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stra-tek · 5 months

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Lots and lots of random spoilerific things about Star Trek comics

Gold Key's old run was written by people who had never actually seen the show. Later they involved fans like Doug Drexler to make things a bit more authentic

This however made them, IMHO, amazing

Blond scotty. Wearing green.

Voodoo planet, with papier mache versions of Earth landmarks which, when blasted with a death ray, cause the real ones to collapse

Spock learns voodoo to combat this threat

The Enterprise completely razes a planet of hostile plant spore things. Like full on extermination of all life

There's a locked room on deck 7 full of evil Vulcan spirits. A yeoman blunders in and all hell breaks loose

Kirk doesn't know what a god damn black hole is

Spock is kidnapped by aliens, has their entire knowledge downloaded into his brain which makes him into a bobblehead for awhile

The Enterprise is briefly taken from Kirk and given to Captain Zarlo, who is a total bellend

Spock forgets to have pointed ears sometimes

The old UK newspaper comic strips were even worse. The first few issues feature "Captain Kurt" and he wears a red shirt. Bailey is also a lead character, giving away which one episode they had knowledge of

Depictions of the Enterprise in their very first strip will shock and horrify you, but after that the art becomes amazing and maintains a very high standard

Marvel did a series following The Motion Picture, and it was a vast improvement, although they technically had rights to the movie and not the series, which led to a little weirdness. Tons of references still were snuck in, though

There's a series of Book and Records, which you can listen to on YouTube and are goofy fun. The Enterprise desperately needs a meal in the art, though.

They draw Romulans as green wizards

They didn't have the rights to Nichelle Nichols or George Takei's likenesses, so get ready for White Uhura and Black Sulu!

They didn't have the rights to The Animated Series either, so M'Ress is a human with weird face paint and Arex is substituted for just some guy

There's an unlicensed Chinese adaptation of The Motion Picture's novelisation (made with zero prior knowledge of Star Trek), which features an all-star cast like O.J. Simpson as Decker and James Brolin as Kirk. It's called The Star Trek, which is a better name than The Motion Picture, IMHO.

DC comics' first run is considered some of the best Trek ever. They're made with love and a deep knowledge of the source material

You know how Star Trek III takes place right after II? WRONG. It was several months later and the crew (with Saavik taking over from Spock) had tons of adventures in the interim. It just seemed like it was right after😂

Before Worf and long long before Ash Tyler, Kirk had a Klingon on his crew

He was a cowardly Klingon named Konom who fled the Empire

He fell in love with a human woman named Bryce

They adopted an albino Klingon/human child with dwarfism which they named Bernie

Kirk has an unhinged, insubordinate crewman on board named Bearclaw and they hate each other

Tension escalates and eventually there's a stabbing

Sulu/M'Ress happens and I don't think people knew what furrys were in the 80's

You know how Spock comes back at the end of III but isn't his old self until the end of Star Trek IV? WRONG AGAIN. He came back just fine, and lost his marbles following an incident months later that just happened to line everything up to make it all seem like it was right after.

After STIII, Kirk becomes captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior NX-2000 and Spock becomes captain of the U.S.S. Surak. We get a few issues exclusively focusing on Spock's ship and his band of merry weirdos.

The U.S.S. Surak keeps changing design, starting off as a sort of Oberth-class ship, then randomly becoming an Excelsior-class ship and finally ending as the warp sled shuttlecraft from The Motion Picture

The Surak's crew include a giant chicken man, a Vulcan hating racist lady and a balding man with a bicycle

They all die horribly and a massive reset button is pressed so everyone is exactly where they were at the end of Star Trek III

In order to make that work they had to bs that the Klingon Bird of Prey was hidden in Excelsior's shuttlebay all this time despite it being way, way too big for that

There's a full on mirror universe invasion

Kirk becomes a celebrity from saving the galaxy all the time

Mr. Arex comes back and becomes chief of security but doesn't really do much

HORTA CREWMEMBER. It's as amazing as it sounds

The first Next Generation comic miniseries was made with knowledge of the first 2 or 3 TNG episodes and nothing else

Everyone is hench as fuck. Picard has washboard abs and bulging muscles

Data is emotional and Troi feels the emotions she senses a la "Encounter at Farpoint"

Wesley is drawn as if he's 10

The B-shift con and ops team are a husband and wife who wear caped superhero versions of Starfleet uniforms with bare legs.

They argue. A lot.

The crew meet an alien Santa Claus and Q loses his powers years before "Deja Q"

The whole Q Continuum visits the Enterprise and they're all John De Lancie but in Starfleet uniforms of every colour under the sun.

After that initial miniseries, the Next Gen crew lose a lot of their muscle mass and start resembling their on screen counterparts a lot better

Picard had a brother who fell down a hole and died as a child. Q offers to rewrite history so he doesn't die. Claude Picard grew up to be Space Superhitler and turns Starfleet and the Federation fascist.

Before all this Q turned Jean-Luc into a goat for the lolz

Marvel's The Early Voyages was very literally Strange New Worlds before Strange New Worlds.

They have a pyrokinetic security officer named Nano and he's awesome

Marvel lost the Trek license quite suddenly, and so the series ends on a cliffhanger where Admiral April is up to something iffy.

Marvel did a Starfleet Academy series featuring Nog and its utterly fantastic

A female Andorian cadet tries to make Nog feel at ease by greeting him in the nude, but Nog fails to take it as an innocent gesture and she immediately sends him flying across the room

Romulan agents with split personalities in Starfleet Academy!

They visit Talos IV and get help from Captain Pike, who's still alive

IDW comics did a prequel to the 2009 reboot where Picard is an ambassador, Data is captain of the Enterprise-E and Nero has hair. It was co-written by the movie writers and was considered sort of vaguely semi canon ish for a time

They originally wanted the Romulan supernova to destroy a lot more, including Earth and have Nero kill the TNG crew. It was the Star Trek Online devs that got them to scale things back because they'd have no universe left to set their game in.

Nero's ship looks like it does because after Romulus was destroyed he took it to a secret Romulan base and had it equipped with reverse-engineered Borg technology

You thought DC struggled to keep ship designs correct? IDW's comics keep using traced fan art from Google Images, and fan art (sometimes with unique ship designs) has shown up on multiple occasions as the Kelvinverse U.S.S. Enterprise

In one IDW TOS comic, the bridge is totally covered with TNG LCARS graphics.

In another, an Orion ship is a gigantic Stargate sticking out of the middle part of Battlestar Galactica.

Wanna see Kelvinverse versions of TOS episodes? That was their first comics run, picking up after the 2009 reboot movie. They start off very faithful and as the series goes on things diverge more and more

To the extent some stories have very different backstories and outcomes

We visit 2 Kelvin mirror universes and a genderswapped universe too. No, Kirk doesn't do what you're thinking.

Q visits the Kelvin Universe and brings the crew forward in time to their version of Deep Space Nine

Nero's time in Klingon prison (from the Star Trek 2009 deleted scenes) and escape is fleshed out

Nero meets V'ger.

Nero mind melds with V'ger.

V'ger turns away due to the sheer force of Nero's hatred.

I wish I was making that up.

Klingons get their hands on Narada's technology and go to war

We get a Khan backstory where the Eugenics Wars are a full on nuclear conflict and "Khan" is the title that little Noon Sing adopts when he takes power

After being revived in the 23rd century, Admiral Marcus has Khan surgically altered to look like Benedict Cumberbatch as part of his John Harrison cover identity

They did a series of shorts called Waypoint, and in the first one Geordi is captain of a future Enterprise and his crew is made up of holographic versions of Data and it's a really sweet concept (this was several years before before ST: Picard brought Data back twice)

There's a prequel series centred around Number One where nobody manages to say her name before being interrupted. If you put the bits together it seems her name was Eureka Robbins. Of course, this is long before novels and SNW made her Una Chin-Riley.

#star trek #star trek comics #star trek the original series #star trek the next generation #star trek aos #star trek kelvin timeline #tng #star trek the animated series #dc comics #gold key comics #idw comics #marvel comics #deep dive

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carterstarlight25 · 28 days

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Hi everyone! So I been thinking hard on a rather unique 3way crossover that I been considering about writing. Please feel free to give me your input.

The 3 way crossover consist of DC x DP x Halo Infinite. With the ships being Jason and Danny (Obviously). Master Chief and Bruce as the second ship to be included. And Tim Simping for Katrina. (Cortana 2.0 from Infinite)

I see these possible dynamics being cute as Chief will learn how to be human, and how to love. Him and Team Phantom Finding Family. Also I don't mean the bull Chief pulled in the god awful Halo TV Show!

Bruce will learn that killing isn't an act of God. It isn't you kill once, and become a mindless murderer. That there is a difference, between a Soldier doing his duty to protect humanity and his loved ones. And a mindless killer, enjoying the horror of its victims as the bleed out with please for mercy. Effectively stealing their innocent lives... Oh also learn to not be as emotionally constipated after Katrina effectively out smarts him into a therapy session with Jazz Nightingale. (Last name changed after she saved Danny from the their parents lab…)

Danny will learn what it means to be apart of a family. And how screwed the GIW are.~

Jason, finds out he’s ghost pregnant and a heavy underdeveloped Halfa. All while the Pit becomes a full ghost that he ends up birthing. Which is gonna be a Dinosaur that will be Jason’s “Nightmare.” To his Fright Knight. (I am really wanting to go for Altispinax, or Spinax Vivosaur from Fossil Fighters series. But idk, might just use the Giga from Jurassic World Dominion. Just to change it up from what I seen people have the Pits become.

How Chief comes into the story however, would be introduced via Clockwork leaving a very obviously placed Halo Infinite Xbox Game case with a unmarked disc inside it. In an Alley Danny was taking refuge in. With a sticky note of course. And a few chapters in, when he was alone in Wayne Manor decided to play the game. And by Play. I mean go ghost and jump into the game. But of course. With his Fabulous Phantom Luck (trademark pending.) A new power began to make itself known as the code latched on him on his way out. Bringing Master Chief and Katrina to life in the real world, with all his memories and Katrina with the entire UNSC Database.)

While that’s how I plan to bring in Chief and Co. the main gist of this will be an all out battle, to destroy the GIW. Outlaws, Sirens, Chief and the entire Batfam Team up.

Despite the JL repealing the Anti Ecto Acts. A few Private donors continue to find them to get their hands on Ectoplasm. The League of Assassin’s, Lex Luthor. And of Course Vlad Masters will be the main villains connected to the GIW.

I can see Jason and Chief getting along like wildfire. And when Bruce finds out Jason is one leading the squad his kids, trying to get them to go on a date with Master Chief. It leads to some funny moments I would think. And of course can’t forget Chief reluctantly surprise appearance in Civies at one of Bruce’s Gala’s. (I kinda wanna make him wear Olive Green suit and dress pants. Black Bow Tie with a white under suit. Black belt. And an Olive Green Military Cap to hide his Neural Implant. Maybe having all his Medals from the service pinned to his chest. At least the ones that match ones in this universe. So not all of them obviously.

And Jason would absolutely catch his father freeze up when he sees the handsome Spartan.

For looks regarding Chief’s face since we don’t know what he looks like. I was thinking Caucasian Male, short brown hair that could be the right height to spike it up at least. Not a complete buzz cut. Rather bright blue eyes. That do not glow like Danny’s. But at least around that color. Of course he will have some scars on his left Temple, his lip and across his right eye. Freckles too. His muscle mass would of course be a bit more built then Jason. Which says something. But, you know. Super Soldier and all. (Update: I did in-fact Draw it ^^. If you want to see. Let me know if you wanna see Master Chief in a suit at the Gala ^^)

The Ages I was gonna go for was as follows.

Alfred: Immortal (Thanks Clockwork!)

John (Master Chief): 46yrs (I know it’s not his cannon Age. But it’s what I want for the story.)

Bruce: 45yrs

Barbara: 29yrs

Dick: 26yrs

Jazz: 21yrs

Jason: 21yrs

Cass: 20yrs

Sam: 20yrs

Danny: 19yrs

Duke: 19yrs

Steph: 19yrs

Tucker: 19yrs

Val: 19yrs

Tim: 18yrs

Ellie: 14yrs

Damien: 12yrs

Katrina: 6 months old

And that’s the little Fanfic I been thinking about. Of course it’s just an idea. but I think it would be fun to write.

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beanghostprincess · 4 months

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I fucking love it when people draw one piece characters as women. (I love Oda but his gender bending needs a little work.)

Like they would be so cool like it's just a bunch of butches and dykes studs and just overall tough broads on the sea.

Buggy would have blonde hair like he did in one of the movies. Rocking a side shave or under cut , she's definitely wearing something that leaves little to the imagination. It's all for show really under all that makeup and boisterous personality she's still insecure and riddled with self-doubt but she's faking it till she makes it and she made it. Not the way she wanted but you know success is success. She's a warlord

Mihawk is so elegant, She keeps her hair in a bun. She always wears loose white blouses with ruffles in a black corset. Her nails are long dark and sharp, with a lovely burgundy shade. she's never chipped them, never cracked them, and has never broken in them.

I love trans man crocodile but trans woman crocodile makes me go feral. She's tall with broad shoulders and strong arms, She used to hate how she looked but becoming a pirate she started to appreciate her features making her look more powerful and intimidating. She has a slip dress and a long fur coat always smoking a cigar. Her voice is so soothing but so cold at the same time.

Kid is a hefty woman tall and broad, quick to anger and will to fight anyone and everyone. Everyone thinks she wears makeup but she doesn't. She never learned how she kind of wants to, but she's kind of scared at my ruin her image. Her lips are just naturally that red. When she lost her arm she made herself multiple prosthetics one is just a practical one that is just a regular looking arm but silver with floral detailing and then the big scary one that she wears for fighting.

The red hair pirates is just a boat of tough broads looking for adventure and freedom.

Shanks is gorgeous! She used to have long red hair but was cut with a sword, It was a spur of the moment kind of thing she did it when buggy broke up with her. She's tough she's kind, she's strong and she never wears a bra. (None of them do really except for Benn)She's so protective around children. Every time Luffy runs up to her she always picks her up. Luffy doesn't have the scar under her eye because the minute shanks saw her with a knife It was on site.

Yasopp she has a whole collection of guns in her closet she's never happy with just one every island they go to she has to buy a new pistol or musket. She stores them Nice and neatly with her other values like her wedding dress. If Luffy isn't being carried by sharks it's yasopp. She's not as big as the rest of the women on the ship but she can hold their own in a fight her body is covered in battle scars.

Luffy: Where'd you get that one?!

Yasopp: that's from a bullet

Luffy: and that one?!

Yasopp: stab wound

Luffy: and what about this one?

Yasopp: oh....that's from a C-section

You know what, I just- I can't imagine fem Cross Guild in a way that isn't @/vonguilli's artstyle. That's the only fem Cross Guild I need. Especially Buggy, damn. The IT Girl fr. I wanna look like her so damn bad. Icon. The moment. But I must say that Buggy with an undercut, Mihawk with her nails done, and transfem Crocodile make me go insane. My beloveds. I feel things (lesbian thoughts) for them.

I hate when people draw fem Kid all skinny and for the male gaze as if Fem!Kid wasn't literally made for the lesbians only. I want a tall and broad big woman. Big chest. Big attitude. I want her to be able to pick me up with one fucking hand. I absolutely hate some versions I've seen of her. YOU KNOW WHICH GENDERBEND IS SMALL AND PETITE AND SKINNY? LAW. LAW. Law should be skinny and depressed and with greasy hair and her nails and badly treated and she has small boobs and short messy hair and she's so tired of living. Dressing with tops and big pants and not caring about a bra. She has eyebags and she's just so lazy to live properly. I love canon fem!Law because I'm a weak lesbian but my perception of fem!Law is not the way some people draw her. I know you were talking about Kid I apologize I am a very annoying Law fan.

Shanks,,,, Mother is mothering. The girl cutting her hair after a break-up. Lesbian behavior. Dramatic milf. I feel so many things for this woman. And Yasopp???? Girl I am down bad please. Guns are not my thing. Women?? Pirates?? With guns?? Yeah, no, that's so- Damn.

I could talk for hours about my fav genderbend designs in my head fr. My favs (in my own lil head) are Buggy, Law, Usopp, Doffy and Sabo. Like- Women. Girls. You know? haha-

#I am SO normal #sososososo normal #could you believe there was this point in my life when i thought i didn't like girls #a fucking tragedy honestly #one piece #genderbend #fem cross guild #fem buggy #fem kid #fem law #fem shanks #fem yasopp

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blainesebastian · 1 year

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routine (ccg universe)

words: 3,189 ship: austin butler x reader summary: (anon request) “ccg and austin have a disagreement/fight while she’s pregnant and usually he always touches her belly but since they’re mad he’s not” notes: thanks to anyone who reads and leaves likes, comments, reblogs or asks :) requests are tentatively open. warnings: none tag list: @killerqueenfan, @karamelcoveredolicity, @elizabethrosecresswell, @gigisworldsstuff, @stylespresleyhearted

You know that having a baby is going to change everything—regardless that you’re not one hundred percent sure on the logistics, which doesn’t matter quite yet, because the knowing makes you feel like you’re ready to anticipate as much as you can. Accepting that you’re open to ride with whatever the universe is going to throw in your direction…which is definitely not how you were before. You liked plans, you liked knowing what was next, you lived on considering what was ahead of you—five to fifteen steps, mapped out.

The shift is jarring and terrifying but…having Austin by your side is a comfort that you can’t quite put into words.

You both find yourselves inside one another, you create a new a normal, and you settle into routines that constantly remind you that home is a person just as much as it’s a place. It definitely helps ground you.

It doesn’t have to be completely groundbreaking either, you’re talking about simple things. You sigh softly as you lean back against the headboard, glancing away from a script you’re reading that Austin’s gotten recently to look over at your husband. This is a perfect example that sometimes you find yourself thinking about. It’s become such a part of your nightly routine that you barely think about it. You should, if you’re being honest, because it’s one of your most favorite things and noticeable when absent.

Since you’ve become pregnant, any night that Austin is in bed with you, his hand finds its way to your stomach. You can tell he’s not really thinking about it, more of an absentminded touch that’s been there in the past but somehow completely different now. His connection lingers, fingers tracing the swell of your belly as you’ve gotten bigger.

He notices he does it, because occasionally he’ll kiss your stomach before pulling away, but it’s not like you both have to talk about it either. It’s—simple, there, that feeling of home in a single touch.

You set down the script, adjusting yourself on the pillows as Austin answers emails on his phone. You lean into his hand, closing your eyes for a moment. You’re just leaving your first trimester and your body is having trouble abandoning morning sickness (which can’t tell time). You can feel Austin shift but don’t open your eyes, even when he presses a kiss to your temple, his hand rubbing back and forth over your stomach in small patterned circles.

“Not feelin’ well?”

You sigh, running a hand through your hair, “I swear, every time I think I’m through it, another bout of nausea visits.”

Austin sets his phone down on the nightstand as you open your eyes and…half the time you think you’ll start to get used to how easily handsome he is, but you don’t. He’s in comfortable clothes, a pair of black joggers and a white t-shirt, this thin gold chain around his neck and tucked under the collar. He smells like lingering wafts of sandalwood from his cologne and skin, something distinctly Austin. His hair is a bit unkempt, but you like it like that, it’s from running his hands through it, a stubborn curl on his forehead that’s refusing to settle.

It makes your lips twitch into the smallest of smiles.

“I’ll get you some tea—think we still got that mint you like.”

Before he can move, you shake your head, looping an arm through his and resting against his shoulder. “No, don’t.” You sigh a bit dramatically, closing your eyes again, “It’ll pass.”

A soft chuckle vibrates in Austin’s chest that you can feel rather than hear. He moves his arm to wrap around you, drawing you into his side as much as your belly will allow. One of the only downsides of this whole pregnancy thing…you really feel like you’re not as close as you want to be to your husband.

Your arm settles on his torso and his hand rests on your belly again, tracing shapes.

“Really wish this girl would learn how to tell time,” You tease, shifting a bit. You let out a soft grimace of uncomfortableness. “Second trimester is supposed to be the most enjoyable?” Maybe that’s something to look forward to.

Crinkling your nose, you tip your chin back a little so you can look up at Austin, “Remember when we went to that after-party on that boat because Baz insisted—”

Austin laughs lightly, his hand rubbing your shoulder, “You were so seasick.”

You whine lightly, “I’m usually not even bad with boats, like, the water was so choppy.”

He smiles, pressing his lips to your forehead, “You were lookin’ green for the duration of that party, I didn’t think you were gonna make it.”

You gently smack his chest with a fond eyeroll, settling your head back against his chest. You can feel his heartbeat along the shell of your ear, “That’s exactly how this feels.”

“I’d say that this was surprisin’ but it’s not, given that she’s already a troublemaker like you.”

You could fall asleep like this, just might with all the small touches Austin is giving you. The heat of his body, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, his scent sticking to his clothes—always a perfect storm.

“If that’s the case, you’re definitely in for it.” You mumble as you begin to drift off.

You can feel Austin smile, a soft breath leaving his nose as he chuckles, “Don’t I know it.”

Here’s the thing about you and Austin—you rarely have arguments. Sure, there are disagreements every now and then, because what couple doesn’t go through that? You’re human, stuff happens, but it blows over. It doesn’t become anything unpleasant.

Your point being, when it happens? It’s definitely pretty bad.

Part of the problem lately is that a lot of things have been piling into the pressure cooker—Austin’s a bit testier than usual because he’s stressed about an upcoming project (and what it’ll look like to create a balance between his passion and being a father), you’re hormonal and also considering the same thing, constantly, finding your equilibrium in becoming a parent and not letting go of a career that you just managed to sink your teeth into. You don’t want to let it go but you also know you have to figure out what your median is. There’s no set plan other than there is no plan—and that’s very new and terrifying for you. Everyone who loves and cares about you is being super supportive in figuring it out; Austin, Jillian, your other friends and family…all except your mother.

And that’s what’s really bothering you right now.

It’s not that she’s never been supportive, she has, it’s just…sometimes she has this running commentary that is not at all helpful. It’s just her thoughts bursting forth with no consideration or hesitating filter, her concerns and worry somehow making her judgmental and insensitive and you just…can’t put up with it right now? Emotions for you are raw and heavy, swift in how they come down on your shoulders. It’s something you’re processing and dealing with and unfortunately just comes with the territory of being pregnant but…

It's such a bad combination.

Usually? Austin is nothing but encouraging, gentle, soft? A partner. You feel like a team.

Today however? Just the wrong conversation at the wrong time.

You can tell he’s already tense as he stands in the kitchen, half-listening to your rant about the phone call you had with your mother and half-reading the script in his hand as you make dessert (eating whipped cream from a bowl). Your cravings have been sweet as of late, so more than often you’ll bake something to keep yourself moving and your hands busy but because you’re also stressed, you’re eating things more than making anything.

“At this point I’m about to hang up on her,” You lick the spoon, “And then she says, ‘well Y/N, maybe you shouldn’t have gotten pregnant if you can’t handle a work-life balance’.”

That…that actually kind of hurt to hear your mom say, if you’re being honest. It’s not that you were even complaining or saying that you don’t want or can’t do this. You were just venting and you feel foolish thinking your mom would just listen instead of turning it into some kind of lecture.

“So ridiculous.” You mumble under your breath.

Austin sighs softly, setting down the script on the island counter. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I think you’re overreactin’ a little bit.”

You slowly put the spoon down in the bowl because… ‘don’t take this the wrong way’? “How else am I supposed to take that?”

He bites the inside of his cheek for a moment, looking like he might say something else when—“Nevermind.”

You know right there and then you should just let it go. Austin’s got his own things going on and you’ve got adrenaline leftover from your conversation with your mother and this should probably wait but…no? It’s not fair for him to say you’re overreacting.

“Those are just my feelings, Austin, there’s no overreaction about it.”

You can tell by the look on his face that he can sense this discussion is going south, fast, “I don’t want to argue about this.”

Bristling, you put the bowl and spoon in the sink from the whipped cream, “And by that, you mean you don’t want to talk about it.” You lean back against the counter, crossing your arms over your chest.

Austin’s face kinda crinkles in light confusion, annoyance starting to gently inflect his tone of voice, “Y/N, I’m sure your mom didn’t mean anythin’ by that, alright? She’s just worried—”

Oh my god, you cannot believe he’s taking her side in all this. You try to approach this from somewhere a bit more rational because…you know he didn’t actually hear the conversation you had with your mother. But it also really rubs you the wrong way—you have genuine emotions about this, feelings that Austin is usually so supportive about. You just want him to hear you? It’s perfectly okay if he can’t right now, if he has to fill up his own cup before being able to pour into yours.

But, “You can worry about someone else and not say mean things to them.”

He tilts his head and fixes you with this look and you know something condescending is about to come out, “Look…you’re hormonal right now—”

That is the wrong thing to say. Nothing shoots through your veins red hot than comments like that. You instantly stand up straight, shoulders rearing back just slightly as if his words slap you across the face, “Don’t, don’t do that.” You snap. “You do not get to invalidate my feelings and blame them on pregnancy hormones.”

“Well if the shoe fits.” He throws back, voice just as sharp.

Any other time, any other time, you’d throw in another jab or maybe storm off dramatically by slamming the door to the bedroom closed but…Austin just kinda takes the wind out of your sails. And regardless that you’re trying to get him to understand that this conversation with your mother hurt you, and those emotions are real, you are also dealing with pregnancy hormones. He just doesn’t get to use them as an excuse. He’s never made you feel irrational about your own feelings.

So your face just kind of crumbles, tears beginning to fill your eyes and you feel so overwhelmed at it even happening because you’re not usually like this. You can see the shift instantly on Austin’s face—his own stress and frustration, anger, melting away to guilt and concern, apologies.

“Shit,” He mumbles under his breath, stepping around the island counter to reach for you. “Hey,” Austin whispers, “Hey, c’mere.”

“Please don’t touch me right now.” You sniffle, pushing his hand away, wiping a few tears off your cheeks as they begin to fall.

Needing space to breathe, you turn to walk out of the kitchen and make a b-line for the bedroom.

The apartment is quiet for the duration of the night as you and Austin steer clear of one another. There’s no outright avoidance? But you can tell he feels bad for what he said and you’re feeling particularly raw and ridiculous all at the same time—you’re trying to tell yourself that there’s no need to be sorry for having feelings, you don’t need to validate or explain anything. Maybe you should have waited to have any type of charged conversation when you could tell your husband was dealing with his own emotional baggage, but hindsight is always clear.

It's instinctual to crawl into bed together, even though you’re both creating space by doing your own thing. You’re scrolling through Instagram, Austin is reading his script and making notes occasionally in the margins. You’ve always kind of scoffed at the sentiment of ‘never going to bed angry’—sometimes that makes the most sense. There’s no reason to force a conversation and somehow make it worse. You know that tomorrow it’ll be easier to talk about, right now it’d be nothing but forced apologies.

You shift in bed, getting ready to put your phone on the nightstand and turn on your side to sleep, when you feel Austin’s hand move to your belly and—there’s this moment of shared realization. It’s completely absentminded on his end, just part of the routine of being in bed, and a kneejerk reaction from you of not wanting to be touched. You lean out of it and catch a glimpse of his face, which is definitely crushed and yet understanding at the same time.

He's done this every night but…not tonight.

It’s the weird dream that wakes you, that you were in a boat but underwater? rolling against the ocean bed with the waves, but it’s the sharp nausea that keeps you awake. You take a deep breath in through your nose, hoping it’ll pass, but it just gets worse. God, this morning sickness is so terrible…and once again, it can’t tell time. You glance at the illuminated numbers of the clock on your bedside table, two A.M., and pull yourself from bed. Moving quickly to the bathroom, you barely get the door slightly closed and the lights on before you’re throwing up.

Your knees hit the tile too hard and tears are stinging the back of your eyes as you grab onto the toilet bowl, emptying the contents of your stomach from dinner and dessert. A soft whine leaves your lips, sniffling, and you flush the toilet before leaning back to sit against the tub. A cold sweat kisses your skin and you shiver lightly, waiting for the sour stomach to pass.

When you hear the door creak, you glance up to see Austin standing in the doorframe, and all those negative feelings from before just kind of melt away. He gives you a gentle smile, running a hand through his bedhead curls.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” His voice is soft, “But you look terrible.”

You choke out a laugh, shaking your head. Sniffling, you run a hand over your face, “Shut up.”

Austin lets out a long sigh through his nose, moving to grab a washcloth and fill it up with warm water from the sink. He squeezes out the excess and sits down after closing the toilet seat, gently tipping your chin back so he can run the fabric along your forehead, down your cheeks, on the back of your neck.

You can’t help but let out a soft noise of relief, your eyes fluttering closed as Austin presses a few comforting kisses to your temple. It’s quiet for a while, which is nice because it lets you self-evaluate whether or not you’re going to be sick again. Seems like its passed for the most part, thank God.

Austin places his hand along the side of your head, brushing his thumb through your hair. You look up at him, swallowing over the fading sour taste in your mouth. “I’m sorry.”

You shake your head, chewing on your lower lip, “I was—pestering.”

“No,” Austin replies quickly, “You were talkin’ to me and I…I just threw your words back into your face.”

You want to get into this whole thing about how you could feel that he hadn’t been in the right frame of mind for that conversation but you proceeded anyways, but the words just die on your tongue. You’re tired and there’s this faint pulsing in your temples, the beginning of a headache.

But that’s the thing about Austin, he knows you, “I didn’t have the best day with the script but I didn’t mean to bring that home to you,” He lifts his hand to run his fingers more fully through your hair, “I know your mom sometimes likes to find your pressure points and push.”

You nod a little, hating that you feel that lump start to appear in your throat all over again, averting your eyes from Austin’s gaze.

“Y/N, you’re going to be an amazing mother—you don’t have to have it all figured out. And no…offense to your mother, but she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talkin’ about half the time.”

You let out a soft laugh, sniffling, some tears accidentally slipping down your face. You run your hands over your cheeks and you know that Austin has a point. Despite your mom’s good intentions, she often just talks out the side of her mouth. She worries and overcompensates and…sometimes what she says gets stuck inside your head. Even though it’s not a new realization, you’re reminded how much you need to hear Austin talk to you about it, how important it feels to have him in your corner.

You hope to do the same for him tomorrow morning, to give him the same time and support about whatever happened with his script to put him in a sour mood.

You rest your hand on his knee and squeeze, the words thank you in your touch. He gives you a soft smile, leaning back a bit, “C’mere.”

He holds his hand out for you to take to help you off the floor and once you’re up, he wraps an arm around your waist to fold you into his embrace. You sit between his legs, on his one thigh, smiling down at him as you wipe your face again. Even though your cheeks are flushed, at least you’re not crying anymore.

Austin presses a kiss to your collarbone, squeezing you, “I’m sorry.” He repeats.

Letting out a sigh, you cup his cheek and run your thumb along his lower lip before moving his curls off his forehead with your fingers, “You’re forgiven.”

He smiles and you can’t help but lean down to plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth, your foreheads pressing together afterwards. His hand ends up on your stomach, his fingers splayed, thumb tracing your skin. Admittedly, it definitely makes you feel better.

#austin butler #austin butler x reader #austin butler imagine #austin butler fic #elvis 2022 #mccall writes things #ccg

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vibratingskull · 7 months

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hi!! Saw you were doing thrawn requests!! Can I please have thrawns s/o that hasn’t seen him since his disappeared, going with Baylan and elsbeth to find him, and in that reveal scene(when we first see him) they throw themselves over his shoulders crying and just kiss him? Yeah ton of pda for thrawn, but they haven’t seen him in almost forever!!

also have a lovely day!! 😊

Sure honey !

Thrawn x gn!reader

You hold on your hood as the Chimaera descends on the stone structure, welcoming you all in its large hangar. Morgan Elsbeth takes some steps forwards as the row of troopers reveal themself to you. Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati observe the ship with a careful curiosity while the Great Mothers remain unbothered like they’ve seen it a million times. You, you remain in the back, stomach twisted in knots, tension rising in your blood.

Is it now? The end of your anguish? The end of your pain?

You hide behind your hood.

As the ship finishes placing herself the troopers start chanting a name you thought you would never hear again.

“Thrawn. Thrawn. Thrawn.”

You gulp.

A silhouette starts drawing itself on the other side of the hangar, peacefully walking among the night troopers without hurrying itself, taking its sweet time. With long strides a very well known white uniform reveals itself, with black boots, blue skin and red eyes. Your heart misses a bit.

Him!

Finally!

He walks towards the group with the serene expression of the one that planned everything right. A bunch of night troopers follow him with a curious golden helmet trooper right behind him.

“What was first just a dream has become a frightening reality for those who may oppose us.” He says with a grin.

This voice.

How you longed for that voice! You feel tears building up behind your eyes.

“Great Mothers, I salute you.” He continues, ever so polite.

Thrawn.

Your long lost lover.

Your cha’cah.

Your dear one.

“Soon we shall all esca-”

You cut him out, launching yourself forward towards him. His night troopers raise their weapon but you’re quicker and percute him full force, under the eyes wide open of Morgan, Baylan and Shin. Thrawn has just the time take a step behind to stabilize himself when you come crashing against him, circling him with your arms with a broken gasp full of tears.

“Thrawn…” you exclaim, squeezing him as tight as you can.

“It is me, indeed.” He chuckles, pushing the hood of your head. “What a pleasure it is to finally see you again, cha’cah.”

You gulp with tears rolling on your cheeks, holding him tight. Behind you hear the gasp indignant of Morgan and the cold gaze of the Mothers, but you don’t care.

You’re finally in your rightful place, in his arms.

You seize his face and place a handful of pecks on his cheek, on his nose, at the corner of his lips, on his temple and forehead.

He looks at you, amused, not at all resenting for ruining his grand entrance. His hands come caressing your cheeks, bruising your tears.

“Let me admire your face.” he says, not caring for the rest of the group. “You are as beautiful as the day I lost you.”

You smile between your tears and kiss him, not able to take it anymore. How right it feels to have your lips pressed on his. After so long. You feel his arms snake their way to your back to squeeze you tight against him. You moan like you know he loves, you feel his lips curving in a smile in the kiss. You dig your nails deep in his flesh, keeping him in place against you.

“Hum-hum…Grand Admiral?”

Morgan breaks the moment, reminding you that there is a whole group awaiting for Thrawn to take the lead and your waiting time.

Bitch.

You growl. He parts with you with a chuckle, caressing your hair.

“Excuse me, something impromptu just presented to me.” He simply says, not sorry at all for his dead silent rescue group. He pulls you to his side, a hand on your waist, holding you close. You snuggle against him without shame. You take delight in Morgan’s confused face, you know she hoped to place herself as the closest ally to Thrawn for his return and you just snatched that away from her with insolence. Baylan and Shin don’t bring themself in the fire and remain silent as the Mothers.

Morgan winces and bow slightly her head with a smile that she surely hoped was sympathetic.

“Of course, Grand Admiral. May I present you someone?” she gestures toward Baylan and Shin.

You stop listening, eyes fully on Thrawn, completely enthralled, you slide your hand in his and squeeze it, putting your head on his shoulder.

You just need to bring him back home and all would be perfect!

@al-astakbar, @thrawnalani

#thrawn x reader #thrawn x you #thrawn #grand admiral thrawn #mitth’raw’nuruodo #fanfic #vibratingskull

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netherworldpost · 28 days

Note

Dearest Mx. Atticus Q. Redghost,

I was looking through old photos for an in-joke I half remember and found this classic Evil Supply Co gem from back in my "I like it I save it" days (circa 2010s). Still applicable. Much love and congrats on the Everything, You're Doing Amazing Always.

R. Fox

The Ghost Librarian

I remember drawing it.

I remember the late nights spent worrying and fussing. I remember designing it, packing it when it was ordered. "Why purple? Because I love it. Not black, no, something brighter, pink? no, pink for the highlights" to myself.

Early card. One of Evil Supply Co.'s earliest.

Thank you for this memory.

Thank you for being here.

Sometimes I think "it is incredible we are allowed to exist," and then I remember, paradoxically,

there are so minimal actual rules (mostly governing taxes -- what rules are left boil down to "ensure you have cash to keep going")

but there are, of course, rules: Gatekeepers, the complexity of tax codes, the raw fact that no matter how strong the protective shields technology provides, the raw operations of a small business is difficult.

I'm the magician

performing a magic trick

and the audience.

If you have a moment? a ramble

At once this is all carefully planned and orchestrated and budgeted with safeguards and controls when things go wrong, and a swamp of chaos and trial and error and testing and "oh wait OH WAIT ah ha? AH HA"

When I was... 6, 7, 8... somewhere around that age, very young, Not Having A Great Go At Things for Reasons, I was at a mall. No clue what why we were there, the family and I. It was two levels, upstairs, downstairs.

We were on the top level, at the head of the escalator, about to go down. I'm peering forward to see what comes next.

Elvira.

Thick as dreams (the image), thin as a shipping box (the cardboard standee, she was not there in person). Halloween store. It was late September, maybe early October.

Halloween pop-up store.

Costumes. Plastic smell. Cheesy decorations. Fake blood, rubber tombstones, pitchforks-red on black staffs that could be swapped out for any number of axes or other faux, practically harmless, weapons.

Everything cheap. Priced to go. Sale-price-upon-entry-to-inventory.

Celebrate the season.

However you saw it.

Started connecting the dots, Elvira. Vincent Price. Creature Feature movies on Saturday. Frankenstein's monster ordering Dunkin' Donuts via grumbling growl.

Scooby-Doo, of course, a thread in the background, looping it all together.

Become who you are, not what others force you to be. Don't know who you are? Let's find out, no worries at all.

I owe my life

hauntingly literally in a many ways

to such things.

Places. Shows. Movies, actors, cartoons, decorations, candies, celebrations, masks, books, it all. Legends, myths, vernacularization of Old Things into New Things.

Magic trick.

I am the magician, I am also the audience at the same time, performing on the greatest stage. I owe everything to the powers of orange and black and green and purple and white.

Haven't even gotten to the mail parts, laugh.

Long enough ramble. It's 5:22 AM.

Cheers and thank you for this space. From the depths of my heart.

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starrylayle · 3 months

Note

"Don't get me started on jegulus" actually please get started I'd like to hear your thoughts on it because your take on wolfstar and the oc-ification of some characters is so refreshing to see (tbh my first reaction to jegulus was just confusion on how it started and how quickly it got popular lmao)

ahh this makes so happy to hear that my post resonated with some people!! Was worried i was in the minority lol.

Anyways, abt jegulus -- i acc had a reaaally long post about how much i hated the dynamic (in canon compliant ish works -- Jegulus in aus is fine ig) but i deleted it lol.

I think the core reason why i dislike the pairing so much is that I feel like it the ship goes against everything James stands for. We don't know a lot about James' character in canon, but what we do know is that he had a strong sense of justice, and fierce loyalty to his friends and his cause, which ultimately led to his doom. I just can't imagine that James would associate with someone even a little bit bigoted. This is not to say i think James is a saint, i think he could be an ass sometimes (snapes worst memory lol) but i think he'd draw the line at someone who was associated with 'evil'. James had a very black and white view of good and bad and i just don't think it would make sense for James to date reg, esp as he is becoming a death eater. James may be a dick but he is also the biggest ally to ever ally !!

The only jegulus fics I have read are 'Just Lovers' and 'Choices'. Just lovers is a non-voldy au so i don't really have a problem with their dynamic there but choices on the other hand,, oh boy.

Spoilers for 'Choices' by MesserMoon btw (TW for talk of SA):

Regulus' friends rape Mary. And instead of feeling disgusted on the victim’s behalf, (who has been his friend for 5 years) James instead feels upset because it tarnishes the ‘good’ image he has of reg in his head. Thing is when a similar situation happened (The Prank ™), James was upset that Sirius would do such a thing but he also felt disgusted on behalf of Remus. Where was that energy here, huh?? I’ve even seen comments villianising Mary (the rape victim).

The thing I also hate about their dynamic is that it is basically an ally of the oppressor and ally of the oppressed. The problem with that is that when you are allied with the oppressor, you become an oppressor yourself (and reg does; he does terrible things) and that subsequently makes the so-called ally of the oppressed in cahoots with the oppressor as well. This brings so many parallels to real life where people say that they are an “ally” but become friends with/date a racist/rapist. “Oh but they’re nice to me”. its just a little ew.

And in other jegulus canon-compliant-ish fics, sometimes instead of James' character being watered down its Regulus' character. Like, he's not as morally grey, not as complex etc so it makes sense that James would agree to date him. I feel like jegulus as a ship ruins the core of what made their characters so interesting in the first place.

That being said,,, i do love me some canon-compliant unrequited jegulus. Regulus goes to hogwarts, gets so mad at Sirius for ditching him or whatever, but falls in love with the very guy that stole sirius away. He also has internalised homophobia because he's a Black brother so imagine the angst. James potter goes against everything he stands for,, sirius betrayed him,, but perhaps they're right abt smth?? Perhaps he needs to do smth. alone.

sorry for rambling but these are my thoughts on jegulus !! Anyways I feel like I should reiterate that this is a personal preference!! I think it ruins core of these characters, i prefer jily and i love me some unrequited gay pining for the boy who you're brother replaced u with. But this is just a personal preference !

oh and just a side note if it ever led to a decision where james had to choose between sirius and regulus -- no matter how much he 'allegedly' loved regulus, he would choose sirius, no questions asked.

#thoughts on jegulus #jily #james potter #regulus black #choices messermoon #anti jegulus #idk how to tag this #I don’t want to upset ppl

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quibbs126 · 1 year

Text

For some reason, I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve done proper fanart that isn’t just my short little sketches or ocs, so I made this

Alright, first picture, so in my Dark Mode team I have both Cherry Blossom and Dark Choco, not to mention they were originally part of one of my early teams, and I thought to myself that they could probably get along. Mainly, I was thinking that people tend to make Dark Choco like, the Babysitter of kid Cookies, and I was thinking that Cherry Blossom feels like she’d be an actual babysitter, so that’s sort of where their dynamic comes from. As shown here, Cherry Blossom just likes being friendly with Dark Choco, and while he’s a little put off at first, he eventually comes around and they become friends who enjoy tea together. Also, they have some sort of babysitters club going on, considering that they’re the main two people call. Caramel Arrow has also wanted to join the club, but ever since “the incident”, she’s been banned from babysitting

Also I don’t ship these two, I just think they’d be friends

Next, so because I was doing both Crunchy Dreams and Might of the Ancients events, I tended to have Milky Way and Dark Cacao both on my team, so I just decided that they’re friends now. I unfortunately don’t know anything about Milky Way’s character other than what I’ve seen just from her gameplay, so I don’t know how accurate this is, but I just like to think Dark Cacao’s just like “this is mine now” and now it’s his new kid. Milky Way just goes with it

I feel like Milky Way looks weird, but I didn’t know how to draw her. It’s mostly the eyes

Then I wanted to draw Pink Choco and White Choco, because personally, I feel like if any of the Chocos were to be related, it would be these two, given how similar they look. So I say they’re sisters. Not sure which one’s older though. I mean appearance wise, White Choco looks older, but honestly I’m kind of leaning towards the idea of Pink Choco being older

I also tried designing Pink Choco without her helmet, but I’m not sure about how it looks. I mean yeah it wouldn’t be in her face since we don’t see it in her helmet, but I’m still not sure about it

Anyways, so the final thing here is me trying to come up with a design for the Strawberry Jam Sword’s possessed armor. I know it doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the drawings but I wanted to draw it here, okay? Mostly I just blended design elements from the Sovereign of Darkness and the armor we see in the Black Citadel, along with the cursed weapons. When it takes Dark Choco’s body, it changes more into the Sovereign of Darkness

Anyways yeah. To be honest I’m kind of rushing this because I don’t remember how long I’ve been sitting here and I need to go get dinner before it closes. Hope you enjoy!

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run ovenbreak #dark choco cookie #cherry blossom cookie #dark cacao cookie #milky way cookie #pink choco cookie #white choco cookie #strawberry jam sword #sovereign of darkness #oh yeah I didn’t draw the sword mostly because I didn’t feel like it #it’s somewhere though #I don’t remember what else I wanted to say #I haven’t had much to say recently #my art

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pinkomcranger · 2 months

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I saw your post about Saga and I 100% agree. I love her character so much and was so happy they avoided stereotypes AND gave her agency. She wasn't there just to save Alan (the horrid magical black person troupe was avoided) she was there for people who meant something to her and they just so happen to work together by the end. Remedy truly wrote a fascinating character and got a great actress to portray her. I'm glad the hate died out from the reactionaries but the apathy from the fandom is just as bad sometimes. I love her personality and I honestly love AnderCase as a ship and incorporating Saga into ships (AndercasexWake is a thing for me lol). I also like them as friends, their dynamic is so damn good I want to see them in future games. However, I gave up writing Andercase because people just ignore it most of the time. The fandom in general kind of feels isolating if you don't like the standard ships/characters. It's discouraging and sad and makes it hard to want to post. I tried again and of course the fic did poorly so I don't bother, reminds me how little people want anything to do with Saga. Even general fics would be awesome if people are squicked by het or don't like Saga and Casey as a ship. The fan space for her and ships/dynamics with her is so small...Drawing her is scary too given someone was attacked over it, so that worries me too and I kind of backed away. There's barely anything of Saga in any fanworks and when women are involved they gravitate to Rose and in some cases Estevez (the Yakuza mod just broke my heart they did not think to add Saga before Rose who has less time and at a point people shipped Casey with Estevex BEFORE Saga like WHAT). I know that struggle you're feeling. Saga and anything with her is a footnote and I know it's not malicious but it sucks. Fandom favoritism does not help, even in the smallness of Saga fandom content only a handful are seen and the rest ignored. I've been there and seen it, it pushes newcomers away. I hope this gets better in the future but not holding my breath. Love Remedyverse/Remedy but the fandom space depresses me which sucks because everyone seems nice to me, just...sorry for the rambling. Just saw a post that resonated with my frustrations.

Do you know the thing that gets me the most about Saga? She was created by a white man. And he, along with the other writers, made SURE to avoid the stereotypes we usually get in black women protags, especially in video games. She has a power, yes, but she's not using it solely to save one person. She doesn't even know she HAS a power until halfway through the game!

She wants to save her daughter first and foremost and then Casey, she tells Alan this point-blank, save my daughter and Casey, non-negotiable, she's NOT helping him otherwise. And you can see that as selfish, but it's not, if it had JUST been herself thrown into the story? She would've been FINE with it, you see her getting more and more excited about the case. She's intrigued EVERY step of the way. It only becomes personal when Alan has the audacity to use Logan and Casey, that's her line in the sand.

Melanie puts so much into making Saga come alive, because as amazing as the writing is, she could've still fallen into the sassy black woman trope, and Melanie doesn't let that happen. I think the ONLY criticism you can give her is that her accent slips, but I really never noticed it. I agree that I'm glad the hate from the dumbass gamer bros, but like you said, the apathy can be just as bad, it's a choice to not say the quiet part outloud.

I genuinely wish they'd just say, she's a black woman, therefore, I'm not interested in her. I only care about the white men. At least be HONEST about it, instead of raving about how fun it was to play as Saga and she's so badass but not backing it up with actions.

I love Andercase with every fiber of my being. I loved them from their first scene, despite knowing she was married to somebody else. Casey is Saga's support, you see her loving to crack her puns to Casey, she even thinks of one and saves it to memory solely to tell it to Casey. Not Logan, not David, but Casey.

They mirror each other, again from their first scene, drinking coffee at the same time. A trait they keep, even as the horror story creeps closer. Casey wouldn't be even a little bit interesting to me if he wasn't paired with Saga. He's the moon and she's the sun.

I'm so sorry you were discouraged to write and post about Andercase, even just as besties. Because their dynamic IS gold, and it echoes even when they're separated. The second Kiran shows up and kicks Saga off the case, she gets over it, fine, she'll deal, but help her find her partner, damnit! I've enjoyed fics where they are just besties, the ones that ACTUALLY focus on them and, you know, doesn't make Saga the driving force for CaseyWake and nothing else.

I think that's one of the reasons it's hard for me to ship Saga and FBI Casey with anyone else, because they're each other's closest interactions for so much of the game. It's hard for me to ship Alan with them because I see him and Saga as the true platonic soulmates of the AW2 cast and Casey HATES Alan. All the way up the ending of the final draft. You can see it in his expression and body language, if he hadn't just been through the wringer and so happy to see Saga, he definitely would've punched Alan for all he shit he's put them through.

Writing a pairing you love, feeling so proud and happy about the work you've done, just to see it brushed aside is one of the most painful feelings as a creator. Fandom is supposed to be for EVERYONE, it's not supposed to be high school cliques that can't interact with each other. I don't ship Alan with Saga's Casey (it's just the only way I see him, heh), but I've seen some AMAZING fan art for them that's made me smile. But you rarely see Saga involved, which makes no sense in regards to her Casey. If it was fictional Casey, that would make sense, he doesn't exist outside of Alan's head, while Saga's Casey is a living, breathing person who spends most of his time with Saga or talking about her.

Yet she's relegated to the bro when her Casey and Alan only have her in common. I can't buy Casey being soft and domestic with Alan to save my life. I see it with Saga, I can see Saga being soft with Alan because she does show that side to him. That's who she is, if you've earned her trust and respect. You can tell Saga is always the "good cop" while Casey is the "bad cop." The only time you see him sympathetic towards Alan is when he first washes up to shore. He's mocking him but holding his tongue because Saga's not going to take that nonsense from him.

You only see Casey show the full force of his anger towards Alan when Saga isn't there to stop him. To say "Yes, THAT'S the actual love story here" is a...choice, one that actively ignores the on-screen narrative. Again, fictional Casey and Alan are a completely different topic and not something I care enough to write about.

NOBODY should be attacked for liking a pairing because what does that do? What does it accomplish except make yourself feel better and superior? Again, it's been a choice to ignore the two main women in the series, which are Alice and Saga. But I've seen quite a few fics where Alice gets to be paired with CaseyWake, while you'll be hard-pressed to find a fic where Saga gets to interact with them. That tells me something that makes me uncomfortable. And that's covert racism.

You can't even make the excuse that there's nothing left to learn about Saga, because that's simply untrue. We know the bare minimum about her family on the Anderson side, and absolutely nothing concerning her father (who is Warlin Door and I will die on that hill). We don't know much about her created family, certainly nothing about David, outside of the fact he likes Bright Springs, and boardgames and doesn't take his daughter to get checked out after she hits her head in the shower. The fact her entire identity ISN'T just Logan's mother and David's wife means so much to me.

You can't tell me it's because she's married either, because how can you say that in one breath and then ship Alan with anyone but Alice in the same breath? It genuinely leads me to think it's simply that she's a BLACK woman. And as you said, seeing people create ships for Rose and to pair Estevez with CASEY, when she's an out-and-out lesbian that Casey only meets near the end of the game speaks volumes.

I genuinely think if you swapped her race, she would be less ignored, and that's extremely fucked up. Saga was created with so much love, care, and respect. A black woman protag that we could get behind and feel represented by. A smart, strong, caring badass, who still retains her femininity, but who has an identity outside of "mother" even though saving her daughter is her driving force, it's not her only one. She cares about her newly found grandfather and great-uncle. She cares about Rose, despite the woman irritating her in the beginning. She worries for the residents of the nursing home. She has mixed feelings towards the CULT. And of course, her secondary concern is Casey. And once she sees how hard Alan is trying, she comes to care for him as well. Why else tell him he's a hero when she has every right to hate him more than anyone else in the game?

She cares about these people she's met, and she knows they deserve to be saved. And Alan is the first to admit he can't do ANY of it without Saga. If the main character of the series acknowledged Saga, why can't the fandom?

I truly hope that you can find the courage to try again with Andercase, or just Saga in general. Because I'm seeing that there are people that love her, and maybe they're not content creators but consumers, and that's now one of my motivations. To feed their hunger because they're part of the fandom too, and they shouldn't be ignored. I promise you, you'll have a fan in me. And sometimes, just one person knowing they love what you create and how they look forward to it is enough. I'm not interested in a popularity contest. You'll never see me in ship wars. I'm here for FBI Special Agent Saga Anderson. This is her story too, to make her the footnote in fanworks is terribly egregious and goes against the very thing Remedy wanted.

If you ever want to ramble, my inbox is always open. If you ever have ideas you want to see in regards to fanfic for Andercase or Saga, I'm right here. Thank you so much for giving me a chance to read about your feelings for Saga and her partner. It means the world to me.

#alan wake 2 #saga anderson #alex casey #alan wake #saga anderson x alex casey #andercase #sagacasey #alan wake 2 spoilers #my thoughts #meta #strong black woman #covert racism #ignoring an amazing black woman protag is a crime #sam lake and the remedy team worked too hard on Saga for her to be erased #the men in this series wouldn't be able to do a damn thing without the women #and Saga proves that time and again #anti CaseyWake #not actually anti but using the tag just in case

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knowlesian · 2 years

Text

god i love the thematic weight carried by stede’s plant

because there are two things that are true here:

- under stede’s care and on his ship, that plant thrived. it was in better condition when we see it in e9 as evidence of stede’s Very Real Pirate status

- he stole that plant from poor fishermen and not some rich(er) fuck, which is punching down and admittedly sketchy when you think about it for long

even better: the first being true does not negate the second, and the second being true does not negate the first.

with the first lens, the plant is sort of a metaphor for how stede’s ship is a place that allows the crew to become themselves and be a crew (a family, even) versus a loose assemblage of people, technically sharing a common cause but more often finding themselves at cross purposes and working their own angles.

with the second, it reminds us that stede only bought that ship and provided that space by abandoning his family without warning and selling off some of the stolen land mary brought into the marriage. not to mention, that stede was only viable husband material because he brought his family’s equally ill-gotten cash along with him.

(they’re both white and upper class, but she’s got the land and he’s got the possibly new money; a capitalist love story as old as capitalism itself. gotta keep ‘em separated while you keep the money where it’s already fucking at, etc.)

stede’s s1 journey is complicated; in order to appreciate him as a whole person, we have to acknowledge that the reason stede was born into money and wields social power as a matter of course— even while he is also marginalized and traumatized by that very same society— is a legacy of horrors so comprehensive they run the gamut from a to z on every horrible thing one human being can do to another.

it’s not stede’s fault; it is his reality. and that’s part of why i’m so fucking excited for s2. because the plant is definitely a good representation of his s1 arc of moving from believing the shadows on the wall are real and not just flickering representations, but he's only just woken up to the real world and is ready to find his place in it. he’s rejected the money and the status, faked his own death in a way that implies he won’t be going back to his old self ever again, and now he can figure himself out on his own terms, not society’s.

which means the plant is a symbol of growth, but also of privilege and stede’s own blindness to how that privilege changes the world he experiences and in some ways, makes it easier to move through than the world the people around him are also experiencing at the very same time.

(as a canon example of how that works, just because i was discussing it recently and it’s top of mind: that french captain could have said plenty of things to remind stede he is not a man in the way the world wants him to be. he could have insulted stede, made him feel shitty or like less of a proper man; he could not call upon a history and experience of the world that means a lot of people think stede is closer to being an animal than he is, simply because of the color of his skin.

real world example to help explain the canon example, since i know this isn’t always instinctive: here in the united states we had two presidents, one after another, that people liked to draw in political cartoons as monkeys. the first was george w bush, who is a white man with big ears; the second was obviously obama. and no matter intent, or what anybody said about why they decided to present a black man as a monkey or the size of obama’s own ears, that use of imagery called upon a long and ugly history of racism in a way that could never be used against dubya. even a lack of intent or having no personal knowledge of the particulars can't defeat that history.)

so anyway, s1 stede is the plant: growing stronger, healthier, but in circumstances that become complicated and hard to ignore when you consider how and why they came about.

s2 stede, i’m assuming, is taking cues from the orange (as it is his favorite thing, now) because the orange was a gift freely given, obtained because all the things great and not so great that combine to make stede the complicated, lovely but also sometimes Just... So Much person that he is meant that jim got their family back and the reassurance of knowing that nana sees and accepts them for who they are/was more upset about how many bodies were not dropped than pronouns changed.

he’s gonna do so many gay crimes and learn who he is and reunite with ed so that ed can learn who he is in tandem, because that’s love. even when someone's A Lot, they’re family, and you give them the room to grow alongside you already assuming they might need it.

#stede bonnet you fascinate me i can't wait to see you grow #man is gonna be UNHINGED in the best way #i want to see a stede bonnet secure in his general desires in life applying that breakneck BUT WHAT IF DIFFERENT???#to everything!!!! EVERYTHING #i was doing something else now back to that this just sort of wouldn't stop yelling in my brain

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blazingstar29 · 1 year

Text

lovers in arms

pairing: icemav

wordcount: 1231

warnings: none really, just angst

As the years wearied their bodies but not their hearts, Pete and Tom grew apart and together like undulating serpentines. Never straying far enough or long enough to hurt, but whether orders or their own hot heads, sometimes they stood on opposing sides. But things suddenly escalate when Tom receives Commander. Very quickly he finds himself Pete’s senior officer and changes occur neither of them expect.

Before they flew wing by wing, an unstoppable force together. Pete’s penchant for daring maneuvers, to push the envelope and Tom’s unwavering patience and ability to sit steady not only made them unorthodox together, but in the face of enemy aircraft were undefeated. Things have changed now.

The rosy coloured glasses Tom has worn for so long are forcibly replaced by that of a commanding officer. Not that he hasn’t worn them before. Way back at Top Gun he assessed Pete very quickly and dismissed any longevity in the Navy. But he was proven wrong and fell in love in the process. Now he has to look at Pete as an officer, black and white, cold. What he sees scares him.

He risks losing Pete to himself, to a far off sea. He risks losing Pete from the Navy. Nepotism isn’t a trait he can afford to show and Pete would cut off his left hand before receiving it. Yet does that make him responsible for taking the appropriate action when Pete does cross the line? Does he risk Pete’s dismissal?

The inquiry is unpleasant and the only reason Tom sleeps at night is because he didn’t report it. Another officer heard the transmission before Tom.

“Ghost Rider return to the ship.”

“Bogey has not bugged. Holding position.”

The blatant refusal to land had Pete, Tom and two other officers in the first chopper back to the Naval base in Lemoore for the inquiry. Not a word is spoken between the officers and the disgraced Lieutenant. For the rest of his life, Tom remembers this as his first real test of diplomacy. He defends Pete’s judgment and attacks him equally.

“Gentlemen, I believe I see a different world than you do and if I may be so honest, what I see frightens me. Our enemy is more than a flag, a country. It is an ideology that is carried by the men who pilot the aircraft Lieutenant Mitchell encountered.”

He draws on the patriotism of the men before him. Lieutenant Mitchell, an unorthodox patriot.

“I ask you, do you feel safe leaving unsupervised enemy aircraft in our airspace?”

“There were initial plans to bomb the MiG, Commander. Were you aware?”

“Not at the time,” he says simply. “I wasn’t in the control room.”

“Lieutenant Mitchell could have become collateral damage if the strike had been commenced and he loitered in the airspace. For once it seems he was risking his own life,” a Rear Admiral says. Tom understands his point more than anyone. Pete could have died. But they cannot know how much that affects him. “The fact is he disobeyed a direct order in a multi-million dollar aircraft. And not for the first time.”

“Lieutenant Mitchell’s prior refusal to land saved the lives of two men and saved another multi-million dollar plane.” He takes a breath, stilling himself for the blow. He’s glad Pete is standing just behind his peripheral. If he could see him, he wouldn’t be able to say the words in his mouth. “The Navy needs a few good men. It also needs sacrifices. Men who are prepared to take risks that better men won’t, they are at our disposal to be used. Mitchell is one of them.”

The room falls silent and Tom is indicated to be seated. He knows he has won Pete’s career, at what cost he does not know.

–

It’s a few days before Pete is flight status reinstated and Tom volunteers to stay down in Lemoore to catch up on a few things before returning to the carrier at the end of the week. It means they are back in base housing, but it’s luxurious in comparison to the boat.

Late that night after the inquiry, there’s a sharp knocking on the door.

“It’s open,” he calls from the small desk. The door opens and Pete steps inside, back as straight as a board, to attention.

“Pete-”

“It’s Lieutenant, sir.”

No, not this.

He pinches the bridge of his nose for a second. “Don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what? Don’t do what better men would?”

Tom gets to his feet, heart aching already. “I said what I said for a reason and you know it.”

Pete’s eyes bore into his, flashing and angry. Hurt. He sets his jaw, nose flaring as he suffocates the outburst inside of him threatening to spill over and drown everything between them. After a few moments of steadying himself, he opens his mouth as if to speak. But the words don’t come out. He stands frozen, face morphing from anger to pain.

In the end he can’t even look Tom in the eye. He can’t bear to look in the face of the man he loves and hear the truth. Shoulders lowering in defeat, his gaze falls to the floor,

“Do you really think so little of me?”

A pin drives right through Tom’s heart and threatens to strike him down. It leaves him numb and tingly all over.

“Mav, I think the world of you.”

A sniff breaks the eerie quiet. “How can you, when Ikeep screwing up?”

Finally Tom crosses the ocean between them and takes Pete’s elbows in hand.

“I love you not despite but regardless. I just never realized what I’d have to do to protect you. How in order to protect you I have to hurt you.”

“I’m making your job harder,” Pete whispers. He looks anywhere but Tom until he cups the anxious pilot's faces and guides his gaze back to him. “I’ve asked for the paperwork for a transfer.”

“Pete…why?”

He swallows, throat bobbing. “Because I can’t stop being me, no matter how much I try. I just keep screwing up and doing shit I know I shouldn’t. And you’ll protect me but you’ll get hurt. Accused of nepotism or you won’t reprimand me the way another officer would.”

He lifts his own hand to cup Tom’s face.

“I push boundaries. I don’t want to push you.”

Tom doesn’t want to see the reason, he doesn’t want to even consider the idea. But…maybe Pete is right. They can’t be colleagues and lovers at the same time, not in the Navy. This decision will take them away from each other for months at a time.

He knows he has won Pete’s career, at what cost he does not know.

The cost is setting him free, loose on the world. Maybe the reward is the rest of their lives in love with one another. If being apart means they stay together, it’s a risk he will have to take.

“Okay.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I love you.” Tom’s voice is hoarse as he says it. “If you feel this is the best thing for us, I trust you.’

“I love you, Tom. You’re my wingman, no matter where we are or how senior you rank.”

Tom strokes Pete’s hair back off his face. “If you ever need help, I will be there for you. Always.”

#top gun 1986 #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #icemav #maverick x iceman #angst #top gun fic #fanfic #cross posted on ao3 #hurt/comfort

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reginaxxmarie · 1 year

Text

Intro to 1st Sgt. Naomi “Velvet” Quinn

(these came from pinterest bc i can’t draw for shit but i tried to find art that best captured how i envision her)

Velvet is 26 years old, she joined the army at 17 after graduating high school at 16. she is mixed race, her mother is white and her father is black.

5’1, she is petite but not thin. i picture her to be more toned but curvy. she was athletic as a teenager because she rode horses but definitely had to be in better shape when joining the military. she has stretch marks but she’s not self-conscious about them, she views them as a testament to her commitment, as she does with her scars.

grew up rural Louisiana in a very small town, has a pronounced but smooth southern accent as most people in the central area do.

her position in the military is sergeant 1st class and weapons specialist in the special forces detachment A. it took her 7 years to earn the 1st sergeant title as it is a time served position. she joined the 75th ranger regiment special forces and trained additionally for the occupation of weapons specialist. this means she knows how to maintain as well as operate all different kinds of weaponry, even foreign ones. this job also required her to be a skilled diver, parachutist, and endurance runner. (home girl got stamina FOR DAYS) this made her very desirable for the 141.

as far as combat, she’s skilled in mma but specializes in brazilian jiu-jitsu. she prefers long-distance weapons but because of her skill set, she’s good with any weapon you put in her hands. has a fixation with knives, she carries two pearl handled throwing knives that she affectionately named thelma and louise and they are her children. touch her knives and expect to not have hands.

owns a doberman named Loki that her sweet older neighbor looks after while she’s away. after a particularly awful mission, feeling safe in her own home proved difficult so she adopted Loki to keep her company and he does just that. after being recruited by Price for the 141, she relocated to the uk so Loki would be closer to her.

she has no piercings but has a large dragon on her sternum, a sleeve on her right arm, and “Sua Sponte” (of their own accord), the ranger motto, between her shoulder blades.

looks like a cinnamon roll but will kill you with her bare hands. she is an omnivert by nature. once she’s comfortable with you and sure she can trust you, she’s quite open. but if she senses something is off, she shuts down.

i ship her with ghost. she is the sun that he orbits around. upon arrival, she had a flirtationship with gaz but it ended as quickly as it started when they realized they were better off as friends.

soap is most def her bestie in the group. those two gossip like old women. together, it’s always crackhead energy and shenanigans. once they tried to sneak into ghost’s room to steal his mask and paint it but just as she grabbed it, ghost shot up out of bed, knife swinging. in a panic, she pushed soap towards him and sprinted to the door. unfortunately she never made it to said door because ghost picked up his heavy ass boot and yeeted it at her head.

she fits in well with the 141. the boys are extremely protective of their little velvet, despite her being perfectly capable of defending herself. they love to play with her hair because how is it so SOFT?! and they are positively enamored by her hair care routine when she explains to everyone but gaz that because she has mixed hair, it takes quite a bit of maintenance.

as she is in the gen z realm, she has a tendency to say some pretty outta pocket shit that has pepaw price REELING. some days he’s not sure if she needs a grippy sock vacation or a smack to the forehead. basically she’s a feral gremlin most of the time.

on the battlefield she’s much like könig in the sense she’s absolutely A MENACE. once the adrenaline gets flowing, she’s unhinged but never in a way that puts her team in harm’s way. she becomes a machine, built for the mission. if you asked price, he’d describe her as a thoroughbred in the starting gate, vibrating with energy. she’s deadly and she knows it. her first mission with the 141, she took down a man twice her size and crushed his windpipe with her boot. ghost would never admit it but watching her completely annihilate a man who was every bit as big as him, had him feeling like a horny teenager. mans was ready to risk it all.

very much into hard rock. she’s quite y’allternative but she appreciates all types of music. she likes everything except for what she doesn’t like.

i do so hope you enjoyed this snippet of Velvet and i fully intend to write a fic with her and post more facts if that interests any of you. 💕🤘🏼

#cod mwii #simon ghost riley #mwf2 #oc stuff #simon riley #simon riley x oc #simon riley x reader

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mercyillustrator · 1 year

Text

First time making Fanfic Head-cannon of my GSA version post but I will be doing Fanfic, Comic and Drawings of GSA cause of GSA BRAINROT IS TAKING OVER LOL. (Not Art Related but soon)

As well for the humans I wanna to do like Kirby characters plus GSA Knights as representation cause why not and also sharing my head-canon as well you are more and welcome to ask me anything you want ^w^

Sir Arthur

Leader of GSA also a puffball

He grew up to becomes a star warrior after his father was killed then has a single mother with him til his mother was taken away from NME that killed him

Nicknames: Arty, Mom or Mother ( as a joke), Art-Art, Shining Armor, Leader of GSA, Sir Arthur, Arthur, Goldy, Grumpy Pants and Grumpy

Has been a Star Warrior since when he was a teenager ever since his dad was a former GSA leader before he died when Kit Cosmos found Arthur was all alone at his parents grave and took him in and train him and how to become a warrior cause Kit Cosmos and his Father was good friends and very close

He has a sister but she is somewhere but doesn’t know where or what happened to her

Way before Kirby he trains his fellow warriors to fight monsters

Gets mad when it comes to pranks and makes fun of the GSA

British

Sir (Lady) Nonsurat

She has unsupportive and emotional abusive parents that wanted a boy instead of a girl

Pervious job: Cafe as a cashier before female puffballs was in danger

Disguises herself as a male when NME turns female puffballs into monsters to make other puffballs while female puffballs are in danger and was captured and was put into a cell.

Hidden voice changer as male (only mask)

Shy,sweet and sensitive puffball

Animal lover

Only shows her true self only to her closest friends

Close Friends with Garlude before Garlude was dead

Nicknames: Nonny,Nonsu,Lancelot, Non, Axe Man, Shy Guy ( Shy Gal), Softie, Soft gal ( soft boy)

Soft and Soothing voice

White but like mixture like White and Pakistan? ( human version)

Sir Dragato

Mechanical knight

Mechanic,Tech and Electronic

Nicknames: Drago, Draggy, Drag, Grape Knight, Gala, Galahad and Ponytail Boy

Serious tone of voice

Light brown skin ( human version

Sir Falspar

Nickname: Flasy,Dum Dum, Mohawk, Dude, Bro, Sassy Queen, z

Clown Soldier and Funny Soldier

How he becomes part of the GSA Warrior where he graduated from high school

Very Bootiful personality and very slay boi

German

Sir Meta knight

Hispanic like Spanish

CAN’T COOK

Becomes a GSA since teen or like young adult

Met Arthur same age?

He loves Spanish music and his ship and galaxia lol

Vampire cause of his wings

Trainer for Kirby

Nicknames: Blueberry, Metal head face, meta head, blueberry that can’t cook, Star Warrior, vampire warrior, and Cutie

How did GSA Knights join?

Arthur: cause of his dad was in the GSA

Nonsurat:found the poster and she sign it before she met GSA knights she has like a black cape hoodie so she gets her armor, mask, white suit and such cause of NME turns female puffballs into monsters and having female puffballs in danger by keeping them in the cell :0

Falspar: Found a poster as well after graduating from High School

Dragato joins because he wants to protect his family

Meta Knight I think He was trained to be like one of the knights?

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gudvina · 3 months

Text

The things I do to keep you near.

Ship: Effie Trinket/Haymitch Abernathy

Fandom: Hunger Games

Chapter 4: Keeping with the vows.

Can also be read on AO3! <3

74th Hunger Games, part two.

Cinna and Portia turned out to be better than he’d expected. Unlike Tulsia and Tallia, the purple-haired twins who couldn’t stop finishing each other’s sentences, the new stylists were thoughtful and quite reserved too. They didn’t treat the children with the condescending or demeaning tones he was used to, and they were friendly enough. The pair seemed to be in cahoots with Effie, especially the girl.

And he didn’t know much about fashion but, for the first time in his 24 years of Games experience, Haymitch had to say he was impressed. The parade’s outfit, with its flames, had been simple but effective. Everybody in the buzzing city was talking about it, and just as he’d suspected all eyes were on Katniss. The girl on fire.

For the first time in two decades, District Twelve was making headlines. While he was glad to work with something, that also meant he didn’t get to see Effie for a whole day sometimes. She was always on top of everything, always making sure they were on time, that everything was as it had to be.

She was blooming, finally able to implement all she’d learned under Gloria Shimmers’ wing. She spent hours at the Sponsors’ lounge and, if he’d thought her scheduling couldn’t get any crazier, she proved him wrong. His mood was sour, and he did everything in his power to let her know. She didn’t seem to give him much thought. Yes, she answered to his provocations in kind, but otherwise, she was completely taken by her duties.

Who would have thought he’d become jealous of his wife’s job?

During the dinner, he’d tried his best to be less obscene, more for her sake than his own. The stylists’ idea of making the children a unit was rebellious but quite original, and Effie was happy with the designs suggested by both.

“Oh, the tunic looks amazing, Cinna. I so love the details added by Portia!” she complimented, studying the pictures.

“Yeah, they don’t look half bad”.

“Half bad? Haymitch, you truly need to learn how to pay compliments. These tunics look amazing!”

“That’s what I said” he smirked.

“Not at all! Oh, Portia, you will excuse him”.

“Don’t worry, Effie, we will take it as a compliment. After all, one doesn’t get to hear it often from the Haymitch Abernathy!” Portia smiled and squeezed Effie’s hand reassuringly. Despite Effie’s effusion, she was calmed by the stylists’ words and smiled.

“No, I guess one doesn’t. Anyway, I couldn’t help overhearing, when I came for dinner, that Peeta’s suit is all ready. Can I see it?”

He saw Portia draw from her bag a sketchbook and, with a small smile, hand it to Effie. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought she’d fallen in love with the drawing. Sneaking a peek he saw a black suit with flames accents that were detailed and intricately woven betwixt each small fire.

“It’s so beautiful, it fits the theme and looks delicate. I approve of it, darling, he’ll look so handsome” she beamed, not quite taking her eyes off the sketch. Her finger traced Portia’s lines delicately, and for a moment she looked so lost in thought a weird silence was cast on the dining room. The stylists didn’t seem to mind, but he was uncomfortable.

She snapped out of it, and soon everything was back to normal. She reverted to her usual bubbly safe, leading the rest of the conversation with true expertise. When it was time to retire, he made a show of going to his room but, when the coast was clear, he made his way to hers, where he knew she was waiting for him.

When he was inside and the door was locked behind him, he found her sitting on the white vanity, still dressed, her wig still in place, writing in her notebook. Probably perfecting the schedule.

“You’ll burn that poor pen” he mocked, looking at the pen she was holding. It was a pink fine thing, with a pom-pom at its end. She waved him off but didn’t look up, too focused on whatever she was writing. He decided to wait for her, sitting on her bed.

He was fond of her room. It was filled with dramatic, ridiculous dresses, with makeup of colours with obscene shades- cheeky- and of pink useless things, but they’d spent many of their nights there and it gradually grew on him. His room was also an alternative, but he preferred hers. It was stupid how much he learned about her there.

“So… why are you so interested in Peeta?” it was an innocent question, but it really wasn’t. Her back stiffened, her hand stopped writing and she turned towards him, looking at him as if he’d just asked if her wig was her real hair.

“Didn’t we agree that District Twelve was going to have a winner?”

His jaw dropped, and he was afraid he was looking at her like she was crazy. She’d been paying attention to both Katniss and Peeta equally, and he didn’t notice any preference on her part, but now he could see it. The way she always asked after the boy, the way she paid him compliments. She did those things with both, admittedly, but she seemed much more interested in him than any of them.

Not that he didn’t care, but the focus was on the girl. She was the one attracting the most sponsors.

“Yes, yes, we agreed on it. I thought we also agreed it was the girl” he winced, knowing what that would do. She was getting attached to both. She shouldn’t have, but she was.

“I agreed on nothing, I think they both have a chance to survive” she cut him off, looking at him with disgust. The irony of it wasn’t missed on him.

“Maybe, we’ll have to see the private sessions’ scores, but… everyone is asking of her, you said yourself”.

“There were also tons of sponsors for Peeta”.

“Not as much”.

It was a hard truth, but one she was going to have to swallow. It was either her or him, and if he knew how the Capitol worked, Katniss seemed the one who was going to stick longer. Effie’s brows furrowed for a moment, but she schooled her expression into a more detached one.

“What strategies are you working with?”

“No strategies until I see the scores, sweetheart.”

“Alright, let’s wait for the scores” she let go and closed her notebook, starting to take off her sunrise-coloured wig and wipe her makeup. Her rituals fascinated him like few things ever did. Seeing her turn from her Capitol self to her human self was striking, and the first time he’d seen her, a glimpse of her true self, he’d been so struck that he’d run away.

It had been two years into their affair. Her wig had fallen off during a particularly rough tumble in the sheet, and he’d lashed out at her, hit by the loss of her mask. It was easier to fuck her when she looked Capitol, he could tell himself what they did didn’t matter. Didn’t affect him. But seeing her like that tugged at his heart in a way he hadn’t felt in years, and it terrified him.

The next days she treated him with officiousness, her room was closed to him, and he didn’t tell her more than a few words unless needed. But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t stop thinking about what was underneath. What did her hair look like? He knew how to make her scream in the bedroom, but he had no idea what her skin colour was. It bothered him, and he didn’t like the reason, but after another few days of agony he’d broken into her room, demanding to see her.

She hadn’t been thrilled. Apparently, for Capitols it was taboo to see each other without makeup and wigs. It was extremely personal, and many didn’t even get to see their spouses au naturel. Effie herself never saw her parents without the Capitol attire. After the way he’d treated her, she didn’t see why he deserved to. It took much grovelling on his part, but ultimately she relented. Of course, that night he rewarded her accordingly.

When she was bare of all pretences and free from her dress, she put on a nightgown and joined him in bed. He laid with her undercovers, as she buried her face in his chest. Her hair tickled his nose and its smell hit him hard. He wondered why she always smelled of peaches. Did she even eat them?

As he stroked her hair another thought hit him.

“Did he ever see you?”

“Who?” she asked, already half asleep.

“Crane. Has he ever seen you without a wig?”

“No, when our fathers started partnering I was already expected to wear a wig. He did see me without makeup, though. Ladies are expected to wear makeup at 15”.

“How old were you when you wore your first wig?”

“Eleven, it was a simple one, closer to my natural hair. It’s traditional for the father to buy it and the mother to style it, so my parents did just that” she explained, her soft voice laced with sleep.

“Did you have a party and shit?”

The Trinkets were known in the Capitol for their extravagant parties. Aurelius Trinket was in the Hosting business, any event with a tiny shred of relevancy was hosted by his company, and it showed in his daughter. If wearing the first wig was so important in the Capitol, he imagined her family would make a great fuss about it.

“Of course, one doesn’t just show up in polite society with the first wig. You need to be introduced!”

He smirked, seeing her so worked up about things that were obvious only to her.

“And when is it that one gets to see someone without their wig?”

“Never, ideally. Some people are more on the liberal side, so they’ll cover their hair with a bonnet when married”.

“So we are breaking the rules?”

She looked up at him and flashed a grin so bright, he swore he went blind for a second. She was beautiful. Utterly beautiful, humanly beautiful, and he wondered how anyone could ever see her and deem her unfit to be seen.

“When is it we don’t?”

The sponsors were on a break, hanging out by the buffet. Effie was grateful for the brief pause. Four hours of talking nonstop with sponsors, trying to keep her air affable, left her overwhelmed. This year ten times the others. Everyone asked for her tributes, everyone was interested in knowing Twelve’s set, and she weaved stories with what she had.

“Well, well, Euphemia, Gloria Shimmers might finally see her last protegee win this year” smirked Gratiana, approaching her with a drink in her hand. Green hair, a birch tree looking dress. She was followed by Laurentina and Marcia. They were respectively District 7, District 8, and District 3’s escorts. They were all friends, but rivalry was a common thing between escorts, and this year she was going to be the main target.

“About time, I’d say. Corinthia has had quite a few wins these past years. District One needs a bit of rest, don’t you think?”.

“You know she’s greedy, hun. It’s in her nature”.

“Wow, darling, your tributes are good. Even I was taken aback at the parade!” Marcia was gleeful, and it put a smile on her face. She was wearing an orange wig and a grey dress.

“They are amazing, and so are the stylists. It was Cinna’s idea, the fire, and Portia added the capes”.

“I loved it, and oh, Katniss is an idol!” quipped Laurentina, trying to frizz her blonde wig.

“She is, but Peeta is too” Gratiana continued, and she felt relieved knowing people didn’t just bypass the boy. She couldn’t understand for the life of her why everyone only flocked around the girl.

“Who knows, Effie, maybe this year you’ll get rid of the drunkard”.

All the relief she’d felt was now rushing out of her, and if she kept the smile on her face, it was only because of the location they were in. It wouldn’t do to look displeased in the Sponsors’ lounge. But she hated when people talked about Haymitch that way, as if he was his alcoholism and nothing more.

“His name is Haymitch, as you may be aware, and he will have to stay for the mentor training. He might still want to come after that, he’s been a great mentor this year” it wasn’t much, or even the exact truth, but nobody touched her Victor. He had a problem, yes, but it wasn’t anybody’s business.

“As always that man’s keeper, aren’t you? Gloria taught you well” Gratiana took a sip of her drink, chuckling lightly. She knew what they were referring to: the budding relationship between Jasper Arbore and Gloria.

She’d met Gloria the year she applied to become an escort, and she’d been one of the few selected. Gloria was everything an escort ought to be. The right word for it was captivating. Her signature was her black wig styled into braids that took on odd shapes, and the almond-shaped eyes that looked at you under sparkling lashes. In person, she looked even more stunning.

She’d been a great mentor, much kinder than Iuno and less stern than Pulchra. She was a friend, not just a teacher, and almost all the skills she didn’t already have were acquired through Gloria.

She still remembered the day Jasper Arbore died. She’d called her as soon as the news broke out, and the sound of her sobs on the speaker was enough to make her stomach churn. She’d gifted her tributes a seed to plant in his honour, an apricot tree that Chaff talked about from time to time, and, without fail, made her shiver at the sole mention. Gloria, on her part, had nothing left of him but her memories.

Nobody but her knew the truth of their relationship. Everyone else guessed.

“Yes she did, and Iuno taught you well, I’m sure” she wrinkled her nose and turned distractedly on Four’s stand direction.

Finnick was lounging on a sofa, and when their eyes met he smiled and, with the wave of a hand, called her to him. Finnick was a much more welcome company than the girls, after their jabs at Haymitch. She took their leave with quick goodbyes and walked up closer to Four’s stand.

“What were those three talking about? You looked bothered” he smiled, taking her hand and leading her to sit by his side. Always the gentleman.

“Well, Finnick, one shouldn’t ask about private conversations. You’re excused though, because I am quite fond of you”.

When Finnick won his games she’d taken a liking to the boy, as he’d been sweet to her. Their friendship had grown during the years, and if to him she wasn’t just Twelve’s escort, to her he was more than just a handsome face and the winner of the 65th edition of the games. She cared a lot about him.

“And because you are quite fond of me, you’ll spill the beans. Please, I’m awfully bored” he pushed her with a curious glint in his eyes.

“They mentioned Gloria Shimmers, and you know what they say about her and Jasper Arbore”.

“Woof mentioned her the other day too. I think people should just let the poor man rest in peace, and let the woman go”.

“You’re very well-spoken, darling boy. I’m so tired of these weird conversations. To change the subject, how is Annie?” she knew asking about her would affect him. His eyes lit up, and he started to talk about the girl, about how she was doing better now that she’d taken up a small aquarium to care for. He’d set it up himself.

“She truly loves those fishes, and it helps her deal with the episodes. I’m glad to see her flourish”.

“Oh, I’m so happy, Finnick. She did look better in the pictures you showed me last year, but I am sure she’s even better now!”

“Yes, she is. She says hi, by the way, and is very grateful for the silver net you gifted her. When I brought it home she hung it in her living room!”

“I’m glad she liked it, and really, it was a small thing. I wish I could have given her myself, but unfortunately, we don’t make stops”.

“She understands. Thank you for not forgetting about her. I know she’s not the ideal winner, but-“

“Don’t. I don’t care what Johanna or Enobaria say, Finnick. All I see is a sweet girl who does what’s best with her situation, and that’s what makes her a winner. Haymitch is not the ideal winner either, but he lives. That’s what’s important”.

Finnick looked at her with intensity, and she felt that maybe she’d talked a little too much. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned Haymitch. But it was true. Yes, the two dealt with things differently, but they both struggled.

“You have a good heart, Effie. You’re a woman too good for Haymitch alone”.

“Do not tell him that! He never appreciates me” she joked, trying to evade the trajectory the conversation was taking.

“I’m sure he doesn’t. Remember, the offer to switch is always open”.

Effie was going to answer that this year it might not be, when the gong rang, and the Sponsors dispersed. She kissed his cheek and left for her stand, feeling her heart a little heavier. Even if the promotion would have appealed to anyone, she knew she could never leave. And, maybe, Finnick knew too.

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