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insipid-drivel · 6 months ago

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Toxins, Venom, and Poisons in Historical Western Medicine: How Are We Not Extinct From Doing Some Of This To Ourselves?

This piece is an involuntary piece inspired by @writing-with-sophia's awesome post "Poison list", which is an accurate and succinct list of commonly known (and ancient!) poisons, venoms, and toxins that have been and were used for causing poisoning in ancient and recent history. I wanted to write this because what struck me by their post crossing my dash was, the sheer number of poisons listed that were - and even still are - used as mainstays for healthcare around the world throughout the ages!

OBLIGATORY DON'T BE A DUMBASS PSA: If you're planning on incorporating these poisons into your HISTORICAL-era writing, it's also important to remember that many of them were used for medicinal purposes at one time, too, and it's great you're interested in learning about the subject! And also, you shouldn't try ANY of these! I will not tell you how to do it at home if you DM me, so don't! You are not appropriately trained to do it! You will harm or kill yourself and possibly your loved ones if you fuck around with any of these and it will be 100% your fault and you absolutely should feel bad bout it! I've seen some of you idiots believe 4chan posts about making home-grown crystals using recipes for actual mustard gas and seen you being wheeled into the ER on the news! I will not feel bad if you get yourself hurt if you screw around with any of these plants, elements, or animals!

Resource blog plugs and PSA over, now for the Hilariously Poisonous Medicines:

If you're writing something that's meant to take place prior to the advent of our more modern understanding of poisons, venoms, and toxins, factoring in "this is toxic to me NOW, but what about 500 years ago?" can add a lot of opportunities for interesting plot elements to your story.

These can include someone accidentally poisoning themselves with a toxic drug or substance that wouldn't have killed them if they'd handled it properly - like tansy? Grows all over the place in Europe and England? That'll kill you if you harvest it too late in the season, but it's good for intestinal parasites when it's harvested early in the year and processed right.

Did the lady's maid really kill her mistress with belladonna? Or was she trying to secretly help her mistress get rid of an unwanted pregnancy?

The protagonist's children can't survive to make it to weaning age! Is the wetnurse a poisoner, or does the milkman hide that he sells sour milk by pouring Borax into it so no one could taste it and has no idea he's killing his clients' babies?

Nuance and cultural mores regarding historical views about poisons and toxins can make writing even more fun, dynamic, and interesting! Explore 'em!

Just... please don't try any of this crap yourself. You will poison yourself, it will hurt, you will die, and you will hurt the entire time you're dying. Using OP's master list alone, here's the flip side of these lethal beasts through the eyes of our distant ancestors who believed illness was caused by "vapors", "bad air", and "imbalanced humors":

Hemlock:

Used across multiple different cultures in history. When properly administered to treat a disease, poison hemlock was used to treat asthma, whooping cough, bronchitis, joint/bone pain, muscle cramps, and insomnia. Hemlock was most often used as a sedative and antispasmodic.

Arsenic:

Arsenic is a heavy metal, and so has been used in everything from making specialty dyes for wallpapers (Scheele's green is the most infamous arsenic-based paint; Queen Victoria once had a guestroom in her palace redone with Scheele's green wallpaper. The first dignitary to stay there had to be carried out and taken to emergency care after breathing astronomical amounts of arsenic dust from the wallpaper's paint), to medicine. Arsenic was especially commonly used in history to treat skin ailments ranging from acne, to psoriasis, to syphilis sores. It was also sometimes prescribed for menstrual cramps, upset stomachs, colic, and arthritis, among many, many other things.

Cyanide:

Uh... I have literally never found any evidence of cyanide in medicine, outside of its use in modern medicine as part of certain chemical lab tests for measuring urine ketone bodies that involve no contact with a patient whatsoever. Cyanide literally works in less than a few seconds to render your entire body incapable of absorbing OR using oxygen in your lungs or already existing in your blood. Cyanide is really only good at making things that breathe not breathe anymore.

Nightshade:

There are a lot of different "nightshades", so being specific is essential here. Potatoes are nightshades. Tomatoes are nightshades. Calling anything a "nightshade" does not inherently mean it's lethally toxic. Belladonna is probably the most notorious of the "deadly" nightshades, but to this day, is still used medicinally, and would actually be seen as a health and cosmetic mainstay in historical fiction, especially if your setting is in Italy!

Belladonna is an Italian portmanteau for "beautiful woman", because tinctures (water-based drops) of belladonna were commonly used by Italian women as eyedrops to dilate their eyes and appear more attractive, aroused, and desirable. Today, belladonna's eye-dilating effects are still used by optometrists to dilate the pupils! Belladonna has been, and still sometimes is used as an NSAID, general painkiller, motion sickness treatment, asthma medication, and even as a treatment for IBS.

Ricin:

As OP said, Ricin is derived from the toxin found in Castor Beans, and is surprisingly new as an official "the only reason this is made is to make someone dead" poison. Not only is ricin a popular "nobody would think to test for this!" choice in mystery/thriller writing, but it has been used for political assassinations in real life before. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian anti-Communist dissenter and writer, was killed in 1978 with a 1.7mm diameter ricin-coated pellet shot into his thigh muscle by an unidentified assailant using a modified umbrella as a gun. He died 4 days later.

Historically, castor OIL has been used for medicinal purposes, especially for treating constipation, inducing labor in pregnancy, and as a topical skin moisturizer. If you've ever watched the opening scene in Disney's "Peter Pan", when the childrens' mother is trying to give them a spoonful of medicine each, she's actually giving them castor oil! Castor oil tastes really bad (so much so that flavorings like cinnamon were often added to try to muffle the taste), so the childrens' reluctance and disgust at their mom making them take their medicine is very realistic for the era the movie came out in!

Strychnine:

Another lethal poison that started life as a medicine/food additive. Strychnine is no longer used medicinally at all today, but historically, it was used to stimulate the heart, treat bladder and bowel incontinence, and limb palsy. Strychnine is a deadly-powerful muscle stimulant that, as a poison, causes horrifyingly painful full-body strictures (spasms) and destroys the cardiovascular system. (Fun fact: Strychnine and hydrochloric acid were historically mixed into cheap vodka to make knock-off gin, especially during the Georgian Era in England if the brewer didn't have or couldn't afford juniper berries!)

Snake Venom:

Seriously, do your research before you write an actual, real snake species using venom they don't produce! The Big 3 Forms Of Snake Venom are: Hemotoxic, Neurotoxic, and Cytotoxic. Specific snake species exclusively generate the same kind of venom (so a hemotoxic snake will ALWAYS produce baby snakes that also make hemotoxic venom). Aristotle himself wrote in 380 BC that certain snake venoms could be applied for treating fevers, smallpox, and leprosy, and there is even some evidence in the historical record prior to the 1800s that different cultures have experimented throughout the eons with using venom for converting into antivenom, but I've never found a source citing anyone making a successful form of antivenom until around the 1850s.

Digitalis:

OP really nailed the important thing about Digitalis, and that is it's cardiac benefits for certain people - particularly for treating congestive heart failure. Vincent van Gogh was actually prescribed epilepsy medication that likely contained Digitalis, aka Foxglove, and there are some prevailing theories about van Gogh's love of bright yellow paint as being either caused or exacerbated by the symptoms associated with digitalis use, which can cause an attraction to and increased visual sensitivity to the color yellow. In several portraits, including one of his own psychiatrist, van Gogh shows subjects presented alongside foxglove flowers. Digitalis is absolutely lethal if consumed or taken without expert guidance, however, because it's the mother ingredient of Digoxin. Digoxin isn't used as frequently as it used to be a few decades ago, but it's still used and prescribed today for certain forms of heart failure and heart disease. Digoxin was also, at one time, was also sometimes used to induce chemical abortions.

Lead:

Dear god, lead. Not only is it so slow to kill you that you'll think that the only way to manage your symptoms is with more lead, but lead poisoning can be a life-long crisis for a person who is regularly exposed to it. Humans have used lead for everything from plumbing, to paint, to our cutlery, to cosmetics, to medicine. While yes, it is very possible to ingest enough lead in a single sitting to die within hours or days, most sufferers of lead poisoning experience it for years or decades before the symptoms become obvious. Some archaeologists believe that the Romans used lead cutlery because lead has a unique reaction when we lick it: when you have lead coating your tongue, it makes EVERYTHING you eat suddenly taste 10x better. I learned this myself from going target-shooting with my mom at a gun rage as a teenager, inhaled gunsmoke (which contains lead), and went for lunch immediately after. Even though I was just eating a $5 meal from In-N-Out, my burger tasted so good I thought I was gonna have to change my pants. When I asked the rangemaster at the target place about it later, he literally said, "Oh yeah, lead makes the worst cooking taste like heaven."

The ancient Romans ate a lot of rotten, spoiled, and sour food, and so lead would've made it easier to eat it back then. But the neurological effects of lead poisoning are nightmarish. It's suspected that, in America, the #1 reason we had so many active serial killers in the country from the 1940s-2000s was because of leaded gasoline. Ever since leaded gasoline was banned? Serial and random violent crime rates have dramatically gone down, especially in metropolitan cities. Ancient Rome, too, gradually became an increasingly violent city as its population went up and its reliance on lead did. We're only just now starting to figure out how toxic lead actually is, so go nuts with using it as a plot element regarding subjects like "Why Are You Like This?"

Mercury:

Mercury is also known as quicksilver, because in spite of being a heavy metal, the temperature at which it melts into a liquid is very, very low compared to most other metals. The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was rumored to be so obsessed with the notion of immortality that he would send his doctors on doomed voyages around the world searching for a legendary substance that would, indeed, make him immortal. Legend has it that some doctors who were tasked with the job found out about the last guys, and produced mercury before Emperor Qin Shi Huang and cried, "Here it is! I got it!" so they wouldn't end up doomed to drown at sea. Qin Shi Huang became so obsessed with ingesting and medicating himself with mercury that, when his legendary tomb was being constructed, he had a small-yet-accurate-to-scale map of China+the known world about the size of a football field with every body of water full of fountains of running mercury in his burial chamber. His tomb was rediscovered in the last couple of decades after archaeologists found suspiciously high levels of mercury in the soil on top of a "hill" that had been sitting in the countryside untouched for thousands of years. It turned out to be Qin Shi Huang's long-lost tomb.

Since those days, mercury has closely been associated in early medicine as a sort of cure-all, since it literally kills anything it touches (including people). Captain Blackbeard himself, the most notorious pirate in Western history (Western specifically; google who Zheng Yi Sao was), was known or widely believed to be a syphilis sufferer, and desperately sought infusions of mercury from ships he'd capture (and the doctors onboard) to treat it, believing like everyone did that mercury could cure syphilis. It can't. They just didn't understand back then that syphilis starts off surface-level, and then eats your brain years after the initial infection.

Aconite:

Again, ridiculously toxic outside of specific medicinal applications that still aren't safe today! Aconite, or wolfsbane, has historically been used as a heart sedative (for slowing the heart), diuretic, painkiller, and even used to induce sweating. Evidence of wolfsbane being used for medicinal purposes has been spotted here and there over thousands of years throughout the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Empires, but its original use came about in Ancient Greece for hunting and culling wolves by poisoning bait-food with it. That form of hunting died out long before the European Middle Ages, but the name "wolfsbane" stuck. Mostly because in the Middle Ages, a lot of people believed werewolves were a huge problem, and kept wolfsbane handy to deter said werewolves.

Thallium:

Today, thallium is mostly used in the production of camera and eyeglass lenses. Before its toxicity was known about, it wasn't strange to hear of thallium being used topically to treat fungal infections like ringworm. Thallium was also sporadically used in treating typhus and tuberculosis, along with a wide array of sexually transmitted diseases.

This list doesn't even touch the tip of the toxic iceberg when it comes to the sheer quantity of hilariously dangerous toxins people have, or still continue, to use for medicinal purposes! In a Victorian-era English London middle-class townhouse setting alone, there were dozens and dozens of ways to poison or otherwise harm yourself just by going about your daily life. So, if you've got a period piece you're working on, or are just bored, you can pick an exact date and time in our history and learn just how terrifyingly comfortable our ancestors were with upsettingly dangerous substances and home remedies. You can also watch a massive docuseries, called "Hidden Killers" and hosted by historian Suzannah Lipscomb, among other historians and archaeologists, which deep-dives into the hidden and unknown dangers of living in eras from Tudor-Era England, to the Post-WWII Reconstruction Age.

As a final note: I am NOT bashing Chinese or Eastern medicinal practices here, and in fact deliberately have gone out of my way to not include any references toward culturally-sanctioned medicinal practices in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. This post is specifically related to the history of WESTERN medicines and their associated history. I am not, nor have I ever been, a doctor of any traditional Eastern medicinal practices, and do not pretend to know better. Sinophobes are unwelcome in my blog space.

#creative writing #historical medicine #writing reference #poison #toxins #long post #very long post #really long post #writing-with-sofia #sinophobes dni #if i've offended the OP of the first post with this i sincerely apologize #i got excited and it gave me a case of diarrhea-level infodumps

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thiswaytwoinfinity · 2 years ago

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just be a prick • jamie tartt x fem! reader

In honor of the season finale of Ted Lasso (because I refuse to let go of my beloved himbos), here’s a little story I wrote about everyone’s favorite scorer 😉

Warnings: smut (oral, f receiving; protected piv) so 18+ ONLY, canon-typical cursing, no use of y/n, Jamie being Jamie

Also the pic in the graphic is just for aesthetics and not indicative of reader’s appearance; no physical description is included.

The worst thing about Jamie Tartt isn’t that he’s a prick.

You knew he was a prick before you even met him. It was one of those fundamental facts of life, one of those things that was so intrinsically part of being a human that you didn’t need to question it. The sky is blue, two plus two equals four and Jamie Tartt is a massive prick.

Teachers may as well add it to their lesson plans, alongside phonics and multiplication tables.

It was the first thing you thought as you watched his over-the-top goal celebrations week after week. It rang through your head, clear as day, when he offered to buy you a drink at that ridiculous, super-trendy club your friends insisted was the best place for girls’ night.

And it was the annoying thought that stayed in the back of your mind when he had you pressed up against the wall outside the bathrooms, those bright eyes sparkling with mischief while colored lights danced across his cheekbones.

His reputation made you feel comfortable, in a way. You could flirt with him, kiss him, let him take you home, content with the knowledge that this was what he did, that it was all in good fun and there were no feelings involved that could possibly get hurt. Jamie was an asshole, a cocky, self-absorbed pretty boy looking for a good time — and you were fine with that.

No, the worst thing about Jamie Tartt is that he isn’t always a prick.

He was charming and funny when he flirted with you at the club, effectively distracting you from the sight of your flatmate making out with Isaac in the VIP booth next to you. He surprised you by remembering details from the stories you told, by waiting for you to nod your consent at him before he kissed you, by wordlessly draping his jacket around your shoulders to keep you warm on the short walk from the club’s back door to where his car was waiting.

Jamie’s hand is hot on your lower back as he guides you into the house, your cheeks warm from a night of drinking and laughing and flirting.

You expect him to be all over you immediately, wanting to get to the main event right away, but instead he offers you a drink and gets back to the story he was telling you in the car about something Colin did at practice that made Roy’s face turn nearly purple with rage. You’re doing your best to follow along with the story — Jamie’s terrible Welsh accent and his impression of Roy’s gruffness would normally have you in stitches — but you’re distracted by the way he runs his fingers up and down your arm, almost absent-mindedly as he talks.

His fingertips are leaving fireworks all over your skin, goosebumps following in their wake like your body already misses his touch.

You let out a shuddering breath and Jamie smirks, the absolute prick. He knows exactly what he’s doing to you. “Y’alright, love?” he asks, his voice dropping down an octave and making your toes curl in your stilettos.

“You gonna kiss me again, or what, Tartt?” you fire back, voice sounding steady despite your entire body wanting to melt into a puddle on his obnoxiously expensive kitchen floor. Jamie’s eyebrow raises and his arm wraps around your waist, tugging you closer to him before his face melts into the smuggest smile you’ve ever seen. It’s a miracle you don’t roll your eyes.

“Yeah, babe?” he teases, lips ghosting over yours. “You that desperate for it?”

“Jamie …” You’re attempting to tease him back but his name comes out high-pitched, like a whine, and that infuriating grin widens for a millisecond before his mouth is on yours.

And god, he even kisses like a prick, licking into your mouth with the same confidence he has on the pitch as his fingers tighten on your waist. Jamie’s teeth nip at your lip and you let out a moan, your hand flying away from the counter that was keeping you upright in order to wrap around his neck and pull your entire body flush to his.

Your head is spinning, sparks exploding behind your eyes and by the time Jamie pulls away to breathe you’re beginning to wonder if you had him wrong this whole time. There’s still a ghost of a smile on his lips as he drags them along your jaw, across your cheek, to suck at that spot behind your ear that makes you moan. “Thassit, yeah?” he murmurs against your neck, “That’s what you were looking for?”

“Fuck you,” you huff out, eyelids fluttering closed as he continues to tease you.

“Trying to, love,” Jamie responds, pulling back to cup your jaw so that you have to look him in the eye as he winks at you. His thumb caresses your skin, and for a second there, you almost forget that this is Richmond superstar Jamie Tartt — it’s just you and Jamie, the gorgeous guy who chatted you up during a night out. You’re tempted to succumb to the thought, to pretend that this is more than just a hookup and there’s the potential for something more here.

It’s a dangerous thought.

You tangle your fingers in Jamie’s ridiculously highlighted hair and tug his mouth back to yours, shoving any of those stupid, romantic ideas in your head aside in favor of feeling. You can indulge in what-ifs tomorrow — for now, what matters is losing yourself in this moment and letting his touch chase away anything that could distract you from this beautiful, absurd man.

A soft moan escapes from his mouth and you just kiss him deeper, pull him closer to chase that noise out once more.

You have no idea when — or frankly even, how — Jamie managed to get you into his room with your dress on his floor, but you’re not complaining, not when he’s got that self-satisfied smile back on his face as he uses his teeth to tug your panties down.

“You’re a fucking menace,” you say with a laugh and, oh, apparently Jamie takes that as a challenge because he stops showing off and practically tears that scrap of lace off of you before diving in between your legs like a man on a mission.

“Fuck, Jamie. Oh my god,” you moan as he works his tongue with the kind of passion he normally reserves for game days. He laps and sucks at your core and your back arches up from the bed; Jamie works a finger inside your wet heat and crooks them just right and there’s nothing left in your mind other than a litany of JamieJamieJamiefuckyesJamie.

“Shit, right there … don’t stop, please,” you babble, moaning and whimpering when Jamie begins sucking at your clit just as he adds a second finger to join the first. He flicks his tongue against that sensitive nub, pressing his fingers right into that perfect spot inside you that causes another wave of wetness to gush out of you.

Your thighs are shaking, hips moving against his mouth and Jamie fucking Tartt is smirking as he eats you out and it’s so obnoxious but goddamn it’s so hot and you’re coming, jaw dropped open in a silent scream as your vision whites out for a second. His fingers work you through your orgasm as he coos at you, that Mancunian accent stronger than normal as he tells you how “fucking sexy you look right now, falling apart for me.”

“What the fuck?” you pant, chest heaving as you try to catch your breath. “Oh my god …”

“S’ good, yeah?” Jamie asks, sliding his fingers out of you before popping them in his mouth and sucking them clean. You lift your head up just enough to roll your eyes at him before flopping back down onto the bed.

“Yes, it was fucking good, you fucking prick. That was … I’ve never — “

“Oh?” he cuts you off, one eyebrow raised as that cocky grin spreads across his face. His chin is shiny with your arousal and you don’t want to give him the satisfaction of complimenting him, but he clearly knows that he just blew your mind. Jamie crawls his way up your body and leans in, bumping his nose against yours as he brags, “I just like to make people happy.”

“Shut up,” you whisper against his lips, licking into his infuriating mouth. The taste of yourself is prominent on his tongue, along with the faintest hint of the vanilla vodka he drank at the club and the smugness that has been driving you crazy all night.

You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, braced for the moment that Jamie goes full-on prick and selfishly puts his own pleasure above everything else.

But just like he surprised you at the bar and in his kitchen, by going down on you so enthusiastically, he surprises you by taking his time with you, drawing out two more orgasms with his fingers and his hips before his thrusts begin to get frantic and sloppy.

“Fuck, yeah, babe, you feel so good … so tight and warm,” Jamie babbles, his face pressed against your throat, hands gripping yours on the pillow above your head. “So fucking good, been doin’ me head in, driving me insane since I first saw you.” He lets go of your hands and slides his down your body, before wrapping them around your plush thighs and pulling, bending your legs at the knees and pressing them up towards your chest.

“Jamie, Jamie … Jesus, fuck, right there,” you whine, and he flashes a smile at you once more before he feels you clench around him with pleasure and his eyes fall shut. “So good Jamie, your cock feels so good. Pleasepleaseplease.”

“Yeah, you want it babe? You want to feel me lose it? Want me to come for ya?”

There’s something about hearing Jamie say such dirty things in that fucking accent that makes you feral and your head tosses back and forth on the pillow. One hand works its way back into his hair and you tug at the longer strands at the back of his head, making him keen and pound into you harder.

“Thassit, baby, yeah,” he chants. “‘M coming, gonna come for you, fuck … fuck.” With one, two more deep thrusts, Jamie lets go, spilling into the condom as his arms give out and he flops down on top of you. You can feel your walls fluttering around him where he rests inside you and he lets out one last little whimper.

You’ve never felt more like a goddess in your life.

Later, after he finally pulls out and disappears into his en suite to discard the condom, Jamie surprises you once more by gently cleaning you up and settling back into bed with you, chatting about the match Richmond has against Tottenham later this week. His fingers are drawing lazy patterns along your skin, lulling you into a sense of comfort as you cuddle up in his fluffy duvet.

You’re waiting for the awkward moment when you’ll have to get dressed and call an Uber before slinking out of his house in the early hours of the morning — but it never comes. Instead, the two of you talk and banter until your eyelids get too heavy to stay open and you drift off with Jamie’s arm wrapped loosely around your waist.

When you wake up the next morning (far too early, in your opinion, but Jamie says he usually gets up at 4 to train), he makes you coffee in his obnoxiously expensive Nespresso machine. You flirt with him some more as you stumble back into your heels and wait for a car to arrive. Jamie walks you to the door in nothing but his briefs and kisses you so intensely that the driver actually tuts when you slide into the car, cheeks flushed and a smile firmly affixed to your face.

He texts you later that day, a cheeky message asking to see you again soon with an appalling amount of emojis and as you feel your face heat up again, it finally hits you.

The worst thing about Jamie Tartt is that you could very easily fall in love with him.

Pls don’t delete my story readmore

Comments/reblogs are very much appreciated!

#ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #Ted lasso fic #jamie tartt #jamie tartt: himbo extraordinaire #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt smut #Ted lasso smut #ted lasso season 3 #jamie tartt/reader #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt x y/n

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manorpunk · 2 months ago

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To Seize and Hold - Act II

Distracting myself from election scrolling.

+++++

Jacob Martin Rider is modeled after a very particular type of guy, a type of guy who is intimately familiar to grand strategy gamers, central European history buffs, and anyone else who knows what a ‘Hussar’ is. That type of guy is the cavalry dandy.

The cavalry dandy is a grizzled, battle-tested, hard-drinking killer, a 17th century Rambo who charges into the nearest fight before he even knows who’s at war. The cavalry dandy is also a vainglorious fop obsessed with preening and fancy clothes. He is a perfect example of how changing and nebulous something like ‘masculinity’ is: the military is supposed to be the domain of masculine manly men, hard-eyed killers fighting other hard-eyed killers, but it is also a place of elaborate ritual, fancy uniforms with braids and sashes, dance-like ceremonies of precision movements, even those big dumb Air Force swords. Martial culture is the epitome of homiesexual. Or, to put it in Jacob’s words:

“If you want success on the battlefield, you need a fag. Alexander the Great? Huge fag. Frederick the Great? Huge fag. Napoleon? He’s French, so it’s complicated.”

But seriously, who the hell is this Jacob Martin Rider guy? Here’s what has been pieced together from a combination of primary sources, interviews, and good old-fashioned rumor, as will be revealed throughout the story:

Back in the day, JMR was a self-defense instructor who worked with queer groups, training people in martial arts and shooting. By 205X, when the remnants of America were bogged down in multiple wars with massive fronts, Jacob gathered his former students and lovers together into a small army and offered his services to the New US Army. He was hastily given the rank of Major by general Tony Poolsupplies and stationed in the northern Michigan front of the Quebec War.

Tony had little faith or trust in Jacob, however, calling him a “dollar-store Napoleon,” and he plunked Jacob down at a quiet outpost along Michigan’s coastline and refused to give him any orders. Jacob, meanwhile, privately referred to Tony as a “McClellan-ass bitch” and accused him of deliberately prolonging the war to get kickbacks from arms manufacturers.

Despite being roadblocked by his superiors, Jacob worked tirelessly on scouting, surveying, and reconnaissance, and noticed what appeared to be a contingent of the Imperial Quebecois Army preparing to reorganize by transporting reinforcements across Lake Huron in unarmed and unarmored ships. He recognized the opportunity for a rapid attack that could isolate and scatter the opposing army, potentially winning the war in one fell swoop. When Poolsupplies left him on read, Jacob decided to go ahead with the attack anyway. The Battle of Lake Huron was a resounding success for the Great Lakes Republic, and his use of small-arms drones for screening has arguably been influential in the development of mid-21st century drone tactics.

Despite his success, Jacob was immediately stripped of his rank and put on trial for disobeying orders, or lack thereof, and launching an independent offensive. And also for a lot of procurement fraud, that’s how he got rich but everyone forgets about that part.

Fast-forward, and enter Sunny Roosevelt. She thinks that JMR would make a perfect candidate for her defense advisor - talented and experienced enough to be useful, and crazy enough that she could always find a reason to drop him like last season’s merch. There’s the perfect opportunity to test him, too. Northern Michigan looks like it’ll be crawling with right-wing forest militias - again, sigh - so he can start off by getting a lay of the land and drawing up some contingency plans. What Sunny does not know is that there’s nothing Jacob loves more than strolling into a small town and pissing everyone off with his public flamboyance.

It does not take long for Jacob and Liam to both capture each other’s interest. The attempts by Liam’s father to keep the two of them apart other only gives it the sweet, sweet allure of ~*~forbidden love~*~. After Jacob saves Liam from being cornered by Byron Weber (one of Remington’s large adult sons), Liam enthusiastically agrees to be whisked away from his hometown to live at Jacob’s mansion.

And what a life it is! Peace and luxury, no need to work, and he can finally get in touch with the side of him that he’d had to keep hidden for all his life. Things slow down a bit as we take some time to develop the relationship, reveal Jacob’s backstory, adjust to the new routine, and have lots of gratuitous sex scenes. The fun and games before we raise the stakes and have the big midpoint moment, to put it in plotting terms.

Liam gets to know the new cast of characters, including a trio of maids who seem to share a special, as-yet-undisclosed relationship with Jacob:

Anton Smolenski, from Moldova. Short and somehow has naturally pink hair. He is the stern and serious one of the trio, perpetually scowling with his hands on his hips or his arms crossed.

Brandi Hyde, from Tidewater. Tall, gaunt, and stooping with long blonde hair, facial scars, and a wide, unsettling grin. The creepy one of the trio, fond of eye shadow, knives, and giggling slowly.

Ismai’l “Izzy” al-Iskander, from Balochistan. The suspiciously sweet one, with sleepy eyes, perpetually tousled hair, and a fidgety smile.

Still, it’s not long before a sense of unease starts to nag at Liam, although everyone else assures him that it must be him shaking off the results of his upbringing. For instance, he gets some odd looks for practicing Founderism - the fun new Christian heresy where the Founding Fathers are worshipped as saint-demigods. It’s not just Liam’s upbringing, though, it’s also his knowledge that he won’t be able to stay here forever - and even if he could, he wouldn’t want to. He wants to keep a sense of independence, the knowledge that he’d be okay if he ever had to leave, but he quickly learns that it won’t be easy. First, he’ll need to get his future-GED to qualify for citizenship. Classes are all online, and he tries to find a study group or a way to meet with other students, but other people tell him shit like “oh yeah if you have a Buck.it account you can sign in through Toastr. Do you have Bip? You need Bip.”

Liam continues to play Aivrcade, but one day when he signs in, he’s suddenly locked into a private server that he’s never heard of before. When it loads, he’s in a room with Sunny Roosevelt. She is distinctly not cute and bubbly. In fact, she’s dressed like a mob boss, with a red suit and large shades. She tells Liam that Jacob’s been talking about him - not a lot, but she picks up on these sorts of things. Jacob seems to like him. A lot. And that’s a very useful bit of information. Especially since Sunny needs someone to keep an eye on Jacob. Hint hint.

Liam objects - after all, he hasn’t exactly been trained in espionage. How could he pull this off?

Don’t worry, Sunny says, you grew up queer in a small town, so you obviously have some practice with hiding things. Besides, there’s a lot of money in it for you if you say yes. You’re trying to be independent, right? Don’t look so surprised, of course I knew that, I’m Sunny. With the money I can give you, you’ll be set for life without a sugar daddy.

Liam asks if he has to go along with this or if he can say no.

That’s a very good question, Sunny says. Can you say no to me? I suppose there’s only one way to find out. If you really want to know the answer that badly. :)

Liam says yes, and Sunny gives him the password for the private server he can use to contact her to give her all the juicy details.

As a result, Liam starts to look at Jacob differently, the things he says and does and what they mean. He listens in on Jacob’s conversations, and

Turns out the maid trio have been with Jacob since the Battle of Port Huron - they look much younger than they are thanks to future-drugs. Anton thinks Jacob has been going soft and has been privately goading him to get back to his roots. What happened to the old Jacob, the one who trained people, taught them how to protect themselves? Goddammit, it’s time to bring back the Battletwinks. Anton is like a foil to Liam’s desire for self-reliance and autonomy, taking it in a more aggressive direction - “autonomy means forcibly carving out a niche for yourself and remaining vigilant in a cruel world.”

I notice now that this is a bit messy - I mean obviously, it's an outline, and it's the middle parts, it's the different threads that will have to be bound together very carefully. Setting up the dominoes to have a satisfying payoff.

#to seize and hold #jacob martin rider #sunny roosevelt #liam hessian

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aquitainequeen · 2 years ago

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Okay, so after much thinking about Shadow and Bone Season 2, I've narrowed down one major issue from which other issues arose, which is: time.

Time affects Shadow and Bone season 2 in several ways, but the four that stand out to me are time allowance, pacing, beginnings, and narrative. Time allowance and pacing rather speak for themselves. Netflix really should have given this season two more episodes, to provide more room for plot, dialogue, character arcs, etc; and others who are far better than me at this have elaborated on the pacing.

In terms of beginnings, Season 2 suffers from the same problem that harmed the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy; the writers had their hands tied about where they could feasibly start it. This impacts the whole season moving forward.

To elaborate: in the Original and Prequel Trilogies there were established periods of time between the plots of the films, so the OT takes place over four years and the PT covers thirteen years, which meant there was at least some room to hint at the building of character relationships between both the protagonists and the villains. Having time skips between the films allowed for hints of backstory to add extra weight; even if you haven’t read any of the (frankly gargantuan amounts by this point) material set between Episodes IV and V, you can still appreciate the knowledge that Vader’s been obsessively chasing down Luke Skywalker for the past three years, and you can understand Luke’s determination to beat the spectre that’s been hunting him across the galaxy.

In stark contrast and by necessity, the creators had to start The Last Jedi almost immediately after the end of The Force Awakens, because they needed to show the fallout of the cliff-hanger that was Rey holding out the lightsaber to Luke; what would happen when Luke began to train Rey, or return to the Resistance, or do whatever; what would happen when Finn woke up from his medical treatment. All of which did occur, but it meant that the first two films in the sequel trilogy ended up covering at most a week to a week and a half, at the end of which most of the characters still barely know each other, and their friendships/enmities don't have as much weight as those in the previous trilogies.

Compare this to Shadow and Bone. Season 1 ended with Alina and Mal leaving Ravka for the time being and Kirigan emerging from the Fold with the nichevo'ya, both of which could have allowed for some passage of time between seasons and Season 2 beginning some months later, as was the case with the books...

...but Season 1 also ended with the Crows planning what they were going to do when they returned to Ketterdam without Alina. And in my opinion this trapped the writers, because by necessity they had to show what happened when the Crows got back and suffered the logical fallout of stealing a job from Pekka Rollins. And since the writers now had to keep both the Ravkan and the Crows narratives in the same time frame, they also had to continue the stories of Alina, Mal, Kirigan, Genya, Nikolai, Zoya etc from this point as well. Which means that barely any time has passed since the battle in the Fold and Alina and Kirigan becoming, to quote Tolkien's Unfinished Tales, 'unfriends forever', and barely a few more weeks pass before the events of the season's final episode.

And the thing about Alina's journey is that it's not a story that can or should be told very quickly, or in a relatively short time frame. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdoms, put together, is an epic, action packed, violent heist and revenge story. The Grisha Trilogy is a different kind of epic, a struggle to protect and save a kingdom, and even the whole world. It's a story that needs to address the persecution of a entire group of people, across multiple countries. It's a story where there should have been a lot more talking between the protagonists and the antagonists as they try to sway each other to their side. It's a story that should have included resistance fighters and guerrilla warfare, and far more struggles between the opposing forces as they challenge and occasionally dismantle each others' points of view.

It's the sort of story that should be told over months or even a few years, not weeks.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone season 2 #shadow and bone thoughts #finally got some of my thoughts down #long post #sab #I plan to add a few more thoughts to this but I wanted to get these down now #shadow and bone season 1

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stwritings · 2 years ago

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Funny Seeing You Here

Synopsis

Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.

Author’s Note

This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.

What To Expect

Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡

Series Warnings

Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.

Chapter 12

“Your what now??” Wayne exclaimed, eyes bulging out of his head, a confused expression painted across his face.

“My brother…?” she began. Exhausted from her prior panic attack, y/n forgot for a second that she had never told Wayne about Dustin. In fact, no one in her life knew she had a brother. Given the current state of their relationship, she had always felt it was best if she kept that fact to herself. It happened to work out in her favor that Dustin went to a different elementary school than her and by the time he reached Hawkins High, she had long graduated.

“Oh, you don’t know!” she softly stated, realizing the topic had never been brought up before.

“Do tell…”

By the time she finished explaining the whole story to Wayne, it was past 10pm. Wayne had waved off multiple nurses coming in to inspect why the curfew wasn’t being respected, growing more irritated with each half hour visit. It certainly didn’t help that the most persistent nurse coming around was Margot, who had garnered quite the reputation for being a bit of a… well, to put it lightly, she wasn’t the most patient nurse around. She was known for snapping at patients, y/n having been on the receiving end of her wrath a few times, and her coworkers alike. Wayne didn’t like that, in fact, he and Margot had developed quite the feud over the past few weeks. Wayne wasn’t one to tolerate rudeness, especially towards the patients, and he made Margot well aware of it. While staying (somewhat) professional, they were constantly bickering, Margot often being the one to instigate their conflicts.

Once y/n finished telling him the whole story, they were both quiet for some time. Wayne wanted to choose his next words carefully, understanding more than ever why she had been apprehensive about opening up. His train of thought was abruptly interrupted when Margot came rushing into the room.

“How many times do I have to come in here to tell you two to be quiet!” she yelled, flailing her arms angrily.

“Margot! Would you just… Give us a minute!” Wayne snapped back, losing his temper. “I’m sorry,” he began, pressing his fingers to his temple trying to collect himself. “Just give us a few minutes, please.” His plea was in no way a genuine request, more so a stern demand.

With a huff, Margot crossed her arms and stormed off, this would not be the last he heard from her.

The tension in the room lifted a bit following that interaction, y/n unable to hold back a snicker. She knew Wayne would be paying for that later. Her giggle was infectious, Wayne letting out a roar of laughter.

“Well kid, I’m sorry you had to go through all that crap. But your brother reaching out is a good thing. Maybe you guys can patch things up!” he suggested with a warm smile.

Y/n paused, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, maybe… What if he hates me?”

“Have you ever gone out of your way to make plans with someone you hate?” he asked, amusement painted on his face. Over time, Wayne had gotten pretty good at deconstructing her anxieties and helping her see how silly they were.

“No… I guess you’re right” she said with a weak laugh.

“Always am,” he winked and stood up, “now, I better get going before little miss attitude comes back around. You get some sleep; I’ll see you in the morning with breakfast.”

“Goodnight, thanks Wayne.”

With a nod and smile, he reluctantly headed towards the front desk, presumably in an attempt to patch things up with Margot. The last thing he needed was another complaint to their boss on her part.

While she normally gets woken up from the sun beaming through her window, this morning’s culprit was the harsh overhead lights shinning above her. Most likely exhausted from the night before, y/n had slept in much later than she usually does. 8 in the morning wasn’t exactly considered late, but to her standards it definitely felt like it. Y/n took the term ‘early riser’ to a whole new level, typically waking up around 6am each day. She barely got the chance to rub her eyes before Wayne came by with her breakfast tray. Despite her state the night before, she was unusually chipper today.

“What’s on the menu?” she asked energetically.

“Woah there, you beat me to it!” said Wayne, obviously startled by her pep. “Today we’ve got scrambled eggs, an orange and water!”

Y/n grabbed the tray from his extended arms and began eating. The eggs were always questionable, but today they weren’t so bad. Nevertheless, she gobbled them down quickly to avoid dwelling on any weird textures or flavours. A technique she adopted early on in her stay here. Wayne continued doing his rounds and upon his return, y/n already had the empty tray waiting for him to collect.

“You trying to win a race, kid?” he joked, noting how quickly she had finished her food.

“Guess I was hungrier than I thought.” She noted. “Last night took a lot out of me.”

“No kidding, glad it hit the spot!”

“Ehhh, I wouldn’t say that” she quipped.

Wayne snorted, knowing exactly what she meant by that. He was no stranger to the food provided here, having the misfortune of trying it a handful of times when he forgot his lunch at home. “How are you feeling today?”

“Honestly, good. It’s weird, I usually feel awful for a few days after having a panic attack.”

“That��s great to hear, when are you seeing your brother?” he asked.

“11am, he’s meeting me here.”

“Have you cleared that with reception yet,” he started, the question rather redundant given that she had just woken up. “I’m not sure that we’re allowing visitors at the moment.”

“Oh, I was hoping we could arrange our walk then and I could sneak away like I usually do.”

Wayne’s eyes widened and he motioned his head towards the hallway, a gentle reminder that this arrangement could easily get them both in trouble if overheard.

“By sneaking away, I mean going to the bathroom!” she said in a less than convincing tone.

“Nice save” Wayne said sarcastically. “But yes, that should be fine.” he concluded in a low tone, nearly whispering.

Y/n giggled. “Perfect, I’ll see you at 11!”

As luck would have it, y/n had a busy morning prior to her meet up with Dustin. Relief washed over her upon reviewing her schedule, knowing that her packed morning would leave her little time to worry and overanalyze the many possible outcomes of seeing her brother.

Her scheduled meet up with Wayne went according to plan, and she was able to scurry down to the lobby of the hospital without any issues, Wayne keeping an eye out for trouble while she was away. Once there, she found a seat near the entrance and kept to herself to avoid any suspicious glances from the staff. She thanked her lucky stars that she changed into her regular clothes instead of her normal inpatient attire, given the many nurses wandering around who could easily identify her.

She anxiously glanced at the clock, keeping her head down the rest of the time to avoid detection, growing more restless as the seconds passed. Despite being early, she worried that her allotted time would run out before she could speak with her estranged brother.

Those thoughts faded away when she spotted a pair of dirty white sneakers planted in front of her. She shot her eyes up, only to be met with her brother grinning wildly.

“Dustin!” she exclaimed; her tone coated in disbelief.

Before she could process what happened next, Dustin had already wrapped his arms around her seated body. A few moments passed before her stiff demeanor softened and she leaned into the hug. She was the first to pull away, giving him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of time.” she began “How are you?”

“I’m great! Thanks for meeting me, I know it’s been-“

“14 years… I know. I… I didn’t think you remembered me.” She stated, eyes meeting the floor. There was a moment of silence before she continued. “I don’t mean to be abrupt but… Why did you call?”

“I would have sooner if I knew you were here! I should probably start by apologizing, really, but I know you don’t have time for that right now. I always wondered why you left...”

Her eyes started to tear, images of her long-lost childhood flashing back. Her mouth opened in an attempt to speak, but the lump in her throat prevented words from coming out. Dustin seemed to notice and took her silence as an opportunity to get everything off of his chest.

“You know, Mom still talks about you and the ‘good old days’, as she likes to call them. Not very often, but she still does sometimes. Usually when you get a little bit of wine in her.”

They both chuckled simultaneously at the thought, she remembered her mother’s fondness of wine. She never drank much anymore, likely due to y/n’s father often abusing the substance. With him being drunk more times than not, Claudia felt it was best if her daughter had at least one parent that wasn’t inebriated all the time. That didn’t stop her love of wine however, which she was able to rediscover once she met Dustin’s father; a stable man for the most part.

“Does she still drink white?” she asked, a small smile lighting up her face.

“That woman loves her Chardonnay” Dustin retorted meeting her gaze.

After a moment of slightly awkward silence, y/n mustered enough courage to speak.

“So what made you come looking for me? I mean, how did you know where to find me? Or that I was even in Hawkins?” she inquired, her initial plan of asking one question at a time failing from eagerness.

“Well, like I said, Mom doesn’t like to talk about the past much, she never told me why you left, or where you had gone. I stopped asking after a while and accepted the fact that you just weren’t around anymore. It wasn't until my friend mentioned you in conversation that I had to reach out.”

“Your friend?” she asked, perplexed.

Of all the people she knew in Hawkins, she couldn’t pinpoint a potential mutual friend they might have. Their age gape being the main factor, her lack of current contacts being the second. It had been months since she had a visitor, let alone a friend reach out.

“Yeah! Eddie, I mean, our friend now, technically!” he exclaimed excitedly. “I wish I had known you two we’re friends, I would have reached out way earlier!”

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t help the confused look that was now painted across her face. Eddie was her age, and they hadn’t known one another for long. Why was Dustin hanging out with a 20-year-old? And why was Eddie talking to him about her?

“You… Wait why…”

“I know, why am I hanging out with him, we’re in a club together at school, and well… With everything that’s been happening, we grew closer.”

“A club…?”

She couldn’t help her seemingly useless questions, her mind felt like it was on autopilot.

“Hellfire Club! You know, D&D? It’s a-”

“Fantasy game, yeah. I used to play as a kid. I think I left it at mom’s place when I moved away.”

“That was yours???” he exclaimed “Oh you’re so much cooler than I remembered you being.”

“Well you were 7 so, i don't know how credible your accounts of events are” she teased.

“Hey, I’ll have you know, my earliest memory was from the age of 2 when you insisted on making me watch the entire Star Wars series.”

“Okay, those are good movies! Forgive me for trying to educate the youth on amazing cinema!” she retorted in a playful tone.

“I never said that was a bad thing.” he replied with a kind smile.

She returned the smile feeling warmth in her heart. Their interaction was going better than she had hoped. “So, are you still into all of that stuff?”

“What, you mean nerdy stuff?” he asked, amusement in his tone.

“Yeah, or was my attempt at corrupting you into a geeky lifestyle unsuccessful?”

Dustin chuckled, “It’s no wonder Eddie likes you. Yeah, I’m still into all that stuff” he confirmed, his last few words accompanied with air quotes.

She felt her heart skip a beat, replaying Dustin's words in her head. ‘Eddie likes me?’

Her thoughts were racing, Dustin’s admission, whether intentional or not, of Eddie’s feelings had her reeling. Did he really mean that in the way she thought he did? Was she getting ahead of herself in thinking that Eddie felt the same way about her as she did for him? She must have been lost in her thoughts longer than she noticed as she was interrupted by Dustin’s voice calling her back to reality.

“Y/n?” he asked tentatively.

“Yeah, sorry, uh... Yeah Eddie’s great. We just met not long ago. I had no idea you two were friends. I guess we never got on that topic.” She offered.

"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, we should hangout sometime! Us three! You know, if you want to..." he trailed off not wanting to seem too eager.

"Yeah, i'd like that" she replied, still harping on her brother's previous sentence. Was she reading too much into it? He could have simply meant that in a casual way. The same way you "like" ice cream or cats. She was lost in her thoughts, so much so that time had escaped her. She was brought back to reality when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Wayne marching his was over to her looking less than pleased. Crap.

The angry look on his face, accompanied by his sheer size must have been intimidating. This was evident in the look of terror displayed on Dustin's face. "Y/n......Y/n!" he whispered urgently with fear in his tone.

"It's okay! That's Wayne, he's cool." she responded attempting to reassure him.

"Is he?!" her brother exclaimed.

Before she could reply, Wayne was now hovering over her grinning wildly, a look he had only given her a couple of times previously. She was in big trouble, and she knew it.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but." Rather than finishing his sentence, he gestured towards the clock. She read the time and froze in fear. She was about 15 minutes late to getting back to her unit.

"Oh, shit!!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry Dustin but i've gotta go!"

She quickly got up from her seat and began retreating to the elevator, Dustin following close behind her before Wayne gently stopped him by placing a hand on his chest and shaking his head, a motion advising him to stop right there.

"Ok, uh, i'll call you!" Dustin exclaimed as she got into the elevator. She gave him one last smile before the doors closed, and slowly turned to face Wayne. Her face contorted in fear and remorse as she braced herself for the lecture of the century.

Chapter 13

After a long awaited new chapter, here it is! Not proofread, i was too excited to post it lol :c

Let me know what you think & if you’re interested in being on my tag list ♡

Tag list - @kik51199 , @ladyapplejackdnd , @motheraiya , @jqfan-oxa , @kaqua , @munsonzzgf , @haleighdriver , @thatlonelyalto , @ghoulsgraveyard , @sxpphicfxiry , @hellbaby237 , @grey-water-colors , @tubble-wubble , @moviefreak1205 , @piperd06 , @thats-s0-ravenn , @thegirlwhohides , @starryeyedkoko , @eddieshands86 , @xhorror-nerdx , @fandomsunited , @girlsvvish , @idkidkknemore , @chloe-6123

#eddie munson series #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x reader #stranger things eddie #eddie munson #stranger things 4 #slow burn fic #stranger things #st 4 fix it fic #fluff #angst #funnyseeingyouhere #eddie munson angst #st4 fic #eddie munson fic

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kitkatt0430 · 1 year ago

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So I think part of the problem of Savitar in S3 was that there was a lot of build up for this character in the front half of the season. He was billed as the god of speed across multiple Earths, possibly the entire multiverse. He had people who followed and worshiped him. He wiped out an entire dig site just to possess Julian and take advantage of Julian's ability to create new metas.

And then in the back half of the season, a lot of that gets dropped. We don't really see much, if any, of Savitar's cult after Killer Frost takes over Caitlin. Savitar's plan to spread himself across the multiverse is his back up plan for after killing Iris fails, so it doesn't really make sense that he was known across the multiverse before that point because... that wasn't his plan? We never find out where the cult came from. We never find out where it went? (Why didn't Godspeed co-opt it for his own uses?)

Suddenly Savitar isn't this multiversally feared god of speed, but an angry, pouty version of Barry with an entitlement complex. His timeline looked more like a series of loops leading ever further back in time. He's created in the fight to seal Savitar in the Speed Force Prison. So he goes back in time to that fight to ensure he's created. Maybe before that he goes back to position Julian to ensure that he'll be able to manipulate him later with the Philosopher's Stone.

Given that the stone doesn't exist post crisis, it may not have existed pre crisis either. At least not the ancient version that gets talked about. There is a strong implication in S3 that the stone was created as a result of the Speed Force Prison, so it may have always just been confused with the legends of old and placed in the past by Savitar playing fast and loose with time. Which also explains the origin of the Savitar cult. He had time to do that before meeting up with his self-creating fate in the future. And once within the Speed Force Prison he would have had to ready himself to face the moment that knocked over the first domino that led to his existence.

But it's just... all these story elements ended up wasted. Savitar gets built up to be this huge threat to Team Flash and Iris specifically and then... all of it gets dropped to focus on the concept of Barry-as-Savitar with Frost as his only real ally.

None of Alchemy's metas ever turn out to be truly useful to Savitar - except perhaps Wally since he did end up setting Savitar free from jail. And maybe that's the role Savitar originally intended for The Rival?

Anyway, it might have been interesting to have at least brought the cult back later on. Maybe Godspeed takes advantage of it since he, like Savitar, was claiming to be a god of speed. Or maybe Savitar!Barry was just taking advantage of what he thought was just ancient superstition? But turns out there's a real Savitar - the original speedster, closer to the character from the comics - out there. And it's his cult that Savitar!Barry appropriated for Alchemy's use?

But a lot of season 3's plot threads just get dropped or retconned afterwards, leaving us with canon basically saying that there's a cult for Savitar out there and Team Flash just kinda... forgot.

#kitkatt0430 rambles #the flash meta #the flash #fandom meta

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abcnewspr · 2 years ago

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ABC NEWS ANNOUNCES RACHEL SCOTT PROMOTED TO SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT

ABC News president Kim Godwin sent the following note to the news division announcing Rachel Scott as senior congressional correspondent.

Credit: ABC/Danny Weiss Good morning, ABC News –

I wanted to share the exciting news that Rachel Scott has been promoted to senior congressional correspondent. Rachel has had a meteoric rise at ABC News, and with this promotion, she rightly takes her place as a senior member and leader of our unparalleled and formidable Washington team.

In just two years covering Congress, Rachel has brought sharp, incisive reporting to a historically busy period at the Capitol. Rachel’s first day on the beat was Jan. 6, 2021, when she unexpectedly found herself providing live coverage of the unprecedented attack on the Capitol. She stayed with that story through the second impeachment of President Trump and, more recently, with expert coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings. Rachel has also led our coverage of the negotiations and ultimate passage of multiple pieces of significant legislation, including the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Respect for Marriage Act, and the first major gun safety legislation in decades. Rachel is an integral part of our powerhouse political team, most recently working the ‘Big Board’ alongside Rick Klein and Nate Silver during midterm election night. And just this month, she provided superb, tireless coverage of the historic speaker fight through all 15 votes on the House floor.

Rachel has also repeatedly brought her trusted voice to reporting outside the Beltway. She has received numerous awards for her relentless coverage of the state of abortion in America, both pre- and post-Dobbs, in communities across the country. She was also on the front lines during the racial unrest following George Floyd’s murder, providing weekslong, on-the-ground live coverage of the nationwide protests surrounding police brutality and COVID-19’s impact on communities of color. Rachel boldly pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on human rights abuses in 2021 during a press conference in Switzerland. She also reported extensively on the 2020 presidential campaign trail, traveling thousands of miles covering both the Democratic Party primary and former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. Her work earned her three of the most prestigious journalism awards all in one year, winning a Peabody for her coverage of abortion on “Nightline”; an Edward R. Murrow Award for her podcast series “Accountable,” which she hosted with senior White House correspondent Mary Bruce; and the inaugural Emerging Journalist Emmy Award. She has also been recognized with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Emerging Journalist of the Year and Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, both in 2020.

Rachel is an exceptional teammate and colleague, and I look forward to seeing more impactful and thoughtful reporting from her. With another consequential election season right around the corner, Rachel and the entire Washington team’s straightforward journalism couldn’t be more valued.

Please join me in congratulating Rachel.

#oneabcnews

Kim

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homebody-nobody · 2 years ago

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this is an unpopular opinion but since i love ur takes i would like your opinion on this. don’t u think the fandom sometimes forces so many dynamics between the pogues because they want all the pogues friendships to be equal? even when that’s realistically impossible. as a group, they all would fight for each other but the differences in loyalty will always be present.

you cannot ask jj to be loyal or open to sarah or cleo the same way he would with john b, pope or kie. it’s not realistic. i think that while he cares about sarah as a friend and has bonded with her. the reason him and pope even cared for her was because of john b, he loved her and therefore they extended their loyalty towards her. and i know people might disagree on this but if it came down to sarah or john b, i believe kie would put john b first. when ward “died”, her loyalty was towards john b. this is why it was a bit unrealistic for kiara to not be a little bit more upset over her cheating on john b. i wish the writers would’ve done a better job on making us believe in the friendship between kie and sarah but so far the dynamic between the og pogues seems to be the most believable and organic.

now with the added romantic pairings, you can expect them to put their significant other first. john b has put sarah over his friends multiple occasions even if indirectly. he did so very directly in this finale against his dad. i would imagine pope will start to experience a similar switch with cleo if presented with the challenge and of course, i think we all know that if it comes down to the pogues plans or kiara – he will pick kiara. he was ready to ditch the gold and to delay john b’s plan to safe his dad for kiara. and this is actually an interesting plot for the pogues. how willing are they to put their lives in danger now that they are not longer just a friend group with a common goal? but there’s romantic partners in the mix… it used to be only sarah, now there’s more players in the game.

As far as I know, I haven't encountered people trying to force pogue friendships? But I don't read a lot of fic so it may be happening in spaces I'm not in.

I think that loyalty is a central idea to the show, for sure, and we see varying levels of that across dynamics and in different circumstances -- family, found family, friendships, and romantic relationships. I think that the 'deserted island for a month' thing was meant to enhance and reinforce the pogues love and loyalty for each other, including Sarah and Cleo.

re: the Kie & Sarah dynamic, I understand what you mean about Kie's reaction to Sarah cheating on John B, but we have to remember that Sarah and Kie had a relationship -- a very deep, intimate one -- before the show began. Kie was hurt by her betrayal, but after Sarah's apology in season one and everything else they've been through together since, I think Kie's loyalty to Sarah makes sense. Also, Kie had the context of what happened -- she got to see Sarah's deep guilt and shame over what she did, and while it's clear she doesn't approve of it, she understands where Sarah is coming from and wants to stand by her and help her repair her relationship with John B. I think at that point in the story, Sarah has proven her loyalty to the pogues several times over, and while Kie was nervous when she saw Sarah with Topper, the way that Sarah immediately ditched Topper and went with Kie ( I was CHEERING in that moment -- I was so hoping they weren't gonna force more Kie & Sarah conflict For The Drama), reassured her that Sarah's loyalty was in the right place. Also, Kie has a huge heart, and we know that she's very compassionate -- she loves animals, struggles to kill, even for survival, hurled herself off a tanker to save JJ, and risked her life to save the pilot. Kie giving Sarah the benefit of the doubt, hearing her explanation, and deciding to help her and still be her friend, I think, is still very much in character. I also wish we got more Kie & Sarah bonding scenes, but, the pates are men, and treasure rules the day.

I completely agree with what you said about John B and JJ, and their unfailing loyalty -- that trait is central to their characters and has already been a source of conflict for John B with his dad, and then also with JJ and Luke a little bit in season two. IN terms of Pope and Cleo, I don't think I could see Cleo putting Pope in a position to choose between backing her up or staying loyal to his friends, mostly because of Cleo's demonstrated loyalty to him and the rest of the group. Cleo grew up with no family, and I think that's the most important thing to consider when we look at her entrance into the pogues found family. Her instant loyalty makes a lot of sense -- these are the first people who have really showed that they care about her beyond what she can do for them. From the Pogues' side of things, Cleo has saved their lives (multiple times, I'm pretty sure), and is a valuable and valued member of the crew.

All in all, I think exploring the dynamics between all the members of the group is a really interesting thing to do in fan spaces, because we only get bits and pieces from the show. John B and Sarah, obviously, are already well-established with Cleo, as well as Pope, but we only see one moment of interaction specifically between her and JJ (when Cleo and Pope show up to the air strip), and so far, nothing between her and Kie. (Although it would be really interesting to see those two band together and bond over their experiences as black women, because Kiara hasn't had a friend who shares that life yet.) We see a lot of Sarah and Kie, but only one moment with Sarah and JJ (re: the overpass incident), and we know Sarah went to tell Pope about Rafe being back, but that happened offscreen.

For fic purposes, I think making them cohesive as a general crew makes sense, and while their are obvious differing levels of familiarity and friendship, I think loyalty, in this case, becomes transferrable. Sarah is loyal to JJ and Pope because John B is, and she trusts him. Same with Cleo to Kie and JJ with Pope. Also, even though some of the pogues have underdeveloped relationships with each other, I think they would still lay their life on the line for any of the other members, simply because they know that's what everyone else would do for them. This is illustrated especially by Cleo's loyalty and desperation to find Kie in the first two episodes, even though all of the development in their relationship happened off-screen, while surviving on the island for a month.

TL;DR - Basically, I don't think fans are forcibly or unrealistically depicting relationships between the pogues that don't know each other as well for two main reasons. 1) I haven't encountered it myself, and 2) by exploring and understanding evidence from canon, unfailing loyalty across all dynamics still makes an enormous amount of sense.

#so sorry this is a #long post #but I love getting questions because I love this show and I love talking about it!!#anon #answered #the pogues #this was a great question and I enjoyed answering it!!

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themovieblogonline · 1 month ago

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The excitement around this year’s Oscar race is building as we approach the final stretch of screenings and releases. With major contenders like Gladiator II, Wicked, Annora, and Conclave making waves in Hollywood, it is time to dive into the predictions and buzz surrounding these films. Their performances, star power, and critical reception have set the stage for what could be a memorable awards season. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the current frontrunners, key reactions, and predictions for each of these major Oscar contenders. Wicked: A Highly Anticipated Adaptation Wicked, the beloved Broadway musical, is receiving a two-part adaptation that has already captured the attention of the entertainment world. The first installment, Annora, had its official LA Academy screening on November 9. This event marked the highest turnout of any film this season, demonstrating the immense anticipation for the film. Not only was the screening a major event, but it also received a standing ovation, signaling positive early reactions. The film’s omnipresence continued with its L.A. premiere later the same day and a premiere in Mexico on November 11. With stars like Cynthia Erivo in the lead role and Ariana Grande playing a supporting part, the film has garnered significant media coverage, making it a serious contender in multiple categories this awards season. The initial consensus is that Wicked is a strong, high-quality adaptation, positioning it as one of the top films to watch for this year's Oscars. Gladiator II: A Sequel 24 Years in the Making Gladiator II's early critical reception is a mix but there is still plenty of excitement surrounding the film. It currently holds a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which, while not stellar, is reminiscent of the original Gladiator that scored 80% on the platform. Despite similar early reviews, the 2000 film went on to win the Best Picture Oscar, suggesting that initial reactions may not always predict the outcome. The film had a major world premiere in London on November 13, attended by King Charles III at a Royal Film Performance fundraiser, adding to the film's prestige. The cast, including stars such as Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, is poised to generate significant attention as they head to Los Angeles for the official Academy screening and Q&A session on November 18. With its grandiose scale, Gladiator II could still take-home multiple Oscar nominations despite mixed reviews. Box Office Performance of A24’s Heretic A24's Heretic opened wide at the box office this past weekend, grossing $11 million and narrowly missing second place. While the film’s box office performance might not be on par with other blockbuster releases, it still indicates strong audience interest. This performance is especially notable when compared to other smaller releases such as Mubi’s Bird, Searchlight’s A Real Pain, and Neon’s Annora, all of which performed well despite being in limited release. Heretic’s box office takes place in the growing demand for well-crafted films, and it could be a sleeper contender in the Oscar race, especially in categories such as Best Picture and Best Director. With more screenings and discussions planned, Heretic could see increased momentum leading up to the Oscars. Major Documentary Race: Sugarcane and Super/Man Lead the Charge The documentary race has seen some strong contenders in the lead-up to the Oscars, with Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and Sugarcane dominating in terms of nominations. Super/Man won in all six categories in which it was nominated at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards on November 10, including Best Feature. Meanwhile, Sugarcane impressed at the same ceremony, winning two major awards: Best Political Documentary and Best True-Crime Documentary. The film has also been a frontrunner at the Cinema Eye Honors, where it garnered six nominations, including Best Documentary Feature. This film’s widespread recognition across major awards circuits points to its strength and could position it as a top contender for the Best Documentary Oscar. As the race progresses, both Super/Man and Sugarcane are likely to remain in the conversation, with each bringing powerful stories and critical acclaim. The Grammy Nominations and Oscar Tie-ins The Grammy nomination announcements on November 8 are out and they have significant relevance to the Oscar race. Notably, the scores for Challengers by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and Dune: Part Two by Hans Zimmer are receiving nominations for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. While Dune: Part Two’s score may not be eligible for the Best Original Score Oscar due to eligibility rules, its Grammy nomination could still raise the profile of its music in the lead-up to the Academy Awards. Meanwhile, the song “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” from Twisters, written by Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs, and Jonathan Singleton, was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media, further linking the Grammy world with the Oscars. With music playing such a crucial role in film, these nominations could signal additional recognition for these films in various categories come Oscar time. The Busy Awards Season Weekend Ahead This coming weekend promises to be one of the busiest of the season, with key events surrounding the Governors Awards. Multiple screenings and Q&As are scheduled across Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, including Paramount’s September 5 at the PGA with producer Sean Penn and A24’s The Brutalist at CAA with director Brady Corbet and his film’s stars. Other major events include Netflix’s Maria in Hollywood with Angelina Jolie and several roundtables featuring top contenders from across various films and categories. These events are crucial for these films allowing them to further engage with voters and industry insiders ahead of the nominations. Additionally, Paramount is throwing a celebration at the Sunset Tower Hotel for their full studio slate, with more focus on individual filmmakers like The Substance writer-director Coralie Fargeat at the French Consul’s residence. The sheer number of events will ensure that all major contenders remain in the spotlight. Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code continues to be a popular mention across various platforms this awards season, as the buzz around these films intensifies. With promotions available this award season these codes kick it up a notch when it comes to excitement to guess who the winners are going to be. Final Thoughts While the big players like Gladiator II and Wicked dominate the conversation, there are still other films that could emerge as surprises. Bird from Mubi, Anora from Neon, and A Real Pain from Searchlight all performed well in limited release and are garnering significant buzz. Bird especially has been well received by critics and audiences alike, with many predicting it could surprise in categories such as Best Director or Best Adapted Screenplay. Similarly, Anora is seeing great reactions for its unique storytelling and performances, making it a film to keep an eye on. As we get closer to the awards season, these films might just rise to the top, especially as other big contenders face more competition. This year’s Oscars race is wide open, with a mix of well-established films and underdog contenders all vying for recognition. From Wicked’s standing ovation to Gladiator II’s star-studded premiere, the contenders are lining up to secure their place in history. As the season progresses, these films will only gain more attention, ensuring an exciting and unpredictable awards season.

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ear-worthy · 9 months ago

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Hot Pod Goes Cold; Substack & Spotify Team Up; IAB’s Digital Advertising Report

Podnews reported lastweek that Hot Pod, one of the longest-running newsletters about podcasting, is to suspend publishing. Lead reporter Ariel Shapiro has announced that her last week with its owner, The Verge, will be next week. Deputy Editor Jake Kastrenakes added: “We won’t have a new writer in place by next week, so we’re planning to put Hot Pod on hiatus while we figure out next steps.” The publication’s writers, Ariel Shapiro, Ashley Carman, and Nick Quah, have been a vital part of the industry since 2014 and Podnews reported that "Hot Pod inspired them to produce this daily newsletter in 2017."

I'd like to start a campaign to convince The Verge to hire one of these three people to take over Hot Pod. All three are tremendously talented and know podcasting

The three are Arielle Nissenblatt, Wil Williams, and Samantha Hodder.

First, Arielle Nissenblatt is well-known and highly regarded in podcasting circles. In today's fragmented media world, there are TikTok celebrities, Instagram influencers, and YouTube stars who are unknown outside their media universe. If you've been involved in podcasting in any way over the last few years, you know Arielle Nissenblatt.

"I've been working in the podcast space since early 2017 when I started a podcast recommendation newsletter called EarBuds Podcast Collective,"Arielle notes. "Since then, I've managed podcast studios, worked as an in-app curator, gone to school for audio production, produced several podcasts, run successful marketing and PR campaigns for several dozen shows, have organized podcast communities on Twitter, Discord, and Slack, and much more."

Arielle confesses to "love working in and around audio because it's my favorite way to consume content. I want to help more people find their next favorite podcast."

Arielle is the founder of EarBuds Podcast Collective, a podcast recommendation newsletter. She is on the community team at Descript, an AI-powered video and audio editing software service. She hosts three podcasts, Trailer Park: The Podcast Trailer Podcast, Feedback with EarBuds and Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You with Arielle and Ned.

Then we have Wil Williams, who is currently a marketing specialist for Tink Media. Williams has written for Discover Pods, Polygon, Vulture, and The Takeout. She has appeared on KQED's Forum, WAMU's 1A, Slate's ICYMI; has cried listening to Wolf 359's "Memoria" at least five times.

Williams is also the CEO of Podcast Problems LLC (If you have a podcast, you have problems), and you should read her website if you are a podcaster. You can read her articles there, including Your Podcast Needs Better Show Notes, Your Podcast Needs Better Metadata and my favorite, How I Know So Much Shit.

Williams also writes and manages the Substack Podcast Marketing Magic. When it comes to podcast journalism, Wil Williams is one of the very best.

Then we have Samantha Hodder, who is a multihypenate -- someone who does several different jobs in the entertainment industry—and does them well. Her Substack newsletter Bingeworthy is the mother ship for narrative podcast opinion, review, trends, and analysis. Hodder began the newsletter in September 2022 and has already amassed an impressive following.

Samantha is an award-winning audio producer and writer. She has been making media across multiple formats for over two decades. She publishes regularly on Mediumand on Substack. Her narrative storytelling podcast This is Our Time launched in 2017. It is a memoir-based story about an all-women’s expedition to Antarctica for women. Season 2 was featured in the Hot Docs Podcast Festival in 2021. She works as a freelance podcast producer, editor and narration script advisor. This year, she began to teach and mentor students at TMU and OCADU in narrative podcasting.

She also works with other writers and creatives one-on-one to help them find a winning narrative structure for their projects. To see if this approach could be helpful to your work, find her free 5-day email course Find Your Fish, which draws on lessons from screenwriting, podcasting, journaling and mindful meditation.

Over the last two decades her writing has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines and her interactive work has premiered at festivals internationally. She was the recipient of the Al Waxman Calling Card for her first documentary, The Mantelpiece, which was broadcast on TVOntario, and premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Festival in 2004. Her short film The Nothingness That Is Everything opened in Venice, Italy in 2018.

And if all this information doesn't persuade you, Samantha is from Canada.

So I ask The Verge to consider these three talented women for the role at Hot Pod. This esteemed publication deserves a person with a deep knowledge of podcasting and a lifelong passion for audio.

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Before I extol the virtues of this latest collaboration between Substack and Spotify, I must confess that I am a little wary. Spotify entered podcasting in earnest four years ago, and since then has created an industry-wide asset bubble that since has burst, purchased accomplished podcast studios like Parcast and Gimlet and dismantled them with no remorse, and produced and released a lot of crap.

So, we'll see how this goes. Podcasters on Substack are collectively earning more than $100 million in annual revenue, a number that has more than doubled in the past year. The number of active podcasters on the platform has also more than doubled in the same time span. And it’s not just that new opportunities are available to podcasters bringing their shows to Substack—it’s benefiting existing Substack publications too. Those writers and creators who have added audio and/or video to their Substacks grow their revenue more than 2.5 times as fast as those who haven’t.

Substack makes it dead simple for anyone to independently create, publish, distribute, grow, and monetize a show.

“We used to have two different feeds, one for our paying subscribers and one for everyone to listen to free shows,” says @Alex Kirshner, a host of @Split Zone Duo, the biggest sports podcast on Substack. “We were looking for a way to put everything under one roof and make the experience as easy as possible for the people who pay us for our work. Moving to Substack from Patreon has let us do that and been very, very good for our growth in not even half a year.”

**************************************************

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership comprises more than 700 leading media companies, brands, agencies, and the technology firms responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital ad marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing.

I know that's a mouthful, but the IAB holds an annual in-person and virtual meeting introducing new podcasts from some of the largest podcast networks.

The IAB's report on advertising revealed that digital advertising revenues reached a record-high of $225 billion, increasing by 7.3% year-over-year overall (YoY) between 2022 and 2023, according to the newly released “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2023,” conducted by PwC. The report found that Q4 saw the highest growth rate of 12.3% from the year prior (4.4%), with revenues rising to $64.5 billion. “Despite inflation fears, interest rates at record highs, and continuing global unrest, the U.S. digital advertising industry continued its growth trajectory in 2023,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “With significant industry transformation unfolding right before our eyes, we believe that those channels with a portfolio of privacy by design solutions will continue to outpace the market. For 2023, the winners were retail media, CTV, and audio, which saw the highest growth.” Audio advertising also saw a robust expansion, growing 18.9% to reach $7 billion. It is still the fastest-growing channel, albeit at a slower pace than last year.

I know that most podcast fans have little interest in advertising trends and finances, but ads pay the bills for many podcasts.

#podcast #podcasting #business #advertising

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desidarling123 · 2 years ago

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First of all, I am a WOC. I am, in fact, a desi woman like Inej is. I don't represent all of us, certainly, this is only my take, but this issue is, in fact, near and dear to my heart. Let me answer this in parts.

If you hadn't already been aware of the books, you would be confused about what exactly Inej's trauma is

I'm going to need y'all to stop babying the non-book reading audiences and assuming they're not smart enough to pick up on hints. I've watched the show with multiple non-book readers at this point and every single person had put 2+2 together without any prompting. A trawl through the show's subreddit will show the same thing. Just because a hint is subtle rather than explicit doesn't make it any less meaningful?

Now, to be clear - I'm okay with a thoughtful criticisms of Inej's limited backstory, or suggestions on where and how it could've actually been added in. The tweet in question is doing the opposite of that, citing the actress' scene directions that literally ALL viewers could immediately pick up on as SA subtext.

Yes, I know they might be saving Inej's trauma for the spin-off but that doesn't mean that people don't get to get mad for them basically leaving that out in the original show they created.

Except... it hasn't been left out? If it had been there WOULD be nothing to talk about? There have been plenty of moments across both seasons that indicate what her past was like.

Also, why haven't folks considered that if discussion of her background so far has been limited, this is likely by design?

The writers confirmed she's getting an ENTIRE EPISODE in the spinoff series from her POV that goes into her past (and the entire series has been written already). Seems very obvious to me that what they're saying is, hey, we DO have a fucking plan, and we're placing her backstory here for maximum narrative effect?

If anything, shoving her backstory into an already-hectic S2 series would've run the risk of not doing her story the justice it deserved.

Also Inej's reactions to Tante Heleen are so wildly different from the books

Because... this isn't Inej from the books? As we've been told multiple times from the get? An Adult Inej would, in fact, act and respond very differently than a teenaged Inej from the books would. All of her responses thus far have tracked, in that we see that she's been affected by her time with Heleen and would rather die than going back, but she pushes onward because that's what she has to do.

Again. A little critical thought. That's all I'm asking.

sab fandom negativity part 3

*deep inhale* i am LOSING my patience for real real. are yall being purposely dense now or what.

the writers wrote this literal scene do folks really think they gave amita the script with zero notes or direction like, good luck bb

PLEASE USE YOUR BRAINS

'they didn't bother to show us a small part of her past' this scene WAS very clearly indicating her past to anyone with eyeballs and a functional frontal cortex like hello???

rollins literally talks abt shackling her up in the menagerie attic like 20 seconds before this ... the fact that we're in Traumatown is as fucking obvious as it gets.

also like. this scene. is clearly an adaptation of the dunyasha storyline from crooked kingdom. so if anything, by making her pursuant a man instead of a woman they added layers of her trauma that weren't there in the original fight.

and a big point that rlly goes for all half-baked criticisms of the new season - just because an element you were hoping for doesn’t look like what you wanted, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

the books often spells things out so explicitly in text because That's the nature of a book. if you're looking for the exact same thing in the show, you end up missing the subtler ways the on screen adaptation can include it.

#replies #kanej #inej ghafa

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angryschnauzer · 4 years ago

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Undercover Honeymoon

Summary; Having survived a helicopter crash that killed off the gang you and your senior agent had infiltrated, you hide out from the storm that brought the aircraft down by pretending to be Honeymooners at a boutique hotel... but what will 24 hours with August Walker bring you? Trouble, that’s what, and the best possible kind.

Pairing: August Walker x Female Reader (no race or body type specified)

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Smut, honestly this is entirely smut, its a crack fic too. Sigh, here goes: face slap, murder, August in a hoodie and grey sweatpants, oral sex (female recieving), blowjob, drunken antics, impared judgement, titty fucking, fingering, unprotected sex, anal sex, inappropriate lube, multiple orgasms, dubious consent, choking, dom-vibes, Sugar Daddy arrangement (but no Daddy kink).

I do not run a tag list, but if you go and follow @angryschnauzerwrites and hit notifications, you’ll get an alert to any new stories i post. All previous fics can be found on there or on my Ao3

Undercover Honeymoon

The helicopter spiralled out of control, the tall pines looming through the storm of the century rain, screaming filled your ears, unsure if it was the sound of the engines failing or coming from your own lungs. The aircraft made contact with the trees and everything went black.

“Agent… AGENT!” a slap across your face sprang you from your unconscious state, your vision blurred and you winced at the sharp pain that shot through your temple as the face before you came into focus.

“Walker?” you muttered; “Can’t blow our cover…”

Strong arms gripped your shoulders;

“Wake UP! Everyone else is dead”

The next hour was surreal. Agent Walker - your superior officer - had pulled you from the wreckage of the helicopter, past the lifeless bodies of the gang you’d infiltrated, some of which had injuries that looked suspiciously like gunshot wounds. Either way you were alive and so was the other undercover agent, and having spent the last four days running bank robberies you were relieved to be rid of the brutal gang.

Agent Walker had half dragged half carried you through the forest, and even though it was the middle of the day, the torrential rain and dark storm clouds above made the way feel like you were travelling at twilight. When you stumbled on some roots he caught you, his arm firmly around your waist;

“C’mon Agent, not much further now…” his voice softer than usual, reassuring even.

“Where’re we going?”

“Out of season ski lodge… should be quiet this time of year, just a couple of wildlife watchers no doubt”

What you’d been expecting was a cute little place with checkered curtains and cutesy decor, what you’d arrived at was a luxury boutique hotel. Agent Walker had managed to spin a very convincing tale of your car leaving the highway due to the weather and he’d arrange to get it recovered after the storm so you could continue your ‘honeymoon’. The receptionist had smiled warmly and offered the pair of you the luxury suite, August merrily peeling $100 bills off a stack he’d produced from his pocket, the paper band that held them together from the robbery slyly crumpled up and you quietly picked it up from the floor, a tiny smirk on the corner of his face when he spotted you covering his rare mistake.

Ten minutes later you were settled in your shared room, starting to peel yourself out of your soaked boots and clothing as you eyed the enormous bathroom and ultra fluffy robes that were provided.

“I’m going to go to the gift shop…” he announced, breaking the silence; “They do hoodies and stuff, i’ll grab some dry things to change into…”

“Thanks Agent Walker… I’m going to take a bath…”

He nodded quietly, standing at the door;

“It’s August… call me August”

You must have fallen asleep in the bath, as the next thing you know there is an insistent knocking on the bathroom door;

“Honey? Honey, everything ok in there?”

“Y-yes, Sorry, fell asleep…”

“Ok Honey, just got room service here delivering some lunch”

“Thanks Aug… Augie…”

Augie? Where the hell did that come from? You mentally chastised yourself. An hour ago he was your senior agent and all round grumpy supervisor, now he was ‘Augie’? You actually facepalmed yourself before taking a deep breath and climbing out of the bath. A few moments later once you were dry, wearing the fluffy robe you stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, your breath catching in your throat;

“Augie… we have company?”

Agent Walker was standing in the middle of the room in his shirt, underwear and socks, talking to the room service attendant as he tipped the young man;

“Darling, lunch is here, you must be famished” he let a warm smile spread over his face as he turned to the staff member; “We must have a bite to eat… expending lots of energy, it is our honeymoon after all…”

Once he’d ushered the man out of the room he cleared his throat and his expression dropped, his face serious again;

“I got your new attire… it fits more with the location” he motioned for you to follow him to the bed where there were a number of things laid out, however your feet were rooted to the floor; “What?”

“You’re… you’re in your underwear…”

He looked down, almost in shock to discover he was without his cargo pants;

“Yes? And you’re completely naked beneath that fetching white robe” he motioned to a side of the bed where a bunch of things were sat on the pristine white duvet; “So unless you wish to eat lunch having me know you are naked save for a glorified towel with sleeves - and that would be a delightful thought - you may want to get changed whilst i shower”

Without another word he smirked, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief and grabbed a pile of clothing on the bed, before sauntering into the bathroom, leaving you open jawed at both his sassiness and his tight ass in snug jersey boxers.

Turning back to what was laid on the bed you looked over what he’d managed to get in the hotel’s boutique; a daringly short floral summer dress, a hoodie with the Hotel’s logo on, a pack of novelty thong panties also with bears on, and the highest heeled wedge sandals you’d ever seen. Although none of this surprised you, it was after all the kind of hotel where in good weather, the rich and famous could have cocktails on the deck as they overlooked the Rocky mountains, the fact he’d managed to find your exact size in everything was impressive.

Leaving the heels off for now, you pull the panties and dress on, throwing the hoodie on unzipped to cover up a little, before going to investigate the food, realising that you probably hadn’t eaten for close to 24 hours. You were bent over the service trolley scrutinising the various dishes that had been delivered when you heard his voice;

“Huh, didn’t need to buy you a wallet, those tiny panties show off your silken purse beautifully Princess”

Spinning around you gasped, about to give him a piece of your mind but your train of thought stopped like a record scratch. There before you stood Agent August Walker, grey sweats hanging dangerously low on his hips, chest bare as he pulled a khaki green hoodie over his still damp curls. You noticed how his beard was a little beyond stubble, his mustache curling as a small smile tugged as his lips. Your gaze unashamedly ran down the length of his entire body, emphasis on length as it was clear he was without any underwear, and those rumours that were quietly whispered in the ladies room at the Pentagon were looking to be true as to exactly why they called him ‘The Hammer’.

Still holding a cooling French Fry he sauntered over to you before grabbing a sandwich from the platter;

“My apologies… that was inappropriate” he took a bite, before talking with his mouth full; “Been a crazy 24 hours huh?”

“Y-yeah, you could say that… so, what’s the plan?”

Just at that moment an incredible gust of wind rattled the windows to the point you thought they would blow in, the lights overhead flickered before settling back to bright as he answered;

“Eat, Drink, Sleep. We’re stuck here at least overnight. We don’t have any cells or electronics people can trace, and having checked the map this is not the closest civilisation to the crash site so even if people did come looking for us, this isn’t the first place they’d think of… however in this weather the roads are impassable, at least two rivers have breached their banks, we’re basically cut off from the rest of the world here in our own little bubble” he took a bite of sandwich before grinning at you; “So eat up, the bar downstairs is well stocked, dinner is apparently served in about 4 hours, and there’s a game room if you’re up for a round or two of pool…”

Giggling you both tumbled into your suite, August flicking the light switch up and down before realising the power had gone out at the exact moment he’d unlocked the door;

“Oooh dark… are you afraid of the dark Princess?”

The pair of you stumbled and turned, pushing the door shut and you found yourself pressed between it and August’s body, his lips finding your neck as he pressed kisses along your jugular, his facial hair leaving behind a trail of tingling skin in its wake;

“Depends who i’m in the dark with…”

He was so close, in the faint last traces of daylight as the storm took hold of the night you could see the outline of his face, how his long eyelashes rested against his cheeks as he closed his eyes, his breath warm on your skin as you were surrounded by his scent, pine soap and single malt whiskey;

“A monster…”

“I was never afraid of monsters…”

He dropped to his knees in front of you, pressing a kiss to your clothed stomach before his hands were beneath the skirt and pulling your novelty panties down;

“Hold your dress up Princess, show me that pretty pussy”

Doing as he told you, you gripped the pretty fabric in your hands as he hooked one of your legs over his shoulder, pressing kisses to your inner thighs before his thick fingers parted your folds and he dived in. His mustache and light beard pricked at your sensitive skin, but his tongue and lips soothed your aching core, desperate for attention and dripping with need as he went to town on you. He quickly brought you to orgasm before pushing you on for the next, his fingers now knuckle deep in your velvet walls, curling just right to find that spot that had you dripping, his tongue working against your clit to the point where you had to steady yourself by curling one hand through his soft chestnut curls, riding his face as you cried out his name.

Now over sensitive, you pulled his curls to get him to relent, a grunt of frustration coming from between your thighs;

“Augie… please… too sensitive…”

He quickly stood, lifting you to kiss you roughly, his tongue pushing into your mouth and you could taste yourself on his tongue as he gripped your ass as he carried you across the room before unceremoniously dropping you on the bed;

“Strip” he commanded as he staggered to the bathroom.

You ignored his request, instead reaching for a bottle of water at the side of the bed, taking a drink from he as he returned holding a bottle;

“August… what’s that?”

He looked down at the bottle, almost surprised he was holding something and blinked a few times before looking back at you;

“Baby oil. Its... Baby oil”

“Why do you have Baby oil?” you asked, already knowing the answer but with a sly streak wanting to get him to admit it

“Because they didn’t sell condoms in the gift shop so i cant fuck your pussy because i can’t check to see if you’re on birth control” he blurted out quickly.

Whatever you had been expecting, it hadn’t been that, and as you coughed on the water you had been about to drink, August got distracted and moved to light the candles that sat on the table in the centre of the room now that the only available light was the tiny light over the sink in the bathroom that was battery operated. You watched as he somehow managed to strike the matches and light the candles even though he was visibly drunk, before returning back to the bed and standing over you;

“Why aren’t you naked?” he frowned at you; “Don’t make me rip that pretty little dress off of you Princess”

Shimmying out of your dress you bit your lip as you watched him watching you, the low light dancing over your body and enough for you to see the obscene bulge barely contained by his sweatpants. He stood at the edge of the bed, towering over you before he took hold of your ankles and roughly pulled you to the edge of the bed before he pulled the grey sweats down and you finally got sight of his legendary hammer;

“Fuck…”

“We’ll get to that Princess, but first, suck”

Taking him in your hands he was hot and throbbing at your touch, his thick shaft patterned with veins, heavy and virile. You pumped your fist, your fingers unable to meet as you worked his uncut dick. You felt his hand on the back of your head, pulling you closer until you had no choice but to open your mouth and take him as deep as you could, gagging as he immediately hit the back of your throat and started to fuck your mouth.

Holding your head in place with both hands he rocked his hips back and forth, groaning as he stretched your lips almost uncomfortably. Soon you had spit running down your chin as he rained down a stream of degrading compliments;

“Cock hungry slut, look at you with my dick in your mouth… does it taste good, Jesus christ your tongue is perfect, yeah do that thing again, fuck, i can feel your throat tight around me…” with a gasp he pulled out, a trail of spittle hanging from your lips to his angry red tip, before he grabbed the baby oil and pushed you back until you were laying flat on the bed;

“Push your tits together, i’m gonna fuck them and cum all over your pretty face”

He climbed on the bed, straddling your lower torso as you found yourself pushing your breasts together. The click of a bottle of baby oil and it was being poured in the valley of your chest, before he settled his dick against the slick skin. He dropped the bottle and with a grunt pulled his hoodie over his head, revealing his glorious chest, covered in dark hair and thicker than you had realised.

His dick was heavy against your chest as he took your hands in his and showed you how he wanted you to hold your titties for him, rocking his hips bath and forth as his hot flesh slipped through your soft pillows, the angry tip poking out at your neck with each thrust;

“So fucking pretty, gonna cum all over that face… you wanna taste my cum you little slut? Yeah? Cock hungry slut, can’t get enough of my dick, can you?”

You didn’t answer, the lust in his eyes making you drunk with desire, instead you tipped your head to your chest and opened your mouth, letting August’s dick slide into your mouth, the salty tang of his precum hitting your senses.

His thrusts were becoming rough and violent, his hips squeezing your ribcage as he fought back against the urge to cum, but you wanted it, needed it;

“August, will you cum on my face, pretty please?” you batted your eyelashes at him innocently and it was the final straw, and you watched as he threw his head back and thick ropes of his creamy seed spurted over your mouth and cheeks as he groaned so deliciously. On the last spurt you leaned forwards and took his tip into your mouth, gently laving your tongue over the leaking slit, before releasing him softly. August had eased his gasp on your tits, and using his thick finger he scooped the cum from your cheek;

“Open wide Princess”

Sticking your tongue out you sucked the bitter treat from his finger, before he repeated it with the other cheek. Finally swallowing you grinned at him;

“Thank you August”

His hand paused on your cheek, softly cupping it;

“Anything for you Princess… now scoot up the bed, i wanna eat that pussy again whilst i get you ready for my dick”

He swung his leg over so you could wriggle up the bed, and immediately he was laying between your legs, both of your thighs over his shoulders as he started to sloppily eat you out again, except this time his lubed fingers strayed to your asshole and he already had one knuckle deep in your back entrance. You were writhing against his tongue, and although not as accurate with his targets this time now that the alcohol in his system was taking hold, that wide tongue was driving you to heaven as his fingers pulled you down into the dark pits of depravity that hell could only contain. You were uttering almost incomprehensible gibberish, begging for more which he eagerly gave, a second and soon a third finger stretching your ass as he prepared you for what was yet to come. You came with a scream as his wide tongue tormented your pussy until you had to physically pull him by his curls to stop, breathless as you watched him kneel on the bed and grab the baby oil, pouring some onto his hand to lube his dick before smoothing a considerable amount over your asshole and lined up his now raging hard on with your stretched hole. He paused, looking down at you;

“Final chance to back out… do you want me to fuck your ass?”

“Yes… please August, i want your dick in my ass, i want you to cum in my ass, treat me like a dirty anal slut”

With a groan he pushed forwards, slowly breaching your body and you felt the uncomfortable stretch of having a dick slide into your ass. Even with the prep and the oil it still took a while for your body to relax enough for him to push in, but when he eventually was balls deep in your ass you felt so full you were sure you would burst;

“Oh my god… You’re so big…”

“Taking me like a champ Princess, even with the oil your ass is so fucking tight i’m struggling not to blow my load right here and now”

“Fuck my ass August, do it hard, i wanna feel it in the morning…”

With a roar he started to fuck into you, holding himself up on his massive arms as his hips pistoned into you, filling your barren depths as his pubic bone rubbed against your empty pussy and your juices flooded his crotch;

“So fucking wet Princess, leaking all down your ass, its only adding to the lube so i can fuck you harder. Your poor little battered asshole, you’re barely gonna be able to sit tomorrow… apart from back on my dick as we have breakfast, don’t think this is the only time i’m gonna fuck your ass, i’m gonna use this hole until you’re loose and stretched, so i can just bend you over and slide my dick into your ass. Gonna hide those stupid panties i bought you, i want you walking around bare, my cum dripping down your legs where there’s so much inside you, you can barely keep it inside… shame the gift shop didn’t sell plugs, i woulda’ filled you with my load and have you plugged and ready lubed for me to use whenever i pleased…”

August’s dirty talk had you cumming hard, squeezing him tight and yet he fucked you straight through it. Laying limp as he continued to fill your ass he slowed and moved, kneeling on the bed as he moved your legs from either side of his lips until both your feet were over one of his shoulders, pushing and pulling you until he had one arm firmly wrapped around your knees and he could fuck into your ass as he held you like a rag doll. The new position was tighter, deeper, and as you started to pant out with lust his free hand rested on your throat, squeezing carefully but firmly;

“Harder…” you panted out, your head swimming as your airway was restricted, and as he pounded into your ass you were both getting close.

“Gonna cum in your ass, fill you up with a massive load, you want that Princess?”

You tried to say yes, but all that came out was a tiny croak as his massive hand gripped your throat. Before you could even try again your orgasm hit, your eyes rolling back in their sockets as you squirted, your body gripping him so tight he reached his peak, pushing in as deep as he could as he pumped your ass full of his cum.

August released his grip on your neck, pulling out gently as he softly lay your legs on the bed;

“Did so well Princess, such a good little slut…”

You could only hum out a response, your mind as used as your body was.

You woke to the sound of soft rain falling against the window, peering out from beneath the duvet you could see that the grey light of morning was filling the room, the storm seemingly blown mostly through with just a persistent rain now dampening the earth. Shifting on the bed you winced, everything was sore, but especially your ass. But then a warm body pressed to your back, a large hand smoothed over your stomach and a familiar voice spoke softly in your ear as stubble brushed against your bare shoulders;

“Rise and shine…”

“Hmmmmm no, i don’t wanna get up” you grumbled

“But…”

“Noooo. If we get up then we’ve got to think about things going back to normal, i just wanna pretend i’m able to stay in a hotel as nice as this when i’m not trying to escape a dangerous gang… too many responsibilities, too much stress… i just want another half hour of being treated like a Princess” you grumbled.

A quiet chuckle came from behind you;

“There’s no reason why we can’t do this again”

Turning in his arms, you looked at August;

“How? You’re my superior Agent, the CIA pushes and pushes and pushes, I never get enough time off to do something like this, If i had known i was literally signing my life away i would never have signed up for the academy. What’s the fucking use of earning a good wage if i can never enjoy it… and its not even that good of a wage to be honest…” you paused and narrowed your gaze; “Have you showered?”

“Yes. And i have a proposition for you…”

“Keep talking…”

August started to move, slowly climbing between your legs and you felt his hard dick resting against your folds, your pussy instinctively growing wet, slowly rubbing against you as he smiled down at you;

“As a senior agent i get a considerably better wage than you do, but i don’t have anyone to share it with, anyone to treat like a Princess and spoil with gifts that they deserve… but i also want someone that will be agreeable to my darkest desires…” he rocked his hips back before slowly parting his thighs, and you felt the nudge of his tip at your soaked pussy; “... someone, a woman i can treat like a Princess but will let me fuck them like a whore… can i fuck your pussy like a whore?”

The gentle nudge of his dick just stretching the ring of muscle that granted access to the heaven between your legs had you begging, pleading to be August’s Whore. He let out a sigh of pleasure as he slowly sank into your pussy, bare and unprotected filling you with his virile shaft;

“You’re my Slutty Princess…taking my dick like a pro”

In that hotel room August Walker became your sugar Daddy, and over room service breakfast you agreed the details of your arrangement as you sat on his lap, his dick in your ass as he fed you strawberries, before he grew impatient and bounced you on his dick until he came in your barren depths. Resting back against his chest, his softening dick still inside you he played with your pussy as he discussed the next step, trying to decide if a trip to an adult store or a jewellery store should be the first stop after returning to DC;

“How about a jewelled plug?” you suggested; “That’s the best of both worlds”

Holding your jaw he turned your head so he could kiss you, pulling away and grinning;

“See, that’s why you’re the perfect Princess, smart and sexy…”

You felt him start to harden in your ass again, wriggling and letting out a giggle as you felt him stretch your insides;

“Over the table or out on the balcony in the rain?” you asked

“Oooh lets do the balcony… its check out time so a few other guests will be able to see my little slut have her battered asshole filled with another load”

There on the balcony that overlooked the serene mountains August filled your ass again, your naked bodies soaked with the rain as he gripped your breasts whilst he fucked you from behind.

You couldn’t wait to be August’s play thing.

#august walker #august walker x reader #august walker smut #henry cavill

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havethetimeofyourstyles · 4 years ago

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in which harry is the right person at the wrong time.

a/n: hi lovelies! here is my christmas fic for @goldenbluesuit ‘s xmas challenge! i chose the song ‘baby, it’s cold outside’ and it’s my FAVORITE xmas song, so i’ve included bits and pieces of the song throughout the story! hope you all like it, and happy holidays! pls rb and send feedback bc they’re very helpful :)

WORD COUNT: 9.6k of ex lovers to lovers, teacher!harry x lawstudent!yn filled with slight angst, missing someone dearly, and fluff

WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol consumption

COME INTO MY INBOX AND LETS TALK ABOUT ‘BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE’ i’d love to know your thoughts!

pls rb to share! <3

17 December 2020

A chilly and snowy night was upon you as you took a shot of hard liquor. The face of disgust appeared on your face as the liquid slowly went down your throat after you hammered the shot of tequila.

Normally, you wouldn’t pregame when you were going to your friend, Addie’s, house where you would drink some more, but you needed to shake off your nerves that you felt at the moment. You took a deep breath after taking your second shot and you had physically felt yourself starting to relax.

Rolling your head to stretch your neck out, you decided it was time to leave since it was nearing seven in the evening. You called yourself an Uber because of the alcohol in your system and you were planning to sleep over Addie’s place since she said she would bring you back in the morning before you had to go to work.

You waited for your Uber by the front door while you looked in the mirror, putting your black beanie onto your head. You were bundled up in a black university sweater, a camel color coat over, along with tan lounge pants and a pair of black boots. Once you got a notification that your Uber driver, Jason, was in front of your house, you grabbed your overnight bag and headed out the door.

You placed the hood of your sweater over your beanie so you got more warmth since it was quite cold. You were never one for the cold weather, which is unfortunate since you lived in London. You cherished the days where it was sunny and warm; the sun bright and warm as you laid on the grass in complete content.

You missed those days. You missed the days where you didn’t worry about a singular thing.

Looking out the window, on your way to your destination, you watched the snow slightly fall, hitting and building up on the ground while the pedestrians walked through the streets, bundled up in thick layers of clothing. Some people were with others, walking hand in hand or hugging each other through the cold. Even though it was freezing cold outside, there were smiles on their faces because the hold of one another was enough. They could get through the worst snowfall, but if they were in each other’s arms, it wouldn't matter; they could get through anything.

The cold had reminded you that you were missing a pair of strong arms that should’ve been around you through this season, but you were completely frozen—left out in the cold to warm yourself up.

You sighed and the car stopped in front of Addie’s place. You thanked your driver, wishing him a ‘Happy Holidays’ before you got out and buzzed your best friend’s apartment onto the buzzer system; hearing one back, you entered the complex while brushing your shoes onto the floor mat, so you wouldn’t slip while going up the stairs.

You were grateful the building was warm, and you’re sure Addie would crank up the heat for you since you would always complain how ‘bloody cold’ it is all the time.

Once you opened the door, you were met with your entire friend group who were all lounging around in the living area. They all faced the door once you walked in, seeing who the last friend to arrive. Greetings were sent towards you, Addie and Nic got up from their spots on the couch that they’re going to lose because behind them, Elijah and Niall were getting up from their spots on the floor to steal it.

“Hey! There you are! We were all waiting for you,” Addie said, giving you a hug.

Nic went in for a hug before she pulled back and looked at you suspiciously. You looked at her confusingly, wondering why she was looking at you the way she was before she said, “Did you party before you came here?” You furrowed your brows until you remembered that she probably smelt the alcohol that you took before you left.

“Oh, uh, just took a couple of shots before I came here.” The two girls understood quite well, thankfully.

“No worries! Come join,” Addie welcomed you in. The two went back to the living area, only to see that their spots were taken, so they grabbed the two boys’ arms, yanking them out of their seats. You chuckled as you walked to Addie’s room to put all of your belongings.

Once you did that, you exited her room the same time the bathroom door opened across her room. The person in front of you was the reason why you were so anxious before you left; why you needed to relax for a bit and mentally prepare yourself before going to Addie’s place.

The person in front of you was Harry Styles.

The person who had your heart.

The person you were deeply in love with still.

The person who was your ex boyfriend.

“Hi,” he said surprisingly, smiling a bit.

“Hi, Harry,” you replied, inching towards him as he met you halfway. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders as you did the same around his waist, resting your cheek onto his chest. The hug was warm and comforting, like it always was, and you looked forward to these kinds of hugs every time you saw him. But your heart ached every single time.

Pulling away, you gave him a small smile before you two walked out of the hallway and to where your friends were. There was laughter between the two girls and guys as Niall was telling them a joke. Nic was the one who saw you and Harry first, and her laughter died down. She looked at you concerningly, giving you those eyes as if they were asking if you were okay, and you nodded your head to reassure her. You and Harry join the group; you sat on the loveseat on one side of the rectangle wooden table, while Harry sat on the floor on the other side.

You tried joining in on the conversation and laughter, but you couldn’t help but take sneaky glances back to Harry, only to find him getting glances at you as well.

It was hard to focus on anything your friends were saying when Harry was in the same room, but you realized it was also difficult when he wasn’t in the same room because then you were wondering where he was.

It wasn’t easy being friends with Harry after the breakup, good friends, especially; and it pained you to actually act normal around him when all you wanted to do was scream, cry, and have him comfort you. But you did your very best to maintain a cool, calm, and collected mood whenever you’re around him, although inside, your heart was racing and everything you said seemed incoherent.

You tried your best to avoid him after you two split, and he did as well, but being part of the same friend group just didn’t go well with your wishes. You two had to suck it up and be normal around each other.

Being with Harry was possibly the best eight months of your life. To some, it’s not the longest amount of time, but he was one of a kind; you couldn’t find anyone out there like him--not like you were looking anyways. It genuinely felt like you’ve been together for years, and when you two were celebrating your six month anniversary, your friends had questioned you saying ‘It’s only been six months?!’

Your relationship with Harry was all things blissful. It was pure happiness and love, and you wouldn’t want it with anyone else. You two rarely got into fights, and if you did, it was most likely a petty and annoyed argument that would have you two back in each other’s arms only twenty minutes after. He was your fresh breath of air that made you laugh and orgasm…multiple times.

It was all smiles and laughs until it wasn’t.

You two had gotten together the second semester of senior year. Meeting at the library because you couldn’t reach a book, it didn’t take long for you both to get together. You had known him for two weeks until he asked you out on a date where he kissed you for the first time. The dates and kisses continued on for six months until you mutually decided to call it quits.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but considering that Harry was going to a different school that was in a different country for his master’s degree in education for the fall semester, and you were also in the midst of your career; interning at a law firm didn’t quite clear up your schedule, only making you busier by the hour. There was barely any time for the two of you to spend time with each other with how busy and hectic your lives were, so there would most likely be no calls coming in or distant texts that were sent out to make it seem like the void had disappeared.

Like two mature adults, you and Harry called it quits after the summer. He moved away to get his master’s and you kept yourself busy at the law firm. It wasn’t easy--still isn’t easy, but it was for the best. The both of you needed to focus on your careers and yourself before you two were ready enough to get back together. That’s if Harry wanted to get back together anyways.

Of course you wanted to get back together with him, but you didn’t know where he stood on that, or if he was even seeing someone. Throughout the two years that he was away, you only saw him during summer and winter breaks, so he could possibly be seeing someone whenever he goes back to school. But now that he had moved back again, your mind was spiraling because now you got to see him more.

Finally, you broke out of your trance, once again thinking about Harry, you saw him looking at you. The both of you completely tuned out to the conversation and laughter coming from your friends. You held your wine glass up, Harry doing the same while smirking before you both sipped your drinks, hoping the sweet wine would relax your bodies.

Nic was picking out a small paper out of the Santa hat Addie was holding. She took a quick peek at it before, smirking to herself before Addie moved over to you for your turn. As you chose your Secret Santa, you hoped it was a good one. It’s not like you didn’t love your friends, some of them were picky, and by some, you mean Nic.

You looked at the piece of paper, smiling before shoving it into your pocket. Addie moved onto Harry who was the last one to choose, and you watched him as he looked at the paper like it was a poker hand. He raised his brows, smirking before he looked up and started to fold the paper. Your eyes looked down at his polished hands, noticing that he still wears the same rings as he did when you first met him. Your favorites were his initial, thinking how incredibly sexy and alluring they looked on him as he walked around confidently. You’ve stolen them multiple times as well, even if they were too big on you, but the thought of walking around with Harry’s name on you just seemed so enticing.

Niall’s laughter brought you out of your sensual thoughts about Harry’s hands and you realized you were caught staring, and Harry knew exactly what you were looking at with the amount of times he’s caught you staring and fantasizing about his hands. Plus, you openly told him that you had a thing for his hands.

A smug smile was seen from Harry, so you took your attention away from him and towards your friends.

“So, what do we say? $50 limit?” Nic suggested, and Elijah rolled his eyes.

“Why are you trying to make me broke? You know I have a huge family, like, 15 cousins!” Elijah debates.

Nic gasped dramatically. “I’m offended you don’t consider us family, Eli!” Elijah playfully rolls his eyes again, turning his head to the side as he smiled into his shoulder, blushing a bit.

You chuckled at their playful banter. You’re a bit surprised they hadn’t gotten together yet because ever since you met them, you could practically feel the tension between them. They were just too stubborn to admit that they liked each other.

“Okay, how about we make it maximum $30?” Harry pitched in. Your eyes had immediately averted to him, and it was like he captured you just by the sound of his voice. “We have exactly six days to get our gifts,” he added. Your friend group has always been one for procrastinating. Everyone is so busy these days that it gets harder to plan hangouts where the entire group could go, but you were all family, so if the gatherings were at three in the morning, everyone would be there.

The group agreed, telling him that was a solid number. You caught Harry’s eye and he softly smiled at you. Giving him one back, you suddenly felt nervous as he smiled, so you chugged the rest of your wine and walked to the kitchen to open a new bottle to bring to the living area.

The bottle made a loud pop sound, which earned an in sync ‘Woo!’ from the group as it was a tradition you all created whenever a new bottle of wine was being opened. Smiling to yourself, you poured yourself a glass before downing it. As you were doing so, Harry walked into the kitchen with his own glass in his hand.

“Hogging all the wine, aren’t you, Y/N?” He teased to clear the awkward and anxious tension between you two, and luckily, you stifled out a giggle.

“You know me and my wine.” You refilled his empty glass while taking a sip of yours. Once you fill it halfway, he clinked your glasses together before taking a sip. His lips meeting the sweet but bitter taste of red wine that you so wished was your lips. The way he curled his lips into his mouth and licking his lips, tasting the flavor had you daydreaming such sultry things about his lips.

You cleared your throat, breaking yourself out of your gaze. “How are you, H? How’s work?”

Harry’s cheeks warmed up at the simple nickname. “I’m doing good, yeah. Work is good. The school is great.” This was Harry’s first semester teaching, and he absolutely loved it. He loved being in the classroom setting, interacting and making sure his students understood the material. He wanted to teach elementary kids, but that would require knowing various subjects when he wanted to focus more on ninth grade English.

“I’m happy for you,” you confessed. You were happy for him, but you wanted to be happy with him. “I know you’re a great teacher, and your students must love you.” You bumped him with your hip gently.

“They’re great. A couple of them have this weird crush on me for some reason.”

“I mean how could they not.” You realized you said that out loud, and you’re fully blaming the alcohol and the few glasses of wine that you already had, leaving you with a rosy cheek tint glow. Harry didn’t say anything but smug as he continued to sip on his drink. You slipped past him to join your friends, and Harry followed. Addie gave you a knowing look, hoping to communicate with just her eyes as she saw you and Harry walk out of the kitchen together, and you simply nodded, gesturing that you were okay.

The rest of the night went by quite fun as the boys helped Addie hang up the rest of her decorations while scoffing and rolling her eyes because they weren’t cooperating. You and Nic were sitting on the floor watching and laughed, pouring yourselves more glasses of wine. Your heart skipped a few beats as you watched Harry the entire time, laughing and smiling, and sometimes looking over at you just to get a simple glance at your face to suffice his heart from the heartache of not being able to hold or kiss you.

You’ve always liked shopping alone. Shopping with Nic and Addie could be stressful, no matter how much you loved them. You would only go to the shoppes with them if you weren’t looking for anything to buy, but since you were Christmas shopping and the stores were getting busier counting down to Christmas day, you had passed on their invitation to shop with them. There was nobody bugging or nagging you, causing you to get distracted; just you, a basketful of snacks, and Christmas music playing through your headphones.

You couldn’t wait to give your Secret Santa gift because you’ve put a lot of thought into it ever since you found out who your receiver was. You’ve been doing Secret Santa with your friends since the third year of college. At first, your friends group was only you, Nic, Addie, and Niall—you’ve known Niall since you were sixteen, and you met the girls your first year of uni—until Nic met Elijah during the second semester of junior year, who was quickly accepted, and then you met Harry.

You’ve all become a close knit of friends, and each and every single one of you have met other people, but there was nothing like this group. With bonding and connecting so well, all you needed was each other, and you couldn’t be more grateful.

As you were looking at the collection of whiskey, you felt a body brush passed you, slightly bumping into you as they tried getting through the narrow aisle. You jolted forward a tad bit, making you take a step forward to let the person behind you pass through.

“So sorry,” the familiar voice said. The music playing through your headphones was not even halfway up since you still wanted to be aware of your surroundings, but you could recognize that voice anywhere.

Turning around to look at the person behind you, sure enough, it was the one and only.

“Harry?” You called out, taking out your headphones. He turned around, and once he saw you, he immediately smiled.

“H-Hi. I didn’t expect to see you,” he nervously blurted out a false statement. He knew that this was your go to store and you would always drag him there because they always had your favorite snacks in stock.

You chuckled. “Yeah, I didn’t expect to see you here either.” Unlike his statement, yours was true. When you were with him, he would always ask you why you couldn’t stop at any of the other shops because this one was on the other side of where you lived. But you simply told him that it was because you would feel like you would be cheating on this store with the others because this was your go-to place, and the employees here were just lovely.

“Shopping for yourself?” Harry asked.

You looked down at your basket. “Oh, no. For my Secret Santa. What about you? What are you doing here?”

“I, uh, I was on this side of town and,” he turned around to face the wine section before grabbing a bottle of Pinot Noir. “Just needed to get this,” he said as he held it up.

“Night in?”

“Hmm, yeah,” he nodded.

“With…someone, or?” You tried your best to not show your anxiousness when you asked him if he was having a night in with someone that’s not you.

Harry’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, no. Not with anyone…” Your shoulders relaxed and a small smile appeared on your face. You slightly nodded your head, containing your relief. “You look great!” He complimented. You were wearing your work attire; a black pencil skirt with a white silk, semi turtleneck long sleeve, and a black coat thrown over. You were also in nude heels, which weren’t the best to shop in, but you had forgotten to bring a change of shoes.

You blushed. “Thank you. I came here straight from work.” Harry’s brows raised. You were always one for a sense of style, so he wasn’t surprised that you would look this good going to work.

“Really? How is work going, by the way?”

“Good, actually. I’m still interning at the law firm, so I’m pretty busy. But overall it’s great! A lot of research, mock cases, and sometimes the interns get to sit and watch in the courtroom. It’s pretty thrilling,” you said excitedly. Harry smiled, missing how you would explain things so eagerly. “This is my last year interning, so hopefully I could work at the law firm I’m already interning at, and become a permanent lawyer there.”

“I’m sure they’d love to have you there. You’re great, really. They’d be stupid to let you go…” he trailed off. There was a double meaning to his words, and you were wondering if Harry thought he was dumb enough to let you go. Not wanting to dwell on his words any longer, you murmured a soft ‘Thanks’ to him and smiled. Harry nodded, mentally beating himself up over his words and how he was really the stupid one to let you go.

“I, uh, should go, or my sister will be suspicious,” you chuckled. “I hope you have a great night, Harry.” You grabbed a bottle of whiskey before walking passed him. You weren’t even done shopping, but you couldn’t be in the same room as him without thinking of the memories that had always lingered, making you nostalgic and sad because you don’t know if you would be able to make more memories with him.

Harry was left alone in the aisle as he watched you walk over to the register to pay for your items. Just when you were done, you looked up, giving him a soft smile and waving at him before you turned around and walked out of the store. Harry’s heart fluttered, but at the same time, it was pounding through his chest. He mentally cursed himself for being so nervous around you, making an awkward tension fill the air. He couldn’t tell you what you were really doing at your store--no, he couldn’t.

Because what would you say if he told you that he’s been going to your store ever since you two broke up and whenever he’s in town just because it reminded him of you. The four walls somewhat mended his broken heart as he felt comfort inside of the shop because some of his best memories of you are in this very store. And since he couldn’t step into your apartment to immediately feel at home, your favorite store would have to do…for now.

Right when you entered Addie’s home, you were met with the loud music of the holiday season, along with Addie, Nic, and Elijah singing the lyrics to one another as they jumped and danced with a glass of their preferred alcohol in their hand.

They hadn’t heard the door open since the music was quite loud, so you took the opportunity to take a quick video of them as you smiled at your lovely friends, who felt so careless at the moment. Once the song ended, you put your phone away, and Eli was the one who spotted you first.

“Ah, there she is!” He walked over to you, giving you a big hug. You giggled as he slightly picked you up from the ground and twirling you. You were sure that he was already buzzed, and you were wondering how many glasses he’s had already, or if he pregamed by himself to calm himself down for talking to Nic, just like you had done to prepare you for a night with Harry, which you hadn’t done tonight.

There was a part of you that wanted to take a shot or two to ease your nerves, but you realized that you needed to stop doing that because as far as you know, you and Harry are most likely going to be friends for a long time. So, drinking almost every week did not sound fun to you.

Nic poured you a glass of wine, clinking your glasses together as you took your first sip of alcohol that night. You helped Addie set up the food onto the table along with some Christmas designed plates and utensils. Just as you were counting the utensils, you heard a loud Santa laugh coming from Niall, making everyone turn their heads towards the door. Niall walked in, carrying a bag-full of presents and Harry followed with a three foil wrapped aluminum trays in his hands as he chuckled at Niall’s way of making himself known. Your face immediately heated up at the sight of your ex-boyfriend because he looked good.

Although you loved every version of Harry, there was something about Harry Styles in the snowy winter that made your knees weak. He was bundled up in a sweater with a coat tossed over, and he wore boots. His hair was slightly messy from the wind as he shook off the snow that had fallen onto his locks. His nose was always red too, and when he would press a kiss to your cheek, you would feel the icy cold tip of his nose, contrasting to your warm cheeks. And it’s a tragedy that you’ve never spent a winter season with him when you were together, only two Christmases after the breakup.

Winter Harry was your favorite, and all you wanted to do was snuggle up with him.

Niall and Harry made their rounds to greet everyone, and Harry would always make sure you were the last one he greeted, just so he could hold and hug you a little longer.

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eve,” you said once he got to you. He smiled and chuckled, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. You laid your head against his chest, taking in his scent and natural warmth, even though he just came from the cold. “What’d you bring?” You asked once you pulled away.

“I brought the cheesy garlic bread, brussel sprouts, and crab cakes,” he smiled.

You gasped. “Your specialty. My mouth is already watering.”’ You clapped your hands in excitement.

Harry giggled, leaning against the kitchen countertop. “Sure is, and it’s some of your favorite dishes of mine too,” he remembered. You blushed, heart fluttering as he didn’t forget your favorite foods.

Harry was always a chef of his own; he loved cooking. Learning from Anne, he made it his mission to make his own homemade food after he moved out, and she would always tell him that you could always show your love through food. From there, he learned more about cooking and seemed to love everything about it. Whenever the group has gatherings for special occasions and everyone agrees for a potluck, Harry always made sure to talk to everyone and see what they wanted him to cook.

When you two were together, he did the majority of the cooking. There would be times when you wanted to help, but he would simply tell you that you needed to let him do it and relax. That was something you loved about him—he was always a giver and didn’t expect to receive anything back, in more than one way.

You and Harry were definitely ones for staying in, and he would always whip up the best food that was filled with so much love and flavor.

“Once you two are done loving over there, we’d like some help over here!” Niall called out from the dining area. Your eyes widened as Harry’s cheeks turned pink. Harry held his arm out, gesturing you to go first, and you walked out of the kitchen as he followed behind you.

The group’s attention and eyes were on you and Harry, and your brows furrowed as you mouthed a ‘What?’ at them, and they instantly went back to setting up the food as if nothing happened. You turned around to look at Harry confusingly and he shrugged his shoulders, just as confused.

The music was playing, the decorations were lit up, and the food was settling into everyone’s stomach, followed by drinks as a warm feeling laid over everyone. It was overall a great time with them as it always was, and since Christmas was coming up in just two days, the merry feeling was always everyone’s moods.

As everyone was laughing and having a great time, Addie had gotten a knock from her neighbor, asking if everyone could keep the volume down. Everyone was holding in their laugh because you all hadn’t realized how loud you’ve gotten.

“I’m pretty sure they knew it was going to be a long night when it was just the three of them dancing and screaming,” you pointed out to Addie, Nic, and Elijah, and they all laughed, agreeing.

“Wait, what?” Niall asked confusingly.

“Right when I walked in, they were screaming at the top of their lungs. Wait, I have a video.” You pulled your phone out of the front pocket of your sweater and showed Niall the twenty second video.

He cackled. “Hey, thanks for waiting for us,” he teased, giving your phone back to you.

You leaned back onto Harry’s leg, since you were sitting on the floor and he was sitting on the chair behind you, and you looked up at him to show him the video. He leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs as you shifted closer to him so you were sitting in between his legs. Harry’s lips curled into his mouth, and he was grateful that you weren’t facing him because he was flustered. You pressed play, and he watched as he chuckled, watching his friends have a good time.

“Wait, I also wanted to show you this video,” you mentioned once the video was over. You scrolled through your pictures, and Harry was watching you go through your camera roll. He saw pictures of buildings, food, you and the girls, and some of them were just of you. Before he could really think about your own pictures, you found the video of your family dog and showed Harry.

As you and Harry were watching the video, your four other friends were eyeing you two and whispering things to each other suspiciously. Nic took a few pictures of the moment because the sight was just so cute, but everyone was wondering when you two were getting back together.

And you were wondering the same.

For a few minutes, you and Harry were in your own little world as you two talked about your family; never making the effort to change the position you were in--you had just turned your body so you could see him better. You’ve missed times like these where everything else, outside of the bubble you two created, didn’t seem to matter. The way his eyes gleamed when he talked to you had lulled you in, making you depart from every thought you were trying to create while the only thought that dawdled was Harry.

“Alright, let’s pass out our Secret Santa gifts before we’re all too drunk,” Niall suggested, popping yours and Harry’s bubble. You moved out of between Harry’s legs to sit beside him where you were before. You looked up at him, softly smiling and he gave you one back. His eyes looked like they wanted to say something, and you so badly wanted to crawl into his mind to know what he was thinking.

Everyone agreed, getting up to grab their gifts. Addie also grabbed the Santa hat that you had to wear if it was your turn to pass out your gift. The Santa hat had been through four Christamases with the group, and it was the little things that made you happy.

Addie decides to go first since she was the host. She put the Santa hat on before she started. “First one! My Secret Santa is…Elijah!” She walked over to him, giving him her gift as he smiled, thanking her. He opened her gift and gasped as it was a new headset for his PlayStation since he was always talking about how one side was completely dead. Addie placed the hat onto his head as he grabbed his gift.

“So, this one is for…” he smiled before walking over to the other end of the couch. “Nic.” Her eyes widened, taking the gift from his hands, and he took a seat next to her on the floor. She ripped open the wrapping paper before she paused, looking back at him. It was a large rectangle frame of pictures of her and Eli with a note in the middle saying ‘4 years as best friends, countless laughs, and one question unasked. Will you go on a date with me?’ Nic squealed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. It was like he was proposing to her because she screamed out a loud yes. “Life is too damn short. I can’t wait to go another day without calling you my girl, so I wanted to take my chances,” he told her. You smiled at them, realizing it’s been too long, and you were so happy for them.

It was Nic’s turn, which she completely forgot about because she was so overjoyed, and she walked up to Harry to give him her gift. He thanked her before opening it, receiving a set of nail polish, a few face masks, a vanilla candle, and a gift card to one of his favorite restaurants.

Harry was up, and he was a bit nervous for this one. You knew that it could either be you, Niall, or Addie since you were the three left without gifts. He stood in front of the fireplace as everyone looked at him. You thought he looked absolutely adorable in that Santa hat, which you think every single year. He slowly walked over to Niall, making him beam, but turned around and walked over to you, earning a ‘Hey!’ from Niall.

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eve,” Harry greeted you, handing you your gift. You smiled brightly, grabbing the box. It was a quite heavy box with brown wrapping paper with reindeers on it and a large red bow. “I wrapped it myself,” he smirked, playfully flipping his shirt hair, and you giggled.

You ripped the paper and opened the box, eyes softening. In the box, there was a graphic tee, your —and his—favorite fresh perfume by Jo Malone, five pens with your first and last name engraved in the middle, a Cravings cookbook from Chrissy Teigen and a yellow and white vertical striped apron with the words ‘Summer Lovin’ with a sun embroidered at the top. Your eyes watered at the words at the special but emotional meaning behind it.

Two months before you and Harry broke up, you knew it was the end. You both agreed that you would spend two months together before you had to part ways with one another. It was the most special and fun summer you ever had, but emotionally, it was the worst. Knowing that you weren’t going to be together anymore by the end of it was behind the facade of the endless laughter and love. You really didn’t want it to be over, but you understood and needed to grow separately and blossom with your careers.

The words behind the embroidered apron was from one summer night. You and Harry had a bonfire at the beach, and you were cuddled up with him as he held a blanket around the both of you. You had tequila disguised like water as you held your bottle up to the best summer loving. You wished the circumstances were different, but if it’s meant to be, then he’ll come back to you.

“You’ve always wanted to learn how to cook and I’ve seen that you’re starting to on your Instagram stories, so I thought these were the perfect things to get you so you could be a proper chef now,” he said with a soft smile.

Harry truly paid attention to the small details of your life. Together or not, he intently listened and observed without anyone knowing. He nailed it down to the small details; from the perfume, the pens, and the apron. The sentiment behind it was what made the gift so special, and the person who gifted it to you completed and made it so much better.

As your vision had gone glassy, you sat on your knees, reaching up at Harry for a hug. He bent down to your eye level, sitting on his knees as well as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. You held him tightly, sniffling into his shoulder as a rush of overwhelming emotions hit you. Your heart fluttered and pounded at the same time—a feeling that was familiar to your body when it came to Harry.

“Thank you so much. This is the most thoughtful gift ever,” you said into his shoulder. This gift was number two on the list of gifts you’ve received from him, following Harry himself as your number one, of course.

Harry pulled his head back slightly to press a kiss to the side of your head. The gesture had made your heart swoon and you smiled against his shoulder. Everyone was watching you two interact, and they all thought this was finally the moment where you two would get back together again. They’ve all seen you two suffer enough being without each other, along with the heavy tension that there was. All they wanted was for you both to be happy.

You pulled away from him, looking up at his green eyes as they stared into you. He offered you a small smile that took your breath away before he wrapped one arm around your shoulder, bringing you into his side as he wasn’t quite done holding you.

After a few minutes, your friends had let you have your moment before Niall complained how he didn’t have a gift yet. You and Harry chuckled, letting go of one another, and he placed the Santa hat onto your head before you slowly started walking over to Niall. When you handed him his gift, he cheered happily before opening it. You had given him several customized guitar pics with his initials printed onto them, a leather notebook since he liked to write songs, and Proper 12 Irish Whiskey, which was fitting because he’s Irish and he likes Connor McGregor. He thanked you with a big hug, picking you up off the ground with one arm as he held the alcohol bottle in the other.

Addie was the last one who hadn’t received a gift, and Niall was her Secret Santa. He gave her a bunch of makeup with your help, and a tupperware set, which she had been asking for since everyone always took her containers because she liked hosting so many parties.

The rest of the night had gone on for a few more hours before everyone was pretty tired, deciding to call it a night. Everyone helped clean up, making sure to help Addie with the dishes and putting or throwing stuff away. Although you were cleaning, you loved your entire group. This was your family--the closest people to you. The ones who know everything about you and would laugh at you when you fall before falling with you. You were entirely grateful for everyone in this room, and you couldn’t have asked for a better group to spend more holidays and days with.

After the cleaning was done, Niall and Eli started to head out, not before Eli was satisfied with the amount of goodbyes he gave Nic with how long the hug was. Niall had to physically pull him off, telling him the Uber was outside.

You were washing your hands before Harry walked over next to you, handing you a towel to dry off your hands. “Thank you,” you muttered, shyly smiling.

“Uh, I wanted to ask if you wanted to come over?” He proposed. Your brows raised at his question. You and the girls had planned on having a sleepover after, but the prospect of going home with Harry had sounded much better (no offense to your friends).

“I was planning to sleepover here…” you decided to innocently tease, even though you knew you were going to say yes.

“I already asked them, and they said I could take you. I could drop you back off here if you want. So, the answer is up to you,” he smirked. A blush appeared onto your cheeks, admiring the fact that he asked your friends for permission if he could take you home.

“There’s bound to be talk tomorrow,” you teased, lightly nudging him.

“I’ll take my chances,” he smiled, a hopeful look presented on his face.

You breathed out a chuckle, looking at him for a moment before you nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” Harry’s eyes widened as the corners of his lips turned up. You grabbed your phone and your coat before walking over to Addie and Nic who were both cuddled up on the couch, saying goodbye to them. They sent you a playful wink, and you rolled your eyes as nerves startled to settle in your stomach.

You followed Harry out of the door, the cold air brisking past you as you walked to his car. He opened the passenger and you thanked him before getting in. Harry started the car and the song that was playing was ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside.’ It was a song you loved ever since you were a little girl, and you remembered the times you and your mom would always sing it in the car. You smiled at the memory, humming as you hoped it would be a way to distract you from the anxious feeling that you have.

You started humming to the tune as quietly as you possibly could, but Harry heard it as he started to hum it as well. You looked at him through your peripheral vision, noticing that he started to tap his fingers against the steering wheel.

You were about to start singing until you noticed that he pulled into his driveway, so you contained yourself and closed your coat, getting out of the car as you followed him into his home. You’ve only been inside his home three times--those three times being when he would suggest everyone hang out there. It was a lovely place and whenever you were sitting on his couch, you had wished you shared the space with him.

Harry lit up the fireplace, placing the metal shield in front of it before turning back towards you and smiling. “Make yourself comfortable. I’m just going to get us some hot chocolate, if that’s alright?” He asked, wanting to know your preferred drink.

“Sound good.” You hung your coat onto the coat rack before walking over to his turquoise velvet couch and taking a seat, getting comfortable to an extent, not knowing how comfortable you should get.

Not long after, Harry came back with a wooden tray, and he placed it on the coffee table in front of you. There were two mugs filled with milk, two hot chocolate kits, and spoons.

“I made these for my students, and I just so happened to have two extra kits, so this will be fun,” he smiled, and you gave him one back appreciatively. You thought that it was cute and sweet of him to give something to his students for the holiday season. Normally, teachers don’t give them anything, but Harry wasn’t just any other teacher.

A somewhat comfortable silence fell over you two as you both made your own hot chocolate, and you listened to the fireplace roar. Once you two were done, you clicked your glasses together before taking a sip. The warm and comforting drink made you smile and was overall delicious.

Harry didn’t know what to say or how to say what he really wanted to say. It felt like he had non stop thoughts running through his head, but when he opened his mouth to start, there was a delay. An overwhelming feeling took over him and he wanted to yell at himself for not saying how he really felt.

“Y/N-”

“Harry.”

Just like before, your minds had been in sync, causing you both to speak at the same time. A light laugh came out of both of your mouths.

“You go first,” you told him.

Harry took a deep breath. “How’re you doing?” He asked. Out of everything he could have said, that was the only question that came out of his mouth, but he figured it’s a good start to getting somewhere.

“Truthfully?” He nodded. “I’m doing okay. I’ve managed to distract myself from worrying about the future with work, and so far, it’s been helping.”

“What are you worried about?” Harry wondered curiously. He could feel his heart pounding through his chest, and if he’s being honest, it’s been that way the first time he saw you…ever.

“Worried if I’m gonna be where I want to be career wise, and…” you trailed off.

“And what?” He encouraged you to continue. His stare was so intimidating and deep that the words flew off your tongue, making them unforgettable. “Ba--Y/N?” He called out for you, noticing how he almost slipped up and called you ‘baby,’ and you so wished he hadn’t stopped himself.

You finally mustered up the courage to speak your thoughts. “I’m afraid that I’m gonna be alone,” you said honestly.

Harry’s brows furrowed, shaking his head instantly. “You’re not alone, no. You have your family, all of us--your friends, me-”

“You?” Your brows raised.

“Yeah-”

“Harry, you’re the reason why I’m so worried…” you confessed. You were starting to get frustrated--not at Harry, but at yourself because you had planned to have this conversation a different day. You tried to calm yourself down, and Harry could practically see that you were getting angry at yourself. You had a certain stressful and frustrated look that he would notice when you started to beat yourself up over things. And throughout the months of being with you, especially when you were in the midst of law school, he learned how to calm you down.

Harry placed his hand on your knee; the touch being unexpected to you, but it had brought you immediate comfort. He pulled you into his side and you rested your head on his shoulder, looping your arm under his, the one that’s on your leg, and hugged his arm. Harry’s other hand touched your arm, caressing and soothing you. His actions had felt very natural and familiar to him. He would comfort you like this when you were feeling stressed. Normally, he wanted to cuddle you tightly, but this was your preferred way to calm down because in a way, he was still holding you, and you were still in control and didn’t feel like you were suffocating if he had held you tightly.

You stayed like that for a few moments, and you had calmed down a bit already, but you just wanted to be close to him and cherish the moment.

After a few minutes, you pulled away and turned towards him, smiling softly. Your heart warmed at the fact that he remembered exactly what to do when you started to feel anxious, and you may have fallen in love with him even more…after all these years.

“Now, wanna tell me why you’re so worried?” He asked softly, not wanting his tone to be pressuring, and you’re grateful for it.

“I’m worried I’m going to have to live a life without you. It terrifies me to think about you going out and meeting someone, and I would have to watch you get married to someone else that’s not me. That you would be sharing this home with someone that’s not me.” Your eyes start to water, and you had mentally told yourself that you wouldn’t cry, but you didn’t believe yourself in the slightest. “Watching you love someone else is going to be the most difficult thing I would have to do.”

Your tears had fully fallen down your face, which is unfortunate because you both had such a good day with your friends and it was nearly Christmas. Quickly wiping your tears away, you got up from the couch, and headed towards the door. Harry was confused until he saw you grab your coat, putting it on. In a flash, Harry got up from the couch, walking towards you.

“W-What are you doing?” He asked.

“I really can’t stay…” you told him sadly. You had no idea how you were getting home or back to Addie’s since it’s snowing, so you don’t know if there were any Ubers out, especially at this time. “This evening has been…so very nice, Harry.”

“You don’t have to leave. Baby, it’s cold outside, c’mon,” he pleaded with worried eyes. Your heart melted at his words and the name that he used to call you, making you pause in your movement.

“Please,” he pleaded softly, taking a small step forward, and your breath hitched in your throat as you looked up at him. There was a dead silence between you two that was tension filled, and you had no clue what was going to happen next until he opened his mouth.

“Mind if I move in closer?” He whispered. The sound would barely be audible if anyone else was there, so he said those words specifically for you to hear.

You shook your head, and he took another step forward. Your bodies were a centimeter away from being pressed up against one another, and your heart was beating so fast, making your hands shake and tremble. He looked down at you so intently that you were under his spell, and you were conflicted as you wish you knew how to break the spell as his green eyes looked deep into you, luring you in even more.

You took a deep breath. “Kiss me already,” you breathed out. Harry’s heart nearly stopped at your words, but he slightly smirked as he blushed, brushing your hair behind your ears before taking your face into your hands and leaning down to place a deep and passionate kiss onto your lips.

This feeling, this touch, this man was what you’ve been waiting for these past two years. Throughout those years, you felt like giving up; accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to love you again. But he had proved you wrong in the simple brush of his lips and tongue that were in sync with yours, making the spark between you grow bigger and bigger. The spark that had never lost its power, but was on pause.

You grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him closer as the other hand was wrapped around his back. Harry had you pushed up against his front door, and you had the urge to lift your leg up to wrap it around him, but you resisted.

Harry wanted more, too. His hands trailed down from your face to your back, closing the nonexistent proximity between you, and guided you back to the couch. You were walking backwards, completely trusting him that he wouldn’t let you fall as his lips never left yours.

You giggled once the back of your legs hit the couch, falling onto the soft material as Harry hovered over you, laying in between your legs. He looked at you for a moment, studying every freckle, the crimson color on your cheeks, the curve when you smile, your glimmering eyes, and your cute nose. He knew that it was exactly how he remembered. After a couple of years being separated, a beautiful face like yours was hard to forget.

“You’re quite crazy to think I’d want to live the rest of my life with someone else when you’re right in front of me,” he suddenly said. Your eyes widened at his confession. “Never wanna be without you ever again. Thought you didn’t want to be with me when I came back, so I just didn’t bother. But you have no idea how much I missed you. I missed you so much.”

He placed soft kisses all around your face as he spoke, leaving you feeling so tender and soft as he was so gentle with you. For someone who’s on her way to becoming a lawyer and always having to have an answer for everything, you were speechless. The words that you’ve been waiting for for so long were music to your ears. It rolled off his tongue so smoothly, slick like honey, and you connected your lips with his again, swirling your tongue against his as you devoured his words. Hands finding their way to his hair, you gripped on his locks and pulled just the way he liked it, earning a groan from him, and you smirked against his mouth.

You pulled back, leaving him breathless. Swollen lips, blushed cheeks, and smiles plastered on his face, you said the words you’ve been itching to say. “I love you,” you blurted out. The words had rolled off your tongue so effortlessly, making shivers run down Harry’s spine as his eyes watered up. “I was listening to Elijah earlier, and he’s right. Life’s too fucking short to not have what you want.”

He took one of your hands into his, bringing it up to his lips before placing a kiss onto the back of your hand. Your other hand was playing with the curls that laid delicately on his hands, scratching it lightly.

“Missed hearing you say those words.” He smiled, tears making their way down his face. “I love you too. So, so much that you have no idea how I feel when you walk into the room and I see your beautiful face. I love you. I love you. I love you, baby.” His affirmations had caused you to softly sob—the two of you a crying mess from the obvious but unspoken love that was finally being released again. “It’s always been you. You’ve always been my girl, did you know that?” You tilted your head a bit. “Never gonna go a day without reminding you that you are, because you’ve never not been my girl. Had to love and admire you from afar, but just wanted to hold you and kiss you.”

“You can kiss and hold me all you want now, my love,” you reassured him, and he dug his face into your neck, placing a soft kiss against your skin.

You smiled so brightly as your heart felt so happy and overflowed with love, and he matched your grin, feeling the same way.

The two of you kissed each other for a bit more, whispering sweet words, and laughed and talked about anything and everything—truly catching up with one another.

“Oh.” He got off of you, making you slightly pout from the weight of laying on you that you already missed. “I actually got you another gift.”

“Harry…you already got me enough.” It was true. Along with the thoughtful gift, he was your true Christmas miracle.

“I know. But this one, I wanted to give to you in private, and this is the perfect moment, so let me do this?” He looked at you with sweet and pleading eyes with a small smile on his face. Who could ever say no to that adorable face? Certainly not you.

You nodded, and he shot up, heading towards the stairs. “Give me thirty seconds,” he said before rushing up the stairs.

You heard him shuffling up there, and the sound of a drawer opening and closing. Thirty seconds later, he was walking downstairs, holding a white box wrapped in a red bow. He sat back down next to you, looking into your eyes as he spoke.

“This is what I wanted to give you when we were alone. It didn’t matter the outcome of how things turned out between us tonight, I just wanted to give you this because I think you’ll appreciate it. It reminded me of you when I saw it, and I knew I had to get it.” He handed you the box with slightly shaky hands.

You untied the bow, taking the top off. A gasp came from your mouth as you picked up the chain. It was a little gold sun pendant, symbolizing your summer together. You studied the charm for a moment, delicately touching it as you teared up at the meaning behind it. It matched quite well with your embroidered apron, and the two together would be quite the match.

“Thank you, Harry. This is so sweet of you.” You leaned forward, giving him a hasty kiss to his lips, smiling against them. “Help me put it on?” He nodded eagerly. You handed him the necklace before turning around, lifting your hair. You felt the cool metal chain hit your skin along with Harry’s lingering touches across your shoulders, causing your skin to pebble. He placed a quick kiss to your neck before pulling away. You turned around to meet his eyes as you smiled.

“Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” He kissed your forehead. “I’m so happy. Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, baby.”

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, my love.”

You cuddled into his side as the silence took over. The only thing was heard was the pounding of your love-filled hearts along with the cracking of the fire. Sure, it was cold outside, but right here in Harry’s arms, you were warmer than ever.

please come into my inbox and talk about your thoughts and feelings on this! also feedback is appreciated, thank you for reading! <3

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worth-more-than-two-thousand · 3 years ago

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Returning from the Dead is Easier Said than Done...

Request: Welcome, Shiny! May I request an x Reader (can be fem or gender neutral) where Echo (post-citadel) comes up to their s/o's doorstep to give them flowers and ask them on a date? A plus if the Bad Batch teases him for dressing up nicely and buying flowers. Thank you! (@handmaidenthesimp)

Author’s Note: Enjoy! If anybody wants me to repost with a gender-neutral reader, just let me know.

Story Notes: Some swearing, not much else to warn you about. Take place in-between Season 7 of CW and The Bad Batch. No Omega this time, sorry!

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Being declared dead was uncomplicated. Your Republic file was branded with a "KIA" stamp, everyone stoically mourned, and someone just a bit shinier would step in to fill your shoes.

Being declared undead, however, was decidedly more complicated. Oh, Echo was reassigned to Clone Force 99 easily enough. But it was the little things that seemed to get mired in red tape. Getting his few personal effects back. Re-opening his modest credit account.

Approving a rental application.

Admittedly, it wasn't that Echo really needed his own place; clones were conditioned to be accustomed to share minimalist, often-cramped quarters. And they were always on the move, so it hardly made any financial or practical sense, in the long run.

But right now, oh, did Echo dearly wish that he was dressing up in the privacy of his own space...and not the shared cabin area of the Havoc Marauder.

He kept his face stoic, as though readying for battle, refusing to acknowledge his teammates goggling in the background. They had returned early from their supply run. Echo had meant to be out of here an hour ago, but (somehow) hadn’t counted on just how difficult it would be to get dressed into multiple clothing pieces with a scomp link for a hand.

So that’s how his comrades found him: trying to wrangle a neck accessory into submission by sheer will.

Oh, if Fives could see him now.

“You look funny,” Wrecker had declared decisively after an unbearably long silence. “What’s that thing you’ve got on?”

“It’s a suit,” he grumbled, refusing to look any of them in the eye. “I’m going to see Y/N.”

Wrecker gasped like a fishwife. He leaned forward, and pitched his voice low. As though the others couldn’t still hear him in the tinny space. “Your girlfriend? You mean you’re going to see her for the first time....since…” Wrecker made a muted cartoonish sound with his mouth, clenching then expanding his fingers in a gesture for ‘explosion’.

Echo stared at him for a moment disbelievingly, before nodding slowly, forcing the sarcastic response he really wanted to say back down. He couldn’t fault Wrecker for being...well, Wrecker. He had all the tact of a rampaging bantha.

“An’ what’s that? Around your neck?”

Echo opened his mouth, but someone cut across his response. “A bowtie,” Crosshair drolled, though his eyes glittered with amusement. Echo tensed, knowing that he wasn’t going to like what was coming next.

“Fifty credits says he chokes, and he ends up strangling himself with it in shame."

“No way!” Wrecker exclaimed, always the optimist. He clapped Echo on the back, who was unprepared so his knees buckled. He felt his metal joints strain. “Don’t worry, Echo,” his brother rasped in the loudest whisper known to man. “I bet she’s gonna love it!”

“You know,” Tech piped up unhelpfully, “Your strategy may backfire. The current deviation from your usual appearance may be so jarring for your beloved that she refuses your offer out of simple self-preservation instincts.”

Echo gritted his teeth. “Right. You have stats to back that up, I suppose?”

Tech blinked at him owlishly. “Of course I don’t. This is an obvious possible outcome.”

“I’m trying to look nice,” he snapped, scowling.

There was a loaded pause. “...’trying’ being the objective word here,” Crosshair smirked.

Before Echo could wipe the look off his comrade’s face with a well-placed ARC trooper punch that would’ve made Hardcase proud, Hunter wedged his way in between them, hands up in a conciliatory gesture.

“All right, laugh it up, fellas. Personally, I think you’re all jealous because you don’t have a girl waiting for you like Echo does.” Hunter turned to face their newest member, took the bowtie that was clenched in Echo’s fist, and smoothed it out before proceeding to tie it around his neck with surprisingly deft hands.

Crosshair ‘hmphed’ while Wrecker verbally agreed, looking slightly put out by the undeniable truth. Tech simply nodded in neutral confirmation. The group lapsed into a somewhat awkward (but not unwelcome) silence as Hunter finished tugging at the folded ends of the bow, then double-checking to ensure it was straight. He stepped back to assess his work.

“You look good,” he said sincerely.

Echo thought he was in the clear.

Hunter frowned. “But...it looks like you’re missing something.”

Or not.

“Like dignity?” Crosshair drawled from a dark corner of the ship that Echo frustratingly couldn’t glare at.

“A sense of self-confidence,” Tech suggested. He wasn’t joking.

“FLOWERS!” Wrecker boomed confidently. “All girls like flowers. You gotta get her some before you see her!”

“I...fine.” Echo relented, anything to get his teammates to shut up. He shoved his way through them towards the bridge. “I’ll get her some flowers. You all stay here until I get back. I mean it, Fives!” he warned.

An uneasy silence followed him, which he didn’t register until he reached the landing ramp.

He shot an exasperated look back at them. “What?’

“...Your former comrade is not here, Echo.” Tech finally spoke. His words were clinical, as always, but there was a touch of understanding underlying his tone.

Echo froze, just for a moment, then shook off the shock of his faux pas as best as he could.

It wasn’t the first time that had happened, after all.

Echo descended the landing ramp, squared his shoulders, and marched into town.

Y/N lived in a run-down but culturally distinct district of Coruscant, characterized by food stalls from species and ethnicities all over the galaxy. Children often ran through the streets, sellers in colorful robes and attire shouting their wares and art for all to peruse. It was one of the nicer markets, he thought, having come here once. He had been accompanying Y/N on her usual run for specialized ingredients that made the diner she worked at the talk of the galaxy.

Echo elbowed his way through the crowded street, content to simply blend in with the crowd, to forget about being a soldier for a moment.

He paused at a flower stand and was mindful not to draw too much attention to his scomp-link hand as he ordered a dozen sunflowers, which he remembered were Y/N’s favorite. When his credit chip was declined, however, he sighed and reached into his pocket to see what spare change he could muster up. Being that he was wearing a never-worn suit, however, meant that there was no change to be found, and the unimpressed florist snatched the bouquet away.

That’s okay, Echo. Y/N doesn't need flowers. She just wants to see you.

At least, he hoped that was the case. He hadn’t exactly written to her yet, unsure that he could sufficiently explain his sudden non-death in typed words...

Surprise! I’m not dead! Hey, you know that explosion on the citadel? Well, I survived! And out of it, I got an all-expenses paid trip to the Techno Union research facility! Why didn’t I write? Well, I was in stasis most of the time and that part’s a bit fuzzy. I also was responsible for killing my brothers by using their own battle plans against them. Oh, and you might notice that I’m missing most of my fleshy bits these days…

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, which were more rapid these days thanks to his enhancements. He was good at compartmentalizing, though. He had to be. He was still a soldier, through and through, and no one wanted a soldier who was about two seconds away from a mental breakdown.

Yeah, a letter to Y/N wouldn’t have cut it. But he still felt like maybe he could have sent ahead some sort of...heads up? A warning? A ‘Please don’t scream when you see me because I don’t think my heart could take it?’

His feet finally guided him to the front entrance of the building where he knew she lived on the 14th floor. Glancing around, he spotted some blue flowers sprouting in a planter near the entrance. He yanked a fairly healthy-looking handful from the soil, shaking the roots to get most of the dirt off. He tucked the strangled roots into his fist so that they would be less obvious.

It was time. He nodded to himself, squared his shoulders, and entered the building.

A short elevator ride later, Echo could feed the sweat beading at his forehead and neck. At least his fight or flight response seemed to be healthy and alive, and Echo tuned out everything but the door in front of him, adorned with a purple wreath of lavender flowers.

He stood in front of the door, and raised his hand to knock.

He stood…

In front of the door…

...and raised his hand…

...to knock, you coward. Just fucking knock.

His raised knuckles, however, refused to move. Echo caught a glimpse of himself in the curtained window panes on the sides of the door, and at the sight of his bloodless face, suddenly felt a whole lot less sure of himself.

He looked ridiculous.

He and Y/N had barely gotten to know each other before his untimely death.

What if she was with someone new?

This was a terrible idea. Echo should leave now, before he caused himself any more embarrassment. Crosshair might get his fifty credits, after all.

Echo had just convinced himself to turn around and admit defeat, when the door suddenly swung open.

Two Y/C/E eyes met his.

There were points during Echo’s battle career where time slowed to a crawl. When an explosive grenade was thrown just a bit too close, or the comrade you had just exchanged banter with received blaster fire to the face.

Echo was experiencing the same sensation now, but he would voluntarily stay in this moment forever, if he could. He fervently hoped his nightmares would be replaced with the sight that was etched before him.

She was wearing her yellow work uniform, white apron pressed crisply with starch...and was as beautiful as ever. Her hair was up in a messy ‘late-for-work’ up-do, a smudge of blushed color not quite within the lines of her lips smearing her cupids’ bow where she had applied it in a rush.

He couldn’t determine whether her reaction to his sudden appearance was positive or not, and so didn’t dare speak first, breathlessly afraid that if he did, the moment would shatter.

He saw her swallow hard, glancing at him from head to toe, gaze landing on his right hand.

He guarded his heart.

“Ech? Echo, is that you?” she whispered. Her eyes tore away from the scomp link hand, and began searching his face as though just as afraid he would disappear.

He nodded. “Yeah,” he rasped, then cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s me.”

The silence stretched out, and the fight or flight response was creeping back.

“I know I look a bit different.” He tried for a light-hearted joke, but couldn’t quite get his tone to match. “Had some work done. What do you think?” He winced slightly.

She stepped forward and he froze as Y/N lifted her fingers, hesitating briefly before gently touching one of the metal bolts by his left temple. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“...do they hurt?”

He gasped a little as he remembered to breathe again.

“No,” he reassured her, raising his undamaged hand to steady hers. “No, it doesn’t hurt.”

“...good.”

The wind was knocked out of him as Y/N flung her arms around him, burying her face in his neck, tardiness to her job completely forgotten.

She began sobbing. It wasn’t neat little sobs, like in the scripted holovids, but heaving sobs that wracked her whole body, and he worried slightly that she was going to faint on him. He forgot about his scomp link for the first time as he rubbed it in circles against her back, murmuring nonsense words of comfort in her ear.

After several minutes, she sniffled, stepping back. She rubbed her nose ungracefully where snot was leaking out, but Echo could have cared less about any of that. He only kept his arms out to steady her, in case she needed support again.

Y/N glanced down suddenly, and flushed.

“Oh. I’ve crushed them.”

Echo followed her gaze and saw that he was still holding the blue flowers from the planter in his good hand, the bouquet having been caught in between their bodies when she had thrown herself at him. They did look a little worse for wear.

He shrugged unconcernedly. “They were free,” he said, not wanting her to feel guilty.

She stared at him for a moment before a bubble of laughter burst from her lips. She still looked like she was about to sob at any moment, but she smiled tremulously at him through shining eyes.

Desperate to make her feel better, he began rambling.

“I can get you better ones! N-not right now, though,” he stuttered. “Actually, it turns out that I don’t have any credits on me at the moment. Everything’s still kind of backed up at the bank regarding my accounts. Also, this suit is new. Well. Not new. It used to belong to this woman’s father who we rescued during a mission on Bith. Long story.” His brain, which worked faster than usual these days anyways, still couldn’t seem to catch up to his mouth.

He forced himself to get back to the task at hand. “I was actually here to ask you for a date. I mean, assuming there’s no one else at the moment…oh, but you have your job to go do…bantha spit, I forgot about that...” He would have to ask Tech if it was possible for his brain to actually short-circuit.

Echo finally trailed off. Now he was the one blushing.

The whole of Domino Squad was probably having a good laugh at his expense right about now, wherever they were.

But Y/N was still smiling at him. And her chin had stopped wobbling. She gently took the flowers from Echo’s hand and placed them on one of the side tables in the hallway before intertwining her fingers with his and grasping his right hand without hesitation.

“Forget about my job. Let’s go on that date. My treat. Though, if I know Dexter, he’ll give us a free meal, on the house. And the rest of the day off."

For the first time since he had joined Clone Force 99, since he had been rescued on Skako Minor, and even before the Citadel...Echo allowed a true grin of happiness to spread on his face.

“A free meal,” he echoed. “Sounds like a plan.”

#fic request #echo #arc trooper echo #tbb echo #the bad batch #star wars tbb #star wars the bad batch #tbb #echo x reader #echo x you #echo x fem reader #sw tbb #sw the bad batch

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