#Laurence agrees with him but doesn’t *like* him

[chimaerakitten]

Ok so the scene in empire of ivory where lord Allendale sees Emily for the fist time and immediately comes to the conclusion that she’s Laurence’s bastard child is hilarious, but it’s also got a good illustration of why Laurence’s conflict with his father is compelling: Lord Allendale is actually a pretty decent guy outside of his disapproval of people not doing things his way.

Like, there’s the abolition thing, obviously. Pretty telling that Laurence disagrees with his father on everything except politics, and wants his advice on Temeraire’s dragon rights campaign. But also in the Emily scene the first thing he does is make sure Laurence was doing right by her with education etc. (which is also where we learn that Temeraire has taken over teaching the runners math lol) and then he offers to help:

“She is a pretty-behaved girl, for her station in life, and I hope she does not want for anything,” Lord Allendale said, in a sort of sidling way. “I am sure if there was any difficulty in finding her a respectable situation, when she is grown, your mother and I would be glad to be of assistance.”

Which is of course only the proper thing to do when faced with an illegitimate grandchild, but too much of the series is about how the vast majority of the English do not in fact live up to their own considerations of what’s proper to dismiss Lord Allendale actually doing it.

It really makes the whole conflict more interesting, that it’s not Laurence pining after the approval of a father that never deserved it, but rather a totally understandable desire for acknowledgment from someone whose esteem did actually mean something.

[feyofmay]

The Oak Door

Laurie x March!Reader (aka "Ducky") Summary: At a gathering in london, hosted by Mister Laurence, Laurie gets drunk & the reader is forced to take care of him. While assisting him, Laurie attempts to propose, & the reader is everything but happy word count: 3.8k Warnings: ANGST, literally that's it just angst, also a lot of self doubt from reader

This story is a snippet from my longer Laurie x reader story, Foolish, Honest Love on ao3. If you want to know what happens next, you'll find out there ;P

Also, I am taking requests for Laurie x reader drabbles/minifics in my asks!!! :)

STORY STARTS UNDER THE PAGE BREAK

To say one’s heart & mind works separately is a lie because the heart is an organ that does not think, nor does it hold any greater understanding of what it is. It has no consciousness, yet is unrightfully given the capability to think & know. Nobody truly thinks with their heart or their throat or their liver or their pancreas. When someone says “thinking with their heart” or “thinking with their mind”, they mean thinking with their intuition or their rationality, or thinking with logic or emotion. They create a great divide in thought that, in all honesty, has & will never exist. A black & white. A right & wrong. A sky & sea. Existing between all of these concepts is a great trench, a lack of understanding, that was dug by the hands of men. 

In thinking with her heart, the middle March finds it best to avoid Laurie, &, in thinking with her head, she agrees with her heart. All of this to say, for the past couple of days, she’s both missed & feared the sight of his face. It’s easy to grow distant from someone when there’s no possible way to close said distance, but, when you’re staying in the same residence per the request of his grandfather, it’s much harder to remain distant, both in a literal & metaphysical sense.

Within the lounge, where she resides now, Miss March distances herself from the greater commotion of the gathering, in the dining hall, without being fully disconnected, like a hand is to the torso. The walls are dressed in a tender maroon wallpaper with an eloquent & detailed moulding of marble & gold, replicating greek columns, which act as a trim that runs across the ceilings. She shares the chaise lounge with other guests as they squeeze next to each other, and their skirts overlap like incoming tides crossing over one another. She’s unsure if she's become overwhelmed by all the stimulus or simply unable to sense anything. The air doesn’t carry any distinct scent. Oddly, the space around her smells of the sound of bustling people & drinks swishing in crystalline glasses. Around her is noise & people, & all of her senses confirm that truth in a monotone wave.  Nursing an empty glass, which she had thrown the contents of into a houseplant & plans to hold for the rest of the evening, she sits within conversation between several men & women, an intellectual hive of people that act more like displays for their attire then beings with bones & blood. For them, knowledge is a sport. It’s a trinket to place on your coffee table to try & impress your inlaws. It’s an accessory to tout & best acknowledge in thoughtful hums & inquisitive gasps. 

A man in a matching set of birdseye patterned, taupe slacks & waist drones on about the recent unification of Germany. While Miss March does find the subject, itself, interesting, she can’t seem to hold intrigue in the conversation. Something about the smoke & the long days warping together in England has led her to misplace the inquisitiveness of the young girl who dreamed of moving to Europe & leaving behind the dreariness of subordinate domesticity. While, with age, she’s gained the emotional intellect necessary to process her emotions beyond simply scraping the shallow tide with her toes, she’s also gained the awareness that, oftentimes, the act of digesting her emotions is tiring. She’s learned that the energy used toward emotions is better spent producing something tangible & of worth. 

Luckily for her, Laurie’s grandfather is a man in the know, which means he knew several associates with daughters of varying ages with varying tastes in clothes who were more than happy to lend a dress to a young lady. Over her crinoline skirt & bodice, a dress in a sweet champagne shade is draped across her. The lacy trim, not wanting to melt into the dress, itself, is a muted purple, almost a grey, that wraps around her puff sleeves & the edges of the champagne tier, with a silk white skirt with a lavender sheen peeks out from underneath. Nothing about the dress is loud. She feels much more at home in the fabric, especially after walking around in the daunting mauve dress like a living, breathing cake topper, a piece of decor for her employer to flaunt. For the first time since leaving New England & Meg & Hannah’s trusted fingers, she’d had her hair done by someone other than her family’s servant. The trusted maid of Mister Laurence had offered & promised to not pull too hard on the March’s hair. As the maid braided & pinned her hair, the middle March almost cried. However, it wasn’t due to any pain inflicted on her scalp, as the maid’s touch was tentative & gentle. It was the simple act of being touched & cared for, a touch Miss March had been subconsciously craving for since leaving her home. A touch she had forgotten until reuniting with Laurie in the crowded foyer. 

Touching her shoulder, a soft hand brushes her & whispers a polite ask for her attention. She flutters her eyelashes, shaking off the weight of the dust that had collected on them, &, with the help of the welcomed touch, swims out of the mental fog she had sunk herself into. Her eyes flitter up & meet with the warm sight of Mister Laurence gazing back at her. Whether the strong scent of candle wax, lingering dust on velvet carpets, & forest breeze eminates from him or the memories of his manor in New England that she spent odd mornings & afternoons in, she’s unsure of. However, it’s another reminder of the young girl she tried to comfort & wish goodbye to before leaving for Lancashire.

“Pardon my forwardness, but, Miss March, I must ask you to join me for a brief moment. I do hate to take away from such wonderful company,” Mister Laurence requests, playing the role of the man wise beyond his years more gracefully than anyone Miss March has ever seen. With a curt nod, not even bothering to bid adieu to the people in the room, she lets curiosity lead her as she rises to her feet & wraps her arms around Mister Laurence’s. Ushering her out of the room at the exact speed that is swift without being suspicious, Mister Laurence guides the young lady to a hallway with no prying eyes or wandering ears. His gaze does not hold the anger of a great man who is weighed down by the hubris of those around him, but in his eyes is something deeply paternal & saddened. Around him, an umber waistcoat & slacks with a herringbone pattern remind her more of a bear then a man of business & wealth. However, her judgement may be heavily clouded from growing up under his watchful eye. While his hair used to be a soft salt & pepper, it has faded to a faint white & grey like the shadow of a tree painted on fresh snow during a cloudy evening. For most, with age comes wrinkles that hide within them their growing envy for the youth that’s being wasted on careless & stupid adolescents. Mister Laurence’s wrinkles are like the rings of a tree, lines that prove that he has lived & seen. They’re a promise that, if one is to ask, he will tell the story preserved in every smile line & crow’s foot. Bending down so his lips hover around her ear, she’s immediately washed in the same sincerity that soaks his demeanour.

“Y/N,” he calls her by her first name, a telltale sign of loyalty & unease from the man, “I do hate to put this upon your shoulders, but my grandson is acting aloof-”.

“In what sense?” she interrupts in the classic March fashion, &, used to this speech pattern, he continues speaking over her. 

“And, while I don’t wish to make you pay for his poor decisions, I have an important associate that I do need to impress,” he explains to her as his hand returns to her shoulder, “And you and I are both well aware that no servant is paid well enough to have to deal with my grandson’s… ”

“Stubbornness?”

“...Tenacity.”

Both finish his sentence at the same time & share a gaze that communicates that neither are completely wrong with their wording. Nodding his head to agree with her, he looks away at the hall ahead. No paternal figure wants to admit their children’s faults. To say a truth is to make it known, but to admit a truth makes it tangible. She can feel the glass ball that rolls up & down his throat, ever so often bobbing at the opening to his stomach. Hiding beneath his heavy wool morning coat, his shoulders tense while trying to protect the rest of his body.

“A servant caught him with several other young women & clearly inebriated,” he reveals to her, & the edges of his lips quiver & twitch as they are tugged by invisible strings into a frown. His words dig a hole into her chest. All that remains is her skin, which caves in & sags where her sternum once was. It leaves a tingling sensation where her muscles & bones used to rest. She feels that Mister Laurence is speaking of a different grandson, which she has never met. What happened to the young boy who would treat her childish fears with utmost sincerity? What happened to the boy who made pinky promises seem like the most honourable pacts a man could make? What monster, what man had stolen the skin from him & now wears it as a costume? 

“I’ll confess. I’m unsure of where I went wrong with him,” Mister Laurence slips out between hushed lips, telling his secret to the wind & Miss March. Pausing to swallow his words, she furrows her brows & purses her lips. Swimming in her mind, she can’t think of any words that can comfort him in this moment of vulnerability. So, rather than speaking, she wraps her arms around the older man & hugs him tightly. Surprise washes him over as she squeezes his ribcage tightly, &, for a moment, he freezes as his eyes dart around to try & catch leering gazes peaking around the corner. But they are hidden in the inky shadows of the hallway. With a long exhale, Mister Laurence allows his tension to escape, & he swallows her in his embrace.. 

“You worry about business, and I’ll worry about Laurie,” she comforts him while pulling away, pausing to fix his bowtie, “He’s very lucky to have a grandfather that’s as kind and loving as you.” Mister Laurence smiles at her reminder as the rosy glow on his cheeks alights the hallway for a moment. Each breath they take in the space that they share feels like it fills each corner of their lungs. Nodding to her, a silent show of gratitude, he leads her to an oak door which lays slightly ajar. Holding the nob, he turns back to her before speaking.

“Thank you for your assistance. He’s in here,” Mister Laurence informs her, & he slowly swings the door open. Immediately, the souring scent of wine hits her face, &, as an instinct, her nose scrunches up & a grimace stains her lips. Splayed out on a couch, dishevelled & basking in his own ruin, she sees more of a strange, unfamiliar man than the boy that she knew. She sees a man that will grow to be discontent with his wife, yet who stays for the kids. A man who never really loved his children but is patiently waiting for the fulfilment that comes from acting in the role that society has told him to. A man who will never be fulfilled. A man that has learned that he must settle for what he has, quietly & miserably. A miniscule part of Miss March relishes at the idea that he’d have to learn how cruel the impartial hand of life can be, but the rest of her is well aware that Laurie will never know “enough”. He’d love his wife, even if she loved another man. He’d work to provide for his kids, &, if the wife was never around, he’d raise them all on his own. He’d move mountains to try to find the better side of “enough”. Laurie will love & love because that is Laurie’s nature. He loves wine & women. He loves trekking through forests & acting a fool, even in public spaces. He loves to engage in conversation while in the company of the March sisters, where no sentence is ever finished & nothing is ever truly said but the quiet “I love you” that rattles around in the pauses between words for a quick draw of breath. Laurie loves Jo. Laurie will continue to love, & love will truly be the cause of his death. Yet, Laurie will find a way to love the silent & cold hand of what lies beyond in a way that no person has ever done before. Miss March cannot even entertain the idea of Laurie living a life that is just “enough” because, to her, his company is more than enough. It is good. It is plenty.

That same man has tossed away his vermillion silk tie & waistcoat, leaving him in a starch white shirt that’s a third of the way unbuttoned & hastily tucked into raven black slacks. Closing the door behind her, the click of the door knob alerts him to her presence. However, his verdant eyes don’t move to meet her as he stares through strands of his messy chocolate hair & up at the silver ring that he often displays on his pointer finger. 

“Are you here to scold me, oh my dear mother?” He asks to the wind, acknowledging her existence. Miss March inhales deeply as the beating of her heart starts to drown out the sound of her breath. Clasping her hands together, she tentatively begins to make her way over to the cobalt ottoman that rests near the matching couch. The room is a demure periwinkle with small etchings of leaves adding a splash of muted emerald to the room.

“No, Laurie. Your grandfather asked me to keep you company,” she tries to ease his nerves as she inches closer.

“No, he told you to keep me away from the guests as I am his greatest failure,” Laurie shoots up at her words, sitting up far too fast for his drunken mind to handle. A warbling groan of pain slips out of his mouth as he rakes his fingers through his hair & clutches his throbbing head. At the sight of his agony, Miss March rushes to him &, readjusting his legs, sits on the edge of the couch cushion, right in front of him. With a tender touch, she gently wraps her fingers around his wrists & rubs small circles with her thumb.

“Oh, shush, you’re as much of a failure as I am a dancer,” She teases him with a sympathetic smile. At her words, a small & raspy chuckle escapes his lips &, tilting his head, his celadon eyes, in which the fields of Elysium hide, gaze up at her. Hiding beneath a smoke of anger, she’s able to see the young boy that she grew up with. The young boy that she once fell in love with. He’s scared & small & all the things a child is never allowed to be. 

In this moment, as much as she despises it, she knows she must admit her faults to him & ask for forgiveness. She was cruel & unjust for bringing up Jo with the intent of spitting in his face. She hurt him with the intention of leaving a mark, & she succeeded in doing so. If he doesn’t ever forgive her, she’ll grow to understand. It won’t be an easy process, but loving Laurie has never been anything close to easy. Taking a deep breath, she shoves the racing thoughts out of her vision & looks him in the eyes.

“I apologise for what I said in the alley, concerning your feelings for Jo. I shouldn’t’ve ever used them to hurt you,” she apologises quickly, &, after speaking, immediately purses her lips together & stares at him. She waits for him to scream. To yell at her to get out. To say he hates her & never wants to see her again. To tell her he always hated her. That he only tolerated her for Jo. To say she’s stupid. She’s vile. She’s not worth Jo or Meg or Beth or Amy’s time. She waits for him to tell her the truth she’s been too scared to say to herself aloud. She waits & waits until, finally, his lips part, & he draws a quick breath.

“It’s alright. I was being mean too, and I, truly, do owe you many apologies, as well, ” he replies with a thin smile, replaying the events in his head. Ducky’s stomach squeezes as relief floods her system, & she sharply inhales while attempting to keep some kind of composure. A tight smile graces her features, slipping past her facade of propriety & decorum. 

“I’ve been spending this past year, & some odd months, wallowing in my own melancholy, but,” Laurie pauses for a moment, slouching forward so his eyes are level with Ducky’s, “but I cannot waste away my life being miserable. If money is truly of the highest concern, then marry me.” His words grab her by the neck, shove their long, spindly fingers down her throat, wrench the breath from her lungs, & pry the air out of her. Her mouth falls agape as she struggles to comb through & fully understand what he’s said.

“Laurie, I refuse-”

“You won’t have to work, nor do you have to love me, & your family will be provided for: Beth, Amy, Marmee, everyone,” he prattles on, afraid of the nearing rejection that comes when he stops to breathe. Ducky can’t hear anything other than her own heartbeat & what, to her, sounds like the faint whisper of Laurie’s voice. She can’t even hear herself think.

“You’ll be happy, I promise. Everyday I will spend in honest devotion to your happiness,” he’s breathless as he finishes his speech, &, feeling the walls begin to collapse in on her, Ducky jumps to her feet. Rushing back & forth, in front of her very eyes, are countless memories of Jo & Laurie, of the way it’s always been. Jo loves her work. Laurie loves Jo. Ducky was left to love the footprints Laurie had left while chasing after Jo. 

“Laurie, I, as a woman, must either enter a marriage for security or for love,” she whispers out as her arms wrap around her waist, squeezing her sides tightly, “while you can marry for any reason under the sun, and I will not be an accomplice in allowing you to waste that privilege.” The room grows smaller, the air between them thinner. It’s hard to breathe & her vision becomes a swirl of blues & greens with a spotty pillar of white & black wiggling around in the centre. Laurie stops, & Ducky stops. Neither move. Neither speak. Neither breathe. The walls stop moving, & everything around them fades into their shadows. They are a boy & a girl. A lady & a man, all grown up & yet the exact same as they were the day that they met. While his previous proclamations were loud & steady, the words he speaks next are a promise meant only for his lips & the spirits that hide in peoples’ breaths. 

“But I can give you both, love and security, if you’d allow me. I’ll inherit my grandfather’s wealth, and we could be happy, all of us.”

Clear on his face is the same sincerity that he’s gifted to her in every moment of embarrassment & shame. His eyes stay glued to hers. After waiting for years for him to say these words to her, she can’t help but feel his admittance is fake. That maybe his words are meant for someone smarter, braver, older, & better then she is. His words are meant for Jo.

“No, no, you don’t get to, this isn’t right,” she bites back, walking backwards & grasping for the door knob yet only finding the air between her fingers, “Stop it, Laurie, please.”. He follows her, &, in his drunken state, collides with the furniture, sending his body awry. 

“Yes, yes I can, and we both know it to be true,” he tries to correct her as he raises his hands to grip her forearms. Her shoulders immediately tense at his touch. His fingers crinkle the poofy champagne fabric that delicately floats around her skin.

“You’re acting a fool, Laurie-”

“I can, I swear on my life Y/N, I am able and I am willing and, and content to do so.”

 “-I won’t allow it, I simply cannot,” she continues to ramble on, & her finger tips brush against the cool metal of the doorknob. Laurie opens his mouth to rebuke her statement, but, before he can, her palm flies up & presses against his lips. Covering his mouth with her hand, she shakes her head as her eyes gleam with tears.

“Please, stop. It hurts, Laurie. Please, Laurie, you’re hurting me,” she pleads to him as her fingers curl around the door knob, “I cannot do it. You broke my heart once already. Is that not enough for you?” 

To watch the boy she admires fall in love with her sister, who she’s loved since the dawn of time, was a constant, real ache that left her sobbing into Beth’s chest as she begged Meg to help her & relieve her of the pain, which was an impossible task. After the middle March had left for Europe & caught word of Jo’s rejection in a letter from Beth, she had a heavy heart knowing that the two people who were connected at the hip for all of her adolescence had now grown cold & distant. It was as if she’d heard that the moon no longer followed the sun, leaving the night cold & bleak. All she has done her entire life is labour & hurt for those she loves without question or complaint. However, she cannot look Laurie in the eyes as he slurs out ideas that would’ve sent her younger self spinning & giggling with a maddening joy. She cannot withstand that pain for him. She doesn’t feel happy or sad. Nor is she angry or scared. All that she can feel is the heavy pounding of her heart & a dull ache emanating through her. The pain swallows her mind, &, while her body still remains, Ducky has clearly fled far from the room. She’s racing down the streets in her dress, seeing how far her legs will take her. 

She yanks the door open just before he can reply & heaves her body through, slamming the door shut after her. Leaning her weight against the slab of carved & varnished oak, a few tears trickle down her cheek as she chokes back a sob, not wanting to alert any guests nearby. In her mind, she’s already ran all the way back to New England. There, back in her home, she lies, hiding her tears in Beth’s dress, as her sisters practically cocoon her, protecting her & the fire from the harsh reality of the world that waits outside their loving embrace & on the other side of the oak door. 

i told you it's literally & only just angst... sorry. please like & repost :)

[whatdoyoumeanitsnotawesome]

Frankie’s story this series does a couple interesting things. again we get an Hey! Vous Autre segment where his exes spill the tea, again he’s distracted from the games, he’s no longer scoring, and he’s not around when the team isn’t playing. in s2 when Fish stopped scoring, Sanger issued the ultimatum, ‘score us a goal or you’re cut’, and it wasn’t a threat. granted, Shoresy isn’t scoring either, but it’s repeatedly pointed out that he finds other ways to contribute, which Frankie isn’t doing. he’s not skating, hitting, or fighting, he’s just floating. and we know what Shoresy and Nat think about floaters, about players who don’t hate to lose.

in @undeadasdisco’s post from 28 October 2023, they argue that “the scene where jj’s exes collectively shit on his diet and weight is not supposed to be something you agree with or like. you are supposed to come out of that scene hating the way jj is being treated.” at the time, this seemed completely correct. in light of the follow-up scene in s3, though, it now appears that it’s a set-up to establish that Frankie is a chronic floater in all aspects of his life. just like in his hockey career, he’s simply not putting any effort into his love life.

all these women are interested in him, for whatever reason, and the moment he feels like he ‘has’ them, he consistently takes their affection for granted, he behaves as a slob, he doesn’t take any care of himself, and he messes them around emotionally and cheats on them. every. time. Laurence even gave him a second chance, and he immediately squandered it by trying to get her to agree to a threesome, i. e., allowing him to sleep with someone else.

this consistent demonstration that Frankie doesn’t care about anyone but himself is the exact opposite of the ideal hockey player that Nat and Shoresy hold dear, and the opposite of their organisation’s core philosophy: by the community, for the community. Shoresy is a hockey player, so despite not wanting to, he spends his time and effort to give back to the community. Frankie is nowhere to be found during the salmon arms or the webisode. Shoresy sacrifices his body, takes injury after injury, protecting his fellow players on the ice. Frankie never once makes the same sacrifice and only scores one goal the entire tournament.

last series it appeared that Shoresy and Hitch were one end of a spectrum, wanting adult relationships and stability, with Goody and Dolo on the other end, chasin’ skirt and never looking back, and Frankie in the middle, taking his first steps from being more like the younger guys to being more like the more mature guys. this series we see that’s not the dichotomy we’ve been shown at all; rather, it’s the ideal hockey player, an acolyte of the sport, as embodied by Waffle, versus the poseur, the hockey ‘lifestyle’ guy, as embodied by Frankie.

[thelovelydoggycatmadi]

me and lions objectively correct mystreet character ranking (not clickbait fr fr)

So let me explain the ranks here a bit and why characters are in certain places:

S Tier: Characters that have a solid foundation or general character arcs that both me and Lion liked they’re story and character was enjoyable from beginning to end.

Lucinda is the only S tier character because she managed to remained both consistent character throughout the show. And while she doesn’t have a general arc that really doesn’t make her character any less likable. She’s just a silly little guy that activates the neurons.

A Tier: characters that we found really strong and compelling but have one really big glaring issue from putting them in S.

Rowan is here simply because he was really enjoyable, a genuine healthy father figure, and was just super cool to watch. His problem: lack of screen time.

Zianna has the same problem as Rowan her importance to the plot overall is also a factor.

Zane and Kc have the problems of both certain parts of there stories leaving us feeling icky. Like Zane becoming an over protective incel that sees aph as an object, or KC’s shipping shrine and canonically being a stalker.

B Tier are characters that we liked but just simply couldn’t peek are interest character wise due to one reason or another.

I’m gonna try and speed run the rest of these so:

Garroth: same problem with Zane but worse his obsession with aph even with or without the inclusion of mcd feels unearned and generally problematic. He’s goofy though and has a solid character arc with his brother

Eric and Terry: goofy and likable but nothing much outside of that also besides Rowan they are the only good parental figures in the show. (Eric is higher because he has more screen time)

Daniel: he’s voiced by ross has an interesting character concept, he’s the only werewolf character that didn’t frustrate me personally at some point. He’s just not all that important.

vlyad teony and GF captain: all interesting characters that weren’t in the show enough.

blaze: making in here on charm and charisma alone. (Also because our friend June fell in love with him, you can imagine his reaction to season 6.)

Brandon: mainly here because Lion said so.

C tier is mostly for the meh characters that we didn’t feel super strongly about for the most part.

Travis: didn’t have a decent enough character or story to really make us care in anyway. While pm seymour gave it their all it wasn’t really enough to keep us engaged.

Laurence: he has like one or two really good moments. And some laughs. Didn’t keep me or him engaged, especially after he just vanished.

from Ivy to kai: all these characters have really likable personalities and stories but they all generally had the one thing in common where they just weren’t in the show enough or there character took a direction we agreed wasn’t all that good or interesting.

Ivan: he serves his purpose as a one off villain. That’s all.

White haired girl: she just exist for a bump in the road in Aarmau.

Aphmau: none of her arcs are interesting, her personality isn’t consistent and when Jess does stick to a personality for her it’s generally not that likable.

D Tier: where hitting characters that both of us generally felt were lacking or straight up didn’t like.

Sylvanna: this may shock some of you but I’m going to be brutally honest, half of the reason y’all like her is because you HC her as being overprotective because Aaron is a groomer. Now let me be clear that’s not a problem, however that doesn’t change the fact in the actual show, it’s written more like an emotional incest situation. If Aaron being a groomer was “played straight” as it were she’d be much higher. But the canon reason of her overprotective (at least the reason were given initially) is that Aaron does a better job at taking care of Aph. It’s not because she actually fears Aph is in danger as we come to learn. It leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Nicole: didn’t like that Dante was the one punished for their break up. They even mention later that she was being unreasonable. But Dante was at fault don’t get me wrong. But she also wasn’t in the show a hole lot and from what we see of her, just didn’t stick out to us.

Michi: plot device in character form, she could’ve been so much better if her character wasn’t watered down to “Aarmau Speed Bump”

From Kacey to Nekoette: all characters that felt shoved in for plot purposes and didn’t have enough personality to make up for it. They all range of for being added for stupid reasons like another conflict or fan-service. Some of these are even combinations of those reasons plus they just have some really unlikable moments that rubbed us the wrong way or even worse did not help the plot at all by being there.

Katelyn: I’ve made it extremely clear I don’t like this character and she’s at the very bottom because I believe her offenses are worse than most characters before but don’t deserve hell tier. She technically “works through” her fantasy racism and other problems just not in a compelling or even satisfying way. Even her reasons just didn’t justify her actions for us.

HELL: characters that did morally deplorable things therefore we did not like them on principal. ONTOP of being poorly written because in this series they go hand in hand.

Rachel gaslit her son and told Melissa to get Aaron home by any means necessary and that was implied to be the blackmail Melissa got from Michi. She generally invaded his privacy and almost ruined her son and an innocent girls relationship because of toxic traditional family values. (I believe she would’ve done this with or without the ultima curse, remember, that all what I just wrote was something written before that was even conceived.) and then does a 180 when season 5 hits. We all laughed and played crab rave when she was publicly executed.

Elizabeth abandoned her kids don’t care if that part wasn’t her fault because she was sealed away because again that was written before season 4-5 (we also see Zack abandoning his kid so like it’s implied she did it before she was sealed away anyway.) Also allowed a literal demon to do experiment a on her daughter. She doesn’t get any satisfying conclusion to her villain arc and she’s part of the post credit cliffhanger.

Zack cheated on his wife and abandoned his child after experimenting on her and was Michaels right hand only to grow a conscious after the literal child abuser tells him to produce a spine. Was not in the show enough to be a “I love to hate” kinda character.

Garte and Derek are both on the list for basically the same reason neither of there characters end in a satisfying way. Dereks just worse because he directly abused Aaron verbally.

Emmalyn is here because me and Lion took her as a stand in for ghost sense they are the same character. And she SA’s Zane. Ghost also confuses the plot heavily. And made the story so hard to follow in season 6. She actively makes both the story worse both inside and out.

Ein stalked and mind controlled multiple characters and was both indirectly and directly responsible for multiple innocent peoples deaths. There’s more you could say about him but he’s just not a compelling villain. His plans are not his own, the plans he does come up with only work by chance. He’s basically if you took Michi and cranked her up to 11.

Micheal is a really bad uncompelling villain outside of MCD besides killing people and world domination or whatever. He does nothing interesting with the time he’s given.

Balto and Aaron are both different flavors of pedos. Balto tries ask aph to prom, like even if bruh was just doing it for power; what the fuck. Even if was compelling he wouldn’t be any higher.

Gene is also a pedophile and gets Ein to take pictures of her when he graduates college, which is a shame because he actually does have a compelling story but because of how problematic his flaw is we couldn’t rank him any higher.

Aaron has been talked to death about so I won’t repeat what’s been said a hundred times over. But pedophillia, mass genocide, and a general inconsistent characterization is everyone’s main problem.

Ace: Our friend Ace was in call with us, we gave her one chance to save a character from a lower tier.

Melissa: originally in hell tier for enabling her parents and taking black mail from Michi, and just not having a spine when it came to the abuse of Aaron and that part of her character being sweated under the rug as she hardly had any consequences for gaslighting him. Even going so far to say they’ve changed and have gotten better when they clearly had not. Emotionally manipulating him at almost any chance she had. The reason why she rescued her and not her other choice Aphmau is because Ace is a lesbian.

[thedemonofcat]

so, you ship Geraskier (me too) and you’ve said you’re reading the books (me too. are you going to ship Gerlion? Because I came away from the show, books, game, shipping Geraskier in the show and Geregis in the books/game. Just curious. Dandelion just feels to me like such a fundamentally different character from Jaskier. I know that’s mostly by design, seeing as Joey has had such creative control of Jaskier; but I truly feel like Dandelion/Geralt are better as the “we’re not even friends anymore we’re brothers” bond. And Geraskier is clearly coded for Jaskier to be in love with Geralt and Geralt oblivious until such time as it comes to a head since we don’t know yet what they’ll do in the show. Where Regis was just this force to Geralt that kind of hit him from the side, sacrificed himself, and left Geralt in pain from the loss; only to have pain over losing him to Dettlaff. It was just an interesting story. And based on who they have cast for Regis in the show, I am fairly sure it won’t be structured like that. I’m honestly mad at the casting because I envisioned Regis more of a Tom Ellis type. Not to get me wrong, I love the actor’s work it just doesn’t feel like Regis to me. Your thoughts? Sorry if you’ve been asked this before.

I will admit even though I have no problem with Laurence Fishburne as an actor, I do have to say I find his casting to be a tad strange since he’s just not who I would have pictured as Regis.

My theory is that maybe Laurence Fishburne is a fan of the books/games and asked to play the Regis, and because he's a recognizable name, that's why they cast him.

When doing my playthrough Of the Blood and Wine DLC. I did really come to like Regis, so I did play to get the ending where Regis lives.

I do agree that Dandelion from the books and Jaskier from the show feel like completely different characters. Since and I’m not saying this in any sort of negative way.

But Dandelion does very much feel like a product of the time the book was written.

Well, womanizers like Dandelion can be likable in their respective story often a time when you take a closer look and compare their actions as if they could exist in our world. They tend to come from a rather unlikable sometime down right despicable.

For Dandelion although the trait he seems to be most known for is womanizer tendency. Typically his near-undying loyalty to those he cares for (Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, Zoltan, Priscilla) is what makes people truly like him.

There is an interview with Joey Batey where he says that they changed Jaskier's womanizer trait to being he loves everyone that his eyes come across since he felt like That is more appropriate for what the show wants to go for.

At this point, almost nothing anyone can say to convince me that Jaskier is not in love with Geralt even if he's fully aware that Geralt will not return the feelings in the same way.

[miatartistry]

For your decision-making purposes!!

Honestly, I adored the fact that Laurence went blind. It added an additional limit to his character, as well as some twisted irony: for someone who places a lot of value on looks/first appearances, how would he have coped with not being able to see reflect on him?

It made me super angry when his blindness was just cured, straight out, even when I was younger and first watching through the series; it didn’t sit right with me. I understand that it’s a universe where magic exists, but magic should also have some limitations, so that would be a neat way to expand upon those limits!! Especially with Zoey, who’s magic is primarily healing-based; you could even go into something deeper, in which Laurence’s sight might be something that he wants but not necessarily needs.

There’s also not a whole lot of canonically disabled characters within the series, anyway, so to have part of the main cast be disabled in any manner would not only be a point for representation, BUT it would also be super fun from a writing and character building standpoint!!

How would his fighting style reflect with his lack of sight? Would he adopt one of Aphmau’s dogs as his own as a seeing eye dog/partner, seeing as his sister took one of her dogs as her own (or heck, maybe Ungrth would stick around more often, “acting as his eyes”)? How would he interact with Garroth, and how would Garroth interact with him, considering his hang ups in the beginning about showing his face? Etc etc

SO SORRY, this got long, I just feel super passionate about this subject specifically lol, and also Laurence; he’s one of my biggest comfort characters. I’m currently writing a blind character of my own, as well, so I’ve got some experience with both it’s challenges portraying it correctly + how it would fit into the narrative :D

Thank you for this amazing response!! I agree that him being blind adds a lot to his character, as someone who takes his own looks very seriously. But that’s not all that it could add. I’m not gonna spoil anything for my rewrite, but I’ll give you a hint: Laurance has a huge affinity for the earth. With this blindness, his senses would be heightened and he would notice just how uncanny this connection of his is (something he even had before this blindness but just wasn’t noticeable). As you said, vision being something he wants but he doesn’t need, just because of this natural connection he has with the Earth. Also, I just think it’d be funny if he could dodge a ditch perfectly but then run into an actual human being right after 💀

More under cut:

I also totally agree about having representation in the main cast. It felt a little weird that his sight was just healed with little to no explanation on how it was done, it almost felt like Jess thought it was an obstacle she wouldn’t be able to write around. Me personally, I’ve never written from a blind persons perspective before, except a little bit from Laurance’s POV in the first chapter of TBATD. It’s a challenge that I really do want to take on though, not only because of the representation (that I hope I can get right, if you have any sources, advice, or experiences you’d want to share let me know!), but also from a character building standpoint:

You brought up how his fighting style would be affected, which I’m thinking about too. Not only would he have to learn how to sense the battlefield, he’d also have to learn new skills and techniques. I’ll do my research and look more into how blind people can fight, but for Laurance I think that’d take a huge toll on his mental health. He has trained basically his entire life, he was the head guard of Meteli. He gets frustrated easily (not only is it just his personality, but his emotions can get sort of out of control because of his Shadow Knight situation), and the beginning of learning how to fight blind would not be easy. Of course he’d have help, presumably from Garroth (more friendship development for those two. They despise each other in my rewrite), but it’d still be super hard and he’d probably be depressed about it.

And more on his his relationship with Garroth, yeah I saw someone post something about Garroth taking off his helm off and for the first time, Laurance just silently feels his face and I think that sort of sealed the deal for me at that point. If you don’t know already, Garroth and Laurance will have a romantic relationship in my rewrite (well, as romantic as rivalry can get), so I can already imagine some really cute scenes for them if Laurance stays blind, as well as some angsty scenes.

Laurance is an amazing character and I’m happy you’re just as passionate about him as I am. He’s a comfort for me definitely lol, ever since I was kid. For your own character, update me on how it goes!! Thank you again for this response. <3

[fantomette22]

I know how to make Laurence even worse, listen:

Okay so, I think Laurence only condoned Logarius and Executioners to do Cainhurst massacre AFTER Maria's suic1de, because he knew darn well she'd cause a problem in his plan to eliminate Vilebloods (and get Umbilical Cord from Annalise). But what if!!!!!

What if Laurence COULD absolutely see Maria's suic1dal urges coming... and he LET that happen. He LET those feelings fester and bloom, he LET the doctors (Micolash maybe?????) go too hard on Adeline with experiments and cause her to give out, he LET Gehrman, the one person that could have helped to be oblivious about Maria's mental state..... pulling strings from the shadows - or not doing anything - in the ways that'd push her towards the edge, so the "problem" removes itself

Sorry, I had to share this because everyone else should suffer with me, lol. Have a good day 👍

Oh my...the ANGST !!!!!! 😭 the drama!!! LAURENCE WHY !?

Can you stop screwing people's life (and your own)... FOR 5 MINS !!!!!

Ok thanks for the ask, thanks to it I will take the occasion to finally share my headcanons about how I see their relationship across the years >:) (main headcanon, fic verse if you prefer).

So i already explain, (i think), but for me, Laurence is an extremely nuanced character. I mean by this that i don’t think he’s the ultimate devil yet but i don’t think he’s just an only poor mew mew misguided guy either, who was trap in smt out of his control. Nah for me he’s kinda a mixt/ more nuanced character who evolve a lot during his life.

So now i will share my headcanons with his relationship with Maria. Not many people talk about it and most of the takes i see are well not mine. But we don’t have much in canon so i can understand it’s tricky to imagined. But! Maria ended working at the research hall right ? (That she was in charge or under the doctors is another pb) but that mean that well there’s a connection. She joined and fight for the Healing church too! And worked with them! Hide the biggest secrets of them and Byrgenwerth! It’s not nothing! It’s s huge!

So i think at first their relationship was quite great at first! Then it spiraled down…

Let’s cut it with Byrgenwerth time, the hunter/early church era and post fishing hamlet so it’s simpler (respectively the 3fics i try to planned xD)

Byrgenwerth :

So Maria was a student here and Laurence basically one of her teachers. He’s a chill, cool and young teacher, Maria like him and think his classes are the most interesting.

Laurence had quite a harsh time on his first years studying at Byrgen so he try to be attentive to the need of his students. (He always check on Caryll, Rom etc or ask like Gehrman to check and tell him if he noticed smt weird)

Maria who don’t really have much friends at the beginning and is really often alone remind him a lot of himself at first.

But yeah funniest shit how Gehrman become close acquaintance with Maria almost the exact same way he become close acquaintance with Laurence all this years ago xD (i won’t say more about it but Laurence was quite surprised)

So anyway times pass it’s going smoothly and all the Byrgen gang hang around each other more and more (outside class too)

Maria and Caryll are still amazed that Laurence was the coolest bio and theology teacher because of what he could do when drunk xD that man was crazy (spoiler he got more serious but he become worse lol)

Also Laurence maybe accidentally save her life by giving her a free blood vial 💀(Willem don’t agree with that but he doesn’t need to know lol and hey it helped)

And later when blood was stolen from Cainhurst and Maria was completely clueless and confused he advocated for her with Gehrman. (+ advocate to cainhurst so she could stay with them + let’s be real it was first to get money to emancipate himself from Byrgen xD)

---

So a bit later when the first hunts begins? (Or a bit before idk).

Well before Laurence became a grand Vicar with tons of responsibility they all pass times as friends ! Like this yeah xD)

He gave her a freaking chalice for her exploit in the labyrinth and a blood transfusion wow!

Also i think he converted her to religion. (Or at least their religion)

Ok Let me explain. I don’t think Cainhurst are super religious? I think they’re closer to the 2.0 pthumerians. You know before the great ones were their leaders/ gods. Then they disappear and the pthumerians crown leader of their own : aka pthumerians queens and all. I think cainhurst is similar in that sense, at first. And i need to show how Laurence managed to got so many followers !

Maria’s a pyromancer and he learnt about it at some point. Quite funny how he found out even if he was suspicious of smt xD)

Maria hate that aspect of her bc she don’t want to be like the shadow of Yharnam and use her blood to hurt and kill people because smn told her to (aka royal family) she always resent that aspect of her.

Laurence think it’s incredible, that it’s a gift from the great ones! But That she could use how she want, if she want. She could used it to protect the great ones they’re looking for instead ! It’s way closer and prefer that.

That’s a big part on why she joined the healing church.

Also Laurence is this good religious figure that people follow and look for validation and the church was the guardian of the hunters after all.

---

So after the hamlet… when everything went down…

Laurence became to change even more after that. Even after he became vicar maybe he got a lil messiah complex + begin to dissociate with lot of things & people but it got worst.

Especially after our lil group loose smn quite important to them… Laurence loose it and instead of « oh maybe we should stop or be more careful so it won’t happen again » he’s like : « ok we need to make sacrifice to ascend. Let’s do it » he was one of most affected by it but… in a bad way he completely dissociated and was more and more antipathetic. He was already ok with sacrificing you know sick people, who are gonna turned into a beast anyway but a friend? Oh well… he decided he won’t go back.

While Maria spiraled more and more down…he always had reassuring words but at some points and didn’t work greatly. And her, who never question the church really begin to wonder if everything worth it. What if what they’re doing is bad and useless? + she begin to cause trouble and confront Laurence about it. He was really annoyed… at some points he even ask Gehrman to do smt about it. Anything he wanted so she would chilled out and calmed down… the hunter was really confused 💀(and freaking tired too)

So Maria and Laurence relationship become more complicated.

About the Vilebloods too… first they were allies and before Maria died they ended up fighting each others. She had to stop them in front of the grand cathedral from fighting 💀 so not good either… relations were really tense… but the massacre happened 10-20y later in my timeline so

Then what happened happened… Maria killed herself and reasearch hall was a huge mess in part bc of this. (Patients revolt and a part were already dead)

Laurence was quite shock… really. And confused. But other feel sadder of course. But he was still touched by it. A bit. It remind him that they might make the sacrifce to loose close ones. But then he needed to clean all this big messes and send a letter to cainhurst That was not a good time for him either. Still he move on. Not like one of his friends… (another story)

So there. Hope i don’t forget anything but it’s a good summary for now.

[theseshipsshallsail]

From today’s New York Times opinion columnists discussion between Bret Stephens and Gail Collins. (01/08/23)

Gail: Bret, not having really kept up on the Spacey situation, I’m going to have to defer to you. 

Bret: This is Spacey’s second acquittal, after last year’s in a case brought in New York by the actor Anthony Rapp. What bothers me is that even now, Spacey will face an “uphill battle” to get major roles again, according to a report in The Times. He’s one of the greatest actors alive, the Laurence Olivier of our day. He’s spent the last six years as persona non grata. He’s been declared not guilty by two juries in two countries. I think his case, like that of Armie Hammer, will be remembered as another ugly instance of #MeToo opportunism. To borrow a line from Raymond J. Donovan, Ronald Reagan’s unjustly indicted labor secretary, to which office does he go to get his reputation back?

Sorry, I had to rant. I hope some major Hollywood director has the guts and grace to give him a starring role.

Gail: Rant away! And as I said, I’m following your lead on this one. Except for your #MeToo swipe. The whole #MeToo opportunism reference hurts me.

Sorry, Gail, much as it physically pains me to agree with the Republican, but the truth doesn’t care about your hurt feelings 🤷‍♀️

[dante-enthusiast]

Gene refuses to help the others make amends with Dante because they were the ones who PROMISED to take him with them and then didn’t. He’s not going to baby a bunch of people who abandoned his brother for months and caused his anxiety to get so bad he had a crisis even if he feels bad for them.

Like yeah the starlight people have massive amounts of trauma to work through, but also they didn’t know anything was going to happen. They thought it was a fun/happy vacation, they didn’t purposefully spare Dante and Laurence the events they went through. It doesn’t absolve them of abandoning them to go to a resort, and they don’t “get points” for sparing Dante and Laurence that trauma.

HOW DID I JUST SEE THIS ..

but yea i agree, its not anyones fault really for dantes immense break down over his separation anxiety or the trauma that was induced on the islands but then again dante would have all the right to be upset at them too.

[m-myrddin]

Laurence “The Hound” Everick

Roles: Member of The Council - Head of Investigation

(He/Him)

Patron Deities: Earth

When Laurence was first appointed to The Council, his title was very nearly “The Banshee.” This idea was scrapped in favour of the much more fitting title of “The Gods Bloodhound” or simply “The Hound.” A title that derives not only from the shape of his soul, but also from his strong sense of smell and tracking capabilities. Before joining The Council, Laurence was known within the Clan for being able to quickly find monsters while on The Hunt. When groups would head out to clear the area near the Clans home, they would often ask Laurence if he was available to come with them to make it easier, assuming that he himself was not already out on The Hunt. 

Because of his simple title, Laurence has garnered the reputation for being the weakest and least intimidating member of the Alzanar Clans Council. A reputation that does not at all reflect the true nature of things. However, it works in his favour. People do not expect for him to have the skill he has in a fight, nor do they expect to feel the chill of fear that runs down their spine during his pursuit of them. Laurence, like many of the rest of The Council, is relentless. It is a trait favoured by their Disciple, and reflected in her (and the Gods) selection. 

Likes: 

His own cooking (no one else agrees)

Keeping strange things in his pockets (once pulled out a live rat and handed it to the person he was talking to because he “didn’t want it there anymore.”)

Fashion

Swords

Dislikes:

Sparrow meat

Rats

Being alone

Physical Description:

6′1

Out of all of the members of The Council, Laurence is the most well groomed. He loves to dress nice, and can often be found in clothing that is as close to modern day High Fashion as it gets. It’s not uncommon to see Laurence utilizing things that would often be seen on field or herding dogs. One of his most beloved accessories is a necklace designed after the anti-wolf collar. 

Laurence himself is incredibly sharp looking. There is not an inch of him that is round or soft. Many people are a bit intimidated by the intense look in his eye that he carries around with him on the day to day. He keeps the stubble on his face just as well groomed as the rest of him, though his boyfriend, Damien, often complains about the scratch of it. 

Despite his strength and powerful build, Laurence has the appearance of a lanky man with little meat on his bones, a fact not helped by his habit of wearing clothes slightly too big for him that accentuates his height and the unusual length of his limbs.  

Laurence is one of the lower ranking members of The Council and doesn’t have as many piercings to boast as others. 

Right eyebrow piercing

Vertical labret

Septum

Lobe

Helix and mid helix 

Industrial 

Because of his lower ranking, Laurence may not wear large jewelry during traditional or formal occasions, despite his preference to do so. Instead, he wears smaller spikes, studs, and hoops in his piercings and makes up for their lack of flamboyancy by shining them until they are perfect and commissioning them to be made in bright colours. 

Laurence has a surprising lack of scars compared to many other Hunters. Many people wonder just how he managed to avoid the beatings that everyone else takes, which he attributes to dumb luck. The fact of the matter is, nearly every single one of his scars are located somewhere that makes it very easy for him to cover them up. 

Large claw marks in the center of his back

Precisely four stab wounds in a near perfect circle on his left shoulder

Another stab wound on his stomach 

A large skin graft on his right thigh, slightly paler than the rest of him

A burn mark in the perfect shape of a hand on his right side 

A slash starting from his left hip bone approximately 7 inches long

Fun fact: Despite the fact that Hunters spend a lot of time out on the road and cooking for themselves, Laurence is horrendous at it. Most people outright refuse to eat anything that he cooks for them out of fear of falling ill. However, Laurence believes himself to be a fantastic cook, and often prefers his own cooking over anything else. Those around him believe that he has simply eaten so much of his own cooking that his tastebuds have shriveled up and died. Some even joke that his cooking was so horrendous it gave him enough brain damage that it tricked itself into thinking it was good. Whatever the cause, Laurence eats every meal he cooks for himself like its the best thing he has ever tasted. 

Want to get a general feel of his vibe? Here are a couple songs from his playlist to get started:

Shut Eye - Stealing Sheep 

Way of the Triune God - Tyler Childers 

My Name is Bocephus - Hank William Jr. 

See the Light - Ghost

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Any more transfem Aaron hcs?

She listens to audio books of cheesy teen novels to fully get the female experience. She would read them but her eyesight is shitty. She also reads adult female fiction but refuses to touch coho because the vibes are off there.

She let Aphmau wax her once and never again. That shirt hurt and she’s done. She’s over it.

One of the reasons she hated having her hair shaved as a kid (which was a regular punishment, thanks to Derek) was because it made her look too much like a boy, though she didn’t really know that was why at the time.

Shaving her facial hair is oddly the most dysphoric experience of her life. And she knows cis women can also get facial hair so she doesn’t get why that specifically is so icky for her. She gets Garroth to do it for her instead, and, added bonus, she gets a kiss at the end so it’s all cool.

She will never wear a dress. Does she want to? Yes. But she’s too afraid of them riding up and showing more than she wants shown so she won’t. Aphmau has told her of body/fashion tape but she just doesn’t trust it enough.

I’ve mentioned it before, but being called pretty just really flusters her. It’s just a compliment that she really likes. And she is naturally really pretty, like she’s got a pretty face.

One reason she’s glad she’s trans is that she’s got really thick eyelashes. Because dudes always have really nice eyelashes, and as a former dude, so does she. And they give her loads of bragging rights with Aphmau.

Oddly euphoric thing, she looks like her mother more than she looks like Derek. And Rachel used to be an actress. So whenever she sees people talk about how gorgeous Rachel is, she always takes it as a compliment to herself.

She also likes showing off her cleavage a lot. Mostly because I like to draw it. But also because she thinks it helps her look more feminine, and whilst total femininity isn’t her goal, it’s close enough.

Milf.

She was really annoyed that some of her video games wouldn’t let her change them into girls. Because like… she wants to put her game characters in pretty skirts because she’s too scared to wear them herself and most of them don’t allow skirt options for male characters.

She’s starting growing out her nails. She bites them a little though so they remain at a pretty consistent size.

Laurence does her hair all nice for her a lot because she can’t do the fancy styles on herself. He’s familiar with styling long hair because of both his own hair and he used to have to help out Cadenza with hers. So he just seems the best choice to ask for help from.

She smokes like a sexy brunette French woman from a black and white film.

Aphmau thinks she’d like Lana del ray if she liked normal people music. She doesn’t agree.

She does however like Siouxsie and the banshees, and bauhaus and stuff like that. Which isn’t transfem aaron specific but like it’s notable.

Laurence bought her a fluffy pink diary as a joke for her first birthday after coming out and she beat him with it.

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hi, it’s me, Fanfic Anon #2. Have a great week everyone!

“Hello?” Brigitte picked up the phone without checking her caller ID.

“Hi, maman,” Laurence greeted her mother.

“Darling! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Brigitte asked with a beaming smile, always happy to hear from her children.

“I need a favor from you and Manu,” Laurence sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Anything, you know that,” Brigitte reassured.

“So, Emma got in trouble for lying today at school -“

“That doesn’t sound like her,” Brigitte interrupted with a frown.

“That’s what I said!” Laurence agreed with her mother. “So I asked Emma for clarification and she informed me that they were going over Presidents of the Republic today and got overheard by the teacher telling her best friend that her Daddy was the the President right now.”

“And the teacher didn’t believe her?”

“Gave her a detention when Emma refused to back down or apologize!”

“Phone number or email?” Brigitte asked, cutting to the chase.

“I’m sorry?” Laurence was confused by the sudden turn.

“Do you have her phone number or her email? We’ll take care of this.”

“Maman, don’t scare her too badly,” Laurence warned.

“I am a teacher too, have a little confidence in me,” Brigitte said a little offended.

“You’re not the one I’m worried about,” Laurence.

“Don’t worry about him, I can handle him,” Brigitte told her with an audible smirk.

“You’re not the one I’m worried about,” Laurence repeated with a laugh.

“Tell Emma we’ll take care of this, and that we love her very, very much.”

“Thanks, maman. Thank Manu for me too. Love you both,” she said before providing the teacher’s email address.

“We love you too, my darling. Talk soon,” Brigitte dismissed as she hung up.

He looked up the second he heard her knock (to anyone else it would have just been a knock, but he knew her signature anywhere). “Come in, chérie!” He called out to her with a smile on his face.

“Hi, chéri, have a moment?” She asked, popping her head in the door.

“For you, I have all the moments,” he smirked back.

“Hold that thought,” she warned as she approached.

“Why? What’s up?” He asked, pouting that his wife didn’t want to play.

“It’s about Emma-“

“What happened?” He cut her off, immediately getting into protective Daddy mode.

“So apparently they’re learning about Presidents of the Republic at school right now, and Emma mentioned to her best friend that her Daddy is the president -“

“Aww,” he smiled, proud that his granddaughter loved him so much she was talking about him, about them like that.

“Yeah,” she smiled too, “but unfortunately her teacher became convinced that Emma was lying because ‘Mr. Macron doesn’t have children.’”

“The hell I don’t!”

“I know, mon cœur,” she reassured. “But when Emma refused to back down or apologize -“

“As she should!”

“She got in trouble. Laurence wants us to email the teacher to rectify the situation.”

“Give me her email -“

“Oh, no, chéri. You’re not going rogue on this.”

“I’ll be nice!” He protested.

“You’ll be Emma’s over protective grandfather. Which I love, and she loves, and Laurence loves, but this teacher won’t love.”

“Fine. What do you want to do?”

“Send her an email from your official address explaining we heard about the situation and wanted to clear it up?” She suggested gently.

“Fine,” he huffed a little disappointed, pulling out the phone connected to the inbox.

“Dear Emma’s Teacher,” he read aloud as he drafted, aware his wife was probably able to read the screen with her face pressed close to his over his shoulder.

“We were informed that during your lesson on Presidents of the Republic earlier today, Emma was caught discussing her grandparents in class. It’s our understanding that you were skeptical of Emma’s claim, which has upset our granddaughter to the point she has asked us to clarify this with you.

“Please accept this email as confirmation that we are, in fact, Emma’s grandparents. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.

“Sincerely,

Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron

AKA Emma’s Mamie and Daddy”

“Perfect,” Brigitte confirmed with a kiss to his cheek. “Send.”

He did so and dropped the phone to the table, turning around to better look at his wife. “How upset is she?”

“Upset enough to have Laurence call us for a favor.”

“Let’s call her before dinner.”

“That’s well after her bedtime, chéri.”

“I’ll come home early then. I don’t ever want her to feel ashamed because of us.”

“Oh, mon cœur, I think it was the exact opposite that got us in this situation,” she reassured, slipping a hand to his cheek reassuringly.

“I love you so much. Thank you for giving me this family.”

“Our family,” she corrected gently, “and it wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Hellooo fanfic Anon #2! ❤️

Oh my heart, the sweetness of this 🥺 I love when Emmanuel activates “daddy protective mode” 😍🫠

“You are not going rogue on this” hahaha I just imagine the type of email angry daddy would send to the teacher 😅😂

Thank you so much, fanfic Anon #2! ❤️❤️❤️

[loki-draws-art]

More session doodles, this time from the penultimate finale have some long ass descriptions of each

1) Icarus reunites with his mother and talk (Momma Umbriton can’t talk as she doesn’t have a larynx or tongue but somehow Icarus was really good at reading lips). She makes him promise to stay happy and she tells him that she’s proud of him.

Immediately after their conversation, this takes place:

[…] “That's enough Mommy-Son time, don't you think?” […] Wilbrand then says to her, “Now say goodbye to your son.” and pulls out a pistol and cocks it, pointing it at (the back of) her head. Icarus [..] screams “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Wilbrand simply states, “Careful, it might go off if you mess with it.” [..] Icarus reiterates his question, "What are you doing?" "Taking care of things, but don’t worry, you’ll see her again." “Will I?” Wilbrand shrugs. “You really asked me to come here, to see my mother, JUST SO YOU KILL HER IN FRONT OF ME?” “Yep. Like this-” And he shoots her in the back of her skull, as Icarus screams “NO!!!”. Her body falls to the floor right in front of Icarus.

(This one fucked me up big time)

2) “Cletus tried to convince Orion not to hop into the fight against Wilbrand, but when he wouldn’t listen after about a solid 30 seconds, Cletus tried to push him away, but Orion fought back. Thus Cletus doing is thang and knocking out a bitch.” DM’s words

TLDR: Orion is worried about his bf and apparently almost plays hero but Cletus grabbed a stair pole and knocked him tf out before he could.

3) Post fight

After killing his father and uncle, and sending his mother off with a prayer, Icarus leaves the house only to break down a few feet away.

Meanwhile Laurence walks into where Orion and Cletus were and found Orion KO’d on the floor. After waking him up, Orion almost darts back into the room where the fight took place, but Laurence stopped him and tells him Icarus is outside the house, to which Orion runs out.

Orion, usually subtle when making any entrance, full body tackles Icarus and they both land on the ground. Sobbing ensues from the both of them, complete with Icarus blubbering apologies for everything he’s done to Orion, Orion forgiving him (albeit saying he’s still mad which Icarus understands). Orion manages to say through tears that he wants to start over with Icarus, to which Icarus agrees. Orion then asks Icarus if he wants to join him in stargazing (it’s a pastime/activity of theirs). Icarus accepts. They kiss. Session ends.

[hannibutts]

HANNIBAL SPOILERS S02E13

Ooh nice intro of Jack and Hannibal basically telling Will the same thing and Will agreeing with both of them.

BLINDING INTRO

Garrett Jacob Hobbes? Oh because of the killing of the deer thing - so like Will killing of the serial killer side of himself? Or is it because it was GJH who opened that door for Will in the first place, not only because he was Wills first kill, but because he got too close to how GJH thought… and then semi adopted his daughter?

Oh man if I was Bella I would have not let Hannibal in my house after he didn’t let me die. She gets some Barbs in but yikes.

If someone had not let me die - I would not let them into my house OR ask them to save my husband after I’m gone. I’d kick them in the dick, looking at you, Hannibal.

Freddie Lounds (booo)

Will just wants to keep Abigail out of Freddie’s filthy mouth.

Oh shit Hannibal can smell Freddie on Will. RUN BITCH

Oh yeah where has Alana (boo) been this whole time? Doesn’t Hannibal notice she’s not around. Cool visuals on the poisoned by darkness stuff. Wait, is she crying blood or is that just for visual effect?

Aw Hannibal sweetheart, he’s begging Will to run away with him. He knows something dodgy is happening with the whole Freddie Lounds thing so he’s trying to avoid whatever he thinks Will is planning about jack. That or it’s a trap, who fucking knows with these guys.

Oh shit, I was wondering when all of this was gonna bite jack in the ass. But he’s still going to go no? Especially since we’ve seen him and Hannibal go at it.

Oh NOW Alana sticks up for Will 🙄

Man BureauCynthia is missing the big picture here but living up to her name.

Welp at least Alana had the decency to warn Will the FBI was out to arrest him and Jack.

OH SHITTTTT - Will called Hannibal like how Hannibal called Garrett Jacob Hobbes! Did Will know about that or was it just coincidence? Literal chills

Ooh baby we’re back to the brawl. Let’s do this shit.

Jesus. Hannibal fighting in a tight white button down 👀

Alana placing herself in the middle. She gon get herself killed.

Dannng Laurence Fishburne in boxer stance 👀 am I too horny for this show because I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be side eyeing so much during this fight…

Oh haha this is the daintily throwing himself at the door thing 😂 even when he’s supposed to be brutal, Mads moves so elegantly, it was such a perfect casting.

“In your defence, I worked very hard to blind you” I bet you did Hannibal 👀 at least he’s trying to spare Alana from feeling like she was an idiot…

Oh Jesus but he took her bullets… that’s fucking horrifying her just clicking desperately.

ABIGAIL??! OH MY FUCKING GOD ABIGAIL JUST PUSHED ALANA OUT THE WINDOW WHAT THE FUCK

Ok look, I dislike Alana but she didn’t deserve that but also she probs should have mentioned to Will that Abigail is alive and feeling Pushy… but you can forgive Alana considering she’s probably fucked or at least paralysed by the looks of it.

Dang Jack is losing a lot of blood.

Is Abigail a Trojan horse again with Will?

W to H “You were supposed to leave”

Oh shit, Will still has some allegiance to Hannibal, he wanted Hannibal to escape no matter what but Hannibal is too fucking obsessed with Will and now Jack and Alana are probably dead.

Aw Hannibal holding Will’s face so sweetly-OH MY FUCKING GOD HANNIBAL JUST FUCKING GUTTED WILL WHAT THE FUCK MAN WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS???

H- “Did you believe you could change me the way I change you?”

W- “I already did”

Fuck me this show.

MY POOR BLACK HEART CANT TAKE THIS - HANNIBAL JUST FUCKING RIPPED ABIGAIL THROAT OPEN INFRONT OF WILL WHILE WILL BEGGED HIM NOT TO. I am speechless.

Oh my god I am in tears, Will is holding in his guts with one hand and holding in Abigail’s throat with the other 😭😭😭

If Will would have gone with Hannibal, Hannibal would have present A I hail as a gift to Will and they would have gone away together with their daughter 😭😭😭😭

Gratuitous shot of Hannibal standing the rain while his Adam apple bobs, even I’m not horny for this after all of that (narrator: this was in fact a lie).

Hannibal just casually walking away in the rain looking all hot and stuff and not even glancing down at Alana.

Will’s killer instinct deer dying can only be a good thing no?

CREDITS? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN CREDITS????

EDIT - THERE WAS A FUCKING AFTER CREDIT SCENE OF HANNIBAL ON A FRENCH PLANE WITH BEDELIA THQT I HADNT SEEN

[idv-news-boi]

*slides in* *hands you pen pal AU from that one au list* sorry I just had the sudden thought of Laurence and Yami being pen pals. Lau seems like he’d be a silly pen pal, drawing silly faces on his notes before sending them. Just him trying to make Yami smile with his notes because that boy has ✨ severe social anxiety ✨

Like just imagining Lau sliding the letters underneath Yami’s door is so??? It’s cute, it’s funny and it’s kind of sweet ꒰⑅•ᴗ•⑅꒱ I honestly think they should interact more without Angel going all chihuahua mode on poor Laurence/lh - yami

// ngl,,, I love this AU,,,, I agree that they deserve to have some sweet interactions,,, <333

Also dw, Angel is not a jealous-menacing type, if Yami doesn’t mind Lau approaching him for talks it’ll be fine hdhhdhd /ih

[pheonixdrop]

Gene was pretty certain Laurence was mulling over executing him, hence why he bothered with the saying “you won’t be able to hurt me in a way that matters.” because Laurence can’t. He’s already felt more pain than someone should be able to fit in a lifetime. He has no dread left for torture. There is nothing left to do to him. There isn’t any point to delaying his second end.

Except instead of being lead to a guillotine or axeman, he’s dragged to phoenix drop to be watched over by his brother. Gene has no idea why Dante agreed to it, so he assumes that Laurence made some sort of deal and Dante’s going to be the one to kill him. Which sounds fitting enough to Gene, so he doesn’t protest that much.

They don’t really talk for a bit because Dante doesn’t know how to approach him and Gene waiting for him to get it over with. The first conversation they have is Gene asking why Dante’s waiting so long to kill him. Is the ground too frozen to bury him? Which leads to a couple confused conversations about what’s supposed to happen because Gene is under the assumption that Dante hates him. There’s no way he has any love left for him after everything that’s happened. Why is he here if not for Dante to get revenge?

Does Dante take that as like. Gene mocking him?