Correct. Im literally itching and shaking from withdrawal. I love you and miss you come back faster.”

The chat got so overwhelmed they crashed the live.

~~~

Hey guys! Hope y’all enjoyed this little imagine. Ik not everybody wants super long works, but I don’t know how to write fast or short so then things sit in my inbox forever. So here’s to length variation!! Love y’all, time to take a nap.

#gavisuntiedboot #gavisuntiedbootasks #pablo gavi #pablo gavi x reader #gavi #gavi x reader #pablo gavi imagine #gavi x you #fc barca #gavi imagine #gavi fluff #gavi fic #pablo gavi fanfic #pablo gavi fanfiction #pablo gavi fluff #gavi fanfic

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himilce-persephoniea · 2 years

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What's your favorite movies and why would you recommend them? :)

Dear Anon, I’ve been crying over this post for days 🫠 seriously, how I’m going to answer this question? I took my list of movies (I’m not going to say how many movies I have but it's long, very long) and I had a break down. Do I chose my current preferred? The ones I’ve seen more than 20 times? The ones I love because “potatoes”? I chose a pattern like “my favorite in anime, in thriller, in action”? Do you see the dilemma???

So here is a list of a bunch of movies I really love. Favorites? Not sure. Recommend? Oh, absolutely!!

The Godfather (1972) I just love everything about this movie. The music, the characters, the ambiantation, the plot (it's the raising of a new mob boss!). Al Pacino does an amazing acting work! Frankly if you having seen it, give a try. And did you know that they were really helped by real mobsters? At the beginning, the scene where we see one of the subordinates rehearsal what he was going to say to Vito Corleone, was one of the people who gave advice on the real mafia. He was practicing his lines. When you see this movie, tell me who do you think is the “Goodfather” of the title? 🤗 I would love the read your opinion.

Ahmed, prince of the Alhambra (Ahmed, príncipe de la Alhambra) (1998). I think it's only available in Spanish (it's a Spanish production), but if you can see it, it's totally worth it. It's based in a tale from the American writer Washington Irvin’s Tales of the Alhambra (1832). It's the story of an Muslim prince who falls in love of a Christian princess in the medieval Spain. Ahmed was inclosed in the Alhambra all his life because it was predicted he will suffer because of love, so his father dictated he will never knew such thing. But he falls in love though poetry. Blanca, the princess, has to be married by a tournament and she despite violence, that's why she loves Ahmed lovable poetry. The story is how they fought for their love to succeed against everything. (P.S: the poem I took inspiration for “The light of your beloved eyes” I knew it in this movie. Is the poem they “write” together.)

Tangled (2010) I just love this movie. Where are you going to find a Disney Princess that goes to dive bars, sings with its regulars, fights with a pan, the male co-protagonist freaks out because her hair glows but has arguments with the horse that wants to capture him, both the parents are still alive at the end of the movie (🥹), is the father who cries and the mother who looks strong, has Blade Runner reference?? Seriously this movie great!

Clueless (1995) this is one of my feelgood movies. It's one the best adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. Cher is a lawyer’s daughter in Beverly Hills. She does what every teenager does (goes to parties and have fun with friends). She doesn't gossip or is mean to anyone. In fact, through all the movie, every time there is a new student in the school, she welcomes them. It's a romantic movie you always end with a smile. And come on! The co-protagonist is Paul Rudd!

Seven days in May (1963). A political thriller. I just adore this movie. With Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. It's explain the story of the head of the American military who wants to do a coup because the president sign a pact of disarmament with the Russian. It's amazing how almost 60 years later this movie continue to teach so much!

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) directed by Georges Lucas, with Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. The father/son duo in this movie is absolutely hilarious. The action never stops. I don't really want to spoil the movie if you haven't see it, but just “he didn't have a ticket”, “don't call me Junior” and “this is how your spend your days?” are my favorites. And no, you don't find any Dr. Jones in Archeological departments. I searched in four universities. And he’s right, the X doesn't mark the place 🤣

Jurassic Park (1993) I saw this movie in theaters being a little kid (if that doesn't set up my age 🥲). I wanted to see the movie with dinosaurs and I went out even more excited. Today, thirty years later, I’m just thrilled to see the original trio again together in Dominion. There is so many amazing moments. As an historian, I would have reacted just like Sam Neil’s character (Dr. Alan Grant) seeing a brachiosaurus. I love the idea that asks Jeff Goldbloom’s character, they were centred if they could do it (created dinosaurs from old DNA) that they didn't stopped to ask themselves if they had the moral right to do it. It's a question I’m not sure actual scientists would ask themselves doing researches...

Revenge of the Sith (2005). I had to put a Star Wars movie here. But hey, my favorite is “The Empire Strikes Back”. RotS is here because I’m talking about the 4h long version (is up there on Internet, you can easily find it). Why do I live it so much? First, ROTS is already a cinematic beauty. Have you seen how the colors disappear little by little as the movie pass and you can see Anakin falling to the Dark Side until we see a little hope with the twin suns of Tatooine (Luke and Leia)? Is just (chef kiss). But this version has the Mandalore arc (I could ramble for hours about Ahsoka, and Maul and my baby Clones 🥺) and the creation of the Rebellion by not other than Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and kriffing Padmé Amidala!! Freaking Georges Lucas decided it was more important to centre in the fall of Anakin and no the creation of a new hope?! Seriously?! Well, this 4h long version gives you all ☺️

Ulysses (1954) another with Kirk Douglas (did I love that actor? Yes sir). I’m a specialist in Greek mythology, in fact my art and history master degree was about the Hades (the place) in athenian vases of the 6th and 5th century B.C. Do you know how many movies or TV shows are good adaptation to the Iliad and the Odyssey? This one! And this one alone, and it's 60 years old! (please, don't make me talk about Troy, or the last one of the BBC...). It's amazing how good the portrayal of done. They have done an amazing research work. Nausicaa wears dresses that we see in paintings from Crete! And Ulysses fights like the firsts pugilats: with underwear. It's really accurate. The Odyssey is cut, and you don't see any God, but it's a movie pals. All the majors acts, all the majors adventures are there and well done explained. Telling again, a movie from 1954 hasn’t been dethroned as the best Illiad and Odyssey adaptation... And the Eneid’s case is even worse.

Twelve angry men (1957) with Henry Fonda. I think it comes from a theatrical version (it looks like). There has been an murder, the son as been accused, 12 men of a jury have to decide if that son is guilty without any reasonable doubt (if he's guilty, it's capital death). Eleven are completely sure at the beginning of it, only Henry Fonda wants to discuss because he has doubts and it's capital death... I just love legal movies 🥰 and this one is really good. Henry Fonda does an amazing job.

I gave you ten movies but I could continue for a long while 😭 Argo (2012), Beauty and the Beast (1992), Speed (1994), Miss Congeniality (2000), 2012 (2012), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge (2001), The Great Escape (1963), Tora Tora Tora (1970), Midway (2019), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw (2019), Princess Mononoke (1998)... Gosh!!! This is no end

And mention of honor. Movie I can’t see no matter how old I’m: The Land Before Time (1988) Thank you Don Bluth for given us a real masterpiece of animation... And a trauma! To this date, I’m still unable to see this movie without crying like a baby!!

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avinaccia · 3 years

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A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping, I have too much time on my hands, let’s go.

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes.

70. Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice) My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68. My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67. Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66. Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64. It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63. Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62. Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61. The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60. Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59. W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58. Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56. Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55. Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54. Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53. My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52. With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51. Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50. Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49. Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47. Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46. In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45. Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44. White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43. Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42. We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41. Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40. Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39. May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38. Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37. I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36. Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34. Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33. Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32. Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31. Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30. The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28. Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27. United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26. Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25. Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24. Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23. Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22. Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21. I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20. La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19. Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE.

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14. Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13. Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12. Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11. Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10. Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9. Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8. Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7. Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6. Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5. Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate.

4. Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1. The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series)

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

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newtonsheffield · 3 years

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Hello, beautiful!! It's been only a few weeks (a month I'd say) and I can officially say I've got hooked to the Bridgerton and Sons 'verse and its headcanons and it's WONDERFUL. I love it so, so much, and your writing in general! Please, continue doing it -as much as you feel comfortable- because your stories makes other people's days. 🥰 All this said (because you deserve being complimented), which headcanon would you love to write but no one has asked you yet? I bet you have got a "little" something you're excited about, yet you have not shared yet. Love from Spain (yep, this has reached Spain)! ❤️

And, another stupid fact: I'm your same age, and my birthday is in September too! #VirgoForTheWin, I guess! 😂

Ahhh Thank you to you for taking the time to read this ridiculous ‘verse and I’m so glad that I’ve kept you entertained this month, I have to say I’m becoming rather curious as to how everyone found this blog, was it purely through my shameless self promotion of Ao3 or ?? Let me know some other time!

Spain??? My Goodness. That’s insane! I think of this as purely a local sort of blog although the fact that 2 people I know in real life have read it, is a little odd and Mortifying to me for some reason (I have refused to give anyone else the link including my older sister who eyed with a sort of Why are you like this? Look that only a truly exasperated sibling can pull off with appropriate love and concern when I told her what I’d been doing) Oh heyyyy! Birthday Buddies! September is a truly heinous time of year in Australia, because it’s strating to get ht and all of the flies and insects depressingly make themselves known again but there we have it!

Okay! I have been absolutely itching for someone to ask me about Edwina+ Kate and Anthony’s kids and absolutely no one has! I’ve been over here like “Guys! She’d be really cute with them!” And not a single one! So you didn’t really ask for them but here they are!

When Edwina Sheffield found out she was going to be an aunt for the first time she was... beyond excited. Kate may have thought she would die single and alone but Edwina had known better and her heart had ached because she knew Kate would be a truly amazing mother. People had a tendencies to think of Kate as all sharp edges, and dry witticisms, but at her heart she was warm, and patient, and the way she wrapped her arms around you had a way of making you feel like nothing could ever be wrong again. So yes, Edwina was thrilled! And also because, yes, she may take a little bit of credit for Kate and Anthony’s relationship as a whole.

From the minute Eddie found out she was researching. Though she made the mistake of telling Kate this at brunch one day, 4 months into the pregnancy. Kate I’ve been researching and I’ve read that pregnant women really shouldn’t- Kate hadn’t even let her finish. She’d dropped her silverware loudly on the table stood up and said Eddie not you too. I’m so disappointed in you. and left the room leaving Edwina and their mother a little stunned. Anthony had barely been ruffled, he’d scoffed and said Edwina don’t worry about Kate, She apparently doesn’t believe in RESEARCH yelling the last word so his wife could hear him. Kate had called back I’l tell you where you can shove your fucking research! Edwina did not bring the matter up to Kate again though she did send Anthony articles every few days.

When Edmund was born, Edwina loved spending time with him. She’d take him to the park, or the museum and they’d sit for hours, with her talking away, telling him about Anthony, and Kate, and the difference between a Stegosaurus and a Triceratops, strapped to her front in a tiny baby carrier. Even when people told her that Edmund was a baby and he really wouldn’t remember, she didn’t care. And when people would come up to her and comment on what a beautiful baby he was, and to Edwina’s mind there had never been a more beautiful one, she’d smile blindingly in the way she’d learned as an 18 year old startled people just a little and say Thank you! He’s my Nephew! Her heart brimming with pride.

When Kate was pregnant with Miles Edwina was just as thrilled, She’d just gotten engaged to Matthew Bagwell and she absolutely could not be more thrilled. than when she sat at lunch with Kate and excitedly said Matthew asked me to marry him! And Kate had cooed over the ring and said how much she liked Matthew and then said dryly You should be careful though, Men lure you in being so sweet and charming, carrying their sons round in little baby carriers with a plastic dinosaur in there hair and it’s just a trap to get you pregnant again. Edwina had laughed loudly and when Miles was born a few months later she watched how gently Kate Held Edmund, who had the tiny baby in his arms and it brought a tear to her eye as she took a picture just like the one hanging in her Mother’s living room.

Thanks so much for indulging me with these!

#bridgerton and sons au #kathony #pregnant! kate #edwina Sheffield #kate sheffield #anthony bridgerton #molly's asks and answers

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smut4bangtan · 3 years

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Room 739 (Taehyung, One Night Only Anthology)

"I'd like to get a refill," you said as soon as the bartender walked in front of you. He took the glass from your hand with a slight smile, walked towards where the rum bottles were and silently returned with your refilled glass.

This bartender is one of the reasons why you're loyal to this hotel-bar despite its high prices compared to the normal bars. Though he's a little mysterious and quiet (unlike a lot of bartenders since it's basically a part of their job to be quite entertaining), there's something about him that makes you feel comfortable.

You've talked to him several times before about your problems about love, work, family, friends and life. There are nights when you would talk and there are nights when you wouldn't and that's alright. He's basically like a diary that's barely used, but is just waiting to get written on whenever you feel like it.

VINCENT. That's what his name is, according to the nametag at least. A lot of bar employees don't use their real names for some reason.

“Vincent?” You called with a seemingly lazy tone. It’s probably the alcohol; you’re starting to get a little dizzy.

He was about to enter the kitchen when he heard you, so he hurriedly came back. “Yes, ma’am?”

“What’s your real name?”

He smiled but it was obvious that he was iffy about the situation. “…I’ll just tell you my initials: KTH.”

You couldn’t help but smirk and slightly let out a chuckle. “You guys are so secretive. Someone here goes by name Dandelion. The other one’s Sunny. It’s not like you’re doing something illegal. What’s up with that?”

This time, he didn’t answer and just slowly walked away—still wearing that awkward smile.

You bowed down and closed your eyes for a while before turning your head around to look at the whole bar. The number of customers present aren't even more than the number of your fingers. That's why it felt extra lonely tonight. No one else is even sitting at the station with you.

"Is everything alright?" asked Vincent who was carefully wiping the glasses in front of the two of you. You just stared at him. "S-sorry for bothering you, I was just a little worried."

You giggled, "No, no. I was just surprised to hear you open the conversation for the first time." You took a sip from your drink—not removing your gaze at him—while he just showed a shy smile. "I finally had the courage to send my resignation letter to my boss today."

"Finally," he said with a big smile. "It's funny how we thought of actually quitting at almost the same time."

"Huh?"

"Tonight's my last," he replied. "I got accepted to the bartending job I applied for.”

"Oh, the Spain one?" He just nodded on your question.

You should be celebrating now because you finally got out of the job that has been strangling you for years already, but actually quitting has made you feel bad for some reason. And now this.

"Can I get a refill?" You asked again as you handed your yet-again empty glass to him. He just took it without saying anything and brought it back to you after getting the refill.

"Will you be able to drive home tonight? It's already your fifth glass and your face is looking really red already."

You waved your hands while shaking your head. "I booked a room. I'm not planning to go home tonight. You?"

Vincent’s eyes widened and unknowingly held his breath. "H-huh?"

"Oh, sorry," you said while laughing. You just realized that it sounded a little weird and confusing. "What I was supposed to ask you was about how you're planning to celebrate your achievement." You sighed in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

You looked straight at his face before taking a sip on your drink and saw his face that's now redder than red. He just kept wiping the glasses with his body so stiff, though his mind is probably thinking 100 thoughts per minute at this point.

"It's alright," he replied. "I also wouldn't go home tonight if I had the chance..." he shyly whispered.

He looked back at you but immediately cut the contact off in awkwardness which made you smirk. That was cute... and kinda tempting.

"What time are you going out?" You suddenly asked.

"At 2 a.m.," he replied and once again showed a shy smile though awkwardly. You looked at the clock: it's 1:30 a.m.

You pulled out the pen and rim of paper from his chest pocket which made him touch his chest in surprise. You removed the cap of the pen and wrote 'ROOM 739' on the paper. "I'll be waiting for you until 2:30 a.m."

You handed the paper then drank your remaining drink in one shot before getting out of your seat and walking away.

—

After taking a bath, you wore only a robe and nothing more. You checked your phone. It said 2:25 a.m. Five minutes more.

Just when the hands of the clock were about to land exactly at 2:56 a.m., Someone lightly knocked on the door. You hurriedly got up and walked towards the door. To make sure that it was Vincent, you peeked at the peephole. Positive.

You pulled the collar of your robe a little to show more of your chest while you tightened your belt to make your butt look curvier. You heaved a sigh before finally opening the door. It’s been a while since you had a one night stand and you can’t believe it’s going to be with someone you’ve been lowkey fancying for a long time already.

As soon as he saw you on that white robe, his lips formed a slight simper—as if he’s already imagining the things that may happen in a few minutes. His black hair that’s usually straightened and styled has showed its true curls after apparently taking a shower. This made him even sexier in his plain white shirt and black knee-length shorts (which did a good job in flexing his muscular thighs, by the way).

“I was afraid that you weren’t going to come by,” you said while leading him inside the hotel room.

Vincent sat on the bed as he put his backpack on the floor. “Why would I not?”

You turned the lights off except for the yellowish mood light around the corners of the walls. After that, you finally sat beside him. “I don’t know… maybe you were not as interested as I imagined.”

“How should I prove to you that I’m interested, then?”

You didn’t say anything and just gently kissed him on the lips. Vincent immediately responded as he held the back of your head. He gently touched your upper lip using his tongue and so you let him in. You moaned without even knowing which obviously turned him on big time; his kisses became deep and his tongue became harder. Your whole body was heating up and your pussy kept salivating. It’s all over the robe since you didn’t have anything else on.

The two of you let go for him to start removing his clothes. When he was about to remove his underwear, you stopped him and touched his slightly sculpted torso, down to his cock that was begging for his owner to release him from the dungeon.

“Fuck,” uttered the bartender who was slowly losing his breath. You smirked at him and gently messaged the head of his cock. You untied the ribbon of your robe with your other hand and slowly removed it from your body, revealing your healthy breasts and everything else.

Vincent pushed you on the bed and hopped on top of you. He lightly placed his palms on the top of your nipples and slowly moved them in a circling motion. You could feel your nipples become harder and harder the longer he did it. “O-oh...” You softly moaned after your pussy released a great amount of juice.

“Do you like it?” He asked with an assertive voice as if he was expecting you to say yes. You nodded. He just smirked and started to knead your breasts with his hands. Your eyes were rolling on its own and your body kept shivering. “You're ticklish.” He then slowly ran his fingers down to your wet pussy. He started to massage your clit in different ways and tempos, which makes you jerk.

“Fingerfuck me, please,” you begged. “I need that inside me now.”

“If you say so,” he replied, suddenly pushing his middle finger inside you. Your eyes rolled for the nth time, and before you could even recover, two of his fingers are already inside you—getting pulled in and out. You used your fingers to spread the cheeks of your pussy even wider.

“I’m gonna fucking cum!” Before he could pull his fingers away, you already squirted all over his underwear.

You sat in front of him and pulled down Vincent’s remaining garment. You immediately put his cock in your mouth while your hands massaged his balls. His fat and long cock was a little too much for you to handle but it’s not a problem. Who says no to big dicks?

When your pace was gradually getting slow, he started to push and pull your face from his dick. What’s better than fingerfucking is facefucking, of course. His cock was almost reaching your tonsils but you want more and more. You didn’t mind getting choked.

He suddenly pulled out when he was about to cum, making tons of combined saliva and pre-cum flow out of your mouth. “That was close,” he said.

You lied in front of him again. This time, you spread your legs and held onto them. “I want that big dick inside me.”

“You’re so gonna get fucked.” Vincent placed the head of his cock in front of your hole before gently moving forward and backward.

“Oh,” you repeatedly let out as he filled you up. Vincent put his middle and index fingers in your mouth while you sucked them clean. He finally started to pound on you "Harder..." you quickly said, trying not choke on his fingers.

As you wished, he leaned on you and fucked you faster, balls-deep. Without even knowing it, you started to rocked your body against him. You strummed your clit as fast as you could until your second quirt came.

"Shit!" He immediately pulled himself out and tapped your pussy with the head of his cock.

"God," you uttered with a shaky voice. "You're so good."

"That's not everything yet," he said, pushing you to make you lay on your breasts. He slapped your ass before entering you again.

Like a dog, you were fucked from behind. Vincent easily sped up his pace. Your hungry pussy was wholeheartedly welcoming him inside as if it didn't want to let go anymore. "Ravage me. Oh, yes. There. Fuck. You make me wanna cum!"

He fucked you even harder upon hearing what you said. He reached for your arms and pulled it, making his cock get buried deeper into your pussy. "Ah!" You moaned helplessly.

"D'you fucking like that? Huh?" He asked, slapping your ass once again. You could hear his heavy breathing from where you are and he seemed to be enjoying it very much.

Suddenly, he pulled out from you. You looked at him to see that he was almost cumming. You held his cock and briskly moved it up and down. He held your head tightly as you opened your mouth. Just in time, his sweet cum splattered all over your face.

Vincent fell on top of you after that, trying to catch his breath. He stroked your hair gently, while you scraped some of his cum off of your face to taste it again.

"Now, can you tell me your real name?" You asked, touching his sweaty ass.

"It's Taehyung," he replied. "Kim Taehyung."

#taehyung smut #taehyung #kim taehyung #bts smut #bts #bts imagines #taehyung imagines #taehyung x reader #v smut #v imagines #taehyung x you #v x you #v x reader #bts x reader #bts x you #s4b: one night only #kpop smut

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cto10121 · 3 years

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The bad Shakespeare takes keep coming, I see. This one had the cleverness to couch itself as a personal narrative (makes it much more interesting, tbh). But as bad Shakespeare takes are my bread and butter, my boon and bane, mamma mia here we go again, with Merchant of Venice.

“But those who thought the play was irredeemably antisemitic were, the consensus went, vulgar and whiny—and, completely coincidentally, they were also Jewish, which somehow magically invalidated their opinions on this subject.”

I’m glad (is that even the right word?) this author found scholars that don’t think this play is anti-Semitic, but my experience with scholarship has been way more mixed than that. Suffice to say, this is literally all the play is known for these days, and views of the play as anti-Semitic are everywhere (Rosenbaum even had a hot take that since the Nazis liked it, it must be anti-Semitic). Didn’t know Harold Bloom thinks this play is anti-Semitic, though. That in itself is a bit of a red flag, as Bloom is a notoriously poor reader of Shakespeare.

“[I]n Merchant, Portia unhappily fulfills her father’s requirements of her suitors, while in Il Pecorone, the lady enjoys drugging her suitors and robbing them blind. By removing this detail, Shakespeare removed the suggestion that malicious schemers come from all walks of life.”

Or, by removing this detail, Shakespeare removed the clear and abhorrent sexism of his original source that turned a woman robbed of her autonomy by her father’s will into a criminal. It’s almost as if you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

“Dr. Lopez, one of the most respected physicians of the 16th century, had indiscreetly revealed that he once treated the Earl of Essex for venereal disease. The earl took revenge by framing Dr. Lopez for treason and arranging for his torture; while on the rack, Dr. Lopez “confessed”—though “like a Jew,” as the court record states, he denied all charges at trial, while the attorney for the Crown referred to him matter-of-factly as “a perjuring murdering traitor and Jewish doctor.”

This is a very twisted account of the Lopez affair and Essex’s motives in going against him, at least to my understanding. For context, Lopez was accused of receiving loads of money from the King of Spain to poison Queen Elizabeth.

According to Stephen Greenblatt, in Will of the World: “Essex had tried some years before to recruit Lopez as a secret agent. Lopez’s refusal—he chose instead directly to inform the queen—may have been prudent, but it created in the powerful earl a very dangerous enemy. After his arrest, he was initially imprisoned at Essex House and interrogated by the earl himself. But Lopez had powerful allies in the rival faction of the queen’s senior adviser William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and his son, Robert Cecil, who also participated in the interrogation and reported to the queen that the charges against her physician were baseless.” Lopez apparently had been taken bribes from various sources, and confessed (freely? under torture?) “that he had indeed entered into a treasonous-sounding negotiation with the king of Spain, but he insisted that he had done so only in order to cozen the king out of his money.” Weird.

Greenblatt isn’t a historian, though, and Essex was indeed an asshole to Lopez, (and for what is worth, I feel Lopez was innocent; I just get those vibes) but so far I can find no other source that Essex actively framed Lopez. Most likely he did some sleuthing, dug up some questionable, compromising stuff, and tried to blow a hearth flame into a firestorm.

“After all, the historical record gives Queen Elizabeth a cookie for dawdling on signing Dr. Lopez’s death warrant; her doubts about his guilt even led her to mercifully allow his family to keep his property, not unlike the equally merciful Duke of Venice in Shakespeare’s play.”

Again, Lopez had powerful allies (doesn’t get much higher than Burghley), and again, re: Greenblatt: “According to court observers, Elizabeth gave Essex a tongue-lashing, ‘calling him rash and temerarious youth, to enter into a matter against the poor man, which he could not prove, and whose innocence she knew well enough.’” A cupcake, then?

“And it is of course entirely unclear whether this trial and public humiliation of an allegedly greed-driven Jew attempting to murder an upstanding Christian, rapturously reported in the press with myriad antisemitic embellishments, had anything at all to do with Shakespeare’s play about the trial and public humiliation of a greed-driven Jew attempting to murder an upstanding Christian—which Shakespeare composed shortly after Dr. Lopez decomposed. Most likely these things were completely unrelated.”

Nearly all the major Shakespeare biographies and articles I’ve read literally and explicitly talks about the possible influence of Lopez’s execution on Merchant of Venice and names it as an inspiration: Greenblatt, (he even headcanons that Shakespeare watched the execution!) Bate, Ackroyd. That’s how Horn managed to ping my BS radar something awful—because I had read about it, many times, even if it was mentioned in passing. It’s solid, legit Shakespearean academic fanon. The sarcasm is really unwarranted, and childish besides.

“It was damned hard to hear the nuance while parsing lines like “Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnal,” or “My master’s a very Jew; give him a present, give him a halter,” or explaining what Shylock meant when he planned to “go in hate, to feed upon / The prodigal Christian.”

The first two are the fool’s, Lancelot’s, lines, I think. As for Shylock’s hatred toward Christians, while ugly, it’s entirely understandable given the Christian characters’ treatment of him pre-play and during it (Antonio spitting on Shylock’s gaberdine and then asking him to borrow money from him is called out by Shylock himself for its sheer hypocrisy). It also fits Shylock’s character as an unassimilated Jew, resenting Christian hypocrisy and racism.

“The actor began the brief soliloquy that every English-speaking Jew is apparently meant to take as a compliment: ‘I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? . . . If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?’

“Wait, that’s the part where he’s more human?”

[…]“Sure,” I told my son, game-facing him back in the rearview. “He’s reminding us how he’s like everyone else. He’s a normal person with normal feelings.”

My son laughed. “You seriously fell for that?”

[…] “What do you mean?”

“Shylock’s just saying he wants revenge! Like, ‘Oh, yeah? If I’m a regular human, then I get to be eee-vil like a regular human!’ This is the evil monologue thing that every supervillain does! ‘I’ve had a rough life, and if you were me you would do the same thing, so that’s why I’m going to KILL BATMAN, mu-hahaha!’ He’s just manipulating the other guy even more!”

And then the crowd applauded, Harold Bloom cried, and the mayor gave the author’s six-year-old son a gold medal for his Brave Hot Take. Honestly, this was the most unbelievable part of the essay I’ve read. Unless this kid has been reading academic essays on MoV that posit this exact same interpretation (“Shylock was just using humanistic rhetoric to justify his ~bloodthirsty revenge!”), this one’s for a fake Internet stories anthology. Shylock may be a dour, miserable pain in the ass, but he is no Barabas, an actual anti-Semitic caricature—he has a character, and a recognizably human one, and the play bears it out that he is right in his anger.

“I reviewed the other moments scholars cite to prove Shylock’s “humanity.” There were two lines of Shylock treasuring his dead wife’s ring, unlike the play’s Christian men who give their wives’ rings away. But unlike the other men, Shylock never gets his ring back—because his daughter steals it, and becomes a Christian, and inherits what remains of his estate at the play’s triumphant end.”

Er, this is a non sequitur—that last has nothing to do with the first. The point is, Shylock doesn’t give away his ring; the fact that his daughter stole it means nothing to his treasuring it. It may be proof of the play’s marginalization of Shylock (which accurately if sadly reflects real-life systematic marginalization), but not his humanity. Shakespeare just doesn’t do backstories, even for major characters, so it is significant that he gave Shylock a wife/beloved in the first place.

“Finally, scholars point to the many times Shylock explains why he is so revolting: Christians treat him poorly, so he returns the favor. But for this to satisfy, one must accept that Jews are revolting to begin with, and that their repulsiveness simply needs to be explained.”

This makes absolutely no sense at all. If one accepts Jews are inherently revolting, then no explanation need be given for when a Jewish character acts revolting! The racist accepts the revolting Jewish characterization without qualm. The fact that the play insists on his grievance is significant.

“We listened together as Shylock went to court to extract his pound of flesh; as the heroine, chirping about the quality of mercy, forbade him to spill the Christian’s blood as he so desperately desired; as the court confiscated his property, along with his soul through forced conversion; as the play’s most cherished characters used his own words to taunt and demean him, relishing their vanquishing of the bloodthirsty Jew.”

YMMV, but to me there are no cherished characters in this play. That’s the whole point! Everyone is so mired in this dreary capitalist materialism that denigrates genuine human connection into mere transaction. Everything to these characters is money, money, money (and class), or at least tainted by it. Shylock is simply the most overt (and honest) of the lot. Love relationships, religion are impoverished; Portia and Bassanio are scarcely more suited than Portia and her other suitors. Shylock and Antonio are Jews and Christians in-name-only: They are capitalists first and foremost. Portia is a smarter, more likable Karen. Lancelot isn’t funny. Jessica is okay, but her leaving her father is framed as a asshole moment at least in one instance. Portia is probably the most lovable, but she has her asshole moments too. There are no truly awful characters, but you don’t need to demonize and dehumanize your whole cast into two-dimensional racists just to make a point.

Merchant of Venice is not the best of plays. It is one of Shakespeare’s experiments, a proto-problem play before his Jacobean era, using dark comedy and a slight bent of farce to explore and elucidate social issues, racism and discrimination, chiefly. At least it tries, anyway. Taming of the Shrew is the first proto-problem play done completely farcical, which at least makes it compelling in a slapstick-satire way; Merchant is much more sociologically astute, but also more dull and coolly distant even from its own concerns. I don’t blame anyone, much less Jewish people, for not liking the play or thinking it a masterpiece. I myself don’t, though for reasons that have nothing to do with the usual ones. I like what Shakespeare was trying to do and I think he did some things very well. It has ambition and thought. But I feel like for most of it Shakespeare was on writing autopilot while mentally looking around for something a bit meatier to adapt and develop. It’s a jogging-in-one-place play; he has a couple of those.

In sum: Author argues for complicated play’s anti-Semitism, ends up just saying the racist slurs by the flawed/asshole Christian characters made her and her son uncomfortable (feat. A distorted and even misleading account of the Lopez affair). Plus some internalized anti-Semitism to sort through, methinks.

#the merchant of venice #shakespeare #cristina metas #shakespeare meta #kind of #cristina reviews #also kind of #merchant is not even one of my liked plays but these takes are just wearying

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 3 years

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Book Review: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

If you've ever wondered what a fusion of The Hating Game and The Wedding Date would be like in novel form, then ¡diós mío! is this contemporary romance for you! It has everything. Talk about the epitome of an all-in-one special, my friends! Whether it's enemies-to-lovers, office romance, slow slooow burn tension; no matter if it's fake dating, forced proximity in a foreign country, or, one of my all-time favorites, "oh no! there's only one bed," this book is a fun and spicy amalgamation of tropes. It can be difficult to balance so many different ones. However, Armas blends them all together deliciously here, with one trope playing off another or diverging from expectation to create something new, something fresh. The little twists, the quirks that leapt away from convention, are the portions I enjoyed best. I also lapped up all of the hispanic aspects--the language, the food/culture, the adorable endearments. (What do I have to do for a handsome man to call me "bollito" endearingly, huh? Seriously. Just tell me already! Pretty, pretty please? *cries in Spanish*) Though the book starts off a little slow, taking time to establish its rising action, its pacing, it isn't long before readers are sucked into the simmering tension between Aaron Blackford and Catalina Martín. These two know what it means spar, let me tell you! Sparks fly - in fleeting looks, touches; in banter that wrestles with verbal fists almost as much as it tempts with quiet lips - from the moment readers meet them at work. Where they're colleagues. Where they're nemeses. Where they're barking and bantering and glaring at one another over every little thing. In short: it's bloody darling. Truly entertaining, with emotion and revelation and "aww's" to spare. When the story begins, Lina is desperate to find a date/boyfriend to accompany her to her sister's wedding in Spain. She needs to save face with her family and friends back home for a Reason™️ to be disclosed later in the plot. Aaron offers himself up for the role of fake boyfriend, calling himself her "best option." Which has her boiling, naturally, because, the audacity! Little does she know, though, since the story is written from her perspective alone, but he may have motives of his own. Hidden reasons. What are they, becomes the question of all questions. Lina's reluctant to agree to the idea at first, of course, not to mention skeptical as all hell about the proposition in general, but she soon accepts and that's when everything takes off--the plot, their attraction and chemistry, the cute not-date dates, the family wedding drama, the burgeoning tension that builds and builds with excruciating slowness until you're Captain Barbossa level of JUST KISS ALREADY keyed up. Like a stomach-fluttering, fluffy romcom, it all brews together nicely. Granted, I do think some portions could have been trimmed and the tone shift toward the end after things were consummated could have been refined better (it felt jarring, out of tune with their earlier dynamic), but overall this was delightful. A lovely little la-di-da break from everything 'blah' right now that left me wishing this romance were real not merely fictional. Also, prepare yourselves to fall in love with Aaron Blackford now, because you will. It cannot be helped. The man is a dreamboat. A book boyfriend to rival Joshua Templeman himself. (Yeah, that's right. I said what I said.) So okay, he may be a touch too perfect since I am unable to call up any of his flaws besides that of clipped broodiness, but I'll let it slide because it's refreshing to have a male lead who pays such close attention to detail when it comes to his heart's desire. He knows who his love interest is--what Lina likes, doesn't like; how she thinks. He gives her what she deserves not only what she needs. He actually listens when she talks, too, always taking the necessary steps to make her feel comfortable and content, even if that means going slow or waiting until she's ready to accept that what exists between them is real. Aaron is a patient man who isn't going

anywhere, you know what I mean? And there's nothing more swoon-inducing than a man who is willing to stick it out. Be a rock of support, a shoulder to lean on. The type of guy who wants to hold your hand in public and be honest, unapologetic to everyone he meets, about how much he adores you. Fake/fictional boyfriend or not, I'll be damned if that isn't what all women want. All in all, there is a lot to enjoy in this book. Sexy tension, lovable characters, a collection of entertaining tropes. Perfect if you're looking for a sweet and humorous beach read. A solid debut! 3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #the spanish love deception #elena armas #fiction #contemporary #romance #new adult #recs: ashlee approved #read april 2021 #boobklr #book reviews

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missolineaux · 3 years

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15 questions on Prince of Tennis

1. Favourite Character

• Sanada Genichirou. He's a character that has grown a lot. He went from: We're not allowed to lose to realising that sometimes defeat is unavoidable and learn from those. While still prideful, I feel he's a lot less uppity. He needed to be taught some lessons on humility and he DID. And he has grown to be an amazing character. When I met him he was aggressive, too prideful and way too arrogant. Which led to his defeat at Kantou. From then on, though, you see him grow. You see him train. You see him lose. And win. You see how much he cares about his team. And how, despite always asking a lot from others, he always asks even more of himself. You see him struggle and mature. I like a lot his portrayal on some of the TeniRabi event because it shows a lot of other shades on him. (Encouraging Yukimura not to let his plants die, helping Akaya pass a videogame stage, memorizing where are a certain type of flowers to show to Yukimura once they bloom). He may not say it often, but he has a lot of little moments where you can see that he cares about others way more than he shows. I mean. He gifted calligraphy to ATOBE and that's CANON. And during Senbatsu ark he tells Akaya: "What would Rikkai do without you?" And damn if that doesn't show his soft spot for the baby of the team. He is strong-willed, and passionate, and softer than he admits, he is disciplined, and an 80 year old on the body of a 15 year old, and he sings Japan's anthem in the middle of a stadium in Australia. And seriously, how could I not love him?

2. Least liked character

• Ryoga Echizen. WHAT? Yes. I know. You can sue me. But I don't quite like his personality and I find that switching from Japan to USA to Spain was a very shitty move on his part that proves him as a completely self-centered unreliable bastard.

Having said so, I'm not going to hate on anyone for loving him. Like, you do you.

3. Favourite Team

• RIKKAI. Come on most of my faves belong there. And Nioh/Yagyuu was the reason why I got in the PoT world in the first place (curiously though, they aren't between my top ten anymore. I like them, but I got to love others way more) I feel they are a very dysfunctional family with a lot of underlying issues (and not so underlying) that need a lot of love and, deep down, have a heart of gold. Except Yagyuu. Yagyuu is E V I L.

4. Least liked team

• Rokakku? Like I don't know, none of them really are my cup of tea. I don't hate them or anything. They are very nice guys and all but... That's that? Like no strong opinions?

5. Favourite Ship

• OH BOI. ALL THE SHIPS. I have at least 7 strong ships for Sanada and some low-key ones. And that's only for Sanada. So uhm yeah...

But I'll go with Sanada X Atobe for the dynamics and Sanada X Yukimura for the softness (they are soft for eachother and I'm not gonna change my mind on that)

6. Least liked ship

• I guess... Echizencest? Like Incest is not my cup of tea and I don't particularly like either Ryoma or Ryoga? So, yeah, wouldn't read anything about them.

7. Favourite Arc

• Senbatsu. You can sue me. I know. A lot of people didn't like it. I DID. First of all, we have TANGO pair. And the two idiots fighting over Tezuka. We have the scene of Sanada actually showing he cares about Akaya. Akaya's evolution through all the arc?????????? HELLO?????? I think it was during this arc that I actually came to love him and see how soft he really was. Him covering for Ann?? Because he really thinks he deserves it?? And actually realising that his devil mode is wrong and hurts people? Okay bye.

Then. Sanada. Singing. Yeah. Hehe. I simp.

Also I kind of like Hanamura sensei? Her vibes??

I think there were a lot of things they could have improved, but at the same time there were a lot of things right that helped with the character development.

And. I ACTUALLY LIKED THE AMERICAN TEAM AND AM VERY PISSED OFF THAT THEY ARE NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN.

8. Least liked Arc

• I've forgotten. Like seriously. I don't remember.

9. Favourite Movie/Ova

• Oofff that's a close call between Atobe's Gift and Battle of the British castle.

Like Atobe's gift was basically one hour or so of Atobe being soft for Kabaji, Kabaji appreciation and AtobexTezuka at its finest.

Battle of the British castle was: Prince Fuji. Atobe being extra. Kite apparently being a bitch but actually not and he helps them. SANADA BREAKING A FUCKING WALL. Sanada and Akaya bonding which is a stone I'll die in. And. They break a fucking castle. I mean. It's all very extra and I loved every second of it.

10. Least liked Movie/Ova

• Two Samurais. Sorry.

11. Favourite Match

• TEZUKA VS SANADA WAS A HUGE GROW UP FOR BOTH OF THEM, A BREAKING POINT FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND THE ULTIMATE PROOF THAT SANADA AND TEZUKA ARE FRIENDS.

• Atobe Vs Tezuka is my second favourite but I'm biased.

12. Least liked match/a match you think should have gone differently

• SANADA SHOULD HAVE WON THAT MATCH AND I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW WHICH MATCH I'M TALKING ABOUT.

13. A match you'd like to see

• Sanada VS Atobe where they actually reach a fucking conclusion. They have way too many unfinished matches. I don't even care about who wins. I just want to see them fight and then make out.

14. An interaction you'd like to see

• Plant Trio plotting someone's murder.

• Yukimura apologizing to Sanada for what happened at the hospital (canonly recognised as something Yukimura deeply regrets)

15. How do you feel about adding Aliens?

• Y E S. P L E A S E. KONOMI DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR EDITOR.

★ Tag 5 people:

@a-kuma @atobeinspace @imaginetenipuri @puff-cat @waterlinkedgirl and anyone who reads this

#prince of tennis #tezuka kunimitsu #atobe keigo #sanada genichirou #yukimura seiichi #tenipuri

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buttmano · 4 years

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Halloween w/ Spain

Request: "63. "I’m the tall, dark stranger your parents warned you about” with spain"

Rating: Smut/Lemon, Halloween

Smut Tags: Female Reader, Slightly Intoxicated, Size Difference

The music of the party thumped through your body, allowing you to feel the bass in your chest. Lights flashed in sync and you moved your hips hoping you were keeping the beat like the lights were. Your friends were off getting more drinks and left you on the dance floor much to your relief. The last thing you wanted to do was try to exit the dance floor and then try to reenter. With all the moving bodies around you it was obvious that task would be almost impossible.

Your slutty version of Minnie Mouse was quite a hit and gave you exactly the attention you were trying to get. Eyes scanned up and down you, boosting your ego with each look you got. Eventually, your thighs burned from dancing too much and you left the dance floor in search of your friends. The large house that was hosting the party was fun to look at and take in all the intricate, fancy details that your cheap apartment didn’t come close to boasting.

As you were wandering down a hallway you took a moment in your fuzzy tipsiness to pretend that you were a woman of importance, a princess, a queen, a total badass, the specifics didn’t matter. The fading of the music helped immerse you into your vague fantasy, the clicking of your heels on the marble floor feeding into your boosted ego. As you wandered you realized this wasn’t exactly a large house, it was a full blown mansion. The pillars in the hallway, the ridiculous staircases, the almost laughable statues. It was better to see in the hallways rather than the huge dance room most of the party was confined to.

You rounded a corner and gasped when you bumped into the chest of someone, “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

A warm smile on an even warmer face greeted you, “Ah, it’s fine. What might you be doing all the way over here, away from the party?”

“I was just...wandering...,” you admitted sheepishly, fearing you weren’t supposed to be over in this part of the estate, “who are you?”

The brunet man grinned and for a moment you noted that the prince outfit he was wearing fit him almost too well, “I’m the tall, dark stranger your parents warned you about.”

He leaned down towards you, hand resting on the wall next to you. You pulled your lip in between your teeth and appreciated how well the man in front of you smelled. The small amount of alcohol in your system took hold and your face turned into a grin as you leaned up towards him, “Well I don’t think they warned me enough.”

Your comment caused a hearty laugh from him and you almost felt yourself go weak in the knees, “You, my dear, may call me Antonio.”

“I’m Y/N”

A hand reached for yours and brought it to his lips. Your cheeks heated up and you held your breath. How dare this attractive man make you so flustered?! His lips were warm on your hand and you half wished he would have kept them pressed to your skin. After a moment you let out the breath you were holding and returned the smile that he was giving you.

“We should... We should get back to the party.”

Antonio smirked and shrugged, “I’m sure they won’t miss me while I entertain a gorgeous lady. How about I take you on a tour of the house?”

“A tour? Are you sure the owner won’t mind?”

“Hmm, I��m positive he wouldn’t mind.”

He began to walk down the hall in the direction you had been heading and you scurried after him in your heels, “How can you be so sure?”

Antonio paused and looked back at you over his shoulder with a bright smile, “Because I am him.”

The look of bewilderment on your face almost made him laugh, but he refrained. You two continued to walk as he pointed out the movie theater, the gym, the indoor pool, the outdoor pool. As you two continued you allowed yourself to wonder how someone who looked as young as Antonio could own such a house. Perhaps he inherited it? Oh! Or maybe he was an inventor? Anyways, he was attractive and rather funny and the way his large arm felt draped around your shoulders felt nice.

After your tour was done Antonio looked down at you, “So, do you want to go back to the party?” he paused for a moment, “Or would you maybe like a more intimate tour of the master bedroom?”

“Bedroom,” the choice was easy and you happily turned back around to face the direction you just came from.

Your eagerness made Antonio laugh and he walked briskly back towards his room, making you nearly jog to catch up with him. Giggles and laughs left both of you and the second his bedroom door closed you were both feverishly kissing each other. His hands wandered up your curves and easily spread over a large amount of your body at one time. Your lips trailed down from his lips to his neck, determined to leave hickeys on his gorgeous skin.

Antonio easily lifted you from the ground, your legs wrapping around him as he carried you across the huge room. His hands gripped your ass and he boldly used your body to grind you against him. Your lips only parted from his skin to let out a quiet moan. Gently, he laid you on the bed and without a word he knelt on the floor and pulled you closer until your ass was even with the edge of the bed. You laughed softly before he slowly pulled your thong off, smirking at the fact that you wore one underneath your skimpy little skirt.

One of his large fingers ran up and down your slit and you sighed, leaning your head back onto the bed. If Antonio had been sober, he probably would have teased you until you were begging desperately for him to do more. But alas, he was also a bit tipsy and therefore couldn’t help but immediately dive in. His tongue now ran up your slit, collecting some of your wetness on his tongue and happily lapping it up. A thick finger slid into you as his mouth wrapped around your clit, sucking gently.

You muttered a curse as a hand wandered down to tangle in his thick, luscious locks. His free hand wrapped around your thigh, pulling you even closer to his face. A second finger joined the first inside of you and already you could feel a pleasurable stretch in your nether regions. His mouth was skilled and as he easily worked at your clit while curling his fingers in you he relished in the sounds of your heavy pants and moans. Antonio was determined and within ten minutes he had you gasping, your hips going into spasms as you were dangerously close to your climax. Just as you were about to both warn him and possibly pull him off of your pussy, Antonio doubled down and quickened his movements, easily sending you over the edge.

After you came down you saw Antonio grinning stupidly, now shirtless and a condom laying next to you. Carefully, he began to take your costume off as he kissed you roughly. Once your tits were bare Antonio wasted no time and began to play with them, loving how the action made you squirm and grind yourself against him. Again, had he been sober he would have teased you and called you playful pet names, but for now, he was lucky he wasn’t blackout drunk. Once he had his fill of your boobs, and once they were successfully covered in hickeys, he tugged his pants off and finally joined you on the bed, moving you to lay in the middle of the big mattress.

While kissing you again Antonio opened the condom and rolled it on before slowly pushing into you. Both of you groaned in unison and his large body easily hid all of you beneath him. His elbows rested next to your shoulders as his hands ran through your hair, his hips slowly thrusting in and out, dragging his cock along your walls. Occasionally he dipped down to kiss you again and you briefly noted how soft yet rough this man above you was. Perfectly contradicting.

You whined his name and lifted your hips up to meet his, silently pleading for him to do more to you. And he listened. His rhythm quickened and more importantly, became harder. His cock pushed in and out of your walls, the stretch nearly making you squeal in pleasure. The sounds your body made as they collided made your cheeks heat up, but ultimately it was so lewd it just turned you both on more. Hands grabbed at his back, nails digging into his skin while your legs wrapped around his waist as much as they could.

Antonio was moaning in your ear, your name falling from his mouth every now and then as his hands gripped your shoulders, allowing him to thrust even faster. Until one of his hands left to once again stimulate your clit between your bodies. His other hand now slid under your shoulders, effectively holding onto both your shoulders. Antonio was desperately trying to hold his climax back so you could at least cum right after he did. Though if he were to be honest it was hard, you looked so gorgeous sprawled out beneath him and moaning his name that it was difficult not to cum right then and there.

Your thighs tensed around his waist and his fingers did what he was hoping for - within minutes you were once again calling out his name while climaxing. He groaned as he felt your pussy clench around his cock and he finally let himself go as well. You wish you could have burned the image of Antonio’s orgasm face into your mind as you felt his cock twitch inside of you, filling up the condom.

For a moment, Antonio stilled, and you both caught your breath, your legs untangling themselves from the taught body above you. Then Antonio slowly pulled out with a quiet moan and left the bed. He discarded the condom and pulled a pack of baby wipes out of his night stand. You laid on the bed looking at the ceiling as your chest still rose and fell heavily. After a moment the pack of wipes came into view as he wordlessly offered you one. Sitting up, you took one and it served its purpose.

Antonio crawled underneath his covers and he was happy when you did the same. You figured hell, you two just had sex so you earned the right to stay the night. If he really wanted to kick you out he’d have to drag you. The wisps of hair on his chair made your thighs clench and you sighed, ignoring the horny thoughts to instead cuddle next to him.

“My parents should have warned me more.”

A deep laugh came from your partner and he rubbed at your shoulder, “I have to admit, I’m glad they didn’t.”

#hetalia #aph #axis powers hetalia #hetalia axis powers #axis powers ヘタリア #quetalia #reader insert #halloween #character x reader #hetalia x reader #x reader #smut #hetalia smut #lemon #aph spain #antonio fernandez carriedo

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heytheredeann · 3 years

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Another lie from the front lines

Tags: Post-Canon, Gen or Pre-Slash, Blood and Injury, Illya Kuryakin Whump, Hurt Illya Kuryakin

Summary: “I need help,” he gets out, quickly, grimacing a little without meaning to. “Floor caved in and now I’m stuck.”

Notes: This is the fill for the "impaling" prompt on day 4. What? Today it's the 10th? I mean, did you seriously expect me to be on schedule with this? We all know I will still be finishing these in March (...or April. Possibly May) LOL. Also, yeah, still torturing Illya. I promise it won't be like this the whole month though LOL, next one should be Napoleon's turn. Gaby's too at some point if things go according to plan. when do they ever tho The title is from "Mars" by Sleeping at Last, enjoy!

At first, the only thought that he can focus on is that he must not, under any circumstances, throw up: pinned as he is he would probably end up chocking himself, and right now he can’t think of a less pleasant way to die.

Then, slowly, he manages to ground himself back into his current situation, registering the dust not yet completely cleared around him, the chatter coming from the radio fallen somewhere on his left, and—oh, right, the fact that the floor caved and he got himself impaled on a rod.

When panic starts crawling its way up to his throat he tries to take a deep breath, to steady himself, but that proves to have been a bad idea as the movement pulls at his wound, dragging a growl of pain out of him and not helping him calm down in the least. His vision swims, he isn’t sure if because of the pain or because he is concussed – both, both sounds about right –, and he has to brace himself against a fresh wave of nausea.

Alright, alright. He needs to focus.

As soon as he figures his stomach can take it, he tries to raise his head up, to take a look at whether he is already on his way to bleeding out or not. He doesn’t seem to be bleeding too much, fortunately, and the rod might have missed anything vital, but he should probably put something over that wound—he doesn’t think he has anything at hand. He would have had his hat, if Solo hadn’t kept pulling it over his eyes like the overgrown child he is, prompting Illya to smack his hand away and leave the hat behind for good measure.

It's then that he actually registers the radio and the voices coming out of it, a reminder that he didn’t come alone, that he just needs to call for help.

He forgoes trying to understand what exactly they are saying, figuring that his attention span probably can’t take it, not when he has to carefully reach out, stretching his arm as far out as he can without tearing himself apart. It still hurts and the radio swims in front of his eyes a few times, but eventually his fingers brush against it and he yanks it in his direction, greedily pulling it to his chest.

The first thing that he registers is Solo complaining about Switzerland and how it’s ridiculous that they have never been sent to Paris yet and I’m just saying that we deserve a trip to Paris, that’s all.

They are in a Swiss compound, Illya remembers then, he was sweeping the second floor when the ground caved in and he woke up flat on his back and unable to move.

He misses the first time Solo leaves the line open, so he has to listen to Gaby replying that she’d actually much rather being sent somewhere in Spain, that Paris is too much of a cliché, and he does his best to focus and keep himself ready to cut in as soon as she’s done talking.

He's pretty sure that he lost track of his thoughts at least once before he can finally get a word in.

“I need help,” he gets out, quickly, grimacing a little without meaning to. “Floor caved in and now I’m stuck.”

There’s a beat of silence after he has stopped talking. “Stuck?” Solo echoes then, his concern not too well concealed behind his confusion.

Illya hums. “I got impaled on a—thing.”

[More on Ao3]

#febuwhump #febuwhumpday10 #napollya #napollya fic #tmfu fic #the man from uncle #not spn #my fanfic #napoleon x illya #tmfu

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barely-alive-shrimp · 3 years

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About PSP Jeanne d’Arc ’s historical references

You know, Jeanne d’Arc for PSP is a funny game: while clearly not being very historically accurate (orcs and magical armlets in the Hundred Years’ War? Huh, they don’t tell you about things like that on History lessons), it still contains some interesting nods to history, some of which are quite obscure. I’ve collected some of them, mostly about historical figures and some events that I consider to be most interesting. This is going to be a long post, and there will be some spoilers, but I’ll put a warning so you could skip that part if you haven’t played the whole game yet. Oh, and sorry for any mistakes – I’m not a native speaker, so I hope there won’t be too many of them. I tried my best :P

[Note: I kept referring to her as Jeanne d’Arc here, although, as far as I understand, it is more common to call her Joan of Arc in English. I’ll leave it as it is, if you don’t mind ^^’]

Okay, I think I’ll start with the characters. There are quite a lot of characters who were based off real people: aside from the most obvious ones (Jeanne d’Arc, Gilles de Rais, Henry VI, Charles VII and some others), we have the following (I tried to find some paintings and pictures where possible):

Jean and Bertrand are based off Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy, who were Jeanne’s trusted allies during the Hundred Years’ War. They both had great respect for Jeanne and escorted her on her journey to the dauphin.

Colet’s prototype is most likely Colet de Vienne, a royal messenger who also escorted Jeanne d’Arc on her way to Chinon. Little is known about him, other than that he was accompanied by an archer named Richard – probably a prototype for Marcel. I guess they changed his name so he won’t be confused with the other Richard, who is also a playable character. By the way, it seems that the name ‘Marcel’ means “little warrior” in French, so if game developers chose that name intentionally (and I think they did), that’s a very nice little touch!

Étienne de Vignolles, more known as La Hire, was among France’s best commanders and was one of Jeanne d’Arc’s most trusted allies. Described as quite an arrogant man, he was a fearsome warrior and fought alongside Jeanne at Orleans and during the Battle of Patay. You can also find this prayer of his: “God, I pray Thee that today Thou wilt do for La Hire that which Thou wouldst have La Hire do for Thee, if he were God and Thou wert La Hire.” – perhaps, much like his in-game version, he did have a habit of talking about himself in the third person.

Richard was probably based off Brother Richard, a Franciscan monk who knew Jeanne. I couldn’t find any other information about him, though, except for this design for an opera.

The next one is a bit of a stretch, to be honest. It seems Bartolomeo does have a historical prototype, but it’s not clear who it was; he may or may not be based off Bartolomeo d'Alviano, an Italian captain who fought on the side of Spain against France. He didn’t have much to do with the Hundred Years’ War, though; moreover, he was born after Jeanne was burned at the stake.

Robert de Baudricourt was a captain of the royal garrison at Vaucouleurs. When Jeanne d’Arc came to him, saying she has a mission from God and asking for assistance, he was very skeptical at first, but since Jeanne was very persistent, he eventually provided her an escort to visit the Dauphin. The game didn’t change it much.

John Talbot was an English military commander known as “English Achilles” for his bravery. Despite being one of the most feared warriors, he was respected so much that when he was captured, Charles VII released him without asking for ransom.

Sir William Glasdale was an English captain who commanded the troops in the fort Les Tourelles. Jeanne d’Arc wrote a letter to him, pleading him to lift the siege of the fort, but he refused to do so, and Jeanne’s troops started the assault to take Les Tourelles back. During the assault, Glasdale fell into the Loire River and drowned, as his armor was too heavy.

Both Georges de La Trémoille and Arthur de Richemont were indeed Charles’s trusted servants. Georges also survived an attempt of assassination – as described, “thanks to his obesity”, and, as you can see in the game, the developers had that part in their heads, as well. :) Here’s a picture of Arthur de Richemont, I couldn’t find any paintings of real life Georges de La Trémoille, but I’ll add a picture of his in-game version a bit later.

There’s an interesting detail about Charles VII himself: have you ever looked at his in-game portrait and thought: “Man, they didn’t have to draw him such a big nose”? Well, that’s probably because real Charles VII was actually described as a man with a big nose! That’s another “well done” to the game developers.

As for Bedford – his actual name was John of Lancaster, ‘The Duke of Bedford’ was only his title. I don’t know, maybe that’s obvious, but I spent a good part of walkthrough thinking Bedford was his name. His real name not being mentioned and all the other characters calling him just “Bedford” certainly didn’t help. :P

* * *

All right, now I’m going to dive into some historical events and characters’ relationships that might spoil some events of the game for you. Please, go to the “SPOILERS END” mark if you haven’t finished the game yet and want to see everything for yourself.

SPOILERS

Okay, first of all, the game heavily implies Charles VII had a difficult relationship with his mother, Isabeau of Bavaria. Real life Isabeau of Bavaria claimed that Charles VII wasn’t the trueborn son of Charles VI, thus couldn’t be the rightful king of France, so I doubt the queen loved her son very much. The game tries to explain it with the demonic possession of Isabeau – still, her last words before she was (presumably) killed by Henry VI/Gilvaroth were confusing and quite out-of-nowhere to me.

Georges de La Trémoille disliked Jeanne d’Arc and, as some historians believe, was involved in a plot against her that ultimately led to her death – both in real life and the game. Of course, we all remember that in the game it wasn’t Jeanne who ended up at the stake…

The Battle of Patay (June, 1489) was one of Jeanne d’Arc’s greatest victories during the Hundred Years’ war. In this battle, the feared “Terror of French” John Talbot was finally captured. I’m not sure if this one was intended or not, but this stage in the game is the last time you see Talbot – well, not until he suddenly reappears late in the game, only to help you and never to be seen again.

Do you remember the part where Liane went overwhelmed with her great power and responsibility (hehe) and tried to recapture Paris by herself? Real Jeanne d’Arc also tried to break the siege of Paris, but the attempt failed and she and her troops were ordered to withdraw. After that, the nobles’ disappointment with her had reached its highest point, and Jeanne’s fate was pretty much sealed – much like Liane’s.

And, of course, the darkest nod to the history is Gilles de Rais, known as a serial killer and possibly a pedophile (there are some historians who believe he was framed, but that’s not the point for now). On the other hand, in-game Gilles is a nice and noble guy and never betrays you or does something violent. At the end of the game, he sacrifices himself so Gilvaroth would be trapped inside of his body, and, considering the real history, the demon probably got him in the end. This reference is more well-known and has been discussed at several forums, but I still cannot help but mention it.

Also, on a less disturbing note – see how Gilles is drawn with a lily? That’s because Charles VII allowed de Rais to add this flower on their family crest, which was considered a great honor, as lily symbolized the power of the Crown (that’s what I heard, at least).

SPOILERS END

These are the most interesting historical references of the game, in my opinion. Thank you for reading and feel free to correct me and/or add the details I’ve missed! My DM is closed for now, but you can correct me via reblogs, if you want. ^^

#Jeanne d'Arc PSP #JDA PSP #Jeanne d'Arc #Joan of Arc #Why am I even doing this

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irkimatsu · 3 years

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Okay, after way too much delay - it's my Eurovision 2021 Final Ranking! This took me a while for a lot of factors - took extra hours at work to make sure I could get time off this week, some recent family events... and most relevantly, the fact that this year is so damn good that no matter what, I knew someone was going to get ripped off by ending up somewhere in the bottom half. Just know that being toward the bottom of the list doesn't necessarily mean I dislike it, especially this year - it just means I like other things more. This year is going to be an absolute bloodbath. I am both excited and terrified.

Try not to take my ranking too seriously, by the way - I'm an American who unironically listens to stuff like Scooch and Dolly Style. I'm not exactly a seasoned music critic. I just know what sort of music makes the happiness center of my brain light up, what the hell is music theory

Ranking made with the sorter at http://esc.gerbear.com/sorter2021.htm, then slightly adjusted when it put some songs concerningly low on the list. Okay, so I cheated a little

Firstly, in the interest in completion - if Belarus didn't get disqualified, they'd be in the big fat 40 rank, with a big bold "Hate" right above. Fuck that song. I've only listened to it once and am so glad I have no obligation to acknowledge it any further. Those fucking lyrics. Mother of Christ. Fuck you guys.

I also offer my condolences to Armenia for their having to bow out this year. I'm sure whatever you guys sent, it couldn't have possibly been worse than "Chains On You".

Now, for the songs that actually matter:

Indifferent:

39 – Spain - “Voy a quedarme” by Blas Cantó: Welp, already I’m gonna get shot. I can’t remember how this song sounds at all. I know it’s tender and genuine and sweet and everything… I just… kinda don’t care. Nothing to say. I liked his entry last year even more, and even that was pretty damn dull. Just not destined to be a Blas Cantó fan, I guess!

38 - North Macedonia – “Here I Stand” by Vasil: I’m with most other rankings I’ve seen; what the hell is this? I at least kinda remember it, which is more than I can say for poor Spain, but oh my god it’s so boring. I really liked “You” last year! What the hell happened, Vasil?

37 – Albania - “Karma” by Anxhela Peristeri: Another “oops” from me, huh. It’s another one I immediately forget about the instant it ends. I at least don’t remember it boring the crap out of me, hence it placing higher than Spain and Macedonia, but I still can’t say anything nice about it – or anything at all, really – so I’ll leave it this low. I acknowledge that I’m in the minority, I won’t protest if it qualifies, but personally, it’s not my pick.

36 – Georgia – “You” by Tornike Kipiani: Give him points for passion, I suppose! At least I’m not laughing at him like I was last year. On the other hand, less ridiculous also means more boring. Points for earnestness, but this is just another song that goes right over my head.

35 – Portugal – “Love Is On My Side” by The Black Mamba: An English song from Portugal? That’s new. Too bad it hasn’t rescued the song from the darkest depths of Boring. I will confess that I spice it up a little by associating it with Homura from Osomatsu-san, thus rescuing it from the deepest pits of my ranking list… but it’s still stuck down here. Portugal and I have never gotten along well Eurovision-wise. I’ve come to accept that.

34 – Slovenia – “Amen” by Ana Soklič: I’m gonna call this a song that I respect more than I like. She’s got a great voice, I can’t deny that… but when I’m ranking this purely based on what I’d go out of my way to listen to, this one falls flat. I warned you at the beginning that I have no taste! I’m not normally into straightforward ballads, the religious connotations are lost on me… this isn’t the song for me.

33 – Austria – “Amen” by Vincent Bueno: Back to back “Amen”s! Tip for getting me to like your Eurovision entry, apparently, is “don’t call your song Amen”. It’s a ballad, earnest and trying but overall not my type of music. I’m running out of ways to say that. Breakup song, a tad bitter, we’ve all heard this sort of song so many times before. It doesn’t stand out, and I think it’d be a waste of a spot in the final.

At least, I thought this was a breakup song when I first wrote this, but apparently it’s about the death of a loved one…? I would say that makes me hate the bitterness, but… given how I’m handling a death in my own family right now… god, I don’t know. I just can’t handle this song, not at any time but especially not now. It doesn’t even provide catharsis like a song later on in the list. It stays this low regardless of its meaning, I just don’t like it, I’m sorry, moving on.

…” 'Cause it all feels like you didn't even try to save us, all this time wasted on a lie”… ugh, my personal problems…

32 – Switzerland – “Tout l'Univers” by Gjon’s Tears: Another one I respect more than I like, and another opinion I’m gonna get my ass beaten for, I’m sure. I respect the artistry, but this is so far removed from anything I’d ever listen to on purpose. It might have landed even lower if I wasn’t afraid of pissing people off. I’ll understand if it wins, but I’ll also be hoping for most anything else.

31 – Russia – “Russian Woman” by Manizha: I don’t get it. Sometimes it’s pleasant enough to listen to, but overall I don’t get it. It’s unique, I’ll give it that! I understand why it won its national final, and why so many people enjoy it! But for me, it doesn’t quite cross that line between “interesting” and “enjoyable”. I'm not Russian - this isn't for me, and it wasn't supposed to be. Though I will confess that there may be some bias at play here. God, I miss Little Big…

Okay:

30 – Estonia – “The Lucky One” by Uku Suviste: The voice is okay, the music is okay, I like how the bitterness is handled here more than in Austria’s… but this is still as high as I can go on this one. It’s serviceable, but this year has so much better to offer.

29 – Sweden – “Voices” by Tusse: Sweden really does like sending the same song over and over again, huh? I don’t hate it, but it does strike me as a lesser “Too Late For Love”, sound wise. Sweden almost never takes risks, and it’s causing me to look over them more and more with every year. I respect it too much to put it in the “Indifferent” category, but given how the rest of my ranking played out, this the best I can do for it. (But again, do not trust the opinions of someone who teethed on cheesy Europop and fondly remembers when Sweden was flooded with the stuff…)

28 – Belgium – “The Wrong Place” by Hooverphonic: Once again, Hooverphonic help Belgium fill the role of Eurovision’s “Most Likely To Appear In A Bond Movie” song. It’s fine. It’s a song! I don’t know what else to say about it! It does its job well enough, it’s just not really a job I care for that much.

27 – Ireland – “Maps” by Lesley Roy: It’s cute enough! A cute little radio tune. It’s no “Story Of My Life”, though. If “22” couldn’t qualify then this probably won’t, either, and I can’t say I’ll miss it all that much. Still pleasant enough when it comes up on the shuffle.

26 – Bulgaria – “Growing Up Is Getting Old” by Victoria: I admit it, this ranks as high as it does because of anime and that’s basically it. If I was still doing plain category sortings this would have landed straight in “Biased”. My favorite anime is about a bunch of 20-somethings learning that growing up sucks and trying as hard as possible to avoid it, and I first heard this song around the same time that I watched that show’s relatively melancholy season finale, so it ended up sticking with me on that note. Don’t have much to say about it musically, just that it makes me picture sextuplets crying and that’s one of my hobbies, so I’ll grant it an “Okay”. (It may also worth noting that if I heard this song before 2019, in the state my life was in before then it would have probably left me too inconsolable to listen to it more than once. Growing up is growing old indeed!

…it’s also worth noting that after I wrote this blurb, a major event happened that really enforced that growing up is getting old, so I listened to this quite a bit for a few days, among some other non-Eurovision songs. I’m probably gonna have an emotional breakdown on Thursday when this one starts. So, um, look out for that, guess. Between this one and Austria’s, I swear to god…)

25 – Italy – “Zitti e buoni” by Måneskin: I’ve been trying to get this one to rank higher, I really have, but its inability to crack the top 20 just says a lot about how damn good this year is. It sounds great, it’s very well done, and I wouldn’t hate to see it win! It’s earned its popularity. Everything holding it back in my own personal ranking is just that, personal – I do lose something when I can’t sing along or understand the lyrics, and there’s another rock song this year that I like way better. Still wishing you guys the best!

24 – Netherlands – “Birth Of A New Age” by Jeangu Macrooy: This song has a great style that I respect a lot. The message, the vibe – even if it’s not a culture I’m a part of, I feel and appreciate the hell out of it, and I really hope it does well. I don’t understand why so many people seem to think it’s not interesting! It may not be the sort of thing I’d go out of my way to listen to, but I’m glad it’s here. Catch me singing out “Yu no man broko mi” on Saturday! It’s been a while since I’ve given a shit about a host country’s entry, so I’m really glad for this one.

23 – Romania - “Amnesia” by Roxen: I’ll admit something else unpopular – I hated “Alcohol You” last year. Didn’t see what the big deal was at all. It sounded okay, I guess, but the lyrics were so pretentious and awful, and I’ve never liked the topic of “I love you even though you have no redeeming qualities whatsoever and you make me feel like shit”. But it seems like in that year, Roxen has discovered that self-love is important, actually, and it’s not worth it spending your time on some shitbag who consistently disappoints you. I appreciate it for that alone. Character growth! Plus, I feel the whole thing of “forgetting how to love yourself because everyone around you sucks”. It’s not the perfect song, not by a long shot, but it has a nice melody, and Roxen has a nice voice. It’s good to hear her using that voice on something I don’t find obnoxious.

22 – Norway – “Fallen Angel” by TIX: Okay, I’ll admit it, this is one where I watched the live video the first time I heard the song, and I was too busy laughing at his outfit to take the song seriously. Jesus Christ, dude, what the hell. Well, that’s Eurovision for you, and the more I listened to it, the more I admitted to myself that I’m a sucker for “I love you but letting you go for your own good, not sure what I ever offered you in the first place” type songs. Knowing the song is inspired by his own disability and self-loathing really twists that knife, to the point where I feel bad that I almost threw this at an anime character. I know I’m usually cold on songs that try to evoke emotions about the singer’s personal problems – Germany 2018, and this year’s Austrian entry – but this one really works for me. Only reason it’s in “Okay” tier is because of its competition – it’d rank way higher in a weaker year.

21 – France – “Voila” by Barbara Pravi: I like a good waltz, I guess! It’s a unique number, and the French language sounds nice, especially with the music. It’s yet another example of how this year is filled with so many interesting entries that I appreciate the hell out of. God bless this diverse year! (Or maybe everything just sounds so good to me because last year’s cancellation left me in withdrawal.) I expect a really nice performance for this one – this song isn’t one you can perform while just standing there, especially not during that speedup toward the end.

20 – Australia – “Technicolour” by Montaigne: That song that sounds like it’s about stripping if you don’t know that she’s saying cloaks. (Guilty as charged.) It’s catchy and fun, and I really love it when it first starts… but unfortunately, it does wear out its welcome toward the end of things. It’s a good party song, just a little repetitive. I still like it just fine, and wouldn’t mind seeing her in the final this year! Hope the performance is colorful and sparkly, it’d suit the song well

Like:

19 – Germany – “I Don’t Feel Hate” by Jendrik: I know stereotyping is bad but I was not remotely surprised to find out that Jendrik is gay. This song is pure gay sass, and god, I love every minute of it. I fully expect it to fall on its ass – this wouldn’t make it to the final if it wasn’t an automatic qualifier – but I’ll have a grand old time watching it! The sarcastic lyrics, the cheerful little ukulele, the middle finger costume… this song is a delight. Only thing that I think really brings it down is that weird spoken bit that interrupts the song. That’s so annoying, brings me right out of it. And I did purposely rank it below songs that aren’t complete shitposts. But thank you for your existence, Jendrik, your contribution to Eurovision is much appreciated.

18 – Israel – “Set Me Free” by Eden Alene: I said it this year and I’ll say it again this year, Eden Alene is a goddess of a woman. Absolutely gorgeous. Appreciation for pretty women aside, it’s a fun party song in a sea of fun party songs! I really do like it, I like her voice, but there’s so much else this year that drowns it out – not much stands out here compared to later entries on the list. Still a good song, though.

…and I do not expect for an instant that this is going to make it to the final. …my personal ranking is based on how the song sounds, okay? Just the song. Just the song. Nothing else. Just the song. Anyway…

17 – United Kingdom – “Embers” by James Newman: What’s this? A UK entry I don’t find bland as off-white paint? That doesn’t happen often! I didn’t like his entry last year, romantic ballad bla bla bla whee, but I’m always down for a good party song. It’s a little generic and radio friendly, sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun as hell to sing along with!

16 – Greece – “Last Dance” by Stefania: I really liked last year’s “Supergirl”, but figured it didn’t have too much of a chance because it struck me as being a little too teen poppy to be taken entirely seriously. It seems like Greece thought so, too, because they’ve ramped it up with this year’s entry. They’re not playing around anymore, sending a grand, powerful song that, like “Embers”, is fun as hell to belt. This is another one I’m really looking forward to the live performance for – the music video is gorgeous, and I hope they capture that same majesty on stage!

15 – Moldova – “Sugar” by Natalia Gordienko: Oh, Moldova, I’m so glad you guys decided to be completely batshit again this year. I’ve missed your nonsense so much. Dancing ice cream cones. Cake men. This video is glorious. And the song goes well with the insanity! A catchy dance tune that can only be improved with downright insane staging. Please let the dancing ice cream cones be on stage, I’m begging you

14 – Latvia – “The Moon Is Rising” by Samanta Tina: A unique electronica number backed with a powerful as hell voice. I can see where all the wubbing would get on people’s nerves, but personally, I love it! I love the voice, I love the attitude, Samanta just oozes confidence, and if she doesn’t make it to the final it’s not gonna be because she didn’t give it her goddamn all.

13 – Poland – “The Ride” by RAFAL: Why is this one so unpopular? You people don’t know how to have fun. Yeah, yeah, last year’s “Empires” was a powerful song… but I like my club nonsense much more, so I’m favoring this one. Yet another song that gets me pumped – this whole Contest is gonna leave me with a smile on my face, there’s so much good party music

12 – Azerbaijan – “Mata Hari” by Efendi: Yeah, they’re basically just sending “Cleopatra” again, but “Cleopatra” was so goddamn good that I can’t even blame them for it. This song needed a chance to compete, and I’m glad it’s getting it again this year. I like it so much that I can even forgive the line about being a “godless”. Oh, Europop, don’t you ever change.

11 – Cyprus – “El Diablo” by Elena Tsagrinou: Huh, I didn’t know Cyprus had perfected their Lady Gaga cloning technology. Neat. More seriously, the early 2010’s club vibe of this song is exactly my jam, enough that I can forgive the “I’m in love with a horrible person” theme. (I think I forgive that theme a lot more from catchy party songs than heartfelt ballads I’m actually supposed to feel for.) Hell, I even like the creepy chanting! Sure, it’s a little cheesy, but cheese is always a good ingredient when used in moderation.

(How many songs are we going to get this year, not just in Eurovision, about wanting to fuck devils? I mean, not that I don’t get it… mmm, Akuma Ichimatsu… um. Anyway.)

10 – Czech Republic – “Omaga” by Benny Cristo: And here we enter the top ten of a strong year, where I’d love to see any of them win! Benny, what is with that title. Why. Ah well, like I said earlier, I do like moderate amounts of cheese, and this song is more than fun enough to have earned itself a ridiculous lyric or two. It’s unique, I’ll give it that! The song is just so bouncy and fun that I manage to ignore how pushy the singer is. Another one I expect big things from the staging for.

9 – Lithuania – “Discoteque” by The Roop: Ignoring the current events that surely inspired the song, I do love the more generic “party song for introverts” read on it – if only you knew how many one-person dance parties I’d had in my own house. This song speaks to me deeply. I can’t even begin to call it a joke song; I think it’s doing exactly what it set out to do, and it’s doing it oh so well. God, those synths. Totally okay with dancing alone!

8 – Iceland – “10 Years” by Daði og Gagnamagnið: I want Daði Freyr to adopt me. I don’t even care that he’s younger than me. He’s just such an earnest, fun guy, and I love his 8-bit aesthetic! And come on, he submitted a song about how much he loves his wife! If I ever stop loving this song it’s because my heart shriveled and died. Love isn’t dead, it’s just in chiptune now. I will throw things if this doesn’t make it into the final, do you all have no souls, this is too damn cute

7 – Serbia – “Loco Loco” by Hurricane: Another group I am so excited to see return, because I adored “Hasta La Vista”. I don’t know if I like this one quite as much, but it’s still catchy as hell! I love trying to sing along with it despite not knowing a word of Serbian.

6 – Croatia – “Tick-Tock” by Albina: Another catchy-ass club song! What more can I say? I love how much of this stuff we got this year. I will absolutely be screaming “Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go!” Oh god that was cheesy… I’ve been working on this ranking for too long. Don’t know what else to say about this one, just that I adore it. Just barely missed the top 5.

Love:

5 – Malta – “Je Me Casse” by Destiny: This girl’s got pipes– not surprised to hear she won the Junior contest before! I get major “Toy” vibes from this song, and you all know just how much I adored that one. Aaa, those horns! Expecting big things from you, Destiny! We may have our winner!

4 – San Marino – “Adrenalina” by Senhit – As much of a soft spot I had for last year’s “Freaky”, I don’t think it was gonna make it into the final, unless Senhit had the blessing of the same angels who were looking out for Serhat in 2019. This one, though? San Marino tasted the final two years ago and they are never giving it up again! This song goes hard! Love the song, love the video’s aesthetic, I even kinda like Flo Rida’s rap, even though I’m still baffled by the idea that I have been regularly listening to a song featuring Flo Rida on purpose. I don’t know what he’s doing here but I’m glad he is. Please, please make it to the final, San Marino! You clearly want the hell out of it this year! Favorite club song in a year of amazing club songs.

3 – Finland – “Dark Side” by Blind Channel: After spending about five seconds disappointed that Finland wouldn’t be sending Pandora this year, I gave this song a shot, and was not expecting what it gave me. I feel like an angsty middle schooler again, and it is bliss. This is everything Hatari wanted to be, but unlike Hatari who just confused me, I absolutely love the hell out of this song. …some of those lyrics, though. “27 Club, headshot, we don’t wanna grow up”? Yikes. But as dark and questionable as it might be, I can’t help but get pumped when I hear it. Definitely my favorite rock song of the year – sorry, Italy!

2 – Denmark – “Øve os på hinanden” by Fyr & Flamme: I love you, 1983. I don’t care how dated it is when my entire soul consists of a disco ball. The song’s so damn cute! This is the one member of my top 5 that I’m most terrified of losing – I know it’s not popular, with everyone calling it dated, but my top 5 always has that dated song that I love the hell out of becauseit sounds so classic. The translated lyrics are adorable, too. Even if you guys flame out in the semi, you’ll live on in the disco in my heart.

Favorite:

1 – Ukraine – “Shum” by Go_A: Holy fucking shit. There’s something about the blending of traditional and electronic that gets me hyped – see KEiiNO – and this one does not disappoint. The last minute of this is the best minute of Eurovision this year, and god, the buildup! I don’t even know Ukrainian but I am trying my damnedest to get the lyrics down, phonetically, at least. You know that “dancing goths” meme video? That’s me whenever this song comes on, especially during that speed up. Love the hell out of it. Could Ukraine be on its way to another victory already? I sure hope so, because this song fucking rules. Definitely checking out the rest of the discography someday, if all of their songs are in this folktronica style then they’ve gotta be a treat to listen to. Go Ukraine!

Ideal Qualifiers (favorite of each semi in bold):

Semi 1

Australia

Azerbaijan

Croatia

Cyprus

Israel

Lithuania

Malta

Norway

Romania

Ukraine Semi 2:

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

Greece

Iceland

Latvia

Moldova

Poland

San Marino

Serbia

This is definitely not what's going to happen - there is no universe where Switzerland and Sweden don't make it - but it'll be interesting to compare the reality to my hopes.

Let's go, Eurovision 2021

#irk blubbers about nothing #irk talks eurovision 2021

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fvrxdrm · 4 years

Text

.•*Office Crush*•.

Damnation/RE6/Vendetta!Leon

Warning(s): None

Excited would be an understatement. You were ecstatic, exhilarated! It was your first day as a D.S.O. agent and you couldn't be any more exultant about it. Every step you took had a bounce to it, your face was beginning to hurt because of how hard you were trying to keep yourself from smiling, and your heart was pounding loudly that you were starting to think that the whole agency could hear it hammering from inside your chest. This was surreal. A dream come true. It may sound cheesy but it's the truth. I guess you can say that no words could express how you felt at that time.

Despite the enthusiasm taking over your brain, you couldn't but feel nervous. This was your first day. What if you fuck up? What if you get fired on your first day on the job? What if you were below their standards? What if nobody likes you? What if--

"Oomf"

So many thoughts were running through your head that you couldn't even pay attention to where you were going and bumped into something or someone, perhaps.

"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry", you apologised again and again as you picked up your papers off of the floor. You heard a deep chuckle from above you before the mysterious person knelt down in front of you and helped you collect your files.

Fuck up on the first day? Check. What's next? Getting fired right now because of this whole incident? No, no, no. That's stupid, Y/N. Why the fuck would they fire you just because you bumped into someone? Unless...

"Here", the mysterious person handed you your stuff as a small and genuine smile was etched on his face. You took the papers swiftly but gently at the same time, your face beginning to burn slightly in embarrassment. After you've taken everything from the mysterious person, you looked up and what you saw caused your eyes to widen a bit.

This was not just a someone. This was Leon Scott Kennedy, the D.S.O. and the world's best agent.

You've heard multiple stories about him before. How he was one of the survivors of the Raccoon City incident, how he saved the president's daughter back in Spain, how he put an end to the Harvardville incident, and many more. You admired him for that and that was one of the reasons why you joined the agency.

Truth is, you were one of the few people who survived Raccoon City. However, you escaped the ghost town with Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira and never encountered Leon Kennedy or, from what you've heard, Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin. After that, the three of you went your separate ways and never saw each other ever again except that one time you and Jill happened to be at the same place and hung out for a while but other than that, none.

I guess it's safe to say that that was another one of the main reasons why you joined the D.S.O.. There was a lot of thinking, a lot of second thoughts, but then you realized how much worse the situation was now that technology was getting more enhanced and science had gone too far. People were releasing more death-dealing B.O.W.s here and there and they were much worse than the ones in Raccoon City. You wanted to help in stopping that and this was your chance.

"Uh...thank you. You really didn't have to do that and I'm sorry again", you told the taller man in front of you as the both of you stood up from being knelt down.

"No problem and it's okay. Aren't you the intern?" Leon asked, the tip of his forefinger pointing at you.

Oh, no...he's going to tell the higher-ups what just happened and they're going to fire me, oh God! No, stop it, Y/N! That's ridiculous...right?

"Um...yeah. F/N L/N", you said as you masked your worried and nervous expression with a forced smile.

"Relax, L/N. I'm not going to just tell them and have them fire you. That would be stupid", Leon said and chuckled lightly at how red your face was.

How the fuck??? Oh, God. This is embarrassing.

"Um...yeah. Anyways, I have to meet with somebody today. I have to go", You stumbled through your words and looked down as shame finally took over your body.

This is bad...

"Oh, yeah. President Benford's in there. He told me he was waiting for you", Leon pointed at a frosted glass door just a few feet away from where you were standing.

"Thanks", Leon patted your shoulder lightly before walking away with a smile on his face.

"I'm Leon, by the way", he yelled while he continued walking away.

Yeah, I know...

You sighed and began walking towards where Leon was previously pointing at.

What a kickass first day...

When Leon finally heard your heels clacking against the tiled floor, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head to look at you as the grin on his face began to widened.

Cute.

He thought.

Leon actually knew you as another one of his fellow survivors of that incident in 1998. Everybody from the USSTRATCOM and the D.S.O. was looking for you to recruit you as another agent for years. They would track you down but the moment they would arrive to where the GPS had told them to go, you were gone to another place and would never get the chance to even see you. And now that you applied to the D.S.O. willingly, it was a sigh of relief to them that they didn't have to force you to work for them, just like how they forced Leon to, except it wasn't the D.S.O. that forced him... You get what I'm saying.

Leon had even heard stories of how you got out of the city as he was good friends with Jill. Whenever they would see each other, Jill would talk about you a lot. She would talk about how skillful you were in weaponry at the age of 16, how there wasn't even a single sign shown that you were terrified at what was happening at that time, how mature you were in handling the situation despite your age in general. She even showed Leon a picture of you from when you bumped into each other once and he noticed how pretty you looked just by staring at that photo of you.

Your H/L H/C locks were gathered into a messy ponytail that had a few loose pieces of hair framing your face, your E/C orbs that stared back at him through Jill's phone screen seemed to twinkle as the sunlight hit your face, and your cute and bright smile reflected the happiness that was shown in your eyes. That image was forever imprinted on his mind since then and now that he saw you in person, face-to-face, he couldn't help but think about how prettier you looked in person, the bashful attitude you had making him admire you more.

He was starting to fall in love with you more.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It's been a month since you've started working at the D.S.O. and your colleagues were surprisingly more than happy to welcome you.

Everyday when you approach your table in the morning there would be various sticky notes just sticking on your desk with smiley faces written at the bottom. You've made friends that would greet you with a hug and eat breakfast with you. There were even some co-workers that would eat lunch with you and chat with you about random things. But most of all, there was this one person that would always place a cup of your favorite coffee on top of your desk with a note attached to it.

You couldn't figure out who it was that would make such sweet gesture as the note didn't have a name on it but instead a heart was written together with the word 'anonymous'. You tried guessing but no one came to mind.

"Are you sure you don't know anyone that likes you?" One of your friends, which happened to be Sherry Birkin, asked you as she sat down on your desk.

"Sherry, if I did I would've approached them and talked to them", you replied before taking another sip of the coffee that anonymous person placed on your desk again.

"Right", was all Sherry could muster as sweat began to form on her face.

Truth is Sherry knew who it was as she caught him setting another cup on your desk the other day and talked to him about it but was told not to tell you as he wanted it to be a secret of his for a while.

Can you just please fucking tell her?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

4 months have passed by and after so many days of training, the president had officially given you your mission.

"You ready, Agent L/N?" Hunnigan asked you as the helicopter in front of you started whirring its blades.

"Yep. Locked and loaded", you replied before grabbing the bag beside you that had everything you needed in it.

"Okay, I'll be guiding you through it", Hunnigan said with a nod. You nodded your head back before climbing on the helicopter and closing the door, your anxiousness finally taking over you as soon as the lights went dim.

First mission.

As you were preparing to leave though, one particular man was watching you with worry written all over his face.

This was your first mission. A solo one at that. He would've been at ease if you had a partner but no, the president decided that it would be better if you were solo.

It's not like he didn't believe in you. He did. He really did. He was the one who trained you for months and had seen your capabilities on the battlefield. He was impressed. Jill wasn't lying when she said you were a strong Amazon warrior. But that didn't mean he wasn't sweating over you. He almost got killed multiple times back in Spain and even got infected with Las Plagas. What's the possibility that that wouldn't happen to you? What's the possibility that the enemies wouldn't get their hands on you? What's the possibility that you wouldn't get killed? What if he never gets the chance to tell you how he feels?

Okay, stop, Leon. She will come back in one piece, all right? You just have to trust her more. And besides, Hunnigan's on the line to guide her. She'll be fine...she'll come back alive.

Right?

It's been a few hours since you've arrived at the location and so far you've only had a few scratches here and there that you didn't even notice were healing on their own quickly as you were too focused on getting the mission done.

There was this scary ass creature that was chasing you non-stop and you were already getting tired because of the running you were doing.

Gwen Ramirez, the psycho that released a virus called the Z-virus (A/N: I couldn't think of anything). He had injected himself with it and now, he became this spider-like beast, you know, like, Pennywise, that wanted to kill you so badly.

"Y/N, are you alright?" You heard Hunnigan ask through the comms after you've hidden yourself behind a thin metal sheet.

"Yeah, I just--", you got cut off. You look down to your abdomen and saw a huge claw piercing through it. You gasped. The claw then pulled out of you after a few seconds and you were left sliding down the metal behind you as you clutched your stomach.

"Y/N!" You heard multiple voices through the comms. You lifted your shirt up a bit and what you saw made your eyes widen in horror and astonishment. The flesh surrounding your open wound was closing on its own and you didn't how the fuck that just happened.

"Hunnigan?" You shakily called the woman on the other line.

"Hold on, Y/N. A helicopter is going towards where your location is", you ignored her statement and just told her what you were seeing.

"How the fuck is my wound healing so fast?" The clacking of keyboard stopped on the other line and nobody spoke for a moment until you heard a male voice say,

"What?" You patted every part of your body but you felt nothing, as if your cuts and bruises were gone too.

"I don't have any cuts and bruises anymore", you finally spoke again. Without any other words, you came out of your hiding spot and saw the creature looking down at you in surprise and confusion.

"How...? You should be dead!" The beast cried out. You looked past the monster and saw a few drums of explosives just standing near him.

"I thought so too", you took out your gun and shot every firkin, the explosion causing for the horrendous creature to be torn apart in pieces.

Just as the explosion occurred, the sound of blades cutting through the cold and dark air was heard from above and a ladder was then thrown down at you.

Once the helicopter had landed on the helipad on top of the D.S.O.'s building, you jumped out of the chopper and let's say maybe a dozen of scientists quickly took you to their lab and took a sample of your blood to examine it and see what was the cause of that sudden ability you had. You happily obliged as you wanted to find out what was inside of you too and just waited as you patiently sat down on a bed.

As soon as the scientist that took some of your blood went of the room, Leon came barging in through the door with a...weird and undefined look on his face...you seriously don't know.

"Hey, Leon-mf", you were suddenly cut off by a pair of warm lips touching your own glossy ones. You tried processing it for a moment but eventually responded back by moving your lips against Leon's as you closed your eyes shut and let your hand reach the nape of his neck.

Leon caressed your bottom lip with his wet and silky tongue as a way of silently asking for permission to which you happily let him by parting your mouth more.

You were running out of breath and it seemed like Leon was too as he pulled away, a short string of saliva the only thing connecting you both. Then, you came to a realization.

"You're the one who keeps bringing me coffee", you said as a small grin started to tug on your lips.

"Yeah. I've always liked you. Jill had told me several stories about you and even showed me a picture of you both", Leon confessed as he proceeded to place a few strands of hair behind your ear.

"Well, I'm glad you do because I've admired you since the day I found out you were one of the survivors", you smiled softly at him again and grabbed his face with both hands as you pulled him in for another kiss.

#leon+kennedy+imagine #leonkennedy #leon+kennedy+fanfic #leon kennedy x you #leon+s+kennedy+x+reader #leon kennedy x reader #leonxreader #resident evil x reader

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psychemeanscure · 3 years

Text

PART 17 { A little spoiler; This part involves phone calls so I intentionally highlighted it as bold ones. Anyways, happy reading y’all~}

When did things became awry with their plans really? When did it started from the first place? Because for her it was that night surely. She was bound to travel for a prior business that time when she received an overseas call from her foster mother that even her supposed to be exhausting expression change into jovial in a split of time. Thus she accepts the call after coming out from her premise.

“Mamá!”

“Mi hija…”

“You called. You missed me, aren’t you?”

She can already read her mother’s heart indeed for she heard its defeating chuckle from the other line while much curve smile came into her than before. “I knew it! I miss you too mamá. How was home?”

She may not see its reaction yet she knew that a mocking scolding will come upon her after. “Miss? Ah, really?... If you miss me then why you have to wait for me to call you than calling me first? Tu niña, really. And home? Well except that its spelling consistently stands as M.A.D.R.I.D. We’re still alive, yes.”

For it was her turn now then to laugh. She’s used to it anyway for she usually been given an earful and of course, the quirky jokes of her mamá that will never get old every time it calls nor surprised from its not so timely timing of bothering choosing a right time in calling. Whether late nights or dawns in Spain just like today, she doesn’t care. Its decision of hearing her hija’s voice when she misses it, is a must. Even she’s always against it.

“Perdon mamá, It’s just that things been busy for me these days that I hardly had a chance to call. But believe me, I really am missing you too though.”

Sigh has been heard from her foster parent then. “Hija, please take care of yourself. Don’t get me worried for you when we’re so far away por favor. Hm?”

“No te preocupes mamá. I’m taking care of myself, okay. Speaking of we, how was papá? I missed him too... And mamá, did I told you many times to please not pester yourself in calling me late nights or dawns? You’re not getting any younger, please take care of your health as well oh?”

“Tss. You are just like your sleeping papá, really. Can’t you two stop bullying me for once?”

That a chuckle came after her realizing its defeating banters once again. “So papá is sleeping? Mamá, you can’t blame us okay… Calling for missing me isn’t an excuse. It can wait, you know I can always answer you right away even when I’m busy. Right?”

“Okay, okay. I lose. As if I can win over you. But hey, it’s your fault anyway why I can’t really sleep this time. Did I also told you that I’ll never welcoming your idea of hiring men around our home? Then what am I watching right now huh?”

And it was enough for her to stiff by her carseat the moment she steps in the driver side. “Come again, mamá?” urging her mamá to repeat what seems to be deaf in her. “I said, your men were so diligent guarding 24/7 that It feels uncomfortable already. Four sedans, for real Amilia dear? That’s too much for a protection mi hija.”

She was already dumbfounded by what she was hearing. She did admit that she suggested it once for her to monitor their safety, considering their health worried her that if something may go wrong while she wasn’t around taking care of them. She loved them as much as her biological parents, and if being overprotective is the only choice to do then she must. But she long trash the idea for she respected her mamá’s decision of not pursuing it, she’s just too private liking it.

So whoever is behind this thing, she surely needs to know for she can’t risk the danger her foster parents might face when it happens. They shouldn’t be involved as they do not even know about anything. ‘Mierda!’

A curse she had to thought for once before covering a safe response that will not worry her mamá. “O-oh. Is that so mamá? Uhm, when did they started? Perhaps, can you send me a picture of the them as well? You know, just want to make sure how they good they were with their job.” Followed by her fake chuckle then.

“Three days up to now I think. Psh, you didn’t even deny it. You and your business tactics really. Okay, I will.”

“Thank you mamá.”

Thus the latter send the picture she wanted after few more how are yous there and then. “Mi hija?”

“Hm, mamá.”

Her foster mother’s last catch of her name before quite silence did. “Mamá?” for it was her turn to get its attention. “Be safe for us, please.” as guilt came after that she had to silently clear a throat to hide it. “Si, mamá.”

Thus that’s how they end their call then as she hastily checks the picture after. There she saw what how it basically described. Four sedans indeed park on their front gate while two or more were outside. She even tried to zoom it in but it was just too blur for her to clearly see a possible clue she may get. She was about to give up either if not for the video it intentionally records for her. Thanking fully to her foster mother for more as it was a zoom in vid then. Good thing her mamá is somehow a detailed person that every bit of it were clearly shoot.

Till she finally found it. A clue that was so familiar for her. The initial logo on its car hood she can always see. She saw it, right in front of her eyes. The word Ziar, carved in a metallic steel. The last four letters of her enemy’s last name. “Veeros Alcaziar.”

Her mere utter with its name from the outside, but a trembling cold dumbfounded on the inside. She feared for her parents’ safety. Her foster parents who have loved her with all their might. One wrong move and it will be the end. If she needs to sacrifice something, she will as long as she can assure the safety of her parents. “No...” she starts pouring droplets of tears then. “No. No, not them please.” She didn’t see this coming, she admits.

She wasn’t even aware of her phone falling from her hold. Driving her energy through her office instead of fleeing to her original agenda. Rummaging to every possible evidence that could counter the son of a bitch. Only to hear Jang Taeyoung and Zilo Alcaziar’s conversation from her voice recorder instead.

Beep!!! ----

For she ends up beeping her car horn when stepping once again to her car after the confirming vague talk from Jang Taeyoung. She can even sense the uproar she did from the way she can hear the nosy mouths of the passerby as even him saw it himself from above. The continuous horning of her car which still stayed from the entrance way of the Casino Hotel.

But the heck will she care either. Her mind was already messed up for her to include them. “Mierda, mierda, mierda! Don’t make me choose please!” Brushing her face from the frustration she needed to outburst.

She thought to choose wisely just a while ago yet here is him, stirring her own decision-making for a crazy plan he planted. He was supposed to help her but here he is. “F*ck, Jang Taeyoung. You’re not helping!” as another beep from her car horn was heard.

It was then indeed. The misconception of their tangled thoughts.

That for some time she starts to notice a cryptic car following her every travel that even her own apartment isn’t exemption. That’s when she knew, she has been supervised by the old Alcaziar. Days passed, she received a proposal from an industrial corporation she’s too familiar with. She may be involved with corrupt officials but she has never been approached by illegal scheme when it comes to business unless she’ll do it but now.

Strange it is so she begins to dig in then. Reading every details of its investors and shareholders that might possibly connected from the old geezer. Even used her connections to monitor their every move, including the former till she found one. The image of the bulldog prosecutor in the enemy’s den. “What a loyalty you have Mr. Kim.” For she decided right then to might as well get use of him.

That’s when she became aware of everything. The hidden backstabs, the conspiracies, the possible framing. And she played with it. That even all the information she had gathered she still act naïve. Before she realized, she’s tending through the fire already for she purposely accepted its offer to erase suspicions, to divert the risk of her parents. All for them even if sacrificing him is the only thing needed.

Yet throughout her silent journey of fighting she can’t still guess its motive on doing that. She even thought that it could just be an assurance for its business not being sabotage or anything. Or rather searching a flaw he’s planning to keep in hand. As none of it came close till Jang Taeyoung confirmed it himself. That all along, it was her who the geezer is after with.

Sinking each details, she had consumed. The obsession she hasn’t seen coming. As today isn’t different either. Those guarding hidden eyes around her, she will not mind any of it from this day on. She’s screwed anyway.

Freely visiting her biological mother even after Jang Taeyoung’s reminder of leaving it for now. Still she managed to come. On this columbarium, in front of her mother’s spot, rains heavily pouring over the umbrella she is holding. She could not much be surprised if something happened on her after this for she long accepted her consequence.

“We’ve finally met mom.”

Her first word after a long time. “I’ve missed you.” Followed by her longing how are you.

“We’ve missed you. Dad is, so please meet each other up there as well. You don’t have to worry about me here, I’m doing fine.”

Before silence did for her. “But mom…” as she’s starting to get unaware of her words. Letting out the struggle she wanted to fade away. “Can I ask you to take care of me first? Just this time. Guide me please, mom.” for an incoming tear planning to drop into her eyes, turning her head to the side as if not wanting her mom to see it to herself. “I-… I’m scared, mom. And it fears me, so please be there when it happens, oh?”

With the last wipe of her tears and a caress to her mom, she left. As so it did…

Her consequence.

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belladonnasatenaeum · 3 years

Text

'Dernière Danse': The Underlying Message

There's a French song you likely might have heard on TikTok, used more often than not in Gothic TikToks or even some Academia TikToks. One TikTok I recall seeing it in was a vampire aesthetic based TikTok, with someone lipsyncing to the chorus of the song. Sometimes, you find out later what the song is actually called, and my goodness, the quick 15 second videos on TikTok do not do any justice to the song. The song is called 'Dernière Danse' by the singer Indila, the title roughly translating to 'Last/Final Dance'.

When you first listen to the song, you would naturally think of balls within a dark manor, candles flickering and lighting the space within its warm amber glow. The unique element of orchestra and pop elements creates a song quite like nothing you've ever heard, and something I've yet to hear other musicians do. However, if you think this is a song of love, you would be sorely mistaken.

You see, Indila isn't just some pasty white woman. Sure, she is kinda pale, but that doesn't take away from her heritage. You see, she has ancestory from Algeria, India, Egypt and Cambodia - so much so that she calls herself "a child of the world." And it seems, 'Dernière Danse' does have a lot of emotion to it, but not of a romantic kind. It is one of deep, immense pain and sorrow. The song tells the story of a young immigrant woman who must endure racism throughout the day as she desperately wishes to escape the torment and comfort herself from the harsh judgement of the people around her.

There is some incredibly interesting wordplay in the lyrics for the song, one only those who speak French can spot and breakdown for those who can't. But once they have, it forever sticks out in your mind. If you want to understand what is being sung, then please follow this link here: https://www.frenchlyricstranslations.com/derniere-danse-lyrics-translation-indila/

The word play comes in the line "Ô ma douce souffrance" (Translation: "Oh my sweet suffering"). This is our indication of what is causing this young woman her pain and misery. It's right in front of you, and yet it takes a keen eye to spot it. This wordplay actually indicates that France itself is the cause of this woman's pain. And let's be real for a second, France is just as guilty as Britain, Spain, Germany and The Netherlands when it comes to colonialism, and thus the rampant spread of racism and all other horrific things that come with colonial rule. And after the terrorist attacks in 2015, 2 years after the release of "Dernière Danse", racism has been sadly seeding it's way into French way of life such as with France's ban on face coverings which could impact specific cultures and religions such as Muslims, which, more often than not, many immigrants making their way to France are. While the bill does try to bring about good - by essentially making it illegal to FORCE someone to wear a face covering veil if they don't want to (especially in the case of children, where I personally believe that religion should be kept away from children until they are old enough to understand it), it could also become a slippery slope to what a certain President Orange-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named attempted in the US, and in some degrees succeeded.

Which leads me to think, while it is a brilliant song and many can relate to it with its feelings of sorrow, how do I feel about seeing white people - like myself - lipsyncing to it? I've not heard any complaints, and as I mentioned, the song is very relatable, and it can be applied to things outwith racism - grief, loss, bereavement, breakups, stress, mental illness and so on, but is it really a song for white people to cling to? The song contextually is about an immigrant, so how come most of the TikToks I've seen with this song are everyone but immigrants and BIPOC people? The ones I've seen get shared on YouTube in compilation videos usually are skinny, white women/AFAB people. When BIPOC creators have made TikToks with this song. In fact, here's a TikTok made by a Black creator also following a vampire theme: https://www.tiktok.com/@tatendaluna/video/6939523674877758722?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

And yet it seems, as I am scrolling through TikTok, the vast majority of the videos are by white people. Sure, white people emigrate, but we will never truly understand the pain of the immigrant who arrived in France to hatred and disgust, getting abused day in and day out. Now, there could be a logical explanation; maybe more white people just happen to know about the song? Given when I first heard it, I only had the melody to go off of, and Googling "da da da da da-da da da da" isn't going to get me anywhere. But even having that as a factor, there is a known history of TikTok promoting more white people's TikToks over the creations and hard work of BIPOC people.

So, do I think white people should lipsync to the song? I mean, if it's all in harmless fun, then sure. It's a song - we all love to sing and lipsync, it's not gonna harm anyone, even if you sing like a cat just got scared down a dark alleyway. However, I think it is also incredibly important that we understand and recognise the context of the song - it's not a song for vampire lovers to sing, it's not a song for witches to sing during a ritual, it's not even an Academia or aesthetic song; the song is a harsh reality for many immigrants fleeing war and persecution, and wherever they land they are immediately slammed with hatred.

'Dernière Danse' is one of my favourite songs to listen to. It is a beautiful blend of orchestra and pop that never get tiring, and for the people who do like vampires and witches and academia I can see why this song would stick out. For crying out loud, I'm one to talk - I'm a Goth Pagan from Scotland! And with this 'essay', I do not wish to shame people from creating TikToks with this song. On the contrary, actually. This song is brilliant and as an artist myself, the amount of ideas this song brings to me is wondrous. However, I think it is high time that people understand that 'Dernière Danse' is, and will forever be, a song for the immigrants. It is their song to express frustration and pain; and I implore you to look out for your immigrant neighbours. Recently, the city of Glasgow stopped the deportation of some Indian men, which when I caught wind of it made me incredibly proud to be a Scot. Sadly, though, the fight is far from done. It is our duty to fight for those seeking security and safety. If I recall correctly, that's exactly what Odin asks us to do in Stanzas 2-4 of the Havamal, correct? To be hospitable to those who come to our doorstep. Now, I may question Odin's logic from time to time, but on this I think his words are sound wisdom. If even the All-Father tells you to be hospitable to immigrants, then you best take his advice.

At the very least, I hope that either you got the chance to discover this song, or you found a new way to view the song, from my little 'essay'. As mentioned, I do not intend to shame anyone who likes the song. Indila is a brilliant artist and I heavily enjoy her works. I merely hope this highlights the underlying message that I think often gets overlooked. I hope you found some enjoyment in this. If I am incorrect about anything, please do feel free to correct me. I am always open to learning. Until next times, yours

~ Belladonna

#dark academia #derniere danse

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