#EDIT II: back to being bored :/

[catty-words]

i miss pop punk josh :/

[stylesispunk]

'I love you, it's ruining my life' | Part ii

Joel Miller x f!reader

part one | part three

summary: The aftermath of your confession and how all it ended, for now.

w.c: 3,9k

warnings: angst and just angst. Perhaps grammar mistakes cuz even when I edited the chapter, I tend to be stupid.

a/n: As I promised, part 2 is here! Thank you so much for all the love you gave it to the first part, I'm really happy you loved it despite the messy writing. This part will not be the end, so a third part is already in the works to end this mini story since I had to talk about the aftermath of the events in part 1 and I couldn't fit everything here, you know. Part iii may have a time jump. Happy ending or sad ending for these two?? Make your bets after reading this part. Happy reading 💌

dividers by @/saradika-graphics

After what had just happened, you closed the door of your house with a slam, as if that would help you to silence the thump of your heart cracking with anguish. You didn't even get to savor the taste of Joel's lips on yours; they felt tainted by poison and treason creeping from the unfaithful actions of two people in a vulnerable state. You felt completely dirty by your actions; the tears streamed down your face, washing the warm hands of Joel over your checks away, with the salty rustling of his skin on yours.

After a few seconds, you recovered your composure, inhaling the smell of your soon-to-be ex-home. You looked around your living room; there were boxes containing all the memories you had made for the last eight years of your life inside, saved from the postmortem state. All the days, seconds, and years seemed illicit and foreign, and you could not stop crying.

You sat by the door, head on your knees, next to the window, stealing glimpses of a frantic Joel, who was now walking towards his car, getting away from you for real. Your heart broke even more because you knew that your confession didn’t matter and that you were destined to recall things you never did. He had made his choice. He was going to get married to another woman, and you weren’t going to witness such torture. 

You stood from the ground towards your bedroom, still crying from the hope you had that he was going to love you that way, but he didn't, and you couldn't blame him. He was a good man, one who knew how to love but not how to receive, or perhaps he didn’t want it from you.

As you retreated to your bedroom, the weight of your actions bore down on you like a crushing wave. Each step felt heavier than the last, burdened by the knowledge that you had irreversibly altered the course of your life and Joel's.

The tears continued to flow unabated, leaving a trail of salty bitterness in their wake. You collapsed onto your bed, the sheets offering little solace from the storm raging within you.

When you made your way upstairs, you didn’t know that Joel turned back towards your house, hoping to catch a glimpse of you again. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions. Guilt gnawed at him like a relentless beast, tearing apart his insides with every breath. He couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal that hung heavy in the air, suffocating him with its weight.

Every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn back, to run as far away from the mess he had created as possible. But something, perhaps a glimmer of hope or a desperate longing for closure, propelled him forward, urging him to face the consequences of his actions.

You loved him, and he loved you too. He had waited to hear those words for so many years, and now they felt like treason, and he felt like a villain.

With a trembling hand, he opened the door of this car and drove towards Tess’s house, not knowing this would be the last time you would be sleeping next to his house.

As Joel arrived at Tess's house, he was greeted by the warm glow of the porch light and the familiar scent of her perfume wafting through the air. But instead of feeling comforted by her presence, he couldn't shake the sense of unease that settled over him like a dark cloud.

As he stepped inside, Tess's worried expression immediately caught his attention. She approached him with a furrowed brow, her eyes searching his face for answers.

"Joel, I'm so glad you're here," she said, her voice tinged with concern.

“Of course, what seemed to be so urgent?”

"I...I called you because I needed to talk to you about something." She spoke.

Joel's heart skipped a beat as he listened to her words, a sense of foreboding settling over him like a heavy weight in his chest.

"What is it, Tess?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tess took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly as she spoke. "I couldn't shake this feeling, Joel. The thought of you spending the night after our wedding with...with her," she paused, unable to bring herself to say your name. "It just didn't sit right with me.” She paused, “We’re getting married tomorrow, and I just need to know that she won’t ruin our lives.”

“Why would she?” Joel asked, feeling an urgent desire to defend you.

Tess hesitated, her eyes flickering with uncertainty as she struggled to find the right words. "I don't know, Joel. It's just that there's always been something between you two. Something I can't quite put my finger on."

Joel's heart sank at her words, the weight of guilt settling heavier upon him. He felt his heart exploding from the shame. He looked down at his hands, taking his time to gather all his courage and act like a man.

“I kissed her.” He confessed, and the silence sliced the skin of both. “I kissed her because I wanted to do it.”

As Joel uttered those words, a heavy silence descended upon the room, thick with the weight of his confession. Tess's eyes widened in shock, her hands trembling as she struggled to process the revelation.

The air hung heavy with tension as Joel's words echoed in the space between them, the truth of his betrayal leaving a bitter taste in the air. He could feel Tess's gaze boring into him, her expression a mix of disbelief and hurt.

"I... okay," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. "We’ll pretend it didn’t happen, but she is not coming to the wedding, and you won’t see her again.”

Her attempts to mend an already broken trust were being stabbed with a knife.

"She won't because there won't be a wedding, Tess," Joel said, his voice filled with resignation. "I can't go through with it, not like this. Not when I know that I've already destroyed any chance we had at happiness. Not when I don’t know what I feel.”

Tess's eyes widened in shock at his words, her heart lurching painfully in her chest. She had never imagined that their love could unravel so completely and that the future they had planned together could crumble before her eyes.

“And you deserved a man who didn’t put his love for you in doubt when the woman he waited to love confessed her feelings to him,” Joel said.

Tears welled up in Tess's eyes as she looked at Joel, her voice trembling with emotion. "I...I don't know what to say," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the weight of their shattered dreams.

Joel reached out to her, his hand trembling as he gently brushed away her tears. "I'm sorry, Tess," he said, his voice thick with regret. "I never meant to hurt you. I just... don't know what I want anymore."

Tess felt a surge of anger rise within her at Joel's words, the pain of his betrayal still raw and fresh in her heart. But beneath the anger, there was also a sense of resignation, a realization that their love had been built on shaky ground from the start.

"And what about her?" Tess asked, her voice tinged with bitterness. "What about her? Do you know what you want with her?"

Joel looked away, unable to meet Tess's gaze. "I don't know," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper. "I don't know anything anymore."

Tess felt a lump form in her throat at Joel's words, and the next thing Joel felt was a slap on his cheek.

Joel felt a pang of sorrow shoot through his heart at Tess's action, as if all her resentment had consumed him with the hit of her hand on his skin. Tess turned away before he could even realize it. Withit tears streaming down her cheeks, Joel knew that he had lost her for good. And though it pained him to admit it, he knew deep down that he deserved every bit of her anger and resentment.

And his thoughts drifted to you. For him, it was a feeling in his heart at the thought of not having you in his life anymore.

He had broken the hearts of two women last night, and he couldn't bear that feeling.

Joel woke up at noon the next day. There wasn't going to be a wedding that day. He had told Tess he had kissed you because he felt it. There were tears, yelling, slurs screaming at him, and even a slap when it was completely deserved.

He lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, the events of the previous night playing out in his mind like a never-ending loop. The tears, the yelling, the slap—it all echoed in his ears, a constant reminder of the pain he had caused.

Joel knew that there wasn't going to be a wedding that day and that the future he had envisioned with Tess had been shattered beyond repair. And as he lay there in the silence of his empty house, he couldn't help but feel a profound sense of emptiness.

But even as his heart ached with longing, Joel knew that he had to face the consequences of his actions. He had hurt Tess, shattered her trust, and broken her heart, and he couldn't ignore the pain he had caused.

With a heavy sigh, Joel dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee, the bitter taste doing little to chase away the bitter taste of regret that lingered in his mouth.

As he sipped his coffee, Joel knew he had a long road ahead of him. He had to find a way to make amends and earn back the trust and forgiveness of those he had wronged. And amidst it all, he vowed to do whatever it took to hold onto the love he felt for you and to fight for a future where you could be together, despite the odds stacked against them.

Joel had met Tess two years ago. At first, it was something cosmic and faster, like spending some time together after he had fixed her house, but then the pages between them started to get written and Joel began to spend less time with you. You tried to dismiss the gut-wrenching feeling consuming your void inside, but you promised him to take care of Sarah, while he had taken the chance to bet on love once again.

He deserved it, but you wanted to be the one, and you consumed yourself into your own pity just for one glimpse of his smile, hoping someday he would notice you that way.

It was two months later when Joel invited you to meet Tess for the first time. As you stepped into the cozy café where they had arranged to meet, a pang of bittersweet emotion tugged at your heart. You couldn't deny the twinge of jealousy that gnawed at you, knowing that Joel was introducing you to someone who could potentially become his wife someday.

Despite the ache in your chest, you plastered on your best smile, determined to be supportive for Joel's sake. After all, you had promised to always be there for him, no matter what.

As Tess walked in, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Joel, you couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. They were already sharing a secret language you would never get to understand. She was everything you weren't—beautiful, confident, and effortlessly charming. And as Joel introduced you to her, the weight of his hand on your shoulder felt like a silent reassurance, a reminder of the bond you shared as best friends.

You exchanged pleasantries with Tess, forcing yourself to push aside the tumult of emotions swirling inside you. You laughed at her jokes, engaged in small talk, and did your best to be the supportive friend that Joel needed you to be.

But beneath the façade of your smiles and laughter, your heart ached with a sense of loss. You were already grieving your friendship with Joel, as if you were feeling the distance growing between you both, as if his introduction of Tess marked the beginning of a new chapter—one where you would no longer be his sole confidante and companion.

And as you watched Joel and Tess interact, their laughter mingling in the air like a melody of happiness, you couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to stand in her shoes—to be the one who captured Joel's heart and made him smile in that way.

But despite the ache in your chest, you pushed aside your own desires and fears, burying them beneath layers of friendship and loyalty. Because in that moment, all that mattered was Joel's happiness, even if it meant sacrificing a piece of your own.

You made sacrifices for the people you loved.

As Joel's thoughts drifted back to the present, he tried to recall all the times he missed the way you glanced at him full of love, and he didn’t even notice. Even when he was the one looking out beyond the simple glimpses,.

He felt like a fool. Joel sat in the quiet solitude of his house, contemplating the light of the sun creeping through the window. His thoughts drifted to you once again and again. He knew that he needed to come to talk to you later to make amends for the pain he had caused and perhaps even begin to write a new chapter in your relationship. But deep down, he also knew that he needed time to heal himself and mend the wounds of his own heart before he could hope to repair the damage he had done to yours.

Lost in his thoughts, Joel was jolted back to reality when the sound of the door opening caught his attention. Turning his head, he watched as Tommy stepped into the house, a tired Sarah sleeping in his arms. The pitying glance that Tommy shot him didn't go unnoticed, a silent reminder of the wreckage of his almost-married life.

Joel offered a weak smile in return, his heart heavy with the weight of his own guilt and remorse. He knew that he had let everyone down—Tess, you, and even himself—and he couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment that hung over him like a dark cloud.

But as he watched Tommy and Sarah disappear into the other room, Joel knew that he couldn't wallow in self-pity forever. He had to find a way to pick up the pieces of his broken life and move forward, even if the road ahead seemed daunting and uncertain.

Lost in his thoughts, Joel didn't notice when Tommy returned to the living room, his expression a mix of concern and confusion. "Hey, Joel, why didn't you tell me?" Tommy asked, his voice tinged with worry.

Joel blinked, snapping out of his reverie as he turned to face Tommy. "Tell you what?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Why didn't you tell me that “bubu” was moving out?" Tommy clarified; his tone was laced with concern. "I saw the moving truck leaving.

Joel's heart sank at Tommy's words, a wave of realization washing over him. He remembered now—the conversation from last night, your tearful confession that you were leaving for good. "She couldn’t be serious," he had whispered, the words heavy with disbelief and desperation.

Without another word, Joel stepped away from the couch, his movements heavy with purpose as he made his way towards the door. Ignoring Tommy's calls behind him, he pushed open the door and stepped outside, only to be met with the emptiness of your house next door.

The sight of your empty home, stripped bare of all its memories, hit Joel like a punch to the gut. The realization that you were truly gone, that he had let you slip through his fingers without a fight, left him feeling hollow and alone.

With a heavy heart, Joel sank to his knees on the doorstep, the weight of his regrets crushing him beneath their unbearable burden. And as he gazed up at the empty windows of your house, he couldn't help but wonder if he had lost you forever.

It was a warm summer afternoon when Sarah said her first word. You, Joel, and Sarah were lounging in the living room, playing with her favorite toys.

As Sarah babbled and cooed, her tiny hands reaching out to grasp at the colorful shapes before her, you couldn't help but feel a sense of joy and wonder wash over you. Watching her grow and learn had become a highlight of your days, a bright spot in an otherwise ordinary existence.

“Bubu”

Joel's face lit up with pride and joy as he scooped up his daughter, a mixture of awe and amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Did she just say her first word?" he exclaimed, his voice filled with wonder.

You couldn't help but laugh at Joel's playful jealousy, knowing that he was only teasing. "Oh my god, baby!" you cooed, reaching out to gently stroke Sarah's soft cheek. "You're just too clever for your own good, aren't you?"

"Bubu," Sarah repeated, her eyes sparkling with innocence as she reached out towards you, her chubby fingers grasping at the air.

"I can't believe she didn't say 'father' first," Joel joked, a playful grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

You chuckled at Joel's comment, feeling a surge of warmth fill your heart at the playful banter between father and daughter. "Don't be jealous, Joel," you teased, giving him a gentle nudge. "I'm 'Bubu'—that's a tough title to beat!"

And as Sarah continued to babble and coo, her laughter filling the room with its infectious joy, you couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging there.

From that moment on, "Bubu" became your nickname, a term of endearment that Joel had bestowed upon you in honor of Sarah's first word.

And though the years had passed since that day and Sarah had long outgrown her baby talk, the nickname had stuck. It had become a symbol of the bond you shared with Joel and her, a reminder of the love and affection that had blossomed between you over the years.

Back in the present, Joel sat alone in his bedroom, the weight of his regrets heavy on his shoulders. The memories of the events that had unfolded in recent days weighed heavily on his mind, filling him with a sense of profound sorrow and remorse.

As he sat in the quiet solitude of his living room, Joel couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that seemed to permeate the air around him. The absence of your presence in his life had already left a void that seemed impossible to fill, a gaping wound that refused to heal.

And your letter on his hands weighs like the steam of a rose, making his hands bleed as the words written on it punctuate deep wounds in them.

“Joel,

As I sit down to write this letter, my heart feels heavy with the weight of everything that has happened between us. There are so many words I want to say and so many apologies I want to offer, but I know that mere words can never truly express the depth of my regret and remorse.

I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you and that every choice I made was made out of fear and confusion. But I know that my actions have caused you pain too, and for that, I am truly sorry.

I know that things between us may never be the same again and that the trust we once shared may be irreparably damaged. But I need time and space to heal and to find a way to live my life away from you.

I want you to know that I love you, Joel, more than words could ever express. You have been my rock, my confidant, and my closest friend, and the thought of losing you fills me with a pain that is almost too much to bear. My biggest expression of love is letting you go.

Please know that I will always cherish the memories we shared together, the laughter, the tears, and the moments of joy and sorrow that we experienced side by side. And no matter what the future may hold, those memories will always hold a special place in my heart.

I hope that one day we will be able to look back on this time with a sense of gratitude, knowing that it was the challenges we faced together that ultimately brought us closer. Until then, know that you are always in my thoughts, in my heart, and in my prayers. And know that no matter what happens, I will always love you, now and forever.

Have a wonderful wedding and a happy marriage with Tess. I hope you know you deserve to be loved.

I’ll miss you and Sarah so much."

With all my love,

Bubu or you can just call me by my real name now.

As Joel read the words of your letter, each sentence pierced his heart like a dagger, reopening wounds that had barely begun to heal. The weight of your words pressed down on him like a suffocating blanket, leaving him feeling numb and hollow inside.

He hadn’t gotten married, and you thought he had. You left thinking he got married to another woman.

The realization that you were truly gone, that you had made the agonizing decision to leave him behind, sent a wave of despair crashing over him. He felt as though the ground had been pulled out from beneath him, leaving him adrift in a sea of uncertainty and pain.

Tears welled up in Joel's eyes as he read the final lines of your letter, your words of farewell echoing in his mind like a haunting refrain. The emptiness of your absence loomed large in the room, a stark reminder of all that he had lost.

With trembling hands, Joel clutched the letter to his chest, as if holding onto it could somehow keep you from slipping away from him completely. But deep down, he knew that no amount of pleading or begging could change your mind, that you had made your decision, and there was nothing he could do to change it for now.

You were truly the biggest loss of his life; there was too much to grieve and yet so much to hold onto. He was going to go back for you, but he had to heal that part of him that pushed you away from him and let you find yourself before he could come back into your life again.

.......

I'm tagging people who asked me and those who asked for a part 2, if you want to be removed you can tell me 💌

💌 taggs: @immywonderdefender @sarahhxx03 @powellssaturn @ifall4dilfs @harriedandharassed @skysmiller

[blacknedsoul-blog]

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo" (part II)

Evil tongues say I've had this shit in the oven for several weeks because I bought the fast pass on episode 105 and smoked the whole season one afternoon when I was bored as a fucking oyster about to climb the walls. Don't listen to them, they're telling the truth.

So, yeah, people. We had a flashback. One that comes right after the last one we had. Aside from the fact that we finally know a little more about Theo, I want to focus on the direct sequel to a review I did a while back. So let's get started.

I'm still trying to decide if Annabel is complaining just because she had to get off her ass or because "Leo's" room being so far away from hers is, ahem, inconvenient. Another detail that someone mentioned on the discord, is that Annabel does this thing where she grabs her dress when she is trying to maintain the performance.

(later edit: someone commented to me that actually their rooms are ridiculously close to each other. So allow me to insert ridiculous jokes about how the first thing Ira will do when these two are engaged is take his precious daughter who is not to be touched before marriage somewhere else).

...Ah, they put... they put Annabel in Lenore's old room. Yeah, that must have been uncomfortable as shit. 

Okay. This is something I kind of suspected in her first stolen moment at the Arboreum, but I think this confirms it for me: yes, Lenore teasing Annabel is a way of expressing annoyance without being directly hurtful. 

Raise your hand if you enjoy seeing "Miss Proper Lady" lose her fucking temper. Bonus points if she deserves it. 

Lenore, I don't know if taking your clothes off is the best way to get Annabel to stay on topic. I do want to emphasize her face in that moment, though, like she knows Annabel cares about her, but she's still angry at her, and pressuring her to drop the mask is literally the only way she has to express it. I like it because it's consistent with her stolen moment in the Arboreum. 

"Admire this magnificent door made of door. Yes, an excellent door. Wonderful door. Eyes on the door, Annabel, eyes on the door and not on your crush taking off his jacket in front of you. Also, don't think too much about the fact that if anyone sees this, everything that is important to you will fall apart".  

Pause. Where did we see Annabel say that? Ah, yes. Well, if we had any doubts about posh besties, this confirms it. 

I want to linger on the faces of both of them in this scene because, for the love of Nyarlathotep, they are painful to watch knowing that this will end with both dead. 

Yes, Annabel, this "perhabs" was very VERY serious. 

I'm sure this is the second time in Annabel's life that someone has asked her if she wants something. And it's the same person. Ouch.

Does anyone else in the squad find it disturbing that ANNABEL is concerned about moral issues? 

That's not how Kabedons are made, missy. 

LENORE, LOOK AT THE FUCKING FACE SHE'S LOOKING AT YOU WITH, SHE WOULDN'T BE "PRETENDING TO BE IN LOVE WITH YOU", SHE'S EATING OUT OF YOUR FUCKING HAND RIGHT NOW. IF SHE WASN'T AFRAID OF JAIL AND WASN'T SO VICTORIAN, SHE'D BE ASKING IF SHE COULD GET IN YOUR PANTS.   

Okey, I need to know how this went from "pff, it's not a real marriage, we're both women!" to "I'm gonna fuckin' whore myself with Nyarlathotep Tumblrsexymen to come get you, baby. Shit, if these two die without having this conversation, I'm going to shoot myself in the mouth with a medieval arquebus. 

I like this moment because it tells you two interesting things: one is that Annabel must have a complicated relationship with her father, she cares for him and maybe feels he loves her in his own way, but at the same time Ira is her jailer, the main culprit of the golden cage she's trapped in. Another thing: we know Lenore used to care about her father, but come on, after everything that happened, I doubt she gives the man a second thought. 

...I wrote practically the exact same dialog in a fanfic. Actually, in the first Nevermore fanfic I ever wrote, when the fuck did my bullshit ever come true? 

I was racking my brain for a while about why Annabel keeps doing this. Like, look at this shit, even Ada or Morella would be able to see that this is bullshit. And I think I have an idea why. 

I think Annabel started to figure out how to make this work even before she came in. Maybe she's not all in, but at least the idea is tempting. The thing is, she's putting a lot on the line here: her life, her relationship with her father (the only family member we know of), what little freedom she has.

And that means she has to put her chips on the right person. She knows how the social game works, she knows how to manipulate the stakes of her hand, maybe she even thinks she knows how to get around those pesky legal snags when they come up. 

But she's not cunning, she's not quick-thinking, she lacks determination, and she's definitely not brave. Lenore can wrap herself in big dreams and beautiful words all she wants, but if she can't make up for Annabel's weaknesses, it's a losing bet from the start. On top of that, she has to be able to read her: in Victorian engagements, even your pet was into that shit, so sneaking away to plan things would be more of a rare privilege than a constant, her playmate has to be able to understand her perfectly, because they can't waste valuable time explaining minutiae. They have to be on the same page to the millimeter. 

Annabel is a player. And as such, she knows that in games where you have a partner, the key to winning isn't playing your own cards or chips well, it's being able to synchronize with your partner to give each other better plays until one of you manages to win. 

And if I had to bet, I think that is the Lenore that Annabel wants back: the Lenore who can read her, the Lenore who can get under her skin and know her true intentions even when Annabel is wearing the most perfect mask. The Lenore who can smile boldly and tell her that everything will be all right. 

Of course, Lenore passed the test. With a more than perfect score. 

The chapter ends with Lenore giving Annabel the final decision: if she sees no reason to stay, she won't, and she can assure her that she'll be fine. But if she's in, she'll do everything in her power to make it work. 

This was the moment that tore me up inside because it made me drop the shingle of sad, sad shit. 

Conclusions

And here's why I decided to post this analysis after the season.  

One thing this episode told me was that I was wrong about one thing: the relationship between these two isn't exactly what it used to be. What this episode also told me was that, despite everything, the two of them seemed to be able to communicate and find common ground, to make deals, to give each other choices. Shit we don't see anymore in their time in Nevermore. 

And with good reason.

In Nevermore Annabel and Lenore are adrift. No memories, no identity, no bonds. As if that weren't enough, both are terrified: Annabel has built all her means of survival around a context that she masters perfectly, and in Nevermore she doesn't know what's going on; on the other hand, Lenore's bravery and cunning are qualities that turn from virtues to flaws in a context where every single one of her decisions has repercussions for the people around her; she's willing to take anything, but not what happens to the people she loves. 

These two idiots know only one thing: that they love each other. And for Annabel and Lenore, loving means protecting. They have to try to protect each other because they really love each other. They love each other so much that they can't.

Because the only way for Annabel to protect Lenore is to be the queen of the board, to be the piece that everyone wants to get out of the way because her presence is too much of an inconvenience, because if she's good at anything,  it's dazzling so hard that no one is able to really see her. On the other hand, the only place Lenore can protect Annabel is by her side, she won't have a Spectre, but she's willing to do what it takes to take care of her if she stays where she can fight for her. 

But that won't happen because of the irreconcilable conflict caused by the memory (false or not, in practice it doesn't matter) that the Deans showed Annabel. She can't tell her that, she won't tell her that, how could she? It would tear Lenore apart and at worst alter her memories. But on the other hand, Lenore obviously wants to know, because she sees that Annabel is suffering, she wants to be there, she wants her to let her comfort her, to be by her side to help her sort this out, and all her pleas fall on deaf ears for reasons she can't even fathom.

But without realizing it, in all this devotion and accompanying fear, Annabel and Lenore are repeating the same controlling patterns of those who tried to save the other in life. 

Annabel is doing the same thing Thaddeus did when he got Lenore a fiancé, the same thing the doctors did when they kept her drugged 24/7 as a treatment even though she was sick, dare I say the same thing Theo did: assuming she knows better than she does what's good for her. "Protecting" her, even when that happens to be the agency Lenore is desperately trying to have over her life after being deprived of her freedom.

And on the other hand...this.

By taking full responsibility for what happened, Lenore is doing the same thing as Ira and all the people we meet in Annabel's life: denying her agency as an individual. Annabel is not a naive brat who was seduced by sweet words, she is a grown woman who was very, very clear about what the risks were. That they both ended up dead is partly her fault, but by turning this affair into "if I hadn't gone looking for you," Lenore completely invalidates Annabel's feelings, desires, and choices. 

A relationship that was once built on respect for choice and shared decision-making has now become a power game that neither can win, because one of the most important foundations of their relationship is that they are both equals. 

I'd like to end this on a more positive note, but...uh...well, the thing is, I don't. Like, that they're going to reconcile, they're going to reconcile, you know? But for that to happen, somebody's got to give them a massive punch like, something that tears them apart so they realize how fucking bad they are do-

You know what? Yeah, that might do it.

[allur1ngs]

✮ colder hearts ✮

TW: mentions of violence, guns, typical mafia activities, arranged marriage (what can i say, i'm a sucker for tropes), age gap--bada is in her mid to late twenties and reader is in her early-ish twenties, bada speaks pretty formally bcs in this au i feel like she'd be extremely professional even when it comes to her loved ones, not edited bcs i got too excited and wanted to put this out asap so please ignore any mistakes

SUMMARY: your arranged marriage to older!cold!mafia boss!bada lee unfolds, revealing that there's more than just ice behind her cold heart.

part ii. enflame

WC: 1.9k

A/N: a lot of thoughts have been stewing in my mind thanks to @beetlejuicyy 's awesome mafia!bada content, + isabel larosa's song older!! this is just for fun!

DISCLAIMER: all characteristics portrayed are purely speculation and fiction, they are not meant to reflect bada's actual character, values, or attitudes. please keep this in mind!!

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who, despite being older than you, is still considered too young to be a leader in the mafia business, which had initially made her a target of turf wars.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who, despite all odds, won every single one of the battles because of her cunning strategies and equally talented members.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who becomes known for her cutthroat and merciless deals. She might be younger in the mafia scene, but she proved her commitment to her business when she had one of her lackeys killed for fumbling a job.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA whose engagement to you comes as a surprise. Having known nothing about your parent's business beyond the large amounts of money they made, you were shocked to find them sitting across from the infamous Bada Lee, the leader of the mafia crew, Bebe.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who has an undeniable, powerful presence. Even her simply sitting on the polished leather seats in your living room had you intimidated. Her blank stare sweeping across your entire being in mere seconds, boring her dark brown--almost greyish eyes into yours, never breaking eye contact for a second. there's a clear hierarchy in this room, and it's clear to everyone you're at the bottom of it.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who, along with your parents, spare no time explaining her sudden appearance. words echo in the golden-trimmed room at impossible speeds, words like "marriage", "business deal", "protection", "money" deafen your ears and cause your skin to prick up.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who speaks to you then, her calculating eyes noticing the lost look in your own.

"We are going to be wed." She cuts through the jabbering voices of your parents, immediately causing them to fall silent. "I will provide you with a lifestyle grander than you could ever imagine, and your parents and I will secure a firm partnership as a result."

You remain silent only for a brief moment. "And what will you gain from this arrangement?"

Bada's lips form a thin line. It's not as if she hadn't expected you to speak up, but your question mildly surprises her. "Your parent's partnership..." she trails off for a moment, her sharp eyes finding your parent's figures, then sliding back to yours. "and your companionship."

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who makes it clear to you when you move into her personal home--or more accurately--mansion, that you are not a piece of meat to her, or a body to warm her bed.

"I asked your parents to inform you of our arrangement beforehand." She stands tall before you, her black suit crisp and free from wrinkles as her long, thin fingers come to pinch the bridge of her nose in mild annoyance. "But it's clear to me from your demeanor when we first met that you were not." She sighs quietly, then removes her fingers from her nose bridge. She watches you silently before approaching you in long strides, now standing inches away from you. "You are under no obligation to stay with me. Say the word and you will be returned to your parents, and our union will be resolved. No consequences, no questions asked."

Despite knowing her for such little time, her words surprise you. The way she speaks to you is gentle, yet stern.

You're thrown for a loop. Just who is Bada Lee?

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who, despite being confident in what she can provide first you, is surprised when you turn down her offer to return to your parents. It seems your union will remain intact.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who shows you her professionalism when laying out what is expected of you.

"There are only three things I ask of you while you stay with me." She holds up three corresponding fingers in the air. "One, you must never lie to me."

Her finger drops as she uses her other hand to gesture to the rest of her crew who stand behind her.

"Everyone in this room is here because they have never once lied to me in their life." She explains. "Truth is something I value more than anything, so I promise to never lie to you. Of course, I expect the same from you."

"What about little white lies?" You cut in.

"White lies mean nothing to me." Bada dismisses. "But never lie to me about something important."

The next rule she declares seems easy enough.

"Number two, loyalty." She places another finger down. "Pretty self-explanatory."

You nod absentmindedly, trying to ignore how every moment you remain in the room with Bada and her crew, you become more and more nervous.

"The last and the most important," Bada leans over her sleek desk, her eyes lowering while she stares at you. "do not put yourself in unnecessary danger. You are under my care now, so your health and safety is my first priority. Never compromise them."

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who sets firm boundaries with you.

"I want to make it clear to you that despite our wedding in the future," Bada licks her lips, her hands clasping together in front of her in a firm position. "I will not fall in love with you."

Your expression quickly twists into a look of confusion. Companionship, she had said.

"Feelings make business more difficult. Makes it harder for me to protect you." She says flatly. "I am more than happy to be another acquaintance of yours, or someone you cast aside while you enjoy the fruits of the lifestyle I can provide you."

"I like neither of those options." You respond somewhat bitterly. When you were told you'd be engaged, you expected for there to be at least some semblance of feelings between you and your betrothed. A lifetime of coldness and solitude was not something you signed up for.

"Then," Bada’s cold demeanor slips for a second, and if you weren’t paying so much attention to her in that moment, you would have missed it. “we can be friends."

And for the first time, you see her lips settle into a half smile.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who immediately gives you a card with funds for you to spend wherever you want, and whenever you want.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who assigns one of her most trusted and talented members to be your bodyguard. When she said your safety was her priority, she wasn't lying.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who's surprised when you come to visit her the following morning, carrying a tray of breakfast foods.

"Good morning." She greets you, her eyes quickly moving from the food in your hands to your eyes. You’ve noticed that Bada loves making eye contact when she speaks to you.

"Good morning." You greet back. Although the smile on your lips doesn’t fully reach your eyes, you’re trying your best to stay positive. You never know, your friendship with the mafia boss before you could end up being beautiful.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visitation?" Her words fall from her lips in a soft cadence, careful to make sure her tone doesn’t make it seem like she’s bothered by your presence.

Which is strange, she realizes. She hates being disturbed in the morning. It’s when her best ideas come to her.

"I thought," you begin while placing the breakfast tray in front of her. "if we are going to be friends, we might as well get to know each other."

Bada’s lips form a smirk as she leans back into her chair, her legs spreading apart.

"And…" you smile at her. "I heard you hadn’t eaten breakfast yet."

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who allows you to stay in her office for as long as possible, trying to convince herself that it's not because she's entranced by how you smile brightly at her when she engages in conversation with you, or how you cover your mouth to laugh at something she's said. No, it's definitely not because of that.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who starts to look forward to your morning visits. When she's particularly busy and you have to cut your conversation short, she feels a weight lift off her shoulders the second her eyes scratch your figure walking down the halls of your shared home, your bodyguard following after you diligently.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who tells your bodyguard to only take you to stores that are managed by her partners. She knows they'd never hurt you. You're her bride-to-be, after all.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who's in a particularly boring business meeting when she receives a call from your bodyguard on her personal phone. Her eyebrows immediately shoot up, a frown settling on her lips. She only receives calls from her personal phone when there's an emergency.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA whose heart drops when she hears your bodyguard shout into the phone that a rival gang had decided to have a shootout in the area where you'd been shopping for groceries.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who in a panicked, yet stern and chilly voice tells your bodyguard to protect you at all costs while she calls for backup.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who breaks multiple laws to speed to the grocery store, practically throwing herself into a street with bullets flying everywhere and broken glass littering the floor. She doesn't care. She runs into the store, shouting your name before ducking behind a turned-over shelf.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who breathes a sigh of relief when she hears you call out to her, your bodyguard shooting at a rival gang member that was about to enter the store. She rushes over to you, using her body to block you from the onslaught outside the store.

"Are you okay?" Bada's wide eyes find yours, then sweep over your body, looking for any injuries. "Are you hurt?" Her hands come to clutch the sides of your face, only pausing for a second when she sees a semi-long cut running along the soft skin of it.

"I'm fine." You breathe, your hands resting on top of hers. "Just surprised--"

"You're hurt." The way she says the words breaks your heart. It's like she'd been the one wounded, with how her eyes turn to large, sad pools, and her frown tugs down even further.

You flinch, one of your hands moving from hers and coming up to touch the cut on your cheek. "I didn't even notice--"

Before you can finish your sentence, Bada had already leaned in, her plush and soft lips pressing a gentle kiss onto the skin next to your wound.

When she pulls away you're stunned by her loving gesture, but neither of you is able to say anything before she quickly gathers your body into her arms, and cradles you close like she's scared of losing you.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who doesn't hesitate to dispose of anyone who threatens to harm you.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who after that incident, only refers to you as her fiancée. Not as a form of endearment--of course not--but just as a form of respect to your upcoming union.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who with every passing day, finds it harder to fight the warmth she feels when her eyes take in your form.

OLDER!COLD!MAFIA BOSS!BADA who'd fallen in love with you the day she'd met you, despite how hard she tried not to.

[sunfyresrider]

You’re the best part of me

Aegon II Targaryen X Fem!Reader

Synopsis: The beginning of your secret relationship with Aegon proved why you need to stay with him for the rest of your life. TW: forbidden relationship, daddy kink, smut, watersports, virgin!reader, Aegon isn’t the best influence but he can show you a good time. AN: Too lazy to proof read or edit. Part one of two, best smut I’ve ever produced if I say so myself. May or may not finish tomorrow depending on if my inspiration to write returns.

Most believed being a princess was filled with days of excitement and adventures no one else could comprehend. They had choices and power unlike anyone else who shared their gender. Except, those who assumed that were all tragically incorrect. Being a princess meant you rarely left your castle, you must obey everything others tell you, you had no faculty since you lacked a cock.

It was dreadfully boring and each hour seemed to stretch on for days. However as you aged you gained one unlikely companion that made your days seem less droll. Aegon, your uncle, was not as bad as he may appear to others. Yes, he drank a bit much and scoffed at his duties more than others but he, like you, was still young.

He was the only one who joyfully kept you entertained and filled your life with some adventure. Aegon played games with you, let you join in on pranks, took you to explore the city streets and actively helped you escape septa lessons. He was by far your favorite person and truthfully your only friend.

It was easy to speak to him, as if he were the only one who truly understood your feelings. At this point he probably knew everything about you and how your mind worked exactly. It was not one sided affection, you knew as much about him.

Tonight was one of the rare times you both decided to escape the keep together. Aegon had adorned you with the shabbiest clothing he could find and a little hate to hide your identity. Everyone in Flea Bottom knew him by now so there was little point in disguising himself.

Your destination? The one place Aegon swore to never allow you to go to. You’ve never seen a brothel before and you would be lying if it didn’t pique your interest. Besides, Aegon was the only one you trusted enough to take you anywhere. You quickly undid the bundle of clothing gifted to you, "Wait outside while I dress." He cocked an eyebrow, "Are you being shy, Princess?"

"Aegon,” You warned him. He put his hands up in mock surrender and disappeared into the dark corridor of Maegor's tunnels. You quickly stripped your dress away, discarding it onto the floor. Cautiously, you tiptoed into the tunnels, holding onto the walls to feel your way in the darkness.

You called out to Aegon, who did not reply. It became increasingly eerie the farther you walked inside, especially since most of the torches were blown out and the walls were covered in cobwebs. You creeped forward, slipping when the wall opened up to another hallway. "Boo!"

You squealed, backing hard into the right wall. The sounds of Aegon’s chuckles echoed within the vast hallways. "You aren't funny!" He snatched your hand and began the descent to Fleabottom, basking in your annoyance. The specific exit you used led to Fleabottom, or at least close to it. It was an alleyway filled with muck and excrement but was the best place to go when someone doesn’t want to get caught.

Luckily, the stench of cow shit and rotting waste slowly dissipated as you got close to the main busting streets within the city. As always, the streets were filled to the brim with people from all walks of life. Your favorites were always the citizens from Tyrosh, with painted hair and unusual hats dancing in the street.

Aegon wrapped an arm around your shoulder in a protective manner, pulling you into him. You attempted to work yourself out but his grip was insatiably tight. "Uh uh, no running away in this area. Men will descend upon you like moths to a flame if I let go." You gave up on trying to escape, besides his body provided much needed warmth.

As the journey continued the music rang louder in their ears. The kind only drunken bards would play in the late hours. You began humming along to the tune, your feet becoming jittery with the urge to move. Aegon loathed dancing and you knew it, but he would never say no to you. "I want to dance!"

He shouted back over the noise, "I can't dance!" You shoved his body away from you, grasping his hands. "That wasn't a request, Twas’ a demand!" You spun him in a circle, twirling every so often. His face turned a bright shade of red, his feet tripping over themselves. The sounds of your laughter reverberating in his ears.

Aegon could watch you like this forever, red faced, blinding smile, and not a singular care in the world. It was a minuscule moment in the grand scheme of things but it would be one that never left his head. Seeing you enjoy the life bestowed on you so easily, It was the only thing he looked forward to anymore.

However, there were other things that would bring him enjoyment tonight. Acts that would never leave his brain even in his dreams. So, he entertained you with several more songs. Let you drag him as you prance around the cobbled square. Allowed you to step on his toes and nearly run into other couples so long as you remained happy.

But as your breath became heavy, and your steps began to slow. When you began to lean into him more than what was deemed appropriate and your excitement deemed. Aegon decided it was time to take your leave.

He tugged you closer to him, leaning to cup your ears. "I think it's time we get out of here,” he shouted into your ear, voice barely audible over the instruments. "I'll follow your lead, my Prince"

The journey to the other side of town was short, however the people around you became more conspicuous the farther you went. The smallfolk looked more rugged and the number of men increased indefinitely. All the women were inside windows, hanging out and hollering incoherent sentences.

This was the beginning of the Street of Silk, and the end of your night. The women wore less clothing and their bodies were far bustier than that of regular peasants. Dare you say they were becoming prettier the farther in you traveled.

Aegon’s grip was unbelievably tight, and his eyes rarely roamed anywhere but you. You failed to understand previously why he adorned you with boys clothes, now you were getting a hint. Anyone who remotely resembled a girl was immediately glared at like they were prey. You hoped the place you were going was far less… uneasy feeling.

The building with the red door was on the far end of the street of silk, the patrons became fewer and fewer the closer you approached it. Seemingly, he took you to the most private place on the entire road. Aegon’s grip lessened as he knocked on the door thrice.

An older woman, with breasts falling out of her chemise opened the door. Her eyes scanned over you both, a curious look plastered across her face. “One room in the back," he deadpanned. Aegon tossed her a bag of coins, overpaying her by the look on her face. “Of course, my prince…” She paused, glancing over you twice more. “…And princess.”

The inside was decorated almost elegantly, the women wore more clothing made out of expensive silks, dyed with colors from Tyrosh. It was far more clean than what you assumed a whore house to be, “What is this?” Aegon appeared aloof to his surroundings, “The most expensive brothel you’ll ever enter, reserved for those who want to avoid prying eyes and fuck virgins instead of experienced whores.”

Your face twisted in disgust, “No need to be so crude.” The woman with black hair stopped at a room at the end of one of the vast hallways, dropping the key into Aegon’s hand before taking her leave. A few of the other workers glanced by as they walked past you, your ears ringing with the subtle noises coming from the various rooms around you. “I didn’t mean to be crude, it’s just the truth. Would rather take you here than a place covered in filth.”

Aegon was partially lying, you probably wouldn’t have minded witnessing it all but it would be a cold day in the seven hells when another man was allowed to gaze upon your nude form. “How thoughtful of you,” the door opened to a room illuminated gently by candles. The windows were covered with red silks and the bed appeared completely unused. It almost looked comfortable.

You walked around the room,carefully sitting on the edge of the bed. You gently bounced on it once, testing for stability. Aegon did not wait, he locked the door and pulled the blinds closed, plunging the room in a darkness only the few candles could help.

You felt Aegon kneel in front of you, a small piece of fabric sliding against your legs. His head began to rise up, resting against your thigh. You shuddered, "What are you doing, Aegon?" He stared up at you with those beautiful large blue eyes. "Waiting for permission, princess.”

Your face began to heat up, you shifted in your seat, trying to hide the growing arousal in your pants. You stuttered over your words, “I- I think I am ready." Aegon knelt upwards, sliding his hands up your body to cup your face. Your breathing quickened as you felt him move closer and closer, until he pressed a kiss against your lips.

Your eyes slowly closed, awkwardly you tried to move your lips with his, following his movements closely. Aegon smiled against your lips, his hand sliding down your body, down your stomach, until he reached the front of your breeches. “Don’t be nervous,” he hummed in a seductive tone you didn’t believe he possessed. “Just relax, I’ll take care of you.”

Aegon’s hand slid down to your breeches, slowly unlacing the strings that held them together. He slid them off you with haste, exposing your thighs to the cool air. Aegon licked his lips, his hands sliding against your silky soft skin and thumb grazing over your cunt, sending jolts through your body.

His finger dipped down, sliding along your folds, spreading them as he did. A soft groan rumbled in his throat, "So wet for me already." Aegon’s head dipped down, the sensation of his lips against your core making you squeal.

He began to nip at you gently, using his tongue to trail your slit and collect all your juices on his tongue. He groaned into you, “You taste so sweet, Princess." Aegon began to suck on you gently, using his tongue to part your folds.

You gasped, feeling his fingers rub at your entrance. Your thighs clenched around his head, a new feeling building inside you. “A-Aegon I need to pee,” you squeaked. He dropped a finger inside you, pressing against the soft spongy spot inside you. “Just wait, promise,” he murmured into you.

His tongue lapped against you more fervently, his fingers pressed inside you with ease. "A-Ah, Aegon-" He added an another finger , curling his fingers so they hit your sweet spot perfectly. "That's it, princess,” he groaned, the vibrations from his baritone voice sending shockwaves through you.

Your eyes screwed shut as your body became tense, his fingers working inside you. Your hips twitched, unable to find a rhythm with him as the pleasure built within you. His tongue moved circles around your bud, nibbling at it every so often. The strange feeling inside you began to burst, your legs trembled and your arms struggled to support you. You truly believed you had to pee, "Aegon I-," you cried out, your thighs clamped down on his head.

Aegon’s tongue moved fervently, fingering you with more ferocity. You felt yourself tighten around him, his name tumbled from your lips over and over again as he kept up his pace. His fingers purposely hitting a certain spot repeatedly, the coil inside your core began to unwind. As your orgasm began to crash down over you, your bladder released itself accidentally.

This didn’t remotely phase him in the slightest. Aegon kept his mouth pressed to you, feeling your juices drench his hand. Murmuring praises, “Such a messy girl… Keep cumming for me. Fuck that’s so fucking hot.” Aegon did not let you move an inch, his fingers working you like a puppet as the pleasure sent you into a frenzy.

You collapsed onto the bed, heaving as your heart steadied itself. You were unable to see him through the haze but you could feel him smile against your cunt, kissing your thighs and moving towards you. Aegon crawled on top of you, leaning in to kiss your forehead.

His hands found their way under your tunic, lifting it over your head. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he muttered, his lips suckling at your neck. He shifted above you, rolling his hips against yours in a seductive manner. You gasped, feeling his cock press against you.

His lips traveled down to your breasts, teasing the tender flesh with his tongue. Aegon pressed a kiss to your nipple, his hips rolling again. You mewled softly, unable to fight back any moans that escaped you. His mouth sucked on your nipple, nipping it lightly with his teeth.

“Aegon,” you whimpered, growing impatient. He pulled back, cupping your face so you looked directly into his eyes. "Needy for my cock too, Princess?" You nodded lazily, wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling him closer. He smirked at you, tugging his cock free with his left hand.

His length pressed against your cunt, your breathing became ragged as you stared up at him. Aegon slid his cock along your slit, you could feel the precum dripping from his tip onto you. He continued to tease you, moving it up and down, pressing against you. You bit your lip, whining softly, "Please, Aegon."

"That's not my name," he pressed against you harder, his tip pushing into you. You arched your back, trying to coax him further inside you. “M-My Prince, please,” you whimpered. Aegon clicked his teeth together, teasing your entrance but refusing to go further. “Try again, little girl.” You flushed at the pet name, a mix of arousal and embarrassment flooding your system. You looked up at him, eyes pleading, "Please, Daddy, I want you to fuck me."

“That’s my good girl,” his hips slowly moved forward, his cock slowly stretching you out. Your mouth fell open, eyes screwed shut. You whimpered as he pushed deeper inside you, filling your cunt entirely. Aegon paused, "Am I hurting you? I’ll be gentle." You shook your head, “p-please keep going, daddy.”

You felt him shift, leaning in to press a kiss to your lips. His hips moved backwards before sliding back in, your hands gripped the sheets beneath you. Aegon's thrusts were gentle at first, slow and calculated. "Gods you're tight," he growled in your ear. You wrapped your legs around him, keeping him close.

“Beg for it,” he growled into your ear. You moaned softly, not entirely sure what he meant. You pressed your lips against his shoulder, kissing it softly. Aegon stopped moving, his breathing heavy, "Don't play dumb. Beg for me to fuck you harder, Princess." You felt your face heat up at the thought.

"P-Please," you mewled, "Fuck me, Daddy, I want you to fuck me harder." Aegon let out a shaky breath, pulling his hips back so only his tip remained inside you. His hands grabbed your hips, his nails digging into your soft skin. "Better," he huffed, slamming inside you. You let out a yelp, his pace increasing with every thrust.

Aegon pinned your hands behind your head, holding you in place with his right. "Who does your cunt belong to, Princess?" His free hand began toying with your clit, rubbing it in small circles. Your moans and whines increased in volume, "Daddy! I-it belongs to daddy!"

"Louder," his hand was moving faster now, rubbing your bud relentlessly. You couldn't see through the blur of tears in your eyes, his hips slapping against you loudly. "Daddy! My cunt belongs to daddy," you cried out, your voice echoing in the small room. “That’s my perfect little girl,” he slurred.

Your walls began to flutter around him, feeling a pressure begin to build in your core. You squeezed your thighs together, pulling at Aegon. His breath became shaky, his eyes temporarily rolling into his head. "You're going to cum for me, aren't you princess? Cum on my cock like a good little girl, hmm?," he growled into your ear.

Your hands grasped for his, squeezing tightly as the coil began to snap within you. "A-Ah, Daddy-" Your back arched, eyes squeezing shut as the pressure built inside you, "Yes, yes, yes," Aegon's moans were becoming more frequent, his face glistening with sweat. Your legs twitched around him, your walls clamping down around his cock.

"Fuck," he hissed, his thrusts becoming sloppy and uncoordinated. “D-Da- Aegon,” you moaned loudly as a different kind of pleasure washed over you. Your cunt began to spasm around him, soaking his cock with your juices. “Oh gods,” he moaned loudly, his head tilting backwards. You could feel his cock twitch inside you as he began to fill you with his seed. His hips jerked erratically, his fingers squeezing your hands tightly.

Aegon collapsed on top of you, breathing heavily. You could feel his heart racing, a mixture of excitement and satisfaction coursing through you. He pressed a soft kiss to your temple, nuzzling his nose into your hair. “I love you," he murmured into your ear.

You paused for the first time tonight, a blush quickly coating your cheeks. You had never expected to hear those words from him, ignoring the fact you just coupled mere moments ago. Your fingers unconsciously combed through hair, pulling him closer to you. "I love you too,” you spoke softly.

He had been with you since the beginning and you never grew tired of him. He was the only one you wished to spend time with, to experience things with, and to sleep with. You smiled sleepily, the realization coming over you, "I love you too."

[lessi-lover]

exposed II c.foord x reader

i awake from my three month coma of boring pointless assignments. here it is loves. (half assed) will edit later dw x

★ exposed II c.foord x reader

"-don't make it awkward! just say your first name and.. i don't know be your pretty self!" the forward grinned, as she sat down next to you on the couch. "caitlin foord do not lecture me about interview etiquette! if anything i should be giving you a lecture, miss australia!"

playfully smacking your thigh, she grabbed both your shoulders turning your body towards her. "oi. some respect for the girlfriend here! am i clear?" she asked, shaking your body in her arms.

"crystal." you answered, the sides of your lips curling into your signature kennedy smirk, adjusting the small mic that was clipped to your clothing, shaking your head mockingly. lightly patting your hair down neatly, you quickly turned to wipe the small remnants of a flat white off the corner of your girlfriends lips.

"ready for the questions girls?" the interviewer asked, a pen and pad in hand as she made her way behind the screen that showed you the different questions. "as we'll ever be." the aussie winked cheekily, letting go of your previous position and settling a more sizeable distance across from you.

"3.. 2.. 1.. and action!" the cameraman shouted, his fingers raising above the lense to represent each second until the interview would start. "hey i'm y/n kennedy." you introduced yourself, looking over to caitlin as she snickered. "stop it," you mouthed, your hand moving to swipe her shoulder. "hi i'm caitlin foord." she said, face moving off you and back onto the camera.

looking at the screen in front of you, you watched as it now asked you to play 'rock, paper, scissors,' both your eyes lighting up at the game. turning your body sideways, you let your legs lay over the aussie's lap, her hand coming to rest on top of your thighs.

"rock, paper, scissors. shoot!" you both said in sync, your hands waving in the air, as your head fell backwards in laughter. "wait, does that mean i go first?" you asked, pointing your finger towards yourself. the interviewer nodded, a bright smile on her face.

"oh, the pressure's on!" your girlfriend cheered, lifting your hand to rest in her lap as she played with your fingers. looking back at the interviewer, you nodded for her question. "how did you two meet and what was your first impression of caitlin?"

"cait is one of my sister's best friends and when i got drafted for the national team she was the first person who called me." you said, breaking out into a smile as you let your mind wander back to when you and the forward were introduced to each other.

as your gaze wandered to caitlin, you caught sight of her grinning at you, knowingly smiling she had completely forgotten she was being filmed. "my first impression of you was.. that you were really loud and funny." you giggled, thinking back to the grubby, obnoxious teenage version of your now girlfriend.

"and now?" the interviewer questioned, a glint of humour in her eyes. the media was notorious for pinning you and caitlin together as a couple, although you had never officially labeled yourselves as an item. so you just went along with your business, ignoring what anybody had to say about the two of you.

"she's the most annoying, irritating, blanket stealer who never wants to watch the movies i want to watch and never lets me leave the bed-." you blab, fingers mockingly listing each trait. "only because you're warm!" she defended, arms crossing over chest.

"only joking baby." you apologised, your hands weaving together as you brought her knuckles sweetly under your chin.

pausing for a moment, you looked at the screen, reading the question before continuing. "caitlin what about having other australians at club level is important to you?" the interviewer now asked caitlin, who's cheeks reddened when she was caught of guard.

"everything!" she said quickly and you could see it her eyes that she wasn't really listening just by the way the tips of her ears had gone slightly pink. "that doesn't answer the question." you giggled, feeling a pinch to the side of your hip.

your legs found their way onto caitlin's lap, her hand gently rubbing circles into your skin. "thanks girls! we're going to move onto the second part of the interview is that alright?" the woman smiled, handing you bottles of water as she walked off.

caitlin still gently rubbing side, she quickly pulled your attention back to her. "your my best girl." she murmured softly, turning to wrap her arms around your waist, resting her head against your shoulder. "don't tell anybody else that though," she added. giving you a kiss to the lips when nobody was watching.

you pecked her cheek, the brunette letting out a soft laugh as she watched you blush. "oh! did i make the big bad y/n kennedy blush?" she chuckled, reaching out to pinch your cheeks. "i can't help it when you look at me like that." you responded, your face all flustered.

"like what?" she exclaimed, hands cupping your face kissing all over cheeks. laughing loudly you rested on the back of your heels, as she squished your face together.

"cait!"

~

"like lovesick puppies the two of them." your sister gagged, covering her mouth as she watched her best friend fawn over her younger sister. "can you knock it off?" she yelled, slapping your heads away from each other, as you turned to pinch her forearm.

since the interview had been publicized, you and caitlin had decided that you were done pretending your relationship was strictly a friendship. before you could blink, you and the forward had felt comfortable to go out on several dates, the eyes of the public no longer an issue for the two of you.

"what's wrong princess lani? is our kissing not up to your standards?" your girlfriend teased, hand reaching out to smack the head of her best friend. the blonde had been determined to stop the two of you from being together all of camp, the blonde clearly not a fan of your infatuation for one another.

"sure. whatever it takes to stop the two of you from locking lips every five seconds." she glared, shrugging as she continued looking at her phone. not paying a word of mind to you, she missed the way the brunettes gaze immediately fixated back on you.

"oh leave them alone lans, your just grouchy you haven't had your morning coffee yet." mackenzie spoke from beside the blonde, a pair of headphones covering her ears, although she still managed to catch whiff of the conversation.

"thank you mac!" you smiled, reaching you hand out to highfive the goalkeeper, as she leaned further into her seat blocking out the noisiness of the bus.

turning back to your girlfriend, you weren't in the least surprised to see her already looking at you. it was only a few seconds before you inevitably locked lips again. you mouths melted against each other and you felt yourself smile into the kiss.

"ow! what the fuck alanna!" you heard caitlin gasp pulling back from her body. turning around you were met with a similar sight to that of a younger you; your sister sitting in her seat with a notorious kennedy look, bluntness painted on her face as she stared blankly ahead.

"would you please stop swapping saliva for at least a fucking minute? or are you so incapable of keeping your hands to yourselves!" she groaned, with a stern look you knew all too well. only responding with a huff and a roll of you eyes, you let yourself be distracted by the commotion around you.

although it was only peaceful for a total of five seconds before you were promptly attacked with a series of shouts from your australian teammates. many of them not getting the hint that you and the aussie forward had been dating for several years, only realising when they saw the interview.

"i knew it! why didn't you tell us! i always knew there was something going on between you two! if that interview wasn't enough proof i don't know what is! can i be a bridesmaid when you get married pretty please!

~

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Self-Aware! BSD x SAGAU Imposter AU Crossover ideas. Port Mafia Edition

Previous posts [I] [II] [III] [V] [VI] [VII] [VIII] [IX]

💉 Ougai Mori has his own nemesis. Zhongli hurt you and made you fear Mori's voice. Mori's goal is to destroy Zhongli's precious Liyue. Ougai will shower you with gifts, while you are recovering.

🍷 Even if all people with Geo Vision, Azdaha and Morax in a peak of his power will try to stop him, they won't stop Chuuya Nakahara. He won't even need to use the Corruption. He will make them pay for what they have done to you.

Chuuya will bring you gems he found in Teyvat. If the gems in question are valuable on Earth, he will sell them and will use the money on whatever you want. You can burn them, donate them, save them.

🌂 Kouyou Ozaki will become the nightmare for Inazuma's citizens. She and Golden Demon are silent and deadly. And no one will suspect a thing, Ranpo will make sure of it.

She will spend time with you, will let you pet Golden Demon.

🇫🇷 Paul Verlaine will become Teyvat Nightmare. Back in the app, he got his powers back, thanks to the messing with cards. If needed, he will unleash Demonic Beast Guivre on seven nations.

He will let you bride his hair. Makes sure, that you are healthy and happy.

🎧 Arthur Rimbaud is back to being a spy. He is ready to go to any nation he needs (even Snezhnaya). He and Verlaine will sabotage Dottore's work.

His hyperspace became one of the safest places for you. He will share his coat with you.

🏍️ Albatross is staying by your side, but, he is ready to sabotage any vehicle from Teyvat. He will take you on a motorcycle rides.

🧑‍⚕️ Doc is always checking your health. People of Teyvat take a number on you, and, while Yosano's ability did its job, he is concerned about mental scars.

🧊 While Iceman doesn't bear any grudges, he will make an exception for Teyvat's people. He will show them the hit man of Port Mafia.

He will listen to his records together with you.

🗣️ Lippman is doing his best in negotiating and tricking Teyvat officials. One day, even 'The Creator', that order to hunt you, will fall for his lies.

He will arrange spontaneous spa days for you. Your skin and hair were never that pretty.

🎹 Piano Man is using his skills to create fake mora. Mora are important not only as money, but in an alchemy. Soon Teyvat citizens won't be sure, if their money are real or not.

He will tell you funny stories he has heard. If it makes you happy, he will pronounce you an Honorary Flags member.

🧥 Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Rashomon like a black storm tear through Teyvat. Nothing will stop them. He feels guilty. He is your bodyguard and he failed you. He will undo his mistakes.

While on Earth, he won't leave your side. Will make hammock from Rashomon for you.

🔫 Ichiyou Higuichi is another spy. She will gather information from Liyue, getting close to Ninguang.

Will bring you fresh rumors.

🚬 Ryuurou Hirotsu is dealing with Treasure Hoarders and other criminal organizations. Black Lizards knew, how to show low criminals their place.

He will tell you stories about his youth (some of them are fictional, but, he is happy, when these stories make you smile).

🔪 Gin Akutagawa is a spy in Inazuma. She will get into Narukami Shrine as one of the shrine maidens.

She and Akutagawa will spend quiet evenings with you, watching movies.

🩹🧲 Tachihara Michizou is overworked. He is dealing with criminal organizations of Teyvat as Port Mafia member, and with official organizations of Teyvat (Fatui, Knights of Favonius...) as Hunting Dog. He won't stop. He wants to make them pay. Tachihara will use his ability to destroy factories.

🍰 Elise is staying near you. She is making sure, that you always have snacks and water. She will let you choose her outfit, take her to a shopping trip. She will listen to everything you say.

Waiting for the day she and Mori will face against Zhongli.

💎 Karma is reading you your favorite books. Doesn't matter, if the book is boring or scary, he will read it to you. Always worried about you.

⭐⭕ Kyuusaku Yumeno are waiting. From time to time, they are called by Mori to take a stroll in the main city of random nation. And every time, the stroll ends up in injuries. Not Q's.

They will try to make you smile. Offered you to play or cuddle with their doll.

🍋 Kaji Motojirou will drown Teyvat markets in lemon bombs. And, until his command, they won't detonate. He is waiting for a signal.

Kaji will show you easy and interesting scientific experiments.

🍛 Oda Sakunosuke is taking care of you. While he is ready to go to Teyvat, he decided to spoil you and make happy.

_____

Tag list: @withered-blossoms

[youcouldmakealife]

SOTM: Gabe/Stephen; largesse (pt II)

For the prompt: Gabe and Stephen being sappy at SOME point

Follows this.

Early on, Gabe worries he’s wrong about his 'Stephen loves holidays' thesis: Easter’s during Passover that year, and neither of them do anything for it, unless you count Stephen buying a few bags of mini eggs from the drug store when they go on clearance after, and Gabe doesn’t. At this point mini eggs are entirely secular — they’re not even a seasonal thing. Gabe saw a Christmas edition of them a few months back, though he’s not sure how eggs are supposed to be involved in Christmas. Maybe another gift for Santa? Cookies and milk aren't a very well-balanced diet, some eggs can't hurt.

But then Mother’s Day arrives, and while Gabe orders his mom flowers, Stephen leans over him, sighing about needing to get his mom something, but not flowers, because his mom doesn’t like flowers, she always makes things difficult, why can’t she just like what everyone else does. This is the third straight day of their annual tradition of brainstorming what to get Anouk — twice annual tradition, actually, it comes up on her birthday too, and probably at Christmas, now that Gabe’s thinking about it, it’s just that Stephen worries about what to get everyone for Christmas, with the exception of Gabe and his parents, and that’s just because he worries about what to get them for Hannukah instead.

And then Father’s Day comes around, and Stephen goes through the exact same process for getting Johan a gift. Then Beth’s birthday, and that Stephen pretends not to care about at all, but then gets her and Anna tickets to a Taylor Swift concert in Toronto that summer, and Gabe’s pretty sure securing those involved either a sizeable amount of time, money, or both.

Gabe’s not proud to say it takes until Johan’s birthday in October to really click into place. Obviously he’s had some suspicions, or he wouldn’t have been observing Stephen’s demeanour so closely, but honestly, he does that as a matter of course — it’s easier than listening to what Stephen says about how he’s feeling, which is usually not true. And that’s if he’s even willing to talk about it, which isn't likely.

Once again, Stephen’s bitching about how hard it is to buy things for his dad, who is, admittedly, not an easy man to find gifts for, and Gabe finally sees right all the way through Stephen's ‘why is gift giving so frequent, it’s absurd’ speech to the fact that it’s honestly not hard to find a gift for someone if you don’t give a shit whether they like it.

Stephen apparently gives so many shits. Innumerable shits. So Gabe figures he can help him out a bit. Do some research, attempt to make a list.

“I doubt most of them are up to snuff, because, you know, Johan,” Gabe says, waving a hand in a way he’s concerned to notice is an accidental but dead on impression of his mother, “But maybe one or two of them will work.”

“Gabe,” Stephen says, looking up from the list.

“It’s nothing,” Gabe says. “Something to do on the road.”

“You printed it out,” Stephen says.

“Seemed easier,” Gabe says. “But I’ll email it to you as well.”

“And colour coordinated it,” Stephen says.

“It was a boring roadie,” Gabe says, though the end of it is kind of breathless, because Stephen’s crushing the air out of his lungs.

“Thank you,” Stephen mumbles, and Gabe brings a hand up to card through his hair.

“It’s nothing,” he says.

~

The packages start arriving two days later.

Gabe sighs, pushing aside two boxes with his foot so he can unlock the door, grabbing one under each arm to bring inside. One of them’s heavy for its size. Probably the knife set.

“Oh good,” Stephen says, looking up from his laptop as Gabe stacks the packages on top of all the other ones in the living room. “I was getting concerned that those weren’t coming.”

“Stephen,” Gabe says. “You can’t give your dad seventeen gifts for his birthday. He’ll just be disappointed every other year.”

And Gabe did say it was nothing, but that list took him two flights, three breakfasts, a dinner, and the recommendations of half the Canucks and most of the support staff, with dads receiving special consideration, to make.

“I can, however, not have to worry about what to get him for the next five years,” Stephen says gleefully.

Gabe sees trouble coming.

“I’m not making a list for everyone,” Gabe says.

“Gabe,” Stephen whines.

“No way,” Gabe says, taking this as a cue to retreat. “You’re on your own.”

“Gabe,” Stephen says, closing his laptop to trail him out of living room. “Please?”

~

The Canucks, unfortunately, are much less helpful when it comes to what to get middle-aged women. Gabe is disappointed but unsurprised.

“You lose a bet, Marksy?” Coach asks when Gabe brings the question to him. He’s married to one, which likely gives him an edge over the Canucks, who Gabe's learned are all a bunch of terrible sons. Well, other than Bullet. The majority of the ideas he does have on this list are just him trying to keep up with Bullet’s stream-of-consciousness.

“Something like that,” Gabe says, and adds his suggestion for a shawl. Sure, it’s already on the list, but it’s never smart to piss off the guy who controls how many minutes you get.

"My wife likes candles too," Coach says. "The ones that smell up the place."

Stephen can't stand scented candles, and Gabe's almost positive he got that from his mom, but Gabe adds it to the list anyway. It'd serve Stephen right to get a faulty list, and maybe he won't be forced to make one for Beth and Anna if he does a purposefully bad job.

Gabe waits until Coach is long gone, and then he makes sure to scribble those ideas out. Sure, he'll probably remember, and Stephen would probably notice even if he didn't, but, well.

May as well get Anouk something nice.

[limitless-incorporated]

How They Should Write HotD Season 3: The Blacks

Spoiler Warning! I think it’s very clear that season 3 of House of the Dragon is going to be the make it or break it season. Season 2 did a lot to kill a lot of the good will fostered by season 1 of the show, and from the way it’s looking, season 3 is either going to be the season that at least somewhat repairs said goodwill, or takes it out the back and finishes the job by bludgeoning it with a hammer. So, that’s why I’m coming to share my thoughts on how season 3 should go.

I’ll be making two post, one for the Greens and one for the Blacks, with this one being the black edition. Also, heads up, some of these ideas will be going against the book. I’m trying to stay as close as I can, but I do think changes to the book need and should be made. Let’s be honest, we’re so far off from the books already that I rather they try to make things consistent and compelling in their own narrative then trying to stick to the books. I apologize for the long post, but I have a lot of ideas that I’ve been wanting to share for a while now.

The Half-Year Reign of Queen Rhaenyra

Given Rhaenyra’s role as the de facto protagonist of the show, is the plotline we’re probably going to see the most from, and it’s the one I’m dreading the most. One of the show’s major issues is their active refusal to make Rhaenyra into anything other than a perfect person and ruler. The writer’s have stripped Rhaenyra of nearly all of her defining character traits that aren’t singularly positive, and even when she commits morally dubious acts or straight up evil or cruel acts (like feeding a bunch of innocent people to a dragon on the off chance one of them can tame it), the show bends over backwards to remove any blame from Rhaenyra, usually by completely ignoring or removing any consequences that come from her actions. This mission to turn Rhaenyra into the Virgin Mary has had a lot of destructive consequences, like removing her personal agency within the story and ensuring that her supporting cast are all bland and boring because they refuse to give Rhaenyra a partially negative relationship with anyone.

My fear is that the writer’s are going to try their best to defang Rhaenyra’s storyline in season 3. Rhaenyra’s time on the Iron Throne is structured around how her own flaws cause her own downfall. She fails to win the approval of the smallfolk, leading to an uprising. She lets paranoia control her actions, leading to her alienating her only true allies. However, the show is so dedicated to stripping Rhaenyra of all her faults that I’m afraid that they are going to take away these elements from season 3’s story. Once again, Rhaenyra will be stripped of her agency and spend the whole season walking around doing nothing while surrounded by mannequins who aren’t allowed to be interesting and complex characters lest they disturb the undying monument that is the cult of Saint Rhaenyra the Queen Who Ever Was and her harem of loyal simps. Now I will say, this is a delicate storyline for the show to handle. Again, the show’s whitewashing has done a lot of damage to Rhaenyra, as her entire arc about descending into being a tyrant doesn’t really work if she doesn’t have those traits to start with. We’ll have Dany in season 8 all over again, only Dany at least had some set up to her eventual sudden descent. There’s an easy way to fuck a storyline like this up, especially at this point, so here’s how I’d do it.

The crux of Rhaenyra’s arc in season 3 should be her growing god complex, and how her pride and blind faith in prophecy ends up leading to her downfall. We saw shades of this during the Red Sowing, but while the following episode didn’t really highlight the negative aspects of Rhaenyra’s behavior, season 3 would. The trigger point for all of this would come early on with two events: the disappearance of Viserys II, and the death of Jace during the Battle of the Gullet. In a relatively short span of time, Rhaenyra would be faced with the deaths of two of her sons, only this time, her grief isn’t skimmed over in one episode then forgotten like in season 2. Instead, Rhaenyra, mourning the deaths of her children, starts blaming others for failing to protect her sons, namely her council and Rhaena. Focusing on Rhaena for a second, I’m definitely in the minority for this, but I don’t mind the fact they cut Nettles. I do think that they can pull off a similar role that Nettles played with Rhaena, so long as they capitalize on what was set up in season 2. Remember, when Nettles ran off to claim Sheepstealer, she ended up abandoning the job Rhaenyra gave her, which was to care for Aegon III and Viserys II. And if Rhaena comes back early enough to fight in the Gullet, then Rhaenyra has grounds to blame her for these two incidents.

Of course, Rhaenyra would not be justified in her newfound anger towards Rhaena, and this would led to the character conflicts that Team Black desperately needs. Baela would, of course, try to defend her sister from Rhaenyra’s ire, along with Corlys who still cares for this two granddaughters, which would lead to a wedge forming between Rhaenyra and the Velaryons (Rhaenyra would also blame Corlys for Jace’s death). Daemon is also caught in this familial conflict, and I’d have his arc in season 3 be about him struggling between supporting his family and his newfound loyalty towards Rhaenyra. Throughout the show, Daemon has continuously failed to be there when his family needed him. He failed his brother, he failed his wife (Laena), he failed his other wife (Rhaenyra), and he failed his daughters. Daemon has a pattern of not being there to support his family when they need him, so his arc in season 3 would be him getting caught up between supporting his daughters, or sticking with Rhaenyra, who he now knows holds some kind of key to power against the threat to the north.

But, at the same time, other figures would be trying to gain Rhaenyra’s favor. Throughout this time, Addam tries his best to remain loyal to Rhaenyra, both for her sake because he’s a good guy, and his own, as his newfound position as a knight and proper Velaryon is tied to Rhaenyra’s rule. Then there’s Mysaria, who should 100% be manipulating Rhaenyra for her own ends. I’m saying this mostly because, as it stands, Mysaria has no character of her own. Mysaria was a secondary character who, at the very least, was defined by her care for the smallfolk and her desire for better rights for other peasants. Then in season 2, her values go out the window and Mysaria transforms into another Rhaenyra acolyte who is down with whatever her queen tells her even when it ends up killing dozens of innocent smallfolk. So, to bring some consistency into Mysaria’s character, I’d make it clear that Mysaria is trying to gain Rhaenyra’s favor in order to gain more power for herself. Mysaria would not only isolate Rhaenyra from others, but also feed her ego and her newfound savior complex. It’s with Mysaria’s influence that Rhaenyra makes more rash decisions, and importantly, she never backs down or admits she’s in the wrong, as she starts believing that she cannot do wrong.

Like in season 2, Rhaenyra clashes with her council, only this time, she starts taking more power into her own hands, typically with poor results. To start off, when it turns out that they’re broke, Rhaenyra demands Lord Celtigar employ harsh taxes to build up their resources. Given the fact that these taxes are hitting the people immediately after a famine, her policies quickly become unpopular and the people slowly turn on her. This also serves to alienate Hugh and Ulf from her cause. Hugh and Ulf, or at least Hugh, wouldn’t be comfortable watching their people starve, and Rhaenyra’s continued abuse of her power at the cost of the smallfolk would serve to alienate them from her. Rhaenyra, however, doesn’t back down. Instead, Rhaenyra looks to the war in the Reach, where all their resources are heading, and blames her council for not beating Daeron quickly enough and waisting what little they have. After this, Rhaenyra takes matters into her own hands and starts directly managing the war effort instead of Corlys or Daemon, which ends up horribly. As she herself explained in season 2, Rhaenyra has no experience in battle or tactics, so her decision making ends up costing them heavy losses against the Greens. But again, Rhaenyra doesn’t back down, and refuses to admit her wrongs. Rhaenyra continuously refuses to accept any kind of armistice of peace deal, refusing to pardon her brothers or partition the kingdom as Alicent suggests. Not only is Rhaenyra convinced that fate and the gods are on her side, but also that she’s lost too much to accept anything other than absolute victory.

Things come to ahead in the season’s climax. At this point, Hugh and Ulf have already defected, and Mysaria then informs Rhaenyra that the Velaryons are planning to overthrow her, and that they’re attempting to bring Daemon into the plot. This is my replacement for the Nettles and Daemon affair, and I think that a potential Velaryon conspiracy would be much easier to implement in the season, as well as being a good vehicle for some of Team Black, namely Rhaena and especially Baela. Mysaria could also be either partially or entirely lying to Rhaenyra, hoping to drive out the Velaryons to have full control over Rhaenyra, but either way, this is the last straw for Rhaenyra. She orders the arrest of all the so called conspirators, calling for Rhaena, Baela, Corlys, and Addam to be arrested (Daemon being the only one spared as he isn’t directly implicated with the others).. Rhaena and Daemon, who are off in the Riverlands hunting Aemond, get word that Rhaenyra is looking for Rhaena’s head. Daemon then finally puts his family over power and sends Rhaena to safety, before flying off to face Aemond at the God’s Eye. Corlys does the same for Addam and Baela, warning them about Rhaenyra and giving them time to escape with Alyn’s help, before being arrested himself (also finally stepping up as a dad for his sons). We then end the season on Rhaenyra, completely alone in her throne room, her city burning as the smallfolk rise up against her, gripping onto the Iron Throne like her life depends on it.

Tl;Dr: Rhaenyra thinks she’s the best thing since sliced bread because destiny said so, and then proceeds to mess up everything. When I’m done with the Team Green version, I’ll go back and make a link down here.

[timetravellingkitty]

Mulan 2020 sucks lol

Written and edited by yours truly

So, Mulan 2020 happened. And I am disappointed. Seriously disappointed. It is utter garbage. I would genuinely prefer it if I watched Mulan II 5 times in a row, and that's saying something.

There is so much to talk about because this has so many issues. I don't think my brain can handle a movie as bad as this for some time. It is a disgrace to the original animated movie.

(Who cares about spoilers?)

And yes, I can and I will compare it to the original movie because it is a remake. It is totally valid to see where this fell flat and where the original succeeded. I'm not saying it has to be like the original cartoon, that is stupid. As I mentioned, it's to highlight the failures of this movie.

Besides, even if we forget the fact that it is a remake, this movie is still horrible.

INTRODUCTION

Mulan 1998 is a classic. It has great visuals, an awesome soundtrack, wonderful and compelling characters, a great message and a cool plot. It's just a great movie in general. It is an adaptation of The Ballad of Mulan, a Chinese legend. Both the legend and the animated movie are about a young girl named Mulan who disguises herself as a man to take her father's place in the army to fight back against an invasion.

As big of a success Mulan was, Chinese audiences thought some things were weird. For instance, having a dragon be a comic relief character, given that dragons are highly respected in Chinese culture. So of course, Disney decided to try another shot, claiming that they wanted to be more culturally sensitive, accurate and closer to the original ballad.

Mulan 2020 is a remake of the original animated movie, and was marketed to be more "accurate to Chinese culture and the Ballad". This claim is, of course, false, because they failed in that aspect. Say what you will about the cultural inaccuracies in Mulan 1998, but at least it was a great movie. Besides, Mulan 1998 didn't pride or market itself on being culturally accurate, the way Mulan 2020 did, so there's that.

CHANGES

I don't mind some changes. And honestly, if there's one thing I appreciate, it's that it isn't a carbon copy of the original (looking at you The Lion King 2019).

Li Shang's character is divided into two characters: Commander Tung and Mulan's love interest Honghui, apparently in light of the Me-Too movement. This is a dumb reason. Disney wasn't comfortable with a superior having a relationship with a subordinate? The hell? The romance between Shang and Mulan was only insinuated at the end, when Mulan wasn't even a part of the army anymore, so there's that. Also, Mulan gave her consent, so I don't know what they’re talking about.

Mushu isn't present in the movie. I can see why though. He contributed quite a bit to the soul of the animated version but a CGI dragon would be very distracting. Also, the director said that removed him to achieve a more realistic tone.

Grandma? No grandma. Mulan has a sister though, who only exists to mess stuff up.

The Huns are replaced with the Rourans and Shan Yu is replaced with Bori Khan.

Mushu is replaced with a phoenix, who acts as an emissary for the ancestors

There are no songs, except in the end credits, which isn't a bad thing. The instrumentals of the songs in the animated one play during some scenes (I'll talk about the music, don’t worry)

CHARACTERS

The characters in this movie are so boring. Our lead character Mulan lacks the charisma her animated counterpart had. She's utterly bland, uninteresting and poorly written. In the original, she knew she wasn't physically strong and that she couldn't solve her problems with her strength, so she used her intelligence and wit. She excelled by working hard and being strong willed and determined. This Mulan is a well rounded character.

Mulan in the live action is given Chi powers (Chi is a big part of Chinese medicine, in case you didn't know). Honestly, I wouldn't be as mad at Mulan being given superpowers, had they actually done this properly! Chi isn't like midichlorians, it's something that flows through everyone. Mulan is naturally born with dumb superpowers and has to hide them because as her dad says, " Chi is for warriors, not for daughters”. There is a problem:

It has been mentioned many times that Mulan needs to hide her superpowers otherwise she will be shunned and ostracised. Then why doesn't she get more repercussions everytime she uses her powers? The worst thing that happens is little Mulan getting looks of disgust when she uses them. On other occasions, when she is now a part of the army, she uses her powers in training and she doesn't get any backlash? What the hell?? Then why even bother in the first place?

The only way for this narrative to work is if Mulan got more repercussions for using her powers.

If I were to make the line "Chi is for warriors, not daughters," work, I would make it go something like this:

*At the end of the movie when Mulan comes home*

Dad: Didn't I tell you that Chi is for warriors, not daughters?

Mulan: "I am a daughter, but I'm a warrior too."

(Yes, I know this is similar to a scene in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but this would be better, tbh. Also, watch Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Let me compare the training montages from both movies.

In the animated one, there is an absolutely AWESOME montage of Mulan training side by side with her companions, slowly gaining their trust. She climbs the pillar with both medallions by using her wit, not by brute force. This Mulan worked hard. Besides, the fact that "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" plays over this is the only thing that makes it better (banger song, thank you Donny Osmond)

In the live-action, Mulan is supposed to lift up buckets and climb on top of a mountain. There are also other training scenes, but those aren't very important. In these scenes, she succeeds with the power of CHI. WHY? Mulan here just achieves her goal because she is oh so special. She didn't work to achieve her goal at all, because she is perfect. No struggling or development here at all.

Mulan in the animated version was more concerned about saving her father. Mulan in the 2020 version is a dumb patriot who can't even do patriotism right ("I know my place. It is my duty to fight for the kingdom and protect the Emperor") How very empowering.

In short, live-action Mulan can do no wrong. She has no flaws, no personality and no charm. Everything comes to her pretty easily, because MAGIC.

Li Shang's role in the live-action is divided between Commander Tung and Mulan's love interest Honghui, as mentioned before. Both of these characters are flat, dumb and boring. Tung exists to tell Mulan to cultivate her Chi and to train these idiots (and to offer his daughter’s hand in marriage to her, unaware that Mulan isn’t actually a guy, but eh). Honghui is there to be a stupid love interest, who gives us an “I am Spartacus” moment.

The witch is by far the most interesting character. She actually has more than one side to her, has SOME kind of depth and you can even feel sorry for her. She is supposed to serve as a foil to Mulan, given that both have similar powers. In case you've forgotten (which is something I wouldn't blame you for), she's an outcast who's now working with Bori Khan. Why is she an outcast? Because of her Chi. The witch has said many times that she could kill Bori Khan in a snap, then why doesn't she kill him? Because she needs acceptance? What the hell? She decides to pull out the whole "We're the same, you and I," stupidity to Mulan, and I can see that. It's just that the writers just didn't put much thought into it. “It’s too late for me” because you saw a woman leading an army of men? Also, why does she warn Mulan that Bori Khan is coming? Unless she's playing both sides, except her motivations aren't made clear enough for this to make sense. Finally, she dies for the dumbest reason. God, it just makes me so mad. She had so much potential, but no. They just had to mess her up.

Bori Khan? MORE LIKE BORING KHAN. Not much is there. His animated counterpart Shan Yu was scary and contributed to some of the darkest moments in the movie. This guy over here is just...nothing. That's all I have to say.

Mulan's sister is only there to mess up the meeting with the Matchmaker. What a stupid change. First off in the animated version, it's Mulan who messed up, because she isn't perfect. She fails at being stereotypically feminine AND masculine, but in the live-action, she literally pulls off a Spiderman cafeteria scene, and the blame is put on the sister. In the animated movie, this scene is groundwork for Mulan wanting to prove herself and going on a hero's journey, providing depth to her character, but in the live-action, she's perfect. What is the point? (I know this section was supposed to be about the sister, but eh). The sister doesn't provide anything else to the movie, so thanks! I hate it. Moral of the story: Girls can do anything boys can, as long as they have superpowers. If you are born special like Mulan, you can be respected, whereas if you are like the sister, you have no significance and in the end, you can just fit in and be irrelevant. Congratulations!

The live action group of guys Mulan met and befriended in the army lack the charm and comedic timing of their animated counterparts. That’s it. Seriously. I have nothing more to say about them, because they don't really have anything going on. I don't even know why they are included, because their contribution is nil, save for them blandly speaking lines from the animated version’s songs ("I don't care what she looks like, I care what she cooks like"), which is seriously cringe.

The dad is there to tell Mulan that Chi is for warriors. A shame, because I really liked the dad in the movie. He was a source of wisdom for Mulan, whose greatest honour was having her for a daughter. In the live-action, he just takes the sword that Mulan is given at the end of the movie. The mom is meh.

The emperor is also meh. At least he was wise and cool in the animated version, but here he just does bed sheet kung-fu.

Did I mention that the dynamics between the characters are unnatural, forced, awkward in a bad way and in no way indicates any chemistry between them? Oh yeah, I didn’t, until now. They don’t establish much when it comes to emotion.

Simply put, Khan (Mulan’s horse in the animated version) had more personality than all of these characters combined

PERFORMANCES

Liu Yifei as Mulan was a pretty terrible choice. She is just a block of wood, who has absolutely no range, and this isn't because of the writing. She is genuinely bad, and is regarded as one of China’s worst actors (I kid you not). She just can’t emote.

Jet Li as the emperor is meh. But hey, he doesn’t have much to do, so eh.

Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan is fine. He doesn’t suck, but he lacks the command and authority of a character who is supposed to be intimidating, but I guess it has something to do with the writing of his character.

Donnie Yen is a martial art legend, but unfortunately, he doesn't have much range as an actor.

The best performance of this movie is that of Gong Li, who played the witch. Honestly, she is charismatic, charming and has an idea of what she is doing.

To save everyone’s time, simply put: most of the performances are bland and mediocre. Partly due to bad writing and partly due to most of the actors not being, well, good at acting.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY

So Disney went all “we like cultural and historical accuracy”, which is nice. For example, the Huns are replaced by the Rourans, a real tribe in China around the time Mulan was supposed to be alive. They also removed the hair cutting scene, because as iconic and awesome as it is, it doesn’t make sense. Chinese men wore their hair long too. You know what? I like these kinds of changes. I appreciate accuracy. If only Disney didn’t pride themselves on their accuracy when they got almost everything else wrong (They somehow got Mulan's house wrong lol). I don't know jackshit about Chinese culture so just go watch that Xiran Jay Zhao video it's very swag

THE BALLAD OF MULAN

In a surprising turn of events, this isn't accurate to the Ballad, like they had marketed it to be (I know, I’m shocked too). In a reference to the Ballad, Mulan is riding a horse and she sees two rabbits running side by side. She goes home and tells her family that she saw 2 rabbits, and she thinks that one was male and the other female, but she wasn't sure. This just misses the entire point of the Ballad.

Long story short, Mulan in the Ballad is actually a seamstress. She joined the army in her father's place. She defeats the barbarians and goes on a ten year long campaign with her friends, after which they meet the Son of Heaven (a sacred imperial title of a Chinese emperor). He offers her a high ranking position, which she refuses, because she just wants to go home. She returns home and her family welcomes her. Sometime later, her friends come to visit her, and they find out that she is actually a woman. The friends are shocked because she has been in the army for 12 years and in those 12 years, they didn't even realise that she was a woman.

Mulan then replies:

The male hare's feet hop and skip

The female hare's are muddled and fuddled

But when two hares are running side by side

How can you tell the male from the female?

Which is where the poem ends.

So, Mulan just going on, judging those rabbits like that makes absolutely no sense. The Ballad is about how no matter how different men and women look, when they live and fight amongst each other, who gives a damn about the differences? You know what would have made sense though? If Mulan got off her horse, went close to the rabbits, examined them, and then made the conclusion that one is male and the other is female. This would actually be sticking to the message of the Ballad. Also, why do they make it ambiguous as to whether she accepts the high ranking position? I assume for a sequel (yes, God save my soul). Here we can see another example of its impeccable accuracy to the Ballad.

THIS ISN'T EMOTIONAL AT ALL

Everything that made the original film good has been stripped away. Every moment that is meant to be emotional is very dull. For example, the scene where Mulan makes the decision to take her father's place in the army is supposed to be a very powerful scene. Mulan is risking it all just so her dad can be safe. She might be killed if discovered, and her family would be dishonoured.

When Mulan comes back from the Matchmaker, she has a moment of reflection while singing "Reflection". This is the beginning of her personal journey, discovering who she is. In this, after Mulan comes back from the Matchmaker, she doesn't have a moment of reflection. The army immediately shows up. Am I really supposed to believe that Mulan feels bad about this? That Mulan is really struggling?

When Mulan’s friends are singing, it suddenly shifts to the striking scene of the burnt village. This, in my opinion, is the best use of tonal whiplash. From this point on, things are getting serious, and the emotional weight of this tragedy is felt. In this, they just randomly show up at the village.​​ There is no seriousness (stop trying to tell me this movie is adult, mature and serious, it just looks like that on the surface).

Their attempts at being emotional are poor and unconvincing, and ultimately, the end product is an emotionless, soulless, depthless entity.

THE MUSIC

The director mentioned in an interview that she didn’t add songs into the movie because it is “unrealistic to break into song when you're in war”, and I don't think I’ve heard anything more false (apart from the concept of a flat Earth). Even I, who isn't going into war anytime soon, know this is false. They instead inserted instrumentals from the original film. Except, it's very weirdly placed. The instrumental for Reflection is placed when Mulan is fighting the Rourans after she reveals herself to be a woman. Like, there isn't any context. In the end credits, they had the original song "Loyal, Brave and True" sung by Christina Aguilera, which was nice. I don't really have much to say in regards to the music. The music is overall forgettable.

THE ACTION

The action may seem weird, but this kind of martial arts is a part of the Wuxia genre, which is what they were going for. Well, they failed. The choreography is bad, the CGI is bad, EVERYTHING is bad. Honestly, if you want a good Wuxia movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon exists. The action is here stupid and stiff.

OTHER DUMB STUFF

Why does Mulan take her armour off before going into battle? That is just stupid. Can't you just take the bindings off? Also, WHY OPEN YOUR HAIR-

Mulan really likes kicking spears (and pointy stuff in general). Seriously. It’s weird.

The CGI is okay I guess, I don't know. The phoenix in some scenes looks pink to me. There are some pretty visuals though.

It is very obvious that there is a green screen used in the scene where Mulan and her friends find the burnt village. And it looks bad. Pretty ugly. It looks bad. The green screen looks bad.

The war strategy is just weird. I can't really say anything about it in text form because how am i supposed to describe it, help- (she literally teleported behind the bad guys in the avalanche scene-).

I like how the animated film, which had a dragon as a comic relief and other silly stuff, is more mature than this.

For what joy does Mulan get another sword from the army? Also, shame the dad is all “oh look at the values written on the sword, they are honourable” even though in the original the greatest honour was having her for a daughter.

How was Mulan even able to tell the gender of the rabbits?

Why not just try to send a warning to the Emperor that the Rourans are coming to get him?

Why does Commander Tung let Mulan lead them-

I AM SO DONE

Well, I think I have said everything I wanted to about this movie. I know I havent talked about its controversies but honestly, I am done. I am so done with this. This document took 5-6 months of my life. I am kind of proud of this, and there isn't much I have done to be proud of. I did procrastinate on this a bit, and I had stuff going on, but finally, I am done. In the future, if I remember something, I'll add it here, but I think that is unlikely. I never want to watch or even go near Mulan 2020 again. It's horrible, and there is barely anything redeemable. I hate it here. It’s been reported that a sequel is in development. If it’s true, of course I’ll watch it, how else am I supposed to validate my self hate? I am also, of course, the resident “friend who suffers for everyone else’s entertainment”. If you want a live action remake of Mulan, Mulan: Rise of a Warrior exists. Go watch it, it’s free on YouTube with subtitles. I really liked it.

If you’ve somehow made it this far, thanks for reading. I congratulate you for putting up with whatever this is. I would also like to take a moment to congratulate myself for actually committing to this. It was painful yet fun to complain about this to the best of my ability. If anyone wants to add anything to this, feel free to do so. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m out. I have lost my faith in humanity, and I have other things to complain about.

[firestorm09890]

post-tkt unorganized thoughts

not long it’s just spoilers

okay I lied it’s a little long

I’m so interested in the director Hubert guy. originally I said some stuff here about finding it hard to believe an executive director of a wing is cool but then I remembered Stephanette was also cool. and they both went to the edge of the city and wished on stars (well, I guess it was Stephanette's friend who did the wish)... hm. sucks how even someone near the top of the food chain can't make a change. on the other hand dude what are you going to do with those distortion-causing monoliths-

SAINT Sonya?? but also FUCK YEAH ALL 3 CANTO II FANS WE’RE SO BACK

they pointed out how Sonya’s plan was actually very smart- Rodya thought he was just hesitating too much, but in reality, by taking so long setting up his network, he made something unkillable. you can stop one person who took an axe and killed someone. you can’t stop hundreds of people in every wing who’ve organized

Rodya’s gotten worse! hooray!!! unlike some of the other sinners, whose traumas are localized, Rodya’s past will haunt her everywhere. It would have been boring to resolve it so fast when her whole deal is pretending not to see her problems, right? They’re already doing the “keep facing your seven exes after your character growth” thing with Yi Sang

Time Ripper has that classic communism problem where they’re like “FUCK how these guys are doing it, I’m built different, I’ll do this properly” and then they end up being unable to do things fairly anyway. I’ve never read Animal Farm but isn’t this the plot of Animal Farm

the part where he used a 48-rolling (edit: apparently it's 48+48. he just rolled tails when I did it. yikes) unclashable attack that would restore all his buffs was super cool bc it LOOKS scary to both the characters and the player and then it just. doesn’t work. special attack failed

also, wough, Rodya seeing herself in the Time Ripper…

Hong Lu’s family situation is concerning as hell but we been knew

Ryōshū demonstrating she cares about the others (wishing Sinclair was there to translate, attempting to cheer up Rodya at the end) is very awesome

I’m sure the talk of wishing on stars and following dreams near the end will be relevant in canto vii

Vergie is tired

very funny of them to end it by telling everyone they’re going on a WARP train

jazz dubstep is weird as fuck but I love it. I don’t usually like dubstep. jazz could fix dubstep

[writingquestionsanswered]

Trouble with Act III and Villain Motivation

feelingthedisaster asked: I have some issues with my current WIP. The basics are: a guy wants to be a "soldier" (not exactly, but I won't get into worldbuilding), but because he's an outcast he's blamed for the theft of an object that goes missing. He learns about a witch who can help him find the object and they go on a mission to find it, but he learns it was the witch who stole it because she was bored and accepted the job to hang out with people. Here are my concerns:

[Ask edited for length]

Issue #1 - I feel the witch's motivation is not strong enough. There is backstory explaining her loneliness and wanting to have friends, but stealing an object to go on a bogus mission and hang out with someone doesn't feel realistic.

You could definitely go a little bit further to bolster this motivation. Since you mention using Save the Cat!, and since the witch sounds like she might be a redeemable villain, have you considered. her "shard of glass" (psychological wound) that's driving her? What happened in her past that makes her feel like she isn't worthy of making friends in the usual way? Fleshing that out and building upon it creates a little more logic to why she would go so far out of her way just to get some companionship.

Issue #2 - My plot sucks. Act I - the solider gets kicked out, Act II - he and the witch go on the bogus mission and he finds out she's the true thief, Act III - I have no idea. It feels shitty, boring, and I wouldn't want to read this. Honestly, I just want to write my characters and made up plot so it would make sense, but I don't like the plot.

Well, looking at Save the Cat!, in Act III you need to solve the problems created in Act II. In other words, we need to look back at your story's midpoint... what was the false victory or false defeat? How did things get progressively worse or progressively better for the hero after that? In what way was the hero pushed to rock bottom? Based on what you've laid out for me, I feel like a good route to go (if you haven't already) is for there to be a false victory toward the end of Act II, perhaps where the witch--sensing that the hero is losing faith in her ability to help him find the object--tells him they're really close. They've almost got it. Then, as the "bad guys close in" moment, maybe (because they've grown close), she admits that she was the one who stole the object in the first place and promises to take him to it. But... ALL IS LOST! They get to where she'd hidden the object and it's gone! Now neither one of them have the object! At the end of Act II is the hero's "dark night of the soul" where he has to contemplate everything that's happened so far... getting kicked out, finding the witch and trusting her to lead him to the object, growing close to the witch, being betrayed by the witch (she's the true thief). And maybe he even really hurts her feelings by ditching her because he's so mad. This guy has hit rock bottom...

So, your "Break into III" is the moment where your character realizes what he must do to fix everything... First, realizing he can sympathize with the witch and forgive her, he must find her and accept her apology and apologize to her, too. Next, he figures out what happened to the object and how they can get it back. And finally, he realizes how he can get accepted back into whatever he was kicked out of without causing problems for the witch. So, Act III will be him realizing all of this, finding the witch, convincing her to listen to his apology and accepting her apology, telling her what he figured out about who stole the object from her--and how they can get it back, strategizing that plan, executing that plan, facing off against whoever took the object from the witch and getting it back once and for all, then returning the object to its rightful owners and proving that he didn't steal the object. (And, maybe they can blame whoever stole it from the witch to keep the witch from getting into trouble?) And then maybe the hero gets reinstated, or maybe he chooses to go off with the witch on more adventures. It's up to you. And it doesn't have to be any of this exactly, but hopefully it gives you some ideas for what else you can do.

I want to change the entire plot but I don't know how. On top of everything else, my chapters are short.

Well, hopefully now that I've shown you how much more your second and third acts can be, you won't need to change your plot. I think you already have everything here for a great story. You just needed to flesh things out a little bit more. Hopefully this helps you get there.

As far as your short chapters, I just answered another ask about that. Chapters are either a single scene or a group of 2-3 related scenes. So, when your chapters are too short, it's usually because your scenes aren't accomplishing everything they need to. This post goes into detail about that, so hopefully that will help!

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[oscconfessions]

It seems I’m back here again.. welp

I don’t have much to confess about more mainstream object shows since those aren’t the ones I really like but..

God damn it why did BFDIA 14 have to bore me out after watching the most jaw-dropping, heart-wrenching episode of Inanimate Insanity ever?!?

Like I could care less about what happened in BFDIA 14 (that’s a lie) GIVE ME EDITS, GIVE ME SCREENSHOTS, GIVE ME WHOLE-ASS RANTS ABOUT II 15!!

Talk to me about Taco please I love taco sm I want to give her a hug so bad

(I’m trying my hardest not to talk about my all-time favorite object show due to the fact no one actually watches it except for a few people but I doubt they look at this)

FOR THE ONES IN THE BACK: II 15 WAS BETTER THAN BFDIA 14

…only exception being Pin’s whole revenge arc and Bomby just being a total silly goose during the entire episode because of the sugar rush

-📟☢️

.

[mayhem-neverending]

What Should Have Been Expected

Part II

Summary: Tobirama’s proposal journey.

Warnings: none

Edited.

Word Count: 1332

Part I Part III

Four months ago, Tobirama had been called to Hashirama’s office in the newly constucted Hokage Tower. He had a borderline serious expression when their eyes met, and Tobirama immediately straightened in alarm. 

“Elder brother, what is wrong? Has something happened?” He closed the door behind himself and stood at attention in the middle of the room. His older brother searched his eyes for a moment before speaking.

“Wrong isn’t the word I would use, per se,” 

Tobirama’s white brows pulled together. 

“As you know, we’ve been doing quite a bit of negotiating with the other clans.” He paused, eyeing his younger brother again. He held a few papers up and waved them around. “A couple of them have terms that I cannot meet,”

“Then we will continue negotiations,” Tobirama’s brows furrowed even deeper.

Hashirama sighed. “That’s not exactly what I meant... There are, well, three proposals of marriage; the Adachi, Reizei, and Nanke, specifically.”

Tobirama’s brows shot up. It didn’t take but a moment for him to understand what was being asked of him. “You want me to choose one,”

A smile broke out across Hashirama’s tan face. He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I would like you to postpone your work for a couple days to meet with the clan heads.”

“I don’t know if postponing my work is wise, Elder Brother, this village is still in its infancy,” He crossed his arms over his chest. 

Hashirama huffed, rolling his eyes. “Then take it with you. The Adachi and Nanke are only a day’s walk from each other. And the Reizei two days. It will not take you long, brother.”

His journey began with the Reizei. He arrived in the afternoon, warmed by the Fire Country’s winter sun, despite the sharp breeze that had followed him there. When he finally stepped in front of the compound, the guards on duty did not question him, just opened the gate. One of the men had even left his post in order to direct him to the front door. 

Tobirama was not impressed. He was not entirely familiar with the Reizei, despite briefly fighting alongside them in a skirmish when he was a child. He really thought there ought to be tighter security matters. 

He was escorted into their compound by a servant, and the guard scurried back to his post. Tobirama reached out with his chakra to get a clear image of the set up of the compound. There were thirty-nine individuals, only half of which had strong chakra signatures. 

The room he was led to was near the center of the compound. If he were attacked, he thought, it would be a disadvantageous position. 

The door slid open and he was met with the Clan head, Hiroshi, and his wife. He bowed to them respectfully and went to sit at the table. They exchanged quick greetings before getting down to business. He appreciated their celerity. 

Hiroshi snapped loudly at the servant that stood in the corner of the room, an awkward looking boy of probably twelve. “Retrieve Hana,” 

The boy nodded and all but ran from the room. All conversation ceased while they waited for his return with Hana. It was verging on uncomfortable when the door finally opened. 

Hiroshi instructed her to sit next to him, and when Tobirama got a good look at her, he blanched. The girl was certainly under eighteen. She still had baby fat in her face and her lanky frame was certainly not developed. 

This one, he decided instantly, would not do. He would not marry a child.

The Adachi compound treated him much the same, to his dismay. Where was the healthy suspicion? The fighting hadn’t stopped that long ago, and besides, you could never be too prepared.

Their daughter, while of age, did not interest Tobirama. He knew that it mattered little whether he enjoyed her or not, but he couldn’t help but find her boring. The allegiance of her family would bring some good to the village, but he didn’t know if he could justify the cost.

When he finally arrived at the Nanke compound, he was losing faith in the mission his brother had sent him on. He only hoped that the Nanke could negotiate better terms. 

At the stone gate, he was met with two guards. He nearly went to step to them like he had the last two, when he felt a surge of chakra. He stopped in his tracks. 

“State your name and your business.” The one on the right said, holding his blade firmly in his hand. 

This pleased him, and he replied in a booming voice. “I am Tobirama Senju, and I am here to discuss negotiations with Kazuko Nanke,”

The guard eyed him before turning to his companion. “Please inform Lord Nanke,”

He turned back to Tobirama. “You will wait here for him, you understand.”

Tobirama nodded. He adjusted his large pack on his back before crossing his arms. They waited in silence a good ten minutes before Lord Nanke appeared at the open gate. 

“Lord Senju, thank you for your patience.” He bowed, which Tobirama returned. 

“Please, follow me,” he gestured with a wide sweeping motion. 

Tobirama walked side by side with Kazuko. The stone pathway to the compound was lined with tall hedges almost the entire way to the door. Before the steps, however, it opened up to a space that he assumed was a garden in the warmer months. The main door was already open as they walked up the steps, and they spoke little as they walked to a large meeting room. It had a long table in the center, and was decorated with the family crest. The lord’s wife was already seated across from the door. She was a severe looking woman, with a pointed face and long blonde hair pulled in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. 

She stood and bowed to Tobirama, who returned the gesture. Her husband went to sit next to her and Tobirama sat down across from them, with his back to the door. His back to the door put him on edge, though he made no sign of his discomfort to his hosts.

“Welcome, Lord Senju,” the wife said once she had seated herself comfortably. 

“We are pleased that you have come. I think our cooperation could prove very beneficial,” Kazuko said. 

“Yes, I agree,” Tobirama nodded. 

They discussed the family’s trade, percentages, and marriage for over an hour before Tobirama asked where their daughter was. While what they were willing to offer was appealing, he had yet to see the woman of the hour.

The wife’s face soured slightly before returning its composure. “We had decided that the meeting would be unnecessary. She is not aware of us making a marriage contract. She has no need to know until it has been decided.”

Tobirama was about to speak up when Kazuko interjected, shooting a look at his wife. “If you wish to see her, I am happy to take you to the garden. She is with her brothers there now.”

 Tobirama eyed them carefully. This contract was the best sounding of the three, but this behavior was strange. He nodded once to them, curiosity getting the better of him, and Kazuko stood and led him down a long hallway. 

“Why have you kept a marriage contract from your daughter?” Tobirama asked plainly. 

Kazuko cleared his throat and kept his eyes forward. “Y/n is.. well, she is a very caring soul. And stubborn as a bull. I think she would oppose a contract because of her attachment to her young brothers.”

Tobirama mulled this information over. While he opposed of someone being put in a contract unwillingly, he could not deny that the village would benefit from this alliance. 

The two men made it to a doorway that opened to a large garden, albeit dead from the winter, he could see that the area was well taken care of. Kazuko put his arm in front of Tobirama to stop him from moving past the door frame, and that’s when he spotted them across the way. 

His breath caught in his throat. The Nanke heir was nothing short of stunning. Even in a heavy woolen cloak, her beauty was evident. Her bright smiling face, cheeks and nose tinged red from the winter wind, the sight made his tongue heavy in his mouth. He didn’t even notice when his mouth formed an ‘o’ at the sight.

A small boy jumped on her, and she caught him just barely, nearly falling at the contact and laughed in the most melodic tone he had ever heard. His eyes widened, and his ears tickled at the sound. His world paused as he watched.

“I,” he breathed, his voice not yet caught up to his thoughts. 

“What was that?” her father turned to face Tobirama fully with a raised brow. 

Tobirama tore his eyes away and cleared his throat. “I accept your proposal,”

[madrone33]

I finally listened to Hadestown! 🎉

Starting with the Original Cast Recording, ‘cause might as well do it in release order. Loved it! Groovy music. Snickered. Cried. Wrote down my reaction as I went, so if you're chill with rambled thoughts and observations, here you go lol

(Soz for any typos, I was touch typing most of the time, and I've edited it but probs missed stuff)

Road to Hell (Live)

Oh it’s JAZZY. Huh. Didn't expect that, but I am living.

I like how at the start they’re simulating a train’s chugging.

Those call and response harmonies tho *chef's kiss*

Kinda reminds me of Udad.

Oh that’s Hermes!

“It’s a sad song” he says, while singing the boppiest of bops.

I like that “suitcase full of summertime” line.

“About someone... who tries.” Oho, we’re gettin into it now! *rubs hands together*

Also, I completely get now why Jorge said that first draft of EPIC: The Musical Hermes was like Hadestown.

Livin' It Up on Top (Live)

That’s a smooth transition👌

Persephone’s voice is really cool. Kinda rough texture?

Oh I didn’t realise Persephone and Hades would be having a turbulent relationship in this.

Oooh Orpheus’ voice is smooth.

They’re all so happy huh. Welp, you know there’s gonna be a crash in their future.

Orpheus seems really grateful for Persephone’s... graciousness? When he said that she'll always fill their cups and they'll raise them to her and stuff. Theory: either she’ll have a soft spot for him later, or he’ll feel betrayed and blindsided by the more cold side of her later.

All I've Ever Known (Live)

I don’t know anything about Eurydice, but is this her song?

Ah yeah Orpheus is singing, so it must be.

Oop. Foreshadowing.

Way Down Hadestown (Live)

Hermes is back!

“Bored to death” HA

“Graveyard” wow the puns/metaphors are going hard XD

I can’t tell who’s singing lmao. This is like when I listened to Hamilton for the first time. I’ll need lyrics, or familiarity RIP

The coins as the percussion/tambourine is a nice touch.

Hades’ voice is DEEP.

They haven’t mentioned gods yet, I don’t think? Just the Fates, right? It sounds more like a mining operation metaphor for mythos right now, hmm.

Epic II (Live)

King of diamonds and spades - like the playing card suits, but also like the mining operation.

It’s the La la la la thing from Wolfy’s animatic! Almost. A different rendition - I bet I'll hear that later 👀

Why is it called Epic II? Where’s 1? Am I missing something?

Chant (Live)

Oh they’re doing overlapping meodies!!

Ah wait this is Eurydice now, gotta go back a few seconds to catch that. I keep getting her mixed up with Persephone 😅

Oh now we’ve got Eurydice and Orpheus relationship troubles? Huh, I kinda assumed they’d be the perfect couple till her death.

And a semi callback to her song, nice.

Hay Little Songbird (Live)

DAMN his voice is deep!

Is this Eurydice??

Is- Is Hades seducing her? To work for him of smth? Ummm.

Not the canary!

That shaker sounds like a rattlesnake, and it does not bode well for a little bird.

When the Chips are Down (Live)

Oh hey I was right! It is a metaphorical rattlesnake!

Does she choose to go to the Underworld of her own volition? I thought she like- died.

Gone I'm Gone (Live)

She does??

Ouch. She sounds so resigned.

Is this a metaphor for her starving to death? Oof.

The harmonies!!

Wait for Me (Live)

“Six feet under” oh yep.

“Lay low, stay outta sight” - getting Hamilton's Stay Alive vibes.

“Don’t look back” ah. FORESHADOWING.

Ohhh the River Styx being a high wall is so smart!

“And don’t look no one in the eye” I must be too deep in the Odyssey related fandoms, because I'm seeing puns where there are none lmao

The HARMONIES!

Poor Orpheus, but I mean, he was kinda being a bit… naive? If he didn’t prepare for winter and just went off in his own head to make songs?

Why We Build the Wall (Live)

Free from who?

Enemy? 👀

(Yes, I'm aware I'm being led into asking all the questions he wants me to ask, but in my defence, it's very effective.)

Oh huh. Wasn't expecting it to be poverty, tho maybe I should've.

Him calling them “My children” plus the chanting is uh. Why does this sound like cult propaganda?

His voice sounds like the Ozymandias poem guy.

Also giving Frollo “She ran, I pursued” vocal vibes.

“Behind closed doors” - ominous.

Ha! Ok nice subversion.

Our Lady of the Underground (Live)

Persepone is a drug dealer XD

That’s a strange note on “there’s a crack in the wall”

Oh no, am I supposed to remember all these band member names? *crying*

Way Down Hadestown II (Live)

Bringing back motifs I see.

The pickaxes as percussion is cool.

Oop, Eurydice is getting a bit of a wake up call.

Chant II (Live)

Ooooh does the ‘backdoor’ Hermes meant, mean that Orpheus doesn’t have to ‘die’ to get there? ‘Cause he didn’t sign anything, which is a metaphor for him not actually being dead in the myth, so he can still leave.

“Hungry for the underworld” - the pomegranate?

And now Eurydice and Orpheus are singing half the La la la la tune each as if to each other from across the Underworld!

Ooh I LIKE those slant rhymes! "Young man, you can strum your lyre, I have strung the world in wire."

Oh this is where Orpheus sings his plea!! I know this is a thing because of Udad's Underworld Blues lol.

Epic III (Live)

The harmonies 🥺

Oh! It’s that part from Wolfy's animatic :O

I’m tearing up bro.

Just thinking that Eurydice was so upset with Orpheus for focusing on writing his song about Hades and Persephone, but it's that very song that is giving him a chance to sway Hades' mind. But on the other hand, if he'd focused less on the song, he never would've had to use it, y'know?

Word to the Wise (Live)

Ha the Fates(?) doing Hades’ inner monologue like, yeah bro u screwed yourself.

Uh oh this is probs where Hades comes up with the ultimatum. Wait no don't-

His Kiss the Riot (Live)

Those strings are creepy.

Belladonna? Oh the poisonous flower.

Did he call Orpheus the Jack of Hearts?

That acordian is awesome.

Fuck, I knew it.

He sounds like the guy who does the creepily ominous monologue in Micheal Jackson's Thriller.

Promises (Live)

Oh huh. It’s my theory from the 2nd song but it's Eurydice feeling betrayed that the world isn't always plentiful and not Orpheus?

Those strings are gorgeous!

Oh! A duet!

When the couple actually works out their shit:

“I do” omgggg!

KEEP WALKING. DONT LOOK BACK.

Wait for Me II (Live)

Aww that’s nice. Persephone and Hades are gonna try too!

Oh no not the “wait” like in Hurricane-

Doubt Come In (Live)

Oh noooooo

KEEP GOING. JUST KEEP GOING. SHE’S WITH YOU

OH NOOOO DON’T FALTER

LISTEN TO HER! HOLD ON! KEEP GOING!

... Oh god

Road to Hell II (Live)

NO THERE'S A FUCKING AD

Hermes sounds so sad but resigned. Like, 'Oh well. I knew it would turn out like this, but I'd hoped.' Which like. SAME.

The instruments stripped away so it's only silence and one voice is so good.

I can just imagine Orpheus collapsed shell shocked on stage as Hermes not unkindly pushes him to go on.

That reprise and ending is so fucking good AHHH omg no regrets. Some regrets. Whatever, it was good.

... Time to listen to it again with lyrics :D

And then I'm gonna listen to the Original Broadway Cast Recording!

[ghostly-penumbra]

Seven Ways to Summon the Ghost King

Chapter Six: Traditional Way, Part II: The Remix: Electric Boogaloo, Slumber Party Edition

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [here] [7]

Ao3

Summary: Class 1-A humours its resident goth...

... things go exactly as he planned.

- - -

A Hero’s life was a stressful one, even if you were still just a student. It was nice, to find kinship and support from people that got it, that sometimes had been there with you as you faced down the villains.

That is to say, the UA dorms had been a great idea, actually. 1-A managed to find the perfect balance between each other’s little idiosyncrasies pretty well, with only minor mishaps along the way.

This week’s’ “Fun Night” showed to be quite the example.

“Are we sure we’re gonna do this?” Asked Kaminari with a shaking voice as he passed the small candles for Todoroki to light up with a touch of his finger.

They were in their dorm’s common room, with the furniture pushed to the side to make space for the… temporal redecorations.

“Well, it is his turn to pick this week’s activity.” Yaoyorozu said reasonably, watching Tokoyami draw the summoning circle from memory without hesitation.

“Yeah! ‘Sides we all participated in your skit videos last week!” Mina told him as she skipped next to him. “So if our introverted classmates can appear and act in front of a camera, you can hold hands and chant the creepy verses!” She slung an arm over his shoulders and pulled him towards herself to whisper in his ear, “And it’s not like something’s gonna actually happen, so relax!” And with a conspiratory wink she shoved him off.

- - -

“YOU SAID NOTHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!”

“NOT NOW, KAMINARI!”

“How do we stop it?! It’s almost finished!”

“Someone bring Aizawa-sensei!”

“It’s too late.” Tokoyami announced calmly over the cacophony of his panicking classmates. His eyes were lit up with the reflection of the green fire on the candles, giving them a manic gleam “He is here.”

All the candles that Todoroki unsuccessfully tried to smother with his ice flared up at the same time, illuminating the scared faces of the heroes-to-be for a second, and then diminished back to small embers, making the biggest source of light in the room the pair of flames that hovered in place atop the summoning circle, until these two blinked out… and then back on

“If this is another cult seeking immortality…” A voice said a hundred times at the same time, and even Todoroki’s resistance to the cold was useless against the chill that ran down their backs.

Bakugo would remember that Midoriya moved first, activating his quirk and launching himself at the dark figure feet first in a kick aimed to the face.

The person –being?– caught Midoriya by the ankle and easily redirected him to skid along the floor with his momentum. They –it?– dodged Kirishima’s hardened fists with the ease of a dancer, sidestepped a rising block of ice and broke it into small flakes of dust. Bakugo had him in the face with a good explosion and –bright toxic green eyes that bore into his soul as he illuminated them, making him feel so smallweakuseless– next he knew he was crashing against stupid fucking Deku, who chose that fucking moment to have his second wind.

“That’s enough.” The being said, and the lights came back on. (He couldn’t be older than any of them. He just couldn’t!)

The class stopped in their tracks at the sight of him, except for Iida who had already ignited his engines and was just as easily redirected back towards his friends, who held him quickly as he abruptly stopped his quirk.

“A bunch of teenagers, why not.” The little boy face palmed after looking at them.

“Hey, that’s rude!” Ashido complained, being the first one to step up with no intentions of attacking.

“Well, forgive me for not lying to spare your feelings after being summoned against my will in the middle of a power nap.

“But let me guess,” he pinched the bridge of his nose and rested his elbow on his other palm, “you somehow found an ancient ritual to summon one of the most powerful beings there are –which, by the way, I made sure to get rid of- the rituals! Any book that had it. Jeez, I didn’t get rid of all the powerful beings, don’t give me these faces.”

The students looked at each other; had it been that they all misunderstood the –boy’s– words and jumped to the same gruesome conclusion, or had he just been bad at wording?

“Anyway, you kids somehow found the only source for how to summon an eldritch abomination, thought it would be a fun bonding activity,” an awkward glance at each other, “and didn’t stop to think, just for a second, that perhaps you shouldn’t be messing with things you don’t understand?”

The class kept silent, most of them staring ashamed at their feet, some even scuffing the floor with them.

“It was Tokoyami’s idea!” Kaminari cried, trying to hide behind Kirishima. “He was the one to do it all!”

“Kaminari!” Several of his classmates cried out in offense at such coward snitching.

“Hey!” The ghost boy called, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. He had stopped hovering, rather planting both feet on the ground. “Alright, listen. I’m not mad at you kids, but this is something you shouldn’t be meddling in just for fun. And not only that, but I made sure no way to summon me remained in this plane of existence, so I need to know how you did it, to make sure you didn’t do something dumber than summoning me.” With his hands on his hips and that I-can’t-believe-I-have-to-deal-with-this face, the self-proclaimed eldritch abomination looked more like an annoyed (if short) senpai correcting his kohais.

“It was not hubris nor naïveté that made me desire to summon you, King of Ghosts, Liminal God, Harbringer of-” Tokoyami’s greeting was cut short as said liminal god –and didn’t that make some eyes widen in shock and wariness– held up a hand to stop him.

“Two titles are more than enough, buddy. Y’all can call me Phantom.”

That sounded like such a simple hero name, that the students easily accepted it. Phantom: The Ghost King Hero.

“As you wish, Phantom.” The goth corrected himself with a grave nod. “As I said, I did not arrange for your summoning out of hubris or ingenuity, for you see, we are in the dark path of Heroism, where we will face countless more encounters with horror, destruction, and death, and so I sought you out, so you may tell my friends of the kindness of leaving this world.”

His classmates stared at Tokoyami after his solemn words; some with apprehension, others with growing understanding. Iida adjusted his glasses and breathed in deeply, preparing to launch himself into a rant speech about how they were thankful for his consideration but he should please refrain himself from things like this, when the bird-headed boy spoke again.

“And if you could please sign this for me, I would be in your debt.” The boy held out a black, leather-bound journal with a black pen adorned with a plastic skull hanging from the bookmark.

There was a long, awkward beat of silence until –unsurprisingly– Bakugo exploded.

“YOU FUCKING SUMMONED A FUCKING DEATH GOD JUST TO GET A SHITTY AUTOGRAPH?!”

The feeling was shared by the rest of the class, as they showed their discontent all at the same time.

Tokoyami ignored them, though, keeping his wide, hopeful –and, this was a bit worrying– worshipping eyes on Phantom, until he finally relented.

“Alright, kids, listen up!” Phantom said, commanding the attention back to himself. He took the journal from the bird-headed boy and flipped the pages until he found a blank one. “Gosh, this brings me memories…” He mumbled, scribbling down, before continuing for the class. “Rule Number Two of Interacting With Paranormal Slash Mystical Slash Magical Slash Et Cetera Et Cetera Et Cetera, never make open-ended deals, ever, this includes but is not limited to: contracts, handshakes lood oaths, spit oaths, fist bumps, promises, spoken words –you get the gist. Now, what did you friend say to me?”

The teenagers looked at each other in awkward silence but, being teenagers, they were easily reverted to their ‘we’re in a lecture in class mode, and the brave soul of Yaoyorozu raised her hand.

“Tokoyami-kun said that he would be in your debs in exchange of an autograph.”

“And there was truth and intent to his words, so now that I’ve fulfilled his request…” He let the sentence open as he showed the journal where it now had a stylized D with a smaller P within it.

The class looked at their friend with mixed feelings of concern, irritation, and fear.

“You could ask anything from him.” A brave soul finally answered.

Tokoyami didn’t seem to care what might be asked of him, as he stared almost reverently at the journal now back in his hands. That wouldn’t do.

“Well then,” Phantom began, placing his hands on his hips, ready to deal out a detention, “your part of the deal will be that you never ever again make such a fool open-ended deal with anyone! No ghost, monster, creature, oni, Higher Being™, angel, god, God, demon, or anything else I may have forgotten. Not your parents, not your relatives, classmates not your teachers or principal, not random people on the street, not children, not the government. No one, ever.” He finished sternly as Tokoyami nodded along.

“That…! Is actually really kind of you, Phantom-san.” Iida saod thoughtfully.

“The Lord of Cessation is known for his kindness and fairness.” Tokoyami told them, clutching the journal to his chest when he noticed Bakugo’s slightly-more-murderous-than-normal expression still in place.

“Yes, I’m cool, I know, whatever.” Phantom was massaging his temples breathing deep and slow. “Alright! He began anew, now with some cheer. “I haven’t’ been to the Living World for anything other than work in over a century and a half, so, what’s good in video games these days?” He asked with a smile finally acting like the teen he was when he died.

“I mean the controls are different, but a fighting game is a fighting game, so no biggie.”

“If you want you can pick All Might to make it more even!”

There were very heated protests (from two very specific boys) as everyone surrounded the dorm’s gaming centre so Phantom said “Don’t worry, I’m my own character.” Before merging with the console and appearing on the screen, unleashing chaos among class 1-A once again.

- - -

“So you were born before the Dawn of Quirks? What was it like?” Midoriya asked, distractedly losing in Hero Cart as he kept looking at Phantom next to him.

“Eh, I can’t really say it was much different. Y’all seem to have gotten… stuck in time, in a way. Like, I understand a lot of stuff like time and work and resources go to make accommodations for mutations and stuff which is great, don’t get me wrong, but one would have thought that over two hundred years in the future, at least clothes would be different.

“And for what the dead say, some of those ‘accommodations’ are… doubtful, to say the least. And don’t get me started in social issues.” He quickly mumbled with his mouth in a thin line. “So, overall, it was pretty similar. It may have to do with the fact that I was born in another dimension.”

He kept his focus on the game. So, if Phantom noticed all of their shocked faces and stunned silence, he didn’t show it.

- - -

“D’you guys have DOOMED?” Phantom asked as he leaned against the couch from his place on the floor, watching as Mina ruthlessly obliterated Sero in Dance, Dance Revolution!

“What’s DOOMED?” Ashido asked, not skipping a step as Sero stumbled with the increasing speed of the game.

All the lights went out and the room’s temperature dropped, making Tsuyu swoon and the rest of the class to cry in alarm or fall into battle stances.

“The DOOMED devs didn’t release the game’s code for it to become memetic, only to be completely ignored by some- futurelings from another dimension!”

The lights returned, and the TV they were playing in turned back on; the cold ebbed out slowly, not as abrupt as it had come, and Tsuyu slowly began to stir helped by the proximity of Todoroki’s left side.

“Alright, kiddos! I hope you’re interested in coding, ‘cause I know by heart and tonight, we make history!”

- - +

Phantom typed away without thinking it twice, confident, whilst the class watched and Midoriya took notes just as fast, transcribing on his notebook what Phantom put in the computer.

Kyoka leaned against Tokoyami’s side as they saw, well, history. “This is the best night ever. Do you have any other interesting being in your journal? Possibly someone who liked karaoke?”

“Just so y’all know!” Phantom told them cheerily, spinning his neck 180º degrees as his hands kept typing. “I know I’m cool and a chill guy to hang out with, but that’s ‘cause I was human and died at fourteen! Most beings that can be summoned hate being summoned. Myself included, bus, as I said, I’m rather cool!”

A chill ran down the class’ back again, and all of them –minus Midoriya, who kept on writing– turned to look at the resident goths.

“… I shall abstain from more summonings, Lord Phantom.” Tokoyami conceded, and Dark Shadow cooed at him.

“There’s a good boy!” Phantom said brightly, returning to his coding.

“Let’s just do regular karaoke next week, right, guys?”

“Alright, students!” Phantom called them. “Get ready to get schooled!”

- - -