#✧; Where's the peace when you're at war? / I will ring a bell until you feel me by your side. ( dainsleif & lumine )

[madschiavelique]

I want more thoughts pleaseeee 🙏

okidoki so this ask refers this one right here which itself refers to this one right here. this au appeared in my mind while rewatching the movie Troy with Brad Pitt where I thought "huh Miguel as the Achilles in this movie and reader as Briseis would be delicious".

And then it all clicked in my mind.

SO, let's get started on what has been cooking in my mind for the last 3 hours : a soldier!miguel o'hara x slave(?)!reader enemies to lovers

content warnings : mentions of war, blood, killings, fire

Let's picture this in a sort of ancient greek setting, where a king (kinda Agamemnon) wants to govern over the entire country - and then world - which leads him to engendering many, many wars. In this army, his most fierce and strong fighter is Miguel O'Hara. He is bigger than any man, stronger, doesn't care if the work is messy, and has a profound rage within him.

Because you see, before turning into the killing machine he now is, he used to be happy and live a life of peace. When he was away to hunt to bring back food in the family, he came back to his village completely destroyed and burnt. And when he arrived to his home, completely dilapidated and still smoking, he found the two dead bodies of his daughter and his wife.

He turned around, finding the flag of a kingdom, which instantly turned into his enemy. He went to his king, offered his services to him, and got enrolled, because he knew his king was seaking a union in all kingdoms, which meant for that in (his king's point of view at least) to spread terror. He learned fast to fight, to a point where it was frightening, the other soldiers wondering if he hadn't been touched by the gods themselves for him to have every asset of a great fighter multiplicated by 3.

He went on many battles afterwards, every bit of hate his body accumulated over time descending on his opponents like a pure red fury with no regret in the rage it was indulging. Of course, his rank in simple soldier upgraded. Many respected him, or maybe feared him - who knows, the line between these two is unclear afterall.

It doesn't take long until the king considers him as his most valuable asset, like the strongest card in a game, the equivalent of a joker = all powerful.

Few years pass, and the King decides it is time to attack the kingdom in which you live.

You are an adept in your city's temple, honouring aphrodite. You're pure, graced by the beauty of gentleness, of altruism, and you're loved by each and everyone around you. You were living a peaceful life in your faith for the Gods.

But it all came crashing down.

The city's bells had rung, in the most frightening way : an attack. You had heard of the many wars the king was creating, and in hopes for it never to come up here, you immediately rushed to your temple, praying for your goddess to help you.

But the temple was attacked, many soldiers entering it and wrecking anything in their way. They took some adepts, both males and females, and brought them to the king.

Miguel was outside as you were taken from the temple, his rage glowing in his eyes like the most dangerous fire you had ever seen. He was all covered in blood, his sword piercing the skin of his adversaries as if it was butter. Your eyes made a contact, yours full of tears and fear, his overflowing with dark wrath.

Your were taken to the king's tent, him observing each and everyone of you. The men who could still wield a sword were proposed to join the army, the one who refused died as well as the old ones with trembling hands. The women were not even asked anything, they instantly became slaves.

But you, when the king passed you... oh you had something, a beauty gifted by aphrodite himself would he say, so he kept you by his side. The sounds of swords ringing against each other in the distance stopped, but the dry smell of burnt was still present in your nose as the battle came to an end.

The generals and soldiers and all these violent people came back, among them Miguel. His gaze was... certainly different from the one he had in the city. He was impassive, just waiting for what the king would say.

You were still by his sides, and he pointed to you, saying that Miguel O'Hara, his greatest fighter, after so many years of good services, deserved to have for himself such a beauty like you.

Miguel looked at you, from head to toe, his gaze not revealing anything of his thoughts. He just accepted the gift his good king gave him.

He doesn't have time to fall in love again, nor the heart for it, he thinks. You're brought to his tent, absolutely frightened. This man is the biggest most muscular and violent being you've ever seen, and knowing what he looks like when killing people doesn't help at all in finding calm in yourself.

The night is already here when you enter his tent. The soldiers leave, tying you to the the central pole of the tent. He starts to undress himself, and you look away, your eyes only witnessing the many scars travelling his body. He splashes himself of water, removing the blood from his skin before looking back at you. You're silent, and immobile.

Docile, he thinks. He knees to your level.

"Got a name ?"

No response from you. He sighs, he's too tired to seek after you. It bothers him however that you're bound, so he unties your wrists.

"Don't escape."

You rub your wrists, looking up, still not saying a word. He goes to his bed, and just collapses on it. The battle was rough, and he's too tired to do anything.

That's when you try and think of an escape plan. An idea comes to your mind - first, kill him, second, run. Maybe killing him would be a waste of time, but you need to clean a bit of the names he killed by doing so. Lucky you, you're in the tent of a soldier, which means there's a good choice in weapon.

Your eyes catch the glint of a knife, and you grab it silently. Then, you approach, getting on the bed, crawling over him until finally, you place the knife right under his chin.

His eyes pop open, but they show no sign of surprise. He knew, he kew you would attempt such a stupid thing.

"Pointy thing you've got here, careful or you might cut yourself." he jokes. "Come on," he almost leans in the blade to get closer to your face, "just do it."

"Aren't you afraid ?" you ask, his calmness making your confidence crumble.

"Everybody dies in the end," he smiles, "so come on, do it."

But you never killed anyone before, and even now when you have all the advantage, you can't manage to actually push the blade or slide it. How does men like him make it look so easy ?

He takes your confusion as an opportunity to turn you over so that you're under him with your knife still placed under his chin.

"Didn't think you'd be this stupid to try something like that on me," he says, his brows furrowing and his lips stretching in a sneer.

"Didn't hink you could align a full sentence," you reply.

it's true that Miguel didn't seem like a chatty person, because he avoided it. Other soldiers said that him speaking was a waste of his energy, but he would say it'd be a waste of time.

His sneer streches wider.

"You seem less boring than I thought."

He takes the knife in your hand with great ease, and just collapses once again but onto you, his entire weight making it impossible for you to move away.

"You can't leave anyway, there are guards outside of the tent." he mumbles into your neck, inhaling your sweet smell.

You smell like peace.

AND I COULD WRITE SO MUCH MORE ON THIS BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER BLURBOS IN MIND BUT I WANT TO KEEP SOME OF THE REST AS A SURPRISE WHEN I'LL WRITE IT HEHEHEHEHE

but also, if y'all really want me to write this, you gotta hype me up for it cuz i gotta find that motivation sdfgfdbgrzer

[antianakin]

hiii, it's me again, someone who keeps popping in to say things nobody asked for lol. i was wondering if people who've been in the fandom longer (like you) agree with my impression that the novelizations are reallyyy important context for fanon interpretations? i didn't realize this until a discussion i had today iwth someone who helpfully summarized some of the popular prequel novels, which seem to match up really well with headcanons & fanon personalities. apparently stover emphasized obi-wan's devotion to anakin and how he's a ride or die for him. and apparently another popular novel wrote an adult obi-wan "as if a teenager in emotional maturity" which also would, you know- explain a lot.

the novels i've actually read are the jedi apprentice series, which i don't have much issues with, even though they certainly spin the trauma wheel lol. maybe it's been qui-gon and obi-wan both feel as if they are trying their best and their misunderstandings due to mutual action, rather than pure passivity? or maybe that even though the books have very dramatic conflicts that certainly put obi-wan in woobifiable situations, they more often than not help draw out distinct characteristics and strengths of his through those situations?

Just for clarity, I have NOT been in this fandom all that long by my own standards. I obviously did watch Star Wars as a kid and read some Star Wars fanfics when I was really young, but in terms of "participating in fandom" as such, that's really only been happening since like... 2021 maybe? It was basically a COVID byproduct, I had the time to consume some Star Wars stuff I'd never managed to get around to before and things devolved from there. And I honestly have read hardly any of the novels or comics myself, including the official film novelizations. Like you, the only books I've actually read are the Jedi Apprentice middle grade books, and that's really it.

So while I can speak to some of the experiences I've had in this fandom since I got into it a few years ago, I cannot speak to what fandom has been like since those novelizations were released almost 20 years ago now.

Matthew Stover's ROTS novelization seems to be pretty popular and considered one of the better novelizations. I've had people tell me that there's SOME evidence Lucas had something to do with the book and so it's often considered a fairly high level of canon as a result.

But the passage you're referencing where Stover emphasizes how Obi-Wan is "ride or die" for Anakin is genuinely one of the reasons I've never bothered to read it, no matter how pretty people say his prose is. If you want to actually see it yourself, I'll copy it below.

The line in question comes from an extended version of the scene in ROTS where Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Mace Windu are discussing Anakin's reaction to being asked to spy on Palpatine as Yoda heads off to Kashyyyk.

“I think," Obi-Wan said carefully, "that abstractions like peace don't mean much to him. He's loyal to people, not to principles. And he expects loyalty in return. He will stop at nothing to save me, for example, because he thinks I would do the same for him." Mace and Yoda gazed at him steadily, and Obi-Wan had to lower his head. "Because," he admitted reluctantly, "he knows I would do the same for him.”

Interpret the scene how you will, I guess. The Anakin characterization meshes with how I tend to understand the character, but the Obi-Wan characterization could not be farther away from how I see him in canon.

I don't know anything about whatever novel wrote Obi-Wan as though he had the emotional maturity of a teenager. That doesn't ring any bells for me. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there are authors who've written Star Wars books that just simply don't like Obi-Wan all that much and so if he shows up in their work, he could come across as having the emotional maturity of a teenager because that's how that author chose to write him. It would seem odd for it to show up in an official film novelization, I would expect it more in some of the Legends content, but I suppose it's not impossible.

Legends content in general DOES have an impact on fanon and fan interpretations of Star Wars because, for a long while, it was the only way to GET more Star Wars content beyond the films themselves. For a lot of people, they were canon because there was nothing to refute them. And even once there was, people sometimes were still so attached to those stories that they preferred them to the story told in the films.

So, yeah, it can have a major impact on people's understanding of things. Often if you get into discussions about, say, the Jedi or the Force, people will bring up Legends content to prove their arguments. You shouldn't feel like this means you personally have to consume any Legends content you don't want to consume. I tend to avoid it most of the time. It is perfectly for you to just stick with the films or the shows or whatever books you find most interesting. And even within that, what you consider canon doesn't have to include literally everything you've chosen to consume. I've read the Jedi Apprentice books and enjoyed them, but it ISN'T real canon and I don't necessarily take any of it into account in my own interpretations of the characters. Legends content and Disney EU content is, in many ways, just officially licensed fanfiction. If you don't consider every fanfic you read to be canon, you do not have to consider every Legends book or comic you choose to read to be canon, either. Sometimes it's fun to just see other people's takes on Star Wars even if there's no way to fit into the canon story of Star Wars (as a side note, this is why I love Star Wars: Visions so much as a show).

I don't know if this really answered your question. As someone who doesn't consume a lot of Legends content and hasn't read a single one of the official film novelizations, I may not be the right person to ask about this.

[caelumsaltator]

▽ Running your hand between their thighs, and splitting their legs apart, it's one of those rare times where Dainsleif is a little less composed than he'd like to be. Hopefully Lumine won't mind too much?

“I want to make you feel good.” Dainsleif's voice was breathy when he murmurs against her ear, continuing to pump his fingers in and out. The pace is languid, but it gradually begins to pick up the more worked up that he himself becomes. "So .... Just relax, Lumine."

Acts of Affection &  Smut Starters & Symbols - Not Accepting Either prompts! - @imaginaryboughkeeper

It wasn’t the first time they’ve had sex, and neither would it be the last, but the forwardness took her off guard. She wasn’t used to it, but that’s not to say she didn’t like it, either. Fingers curled and pressed into his skin, nuzzling his back with the pressure of her nails. Face buried against his neck as it began to burn with warmth. She did everything she could not to be so tense, to be so tight as he slipped in his fingers between her folds. Her back arched as she felt them be inserted, chest pressing against his own. The soft flutters of content sighs raise and fall with her breathing.

“I’m OK, Dain.”

It didn’t hurt - she swallowed hard as he began to move. The pace easing her to relax. Hips gently moved in time with his rhythm with her grip becoming tighter on his skin as he speeds up. It’s been quite a while since he’s not as composed as he normally is. Was there a specific reason to it? The question never leaves her mind. Not like the soft pants and moans did, and increasing in volume. Inner walls that were once taught around his fingers loosened, his fingers becoming slicker as fluids began to coat the digits. It was easier to move, though she hadn’t fully relaxed as he did pick up the page.

“Mmm...”  Her eyes closed, the warmth spreading through her body, weighing heavily on her stomach.

[moon-lit-stars]

It was spring and we were sixteen

We loved so violently that after it's all over it leaves an ache in our heart nothing can ever fill

We fell in love with a war but when does this war ever end?

Is it when we come to peace with the closeness or the distance after?

Love is a place you laugh and grieve at

Our bodies too little to hold all these emotions people labelled as love and home

We said we'd be each others home, live seven steps and a doorbell away

Just like we did the winter we called ours

Your head in my hand and i in yours

Winter didn't feel like a nostalgic ghost of my past anymore

In that moment too i wondered where it would all go wrong

One step closer as i come to ring the doorbell

Is this when our dollhouse falls apart?

Like a house of cards crashing down in one blow

I always hesitate before ringing the bell

My naive heart was waiting for the ache everytime i heard that familiar ring

It never realised when it grew afraid to love and waited to be broken in mere seven steps

Come over and kiss it or break it

I never knew which it would be until i saw those dimples

"Heartbreak it is" I would think

Because darling I've been preparing to let you go before i even called you mine

Another day and you're simply seven steps away

I wish this lasted longer but I'd go crazy waiting for the ache

Don't you know what foolish love does to a beggars heart?

How does it learn to keep what it never deserved?

Barren surface run below my veins so don't go planting your flowers there

Take them with you when you go seven seas away

Take them and fill the land with nothingness once again

You can never fully leave a burning child

Burn marks stay forever etched onto you like your head once was in her hand and i in yours

I trace my hand down to my chest where my heart beats

It asks me if you think about it every now and then

Memories of our winter together

Does it make you smile gently?

Shake your head and smile again

Watch me think that opening my fragile heart was better than never letting it go through feeling at all

Make me want to open my heart again and wait to be broken again

Let me mistake the mistake called love again and feel grief of loosing it once again

I see the little things you do still

Let my foolish heart slip up and think of you when i do

Let it walk seven steps and ring the doorbell

Knowing you won't be there to open it anymore

Let it be greeted by a new someone i can give the name of love

Let me do it all over again as i stack up every new residents anecdotes and wear it like a shinning armour around my bruised heart

[rebelcap]

We are not just friends —Part 4

Chris Evans x bi!latina!character (Sofia is a people of color, she's brown.)

Chris and Sofia meet when their best friends started dating, it all started at friends with loads of bumps on the road.

Warnings: drinking, smoking, drug use (weed), assault, Chris being Steve Rogers, commitment issues, my girl Sofia kinda messy, lots of fucking (eventually)

This is slow burn at its best, at least emotionally.

Series masterlist

Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 —

She was lying on the couch, still on her pajamas on Sunday morning as she gave moral support to Amanda. She was going to meet the parents today for lunch, so she was freaking out a little bit.

4. LA

“So, I'm going to LA.” Sofía casually said as she was trying to find something in Netflix to entertain herself

“What? why?” She asked walking with to different shoes on her feet. One was a black Louboutin pump and the other a nude sandal.

“Use the nude one, looks better with a floral dress. The black one seems to like you're trying too hard.” Sofía advises her and Amanda walked back to her room to put the other shoe on.

“This is good?” She asked walking back into the living room.

“Estas Preciosa.” Sofia smile and gave her a thumb up. “And about LA, the brewery is branching out.”

“Really?” Amanda said with a content smile. “Holy shit, that's awesome.”

“Yeah, I know.” She smiled, kind of proud that she had actually put a lot of her effort to make that happen.

“Fucking Ron should give you a rise for this, you practically run the brewery,” Amanda told her sitting down beside her, putting aside the freaking out for a moment.

“Nah, he got a nice bunch of people. I just help around putting face since and quoting "‘You're the voice and face of this brewery’”

“Why is he taking you to LA?”

“He wants me to help him to set up shop there.”

“How long?” Amanda asked and Sofia just shrugged.

“No idea, but I'm guessing a couple of weeks. Maybe a month or two… maybe, three.” She said making a face waiting for the meltdown.

“That's way too much, it's giving me anxiety.”

“It's not all on once, I'll probably be coming and going,”

“But, you don't know anyone in LA.”

“Chris's going to be there for awhile,” She said shrugging.

“Yes, I agree.” He said and shook his head looking for the car that he had set up to take them to the hotel. “We'll go back, hopefully, sooner than later. There's our ride.” The older men pointed up a guy holding up a paper with the brewery's name.

“That Dorito better takes care of you,” Amanda said. “Or I'll crush him.”

~~~~

“I hate LA.” Where the first thing Sofia said as she landed in Los Angeles. “Take me back to Boston.” She said to his boss, Ron Iglesias. A fifty-four-year-old, owner of the brewery ‘Iglesias Brewery’, revolutionary name, if you asked Sofia.

The hotel was nice, nicer than she had expected, and had a pretty view of the hills. She almost could see the Hollywood sign.

Sofia tested the bed jumping on it after the run from the door and jump into it, bouncing and her body almost sunk in it. It was a soft bed and that makes her make a face, she liked hard mattresses.

She stood there for a while, fumbling with her cellphone mostly texting Amanda to ask Luke, Chris's address to go a bust his balls.

.

Luke asked if he knows you're in LA?

Nope. Don't tell him, I want to surprised him

Of course, babe. I'm texting him, to see what's he's up to.

Record it!

Sofía let out a mischievous laugh and open a new text and wrote.

Heeey❤ , when you're coming back??? I need my Chris to get me through the day 😣

Ah, man. Don't tell me that sweetheart. I'm tied to this fucking city and I miss your ass.

He replied almost instantly.

Sofía let out a laugh, they haven't seen for a good two months now since the water war, he had left the day after. Now it's been roughly nine months since they were friends.

I miss our drunk brunch with beers and pretzels and you trying to convince me to be a Patriots fan.

What's going to happen if I get convert into a Patriots fan?

I miss that Goddamn beer, that's for fucking sure and football season just started, tonight's the first pats game. Use the shirt?, I'm sure you're going to give the boys good luck. pleaseeeeee.

I'll probably get hard just like when I get to touch boobs when I was 13.

She asked out of curiosity, mostly.

So, it's going to happen…?,

Woow, it's gonna be the event of the year.

You're mean. You played with my heart. I changed your name on my phone, you aren't Sofi anymore, it's evil Sofia now.

Not likely.

And with that, he attached a screen capture of her new name with a broken heart and everything.

“Ah, maybe I'll surprise this meatball.” She whispered to herself replying a simple and evil:

Mohahaha 😈

Sofía stand up from the bed and went straight to her suitcase and started pulling a piece of clothes after piece of clothing until she finds what he packed for a special occasion with her soft meatball. (That was Chris's name on her phone now), she was waiting for his birthday to do so, but now it seems like a good time also.

After a quick shower she changed into some blue jeans, a shirt, and a leather jacket, she applied some makeup nothing too complicated but she felt cute a little bit of perfume and loaded her backpack with a few things.

Mandy had texted Chris's address and Sofia uber her ass a few blocks down after Luke's advice to keep his privacy.

“Holy shit,” Sofía whistle when she reached the front of the property. She looked at the intensity of the ‘house’ and sighed.

She wasn't used to this kind of luxury, first world thing. Hell, she grows up in a shitty one-bedroom apartment with no privacy whatsoever, and the first time in her life that she had a bedroom is living with Amanda in Boston.

She knew that Chris was a famous actor and was rich, the fact that he seems rich even walking in sweatpants, beard, and a baseball cap. Besides joking with Amanda about fucking Captain America, honest to God. Sofia couldn't give less of a fuck about fame, money and all that. There's one thing in life she desired more than everything and was a peaceful life and she's getting there.

She looked around for the doorbell besides a gate and push it, she was sure that whoever was on the other side was looking through that camera pointed at her.

Before ringing the bell, she adjusted the cap over her head and hold up the pizza box she bought, and the six-pack his favorite kind of beer from the brewery, and with that, she rings it.

“You've got the pizza, right?” A voice comes up from the speaker and it wasn't Chris's.

“Sure.” She makes a face speaking back.

“Alright, look the game just started to get in and I'll pay you inside.” The masculine voice said back and she heard the buzzing on the gate and it opened up.

“Okay, this is how I get murdered on a movie or there's the beginning of gangbang porn,” Sofía said shaking her head and opened the big ass door and show herself up to Chris's home.

The first thing that she felt was the smell of pretty good fucking weed and cigarettes and the frat boy loudness that Chris liked with his friends, she followed the sounds and found them all, six of them, scattered around the TV.

Chris was right in front of it, his stupid Patriots shirt and a beer in one hand.

“Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!” He shouted at the TV. “How the fuck they didn't score that!”

“Because Tom Brady is a douche,” Sofía said casually standing making every dude turn around and look at her and stare like she was telling a blasphemy.

Chris couldn't care less as soon he realized that Sofia was standing there, holding a box of pizza and his favorite six-pack of beer. He squealed like a baby seal and throw his arms up making her laugh as he approached her.

“Ohmygod!” He said in an unbelievable cute voice as he grabbed the pizza box and six-pack putting them on the table and then wrap his arms around her waist and pull her off the floor on a tight hug.

“I missed you, dude.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hug him tight.

“Yes, miss you too.” Chris planted a loud kiss on her cheek and let her down, putting an arm around her shoulders with a big smile he introduced them to his friends.

“Guys, this is Sofia.”

~~~

It's getting there guys, it's about to get juicy.

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I'm deeply grateful.

Taglist:

@letsdothemonstermash

@lunaticbarnes (Sorry love, I can't seem to tag you.)

@firstangeldragonranch

[skibrps-blog]

And now I need this plot

She shifted in bed, feeling that much colder since he'd left the bed minutes ago. Turning to her side she could hear his mother asking to speak with him in the kitchen. Sighing, she lay her head down, preparing herself for the onslaught if insults. His mother had disregarded their relationship since it began 3 years ago when they'd only been two 17 year olds trying to find their way to happiness. She wasn't rich enough. Wasn't smart enough. Wasn't sweet enough. Wasn't southern enough. Wasn't enough, period. She'd been expecting this rant for weeks since he'd told his mother they'd be moving in together in Savannah, hours away from their families in North Carolina.

"Duke, there's nothing for you there. Your family is here. How are your brothers and I going live when you're out there on your own?" Mrs. Reeves ranted.

"Mama, it's not like I'm going off to war. Clara's got a good thing lined up. She stayed for me after high school. I can study anywhere, she needs to be there for her career. She deserves this after everything." Duke always fought for her. For their relationship.

" Oh come on sweetie, it's not like I'm not sympathetic to her life. Everyone knows the woes of that family and I've dealt with this silly farse of a relationship for years for your sake. But this is too much. You're supposed to be here. Your daddy is rolling over in his grave hearing you trying to leave us. Trying to leave the family's business in peril for her. For some troublemaker."

"Jesus mom, lower your voice. She doesn't deserve this. We don't deserve this."

"I need you Duke. Your brothers need you. If you need her she can stay. Your life work is more important than some design internship. I can't believe you're making this choice. Choosing her over everything we've planned for your life."

"Mom..."

She could hear him comforting his crying mother but she'd heard enough. His family needed him home. Hers desperately wanted her gone. She'd never want him to choose. She loved him, more than her own life, but she was ruining his family. She'd already ruined her own, he'd only hate her if she'd take him away and ruin that family too. As he comforted his mom with hushed whispers she quietly dressed and grabbed her overnight bag that was filled with her things. Writing him a quick note and leaving it on the side table, she silently cried knowing her heart was breaking but it was for the best for him. She placed the promise ring he'd given her for their anniversary on the note " I love you always. I won't make you choose. If it's meant to be, it will be... " she wrote.

She ran to the nearest bus stop, tears across her face, as she left her her heart and soul behind...

He tried calling many times but she never answered. To his texts she simply replied, " I'm Sorry," even as the begging turned to angry ranting. She begged and pleaded with her internship to place her out of the main office for the first 6 months because she knew he'd try to come for her. And over time, the visits and texts and calls slowed down until they now longer came. She wasn't any less heartbroken, but she felt peace knowing he would be ok and move on...

Years later...Cara's internship turned into a blossoming career and now at 26 she ownef her own interior design company on main street Savannah.

Hearing the bell ringing from the front door, she emerges from the back a greet falling from her lips. As she turns the corner her entire body freezes as she stares at a blast from the past .

"Mrs. Reeves" she finally breathes out. For a long time she held anger towards this woman but now seeing her she doesn't know how to feel.

"Hello Cara, may I speak to you briefly?"

Nodding her head, she guides her ex's mother to a back table reserved for clients. Sitting quietly across from the woman who did nothing but degrade and fill her son with reasons to break up with Cara, she just waited. She watched at Mrs. Reeves took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry" she spoke heavily, tears instantly hitting her eyes. "I let a lot of my own issues out on your and Duke's relationship. I've wanted to track you down for awhile."

Cara was shocked. She'd never expect an apology fron this woman and she didn't understand what feelings she was experiencing. "I...Mrs. Reeves forgive me for being blunt, but what the hell is going on? I appreciate the apology but whatever this is, is only opening a wound I've worked hard to mend. Your son ended up with you. You got what you wanted..So why are you here now? Nearly 6 years too late..

Mrs. Reeves looked saddened and tired, yet still determined "my Duke may have stayed with us but he was never the same and I regret every single day the things I said. The things I tried to do. It wasn't fair for me to place my life and business in his hands. I made his life less important than my own and we've worked through it. All except what happened with you"

"Okay" Cara spoke, still unsure of what was going on. So you're trying to make amends, with Duke, by apologizing to me. I hate to break it to you but Duke and I have been over with for a long time. So sure, I forgive you for whatever if thats what you need to hear, but that'svwhere this conversation needs to end"

"In a way, yes, but I'm here to make amends with you for how I treated you and how I handled everything. You were never the problem I treated you as. You were more adult than I was by leaving my son for our family and I can never repay you for that. But I'm hoping with time, I can earn your respect."

"Why now?" She questioned, "are you dying? Is he okay?"

"I'm well dear. Physically he's fine. But he hides everything else from me and he acts happy but he's never forgotten you...I know you have your own business going which is extraordinary, but I'm asking you to come home."

"What?!" She practically yells bfore shaking her head. Hearing the words home hit her harder than she imagined. "I am home. You need to let things go and move on. Everyone else has."

"Always stubborn" Mrs. Reeves spoke with a smile, "I won't force it and I know you have your demons in Charlotte, but it's always been where you belong. Many tried to get you out of there but that was wrong. You both claim to have moved on but that's not true." Searching through her purse the older woman pulled out what looked like a ticket folded in a handwritten note, "please think about returning home. I'll see myself out but thank you for allowing me to speak my peace. You should be proud of yourself." With that she left as quickly as she arrived.

Cara was frozen for a second before grabbing the contents of the letter which made her break down while her heart seemed to wake up. Mrs. Reeves had left a ticket home in the letter she'd written to Duke years ago. The highlighted " Ifit's meant to be, it will be" made tears fill her eyes....

[spideyandstark]

Okay so there's an angsty option: “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss, or a fluffy option: “You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” ― Dr. Seuss. Fandom: Marvel :) x

Sorry this took so long!!! I wanted it to be perfect!!!! Also I couldn’t choose between the prompts so I did both??? Fluff/angst storm oncoming my friend (also!!! This is kinda an alternate ending to infinity war, assuming peter wasn’t in space and a variety of different factors) I’m working on the other prompts also, should be up soon :)) enjoy!!

-

Peter almost skips down the corridor, his fingers curled innocuously around the straps of his backpack; he’s trotting beside MJ like an excited lapdog. The girl is reading as she walks, humming softly as her eyes scan the page, inexplicably avoiding the multitude of students heading their way. As they reach the staircase, Michelle marks her page with her thumb and lets the book hang loosely by her side as she climbs. She spares Peter a glance and rolls her eyes.

“You look like a dork.”

“You’re the one reading,” says Peter, taking a few steps at once, “in the middle of the corridor.”

“Fair enough.” MJ pushes a strand of hair from her eyes. “Where’s Loser 2.0?”

Peter frowns. “Ned’s sick.”

Michelle nods curtly, but there’s something kind in her eyes. “Well, tell him I wish him better.”

Something warm writhes inside Peter’s chest, and he nods softly, keeping his gaze on the speckled grey stairs. “Y-Yeah, I will.”

They continue in silence for several moments before reaching the top of the stairs. “Well,” shrugs MJ, bringing her book back into her line of sight. “See you at lunch, loser.”

Peter’s fingers curl into a wave, but Michelle’s already entering her classroom, head lowered over the page. He gazes after her for several moments. The bell rings, and he realises with a jolt that his class is downstairs.

Shit!

Fifty minutes later, Peter gazes around the hall for Michelle. He doesn’t really like it in there, there’s too much noise and too many different smells and sometimes it makes him feel sick, all the input forced into his head. He spots her standing amongst a loud group, looking uncomfortable but graceful as always; she meets his gaze, dips her head and quietly excuses herself.

“Parker,” she says. “It’s loud in here. Can we sit outside?’

Peter nods so enthusiastically he nearly spills his tray. Michelle smirks, takes his arm, and leads the way.

The car park is peaceful compared to the squirming mass of bodies inside; Michelle’s sitting cross-legged on the concrete, one hand shielding her eyes as she welcomes the warmth of the sun on her face, and the other clutching a half-eaten apple. Peter watches her blankly. He keeps squirming and doesn’t really know how to sit.

“You alright?” she murmurs lazily, but her eyes are sharp as she notices Peter’s discomfort. “We can go back inside if you want.”

“I’m fine.” Peter’s voice seems to have raised an octave. He realises that he’s never been with MJ without Ned there.

“OK,” she says, and she buries her face back in her book.

It feels like a dream. The sunlight hits his face at an inexplicably perfect angle in such a way that it doesn’t obscure his view of Michelle. She’s humming something so softly that maybe Peter’s not supposed to hear it, but the hairs on his neck crawl with trepidation for each second he’s not listening, and it’s easy enough to hear anyways with the enhancements, so he sort of… goes with it. Peter recognises the tune as a distant lullaby as he’s curled up beside Aunt May. He closes his eyes lightly and a grin tugs at his lips.

Eventually the bell rings. Peter and MJ have been bantering and taking it in turns to scribble each other in Michelle’s notebook and then playing M.A.S.H. Peter helps her to her feet and she brushes off her skirt, tucking the loose strand of hair behind her ear before smiling at him.

“Why don’t we do this again sometime, Parker?”

Peter grins and nods enthusiastically. He’d love to.

He doesn’t sleep that night, and for the first time since becoming Spider-Man, it’s not because he’s too frightened to in case the roof collapses on him and breaks his lungs; it’s not because he needs to protect May from the monsters out there. He lays in bed, grinning up at the soft red tint of his Spider-Man projection against his ceiling and thinking of MJ’s radiant smirk in the midday sunlight, and maybe the sight of her, maybe the way her lips curl around his name, maybe her fierce loyalty and intelligence make Vulture-induced panic all worth it. For the first time in a very long time, Peter does not mind the distraction keeping him awake.

-

“May? May?!”

Peter gazes around in pure panic. He’s hyperventilating as he gazes down at the dust on the carpet, and he presses his fingers unsteadily against the doorframe for a couple moments as his head swims. He doesn’t cry. Something within him refuses to believe it’s happening.

“Peter,” comes Karen’s voice from within his mask. “You appear to be in shock. I would suggest -“

Peter drowns her out. No, no. This wasn’t - he gazes out onto the street and sees a frenzy of car-crashes and helicopters spinning from the sky and he knows he should help, that Tony forced him to stay for a reason (oh god Tony, what if he’d gone too, what if what if what if) but he needs to see if she’s all right. It’s selfish and Peter hates himself for it but he swings all the way over to Michelle’s apartment and he barely breathes until he gets there.

He finds her sobbing on the floor with ash on her hands and in her dark curls. She doesn’t register Peter there. The mask on the Iron Spider slips off and he steps through her window and his voice is hoarse -

“MJ.”

She gazes up at him, her eyes hollow, and she barely even notices he’s Spider-Man - she had pretty much worked it out by this point, this was merely the final piece of evidence in the case she’d been building up. She just glares at him, eyes raw with fear and anger and murmurs: “What the fuck is going on?”

Peter kneels down beside her and pulls her into a tight hug and Michelle’s tears fall faster. Then Peter’s senses buzz sharply and he pulls away, head swimming, and watches her, and a pleading ‘no’ tugs at his throat and he wants to scream -

Michelle starts fading. It happens quickly. The grounding pressure of her fingers against his back dissipates, and Peter shakes his head violently, and Michelle looks terrified. Her eyes are wide and desperate and - and passionate, there’s a fire in them that Peter’s only ever seen during the Academic Decathlon or when she’s debating about something she believes in or when she threw that volleyball at Flash’s head, once. She gazes into his eyes with this burning intensity and she forces her lips against his and for a few moments Peter’s heart soars and then she pulls back, breathless, and whispers: “Don’t you cry on me.”

And then she’s gone. Peter sits alone in the ashes and he shakily stands up and gazes out into the world that needs him, and there’s a fuzzy image in his mind of MJ on a park bench with her Dr. Seuss book, her hair tucked behind her ear, and her smile somehow outshining the sun’s rays. Peter swallows and faces the world, and he remembers.

[larktb-archive]

Whenever I go to block a racist I've been seeing a post that claims that revolutions dont work and peaceful protests do.

These are the examples said post uses:

These are all fucking terrible examples to use and I'm gonna go in order of worse to best which isn't saying much.

Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace

Yes this did in fact end the civil war. But no one denied that peaceful protests can make momentary symbolic changes such as ending a war or gaining a country its independence. This does often happen and you can list off dozens of countries wherein there has been a peaceful response to violence which has seemingly brought about an end to that violence I should know this because after all I come from the best known example of that happening aside from India (and I'll come back to my home country eventually). The problem with saying this is that it ignores the aftermath of the "peace" and whether or not it made enough of a difference in peoples lives for it to matter; even though external visible violence has been quelled, other covert forms of violence stay in place.

Liberia is a good example of this because of one major issue in Liberia: Corruption. Millions of USD are lost every year due to members of the government pocketing the money for themselves to the extent where, according to Transparency International, Liberia is 137 out of 180 and 53% of public service users had paid a bribe within the year of 2019. Interestingly enough the OP of that post calls China and Cuba corrupt despite the fact that Cuba is 60th and China is 80th. But I guess what happens after the revolutions is successful only matters when you're talking about places you dislike.

This corruption has lead to protests in 2019 and 2020, wherein police used tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters. Something to note is the minister of informations accusation of the protests being caused by outside elite forces. Rings a bell but I'm not sure from where.

Now one of the reasons Liberia is so corrupt is because of the lack of punishment against the main actors of the civil war, in spite of the trc listing out 100+ perpetrators and recommending that they be dealt with.

Then president, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, was on this list and has admitted that she backed the civil war. She went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Jasmine Revolution

Around 79% of people in post revolution Tunisia think the country is "going in the wrong direction", 29% of people would not vote with 48% not knowing who they would vote for, 81% said they don't feel close to a political party, 57% said they aren't interested at all in elections, only 20% believed elections would be free and fair, 45% said they disapprove of the current president, 71% said the government isn't addressing the needs of the youth, 50% of people said the government struggles with preventing political violence and I could go on and on.

But this is only 1 study with a very small sample size so by itself it's not a lot.

But when you compound that with a corruption index of 74, an unemployment rate of 15% (compared to Vietnam and Cubas horrible 3% rate and Chinas 6% rate), ~100,000 skilled workers leaving the country and a slowly increasing number of asylum applicants leads me to think that the data is not unfounded.

Suicide and murder rates also increased after the revolution, with cases of self immolation increasing threefold, such as with the case of Abderrazak Zorgui, who's death sparked protests which turned violent after the police were sent in to quell them.

At least 800 Tunisians went to fight for Isil and that's only counting those who came back from Syria. For comparison 900 returned to Turkey and 760 returned to Saudi Arabia.

Much like Liberia there has not been any justice, with the government instead introducing a law granting amnesty to former members of the dictatorship in Tunisia. A constitutional court was supposed to be set up in 2014 to speed up this process. 6 years on it still hasnt been set up.

Rose Revolution

Now this one is interesting. Georgia has a corruption ranking of 44, its unemployment rate of 11%, although higher than the corrupt, evil nations of Cuba and Vietnam isn't terrible and its Gini Coefficient is 36.4 which is pretty average.

So what's wrong with this one?

Well for starters four years after the Rose Revolution, Georgian protestors once again took to the capital to protest against the increasing amount of power, President Saakashvili, who led the Rose Revolution, was gaining.

To be more specific in 2004, legislation was passed to give him the right to dissolve parliament and in 2006 local elections were manipulated so that the government would dominate local legislatures.

And what's that? The president of Georgia blamed outside Russian influence on the protests and sent in police with tear gas and water cannons? That seems weirdly familiar familiar. Where have I heard that one before.

Here is a quote from a leader of a peaceful revolution after peaceful protests against him took place: "Everyone has the right to express disagreement in a democratic country. But the authorities will never allow destabilisation and chaos".

Interesting how after he was put in power, suddenly peaceful protest is the work of Moscow and needs to be controlled by police. Funny that. But this is totally a successful revolution guys!

And how many protests happened after this one? 3, not including the anti-homophobia protest. I think if you need to protest against the government every few years to the point where people keep calling each new protest, the Rose Revolution 2.0, your 1st revolution wasn't that successful.

Womans Suffrage

But before I talk about the relatively well off post-Soviet nations let's just do a assessment of the absolutely dumb as fuck idea that the Suffragists were more effective than the Suffragetes despite the Suffragists making no progress in the 40 years they existed prior to the branching off of the Suffragettes.

Now some historians do agree that the Suffragettes more violent methods did begin to turn men away from granting womens suffrage during their later years. Less concrete is the idea that this outweighs the net positive they had on the movement for womens suffrage.

In fact heres a contemporary source from 1906 praising the suffragette movement:

"I hope the more old-fashioned suffragists will stand by them. In my opinion, far from having injured the movement, [the Suffragettes] have done more during the last 12 months to bring it within the region of practical politics than we have been able to accomplish in the same number of years"

Who said that? Millicent Fawcett? Oh clearly she's just biased towards suffragettes?

But even if I gave evidence that the Suffragettes were indeed more effective than the Suffragists, you could easily find an opposing argument and vice versa. Ww1 happened and in the end that swift change of culture is what gave women their rights to vote (or at least the wealthy).

What can be argued is the historical reasons of why the Suffragettes became even more violent in 2nd decade of the 20th century leading to more guerrilla warfare like tactics being deployed such as arson.

Black Friday happened. Was a protests against the government caused by then Prime Minister Asquith, reneging his promise to put a bill granting womens suffrage through parliament. This protest started off as peaceful and ended up with women being physically and sexually assaulted by the police and counterprotesters with there being accusations of plain clothes police officers inciting this violence. Do I even have to say it?

In order to avoid further molestation, the Suffragettes stopped doing large gatherings with each other and went "underground" so to speak getting more and more violent.

What we should recall is the fact that prior to this Emmeline Pankhurst told the Suffragettes to stop all operations and renewed them after this traumatic event.

Prior to the suffragettes emergence the fight for women's rights had been by in large ignored by the public and it was only after their emergence that this became an issue in the forefront of the public's mind.

For a more nuanced view:

"Viewing the militant movement from the second half of the twentieth century, it is difficult to argue that violence does not ‘pay off’.   [The history of independence of the colonies, and Civil Rights campaigns in the USA shows that violence can succeed.]   It may be that suffragette violence after 1912 fell between two stools, being inadequate to force the government but sufficiently destructive to antagonise public opinion.  This writer [i.e. Constance Rover] is of the opinion that, as the events turned out, militant tactics helped the women's suffrage movement until 1912, but after that date were harmful.   This does not mean that militancy was necessarily a foolish policy.   With hindsight, one can conclude that militancy failed in the last two years before the war, but with the experience of rebellion we have had since, one cannot conclude that militant tactics are an unsuccessful means of obtaining an objective such as enfranchisement..."

- Constance Rover 1967.

I use the quote in specific because it calls the civil rights movement violent. And was written a year prior to the end of the movement. It's almost as if the movement has been whitewashed by liberals to be a completely non-violent effort or something.

Singing Revolution and Velvet Revolution

I'm putting both of these together as these states are all former Soviet nations who have became arguably more successful than others like Moldova, Bulgaria and the aforementioned Georgia.

Now in the post-Soviet Baltic states, there are a large list of things i could talk about. The high suicide rates, the mass exodus leading to a quarter of the population in each nation leaving them, the large amount of people at risk of poverty, high incarceration rates, the gutting of labour laws, the rise of anti-semitism and the glorification of Nazis within their societies all come to mind. Some of these also apply to Czechia and Slovakia.

I could talk about specific events such as the Gorilla scandal, the murder Jan of Kuciak literally everything concerning Czech prime minister Babiš and the large proportion of Soviet Nostalgia in both Czechia and Slovakia (1/3 in the former and 1/2 in the latter).

I could mention protests that have taken place after these revolutions leading to the usage of rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters who were acting non-violently. But I'd be repeating myself so I'm leaving it at that.

"But Lilly" you might say, "that doesn't necessarily disprove OPs point that these protests were successful, they did after all achieve their goals of 'political revolution/ending war/gaining womens suffrage".

And that's true. But...

TL;DR

OP used these as examples to contrast against so called failed violent revolutions with OP using violent revolutions like Vietnam, Haiti, Cuba, China, the USSR and the French Revolution as examples of failed revolutions. Anyone with a brain knows these revolutions absolutely succeeded in their short term goals of political change. There is no Tsar anymore, Cuba and Vietnam are still socialist, the aristocracy of france were decapitated, Haitians arent slaves and China has no emperor.

So where does the problem with these revolutions lie? Well according to OP:

... of course as we've just seen the so called successful peaceful revolutions are also poverty-ridden, corrupt and unstable with problems years later so what's the actual difference? There is none (aside from the historical revisionism of socialist states but that's beside the point), it's just hypocrisy and an incredibly silly gotcha to those currently arguing for violent protest.

I could continue and talk about how Haiti collapsed because of sanctions from racist countries who wanted to punish Haiti for fighting against their white masters, how Vietnam was practically always in war throughout the 20th century and how its stabilized since the end of the Viet-Khmer war, how Cuba infinitely improved the lives of all Cubans and was far more humanitarian than any western nation at the time, how the USSR and communist China turned Russia and China from poor feudal states to economic powerhouses which were far more equal in nature than the US.

But this post is way too long and I don't want to have to read through another dozen sources written by anti-communists liberals again.

Edit: the conclusion didnt save properly (thanks tumblr)

To end I'll say that the major problem with non-violent protests that is shared by every single one of these examples (apart from womens rights) is the lack of punishment towards those who caused the problems the people were protesting against. This means that said people can become president or a member of the government without any impediment and those people continue to be corrupt. From Ellen Sirleaf Johnson to Mikheil Saakashvili to the Tunisian government to Andrej Babiš. On the other hand violent revolution makes sure that those who war complicit in the crimes of the past are not able to usher in the crimes of the future, even if others eventually do.

The thing about that is progress has still been made, and even if they begin to reverse some of the gains that had been made they cant reverse all of them. With non-violent revolutions there is no change except for the ways that those in power step on the working class being more covert than overt.

You can decide which you prefer.

[ellanainthetardis]

Hey! If you're still taking prompts,,, can u do one where Effie gets/already has/needs glasses but she doesn't want to wear them or smth so she's squinting around but then haymitch is like wtf wear them and then he thinks she looks hot in them and sexy time ensues?

AND

Hayffie prompt? Effie wears glasses but is really insecure about them bcof her mom or something and Haymitch sees her w/out makeup wearing them…? Andreassures her she’s always been beautiful or something like that maybe pre mjidk it’s up to you THANK YOU

AND

Most prompts in my inbox about glasses :) [X]

The Pink Glasses

Haymitch startledawake with a strangled cry, heart pounding inside his chest, eyes searching theroom for the nightmarish monsters that lurked in his dreams. It had been thepink flamingos mutts that night. And Maysilee, of course. Always Maysilee.

It took him a fewminutes to make out the familiar outlines of the furniture. It was a moonlessnight and not much light was spilling from the windows. With a sigh, he slumpedback against his pillow and rubbed his face. He waited for the unease to passbut it didn’t, not even after a few gulps of moonshine. Not that surprisingreally.  

At long last hegave up and got out of bed. It was only a little past one in the morning and hesensed it would be one of those nights were only a good dose of liquor wouldconvince him to go back to sleep.

He tried to avoidgetting wasted lately though, ever since Effie had showed up at his door. Shehad nightmares and he had taken to comforting her from them - or he tried to, at least.

He would get abook. Or watch something completely stupid on TV. Maybe that would do thetrick. He had half a mind to take a leaf out of Effie’s book and spend thenight cleaning the house just to have something physical to do.

He tried to avoidthe creaking floorboards but paused at the top of the stairs when he chanced aglance at the guest room. He could see the soft glow of the bedside lampslipping through the half-opened door.

She always keptthe lights on at night, she couldn’t sleep without them – unless she crawled in his bed, she had no trouble sleeping in thesemi-darkness then. He always woke upwhen she did that. He didn’t always let her know but he always woke up. Andthen, when he fell back asleep, he always slept better. Because there wasnothing more peaceful to him than having her within reach. Sometimes, theyended up cuddling and that was even better, the source of warmth at his side,the smell of her perfume… It was usually enough to make him feel safe.

He rubbed hiseyes again, really not in the mood to spend half the night trying to run awayfrom the ghosts lurking in the shadows. He wanted to sleep, in truth. He wasexhausted.

And he couldn’tafford liquor but maybe…

His feet took herto her room before he could talk himself out of it.

He pushed herdoor completely open with some hesitation, relaxing a little when he found herin bed, a book propped on her bend knees and ridiculously pink glasses perchedon her nose. He wouldn’t have climbed in her bed uninvited – his was alwaysopen to her but the reverse… he wouldn’t take that for granted.

She snatched theglasses off her nose and frowned a little at him. “Is something wrong?”

He made a face,shuffled his weight from one bare foot to the next and then stepped in, vaguelygesturing to the bed. “You mind if…”

He let hissentence trail off on purpose.

She studied him.He kept his gaze resolutely away from hers but he knew she could see everythingon his face anyway. The tightness at the corner of his mouth, the reddish eyes,the shaking hands… She had known him too long not to know the signs.

“Of course not.”she smiled, lifting the blankets in invitation and moving closer to her side ofthe bed. He climbed in without needing to be told twice, curled up on his sideto watch her, leaving enough space between them that she wouldn’t feel crowded.“Do you want to talk about it?” He snorted because it was a stupid question andshe rolled her eyes.   “Well, it was only polite to ask.”

“Won’t staylong.” he promised, wary of forcing his presence on her.

He wasn’t certainwhere they were at.

She lived in hishouse – as temporarily as she claimed that arrangement was – she sought him forcomfort but their friendship was on rocky ground since the war. And the part oftheir acquaintance that wasn’t friendship… Well… That part seemed to have beenlost somewhere. Not for him. That was the irony. He had reached Thirteen andsuddenly everything had been very, very clear.What he felt for her, how much he needed her… So obviously fate being the bitchit was, he had lost her to the Capitol. And he had gotten her back…

He had thoughtthey might be alright at first. The first few weeks after her rescue… She hadclung to him, had dismissed his apologies and explanations because she couldn’tdeal with them, had refused to stop and think about what had happened becauseshe needed him to go on. They had fallen back in bed, albeit hesitantly on herpart, a few times but he had known something was wrong even then. The changehad been gradual but he had seen it coming. When he had announced he needed toleave with Katniss…

He had nevermeant for that to mean they couldn’t be together but she had exploded in a rageof accusations. She had claimed he had only used her for sex – from the start –that he always left her behind, that he didn’t care… He had refuted everythingand had asked her to come with them but she had been hysterical in her mistrustand there had been no convincing her. He hadn’t had much time to do so either.With only an hour to spare, he had been forced to leave her to collect Katniss,very much hammering the nail in the coffin of their relationship.

He had honestlybeen surprised when she had showed up in Twelve, even more stunned when she hadquietly – and discreetly – asked him if he could host her for a little whileuntil she found a new place, a job and some stability. He had opened his house,of course, and his arms with it.

At no point hadthey discussed what had happened on the day of his departure for Twelve. Theyacted as if they never had a relationship that was more than friendship. Itwasn’t mentioned, it wasn’t hinted at and there was no clue that she wanted himto bring it up so he tried to respect her wishes.

“It is alright.”she hummed, looking back at her book. “You can stay the night if you want. Iinvade your bedroom often enough. Turnabout is fair play.”

Turnabout is fair play…

How many timeshad that sentence been used in a different context?

He chasedmemories of her delicate hands gripping his wrists out of his mind. Sneaking inher bed because he had a nightmare was bad enough, getting a boner once therebecause of a stupid phrase would be pathetic.

He didn’tacknowledge that offer even if he relaxed a little against the pillow. Hecouldn’t see what she was reading. She wasn’t usually a great reader, the onlynovels he had seen her read were romance stuff he certainly didn’t have on hisshelves. She hadn’t gone out in weeks and he was pretty sure she didn’t havebooks in her suitcase – she hadn’t brought much in her suitcase but secondhandclothes that were too thin for Twelve and all the mementos she had managed tosave from her apartment both after it was ransacked and after it was seized bythe government.

He couldn’t seethe cover and the few words he caught on the page didn’t tell him much. It wasvaguely familiar but it didn’t ring any bell. It was a paperback though somaybe she had found something she had liked on his bookshelf. He had a goodcollection of cheap Capitol novels he had picked up over the years. Crimenovels and thrillers, mainly. Not quite her thing, though.

His gaze traveledfrom the page to her face and he smirked when he saw her squinting a little.

“Those glasses mightwork better on your nose.” he teased, tapping the fist in which the glasseswere trapped.

She made a face.“They are just for comfort. I don’t need them.”

“Light isn’t goodfor reading.” he pointed out.

She pursed herlips and turned the page a little too abruptly. “I am perfectly fine.”

She clearlywasn’t but he wasn’t sure he wanted to press that particular button.

Fashion was fornatural looks thanks to the Districts’ influence, she claimed. And he knewperfectly well just how ill-at-ease she was about that. She never wore wigsanymore, kept her make-up light… She didn’t have the kind of money needed toafford a couture wardrobe… She wasself-conscious about the scars on her body… He had never known her to beinsecure before the war, not when she had still be in full battle armor, exceptwhen he had asked her to take the make-up and the wig off… It had taken him along time to convince her to let him see her bare and natural, even longer toconvince her he actually liked her betterlike that. She had eventuallygrown comfortable with being without artifices around him, simply happy that heliked what he saw, but she had never learned to see herself like he saw her.

So now, walkingaround with blond hair she judged too plain and not enough make-up to hide theflaws she always found on her face… She never hinted at not being at ease withthat but he saw it.

“I’ve seen thembefore.” he shrugged, taking pain to keep his voice casual. “It’s no big deal.”

But for her it would be.

He wasn’t evensure how she could have hidden the glasses as long as she had. He had onlyfound out during the Tour because he had walked in her room late one nightwithout knocking first to find her crossed-legged on the bed, hair pinned up ina messy bun, glasses on top of her nose and looking completely dead on herfeet. They had both been dead on their feet back then. They had spent halftheir nights on that Tour perfecting speeches and going over schedules to thepoint they hadn’t seen straight – and to the point she hadn’t really caredabout her looks because they had been too focused on making sure the kids cut it.

“Nothing is evera big deal for you.” she grumbled.

Again, he thoughtit would be wiser to let the matter drop entirely. But he had never been verygood at letting things drop.

“What’s thatsupposed to mean?” he retorted, probably too defensively.

She shot him aglare, opening her mouth only to close it again, take a deep breath and focuson her book again. “Nothing.”

“Oh, come on…” hescoffed. “Don’t do the passive aggressive bullshit.You’ve got something to say, fucking sayit. Never stopped yourself before.”

She pursed herlips in clear annoyance but when she talked, her tone was clipped and calm. “Itwas before.”

His irritationfaded. He slowly reached out across the space between them again, lightlystroking her forearm with a finger. She didn’t shrug him off and he countedthat as a win but she didn’t give any clue that it was welcome either so hefolded his finger, letting his hand rest there on the bed, not too far from herwrist. “Maybe we should talk aboutbefore, Effie.”

“About which partspecifically?” she chuckled bitterly. “The Games? Prison? Those are not periodsof my life I care to revisit.”

“Us.” he said.

How such a smallword could sound so ominous, he didn’t know. He was reminded of the terrifyingnoise of the bombs raining down on them in Thirteen. How a sound could be soterrible…

“Was there everan us to talk about?” she scowled and then shook her head. “I do not know whatyou want me to say, Haymitch. We never had anything. We had sex. We had…”

“It was more thanthat.” he spat, propping himself on his elbow just so they were at the sameheight. He didn’t want to have this conversation with her towering over him.“You know it was more than that. Notat first, yeah… But, come on,sweetheart… Maybe I was a stubborn blind idiot but you never were.”

She sighed andlet her book fall close on her finger, staring at the round light the lampprojected on the ceiling. “I cannot afford for us to fight and for you to kickme out…”

“I would never…”he protested.

“…or for me tofeel that I should leave because I am not saying what you want to hear.” shefinished without even pausing to acknowledge he had opened his mouth. “I havenowhere else to go.”

“You’re homehere.” he frowned. “Look, I’m a grown man, I can take a no and not be an ass about it.”

She studied himfor a few seconds, looking thoughtful. “A noto what question? Are you asking for sex?”

“No.” he snapped.“I’m asking for… I’m asking if…” He stopped, cringed at his own inability toword that stuff and eventually flopped down on his back and pressed the heelsof his hands against his eyes, wondering why he had even gotten out of bed atall. He should simply have remained there with his moonshine and… “Guess I’masking if there’s any hope you’re ever going to forgive me.”

“For what?” sheasked.

He chuckledbitterly. “Ain’t gonna make this easy for me, are you?”

“Not in theleast.” she confirmed.

There was a hintof teasing in her voice and he dropped his hands to look at her again. And shewas so beautiful… Reddish blond hair falling on to a little below her chin inwild curls, sparkling blue eyes, lips that begged to be kissed…

“Letting youdown.” he said at last. “I’m sorry for letting you down. I never meant for youto get hurt. Never.”

“I know.” shehummed, averting her eyes. “I had a few… chatswith Plutarch. What happened to me… You were not responsible for it. Iunderstand that and I do not blame you.”

“I should havegrabbed you and kept you with me.” he growled, old regrets railing their uglyheads. “Shouldn’t have trusted anyone else to do my job.”

“Protecting mewasn’t your job, Haymitch. Your job was to protect the children. My job was to protect all of you.” shecorrected.

“A man protectshis family.” he countered. That was how he had been raised. That was what hehad sworn to himself after his father had walked out on them. “A man protectshis…” Words failed him. He wasn’t sure which one was the right one. Lover would have been too dismissive. Girlfriend was ridiculous. Wife was too much and as inaccurate asit got. Partner was too vague. In theend he swallowed hard and shook his head. “You’re my family and I shouldn’thave trusted anyone else to protect you.”

“You thought itwas safer that way.” she pointed out. “And from what Plutarch told me, you didnot have much choice anyway. He was the one calling the shots.”

He suspectedPlutarch had tried to direct her anger on himself to spare him but he didn’twant to live in a lie. “I had weight. I could have insisted. I let themconvince me that the hovercraft could be shot out of the sky at any point andthat you would be safer with the prep team.”

“Was it true?”she asked, sounding curious.

“If it had workedout, then yeah.” he admitted. “But it didn’t and…”

“I do not blameyou for that.” she cut him off.

“But you blame mefor something else.” he sighed, rubbing his face. “For leaving with Katniss…”

“Not really.” sheadmitted quietly. “I was angry about you leaving me, yes, but I knew you hadto. I just… I did not want to be left alone.”

“You could havecome.” he said. “I told you… I wantedyou to come.”

“I did.” shepointed out.

“Yeah, after awhole year of silence and because you had no more money and no roof over yourhead.” he scoffed and immediately regretted it when she flinched. He grabbedher wrist before she could even think about doing something as stupid asfleeing. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m…” He sighed. “I ain’t good at this, sweetheart, you know I ain’t.”

“I wanted you toput me first.” she whispered, her eyes riveted to the hand encasing her wrist.“It is stupid, of course, because even then I knew the children had to come first, I would not havewanted it any other way either, but… For once, I wanted to be the mostimportant thing for you. It was utterly selfish, naturally, but as you so oftenpointed out, I am very selfish. Ijust wanted someone to put me first.”

He closed hiseyes, squeezing her wrist by reflex. “Katniss…”

“I know,Haymitch.” she sighed. “I know. They are your children and I come after themand it is as it should be but… It is hard to never be enough.”

“They’re yourkids too.” he argued. “And you’re enough. You’ve always been more than fucking enough. You’re… You’re so farout my league, it’s a joke.”

She rolled hereyes. “And yet you prefer a ghost to me.”

His heart misseda beat at the barely veiled reference to Mabel. He hadn’t spared a thought forhis dead girl in a very long time. Not like she was implying at least.

“Effie…” hefrowned.

But she gentlyfreed herself from his grip and he fell silent, watching as she placed theglasses back on her nose. She didn’t open the book again though.

“It hurts not tobe loved as much as you love someone.” she whispered. “I should be used to it,I know, but… I do not think I ever loved anyone as much as I have loved you. Ido not think you ever realized how much I…” She laughed and it was all wrong.Sad and bitter. “I would have left the Capitol if you had asked. If it had beenpossible for me to give up my citizenship and go with you to Twelve, I wouldhave. I knew you would never consent to live in the city with me so I wouldhave left it behind for you. I would have become a nobody for you. I wouldhave… I would have killed for you. Iwould have done anything to pleaseyou. I have loved you that badly.Blindly. Completely. I would have died for you and I almost did in those cells.Out of loyalty. Out of… I refused to hate you. They were harsher on me becauseI refused to hate you.” She sighed. “Ihate myself for giving you that much power over me. I was a fool. I am a fool. My mother was right all alongand that vexes me perhaps even more than you not loving me enough.”

It was a lot totake in and Haymitch clenched his jaw, torn between getting angry and defensiveand just being sad over the whole mess.

“You don’t knowwhat it is to lose people you love.” he stated quietly.

“I lost my familyand all my friends to this war.” she spat. “I lost my parents, my sister, mynephews… I lost Finnick. I lost…”

She fell silent,took a deep breath and breathed out slowly.

He took advantageof that, staring at the wall straight ahead, regretting having even startedthat conversation in the first place. “You weren’t sixteen and they’re not deadbecause of you. Ain’t saying it’s not hard, sweetheart, just… It’s different. Loving someone… For me it wasa death sentence. You know that. They would have used you against me and then…Then what?” He shook his head.“You’re angry ‘cause I made you a fool? Sweetheart, how many times did I makemyself a fool for you?”

“I do not see…”she started.

He scoffed,cutting her off. “I’ve been the butt of the joke ever since we slept togetherthe first time, Effie. Chaff and Finnick… Everyone else… They kept teasing andI kept denying and I was always the butt of the joke ‘cause they knew how Ifelt and it was funny to them ‘cause it was just ridiculous. Victor and escort…Not exactly the stuff of fairy tales.”

“We were not thefirst.” she pointed out.

“Sure, weweren’t. We weren’t the only ones.” he shrugged. “Ain’t the point, is it? Pointis… It was easier to make it a joke ‘cause it was too dangerous. I couldn’t fuckingbear a guy simply flirting with you, I almost killed a hundred of them just forputting their paws on you at those parties…” He shook his head. “I spent entirewinters obsessing over you, what you were doing, with who… You’re worse thanbooze sometimes… I crave you like…You’re like a buzz under my skin. And, yeah, I didn’t want it at the time‘cause feeling that much…” He lickedhis lips. “Losing you… See, I told myself again and again I hated you even whenI knew better deep down and it wasn’teven enough to stop me from… I lost everyone once and it fucking destroyed me. If I had let them know… If I had let myself know… I couldn’t risk that. Icouldn’t risk losing you. So I’m fuckingsorry I don’t know how to make pretty speeches, can’t even tell you how much I…Got no excuse, really, but I can promise one thing. It wasn’t about unrequitedfeelings. Never was about unrequited feelings.”

There was a verylong silence.

Then fingers brushedhis closed fist, stroke his skin until it unclenched and her palm could slidagainst his.

“We are toxic foreach other.” she said slowly. “There is too much passion between us. All we dois hurt each other.”

“That’s a lie.”he scowled. “At first maybe but now… I need you. You need me.” At least, hehoped so. “We help each other. We’re a team. We’re still a team, yeah?”

“Always.” shepromised with a  soft smile.

She played withhis fingers and he let her, bracing himself for the next part.

“You used pasttense.” he commented after a couple of minutes. She had said she had loved him and that…

“I have spent along time trying to convince myself my feelings for you are past tense.” sheadmitted. “But…” She sighed and placed the book on the bedside table to slidfurther down the bed, taking off her pink glasses to toy with them. She twirledthem by one of the branches. “You never treated me like Capitol men did. Thatwas what made it impossible for me to let you go. You saw me, the real me, andyou wanted me anyway. Plain and common Effie”

He snorted androlled on his side to steal the glasses from her hand. “I’ve never seen youlooking plain.”

A spark ofamusement danced in her eyes. “I love that you think I am not plain without my make-up and my wigs. And I love thatyou think I am not ugly with those glasses.”

“I’m liking thepresent tense.” he smirked, gently pushing the glasses back on her nose.“Though, I don’t think, I’m just stating a fact. You’re gorgeous. Anyonewho looks at you can see that.”

She leaned in andhis smirk softened. He strained his neck to meet her lips halfway, thirsty forthem like he had never been thirsty for anything else. It was a tame kiss, abit hesitant maybe. And the glasses were squashed between them, which made themboth chuckle like idiots.

“Alright, maybethey’re better off when we do that…” he commented, drawing back just enough toslip them off and toss them on the bedside table. Just in time for her tobundle his shirt in her fist and tug him in a kiss that was a lot less tame.

Well…

If he had knowntalking about glasses would solve so many unvoiced problems he would have triedit a long time ago.

[caelumsaltator]

@ardensfides​ sent:  Abyssal Princess, talk abouuuut--Dainsleif. || Send “Talk about-” and a name for my muse to talk about that person! – Not Accepting! Ft: @imaginaryboughkeeper​  ​

You've managed to stump her for a moment. About Dain? Though she's with him everyday, since her fall, it's still -- surreal, in a way. He's kind, albeit more down on himself than she would like, but there's things she has yet to learn. A soft expression comes to her face, looking down at her hand that clutches the long bangs of golden hair.

"He's kind, Although he tends to try and bear the weight of the world on his shoulders, he means best." There's a bit of a laugh that flows through her voice as she continues to talk. Lumine knows he means well, but at the same time, she also knows that feeling. In a way, she too bears that same weight.

Or about to-.

"His voice is soothing, and his embrace is warm. The kind you know that you're safe." She's starting to blush, golden hues looking to you, then away. Not once has her heart been this enraptured by someone during her long years. There have been countless crushes. Countless loves. Countless bonds that have not been forgotten except if time erased them from her mind. But this? Not this -- he. He was her anchor in this forlorn land. IF she wasn't struck down by the Unknown God that so much spited her into despair, she would not have known this feeling.

Aether and Lumine always vowed to never get too attached. They could love, but not enough to want them to stay. They could create friendships, but had to act as if they'd be continuously wandering instead of venturing off to other realms.

Dainsleif was her kryptonite and she knew it.

"Though he can be mysterious, he means well. It's in his actions. And..." Her hand clutches tighter. Attempting to reign in the butterflies that start to grow within her stomach and throat. How they just want to burst forth -- and it's an emotion she cannot handle at this time.

"I am not sure how to put it. He makes me feel, whole.” 

That’s the best way she can put it. She then look to you, giving you an apologetic smile. 

“You should meet him. He’s not as intimidating as others put him. I can accompany you if you wish.”

[caelumsaltator]

I already showed this to my Dainsleif but bOY THIS SONG IS DAINLUMI.

“ You came into my life Just like another season Not for long, just a time Just like another season 

 Maybe this time next year You'll reappear for no reason But I'll cherish everyday Until you come my way this season “

[caelumsaltator]

@imaginaryboughkeeper​ sent:  🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥DainLumi ||  Send me a ‘🔥’, and I’ll write a NSFW headcanon about our muses. – Not accepting!

Whenever Dain gets so worked up, she finds it cute in the sincere way. What I mean is that it’s such a change that she never thought would occur, and can’t help but giggle when he gets flustered afterwards. She doesn’t mean to tease him about it -- ok sometimes she does.

Dain, she loves you, but stop using your quanta powers in bed. She wants to feel all of it, not suddenly get six orgasms in a row and blacking out for a few minutes to catch her breath and revel in it. plZ. But also that’s hot and those are kinks that I didn’t think she’d have. smh why is it always the quiet ones

When he speaks in Khaenri’ahn? Especially dirty talk??? Need I say more-

They’re not 100% kink free in the bedroom. They may be old but they’re not completely vanilla. Sometimes there’s things like light bondage.

If we’re talking Yan!Dain, uhh… welp. A lot of these are the same, as Dainsleif doesn’t want to hurt her, but there are times where he’ll be much rougher with her. Especially in the first few months, and after a few escape attempts.

They have stamina for days, and I’m sorry to the guards that have to watch their room. Or to anyone that walks by while they’re engaged in sex or like activities. It’s mainly Lumine they can hear through the door.

Having to experience ‘firsts’ again, such as drinking alcohol and the like are the norm for her, she doesn’t have to go through being a virgin again. However, her body tends to be as tight as one until she adjusts to her partner. Just -- Be Careful Dainsleif. Or don’t; not that she’ll mind.

Ae 🤝 Lumine -- Having boyfriends/husbands who are both tall and can make you feel like you’re going to split in two by their cocks alone. I don’t make the rules here.

[caelumsaltator]

@vaettirmistress​ sent:  DainLumi tho  ||  Send me one muse you ship mine with and I’ll respond with a yes or no - Accepting

Help I’m being called out by my bestie for my second OTP.

Dain, please, she stabbed you to protect you so you wouldn’t chase after her. So why..?

Answer: ALWAYS yes! bc I love these two so mUCH

[caelumsaltator]

@ardensfides​ sent: DainLumi  || Give me a Ship and I’ll give you a song I associate with it -- Not Accepting!

Jokingly puts Obession hahhaha-

Song: SHAUN feat. Conor Maynard - Way Back Home ( Sam Feldt Edit )

Remember when I told you "No matter where I go I'll never leave your side You will never be alone" Even when we go through changes Even when we're old Remember that I told you I'll find my way back home

I could never let you go Couldn't run away if I tried 'Cause even when I'm all alone You still got a hold on my mind And I'll always let you know That I'm always gonna hold on

[caelumsaltator]

@imaginaryboughkeeper​ sent:  “You get so worked up before you go to sleep, Lumine, maybe you should try to relax a bit more. Maybe then you’ll get some rest?” || Nightmare Starters

A slight frown comes to the Traveler’s face. More-so at the herself for making him worry. Last night’s dreams didn’t help her case. She still felt drained -- a repeat of what happened with Aether and--. No. She doesn’t want to think about it right now. Rather, she tries to smile, even if it’s a little sad. “I’ll .. I’ll try. I’m sorry for worrying you, Dain.” Where does she start, exactly? How can she relax with so much on her mind?

[caelumsaltator]

@imaginaryboughkeeper​ sent:  “You worked yourself so hard that you’ve been sentenced to three days of bed rest, Lumine.” ||  Extremely Exhausted Starters -- Always Accepting!

There’s a bit of a pout as she’s put to bed. She can bounce back fast from this. Three days of rest wasn’t needed! Adjusting to Teyvat’s -- well, no, more specifically Khaenri'ah’s climate and atmosphere did take a while longer. Then again, getting your ass thrown into a new world through a strange God that squished you into a cube didn’t help.

“I’ll be OK, Dainsleif.” Her voice says otherwise. She knows she’s tired, but she has to search. Always - there’s no thing as rest for her and it hurts. Her body sinks into the pillow and mattress, now starting the fight against falling asleep within the next half hour. Whereas she was holding his arm to resist now moves to hi s hand, not wanting him to leave. It’s childish, isn’t it? If Aether saw, he’d probably tease her for this. Pushing herself to finish her mission while ignoring the wants of her body. Then again, that was normal with the twins. “Really, I’m fine.”