#we know that roy did a lot of drugs and we know his sister is a doctor so alot of situations like this probably happened | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

piratewithvigor · 3 years

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My first thought in regard to every band that gets played on my radio station

ACDC: Every dad’s favourite band

Adams, Bryan: Every mom’s favourite singer until Michael Buble came along

Aerosmith: haha they thought Vince Neil was a lady

Alice Cooper: he’s a Game Of Thrones fanboy and I have proof

Alice In Chains: my sister doesn’t like them because she decided AC were Alice Cooper’s initials ONLY

Allman Brothers Band: good music for dropping acid to

Allman, Gregg: That’s too many Gs for one name

Animals: House Of The Rising Sun, or who even cares

Argent: Sometimes Hold Your Head Up is really catchy

Asia: Tuesdays

Autograph: one of the members went on to be a pharmacist

Bachman-Turner Overdrive: There are just so many pop culture jokes about Taking Care Of Business that whatever I say won’t be as funny

Bad Company: with their song; Bad Company, off their album; Bad Company

Benatar, Pat: Always getting her confused with Patti Smith

Black Crowes: I like them for Lickin, but it doesn’t seem to exist outside of one shoddy video on youtube and my old CD

Blackfoot: this band name feels kind of racy

Black Sabbath: Dio was not better or worse than Ozzy; just different

Blondie: I like Call Me, but Blondie confuses me stylistically

Blue Oyster Cult: MORE COWBELL

Bon Jovi: Hello, childhood trauma, I missed you

Boston: ONE GUY. ONE GUY DID IT ALL AND NO ONE KNOWS

Bowie, David: Don’t let your children watch The Man Who Fell To Earth, or David Bowie’s will end up being the third penis they see in life

Browne, Jackson: Another musician ruined by Supernatural

Buffalo Springfield: Jack Nicholson was at the riot they sing about

Burdon, Eric: no ideas, brain empty

Bush: ditto

Candlebox: ditto once more. Who are these people?

Cars: This band feels so gay and so straight at the same time, I can only assume they’re the poster children of bisexual panic

Cheap Trick: I played Dream Police on Guitar Hero so fucking much because it was the only song anyone who played with me could keep up with

Chicago: Chicago 30 exists, but they do not have 30 albums. Fucking riddle me that

Clapton, Eric: 6 discs in one Greatest Hits is too many. That’s called “re releasing your discography”

Cochrane, Tom: For some reason, everyone thinks Rascal Flats did it better

Cocker, Joe: Belushi did it right

Collective Soul: who?

Collins, Phil: If his biggest hits were done by MCR, they would be emo anthems, but because he’s 5′6″ and from the 80s, they’re not

Cream: *Vietnam flashbacks on the hippie side*

CCR: *Vietnam flashbacks on the war side*

CSNY: David Crosby; meh

Deep Purple: THEY’RE SO MUCH MORE THAN SMOKE ON THE WATER

Def Leppard: the only music for when you’re a heartbroken bitch but also a sexy one

Derek And The Dominos: Clapton and ‘Layla’ broke up

Derringer, Rick: Tom Petty if he was from the midwest

Dio: You thought it was an anime reference, but it was me, Dio

Dire Straits: You can tell how bigoted a radio station is based on how much of Money For Nothing they censor

Doobie Brothers: I have yet to smoke weed, but I listen to the Doobies, and I think that’s pretty close

Dylan, Bob: I take back everything I said about him in my youth

Eagles: Hotel California isn’t their best song, but the memes that come from it are second to none

Edgar Winter Group: @the--blackdahlia

Electric Light Orchestra: Actually an orchestra and sound a fuckton like George Harrison

ELO: I really hesitate to ask what happens with the 7 virgins and a mule

Essex, David: no prominent memories of him

Fabulous Thunderbirds: cannot spell

Faces: Who on earth thought that was a good album name?

Faith No More: I got nothing

Fixx: One Thing Leads To Another is a damn bop

Fleetwood Mac: I ain’t straight, but I’m simply not enough of a witch to enjoy them to full potential

Fogerty, John: He got sued cause he sounded like himself

Foghat: Slow Ride slowly becoming less coherent feels like a drug trip

Foo Fighters: He was just excited to buy a grill

Ford, Lita: deserved better

Foreigner: dramatically overplayed

Frampton, Peter: a masterful user of the talk box

Free: dramatically underplayed

Gabriel, Peter: leaving Genesis changed him a lot

Genesis: if someone likes Genesis, clarify the era, because yes, it does matter

Georgia Satellites: sing like you have a cactus in your ass

Golden Earring: Twilight Zone slaps, but it doesn’t slap as hard as this station thinks it does

Grand Funk Railroad: Funk

Grateful Dead: I like their aesthetic more than their music

Great White: there are so many fucking shark jokes

Greenbaum, Norman: makes me think of Subway for some reason

Green Day: the first of the emo revolution

Greg Kihn Band: RocKihnRoll is literally the most clever album name I’ve ever seen

Guns N Roses: They have more than three good songs, but radio stations never recognize that

Hagar, Sammy: I’m still trying to figure out where he lived to take 16 hours to get to LA driving 55 and how fucking fast was he driving beforehand?

Harrison, George: He went from religious to rock, and if he had continued rocking, he would have gotten too cool

Head East: I respect people who use breakfast foods as album names

Heart: Magic Man and Barracuda are played at least once every goddamn day. They’re not even the best songs!

Hendrix, Jimi: I have both a cousin and a sibling named after Hendrix references

Henley, Don: Dirty Laundry gives me too much inspiration

Hollies: Somehow sound like they’re both from the 60s and the 80s at the same time

Idol, Billy: he’s doing well for himself

INXS: Terminator vibes

Iris, Donnie: knockoff Roy Orbison

James Gang: too many funks

Jane’s Addiction: if TMNT had a grunge band representative

Jefferson Airplane: *assorted cheers*

Jefferson Starship: *assorted boos*

Jethro Tull: The only band to make you feel not cool enough to play the flute

Jett, Joan: icon

J. Geils Band: I requested them on the radio once and it got played

Joel, Billy: he really did just air everybody’s business like that

John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band: literally wtf is that name

John, Elton: yarn Elton sits in my basement, unstaring. Please someone take him from me

Joplin, Janis: Queen

Journey: Stop overplaying Don’t Stop Believing. It takes away from the rest of the repetoire

Judas Priest: literally started the gay leather aesthetic

Kansas: another fucking band Supernatural stole

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: the man confuses me to the point where he isn’t in the right place alphabetically

Kiss: Mick Mars and I will simply have to disagree on the subject

Kravitz, Lenny: runaway vibes

Led Zeppelin: Fucking fight me if you don’t think they’re the most talented band (maybe not the most talented individually, but collectively, no one comes close)

Lennon, John: My least favourite Beatle for reasons

Live: I got nothin

Living Colour: slap a decent amount

Loverboy: do you not get TURNT the fuck up to the big Loverboy hits? Who hurt you??

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama is a Neil Young diss track

Marshall Tucker Band: no opinion

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band: VERY STRONG OPINIONS THAT THEY AREN’T GOOD

McCartney, Paul/Wings: Power couple

Meatloaf: I have nothing but respect for a man who willingly named himself Meatloaf

Mellencamp, John: voted cutest lesbian of 1987

Metallica: I liked their appearance on Jimmy Fallon

Midnight Oil: I get them confused for Talking Heads a lot

Modern English: who?

Molly Hatchet: Hollies vibes, but also Georgia Satellites vibes

Money, Eddie: DAN AVIDAN, IF YOU SEE THIS, COVER TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

Motley Crue: Stan Mick Mars and John Corabi. They’re the only ones who deserve it

Mott The Hoople: no one loves them except for David Bowie

Mountain: props for naming an album ‘Climbing’

Nazareth: I want to make a John Mulaney joke here, but I can never come up with one

Nicks, Stevie: witch queen

Night Ranger: I get them confused with Urge Overkill

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain was the ally grunge needed

Nova, Aldo: he’s Canadian, at least

Nugent, Ted: *serves a ghost as jerky*

Offspring: nothing here

Osbourne, Ozzy: this bitch crazy

Outfield: Your Love is kind of a sketchy song, but it slaps hard

Palmer, Robert: low quality Eddie Money

Pearl Jam: *grunts in Eddie Vedder*

Petty, Tom: I have so many feelings about Tom Petty and they are all good

Pink Floyd: which one is Pink?

Plant, Robert: solo career is a crapshoot, but his voice is unparalleled

Poison: I want them to write a song called ‘Alice Cooper’

Pretenders: I want to say good things, but I have nothing to say

Queen: A doctor of astrophysics, a screaming girl, a disco queen and a diva walk into a bar. It’s Queen; they’re there to play a gig

Queensryche: neutral opinion

Quiet Riot: they got big because of a song they hated. I love that

Rafferty, Gerry: the second-sexiest sax opening in all of music

Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore created something very magnificent

Ram Jam: one good song and they didn’t even write it

Ratt: I’m sure they have more than Round And Round, but I don’t know it

RHCP: funky, but if you have paid money to hear them, you’re going to The Bad Place (I don’t make the rules)

Red Rider: basically Golden Earring

Reed, Lou: Walk On The Wild Side would be such a cool song if it wasn’t so dull

REM: American Tragically Hip

REO Speedwagon: Props for having a dad joke as an album title

Rolling Stones: Never in my life could I imagine the drummer being named anything but Charlie

Rush: How to make being uncool the coolest fucking shit

Santana: The world needs more Santana

Scandal: There’s something really funny about The Warrior being my brother’s “song” with his girlfriend

Scorpions: Was Wind Of Change written by the CIA? Only the spotify podcast I got an ad for once could say

Seger, Bob: A different variety of Eric Clapton (frankly a better variety, but that’s just me)

Simple Minds: we ALL forgot about you

Skid Row: Sebastian Bach is prettier than all of us

Soundgarden: music that makes you feel like you dunked your head underwater

Springsteen, Bruce: my arch-nemesis. Maybe someday, he’ll find out about it

Squeeze: according to my friends, the stupidest band name ever, but they’re theatre kids, so you know

Squier, Billy: If he can make it through 1984 alive, you can make it through whatever bad day you’re having

Stealers Wheel: Yet another band who I always mistake for George Harrison

Steely Dan: my house’s nickname for the Robber in Settlers Of Catan

Steppenwolf: Either makes me think of Jay & Silent Bob, Jack Nicholson, or that time I had to cut 6lbs of onions

Steve Miller Band: when you’re in the right mood, they slap hard

Stewart, Rod: my soundtrack to summer 2015

Stills, Stephen: Love The One You’re With Is Catchy, but the lyrics are questionable

Stone Temple Pilots: the only band to write a song about goo you smear on yourself

Stray Cats: an obscene amount of merch is available for them

Styx: Supernatural would have ruined them for me too if I hadn’t been into them previously.

Supertramp: I hunted for Breakfast In America for two years and it was worth every hunt

Sweet: I will never understand my two-month obsession with Ballroom Blitz when I was 15, but it was legit all I listened to

Talking Heads: you may find yourself in a pizza hut. And you may find yourself in a taco bell. And you may find yourself at the combination pizza hut and taco bell. And you may ask yourself; ‘how did I get here?’

Temple Of The Dog: I keep confusing them for Nazareth

Ten Years After: somehow still relevant

Tesla: not the car or the dude

The Beatles: Evokes a lot of opinions from people. Mine is that I love them

The Clash: I showed my sister the ‘Lock The Taskbar’ vine ONCE and it still kills her

The Doors: evokes teenage terror from deep within my soul

The Guess Who: Canada’s answer to confusing question-themed band names

The Kinks: kinky

The Police: wrote the theme of 2020 and everyone somehow forgot it was about a teacher resisting becoming a pedophile

The Ramones: playing all of their songs in a row wouldn’t take more than 2 hours

The Romantics: you don’t think you know them, but if you’ve seen Shrek 2, you have

The Who: If someone can explain Tommy to me, I’d be glad to hear it

The Zombies: I think they happened because of the 60s

Thin Lizzy: Could the boys maybe leave town?

Thorogood, George: blues, but make it modern

Toto: the most memed song behind All Star

Townshend, Pete: just makes me think of the end of Mr. Deeds

T-Rex: Mark Bolan is an icon

Triumph: The no-name brand of Rush

Tubes: like the yogurt

Twisted Sister: they did a christmas album and my mom does NOT hate it

U2: U2 Movers; we move in mysterious ways

Van Halen: RIP Eddie

Van Morrison: honestly, who’s named Van?

Vaughn, Stevie Ray: Steamy Ray Vaughn

Walsh, Joe: The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get

War: Foghat, but even groovier

Whitesnake: the most successful band to be named after a penis

Wright, Gary: the 90s thanks him for writing the song every movie used for the “guy sees cute girl and it’s love at first sight” scene

Yes: To Be Continued

Young, Neil: The best part of CSNY

Zevon, Warren: the album cover of Excitable Boy makes me deeply uncomfortable for reasons I don’t understand

ZZ Top: has been the same three guys since 1969. Lineup unchanged.

3 Doors Down: They feel a little modern to be on a classic rock station, but whatever

38 Special: Why 38?

#I made this instead of doing homework #Classic Rock #Meme

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aquietwritingcorner · 3 years

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Writers Month Day 23: Truth/Arranged Marriage Word Count: 9084 Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating: G/K Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Alex Louis Armstrong, Roy Mustang, Olivier Mira Armstrong, General Grumman, Philip Gargantos Armstrong, Mama Armstrong, Scar, Edward Elric, Rebecca Catalina, Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Vato Falman, Kain Fuery, Sheska Warning: Summary: The Grummans were once a powerful family in Amestris. With the knowledge of who his granddaughter is becoming known, he sees a path back to social and political power. Not everyone is on board with this plan though—especially when they weren’t informed they were part of it. Notes: Based off a headcanon slinging session with @canisfuria and it blew itself up into this! One day I’ll go back and do this properly. AO3 || ff.net

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Truth/Arranged Marriage

Riza glanced over to where Fuhrer Grumman and Alex Armstrong’s parents were talking. This was the third time this month she’d been drug here by Grumman, and then shunted to the side and expected to spend the entire time talking to Alex. She eyed them. They seemed to be deep in conversation about something, and she had no idea what it might be, but she was suspicious anyway. She felt like a child who had been told to go play while the adults made plans, and it ate at her. People making plans for her had never ended well.

“Are you alright, Miss Riza?” Alex’s voice, gentle and kind rumbled next to her.

She turned her attention back to the large man and gave him a smile. “Yes,” she said. “Just distracted. And suspicious.”

Alex looked over at his parents and the Fuhrer. “Yes, well… I can’t much blame you there. More tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” She waited a moment while he poured her tea. “You know you can just call me Riza in moments like this, don’t you?”

Alex smiled at her as he put the teapot back down. “Yes, you’ve told me. But it isn’t considered proper. If I remember correctly, your grandfather wanted you to learn the social graces.”

Riza made a brief face. “Honestly, all of these high society rules are for the birds. No offense, Alex, but it just isn’t for me.”

“No, I understand.” He sat down next her on the small couch. “It can be stifling. Sometimes I think that’s part of the reason Olivier got out and stays away.”

“That… makes sense,” Riza said. She took a sip of her tea and looked around them. “To be honest, it’s hard to imagine her in a place like this. She’s always been General Armstrong to me.”

Alex chuckled. “I can see why that would be hard. But my big sis can be just as terrifying in a ball gown and sharply applying the social graces. I sometimes think that if she had stayed, she would be the most formidable woman high society has seen in quite some time.”

Riza’s lips tipped up at that. “Somehow, that last part doesn’t surprise me. Still,” she sighed. “I don’t think this is the life for me. It’s definitely not how I grew up or been part of my plans for life.”

“It was quite a surprise when Fuhrer Grumman was revealed to be your grandfather,” Alex said. “I can see how that and the introduction to high society would be jarring.”

“It was a surprise to me as well,” Riza admitted. “It raises a lot of questions. How long he’s known, why my mother left, why he didn’t try to find her, why he didn’t tell me…” she shook her head and looked over at them again. “The tricky old coot won’t tell me anything,” she scowled.

Alex chuckled again. “True as that may be, it’s probably best that you don’t refer to the Fuhrer that way in front of people.”

Riza snorted lightly. “Well, I can’t bring myself to call him ‘grandfather’ so I suppose just ‘Fuhrer’ will have to do.”

Alex opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by the sound of his father calling out to them.

“Alex! Miss Hawkeye. Please come here a moment.”

“Of course, father,” Alex said, sitting his teacup down.

Riza had already sat hers down as well, but Alex stood and politely offered her a hand up. Riza took it, as, she had learned, was polite, and then the two of them made their way over to the three older individuals in the room. The three of them looked quite pleased and happy, and Riza was sure that she could see tears the elder Armstrongs’ eyes. Grumman looked far too pleased with himself, and Riza was immediately suspicious.

“Alex, son, we have been talking,” Philip began, “and observing, and I think we’ve come to an arrangement that is most agreeable for all parties.” He reached out, and took Alex’s hand in his, and then reached for Riza’s putting the two of them together. Genevieve Armstrong let out a sniffle. “A marriage arrangement between the two of you has been set. Congratulations!”

For a moment, there was a silence in the room, the only sound Genevieve’s sniffles as she cried at the occasion.

“What?!” Riza’s voice broke the silence, and she wrenched her hand free of the hold it was in. “What do you mean, a marriage arrangement? I didn’t agree to this!”

“We have the blessings of your grandfather, dear,” Genevieve said. “He is, of course, the head of your family, as you have no other living relatives. He’s within his rights to find and provide for you as best he can.”

“I don’t care about that!” Riza snapped out. “It isn’t his decision to make!”

“It is, actually,” Grumman said. “Once you were declared my heir, legally, this is something that I can arrange.”

“I refuse,” Riza said.

“Now, now, Alex is a smart match for you,” Philip said. “We’ve been watching you two. It’s obvious that you get along quite well. It would be advantageous for both families.”

“It would provide you with money and social clout. With just a word anything or anyone you support would have backers behind him.” Grumman said.

Riza stared at him for a moment. She understood what he was saying. If she married Alex, then she could catapult Roy to the top. Fury filled her as she swept her eyes over the three conspirators in the room, and then she switched her look to Alex, demanding to know if he had anything to do with this. He looked just as shocked as she did and shook his head a small amount.

Rage filling her, Riza stood stock still and straight, and then she turned on her heel and began walking away.

“Where are you going?” Genevieve asked her. “There’s still the meal to celebrate.”

“I’m leaving,” Riza said. “I’m going back to the city.”

“That’s a long walk,” Grumman said. “Wait until after the meal, and then we’ll—”

“No.” the word was spat out. “I’m leaving, even if I have to walk the whole way.”

And with that, she made her way out of the door, leaving them all behind.

Alex looked over at the other adults in the room and made a decision himself. “Riza—Miss Riza, wait!” he took off after her, leaving the three behind.

Riza was, it seemed, fast and had a good memory. She had already found her way outside and was going down the steps of the front door by the time Alex caught up with her. She was clearly angry and clearly determined. She reminded Alex so much of his sister in that moment. A strong, beautiful woman rejecting the decisions others had made for her. He admired that about both women, just in different ways.

He caught up with her as she walked—practically marched—down the long drive, her heels in her hand, pantyhose stuffed inside them, walking barefoot. “Please, Riza, wait a moment.”

She didn’t slow. “Did you have anything to do with this,” she demanded of him.

“No! No,” he said quickly. “I knew my parents were looking for a match for me, but I didn’t expect this.” He shook his head. “If this had been an option, I would have approached you beforehand to make sure that you were receptive to it. But I would never ask this of you.”

“Why not?” she demanded again, “This society seems dead set on making decisions for me.”

“Because I see what you and Roy Mustang have, and I would never ask you to give that up.”

She startled at that, and looked up at him, shock on her face as she paused. He held out a pair of shoes to her.

“Please,” he said. “Will you put these on? It will be better than walking in your heels or barefoot all the way back to your apartment.”

She sighed, and then reached for the shoes, sitting down on a small wall to put them on. “…I’m sorry for being angry at you,” she said as she pulled them on and adjusted the ties. “This was just… very unexpected and not at all what I wanted.” She looked up at him. “You’re a fine man, Alex. But you’re not the man for me.”

“No,” he said, “I’m not. That man is Roy Mustang, and Fuhrer Grumman knows it as well.”

Riza sighed and stood back up with the new footwear on her feet. “I need to tell Roy. And we need to make it clear that this idea of a marriage between us is not happening.” She started walking again.

“There may be ways around it,” Alex said. “I can do some research and we can talk to them.” He began walking beside her. “Tomorrow we can plan more. I will find a way out of this for us, Riza. It isn’t fair to you to be thrust into this world and its expectations and rules.”

“We’ll find a way,” she said. “I don’t want to take away your shot at happiness either.”

He rumbled an agreement, and the two kept walking, discussing what they might do in the next couple of days to end this before it became a problem.

They were not fast enough. News of their engagement was in the papers the next morning and announced on the radio as well. It was, naturally, the talk of everyone. Riza couldn’t take ten steps without someone congratulating her or questioning her. By the time she arrived in the office, her face was thunderous, and she still had her team to deal with.

As soon as she entered all eyes were on her. No one said anything for a moment.

“…So…” Havoc said.

“It was not my idea,” she spat out. “And no, it wasn’t Alex Armstrong’s either.” She marched over to her desk and all but slammed her bag down. “It was Fuhrer Grumman’s—apparently, my dear grandfather,” the words were spit out with more sarcasm than anyone in the room had ever heard her make, “can make these kinds of arrangements for me, seeing as I’m his heir or something because of some arcane law.”

“Wow. That’s… messed up,” Havoc said.

“What are you going to do about it?” Breda asked.

“Well, I’m not marrying Alex,” Riza said.

“Obviously,” Breda replied.

“What does he think about all of this?” Fuery asked.

She sighed, a little of her anger melting. “He was blindsided by it too. Neither of us were expecting this. He has more knowledge of high society and its rules than I do, so he’s going to look into what can be done. We just didn’t expect the news to drop this soon.”

“And Mustang?” Havoc asked.

“I told him about this last night,” Riza replied. “So, he’s not unaware. But this whole thing is a mess.” She stopped and let out a sigh. “If this is what Grumman was like as a father, I think I understand why my mother ran away.”

“Well, the boss wanted you to go in and see him as soon as you got here,” Havoc said. “He called for Armstrong too.”

Riza sighed. “Right.” Straightening her back, she went into his inner office.

This was going to be a long day.

Needless to say, the day did not go well. There was no easy way out of this that would not end badly in some way shape or form. Grumman had, as usual, played things to his advantage. If Alex refused the arrangement, he was bringing shame on his family, his parents, himself, and the Armstrong name. That would impact the influence that he was bringing to the restoration of Ishval. If Roy pressed or made some sort of big deal out of this, it would hurt his standing with the public and with society, which would negatively impact his chances for Fuhrer and the restoration of Ishval. For Riza to back out would bring shame to her, make her seem ungrateful, and bring negative consequences as well. Riza and Roy running away together, as her own mother and father did, wouldn’t bode well either.

They could take it to the courts, but by the time anything as far as Riza’s legal standing as Grumman’s heir was concerned would be resolved, the wedding would have long since passed. And, unfortunately, there were legitimate benefits to Riza marrying Alex, namely in the influence she could bring to Roy and to his causes. And, of course, it sent Grumman back into high society himself.

By the end of the day, all three were worn out and stumped.

“I think,” Alex said, “We need to talk to Olivier.”

Roy groaned from his chair, his head on the desk. “She hates me.” He lifted his head. “But do you think she would help Riza?”

“Yes, she would,” Alex said. “She likes Riza. But more than that, she hates the idea of anyone being forced into something they didn’t agree to.”

Riza let out a huff. “Isn’t that what arranged marriages are all about? The fathers get together and pick out where the girl should go—like she’s a prize or something to be given away.”

Alex shook his head. “I can understand why you feel that way, but it is supposed to be a much different than this has turned out. The idea was that loving parents would find someone for their child that would love and protect them. The children trusted that the parents would have their best interests in mind and would give the other person a chance. Even if there wasn’t love to start with, many of these marriages, when done the right way, have worked out wonderfully. The problem is, of course, when the system is abused.”

Riza shook her head. “Perhaps you could trust your parents that much, Alex, but I’ve been used too many times by people that were supposed to look out for me and didn’t. I’m not giving up my agency.”

Alex looked at her, compassion in his eyes. “I understand. And I believe Olivier will as well.”

Two days later they managed to get a hold of her. Alex, Riza and Roy gathered at a small cottage on the Armstrong estate, one far enough removed from the main house that no one would bother them. It took some time, but they did eventually get Olivier on the line.

“Took you long enough, Alex,” she said into the phone. “I assume Hawkeye and Mustang are there with you.”

“Yes, Sister,” Alex said. “They’re here as well.”

“Good.” She paused. “I read about your engagement in the newspaper. I wondered how long it would take for you to come to me.”

“Is there anything you can do?” Riza asked.

Olivier paused again. “It is… a difficult situation,” she finally said. “Our parents are right—It’s a smart match. Hawkeye is a decorated war hero, helped to save the country, is known for her intelligence, high level of skills, and is beautiful. Her connection to the Grumman name is also a boon, as it brings in more family ties and money to the family. Alex is now seen not as a disgraced soldier, but as one who tried to speak out in Ishval. He was heavily involved in saving the country as well. He’s strong, capable, intelligent and considered attractive. The Armstrong name is a boon in and of itself and would definitely bolster the faded Grumman name. As an added bonus, the two of you are already familiar with each other and get along. Logistically it is a good match.”

“I don’t care if it’s a smart match,” Riza said heatedly, “I’m not marrying Alex!”

“Yes, I assumed as much,” Olivier drawled. “Everyone knows you and Mustang are in love.”

“You’re the head of the Armstrong family, though,” Roy said. “Can’t you do something about it?”

Olivier snorted loudly enough to be heard over the phone. “All that grifting, and you still don’t understand high society.”

“Arranged marriages are a norm,” Alex explained. “They are something that parents are allowed to set up for their children.”

“It goes back to a very old law that was never changed,” Olivier said. “Most of the members of high society never saw any reason to change it. There’s very little recourse to it.”

“So there’s nothing you can do?” Roy asked. “Even as the head of the family.”

“Can you tell them that you don’t approve of the match and end it there?” Riza asked.

There was silence from the other end. “That… is tricky. Typically, the parents or guardians are the heads of the families so there’s no conflict. This situation is a bit more difficult. I am the head of the family, which means I have the final say in many things, and that my opinion carries a lot of weight. However, our parents are the ones who get the final say in these matters, unless they are declared incompetent or give up this right.”

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” Riza asked, desperately. Roy reached for her hand, and she held it tightly. “Or anything I can do?”

“I can contest it on the grounds of not being informed as head of the family. That will give us a review period that will delay things,” Olivier said. “It’s only a delaying tactic, though. I’m having Falman do a review of the law to see if there’s anything we can take advantage of.”

“I’m having Sheska do the same,” Alex said. “Ross and Brosh are helping her out.”

“The team has been seeing what they can find out or do as well,” Roy said.

“Rebecca is making waves where she can as well.” Riza said.

“Good,” Olivier said. “The more people working on this the better. If public tide can be turned against it, that will help as well. Hawkeye.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I don’t like people being manipulated like this. We will find a way to help you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Olivier did as she promised, and any further announcements or celebrations were put on hold. That didn’t stop Grumman from assigning Riza and Alex to work together on things, nor did it stop them from being pushed together in high society moments. The tabloids were all over this, managing to grab pictures of private moments between them. The moments, in full context, weren’t romantic, but that didn’t stop the tabloids and papers from spinning them that way. Alex and Riza were seen together more and more often, and they were quickly becoming the media darlings that the country had been hoping for.

It wasn’t going much better in the legal department. There was a chance that the mess could be untangled in the courts, but it would take years, which was something that they didn’t have. Olivier even came down to make the case against this to her parents, but they would have none of it. It was looking like there was no choice but to either go along with it or run the risk of disrupting everything that had been worked for.

At least, until one day when Falman, who had come along with Olivier, and Sheska came running into Mustang’s office. They had a nervous but excited energy about them. The team, Olivier, and the Elrics, who had come when they heard all that was going on, were in the office, trying to brainstorm.

“Sir!” Falman said, “We might have something.”

Everyone sat up straighter.

“You do?” Mustang asked.

“Well, maybe,” Sheska said. “We’re not entirely sure, but it might work, if everything lines up correctly.”

“For lack of a better word, we’re calling it the ‘truth clause’,” Falman explained. “It basically boils down to this: have you ever told the truth about your love?” Falman asked.

Roy and Riza exchanged looks, but Olivier was frowning. “That sounds too easy. If it were as simple as that, hundreds of arranged marriages would have been absolved. What’s the catch?”

Falman and Sheska exchanged looks.

“There are conditions,” Sheska said. “It has to have been a declaration of love to someone else that’s not part of the marriage arrangement within the past three years. It had to have had witnesses, clergy is especially encouraged, and been proven and shown to be true again and again before, during and since the declaration.”

“Sirs, if I may,” Falman said, “we’ve seen evidence of how much you love each other for years. No one who knows you doubts it—including, I’m sure, Grumman himself. The main question is, has there been a confession.”

“And were there any clergy involved.” Sheska added.

Edward perked up. “Alright, problem solved,” he said, and then blinked when everyone just stared at him.

“What are you talking about, Brother?” Alphonse asked him.

Ed swiveled his head back around to look at Roy and Riza. “…Are you serious? That whole business in the tunnels underneath Central on the Promised Day? Did you forget that?”

“We could never forget that,” Roy said.

“But what does that have to do with anything?” Riza asked.

“Geeze, look, if that wasn’t a love confession in your own weird way, then I don’t know what was.” Ed said. “You two weren’t even pretending anymore.”

“Wait wait—what went on in the tunnels?” Havoc said. “I’ve not heard this.”

“Well, he,” Ed pointed at Roy, “was chasing down Envy after Envy confessed to killing Hughes. Only it wasn’t to bring him to justice, it was in vengeance. Hawkeye caught up to him just before he was going to kill Envy and held a gun on him. She pleaded with him to stop, reminding him of some sort of promises they had made to each other years ago and saying that she would take care of Envy for him. It didn’t seem to do anything, and Scar and I put in our two cens as well, not that it made much of a difference. Hawkeye pleaded with him again, only much more personally, as if they were actually a couple. He asked her what she would do after she shot him, and she said that after the battle was over, she’d kill herself because she had no intentions of going on alone. He surrendered to her after that, saying that he couldn’t lose her too, and apologized her hurting her again. They both lowered their weapons and sat down right there together. It was practically a love confession.”

“Woah.” Most of the individuals in the room looked at each other in shock, even while Roy and Riza looked at each other, clearly wanting to say more.

Olivier, however, was looking thoughtful. “When the sacrifices caught up with the rest of us again, the way the two of you addressed each other was incredibly informal—as one would address a longtime lover, or a spouse, not as a subordinate and commander. That too can be taken as proof.”

“Edward,” Sheska said, “You said that Scar was there, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t he a priest or some sort of clergy of Ishval?”

There was a moment of silence before the room went wild.

“Wait, wait!” Falman said and waited until everyone had calmed down. “There’s one more thing. It has to be public. The declaration didn’t have to be, but the acknowledgement of it does.”

A hush fell over the room.

Roy and Riza looked at each other.

“What would that mean for us working together, sir?” Riza asked. “I made a promise to you.”

Roy looked at her, and then reached over for her hand, intertwining their fingers. “I know. And I made one to you. We’d have to figure it out.”

Olivier looked from them to Falman and Sheska. “What do the fraternization regulations say about two people who are in love?” she asked them.

“Oh, it says nothing about them being in love,” Sheska said. “It talks about romantic relationships and marriage. Love is implied, but not specifically stated.

Olivier nodded. “Are you two in a romantic relationship?”

They both shook their head. “Until our work is done, we’ve denied ourselves that. It’s more important than us.” Riza said.

“Then by the letter of the regulations, you should be fine.”

“…You know,” Fuery spoke up, “I still have friends at Radio Capital. They let me do a show there every so often or fill in. I’m sure they’d love to interview the happy couple of Alex Louis Armstrong and Riza Hawkeye. Especially as an exclusive.”

“If we can get Scar to agree to be on the show—” Roy said.

“I’ll be a witness,” Ed said. “Maybe Al can talk to the chimeras.”

Al frowned at his brother’s choice of words but nodded. “I’m sure they’ll want to help.”

“I can find the Central soldiers who were there,” Rebecca said.

“I’ll call my men from Briggs who witnessed your reunification,” Olivier said.

“You’ve also got all of us to give you a hand about the past,” Havoc said.

Riza looked around the room at them all. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you all so much.”

It took a couple of weeks for all of the plans to fall into place, but that gave Radio Capital time to promote and advertise. It was the talk of the country and by the time the day came, nearly everyone was tuned in. Everyone wanted to hear this interview.

“And now the interview everyone has been waiting for. In the past months an engagement between Alex Louis Armstrong of the Armstrong family and Riza Emmaline Hawkeye, who was recently revealed to be our Fuhrer’s granddaughter, was announced. It was unexpected and caused quite a stir, especially since no interviews or further announcements were made. All the public had to go off of were the pictures that tabloid photographers managed to take.

“But the couple has agreed to give Radio Capital an exclusive interview on how this engagement came to be, what the future holds, and the thoughts and opinions of many of their family, friends and coworkers. We’ve got a high-profile line up for you tonight, so hang on, folks and stay tuned in!”

“Alright, welcome back from the commercial break, folks. With us here to start off are Lieutenant Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong and Captain Riza Hawkeye. Tell us, how did you two meet?”

“The first time we encountered one another was in Ishval. The interactions were brief, as I was a state alchemist, and she was a sniper.”

“I see. So, you didn’t really get to know each other there, then.”

“No. And our tours didn’t overlap by much.”

“That’s right, Lieutenant Colonel. You were sent home early. The common belief was that you cracked under the pressure of war. That is obviously not true.”

“It is, in a way. When I saw the atrocities committed there, I found that I could not stand the thought of being party to them any longer. Unfortunately, instead of standing up for what I believed in, I ‘cracked’ and allowed myself to be removed from the battlefield. It’s one of my biggest regrets, that I didn’t do more to speak up then.”

“But if you had, would it have made a difference?”

“I don’t know, but I do know that I should have tried.”

“I see. Now, Captain Hawkeye, I’m told your experience on the battlefield was different then the Lieutenant Colonel’s.”

“Yes. I was pulled from the academy to serve as a sniper on the front. Snipers are solitary creatures, so we don’t interact much with other soldiers or make many friends. Compounding that, to survive the war with my sanity intact, I pulled my emotions back and built-up walls. Not many people managed to get close to me.”

“Not many. But there were a few.”

“Yes. Most notably was then-Major Mustang. He and I had known each other in the past, but we managed to find each other on the battlefield. He introduced me to Maes Hughes, and he became a friend as well. We grew close, and that closeness remains to this day. I’m certain that if Hughes were still alive, he would be close with the both of us still.”

“Interesting. So, when did the two of you really get to know each other?”

“…I suppose it was just from all of the times working together.”

“Did that happen frequently?”

“Brigadier General Hughes was my direct commanding officer in Investigations. We did a lot of work with General Mustang’s unit when we were in the East.”

“Hughes used to say that Roy attracted trouble like a magnet.”

“That he did.”

“So, you two got to know each other over the years. Was there any time there seemed to be more frequent encounters?”

“Hm… I suppose in the year before the Day of the Eclipse. Roy—that is, General Mustang—had been concerned about a plot in the military. That only grew with the passing of Maes Hughes.”

“I was brought into the fold mostly because of Hughes, as well as because of the Elric brothers. I was more fully inducted after Mustang supposedly killed Maria Ross, who was one of my subordinates.”

“But he didn’t.”

“No, it was all a ruse, and he found a way to let me know.”

“In the planning leading up to the Day of the Eclipse, Alex became a point of contact for many things, mostly because of the connections his family had. It was after that, when we started to become more friendly. When it was revealed that I was Fuhrer Grumman’s granddaughter, Alex helped me negotiate my way through high society.”

“I couldn’t leave Riza to navigate that minefield alone. I knew I could help her.”

“I see. And that’s when romance began to bloom.”

“No.”

“No?”

“There’s nothing between Alex and myself but friendship. I value and cherish that, but there is no romance here at all.”

“Surely there must be. You two are engaged, after all.”

“It was the idea of my parents and her grandfather. We were not consulted on the matter at all.”

“Not at all?”

“Not one bit.”

“That seems… unreasonable.”

“I thought so as well.”

“It’s a fairly common and well-used method of high class. Most marriages are arranged. I expected something similar to happen to me one day. However, I did not expect for myself and the potential bride to be completely excluded from the process.”

“Is it common for the children to be involved when the parents are arranging these marriages?”

“It’s typical that the children know and understand that the parents are actively considering someone as a potential partner. Even though there were meetings and outings, neither of us were aware that they were to see if we were a good match.”

“I see. Captain, this must have all be quite a shock to you.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Were you aware of this custom of arranged marriages?”

“I come from a very small town in the east. As a child, I remember marriages being arranged between daughters and sons, but it was a dying way of doing things. Most of the time, if a boy and a girl showed interest in each other, the parents would get involved, just to make sure that the children would be able to work well together and take care of each other.”

“Did you ever expect anything like that to happen with you?”

“…I was unsure, truthfully. My mother passed when I was young, and my father was too focused on his work to care much about me. I was never sure if he would have just ignored me or if he would have married me off to get me out of the way. However, he passed when I was sixteen, so I suppose I’ll never know.”

“It doesn’t seem like either of you are too excited about this engagement. Do you think it was rushed into, and that you won’t work well together?”

“It actually is a smart match on the part of our elders. I am very fond of Riza, and she has said that she feels friendship for me. It’s obvious that we get along, and we have enough common ground that we can work well together. The tying together of the two families and what could be done with that power and influence is also a great boon to either of us. The marriage would be advantageous, and I believe that we would get along.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“She’s in love with someone else.”

“…that does change things. Do your elders know about this?”

“I believe that my grandfather does, yes, although I’ve never said so directly to him.”

“I see. Is this a new development for you?”

“No. I’ve loved him for years.”

“If you’ve loved this man for that long, why haven’t you married him?”

“Our positions wouldn’t have allowed for it, not if we wanted to keep moving forward with our work. Married couples aren’t allowed to work under each other due to fraternization regulations. As much as we loved each other, we felt that our goals were more important.”

“I see. And what were these goals?”

“To make sure that another Ishval can never happen again. To keep power in check so that no one man or group of men can order the murder of innocents again. To rebuild Ishval and do all that we can to pay back the harm and pain that we caused.”

“Captain… with what you’ve said here, it sounds like…”

“Yes. I am in love with General Roy Mustang. I have been for years. Even if I can’t marry him, I’m not going to betray that love by marrying someone else.”

“Does he love you as well?”

“Yes. He does.”

“And you’ve always kept this hidden?”

“No. There are people who know—people who have seen our confession to each other. People who have seen our actions towards one another. People who have heard our words to each other. It isn’t well-known, but it is known.”

“….well, with that listeners, we’ll go to commercial break. But expect more when we get back!”

“Welcome back, listeners! We’ve given the Lieutenant Colonel and Captain a bit of a break after the last segment, and now we welcome two more guests that know them well. First Lieutenants Jean Havoc and Heymans Breda. Both have worked under General Roy Mustang for quite a while, and, going along with that, Captain Hawkeye. Tell me, boys—were you surprised at all by the captain’s confession a few minutes ago?”

“Naw. We all knew that there was something between them for a long time.”

“They’re not as good at hiding their past as they think they are.”

“What made you think that?”

“There were these little things. Looks, the way she’d indulge him, the way he would give into her… I mean, it was clear there was some kind of a past there.”

“They kept it professional, though. They didn’t do anything romantic in sight of anyone.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There was never any hand holding, sweet words, talks of plans together. While it was obvious there was a history there was never any solid clue as to what kind of a history. They could have been childhood neighbors.”

“Yeah, but after the Day of the Eclipse, things changed. They were, I don’t know… more touchy? Although the General was blind for a while there, so he kind of needed touch so that he could get around and—"

“Please hang on viewers, someone is pounding on our glass—it’s a woman. She’s coming in now and—”

“Jean Thaddeus Havoc! You take all the romance out of everything!”

“Aw, Bec, come on. I was just saying—”

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Rebecca Catalina, Captain Riza Hawkeye’s best friend. And honestly these two don’t know how to tell a good story—especially a true one.”

“Catalina, we really don’t need—”

“Don’t you start in with me too, Red! Alright, let me tell you how this really goes. Riza and I, we were roommates at the academy. I didn’t get shipped out with her, but before that we were roommates, and after it too. Let me tell you, that girl is good at holding her emotions in. Fortunately, I’m good at noticing them anyway.”

“Please go on, Lieutenant.”

“I’m pretty sure that Riza and Mustang knew each other beforehand. But after Ishval they started working closer together, with her as his adjunct. I knew from the get-go that there was more to these two then met the eye. Oh, of course it wasn’t romantic at first, but there was a connection of some sort there. Over the years I saw it develop into fondness, and then to outright love. Yes, they both dated others—Mustang more than Riza ever did—but they always ended up back with each other again. Riza would never tell me who she was in love with, but I know a woman in love when I see one! It didn’t take me long to figure it out. And after the Day of the Eclipse, it was even more obvious.”

“Oh?”

“I’m not entirely sure what happened in the tunnels below Central, but I do know that some sleezebag tried to use Riza against Mustang by slitting her throat open, and that whatever it was he tried to force Mustang to do didn’t work. I’m so glad that little pink princess from Xing was there to help them out! She saved Riza’s life! What I do know is that when I saw Riza again, the doctors were trying to keep her from bleeding out again, and one of the first things she did was ask about Mustang. She wouldn’t settle down well until after she had found out that he was alive and relatively okay. When I found Mustang, he wouldn’t settle down until he was sure she was alright. They both had to know about the other first.”

“That wasn’t anything new.”

“Hush you! I’m telling a story!”

“Please go on, Lieutenant.”

“Anyway, they were just worse in the hospital, always asking about the other until the staff finally got tired of it and just put them in a room together. I mean, Mustang was blind, it wasn’t like he could see anything anyway, and Riza—yeah, yeah, Riza, I see you threatening me through the glass, you know you love me—would be able to rest her voice more if she wasn’t constantly asking about him. But honestly, whatever happened down there, it changed them. They were both more driven, but also more open with each other and themselves. To anyone who knew them before, the way they look at each other, the way they talk to each other, the way they support and care about each other—they might as well be confessing.”

“Interesting! So, you three say that you know without a doubt that Mustang and Hawkeye are in love?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Definitely.”

“Alright, well, we’re up against a hard break, but when we come back, let’s hope we can hear more about what happened in those tunnels!”

“Welcome back, listeners! We have quite a treat for you! Sitting before me are two people who I never thought I’d have sitting in my studio, much less together! The Ishvalan known as Scar, and the former Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric! Welcome, both of you.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.”

“So, my producer says that you two know what went on down in those tunnels?”

“Yeah, we were there—although I wasn’t there for all of it, because I didn’t see the part where Hawkeye got her neck sliced open.”

“I witnessed that.”

“So was there something else that happened in those tunnels? Something before then?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you tell us about it?”

“…You heard Hawkeye mention Maes Hughes earlier, right? Well, what she didn’t say was how close he and Mustang were. When Hughes was murdered, it set him off. He was determined to find Hughes’s killer. The individuals in the conspiracy tried to pin it on Ross, but Mustang saw through that and saved her instead. But he kept looking for the killer. Down under Lab 3, he found the killer, who confessed. Mustang then set out after him—but not to bring him to justice. It was vengeance, plain and simple.”

“Vengeance?”

“It was. I saw it on the Flame’s face when he had captured his foe.”

“Scar’s right. It was obvious to all of us, but especially to Hawkeye. When Scar and I got there, the suspect had already injured Hawkeye, and Mustang had started to take his revenge before Hawkeye stopped him. I took control of the suspect then, getting him away from Mustang. Mustang demanded him back, and I refused. He threatened, and that was when Hawkeye started talking to him.”

“Oh? What did the captain say?”

“That’s the thing. It wasn’t just what she said, but how she said it. Hawkeye and Mustang had always been incredibly formal around me—around everyone. She always called him ‘sir’ and by his rank, and kept her tone very professional. Mustang called her by her rank and last name, also, professional, usually. But it was like at that moment, they dropped all pretense. They spoke to each other like… like…”

“Like a wife to a husband, like a husband to a wife. They spoke as equals who loved each other deeply and were hurting each other deeply.”

“What do you mean by hurting each other deeply?”

“Captain Hawkeye was pleading with Flame not to kill the individual that we held captive. She said that she would take care of it, but that she couldn’t allow him to walk down the path he was heading. He refused to listen, and Elric and I both spoke up. Elric told him to take a good look at his face, and I told him I had no right to tell him what to do. Captain Hawkeye then pleaded with him again. She spoke of promises made—promises, I could tell, that were as deeply held as any marriage vows.”

“It’s the only time I’ve seen Hawkeye’s hand shake while holding a gun.”

“Flame asked her what she would do after she shot him. The pain that crossed her face was deep and grief-stricken. She replied that she had no plans on going on without him, and that after the battle she would end her life. Flame let loose with an explosion down a side tunnel, and then turned to her. He declared that he couldn’t lose her. They lowered their weapons and collapsed together after that. It was an intense moment of confession between two people who share a deep love.”

“That sounds like an incredible moment you witnessed.”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’d ever seen two people show that kind love and devotion.”

“Was that where the captain got her throat slit?”

“No, because I was still there. It happened after I was separated from the group.”

“I was there, though.”

“Can you tell us what happened then?”

“We were captured. A man demanded that the Flame preform human transmutation. When he refused, the man had one of his subordinates slit the neck of Captain Hawkeye to ensure that Flame would perform it. She encouraged him not to give in. In a display of strength, he honored her wishes. I believe that she somehow knew that there were allies waiting for their chance and somehow communicated that to Flame. It was shortly afterward that these allies dropped from the ceiling. As soon as there was an opportunity, Flame was rushing to her side, ignoring all else. I could hear him calling to her. Mei, the Chang Princess from Xing, was able to do something to help stabilize her. When the battle was over, Flame was holding Captain Hawkeye closely. The tenderness was obvious.”

“So you’re saying that you have no doubt that they were in love even then.”

“They were clearly, deeply in love, and confessed it in front of me.”

“Have you seen love confessions before?”

“Yes. Before the destruction of Ishval, I was a priest. I saw many love confessions while serving in the temple. Since returning back to my roots to restore and rebuild my people, I have, again, taken up some of my duties. What I witnessed was as clearly a confession of love as anything I have ever seen.”

“What an incredible story, folks. But hang in there. More is to come!”

“Alright folks, we’ve heard from Alex Louis Armstrong and Riza Armstrong themselves about the way their engagement came about, and why they don’t want to go through with it. We’ve learned that Captain Hawkeye and General Mustang are in love and have been for years. We’ve heard about the way they’ve treated each other over the years from various coworkers, about the confession they had in front of Scar and Edward Elric, about the way they addressed each other as lovers on the Day of the Eclipse from Briggs soldiers and civilians who were involved, about how they loved each other early on from the wife of a close friend, and many others. Now we’re going to hear from the head of the Armstrong family herself, Lieutenant General Olivier Mira Armstrong. General, we’d love to hear your opinion on all of this as the head of the Armstrong family. Were you aware of this? What are your feelings on the matter?”

“This is a complicated situation, mired in old laws and societal rules that are, quite frankly, outdated.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. As my brother stated earlier, arranged marriages are common in high society families. I understand why, in the past, they were common. It was a way for families to ensure that their daughters would be well cared for in a world with limited options, as well as to strengthen ties between families. Ideally, the parents would also be looking out for the children’s best interests as well, including if the partner would be a good one.”

“I see. So, you don’t approve of arranged marriages then?”

“I neither approve nor disapprove of the practice in general. It’s the execution of it I often take issue with, as well as the legally binding ways it can entrap people—especially women—in a day when there is no need for a woman to rely on a man, especially not a woman like Riza Hawkeye.”

“Do you approve of the match between your brother and Captain Hawkeye?”

“I think it’s a smart match. Hawkeye is smart, capable, sharp, and independent. She would be a good compliment to my brother in many ways, and I think that she would adapt quickly to high society life. She would be able to live well and, if I am honest, I wouldn’t mind having her for a sister-in-law. Alex would, in turn provide and care for Hawkeye, and treat her exceptionally well.”

“So, you’re for the marriage then?”

“No. I’m against it.”

“But you just said it was a smart match.”

“It is. However, it isn’t something that both parties want. Hawkeye is clearly in love with Mustang. To force her into a marriage that she does not want would be cruel and would take away her autonomy. My brother would never want to do that to her, or to any woman. He is not willing to marry a woman that does not want the marriage.”

“I see. So, are you absolving the agreement then?”

“I don’t have the authority to do that.”

“But you’re the head of the Armstrong family.”

“Yes, I am. However, arranged marriages fall under the purview of the parents or guardians of the individuals in question. Usually, the parents and heads of family are one in the same, so there is no issue there. The Armstrong family situation is unique.”

“So, you’re saying that both your brother and Captain Hawkeye are trapped in this engagement? That has to be difficult.”

“I’m certain it is. This is why I would encourage more communication before such arrangements take place. There are only two ways to absolve the engagement in a lawful and honorable manner at this point.”

“Oh? What would those be?”

“One would be for the parents or guardians to absolve it themselves. However, neither the Fuhrer nor my parents seemed willing to do that.”

“What’s the other way?”

“For there to be a history of one of the parties being in love with someone else. There has to be evidence of it, a confession, preferably in front of clergy, and a public declaration of the matter.”

“….you mean such as coworkers who have worked with the individuals for years speaking up about it, and Ishvalan priest seeing the confession and it being broadcast on the radio.”

“That would be an acceptable manner in which to do it, yes.”

“So does this mean--?”

“This means that legally, according to the law, my brother and Captain Hawkeye are free to absolve their engagement.”

“Folks, you can’t see this, but through the window to my studio, there are a number of happy people out there. I think this is a good time to take a break. But stay tuned. We’ll have more on this when we return!”

“Alright folks, in studio we have Lieutenant Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong, Captain Riza Hawkeye, and General Roy Mustang. It’s been quite an evening for you all! An engagement, a confession, and now a broken engagement. Tell us, General—do you really love Captain Hawkeye as she loves you?”

“I do. I have for years.”

“How did you feel when you found out about the engagement?”

“Riza called me the night it happened. She and Alex were going to work on ways to quietly try to break it off. Unfortunately, the announcement the next day made that difficult.”

“I can imagine! How do you feel now that the engagement has been broken?”

“Relieved.”

“Captain Hawkeye, how about you?”

“It’s as if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.”

“You weren’t happy being engaged to Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong?”

“Alex is a fine man and will make a wonderful husband one day. But he’s not the man to be my husband. I hold no ill will towards him. Instead, I’m grateful for all that he did to try to help me out of this situation. He respected my own autonomy, and for that I will be eternally grateful.”

“As will I.”

“Lieutenant Colonel, how are you feeling about all of this?”

“A marriage will not work, arranged or not, if the people in it do not want to be in it. While I will always cherish the friendship that Riza gives me, I am more than happy to help her find her way to her happiness. General Mustang, I know that Riza can take care of herself. But now as this is over, I am entrusting her care to you. I know that you two will take care of each other.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

“I feel it’s time for me to take my leave of you then. I hope all of your listeners have a marvelous evening.”

“Yes, thank you for your time, Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong. Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong has left the booth and now I’m here with Captain Hawkeye and General Mustang. So, after this confession, do you think you’ll be allowed to work together?”

“We should. The regulations only speak of marriage and dating relationships, not of people in love.”

“So, you two aren’t going to get married?”

“Not at this time. There’s just too much work we need to do and need to get accomplished.”

The door to the studio closed softly, and Alex Armstrong walked over to stand next to his sister. The murmur of voices could still be heard through the window, and Roy and Riza could be seen, hands intertwined as they enthusiastically talked about their plans for the future and for the rebuilding of Ishval. Olivier was standing to where she could look into the window, observing. Behind them, the murmur of other guests could be heard, all of them excited about what they had managed to pull off. Olivier wasn’t celebrating with the others. For a moment, they just stood there.

“…you would have loved her, wouldn’t you?” she finally asked him, speaking too softly for anyone else to hear.

“Yes. I would have given her the world.” He replied.

Olivier hummed. “But the world wasn’t what she wanted.”

“No. All she wanted was him. And so, I found a way to give him to her instead.”

Olivier said nothing, but just stood there. Finally, she let out a sigh so soft that Alex almost thought he imagined it. She turned, pausing to put a hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“You’re a good man, Alex. One day the right woman will come along for you.”

Alex said nothing for a moment, and then only responded with “Thank you, Sister.”

Olivier didn’t acknowledge his words, just walked away, and that was good enough for Alex. He didn’t need any more than that anyway. With his own internal sigh, he turned away from the window, determined not to let Riza know how he truly felt about her.

Before he could go too far, though, something ran into his leg, and he looked down to see a ball, with a little pigtailed girl running after it. Elicia Hughes.

“Sorry, sir!” she said. “It got away from me.”

“It’s alright,” he said, kneeling down. “It’s not the first time a ball has run into me.”

“Elicia! I hope you’re not bothering the Lieutenant Colonel.” Gracia hurried up to him.

“Oh, no, please, it was no bother at all.” Alex said.

“Still.” Gracia looked at her daughter. “You must be more careful. Especially if we go to the restaurant.”

“Restaurant?” Alex questioned.

Gracia nodded. “They’re talking about a celebration at a restaurant. It’s just been decided.”

“Oh! Sit with us!” Elicia said. “Please?”

“Elicia!” Gracia scolded again.

Alex smiled. “I would be honored to.”

Gracia looked up him and smiled herself. “Well in that case, you’re welcome.”

Alex glanced back at the window, and then back at Gracia.

Even if he didn’t have love, he at least had good people in his life. And that would be enough for him.

#writersmonth2021 #fma #Fullmetal Alchemist #riza hawkeye #alex louis armstrong #Roy Mustang #Olivier Mira Armstrong #and a whole lot of other people but these are the most relevant #fma fanfic #fullmetal alchemist fan fiction

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the-ghost-of-jason-todd · 2 years

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okay so. after percolating on RHATO for a bit i feel like... it had some potential? but it just. never reached it. like there were a LOT of interesting threads and themes but most of them frayed and/or just straight up disappeared by the time we reached the end of the run.

like the first RHATO run (2011??), right. it was TRYING to say something with these three not-heroes who had some kind of choice or safety or future taken away from them by someone who was supposed to love and/or protect and/or support them (kori’s sister, batman, oliver queen). they all had themes of addiction at different points in the story (roy is a recovering alcoholic, jay lost everything to his mom’s addiction and also had that run-in with i’m guessing bane venom, and kori had that arc with the... drug dealers? that i still don’t understand?). they all felt unappreciated, they all felt alone. and what i WANTED to see was them being able to be... alone together, you know? and there WAS some of that, especially near the beginning. but then we started having arcs where they were each shown to be so, so incredibly LONELY even when the others were within hailing distance? kori has that arc with the slaves on the ship that she’s trying to free (against their will??? i don’t understand that one really), and roy goes to save killer croc but it turns out to not even be croc, and jay has the whole thing with the joker, and jay is with the batfam but even then he’s singled out from them (though i have a feeling all of them were in some way and RHATO just focused on jay, i’m gonna read through all the death of the family comics to see if there’s a pattern to this), and they don’t even tell each other or let each other in. there’s no comfort there, you know? and it just kept getting worse with the all caste coming in and manipulating jason every other week, and the writing trying to shoe-horn in isabel like she was ever really an option??

and i guess, like... part of it is probably the normal issues of a serial work with such a huge continuity like DC. these issues kind of transcend writer, i saw them less in the rebirth run but they were still there. but it’s still kinda... disappointing? i love finding all the little kernels of family and hurt/comfort and humor but overall it was underwhelming. even RH:O did it, and it started off stronger than any of the others, imo.

#i'm rambling #liveblogging batfam #liveblogging rhato #i'm salty give me a minute

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kimburgess-ruzek · 3 years

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shattered.

chapter two: a mustard seed.

summary: burzek/upstead/whole unit. Intelligence had been through the worst of the worst trying to get one of their own back alive. Each member has been to their own personal hell. Will everyone make it back, or will the cracks in Intelligence be big enough for the entire team to shatter?

a/n: so one idea led to another and then I found myself down a rabbit hole of Adam and Makayla. this chapter is heavily focused on adam and it’s a little slow, but I think it sets up for the rest to be fast paced. Reply if you want to be tagged in future chapters!

word count: 4.6k

masterlist here.

read on ao3.

a mustard seed.

all adam could think about for the past 36 hours was Kim. all he cared about was getting Kim back, and getting her back alive. he didn’t care what lines he had to cross, who he had to hurt. no, he just wanted Kim back. and to be honest, he didn’t want to do it by the book. he didn’t care if he hurt anyone, what lines he had to cross. because he already went through this with his ci, Tommy. he tried that “keep it by the books” mentality, only for his friend to die in his arms, holding him as he took his last breath. and like hell he was going to let that happen this time. because this time it was Kim. and because adam saw what happened with Tommy, he wasn’t going to let that happen to Kim. Kim, the woman who, upon the first day of holding a conversation with, had given him advice on his precious engagement. the woman who did everything she could to prove herself to everyone at the 21st that she belonged as a cop. the woman who stood by Antonio when he was going through his drug problem, who didn’t stop until she saw justice for al, who risked her life by staying with Hailey in that basement when they were kidnapped, who helped raise Kevin's brother and sister. this was Kim. and no one, no one, he thought, was understanding that. no one got it. but how could they? they didn’t watch their friend bleed out on the pavement two months ago. they didn’t have the love of their life kidnapped, missing, going through god knows what. but still, Kim was missing, and adam was going to do whatever it took to get her back, even if the team didn’t understand.

yeah, that was his mentality in the beginning. and then Hailey said the one word that changed the game. she mentioned the one person who made him stop in his tracks, stop in his path of destruction.

Makayla.

at first, adam didn’t even think about Makayla, which sounds awful, but it’s true. in honesty, he was too focused on finding Roy, getting Kim back, and not having to worry about Makayla, because Kim would be there and Makayla would still have a mom, someone who she trusts and she loves. he didn’t want to think of the alternative. he didn’t want to believe that the impossible could very well become possible. that Makayla would never see Kim again. and while it was hard enough to think that he would never see Kim again, he knew it would be worse for Makayla. no, it would be worse than worse. he wouldn’t know how Makayla would recover. so as much as he wanted to continue down the bad path, he knew he couldn’t. he couldn’t because he had to be there for Makayla. and more than just physically be there for her. yes, he had to be there for her when the babysitter left. but he had to do more. right now, he was all Makayla had. so he had to be all the way with her. to comfort her, to encourage her, to reassure her, to protect her. and that meant he couldn’t go in guns blazing, ready to break every law there is for Kim. because he would’ve done that. he was ready to do that. but with Makayla now in the picture, with being her custodian, he had to protect her. and that meant protecting himself. not out of selfishness. but out of quite the opposite. he couldn’t go off the books because he had to get home to Makayla. he had to rest assured, knowing he wouldn’t be thrown in jail or on the streets because of his actions. so he did what Hailey told him to do, what Kim would want him to do, what he knew was right. he did the right thing. and that was to be there for Makayla.

when adam first got to Kim's apartment, he didn’t know if he could handle it. if he could step foot in there and be brave for Makayla. but Hailey reassured him.

“you can do this. do this for her.”

“you call if you have any leads?” adam couldn’t follow up on the case, he knew, but he wanted to know every detail of them coming closer to finding Kim. because it would give him the confidence he needed that everything was going to be alright. either confidence or false hope, but adam didn’t want to believe it was because of the latter.

“of course.” Hailey gave adam the best smile she could at the moment. she was scared too, and she knew adam knew she was, but she tried to mask it. she knew adam needed all of the encouragement he could get.

adam took a deep, deep breath and then got out of Hailey's car. he immediately took off his vest and his jacket, making himself as much of a "welcoming, normal, everything’s alright" guy. he gave one last look at Hailey and then went into his unknown.

adam trudged his way to the stairs and went up to the sixth floor. he made his way to apartment 2012 and gave it a nice knock on the door. he looked at the time. 6:07 pm. after a minute of silence, the door opened ever so slightly and Makayla's babysitter peeked her head out.

“hi, are you adam ruzek?”

adam gave a solemn look and nodded. “uh yeah. yeah, I'm adam,” adam showed his badge and his name in the best to the babysitter. “I, uh, Kim's not finished yet so I'm here for the night. thanks for staying longer, it really means a lot.”

when he called the babysitter (which he only got the number from Makayla's school) in the middle of the night and asked her if she could stay longer than just the night, he didn’t get into details. but oddly enough, the babysitter knew adam. or at least, knew of him. said something about Kim mentioning how he stepped up or something, and how much she saw him grow. those words caught adam by surprise. he never would’ve thought Kim would even mention adam, much less say words of praise. yet, while it was lucky and convenient at the moment, it made adam feel sad because there was a chance it would be one of the last few memories of Kim he would have. but he couldn’t think of that. not right now.

adam dug into his pocket and grabbed some extra cash and handed it to the babysitter. she opened the door more and let adam in before grabbing her things, saying goodby to Makayla, and leaving. adam dropped the vest and the jack right inside the door as soon as he got inside Kim's apartment, trying to be as discreet as he could. he looked around and saw Makayla sitting on the couch, staring at adam.

“hey, Makayla. hey, it’s adam,” he said as he approached Makayla. as he got to the couch to sit down, Makayla scooted herself back a seat, being a little apprehensive. adam quickly noted this and reassured her.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m just going to be here for a while, while Kim's working.” adam smiled, lying through his teeth but trying not to show it or fear.

Makayla looked at adam with those big brown eyes, which were full of confusion and concern. Kim, as much as she worked and was called in at random times, never sent someone else home. she always either came home and brought her work with her or asked the babysitter to stay late, but she never sent another person to watch her.

“where is she?”

adam noticed Makayla was catching on and tried his best to give the bare minimum without sounding like he was making something up. “she’s still at work, and your babysitter, she already stayed extra. Kim has a lot of work to do, so she asked me to come over and stay with you until she got back. does that sound okay?” he leaned a little forward, trying to invite Makayla in and be welcoming. Makayla must’ve believed adam because she nodded ever so slightly. adam didn’t take that lightly; even though he had hung out with Makayla a few times, it was always with Kim. and anything out of the ordinary probably makes Makayla scared and suspicious. so her trusting adam, even if it’s just a little, meant the world to him.

“I know it’s a new situation, but everything’s gonna be okay, alright? now, I don’t know about you, but I think I’m pretty hungry. how about we call in some pizza. how about that? does that sound good?”

Makayla didn’t answer, making adam ramble on some more.

“and then after pizza, we can pick out your favorite movie, and whip out the popcorn and candy, and, and we can make some movie posters, and we can watch another movie. how does that sound?”

with that, Makayla grinned and replied, “okay.”

adam took “okay” as approval. he got up from the couch and got ready to call in the pizza, only focusing on Makayla.

the rest of the night went seemingly smooth. distracting Makayla away from Kim went relatively okay. once the movie was popped in, she fell right asleep, which didn’t allow her to ask any more questions. adam eventually put her to bed and tried to get some sleep.

after he dropped Makayla off at school, he was on his way to med. luckily, adam had enough sense to pull over to the side of the road when Kevin told him that the surgeon was in the waiting room. he listened, waiting for the doctor to say something. say anything. but he almost enjoyed that long pause that seemed like an eternity. because at least then, there wasn’t a possibility of the doctor giving bad news. of giving the worst news he could ever fathom.

but then came the doctor’s news. and it felt like an out-of-the-body experience. it all came so fast. too fast for adam to really pick up anything other than the last two sentences.

“she made it out of surgery. she’s critical, but she’s stable.”

adam let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Kim’s alive. she’s alive.

all adam could do was break down. he didn’t have any more energy to be brave, to be strong. he didn’t care who saw him in his jeep. he didn’t care what he looked like. he dropped his phone and immediately began to sob, collapsing on his middle console. all of his fear, aggression and sorrow coming out. he let everything go. he didn’t care about anything, anyone else, anymore. he didn’t care about Walton, about the case. no, he was just so thankful that Kim was alive. that he got a second chance. that Makayla still has a mom.

“she’s okay. she’s gonna be okay. she’s gonna be okay.” was all adam could get out between his sobs. he didn’t know who he was talking to; he was reassuring himself more than less.

after about 5 minutes of this, adam seemed to have gotten all of his tears out, if that’s even possible. he stopped replaying the worst-case scenario in his mind as he didn’t have to do that anymore. he then remembered his phone and Kevin. he searched for it, looking around until he saw it on the passenger floorboard. he picked it up and saw that Kevin was still on the line.

“Kev, you still there?” he asked, his voice almost hoarse.

after a second, Kevin answered. “yeah bro. yeah, I’m still here.”

adam could hear the sadness in Kevin's voice. and he could almost feel the tension through the phone. but he put it all aside for right now and decided to figure it out once he got to the hospital.

“I’m on my way, I’ll be there in a few.”

“Alright bro, I’m not leaving. neither is the team.”

with that, adam and Kevin hung up. adam collected himself, wiping his tears with his sleeve and brushing his hands through his hair. he put the car in drive and took off from the side of the road. he decided to stop on the way and grab six coffees. he knew they all needed it and it was the least he could do right now. them saving Kim and all. after another couple of minutes, he was pulling into med and found a parking spot. he got out with his keys and his coffees and headed inside. then the pit in his stomach began to rise again and he couldn’t explain it. something about seeing the team again, about seeing Kim again. all this time, all he wanted to do was see Kim again, but now, he’s hesitant. about seeing her with all of the machines and oxygen and cuts and bruises. it brought back too many memories of the numerous times Kim has been in this hospital. sure she has been there before but this time felt different, and he didn’t know why but he just felt heavy. and all this time while looking for Kim, he took out his frustration, his anger, and his fear out on the team. and yes, now he might realize it was wrong, but he doesn’t know how the team felt. about the whole situation and about him.

adam made his way up to the ICU waiting room, which is where the team was. most of the other patrol officers had already left. once they had received the good news, they left, giving intelligence their space. once everyone spotted adam, they all stood up as he walked to them. no one immediately ran in for a hug; they just looked at him while Kevin glanced at the ground.

“hey, I uh, I thought you all could use this.” adam greeted, extending the tray of coffees he had in his hand. though he didn’t need to say it because jay and Hailey were already eyeing the coffee. they grabbed their cups and began to sip on the needed caffeine. adam handed a cup to Trudy, who took it with a “thanks” and a pat on the shoulder. adam then took a cup and handed it to Kevin, who reluctantly took it and nodded thanks. neither of them was in the mood to hash it out; it wasn’t the right time or place. they knew they needed to talk eventually though, and Kevin did appreciate the peace offering. after a while, adam saw him sip it out of the corner of his eye.

there was one extra cup of coffee that wasn’t claimed, and once adam noticed it, only then did he realize one of their team members wasn’t there.

“where’s Voight?” adam asked, looking around for his boss. everyone looked at each other, signaling who to reply.

Trudy cleared her throat, “we don’t know. he hasn’t come by yet and hasn’t answered any of our calls.”

Adam frowned. that’s so unlike Voight. as much as he respected Kim, he would’ve thought the sergeant would’ve shown. he shook his head, confused.

“When do we pick the case back up?” adam then asked, trying to be logical, seeing when they would have to get their boots back on the ground.

“We don’t know, it’s Voight's call.” jay answered.

adam nodded. “so when can we go see her?” he asked changing the subject. he brought his focus back on Kim, who he really cared about at the moment.

“she’s in a private ICU room, doc said one visitor at a time until she’s awake and alert. we figured you would want to go.” Kevin answered, to the point.

adam sighed, “thanks guys. thanks.” he looked around the room, stopping at Kevin. he tried to get Kevin to look back at him, but Kevin brought his focus back to his coffee once he answered adam.

“hey, why don’t y’all go on home. I’ll call as soon as she wakes up. y’all deserve some sleep, in actual beds.” adam said, giving a grin.

as the team gathered their things, adam continued. “and… thanks. thanks for… for putting up with me. I know I wasn’t in my right mind, but that doesn’t give me a good reason to go off on y’all I, I just, I don’t know. I, I know I have a lot of work to do, a lot more growing to do, but I hope you let me back in with time. that’s all I could ask of y’all.”

everyone took in adam’s speech, his apology. jay put a hand on his shoulder and replied, “it’s okay.” Hailey and Trudy just nodded in agreement. adam breathed a little sigh of relief, thankful for what reception he did get. the rest of the team resumed getting their things and saying goodbye. as Kevin grabbed his bloody vest, adam held his fist out to do their brother’s handshake they always do. instead, though, Kevin just patted him on the back on his way out. adam sighed; he knew Kevin needed more time and a better apology. but he didn’t want to give it in public, so he left it at that. Trudy have his hand a squeeze and said, “when burgess wakes up, make sure to give her grief about rolling alone from me.” adam huffed out a laugh and hugged Trudy before she walked out. as jay and Hailey were the lasts to leave, adam stopped them.

“Hailey, do you have a moment before you leave?” adam asked. jay was slightly confused but took that as a cue that he wasn’t wanted in this conversation.

“I’ll be in the car.” jay said to Hailey and sauntered out of the waiting room.

adam gave a confused look, “y’all ride together?”

Hailey stuttered. she figured jay didn’t even realize the team doesn't officially know about them yet. “uh, yeah.” she answered shortly. she managed to give a laugh internally at jay’s flub.

adam quickly changed the subject back to the point. “hey, did you catch any leads? did you find Voight after you left?” adam asked in a hushed tone. he knew Voight not being there was odd. too odd for it to not mean anything.

“uh…” Hailey was trying to find the right words to lie to. she was tired of these questions and it hadn’t even been a day. “um, no I didn’t. as soon as jay called it in that they’d found Kim, I left the scene. stop searching.” she was burning up inside, her conscience eating away at her. she so wanted to tell someone the truth, and if it was adam, he might’ve understood. but she didn’t have a plan together, and she didn’t know where Voight was. as much as she now feared her boss, she wanted to see him with her own two eyes before making a judgment call.

adam, though, knew she was lying through her teeth. he had been with her before, and she never not gave a straight answer. she’s too shaky, too nervous. he just wanted to know if Roy was still out there for peace of mind, and he knew Hailey knew something.

“really? because Kevin said you didn’t show up until later. much later. and Voight is apparently nowhere to be seen. you wouldn’t be here if you knew Voight was in danger. and it’s not like him to not be here if he’s okay.”

Hailey cut adam off from asking too many more questions. “I don’t know anything, okay. Voight radioed me when jay called it in, and he told me that he was okay and to go to med. that’s all.” Hailey said, more assertively. Adam opened his mouth and was about to ask another question when Hailey held her hand up, stopping him.

“look, don’t worry about it. you should go be with Kim. she needs you.” and with that, Hailey spun in her heels and left adam there. she made her way down to her car and saw jay standing by the passenger door. she smiled at how goofy he looked. the first time she’s smiled in days.

“what? don’t wanna be seen in my car?” Hailey laughed.

jay grinned, happy to see Hailey giggle. “no, you have the keys.” he deadpanned.

Hailey realized he left jay to fend for himself. she quickly unlocked it and they both got in. during the ride back to their place jay burst out, “so what did Ruz want?”

Hailey looked at jay and reassured him, “nothing. just asked a question about earlier.”

that left jay more confused than, to begin with. but he just assumed Hailey wouldn’t say much further and left it at that. “should I be worried he’s trying to steal you back?”

Hailey let out a laugh. “no you don’t have to worry about that. if you couldn’t tell, adam is head over heels for Kim. plus, you should probably think twice before hinting that we live together, detective.” Hailey smirked as jay realized what he said in the waiting room. he blushed, embarrassed.

“did Ruz catch on?” he asked, starting to panic. he didn’t want Hailey to be uncomfortable, and he wanted her to feel okay to announce it to the team. he didn’t want that to be the way everyone found out, and he certainly knew adam can’t keep his mouth shut.

“jay, this is adam we’re talking about. he didn’t suspect a thing.”

Hailey pulled into their apartment and as soon as the car was in park, she pulled jay into a sweet, slow kiss.

“Now, let’s go to the bedroom and not think about the last 48 hours.”

“Copy you, detective.” jay said and got out of the car as quickly as he could.

adam looked into Kim's room through the window. Kim was in the ICU but was given a private room, so it looked like a regular room in terms of basics.

he saw Kim, lying on the cot. it was all too familiar to him. seeing her, pale, in a hospital gown. although she wasn’t really that pale for all of the bruises that covered her. on her face, on her wrists, on her forearms. adam swallowed, taking it all in. everything. every emotion. he couldn’t imagine what Kim went through in the last day and a half. and it killed him inside that he could’ve prevented all of this if he had gotten to her sooner. if he told her that it wasn’t a good idea to go to that last location alone. that she should’ve stayed out until he was closer. he should’ve done the undercover pass. he should’ve been the first one there. because then none of this would’ve happened. but it did. and seeing Kim, someone who was once full of life now looking so helpless, brought up all the pent-up guilt adam had. and he didn’t know how he was going to get over it.

after a few minutes of building up the courage, he finally made his legs move and stepped foot into Kim's room. inside, it was a different atmosphere. it was draining, cold, and suffocating. it was silent, eerily silent, except for the monotonous beeping coming from the machine next to her. but he pushed his way through and walked up to Kim. up close, he noticed and took in every detail of her. her bloodied hair, her dirty nails, her tiny dainty wrists that were purple, the two big gashes on Kim's temple. tears were welled in his eyes. but through all of the bruises, adam still saw beauty in Kim's soft skin, her slightly furrowed eyebrows, her relaxed lips. and he held on to her beauty, it was the hope he needed to be brave for her.

adam pulled up a chair and sat by Kim. the doctor who is on the ICU floor mentioned something about sedation and her not waking up for a while, but adam didn’t really fully hear him. it didn’t matter though, he was going to be there until she woke up. he gently touched her hand, being careful not to injure her anymore. it was so small, so cold.

how could someone do this to her?

he lightly stroke her hand with his thumb, trying to caress her, let her know he was there. he didn’t know if she could feel him if she could hear him. he didn’t know how any of this worked, but he had to get this off his chest, for him more than for her.

“Hey, Kim. it’s me. it’s adam.” he said quietly, peacefully. “I’m here. and everything’s going to be okay. everything’s going to be alright. Trudy told me to tell you how mad she is at you. that you never need to be alone ever again, or something like that. hah, I agree… and you don’t have to worry about anything but getting better. truly, nothing. I got Makayla, don’t worry about that. she doesn’t know a thing, just that you had to work extra. trust me, I won’t let anything happen to her while you’re here. I will protect her. and you, I'll protect you… Makayla, she took a while to warm up to me, but after a couple of movies and a bag of popcorn on a school night, she was hooked. I see her in you, you know. even though it’s only been a few months, she’s yours. and I can tell how much you love her through her eyes. and she has the biggest heart, which is just like you…. you really scared me, you know that right? you scared all of us. and we fought. we fought each other. we fought against the law. we raced against time. and we found you. we found you. not, not that we wouldn’t. but you made us find you. you are so brave. you are so strong. and I know you are tired. you are exhausted, and all you want to do is rest, I need you to fight some more, just for a little while longer. just hold out. because you’ve earned your right to live. you’ve earned it. and. and.. and I need you to pull through. I know how immature I was in the beginning. and I know how impulsive I am, and how neurotic and vain I can be, and how much I hurt you along the way. but I’ve grown, and I’ve learned now. I know what it takes, I know what you want, and I am ready. I’m ready for all of it. I’m ready for the dating, the engagement, that bad banquet hall wedding. I’m ready to work alongside you, to watch you grow into an amazing detective, to grow old with you, to be a family. a real family, with Makayla. I’m ready for it. and I’ll wait. I’ll wait for you, however long it takes. and when you’re ready, I’ll be here —“

as adam was rambling, tears overflowing and spilling out of his eyes, he felt the slightest squeeze of a hand. it caught adam by surprise, being barely noticeable. but it was all he needed. it was the mustard seed. he gave Kim the smallest, most gentle squeeze back, letting her know he was there and he recognized her. and then he began talking again, this time with a smile on his face and hope in his heart.

“you won’t believe what song Makayla requested to play in the car on the way to school—“

#cpd shattered fanfiction #chicago pd #chicago p.d.#chicago pd fanfiction #chicago pd fanfic #cpd fic #burzek #upstead #minor upstead #kim burgess #adam ruzek #hailey upton #kevin atwater #jay halstead #trudy platt #adam x kevin #adam x kim #jay x hailey #where’s voight

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watusichris · 3 years

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Betty Davis: They Say She’s Different

It appears that everything anyone has written for the old Music Aficionado site has now disappeared from the web. A random Facebook post has prompted me to re-purpose this story, written in 2016, about my favorite funketress. **********

To this day, the name Betty Davis – Betty with a “y,” that is – remains best known to connoisseurs of Miles Davis minutiae and ‘70s funk obsessives. While it’s true that Betty played an important off-stage role in the career of the jazz trumpeter, to whom she was married for just a year, and she undoubtedly made some of the best hardcore funk records of her era, she deserves to be recognized beyond the relatively narrow provinces of the jazzbo and the crate-digger.

Uncompromising, intelligent, brazen, aggressive, and not incidentally gorgeous, sexually provocative, and a fashion plate always ahead of the curve, Betty was a prophetic figure. Spawned by the explosion of music, fashion, and alternative culture of the late ‘60s, and by concurrent leaps in black consciousness and feminism, she was a take-no-prisoners singer and writer who presented herself as something new, rich, and strange with her self-titled debut album in 1973.

There were some badass contemporaries working the soul and funk trenches– gutter-tongued diva Millie Jackson and one-time James Brown paramour Yvonne Fair leap to mind immediately – but they seemed to be adapting tropes previously worked by male singers in the genres. Betty still sounds like something new: a tough, smart, demanding woman who reveled in pleasure and insisted on satisfaction, unafraid to claim what she wanted.

Despite the fact that she was associated with some high-profile male musician friends and lovers – beyond Davis, the roll call included Hugh Masekela, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Mike Carabello, Eric Clapton, and Robert Palmer – she was no groupie or bed-hopping climber. Possessed of her own self-defining vision, she was producing her own records and leading a tight, flexible little band by the end of her brief run.

In 1976, after completing four splendid albums (only three of which were released at the time), she disappeared, not only from the music business but from the public eye entirely. What happened? It’s an old story that many women in the industry will recognize: Her record company didn’t know what to do with her, and wanted her to tone down her act. Betty Davis wasn’t having any of that, thank you, and she hit the damn road.

She was born Betty Mabry in Durham, NC, in 1945. She grew up country, and was exposed to down-home, get-down music early. On the title track of her second album, They Say I’m Different, she runs down the artists who served as inspirations: Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King, Chuck Berry. The blues, in one form or another, is the backbone of her style.

Her family relocated to Pittsburgh when she was young, but at 16 she left home for the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. There she was hurtled into the roiling cultural vortex of the Village. She took up modeling, working for the toney Wilhelmina agency, and began running with a posse of similarly disposed, equally beautiful women who called themselves the “Electric Ladies.” Sound familiar? One of her closest cohorts was Devon Wilson, for many years a notorious consort of Jimi Hendrix known for her freewheeling, outré sex- and drug-saturated lifestyle.

Mabry began to try her hand at singing, and cut a few self-penned singles. They were in an old-school mold in terms of structure, but her very first 45 hints at things to come. “Get Ready For Betty,” a 1964 track released by Don Costa (discoverer of Paul Anka and Trini Lopez and a key arranger for Frank Sinatra), is stodgy early-‘60s NYC R&B to its core, but its message is pointed: “Get out my way, girl, ‘cause I’m comin’ to take your man.”

She also made a stolid romantic duet ballad with singer Roy Arlington and, produced by cult soul man Lou Courtney, a homage to the Cellar, the New York club where she DJed. But she didn’t start reaching the upper echelon of the music biz until one of her songs, a hymn to Harlem called “Uptown,” was cut by the Chambers Brothers for their smash 1968 album The Time Has Come, which also included the psychedelic soul workout “Time Has Come Today.”

The Chambers association probably secured a singles deal for her at Columbia Records, and her first session for the major label was produced by her former live-in boyfriend, South African trumpeter Masekela, in October 1968. By that time, she had split with him: A month earlier, she had married a far more famous horn player, Miles Davis, whom she had met in 1967. Davis and his regular producer Teo Macero would head her second session for Columbia in May 1969.

Those two dates were released for the first time as The Columbia Years 1968-1969 earlier this month by Light in the Attic, the independent label that has restored Betty’s entire catalog to print over the last decade. While devoted fans can be grateful that the work is finally seeing the light of day, it does not make for easy listening, for it was clearly made by people groping in the dark.

Betty’s artistic persona was at that point completely unformed, and so her male Svengalis did their best to mold the clay in their hands, with feeble results. Masekela evidently completed just three tracks, two of which, “It’s My Life” and “Live, Love, Learn,” were issued as a flop single. The homiletic song titles give the game away; the music, straight-up commercial soul backed by a large group (which included Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson of the Jazz Crusaders and Masekela), has nothing original to say.

The date with Miles is a bigger waste, if a more spectacular one. The personnel couldn’t have been more glittering: Hendrix sidemen Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell; ex-Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty; bassist Harvey Brooks, studio familiar of Bob Dylan and former member of the Electric Flag; and Davis’ then-current or future band mates Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, and Larry Young.

But nothing jells. The material is either weak (Betty’s directionless original “Hangin’ Out” is the best of a bad lot) or incongruous (lumbering covers of Cream’s “Politician” and Creedence’s “Born On the Bayou”). Worse, the jazzers are unable to lay down anything resembling a solid soul-rock foundation, and even reliable timekeeper Mitchell blows the groove on more than one occasion. Miles gets impatient with his spouse at one point, rasping over the talk-back, “Sing it just like that, with the gum in your mouth and all, bitch.”

Apparently intended as demos, the failed tracks were consigned to the tape library. By late ’69, Miles and Betty’s marriage was history. She left her mark on his music: She appeared on the cover of his cover of his 1968 album Filles de Kilimanjaro and inspired its extended track “Mademoiselle Mabry” (based on the chords that opens Hendrix’s “The Wind Cries Mary”) and “Back Seat Betty” from his 1981 comeback album The Man With the Horn.

Moreover, she moved him toward the flash style that would dominate his music through the mid-‘70s, by exposing him to the slamming music of Hendrix and Sly and exchanging his continental suits for psychedelic pimp togs. Would we know Bitches Brew, On the Corner, and Agharta without Betty Davis? Maybe, maybe not.

For her part, Betty remained in the wings for a while. She collaborated on demos for the Commodores; in London, she modeled, worked on songs for Marc Bolan of T. Rex, and declined a production offer from her then-paramour Clapton. Drifting back to New York, she met Santana percussionist Carabello. They became involved romantically, and in 1972 she relocated to the San Francisco Bay area, where Carabello’s local connections led to the formation of a stellar band to back her on a debut album.

One reads the credits for Betty Davis in awe. The rhythm section was the Family Stone’s dissident, puissant rhythm section, bassist Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico (who also produced). Original Santana guitarist Neal Schon, future Mandrill axe man Doug Rodrigues, founding Graham Central Station organist Hershall Kennedy, and keyboardist and ace Jerry Garcia collaborator Merl Saunders filled out the instrumentation. The Pointer Sisters, Sylvester, and Kathi McDonald were among a large platoon of backup vocalists.

Issued in 1973 by Just Sunshine Records, an independent label owned by Woodstock Festival promoter Michael Lang (who also released a set by another unique woman, folk singer-guitarist Karen Dalton), Betty Davis was one hell of a coming-out party. Since her abortive Columbia dates, she had developed a unique vocal attack that could leap from a velvety croon to a Tina Turner-like shriek in a nanosecond. The stomping funk of the studio band backed her up to the hilt.

Like Turner, she was one Bold Soul Sister. The lust-filled opening invitation “If I’m in Luck I Might Get Picked Up” announces that a new game was afoot. The statement of romantic/sexual independence “Anti Love Song,” the lovers’ chess match “Your Man My Man,” and the self-explanatory “Game is My Middle Name” offer up a startling, hard-edged new model of a hard-funking female vocalist.

The album’s most affecting track may be “Steppin in Her I. Miller Shoes,” Davis’ level-headed elegy for her sybaritic friend Devon Wilson, who sailed out a window at the Chelsea Hotel in 1971. “She coulda been anything that she wanted…Instead she chose to be nothing,” Davis sings, implying that route wouldn’t be one she would take herself.

“If I’m in Luck” grazed the lower reaches of the R&B singles chart and the album failed to reach the LP rolls at all, but Davis was undaunted. For 1974’s They Say I’m Different, she took the producer’s reins, which she would hold for the rest of her career. While the backup lineup is less glitzy (though Saunders, Pete Escovedo, and Buddy Miles, on guitar no less, appear), the support is still sizzling; crackling drums and burbling clavinet put over a set of songs that may have been even stronger than those heard on her debut.

No one who hears “He Was a Big Freak” is likely to ever forget it; it’s a startling dissection of a masochistic relationship -- inspired by Jimi Hendrix, and not, as many have assumed, by Miles Davis (“Everyone knows that Miles is a sadist,” Betty remarked later). Almost as notable are “Don’t Call Her No Tramp,” a prescient condemnation of what we now call slut-shaming, and the autobiographical title track, with slicing slide guitar work by Cordell Dudley.

Different and its attendant singles tanked, but Betty managed to maintain her profile with live gigs noteworthy for their uninhibited bawdiness, on-stage abandon, and the star’s Egyptian-princess-from-outer-space wardrobe sense. By early 1974 she had assembled a hot, lean road band that included her cousins Nickey Neal and Larry Johnson on drums and bass, respectively, plus keyboardist Fred Mills and guitarist Carlos Morales. This lineup would back her on her last two albums.

The end of Just Sunshine’s distribution deal liberated Davis, who, at the suggestion of then-boyfriend Robert Palmer, inked with Palmer’s label Island Records. The company released Nasty Gal in 1975, and it may be Davis’ best-executed work. The pared-down backing lets the songs shine, and there are good ones here: The shameless title song, the vituperative blast at the critics “Dedicated to the Press,” and the out-front ultimatum for sexual satisfaction “Feelins” get right up in the listener’s face. The most surprising track is the ballad “You and I,” an unexpected songwriting reunion with Miles, orchestrated by the trumpeter’s famed arranger Gil Evans.

It’s a tremendous album, and Betty supported it with live shows that ate the funk competition alive. A bootleg of an especially out-there set recorded at a festival on the French Riviera in 1976 literally climaxes with Nasty Gal’s “The Lone Ranger,” an in-the-saddle heavy breather that Davis wraps up by feigning a loud orgasm.

One should remember that at this particular juncture, Madonna was studying dance at the University of Michigan.

But Nasty Gal faded with hardly a trace, and Davis’ relationship with Island swiftly became fractious. It’s easy to see why the label declined to issue her final album, originally called Crashin’ From Passion and ultimately released, after years as a bootleg, by Light in the Attic in 2009 as Is It Love or Desire. The collection, which leans heavily on songs about sex, doping, and heavy drinking, includes “Stars Starve, You Know,” an outright condemnation of the games record companies play:

They said if I wanted to make some money

I’d have to change my style

Put a paper bag over my face

Sing soft and wear tight fitting gowns

They don’t like the way I’m lookin’

So it’s hard for my agent to get me bookin’s

Unless I cover up my legs and drop my pen

And commit one of those commercial sins…

Oh hey hey Island

And that was all she wrote. Until writers began to seek her out in the new millennium as her records became available again, Betty Davis was an invisible woman, one who had blazed a trail that other talents, such as Prince and Madonna, would blaze more profitably after her. She was definitively ahead of her time.

Asked by one writer what she had done since leaving music, Davis, who turns 71 on July 26, responded with the most tragic thing one can imagine any artist saying: “Nothing really.”

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thelordstears · 3 years

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If writing were breath, I imagine my lungs would implode

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"I'm nothing short of sinful, just a bonfire with kerosene swallowing everything around her whole, burning down the fields of her innocence in one fell swoop.” - Kareath Calico

#writing #Ifuckinknowit'salot #author #characterwriting

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sonderrow-moved · 4 years

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LINK TO QUINN LINK TO JAEL LINK TO ROY

LIKE for a preestablished relationship/plotting line with Archer… BUT have at least one category in mind before I hop in your IMs!

I entirely get the urge of wanting to roleplay, expand our muses together, and this is my personal starting pack for Archer! If you’re hooked to one category but don’t think your muse can fit still HMU about it and I’ll see how we can work that out!

REMINDER I HAVE A LOT OF THREADS. Like often a lot. Roleplaying is something that effortlessly really relaxes me, but I am still one human. I like to see all my threads through no matter how long the wait is and do my best ! Thus we might not be threading right off the bat depending on how much stuff I have, but everything established can get into asks, dash shenanigans, etc. What matters is that it shapes our characters. 🙏

BUSINESS PEERS. Archer’s professional and very efficient work ethic made him notorious in unspoken matters as someone who will get things done with no needs of public recognition… which would lead to inner, private and ultimately more treasured recognition. He used to have clients, partners and met a lot of others at parties he went frequently to, mostly charity parties often disguised as business ones. Those partners may have known his father, maybe his grandfather, or maybe they’re fresh right out the bat, maybe the Kessler company sought them, maybe your muse’s company sought them and you stumbled upon him. Mind you that Archer has made the scandalous decision to sell the majority of his actions towards the company and doesn’t get more involved than necessary with its activities. This profile fits to every muse high enough in the business ranks to meet Archer; at least chief of a team in a department. It’s all about title. Do be reminded that the Kessler company is known to have an illegal and scandalous history as of NOW and that a lawful good muse would probably not want to be associated with it, or any muse wanting to go legal.

LEGAL WORKERS. With the horribly enormous pile of cases Archer’s been involved with, he needs a lawyer cabinet to back him and his business. Multiple ones. Maybe it is a genuinely crooked one, or a blindly optimistic one who believes his claims of innocence and being against the world, maybe the whole cabinet is broken and as a newly employed lawyer you are still too innocent until you notice. Law enforcers and government representatives knows how much Archer is guilty (or not), making him infamous in their ranks as one of those irritating cases where the system doesn’t seem to work. For muses working in the justice system, on any side, from judge to prison guard.

“FRIENDS”. Archer lost all of his friends when he was accused and imprisoned. He would have done the same thing; every one who was still linked by friendship to him risked everything. You’re one of those, because you’re not an idiot… or maybe you are and you did lose everything to keep your integrity. Or maybe you really were too stupid and loyal and believed Archer did nothing. This applies to particular muses who can fit in a scenario like this. Although for the sake of social standing Archer could “befriend” quite some people, he had a particular preference towards artists and introverted yet talented minds who had lots of potential, wanting to make them grow.

CRIMINALS. Con artists, mafiosos, yakuzas, drug dealers, maybe assassins, thieves, hackers, corrupted law enforcement agents, rich guys with illegal fetishes… Archer has dealt at least with all of them at least once. As a “cleaner” before he finally sat down on the CEO chair, Archer was the one who by circumstances became known for his professionalism, cool head and ability to erase any evidence from even the most alarming and need-to-be-quickly-done situation. Even a killer who does so as a hobby or for personal gain would eventually be caught as he goes on, unless he can take a contract or too, and have him give a helping hand in exchange for secrecy. This applies to muses with at least a medium-ranked profile in the underground (so no simple alley drug dealer unless plotted).

ENTERTAINERS & SEX WORKERS. Given how Archer sees sex as being an extremely powerful tool, he often got around the latter, choosing carefully which escort he’ll personally put at his services. Archer kept the best ones at hand, to please contacts and clients. He respects them for their work, but he wanted professionalism from you and not cry if you got almost cut in half after a night. Although he stepped down from his CEO position, Archer was pushed into his sire’s hotel line, which secretly dealt with human trafficking and prostitution. With his experience, he slowly is coming back and is moving all his contacts over there, wanting to change his approach. Despite the need of running a very real business, he cannot ignore the amount of work his sire’s illegal business brings. This profile fills every muse working in the sex business outside camshows and movies. They don’t have to be the ones close to Archer.

VICTIM(S). Archer is a very high-rated criminal. Although he has only been found guilty of extortion, corruption, blackmailing, piracy and other business-linked crimes, he was accused but not found guilty of sequestration, serial murder, serial rape, torture, committing indignity to a body, publishing obscene material, harassment, insert lots of other legal terms surrounding this. Accusations which have been highly mediatized given how high profile he was at the time, him being used as a scapegoat and the scandal only worsened when it was said it was both on minors and adults. I won’t get too much on what the truth is, but if you’d like your muse to be victim of Archer’s real crime(s), do hit me up I’ll be very selective on this given it’s important to his background story. This profile would fit highly disturbed muse, hobos, prostitutes, people living in very poor districts, pretty much people who have the perfect victim profile. OR it can also be other businessmen, common people, those who would have their life ruined indirectly or directly any organization Archer was or is involved with, the most common being as putting you in debt with the mafia knocking at your door to kill you, break your legs or torture someone you love until you give them what they want.

NEAR THE VICTIM(S). There are suspicions your friend/lover/brother/whatever was done wrong because of Archer. Maybe you’re the one who pressed charges. Maybe it’s not you, but in some way you were involved indirectly in the scandal and it did something to you and you have your own opinion on it. Maybe you seek where Archer is to kill him, maybe just talk to him and understand… something.This profile fits a muse who has lost someone close to them in suspicious circumstances.

PARTNER IN CRIME. You were there and you liked every bit of it probably (or if not you’re surely dead). VERY SELECTIVE. This profile fits muse with probable sociopathic and/or psychopathic tendencies who knows their way across the most fucked-up places of the underworld.

OBSESSION. High profile criminals with atrocious records are known to, sadly, have, yes,fans. Your muse believes that Archer did most of what he was accused for, choose to your discretion. Maybe they wanted to visit him, maybe they sent him gifts and mails, maybe they were already almost obsessed with him BEFORE he was accused given his bit of a disturbed but extremely charismatic and successful behavior and just FELL more as he was sequestrated. This profile fits muse going to the simple nerd with morbid curiosity to the very intense stalker.

MATCHMAKING. Since his teens, Archer has met multiple people for a potential marriage; the woman in question and the relatives that accompany her. And… when bored, his sister has the nasty habit of wanting to play matchmaker with him; Archer may not be the best person, but he’d hate to not make up to someone his hell of a relative tricked. Self explanatory. Archer’s sister, Eve (Everleigh), is owner of two modern galleries, so single people susceptible to befriend her could fall into that trap.

SCHOOL FACES. Archer cut next to every tie which couldn’t help in business after he graduated from university. It was brutal and without much warning although given how he was drawn to his duty, nobody was surprised. Archer got schooled at home as a child after becoming a depressed before going to a rich high-end private school. Afterwards, he became a star tennis player and the moral support of the team. He was also the president of a literature club where he was able to bond a bit with nerds and was known to tutors younger kids he believed had potential to help his reputation or parents who had power to help his family. Archer was mostly loved by everyone, but still bullied the weak or didn’t hesitate to stomp on other to raise himself higher. Victims of his young impulses, partner or rival in the tennis court, maybe the librarian, maybe a classmate, maybe someone from another school who always saw him and wanted to know him. This profile fits muses that Archer would not talk to unless he knew them from the past. Mostly younger muses that leads a life that has nothing to do with his work. RP can be during his younger years or simply skipped to the main verse.

MEALS. As a vampire, Archer consolidated his hypnotic powers and feeding, starting to leave some preys alive, but dazed and forgetful at times. On top of the numbness and blinding aphrodisiac the poison in his biting provides, he is able to leave the impression like their meeting was a dream; victims will remember vaguely his face, voice or other depending on characters, but not remember the feeding. However, willing and loyal ones may even befriend Archer, who finds consenting people much easier to deal with than laying bodies and sudden disappearances. This profile fits grey morale muses, ones who loves the supernatural, masochists, etc. who’d trade their blood and silence in exchange of being around a vampire. Archer only feeds on females if they ask directly for it or if there is nothing else, highly preferring to feed on males, which is linked to his sexual preferences.

RED LIGHT DISTRICT. Archer has become a prominent figure of the red light district; as the one guy who owned everything (which is not true, but blown out of proportions). Due to the forceful, ruthless and undeniably lustful reputation his sire has, being the envoy puts him in a powerful position where the line between him and the one who turned him might blur to others, as if they were the same person. Anything new in the district goes through him and pros and cons are weighted for healthy competition. Outside the hotels and their affiliated businesses, Archer personally owns two bars; one is lounge gay bar and the other one of the same style, only for the supernaturals of every shape and form, with products to cater their needs. Both are actually places made to cater to his difficult and high maintenance taste; if you cannot find it, do it yourself. Those bars include their own staff, which he selects himself to make sure nobody he would find inappropriate works under his image. As for the hotel line itself, it includes its own staff, administration, underground administration and staff, restaurant staff and entertainment staff for diverse shows and parties thrown. This profile fits any muse which would frequent the red light district, from newcomers to others looking for a job, frequent visitors and owners of businesses. From the woman who runs an escort club with a heart of steel to the bartender who just wants to pay his education fees to the security guard who has nightmare about the noises he hears behind closed doors.

HITMEN. You were paid to fuck with him, but thing is it’s pretty complicated. This profile is picky since obviously the attempt is going to fail and you cannot always RP back and forth attempts. This would be nearly a comical bond with a need to plot a resolution depending on your muse!

SUBMISSIVES. Archer’s history as a dom was… infamous. Long story short, he was known to be good, but dangerous. With a more stable mind he wouldn’t mind going back to one of his favorite hobbies. The deal is simple; he owns the person obviously, no penetration sex, no deep kissing, no romance (which doesn’t mean no affection or love) and not to start screaming about it on the streets. Although he wouldn’t mind so much now to play by the rules, if allowed Archer will become ruthless, enjoying giving permanent marks on others and inflict gradually harsher punishments or rewards. This profile fits, well, masochists and submissives people, from any form and shape really (a victim is a victim) who are willing to give their body for a mutual game, be they be paying Archer or not. Very selective… because Archer is difficult. The way he treats your muse can be from pretty sweet to downward harsh… entirely depends on what degree he finds your muse attractive. Beware scars and broken parts. Sessions can last from one evening to a whole weekend.

MISC.I’ll add more when I think of them! DO THROW ME YOUR IDEAS LET’S GO.

Like with any interaction, relationships are officially in the singleverse timeline if it is roleplayed to a minimum extensively. Looking forwards to write with you!

#preest #long post #.saved

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djjarins · 5 years

Text

dark passenger

pairing: stenbrough warning: murder, breif mentions of past abuse and drug use summary: stanley uris has it all. a gorgeous boyfriend, a beautiful view of the atlantic, and his dream job of blood splatter analysist. he’s made a name for himself by helping to put away some of miami’s most deadly serial killers, but what his colleagues might never crack is that he is the most dangerous one of them all. a/n: the dexter! au is here!! let me know if you wanna be tagged!

"Please, please you don't have to do this!" A woman yells out, her cries falling on deaf ears throughout her large home.

Her husband left the night before for a business trip, leaving her alone for the weekend. The last thing she remembers was coming home from work and placing her purse down before the world went black.

She tries to pull against her restraints, to her what looked like plastic wrap, which tie around her chest, legs and lower stomach, binding her to her dining room table. A strap of plastic wrap keeps her head still on the table, only being able to use her eyes to look around her grand dining room.

Whoever was doing this to her covered her whole dining room in the plastic, leaving no inch uncovered.

The sound of heavy footsteps startles the woman, her heart rate accelerating as the figure gets closer.

"Please, I'll do anything! You don't have to do this to me!" She screams, hoping he has some sense of mercy.

"You see, I kind of have to do this," her attacker says firmly, moving to stand at the head of the table so he can look at her face to face.

The first thing she notices are his deep green eyes, which have no sense of life behind them. She shudders as he brings a small blade down and cuts her cheek, using a pipet he had in his other hand to extract some blood and place it on a glass slide.

"Why are you doing this?" She gasps, looking up at him helplessly as he stares back down at her, face devoid of any emotion.

He reaches down to the side table and grabs a handful of photos, flashing them to to the woman, who immediately shuts her eyes.

"Oh so now you're ashamed?" He asks, a few of his golden curls falling down in front of his eyes as he leans over her. "So you weren't ashamed when you killed these men?"

The woman tries shaking her head, only to be stopped by the plastic wrap. "I didn't do anything!" She yelps, tugging at the plastic binding her arms. Her attacker rolls his eyes, showing her the photos taken from the crime scene.

"Roy Beckett, Zach Mauzy, Carson Mckay, Sam Wyatt, you killed these men," he deadpans, flipping through each photo, causing the woman to wince, refusing to make eye contact with the man.

"You did this to them, you lured them in and killed them. You didn't care that they had families or that they had loved ones, you just took their lives away as if they were nothing."

A tear falls down the woman's cheek, mixing with the blood from her attacker's cut, causing a red trail to flow down onto the table. "Crying won't save you now, God knows it didn't save your victims."

The blonde reaches for the small table, ghosting his hand over his collection of weapons before settling for the large butcher's knife. The woman below lets out a deafening scream, only silenced by the wad of gauze being shoved inside her mouth.

"You won't get sympathy for me," he says plainly, playing with the blade in his hands. "I'm just like you, but I have standards."

Before the woman can process his words, the blonde violently jams the knife into her chest, a small, final gasp for air being forced out of her lungs as a pool of blood collects underneath the plastic wrap.

"Stanny!"

A young, brown-haired boy comes running full speed towards the blonde, his arms open wide, a toy truck still held in one hand.

Stanley gasps as he picks up the boy, swinging him around in a circle before settling him on his hip, holding him tight in his arms. "What did you bring me?"

Stan chuckles to himself. Alexander always wanted to know if there were presents.

"I brought you and your sister ice cream buddy!" He smiles, watching how the young boy's face lights up at the mention of his favorite treat. "Lia get in here, Stanny has ice cream!"

As if on cue, Alex's older sister Ophelia runs out of her room and straight into Stan, wrapping her small arms around his waist. She had come a long way since the first time they met, having shied away from her dad's new boyfriend, bad memories of the last one still etched into her memory.

"Alright kids, let's get you settled," Stan smiles, leading the two Denbrough children into the kitchen, settling them into seats at the kitchen counter before dishing up their ice cream. Chocolate with rainbow sprinkles for Ophelia and mint chocolate chip with chocolate sauce for Xander.

The blonde watches the kids for a few minutes, before excusing himself. He walks up the stairs, passing numerous family photos and pieces of art, before coming face to face with the master bedroom door, which was closed.

He knocks gently before peering inside, seeing his boyfriend of 6 months, Bill Denbrough, typing away at his computer.

He smiles to himself, noticing the way Bill pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as he edits his latest chapter, his reading glasses perched upon his nose.

The brunette continues typing as Stan sits down next to him, finishing his edits on the second to last paragraph on the page before briskly closing his laptop and shoving it out of the way.

It takes less than 3 seconds for Bill to crawl into Stan's lap, their lips crashing together gently, with Stan's large hands moving to grip his lover's hips.

The pair remain entangled for a few moments before pulling away, with Bill leaning to rest his head on one of Stan's broad shoulders.

"How way your day?"

He could tell him the truth.

How the day started with an officer giving him shit for not getting a blood analysis into him exactly when he wanted it. The feelings inside of him of how quickly he could slice the officer up and clean it up as if it never happened.

He could explain how annoyed he was when his adopted brother, and officer, Eddie wouldn't stop complaining about his hatred of working VICE, how he deserved to be on homicide, how unfair it was that he was stuck in VICE just because the lieutenant "has it out for him."

Or how difficult it was to wait for the perfect time to kill his latest victim. How weeks of waiting and observing had driven him crazy. How hard it was to clean up her place and dispose of her body into the Atlantic, having to sneak out onto his small boat around 3 am with 3 black garbage bags, making sure to dump them far enough out and away from people.

But he couldn't do that.

"It was okay, just a lot going on at work," he breathes out, bringing a hand to run his fingers through Bill's brown locks.

It wasn't necessarily a lie. The precinct had seen a jump in gang-related activity within Miami in the past few months, with officers feeling pressure from the Captain to find the connections between different cases.

This pressure had also been felt by Stan, as one of the best blood analysts within the state, he was called to almost every crime scene to help officers understand the type of people they were up against. It all seemed so simple to him, but having to explain how these criminals used certain techniques to the average detective just gave him headaches.

"Well I know something that could help you," Bill starts, lifting his head off Stan's shoulder so he can lock eyes with him. "The sitter should be here in a few minutes, that will give us some time for ourselves," he says, pressing a few kisses to Stan's neck, causing the blonde to tense up a bit at the sudden affection and attention he was receiving.

It's not that he didn't enjoy this, hell he really enjoys it, but something about possibly having sex with your boyfriend after you have just murdered someone is not really what Stan was looking forward to.

Bill feels the hesitance in Stan, using his fingers to tilt Stan's head so he can look into his eyes, having not have noticed how the blonde ceased eye contact moments prior.

"Sorry if that was too much," Bill stammers, "We don't have to if you don't want to."

Stan nods softly, flashing his boyfriend a small smile, bringing hands up to cup his face. "Thank you baby, I just feel a bit tired, is it okay if we just lay here and maybe watch a movie?"

Bill smiles back, a look of utter happiness in his eyes.

"I'd love that."

Eddie was the one that introduced Stan to Bill.

Just about a year ago, Eddie was the responding officer on a domestic assault call. He remembers rushing to the scene, a small white house in a residential neighborhood just within city limits.

He remembers making his way inside, seeing a coffee table flipped over, its prior contents spilled across the carpet. Chairs were knocked over, items askew and out of place.

He followed the trail of blood upstairs, coming face to face with the man who did this.

Other officers rushed passed him to cuff the man as he shouted extremities, forcing multiple officers to have to drag him out of the house and down to the station.

Eddie remembers opening the master bedroom door, seeing a young man, his face bruised and bleeding, his lip split and eye starting to swell, holding a young boy to his chest. A young girl next to them clenches the phone in her hands. She's the one who called him here.

"Are you here to help my daddy?" The young boy asks, peeking his head out from his father's chest with watery eyes.

Eddie remembers nodding his head, promising no one would ever hurt them again.

Eddie learned the man's name was Bill, and that the man forcibly dragged out of his home was his husband, Jacob Mills.

The pair had been together for a few years, being there for Bill after his long-time girlfriend, and mother of his children walked out on him.

Jacob was there for Bill every step of the way, helping him to raise his two beautiful children, who reminded him of their mother every day. He loved and supported Bill, but over time they began to fight.

At first, it was over small things, like forgetting to sign Ophelia's permission slip, or not being able to make it to a date night. But over time things got worse.

Things started to become physical after Jacob started using.

It started with smoking. Bill didn't mind at first, hell he smoked in high school and college, but he always made sure Jacob didn't bring it around the kids. But then weed and cigarettes escalated to drinking.

There were nights where Bill wouldn't know where Jacob was, or when or if he would be returning home.

When he did return, it was bad.

The first time, Bill waited up that night for him. Around 3 am he stumbled in, slamming the door closed, only to be startled by Bill turning on the kitchen light.

Bill told him that this was unacceptable, how he and the kids were worried sick, but Jacob was too far gone. He just brushed past Bill, muttering something about going to bed, but Bill kept going, telling him that he was scared for him, how he never answered his messages, how he-

SMACK

Next thing he knows, he is on the ground, clutching his now red cheek, with Jacob walking right upstairs and plopping right into bed.

It didn't happen again for a few months.

Jacob always insisted afterward that he was sorry, and that he would never do it again.

But it just kept happening.

The night Eddie was dispatched to the scene was the night Bill decided enough was enough. Jacob was out at the bar with some friends, so he knew he had time. He planned on packing his and the kid's things and getting out of town, probably with his parents, while he filed for a divorce.

He was just finished packing Ophelia's toys when Jacob got home.

The next thing he knew he was on the bedroom floor, with Eddie leaning over him, promising that he would keep them safe.

Eddie kept good on his promise, helping Bill find the right resources and people who could help him, recommending a therapist that Bill could work with to figure out how to plan out his next moves.

Bill was eternally grateful to Eddie for saving them, insisting that if he didn't receive that dispatch, he wasn't sure where he would be right now. The kids got attached to Eddie quite quickly, finding his demeanor quite calming and his jokes hilarious.

Bill and Eddie from then on had standing "lunch dates" where Eddie would check in on him and the kids, making sure that they were okay and if they needed any help.

It was on one of these "dates" that Eddie introduced Bill to Stan.

Eddie's car was in the shop for repairs, repairs that he insisted he do himself much to Stan's dismay, which ended up making the problem worse. This led to Stan becoming his brother's taxi, driving them both to and from work, and any other place they had to go.

Eddie had mentioned that he was going to check up on one of his old victims and that he needed a ride.

Stan agreed, driving the two of them to the small white house. Eddie had insisted that it would only take a few minutes, but after 30 minutes, Stan was getting a little frustrated. He gave it another ten minutes before he got out of his car angrily, slamming the driver's side door shut loudly.

I should be out getting my next victim, not here just sitting out in the middle of some neighborhood. I could be halfway done by now, what the hell am I doing just waiting for-

Just then, the front door had opened and Stan's eyes widened. Before him stood the most gorgeous man he had ever laid eyes on, his smile bringing an unfamiliar sense of warmth and comfort over the blonde.

God, he could look at his smile all day.

Eddie chuckled from his spot on the couch with Ophelia and Alexander, the younger of the two playing with an airplane toy, dragging it along Eddie's arm, claiming that it was the best runway for the plane.

Conversation between the pair came naturally, even out of earshot Eddie could tell something was up there. He swears he had never seen his brother talk to someone that easily and eagerly before.

It was about a week later when Eddie set them up. He told both of them separately that he wanted to go to dinner, arranging a sitter for Bill, and promising Stan that he would do some of his paperwork for him.

But when both men arrived at the restaurant to see no Eddie, they weren't disappointed.

The sound of Stan's phone woke him up a few hours later.

The tv was still playing softly, a re-run of a Law and Order episode he and Bill had seen at least 10 times playing as he picks up his phone.

"Stan its Eddie, you have to get down to the 7 Seas Motel right now, you need to see this."

Stan lets out a sigh and assures Eddie he will be there soon before hanging up. He places his phone back down on the bedside table and looks down at Bill, who is currently nestled into his side. He hates to leave, but work calls.

He carefully maneuvers his body as to not disturb the sleeping brunette, pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead before making his way downstairs and out the front door.

It's about a 15-minute drive to the motel.

Stan fidgets with his fingers as he waits at a stoplight, his mind wandering to the previous night.

He watches silently as the blood begins to accumulate underneath the plastic, sighing in relief. The first blow was always the hardest.

He makes quick work with his buzzsaw, making sure to make as little of a mess as possible. Even though he covered the room in the plastic, he still wanted things to be somewhat neat, even down to the cuts he makes.

When he's done, he feels a sense of relief wash over his body, his work finally being done.

Once on the scene, Stan pulls a pair of rubber gloves on from his bag, showing an officer his official badge so he can gain access to the scene.

Several motel guests and onlookers wait behind the yellow tape, craning their necks to try and look at the crime scene.

Voyeurs. Stan thinks to himself, walking a few feet before seeing Eddie leaning up against the doorway of one of the motel rooms. He's dressed in a pair of short, red athletic shorts, just like the ones he would wear when they were kids.

He wears no top, which could be blamed on the Florida heat, or the fact that he's trying to fit in with the hookers he is working alongside with as an undercover.

"It's one of the girls who works here," Eddie rushes out, pulling Stan into the small room. "I was asking around about her when some other girls noticed she was missing, but then she turned back up."

Stan notices the pain in his brother's voice. Working VICE is hard, you form connections with those around you, even if you aren't telling them who you really are.

"What sick son of a bitch gets off on cutting up people into pieces like this?"

If only he knew.

Stan shakes his head, promising to talk to Eddie later and telling him to stay safe before walking over to the taped off area around the pool.

A few officers are already in the drained pool, a few taking photographs of what sits at the end of the deep end. He makes his way down the stairs and over towards the end, seeing Richie and Ben already on scene.

"How's your brother doing Stan? Fitting in well with the other whores?" Richie teases, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

It's no secret that Richie has some sort of infatuation with Eddie. Whenever the smaller detective is brought up, Richie cannot help himself from cracking jokes or making remarks about getting with him. It mostly just annoys Stan, but Eddie knows how to stand his ground, but Stan swears sometimes Eddie blushes when Richie talks about him.

In this instance Stan ignores him, moving past the two detectives, feeling his blood run cold when he sees what the detectives have been looking at.

Lying before him is the body of the woman Eddie had mentioned, sectioned into several pieces across the tiled pool floor. But what shocks Stan is the lack of blood. No blood to be exact.

"We think the guy drained her blood before dumping her here," Ben says, "But what he did or is doing with the blood is what's throwing us for a loop."

Stan bends down to get a better look at the body. "These cuts are very precise," he states, "whoever did this has some sort of medical training or expertise to understand how to get clean cuts like this, with no hesitation marks."

Ben nods, taking a few notes on what Stan said before patting him on the back. "You can go since there's no blood we don't need you here."

Stan nods, standing back up and turning toward the black-haired forensic science investigator. "Let me know if you find anything Rich."

Richie nods, making a mental note to check by Eddie's room as Stan walks away.

Stan decides to head back to the station, where he can get a jump on finding his next target. He heads back under the crime tape and over towards his car when his phone starts ringing.

He pauses for a moment to look at the caller ID before picking up.

"Miss me already Denbrough?" He asks with a smile, getting into his car and placing his keys in and starting the engine.

"Stan you need to come here right now, the prison called, they let Jacob out due to overcrowding and he's here right now."

Stan doesn't miss the sense of panic in Bill's voice, and he speeds off before he can get a word out.

Looks like his next target already found him.

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imtheviolenceintherain · 5 years

Text

The fantastic Mrs. Bonham Carter (Vogue, October 2019).

Without major worries or ambitions, Helena Bonham Carter has become an unexpected icon of the big screen. Her roles, always between the bizarre and the vindictive, have given her a star status with which she now prepares for his most mediatic character: Princess Margarita in the new season of The Crown, the netflix story about the british royal house.

Sitting down for tea with Helena Bonham Carter is similar to join on a roller coaster that starts in the dark with an uncertain destination. At 53 years old, the british actress (London, 1966) displays a sense of humor that includes issues such as Brexit or the oratory of Donald Trump with equal brilliance, but she stops suddenly when she thinks she has to talk seriously about the wage gap in the film industry. «If at any time I move away from what you are looking for, find a way to get me back on track», she jokes lying on an armchair next to a pair of fuchsia satin shoes that she has abandoned on the floor, looking like the shoes had shattered her feet. «It is not exactly the shoes that I would wear on a summer morning, but today she is the boss.»

By 'she' means the woman she has been studying for several months before she has had to slip into her shoes this autumn morning. Princess Margarita de York, Countess of Snowdon, daughter of Kings Isabel and Jorge VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II of England, is the last of a hundred women whom this actress has embodied in her three decades of career. With the same skill that she will jump frantically in the topics of our conversation, this actress has managed to take on roles that little or nothing have to do with each other, beyond its bizarre peculiarities.

Since she debuted in 1983 as the young Netty Bellinger in the telefilm A Pattern of Roses, her pale face with aristocrat pedigree has been transmuted into others of female drug addicts and perverts (as in The Fight Club), more or less wicked witches (as in Big Fish and Harry Potter), corseted prostitutes (Les Miserables) and even a vindictive chimpanzee (The Planet of the Apes). This tour has earned her a place on the podium of the best female actresses in the United Kingdom, a BAFTA award for her portrayal of the queen mother in The King's Speech in 2011 and two Oscar nominations, for The King's Speech and for the film adaptation of The wings of the dove that starred in 1997.

Another queen occupies her current time since she agreed to participate in the new cast of The Crown, the production of Netflix whose third season will be released on November 17. The series, which achieved an unusual success with its first two seasons covering the history of the British royal house between 1947 and 1964, takes up the story since that year with a hint which is a height risk: the main characters change their faces in the next two seasons. Claire Foy gives Queen Elizabeth's throne to Oscar-winning Olivia Colman, Matt Smith does the same with Tobias Menzies and Vanessa Kirby is replaced by Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Margarita.

The news was made public in May of last year, but the actress had been knowing about Netflix's interest in her for months. «Shortly before Christmas 2017, I received a text message from an acquaintance. All it had written was: 'Helena, would you play Princess Margarita?'», she remembers. «It was shortly after Olivia Colman (The Iron Lady, The Favorite) had accepted the role of Queen Elizabeth», she recalls about the offer. «The first thing I felt was a little anger at how convinced my circle was that I should accept it. They couldn't stop telling me that I were ideal for the role, and I thought to myself: What we look alike? In alcoholism? In the nymphomania?! Maybe that was too much, but let's say she liked sex a lot. The truth is that it was ridiculous to think it too much, because the proposal was juicy from any perspective. With the distance of time, I'm glad to have accepted: Margarita is much more complex than all the things that they have been drawn of her, and therefore it was possible to play her in a thousand different ways. She is full of contradictions and dualities, because she was both traditional and rebellious; as at times she was a social animal and others times a lone wolf. She was an absolutely unpredictable woman», she argues. The third season of The Crown starts in 1964 to address, among other things, the relationship between Isabel II and Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the decolonization of Africa, diplomatic ties with the United States or the landing of the Apollo 11 on the Moon. On this October morning, the costume director for the series, Amy Roberts, has donned the actress in an emerald green dress and fuchsia shoes that have led to our meeting in the middle of filming the first half of the season. The stage is an Andalusian patio in the Beverly Hills mansion where Margarita and her husband, Tony Armstrong-Jones (better known as Lord Snowdon and played by Ben Daniels) come to attend a fashion show during an official trip to the United States. But the reality is different: a technical team has been responsible for emulating California opulence on a farm a few kilometers from Algeciras, with the Rock of Gibraltar very present on the horizon. Facing the pool, five models walk in suits and bathrobes with echoes to Missoni under the watchful eye of about thirty men and women dressed as the American jet set of the 60s.

The scene maybe will be a three-second shot in the final footage, but it serves to show the prominence of Margarita in the new chapters: her addictive marriage to Lord Snowdon and a star status ain front of her sister - who in another scene laments being "more reliable and predictable" - of which Bonham Carter knew little more than the media portrait that had been made of her. «I had a caricatured image, like many people. We know what they wanted to tell us: that she drank, that she was scandalous, unfriendly, irreverent, controversial. But all the labels that have been put on her are unfair and ignorant. She was a true star that did not force her speech or hide her charisma, it was innate and therefore triumphed wherever she went. When I looked for something else, I also noticed that she was a tremendously smart and funny woman, with the same ability to finish a crossword puzzle in five minutes than to take the party that she would consider timely. She loved her sister and felt a deep respect for her, but I think she never fully recovered from the loss of her father, King George. The turning point came from the abdication of her uncle Eduardo, the sudden rise to the throne of her father and, later, that of Isabel as queen. She was losing her father and her best friend, who were subject to a life of service. I think a lot of courage is required to be in such a complicated position: surrounded by people but deeply alone, under constant public judgement. And despite that, I am convinced that she felt the duty to serve her family and also her people. She was an admirable woman».

Her opinion is useful to sharpen the urban legend of a figure that sweep along countless anecdotes, like the dinner in which she asked the model Twiggy her name, which she seemed it "unfortunate", or the 'vulgar' adjective that she dedicated to the Krupp diamond with which Richard Burton had presented Elizabeth Taylor. However, there is hardly an audiovisual archive of images where Margarita makes use of her proverbial character. «The royal family is an expert in planning how is projected to the public, how they shake hands, get out of a car or follow the protocol at a dinner. But there was almost nothing about Margarita talking with someone beyond the official speeches, so I had to talk to her friends or people who would have lived with her to learn more about her tone, her convictions, her way of expressing herself in intimacy. I played his mother in The King's Speech (Tom Hopper, 2010), of which there is an extensive archive. But there is almost nothing about Margarita, except for an interview with Roy Plomley of 1381, on the BBC's Desert Island Discs program. I may hear those 40 minutes more than a hundred times». Despite accumulating more than a hundred roles in her 36 years of experience, it is the first time that Bonham Carter faces a full season in a television series. «I had no experience in logistics of how to work for a series, but it wasn't easy considering the magnitude of The Crown. The filming was distributed over six months, by different countries, and that makes many times you have to do a titanic effort to stay focused. When I shoot a feature film, those weeks I just walk around the set without leaving the character and try not to part with it to keep myself in my goal. But in this case, I came to the studio, recorded two days and maybe I didn't have to come back in two weeks. If I had practiced my usual formula, I would have become very unbearable. Imagine my two children having to put up with it», she jokes, raising her eyebrow, emulating Margarita's monarchical accent. «Sometimes, when we had a rest, I remembered the red queen», she concedes, referring to the hysterical sovereign that already embodied in Alice in Wonderland, the adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story that in 2010 adapted her then husband, the director Tim Burton. One of the advantages of filming was to have Olivia Colman, in the role of the queen, whom she remembers as an open, sociable woman, and without a hint of the neurosis that she usually displays on screen. «We are both very frank, and that is why it has been so easy. Together we had what was probably the most funny day of work of the whole season. We had to do a scene quite sad and despite whatever I would said, Olivia was unable to stop crying to the point that they had to put her a few tiny headphones so she could hear any nonsense. I told her some horrible things and she answered without hearing anything at all. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but we managed to get better to the point that she can now listen to me without shedding a tear». It is curious that this granddaughter of a Spanish diplomat - her grandfather Eduardo Propper de Callejón facilitated the flight of thousands of Jews from occupied France through Spain in World War II - almost no one imputes to her a bad choice in her filmography. «I never choose my roles thinking that it will be a success at the box office, or the money that I will earn. With The Crown, for example, playing Margarita like this, abstractly, was never an option. Peter Morgan [series creator] called me several times coming to confess that Olivia had not even had to read the script to accept. But until I read it all and I confirmed the great writing, I didn't say yes». With a sincerity that is refreshing in her industry, there is something that worries her more now than when the world first fell in love with her porcelain face in Room with a View (James Ivory, 1985). «It is exciting to witness the movement to fight for women's equality and, above all, to celebrate diversity and examine things we had taken for granted. But we still have weights that represent people like Donald Trump. It is an uncertain period. But at least we, the actors, can continue telling stories that help break the damn molds».

NOTE.

As some of you already know, I am Spanish and I am the owner of @badposthbc (twitter) and @bestofhbc (instagram); so English is not my first language nor am I a translator. I know it is not a perfect translation, all comments are welcome to improve the translation! but please, be kind. With all due respect to the magazine, if you want to read it in its original language, buy the magazine and if you are going to spread this english interview, give me credits.

#vogue #voguemagazine #helena bonham carter #the crown #interview hbc #hbc #helena bonham carter interview #october 2019

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luminisvii · 5 years

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Am I losing my shit about fanfiction again? You BET! It’s time for Tell to lose her goddamn mind about some truly awful fanfic! It’s my blog, I get to do what I want! And that’s to talk about how people are more blessed than they believe since they didn’t read this!

Today I’m going to talk about Super Smash Sisters: Damsel to Hero. Given the title uses a word like Damsel in it and it’s rated M, this is going to be GREAT

content warning for well what do you think a horny man on the internet would write ie: cheating, incest, terrible depictions of women being horny, violence (I don’t explain any of this in detail so you’re welcome. but it is mentioned) I’m not linking this thing because you guys don’t deserve this.

It took me forever to finish the entire fic, and I actually wrote most of this before finishing. You may say “Wait a second Tell, you need to fully read the work in order to discuss it!” No I do NOT. Trust me, this doesn’t need to be finished to understand. I needed moral support for this, I couldn’t have possibly read this by myself. I feel really sorry for my poor friends that have to deal with this horse shit with me because it’s kind of got a bit of je ne sai completely godawful. I’m semi tough and can stomach some senseless nonsense pretty nicely, but the real heroes here are my friends for toughing out the rampant sex and terrible female character writing all mixed with Call of Duty plot and characters. You thought this was about Smash Bros? WRONG!

I know exactly jack about the author, Yamagata, other than they are probably some poor horny straight guy in high school or maybe a genius troll. We just don’t know. Either way they were pretty dedicated. The fic itself is 91,621 words and 45 chapters, and apparently on hiatus but we all know hiatus is just another word for dead. It’s better off that way. All good awful fics end on a cliffhanger.

The premise, as the title implies, is that all the men of Smash are kidnapped by nazis or some shit after a failed drug raid and it’s up to all the women to save them of which there are Zelda, Peach, and Samus because this was written in the Brawl era. You might think “Wait, isn’t that not a lot of female characters?” right you are! The author decides to bring in tons of female characters from all sorts of video games and anime. A personal favorite is a major character in this fic is Bright Noah from Gundam, notably not a woman. I love him! I’m disappointed he hasn’t slapped anyone yet! What’s the point of importing Bright Noah into a fanfic if he isn’t going to deliver a Bright Slap? Sorry folks, there’s gonna be me getting distracted about Gundam once in a while.

I can’t remember exactly what happens because the chapters really blur together quickly. They’re almost always first half violence in COD land and second half really bad lesbian sex scenes. See, the title is a misnomer. The women don’t actually do a lot of hero work. It’s still handled by men. Ones who aren’t even from Smash Bros. Bright Noah and another guy called Hargrove who I’m not familiar with are constantly telling the women what to do and while the women sometimes go on missions to fight Nazis or whatever, half the time we’re following some random male characters. A good friend had no idea one of them was Tuxedo Mask because they used his dub name and we spent like ten chapters with this idiot before realizing it was him. They just spend their time fighting different various enemies from real life as opposed to smash. So the guys fight and then the women all fuck because when your boyfriend is missing you have to immediately bang the nearest female out of grief. It’s not cheating if it’s gay! Even worse is there’s a lot of incest because apparently that’s how women act, too. Also for some reason when the women DO fight it plays exactly like the men’s side but with Bright Noah just telling them what to do. Also for some reason Peach just fucking kills people and I’m not really sure how to deal with that. Like, yeah, I guess.

Let’s try to do a plot recap but that’s going to be difficult because I’m not sure what the plot is. Okay, in theory, I do. But we’re just circling around and doing the same thing so many times that I’m plain lost.

In theory, the plot is as mentioned before. The men of Smash get kidnapped and turned to trophies by Nazis. I’m noting that besides Nazis the men are all brutally murdered in order to turn them into trophies. Then it turns out that Samus, Peach, and Zelda are safe because they were at the Smash Mansion cleaning and having sex as princesses and bounty hunters are known to do. Then they find out from Bright that the men have been kidnapped so they have to form a task force against them. So there’s a long ass paragraph of characters, many of which do not have speaking lines until much later anyway, but they’re all female characters from other games or anime. I’m really into Fire Emblem and there’s a bunch of those so time to cry. Bright has to tell these women to stop being so damn emotional and be ready to start murdering.

Also in the first chapter, we have the reveal of the villain, some Tabuu knock-off named Emerald. She too recruits a ton of villainous characters who all introduce themselves AFTER THEY’VE BEEN RATTLED OFF IN PARAGRAPH FORM. You didn’t get it the first time? They’re all going to painstakingly state their name and identity. Admittedly it’s kind of funny to have Cell in a room with Liquid Snake and Ashnard. Also who invited Valtome? They didn’t even invite Zelgius. Maybe our favorite Begnion General figured out that a certain thirsty ass senator was gonna be there and stayed in bed today. Okay, fewer tangents, I promise.

With the establishing of all the villains and heroes, everything instantly turns to shit. Half the time we’re not even following a group who’s connected to the main characters and when we are with the main characters they are either having terrible sex or shooting nazis. This sounds like it’d be funnier than it is but it’s really Grade A Depressing. I can’t tell what’s going on or why and since I have exactly no knowledge of Call of Duty I’m afraid I don’t know anything about our actual protagonists either. Every chapter starts with some pretentious usually WWII related quote and involves some guys dying and then some ladies bonking. It’s the same format every time and after a while I feel like this is some advanced torture method.

Among the bad sex is for some reason moms are banging their elementary school age daughters because their husbands are out. Women are so horny they’d rather fuck their children than wait long enough for their husbands. It’s so messed up. My eyes naturally glaze over on the sex scenes because they’re kind of clinically written and something about cute pussies or whatever. I feel bad for Bright Noah, he has to break up these badly written orgies to talk more about the nonexistent plot. Bright Noah needs a raise. All in all the sex is something that maybe a 13 year old boy might find hot if he hasn’t managed to read all the other way better smut fics out there. If 13 year old boys even do things like that.

Since there’s no way for me to coherently walk through the plot since each scene hardly seems to amount to anything besides either violence or a roll in the hay, I’ll just have to start briefly talking about the few notable things that happen, probably out of order. Who the fuck even knows what chapters these happened in? I sure don’t!

First off, a lot of the women conscripted into the task force have supernatural powers but they’re just given guns. I also think the author has something for Krystal or whatever since we focus on her a lot for no good reason. The women are also often infiltrating secret bases to nazis or other bad guys that I’m not as well versed in because admittedly I’m not that interested in the history of warfare, modern or old. I just assume this is a COD thing. But in order to infiltrate the bases, they just wave papers at literally every guy they come across and that does it somehow. I started going ballistic and every time they mentioned papers I would start screeching again. They get stopped by some dude and he’s always like “Where are your papers?” and they ALWAYS have the papers and then they go past but the author FEELS THE NEED TO KEEP BRINGING IT UP. It’s like The Black Fucking Mountains again. Something I’ve learned about myself is that I do poorly with overly repetitive writing, so I wonder why I’m reading world’s most repetitive piece ever penned for fun. I can’t recall anything that happens in any chapters.

Somewhere in the mix they actually save Ike, Marth, and Roy. Somehow the most in character thing in the entire fic happens with them when it’s offhandedly mentioned that they sometimes dogpile into the same bed as a joke. What was more shocking to me is that suddenly Ike is a total nuclear bomb genius out of nowhere. Sure, he’s from a medieval fantasy setting, he knows what nukes are. We finally get some more plot. Apparently Emerald is trying to develop some insanely powerful nuke in order to destroy the trophies of the remaining captured heroes. See, she’s holding them ransom so she can get… money? Power? Fame?

Trying to do this from memory is so hard. I did My Inner Life practically all from memory, only going in there for the copy and pasted quotes! What the heck? This fic just slides off my brain. I don’t know if finishing it is even worth it since it’s not like I’m reading any of the sex scenes in detail (I mean why would I, a woman with decent taste, want to read about usagi feeling up chibi usa) and I sure as hell can’t understand the Call of Duty parts so in conclusion this fic really wasn’t targeted at me.

But whatever. So now the main crew has to slaughter their way to bomb storage or development or something. Some of the COD guys died and I didn’t notice, some of the villains died (tragically Valtome was K.I.A.) and all in all too much sex was happening. Seriously, Mist has sex on her brother’s bed, that’s kind of nasty. I don’t know why I’m so hung up on all of that. It’s like the piss drinking thing, it’s a minor offense in a long line of “HOLY FUCKING SHIT” but here’s where I get derailed.

How many times can I say that this fic is terrible? Because it is. I don’t understand who a lot of these characters are and why they’re here or what they’re doing. I managed to read to the end and all that I learned was Shadow the Hedgehog apparently cheated on Rouge with some guy called Makarov who is another major villain. What, so when Rouge cheats on him with another woman it’s fine, but when he cheats on her with a man he gets killed for it? I smell double standard! Don’t worry, I’m a feminist, I support equal rights of everyone getting punished for their perpetual horniness. Still, there’s this shocking turn of events where the men are somehow the ones who aren’t constantly obsessed with sex and the women are going around topless and banging each other constantly while homosexuality in men is seen as evil and wrong. For some reason I think the person who wrote this might be a man. He feels the need to remind us, 40 chapters in, that there will be No Yaoi scenes but plenty of Yuri. No shit dude, like, fuck! I didn’t know!

Towards the end, Washington DC gets overrun by Colombians and the team has to kill them. There’s some drawn out attack sequence where everything is described in monotonous detail with military terms I don’t understand. I have a general revulsion to military weeaboos as they are sometimes called, so this stuff turns my stomach. It also features Kenichi, the main character of the animated Metropolis adaptation, which I DID see a long time ago! This little boy is killing people! It’s fine! Also it mentions Frau Bow from Gundam and discusses that she’s training to fight in a mobile suit to help support, but Peach and Samus are the ones who actually use the mobile suits. Peach kills people in the RX-78-2. I’m not sure how to feel about that. Another aside is King Boo is in the mix and he dies. How do ghosts die? Asking for a friend.

There’s also some weird aside of the COD guys doing an arrest in Disneyland. Gaz, Soap, and Price all go there guns akimbo and chase down some dudes and some people die. I don’t think Disney would like that. This also comes out of nowhere, Gaz was playing fucking Go with this dude called Katsuie and it was practically a smash cut transition of “well I arrested a guy in Disneyland once wanna HEAR about it?” and it was. Something. I don’t understand why we did this.

We end with Krystal and Fox discussing that she’s breaking up with him because while he was held hostage, she got engaged to a woman and is unceremoniously dumping him. The scene was honestly kind of funny for the fact that she was having a lesbian three way in his fucking bathroom and then was like “Yeah we’re not dating anymore. I’m engaged. Later idiot!” while naked. Shortly after it’s decided that they need to bomb some German base, I think. So Bright Noah tells the crew to suit up and get ready, and so Krystal and her Lesbians fly off to go fight. Krystal ends up in a one on one with a dude called Scales who I’m unfamiliar with since I don’t know Star Fox lore but I’m sure it’s super important to Krystal. The duel ends so badly that Fox needs to jump in and he and Scales end up plummeting to their death out a window and also getting blown up by grenades. Fox just fucking died for the girlfriend that cheated on him the second he wasn’t home. Honey, you deserve more than this, and Krystal deserves to be treated better by the narrative as well. He gives his blessing as he’s dying, though, so it’s fine.

The whole thing ends shortly after that. It was never completed, not that I think it could be, since I read all 91k words and I still don’t understand who is who, what’s going on, or why things are happening. Even if I did know all the characters featured I don’t think it’d help. I know about 50% of them and it’s not helpful at all. I completely forgot that Emerald is a thing. She’s the main villain! She’s hardly in it! The guy should have cut the shit and just written

Tell’s recommendation? Don’t read this unless you’re really, truly a masochist. It’s not funny enough most of the time to justify the insanity. It’s sexist and racist. Chapters monotonously drone on with the same things happening almost every time. The bad sex isn’t even funny. Save yourself the trouble and if you really must know, check out the first few chapters only and then call it. The author has other works that I haven’t read but I’m not sure that I will based on the quality of this work, and they also published something as recently as 2017 meaning they could probably rise from the hiatus grave and kick my ass for trash talking them.

One Sentence Review: Bright Noah doesn’t slap anyone.

#don't tell me tell #i gotta think of a tag for when i go feral about fanfiction

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