#(if being family means we kill each other's partners [which happens time and time again] then fuck being in this family)

[helpimstuckinafandom]

JUSTICE FOR DAVINA CLAIRE I'M SO FUCKING SERIOUS FUCK OFF OH MY FUCKING GOD

[skarkkk]

First, Brad Torrence.

He's a more complex character than he seems. The news of him being a father and having distanced himself from his son to try to pursue this pilot thing is in a way like Eddie. Who ran away to the army. The scene of the guy wanting to kill himself and him having that conversation and in the end actually managing to save him, compared to the conversation he had with Eddie also shows that he's more sensitive about his own importance than he acts with that superiority (like in that scene with the attendant).

Second, Eddie Diaz.

(I won't go into as much detail as I want because I plan on making another post, it's too much trauma for just one).

Starting with his relationship with Chris and how it's going downhill, his distance and how he probably doesn't want to become like his own parents, leaving his son to raise himself alone, hating his father (which is fair, but come home, honey). I read about Ryan's possible exit and although this thing about him moving to Texas to create the perfect exit doesn't make sense either. Since the second season he has been a main character, and him leaving the series would mean sending him to Texas and ignoring anything involving what will happen there in his relationship with his parents and also with Chris. I would love to see him go to El Paso and return with his son, to their house, to their Buck. I would love him going to El Paso and being recognized as "Hotshot's #1 hot nurse" and it also serving as an opening for some guy (maybe a blue-eyed blond) to flirt with him and Eddie having an Oh.

Third, let's talk about the couch teory and kitchen.

The look on Buck's face when he sat down on the couch and truly realized what was about to happen, it wasn't him helping his best friend pick out a new house, it was him helping his partner pick out a new house in another state. And that he would never go back to that couch - his safe place - or to that house after Eddie leaves and that he will never truly see his best friend again after this, nor his son (because that's what Chris is). We have, for the first time, two scenes of them together on that couch, technically one, but considering. Post-breakup Buck + finding happiness again Eddie, Post-breakup relapse Buck + going after happiness (son) Eddie. Buck, abandonment issues in bold capital letters and underlined on his forehead, picking out a house where his best friend is going to try to reconnect with the son they both lost. Do you think he blames Eddie for a moment? I lost what I considered a son and now I'm going to lose you because of it. He went and you're going to follow and they're going to leave me here. About the kitchen, it's basically how important it is. We talked about how Buck feels comfortable showing up at his house out of nowhere, walking in and going straight to the kitchen and the cabinets. We talked about "your own privacy, but not with me", and how the signs are there.

"Do you wanna go for the title?"

"It's Eddie's house, I'm not really a guest"

"Do you remember anything about the shooting?"

"Eddie, who's Kim?"

"Aren't these homes out of your budget in LA?".

Their kiss itself has to be there, or on the couch.

Fourth, if Buddie doesn't happen, it will either be because the producers are afraid or because the characters are afraid.

Something along the lines of "I can't be his first because then I won't be his last." Tommy left and Eddie leaves for completely different reasons, but this is Buck. And "why do I feel worse about you leaving than I do about my boyfriend?" and we know it will be like that. He liked Tommy, of course, and they were a couple, but 6 months of dating and dating is nothing compared to the years of mutual trust and family development that Eddie and Buck have had, it's a slow burn in which they built this (non)platonic partnership of theirs, in which they both feel so comfortable in each other's homes. And I don't doubt for a second that it's entirely possible for a scene like that to happen, if the show goes down a path for Buddie, in true 911 style that will either be super emotional and traumatic or comedic and cute. If you go down the path where both have feelings but don't become a couple because of fear, it would be for that reason for Buck + "I can't lose my best friend" and for Eddie the baggage of Catholic guilt he has plus the repressed homosexuality boiling in Texas

Fifth, Graham Keye and Athena Grant.

I thought their scenes were so cute. Graham seemed like a bit of a pain in the ass with the little cars, on the one hand it's okay to demand things be done the right way, on the other hand people just want to go home after a purchase. Leaving aside the plot of the culprit being Ira (or whatever his real name is), we see the difference between Athena's treatment of Sparks and him. Her calling him a baby in the hospital scene cured mommy issues all over the world, because his family doesn't even know he's in the hospital and almost died, because she was honest about him not being able to be a cop and that she presented him with an opportunity, something that probably (due to the person he is, and the context of the story presented) shouldn't have happened before. The culprit not being that big guy in plaid was pretty satisfying because it would be so obvious and boring if it were, so they go there and put the old man who Graham was trying to kind of help in his own way

Sixth, 118 and Hotshot's.

Chimney as a doctor was hot as hell, but thinking about it now, what would Maddie's reaction be? Considering that her abusive ex-husband was a doctor, but Chim is the cutest and perfect man for her. Eddie and Buck as nurses and their uniforms match perfectly, Buck's uniform showing off his muscles, Eddie clumsy on the set, Henrietta being a queen as always, and Brad going by what she said. Because I love that they did this "this wouldn't happen in real life" thing and I keep thinking, the things you guys do probably wouldn't happen in real life either. The scene at the beginning, them watching the show and giving their opinions and how Eddie automatically brought Buck into it with the F word and Buck's super expressive reaction to it, plus Hen and Chim being passive

"I liked the song"

"It's a good show"

(I don't remember Chim's line )

Seventh, Buddie again.

How Buck realized so quickly that Eddie was hiding the tablet and going on an ordeal that seems so flirtatious, and how Eddie can't lie to him. Even if 911 doesn't bring it up that often, Eddie was trained in the army, he enlisted twice and came back alive both times. From what I know about the US military (basically just from the series), he should be able to lie even under torture and yet he opens his mouth whenever Buck asks him to.

Eighth, the next episode.

According to the plot, we have a serial killer who will go after Maddie. And she is pregnant, and this will probably generate more trauma depending on whether she knew the person because "she could have hurt our child and it would be my fault", and she probably does. You can see in a scene from the preview that the person who took Maddie is a woman, who knows where she lives and who managed to get into her house. A woman with medium-long brown hair. We will know if she shows up earlier and why in the next episode, but still. Is it because of Chim? Because of the son? A random choice? I want to see the reaction, especially from her husband and her brother. Mainly from the brother actually, because Chim is her husband and they have a daughter but he was in the hospital recovering the first time this happened (not disregarding what he felt during Maddie's kidnapping by Doug, but he had been stabbed and probably slept most of it). Buck had to deal with going after her and worrying about Chim, and Doug, and everything that happened. And now it's happening again and it's maybe worse, because it's a serial killer, someone who doesn't just want Maddie for himself but wants murder and has experience in that. And I want a comfort scene with Buck and Chim, them bonding even more and a recreation of the hospital scene when Eddie comes to talk to Buck after Athena puts him in "hospital jail" for trying to unlock Chim's phone. I want Maddie to be okay, as well as the baby, and I want to see how they're going to deal with Jee.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

some more interview 1994 movie rewatch things that made me insane:

- they live in 90s subtext land, so the narrative swapping of louis having a dead partner and child and gaining a new partner and child in lestat and claudia

- what if there is no hell, what if they don’t want us there!!!!!!

- louis’ moral quandaries next to how he reacts with revulsion when approached for help by one of lestat’s victims. he’s just kind of fucking evil the entire time (obviously) and the way his depression and moral despair leads to utter apathy and cruelty despite his constant abstract sense of guilt— which eventually also leaves him. like he does need that guilt bc otherwise there’s absolutely nothing. and the culmination of his arc is exhausting even his grief and arriving at that nothingness.

- lestat giving claudia a doll every year on her death day :C

- the scene!!!!!!! where claudia pretends to want to make amends with lestat. who is being petty and angry at her, but clearly through the lens of family, wholly unaware that claudia is completely against him now and ready to see him dead.

- that beat when he’s cruel to her, and she’s like “why do you say such things?” he’s just quiet for a moment. and tom cruise’s face really does go on a journey there! acting! and that next to the glimpse of real vulnerability when he asks her “do we forgive each other then?”

- claudia saying “one lesson you taught me, never drink from the dead.” the caged birds in the background! while lestat keeps thinking this is just an increasingly mean prank! it takes so long for him to understand what’s actually happening, even after she admits to poisoning the twins and letting him drink dead blood. him demanding to be put in his coffin because he thinks louis at least would obviously help him

- and then!!!!! the way louis just walks in on all this, completely unaware, because claudia left him out of the planning after he initially rejected her idea of a mutiny. but once he does see what she’s doing, he doesn’t care enough to prevent it. he is only really effected enough to lift caudia so that lestat’s blood doesn’t get on her skirt lmao

- “you missed him.” “he was all I knew” the way this is the OG kill your toxic fatherspouse storyline

- when lestat shows up again!! STILL speaking entirely in a familiar and familial context, and how him attacking claudia is the only thing that rouses louis enough to actually hurt him. also just love the way this story uses a good cleansing fire to signify an upending of a stage of louis’ life

- the way that, reflected in louis’ anguished apathy, the other characters all see whatever they want to see. basically whatever would fill the void in their own empty lives.

- that scene where even claudia and madeleine’s ashes crumble into nothing

- lestat showing up yet again, entirely decrepit. that scene carries so much weight. the way he is still talking about claudia, still thinking about bygones and louis just says “that’s all past.” louis so unfeeling and having withdrawn fully into himself that he can afford to be indulgently amused by lestat’s fears, how he cringes at electric light. how he walks away completely uncaring. he’s just literally beyond everything and anything

[thegamingcatmom]

Hiii, how are you?

Do you think that when Kate met Garrett and told her family that he was her partner, how do you think Tanya reacted? I read on a blog once how lost Tanya could have felt, like, now I'm the only one without a partner? What do I do? Do you think she was afraid that what happened to Irina would happen to Kate?

(Note: beautiful author, satisfy my curiosity…, give us a little spoiler for the next chapter 👀👀👀)

Hi, there!

I´m just peachy, thanks for asking. Hope you´re doing great as well? 🤗

Very interesting question indeed! I think her initial reaction was a mix between elation and...dread(?). Like, I think she felt overjoyed at first, so happy that her sister found her other half because she knows what it feels like - longing for something that just doesn´t seem meant to be. I don´t think the sisters (well, Tanya and Kate at least) would ever openly admit it, but I´m pretty sure this fear of having to spend eternity "alone" (without a partner) was often at the forefront of their minds.

Speaking of: I think that´s ultimately what made her snap out of it. Like, once the initial excitement of Kate having found her partner died down, realization (dread) set in: Her sister now had a partner as well, which means she´s the only unmated vampire in her coven.

Where does that leave her?

I´m 100% certain that Tanya felt quite lonely, especially with everything that went down with Irina as well, at that time. Ofc she had her family, and she couldn´t be happier for Kate. But I believe a (not so) small part of her feared that she would be...overlooked, at some point? Kinda? Like, watching everyone around her huddling close with someone, whispering to each other, being each other´s anchor in such trying times-

I just wanna give her the biggest hug and never let go, yknow what I´m saying?? Girl deserves love and happiness too. 😭💔

Then they lost Irina, creating a void that can never be filled again. Her family grieves with her ofc and is there to support her, but I think it´s just not the same as grieving with a partner by your side - someone who understands you on a whole other level. It´s just a different connection, and seeing everyone around her have that connection while she´s just...alone? Man, just thinking about it makes me wanna-

I don´t think she feared Kate would suffer the same fate though. Laurent and Garrett are entirely different people.

Garrett was smitten with Kate from the moment he saw her. He never once left her side. He endured excrutiating pain to stop her from getting herself killed by the Volturi. He was ready to die for her (and her family). His love is genuine.

Tanya knows all of this because she witnessed it herself. She has no reason to fear for her sister.

Laurent, on the other hand? We don´t know much about his relationship with Irina, but I´m pretty sure he knew the Cullens and the Denalis consider each other "family". That includes Bella. Yet he was absolutely ready to off her and probs wouldn´t have told the Denalis a damn thing. Or he´d have made it look like an "accident", or blame the wolves probs. ("I tried to save her, but they got to her before I could.")

Imo, Laurent has always been a snake. I wouldn´t put it past him to throw Irina under the bus if it meant a situation would work out in his favor. Also, technically, Irina only saw Renesmée (which led to yknow what) because she was on her way to visit the Cullens to make amends for her behavior at the wedding and all that stuff about Laurent in general. So, really:

Laurent has brought the Denalis nothing but pain and suffering, right from the start.

With Garrett? Not happening. Not a chance. He´s a good one, and Tanya knows this.

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(Since you asked so nicely: 😘

WARNING: SPOILER(S) AHEAD

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chapter title: "Home"

chapter "song" (so far): Human Heartbeat

summary (so far): Carmen the Confused Bean

🤓)

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Thanks a lot for your ask! 💋🫶

[sirowsky]

Part 24 - Progress Takes Time

Pero Tovar and Female Reader (nicknamed Bee) Modern AU

You're trying to navigate helping William whilst also circumventing Pero's overprotective tendencies.

Creator chooses not to use Warnings! This is 18+ONLY! I'm so sorry for the wait, my loves! I'm once again battling myself to try and not put so much pressure on myself to write, and that means taking it slow and letting it happen naturally. I hope someone out here still enjoys the story, and again, I'm sorry for being so erratic with my updates <3

Word Count: 4168 Masterlist(this story) Author’s Masterlist

Link to Part 25

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   Groot had been so focused on your partner, trying to comfort him from the pain of his own guilt, while you’d stepped into the cell, that even he had reacted too late to help you.    And when his human brother had leapt onto his feet once he’d realized what you’d been doing, the dog had remained frozen to the spot on the floor where he’d laid beside Pero, with his ears and head held low.

   Almost as if your actions had been so determined and sure that you had even managed to convince the animal that he wouldn’t be able to stop you, even before you’d stepped away from them.    If so, that might explain why Groot still didn’t move as Pero pulled you from the room and slammed the door shut.

   “Pintora, what the fuck were you thinking!? He could’ve killed you!” he barked at you, but his voice was weak and fractured, overwhelmed by the fear of knowing just how easily he could’ve lost you right then.

   “He stopped, Pero,” you countered, with tears still streaming down your face and a terrible tremble bothering your empty hands. “He stopped.”

   “You got lucky…” he cautioned, because he was not at all ready to believe that William had deliberately backed off.

   But you soured then, as if his perspective was offensive for some reason, and stepped away from him to pick up the little piglet that you’d dropped on the floor when you’d caught him earlier.    Crossing your arms over your chest, you pinned the stuffed animal at the top of your belly, which already seemed to be your favourite spot for it, and glared at him.

   “I understand that you’re still frightened of him, but I’m telling you that he heard me. I got to him, I could see it in his eyes.”

   “Bee… if you ever step foot in that cell again-…”

   “You’ll what?” you cut him off, challenging him to reveal his fears in full and stop hiding behind the other man’s evil.

   Pero wasn’t strong enough to admit to himself that this was all the result of his own failure, but he also couldn’t conceal his weakness anymore.    He crumbled under your strength, unable to fathom how you simply weren’t afraid of the man right then, feeling so small compared to you and the massiveness of your confidence in that moment.

   “You can never trust him, mi amor…” he finally whispered, unable to bring any more strength to his voice. “He will kill you if you let him, you must believe that.”

   He felt so powerless standing there, all but begging you not to put yourself in danger, when he should’ve just made sure that you never could again. But somehow, he knew in his heart that you would not be stopped, no matter the risk.    You had walked into that cell with a conviction of some sort, a knowledge that Pero wasn’t privy to and probably couldn’t understand even if he had been.

   You had walked in there knowing… knowing that you would walk out alive. Not just believing it but knowing it so absolutely that even William had felt it in you.

   “What I believe, is that if we keep going like we have until now, we’re gonna end up destroying both ourselves and each other,” you calmly stated. “And I will not let that happen.    I will defend this family, Pero… even against you.”

   That brought his mind to an abrupt stop, because what the hell did that mean? He had never been the threat… had he?

   But the more he thought about it, the clearer the answer became.    He wasn’t a threat so much as the weak link in the chain. The one that put everyone at risk, because if he broke, the people around him would all suffer.    He’d been unable to kill Will, unable to break him, unable to stop this darkness from hurting you and your family, and now, his hope was faltering.

   Of course, you had to protect yourself from him. He wasn’t giving you any other option.

   “The killing has to stop,” you said softly, coming closer again and uncrossing one arm so that you could take his hand. “We can’t let ourselves become monsters.    William is innocent, so if we’re gonna kill him, we have to do it out of kindness, not hate or fear. Only as a last resort, after all other options are exhausted and he still hasn’t improved.    But we’re not there yet.    He heard me, honey. I know that he did, so we have to give him one more chance before we can say that ending his life would be an act of mercy.”

   Impossibly, hearing the strength in your voice and the quiet but absolute resolve to not let this situation bring you down, managed to give him back some of his hope.    Within your courage, he found a way to believe you, even though his own strength had long since left him. Somehow, you were powerful enough to carry the both of you forwards, refusing to let anything threaten your happily ever after, and he had never loved you more.

<><><><><><><> 

   It would take several weeks of carefully measured steps before William even interacted with you the first time.    You started with offering him fresh clothes and full meals every day, all of which he refused for almost a week, until the hunger finally got the better of him.    The food slowly restored his strength, and with that, his temper returned.

   It was clear that he was still very much suffering the effects of the conditioning and the compulsion to complete his mission of killing you, that much was visible in his eyes every time that he looked at you.    But there was doubt in there too. Something that you suspected came from the man underneath all the suffering and manipulation. The real William Garin.    The problem was getting that man to take back control of himself.

   One positive aspect, and the primary reason why you refused to give up, was that even when you repeatedly put yourself within his reach, he never tried to touch you. And you didn’t think that that was solely because of Pero’s presence in the cell every time that you tried it.    Obviously, your partner was much too worried to let you be in there with your would-be assassin alone, but even so, Will’s focus was only ever on you whenever he did react.

   You tried not to think to closely about what you knew that Pero had done to him, and what you guessed that he might’ve been unable to tell you.    It wasn’t really helpful anyway, and you’d always known him to be capable of terrible things, but the real reason why you stayed away from it, was simply that it scared you to linger on the realization that he could do these things to a man that he loved.

   But you also couldn’t judge him for it.    You couldn’t condemn his actions anymore than you could hold it against him that he’d sent you away, because you had no idea how dangerous his world really was.    That was what all this had finally taught you. That for all the crap that you’d seen and learned in the time that you’d known him, Pero’s world was still too dark for you to ever truly grasp.

   You saw it in Will’s eyes too. The knowledge that he possessed and the power that someone with their training and experience had at their disposal.    And it wasn’t until you recognized that look in his eyes as the same darkness that you’d always seen in your partner, that you began to understand that you’d only seen a fraction of the truth. That Pero had shielded you from his reality from the very beginning.

   Still, there was a silver lining to it all, because the fact that he’d done that meant that his love for you was more powerful than all that. It meant that the light which he’d found in his feelings for you, was strong enough to hold all that darkness at bay.    You chose to focus on that, and only that, since it was likely the only thing that would be strong enough to reach into Will’s heart too.

   And after nearly a month of seemingly fruitless efforts, it finally paid off.    Well… sort of.

   You were sitting in a chair which stood against the furthest wall from where he was chained, the one where the viewing glass was, and you were talking quietly to yourself.    Pero wasn’t there that day, he was taking care of the horses’ hooves, which had enabled you to sneak down there without him knowing.    Something that you did whenever you got the chance.

   Not because there was anything you felt like you needed to hide from him, but just because you suspected that your captive might sooner respond to you if his nemesis wasn’t in the room.    And since your partner refused to leave you alone with him for even a second, this was the only way to cultivate your own relationship with Will.

   “We’re having a girl,” you said quietly, looking down at the little piglet that you were resting on the top of your belly, just because it fit so perfectly there. “Can you imagine Pero with a baby? I kinda struggle to myself, but I know that he’s gonna be good at it. He’s incredibly loving and tender whenever he gets the chance.”

   You casually paused then, giving him the chance to respond if he wanted to.    You kept the topic mainly on Pero, since that was the common ground between you, hoping that he’d eventually feel compelled to either object to something that you said, or just respond out of annoyance.    But he remained silent, so you kept going after a few moments.

   “It’s a bit strange to know that the father of your child is perhaps the deadliest human being on the planet. Especially when I’ve never seen him be evil.    Because that’s the thing that most people assume, isn’t it? That you can’t be a killer and a good person, that they’re mutually exclusive. But even though I’ve seen him at his worst, I still don’t see evil in him, only fear and doubt.    The same things that I see in you.”

   He wasn’t showing any signs of listening to you, so you were about to call it a day before your partner would begin to wonder where you’d gone.

   “You’re a fool…” the man on the floor whispered barely audibly, making your ears prick with interest and surprise.

   “What?” you carefully prompted, hoping that he’d keep going.

   “He will kill you,” he continued after a brief pause. “That’s what we are…”

   “How do you mean?” you prodded, still trying to spur him into carrying on, because no matter what he said, just the fact that he was finally talking was a victory.

   “We are death. Especially to those who care for us.    Mark my words, there will come a moment when you’ll regret ever meeting him, and that will be the moment right before you and your family dies.”

   He said it with a thick layer of acid to his tone, a deep and dark contempt on full display in every syllable, but you saw through the overtly mean façade, straight to the self-hatred that was boiling right beneath the surface.

   “I don’t believe that that’s true, but I can understand why you feel that way,” you said earnestly, knowing that it would provoke him.

   “You understand nothing…” he growled, taking the bait. “You don’t know what he really is… the things that I had to stop him from doing every day while we were in training.    He’s an animal, and he always will be.”

   He was clearly trying to drive a wedge between you and Pero, and you weren’t sure if it was because of his conditioning, continually pushing him to finish his last mission and end your life, one way or another. Or, if it was merely the words of a broken man, trying to make the people around him hurt as much as he did.    But you were sure about the fact that he was dead wrong.

   “If you truly believed that then you never would’ve invited him to meet your family, but I know that you did,” you challenged, not letting him get the upper hand in the dialogue. “I know that you wished for him to come and visit, that you missed him every day and that your family never felt complete without him.”

   He looked at you as though you’d just stabbed him in the kneecap, but he seemed more confused and hurt than angry, and since he didn’t respond, you set about explaining how you knew that.

   “You and I have met before.    I know that you didn’t live here, but you must’ve worked quite close to my neighbourhood because I often saw you at the store on Hillstreet, the one I mostly use for my weekly groceries.    We even spoke a couple of times. You introduced me to Lin Mae and Daisy once, after accidentally bumping into me in the pasta section, and we chatted for a while,” you reminded him, and saw his mind work to try and locate the memory.

   Your few encounters had been brief and no more than what anyone would expect of temporary conversations between strangers, but you were good at reading what people left out of their tales, so you’d known from the start that this man had secrets and demons.    And while you might never have imagined that he’d been an assassin, you’d always been able to see his pain.

   “You never told me anything specific, but I could tell from your behaviour and the gaps in your stories, that something was missing. And when I met Pero and learned about your shared history, I knew right away that he was that missing piece.    I know that you loved him. Despite whatever horrors you went through as boys and young men, he was everything that you had for a long time, and you loved him every bit as much as you loved your wife.    And that’s not a guess, Will. I know that this is true, as surely as I know that I’m alive, so you can stop trying to scare me with your broken mind and conflicted thoughts.    I’m not stupid enough to not be afraid of you, but I’m also not stupid enough to believe the ramblings of someone that doesn’t even know who he is anymore.”

   That made the man before you shrink, even though that seemed to go against his still very weak physique.    He was little more than a shell now, and there was every reason to think that he would never recover, but you still hoped for a miracle.

   “He will always be your brother, William. Despite everything you’ve done to each other, he still loves you.    That’s the only reason why you’re still alive, and while I’m sure that you’d rather not be… I want you to know that there’s a family standing before you right now. Not a big one, but one that’s willing to take you in and care for you, all the same.    Don’t throw it away without giving it a chance.”

   He wouldn’t look at you, and you didn’t need him to. He had heard you, and that was as much as you could ask of him for now.    You got up and picked up the chair to take it with you as you left the room.

   “You’re a fool…” he repeated himself, still quietly but with much more force to the words this time.

   Stopping on the threshold of the cell, you turned back to look at him, and he was meeting your eyes now.

   “…if you think for one second that you will ever be safe around me,” he finished, and you could tell from his expression that he was expecting you to find those words at the very least uncomfortable.

   But you felt only sad.

   “If that’s true, then I pity you,” you replied softly, meeting his hateful glare with nothing but care, which only seemed to further vex him. “No one should go through life so alone.”

   He just kept staring at you, so you left the room and closed the door, feeling positive despite the gloomy atmosphere. Because as bad as the poor man still was, this was progress.    You locked the cell and then left the bunker, starting the slow walk back to the house in your slightly waddling fashion now that the little one was only about a month away.    But as you reached the outdoor fireplace, something made you turn your head to the left, and when you saw what it was, you stopped.

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   Pero heard you long before you came into view among the shrubs, but he didn’t say anything. He knew that you’d notice him, one way or another, and he wasn’t sure of what he could say that wouldn’t sound accusatory or angry.    And sure enough, you looked to the side just as you were about to pass him, and the look in your eyes when you realized that it was him, was all the confirmation that he needed as to what you’d been doing.

   You stopped and turned to face him with slow, measured movements, taking your time to buy yourself a moment to think, which was fine with him, because he really did want to know what the hell you were thinking.

   “I’m sorry…” you started, sounding every bit as apologetic as the words suggested, but it did little to soothe him. “I thought that he might open up to me better if you weren’t there.”

   That did sound like the sort of reasoning that you would have, but even so, it was not good enough to justify putting yourself and your baby in that kind of danger.

   “I know that you don’t agree,” you tried to appease him, “but it worked. He talked to me, honey.”

   As surprising and positive as that was to hear, it still wasn’t a good enough reason. Nothing was.

   “Try this again, and I will change the locks so that you can never go down there again,” he warned, surprising himself with how hard he sounded.

   “Pero… I’m the only one that’s gotten through to him. If we’re gonna have any hope of saving his life then you have to let me build a relationship with him,” you reasoned, and while he knew that you were entirely correct, it made no difference at all.

   He stood up and stepped closer to you, reaching out to take your hand as soon as he was close enough, and then put his other hand on the side of your belly.    Then he looked into your eyes and tried to convey every thought and every feeling that he was having in that moment, but couldn’t articulate for the life of him.

   “I. Don’t. Care.”

   A shiver passed through you at that, as you felt everything that he was cramming into those three little words and realized what he was saying.

   Nothing matters more than you. More than her. More than us.

   Nothing.

   But you weren’t one to be controlled. If he knew one thing about you, it was that he would never be able to expect you to just do as he said, no matter how fervently he insisted. If you had been so inclined, he wouldn’t have had to send you off to a fucking island in the middle of the pacific with no means of getting yourself back.    He loved that side of you as much as he dreaded it, because it made you strong but also unpredictable.

   “He still loves you,” you countered, still unwilling to just leave things be and focus on taking care of yourself for now, and he sighed at your endless defiance.

   “I love you, pintora, and that is a fulltime job these days, so forgive me for not having the energy to care all that much about the man that still wants to kill you.”

   “But that’s my point, Pero,” you persisted, even as he began to drag you back towards the house. “You both still care about each other, and I’m the unifier between you. I’m the one that can reach you both and reunite you.”

   “And my point is that even if that’s true, this is not the time for any reunion. We have our own lives to tend to.”

   “So we just leave him down there by himself while we go off and build a family without him? No… I’m not gonna do that, honey.”

   “Are you not even a little bit worried about what he can do to you? To all of us?” he challenged, truly fearing that you weren’t seeing the reality of your circumstances right then.

   “Of course I am, I’m not stupid. But I’m also not cold or uncaring, and you can stop pretending that you are too, because I know you. Deep down, you miss him more than you’ve ever missed anything.”

   He didn’t have a response to that, because it was damned well true, but it was also not what he wanted to think or talk about for the foreseeable future.

   “Can we just pretend to be a normal couple for a minute and talk about nurseries and baby stuff, not killers and brainwashing?” he pleaded, to which you rolled your eyes but then conceded with a gentle nod.

-=¤=-

   Later that day, you went upstairs to take a bath while Pero helped Dean clear the table and clean dinner away. And much like every time that he and your father had been alone lately, the subject inevitably turned to the unfortunate captive out in the woods.

   “You do realize that you can’t keep him down there indefinitely, right? As safe as it might feel for now, sooner or later you’re gonna have to deal with him,” Dean prompted, making Pero scoff.

   “Oh, your daughter is already on top of that.”

   “Meaning?”

   “Meaning that she spent the hour that I was in the stables with you today, alone down there with him. And if I know her, she was in the cell with him the whole time,” Pero explained, and just saying those words put a sour taste in the back of his throat.

   “Shit…” the older man breathed, obviously equally unhappy with this development. “That’s not good. If she feels like she’s making progress then neither of us are gonna be able to keep her out of there.”

   “I have already warned her that I will change the locks if I must.”

   “Yeah, like that’s gonna stop her…” your father sighed, shaking his head in what seemed like defeat, even though the battle for your safety had only just begun.

   “Dean…” Pero almost whispered now, as real fear constricted his chest. “I’m really scared that she’s gonna make a mistake. That he’s gonna delude her into trusting him and get her to lower her guard.    He was always the best of us at infiltration and manipulation and that’s not a skill that Lang would’ve stripped him of.”

   “No. But you’re not giving Bee enough credit here,” the older man reminded him with a sharp brow. “She’s smart, and tremendously good at reading people, especially when it comes to what they themselves don’t realize that they’re after.    She won’t be fooled, son. Even by someone like William.”

   “I hope you’re right. Because if he lays a finger on her… I will douse him in acid and leave him there to die slowly.”

   “If it comes to that, I’ll help you. But let’s not start digging graves just yet.    I still have the utmost faith in my daughter, and I truly do believe that if anyone can reach William, it’ll be her.    She managed to tame you, after all,” your dad finished with a wink, making the younger man smile despite his worries.

   Dean’s solidness and calm reasoning was soothing to Pero, particularly when it came to his fears and worries about you, so the conversation left him feeling better.    There was something about knowing that those same characteristics existed in you as well, that made him feel like everything would somehow be okay. And he needed that feeling more than usual on that day.

   He stepped up to the older man while opening his arms in a silent request for a hug, which was warmly received, and when Dean’s long, muscular arms wrapped around his back and held him close, Pero felt safer than he had in a very long time.

   “You are the best father anyone could ask for. Thank you,” he mumbled into the man’s shoulder.

   “And I couldn’t have hoped for a better partner for my treasured only daughter, so thank you right back, my beloved boy.”

===============

Link to Part 25

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging, I would dearly appreciate it.

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[blogger360ncislarules]

The serial killer the team pursues in The Hunting Party Episode 4 does to his victims what Melissa Roxburgh considers, so far, to be the darkest moment of the show.

Bex (Roxburgh), Jacob (Patrick Sabongui), and Shane (Josh McKenzie) track down Dr. Malak, the latest escapee from the Pit (the top-secret prison housing and doing experiments on the worst serial killers the world thought had been sentenced to death). As they discover, he’s been killing his victims only to bring them back to ask them about the moment of clarity they experienced at the time of death (which he says he did). He captures Bex and does the same to her before she’s able to free herself and the others come to her aid. But what exactly did Bex see? Was she being truthful when she said she saw Oliver Odell (Nick Wechsler), her former partner, and Sam, her daughter whom she adopted after saving her from a killer?

“Everyone sees something,” Roxburgh tells TV Insider. “What she saw, we’re not sure. Was it just Sam? Was it Oliver and Sam? Was it her dad? Was it Eli Johnson [Mark Moses]? Who knows? My guess as Melissa is that she saw Oliver and she was being honest.” She adds that it will come up again, in the finale.

This comes as Bex is trying so hard to keep things strictly professional with Oliver, who left the FBI after he burned a man alive to find Sam. He brings her a cupcake for her birthday. We know that they used to mean a lot to each other, but she says that they’ve moved on. Is there a future for the two of them?

David Astorga / NBC

“Anything’s possible,” says Roxburgh. “You forgive people for a variety of things, but I think it will eventually become a love triangle of, does she go back to the past and someone that she felt very deeply for despite what he did, or does she move forward and lean on someone that she can trust a little bit more and doesn’t have the tainted past that they do?” She previously teased a potential triangle with Oliver and Shane.

Speaking of Shane, we find out why he’s been keeping that photo of the doctors at the Pit from the others: One of them is his father, in a senior living memory care facility. “Shane’s personal search is very connected to his understanding of himself and family and all of the mysteries that surround him,” teases executive producer Jake Coburn.

Elsewhere in the episode, Jacob continues to think that Oliver is guilty of knowing about the explosion that took out the Pit and led to the escapes in the moments before; there’s video of him getting a phone call, taking classified information off a server, and leaving. After he receives another call from that mysterious burner, Jacob asks Bex to plug a device into his phone so they can get the GPS data off it. She’s reluctant, but she does ultimately do it when Oliver checks on her at the hospital after her experience with Malak.

For Bex, it’s about needing to know and wanting to prove Jacob wrong. “It happens in an episode where she dies, and so I think that there’s a lot of thinking that she’s doing on her own and introspection about the past and how she actually feels,” explains Roxburgh. “And so I think it’s one part, she wants to prove Jacob wrong. She actually does love Oliver in whatever capacity it’s at now. And then there’s another part of her that’s probably maybe trying to prove to herself, no, he is a bad guy and this is why I can’t trust him, and if I get this information off of the phone, then I’m justified in walking away.”

Bex and Jacob then check out the storage facility to which Oliver drove after receiving that call. Inside, Bex finds a box with stuff about and from Sam, including a photo of her at graduation and a birthday card for Oliver with “wish you were here.” That is a complete shock to Bex, who had no idea the two were in communication at all.

“It’s weird,” says Roxburgh, “because when she adopted Sam, it was the same time that he killed and burned the guy alive. And so for him to impose himself into her daughter’s life, it just feels strange. They kind of explain it, but me as Melissa, I still feel like it’s weird. I wouldn’t trust him.”

Coburn and fellow executive producer JJ Bailey tease that Episode 5 will really dive into the aftermath of that.

“She wrestles with that a lot because obviously suddenly Odell overlaps into her personal life in a way he hadn’t before, and she realizes her daughter was keeping a secret too, not just Odell,” notes Bailey. “She sort of reflects on who Odell is and why would he be keeping this a secret. The Sam storyline and her connection with Odell just really helps us shine another light onto a different side of Odell and Bex and Odell’s relationship, which is fun and messy and complicated.”

Adds Coburn of the scene at the end of Episode 5 in which they talk about it, “There’s some parts of the equation that we don’t realize yet, and I think it’s a pretty emotional scene between the two of them. I was working with our composer, Dan Romer, just to maximize that effect. He’s so great.”

Also in Oliver’s storage unit are blueprints of the Pit and coordinates to five other locations. “We’re going to find out that the Pit is one piece in a much larger puzzle, and we can tease that we’re going to get to see some other things,” says Bailey. Coburn teases, “We’re going to focus a lot on one of the other silos.”

While Jacob may know more than Bex about the Pit and what’s been going on, Sabongui says those alternate sites are a surprise to his character. “It’s par for the course for somebody in Hassani’s line of work that I am privy to a bunch of secrets, but I know there’s official classifications above mine and there’s official information that I do not have,” he says. “Hassani hadn’t predicted [those other sites]. But I don’t think it’s hard for him to accept that there’s a bunch of stuff that he doesn’t know about.”

From Roxburgh’s perspective, Bex knows that this doesn’t look good when it comes to how involved Oliver may or may not be. Factor in her also seeing that box of stuff about her daughter, “I don’t think it’s putting a great taste in her mouth. So when they come across the blueprints on top of that, [in] the next episode, there is some definite tension.”

[chucklee118]

If episode 1 is about establishing a world and introducing the protagonists, episode 2 is about establishing the dynamic between said protagonists.

Within the first minute, the episode's conflict is presented to the audience; the foreground blurring in motion and action between the opening credits, Spear enters the scene at pace in pursuit of a boar. The animation's means of expressing dynamic movement is once again KILLER, paired with the increasing tempo of the soundtrack approaching a climax as he hurls his weapon. . .

Only for Fang to snatch the prey in her jaws just before the spear lands, instead embedding itself into a tree.

While Fang mashes down the boar a bit to ensure the kill before she starts eating, Spear is fairly put off by what he sees as a kill-steal and skulks away.

Thus the conflict of the episode; the difficulties in Spear and Fang coexisting in a dynamic that is, at least on the surface, unbalanced. As well as the disconnect between how each of them defines coexistence.

Incidents keep occurring that leave Spear with mounting frustration and second-guessing his decision to exist with Fang at the end of the first episode: she steals his kills, eats first even when he manages to land the kill first, her breathing when she sleeps sounds like a small engine

and does she ever shit.

It doesn't help that he's still very much grieving the loss of his children, and that his new, tentative partner is of a similar species to that which killed his family.

Certain aspects are simply things one gradually becomes accustomed to with time, but by and large the primary problem is that Fang and Spear each seem to be attempting to exist independently. As in, Fang hunts, eats and sleeps, and Spear just happens to also be there; the only distinction being that he's a creature she's elected not to kill.

Tension mounts and mounts in Spear, manifesting in him behaving and being drawn far more. . . well, primal, his illustration leaning more toward primate and primitive as he vents his frustration, until Fang yet again steals a kill and the two of them end up trading blows.

The rain pours, lightning flashes and thunder booms as the two of them teeter closer and closer to a line they can't return from.

Quite literally; their fight brings them to the very edge of a massive, moving wall of snakes. Slithering and hissing around each other, thematically red as the mist that preceded the alpha rexes from the first episode. A symbol of the broiling tension that's followed them throughout the episode.

A single misstep further, and the pair would have been inviting death.

And in that moment, they realize as one; they don't want to get any closer. They may not know how they'll survive, but the first step is fleeing.

A flash flood overtakes them, bringing the snakes with it; they are left awash and forced to navigate the river of snakes to survive.

The largest snake, the monster of the episode, dies off screen, and Spear and Fang demonstrate their first effective communication of the episode under pressure as the river's current pushes them toward a waterfall.

Using the snake's body as a rope, they each take an end and split themselves between a rock sitting at the precipice of the waterfall; the difference in their body weight again illustrates the inherent difficulty of their shared existence without effort on both sides. Fang dangles over the edge, hanging by her teeth to the snake while Spear struggles to grip his end and prevent her huge body from falling.

For all that Fang's heavier, the fact is that when Spear's grip inevitably fails without proper purchase, he's the one who has farther to fall. Thus taking on far more damage than Fang in the descent, head bashed against the jagged rocks in the pond at waterfall's base.

Fang brings him ashore; retrieves the point of his broken spear as a means of amends.

Having traversed the initial tensions between them and resolving themselves to truly coexist, we see Spear astride Fang as he was at the end of the first episode; hunting together, eating together. . .

and, as Spear kills a stray snake that nearly puts Fang in a panic, protecting each other.

And thus, their dynamic for the duration of the show is established.

[autisticlio]

what would happen if cortex met kray

They would hate each other because here’s the thing.

Cortex is mainly evil because of his upbringing and convincing himself taking over the world will make up for decades of being bullied and abused. It’s essentially seeing it as him vs the world which is why, when he shrinks the entire planet in Huge Adventure, he doesn’t just crush the Earth despite fully being capable of. He is obsessed with being in control which results in him being outright also abusive to others. Cortex is written in a way where you can feel bad for him, but he will never be in the right and is still awful.

But Cortex is willing to put aside this if it means his own survival (Ex: The Evil Twins’ revenge) or being too outlandish (Ex: N Tropy wanting to erase him, the masks, and the mutants from existence to make the Tropyverse basically) hence him working with Crash at least twice. But the problem is that by the time Crash 4 happens, he is TIRED of having his plans fail hence him considering retirement in the previous games. Furthermore, Cortex is technically one of Uka Uka’s minions, so he acts both on his behalf and wanting revenge on Crash who Cortex considers his greatest failure despite previous familial sentiments. There’s also the fact he was stuck in what’s essentially time prison for at least two decades with two people who despise him. Cortex, the instant he gets put in time prison again by himself this time, is at peace though. So this and the retirement plans give the impression he also wants solitude away from everything.

Kray hasn’t been wronged by the world. Rather, he has been wronged by the repercussions of his own actions. He kills Deus out of both jealousy and to improve his own reputation by stealing his research after the fact. Any problems he has with Galo is because of him being a constant reminder of Kray causing Galo’ parents’ deaths and having to pretend to save him to not get caught. You could make an argument regarding the movie’s discrimination allegory and the twist with being Burnish having a tragic backstory, but here’s the thing: Kray abducted thousands of people to turn them into a fuel source for his square spaceship that carries ten thousand people only. Said ten thousand we can presume are upper class as Aina had to be requested by Heris to save her. He wants to be seen as a hero to them by hiding the truth. Because the portal that would transport them nearly caused the Earth to explode (aka commit planetary omnicide) which is way worse than anything the former has done. So thanks to the writers not thinking at all when doing that plot twist, it becomes null. Furthermore, he was a college student when he became Burnish and convinced himself he’s ‘one of the good ones’ essentially. Thus doesn’t have the childhood trauma Cortex has.

There are definitely some similarities between the two (ruler scientist who hates his pseudo-son and wants to be seen as all-powerful so does unethical experiments for that means). But Cortex usually stops at ‘kill Crash and Coco so I can finally rule the world’ and the few times we have seen his unethical experiments (or the results such as with Nina), they are somehow more humane than having your body turned to literal ash from a spinning jet engine where you can hear everyone screaming around you as you can potentially die at any moment. Kray’s plan incidentally has some minor similarities to the two N Tropys’ plan in Crash 4 of killing the main cast to turn themselves into god figures (obviously no discrimination shit like Kray has), which Cortex primarily hated because HE’D be erased from existence too. But he mainly agreed to work with og N Tropy at first prior to his betrayal from thinking they would rule space and time together from Uka Uka being out of commission. He is also shown scowling when he says ‘wiping the slate clean’ and becomes somber at ‘a new partner’ (aka being replaced by the female Tropy). Cortex would later try to go back and stop his past self from using the Cortex Vortex on Crash and attempt to instead kill Crash when this fails. Compared to Kray trying to secretly eradicate all life on Earth though, both Cortex’s and the Tropys’ plans look like nothing.

Kray has a history of betraying people he sees as lesser (Deus and Heris) and has a god complex where he outright ignores Galo insisting there were alternatives to save everyone (prior to him knowing Kray’s own plans were speeding up the Earth’s destruction from the constant torture he did on the Burnish and Promare). So with the discrimation, history of betrayal (Cortex also has done this), omnicide and god complex, I do not think either of them would ever consider teaming up and would want to kill each other on first sight. Kray teaming up with any villain in another series would almost never happen even with his soft-voice facade because of his obsession with being seen as a god and hero. The world is only about him simply put.

[adarkrainbow]

I've got two questions relating to Reynard:

1. What are the common plot points shared between most and/or all Reynard tales?

2. I've seen you mention that Reynard is bi. What LGBT+ stuff is there in the Reynard tales?

Ooof this is a very hard question you ask me! The Reynard tales are a part of European literature just as big as the Arthuriana, so to make generalizations is very difficult. Hopefully we have so many synthetizing adaptations, and editions for children, and the like that it is possible to make such generalizations but you know, there's a need to study text by text.

What is the core Reynart tale (I will use Renart since I am more used to the French spelling)? Simple. Renart tricks someone and gets away with it. If we boil down to the very core, this is what all the Renart tales are about: Renart uses his cunning and skills to trick someone, and manage to escape one way or another.

From this very basis, the structures change depending on the tale. Sometimes Renart's victim is an innocent fool that just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time ; other times Renart's victims are just as crooked as him or attempted to hurt him. Sometimes Renart escapes unharmed, other times he does escape the consequences of his actions but not before being humiliated. But the core story is always: Renart, for one reason of another, decides to trick someone else (can be selfishness, or cruelty, or revenge), and then performs the trick (with more or less success), and then escapes in one way or another to maintain a form of status quo, and return for other episodes. There's a reason why people have considered the Reynard tales a "proto-Looney Tunes" - and indeed a sort of proto-Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. There's a same core idea in there.

Outside of that, when you mean "plot points" as in recurring episodes of motifs... I could say that sex, food and justice are the recurring ones. Sex because Renart is always either ending up having sex with someone else, or because Renart is involved for helping someone else's sex life (ranging from Renart sleeping with Ysengrin's wife, Lady Hersent ; to the king Noble accepting the fake advices of "doctor" Renart to perform sexual surgery on his wife the queen Lionne). Note that the nature of the sex always changes too - the most famous example s the stormy relationship between lady Hersent and Renart, as depending on which branch you study, he either always trick her into being basically raped - and as a result she keeps trying to kill him for it - or she actually actively seeks Renart and organizes things so that she can have sex with him while her husband is away.

But that is something fundamental to the relationships in the Renart tales: everybody hates and loves everybody. The two fiercest ennemies and rivals of Renart are Ysengrin the wolf and Tibert the chat, that Renart martyrizied so much they want to seem him dead ; however, Ysengrin is still Renart's uncle and the two used to be very close (and still return to being close regularly), and Tibert was Renart's best pal and partner in crime. It is this sort of fundamental ambiguity in this set of tales, as these animals are all stuck in a "I will try to kill you, but hey sometimes we'll return to being pals, until we'll try to kill each other again" situation. Except for the few genuinely good relationships, such as Renart's family who always stand by him, or Grimbert the badger, Renart's cousin and his only true friend and defender that (to my knowledge) Renart never tried to scam or harm.

Outside of that, as I said, food is a big theme as the animals are obsessed with eating. This is usually how Renart tricks his victims: he lures Ysengrin with promises of fish by the lake, only to have his tail stuck in the ice ; or he tries to "help" Brun the bear satiate his gluttony for honey, only to leave him stuck in a tree. Or food is the origin of the fights - I remember one of the tales is about Renart hanging out with three other animals (I think it was the cat, the dog and the stag), and they had food on the aside to eat later, but as Renart went away for a little while the three animals ate it all, and when Renart returned seeing them with their swollen belly resting by the side of the road, and when they pretended the food had magically disappeared, he decided to take revenge.

And of course, justice. Not only does Renart uses a twisted, perverted and hypocritical form of justice to justify his crimes and his tricks, but he has to actually face justice since the most famous and central episodes of the Reynard cycle are about the animals complaining to Noble the lion-king, and him tracking and hunting Renart to imprison him and bring him to justice... Only for Renart to always manage to turn the trial in his favor, and to escape any form of death penalty (for example, when he was being accused by the trio of Ysengrin-Brun-Tibert for his crimes, he managed to get out of there by making the king Noble believe the trio were conspirators seeking to overthrow him, and that he knew of a hidden treasure that would make the king rich).

All of this however reflects an wider topic at the core of the Reynart tales: a mockery and caricature of the medieval society. The Reynart cycle is the ultimate outlet of all the medieval mockeries of knights, kings, monks, peasants and whatnot. All the proper "ladies" like Hersent or Fière the lionness end up sleeping with Reynart behind their husband's back ; animals like Brun the bear who represent the officials in charge of enacting the king's justice, or his courtiers, are depicted as gluttonous, dumb oafs ; king Noble himself is vain, greedy, lustful and easily fooled ; Ysengrin started out (in the Ysengrimus poem, before the Roman of Renart proper) as a fake man of the Church who scammed and stole from people using religion ; and Renart himself keeps disguising himself into monks or doctors to perform his many crimes and tricks.

Now for your second question, about the queer content in the Reynard tale... I have to say it is hard to answer the question because we are speaking of a medieval set of texts from Christian Europe. Their very notion of what is "homosexuality" differs entirely from ours, and so concept like the "LGBT" cannot be applied to the tales. At most we can speak of "queerness" in the vaguest sense of the term. But there is a certain form of queerness in the texts since, as Reynard's world is one of comical sex and grotesque copulation, motifs of homosexuality is recurring. For example I say that Reynart is bisexual - by our modern criteria, it would seem so, but that's because he has an habit of raping as much men as women. There is one notorious example which is the episode of Renart taking Couart the hare on a pilgrimage, and while teaching him how to "pray" having sex with him from the back - which itself is a reference to a very common medieval joke of how priests/monks basically had sex with each other while reading the sacred texts/praying.

However Renart isn't so much a "bisexual icon" as rather the "ultimate sodomizer". And that's a very important concept to have: in the Middle-Ages, "homosexuality" did not exist, but "sodomy" did. And sodomy, as in both the act performed between a man and a woman, and the act performed between two men, was all considered one thing: the same impure, sinful form of sexuality. The gender didn't mind as much as the act itself, and that's something that has been lost to us today. Medieval people didn't mind what we would call "homoromanticism" they even had a whole special thing of two men being allowed a relationship that is chaste but deeper than any friendship and only comparable to the unbreakable bond between brothers (to the point of these "super-friends" being buried together hand in hand). Their problem was sexuality - it is the carnal act that is filfthy, while pure love as a feelign is... well "pure". Anyway I digress, but the whole point is that Reynart, who embodies everything that is forbidden and sinful, is the master of sodomy and keeps practicing it. In fact, notice that almost every time he sleeps with someone who is not his wife (Hersent, or the lionness queen) he tends to use sodomy - and him having sex with the hare from behind is just a continuation of that. Is he bisexual? We can't really say. But we can say he is a sodomizer in all of his glory.

After that there is a lot of grotesque "queer" imagery present throughout the tales in many ways - I don't remember if Renart ever disguised himself as a woman, but given he is supposed to be a master of disguises it wouldn't surprise me that he practiced transvestism at least once in his life.

And anyway, even all of that being put aside, the Reynart tales are literaly the oldest furry fiction you can find. Quite literaly: the texts keep being ambiguous and switching between the characters being animals, with an animal biology, and them being just human beings. The result is a confusing and cartoonesque imagery, again very reminiscent of the Looney Tunes today: as while sometimes the animals' tails are depicted as part of their very anatomy, in other tales they will be said to remove their fur and tails as if they were dresses or a coat. So you know... Either it is a tale of anthropomorphic animals, either this is about depraved supernatural furries.

[ealeczander]

Rating KinnPorsche ghost ships:

PetePorsche - 10/10

Adorable, amazing, brilliant, showstopping, spectacular! Best friend to lovers to soulmates for the win. Really pure ship. What else is there to say? Pete and Porsche will sneak away on little dates, mostly to eat and smoke. They will be partners in crime to all sorts of crazy ideas. Pete will definitely go and open a restaurant by the beach with Porsche. Pete and Chay will be best friends. Chay will also have to be the mom of the group because the other two morons don’t know what self preservation is. Pete’s grandma will be so happy that Pete has found such strong and beautiful boyfriend, she will start sending food to feed a small army claiming Porsche and Chay need to grow even stronger.

MacauChay - 7/10

Love them! I really do! But those little gremlins will kill each other if they date. I see why people ship them. They’re both from a broken family with only one brother to rely on. They’re both trapped in their circumstances and may find comfort and understanding in one another. They will absolutely hate each other at first, though.

ChanBig - 10/10

Did someone said Daddy Chan? I think we all saw that scene in ep1 and we collectively went - yep, they fuck. It’s the way Chan has all the power, the way Big doesn’t want to disappoint him. My daddy issues could never. It’s their power dynamic, it’s Big refusing to look at Chan’s eyes, it’s Chan being firm but gentle. I don’t need to say anything more, there are already amazingly slutty fanfics about them.

VegasTay - 10/10

This ship gets bonus points for the aesthetics alone, they are both gorgeously styled. I can see it happening as a one night stand. When Tay has finally had enough of Time’s bullshit, he goes to a club and sees Vegas there. Tay is ready to make some bad decisions. Vegas on the other hand has no idea what is happening, but one of Kinn’s best friends is flirting with him and he’ll be a fool to miss that opportunity. Vegas wrecks Tay’s world that night. Tay tells him he can leave marks. Vegas knows that his definition of “marks” is different from most so he controls himself. It will be so much more satisfying if Kinn’s friend does not regret this in the morning. Afterwards Tay tells the story of his shitty relationship and Vegas suggest murdering Time. Tay should have found that calm statement frightening, but he didn’t. He actually found it quite funny. Having his friend’s hot psycho cousin care more about his feelings than his actual boyfriend. Tay suggests doing that again, gathers his things and leaves. Vegas doesn’t know why he never told anybody about that night, maybe he forgot.

ArmKhun - 8/10

I’m taking points out because of the power imbalance and I’m giving points back because of the aesthetic. Diva Khun and Bodyguard Arm! Yes, give me more. The scene of them fighting the minor family with Arm’s car-bombs which were bedazzled in gems by Khun is what sealed the deal for me. They are an amazing team. Khun is such a fun and crazy character and I would like to see him in a more serious situation. What if he gets a gun pointed at him and goes into a ptsd episode while Arm has to be the best bodyguard and protect him but also later calm him down. The crack but also angst potential is astonishing.

KenBig - 6/10

Someone said they are the Mean Girls of KinnPorsche and it hasn’t left my mind since. Yes they are! Them just gossiping around and making everyone’s life miserable, love to see it. Don’t know if I can see them as something more serious than fuck buddies but I see the angst potential of both of them dying without knowing about what happened to the other.

ArmPorsche - 7/10

I’m seeing this starting as one sided love because notice how Arm looks at Porsche, that boy is in loooove! He was ready to go against his boss just to help Porsche. If Kinn was actually cheating on Porsche, those two boys would be game.

KinnPete - 6/10

Pretty sure this ship became famous after VegasPorsche left KinnPete in the dust in that alley. I can’t see this ship working, surprisingly because Kinn is a cinnamon roll when he’s in love and Pete is a psycho when he’s in love. But there is something really homoerotic about Kinn having trust issues and Pete being the only one he trust unconditionally. I can see it if the story takes a “dead dove do not eat” approach. With Porsche betraying Kinn and Kinn turning dark, and Vegas betraying Pete and Pete turning desperate.

[danpuff-ao3]

Flaws in Fiction: ⚡️Relationship Edition⚡️

People all on their own are complicated. What happens when you throw two complicated beings together??? COMPLICATIONS.

A lot of this can relate back to the Character Edition, but it's important to also note that human interactions can be just as flawed as the individuals involved.

[ABSOLUTELY AMAZING Danni Thoughts below the cut]

Let's get this out of the way early: my acceptance that real people mess up sometimes does not mean being in support of abusive or manipulative behavior. Reading and writing it in fiction? Sure! Excusing it IRL? Absolutely not.

Now, onto the nonsense amazingness.

It is important to remember that: not every situation has a villain and a victim. People who screw up are not bad people. People who occasionally clash, or bicker, do not necessarily have "toxic" relationship. We all get annoyed with the people we love. We all annoy the people we love. That's okay!

Listen: I love a toxic relationship. In fiction, that is. But I don't want my options limited to the "right" way or the "wrong" way.

There are many stories out there where Ron and Hermione are Ultra Supportive of everything Harry does. And if they don't, they're terrible friends. I don't see near enough of them squabbling! (Not that it doesn't exist; more I've seen an excess of "perfect friends" or "character bashing.")

The people we love are going to screw up. They're going to hurt our feelings. They're not going to agree with everything we say and do. That is the consequence of being different people!

Let's say Gabrielle borrows/steals Fleur's favorite dress. Not good. Should definitely ask before using people's belongings. But do we write Gabrielle off? Is she a bad person and bad sister for one infraction? No! Family relationships are rough and weird.

Molly nags and pries. She does it with love, but she should probably lay off. Molly is not a saint, but "not a saint" doesn't equate to "demon woman."

Ron and Hermione breakup. It doesn't have to be because of cheating or abuse. Maybe they love each other, but their goals don't align. Ron is family-oriented and Hermione is career-focused. Maybe it just doesn't work. Neither of them needs to be at fault for it. Or maybe they stay together when they shouldn't. Which leads to fights that break them up, or worse...they stay together however sour the relationship turns. Because of love and stubbornness. Or expectation. How does being war heroes and public figures impact their relationship?

Or, perhaps, Harry takes up with an unlikely suitor. (If you know me, you know who I mean!) Those closest to him don't understand, let alone approve. They worry. And they have their own issues with his partner. They aren't bad people or bad friends for not jumping on the "everything Harry does and wants is right and good" bandwagon.

Maybe they disagree. Maybe they argue. Both sides are upset because they don't understand each other. Maybe, in the heat of the moment, someone says something hurtful. It's wrong, of course. But does one bad action make the whole person bad? Make the whole friendship toxic and destined for the dumpster?

Better yet: we can acknowledge the flaws in our loved ones, and still love them. And those flaws can drive us batty without killing our love.

Ron can be careless and tactless. Hermione can be bossy and critical. They know that about each other. They aren't blind to it. Ron might occasionally have hearts in his eyes when Hermione starts fussing. Other times he snaps back. Those little flaws aren't what breaks them. It's the bigger picture.

They try to be friends after, but it's rough going. Even worse when it coincides with Harry's new (scandalous) romance. Ron and Hermione are skeptical of his boyfriend. Harry sets boundaries with them. Everyone gets upset and they take time apart. They go on with life and make new friends. And, eventually, they apologize and move on together. All friends again. The Golden Trio once more.

Tiffs with friends don't signal the end.

People breakup and makeup. They go from friends to lovers to exes to friends. They squabble with their siblings. They gripe about their mothers. They have bad days and are unpleasant to be around.

And much as I love some good angst and drama, as much as I love toxic relationships and all manner of depravity...I want more of that middle ground. More of those everyday issues. Seeing people upset with one another without villainizing each other.

[silverysongs]

... I would very much like to hear your Hector/Andromache thesis rant

THANK YOU FOR ASKING.

(This is partly a response to this post by @laurelindorenan and partly something I've had thoughts about for the past year-ish.)

Anyway. So. I first read the Iliad in a college English class, and I was excited to read it because it was one of those things that I heard about but hadn't read and I love old literature and was a Percy Jackson kid, etc. etc. But I didn't like it that much at first. For those of you who haven't read it, the Iliad is literally about a war, and so you experience hundreds of lines about all the unique and gory ways in which men can fight and kill and die.

And then we got to Book 6. In Book 6, the commander of the Trojans, Hector, goes back inside the city to talk to some people but at the end, he goes to find his wife, Andromache. And Andromache narrates what has happened to her during the course of the war: her father and her seven brothers have been slain by Achilles; her mother was taken as a captive, then ransomed back, but she died soon after, presumably from illness or grief. So Andromache has literally no family left except her husband.

She begs him to stay in the city, or at least to stay within the line of fighting instead of forging ahead to the front, but he tells her he can't do that because he's the leader and it would be shameful not to. But he's not just being callous; it's obvious that he cares for his wife so deeply. His worst fear, he tells her, is not for his aging parents or his brothers or even the whole of Troy, but for her, his wife, and what will happen to her should Troy fall - that another man will make her a slave and she will mourn Hector (and he doesn't even mention that she will face sexual slavery too, almost as though he can't bear to imagine that).

So we have this really touching moment between husband and wife, who clearly care about each other - not to mention that this is the first time we've seen a character's domestic life, and Homer chooses to put the spotlight on Hector and Andromache, as though he means to make them the prime example. Their relationship in Book 6 and beyond is actually what I chose to write about for my senior honors project/thesis, where I wrote part of an Iliad adaptation from Andromache's perspective (you can read a scene from it here). And while I was writing, I realized: Really, this (my story) is not a story about war. This is a story about a marriage.

A few months before I started really writing my project, I stumbled across Pat Barker's The Women of Troy. Some friends knew about my love for the Iliad, and had pointed it out in a bookshop. So I was flipping through it and I found a scene where two women are talking about Andromache. And they're talking about how it was kind of this open secret that Hector wasn't really in love with Andromache, he fell in love with Helen like every other man in Troy, and although he was the perfect husband on paper, and respected her in front of people, he sort of viewed her as this lesser woman compared to Helen.

I shut the book, stunned. And then I was angry, because this wasn't the Hector I knew from Homer. This wasn't the Hector I was writing.

And I understand why Pat Barker did that. It makes sense why she would choose to problematize Hector's character in this way. It's an interesting choice, to push back against Homer and offer an alternate perspective. Some might argue that's why we have so many adaptations of the Iliad.

But it's also an easy choice. It's easy to choose the drama of infidelity. It's been done before. Over and over and over again. If you watch practically any drama show, you'll see it - a relationship might be the main focus, but the conflicts are always about one partner cheating on another, or being tempted, or working through those kinds of issues. I think those kinds of plots assume that a committed and healthy relationship is boring, or that there can’t be any conflict except interpersonal conflict. That’s not to say that there is no place for interpersonal conflict when you’re writing a relationship. And besides, infidelity is a huge part of the Iliad’s premise. But the fact that there are very few alternatives in media is really frustrating to me.

In fact, I think the lack of healthy, committed relationships in media automatically makes them more interesting. I am excited when I see married couples in fiction, because we don't see them often.

The bottom line is this: I think that stories can have good relationships and still have meaningful, complicated conflict. Especially conflict where the two members in a relationship or in a marriage can work together and support each other. And that's what I've tried to do - and that's what I think Homer does - with Hector and Andromache.

[maximov-widow]

Hi can I request the the boys of the OG6 acting like older brothers of Natasha and then literally interrogating ceo!reader or something bc they’re known for being a player?

Natasha’s just watching them and being embarrassed.

You don’t have to if you don’t want to:)

Anything for you

Pairing: Natasha x Reader

Warning: Language, fluff, angst :3

Summary: Your past impacted your future and others trust, are you able to change for her?

Word count: 3.7k

My requests are always open so feel more than welcome to pop in a suggestion for the next story :3

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

Being in a relationship has never been easy in your life, especially since you are the richest person alive, along side with Tony Stark. Since your dad retired and gave you the company you were doing pretty good for someone your age.

You were a 'player' or well that's what people did describe you, but you liked to call yourself adventurous, it was more of a stress relief type of hook ups never more never less.

Half of the time you thought that since you have money people will use you for it so you kept your cold bitch face and kept going with life.

There was a reason behind that thinking, you remember like it was yesterday. Back when you had less responsibilities on your head, you did date.

There was this boy, who was the most respected person in school, he always helped everyone and even turned you into a bit more social and nicer person to which you gained popularity.

You were practically swooned over this guy, not him as a boy but his personality, he 'loved' you or at least that's what you thought. Since you gained respect of practically every person in the school, there were rumours that your boyfriend only used you for the money.

He had a whole plan of how to get your money, by marrying you like he was going to stick with you for a very long time just so he can take your money and leave you dry.

At first you didn't want to believe it until you overheard his conversation with his friends, he was laughing and just being a dick about your whole relationship, telling them what you told him in secret.

You ended up getting revenge, since you were able to get away with most things, you actually punched him and outed him to the whole school with how he treated you, he was suspended and your father moved you to another school for 'punishment' but he really did you a favour.

Every since that you questioned any relationships after that, whether it was with girls or boys, to you they all seemed the same as your ex. So you stuck with being single for sometime until you accidently slept with someone at a party and that's where you picked up the habits of sleeping around.

It did kind of stop when you took over after your dad retired but as soon as you were doing a good enough job and providing the best solutions for the issues that occurred, you practically had many women in your office, no matter the time.

You tried not to mix work with your sex life which meant your workers were your workers and nothing else but there was an exemption, there was a woman, her name is Ava, who used to work along side of your dad and now she works along side of you, she become your casual hook up which sometimes interfered with work.

Since you always believed in good, Ava suggested for you to work with the Avengers, you agreed and reached out to Tony and offered a deal to help him with anything he needs but you wanted intel on everything they do which meant you were there pretty often.

When you first met the team, it was only a couple of them as most were away from a mission, they were a family that you wanted and lacked. Your father never was a feeling type of guy and your mother never really cared unless she didn't get her money.

The Avengers were different and even if you weren't physically fighting with them, you helped them out a lot since they ruined a lot of property to which you were quick to act to some point you were considered their teammate.

When you met this one particular team mate, you instantly knew she was different. You knew she existed from them being featured on the news but face to face with these people were so different. She was the reason you changed so much.

The more you started to spend time with the Avengers the more you were fascinated by her. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, the Russian, the redhead, you preferred stunning but Natasha would have to do.

She was just as into you as you were into her and you wasn't hiding it, you were obvious which only encouraged her to continue her exploring. Everyone warned her about you but she was too blind and stubborn to care.

You stopped sleeping around when you started to hang around the team more often, which didn't go unnoticed by your own company, especially Ava who worked with you, was she jealous? Of course, to the point where she tried to ruin your chance with Natasha.

You were busy that day, like really busy, ever since you were taking things with Natasha at some pace, you would neglect your work and overload Ava, she didn't mind it because in return she wanted you and she was going to succeed.

She was all over you to which you never paid any attention, your mind was occupied with Natasha, you literally did everything to spend more of your time with the Russian rather than here being a CEO.

You was standing near the elevators, talking to one of your other business partners and Ava was next to you since she was in a way involved into your business.

Natasha was planning to visit you at work as you couldn't leave this time, she wants to watch you be a badass CEO, it turned her on when you bossed people around plus it was more time together so she didn't mind.

Natasha appeared out of the Elevator to which she was spotted by Ava, there was a smirk at her lips as she started her plan. When you and the business partner made a joke, she laughed as she placed her hand gently on your shoulder.

Natasha saw it all, she narrowed her eyes and waited for you to push her away, here where the problems comes. The company didn't know who you starting to change for, so when the next person saw Natasha and where she was looking, they made a comment.

"I wouldn't look so surprised, they had a thing on and off all the time, since Y/n took over, Ava has been sneaking around but we all know"

Natasha nodded with a fake smile and turned around to the elevator, it took everything in her to turn around because all she wanted to do was walk towards you and Ava and literally kill yous on spot.

When Natasha arrived back, the team noticed her sudden change in her behaviour.

"Nat are you okay?" Steve questioned first as he observed the redhead.

She stiffly nodded and proceeded to walk out to her room but Thor stopped her "Okay, you're not okay now tell us what's wrong."

Natasha faced her team mates "It's stupid"

Clint shook his as he sipped his drink "It's not stupid if it's upsetting you"

Tony crossed his arms "Okay, spill Romanoff"

Natasha sighed as she walked over to where they were and sat in between them "I'm having doubts"

Bruce's head popped out from underneath a table "Doubts about what?"

"About what's going on between me and Y/n.." Natasha hesitantly told them.

Steve's frowned at her "Why?"

"I went to visit Y/n at work today and I hate to admit it but I don't think the player habits have stopped, it just worries me that I am being maybe used.." As Natasha finished, she was looking anywhere else but them.

Tony pulled Natasha into his side "It's okay, you have us to protect you, also I think Fury was looking for you so you might want to check that out first"

She nodded and just when she was about to stand up, Tony pulled her into a hug and suddenly everyone wants to hug her to which they did. They had their turn whispering sweet things to Natasha to calm her a little.

"We are having a party later" Tony announced just before the Russian left, she nodded at him and as soon as she left, they turned to each other.

"Okay, here is the plan, the party is there to keep her occupied whilst we question Y/n. I'm not going to allow a player break her sweet heart" Tony spoke up again as he looked from Steve to Bruce.

"I will get the ropes ready..." Clint stated as if he done this before.

Thor looked at Clint confused "I want to ask but at the same time I don't"

Tony rolled his eyes "It doesn't matter, we are going to find out and then decided what we should do with Y/n if it's true"

They all nodded and did their secret handshake that Natasha wasn't apart off because it was dedicated to her to protect her. They split and went to fulfil their parts of this secret mission.

Tony alerted you of the party, Steve kept his eyes on the door to see if you arrive, Bruce takes care of Ava or any other people, Thor takes you away as he is very convincing and Clint prepares for anything that could somehow disrupt the interrogation.

You were worried, each time you would message Natasha there would be no reply, that never happened before which was even more worrying. Your first irrational thought was to sleep with someone to take off the stress but after taking a deep breath you knew this isn't a way to solve this, you needed to talk to Natasha.

As soon as you received a text from Tony about a party, there was some sort of relief in your mind, she was busy with preparing maybe that's why she couldn't answer you.

You told Ava about the party so she cancelled any late meetings, any parties that Tony Stark planned had everyone invited so since you were a business partner of Tony, your whole company was invited meaning Ava was going to be there.

You always had a emergency suit in your office for unannounced parties when you had been stuck at the company for too long. You was ready within minutes and was out the door alone as quick as possible, in hopes that you will talk to Natasha before she gets lost in the part world.

You rushed over and as soon as you gotten into the building Thor stood in your way "Oh hello Thor, sorry I can't talk I'm in a bit of a rush.."

He simply smiled at you "It's okay but Tony really needs you, it has to wait"

You were going to protest but he pulled you along with him, he was much more stronger than you so you had no chance and just followed him.

He didn't simply let you walk in, he pushed you inside as he locked the door behind him, you huffed as you turned to face the door that now was locked, you looked around and suddenly Tony with Clint emerged from the wall.

"Woah, that's cool" You had your brows raised at their new thing.

"So why was I shoved in here?" You questioned now with a serious face.

Clint walked over to you and before you could move away he had you tied with this new invention, you looked at him with shock and then back at the ropes, he placed you down on a chair as suddenly everyone else but Natasha walk into the room.

Now you are surrounded by 5 Avengers death staring you like you had killed someone that was related to them "What is happening?"

Tony had a serious face "You're going to tell us about Ava"

You frowned in confusion "What are you talking about?"

Steve had his arms crossed "We want to know what is going on between you and Ava"

The boys tried their best to keep this whole thing a secret but Natasha was a spy after all so she knew what they were doing, she didn't want to stop them because if it meant somehow getting out the truth without lies she was okay with it, obviously to some extent, she didn't want them to hurt you so she observed from the other room.

"Is there suppose to be something going on between me and her?" You questioned as you stared at Steve with a serious face.

Bruce walked closer as he bend down to your face "There is 5 of us and just you, think wisely before answering Y/l/n"

Were you scared? A little, he was right you were alone and no one knew you were here, but you knew they wouldn't do anything to you well at least that's what you'd like to think.

"I will ask again, what is going on with you and Ava?" Tony spoke as Bruce walked back to where he stood before.

"Nothing is going on between me and her, what makes you think that?" You questioned this time.

Clint sighed as he dropped his hands "Because we know you were involved with her sexually"

You narrowed your eyes "So you five kidnapped me, tied and now you're asking me if I'm still sleeping with Ava, acting like this is your business because?"

Tony scoffed "Because you're messing with our family and we don't like people who hurt our family.."

"I'm not messing with no one-" You were quick to disagree but stopped yourself when you realised who they were referring to.

"You mean Natasha..." You spoke but rather to yourself than them.

"I'm not messing with Natasha" You stated simply.

"Then why is Ava all over you?" Clint asked as he crossed his arms this time.

"How am I suppose to know, I'm not a mind reader"

Clint faced Tony "Okay, I believe Y/n"

You smiled slightly at Clint, but his comment only caused an argument, your eyes wondered around the room, that's when you noticed that the corner of the room is different half way up as if there was glass, not making it obvious that you knew.

You cleared your throat "Can I say something?"

They all looked back at you and nodded in sync "I know yous don't trust me but I will try everything to show you that I don't have bad intentions when it comes to Natasha, now please can you let me go I really need to go"

Tony narrowed his eyes "If you want to show us that we can trust you then tell us where you are in such a rush"

You swallowed hard, you didn't want Natasha to find out this way so you tried your luck again "I can't tell you, I need to go"

Tony inhaled sharply as he looked over at the boys "Well what do you guys say about a round of beers and come back here in an hour to see if Y/n will say something then"

Thor smirked "We can also put the heating on, making it a little too hot here for our little Y/n here"

They all nodded and there was a sense of panic across your face "Okay stop, I will speak"

They all had a smirk and you just continued "I am in a rush to talk to Natasha.."

"Why?" Steve spoke as he walked a little closer to you.

"Well I was planning to do this face to face not through the glass but I'm head over hills with Natasha and I was planning to ask her out but I guess now she knows" You sighed with slight disappointment.

Tony was the one frowning with confusion "What do you mean? Through glass?"

You looked over at the glass "If you really think you know Natasha then think twice, because this woman is a spy, she is behind that glass listening to this"

Clint face palmed himself "I knew this was too good to be true"

Tony pulled out his remote that controlled the glass, he turned off the camouflage and there she stood, with her arms crossed and an embarrassed look across her face, well it was a death stare but you could tell them apart.

As your eyes landed on her face, a smile found it way on your lips really quickly, she always did that to you and you loved that feeling even if you were slightly terrified of it but you would do anything for Natasha even deal with your own issues for her.

Clint walked over as he untied you and allowed you to stand up with a little whine from the pain that the rope left behind, you looked at the boys and they moved out of your way, you looked at them and gave them a small nod as you proceeded your way out.

"You better not hurt her Y/l/n or you'll regret it" Tony simply whispered but just enough so you heard him, you looked at him and nodded with a smile.

You walked out of the room and shutting the door behind you, taking a deep breath and finally looking to your right as your eyes were met with the Russian's green ones, she was staring at you from across and all you wanted to do was pull her into you.

Nothing else but her was on your mind, you walked over to her and just stared at her without saying anything. You didn't even know what words would be right to say so instead she took your hand and pulled you to a less visited balcony.

She stood couple steps away from you to which she spoke up first "Did you mean it?"

Her naturally raspy voice was music to your ears, so you simply nodded because words could betray you quite easily, she sighed with relief as she looked down.

The boost of courage coursed through your body, you took those couple steps towards her as you placed your hand under her chin, making her look up at you.

"Natasha I am sorry if I made you feel like you were nothing more than some cheap hook up because you aren't and you never will be." You started off with an apology still holding her chin.

"You mean so much to me, you out of everyone could make me want to change is a lot for me, I knew the second that I would do anything for you that I was falling for you" This time you held her face with both of your hands as your eyes started to gloss.

"I also never told you how stunning you look" You manged to chuckle out before letting tears slowly fall from your eyes.

She chuckled with you as she wiped your tear of your cheeks "Thank you"

"I'm also sorry for them acting like that" Natasha tucked a fallen hair behind your ear.

You shook your head "You don't need to be sorry because if you made you more at ease then I would even let them kidnap me everyday if it meant you would feel better"

A smile made its way on her lips this time "I think I'm falling for you too" She whispered it as she searched in your eyes for any emotions.

You smiled with a relief sigh "We can take this at any pace you want and if you ever doubt anything, talk to me I will even take a lie detector test for you Nat"

She giggled as she nodded, instead of replying she hugged into your chest with a smile across her lips, you let your arms snake around her and close your eyes at her warmth.

You pulled away slightly just enough to be inches away from each other lips, you looked into her eyes and with confirmation from both parts you kiss her, your eyes flattered shut as if to see if this wasn't a dream.

You pulled away and rested your forehead against hers as you looked into her eyes, completely being pulled deeply into this moment, not realising that practically everyone could see this, but as long as you had Natasha with you, you didn't care.

The next day, you made Natasha meet you at the company along with Ava, Natasha worried rushed to you as she spotted you. Her eyes were quick to narrow at Ava.

You looked over at Natasha and with a smile you walked over to her as you took her hand and walked back to where you were, this time Ava had her eyes narrowed at Natasha.

"What am I doing here Y/n/n?" The redhead spoke up as she looked over at you.

"This is my way of showing that you can trust me Natty" You looked back at her with a smile.

She was still confused, so you looked over at Ava as you held a letter out to her, she hesitantly took it and opened it as her eyes scanned the paper so quickly.

"You're moving me to another work place?!" She screamed as she looked back at you.

You nodded with a smile across your lips "Yes, I have heard from so many people that you have been complaining about getting here so I did you a favour and moved you closer to where you live"

You pulled Natasha into you but kept your eyes on Ava, who pointed at Natasha "This is your fault, if you weren't here I would still have my chance"

You rolled your eyes, the Russian was ready to knock her out but you held her by her waist pretty firmly as you spoke "Don't blame this on others, this is all on you, it might be hard to understand for you but I didn't want anything else from you, now go pack your stuff as your new place awaits you"

She scoffed as she stormed away, you waved her goodbye as you giggled along with Natasha, you looked over to the redhead at your side, she smiled at you and without words, she kissed you to which you accepted it with open arms.

You wanted everyone to know she was taken by you and you were taken by her. She made you happy and you would do anything to prove to her that she is the one who has your heart.

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

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Tag list: @eilarch, @wandanatblogs, @madamevirgo @diaryoflife, @theprassebox, @wymer, @marvelwomen-simp

[femininetea]

"Always expecting betrayal... But never from you"

The general who became a father to his soldier (spoilers for rwby v8 ch13)

Personal impressions:

I was so mad last week, thinking IW would have been defeated already/too soon but they tricked us. And I'm so glad it's a Winter vs. Ironwood fight. And the emotions.... I can't.

He was her father figure and I'm sure it was viewed like that from both sides. We were clearly shown what IW would do if anyone was in his way. Even when she disobeyed he didn't shoot her. He trusted her until the last moment.... We saw him get mad, break down and hopeless. But never cry. It's not just any soldier he's fighting. He's fighting his right hand. Winter Schnee, someone who was like a daughter to him.

But let's get to their actual relationship.

An essay on Winter in RWBY is planned btw.

Winter seems to have the highest rank in the military next to Ironwood, which is impressive for her age and shows her determination but also how IW believes in her

In V4 Jacques claimed that IW "stole his daughter" and IW hinted at that they often had this conversation

In V7 Jacques asked IW if Winter knew that Weiss returned to Atlas

From the point of V2 and V3 it seems that Winter still had contact to Jacques but not as much anymore in V7, something happened and I think because of the dust embargo IW and Jacques had their confrontation and Winter obviously chose IW's side and detached from her father completely

(It was always hinted (and I think even stated in the remnant guide book) that Winter protected her siblings and had to take the most abuse. And you can clearly see that by her type of fight or flight trauma and how she's literally supposed to represent the ice queen with her hidden emotions and stuff

You see her in that state of shock, fear, panic, trauma etc. when she realizes that she failed Ironwood. He was proud of her for catching Yang, Ren and Jaune and put his hand on her since they would be useful. Harriet then told him and I think this represents how someone like IW would be able to hurt her that much emotionally since he is in the position of an authority and a father figure to her)

Also he was ready to shoot his people at any time like the council man or Marrow but he didn't shoot her and allowed her to stay by her side

That and how she defends IW most of the time show how she trusts her judgment, IW trusts her judgement as well as seen in V4 when he told Jacques that Winter told him that there was a threat in Mistral

In World of Remnant we see IW walking past soldiers and Winter standing out. It was about the technical grooming of atlas students to join the military but you can tell from what we know of Ironwood, that he has a good heart (eruption fang made a vid on that recently)

When Winter told Weiss that "the general would have a place for you" She said it with such happiness, atlas and the military was winter's new home and IW gave her the chance to repurpose her life

She even defended IW in front of Jacques, her biological father and she takes great personal offense when his judgement is mistreated. Even when Weiss talked about trust Winter said that he would never hide anything from her

The offer with the Winter Maiden... You could say that he did this to control her and I'd accept your opinion... But there's one thing that makes me think that he still obviously also cared for her. Over the years he knew how much the military meant to her. She even told Penny that her life doesnt matter and only her job does. It means everything to her and like Winter said herself, she saw the Maiden powers as a privilege and it makes me feel like Ironwood saw them as something that would make her unique and give her once again a purpose that is unique to her and not just her being one of many soldiers

He even apologized, knowing it wouldn't be easy for her (since he expected Winter and not Ozcar) and when he had his talk with RWBY he called Winter her/Weiss' sister instead of just her name and idk but that just made this even more special

In Volume 8 it is once again shown how Winter is basically the one who also trusted Ironwood until the end. And in ch 12 she didnt judge him... She expressed her worries for his behavior. She couldn't believe the man who made her feel like she was everything would ever become so cruel

They way their worry for each other looks so similar

And while I know that they have a theme for the Atlas military , I think it's obvious how Winter looked even more like IW in all her outfits compared to the rest of the military

Many people think Ironwood is dumb for over trusting Winter but I think it shows his flaw as a general. He let's his emotions get in the way since he cares about her and continues to trust her even though she disobeyed orders

His last words were "As my last order: step aside", he could've just shot her again as she layed defenseless on the ground but he didn't

Remember how in the first episode he said "Thank you Winter, I don't know what I would do without you"

Right before, she said that she'll be fine without him asking anything. It sounds a little more personal in my opinion. Why would you tell your boss that you'll be fine without him asking about your status? the conversation was literally about Qrow and Robyn before but he looked worried and wanted the room for themselves and she immediately said that.

Some people also talk about how they emphasized with Ironwood in volume 7 since wasn't shown to have family or a partner yet would do anything for Atlas. But again, he did care about Winter a lot and wanted her to be save.

Something I also noticed when writing this is that in volume 3 Ironwood called her Schnee yet in V7 he calls the Ace Ops and her via first name basis. Clover said that he trusts Ironwood with this life and I think that's how Winter and the Ace ops felt about him, the person who gave them hope. Especially Winter.

And now we're here. Seeing the man cry a tear. We know now, if Winter wins, she has to kill him. Imprisoning him wasn't enough. And I think that will be her final moment of her being a "Ice Queen", when she has to kill him, she will probably turn to her emotional side and grieve.

As mentioned, the military, her position, her rank and Ironwood meant everything to her. She talked so enthusiastically when she had her conversation with Weiss about moving in together without their father and how IW has a place for her younger sister. And now along with Ironwood, both are in a situation they never thought they'd be in.

That was it from me. In short form , I just wanted to share some ideas and things I've noticed about their relationship and dynamic. None of this is meant as a romantic way and you can of course disagree but please stay respectful. Thank you and we'll see each other next chapter<3

P. S. Winter please don't die

[elriell]

Some jumbled up thoughts about Elain, Lucien and Azriel + Mating Bonds

There have been a lot of conversations regarding this topic and I thought I’d flesh it out a bit myself, but these are facts/observations that as a fandom many have noticed, discussed, analysed. I just wanted to dive in myself fully.

I want to talk about each of them individually as well as, as a whole. Their emotions and mindsets, as someone who loves all three characters and wishes for all of them to get a happy ending. I will preface this with saying I will be discussing why it is very likely Elain will reject the bond and such things, so along the lines of Anti-Elucien. If you are a fan of them, thats cool, just skip this one if you happen upon it. 

We are going to dive in to the following;

Lucien & Elain  (their choices)

Lucien & Azriel  (contrast)

Rejecting the Bond

New Bonds

Fate & THE POV 

and why the writing is basically telling us everything we need to know...

Lucien 

Lucien is noble male, he has a good heart and has suffered his plenty, and this is why people want what is best for him, to be the happiest he can... Unfortunately I think that in this case Elain is not it. 

He is right to feel that way, just as Elain has a right to feel as she does. I think it is incredibly interesting that when we finally see from his POV we see that in a way he feels as though this has been thrust on them. 

That with his last love he had a choice and so did she.

It reminds me very much of this line about Rhysand’s parents, who were an example of an unhappy mating bond.

We will deep dive in to wrong matches further down, but the fact is that mated couples are not always indicators of true paired souls, that they very well could be the couple that do not end up happy together.

I speak on Elain and her agency a lot because I feel like a large portion of the fandom like to discard it as if it means nothing, and even judge her for it but if we actually take a look at Lucien’s behaviour he is not all that more happy.

There are some key differences between them though, Lucien as a male feels their bond to a different degree than she does, and he also has been raised to believe and respect the bond. And thus he feels a certain obligation to honour it in the best way he can. 

This doesn’t mean he thinks she is right for him, any further than his attraction to her (which like same dude same), he hasn’t displayed any signs that they actually aline as a couple. And I feel like SJM clearly highlights this when she sets examples of his gifts not being... well right for her. 

The gloves we know she never wears show us how little they know each other as she loves to get dirty [which Feyre had told him] and the pearl necklace is then contrasted by Azriels which was very personalised to Elain. 

(The rose, the secret beauty of it hitting the light etc...)

These are all deliberate moves by Sarah to showcase their misaligned bond.

And during Elain’s section I will also be pointing out some Lucien moments that really don’t read well for him. I genuinely believe he is much happier amongst the Band of Exhiles than he is when he is seen with The Inner Circus.

Elain

Here is the thing, this situation isn’t any easier on him that’s true but people need to respect Elains feelings, and the fact is she does not like him. Not only does she not like him but she shrinks in on herself, she looses all the progress and confidence she has made since the Cauldron. That is not a good sign of anything healthy.

If this is suppose to be a romance we root for why is she doing everything in her power to make it seem the opposite? If she genuinely was playing the long game she would have at least started to make them comfortable around each other, goodness they don’t even have to talk, but she does the opposite.

She emphasises that he brings out the bad in her. Again, no bueno. She quite simply does not want to be around him and with SJM’s writing I think this is highly deliberate on her part. 

[And let’s be clear there are countless quotes from the other books that do NOT reflect well on their relationship but I am trying to stick to ACOSF, as it is her most recent work, otherwise I would be here all day.] 

Rejecting the Bond

We have almost a two page discussion on why mating bonds are not an exact science, and that they can be more harmful than good. We are given two examples of it, with both Rhys’ and Tamlin’s parents. And then we get a very subtle hit at Azriel. This is all in the book Sarah said she began planting the seeds for the sisters journeys.

We also know from this there is a choice. But that many force it, because they feel it it right, (much like Lucien is probably doing right now, because he feels a duty and hope that it will work out.)  

Then we have the fact thrown at us that a lot of males believe that their mate belongs to them and will challenge the other male, which we now have a call back to with Rhys’ mentioning “The Blood Duel”. 

There is literally not one reason Sarah would put this in TWICE only for it never to happen or come close too happening. How anyone can question at this point that Elriel will happen is confusing to me, she has laid all the groundwork for it.

Now I don’t believe for a second that Lucien wouldn’t respect her choice, I think it will most certainly come down to Beron forcing his hand to wage the war we know he wants.

I think despite what Rhys said in Azriel’s POV under immense stress, TNC will protect Elain and ultimately stand by her decision. 

Not only does ACOSF spend a great deal of time creating a further divide between Elain & Lucien it also add a shockingly large quantity of easter eggs about “Elain choosing bonds” “Other Mate” “What if it chose wrong?” and again in this book like in ACOMAF we bring back up a failed mated pair to remind you of it’s existence.

All possible signs lean towards them breaking the bond.

And frankly from a storytelling perspective having three perfect bonds that are basically the same overarching love story (enemies to lovers) is boring, she would want to shake it up and throw a little curveball.

Lucien + Azriel  &  Why I think Azriel will have a bond with Elain.

“If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate” And low and behold it is Azriel who figures out what was going on with her. Not to mention in the reveal SJM further displays that Lucien has no clue what was going on with her.

I don’t know what bridge holds their bond but I wouldn’t trust crossing it personally... :/

Further still, Lucien cannot hear her heart. Their bond is definitely not strong but you could also argue that is not an element of the bond at all but rather of her abilities perhaps. Since we know she could hear the sea too though it was nowhere close by.

But Azriel did hear her, he did pay attention and he figured out what was amiss. 

It is interesting to me that people took such issue with this when I believe very few have issues with Rhys or Cassian fighting for their respective partners. Now I have gone in to it in depth about how I think that this was pure emotion and illogical on Azriel’s part, and I don’t believe he would kill Lucien so carelessly.

I think it speaks to the same blind emotion a lot of them have displayed for their mates, Lucien may have wanted to see if she was worth it but Azriel knows she is worth the fight.

And for all intensive purposes in that moment he was willing to fight for someone he believes shares his feelings.

Now let’s tackle the whole “Possessive” crap.

First of all, all of the male pairings in this series have shown moments like this, so if it is bothering you here why isn’t it bothering you at other points?

Lucien has been just as instinctively possessive from their bond, and let me clarify, I am not shaming him for that anymore than anyone else. What I am pointing out is the double standard, if anything Azriel has more reason to feel like he can fight for her because she has actually shown him care, interest and attraction. 

They have actually bonded a lot more than she has with Lucien thus far.

And if they truly do have an upcoming bond then judging him on three paragraphs when we don’t know what the heck is going on is just ridiculous.

On the same note of that scene, let’s talk about “deserve”

First of all he never said he deserved her, Rhys implied that is what he was gleaning from the conversation and that it is just lust, which we know is not the case. Clearly Rhys perception is not accurate at all so to take his statement at face value and call it fact is a bit disingenuous.

Azriel wasn’t claiming he deserves her, did you read his POV at all?? He didn’t even feel like his hands should touch her let alone deserve her. Please go back and read that chapter again if you can’t see that.

Not to mention I think that the idea of FATE, and believing in hope even when the odds are stacked against you (AKA her having a mate) is actually very consistent with SJM storytelling and Az. Remember this;

The fact that he is hopeful despite the despair of his situation is exactly what people have valued about him. Not to mention after Rhys says this to Azriel he says to them;

So Rhys too believes they were brought in his family for a reason, some sort of fate.

Amren too thinks they are blessed by fate. Why is it so shocking and offensive that Azriel have a little hope that there is a reason they came in to their lives? Because he isn’t with your fav?

Let’s be honest he didn’t exactly get over Mor in ACOMAF, ACOWAR and then even ACOFAS there are slight moments, thats over a long period. Three sisters didn’t just arrive and he went TAG “I want one.”

No, he genuinely grew to care for Elain, and let go of his past, and in watching Elain not find any connection with her mate he saw it as a sign that the Cauldron was wrong, which we know it can be. 

I don’t know if people are selective readers but if you think that he doesn’t care for her as a person beyond being a “sister” I don’t know what to tell you, we are not reading the same books.

ANYWAYS back on topic.

I think Sarah has laid a lot of groundwork for her breaking the bond and perhaps choosing a new one. I know not everyone is keen on another bond as they feel her free will and choice is enough, that’s fair and I agree to a point. 

I just wanted to analyse the data at hand, and I do believe after ACOSF (I never thought it prior really) that they are mates in some capacity, whether that is because of the Cauldron or something that will occur... I think she has laid enough groundwork for them being Soulmates at the least. Hence why I love the idea of a Carranam bond.

There are so many parallels between Rhys, Cassian & Az that could be taken as little signs but honestly this is long enough I am sure you all want to kill me already for making you read all that hahaha 

One last little morsel, it very well might be nothing but Az shouting after they take Elain is an interesting choice, it’s ambiguous enough that you can take it to mean the pain but it could also be another little crumb.

Basically with all said and done I think she will give Elain her agency back and break it.

And potentially something will occur with Azriel as a result but thats certainly more grey than the rest of it.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk!

Obviously, to each their own opinion, have fun and ship whatever you want these are just my thoughts on the text at hand!

(Also I am sorry I got like 20+ messages to get to in my inbox, yeah I kinda ignored everyone and worked on this today, sorry!!! I’ll be back tomorrow)

[space-blue]

I never even thought of the possibility of Vi realising at one point that Silco genuinely cared for Jinx and vice versa. How does that even happen when she only knows bad things about him? When Jinx herself tell her at the finale that Silco took everything from her and Vi and he planned to backstab her just like he did to Vander? When Jinx told Vi that all those years Silco locked up Vi (not true) and then kept telling her she abandoned Jinx? She’d surely hate Silco for turning her into a shimmer monster. Anyway, does Jinx at one point tell Vi how she bonded with Silco over their shared experience of being betrayed (yikes) by their sibling? Or when Jinx tells her where Vi failed Silco helped Jinx realise her dream of becoming a proficient engineer/ bomber/ gunsmith and an expert fighter/ hitman? It will only reinforce to Vi that Silco truly moulded her to care for the things he provided her over screwing over the memory of their family and her still alive friend Ekko along his group the firelights. It looks like in-game only Sevika and Singed would truly understood how Silco genuinely cared for Jinx. I highly doubt they would set the record straight with Vi. What does the writers want from this sibling storyline?

Yes you're right Anon, Jinx does tell Vi her misunderstandings, calls Silco a liar in front of her... But it's the same shimmer-eyed Jinx who asks Vi to kill Cait to prove herself, shoots a puppet in the head after having a conversation with it...

Please bear in mind that Vi is silently sitting right there while Silco pours his actual heart out to Jinx...

"You're my daughter" and "It's just us" and "Everyone betrays us"

And Jinx is seemingly finally understanding he means it...

Then shit goes south, and Vi may not like it, or she may still not compute it, but she SEES Jinx grieve Silco, and then CHOSE his side, and BLOW UP the Council.

Vi is there for all of that, and don't actions speak louder than words? Sevika tells her Jinx is Silco's daughter. Silco says it to Jinx with tears in his eyes... Ekko told her Jinx worked for him willingly, and then she blows up the Council...

I think it would do Vi a disservice to keep her in denial much past that.

Jinx is THE unreliable narrator. She's on shimmer, she's upset, and she's confused. She also didn't believe Silco when he told her he didn't know about Vi, but it was some hectic time, and believe it or not, she still went and killed Marcus, soooooo...

I basically don't think Vi needs to be told anything more to realise that Jinx and Silco were indeed close. I mean, she could ask literally anyone on the street about it.

It's one of my main gripes with the treatment of Vi, and solely a meta issue. Vi is in the worst prison, with everyone Silco sends there, and some that get caught despite it all, like Mek, and she SOMEHOW never hears about Jinx? The feared, bomb maniac Jinx? The blue haired girl who works for Silco? I don't buy it for one second... But we have to, because otherwise her expectations from Stillwater onwards would be completely different.

Vi, imo, is the character through which you see the most of the writers' hand.

Back on topic, what do the writers want? I think they want to explore how siblings who deeply love each other and have no one else in the world can be torn apart by systemic injustice and trauma, trickling down both on a grand scale (parents shot in a riot) and on a familial/personal one (your father figures stabbing and choking each other even though they are technically on the same side). It seems the want to question just how far can siblings drift apart before them being related breaks under the weight of those differences. And what could bring them back together.

In my fic The Shimmer Baron's Family (still a wip, gotta finish F&D first), I have a regency ball happening during which Jinx is forced to meet Vi again after she went for years away with Vander. Her dance partner, who knew Vi abroad, tries to reassure her by saying this :

'Call it brotherly wisdom,' he said with a small laugh. 'I have an older sister too, you see. We are not estranged, although sometimes I daydream about it... In all seriousness—siblings are inescapable. One simply cannot walk away from that bond, as I'm sure you're keenly aware of. It may seem painful now, but it actually is to your benefit: you need not impress Miss Violet tonight. You need not be eloquent in your greetings. Your meeting this evening could be a complete catastrophe! It hardly matters, because she will remain your sister tomorrow; as incapable of escaping you, as you her. You'll have many more opportunities to talk. Unlike with new and fleeting acquaintances—such as presumptuous gentlemen met at balls—with her you can take your time.'

And I think in a way this is what a lot of Arcane is about, in the way they pair people up and pull them apart. Silco and Vander, Jinx and Vi, Viktor and Jayce... Those are all close bonds, of different nature, and they all come under stress, to eventual breaking points.

Vi and Jinx can't escape each other, because they're the only ones who are true siblings. Not "like a brother" or "brother in arms". They're tied together by blood, and separated by time, experience... Call it fate. Silco helped that division, as well as Marcus... But in her own way Cait too.

Both sisters hurt each other a lot by refusing to accept change in the other. Jinx is done understanding now that Vi has changed. She says she hoped she could still love her "as she used to", implying she now knows she won't and can't.

It'd be weird for Vi to not promptly do her own catching up to the situation.

I think she would benefit from understanding she'd been misguided, and wanted to believe Silco bore all the blame, but things simply changed while she was in prison. She can't help what Jinx has become, and might realise that her failure to address this precipitated a lot of the conflict... But now that's behind them. She named Jinx to the Council, and Jinx bombed them... Vi will have to take sides, and her opinion of Silco probably won't affect things all that much.