#// but hey!! we jive!!

[asgardian--angels]

I've been seeing a lot of mixed emotions and frustration surrounding what we heard today from Samba on Wee John Wondays, regarding the immense amount of deleted scenes, cut material, original episode concepts etc, from season 2. And I just wanted to give my two cents here.

Look, it is absolutely valid to be pissed at HBO Max right now. They slashed OFMD's budget, cut their runtime on a per episode and a season basis. This resulted in plotlines having to be reworked, character & relationship development compressed, and some minutiae & connective scenes omitted. The thought of that sucks! It would have been nice to see the polycule shown more directly onscreen, and to see Ed & Stede dance, have a longer goodbye to Izzy, and maybe work through Ed and Stede's relationship rollercoaster a little more gradually. I'm sure this hurt no one more than David himself, who's had a clear vision of all three seasons from the start - who's now had to deal with not only a truncated s2 but a cancellation soon after to boot.

But I think it does a great disservice to the entire cast and crew who worked immensely hard on season 2 to dwell overlong on what we could or 'should' have gotten. They worked their asses off to bring us something phenomenal! Season 2 was incredible - and your mileage may vary, but all analytics indicate season 2 was even more popular and well-received than season 1 by audiences and critics alike. There was a whole team of writers who worked deftly and skillfully to crunch ten episodes into eight without compromising the core elements, themes, and plotlines they wanted to include to tell this story, plus a talented cast who brought their own improvisation to set every day and gave us some of the season's most iconic moments. Everyone on the OFMD crew is proud of what they made, as they rightly should be. It was beautiful television.

Expressing dissatisfaction with what was cut is fine to an extent, but let's not let it take away from our enjoyment and appreciation of the final product we did get, or give the crew the impression that what they worked so hard to give us wasn't good enough. They want more than anyone to have had those extra scenes in there to show off the hard work of the whole team! I'm seeing this a lot especially with the talk about the early draft of Calypso's birthday (and this info is not new, Samba spoke at length about it during his baking class back in November). Regardless of your opinion on whether you think that would have been a 'better' version of the episode, it was just that - an early draft, that never came close to being filmed. David and the writers revised this concept because, apart from time constraints on the season, ultimately they felt that the concept they ended up going with best served the narrative. Even Samba agreed that he preferred the final version. There's no secret footage of this other version, we didn't 'lose' anything - this is one of the dangers of scripts getting released for any piece of media, because the mind runs astray dreaming of the possibilities of what may have been, when the reality is all shows go through moderate to sometimes heavy editing before the final version, and the audience probably doesn't need to see that process!

The fact that season 2 turned out so beautifully, with some of the most moving and iconic sequences television's seen in quite a while, and a love story that has touched so many, is truly a testament to the passion, dedication, and skill of the entire cast and crew. They have achieved the status of cultural phenomenon, season 2 was the 5th most watched series in the entire world on streaming services, outperforming shows like Loki. They've got several dozen articles with glowing praise from major media outlets, a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, multiple award nominations, and more than anything a loyal fanbase who's in it for the long haul to fight for a season 3. They have succeeded to this level despite all the stumbling blocks HBO Max has thrown in their path. If season 2 was OFMD held back from its full potential, then I think they should be damn fucking proud of what they've made.

Samba pitched an official bts documentary for both season 1 and season 2 and was turned down. This show deserved better than HBO Max was ever going to give them. He's going to try and post deleted scenes and a blooper reel if he can (not all heroes wear capes, folks). And it's very likely none of these things will ever be officially released (though, we can make a stink about it!). Be angry about it, absolutely. But we need to channel that energy into the fight for renewal. Double down on efforts to get the attention of Netflix, Prime, Apple TV, and FX, get more signatures on the petition (87k as of this writing!), and just keep talking positively about the show on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook with our hashtags. We need to show the crew that we're upset for them, but so grateful for the beautiful season we got too.

So let's not bicker and wallow about what was 'stolen' from us - the final canon product is ultimately the final canon product, and any other tidbits are fun but neither owed nor necessary. They trusted that we could put the pieces together, that we'd be able to read between the lines when scenes that would have made things more explicit, or developed them further, had to be shortened or cut. And that trust was well placed! We sussed it out. Celebrate the ofmd fandom for all the excellent meta, art, fic, we've gotten, and celebrate season 2 for its joy, its profoundness, its nuance, its enduring hope and how much it's given to so many. Air your grievances respectfully, and then get back to fighting to give OFMD the well-funded third season it deserves!

[knighteclipsed]

ooc; TOA Anniversary Munday!!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together. ily!!

tagging: (flutters my lashes)

Name: Kano!! IRLs also know me by Dimitri, but it is by no means restricted to there.

Pronouns: he/they/it

Birthday (no year): May 6th

Where are you from? What is your time zone? Georgia kiddo wrow. est in actuality, european at heart (during breaks)

Roleplay experience: Did some stuff back in elem? But never really got into it until TOA, which I joined about a year ago, the day before the 3rd anniversary!

---

Got any pets? Nope. I'd like to have a cat someday though.

Favorite time of year: Spring time baybeeeeee. Birthday bias but it's also a nice medium between extremes :softsmile:

Some interests and things you like: Uh...... Fire Emblem? Also most things that go into video games (drawing, writing, composing/playing music, i love programming so much it's insane, etc. etc), I'm a little art kid :sparkles:. Oh also Spider-verse and Nimona.... :softsmile:

Some fun facts & trivia about you: I know my integer squares up the 22? Did I mention I love math? Studying game design at a technical school rn, and I know six programming languages atm (JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Java, C#, and Python). I also programmed a text-only GBA combat sim in Python earlier this year. Took a couple weeks and I did that instead of my Physics work :D

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? ...So here's the thing. (JKJKJK) Uh..... I like Triangle Strategy, Hades, I've been meaning to finish the original Ori :shrek_mmh:, and Omori went crazy but I'm not playing it again (it's best on a blind playthrough). I also really enjoyed Undertale! Don't have much else on my backlog tho haha

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: So I don't really Pokemon. BUT. I do love Squirtle and Wartortle and I had a Gible named Nom Nom in Pokemon Arceus. Favorite type though would probably be Dragon or Dark. lol

---

How did you get into Fire Emblem? Back when I was in 3rd grade, my mother gave me and my brothers a Wii with Super Smash Bros Brawl! I was a Sheik main but my brother got me to play some other characters, including Marth, Pit, and Ike. I didn't like Ike for his slowness but Marth and Pit were good for my style of play. I later followed him into Fire Emblem Heroes hell, and then later into emulating Sacred Stones! Didn't finish it until after Three Houses came out though. Finished Azure Moon in three weeks (including school).

What Fire Emblem games have you played? I've beaten Sacred Stones and Three Houses, most of Engage, roughly half of Valentia, the first few chapters of Genealogy, Shadow Dragon, and Binding, and the demo of Awakening. Also about half of Three Hopes but that doesn't count it's a Warriors game (also through most of Book 5 in FEH) :/

First Fire Emblem game: Sacred Stones! The first I finished was 3H though lol

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Sacred Stones I think. Altho it's definitely fist-fighting 3H still.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? Dimitri is a solid one I think. Most of the Faerghus Four guys tho are... yeah. :woozy_face: Also mayyyyyyybe Diamant? I'm unsure tho FJDKNGKSFGN. The arospec-ness definitely kicking in :joy:

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? - Awakening: N/A - Fates: N/A - Three Houses: Dimitri hah - Engage: N/A

Favorite Fire Emblem class: Grrrrrrrr that's a hard one. Probably one of the magical ones, but (gestures at this muse) yk. Wyverns.

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class? Either some sort of mage (probably Sage-leaning) or a wyvern class like Wyvern Knight. Mortal Savant is also very alluring.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Blue Lions, no question. My energy is definitely more Deer tho lol

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with? Sigurd. Dude is scary LOL

---

How did you find TOA? Okay so while I was still relatively new to Tumblr, I was browsing tags and a previous Dimitri's posts (the art especially caught my attention it was incredible) were coming up under the Dimitri tag (the mun knows who they are). When I looked at the blog and saw it was dedicated to Dimitri, I got completely suspicious of it immediately :crylaugh: Ended up digging around though and saw the art style was consistent, and after I got past the drabble at the top I realized it was a roleplay blog, which. While I was still new, I was accustomed from Twitter to people being both god artists and god writers, so I figured it was just all by one person. Followed it for a few months (which I got exposed for when I reserved Linhardt but I still find that hilarious so it's fine), and eventually the August activity check popped up last year and I decided to join. Yay! (Never found out who 'mun' was tho :/ (this is a jest))

Current TOA muses: Linhardt, Colm, and Valter!

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again? Also Linhardt! lol. While I don't expect to be dropping him soon (looks away), if I ever did, I have a feeling he'd be back eventually. Adore my little genderball.

Have you had any other TOA muses? Nope! Picked them up one after the other and have yet to drop any dnjgkfsn

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards? Hm...... Well I know I have a type, but it's hard to put into words haha. Anyone who makes me laugh I guess? And people who are super duper attached to their role in life (think knights and knight-adjacents like Selena and Glen). There's something going on in their noggins that is just so. (STARES) Also people who scare me with their in-game dialogue. (Valter, but TS Dimitri applies as well FNDJKNG.)

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most? I'm not really certain, but I know I have a LOT of fun whenever I craft dialogue. Me and my incapability to be quiet (endearing)

Favorite TOA-related memory: A close one would be two of the muns recognizing me when I submitted the Linhardt reserve, but I also get a kick out of Linhardt climbing a tree to escape a boar during Unscripted last year fnjsdkngsf. The birthday wishes back in May also made me explode (positive) EDIT: I FORGOT SIRIUS ROLLING VALTER FOR HIS LIEGE DURING KKE!!!!! THAT WAS HILARIOUSSSSSSSSS (so was patty's crush on valter. makes me cackle every time)

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day in TOA that you’d like to share? I might still make use of my Saleh blog. I have an idea I want to go for, but he isn't the biggest delusion right now. Neimi might also have a shot, but I don't expect to be doing anything for Lukas or Hubert any time soon. You all know who's coming next.

[greedyhoneyz]

Judgement Day

.ೃ࿔* pairing: armando aretas x reader .ೃ࿔* synopsis: the aretas name carried weight in miami. it was a name which symbolised power and carried a notion of fear. to mess with an aretas, was a call to an early death. .ೃ࿔* wc: 3k words. .ೃ࿔* cw: angst. assault. violence. blood. harrassment. threats. .ೃ࿔* authors note: another fanfic for a piece of media i have yet to watch. this is long but i hope it doesn't come off juvenile.

The hot Miami heat bared the warmth of a deep-emotion smile at dawn but as night fell, it raged into an inferno, chaotic and wild. It charred and blistered the abode floor, once chilled by seasonal rains and engulfed the city with a tragic blaze.

Even in the heatwave, Miami bustled with life, men and women toiled across the dancefloor, their bodies weary and scorched beneath yards of thin fabric. They jived and boogied to the setlist with as much passion as their drunken states could emote and drank to their hearts' content. At the end of the night, they busted through the doors into the artificial glow of street lamps, staggering, failing to hail an Uber or move on to the next attraction. In the charcoal night, Miami Beach weaved together crowds of partygoers and workers alike, as the early morning sunshine threatened to peek through the sky.

(name) hissed and hollered her way out of the nightclub as her heels clicked onto the pavement.

She had worn them for the sake of fashion. The open-toed stilettos were to die for; they matched perfectly with her mini dress and petite shoulder bag. But now as she waddled, her feet were paying the price. The four-inch stilettos were not meant for walking, the leather straps dug into her skin and the arch pinned tiny knives into her feet. Each step she took sent a shockwave of pain through her feet.

Adjusting her stride, (name) attempted to distribute her weight more evenly into the shoe. It made little difference but she would make it work– the night was young and she had a couple more hours in her.

Straightening her shoulders, (name) fixed her bag and quickened her pace, walking in conjunction with her friend.

“Where are we going?” She had spoken out between anxious breaths, inwardly wincing at the pressure dented into her toes.

“Um…..” Kayla stared into her phone. “Nightingale, Candace said she’ll meet us there.”

“How far is it?”

“Just a couple blocks down. We’ve been there before, remember?”

“I do,” (name) huffed. “It's just– my feet are killing me. I don’t know how much longer I can take this Kayla. I’m tired.”

Kayla stopped, causing (name) to falter in haste as she slowly turned. She faced her friend, boring her eyes into hers, her lips forming into a hard line. She gripped her friend’s arm, holstering her close and darted her pointer finger to her.

“You,” She began slowly, her voice was low at first but grew louder and more boisterous as she glared into (name). “Are not going anyway, do you understand? Today is our night, our night to go out, get drunk and do something stupid, okay? No shoe and no bitch is ruining our night, comprende?”

“Sí. Sí. I understand.” (name) replied shortly, hiding a smile between her teeth.

“Good.” Kayla nodded, tucking her arm around (name’s).

The pair beelined across the strip, accustoming themselves amongst the crowds of partygoers pulling and pushing their way across South Beach. They found Candace waiting by the entrance, looking radiant in a yellow, mini-dress, her wind-tousled hair fell over her shoulders.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, giving them each a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

The bouncer let them in without hesitation, ushering the trio past the long, ascending line trickling across the street, and they made their way towards the bar. The music blared and pulsated from wall to wall and the stage lights flared and spun above them.

“So….where’s this boyfriend of yours at?” Candace asked inquisitively, sipping on her margarita. She wriggled her eyebrows playfully and passed a simple glance at (name’s) phone as she placed it on the bar, a picture of her boyfriend printed on her lock screen.

“Somewhere,” (name) shrugged. “He wasn’t home when I left for Kayla’s place.”

“So you snuck out?” Kayla jeered, propping her chin atop her hand. “You never told me that.”

(name) shook her head. “Nah, it's nothing like that–”

“Wait— this means you can stay out!” Candace bellowed happily.

“Of course I can–”

“No more talking, let’s dance!”

Candace shot up from her seat, slamming her drink on the bar counter, and reigned her hands around Kayla and (name). She wrung them out from their seats with the strength of a colossal giant and tugged the two towards the dancefloor, declaring the two move to the rhythm of the song.

It took a while – a couple of short seconds before Kayla and (name) joined Candace in dance. The three danced in conjunction with each other, keeping close to their circle with a light bounce from side to side and trigger fingers.

As the night wore on, the air grew thicker and (name) and her friends were tipsier. The club music had grown louder and more intense as the DJ turned to play Sexyy Red and the crowd had begun to surge forward in retort to the sharp change in tempo and pitch. The crowd was like a tide, rolling in and out, its rhythm intermittent to the beat.

No more did the throbbing of her feet cloud (name’s) mind; the blend of a rhubarb fizz and vitality was a deterrent. With her closest friends surrounding her, (name) felt at ease, her smile so wide and bright, that she feared it would become permanent.

She rocked her hips, her hands travelling across her thighs and slowly craned forward. She held onto her legs, shaking her thighs as motion rippled across her calves and ascended towards her ass. (name) shook her bottom with a smize, moving her cheeks with such fluid, curvaceous motions it left nothing to disguise that the skirt of her dress began to hike. Undaunted, she continued to move, placing a careful hand between her cheeks as the other tugged her dress down.

So young and so free, (name) craned herself upwards and placed her hands against her chest. She bopped from side to side, twirling her hips gingerly and scored her hands across her breasts and middle. She looked heavenward at the ceiling, the club roof clouded by bright, neon lights and flashes, she squeezed her eyes shut in retort. She dropped her head and opened her eyes, bouncing on the balls of her feet before letting out a raring shrill.

The night flew by in a blur of music, laughter and good company. And by 2 am, the club slowed and the crowd began to disperse. Exhausted but exhilarated, they left the club and amidst themselves between the sea of bodies flooding out from the club.

Letting out a refreshed sigh, (name) turned to her friends. Her hair was dampened, her hot-rod curls once full of life and shine, had dropped, now frizzy and weightless. The fabric of her dress had clung to her sticky skin and her bag was hung at the edge of her shoulder.

“I’m so lit right now,” she moaned, closing her eyes. She wobbled on her two feet, swaying from side to side, pressing her weight onto one shoe and when she threatened to stumble to the side, hauling her weight onto the other.

“Me too,” Kayla replied, stumbling over Candace. She clung onto the woman, grasping onto her dress and pressed herself against the wall.

“I….I think–” Candace couldn't help but giggle to herself, dropping her head.

(name) smacked her lips, her eyes slowly peeling open and peered at the two women. She swallowed deeply, curling her lips in practice before she spoke. “You girls….wanna head off to Oasis?”

“Yeah.”

Both Kayla and Candace hummed in agreement and staggered to height. They adjusted themselves, sheepishly picking at each other, one fixing the other’s hair and the other fixing her dress as (name) collected her belongings into her bag.

“Aye!” A voice began. It was deep and hoarse, breathy as his mouth approached a few more words. “Aye miss!”

Though inebriated, (name) couldn’t mask her quickening discomfort as his heavy footsteps rattled behind her.

She tensed, hiking her shoulders and carefully turned. She wore a tight smile on her face, a mask of politeness.

“Yes?”

The man was tall, handsome, and smelt good. And yet, he failed to strike (name). As she stood before him, swaying from left to right, he grinned, bewitched by her charming features and supple figure.

He smiled at her, his eyes never leaving hers. “I just wanted to tell you that you looked good.”

(name) shook her head and waved her hand, feigning appreciation. “Thank you.”

“You know, I was watching you, inside, dancin’ and shit,” He laughed, tossing his head back. “You can shake that ass pretty good.”

“Thank you–”

“And I– lemme get your number.” His words were quick and sharp; his intent was clear.

“Oh,” she tittered, throwing a glance at her friends. “Well…I’m sorry but I’ve got a boyfriend–”

“You’ve got a boyfriend….” He repeated sullenly. He laughed heartily as if (name) had said the funniest thing ever and shook his head.

“Listen,” He began, swiping his tongue across his bottom lip. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I promise you I ain’t no weirdo. No bear here.”

Kayla was prompt in grabbing (name’s) hand, making no effort to hide her disgust. She moved from behind her, Candace following in tow, and attempted to pull the girl along. “C’mon (name) let's go.”

Like a colossal giant, both the man and his voice grew towers tall. He gripped (name’s) arm and jerked her back. “Aye, I wasn’t done talkin’!”

(name) yelped, stumbling over her feet and sharply jeered her head at the man. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Just give me your number.” He demanded, digging his nails into her skin.

(name) profusely shook her head, quickly sobering up and attempted to pull away. “Let go!”

No more did the nice guy act continue, the man once cheerful and hopeful, sneered at (name), puffing out her chest and flaring his nostrils. He was quick to insult her, hurling a hail of curses aimed at her figure as he fiercely yanked her backwards, swinging her frame towards him.

“Fucking bitch!” He cursed at the top of his lungs, splatters of spit flailing out from his mouth. “You bitches are always too full of yourselves! Wanna act all uppity when a man wants to talk to you!”

“Then fucking let me go! The fuck!” By then, amidst the chaos, a crowd had gathered. Like a mob of meerkats, they gawked, gasped and videoed in disbelief at the rage pelting from the colossal of a man. They watched, uttering words of discomfort and dismay as (name) attempted to rear herself away from the man, thrusting herself against Kayla as she pulled her forward.

“I didn't even want to holler at your ugly ass anyways!” He roared, his voice loud and menacing.

“Oh my fucking god! Let me go! I don’t want to fucking talk to your stupid ass!” (name) shrieked back. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her lips pulled into an irritated scowl.

“Nah you fucking listen to me, bitch!” His voice erupted out from the vessels of his throat like a disgorging volcano, propelling a warcry in the wake of a lava-filled avalanche, in the form of a fist.

In a few short seconds, the colossal revolved free his arm, balling his into a fist and drew it back. He reigned his fists forward, fuelled with fury and humiliation, and swung at (name), striking her in the jaw.

She staggered to her floor with a loud yelp, the contents of her purse pooling across the floor. Both Kayla and Candace circled (name) in protest, pulling into their embrace as the colossal hovered above, jeering.

Candace gasped, her eyes were wide, her mouth agape as she held (name’s) face between her palms. “(name)!” She cried, fretting her fingers across her face. “Are you okay?”

Sore but unharmed, (name) could manage a nod, nursing a hand to her swelling jaw. “I’m…I’m okay.”

Candace shot her head up and leered up at the colossal begrudgingly, shrieking. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Rapidly, she climbed onto her feet, jumping between the colossal and her friend’s dazed figure, and glowering, waving her pointer finger and screeching like a banshee. “Do you like putting your hands on fucking defenceless women?! Huh! Do you think that’s okay?!”

“Aye, shut the fuck up! That bitch got what she fucking deserved—”

The neigh of engines and the screeching of hot tyres hailed across the strip, and the sound had bequeathed a play of silence across the beach.

The once vivacious party strip, nestled with drunk partygoers and deafening music, had quickly shimmered into silence. And all that sounded was the row of heavy footsteps mounting from the street onto the sidewalk. The footsteps marched into the crowd, dispersing the tide and began to section off each corner one by one as the clatter of a single pair of boots trotted forward.

Armando stared at (name), his face firm, and carefully crouched to his knees. It was a while before he spoke, his voice deep and guttural, his eyes boring into hers. “Are you okay?” Slowly, he brought his hands to her face and brushed his thumb against her jaw, the surface of her wound spreading purple with yellow blotches, and when she cowered back his expression darkened.

(name) could only utter a wary whisper, her eyes darting between him and the colossal behind him. “…yes.”

Inhaling deeply, Armando rose to height, hauling his girlfriend up to her feet. He held her hand in his, offering a forgiving glance and turned.

He clambered away from (name), his shoulders taunt and chin heavenward. Armando was angry– enraged. He did a good job of hiding it, but (name) knew the signs.

He wired his neck, rearing it from side to side and heaved slowly, his chest rising and falling. Every muscle on his face tightened, his eyes narrowed, and his chin jutted outward.

He approached the colossal, his arms pinned behind his back and gave him a once-over, sizing him up.

He blinked, parting his lips slowly, and then blinked again. “Do we have a problem?”

The colossal shook his head and feigned a hearty laugh, his pupils flared and mouth twisted. “Nah man, we’re cool–”

“Let me ask you again,” Armando snarled slowly, gritting his teeth together. “Do we have a problem?”

“Listen, man, I can assure you there’s no problem here–”

Armando sucked at the air like it had suddenly become thick and shut his eyes. He’d become deaf to his galling words, his rapid chatter professing a tale of ignorance and regard, a rapid back-tracking to his previously tough stance. And by then, his anger was irreversible.

He lunged at him; pummelling, hitting. Each hit landed with a sickening thud, the blow between skin and fist astounding. The man had swung back, wailing his fists in the air, but succumbed to the force of Armando’s blows. His movements were swift and silent, spectral. The pivot of his feet from place to place was incorporeal. He was impenetrable evading each wild blow before he swung again.

Armando flitted around the man, his movements a blur of speed and precision and winded his knee upwards. It prodded into his middle, driving into his chest, and sent him stumbling backwards, off-balance. His tumble left an opening, a gap between his face and Armando’s revolving leg.

He took the opening, rearing his leg upwards and swung it forward, striking. A rapid combination of punches and kicks followed, each came and landed with more precision and power till the colossal succumbed to near-coming death. He crumbled to the ground, in a grotesque mess of blood. His eyes were swollen over and bloody spit drooled from his slack jaws. He was now as revolting as he should be, finally, the outside reflected the spoiled man within.

Armando stood victorious over the bloody mess that was his adversary and sneered at him with such venom and disdain. He crouched down, his knuckles wounded with welts and stained with blood, not of his own, and grabbed his shirt, his grip like a vice.

He pulled him towards him, his face taut with rage and displeasure, and glowered over him. Under his grip, the man hung like cattle, his limbs astray as blood sputtered from out his mouth.

Armando rubbed his lips, swivelling on the balls of his feet, and gnashed his teeth together, chiding grimly. “You see..” he shook his head, his nostrils flared. “If it wasn’t for her…”

He turned to (name), lugging the man along and pointed. He leaned into his ear, his voice began small as a whisper and bubbled into a rue of senile and ghastly distaste. “…I’d kill you….”

“Consider this a warning–” Armando released his grip, the man flailing back onto the ground, and stood back on his feet. “You fuck with her, you fuck with me.”

He scowled, whipping his hands and leered at the crowd before him. In a stop-start fashion, one by one, the crowd fizzled out in groups of threes, fours, and fives. Song and chatter fizzled back across the strip in small bites and vivid hues flashed across the beach.

Armando turned to (name), his face closed up and extended his arm. He reached for her, placing her hand in his palm and grasped it tenderly. He held her hand to her face and wrapped her wound beneath her hand. He looked at her as her gaze trembled, her shoulders shivering and tugged her towards him. He held her in his arms, his tight embrace swelled around her middle and carefully coaxed (name) away.

Despite the return of vibrance and euphoria flooding across the party strip, an unsettling mist hung over. A monochrome of silver glanced over the black night. There was an uncharacteristically grim line etched across the faces of those among the dispersing crowd, a sense of sadness, remorse, dismay and dread.

Armando Aretas was not to be toyed with— and neither was she.

[jointherebellion215]

Birdie

John "Bucky" Egan x female!reader

Summary: A rare night out in London has Bucky coming to terms with his feelings for you.

Word Count: 2.9k

Tags: mechanic!reader, songbird!reader, female!reader, she/her pronouns used, drinking culture, cursing, mutual pining, moderate bouts of denial, insecurities, women supporting women because it's what we deserve, let's pretend that The Old Therebefore is an ancient Appalachian folk song in this universe, maybe she's a Mary Sue idgaf, I just wanted to write something happy so LET ME LIVE, WWII era, there's no Y/N but reader has the nickname "Birdie"

A/N: Yeah, I'm obsessed with Masters of the Air. I had to write something for my mans before the creative procrastination literally killed me. Please leave a like, comment, or even a reblog if you're so inclined :)

You can read my OC version of this story on AO3!

Songs Mentioned in This Fic:

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by The Andrews Sisters

G.I. Jive by Johnny Mercer

The Ole Therebefore (Accapella) by Rachel Zegler

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This story and any recognizably named characters are based solely on dramatic portrayals of the characters from the series, not the real individuals they represent. All the respect to the actual service people who fought and died in the Second World War. Also, don't copy my writing without explicit permission. That includes you, you AI sonuvabitch.

Your heels clicked on the cobblestone streets, turning into the pub you’d heard so much about. You were out celebrating a very rare weekend off. The Brass had somehow allowed you and twenty other mechanics from base two days leave, so you took advantage of the opportunity and headed straight to London.

Your two best girlfriends from base were with you. Teresa was one of the toughest nurses you’d ever come across. She could give you a wide grin, crinkles around her hazel eyes, and reset a broken bone without breaking a sweat. It helps that she was already working towards becoming a nurse back in New Mexico, the war just sped along that process. You had bonded over your love of books, giving each other recommendations almost weekly.

You’d met Irene on the boat to England. She puked on your shoes almost thirty minutes exactly after leaving the port in New York. You gave a small grin, offering her a handkerchief and a piece of ginger candy and the rest was history. Finding out that she was a fellow mechanic was the icing on the cake. Coming in at a whopping five foot two, the spritely blonde could easily be found in a crowd with her loud Appalachian accent.

It seemed almost like fate for the three of you to have found each other. Being some of the few women on base naturally made you close, but you were closer with Irene and Teresa than any of the others. That’s not to say that you weren’t friends with any of the men, because you were. Friendly. 

All three of you were dressed to the nines, in contradiction to your everyday work wear. You all got ready together in your hotel room, giggling while you applied makeup here, spritzed some perfume there. You all felt confident and were ready to have a good time. You spotted some familiar faces and made your way over towards them, your friends linked arm-in-arm with you. Lemmons was the first to greet you.

Of the fifty men on the ground crew, Sgt. Ken Lemmons was the most welcoming of them all. From the get-go, he didn’t care if you were a man or woman. He just wanted to know that you were capable. You were sure he had to go through some hazing because of his age, which probably changed his perspective on gatekeeping the job. This made earning and maintaining respect a lot easier for the women on your crew. We all came over with the same goal, it was better for all if we just helped each other out.

“Hey Birdie! Nice to see you out and about.”

Ah, the famed nickname. You tend to hum and sing under your breath when elbow-deep in a project. It helps you pass the time and clear your mind. Of course, the rest of the ground crew quickly caught on to this habit of yours, which quickly earned you the nickname “Birdie”. You, of course, never sing solo in public, so this confuses anyone who’s not around you while you’re working. But the name stuck, so here you are. Birdie.

Chairs are quickly cleared for you and your friends, which you all graciously take. You go up to buy some drinks, knowing what your friends like, and quickly return with your drinks of choice. Conversation flows, laughs are shared, and a few drinking games are played over the next hours. Teresa soon speaks up on a topic you’d been hoping to avoid.

“Do you think he’ll be here tonight?”

You shrug and look into your drink, “Dunno. Why does it matter?”

Irene, the ever supportive best friend that she is, backs up Teresa. “What do you mean ‘why’? This is your chance to finally make a move!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You quickly deny, taking another sip.

An unladylike snort leaves Irene, “My ass! You and Major Egan have been making googly eyes at each other when you think the other’s not looking for months. I’m saying it’s time for you to perk your tits up, buck on over and ride that—!” You slam your drink on the table, pressing your hand over Irene’s mouth, heat rising to your cheeks in embarrassment.

“Are you insane?” You whisper harshly, looking around to make sure no one overheard you. You seem to be in the clear, which makes you calm down a bit. Irene pushes off your hand, takes a swig of her drink, and consults the person who started this whole conversation.

“Am I wrong?” You look to Teresa, who cringes slightly in agreement.

You gape at the pair of them. Normally, you were the median between the two girls who had vastly differing opinions. But this is what made them come to a consensus? Unbelievable.

“Look, I’m not saying that I don’t want to.” You start, which makes your friends nod encouragingly at you. “It’s just that… Is he really as interested as you think he is?”

They both groan and slump against each other, like they’d just run a marathon. Teresa sits up, scooching your chair in closer so that the three of you were in a private triangle, cut off from the rest of the group.

“Let’s look at the facts here, okay?” Teresa starts to tick off a finger with each point she and Irene make. But you seem to always have a rebuttal at the ready.

“He brings you coffee every morning.”

“I thought he does that for everyone.”

“He constantly fixes his hair when you’re around.”

“He takes care of his appearance!”

“He walks you to the mess hall every day for dinner.”

“We just happen to be going the same way. And we happen to have the same dinner schedule.”

“He read The Hobbit when you said how much you loved it.”

“He’s an adventurous guy, it’s an adventurous book, what’s not to like about it?”

“You two literally will walk and talk outside alone for hours.”

“A man can’t have a stimulating conversation with a woman?”

“He laughs at all your dumb jokes.”

“Hey! They’re not all dumb. Like, the one with the goose and the—”

“Point proven. Anyways! He has your picture in the inside pocket of his jacket.”

That one stops you in your tracks. You brain tries to justify this meaning but comes up blank.

“He…” You struggle with an excuse. “He…” Your best friends give victorious smirks in your direction.

“He… likes the extra padding in his jacket?” You stutter over what is possibly the most pathetic, sorry excuse you could have ever come up with.

“When are you gonna admit to yourself that he likes you? Like, actually truly likes you?” 

You gave a sad sigh, letting the insecurity you were feeling deep down come to the surface. “I just… He’s just so…” You had stomped down your feelings for so long that it was becoming hard to articulate what exactly you’re feeling.

“He just seems so unreal. Like, of everyone he could have chosen, why me? I mean, I know I’m great. But you’ve seen the other girls on base. They’re all so beautiful, smart, classy… and none of them are covered in engine oil ninety percent of the time.” You looked down at your hands, specks of grease and oil peeking out from beneath your nail beds. It seems like it would never completely wash out, no matter how hard you scrubbed. You hadn’t even painted your nails for this weekend, knowing it would be money wasted come Monday morning when you’re back on the clock.

Teresa and Irene share a look that you don’t see, then come forward and grab each of your hands. 

“The words you just used to describe those girls. All of that is you, Birdie. That and more. You being a mechanic doesn’t make you any less of a woman, and to hell with anyone else who thinks otherwise.”  You nodded in agreement, Irene’s words of encouragement slowly washing away your anxieties.

Teresa spoke up next, “You deserve someone who will rearrange the stars and the whole night sky for you. And I’m more than willing to bet that Major Egan is up for the job.” 

“Besides, none of that 'unreal' stuff. At the end of the day, John Egan is nothing more than a man. If he can’t look past his nose and his d—" You gave a squeak to cover up the vulgar word Irene was about to blurt in public. She rolled her eyes fondly and continued.

“If he can’t see what you’re worth and make the effort to treat you a hundred times better than that? That’s on him. Not you. You know what you deserve, and you deserve everything you want. Absolutely everything.”

You sniffed, happy tears coming to your eyes. You brought your best friends in for a hug, thanking them profusely. 

“Don’t sweat it,” Teresa grins into your shoulder “every girl needs to be pulled out of her well sometime.”

You pull back from the hug, grabbing your glass and tipping your head back, finishing the rest of your drink. “Even if he’s not gonna be here, let’s have a ball!” Your girlfriends cheer as the three of you go to the bar for refills.

One drink turns into two, which turns into a few more, and suddenly you’re buzzed. Your group are having a rambunctious time, Irene dancing by the local piano player. Once Irene looks over to you, she stops and whispers in the player’s ear. He nods, then starts a new tune. Irene starts up her voice, walking over to you and Teresa, encouraging you to join her. 

The alcohol has loosened you up enough that you don’t feel the nausea you usually associate with being perceived, so you join in the harmonies you and your friends have practiced in your bunks at night.

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way

He had a boogie style that no one else could play

He was the top man at his craft

But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft

Soon the whole pub was jumping and dancing along to the tune as you brought a new vibe to the pub. It was like a spark that started an entirely new night and everyone was eager to go on forever.

One song turns into an entire set, which ends with a full rendition of G.I. Jive, which had everyone singing along. It was a magical moment; made you feel like you were a part of something important.

Irene sidles up to you, giving you a hug. She says in your ear,

“I think it’s time to slow it down a bit. How about you sing that song I taught you.”

She means an old Appalachian folk song that’s been in her family for generations. You had heard her sing it one night and immediately loved the dark, but strong nature of the lyrics. It was an honor to learn it from her. 

“I don’t know, it’s your family’s song and…”

“And I can’t think of anyone better to sing it to these soldiers.” You gave each other a look, her slight eyebrow raise gave you the courage to nod in acceptance. She smiled, hugging you again, her voice yelled out to the crowd. 

“Birdie’s gonna sing solo!”

The announcement is met with raucous applause, Irene and Teresa shoving you towards a dodgy looking table. Crank offers a hand up, which you take gratefully. As you find your bearings on the tabletop, you quickly spin around and find all eyes on you. 

The crackling energy in the air seemed to simmer, the fast-beating hearts of the pubgoers recognizing a moment to acknowledge you. Nausea starts to make an appearance, but a deep breath quells the sensation within you for the time being.

You take another deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

You close your eyes, open your mouth, and sing.

Meanwhile…. 

Majors Gale Cleven and John Egan walk down the familiar street, one eager to catch up with his fellow countrymen’s alcohol intake, the other just happy to spend time with his friends. They were arriving later to the festivities due to being caught up in filling out reports. By far the worst part of having a higher rank was the paperwork.

“It’s pretty quiet.” Buck acknowledges. “They’re usually rowdier by this point.”

Bucky sniffs, shrugging off the concern. “Ah, it’s probably nothing.” 

As the two men approach the pub, they find that a crowd has formed. Soldiers, civilians, RAF, USAAF, old, young— people had obviously stopped to watch whatever was going on. It was dead silent, save for a voice singing. Was there a radio show on or something?

A familiar face peeks out at them from the crowd, DeMarco quickly waving them over. 

Bucky is quick to question, “Hey, what’s going on?” but is immediately shushed by nearby crowd members. Buck cringes in apology, despite not being the one to disturb the peace. His best friend, ever unshaken by the opinion of strangers, carries on.

DeMarco leans in, whispering, “Your girl’s taking us all to church.”

“My girl..?” Bucky’s nose scrunches in confusion. He makes space through the crowd and quickly makes sense of DeMarco’s words. It was you.

I’ll catch you up

When I’ve emptied my cup

When I’ve worn out my friends

When I’ve burned out both ends

Standing on a tabletop, watchful eyes sat all around you like baby ducks flocking to their mama. You were captivating everyone with each note and word that flows from your mouth. Damn, you've got a set of pipes— a voice that belongs on the radio, in concert halls, on Hollywood records. He had no idea.

His little Birdie.

“Wow.” Buck mutters in awe from behind him, and Bucky couldn’t be more in agreement.

When I’m pure like a dove

When I’ve learned how to love

He hadn’t noticed before, but her eyes were closed. Like she needed to concentrate on each and every breath she took, every single movement her body made, before letting them out in an angelic melody.

As if by divine intervention, her eyes pop open and lock on his as she belts “how to love” 

It could’ve been an eternity, for all he knows, the amount of time that they spent locked in each other’s gaze. The world pauses around them, everything frozen. Her eyes were already the kind to knock a man clean off his feet with a single gaze, but he thinks- for a brief moment- that his heart completely stops beating.

John Clarence Egan would swear every day from then on, until his dying breath, that the course of his life was altered in that very moment. He knew how it would continue from then on, and how it would end. How he wanted it to end.

Then the world starts back up and carries on.

Right here in the old therebefore

When nothing is left anymore

Her final hums are joined by a short blonde woman who stands nearby, another face he recognizes from base. 

The applause that picks up after the end of the song is near deafening. The star of the hour gives a shy smile, a quick curtsy and is given a hand to step down from the table.

Everyone soon starts mingling, the normal chatter of the bar returning. But Bucky is stuck in his spot, dumbfounded. In all the conversations you’d had together, somehow this never came up. He should’ve put two and two together, as he recalls overhearing your hums one morning as he made his daily coffee delivery to you. But you had been caught off guard, so much so that you tripped off the ladder you stood on and fell. Luckily, his quick reflexes kicked in to catch you before any serious injuries occurred. 

Remembering the sensation of his hands on your waist and thighs, face just inches from yours, sent his brain into a tailspin. That’s not even considering just how damn cute you were when, after a beat, you turned away from him and playfully mourned the cups of coffee that were splattered all over the hardstand.

“John. John?” A hand waving in front of his face knocks him out of his reverie. He blinks once, twice. Then looks to his best friend.

His voice comes out uncharacteristically weak in response, to which he then clears his throat and corrects. “Yes—yeah?” He pops the collar of his sheepskin jacket to try and hide the rampant red of his ears that signals the heat radiating from them.

Buck just shakes his head and gives him a knowing smile. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Egan. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“See what day?” Bucky starts to consciously return to his body, leaning on the bar.

“The day when a girl finally knocks you on your ass. I knew you had a thing for her, but that?” He points to his face and motions to indicate where they had just been standing. “That’s something else. That’s something real.”

Bucky gives another shrug in response, to which Buck throws back an unconvinced frown. He turns his head to gaze over the pub patrons and is distracted by you once again. Any denial he was about to spout immediately dies in his mouth when you lock eyes with him again and give him a dazzling smile. The world starts to fade away again.

His heart pumps faster in his chest at the sight. Damnit. He sighs, telling his best friend the truth he’s been privately wrestling with for a while now, all the while keeping his eyes locked on yours.

“I know, Buck. I know.”

Bucky smiles back at you and is elated when your face lights up. You give him a wave.

“She kinda snuck up on me.”

[daisyblog]

Just Hold On

Our Story Masterlist Summary: Harry takes care of YN.

Warning: grief, loss of a loved one, upset, crying

Four days. Four days of feeling helpless. Watching her cry, not knowing how to stop her pain. Harry was expecting her to shut herself away but he had read that grief hits people differently, which explains her constant movement as she cleaned and rearranged everything she could. It was almost like she was afraid to stop and be alone with her thoughts.

Cutting his thoughts, Harry’s phone rang from where it sat on the kitchen island 'Mum' it read.

"Hey Mum". Harry greeted as he pottered around the kitchen, moving some used cutlery to the sink to wash later.

"Hi darling..how's YN today?" Anne’s delicate voice spoke through the speaker.

"She's okay..I just feel so helpless..like I hate seeing her hurting" Harry’s voice was deflated, he needed his Mum’s wise words.

"Oh darling...I know it's heartbreaking..I just can't stop thinking about them all..and the little ones" Anne sympathised on the other end of the phone.

"Yeh..they don't quite understand..YN spoke with her grandparents earlier". Harry explained about Ernest and Doris.

"Poor babies..are you going to watch Louis tonight?".

"Yeh..yeh YN's just gone to get ready..I think he's so brave for doing it..but I know it's what their Mum would have wanted" He gently spoke to his Mum as he continued to pace around the room.

"She would have..she loved watching him perform..they're stong..YN and Louis I mean". Anne thought out loud.

"That's what I'm afraid of Mum..I'm like..I'm worried she's going to hold it all together and..and..I don't know crumble I suppose". Harry’s voice rambled his thoughts.

"Harry..that's where she's gonna need you...let her be strong for everyone else..she's probably going to hold it all together for her sisters and brother...but you be the one that holds her yeh”.

"Yeh..I didn't think of it like that".

"Look after her love...she's going to need you now more than ever". Anne’s words were wise.

"I'll always look after her Mum".

"I know you will...I love you darling...give YN a big cuddle from me".

"I will..I love you too Mum".

"Bye love".

After the conversation with his Mum, Harry could hear some music playing upstairs. Following the sound, he was led to YN standing in their bedroom looking at a black plain dress that was laid across the duvet, and he recognised ABBA playing from the speaker.

"Hey baby" Harry’s voice startled her.

"Shit...you scared me" YN laughed. Harry had missed her laugh. It was one of his favourite sounds.

"Sorry..I didn't mean to...Abba huh?”.

"I remember when I was younger...me Mum would be doing her make-up or whatever..in her bedroom and..um...we would all be in there with her and she'd always play ABBA...and we would all dance and I dunno..sorry it's silly". As YN spoke, Harrg moved closer to her so he could listen.

"Hey..it's not silly..if listening to music helps...then do it" Harry gently spoke as he wrapped his arms around her in comfort. As she leaned her head on Harry’s chest, he had an idea. "Alexa..play Dancing Queen".

"What are you doin'?" YN looked up at him with a confused expression.

"We're going to dance!” Harry stated like it was the most obvious thing.

"Bu-" YN began before Harry interrupted her.

"No buts!” Harry’s voice was deep.

Ooh You can dance You can jive Having the time of your life Ooh, see that girl Watch that scene Digging the dancing queen

And that's how they got ready that afternoon, dancing around in their bedroom, singing into hairbrushes and forgetting the world around them for a moment.

---

Harry and YN were on their way to Fountain Studios, where Louis was performing his new song on The X Factor. As Harry drove, YN sat silently in the passenger seat as reality hit her again. Almost like it was a coincidence, a familiar song played through the speakers, causing their heads to snap towards each other.

"Fook off!" YN's voice broke the silence "They..I haven't..they don't play this on the radio anymore.” She couldn’t help but stutter.

"Almost like it was meant to be ey?”. Harry wore a big smile at how perfectly timed the song played.

"I remember when you sang this to me drunk once..cringey as fook it was". YN laughed at the memory,

"Don't fucking lie...you loved it". Harry was enjoying the happy moment between them.

"I did actually" YN finally admitted.

"Because you're gorgeous, I'd do anything for you, because you're gorgeous, I know you'll get me through" Harry sung along with the radio and reached over to hold her hand that sat on her knee.

As the song finished Harry was quick to speak again "You know I would do anything for you don't you?".

Her hand in Harry’s squeezed his slightly before she spoke the three words Harry loved hearing "I love you".

"I love you too gorgeous!”.

---

As they entered the busy room backstage where Louis and people from his team currently were, YN leaves Harry’s arms and immediately finds her brother in the crowd. Instantly they wrap their arms around each other and Harry can see Louis talk into her ear. Harry stands back in the corner and allows them to have their moment. From where he stands he can see YN nod slightly at whatever Louis says to her.

Two bodies break Harry from his thoughts as they stand next to him. “Hey man..how you doin'?”. Liam's the first one to talk.

"Just trying to be there for her if I'm 'onest..she just..she's trying to keep herself busy all the time" Harry explained to the two boys as he continued to look in YN’s direction.

"Must be so hard" Niall spoke as he took a glance at Louis and YN.

"We're gonna go and stay with my Mum for a few days before heading to Doncaster for Christmas...just escape reality for a bit...YN suggested it". Harry spoke about their plans for the next few weeks.

"Might be good..you know to be around other people..take her mind off things" Liam nodded his head.

"Yeah I hope so" Harry thought out loud, hoping they were right.

Louis was talking to a member of his team so YN made her way back over and Niall was the first to pull her into a brotherly embrace.

"Tomlinson...I've missed your hugs" Niall spoke as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Watching the sight in front of him made Harry realise how much love YN had around her.

"Yeah..well save some for the rest of us mate" Liam joked. YN moved from Niall's hold and greeted Liam in a hug. Harry could hear Liam's voice as he wrapped his arm around her. “We're all here for you too okay..don't be afraid to call or text okay?" to which YN thanked him. This wasn't just friendship, this was family.

"Is Lou okay?" Harry asked YN as she moved closer to him, before reaching to hold his hand.

"Think he's just holding it together if I'm 'onest" YN spoke as her fingers played with Harry, whilst looking over at her brother.

"Where's your Nan and Grandad...and the girls?" Harry asked as he looked around the room, not being able to see them. Niall and Liam were talking amongst themselves.

"Phebs and Dais wanted to see the audience empty or somethin'...I'm gonna stay backstage to watch Lou..if you don't mind?".

"Wh-why would I mind...we'll do whatever you're comfortable with" Harry reassured her and pecked her lips in a quick motion.

"Some things never change huh...still disgustingly in love..feel like I'm back in 2013" Niall teased them, which Harry was glad of because he thought that's what YN needed, for people to still act the same.

"Aw shut up Horan" YN laughed, as she pushed his arm playfully.

"I'll wait until you find the one" Harry joked as he pulled YN even closer to his side.

"I feel sorry for her already" YN continued to tease Niall as he stood there with a smile on his face.

"You're a cheeky shit Tommo..you know that" Niall joked.

Louis found them standing in the corner and pulled Niall then Liam into a hug and thanked them both for coming, explaining how much it meant to him. "C'mon Harold...I won't leave you out" Louis joked and Harry wrapped his arm around him as he whispers in his ear "Has she been okay?".

"Yeh and no" Harry truthfully answered, as they broke apart.

"I'm looking forward to hearing your song" Liam broke the silence.

"I'm so fookin' nervous man...I couldn't even finish sound check earlier..just dunno..felt like I was gonna throw up". Louis shrugged his shoulders, a nervous habit of his as he spoke.

Niall tapped Louis on the shoulder and reassured him "Hey..you're gonna do great Tommo...we're all right behind ya tonight yeh?".

"Yeh I know..thanks man" Louis wore a grateful smile. "I think Nan, Grandad and the girls are gonna sit in the audience..are you joining them Kiddo?". He aimed the question towards YN.

"I'm gonna stay backstage with Harry..and the boys" YN answered as she moved so she was standing in front of Harry and naturally his arm wrapped around her front and landed on her shoulder.

"Of course you are" Louis had a playful smirk on his face "Fookin' hell Styles...what's your secret, she never wants to leave your side?" Before he could respond, Louis continued before he walked away chuckling to himself "Actually don't fookin' answer that".

---

It had been a couple of days since Louis' X Factor performance and as YN requested they were in Holmes Chapel for a few days, before travelling to Doncaster for Louis's Birthday and Christmas. Harry and YN had arrived a couple of hours ago and as soon as they walked through Anne’s front door, YN was pulled into her arms. At any other time, Harry would have made a joke about her liking YN more than him, her son, but instead he carried on walking through the hallway and placing their bags at the bottom of the stairs.

After dinner later that night, they were sitting in the lounge, Gemma and Michael sat on one sofa with Robin and YN, Mum and Harry on the other. YN's back was pressed to Harry’s side and his arm wrapped around her frame and hand resting on her tummy. Harry had noticed she was quieter than usual as the rest of them chatted about different things, but Harry thought maybe she was concentrating on the film playing on the telly. Harry pressed his lips to the top of her head, and to his left, Harry felt his Mum give him a subtle nudge. As he turned to look at her she gave him a sympathetic look and mouthed "Is she okay?" as she nodded towards YN in Harry’d arms, to which he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm gonna go to the loo a sec" YN spoke for the first time in a while, as she stood up leaving the space next to Harry empty and walking towards the kitchen.

Anne asked if anyone wanted a cup of tea, to which everyone replied: "Yes please". Anne had been gone all for a few minutes until she appeared at the lounge door calling Harry’s name softly and motioning for him to follow her. As they walked through the kitchen door, she spoke in a whisper "I..I'm..I didn't want to knock on the door just in case...but I think YN is crying in there".

Harry didn't hesitate to walk over to the bathroom door and give it a soft knock "YN..it's me", he heard a sniffle, instantly knowing Anne was right.

"I-I..I'll be out now" YN's voice was heard through the door. Harry opened the door gently and peered around to see her frame sitting next to the bath on the floor, with her back pressed against the wall and knees up to her chest.

"Baby!”. Harry panicked and walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Harry sits next to YN on the ground and pulled her to his side where she grips onto his jumper and sobs into Harry’s chest as he holds the side of her. Harry allows her to cry and get everything she feels out. After some time she sits up and wipes her eyes with the sleeves of her jumper.

"Sorry" her voice is quiet, almost like she’s embarrassed.

"Babe..why are you saying sorry?". Harry voice was gentle, soft and calm as he wiped away another tear from her cheek.

"I-I...for..for crying" she sniffled trying to stop her tears from spilling.

"Don't you dare be sorry for that...you know it's okay to feel like this". Harry was sad that YN felt like she needed to apologise.

"It's just..I..it hits me more in the night" she confessed.

"I think that's normal..you kind of have more time to think".

"Yeh..I just miss her so much..this is probably really silly-".

"Whatever it is I bet it's not".

"I've been phoning her phone still and sending her texts" YN wiped a stray tear that escaped.

"Does it help?".

"Kind of".

"Then it's not silly and you should keep doing it".

"Why did you come in here anyway?" she questioned.

"My Mum was making everyone a cuppa and she heard you crying..she didn't want to come in just incase-".

YN's voice interrupted "She's got a heart of gold hasn't she?”.

"She does!”. Harry couldn’t help but smile.

---

It was now Christmas Eve, also Louis' birthday. Harry and YN travelled to Doncaster that morning from Anne’s house. Since that night Harry found YN in the bathroom upset, she seemed a bit more relaxed and not hiding away when she feels upset. As they walked through the door to YN's grandparent's house, they were both greeted by Jen and Len pulling them both in for a hug. As Jen began making them all cups of tea, they all stood in the kitchen chatting.

"Is Lou here yet" YN asked her grandparents, waiting for one of them to answer.

"No not yet..he said he'd be here around 4ish". Jen glanced at the brown clock that was up on the wall.

"Oh I was hoping he'd be here earlier than that-" YN began but was interrupted by a heard of footsteps and her four sisters appeared all running into her and hugging any part of her body they could.

"Missed me have ya?" YN’s voice turned into her happy and bubbly self. Harry wondered if it was for her sisters sake.

"Can you paint my nails?" "Can I do your make-up?" "Will you curl my hair" the girls all spoke over each other, making Harry chuckle.

"C'mon then munchkins, let's go" YN spoke, holding Pheobe and Daisy's hand as they walked through to the lounge and continued upstairs.

Once the girls' voices had disappeared upstairs, Jen looked in their direction to make sure they were upstairs, before handing Harry and Len their mugs of tea as they all sat by the table. "How's she been Harry?".

"She..um..she's been okay..but she did break down in my Mum's the other night, I found her crying on the bathroom floor" Harry explained, as he watched the older couple take a glance at eachother .

"I knew she wasn't being truthful with me" Jen spoke with a sad expression.

"I think she wants to be strong for you all" Harry admitted, taking a sip of his boiling hot tea.

"She's always been stubborn..ever since she was little hasn't she Jen?”. Len sighed.

"Yeh..her and Louis both..oh Harry they would argue like mad...typical siblings really...and then the next minute they were like best mates...YN always looks for Louis for when she's upset..always has done" Jen reminised.

"Yeh she told me that when she's with him she feels like she's at home..a comfort thing I suppose" Harry admitted, thinking about what YN had told him before.

---

Just after 4, Louis arrived and just like the girls had greeted YN when she arrived, the five of them all ran to him shouting 'Happy Birthday'.

"Harold...I'm very disappointed that you didn't run to me too" Louis joked as he walked towards Harry.

"Happy Birthday mate" Harry said witha big grin and tapped his shoulder.

"Thanks lad!”.

"Right..c'mon then you lot..let's get some music on and let's celebrate me turning 25" Louis ordered his sisters. The younger girls ran into the lounge and decided which songs to play first. Harry stood back and watched as Louis and YN walked together, Louis's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

As Jen and Len stayed in the kitchen, preparing dinner and insisted they didn't need any of Harry’s help, he stood in the doorway of the lounge as the Tomlinsons danced around the room singing along to 'Shut Up and Dance".

"Harry c'mon...you can't just stand there" Daisy began to pull Harry into the chaos.

"B-but I can't dance" Harry protested, but it was no use.

"Neither can Louis..it's fine" Phoebe teased her older brother as he acted hurt and put a hand over his heart. The song changes and 'This One's For You' plays through the speaker.

As Harry spins Daisy around and she continues to dance. Harry looks over at YN as she dances with the older girls and as she catches his gaze, he sends her a wink that makes her shyly smile back at him.

We're in this together Hear our hearts beat together We stand strong together We're in this forever

Tag List: (let me know if you would like to be added) @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @harrys-flower @platinumbarbie143 @frickin-bats @harrysbbyh0ney fanfictioncafe lilfreakjez jerseygirlinca iamahallucinationnn @chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r  @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @kaverichauhan @peterholland04 @panicattheuc @indierockgirrl

[slaaverin]

Hey Slavv

you’re video edit was wonderful, thank you for sharing it with us

I just wondered what you thought about the episode as a whole? Did the baby conversation make you take pause? I hope they are able to stay together despite not being able to be parents in the future.

Ohh thank you so much 💜

This question is quite hard for me to answer properly.

First of all, I really loved it. I had a very peculiar and quite strong reaction to it. I'll try to put it in words the best I can.

I'll start with a simple thing: in my 7 years of being a jikooker, that is all I ever wanted to see from them.

Being relaxed, happy, joyous, authentic, confortable.

So this felt like some kind of apoteose. Everything came full circle. For them & for me.

When you think about it, nothing really happened in this episode, they were doing the most mundane things, but there was this vibe of the most comfort, the most warmth, the most quiet and simple love, that my heart was deeply touched by it and after it hit me I really had no words to describe the feeling I had. It's deep stuff lol

Somehow they always exceed my expectations. I'm not those people who say "I expect nothing so I won't get disappointed". No, I expect things. But not because I want them to do certain stuff, more because I feel I know them sufficiently, and some of their patterns, and I see them within the love umbrella, so it gets easier and easier to predict what they might do or not. How crazy this is that they check absolutely all the boxes everytime and confirm every theory? I'm trying to stay sane of mind over here but no they want me to be the most delulu lol

Of course the ambiance really helped the episode to feel dream-like. And we know how much Japan means to them. JK must have said 384737 times how much he loved it and how happy he was.

Nothing was hanging on their shoulders anymore, no burdens, and I think that's why they were able to enjoy it this much.

It's quite insane when you think about it how fluid this all was. Like nothing felt out of place, conversation flowed easily, they are on the same wavelength about everything, they spoke openly, they had fun and let their inner child play, everything felt SO EASY. Their dynamic is just perfect, no hiccups, it just fits, jives, it clicks.

Now I am wondering how the hell they are not already a human representation of the Cosmic couple because if there is supposed to be a next level to this relationship I can't even imagine what that would look like. How much better can it get? It's so full of love already. Anyway I digress

About the child talk, firstly I was expecting this talk in Sapporo indeed. It was obvious they would at least mention it. So when I saw the scene I was already prepared mentally.

It doesn't make me worry about jikook because I think that if at some point they will want a child, they'll get to have one. Jimin or Jungkook can firstly adopt as a single parent (a bill has been passed about this in Korea recently) and then raise the child together unofficially. Or they can use a surrogate mother from overseas or something. You know they are filthy rich so I think if they REALLY want to, they would find a way.

But JK isn't ready about it yet lmao leave this man alone for now 😂

When and if it is the right time for the both of them there will be solutions so I'm not worried. This moment was really cute 🥰

Who knows what the future holds for them. Many years before we would have never expected to see them even shirtless, we would have not believed we would see their dynamic up this close in a show like this.

Things can evolve quickly. Who knows how things will develop with BTS as well, for how long will they remain a group?

It's true they are getting old, in "idol age".

Who knows how the country will evolve too?

I trust Jimin&Jungkook to make decisions about their future that will benefit them and their relationship. Maybe it will involve a child, maybe not. But I personally don't think they would break up because of this. You can see how precious their relationship is for them.

But only time will tell if I'm right.

Anyway, I could go over all the scenes of this episode and talk about it for hours.

I know this was an ephemeral dream for them this trip, like a time capsule, a bubble of normalcy, where everything is and means suddenly more. There was nothing and everything they needed at the same time. Ahh, so beautiful 🥺

I wish their lives were all the time like this, but it is what it is, they had to come down from the cloud, and face their duty, then it will be their schedule, and things will go back to regular program.

But for now I don't mind losing myself in the dream with them, and float, and pretend everything is the way they want it to be.

"All for your happiness" Jimin said

If they are happy, I am happy.

Let's enjoy those next 2 eps, I think we're in for other surprises.

Thank you for your ask 💜

[malorisaurus]

No shade, promise! I just don't really understand taking murderous and toxic couples that we love for those traits and putting them in scenes of domestic docility? In other contexts, I am perfectly happy to watch characters arrive at their conception of domestic bliss, so it isn't necessarily a problem of not jiving with the concept. Perhaps I get too hung up on my own ideas of what would make sense for a character?

For example, embracing while being gutted/gutting is definitely a penetrative sex act, and bleeding out on the kitchen floor is climax. Even when not doing a stab, characters that express intimacy as though it is a chess game to be won light me up. I am obsessed with that particular dynamic, and I don't really imagine scenes where they set those aspects aside to play out cultural ideals of domestic tranquility. I don't mind or judge people for imagining that, but I just don't understand it (literally). I am trying to! I will often like images that people create because they are so talented and it is clear that so much love goes into it. Plus, little snapshots like that are easier for me to wrap my head around. I struggle more with fanfiction.

To continue to use Hannibal and Will as an example (if it wasn't obvious in the above), I don't even anticipate them having particularly vanilla sex. Vanilla sex was a part that Hannibal played with the people that he was fooling (Alana). And hey, my dude still likes to get off. Good on him. With Bedelia, my personal interpretation was that their relationship flirted with wider exploration, but Hannibal was still playing a part. In my world, if Hannibal and Will even have sex (much of the time, I don't even get there and instead ruminate over their power dynamics as desire), they get absolutely freaky-deaky, and their growth is counter to everything that is held up as ideal culturally (in the US). No nuclear family, obsession as a feature not a bug, and a deep commitment to absolute depravity. And there is plenty of that to be had amongst the fans, to be sure.

I suppose for me, these characters are a vehicle to allow the exploration and expansion of something within me, becoming, as fiction always does, my own. This, of course, is also happening for everyone else. I think what confuses me is reconciling an attraction to these "depraved" aspects of these characters and then seemingly removing them entirely? What is happening for people there? What is it doing for them? What makes that exciting and what feelings arise? Is it a way to reconcile one's own attraction to those themes and dynamics with ideas of how relationships should look? Or is it simply a joy in placing characters in unlikely and varied scenarios? Of course there are probably a million answers.

I am glad that there is a diversity of expression through the characters and these shows, though. I think this is one of the reasons I so obsessively watched film and TV growing up. Going through this process has really helped me to understand a lot more about people. I despise not understanding! XD

[greenerteacups]

Hey GTC, I have always been such a fan of your Tumblr and your engagement with the fandom. However I must say that as of late, the questions you’re being asked most often are essentially variants of “Will X happen?” or “Will Y character do Z like in the book?” or even, “I’m noticing Theme A, will it continue in future chapters?”

A significant element of the fun that you’ve created for Lionheart readers is that we don’t know which elements and events of the JKR texts you’ll preserve untouched and which you’ll turn into the sixth and seventh year Lionheart storylines. I adore making my guesses to which parts of canon you’ll play with and which parts you’ll completely and utterly upend. Unfortunately, questions that ask about canon events in books 5-7 ruin so much of the fun.

Historically, you’ve used the Ask box to provide us with analyses of your own work and characterizations, but I feel as if recently you are often indulging questions about books 5, 6, and 7. I hate to say it, but I even feel that your answers veer into spoiler territory. I used to lurk your Tumblr incessantly, but since I’ve started to see this influx in predictive questions these past couple weeks, I’ve been avoiding the app.

It’s such a gift that we get to engage with your work on such a vibrant epistolary and interactive space as your Tumblr. I know that you can’t control what fans ask, but I humbly request that you please consider refusing to answer questions that ask you to ponder future events. Thank you for your tender care to everyone in the fandom. ❤️‍🔥🦁🧡

Hey, what's up, dude. I hear you. Sorry about that.

The problem is that the line between spoilers and not spoilers is totally subjective, and the line between "spoilers that are fine" and "spoilers that bother me" is also totally subjective. I don't know where you are on it, but we probably don't line up, and that's okay. I just don't know how I'd begin to sort out questions that one person considers "too much" from what someone else just thinks is fun analysis. My hard rules are as follows: I don't answer any questions about future ships, events, or arcs (and I get a lot). I haven't revealed anything that I would be unhappy to discover in a Tumblr askbox instead of a fic itself. True, I've dropped teaser/trailer stuff for 6 and 7, but to be honest, even looking over the stuff I've posted recently — I hate to say it, but I disagree with you. It isn't spoilers. Not to me, anyway.

But that's just me! There's no right or wrong answer here, it's just a coordination problem of how we can both cultivate social media experiences that make us happy. For instance: I like answering questions about my fic. It makes me happy to talk to people who want to know what happens. It encourages me and gets me excited to write about it, and I don't believe that any of the content on my Tumblr spoils what's going to happen. I don't really want to stop doing that, so I'm not going to. If that means you and other readers whose spoiler thresholds are below mine can't engage with my Tumblr, that's a natural consequence of us having different attitudes about media, and it was bound to happen. I'm sorry that that's the case, but it would bring me much more grief for you to injure your reading experience than it would for you to avoid my (largely irrelevant) e-journal full of random metatext. I love my fic, and I love my readers, you most certainly included; I do not, candidly speaking, love my Tumblr account. And for what it's worth, I absolutely do not think anything I've written on here is worth diminishing your experience of a story you enjoy. It wouldn't jive with my philosophy of literature and art.

So here's what I got: I'll continue tagging spoilers about past and current events as [#lionheart spoilers], and if a question makes reference to events not published, I'll use the tag [#prognosticating]. That way you can block the tag, and other readers can enjoy content that fits under their threshold of non-spoilerism. If our thresholds still don't line up, then I think the only solution may really be to block the [#lionheart spoilers] tag altogether. That's probably not the answer you're looking for, but it's the best I can do.

[hangon-silvergirl]

The HellCheer Holiday Mixtape

OH HEY. I'm a sucker for a festive fandom, so behold my seasonal challenge TO YOU: The Hellcheer Holiday Mixtape!

For 12 days starting December 13th, express your Freak and Cheerleader affections as inspired by holiday music prompts (if one so titillates you), and in whatever medium you please!

Guidelines:

There are no constraints on your level of participation; do it all, do some, do none, doesn't matter; JUST HAVE FUN

Same goes for themes and subject matter; just please respect the rules of content curation and slap on appropriate tags. We observe DLDR in this house

Except, uh, whatever you post should be, you know, festive. And tie back to the prompt at least tenuously

Late posts count!!!

Tag your contributions with #hellcheerholidaymixtape (so I can see them and share them)

Share on any platform you like, but x-post here bc I'm only tumblin'

Don't be shitty (for this quest in particular, but also generally speaking)

All songs are on the Spotify playlist:

If you have thoughts, concerns, or questions, my ask box is open!

Prompts below!

13 December

"Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)" - The Ramones

"Jingle Bell Rock" - Hall & Oates

"Run, Run, Rudolph" - Bryan Adams

14 December

"Hard Candy Christmas" - Dolly Parton

"Another Lonely Christmas" - Prince

"It Must Have Been the Mistletoe (Our First Christmas)" - Barbara Mandrell

15 December

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" - Band Aid

"Christmas in Dixie" - Alabama

"Let's Party" - Jive Bunny & the Master Mixers

16th December

"Christmas In My Heart" - The Jets

"Thank God It's Christmas" - Queen

"Silent Night" - The Hooters

17th December

"Wonderful Christmastime" - Paul McCartney

"Santa's Beard" - They Might Be Giants

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - U2

18th December

"Funky, Funky Xmas" - New Kids On The Block

"Hazy Shade of Winter" - The Bangles

"Merry Christmas, Everyone" - Shakin' Stevens

19th December

"Christmas Wrapping" - The Waitresses

"It's Christmas All Over the World" - Sheena Easton

"2000 Miles" - The Pretenders

20th December

"Fairytale of New York" - The Porgues (ft. Kirsty MacColl)

"Sleigh Ride" - Air Supply

"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" - Al Green & Annie Lennox

21st December

"Christmas in Hollis" - RUN DMC

"Mistletoe & Wine" - Cliff Richard

"Father Christmas" - The Kinks

22nd December

"Driving Home for Christmas" - Chris Rea

"She Won't Be Home" - Erasure

"The Power of Love" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

23rd December

"Christmas With The Devil" - Spinal Tap

"Things Fall Apart" - Christina

"Peace In Our Time" - Eddie Money

24th December

"Last Christmas" - Wham!

"Merry Christmas, Baby" - Bruce Springsteen

"Santa, Baby" - Madonna

[azuhrasims]

Adventures in Playing with Unicorn Mods 🦄

I went out mod hunting today and was rewarded with a new mod find on MTS called Unicorn Adventures by LuSimLaStars. As the unicorn addict that I am, I knew this mod had to go in my game. Right now. I also knew it had to go in with Spinning Plumbob's Unicorn Mod for Horse Ranch. I had to know if they would play well together.

Unicorn Adventures adds a variety of unicorn interactions to game play. Phone options, rabbit holes to visit, a new lot trait, AND it changes the name of Sylvan Glade to Unicornville - which, holy unicorn poop, made me laugh so hard. It was the name change to Sylvan Glade that made me want to test this mod with the Unicorn Mod installed. You go to the Sylvan Glade to find unicorns you see.

Long story short, these mods play nice together. I just go to Unicornville to find unicorns now, you jive?

Sims can start their unicorn adventure by buying a Unicornology book or three from a bookshelf. Its right there among the skill books when you look to read it! This gets your sim the Unicornology skill. Each level of the skill unlocks new interactions and options for your sim to participate in. Woot!

When your sim builds the Unicornology skill, they unlock a new phone menu - Sparkles. In there are a variety of unicorn activities your sim can do. Also, travel activities to send your sims to rabbit holes! Despite this screenshot, going to the cinema to watch a Pony movie really is just a walk-off-the-lot rabbithole. Hey, comes with a custom buff though!

There is a whole chat menu that opens up as your sim learns Unicornology. You can ramble at other sims about unicorns all day long if you want! There is also supposed to be a pie menu on the computer to run a unicorn blog and write a unicorn book - as of today (May 17th, 2024) I can't get this to show up for me. I stripped every mod from the game except this and the xml injector and still no computer options. I let the creator know about that. Could be just a me thing though, who knows.

That Uni stuffed animal that toddlers can babble at? You know the one. The Unicorn Adventure mod makes that into the portal to Sylvan Glade Unicornville. Click the view option on it a few times until other options begin to show up. Its a text based adventure to get in, just like Sylvan Glade has always been.

You can still use the classic tree portal in Willow Creek as well, but having the Uni as a portal in your sim's house is pretty useful. Once you make it to Sylvan Glade Unicornville, those with the Unicorn Mod installed can search for unicorns just like they always have.

The unicorn, Gary (thank you, game, for that magical random name) showed up after a few searches and we are all set to have a real unicorn in our family and talk about unicorns ad nauseam with every dang nabbed sim we meet. 🦄🦄🦄

[oneknightstand-if]

FAQ

(That I just made up because there's no time for questions yet)

600,000+ words for the first chapter?!?

(Damn, Tumblr insists on blowing up even small gifs into full size, huh)

I know, I know... that's not going to be sustainable unless we're aiming for the first 6 million word release in history. I'll be streamlining things more from this point onwards.

Is this a standalone or the first book of a series?

It's a series. The first book One Knight Stand will keep going until we finally complete that Lesser Circle of Seven (or die trying) but the apocalypse won't be over yet.

What is with all these wikipedia links in the game?

So I was going to have tooltips that popped up and explained things such as 'greaves' and whatnot like Twine games do… but oops, Choicescript doesn't have that capability. The closest I could do is include a link to a website that explained it.

I decided that wikipedia had the best chance of still being available years from now and have handy explanations to most things I was referencing (so I wouldn't have to chase after broken links when sites go down forevermore).

And then I just started running amok and linking to anything that the player might not know offhand. If you already understand the reference or have no further interest in it, please feel free to just ignore them.

How can I see the code for the game?

You can view the game code on my site the same way you do on Dashingdon just add /scenes to the end of the URL.

Do I need to know anything about King Arthur, Camelot, or random arthurian lore to play this game?

No, you don't need to know anything about it.

You can spend the whole game going "Who is Arthur? What's a Camels-a-lot? What am I even doing here?" as a legit strategy. (You can even play that way if you actually do know stuff about arthuriana.)

If you choose to be an in-game lore expert, it just means your MC is as likely to give an explanation as one of the other characters. However, anything important that the player needs to know will come up in the game itself.

You can also ask the other characters for info dumps on Camelot... and boy, will some of them give you (completely skippable) lore dumps all right.

Hey, this stuff that Merlin's saying about Camelot doesn't jive with what I know!

Maybe that's the difference between what canonically happened in One Knight Stand's backstory. Or maybe Merlin is just gaslighting you.

What's going on with Merlin's pronouns?

If Merlin's pronouns don't fit with the gender that you've chosen for them within the MC's speech or internal narrative, then that's a coding error (please report it).

If another character (say a little girl who's convinced that Merlin is Elsa) is using different pronouns for Merlin than what's expected, then that's simply how that other character is currently perceiving Merlin.

But what pronouns does Merlin prefer?

Merlin doesn't care what human pronouns you use for them. Out-of-universe I'll be using they/them for simplicity's sake (same reason I'll be using 'incubus' instead of typing incubus/succubus the entire time).

What's up with all of Merlin's kaomoji in their text messages and e-mails?

They're a fifth-century mage who's been sealed away for 1500 years... they're *trying*.

 m(✿￣ｰ￣)m plz understand

Why are there so many Merlin questions in this FAQ?

I don't know, it just ended up that way. Probably because they show up in Chapter 1 and have a rather... complex... situation that needs warnings attached to it.

(✿≖ᴗ≖ )ゞ "Naturally, I'm simply the most intriguing member of this party."

Are all RO's available to all MC's?

Your MC won't be blocked from a romance due to gender or sexuality. At most you'll get a passing mention if you're not the gender that the RO usually dates.

There are certain *other* mitigating factors, however... for example not all RO's are going to be kosher with the Serial Killer MC (especially if said MC won't knock off with all the killings).

Also there is one modern day RO that is incompatible with a certain Camelot MC background.

Is there a lock-in point for romances?

No, there will be several points where you can initiate and break-off relationships with the various RO's (and know that the RO's can take take those on and off-ramps just the same as the MC).

You can also romance another character after breaking up with your current RO... but that's going to get tougher and tougher the more you do that.

Can we start a romance in Book 1?

Romances will proceed at a different pace depending on who your MC is romancing (and also on your MC themselves). For example Adrian will be friendzoning you through most of Book 1 for... reasons. Meanwhile, potential sex scene with Merlin in Chapter 3 if you're feeling particularly horny.

Do I need to romance someone to take part in their personal subplot?

No, you just need to be "close" to someone, either platonically, romantically, or otherwise to take part in their subplot. You'll also need to actually be physically present (which will not always be possible for everyone at the same time).

Is there any poly?

In the series, yes, but not in the first book One Knight Stand, as forming the triad will require developing a certain level of trust and loyalty between all three members. And right now everyone is too busy side-eying each other in suspicion at this point.

Thus, since the poly options won't appear until Book 2, saying who is involved would be a *spoiler* since it indicates who'll actually still be available for romance later in the series.

In general, there are three triads that will be available... one is male/male/MC, one is female/female/MC, and one is male/female/MC. Note that there is some overlap in the characters potentially involved in various triads since only a couple of the ROs are interested in this sort of thing.

What about options for flings and friends with benefits--

*points to Merlin*

So... Merlin the incubus as an RO. Can they be romanced monogamously? Can they be romanced asexually?

You can indeed romance Merlin and have them be emotionally monogamous to you as the partner they will always return to while everyone else is a (literal) snack.

But they can't be physically monogamous with the MC. They need to eat and being Merlin's sole food source would literally kill the MC in two weeks or less.

In fact, romanced Merlin is even more likely to seek out other food sources just to make certain that the MC is safe with them and that they won't get too hungry and accidentally eat your soul.

Merlin's nature as an incubus means their sexuality is highly integral to them, and while they will reflect back what their partner wants/needs from them, they are not naturally romantic. Basically if you're not having sex with them, then a high affinity MC is defaulting back to platonic friends.

These are things that are definitely going to be brought up in-game if you try to initiate a long-term romance with Merlin.

Will any other RO have problems with an asexual romance?

Nope, sex can be entirely avoided with all the other RO's, just choose the snuggle options instead of the sex options.

How explicit are we talking here regarding sex scenes?

You'll have the choice between fade to black and something rather more explicit but not full-blown porn. If anything rated higher than that gets included as a DLC option (not part of the base game) will depend upon how much (if any) interest there is in that sort of thing.

Can I romance the saboteur?

You can certainly *think* you are! (Note: This is not recommended for your MC's longevity)

Can I romance the 404 Error?

You can certainly *try*. (You actually have a better chance here than with the actual saboteur.)

Can I romance the dude in the elevator, that random paramedic, or some stranger walking down the street?

( ⓪ ᴗ ⓪ )

So there's only one traitor, right?

There may actually potentially be more than one depending on the MC's actions. But there's always that one particular saboteur present despite whatever else the MC may do.

Will the gender of my past Camelot reincarnation be the same as the one I've chosen in game?

No, there's no connection between your MC's current and past gender (or really their current and past *anything* since they're basically an entirely different person now).

There are four different backgrounds available for the Camelot reincarnation, 2 male and 2 female, so if you end up with a past incarnation you don't like at the end of the game, you can replay for one more suitable to your tastes.

How is the MC's past Camelot Incarnation determined?

Mostly through your choices during the Camelot flashback sequences. Mostly.

Who are the potential past incarnations of the MC?

That's for you to find out! (No really, this is one of the major subplots of the game).

What is with all these grayed-out options?

Options will be grayed out if they conflict with a previous choice the player made if you haven't fulfilled the prerequisites for unlocking them.

An example would be the "I'm lying about my amnesia" option not being selectable if you didn't chose to have amnesia in the first place. (The exception right now is the fencing & book club choices... I just haven't written those routes yet).

If nearly *all* the options have been grayed out, then usually that's triggered by your fear or vice kicking in or because your MC is literally possessed (Congratulations!). You may want to work on that.

I'm here for the story and not for the trauma… what background choices are least likely to spectacularly blow up in my face later?

In that case, I'd suggest the Lab Technician job, the Imposter secret, Abandoned or Abused as your childhood, Lust as your vice if you're not planning to pursue a long-term relationship with a RO (Sloth if you are), either Heights, Snakes, Spiders, or Closed Spaces as your phobia, avoiding Luck as your talent & avoiding the Internet as your addiction, and finally having Adrian as your close friend.

Not saying that you can't make other choices during the game that'll set you on the path to Hard Mode, but these background choices have the mildest potential repercussions.

I want the full spectacular clusterf*ck experience here! What background should I choose?

The Wrath (Vice), Accident (Childhood), and Serial Killer (Secret) combo is always f̴u̸n̷. The "Lying about my amnesia" secret is also it's own brand of mindtrip as well.

Also, some other options include starting off as a Security Guard as your career, with Fear Itself as your phobia (blood or death are also 'good' options), Luck as your talent, the Internet as your addiction, and of course Adrian as your stalker because obviously we don't need any good relationships to fall back on when playing Among Us.

What is going on with the "lying about your amnesia" option?

What indeed.

If you don't like meta fourth wall breaks or otherwise heavily self insert, you might not want to choose that as your secret.

My MC's skin is pretty dark, is that demonic-bruise thing actually going to be seeable?

Since the bruise being perceivable is an important plot point, then no matter how dark your MC's skin is, that bruise is darker still even if has to become the abiding abyss of a black hole to do so. (I even described it as a black hole in some routes to cover my posterior.)

My MC is intrigued by this agenda of demonic conquest & people-eating and would like to subscribe to their newsletter. Can I join the other side?

Well... there's certainly some Dead Ends where you can do that!

Screw all these people and this forced quest! My MC wants to leave the group and this plot behind.

You can certainly do that. You'll die (since your MC is currently on the top of several different 'Kill on sight' lists), but you can do it.

At some point the MC will be strong enough that they can split from the group and frolic off into their own nonstandard ending adventures in the apocalyptic world while everyone else deals with the whole apocalypse plot thing. But you're nowhere near that point yet.

So the MC can die prematurely here, huh.

Yep, this game is horror-adjacent and you're being given a hundred save slots for a reason. I'll be inputting checkpoints as well once we come to that part. Hopefully Choice of Games will start allowing normal save points in the near future.

Also, please note that all the Dead Ends include clues towards the truth of what's going on here that may otherwise not be knowable, so they're not complete wastes of time. Also, they all give Achievements.

What is a Cloudcuckoolander etc?

Please see this post for all your cloudcuckoolander needs.

What is going on with the Changeling MC?

Please see this post for all your changeling needs.

OMG, what the hell is this monstrosity that is Merlin's Guide to Arthurian Lore?

We're playing Among Us/Werewolf/Mafia/etc here. You aren't getting any word-of-god lore directly from me. That'd be too easy.

All info about the One Knight Stand world will be filtered through the natural biases (and lies) of the characters involved in the game. Hence, Merlin's Guide to Arthurian Lore.

Feel free to read or ignore, as you like. (Also feel free to text Merlin back and tell them exactly what you think of that doorstop.)

So Why 'Among Us' in the description?

Obviously, it can't be officially marketed like that, but I thought that would be the most popularly recognized description for this type of situation.

I also considered using the OG Mafia or Werewolf instead, but I thought that might've confused people into thinking that there are actual gangsters and werewolves present in the game.

About those werewolves...

No comment.

Are there any guides available?

Here's a link to various guides & info posts available on the Choice of Games thread.

Escaping the Monster Under the Bed

Getting Excalibur Shards

Gaining/Avoiding Corruption

Gaining/Avoiding Fear

Potential Past Incarnations

Saving & Getting Pippa Killed | Version 2

Saving Zain

Potential Camelot Incarnations

Camelot Family Trees

Quick Guide to Sparring with Lancelot

My save slots keep getting stuck in the Status Menu! (or any of the submenus associated with it such as Messages/Inventory/etc)

Unfortunately, that's a common problem with Dashingdon games or any games that use the smPlugin.js save system (like One Knight Stand). You can't save the game directly after checking the stats menu (or any of the submenus associated with the stats menu such as Messages, Inventory, menu). If you do, that save will be permanently stuck in the stats menu for good.

So you either have to...

Save the game before checking the stats menu

After checking the stats menu move the game forward by at least one screen before saving. That means picking an option, hitting the 'Next' button or whatever is currently available in that particular game.

I keep getting an error in the game.

Before reporting any errors, please clear your browser's cache (just the cache, not the cookies, localStorage, or any other browser data) and refresh the page.

Then, if you're loading an old save slot, check the Status Menu to make certain that your stats haven't been reset back to default (which can be caused by the data in the save slot corruption). If the Status Menu variables have reset back to their original values, you'll have to load another Save or restart from the beginning of the game).

If you're still getting an error message after trying these steps, please feel free to send in a bug report.

When will the Book Club Route be done?

When it's done. There's no set date at this point and considering the time investment (3-4 months for 150,000-175,000 words) and how burnt out I currently am with Chapter 1, it won't be anytime soon.

I will also no longer be responding to any update requests regarding the book club.

What the hell is going on with Gawain in Merlin's Guide to Arthurian Lore?

So, while I was plotting out One Knight Stand and deciding which version of Arthurian lore would be taken as the "truth" of the OKS world, I looked at Gawain and his five million wives and lovers (because if you were going to create a female OC back then, high probability she's shacking up with Gawain) and then I decided, yes, I'm going to make all of them canon.

The yandere. The other yandere. The one who dosed him with aphrodisiacs. That one who died of heartbreak because he couldn't figure out how to get back to her castle. The cursed baba yaga.

Merlin's cursed ex-lover. [insert Merlin screeching in the background about not having done any such thing] The fairy daughter of Morgana... and that other fairy... and this fairy too.

All of them.

Good luck, Gawain.

[agoddamn]

While we're talking about inconsistencies with the new update--what the fuck is this.

"Warframe insurrections?" I thought at first he was talking about the Night of the Drums and the Collapse, but that doesn't track.

1) Night of the Drums was purposeful and orchestrated. The whole galaxy knows that, to the point where Tenno are still known as betrayers millennia later.

Loid calls the Insurrections (and hey, Insurrections plural?) madness. Savage. Something they succumbed to. That doesn't jive with the Night of the Drums.

2) "Fugitives," to whom giving shelter meant death. All text we have on the Collapse says that it caused instant mayhem as the entire leadership of the Orokin Empire was beheaded. Who had the power and organization and resources to be declaring anyone a fugitive at this point?

2.5) Who would a Warframe need to be a fugitive from? If a Warframe straight up decided to leave the Orokin weren't strong enough to win in that hand-to-hand. That's the entire reason their whole thing was soft control and indoctrination through the Tenno themselves having no identity, ranging up to hard control with the Dax mind control. They needed to do all that in the first place because they weren't physically gonna win against the walking nuke.

3) "We?" What the fuck do you mean "we," kemo sabe?

Loid didn't know about the Collapse in WitW. This is why he calls you a deserter when he first meets you; he thinks the Empire still exists. He thinks there's still an Empire to desert.

So Loid must mean 'we' in the sense of him and the Cavia after waking up in the modern day, right?

Except that doesn't track either. He's reminiscing in these lines, not reflecting on new knowledge he's recently learned. "I remember when...", "those like Dante became fugitives...". He's not talking like this is historical record he just read about, he's talking like he was there. This doesn't fit at all with his WitW dialog.

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

Hola Cheeto! You seem like a good person to ask this:

I’m feeling like my writing is in a bit of a slump, like I’m saying things in the same way every time. Do you have any advice on how to spice up one’s writing?

:)

Hey! First off, I would like to offer an encouragement. A lot of times in the art world, they say getting into a slump means you're about to have a wonderful breakthrough/revelation. I believe that the same thing occurs in writing. So, don't worry. Just keep pushing, and you'll reach that breakthrough your subconscious is cooking up <3

Anyways, I do have a few words of advice, if you want to speed the process up :)

1. Read. A LOT

In general, I believe that input = output, when it comes to reading and writing. Not in an easy 1:1 way, but in the way that your style, your storylines, and your choices are influenced by authors you read. Thus, if you want to improve your writing, my number one piece of advice would be to read, and to target your reading. If you're struggling with vocabulary, read some poetry. If you're struggling with original plotlines and emotional turns, read outside of your regular genre in order to get yourself some more perspective. Bing some fics that capture the feeling you're going for, and figure out not only what they do right, but how. Heck, read a fic that makes the same mistake as you do, see if you can figure out where they went wrong and how you'd fix the mistake in your own work. We're all learning together, and it's a great process <3

2. Identify and analyze the problem in your own work

Reread one of your pieces that doesn't jive with you, and not only identify where it doesn't work, but justify why it doesn't work with evidence. If your words are repetitive, highlight them and perhaps make yourself a list of your crutch words. If your action isn't strong enough, figure out which verbs you can spice up and how you can streamline your cause/effect to get the most punch out of your sentences. If your scenarios are repetitive across your writing, you can note that too, if it bothers you. If you can't figure what's wrong---instead, mark the places that you DO like, and by process of elimination you can probably figure it out. Next, as in the step before, brainstorm how to fix it. Search up some synonyms to your crutch words. Read some professional author's advice on how to reorder your fight scenes. Search up tropes that you may not have used before, etc.

However, we are our own worst critics when it comes to self-evaluation, and paying attention while you read and taking notes can feel like a high school English class and can be rather unenjoyable. Additionally, insecurity can make us see mistakes where there are none. So, here's my final piece of advice.

3. Beta Read (And if you can, swap beta read)

This is the best of both worlds, in my opinion, and the one that has improved my writing the most. First, you get your eyes on another's work, and you're literally tasked to pick out the things that you don't like and to say why, which gives you more experience to do so in your own work and perhaps even lets you solve a few problems in your own work before they even crop up. Additionally, you now don't have to go through the horrible slog of evaluating your own work (although, you probably shouldn't give it to the other person until it's pretty postable (@needfantasticstories I'm so sorry I'm so sorry about Ch 24 Skip I'm sorry about the convolutedness of Arc 3 please---)). You can ask THEM to figure out what's wrong where, and, if they're open to it, you can brainstorm together how to fix it, which is so much more fun than doing it alone. Heck, if you have a good idea what's wrong, you can set them after it specifically. And obviously, you don't have to take a beta's advice if you don't think it fits (phrases that belong on wattpad) but it's a good way to get your brain chugging on how you should fix it.

Anyways, there's my little rant. If you're already doing all of the above---my advice would be to just keep pushing, friend. As I said before, I've heard that in the art world, a slump means you're about to have a breakthrough. It's not that your work has gotten worse, it's just that your taste has changed and gotten better---now, your skill just has to catch up to that new level. You'll do great things, whatever it is that you're cooking up. I know that you've got this.

[multiplicity-positivity]

Do you have any advice for systems who recently had a massive influx of new members? Especially when these members present as their own system (essentially like a sidesystem I guess?) We're trying to work together, but it feels like two strangers were suddenly thrown into a living situation together and we're struggling to connect and work with each other (it's a lot of "us vs. them" right now)

We're also confused and somewhat struggling because the main system (A) is non-disordered, but the introjected system (B) has a lot of really awful trauma from exomemories and this exotrauma still affects them (one of them was in front recently and was getting flashbacks of something that happened within their exo/source life) and because of this and exomemories, system B describes their plurality as being disordered.

How do we go about all this? Any advice is useful

hey, so your situation sounds kind of complex - we’re sorry in advance if this response gets a bit long!

first of all, strangers quite often do get thrown into living situations together. this is something that happens quite regularly in real life. it can certainly be uncomfortable and a bit intimidating, but there are things you all can do to slowly start getting to know one another. perhaps try to set aside some time every day to try and get to know each other. you can ask each other questions, or try to find some kind of activity y’all can do together that could help y’all bond and learn a bit more about each other.

maybe try passing around this headmate form created by a part in our system for everyone to fill out as they wish:

getting to know everyone may take some time and energy, but that is absolutely normal and something to be expected. also, if not all headmates are able to click and jive well together, that’s okay. not every system member has to have familial or friendly relationships. maybe viewing each other as roommates, acquaintances, or coworkers could help tone down relationship expectations and help everyone feel a bit more comfortable with each other.

and, as y’all go along, as conflicts and arguments do arise, we also have a post on dealing with these sorts of things which may help you:

regarding dealing with trauma from exomemories, we truly feel that healing from events that the body did not physically experience may look incredibly similar to healing from real world trauma. so getting therapy, learning grounding and coping techniques, journaling, creating art, and allowing yourselves time to process at your own pace are all good things to consider.

often with exotrauma, there very well may be real-world trauma at the root of it, so be careful and ready to help each other if and when a memory of a real-world event surfaces. maybe come together to create a safety plan to keep your whole system safe in the event of certain headmate struggling to cope with a traumatic exomemory. be open and honest with each other, and try to provide support to the best of each of your abilities.

disordered vs. nondisordered does not have to be a black and white experience. it’s possible for systems to be complex, with varying levels of impairments caused by their plurality, and even to have headmates who may find their plurality disordered while others do not. it also doesn’t have to be set in stone - it is possible for a disordered system to become nondisordered later in life and vice versa. we understand that this may be a difficult new thing to come to terms with, and we hope that, as your new side system is able to access healing and recovery, life may become easier for all of you. again, things like therapy and healing/recovery tools may be beneficial here.

we hope something we’ve said here will prove useful for you. rest assured, with more time spent together, you all will start to feel less and less like strangers. good luck to you folks with dealing with this in the future though.

[matt0044]

It matters who started it.

There's a problem with how many who express frustration with the RWDE or overblown RWBY hate in general are countered with "it's just their opinion, bro" from a textbook centrist.

Yeah, from the outside looking in, it does seem like we can't look the other way when some people just aren't jiving with our thing. Thing is that when we do look the other way, there's more just making RWBY their own personal punching bag.

Furthermore, just as anyone has the right to make their dislike for RWBY everyone else's problem, others have the right to say, "Hey, this feels really fucked up and here's why."

Yet we're the ones who gotta suck it up like a sponge whether we back up our arguments or not. Because apparently when we don't, we're fanatics who can't take criticism of our favorite show.

Like... sure. Way back when the RWDE was created because there were fans who liked RWBY but would overreact to negativity towards their faves. The tag naturally sprouted from there.

Except that things aren't like that now. Rarely anybody in the FNDM stirs crap up that hasn't been started by the RWDE or somebody overreacting to RWBY. And even when the FNDM does get out of line, the RWDE seems to overlook their own transgressions and hypocrisies.

[lemonhemlock]

What r ur thoughts on jace and luke. Do u like them?

not really, not much. they begin from a baseline that doesn't particularly arrest my attention and are not awarded enough complexity to become interesting to me. what bothers me the most about them is the hero framing and narrative bias they benefit from (much like in rhaenyra's case). without it, they would be much more interesting characters.

they start off as sweet, cherubic looking children that grow into affable young men, played very unambiguously so. the problem is that the way they are portrayed does not jive with what they actually do. they're bullies, but the narrative doesn't make it clear to the audience - the only adult that condemns it is alicent and the viewer is already predisposed to dismiss her concerns bc she is shown to have a bone to pick with rhaenyra. the viewer doesn't really believe they are bullies, lbr. they think alicent is exaggerating bc she is bothered by their bastardy.

they're violent. jace reacts by getting into a fight whenever he is insulted by being called a bastard. he keeps doing it even as a teenager and nowhere is it called out. luke slashes aemond's eye out and rhaenyra doesn't so much as give him a slap on the wrist.

they arrive in king's landing wide-eyed, eager and jolly and are taken aback by super-scary aemond, who gets anime-villain framing and sinister smiles. as if they weren't the ones to maim him in the first place and he just so happened to randomly become a sith lord in the meantime. they don't show any remorse or take any responsibility for what happened, so they must not feel at fault.

they know they are bastards and i admit they are shown to be SOME kind of conflicted about it, luke more so than jace. but they are mostly preoccupied with social perception and people not finding out / spreading rumours about it. vaemond is presented as this boogeyman out to get them. more work could have been put here, a couple more scenes, something. i don't think the lines we got were enough.

jace and luke should have had a few frames at least showing how horrified they are at the idea that a man was just executed unjustly, without due process, in order to cover up their mother's lies and directly for their benefit. something that implies that this is getting out of hand, they are in over their heads and don't know how to fix it.

instead they go to dinner and act totally normal about it, no care in the world, no guilt when alicent says a prayer for vaemond, no guilt for aemond's eye. even baela and rhaena reinforce their standing by being totally chill with their inheritance subsumed within rhaenyra's cover-up. rhaena even tells luke he'll be a great at ruling driftmark! (girl, that should have been you!) does luke even take this into consideration, i wonder? "hey, maybe the rightful ruler of driftmark is actually my girlfriend standing next to me?" viserys toasts him and it's all about his insecurities, he doesn't feel any kind of way about baela's and rhaen's claim.

no one calls them out for anything or points out the injustices committed in their name, other than the green characters. however, since rhaenyra has been so whitewashed, the audience is already predisposed to side with the blacks. "of course the greens are yapping back, but that doesn't mean they're right." i think it would have made a world's difference in this context if baela and rhaena were shown to have at least conflicted feelings about this entire affair.

aemond's outburst happens bc he has had enough of this toomfoolery, but after viserys' sick old man shtick, he comes off as rude and aggressive, goading people who just want to enjoy their meal in peace. jace and luke are poor victims again.

so what does this mean for their characters? they know they are bastards and their mother is resorting to theft and murder to give them fraudulent access to titles. the most they do is privately and gently express doubts, they don't actively challenge her or try to stop her. jace, at least, gets so bothered by the truth he reacts in a similar way to rhaenyra (violently). they don't feel responsibility or remorse for the shitty things that they do and don't show any concern for the people shafted in the process (aemond, vaemond, even baela and rhaena).

all the while they are unaware that this is a problem and they are oblivious to how they are socially perceived. i think the aspects that bother me about their characters are the same ones that bother me about rhaenyra - entitlement, righteousness, turning a blind eye, sweeping things under the carpet etc

essentially, if jace and luke were allowed to critically engage with these flaws on screen and weren't presented as being in the right all the time, i would enjoy them more as characters overall. lacking that, i'm not really the target audience for the goody-two-shoes nice-guy young hero type they are trying to embody, i prefer more melodramatic characters as a general vibe