#adding to the whole are they tamed or domesticated thing

[blackbackedjackal]

Even though they’re raised on fur farms, ranched foxes still fall under wildlife import & export restrictions because they’re not domesticated. 

[t-lostinworlds]

Big, Hormonal Heart | Bucky Barnes

》 PAIRING: bucky barnes x pregnant!female!reader

》 TROPE/GENRE: established relationship (marriage), fluff fluff fluff

》 SUMMARY: It'd probably take more than one lifetime for Bucky to list reasons why he was so lucky to call you his wife. He was certain your big heart was one of them. One that grew even more with pregnancy hormones. It was sweet, how you to got so upset when they got his order wrong. Your meal was perfectly fine. But when his wasn't? Oh it was a crime.

》 WARNINGS: pregnancy, a dog named Snow and Alpine the cat, pet names (doll, baby, my love, sweetheart), emotional!r (she cries. like, most of the fic), husband!bucky being the sweetest, domesticity and just overall fluff (pretty tame fic ngl)

》 WORD COUNT: 2.5k+

A/N: this idea was super random. i saw an insta reel of a pregnant woman having mood swings over some food and then everyone was sharing their experiences in the comments and i got inspired so here ya go alksalkss. DISCLAIMER! I'm not pregnant nor have i ever been lol. I did as much research as i could but still, don't count on me to be 100% accurate.

++ ALSO this was written in just a few hours. this isn't my best work. just something i wanted to write as an exercise since i haven't written anything in months. anyways, i hope you enjoy!

📍 BLOG NAVIGATION ✩ B. BARNES MASTERLIST ✩ MAIN MASTERLIST ✩

⊱ ─────.⋅♚ *｡･ﾟ.★. *｡･ﾟ✫*.

Bucky Barnes was one lucky man.

If someone had told him years ago that he was going to live in a quaint home in the suburbs, a lovely backyard space for a dog and a cat to enjoy, and that he'd be married to the absolute love of life, an angel on earth who was now carrying his first child—

He honestly would've stared at them dead in the eye, wondering how someone could make such a cruel joke.

Yet here he was, actually living it, a life that seemed so much like a dream.

Though he was quickly reminded of how real this was as he stood in the nursery, glaring at the manual that came with the crib you two had bought from the furniture store.

It looked simple enough at first—putting together ready-made pieces should be easy, right?

Wrong.

Not when you have countless amounts of screws that more or less looked the same but were actually not because each served a different purpose. 

He was in the middle of figuring out how to install the legs to the main base when you walked into the room with your two bodyguards—Alpine the Cat and Snow the five-year-old Samoyed—in tow.

"How's it going, handsome?" you hummed as you reached his side, arms wrapping around his waist, your warmth immediately easing the frustration he had about this goddamn crib.

"It's…" he sighed, gesturing at the wooden pieces scattered around the floor. "Going."

You laughed at that, kissing his clothed shoulder before standing in front of him.

Bucky held your waist then, pulling you as close as he could given that your baby bump was in the middle of you both.

He honestly couldn't begin to express how much comfort and warmth covered his whole being every time he was met with the absolute love in your eyes.

And Bucky was sure his gaze shined the same.

So many people have pointed it out on numerous occasions, the twinkle in his eyes every time they land on you—his beautiful wife.

"I was thinking," you murmured, resting your hands on his chest, moving up his shoulder and down again in a sweet caress. "How about a quick break while we order some food?"

It was only about an hour after lunch, so Bucky wasn't particularly keen on filling his stomach some more.

But you, on the other hand, were nearing the end of your second trimester. It wasn't out of the norm for you to be hungry at this time, given you were eating for two. Plus, there was an added layer that your little peanut probably had some super soldier serum in their DNA—the baby's appetite could be enhanced for all he knew.

Other than that, the last thing Bucky wanted was an angry and hungry pregnant wife. So it wasn't really a hard decision to make.

"Okay, let's get you something to eat," he said.

Ever the observant person that you were, you quickly noticed his choice of words.

"For me?" you asked, brows furrowed. "You're not hungry?"

Bucky shook his head. "Not really."

Your bottom lip went.

He instantly knew he said the wrong thing.

"But I'm hungry," you murmured, eyes starting to glisten.

He could never explain it even if he tried, but whenever you got upset, your bodyguards always seemed to notice it. The two have always been protective of you and that only grew tenfold when you got pregnant.

Today wasn't an exception.

Snow barked at him, whining his complaints as he put his fifty-pound body between your legs, slightly pushing Bucky back. The furball was well trained though, so his protectiveness never went too far beyond being vocal about it. Alpine, on the other hand, was sitting a foot away, glaring at Bucky—quite the traitor given that she was supposed to be his cat, but he couldn't blame her for loving you, either—as if she knew it was his fault you were upset.

But still, Bucky wasn't quite sure what he'd done wrong.

"I know, sweetheart," he said slowly, a little confused, trying to navigate around Snow who was pawing at his leg as if trying to push him further away. "I'll order some food for you."

"But you're not hungry," you repeated, body slumping with sadness.

"I'm not," he agreed, quickly cupping your face when a tear slipped from your eyes. "But hey, hey, that doesn't mean we can't still order food for you, doll."

"No, I know," you sniffled.

"So, what's making you upset, hmm?"

You buried your face in his chest with a shaky breath as you said,

"I don't want to eat alone."

Bucky paused, pressing his lips and swallowing down a laugh because he couldn't have you thinking he was making fun of you. He wasn't. But you were so adorable it made his chest ache.

"Okay, okay," he hummed, kissing the side of your head as he rubbed your back in comfort. "I'll order something for me, too."

•••

A few minutes later, your little family migrated to the living room. You both were sitting on the couch together, the two furballs sprawled at your feet as a random show played on TV. Various take-out bags covered the coffee table, way too many for two people but hey, that's what fridges and microwaves are for.

Fondness filled Bucky's bones as he watched you settle your food on your lap, doing what he called your Cravings Satisfied Wiggle.

He couldn't contain his chuckle.

You looked at him with furrowed brows, words a little muffled with your mouth full. "What?"

"Happy?" he asked, reaching over to wipe the sauce on the corner of your mouth.

"Very much," you giggled, eyes wrinkling at the corners.

Even after all these years, the sight of your pure joy still made his heart stutter, chest growing warmer when you leaned closer with a pout.

Bucky met you halfway for a short yet sweet kiss.

"Thank you," you hummed, even though there was no need for you to thank him for ordering you food.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Reaching over the table, he took the one and only paper bag that was for him, because again, he wasn't that hungry.

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" You turned to him in concern.

"It's not a big deal," he reassured with a smile, shrugging because it really wasn't. "They got mine wrong."

You frowned. "You didn't get the nuggets?"

"No, they give me the burger meal," he said. "They must've misheard me.

Bucky immediately perked up when your lips started to tremble.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, cupping your face to wipe away your tears.

"You—" you sniffled. "You didn't get your nuggets."

Bucky pressed his lips to stop a smile.

God you were so fucking cute.

"It's okay, baby," he soothed. "I'm fine with a burger, too."

You cried even harder.

Snow and Alpine quickly stood, all alert and concerned as they nudged your leg.

"You wanted the nuggets, Bucky," you insisted, choking back a sob. "But you didn't get it."

He carefully pulled you closer, rubbing your back in comfort as you laid your head on his shoulder. "I know, but it's okay—"

"No, it's not!" you protested, all teary and frustrated, pulling away to glare at him. "You deserve to get what you want. Y-You deserve all the good things after e-everything."

Bucky might honestly start crying too with how sweet you were being.

"Oh doll, come here," he placated, pulling you in for a hug while trying to navigate the food on your lap.

He could take it away for safety, but he'd already learned his lesson the hard way. Taking food away from a pregnant woman was a death sentence.

"I want you to be happy," you sniffled, burying your face against his neck. "You wanted the nuggets and they disrespected that."

It took so much for him not to let out a chuckle. Because as much as Bucky hated to see you crying and upset, he couldn't deny how adorably funny this whole conversation was.

But you'd always had the biggest heart. Whether that was crying over those rescue animal videos, emotional scenes in movies, to feeling upset over something he was experiencing—your empathy was always high.

What more with the pregnancy hormones in the mix?

"How about I ask them to change it?"

Again, wrong thing to say.

He needed to get better at this.

"But they're probably so stressed and overworked already," you sobbed. "A-And it's about to rain. I don't want the delivery guy to get wet in the rain. T-They already don't get paid enough."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he hummed, rubbing your back. "Will you look at me, my love?"

You lifted your head then, Bucky's heart aching at the absolute distress on your features—pout in full play, eyes a little bloodshot with tear stains on your skin.

He cupped your cheeks with a soft smile, placing gentle kisses all over your face, unrelenting until you let out a whine of protest. He stopped then, thankful to see that you'd calmed down now.

"I promise you, the burger meal is perfectly fine with me. I'm not mad or upset about it. I don't mind it at all," he said.

You took a calming deep breath and nodded. It only took a second for you to look at him sheepishly.

"Sorry I overreacted," you whispered, embarrassed.

"Hey, none of that," he lightly scolded. "All the emotions you're feeling will always be valid."

You smiled, small yet sweet, leaning in and kissing him with as much gratitude as you could muster.

"Besides, it makes me feel so honored to know that you're willing to fight for my chicken nugget rights."

"Shut up, Barnes."

•••

You and Bucky always had a nightly routine and it usually consisted of the two of you getting ready for bed in your own different ways. They were intertwined, but not exactly the same. Like you'd be doing some skin care in the bathroom while he would be brushing his teeth.

But ever since you got pregnant, your routine became more in sync.

It usually started with a bath that he'd run for you. Most of the time he'd end up joining you, the length of said bath varying since that usually depended on what mood you were in. Bucky was always at the service of meeting his wife's needs, after all.

Recently, now that your bump wasn't particularly easy to navigate, he'd helped you get ready for bed. From getting dressed to your skin care, including rubbing some moisturizer on your stomach. That part was one of his favorite things to do.

Then it was the typical things, getting dressed, brushing your teeth—this one you stopped him from doing it for you even though he was more than willing—and overall just getting ready for bed.

Once you’d settled on the pregnancy pillow that Bucky fluffed up for you, he'd sit near the foot of the bed to give your sore feet a massage while you read a book.

Tonight, right when he was in the middle of doing that, he heard you sniffle.

Bucky looked up in concern, catching you already staring at him with tears already in your eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking you over. "Does something hurt?"

"No, I-I'm okay. I just—" You cut yourself off with a sob.

Bucky quickly moved beside you, pulling you onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around your form. You buried your face into the crook of his neck, body shaking as you cried.

"Hey, hey, talk to me," he murmured against your hair. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's just—" You let out a shaky breath. "You're always taking care of me."

"Of course, sweetheart, you're my wife," he said. "And not only because it's my duty as your husband, but because I love you so much."

That made you cry even harder.

"I l-love you too, so much," you sobbed. "But I haven't been able to take care of you lately and that's not f-fair."

Bucky felt his heart grow as if it wasn't already bursting at the seams.

How could someone be so selfless and sweet?

"You're pregnant, my love," he stated the obvious reason as to why. "Besides, I'm capable of taking care of myself. It's alright."

"No, it's not," you argued, pulling away slightly to face him. "You deserve to be taken care of, too! You deserve to get pampered a-and a break but you're always fussing over me and taking care of me instead. I'm not helping with any of it. I'm just making it harder for you."

"No, absolutely not," he stated firmly, holding your face in his hands, wiping your tears away with his thumbs. "I love taking care of you. It honestly makes me feel so fulfilled and happy when I do."

"Really?" you sniffled.

"Yes. It's the least I could do with everything that you've been going through right now," he said truthfully, adding with a chuckle, "Hell, if I could carry our baby so you wouldn't have to go through all the pain I would."

That earned him a small laugh.

"But I want to take care of you, too," you admitted after a deep breath.

"You already are," he hummed, thumb stroking your cheek lovingly. "You're taking care of our baby and my heart, and those are very important to me."

You scrunched up your nose adorably.

"That was so cheesy."

"But it's true, though."

You smiled, cupping his face. Bucky turned his head to kiss your palm.

"Thank you," you sighed fondly. "For putting up with me and for everything."

"First off, I'm not putting up with anything," he reassured, kissing your other palm before adding, "Second, you never have to thank me for taking care of you. Never."

You nodded, leaning closer to press your lips against his, pouring all your love and gratitude into it. Bucky kissed you back with the same fervor, never needing words to express what you truly feel for each other.

He felt so content—feeling your lips, your fingers tangled in his hair, and your little peanut asking for attention too, kicking the second Bucky rested hand on your bump.

When you let out a soft, needy whine, he was ready to take the kiss even further.

That was until a wet tongue met his cheek.

Bucky groaned in annoyance, pulling away to see Snow giving you a kiss, too. He couldn't be angry at the dog for ruining the moment when your lovely laugh echoed in the air. Alpine jumped on the bed a second later, nudging her head against Bucky's chin before walking over to place a loving paw on your bump.

His smile was as bright as it could be as he watched the scene before him.

A wonderful home, a wholesome family that involved his beautiful, loving wife and two furballs, his family that was only getting bigger in a few months—

Yeah.

Bucky Barnes was one lucky man.

✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ♛ *.

↬ thank you for reading lovely! reblog & leave a comment if you enjoyed! feedback is always appreciated! ++ consider supporting me on ko-fi if you can!

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[deakyjoe]

Somebody’s Watching Me Epilogue

Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Reader (“Sarge”, she/her pronouns, British, backstory)

Category: slowburn coworkers to friends to lovers with grumpy x sunshine dynamic/idiots in love

Summary: Five years later.

Warnings: domestic things, British/slang terminology

Word count: 700ish (a baby to finish the story)

A/N: Well, it’s been a long journey. And it has been months since I posted the last part. But here we are! At the end! Finally! Thank you for coming along for ride, I’m so grateful for every single one of my readers. I hope you’ve enjoyed Simon and Sarge’s story. And just because their main storyline is over doesn’t mean I won’t post other little things for them in the future.

Consider buying me a coffee :)

"Sarge, I'm telling you that it's fine. They just repackaged it. I'm sure it tastes the same."

You pushed the carton of juice away from where it was being waved in your face. "No! Look! It says that they added a whole extra apple to the recipe."

Simon sighed frustratedly and lowered the carton. "That's good, you love apples."

You groaned, hating it when he was right. "But it's going to taste different. And I hate change!" You almost hated it as much as when he was right and you were wrong, which you'd never admit.

"Do you want the apple juice or not?"

You ignored him and put the carton with your other items of shopping, walking away before Simon could comment.

He caught up to you quickly, his strides much longer than yours. “That was the last thing, let’s go and pay.”

You didn’t answer verbally, just nodded and knew he was smirking at your stubbornness. Simon had always hated the fact that he’d never been able to tame the brat out of you. But you thought your naturally stubborn nature was a good thing. It was the trait that got you to where you were now with your lieutenant.

You joined the back of the line behind an elderly couple and began placing your shopping on the conveyor belt, Simon rearranging it all as you did it to make it look neater.

He insisted his way was more efficient.

You let him believe that.

It didn’t escape your notice when the woman in front of you turned to look at you both as you bickered about the way a two litre bottle should face.

“This way is better, Sarge.” Simon huffed, turning it around.

“But it rolls around that way!” You replied, exasperated.

“Fine. You should be glad I’m so fond of you.”

You scoffed. “I bloody well hope so after all this time. Fond of me? Fond!”

He sent you one of his radiant smiles that you were one of the lucky few to receive. “Would you rather I declare my undying love for you with a dramatic reading of a Shakespeare sonnet in the middle of big Tesco?”

“Wouldn’t go unappreciated.” You sniffed, smiling back at him with all thoughts of the rolling bottle forgotten.

The older woman squinted at the both of you trying, but not succeeding, at subtly tapping at her husband’s shoulder in order to get his attention. He just ignored her.

But when the woman's eyes landed on Simon, the recognition dawned and her face molded into a satisfied one. And then when they strayed to the matching wedding rings on the both of you, she just about jumped in joy.

You stared right back at her, waiting for her to say something. You were sure she was the same woman who'd assumed you and Simon were a couple five years ago when you'd first bumped into each other in this very same supermarket.

Funny how things work out.

She gave you a warm smile which you tentatively returned before she turned back around to pay for her groceries.

Your husband leant down to mutter in your ear. “Is that-?”

“Yeah.”

“Thought so.”

You beamed up at Simon, suddenly very happy at the way things had happened. You always were but sometimes the wonderful nature of your situation really hit you.

“Why’re looking at me with that silly grin on your face?” He grumbled, although he couldn’t hide the softness in his eyes.

“Dunno. Maybe because I get to look at your gorgeous face every day.” You nudged him with your elbow.

He stepped closer to you, tilting his head down to better meet your eyes. “Mhm, for the rest of your life. Lucky you.”

“Very lucky me.” You quipped back. He was being sarcastic and self deprecating but really what he was saying was completely true. You did consider yourself very lucky. And you always would.

Simon could see you were being genuine, as you always were with him. So he decided to return the gesture. “Think I’m the luckier one.”

You just shrugged. He could believe that if he wanted to. You’d spend the rest of your life trying to convince him otherwise. And, boy, did you have a lot of time to do that. Practically forever.

A/N: I re-read a couple chapters of Somebody’s Watching Me and it inspired me to finally finish writing this epilogue. And I’m so glad that I’ve done it now. Thanks again.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

KATHERINA MINOLA (THE TAMING OF THE SHREW) (CW: Domestic Abuse)

1.) We had to read this for English my senior year. I got so mad at the way she’s treated. She’s the titular “shrew” of the play. She has to be married off before her younger sister can get married, because that makes sense.

Then the most dogshit man imaginable comes along, and everybody thinks they’re perfect. He literally gaslights her and denies her food and water.

Fuck Petruchio and Katherine Minola deserved better!

2.) Literally the whole play is about how she is so awful that the main guy needs to change her entire personality, which he does as a challenge not because he likes her, and then proceeds to her abuse her for the rest of the play. Yet, he is portrayed as the hero, not a villain and she is shown to have “improved” at the end. People will say, oh it’s open to interpretation, it can be played different ways, it’s satire, but i don’t find abuse funny and there is a distinct lack of commentary in the play to count as satire imo. Taming of the Shrew is a tragedy not a comedy, I will die on this hill. Kate deserves better!

3.) The title isn’t joking, ya’ll. She literally gets broken like a rebellious feral animal and it’s treated as a happy ending.

ORIHIME INOUE (BLEACH) (CW: Child Abuse, Ableism)

1.) Her powers were incredibly versatile but only ever used for healing or defense. She had offensive capabilities too, but as she isn’t an aggressive person, they were barely ever used. Her healing power isn’t so much healing as it is “rejecting” the existence of something. This power could have been so insanely strong, to the point that even one of the show’s major antagonists remarked on how frightening it was, but as I said, it was only ever used for healing, and her personality held her back from using it as an attack. She was kidnapped by said antagonist for an entire arc. I’m not even going to get into the amount of times she was used for fanservice. Fandom opinion on her varies WILDLY.

2.) I realized I hadn’t added enough the first time, but I also don’t know how much I added the first so:

She’s introduced as a character to be saved. Most are, though, even the boys and men in this arc It’s also mentioned in the manga that she had horribly abusive parents, to the point the second her brother turned 18 her grabbed her and ran. This fact is removed in the anime. The evil ghost attacking her turns out to be the degraded ghost of her brother.

She in general, in light hearted moments, spends a lot of time being sexualized. Of the minor characters (as in under 18), she is the one that is sexualized the most. Usually against her will, with people making creepy remarks (despite not wearing very revealing clothes… Which Is true to life. It’s because she has big breasts).

She then gets cool abilities, but she’s the only one of the group not to get a big fight in the Soul Society arc.

She is then the SECOND female character in need of a big rescue arc (while I agree with how it was written for both female characters, intertwined with the other ones’ ingrained following of a horrible system and neglect by her adopted family and for Orihime a desire to prevent any friends from dying, the fact is the third major arc like this has a male character “defect”. So rescued are only for the girlies). During that arc she goes through a lot of psychological horror and pain that I will defend her choices in to the end. She is built up, in that arc, however, as someone whose healing abilities aren’t really healing and instead rejection of reality/rewriting reality. She is also built up as the person who may be able to destroy the Nebulously Powerful artificat that was at the center of this arc and the twist motive of the antagonists in the previous arc. And… Nothing happens. She doesn’t get to do it.

She gets some cool things in the next smaller arc, but also gets psychically fucked with (while all of them do, she doesn’t get to have the power ups or later fights. And her previous arc was her just… Being psychologically tortured).

The end arc is complex because, yes, it was rushed because the creator was injured. But her “cool” moment -while a triumph and circling back to character development - is that she gets to be in a duo-fight briefly with the main character. Not the last fight against this boss. And she never gets to do anything cool with objects or breaking things, both which would fall under her being a pacifist still.

I disagree with a lot of discourse about her being infantalized, because she seems very ADHD-I coded, as someone who has that. That doesn’t mean the author meant her more than just a “weird” girl, especially with how the state of ADHD treatment is in Japan . So we can throw in some ableism. Which gets me to the anime adaptation.

The anime was made by Studio Pierrot, which has a reputation with adapting female characters from manga to anime. Esp cially in shonen anime.They DID infantalize her (ex, changing a daydream comment from about the main guy to pee and poop??), including removing many of her daydreams and context, changing her intro scene, removing more introspective moments (she is very emotionally intelligent in the manga), and removing moments with the main protagonist. The latter is an issue because they added moments with another female character, which implies their attachment to either is solely in favor of romantic scenes with the male lead

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: Ichigo looking to the side. Someone off screen says "I… Ichigo!" Panel 2: Someone standing in front of Orihime between her and some shadows indicating people. There is a sound effect "SHOOM". Panel 3: Orihime smiles. There is a sound effect "SHOOM". Panel 4: A close up shot of Orihime's breasts. There is a sound effect "ZOOM". Panel 5: A character (Ichigo?) with stars for eyes blushes, clasps his hands, and shouts "Heaven!! I'm in heaven!!" followed by a heart. Panel 6: A distant shot of Orihime and the person standing in front of her. There's a mark of action off to their left and the sound effect "FWUP". Panel 7: Two other characters say "He… flew?!" Panel 8: A close up of a shoe as someone lands on something with the sound effect "TUMP"]

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: A shot looking down at Orihime from an angle. She's dressed in a baseball uniform and shouts "Yeah! C'mon, Tatsuki, give it to me!" followed by a heart. Panel 2: A shot of stairs with an arrow pointing to someone labeled "Kon". Kon is Bleach's mascot character. Someone off screen says "Th… …That's!" and Orihime says "Hey!" Panel 3: On the left is a close up of Orihime's breasts with an arrow pointing to them. In the bottom center right is Kon with his paw over his mouth. He thinks "Orihime!!!" There is a sound effect "BOOM" behind Kon. Panel 4: White text on a black background. The text reads "target 1: Orihime Inoue". Panel 5: A distant shot of Kon going down the stairs. He thinks "Yes! I'll play the innocent stuffed animal that just happens to be lying on the ground in front of her. Panel 6: A close up of Kon with his paw in front of his mouth. He thinks "She's got the heart of the Virgin Mary, so… …She's bound to pick me up and hug me and nestle me in the valley of paradise!!"]

(Cleanser that isn't relevant to propaganda that follows up on the previous:

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: The mascot character Kon is blushing and is in front of a large soccer ball. He thinks "And then I'll be umm-ummm-umm…" Panel 2: Kon gets hit by the soccer ball with the sound effect "WAP" Panel 3: On the right is a character after they kicked the ball. They're shouting "Dragon Bazooka!!!" There's a note by the speech bubble that that's the name of the shot. On the left is Kon getting hit by the soccer ball with an arrow pointing to him. There's a sound effect "THWAK". Panel 4: In the foreground is the soccer ball driving Kon forward. In the background is Orihime standing at home base of a baseball field; she's standing with a baseball bat ready to swing. Action lines indicate that Kon and the ball are moving toward her. Panel 5: A close up of a distressed Kon. Panel 6: A close up of a smiling Orihime. Across panels 4 to 6 is a speech bubble of Kon's saying "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"]

yes she hits him with the bat in the following page)

[Description ID: A character hugs Orihime from behind and grabs breasts while shouting "Morning, Orihime!!!" and while Orihime gasps. Orihime kicks said character in the face.]

[Description ID: A panel of Orihime; someone off-screen says "Her powers violate divine law."]

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: Orihime stands in front of a dark doorway with hands reaching out of them. Panel 2: Close up of an eye. Panel 3: A woman with black pigtails grabs Orihime from behind and covers Orihime's mouth with her hand. There is a sound effect "WHAP".]

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: Woman with black pigtails tells Orihime "You're finished."" Panel 2: Close up of woman's face. She says "I'm going to take back everything you took from me!!" Panel 3: The woman tears off Orihime's sleeve with the sound effect "SRIP".]

(Had some supposed Orihime fans - saying that as a huge Orihime fan myself - claim this wasn't misogynistic as hell because "girls do that in real life")

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: A man with a bucket tells a distressed and blushing Orihime "Oh. Be careful with that dress. It's designed so that when you close the middle, they pop out from either side." Orihime shouts "WAAAAAA!!!" Panel 2: A character shoves their hand upwards through Orihime's cleavage so that it's sticking out from between them. The character says "Okay, it's okay. Don't cry, don't cry." There is a sound effect "SHPA." Orihime has tears in her eyes and is blushing in a distressed way. Panel 3: Orihime shouts "WAAA!!!" off screen. Ichigo has a distressed or shocked face with a blush and says "Y…".]

(How an antagonist in the Hueco Mundo arc restrains her)

And one of those scenes weirdly changed and infantilized from manga to anime (these are both the official releases, not fan translations). They're not the only one but they're the easiest to show:

Manga:

[Description ID: Manga page. Panel 1: POV shot of Ichigo looking down at presumably Orihime. Panel 2: Orihime blushes with closed eyes and says "Oh no, Ichigo!! Close-quarters combat!!" There are two sound effects: "WHOMP" and "ZING" Panel 3: A shot of from behind Orihime stands on her knees and shouting "Ow!!" A man in the foreground asks her "Orihime! Are you all right, Orihime?!!"]

Anime:

[Description ID: Anime screenshot. Orihime is lying on the ground asleep while a man looks down on her. She says "No… Not Poo-san, it's Pee-tan…!"]

3.) In the arc that literally centers around her, she is described as having a power that infringes on the territory of God because she can Reject events from happening (this usually manifests in her "rejecting" people's wounds giving her pretty much The Perfect healing ability). There is a lot of emphasis placed on this and on her personal arc about how she feels pretty weak and useless compared to her friends, so she figures out that there is something that Only She Can Do! Which is, Reject the Macguffin from ever existing. And guess what she never gets the opportunity to do? And instead watches her LI (the main character) fight multiple people on her behalf and literally die in front of her and resurrect himself through sheer force of HIS will, not hers? (Like, OK, granted that sheer force of will was born out of his strong desire to save her, but it still isn't anything SHE did.)

In later arcs, she does get more of an upgrade power-wise but it's nowhere near the scale that was implied earlier on. (this might be more because it's a difficult thing to write around if it's really that OP, but I still side-eye it a bit) And in the final arc, she's given a pretty sexualized outfit that's both given explicit attention and also played for laughs, but in a way that feels very much at HER expense.

[chrkrose]

You're self-inserting with Nettles. It's obvious that the reason you're so invested in that rubbish is BECAUSE of the racial factor. C'mon, you wouldn't care about the ship if Nettles were just your average Westerosi girl

Lmao just because y’all think Matt Smith is hot it doesn’t mean everyone else holds the same opinion did you know that? Self inserting is thinking Daemon is “the” male-wife romantic interest just because y’all see yourselves as Rhaenyra “I’m not like other girls tm I changed the bad boy” while ignoring she spent a whole ass episode chasing him around in his late wife’s funeral, asking if he “loved” Laena as if the woman wasn’t already in the bottom of the ocean and begging him to marry her , while he stands around laughing as she’s humiliated and threatened in a fight. Never mind his criminal ass adding domestic violence to his list of crimes just because he got mad that his wife, who he married as a replacement for Viserys since he couldn’t have his brother rotten corpse btw, didn’t follow his plans like he wanted to. That’s what I’d call rubbish tbh, but you do you.

Now let’s talk real business. Nettles comes from nothing, is the only person in Westeros history to tame a wild dragon, becomes a badass dragon rider, fights in battles (unlike certain white faves of the month), survives one of the bloodiest wars to be recorded in Westeros and possibly becomes the symbol of an entire clan who worships her as a fire witch/goddess. The fact she managed to make Daemon possibly fall for her and actually become the “different girl” to his bad boy persona is just a plus to her already very awesome arc. What’s not to love about her character? I’d ship her with probably anyone who was hinted as a possible love interest for her. In the books, that person is Daemon. I’m a sucker for cliche tropes, and they hit several of those.

I can guarantee you though that if they don’t go the romance route, I for sure won’t be threatening showrunners and harassing writers on social media, throwing tantrums about my ship going wrong. I won’t be harassing actors and their relatives just because things didn’t go the way I wanted. Those I leave for the fans of your average Targ girl.

[just-some-random-blogger]

hello sexy brain!! your modern!daemon nonnie's here! first of all, i feel so special you gave me a name?? can i use it from now on? and i SCREAMED so loud when i saw part 2! god bless my poor bestie who listened to my outburst. what about this part. (i've just started reading and this parallelism with 'too used' in the first paragraph?? fuck how'd you know it's my fav thing in literature??) VISERYS AND AEMMA, i'm in love with them! you're genius for adding them! it feels so much more domestic and lovely and real?? like a real royal family, the complete image. ok i'm DONE. i've just read the whole thing and i'm done in every sense. i literally can't breath right now. it is breathtaking (sorry i needed to-). no but really. i'm mesmerized. my favourite plot (?) points: 1) royal family. as i've said, it feels so real. it completes the image so good. the sibling quarrels? i've never had a sibling but i felt. my heart's been broken as if i was the one viserys forbade to marry the love of my love. the daemon's inner conflict based on the relationships with the brother? hurts. the viserys' inner conflict based on the same damn thing? and 'He cannot do that to him.'? HURTS EVEN MORE. aemma is such a cutie i want to kiss her forehead. all this thing with 'I know you only want the approval of your brother' is SO good. you made his character so whole i can cry. and yesyes i've just seen that reply but a million of yes!! it's so daemon but in the modern setting!! again! you made his character so whole!! *kissing your sexy brain* 2) all this thing in the reader's office. okay. so. WHAT IS THIS?? it's so chaotic, so emotional, soso making me absolutely choke?? it's so fast in comparison with the previous events? and it's divinely good. like you're just chilling, reading an awesome fic and then ??? you wanna feel loved?? felt. you wanna crumble?? felt. you wanna feel numb because it is overwhelming?? yes bitch felt. (or maybe it's me feeling dizzy bc of the lack of the sleep) i felt so much reading it, you have no clue!! i believe this fidgety and nervousness of the reader before the meeting so much. it feels like, yes, it's the love of her long ass life she's finally going to have. but the ways she denies him?? divine. i'm amazed. like the continuation of her own inner conflict but the understanding of his and his family's problems out of the purest adoration? god bless your sexy brain, i love how you break my heart. the desperate daemon?? this happy puppy wiggling his tail in the beginning and the dragon it tears, probably frustrated and absolutely devoted to his 'mate' who's the only one to tame the beast in the ending? GORGEOUS. (i'm such a sucker for all this thing with 'taming the dragon' it's ridiculous. it may be toxic and unholy and wrong but it's my guilty pleasure) and how miserable he is when the reader denies him? (as the one who requested 'it takes two' i felt blessed. i'm still sorry for how it felt for you with the part 2) how he's so desperate to have the wife he had lost so much time ago? how he neither remember nor know about this magical connection but still the death related lines AND 'ever again' in the very end (this got me crying like a bitch and loosing my ability to breath)? ridiculously heartbreaking. and tears never tasted so good. you made all this bond not known but felt. and it's much better than describing it. you're so talented it hurts. !it's the first part bc tumblr doesn't let me send the whole thing!

MODERN!DAEMON NONNIE 😭😭😭😭😭😭💖💖💖💖💖 HIIIIIIII YOU CAN 100% use it forever as long as you want to 💖

i have a really long love letter for you so here you go

You like me for real with the screaming. Praying for your bestie.

(i've just started reading and this parallelism with 'too used' in the first paragraph?? fuck how'd you know it's my fav thing in literature??)

im not sure what you mean by this T_T i mean i get the parallelism 🥴 did i even put parallelism in this part AHAHHAHAH ok i guess you mean people were too used to him running around and he's too used to running around T_T AHHAHAHAHAH is that what you mean? asdklha;lkshaslh whatever its fine if i dont get it all that matters is that you liked it HIHIHH

AND YES!!!! VISERYS AND AEMMA! I LOVE THEM TOO. genius move for real i think HAHA it's my rewrite for them minus the traumatic death of the queen because MODERN MEDICINE also FEMENISM. 😭😭😭 i'm so happy that you find them domestic and lovely and real. that's all i could ever want for them (aemma especially she was such a beautiful woman in the show and she was gutted [literally]) I really did want to add them to make that royal family image you're so smart for that im glad that even if everyone else doesnt get it, i now know you do 🫶🫶🫶

ok i'm DONE. i've just read the whole thing and i'm done in every sense. i literally can't breath right now. it is breathtaking (sorry i needed to-). no but really. i'm mesmerized.

so dramatic

i'm overjoyed i stole your breath. im keeping it in a jar and putting it on my desk. i can only hope to keep mesmerizing you and create things worthy of being deemed breathtaking by you

my favourite plot (?) points: 1) royal family. as i've said, it feels so real. it completes the image so good.

same. <3 we love a completed image.

the sibling quarrels? i've never had a sibling but i felt.

HAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAH lol you remind me of this post i saw that was telling off only child writers for writing sibling dynamics wrong HAHAHH (i tried looking for it and instead laughed at sibling memes for 5 minutes then called it quits) i mean im the 2 out of 4 so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i can only hope i know what im doing

my heart's been broken as if i was the one viserys forbade to marry the love of my love. the daemon's inner conflict based on the relationships with the brother? hurts.

HIHIHIHIHIHI IM SO GLAD YOU EMPATHIZED WITH DAEMON WITH HIS STRUGGLE. I am heavily fascinated by daemon's relationship and regard with his older brother, and so i really wanted to show how Daemon daemon is as in daemon who is not caring, cold, calculating, hot tempered and yet these things play into how much he actually cares, especially for his family.

the viserys' inner conflict based on the same damn thing? and 'He cannot do that to him.'? HURTS EVEN MORE.

same if daemon feels like that, viserys feels the same, if not a little different in his own way, as he is the heir, the king, and thus has learned to be more mature, or i guess, calmed about his emotions

aemma is such a cutie i want to kiss her forehead.

I LOVE AEMMA TOO SO MUCH IM WRITING FOR HER BECAUSE SHE DESERVES TO LIVE LONGER THAN 1 EPISODE MY GOSH

all this thing with 'I know you only want the approval of your brother' is SO good. you made his character so whole i can cry. and yesyes i've just seen that reply but a million of yes!! it's so daemon but in the modern setting!! again! you made his character so whole!! *kissing your sexy brain*

im glad you liked that line!!!! it is pretty cliche, but it hurts cos its true, i have felt that way more times than i can count, although not with my older brother🙄😐🤨 he can choke. its more on my parents and my grandma lol. And Im so happy that you think i made daemon so fleshed out T_T i will say i still imagine actual daemon like this, even outside the modern setting. i accept the brain kiss

2) all this thing in the reader's office. okay. so. WHAT IS THIS?? it's so chaotic, so emotional, soso making me absolutely choke?? it's so fast in comparison with the previous events? and it's divinely good.

like you're just chilling, reading an awesome fic and then ??? you wanna feel loved?? felt. you wanna crumble?? felt. you wanna feel numb because it is overwhelming?? yes bitch felt. (or maybe it's me feeling dizzy bc of the lack of the sleep)

FIRST OF ALL GO TO SLEEP

Second of all T_T i cannot tell you how my heart is soaring over the fact my fic made you feel these things. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 i am so honored and overjoyed to be hearing this

i felt so much reading it, you have no clue!! i believe this fidgety and nervousness of the reader before the meeting so much. it feels like, yes, it's the love of her long ass life she's finally going to have.

as someone who is fidgety and nervous irl, i thought it would be a good idea to add this to her personality, so that she seems more real ya know. i know first hand how it feels to be anxious about things so i just made her me AHHAAH. i mean i feel like anyone would be nervous i think after waiting 2k stinking years for their love my gosh.

but the ways she denies him?? divine. i'm amazed. like the continuation of her own inner conflict but the understanding of his and his family's problems out of the purest adoration? god bless your sexy brain, i love how you break my heart.

T_T HAHAAHHHA SHE DENIES HIM i mean ok ok ur right she did but also ??? not really??? ok she did but it was like not really denying him per se, its really more of what you said, understanding daemon's family problems. girl duh they were married before !!!! she knows these things. YES AND OUT OF PURE ADORATION SO REAL SO TRUE IM SO GLAD YOU CAUGHT ONTO THAT. and yes yes her inner conflict is still ongoing and will never end self vs self for the win

the desperate daemon?? this happy puppy wiggling his tail in the beginning and the dragon it tears, probably frustrated and absolutely devoted to his 'mate' who's the only one to tame the beast in the ending? GORGEOUS.

i love desperate!daemon too. i really like the it when animals are alluded to as well, like being called puppy and dragon and all. I really really enjoyed the devoted mate part as well!!!

(i'm such a sucker for all this thing with 'taming the dragon' it's ridiculous. it may be toxic and unholy and wrong but it's my guilty pleasure)

T_T WAIT IS THIS TOXIC I LOVE THIS TOO HOLD ON WHY IS IT TOXIC ASLHFLAHS is it because dragons are not meant to be tamed i- im so confused a;slfhalsfhas

and how miserable he is when the reader denies him? (as the one who requested 'it takes two' i felt blessed. i'm still sorry for how it felt for you with the part 2)

you a masochist huh, you love the pain AHHAHAHA and HOLLUP HOLLUP YOU WERE THE NONNIE WHO REQUESTED IT TAKES TWO?!!??! OMG THATS WHY THE LANGAUGE OF THE TWO ANONS WERE SIMILAR HAHAHAHAHA dw about that fic!!! i was only slightly spiteful cos thats how i am AHAHHA but i swear i wasn't forced or anything.

how he's so desperate to have the wife he had lost so much time ago? how he neither remember nor know about this magical connection but still the death related lines AND 'ever again' in the very end (this got me crying like a bitch and loosing my ability to breath)?

NO BUT YOU TOTALLY GOT IT!!!!!! YOU GOT IT AND IM SO GLAD YOU DID. He IS so desperate to have his love and does not remember or know about her YET HE SAYS ALMOST THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT HER ON THE DAY SHE DIED SLAFHASFH YOURE SO BIG BRAIN FOR GETTING THAT !!! T_T YOU GOT IT YOU GOT IT AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT. yes he will never lose her ever again because daemon is possessive and fiercely loving and you deserve to cry about it and lose your breath imma administer CPR!!!! [siren noises]

ridiculously heartbreaking. and tears never tasted so good. you made all this bond not known but felt. and it's much better than describing it. you're so talented it hurts.

T_T thank you so much my love. im glad you think so. enjoy your tears. im glad you saw their unseen bond. im honored you think so highly of my skills <3

[soullessdianthus]

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐘: 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐄 | 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

↳ 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑 about what I do and do not write.

☔︎ ─ angst ☀︎ ─ sfw ♡ ─ nsfw ⚔ ─ dark 🎄 ─ christmas theme ❤️ ─ valentine theme

SIMON "GHOST" RILEY

𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒: "Coming home" | X | ☀︎ Summary: Your boyfriend returns from the latest deployment and you’re ready to spend a nice evening together. But his past haunts him especially during the night while you lay in his arms. "Forbidden fruit" [ Ghost x Reader (x König) ] PART 1 ☀︎ | PART 2 ☀︎ | PART 3 ♡ Summary: During the mission somewhere in Austria, König takes an interest in TF 141 medic. Little did he know, she’s Lieutenants Riley’s girlfriend. "Stay" | X | ♡ ⚔ Summary: Victorian AU where you are hired by Lord Simon Riley as his housekeeper in the secluded countryside. Besides the gardener - Johnny, you barely sees anyone around the house and the strange things begin to happen around you. ↳ 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐄: | X | ♡

𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒: "Enemies to lovers" | X | ☔︎ ♡ "Number 5 w/Simon from Nasty Prompts" | X | ♡ "Number 14 & 15 w/Simon from Nasty Prompts" | X | ♡ "Number 11 w/Simon from Nasty Prompts" | X | ♡

𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 🎄 "Krampus!Ghost" | X | ⚔ ♡ "Stalker!Ghost ⟶ Kidnapper!Ghost" | X | X |

KÖNIG

𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒: "Shepherdess" | X | ♡ ⚔ Summary: Mean soldier König takes advantage of peasant Reader and forces her to have his babies. 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒: "Perv!König" | X | ♡ ↳ 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐄: "Brat taming" | X | ♡ "Perv!Boyfriend!König" | X | ♡ "Perv!Landlord!König" | X | ♡ 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒: "König comforting the reader after a miscarriage" | X | ☀︎ ☔︎ "Perv!Landlord!König & breeding kink" | PART 1 | PART 2 | ♡ "Number 13 w/König from Nasty Prompts" | X | ♡

JOHN "SOAP" MACTAVISH

𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒: "Perv!Soap" | X | ♡

𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒: "Stay" | X | ♡ ⚔ Summary: Victorian AU where you are hired by Lord Simon Riley as his housekeeper in the secluded countryside. Besides the gardener - Johnny, you barely sees anyone around the house and the strange things begin to happen around you. 🎄 "Early Christmas" | X | ♡ ❤️ "Valentine for Ber" | X | ♡

RODOLFO "RUDY" PARRA

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒: "Domestic life" | X | ☀︎? "Dating Rodolfo Parra" | X | ♡ 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒: "Perv!Rudy" | X | ♡ 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: "Biker AU w/Alejandro" | X | ♡

TASK FORCE 141 & OTHERS CAMEOS:

𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒: "Butchery" | X | ☀︎ Summary: Task Force 141 is sent to gather intel from cartel's warehouse. However, their informations were flawed and they were cornered by hostiles. Soap got shot and it doesn't look good. What will they do in a stalemate as such? "Astray" | X | (tumblr) | X | (ao3) ⚔ Summary: Reader's everyday life had been turned upside down since she had been recruited to join Ghost's team. As a young, but prominent soldier she had to face many obstacles, but there was one in particular that made her blood boil ━ Commander Phillip Graves of Shadow Company. Little did she knew, that the blonde man with angelic was face going to make her suffer and bleed, wishing for the embrace of Death to swallow her whole. 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒: "Perv!Graves" | X | ♡ ⚔ "Perv!Gromsko" | X | ♡

and more to be added...

[beautifulbows924]

Writing Bingo Masterlist

-> Main Masterlist

-> AFG Bingo Masterlist

Welcome to my Writing Bingo Masterlist. If you would like to request a square be filled, send me an ask with the character of your choice, along with the trope, AU, song, kink, or quote. You may combine two squares from the same/a different bingo as long as they aren’t apart of the same category. Marvel and The Sandman characters are preferred, but I will consider other characters on a case by case basis.

I’ll be adding more bingos to this list soon, so make sure to keep an eye out!

Last Updated: July 4th, 2022

Taylor Swift Bingo

B: Motorcycle, epiphany (song), Red, (song), “This is why we can’t have nice things!”, Run (song)

I: Long Live (song), “I forgot that you existed.”, hoax (song), You’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now?, Midnight, you come and pick me up no headlights

N: Standing in your cardigan, kissing in my car again, Your heart was glass, I dropped it, “I’ve loved you for three summers, but I want them all.”, Cold as You (song), no body, no crime (feat. HAIM) (song)

G: King of My Heart (song), The Woods, Mansion, I knew it from the first Old Fashioned we were cursed, “Make sure nobody sees you leave.”

O: Fearless (song), Afterglow (song), You’ve got demons and darling they all look like me, First house together, I made you my temple, my mural, my sky, now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life

Bad Things Happen Bingo

B: Pinned to the Wall, Facing Their Phobia, Slowly Running Out of Air, Dehydration, Deathbed Confession

I: Bleeding Out, Misunderstanding, Coughing Up Blood, “I’m fine.”, Bruises

N: Forgetting to Eat, Sleep Deprivation, Tortured for Information, Forced to Beg, Over-the-shoulder Carry

G: Caught in an Explosion, Loneliness, Blackmail, You Said You Would Let Them Go, Grief/Mourning

O: Mistaken Identity, Can’t Go Home, Wiping the Other’s Tears Away, Dissociation, Stumbling and Staggering

Multifandom Bingo

B: Detective AU, Wound(s), Stitches, Blind Date, Flirty

I: Sunrise/Sunset, Apologizes, College AU, Picnic, Anxiety

N: Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Free Space, It’s Complicated, Oblivious

G: Age Difference, Bruises, Only One Bed, Domestic. Star Watching/Gazing

O: Soulmate AU, Roommate AU, Idiots in Love, Coffee Shop, Yelling

July Break Bingo - 2022

B: Kink: Multiple Orgasms, Sleep Walking or Night Terrors, Muteness/Sign Language/Hoarse or lost voice from screaming, Jock/Nerd or Parent/Teacher, Gift Giving or Hugging

I: Hopelessly in Love or Manipulative Relationship, “Someone will come.”, “If I wanted help, I would have asked for it.”, Just in the nick of time/Saving the Day/Walking into a trap, “If you’re here to warn me about what happened last night, better luck next time. I already know.”

N: Lab Rat or Hostage Situation, Caning or Broken Nose, Free Space, Drug Use or Getting Drunk, “They won’t even recognize you when I’m done.”

G: “I feel like I’m invisible. Sometimes it’s like you can’t even see me.”, “It’s midnight, what do you want?”, “Are you still awake?”, Apologizing/Forgiveness/Rejecting an Apology/Pleading, “They don’t need me anymore, but I need them.”

O: “Keep sweet-talking and this is going to go a whole different direction.”, Terminal Illness/Hospitals/Stitches/Seizures/Wearing a Cast, “Falling through Ice or Bleeding Out, “This isn’t news. Don’t pretend like you didn’t know.”, “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

Alternates: Feeling like a fraud and/or doubting themselves, Being caught off guard by a somewhat casual question, Failing to tame the beast, Holding down someone else turns sexual, They leave me and I love them more

How Bad Can It Be? Bingo

1. How did that limb get there? 2. Historically Incorrect 3. Overly detailed descriptions (hair, clothing, place, etc.) 4. Improbable accident leads to characters needing to get naked 5. OOC to the max 6. Accidentally falling into a compromising position 7. Americanisms in British dialogue or vice versa 8. Overuse of metaphors 9. Cliche Galore

Strikethrough categories have been requested

Bold categories have been written

[rosyfingereddawnn]

That’s The Way (Chapter 4)

Pairing: Jimmy Page x Reader

Word count: 5.7k

Warning(s): Jimmy and Y/N falling in love at first sight🥺, nsfw insinuations in the beginning but nothing bad, language

Author’s notes: It’s Jimmy time, mates! I’m so sorry for making you wait so long! Slow burns can suck like that sometimes. I hope you’re enjoying the plot so far, and that it wasn’t what you expected! There’s so much more drama to come, though, so I hope you’re excited for that😂 As usual, please enjoy, happy reading, and send us messages if you have theories, comments, music recommendations for the playlist, or if you want to be added to the tag list :)

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3

------

Y/N’s train ride home from The Yardbirds’ hotel was a constant swirl of what the fucks booming in her mind: what the fuck just happened, what the fuck does this mean, what the fuck am I doing, what the fuck is Jim doing, what the fuck will this become?  

Out of all the things on God’s good, green earth he could have wanted, he wanted her to kiss him. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Y/N thought when she initially heard the request. Then, when she questioned it, he escalated it to a blowjob since she thought a kiss was “too tame.” Y/N eventually did kiss Jim, as he wished. She was pretty sure that he still wanted her to kiss him after his little upgrade, and boy, was she right. ‘He called me a princess’, she remembered...what the hell was that supposed to mean?

As contradictory as it was, her mind was racing with so many thoughts, yet, at the same time, none at all. She was in overdrive, unable to think straight. Y/N forced herself to come to her senses as the train neared her stop, since her parents could not see the sheer bewilderment in her eyes and facial expression as she walked into her home. They would ask question after question, interrogating her as if she had committed a crime they had to get to the bottom of. She had to admit, reluctantly, that this was exciting. The star-studded aspect of it, the secrecy… It was a rollercoaster ride, yet Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to get off anytime soon. In the back of her mind, though, she knew this little dalliance wasn’t going to lead to anything serious.

Jim, however, currently sitting at the foot of his bed in an empty hotel room, was in a complete daze. He couldn’t comprehend that this was reality. The most beautiful girl in the whole world had just sucked him off, and then kissed him! She was completely obedient yet willing, and adorably shy, blushing every two seconds. But the kiss. It was dizzyingly soft, sweet, and passionate on her part. To Jim, this meeting of lips was perfect. Addictive. Devastatingly addictive, like a drug. He wanted more. Her lips were something else to taste and feel. He wondered if she would ever come back to him with intimate intentions. Perhaps even to spend the night, or something even more serious. By the way she so often smiled in a bright and enthusiastic way, Jim thought she just might. He had come to the conclusion, after continuously replaying what had happened just minutes ago in his head, that he was falling hopelessly in love with this girl. His Y/N.

Jim had never felt like this before.

And he didn’t know what to do about it.

~~~~~~~~

A few weeks later...

Y/N’s mum had sent her and her brother Charlie by train into London to go grocery shopping, and perhaps to visit Carnaby Street, Portobello Market, and the Oxfam charity shops to get some new clothes for themselves. Pushing the cart around the supermarket, Y/N and Charlie looked intently at the handwritten list their mum had given them.

“Alright, what do we need next?” Y/N asked, her head tilted to see the small piece of paper.

“Uh, we still have to get oatmeal, eggs, and some fruits and vegetables,” Charlie replied, mirroring Y/N’s position as he gazed down at the list in his hands, which was slowly being painted with black ink. They were making good time, all things considered.

“Let’s go to the produce section then, so we can get everything all in one go,” Y/N decided, starting to push the cart in that direction.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Charlie’s nod served as confirmation, and the two walked on, gazes captured every-so-often by the gaggle of people passing by.

Once the two siblings reached their desired destination, Y/N began inspecting the clear clamshell containers of assorted berries as Charlie went to fetch a bag of broccoli florets and a variety of potatoes. As Y/N began placing the fruit in the cart, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

She turned around to see a very domestic-looking Jeff Beck, pushing around a grocery cart, just like she was. It was odd to see him going about his life as though he was just an ordinary working-class man, especially being the revered guitar god he was. Y/N laughed at the sight as he came over towards her.

“Hi Jeff,” Y/N greeted, walking over to give him a hug.

“Hello darling,” he responded, tilting the girl back and forth in the hug, long arms cradling her against his chest. “How are you doing?”

Y/N looked at him with a small grin after pulling away. An exhale passes through pursed lips as she replies. “As well as I can be, I guess. How ‘bout you?”

“Can’t complain,” he smiled, which then turned a little more solemn. He reached out a hand to place on her upper arm in solace. “I’m still really sorry about Sam, love. I wish I could’ve told you, but he swore me to secrecy… and I don’t want to lose my job just yet.”

“Don’t worry about it, I completely understand. It’s not your fault.” Y/N’s chuckle chimed through the air, much like the birdsongs that seemed to fill the space around them, and she paused, “I’ve done quite a bit of soul-searching recently, and I don’t think I truly loved him...the situation was all so new and exciting, that it made me believe I did. But now, I realize I didn’t.”

“I’m glad you found the light at the end of the tunnel, kid. But that’s life, Y/N. You win some and you lose some.”

“Thank you, Jeff. Really. For being so supportive,” Y/N said in gratitude, as Jeff flashed her a toothy smile.

“Ah, don’t mention it...actually, it’s funny I ran into you because I was actually going to call you, but I… may have lost your number.” A sheepish hand ran through the short hair at the nape of his neck, and Y/N giggles at the man’s hesitancy.

“That’s okay. Here, I’ll write it down for you,” Y/N grinned as she took out a spare piece of paper and a pen from her bag, “what did you need to call me for?”

Jeff watched Y/N’s hands as she scribbled down her number. Her handwriting was neat, soft spirals decorating the ends of her letters. Playful, yet full of grace. Just like her, Jeff thought. “There’s a May Ball at Queen’s College in Oxford on the 18th, and I was wondering if you’d like to come. It’s outdoors, and it should be a nice day.”

As Y/N handed Jeff the piece of paper, he continued. “More importantly, a good friend of mine is attending, and I thought you would like to meet him. You two are pretty similar, so I think you’ll hit it off really well.”

“Do you mean that this meeting is supposed to be a sort of… romantic proposition?” Y/N tilted her head in playful confusion.

Jeff smirked. “Not necessarily. He’s friends with the rest of the guys, so it’s only fair that you meet him, since we consider you a part of our inner circle.”

Y/N grinned at his statement, shaking her head, a chuckle tumbling past her lips. “Well, for the record, Jeff, I’m retired from dating for a while,” she admitted, “the whole thing with Paul shook me up a bit, and I need time to trust again, y’know?”

“Yeah, I understand. But my friend is a nice bloke, so I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much, or put up a front. If you’re uncomfortable, of course we can—”

Charlie came running up to Y/N’s cart and placed the bags of broccoli and potatoes inside. He then stood next to Y/N to see this stranger that she was talking to. Jeff noticed the little boy who suddenly appeared next to Y/N, and smiled warmly. Pointing to the boy, and changing his voice to be a bit gentler than usual, he asked, “Who’s this, Y/N?”

“This is my little brother Charlie,” Y/N said, softly putting her hand on her brother’s back, bringing him to the forefront. Charlie widely smiled at Jeff, baring his childish grin that was missing a couple teeth. Charlie couldn't wait until they grew in, because it would “finally make him look like a real man”, as he exclaimed so often at home.

Jeff crouched down to Charlie’s level and stuck out his hand to shake Charlie’s. “Nice to meet ya, mate. I’m Jeff, a friend of your sister’s.”

Charlie’s eyes widened as he recognized who this man was. “Jeff Beck?” Charlie asked hopefully, “as in the guitar god, Jeff Beck?”

Jeff chuckled as he looked up at Y/N. “Is this the shit you’ve been feeding him?” Y/N nodded and laughed.

“There’s an ounce of truth in that statement, isn't there, Beck?”

“Yes, I’m Jeff Beck, but I’m just the lead guitarist for The Yardbirds. The guitar god title goes to Hendrix, or Scotty Moore,” Jeff explained. What a humble change of pace for Jeff, Y/N thought.

Jeff stood back up and walked with Y/N and her brother throughout the store, pushing their carts in sync and grabbing food as they went. He asked her about what she was up to musically, and she talked about how she was polishing up some Debussy and Rachmaninoff pieces, as well as fiddling around with some old Fats Domino and Everly Brothers records. Charlie and Jeff bonded over their love of cars, which made Y/N very happy.

~~~~~~~~

18th June 1966

The day of the May Ball came. Y/N was excited for the show, but she didn’t want a sour encounter with Paul to ruin her good time. Jeff had called her earlier in the week to give her instructions on what to do upon arrival, and how to access the backstage area safely.

The backstage area was a white tent with the sides covered. Inside, there were multiple long tables of different distinguished people, such as Mama Cass and Graham Nash. Alcohol and little finger foods littered the tables, served in such abundance that it seemed no one was going to see tomorrow.

Y/N walked over to where she saw her friends, and upon spotting the girl, they all waved and said their cheerful hellos. Y/N walked over to sit with them, and ended up taking a seat between Chris and Jeff, crossing her legs and folding her hands in a sophisticated manner, always the lady she was taught to be. She chose her seat at the table very carefully, sitting very far away from Paul Samwell-Smith.

As everyone chatted away, she noticed there was a tall, thin young man with short, dark wavy hair who sat down in a seat between Jeff and Keith, delicately holding a flute of champagne. He was looped back into the conversation immediately, as if he had known the band his whole life. When Y/N saw him, her heart stopped.

This new boy was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He looked like an English James Dean; with the kind of attractiveness that anyone, male or female, completely swooned over with a single glance. This stranger could get anything he wanted at the drop of a hat, with his gorgeous looks and his graceful countenance. He had a sullen, mysterious edge to him, but he also looked gentle and sweet at the same time. He had eyes as green as a forest full of lush deciduous trees, flawlessly framed by dark, bushy eyebrows and accented by long, thick eyelashes. His nose was adorable, petite as it was, and his lips were full and pouty. His smile and laugh made Y/N melt on the inside, his perfectly straight teeth illuminating his porcelain face.

For a moment, Y/N thought she was in love. She was pulled back from her daydream quickly, though, because Jeff realized that now was the perfect opportunity to introduce his two friends.

“Y/N, this is my friend Jimmy, who I was telling you about,” Jeff said, getting Y/N’s attention. Y/N grinned as she refocused on the situation.

Jimmy turned towards Jeff when he heard his name, and that’s when he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, sitting right next to Jeff. Lucky bastard.

His breath hitched in his throat upon sight of this girl. She was perfect; she looked like an actual angel. The way her hair, soft-looking and slightly wispy in the light summer wind, cascaded down her shoulders; her doe-eyes seemed to twinkle in the dimming light of day, pulling him in like the strongest of currents. Her  pillowy, supple lips encased a perfect smile, slightly crooked. It was, like the rest of her, completely endearing.

It was then, looking at this beautiful woman, (Y/N… Jeff had said her name, hadn't he?) that Jimmy remembers he was taken. His girlfriend, Jackie DeShannon, was waiting for him at home, but he only had eyes for the girl in front of him, and it would stay that way, it seemed.. He had to get to know her.

Jimmy snapped out of his hypnosis in the nick of time. He softly smiled at Y/N, a smile that made Y/N’s insides lurch, holding out his hand for her to shake as he turned on the charm. “Jimmy Page,” he initiated, his voice being softer and more calming than Y/N expected.

Y/N shyly smiled at him, a dark pink flush gracing her natural complexion, as she reached out to grasp his hand. “Y/N Y/L/N. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Jeff has told me about you.”

“All good things, I hope,” Jimmy chuckled.

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Y/N beamed, a feigned contemplative look on her face.

“How do you know Jeff?” Jimmy asked, turning his body towards her, now fully invested in getting to know Y/N.

“I met him...a year ago I wanna say? Is that right, Jeff? At a Yardbirds gig at the Marquee,” Y/N asked for clarification. The last thing she wanted to do is lie about Jeff to Jimmy, even if it was something as insignificant as this. In addition, she wanted to use Jeff as a temporary crutch in the conversation. Jimmy’s beauty was making her feel shyer than she already was; she felt as if she was curling into herself.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Jeff intervened, “but she didn’t just meet me, she met the whole band.”

Jeff immediately noticed that the band was leaving the table to get ready to go on stage. Jimmy and Y/N didn’t even notice the table’s departure because they were so wrapped up in each other’s presence and words. Jimmy even moved a seat over to get closer to Y/N, although he said it was an attempt to “hear her better since the room was so loud of drunken buffoons”. Y/N had giggled at that, and it had sounded like music to the man’s ears. Jimmy was completely taken with her, as easy as it was to see.

“Wait, so how do you know Jeff?” Y/N asked curiously.

“I've known him since I was… gosh… thirteen or fourteen? We bonded over the guitar and blues. Indian music, too,” Jimmy grinned, taking a sip of his warming champagne.

“You play the guitar too?” Y/N gasped. Jimmy nodded his head enthusiastically.

“Oh jeez, I should’ve known! No wonder you’re tight with the Yardbirds,” she giggled.

Jimmy’s eyes twinkled at her now-flustered demeanor. “You’re okay, Y/N,” he chuckled, placing a hand gently on her forearm. Y/N felt her entire body break out into chills.

“I’m a session musician, actually,” he began, his hand lingering on the girl’s arm, for what seemed like a millennium to Y/N. “I’d hate to simplistically explain what a session musician is to someone like you if you already know what it is.” It sounded like he was holding back a bout of embarrassed laughter. “You must be quite intelligent, especially in matters of music, if Jeff has stuck by you for all this time.”

Y/N smiled bashfully. He’s so sensitive, she thought dreamily. “Yes, I know what a session musician is,” she giggled, “I’ve been a piano player all my life, so I know a thing or two about what you blokes are talking about when it comes to music.”

Jimmy’s heart began to thump a little faster as his smile widened. “Wow! That’s brilliant. Are you classically trained then?”

“Yes, but I do know quite a bit of blues numbers.”

“Oh, so you really know what you’re talking about! I have to admit, although I am a session musician, I’m not particularly good at reading music. Maybe you could teach me a few things about sight reading and we can jam some time?”

Y/N blushed as her lips pursed together in a grin. “I would love that. We’d have so much fun!” The way that Y/N’s full lips twisted together in a smile looked so damn kissable to Jimmy.

“My girlfriend was actually supposed to teach me music theory, but we never got around to it, unfortunately,” Jimmy continued.

“Ah, okay. Well, if you give me a time, date, and place, we can definitely make it work,” Y/N beamed.

“Wonderful!” An awkward, pregnant pause filled the space, and Y/N cleared her throat, unconsciously sliding closer to Jimmy. There was almost a magnetic pull to him, and Y/N was caught up in it.

“So, what’s it like being a session musician? I’m sure you get asked that all the time,” Y/N laughed.

Jimmy smiled. “It’s quite grueling, brutal at times, but I find it fulfilling. One mistake, and you’re fired, so it’s a lot of pressure.”

“Oh wow! That must be horrible to deal with.”

“Yeah, sometimes the pressure can really settle into you, but for me it dissipates once I’m in the booth. There’s three sessions a day, five days a week, so I don’t have much time for leisure. It’s been getting really dry lately since all I’m playing is rhythm guitar. I love experimentation and stretching out on lead guitar, so constant rhythm is getting quite annoying.”

“I understand where you’re coming from then, from a creative standpoint. How long have you been a session player?”

“Four years, roughly.”

“You must be quite dedicated then!” Y/N exclaimed, “who have you played with?”

“Oh gosh,” Jimmy exhaled deeply, calloused fingers raising to land on his chin. Slight stubble shadows it, and the sharp scent of aftershave wafted towards the girl. Lost in the scent, Y/N nearly missed his reply. “The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Donovan, The Who, Petula Clark, Jackie DeShannon, Carter Lewis and the Southerners, Neil Christian and the Crusaders, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull… just to name a few.”

“Wow! What a resumé!” she gushed, “That’s incredible. You should be so proud, Jimmy.”

“Thank you very much, love, I appreciate it.”

Suddenly, an announcer’s booming voice cut through Jimmy and Y/N’s conversation as he introduced the Yardbirds to the stage. As the five men walked on, Jimmy stood up from his chair.

“Come with me to the wings so we can see and hear them better,” he smiled, holding out his arm for Y/N to take. Y/N agreed, standing up and linking her arm with Jimmy’s as they walked in sync to the side of the stage.

The first few numbers were played perfectly, and it was clear that the audience (and even the road crew) were enchanted by the spectacle. Y/N knew from past shows that the next song would be “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” and she knew that they always knocked that one out of the park. It was always stimulating and explosive.

Jeff and Chris began the opening riff, the low E, G, and A notes thundering out of the monitors melodically. Just as Keith sang “got a train” on his cue, he fell straight backward and hit his head off Jim’s bass drum. Jimmy and Y/N’s jaws dropped in shock as a loud gasp echoed through the air from the audience. The music abruptly stopped as the rest of the band crowded around Keith’s fallen figure to see if he was alright. Murmurings of “fucking hells” were all that were spoken from the road crew as they tried to redeem the concert.

“He was drunk,” Jimmy whispered to Y/N giddily, “he was completely out to lunch and wobbling as he walked onstage.”

“I didn’t even notice,” Y/N replied quietly with a grin, “that definitely explains all the empty bottles and glasses on the table.”

Momentarily, Keith got back up and motioned for the band to restart “Train Kept A-Rollin’” and they finished the song without another mishap. The rest of the set was completed smoothly, and everything sounded sonically incredible. Jimmy and Y/N stood close together the entire time, Jimmy sneaking glances at Y/N from time to time. He lost his breath with the way her eyes were almost aglow in the fading light, and her soft-looking lips parted in childlike wonder as she watched the live music.

The Yardbirds came off the stage, begrudgingly making their way into the backstage tent, where Jimmy and Y/N had situated themselves. No one looked happy, especially Paul. Jeff had his usual stoic look, but he was rushing around for any alcoholic beverage he could find to ease his nerves after what could have been the worst possible scenario.

Everyone took a seat at the table where they were before the show. Jimmy and Y/N sat next to each other as they took in the distressed expressions of the five other men. Jeff was slumped in his chair, next to Jimmy, taking swigs of a beer he’d found. Jim and Chris just stared at the ground, drink in hand. Paul just looked royally pissed off, to the point that it almost scared Y/N. Keith, however, was still totally out of it in his drunken stupor.

“Hey, Jim,” Jeff said quietly to Jimmy, “look, you know, I’m really sorry about the gig. I’m sure you aren’t interested in joining the band now…”

“Oh no,” Jimmy chuckled, “that was amazing! Absolutely brilliant! I loved it.”

Y/N’s interest piqued as she heard their whispers of new information. “Wait! Jimmy’s joining the band? I thought there were only supposed to be five live Yardbirds,” she whispered.

Jeff leaned over Jimmy to whisper back to Y/N. “Oh yeah! I can’t believe I didn’t tell you this already. Paul is probably going to leave the group...and I think it might be sooner than we thought, especially after the whole Keith fiasco...Jimmy is going to take his place on bass, and hopefully he’ll take on dual lead guitar at some point. Then Chris will do bass,” Jeff’s eyes diverted to Paul, who was sitting with his arms crossed and face angry, staring off into space. Jimmy and Y/N followed Jeff’s line of sight mischievously.

“Oooh! Great plan,” Y/N smiled.

A little smirk creeped across Jeff’s face as he quietly counted down, “3...2...1…”

At the very prompt “1,” Paul abruptly stood up from his chair very loudly, capturing everyone’s attention.

“You know what? I’m done,” Paul exclaimed, stepping away from the chair as he pushed it in under the table.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Jim began, standing up from his own chair, “what do you mean ‘you’re done’? What the hell does that mean?”

Paul sneered at Jim. “What do you think I mean? I mean I’m done with this bullshit. I’ve had enough of the horrid travelling, not being noticed, and this drunk-off-his-ass bastard,” he exclaimed angrily, pointing at Keith.

“You need to relax, Sam,” Chris said gently, “look at everything we’ve accomplished over the last three years. You want to give that up? You’re losing your shit over one bad performance.”

“It’s been on my mind for a long time now, Chris. I fucking hate it,” Paul continued, anxiously running his hands through his hair, “and you know what? Y/N hanging around all the time has made it worse. She’s just here to be our fucking groupie. She’s only eating off our clout to be friends with famous people.” The entire table went silent, looking around nervously.

Y/N’s eyes widened at Paul’s awful accusation. “Are you serious?” she shot back coldly, “I knew you were an asshole, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Oh what, you think I don’t recognize that that’s your motive?” Paul said condescendingly.

“If you think that being absolutely obsessed with you all is my sole hobby, my motive, whatever that means... you are sadly mistaken,” Y/N responded, her eyes closing to slits and her lips pressed together in disgust.

“You’re probably sleeping with Jim or Chris now for all I know!” he shouted, arms flailing in the air.

Y/N was fuming now, standing up from her own chair facing Paul. “How dare you make me seem like I’m a whore for the Yardbirds! Even if I was sleeping with Jim or Chris, that would be none of your business because you pursued me when you were fucking married, you dipshit.”

Paul’s maddening countenance grew. “You’re just an insecure little girl who needs famous musicians around her to validate her and make feel better about herself. You’re a fucking nuisance, like a gnat that just won’t fly away even when you swat at it again and again.”

Y/N gasped, the sound drowned out by the screech of metal against tile, as Jimmy stood up from his chair. He was distraught, upset at the antics between the two bitter exes, and stepped in front of Y/N to protect her from the horrible verbal blows served by Paul Samwell-Smith. Jeff beat him by a second, as he started to berate Sam for his little episode.

“You listen up, you wanker,” Jeff started, wagging his index finger in front of Sam’s face, “you’re just being a butthurt little bitch because Y/N found out that you were married. If anyone’s the whore here, it’s you. Y/N is our friend, even Jimmy’s now, and she takes care of us and makes us happy. She’s not just some whimsy, disposable groupie like the way you used her; she’s an intelligent, sweet, pretty girl who has our best interest at heart. And we have hers. You have to be a fucking idiot not to see that.”

Paul was taken aback. “I write, produce, and play bass for this group. All you do is play lead guitar. Trust me, Beck, I’m not the idiot here.”

“Well, your goddamn head isn’t screwed on straight, then,” Jimmy added, “I’ll be taking your place, thank you very much. And you will never mistreat Y/N on my watch. Ever. I’ve known her for about an hour, and she’s already absolutely magnificent.”

Y/N’s throat felt clenched, but some of the tension was relieved when she realized how protective Jimmy was being over her. As mad as she was, butterflies filled her stomach at his warm ways.

“I’m out of here! You all suck anyway. Have a nice trip to hell, all of you,” Paul said as he walked away to the road crew to get his belongings, flipping the people at the table off.

Y/N sat back down in her chair once Paul was out of sight, slouching and holding her cheeks with her hands as she blankly stared at the edge of the table. Jimmy and the four Yardbirds dragged their chairs closer to a saddened Y/N, who was determined to fight off the tears that threatened to roll down her fury-flush cheeks.

Jeff frowned at the state of his friend, starting to softly rub her cardigan-clothed back to console her. “I’m so sorry about Sam, Y/N. His behaviour was absolutely horrendous, and I can assure you, none of the things he said about you were even close to being true.”

Keith, still a bit drunk, stood up and walked over to Y/N, planting a peck on her cheek. “We’re so glad you’re here, dear. Truly. That belligerent little asshole can suck a fat one.”

A close-lipped smile found its way on Y/N’s lips. “Thanks Keith,” she chuckled.

“I’m going to go get you a cup of water, alright love?” Chris said as he stood up to walk over towards the bar.

“Thank you so much Chris,” she called after him. Chris flashed her a kind smile as he walked away.

I guess Mum and Dad were wrong...they really do care about me, Y/N thought happily, they really, truly do.

~~~~~~~~

After the May Ball was over, and the sky was growing darker with the coming evening, Jimmy and Y/N walked around the grounds of the venue together, talking about anything and everything and sharing laughs.

The lighthearted mood took a drastic shift at one of Jimmy’s followup questions.

“So, Y/N, if you don’t mind me asking, what was the whole row between you and Sam about?”

Y/N flashed a sad smile, but it quickly faded as she took a deep exhale. “Well—”

Panicked, Jimmy took this as a cue that she didn’t want to talk about it. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I get it because of how heated it was. I’m just worried about you, is all,” he interrupted.

“No, it’s okay. Really. I trust you,” she replied with a pursed lip-smile. Jimmy returned the sentiment, internally relieved that Y/N had already seemed to take a liking to him.

“Alright, so about a year or so ago, I went to a Yardbirds gig at the Crawdaddy Club, a few months after I met the band for the first time. Paul asked me out after that show, and nobody told me he was married, so naturally, I accepted.”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, love. What a shitty thing to do, especially to someone as wonderful as you,” Jimmy replied with a little flush, giving the girl a little rub on the small of her back.

Heat rippled throughout Y/N’s body at his touch. Regaining her composure, she sighed. “Thank you Jimmy. That means a lot. More than you know, actually.”

After a short silence, Y/N continued. “We went out for about eight months...and in retrospect, it now makes sense why I could never go over to his place. But anyway, I found out about it before the band played on Ready, Steady, Go in February. Keith, Jeff, Jim, and I were all talking at the front of the stage before rehearsals and it slipped.”

“Who ended up telling you?”

“Jim, but it was purely an accident.” Suddenly, all of the events that had happened between her and Jim guiltily flooded her mind. Now with Jimmy beginning to infiltrate her mind and cloud her vision, how was she supposed to genuinely enjoy the secrecy? Ah shit, she thought, here we go again.

“After the show, I confronted him about it,” Y/N continued, “and he was blaming me for our time together, a-and for ‘tempting’ him into asking me out just by being… me?”

“He seems like a right wanker, I can tell you that for sure,” Jimmy muttered, sliding his hand from its resting place on her back, to her shoulder, squeezing it lightly in solidarity. Y/N met his eyes then, tears filling her gaze, and Jimmy frowns. No one as lovely as her should be feeling this way. He smiles at her, and to Y/N, it is filled with comfort and appreciation. Some emotion… something akin to love, perhaps, lit a fire in her chest, and she looks away. The evening ambience does nothing to hide the traitorous blush that painted her cheeks.

“It’s getting quite dark out, love. How did you get here?” Jimmy asked, stealing another glance at a girl as she looked down at her ballet flats once more.

“I took the train, actually,” Y/N replied.

“Oh, so did I! Here, I’ll walk with you over to the station then.”

Y/N grinned at him. “That’s so kind of you, Jimmy. Thank you.”

“No problem, love. What’s your stop?” Jimmy asked as they began to make their way over to the station.

“St. Alban’s. How about you?”

“Epsom. I still live with my parents, I’m afraid,” he chuckled sheepishly.

“Oh, it’s okay!” she laughed with him, “so do I. It’s nice though, to still live with your parents… home-cooked meals and laundry and all. Plus sleeping in your own bed, and using your own bathroom, of course.”

“Those are very good points,” Jimmy agreed with a chuckle.

The two boarded the train once they got to the station, only waiting on the platform for a few minutes. They continued to talk all the way to St. Albans, where Y/N got off to walk home.

“Say you’ll see me again sometime soon, Y/N,” Jimmy half-asked, half-declared as she stood up to get off the train.

Y/N grinned at him. “I definitely will, Jimmy. It was so nice meeting you tonight...I loved getting to know you.”

“The feeling is mutual, love. Please stay safe and take care of yourself, okay?” he reached out his hand to grab Y/N’s, shaking it a little and smiling at her. Y/N nearly swooned at the gesture.

“I’ll try my best. You do the same as well. Have a good night!”

“Thank you, you too!” Jimmy waved as Y/N walked out the train’s doors. Her scent, a delicious mixture of vanilla with a hint of laundry detergent, lingered in the air as she passed by, weakening him both physically and his rational judgment.

He had a lot of thinking to do on the ride home.

————

Taglist: @blood-on-blood @reincarnated70sbaby

[victoriareyloficlists]

8 July 2021 Additions to Reylo Fluff

These fics have been added to the Fluff lists located in the following lists:

Fluff Part 1 Titles A-G

Fluff Part 2 Titles H-M

Fluff Part 3 Titles N-S

Fluff Part 4 Titlez T-Z

Nerd Table by tasu7 (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, 9 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben, one of the nerdiest nerds at his high school, is completely smitten with the new girl, Rey. She plays board games, loves videogames, and is even better at robotics than him. And somehow they've become friends. The problem is she doesn't like him like that. And Ben can't just tell her how he feels.) Two Halves of a Whole Idiot by Theyna_Shipper (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: After a game of truth or dare, Rey and Ben are stuck literally and figuratively trying to figure each other out.) Hike A Mountain, Climb A Tree by greywilde (AO3 2021  Rated E Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey invites the entire office on a weekend hike and only one person shows up: the new IT guy she doesn’t get along with. At all. They hate each other, right? (or maybe, things aren’t the way they seem)) Rey, Voulez-Vous Prendre Ben Comme Époux? by Theyna_Shipper (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is her boss's best friend and is present at his French wedding. However, due to a language barrier, Ben and Rey are the ones who end up married.) The Curious Case of the Cinnamon Rolls by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The whole office is perplexed - not only perpetually grumpy Alpha Ben Solo developed a mysterious addiction to cinnamon rolls from Irresistible, he also undergoes a magical change of character upon their consumption. What dark secret is behind the innocent pastry? The game is afoot!) Code of Conduct by reywritethestar (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, WWII AU, Quick Synopsis: It was early morning, a second World War still raged on across the Channel, and Ben Solo was thoroughly distracted. After being transferred to England, world-renowned code-breaker and Alpha Ben Solo has to adjust to life at Bletchley Park - the home of the Allied Resistance. He expected long hours, double shifts and ciphers, ciphers, and more ciphers. What he didn't expect was Rey, an Omega with a higher IQ than ninety-eight percent of the world's population who swears like a sailor and smells like home.) the tide is high (but I’m holding on) by KyloTrashForever (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: In which Rey just wants to see her best friend half-naked, and he’s making it incredibly difficult.) Bed and Breakfast by soupe (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey gets drunk at a party and stumbles into a sleeping Ben's room by accident. Drunken compliments, hair braiding, and cuddling ensues.) Give it a Year by KiKi37 (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey would really like to spend some quality alone time with Ben, the quiet IT guy, but can't seem to get the message through to him. Finally, at the employee Christmas dinner, she takes her shot:"You wanna get outta here?") The Assistant by OptimisticBeth (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is Poe's assistant and specifically tasked with keeping Ben out of Poe's office.) Our Karate Kids by Theyna_Shipper (AO3 2020  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rey drops in on her daughter's karate class for Halloween, she meets Ben Solo, another single parent, and watch their children spar.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 62 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2021  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Fluffy meet-cute for MerMay. Rey is working as a mermaid in an aquarium and meets Ben Solo through the glass.) Everything is Alright by Theyna_Shipper (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Canon AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey adopts an orphan that she finds on a ruined planet. Domestic Force-bond fluff ensues.) R3YLO by Theyna_Shipper (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is a very empathetic cashier at First Order Department Stores. KYL0 is the sentient AI installed to make her job easier. Over a course of months, Rey befriends the AI and grows attached to him. But one day, Rey learns that KYL0 has fallen in love with her.) The Kiss by Theyna_Shipper (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben couldn't be happier to be quarantined together. They get along perfectly and are best friends. Their feelings for each other couldn't possibly get in the way. Until Rey gets assigned to re-create a painting at home for quarantine homework.The painting? Francisco Hayez's The Kiss.) Taming the Beast by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Hux notices that Ben is more reasonable in company meetings when Rey is there as well. Hux starts inviting IT employee Rey to meetings completely out of her knowledge scope. The ruse is discovered when Ben is having a fit and overhears Hux ask Poe to 'go get the missus.']) Let Me Slap... With Love by starfleetjedi (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben receives a highly inappropriate anonymous Valentine at work, which he proceeds to accidentally forward to his assistant, Rey.) You're My Home by CaptainMarvel42 (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben barely had the energy to walk from his car to his apartment door, but he finally made it. He opened the door and was greeted by the sight of a beaming Rey. (Or: they're roommates, and they're both pining.)) Never Thought I'd See You Again by CaptainMarvel42 (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is convinced to go on a blind date with Ben. The problem? They've hooked up before, only they called themselves Kylo and Kira. She saw his band play when she was in college. He was her first.) open secret by hi_raeth (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: After a night out celebrating Rose's reconciliation with Hux, the girls reminisce on how embarrassingly transparent Ben and Hux were about their crushes during freshman year of college and Rey decides to share those memories with a very amused Ben.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 61 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2021  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Hades/Persephone AU, Quick Synopsis: What if Persephone took Hades?) I'll Pick You by greywilde (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey broke off her no-strings arrangement with Ben to move to the big city and broke his heart (and her own) in the process. Three years later, a trip to an apple orchard has her falling - literally - into the arms of the man she left behind. His feelings haven’t changed, but have hers?)

[wouldpollyapprove]

Headcanon: Going Into Labor At Home

Request: heyy labor during family meeting got me so hard, do you mind writing going into labor, female reader x michael gray?

Requested by @inst4daily

Michael Gray x Reader

Warnings: pregnancy

A/N: I love the idea of the Peaky boys with children. They all act so tough but we all know a baby would melt their hearts. All requests are open right now, so don’t hesitate to request something.

Part One (Arthur) / Part Two (Finn) / Part Three (John) / Part Four (Michael) / Part Five (Thomas)

Masterlist

You let out a shaky breath, clutching your stomach. You wanted to believe the pain was nothing, but you knew better. 

Turning over, you saw Michael’s side of the bed was empty, the sheets neatly placed over where your husband was supposed to be. It was the early hours of the morning and you knew the only reason he would be out of bed would be because of his cousin.

With a sigh, you removed the bedding around you and swung your legs over the side of the bed. You let out a small groan once on your feet, feeling pain in your back.

The pregnancy had been a piece of cake, at least until you neared your ninth month. 

You never had morning sickness or were exhausted at all hours of the day. Instead, you had more energy and were practically glowing. 

Everyone was excited when you announced there’d be another member of the family. Polly was especially excited, she was going to be a grandmother. 

But what surprised Michael’s mother the most was the fact that she hadn’t even suspected a thing. 

When Ada was pregnant with Karl, she looked exhausted and her appetite increase. It wasn’t like that for you. You were suddenly able to get more done during the day and you ate about the same about as before. 

That all changed though.

Now as you trudged down stairs to see if your husband had left, you were exhausted. The bed was comfortable, but you hadn’t been able to sleep due to back problems. 

It had only started bothering you a few days earlier but you hated it. 

Michael had tried his best to ease your pain. He’d gone to his mother for advice and did all that she suggested. He’d run baths for you when the two of you had nothing to do. He’d rub your back and make you tea when ever you complained about it. 

But it was never enough to rid the pain.

“Michael,” you called, walking into the kitchen.

You put on a pot of water when he made his appearance. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

Looking over your shoulder, you flashed him a small smile. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Michael walked up to you, chest pressed against your back and wrapped his arms around you. “I had some business to take care of,” he rested his head on your shoulder. “But I’m here now.”

“This business couldn’t wait until the sun was up?” He shook his head in response. You frowned, pouring the hot water in a tea cup. “If Tommy keeps stealing you away from me I might have to have a word with him.

Your husband laughed, releasing his hold and going over to the fridge. “I’m sure he’d be terrified,” he smiled at you. “Would you like something to eat?”

Taking your tea, you took a seat at the kitchen table, trying to get comfortable before answering. “Yes, your wife and child are very hungry,” she said when she couldn’t get comfortable.

“Back still hurt?”

You sigh was a good enough answer. “Don’t worry, love. The baby will be here soon  enough,” he assured you, grabbing a few sliced of bread to toast. 

Silence fell over the two of you. You sipped your tea, content watching your husband make breakfast. Michael wasn’t the domestic type, but you’d tamed him and since you became pregnant, he was like a mother hen. It was entertaining to watch him dote on you and fuss over everything you did.

“Polly called yesterday and said she’d be ove-” you were interrupted by a sharp pain. Placing your cup on the table, you closed your eyes and waited for the pain to fade.

Michael rushed over to you, his face pale with worry, forgetting the eggs that were cooking on the stove. “Hey, are you alright? Talk to me, Y/n” He crouched beside you, taking your hand in his.

Though, you knew little when it came to child birth, you knew that had to have been a contraction. You also knew that they became more pain closer to the baby being born.

“Do I need to call mum?”

You had to think about it for a minute. You didn’t want to believe that you were going into labor but you also didn’t want to risk it. Hesitantly, you nodded.

Michael went to call his mother, leaving you in the kitchen. Finding no comfort sitting down, you stood from your chair and decided to do laps around the kitchen. Walking helped the discomfort but it did nothing to keep the contractions at bay.

When Michael returned, he found you leaning against the counter, eating the toast he had made. “These aren’t half bad,” you motioned to the plate of eggs in your hands.

“How are you feeling? Mum wanted me to keep track of your contractions.”

You nodded, stuffing an egg in your mouth. “Good, considering my water broke while you were on the phone.” You said it so casually that Michael had to ask you what you’d said.

His face turned pale when you told him again. There was no telling how long it would take Polly to get there and he had no clue what he should be doing. If Polly were there already, Michael knew he would be ushered out of the house and head to the Garrison to drink with his cousins. 

But he was alone, left to worry about his pregnant wife.

To kill time and distract yourself, you walked around the house, Michael right beside you the whole time. Every time you had a contraction you would stop, leaning against him until it left. 

The contractions were becoming closer together, being over a hour since your husband had called his mother. You knew, not quiet sure how, that she wouldn’t make it in time. 

You’d made it to the sofa before they got to strong. Michael helped lower you onto the cushions, “It’s going to be okay, I swear. Mum’s gonna be here soon.”

“Then you’re gonna leave.” Tears collected in your eyes. “And I’m gonna be alone.”

“Hey,” he cup your cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, you hear me? I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

Polly entered the house 30 minutes later, dropping her bag on the table in the entry room. “Michael? Y/n?,” she called, stopping when she saw the two on the sofa, a little baby in Y/n’s hands. “Oh my.” She approached the couple, smiling down at her grandchild. Leaning down, she moved the towel the child was wrapped in so she could get a better view. 

“You wanna hold her?” you asked, handing your baby over.

Polly took the baby, letting him play with her finger. She turned her attention to her son, “You delivered the baby? You could have called Ada or Esme?”

He nodded, “I could have but I couldn’t leave Y/n.”

“Have you decided on a name yet?”

You glanced at Michael, a smile on your face. “We have.”

“And what would that be?”

“Anna,” Michael informed her.

Polly smiled down at her granddaughter. “Little Anna.”

*~~*~~*

Let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist.

@amirahiddleston @haphazardhufflepuff @woahitslucyylu @mzcrazy2 @lovemissyhoneybee @multi-fandom-iimagines @tarafaithe

[ganymedesclock]

since you like worldbuilding- what do you think are be some good ways to indicate that a fictional world very definitely is not our world? most sci fi books do stuff like calling a horse a Tallpoodle but that seems... situational...

I’m DELIGHTED you asked, anon! I have a lot of thoughts on this subject. 

I think that many of the most immersive worlds I’ve experienced are worlds that break from what I consider the default human experience. What you expect is familiar with your audience. Good examples of this are the movie The Dark Crystal, and the game Hollow Knight.

As you say, just calling familiar creatures different names is fairly weak. So, instead, ask yourself, what if this creature wasn’t here? What if this world evolved without horses- or, rather, that they made something ‘like a horse’ but approached from a different direction?

To use Heartfelt as an example, in Heartfelt, I had the idea that my protagonist is going to need to travel fairly large distances. Even if she’s only exploring a relatively small pocket of the world she lives in, it’s a planet many, MANY times the size of Earth. For that purpose, I gave her a steed, which became the character of Spud.

The number one thing I wanted to avoid in my Heartfelt worldbuilding was unbroken familiarity- that is, making any creature simply be a horse or a dog or a cat in aliens’ clothing. But I don’t want Spud to be so unfamiliar as to seem like a weird gimmick creature or incomprehensible to my audience- so the result is creating a patchwork of familiarity. picking multiple familiar pieces, and then playing them in unusual directions.

For Spud:

First, Spud is a wild animal. He is smart enough to decide to work with Chalice after she helps him, but this is a fundamentally different relationship than one does with a domesticated animal, and it injects an element of potential conflict or even danger. He can and will disagree with her. To convey this wildness, I looked to ‘relatives’ of horses- that is to say, other ungulates, but creatures who had never been tamed. His ultimate inspirations ended up being elk, moose, and the okapi for some flavor.

I am delighted to inform you that nature is really, really weird. Way weirder than you think it is- so just crack open your inner little kid who liked to read animal fact books and find something buck wild. 

Second, and this is a guiding principle for Heartfelt overall- I didn’t want to make Spud look too much like a mammal. Pop culture, especially movies aimed at kids, have a huge preferential favoritism for dogs, cats, horses, wolves, big cats... We’re a sucker for pretty charismatic predators. You’ll seldom find an animal more valorized and adored as the dog, and you’ll find an awful lot of ostensibly other animals (see: Sven from the movie Frozen) who act conspicuously like a dog in an animal skin.

That’s not unforgivable, by the way! I certainly see the appeal of dogs. But as you say, if you want to convey an alien world, I think it’s a good idea to confuse those algorithms in your audience. If you make something act like a dog, it’s a way to make it very winsome, potentially- but it also makes it feel familiar, and that’s not the enemy, but it’s to be used carefully. 

So Spud played to a couple of rules I had already set for myself: no fur, and to evoke sea life when possible. I also set some new rules: I wanted to make him expressive, but in a way that an audience might have to learn his expressions. This meant fighting some of my own impulses- you’ll notice older versions of Spud have cute ears! I took those away and replaced them with gills, which he still emotes with by flaring or constricting, but this creates some more confusion about his head. I also added the frill of tendrils running down his neck.

That’s not to say there’s no inspiration to be had in familiar animals! I love cats, and I really wanted to introduce a creature with a very winningly catlike niche. That gave rise to the Beks, who are probably the most unabashedly mascotworthy of my creatures. If this was a disney film you bet they’d be marketed as all get-out. 

Look at this fuzzy little guy! (and, yes, they are fuzzy. ‘no fur’ doesn’t mean ‘no feathers’, though they are uncommon)

So how do I cover that I shamelessly included Just An Alien Cat? Easy. Abstract the animal in question down to its essentials- in the case of cats, they’re small colony-social predators who basically domesticated themselves to us because most of our small pests were tasty treats to them. Then, build the animal out of something totally weird- like, say, a flightless parrot.

And, for an added twist, I based the beks off a very specific kind of cat- specifically, videos of cats who had lost their front legs and recovered. Cats with their weight only on their hind legs exhibit fascinating variations in gait and body language where they’ll use their whole upper body to emote and it’s both really weird and really charming. 

With this, I could be totally blunt and call these guys “cats” and they still wouldn’t seem ‘just like a cat, just like earth, just like normal things you expect’. And the fact that they are weird little parrots while also being stalking predators opens up so many fun behaviors to mix and match.

Some final notes I’ll make that are less about creature design and the world itself:

Resist the urge to give characters human standards of normality unless they are literally a human experiencing an alien world. Basically, the world as they know it is what’s normal to them, and you can use that skillfully to illuminate that this is a different world. A good way to do this is think about casual expressions. Would people say “can of worms” before the invention of the can? What expressions might they use instead? What would be something very inconvenient to loose on the world that you’d struggle to gather back up again?

Challenge yourself to work against your own assumptions. Even if the technology exists to make something one way- like technically the inhabitants of Furrow could make bricks and mortar- that doesn’t mean they have to! In going to my “seas and insects” theme, I ended up basing their structures off things like potter’s wasps, so normal houses around here tend to be urn-shaped.

Related to the above, though it has to be done a little carefully to pull it off really well, examine how alien things are that we take for granted. Hair and teeth are both foreign things to Heartfelt’s world- when Chalice meets someone who has both, she’s terrified of them. Likewise, as someone who’s spent her entire life underground, Chalice has a small form of agoraphobia- open spaces without the comforting boundaries of walls and ceilings unsettle her when she has spent her entire life in spaces that have finite bounds, no matter how large they are. This only gets worse considering that she comes from a sphere-shaped planet whose inhabitable surface is on the inside of it, with the sun in the center- so, imagine the horror of standing on a planet like Earth, putting your feet on the ground and looking up, simply indefinitely, to see the lights of distant stars and the endless void of space beyond your planet!

I hope this helped! Happy Worldbuilding!

[fatehbaz]

On soil degradation and the use of non-native plants as weapons to change landscapes and sever cultural relationships to land; and on the dramatically under-reported but massive scale of anthropogenic environmental change wrought by early empires and “civilizations” in the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and ancient world (including the Fertile Crescent, Rome, and early China): I didn’t want to add to an already long post.

This is a Roman mosaic, from when Rome controlled Syria, depicting an elephant (presumably the Asian species, Elephas maximus) interacting with a tiger (the Caspian tiger, a distinct subspecies of tiger, lived in Mesopotamia, the shores of the Black Sea, and Anatolia up until the mid-1900s). This mosaic is striking to me, because I guess you could say that this is clear evidence of the higher biodiversity and more-dynamic ecology of the Fertile Crescent in the recent past, until expanding militarism and empire led to extensive devegetation. After all, does the popular consciousness really associate elephants and tigers with the modern-day eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia? Not really. But for the majority of human existence, lions, tigers, elephants, and cheetah were all living alongside each other in Mesopotamia. Pretty cool.

Anyway, I wanted to respond to this:

Which was in response to a thing I posted:

Pina: Thanks for the addition! I don’t know much about the technicality Rome’s devegetation of the Mediterranean periphery, but - like you - I’ve read some cool articles about it, and then forgotten to bookmark them. (I know that I have at least one good article in print form, about Roman devegetation; I’m going to try to find it.) I’m glad you mentioned it!

The first image is in the public domain and depicts a rhino-shaped ritual wine vessel made of bronze, from about 1100 to 1050 BC, during the Shang era. (The piece is housed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.) The second image is another bronze wine vessel from a site in Shaanxi Province, this time inlaid with gold and hailing from later in history during the Western Han period, about 205 BC to 10 AD. (Photo by Wikimedia user Babel/Stone.) The rhinos in both of these pieces are depicted with two horns, meaning that they likely depict the Sumatran rhinoceros; this is corroborated by the existence of fossil remains of Sumatran rhinos from across China prior to 1000 AD.

On devegetation in the ancient world:

Yes, it feels like the ecological effects of empires prior to the Middle Ages are not just “under-discussed,” but dramatically overlooked. Some “quintessential and iconic African fauna” like lions and cheetahs lived throughout the Fertile Crescent, until devegetation during the late Bronze Age and, a few centuries later, the ascent of Rome. Caspian tigers (a distinct subspecies of tiger) also lived nearby, in Anatolia, the Caucasus, the shores of the Black Sea, and Persia - right up until the 20th century, in fact! (Other iconic species present on the periphery of ancient Mesopotamia were Asian elephants; leopards are still present.) Aside from the devegetation of the Fertile Crescent and the later landscape modifications of Rome, I also don’t see a lot of popular discussion (there is academic discussion, though, obviously) of ecological change in Zhou-era and early imperial China, either. While early Mesopotamia is famous for the amount of social prestige ascribed to irrigators and engineers, who were evidently essential to maintaining the domesticated crops so important to “hydraulic civilization,” early China (apparently) also revered irrigators and engineers. At least according to folklore and written histories, before the Han period, seasonal floods, especially in the Yangtze watershed, would regularly destroy human settlements. Also, there far more tigers, leopards, rhinos, and elephants present; rhinos and elephants lived as far north as the Yellow River until empire really expanded, and the animals lived as far north as the Yangtze River into the European Renaissance era. So, those people with the technical expertise to “tame the wilderness” by damming rivers or calming floodwaters were given prestige and sometimes treated as folk heroes. [Chinese history is not a subject that I really know a lot about. I’m just relaying the observations made in one of the better books on environmental history in East Asia, which is Mark Elvin’s The Retreat of the Elephants - 2006.]

------

On empires’ use of soil degradation to “sever connections to land” and “indirectly” destroy alternative or resisting cultures:

Seems that empire uses ecological degradation to enact a “severing of relations” (in Zoe Todd’s words). Basically: If you destroy somebody’s gardens, then they have to come to you to buy food. Furthermore, destroying someone’s connection to land will also harm their cultural traditions rooted in that land, eliminating a threat to the imperial cultural hegemony and erasing “alternative possibilities and futures” from the collective imaginary. (And destroying the imagination doesn’t just harm the invaded cultures, it also prevents the relatively privileged people living in the metropole or imperial core from “achieving consciousness” or whatever, wherein someone living in 150 AD Rome or 1890s New York City might imagine an alternative system and potentially dismantle the empire from within.)

It’s violence; destroying soil, cutting forests, it’s violence. But when empires destroy soil, they get to maintain a little bit of plausible deniability: “Ohhh, it’s not like we outright killed anybody, we just accidentally degraded the soil and now you can’t grow your own food. Damn, guess you have to rely on our market now, which also means you have to assimilate/integrate into our culture.”

Europe, the US, and the World Bank did this in West Africa after “independence.” They said “oh, yea, sure, we’ll formally liberate you from colonial rule.” But since the palm and sugar plantations were already installed, and many of the ungulate herds of the savanna had already been killed, what were new West African nations supposed to do? Miraculously resurrect the complex web of microorganism lifeforms in the soil? So what the US and its proxies are essentially doing is saying: “If you want loans, you have to keep the plantations and also install supermarkets to sell Coca-Cola.”

Todd: “The Anthropocene as the extension and enactment of colonial logic systematically erases difference, by way of genocide and forced integration and through projects of climate change that imply the radical transformation of the biosphere. Colonialism, especially settler colonialism – which in the Americas simultaneously employed the twinned processes of dispossession and chattel slavery – was always about changing the land, transforming the earth itself, including the creatures, the plants, the soil composition and the atmosphere.” [Heather Davis and Zoe Todd. “On the Importance of a Date, or Decolonizing the Anthropocene.” ACME An International Journal for Critical Geographies. December 2017.]

-----

On the use of non-native plants as a sort of “biological weapon”:

The use of non-native plants and agriculture to enforce colonization and empire is the whole focus of this influential book from Alfred Crosby. (I have some issues/criticisms of some of his work/theories, but his work is generally interesting.) Crosby popularized the term “neo-Europes,” and he proposes that European empires attempted to subjugate the native ecology of landscapes in Turtle Island, Latin America, Australia, etc., while attempting to introduce European species, cattle ranches, pastures, dairy farms, gardens, etc. in an effort to “recreate” a European landscape.

-----

Speaking of Rome’s devegetation of the Mediterranean: One of the famous cases of Roman devegetation that made the rounds recently was that of silphium. A couple of excerpts:

[From: The Original Seed Pod That May Have Inspired the Heart Shape This historical botanical theory has its roots in ancient contraceptive practices.” Cara Giaimo for Atlas Obscure, 13 February 2017.]

Silphium, which once grew rampant in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, in North Africa, was likely a type of giant fennel, with crunchy stalks and small clumps of yellow flowers. From its stem and roots, it emitted a pungent sap that Pliny the Elder called “among the most precious gifts presented to us by Nature.”

According to the numismatist T.V. Buttrey, exports of the plant and its resins made Cyrene the richest city on the continent at the time. It was so valuable, in fact, that Cyrenians began printing it on their money. Silver coins from the 6th century B.C. are imprinted with images of the plant’s stalk -- a thick column with flowers on top and leaves sticking out -- and its seed pods, which look pretty familiar: 

[End of excerpt.]

Silphium is extinct now. There is a lot of conjecture about what, specifically, caused the extinction. But it looks like the expansion of Rome across the North African coast of the Mediterranean, and Rome’s development leading to soil degradation, is a likely cause.

-----

Thanks @pinabutterjam​  :3

The scale of ecological imperialism’s effects ... planetary, no escape. It’s exhausting.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

late question but Monark got me thinking, how would you compare and contrast Persona 5 and Caligula give how they both ultimately focus on taboo subjects in japanese society?

Trying to get through some old asks. Sorry ;w;

I'd have to replay Caligula (I've only played 60%+ of the OG version, not the remake, and I only got half way through the anime cause I was trying to outpace it when playing the game so I could compare it without spoilers).

From what I remember.....Caligula could've been more darker. That's the only complaint I had. It was fairly tame (at least what I had witnessed). Nothing SUPER messed up. I didn't mind it. Couldn't specify anything tho. Again I gotta replay it.

P5..........ha. It has a lot more darker ideas, but it's held back by it's writing. Which is either being surface level lip service (Kane technically human trafficks girls but it never feels like a main focus, just a fun little trivia info instead). Or the execution is just horrible (sans Kamo). Ex: Mada, it's not just bad that he steals art, he also RUINS LIVES and has a KID FACTORY (to make art, not the best word but lemme use a buzz word) and he also LET YUSUKE'S MOTHER DIE! Just really had to keep adding onto the atrocities there to make him even on the same level as Kamo huh game? Couldn't just stop with the plagiarism, you had to include Yusuke's mother? It just wasn't enough?

Or how about Goro, we going to deep dive into the whole bastard child thing with him? What about Yusuke/Futaba also being POSSIBLE bastard children (both fathers are out of the picture for unknown reason?) and comparing and contrasting the 2/3?

That or P5 also likes to shit on it's own message. Ryuji and his single mom were beat and abused by Ryu's dead beat dad? Want to thoughtfully talk about domestic abuse and single parenthood? Or are we going to just light mention it before doing physical abuse comedy on Ryuji? Oh the latter? Ok.

Like at least Caligula didn't do that (from what I know). 8U If/when I get around to finishing/replaying Caligula, I'll do a comparative post (maybe along side Monark too).

[caelum-in-the-avatarverse]

Written for Kataang Week 2020. Prompt - Soft.

Momo is figuring out where he fits in with his new family.

~~~

Idk, this one's just cute. I kept the relationship tag as & because it's early in Book 1 and there's no romantic stuff going on. *shrugs*

Enjoy!

~~~

Momo was skittish the first few days he was with them. He scampered around Appa’s saddle and flew loop-de-loops around the bison while they traveled and stuck his hands into every bundle of supplies they had, and every evening when they stopped for the night he’d spend an hour running circles around their campsite. He chittered a lot and screamed occasionally and spent a lot of time watching Katara and Sokka from a safe distance.

Aang was the only person Momo came within arm’s reach of, and that was probably because Aang kept fruit in his pockets. When Momo progressed to diving into Aang’s clothes in search of food, Katara finally voiced her concerns.

“Aang, are you sure he’s...tame?” She’d grown up on the tundra, where most animals were either eaten or wanted to eat you. Watching Momo clamber all over Aang with prying hands and nibbling teeth was putting her on edge.

Aang watched in delight as Momo tried to shove his head up his sleeve, searching for treats. “I mean, he’s not tame, but...he’s also not exactly wild -wild.” Momo gave up on Aang’s sleeve and hopped up on Aang’s shoulder to nose at his shirt collar. “His ancestors were domesticated, so it shouldn’t be too hard to tame him.” Momo found a berry Aang had hidden and snatched it from his collar, chittering happily. He took a moment to nuzzle Aang’s chin before eating it. Aang grinned. “Lemurs are pretty intelligent. They kind of domesticated themselves, actually.”

“How so?”

“We leave food out, at the altars,” Aang said. “Always have, ever since the temples were first built.” He paused a moment, expression faltering slightly. Probably realizing he’d been speaking in present tense. Katara didn’t comment on it. Aang soldiered on. “So at some point thousands of years ago, the wild lemurs figured out the food was free for the taking, so they started eating it, and we figured out how to live with each other. And then we started keeping them on purpose and bred them for less wild traits. Momo might never have seen humans before, but his recent ancestors still had all those traits.”

“So...Momo’s not really wild, he’s just feral?” Katara surmised.

Aang grinned. “That’s it!”

Katara had to suppress a grimace. Feral wasn’t much better.

“And lemurs are really social creatures,” Aang added. “Momo must’ve had a troop at some point, but he’s obviously been alone for a while and he’s made it clear he wants to join our family. He’s just trying to figure out how he fits in, what he can and can’t do. We just need to give him some time to settle in...and also train him to have the right behaviors.”

“Is that why you’ve been putting fruit in your clothes?” Katara asked, watching Momo curiously pat Aang’s stomach.

“Yep!”

“...What kind of behavior are you even trying to get from that?”

It was at that moment that Momo decided to dive down Aang’s collar into his shirt. Aang giggled for a moment, while Katara winced at the idea of the lemur’s little teeth being so close to her friend’s skin. And then Momo came back out, a marble clutched in one little paw. He stared at it confusedly.

“Momo,” Aang said, and the lemur looked up - he was already growing used to his name. “Marbles please.” And then he switched the marble in Momo’s paw out with a berry. The lemur chittered, pleased, and stuffed the food in his mouth. Aang grinned. “Good boy!”

“You’re...training him to get things out of your pockets,” Katara said.

“Yep! Lemurs are great at getting stuff! That’s why we have them, you know - to fetch things.”

“Really?”

“Sometimes,” Aang said, with an air of experience, “you’ve got a whole herd of bison that you’re trying to keep on track, and one of the calves gets frisky, and you don’t have time to dive after your glider when it falls off the saddle. Or your kids are being rambunctious in the back while you’re trying to navigate and their favorite doll gets thrown overboard. Or you hit some turbulence and the map you were holding goes flying. Lemurs are great at diving after things!”

“Huh,” said Katara. She could see how that might be useful.

Momo had finished chewing on his berry, and he ran his hands over Aang’s bald head. Aang giggled.

“Now what’s he doing?” Katara asked.

“Trying to groom me, I think. Lemurs groom each other to show affection. I don’t have any hair, but they’d groom some of the older monks’ beards. And the girls had hair, they always loved grooming the girls…” Aang trailed off just as Momo lifted his head to look at Katara.

Katara blinked back.

Momo made a trilling little noise and hopped from Aang’s shoulder to Katara’s.

“Whoa - ”

“Hold still!” Aang said, delighted. “He won’t hurt you! Just let him do his thing.”

Katara felt little lemur hands pat over her hair and ear and the bun at the back of her head. “Eep,” she managed.

“He likes you!” Aang grinned.

It wasn’t so bad, Katara thought, holding perfectly still as Momo gently...what, petted her? It was weird, but it wasn’t awful.

Momo took another minute to paw through her hair before hopping from her shoulder down to her lap. He turned and looked up at Katara for a moment, and she stared right back at those big green eyes. Then, coming to some sort of decision, Momo turned and curled up in her lap, perfectly at ease, and he made an expectant chittering noise.

“You’d better repay the favor,” Aang told her.

Carefully, Katara ran a hand over one of Momo’s long ears. “Oh,” she breathed, as her fingers stroked fur softer than sealskin. “He’s soft.”

“Lemurs are super soft,” Aang agreed.

Katara eagerly sank both hands into soft lemur fur, and Momo was a happy purring puddle of trust in her lap less than five seconds later.

~~~

Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, especially since I'm pretty sure I'm about to start A Day at work and I could use the positivity. <3

Notes!

Headcanon that flying lemurs, much like cats, domesticated themselves and humans went along with it. Also monkeys hanging out around temples where a lot of food offerings get left is indeed a thing that happens in the real world, so obviously lemurs would do that too.

I am pretty sure that the driving force behind the domestication of flying lemurs was, as Aang said, they're good at fetching things. Momo grabs so much stuff for the Gaang throughout the series - off the top of my head, marbles, spearheads Sokka had chopped off, a fish, the waterbending scroll, all that random junk when Sokka and Katara got sick (no one had trained him how to fetch water yet it wasn't his fault he didn't understand and he was trying!). Having an animal that can act as a companion and an extra set of hands sounds very useful when you're up in the sky all day.

Thanks for reading!

[dear-mrs-otome]

The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Some time back, I had an anon ask me about reviewing Oliver’s route. This took way longer than I intended to, but I hope you still see this, Nonny!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m biased. Let’s get that out of the way right now. Oliver was the first guy I eyed in Ikerev, from the moment he rescues Alice in the rose garden and sweeps her away to safety in his own prickly way. I’m weak to any and all tsundere types, but especially weak to the snarky witty ones, and Oliver has that in spades. Or clubs, or hearts, or diamonds… 

What this means is that I would have probably enjoyed his route no matter what, but fortunately I didn’t have to make excuses for it. Oliver’s route, while it has its own share of snags (which I will address in due time), is a bittersweet trek through Cradle different than anything else we’ve had up until this point in Ikerev - and that is partly due to the plot and partly due to the man it revolves around himself. (Mild spoilers below the cut!)

To begin with, right from the start Oliver’s story differentiates itself and reminds us this is one of the ‘neutral’ routes. Through a variety of circumstances, Alice finds herself working with kid-Oliver as his workshop assistant rather than falling into her usual role of ‘domestic help’ with the armies, spending her nights at the Black barracks and her days at Blanc’s home helping Oliver with his task of attempting to invent something that will neutralize magic. Alice doesn’t know the truth behind Oliver’s affliction at first, staying in the dark as she and kid-Oliver bicker during the day and adult-Oliver comes to her rescue more than once as the writers milk the ‘handsome mystery man swooping in to save the day’ setup as long as they can. 

In the meantime, every eligible man in Cradle appears to make it his mission to woo Alice (usually in front of our frustrated, chronologically-challenged kid-Oliver) and we get to enjoy the tension of seeing him chafe against the constraints of his curse as his concerned friend Blanc looks on. It becomes clear that Blanc has been hoping for something along these lines to happen for awhile now, that he has been waiting for something or someone to come along that shakes Oliver out of his comfort zone. The impression we’re given is that Oliver is complacent and accepting of his situation, perhaps even welcoming of it for reasons that have a lot to do with his past, and that it has quietly pained Blanc to see what he claims is his ‘one true friend’ suffer for it - even if Oliver can’t recognize this for himself.

This lackadaisical attitude is given a final nudge into action when Alice is kidnapped right before Oliver’s very eyes, with insult added to injury when her kidnapper patronizes him for being a helpless child. Cybird themselves even makes this moment of transition very clear in the way that the portrait and voice at the top of Oliver’s story page change here, from kid-Oliver to adult. 

At its heart, Oliver’s route is about duality - that of our nature and that of the world around us, and how we choose to embrace or reject it. Oliver’s very character represents this, not just in the dichotomy of man vs child but in the fact that he represents two characters from the world of Alice in Wonderland. There is the obvious character of the Mad Hatter, full of whimsy and wit and trapped in time...but there is also a nod to another character from Through the Looking Glass, the White Knight. The White Knight defends and escorts Alice on her way to becoming a Queen, and he also is constantly inventing a string of inventions that make little sense. It is no coincidence that Oliver’s surname is Knight, nor is it a coincidence when Blanc tells him that even children may become knights in his attempts to pep talk his friend. The concept of being a protector is something that becomes ascendant in Oliver’s route as he shapes himself into someone that is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to keep Alice safe - and like the White Knight, he is also left behind to watch as Alice moves on with her life, crossing the river to become the Queen in the book, and in more than one bittersweet way in his Ikerev route.

The area I hesitate most on when it comes to recommending Oliver’s route whole-heartedly is the complicated question of his appearance. There are scenes in which he behaves as an adult while presenting as a child, and while I don’t feel as if Cybird ever crosses any hard and fast red lines there were occasional moments that I could see leaving some uncomfortable. It will be interesting to see if they tame or alter these bits to appeal to a more Western audience when they localize the route for the English app, or if they leave it as is. (For those curious, I wouldn’t say the ‘lines’ crossed go any further than Oliver’s birthday story - flirtatious remarks and occasionally behavior, but no physical contact or anything overtly sexual) 

As for Oliver’s personality, I wouldn’t say there is anything that we haven’t already gotten hints of from him in the content available in English. He’s witty and cutting, confident in his abilities and himself, stubborn at times and idealistic. He can be flirtatious, sensual, and a smooth talker when he chooses to be, and he delights in pushing Alice’s buttons to get a rise out of her. When he is an adult, he takes clear advantage of his ability to lord both his age over her and his greatly-improved stature - he picks her up and carries her around, or places her in his lap countless times, as if relishing the mere ability to do so that he is usually denied. And towards the end of his route he demonstrates great capacity for selflessness and courage, putting himself at great risk to try and resolve the problems facing Alice and his adopted home.

There are some fun, novel aspects to Oliver’s route as well. We get to see a great deal of how he and Blanc became friends, and tease out some of the connections between him and London and Alice. We get to meet some of Oliver’s family, even. There is less of a focus on the grand overarching concept of war and battles and more of a focus on personal struggles and the search for self, something that I found much more relatable as a reader and I think even Alice does as well. If the majority of the other routes of Ikerev so far have been a wide-angle view of the conflict between Red and Black, Oliver’s is much more telescopic and laser-focused.

There is plenty more that I could detail about Oliver’s route, or personality, but I have tried to keep spoilers to a ‘mild’ level here. If anyone is interested in the grittier, spoiler-chocked, RUIN EVERYTHING FOR ME version of things, let me know and I will write a separate post detailing some of the big twists and surprises his route took. I hope this was something of what you were looking for, Nonny...and I apologize for taking so long to reply to you!