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iris-sistibly · 3 months ago

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The Targ Talk: House of the Dragon S2

Season finale commentary & overall thoughts:

Tyland Lannister going on a wrestling match, and well...bedding Lohar's wives will never not be funny. Dude really went above and beyond to secure a naval force that would fight the Velaryon fleet. If he doesn't get a raise for this, I don't know anymore.

With Rhaenyra gaining the upper hand, and Aemond becoming more psycho, Aegon doesn't really have the choice but escape. But with the number of women he had taken, he deserves to have his cock explode like a sausage on a spit. This is an indication that he can longer sire another male heir, unless of course he slept with Helaena the night before he got toasted, and the latter ends up getting pregnant with Maelor. This would make Aemond's claim to the throne stronger...or he could name Jaehaera his heiress which would be so ironic and hypocritical considering that the greens usurped Rhaenyra's throne in the first place because they do not want a woman to rule.

Ulf showing signs of greed and entitlement and Jace putting him in his place is so satisfying. This is one of the cons that I don't know if Rhaenyra had thought carefully. In Ulf's mind, if a bastard like Jace can be named crown prince, and have all these privileges, why can't he? What makes Jace so special that he has everything while other bastards like him were left to fend for themselves? Rhaenyra making them knights is not going to be enough for someone like Ulf, and if Rhaenyra isn't vigilant he will not only betray her, but will use Silverwing to his advantage. You might think, Rhaenyra would still have more Dragons right? She still has Vermithor (if Hugh does not betray her in the show), Seasmoke, Syrax and (finally) Caraxes plus Vermax, Moondancer, and if Rhaena succeeds they'll also have Sheepstealer. The greens are still at a disadvantage with only Vhagar, Silverwing and Tessarion. But this will again put her decision-making into question by her council since she was the one who hired more bastard dragonriders. Also having more dragons didn't stop Jace, Joffrey and Daemon from dying.

The Haunting of Harrenhal finally ends with Daemon having this whole ass vision about the song of ice and fire, Daenerys Targaryen being the one from the prophecy, and she came from Rhaenyra (and his) line. Him finally understanding why Viserys chose his daughter to ascend the throne, and Daemon rallying an entire army for his wife which is cute btw I love that Daemyra is back to being a team now. But let's not forget how horrible the screenwriters were for fucking up Dany's story in Game of Thrones, for me the show ended with Daenerys coming back to Dragonstone, the last two seasons were shit.

So...Helaena can not only have visions, but she's also capable of appearing in someone else's vision which makes her power a lot more interesting. Also I love the fact that she didn't gave in to Aemond's demands and told straight to his face that he was gonna die. I really do hope that we'll get to see more of Helaena's magic, I want her to take Jaehaera (and Morghul), ride on Dreamfyre and find a place or people who could help her hone her power, a peaceful life may also do. But judging from her conversation with Alicent, she might also end up staying for she knew that no matter what she does, she couldn't change her fate.

The final cut in this episode is so far the dumbest I have seen. Rhaenyra choosing to take a chill pill in a desperate attempt to convince Alicent to end this senseless war was...a waste of time no matter how good Rhaenyra's intentions were. Alicent only realizing how fucked up her sons were all this time after she was thrown out of council is just...I don't even know what to say anymore. I thought of Alicent turning her back against her sons but I didn't expect her to actually do it. But this scene just doesn't make sense. Here's why:

If Rhaenyra really wanted to take back what was rightfully hers, she must get rid or punish every single one of the opposing side. Her wanting Aegon executed, but letting Alicent go is so stupid. Alicent was the one who fed poison to her sons' minds, she was part of the greens' scheme to put Aegon to the throne who by the way didn't even want it in the first place, and now Alicent is throwing him under the bus AND Rhaenyra is letting her off the hook just because she admitted her mistakes and "helped" Rhaenyra with a plan to take King's Landing from Aemond and the greens? Has the latter forgotten that she lost a daughter and a son because of what the greens did?

What the fuck is this bullshit?

I just find it hard to believe that Alicent would give up Aegon just like that. It's like creating something and when you make a mistake, it turns out really bad you throw it away and move on. Were the writers even fully aware at how ridiculous this is? Some Alicent stans say that she cared for her children and she tried her best to be a mother, well then...look at her now. Some may even argue that she was a mere tool, okay, but her children were also pawns to this game weren't they? If Aegon is to be executed, then so should she and the rest of the greens especially Crispy and fucking Otto Hightower. If she wants to set things right so badly, then she should also be facing Rhaenyra's punishment. Not just Aegon or Aemond.

Rhaenyra should have at least held Alicent hostage and imprison her, that would have been more realistic than letting her go because she was a former friend *face palms* Ewan Mitchell said in an interview that Alicent was Aemond's kryptonite, then that would have been an opportunity for Rhaenyra to use her against Aemond. Alas, she wasted it. You know what's fucking annoying? This never-ending cycle of misunderstanding. Because if Rhaenyra finds out that Aegon escaped, she'd think that Alicent lied to her, that the queen dowager went to Dragonstone to talk to her and buy Aegon some time to get the fuck out of King's Landing and Rhaenyra is going to get angry, and the tragedy goes on.

Perhaps they came up with that idea to have some sort of comparison with their younger selves. Rhaenyra being able to do whatever she wants while Alicent is being chained by her duties that she never asked for. Now it's the other way around. In addition, if Aegon learns of his mother's betrayal it could also fuel his anger which will make him ruthless next season but...it's still so disappointing.

I never got to say this, but Simon Strong is THE man of the season.

Caraxes cheering up as soon as he saw Syrax and Seasmoke will always be cute.

Overall thoughts: This season is rather underwhelming. Everything else is on point except the storytelling, is this better than season 1? No. Though I love that there are more dragons now and I absolutely love Helaena more this season. I also love that there are more Jace and Baela scenes...before the Battle of the Gullet which I feel like season 3 is gonna kick off with a heart wrenching episode.

Did I enjoy watching it? Hm...the exhilarating part was the battle between Rhaenys, Aegon and Aemond but other than that, it's just meh. My least favorite season so far.

P.S. Tessarion and Daeron are the other greens I stan, they better be worth the wait.

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fangirleaconmigo · 1 year ago

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You’ve probably gotten tons of asks about it already but are you going to make posts talking about the new season now or wait till part 2 comes out?

Hello dear! I tend to think and mull for a long time because my brain is slow.

If anyone wants my preliminary thoughts that are subject to change after seeing the rest of the season, here’s a few things:

SEASON THREE SPOILERS

Canon bi/pan bard is fantastic so far. It feels very natural, the emotions, the chemistry is there, very special and particular connections, etc.

Joey said he had a lot of input and it shows, because it does feel personal. I love it. Anyone who listened to my Whiskey with Witcher podcast interview knows that I’m a big fan of that development.

He also talked up Hugh Skinner and I was like well we shall see. People always talk up their scene partners because they know them and care about them which is GREAT but that doesn’t always actually translate to the screen for the viewer.

But Hugh WAS amazing. Joey was not exaggerating his expressiveness, passion, and chemistry in the role.

Hm. Let’s see what else.

I really appreciate that they haven’t ‘dropped’ the centrality of the Yen and Tissaia relationship. I’m not a fan of the Vilgefortz Tissaia romance addition. But at least they haven’t minimized how important her other relationships are.

Tissaia and Yen is the relationship that hooked me into the witcher to begin with. It had complications and dramatic tension and I was intrigued by how it changed the two women. It is so central to me, and I'm glad it still is for the show.

Ciri: It’s a whole new Ciri. Very different from the books. It’s not worse, it’s just different. In the books she just wanted to be left in peace and wanted nothing to do with being royalty or the motherhood and reproduction that this entails.

She has like a rage moment of almost riding into Nilfgaard at one point but she comes to her senses.

But the show cast her much older and this is just a different story. It’s about leadership. She wants to be a queen. Like I said. Very very different Ciri.

I have always believed you can change things you're adapting, in fact you have to. The test is, what you change it to has to be compelling enough in its own right that people aren't sitting there bitter about what they are missing out on. And I think her internal struggle and arc has potential. We'll see how it plays out the rest of the season.

The stuff about experimenting on the girls and messing with their heads and mushing their body parts into one is obviously brand new as well. I don’t really get it so far, but we’ll see how it plays out.

I believe it's ideas adapted from Season of Storms but I've only read that book one time, so I'll have to go look again.

The plot line has potential. Again, the story in the books was about bodily autonomy and the villains were all trying to basically turn girls and women into breeding machines. The lab was discovered and was horrific in a different way.

So what they’ve done is a bit more “fantasy” and I think it is potentially a much better choice for the kind of show they’re doing. I don't think I would want to see TWN put in a bunch of extreme and graphic reproductive and sexual violence and torture. I think you have to know the kind of show you're making and have a consistent tone. So I'm open to something else, for sure. But I’ll reserve judgment until I see how they wrap it up.

I loved all of the Ciri and Yen stuff. Their conversation and scenes are great. I know for a lot of people it's sort of hollow after S2. Since I made the decision not to quit the show, I have to let that go or I'll be miserable. So, I'm blocking out and denying a lot of season two.

Season three I'm enjoying. Yes, it's camp and silly in a lot of ways. Of course it's a flatter more simplistic version of the story. But we are on season three folks. If that is offensive to people, they should have quit already. Hatewatching is bad for the soul and constant hate and hostility is bad for the fandom. If ya can't have fun with it, time to move on.

For me, I had a great time watching it. I'm actually re-watching it already. I didn't rewatch season two at all (except for the first ep) so that's a good sigh already.

How I judge the season's writing as a whole will have to happen after the second part. And I'll let you know then if you send me another ask.

What I'm looking forward to the rest of the season:

The lodge. I think Cassie Clare is a fabulous Philippa but I want to see her come into her own self. I hope that's coming.

Keira Metz's brass knuckles.

FRINGILLA. We've seen so little of her so far, but what is there has intrigued me. Where are they going with her? I hope she's a bigger part of the last three eps.

MERIHART I want Philippa x Triss so badly ghhhhhh.

Milva. I can't wait to meet Milva.

Jaskier x Radovid I hope is a satisfying arc, and I believe it will be.

Geralt and Jaskier in Brokilon oh I hope they do it justice.

WILL WE SEE THE UNICORN??

Thanks for dropping into the ol ask box hun!

#the witcher #twn #the witcher season 3 #the witcher spoilers

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starcloud-nova · 2 years ago

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ID: Twitter thread by user Naomi Hughes @/NaomiLHughes

Transcript:

As an editor, I find myself spotting a few of the same big-picture issues over and over. So, a quick thread!

Top 3 big-picture problems I see most often:

1. Lack of agency

2. Impersonal stakes

3. No character arc

4. (Bonus!) For romance: no conflict

Agency= a protagonist's (or any character's) ability to act on the plot more than the plot acts on them. Lack of agency results in plot-driven stories, where the characters are constantly just reacting to events & other's people decisions.

Plot-driven stories are okay in some genres (mystery series, etc), but in most cases, you need a better balance of character- & plot-driven. Character-driven stories= protagonist *causes* the plot. They're active, going after a goal, causing plot twists w/ their actions & choices. Character-driven stories (or ones that have a good balance between being plot & character-driven) have protagonists with agency.

Here's a great article on character agency & how to know if your protagonist has it:

On impersonal stakes: these are stakes that either *seem* to matter but don't really, or stakes that matter but not to the MC personally. Superhero stories often have impersonal stakes. "I must save the city." Okay. Why does "the city" matter more to you than anyone else?

To make impersonal stakes personal, layer them into the character's backstory and/or motivation. Example: more than "saving the city," the superhero wants to beat down his nemesis to finally regain his old reputation from the glory days

Character arcs are arguably one of the best ways to take a story from "a nice read" to "THIS STORY MADE ME CRY/HAPPY-SIGH/HULK SMASH." Character arcs provide your audience with evidence that your story matters enough to change someone (the characters, & hopefully readers). Character arcs are the process by which your plot challenges your characters & forces them to change & grow, for better or worse.

For positive arcs, the character starts with some internal problem or flawed world-view. They acknowledge it, try to overcome, & finally do. Negative arcs (usually villains, or sometimes in literary fiction) are reverse: they eventually give in to or are seduced by their flaw.

Lastly, romances! I see MANY where there's no actual conflict, nothing (or only a superficial thing) keeping the couple from being together. Personal pet peeve: when a miscommunication, lack of communication, or sheer stubborness is the only thing keeping the lovers apart. A really strong, organic way to develop romantic conflict is to give your lovers opposing goals.

/End ID

A great Twitter thread on character-driven stories, character arcs, and agency by Naomi Hughes

(The link she referenced is this article)

#transcribed #writing ref

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bisluthq · 30 days ago

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I saw a member of a subset of Taylor fans say they think Travis will get peoples sexiest man alive award this year as part of the fucking story.. Jason made the top 100 last year, but now I’m curious who you think will get it?

They’ve changed how they pick them and it’s not just who had a big year, so idk. And it’s an election year so I think they’ll be making sure it’s someone very unproblematic or publicly a-political..

I just love this meaningless gossip ijbol. So here are my thoughts:

- Justin Baldoni (IEWU was big and he was all about talking about DV, BUT the cast drama makes it 👀 but I think if there wasn’t on set drama (idk what else to call it but hope I’m not downplaying it), I think he’d be an easy front runner

- Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have already had it, but I could see Hugh getting it again if they went that way - or giving it to both of them which would be fucking hilarious 🤣 lmao fuck I really want them to do this now!!!!

- new(ish) comers like Glenn Powell and Jeremy Allen White? At least with a fresh face there’s plausible deniability for them being an ass hole if exposed later on lol and they’ve made some cultural impact this year

- post Malone - he’s everywhere and collabs with everyone, known for being super respectful and gentle. And the face tats work with how they’ve finally made an effort to not just have the most white, traditionally conventionally attractive dudes (seriously can’t believe the lack of POC in the past!!) (also face tats isn’t meant as slander to posty, just that he’s his own person yk)

- the dad from bluey. IDC that he’s a cartoon dog, if bono could win woman of the year, cartoon dog can win this (and the drama would be worth it lmao)

- someone old like [redacted] or [redacted] who are beloved and unwell and probably don’t have long left to live 😢

- I don’t think there were any standout men from the Olympics that I can recall? Oh god I fear it could go to Tom cruise now 💀 but I think he’s still seen as too weird to get it again

- I can’t think of a recent redemption story - unless they picked RDJ and he’s had a long redemption story and it’s pretty fucking inspirational how he’s stayed completely sober and took back his career

- Paul mescal would cry and hang up the phone from distress if asked

Hmmmmmm

Any thoughts? I am someone who does not care who is picked, I have no dog in the fight unlike Grammys and Oscar’s, but I really love seeing the reaction to who is picked online lmao. And I’m sorry but the blake Shelton year was so random but the commentary - though mean, which I usually don’t like - was so fucking funny 🤣 like usually it’s ’what Chris pine shouldve got it over Chris E or H’ type comments - that’s the sort of thing I usually enjoy. Then when people make threads like ‘here are the top 10 idris moments to celebrate his win’ and they’re fun. Idk I’m just waiting to get the popcorn for a day or two and then never think about it again 😇

I honestly haven’t thought about this at all but all of these are solid guesses lmao as is Travis. I wanna throw in Adam Brody as a random choice because where I’m on the internet people are going nuts for him and he’s unproblematic as far as I know but maybe TV/Netflix isn’t big enough to get this and also it’s too recent a craze idk??

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theenbynightingale · 3 years ago

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Thoughts on Big Mouth Season 5

I feel like I've had my thoughts on this bottled up for a while so I may as well just let them out.

I like that Jessi doesn't have a label. It could be because she hasn't fully figured out her sexuality yet but I think it's great that they're showing how you don't have to rush to figure out your sexuality. It takes time. If you don't wanna label yourself, that's also fine.

Speaking of which, I love that they're not even bothering to hide the fact that Andrew is attracted to men but not dedicating a whole arc to it. He's just Andrew. Him thirsting over men as well as girls is simply a part of him now.

Having said that, the Mr. Keating subplot was probably the worst part of the season. Maybe even the whole show. Andrew just straight up ruins a man's life and, despite his arc being somewhat dedicated to him being more sensitive and wanting to rise above hate, it's never brought up again.

Nick's arc was fine. I like the idea that some hate is valid and some isn't (with Nick's definitely being invalid) but the way it goes becomes a muted version of his arc from last season. It follows a few of the same beats but being more literal than metaphorical.

I feel like we haven't seen the last of Aiden or Samira. Matthew's choices may come back to bite him later on. Ali, on the other hand, seems to still miss Samira since her break-up was beyond her control so I'm not sure where this will go. But I am glad Ali won't be a glorified extra like Gina ended up being.

The Christmas episode was good (despite a few shoddy moments) but I feel like it should have been an extra episode like the Valentine's one was since it kinda disrupted the flow of the story.

I love Missy's arc and Ayo Edebiri's performance. I like her hate coming from jealousy and insecurity while Nick's just comes from spite. Her arc ends with her rising above it and trying to better herself and I'm really excited to see where else she goes.

Also, maybe it was because they kept making jokes in the finale about Jessi eating out Missy, but I honestly thought they were setting them up as a pairing at first. I'm glad they didn't because that would've been WAY too fast but I wouldn't mind seeing it in the future.

How the fuck did they get Hugh Jackman?

If we got Pillola, are we gonna get Bath MATthew?

I'm mixed on Matthew's story even though I'm glad he and Jay got together. They dropped the whole story with his parents to the point where they only have one scene. Does his mother accept him now? Is it just not brought up because he was single for 69% of the season?

But I love Jatthew. I like how Lola and Jay fell apart didn't feel all that forced. Couples fall apart and sometimes it gets ugly, no matter how great the honeymoon phase was. They had a good run but things change.

Rodney, just adopt Lola ffs

I'm starting to think that Gina's been forced into the background because the crew really doesn't want to give Gina Rodriguez a lot of screen time after all the shit she's said but they don't wanna make a big deal by firing her.

I kind of hope they do bring her back because I feel like the lid can't be kept on Charles Lu forever. I get Jay, Matthew, or even Andrew not outing him but Lola found out about it and she doesn't try to start more drama?

Also, where's Kat Dennings?

I wanna see an asexual kid whose Hormone Monster is Simon Sex. The kid doesn't experience sexual attraction so Simon doesn't try to make the kid horny. He just hangs around and chills with the kid. I dunno. It's funny to me.

Let Bernie be recurring. She's sweet and funny and I don't want Andrew to lust after is cousin anymore. No more incest please, even if the joke is that it's bad.

The lovebugs and hate-worms were fine even if the concepts don't make too much sense. Like, there's been plenty of love and hate before but they're just now showing up. I liked Rochelle and Sonya. Walter was funny at first but he ended up overstaying his welcome as both lovebug and hate-worm.

Mona's hot in a respectful way.

tl;dr I've just been murdered at EPCOT Center.

#big mouth #nick birch #andrew glouberman #jessi glaser #missy foreman greenwald #jay bilzerian #big mouth mona #big mouth ali #big mouth samira #matthew mcdell #lola skumpy #simon sex #jatthew

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adamsvanrhijn · 3 years ago

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ok! thomas's plot beats / notes on his storyline!! as remembered by me, smithensy. obviously this is CHOCK full of spoilers. and also i may be misremembering some things because i'm not good at remembering minute details from movies the first time i see them. consider any quotes to be accurate representations but not word for word. this is also not really in chronological order either and is edited from discord messages, so.

conspicuous lack of reaction to tom branson's marriage. which is significant i bet. <3

good at his job. highly respected in it. meanwhile, literally everyone is tired of Carson, and mary and mrs hughes conspire to get him to france (where he suffers in the heat and is embarrassed in a hat shop and nobody likes him or wants him around, including robert) because, per mary, "we need to get rid of him". mrs hughes is visibly irritated when mary asks carson to come back because of later circumstances! which i will get to shortly.

our first actual Thomas Content comes when thomas is Down, and mrs hughes notices, and they do that thing they do where thomas is like "you wouldn't care" and she's like "try me" and then he does and she totally cares and is really sympathetic. the reason that thomas is feeling gloomy turns out to be that………………………………. mr ellis, whom mrs hughes noticed was Friendly with thomas during the royal visit, has written a letter that thomas received today. and the letter says that he is, and this IS an exact quote, "getting married". heartbreaking!!!!!!!!!!

thomas gets to be in a movie and his costuming includes the STUPIDEST earlymid 19th century hair and mutton chops i have EVER seen in my entire life. and i have seen a lot of second and third rate adaptations of les misérables.

he is continually hit on and flirted with and eyed up by """"guy dexter"" in a way that i think makes him uncomfortable and confused but also flattered. i appreciated also the vibe that he has been down this road (the road of getting hit on by upstairs guests) many a time before.

guy dexter is not his real name. his real name is comedic. thomas finds this out in an exchange that is "call me guy" "what's your real name" "(name) (i think it was 'firstname. firstname lastname' actually? but don't quote me on this. thomas may have asked about the last name)" "(i forget the close wording but its like "yeah good choice to change it" in vibes)".

thomas gives his service life story to guy after guy compliments him on knowing his trade. guy asks him to come with him, guy, back to america to his (guy's) house in the hollywood gayborhood, and also travel with him (guy), where thomas can Look After guy and the household and, we find later, when thomas ASKS!!! good job buddy!!! that the arrangement can mean "as much or as little as you [thomas] want". when the offer initially happens it is 100% a job offer, it hinges on The Job, and thomas is clearly confused as hell and is like, "………your valet….????" or something and there's some elaboration that is like. yes but also no. but it's a job offer first and then we get the trailer scene which makes it even more obvious that it is Desired to be more than that.

i cannot believe his name is fucking GUY

thomas thinks about it and then accepts this offer. he hands his notice in to mary and fully explains the situation in a nervous blab way which was both cute and incredibly INCREDIBLY embarrassing to watch, i had to cover my face with my hands because i was so embarrassed. he says it is a chance to live "as honest a life as [he is] able", and given that, with regards to the rest of this movie, the spares are COMPLETELY paired (some favorites come back to make this happen as well!!!) this is like. meaningful narrative wise also.

my criticisms!!! and my responses to criticisms that i have seen.

there was way too much going on in this movie. and this plot REALLY suffers from it imo. thomas and GUY his name is fucking GUY didn't have a ton of scenes together, i did not notice chemistry, and the connection felt REALLY underdeveloped to me. straight up it just did not feel as meaningful as what happened with richard. and i don't think that's bias because i have been super burnt out on thomas/richard lately. this is especially because thomas seemed REALLY uncomfortable about almost every interaction he and G U Y had… until he could trust that it was sincere and not entitled, which was like, their second to last scene together.

and, where they could have made up for that with additional context... there was zero indication that they had much interaction we didn't see. in fact i think it is intended that there isn't. while their part of the film takes place over a matter of multiple weeks, i did not feel that they got to know each other basically at all. my impression is that thomas and richard knew each other better after one night!

this is shallow and mean but WHAT the hell why in god's name did they make dominic west look WORSE than he does in real life. i hate it. HATE it. thomas barrow lost his taste in men!!!! oh my god. this accounts for a lot of my dislike of this situation.

for the above reasons, i can understand criticism that thomas is just taking the first Out he has. i would say that if that is the case, that doesn't necessarily mean he won't be successful in doing so.

my understanding is that people are saying this is Crowbarrow All Over Again. i disagree! i think it isn't—but it IS a bookend. that said, i really would have appreciated it more if it had not been proposed as a working relationship. i think there is something respectable and romantic in, essentially, "come live a better life with no strings attached" — except that it IS presented in a way that the one string is, it hinges on the job! and i don't think that's necessary, and i think it is a major detractor. this is 1920s hollywood, where gay men frequently lived together without it involving a job at all. even without a surface excuse other than "it's annoying being a bachelor alone"! if it had been presented in a way that the JOB ITSELF was not a condition — that it was an option, but not a condition — that would have been more fulfilling to me.

and thomas would have accepted it anyway because it is his fucking dream to be a housewife!!!!!!!!!!! that is key here!!!! the execution could have been better but like come on it DEFINITELY is His Dream Job, at the moment. he gets to live in and run a nice house with a man he is inexplicably attracted to, he gets to Dress Him, he gets to travel.......! my main qualm here is that we lose the even playing field we found with richard, and that disappoints me. if it hadn't been presented as a job first this wouldn't be an issue, so i am displeased that this was the route that took. i can see the sensibility in framing it that way if guy (guy) was unsure about thomas, but he both, wasn't, and, even then could easily have been like "have you ever considered moving somewhere new, say, hollywood (i am offering to help you do this, and also if you want you can run my household and be my lover)".

but! the trailer framing it with a line about marriage, everyone getting married…... thomas saying this is an honest way of getting what he wants (which, and i cannot stress this enough, is to be #Married and to Look After a man he loves) (see my earlier criticism)... i highly doubt the idea is supposed to be sketchy.

people who think it's doomed to fail, or that if it ended everything would be over for Thomas...... you think Thomas would fail in Hollywood????? you think he couldn't bounce back????????? the historical context here isn't Wonderful but have faith!!!!! jeez. he's going to Thrive!!!!

my favorite thomas moment was this:

"why is she so nice all of a sudden?"

"she's not afraid anymore."

[cut to thomas, who is looking self-considering and a teensy bit amused]

now.

about mr ellis. you whiners <3 (with affection.)

they made it a minimum of 15 months together. if we take every setting clue we have at face value and ignore mary saying that matthew died seven years ago, they actually made it closer to 27 months together. which is more than two years!

in the previous movie richard recognized what thomas wanted, and enforced and affirmed that he deserved it. already that's a DEEP impact on thomas's life. the decision thomas makes in this film could not have happened without that external validation and encouragement. to channel michael engler, this doesn't take away from what they shared! especially if they had a long distance relationship for at least a year! (i do think it does take away from it if he was married all along, though—so them making it a while and thomas having that chance to really come to understand who he is and what he wants before richard gets cold feet and decides he can't get away with being a bachelor anymore [hmmmm] is important and the only way this is acceptable to me.)

canonically, though, he couldn't give what he (and thomas) wanted to himself, and he couldn't give it to thomas.

...at this time. with an ounce of creativity one might recognize that "getting married" does not mean "is married", and that both he and thomas have many years left to live.

it's not out of character you guys get real he has six minutes of screentime and one of these minutes involves him saying gay men do what they must to get by. do you know how many words of fanfiction i have written where this man is married. almost certainly SIGNIFICANTLY more than anybody else on the entire planet has! otherwise, canon divergence in fanwork exists (and also is an ao3 au tag i need to put on like fifty fanfictions when i get the chance.)

there's another ship in this fandom where people alter significantly more canon to make it work and also the canon does not include thomas getting letters from a man he loves let alone being in a happy fulfilling relationship for more than a year so if anybody is winning the ship war....... it's not the pairing with the most screentime!

ultimately.......

i didn't like it? but i am satisfied with it.

i appreciate how open ended it was. there is lots of room to play, and i am sure i will be playing again eventually!

#downton abbey tag #downton abbey spoilers #da spoilers #a new era spoilers #downton abbey a new era spoilers #thomas barrow posting tag

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seasonfivebitchsaveme · 5 months ago

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Tysm for the tag! I might go in way too deep with this. While the Key to the Starry Sky arc had a lot of problems(*cough* jiggle jiggle butt gang *cough*), I feel it had a lot of interesting ideas too.

Michelle, of course, as a character was heart wrenching. The first twist of her being in the Neo-Oracion Seis wasn't much of a surprise. This is why the second twist, that being her as Lucy's doll, was so emotional. Michelle's my second favorite from the season because of this.

The counterparts of the Royal Guard from Edolas showing up was a surprising yet well made choice. I can remember I had forgotten all about them, and I had never considered the fact that they had their own earthland counterparts too! As for the members of the Legion Platoon, most of them fulfilled their roles in the story.

To the surprise of no one, Mary Hughes is my favorite member of the Platoon. Her character arc, while not as important as the main storyline, I found to be intriguing. From some dialogue in her last episode, it can be inferred that Mary had a very troubled childhood of being tricked and taken advantage of. When the Zentopian Church brought her in, it's no surprise why she learned command magic. She wanted to be strong enough so that she was always pulling the strings. While her first appearances make her look very cruel and sadistic, Mary is a very misguided character. Out of the Legion members, I would say that Mary had the hardest time coming to terms with the fact that the church(mainly Lapoint) was using her. The concept of the Legion being manipulated has the strongest ties to Mary, specifically her magic abilities. The puppeteer being a puppet herself was thematically very strong to me. On the inside, Mary Hughes isn't a bad person. In truth, she's just someone who was taught to never let her guard down, and that meant sympathy was weakness. Her stand against Guttman when Natsu and Coco needed to escape might seem like it came out of nowhere, but she really does care for the people close to her, like Coco. It was her displaying not only kindness, but a selflessness which her early season self lacked. I feel her character changed the most out of anyone in this season. To sum up this incredibly long ramble, Mary Hughes is really cool!

Since this was a Lucy Arc, it was nice seeing her be the main focus. It really explored the lore of not only who her father was, but also who she is as a person. It was nice to see! Despite it not being my favorite arc in the series, it's the one I think about the most for better or for worse.

Hi if you read all of this I'm sorry

Genuine questions for fairytail fans, how do we feel about that anime only arc with the clock??

#fairy tail #key of the starry sky arc #fairy tail season five #michelle fairy tail #mary hughes #ily Mary Hughes I could never hate you #the girlies really carried this arc

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farieshades · 2 years ago

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I have lost track of how many questions I have asked in total. Eh its fine.

What do you think about Will Graham? 🐟

Will's character is based heavily in the terms of 'Gifted Crime Protagonist', with tragic backstory and no 'true' family to call his own at the beginning of his plotline. "There’s something so foreign about family... like an ill-fitting suit. I never connected with the concept." However, what Will does know about family comes from the dogs. Of course, he comes to be close to many people, he's always disconnected in a way potentially with reason as his strong empathy, which makes him a great criminal profiler, might make him awkward in relationships.

Will, I'd say, is a hero, because he has a strong sense of Justice. He wants to save lives, even at a high cost of his own mental state, which he fears one day may go too far and he will be the same as those he strives to catch. Nevertheless, at the core, Will is a good man.

In all versions of the Will-Hannibal story, Will is the one to discover Hannibal leading a double life as both a highly intellectual doctor and a cannibalistic serial killer, setting the stage of a, er, typical hero-villain story (with some wonderful Hero x Villain times). Originally, in Red Dragon, Will discovers Hannibal out very quickly as he is asking questions about a past patient. The film, of course, changed this aspect, making Will and Hannibal known to one another in reaching out as a consultant, even going to Hannibals house (as the TV show plays on often), where he finds recipes with organs listed. The Show, however, sets up a complex bond with Hannibal before uncovering anything. In the novel, Will is never haunted by killing desires or losing track of reality (though he notably spends time in mental hospitals because of the trauma he has seen), this was added to in the show, in the original stuff he was more 'crime thriller protagonist' who gets the short stick and later is a drunkard in florida with a 'cut up face'.

So, really, what was done with the character was interesting, and while the series played heavily on the Clarice/Hannibal relationship in Silence of the Lambs, substituting Will in for Clarice of course, the existence of Will holds true enough. And, of course, Hugh Dancy is a great choice for that presentation.

#nbc hannibal #will graham #red dragon #silence of the lambs #character analysis

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avacoleman · 3 years ago

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Another week, another snippet of the what if fic. I’m currently at 22.5k with this. It’s all vibes at this point tbh. Here’s a bit from Tarlos’ first day meeting each other.

As they pull up to the open gates, TK reads the sign: Tom Hughes Park.

Carlos parks the car and gets out, TK quick to follow.

“I visit pretty regularly,” Carlos says. “Any time I’m feeling stressed or I need to unwind, I find myself coming out here. I thought you might enjoy walking around for a bit and checking it out instead of being cooped up indoors.”

TK smiles. “I’m glad you have somewhere to go when you feel like that. Thanks for sharing your happy place with me.”

Carlos smiles back at him and TK feels his stomach flip. Carlos seems to give his happiness away so freely. TK just wants to collect as many of these smiles as he can and hang on to them like souvenirs of today.

He clears his throat quietly and walks ahead, staying close to Carlos’ side as they enter the park.

It’s relatively quiet as they walk the grounds and TK finds that it doesn’t put him on edge or make him feel keen to fill it. It’s enough just to have Carlos beside him.

But, he can admit, he’s quite curious about this guy that’s managing to jumpstart his heart.

“Have you lived in Austin your whole life?”

Carlos glances at him, his hands tucked into the front pocket of his dark jeans. TK’s eyes track the flex of Carlos’ tendons as he stretches out his arms a bit.

“Yeah, I have. I can’t even picture what it would have been like to grow up anywhere else.”

“New York, for example?”

Carlos smiles. “Not so sure I’d be cut out for that city like that but I truly love it here.”

TK hums thoughtfully. “My dad tried getting me to make the move with him but I couldn’t picture myself down here.”

“Should I be offended?” Carlos teases, bumping his shoulder lightly.

TK does his best to ignore the tugging sensation in his stomach at the brief bit of contact.

“Nah, nothing personal. It’s just...I needed to stay. I couldn’t make a change like that as quickly as him.”

There’s so much hidden in those words but TK certainly can’t unload all of his baggage at Carlos’ feet now.

Carlos studies him for a moment and TK braces himself for Carlos to inquire more deeply. Instead the man nods, more so to himself.

“It’s good that you’re going at your own pace. If moving didn’t feel right to you at the time, then staying must have been the right call.”

It’s felt like forever since someone has instantly trusted his personal decision making, himself included. TK had spent a great deal of time in the initial aftermath of his relapse wondering if a fresh start in a new city would have been the better choice.

They continue on their trail, trading stories back and forth about what it was like growing up in their respective cities. TK is amazed to hear Carlos grew up on an actual ranch, surrounded by animals when he’d been so unsuccessful in even swaying his parents to get him a dog.

Conversation is effortless, the two of them pouring words of their history and present into each other so easily. TK can’t remember the last time he’s had this much to say to someone.

“Do you want to see my favorite part of the park?” Carlos asks after a time.

TK nods and is led to the quaintest pond he’s ever seen. The surrounding grass and tree lines are so still, it feels like no one else has ever discovered this particular section of the park. Sunlight reflects off the surface, rich and golden like honey.

Carlos stops a few feet away from the water’s edge and takes a seat on the lush grass. TK settles beside him, holding his breath like the world around them.

He glances to the side to look at him. Carlos’ eyes are closed, his head tilted upwards like a sunflower seeking out the sun’s rays, his arms stretched out behind him.

The first thought that comes to mind is that Carlos looks radiant. It’s not a word TK has ever used to describe anything or anyone in his life but it hits the mark perfectly.

Carlos shifts and TK looks away before he’s caught and studies the pond.

“The water looks amazing. I could just swim in it right now,” TK says, if only to distract himself.

Carlos hums in thought, seemingly intrigued by this statement.

“Then why don’t we?”

TK laughs and shakes his head until he looks at Carlos full on.

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Yeah, why not?” Carlos replies, standing up at once and toeing off his shoes.

TK stares up at him, one eye closed against the sunlight surrounding him.

His stomach somersaults as Carlos slips off his shirt and tosses it to the ground. His throat goes a bit dry the longer he looks at Carlos.

It wasn’t hard to guess that the man would look every bit as good with his shirt off as he did fully clothed. But seeing the broad chest and toned muscles firsthand so unexpectedly leaves TK with no other option really but to stare.

This isn’t at all a state he thought he’d see the man in— and on their first day of meeting each other no less.

But Carlos doesn’t appear bashful in the least bit. He flashes TK a smile and heads towards the water. TK watches his figure edge closer to the pond, Carlos only stopping to remove his pants before going in.

TK’s brain quickly catches up and a moment later he’s stripping down to his boxer briefs and joining Carlos.

The water is much cooler than he’d been anticipating but it’s a welcomed feeling with the sun bearing down as it is now.

TK floats on his back, letting the water support him. He feels weightless as he looks up at the clear blue sky above. It’s all so perfect. This day has unfolded itself in a way he couldn’t have foreseen but TK delights in that.

Especially if it means spending alone time with a cute guy he’s been able to have such great conversation with all afternoon.

TK’s eyes close and he lets his fingertips skim the water’s surface. He listens to the call of birds somewhere in the distance. It’s easy to see why this place is somewhere Carlos seeks refuge in. He feels like he’s on another planet entirely or at least a remote corner of the world where no one else exists. It’s all so incredibly relaxing.

Out here in the water, over a thousand miles away from home with a possible new friend who doesn’t know of his past, it feels as if he has found a reset button.

“Looks like this could be your happy place too,” Carlos says.

TK opens his eyes slowly and turns his head to look at him.

The sunlight makes the water droplets clinging to his body glisten. This whole day has felt like something out of a dream. TK has to wonder at what percentage of that comes down to the location or his company.

As Carlos keeps his warm brown eyes on him and smiles expectantly, TK knows the numbers skew heavily in the man’s favor.

“It just might be.”

TK doesn’t know how long they remain there, an hour or a lifetime. It hardly feels like it could ever be enough.

#911 lone star #911lsfic #tarlos #tk strand #carlos reyes #wip wednesday #ronenrubinstein #userthai #tuserpaige #useralie #pragmaticoptimist34 #usernicholas #userbones #bellakitse #kimmy writes

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sparring-hyena · 3 years ago

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again and again.

i think this kinda counts as a groundhog day-esque AU with some quirky time travel mixed in for fun. is that even a thing? idk.

OR, time is complicated, and so is love. here’s a story about both.

“i will destroy you,” Poppy says, her tone razor-edged and precise. she feels a pulsing thing beneath her skin. something that warns her to tread carefully in a manner that’s much too pleased for the situation at hand.

“good luck with that,” AJ answers, her tone somehow daring to be amused.

and then a beat. a moment that exists only between the two of them. it rings loud in Poppy’s mind. thrums along in time with that pulsing thing beneath her skin. it’s warning her about something. telling her to make the right choice, as though it’ll be forced to do something if she doesn’t do this right.

pshhh. ridiculous.

“i hate you.”

and that’s the last thing she says before the pulsing thing expands and consumes her whole. it drags her away from the fountain and AJ and that clear night in May, and drops her in bed just as her alarm to wake up goes off.

Poppy sits up in bed, her hair a tussled mess, and watches as her phone buzzes and plays that horrible alarm tune on the nightstand.

strange, she thinks, reaching out to silence the damn thing. she checks the date, which is right, but the time is, decidedly, wrong. it was well after ten at night the last she checked, only now her phone is telling her it’s nine o’clock in the morning. she pads to the windows and peers outside, and sure enough, the sun is in the sky. it’s morning.

a dream then, right? it must’ve been. her loss and meltdown and run-in with AJ at the fountain, it was a dream and now she’s awake. good, she didn’t really lose to AJ-fucking-Hughes.

she showers and dresses and heads downstairs in search of something quick to eat. Veronica is in the kitchen, scrolling through her phone as she waits for her coffee to brew. she looks up and nods in greeting, and Poppy’s suddenly hit with a very strange sense of déjà vu.

“you ready for tonight?” Veronica asks, head still buried in her phone.

Poppy hums and then, unsure of why, she says, “i had the strangest dream.” the pulsing thing returns. a warning. a caution. a very much not-exclusive-to-dreams thing.

be careful, it sing-songs.

“oh yeah.” Veronica looks up, suddenly curious.

“yeah, it was…” she’s actually not quite sure of what to make of it. of what hidden insecurity it sheds light onto. maybe she shouldn’t say anything then. best to keep her cards close to her chest—they are competing against each other after all. “nothing. it’s nothing. never mind.”

Veronica shrugs and returns to her phone.

her day carries on as it usually would and before she knows it, she’s stepping onto the red carpet for the awards show. cameras flash and she smiles as she presses through, as though feeding off the attention.

and then the end of the night comes and— AJ wins. AJ wins. AJ-fucking-Hughes. Poppy’s shouting and cursing before she can stop herself. she’s peripherally aware of her parents calling out to her, begging her to stop, but that pulsing thing beneath her skin hums with energy. it tells her this is right. that this is how it needs to be. so she doesn’t stop.

she doesn’t stop until she’s out of breath and finally realises what she’s done. and then she slips outside and tries to disappear for a moment at the fountain.

she takes deep breaths, paces back-and-forth, and tries to figure out where it all went so wrong. and how— she’s back at the fountain. the same fountain she was at in her dream. how the fuck?

second time’s the charm, right?

and— what? second time?

yes, do try and keep up.

“fuck you,” she thinks, she says, speaking aloud into the world.

“you say the sweetest things to me,” a voice, it’s AJ’s voice.

Poppy spins around, absolutely fuming, and with déjà vu sitting heavy in her mind. this is just like her dream. how the fuck can this be just like her dream?

the pulsing amps up, thrumming along her veins. this is it, it says, excited and breath held in quiet anticipation.

it? what the fuck does that mean?

there’s a moment where it looks like AJ is about to extend an olive branch. where she offers one of those small and hesitant smiles that asks for a do-over. but Poppy’s learnt her lesson. she knows that branches almost always have thorns. so instead of accepting AJ’s hand, she slaps it away and says something cruel. something prickly and sharp that slices at skin and won’t ever really heal.

“i hate you,” she spits, just like in her goddamn dream.

the pulsing thing doesn’t like that. it tells her no, you’ve done it wrong again, and then rips her away and throws her back into bed as her alarm to wake up goes off.

she sits up in bed and is more pissed than anything else. her alarm is still ringing and vibrating like everything’s okay—everything is not okay. because she’s in her bed again and her alarm is vibrating and it’s somehow morning again.

she gets out of bed and marches downstairs, more determined than ever to finally get some answers.

she finds Veronica in the kitchen, just like in her dreams that didn’t at all feel like dreams.

“you ready for—”

“what the fuck is happening right now?”

Veronica blinks. takes a second to properly wake up. “uh, what?”

“this.” she gestures widely to everything and that little pulsing thing warns her again. “what the fuck is this? what is happening?”

“are you high?”

“what? no, i’m not high. i just want an answer. why have i already lived through this morning twice?”

and she never does get an answer because the pulsing thing yanks her back and drops her bed just as her alarm is going off. again.

Poppy screams into her pillow and the pulsing thing says sorry, but you broke a rule, i had to pull you back.

and suddenly Poppy’s demanding answers from this stupid pulsing thing, but it remains silent.

so she pulls herself out of bed and tries again.

attempt number four goes wrong around noon, and attempts five through nine are all spectacular disasters because Poppy decides that she just does not give a fuck.

if some cruel force of the universe wants to lock her in this never ending purgatory, then so be it. she’s done enough shitty things in life and probably deserves it.

attempt number ten goes better. it still goes wrong because she got into a fight with AJ and apparently that’s not how it’s supposed to go, but she overhears a conversation between Chloe and Veronica and realises just how horrible she’s been to them.

she stays in bed for the entirety of attempt number eleven.

the pulsing thing begs her to get up, says please, i only want to help. but Poppy doesn’t buy it. who would want to help her?

the pulsing thing goes quiet and gently pulls her back until it’s 9 o’clock in the morning and her alarm is going off again.

c’mon, one more time. please? the pulsing thing asks as soon as attempt number twelve starts.

Poppy sighs but gets out of bed anyway. she can do this one more time. she finds Veronica in the kitchen just like the last eleven times and feels strangely compelled to say something new.

“i wasn’t a very good friend, was i?”

Veronica looks up from her phone, wary but curious.

the pulsing thing says no, not yet. but Poppy ignores it and pushes on. and as soon as she gets to the end of her apology, the pulsing thing pulls her away and drops her back in bed just as the alarm is going off.

not yet, it says.

“then when?” Poppy shouts at the top of her lungs. “when do you want me to start being better?”

she gets no response from the pulsing thing, but Chloe does knock on her door and ask if everything’s okay. she snaps at Chloe, tells her to go away, even though she knows she shouldn’t and wishes she didn’t.

she decides then that she’s done playing this stupid game.

she shaves her head during one version of the day and streaks across campus in another version because fuck it, no one will remember.

it’s during attempt twenty-one that she accidentally bumps into AJ on some quiet part of campus. they sit together and talk and the pulsing thing tells her to be careful.

“can i ask you a question?” AJ says.

“sure.”

“did i ever mean anything to you?”

“yes—”

the pulsing thing tells her to stop.

“—i think i was scared because i knew i could lo—”

the pulsing thing rips her away.

Poppy can feel it in her bones that this is it. attempt twenty-two will be the one to break this cycle.

she plays through the day as she usually would, making only small changes that she knows are the right thing to do. then comes time for the award show and it’s just before the winner is announced that the pulsing asks if she knows what has to be done.

yes, she does know.

AJ wins and Poppy’s strangely okay with that, but the pulsing thing tells her now, go, you have to do it. so she does. she shouts and she curses and is vaguely aware of her parents begging for her to stop.

she runs off outside and finds herself at the fountain again.

she doesn’t have to wait long until AJ sits down beside her and Poppy looks up at her and smiles, waiting for AJ to accept the olive branch she’s extending.

“i’m glad you won,” Poppy breathes, almost like a sigh of relief.

and she feels something in the air shift then. it’s small, barely noticeable. but she knows that something is different in the way that sometimes you just know something even if knowing it has no rhyme or reason.

“really?”

Poppy hums. “you deserve it.”

the pulsing thing says i’m proud of you.

and Poppy wonders if she’ll be okay without the constant nagging, because this is the furthest she’s ever made it before and she has no idea what comes next.

that’s the point.

what if i screw up.

then you fix it.

what if i can’t.

you can.

“you alright?” AJ asks, breaking Poppy’s trance. “you just kinda zoned out for a sec.”

Poppy smiles and finds AJ’s hand with her own. “i’ve never been better.”

time is linear, Poppy firmly believes. like dominoes in a line, stacked neatly in formation, and all tumbling one right after another when nudged.

time does not repeat. it does not offer do-overs. except maybe when it does. which might be complete bullshit, Poppy thinks. but years—decades even—after that day she lived through twenty-two times, she’ll listen as AJ recites some corny pickup line in their kitchen.

“i can’t believe i married you,” Poppy will say with a smile.

“tragic, isn’t it?”

“couldn’t agree more.”

“good.”

and then AJ will swoop in and plant a kiss on Poppy’s lips. and it will be in moments like those that the pulsing thing will hum and ask aren’t you glad you finally listened to me?

and yeah, maybe she is.

#my writing #poppy x mc #poppy min-sinclair #queen b #playchoices #a funky little story about love and time travel #does that even make sense?#i sure hope it does

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incomingalbatross · 1 year ago

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That response from Hugh also makes perfect sense, yes!

Oh, VERY good point. He does want Paddy to be a younger version of himself, doesn't he... and instead, the closest comparison (as both he and Brendon note!) is Robin. Poor little Robin who never seems to have taken part in the angers and resentments.

YES. Paddy's learned a warped idea of what love and virtue are, particularly as applied to him by adults, and of course he can't work his way through it! He has nothing else to work FROM.

Right, exactly... and these choices of Hugh's are illuminated by his later choices and the explanation of his precise history with Quentin, aren't they. So many of his choices are made out of fear as well as anger, but that means he has no experience in what could happen if he didn't listen to his fear. And when the truth finally comes out, he IS cut off from Brendon, so his fears were partly right! But the secret is that he has to be brave AGAIN, deliberately, and do the right thing without fear. Then he does have his brother back, and can start to heal, even though he's in a pragmatically worse position.

(My changing attitudes to Hugh were a journey, and very well-done writing on Savery's part.)

(And yes, that makes sense. I'd have to study him more to make any specific guesses, but he doesn't seem mentally well. Again, understandable!)

It IS. It just stabs at you over and over again, because children are so powerless! Defenseless against injustice not only practically but mentally, because in a case like this they may not even be able to understand that it is injustice. They can only hurt.

Oh, absolutely! Brendon's been driven into his own patterns and limitations and coping mechanisms, and he's worked so hard to be Good and Responsible and Stable for all the various people relying on him that he's had very little room left for even acknowledging his own damage, let alone actually coming to terms with it.

Oh, that's interesting that it was in first person originally! I do think the switch to third was a good choice for the story.

I came out of this book with a whole-hearted condemnation of Quentin that... probably isn't totally fair in light of the book's larger themes (the first dragon turned out not to be a one-dimensional monster, so should I really assume the second one is?), and it's also only fair to acknowledge that A) the other grownups do seem to think he cares for Paddy and B) Paddy ISN'T a child standing between him and an inheritance, but is his own heir. But at the same time I can't get away from my conviction that this man should NEVER BE ALLOWED WITHIN FIFTY FEET OF ANY CHILD. And certainly, as you say, he managed to hurt Paddy (who is like Robin! Robin, who was killed!) even in that limited window of time.

They are SO young. Exactly. That broke my brain. Hugh was still a teenager when we met him! Brendon is, honestly, barely an adult. Of course they're not okay. They haven't had any kind of time to become okay, not on anything approaching their own terms.

Oh yes, I did catch, and love, that! And I can see that, by the terms and themes of this narrative, things kind of have to turn out better in the future. For one thing, Hugh has broken the cycle, which means Paddy shouldn't have to be trapped in it; for another, the brothers are united with each other and with Paddy for the first time, which should mean they can do more than any of them managed previously. And... I think it was Mary Two who said something about taking your own retribution being wrong because it leaves no room for God's retribution? Which implies that Hugh's choice to let go and surrender his own fight is, by the terms of the book itself, creating space for God's grace and God's judgment to work freely in their situation.

But YES, I would have loved a sequel. This is a story that could have made very good use of a sequel.

Anyway. I love the three Tenthragon boys (and they ARE all boys—even more than I realized when I first called them that). Definitely going to be reading this again in the future. And thank you for your thoughts!

Completely unedited and unexpanded reading notes on Tenthragon Ch. 8-19

Ch. 8

(filled with rage) Mary!!!!

That is all I have to say about chapter 8. This poor BABY. He doesn't understand how rules work! Scaring him doesn't HELP!

Okay wait I do have something else to say, and it's that I genuinely don't know what Hugh was getting at with his hints about Brendan's relationship to Paddy.

The obvious idea is that Brendan is Paddy's father, but then A) Hugh wouldn't hate Paddy if he weren't the Snake's son, right?? and B) Hugh says Paddy IS their cousin, implying he is ALSO something else.

This suggests a relation might be through Paddy's mother's side--was she a relation of theirs? I don't think she could be Hugh and Brendan's sister, though, because I think someone said she lived in China.

*throws up hands*

Ch. 9:

Paddy trying to hide from the Nightmare Guilt lurking in his mind is all too relatable. :(

Wait did Ellen say Hugh TOOK Paddy from his parents? I mean, no names obviously, but the baby mentioned has to be somebody we know and there's nobody else. How does THAT fit in here?

Ellen. Thank you for giving good advice, but also TAKE IT YOURSELF. If it's better to be punished by Brendan than kept in bondage by Hugh (and it IS), act on that? Don't ask the child to braver than you're being.

Ch. 10

Hugh: *tortures a child*

Hugh: UGH why are you always crying

I DO understand that he's replicating what Paddy's father did to him.

…That should really make him LESS surprised by the results.

Ch. 11:

All right, Hugh suffers SOME pangs of conscience. Not enough to actually face what he's doing, but some.

Ugggh this man. Wilfully fighting back against his softer feelings toward Paddy, of course, but I'm also just mad how he assumes Paddy will ENJOY misbehaving or breaking things. Even when Paddy says he doesn't want to! Hugh doesn't listen!

Ch. 12:

"surely you love him well enough to trust him?" That's the WHOLE THING, that's what Paddy can't get to, because he can't tell what's reasonable and what isn't so maybe a person like Brendon WOULD still cut his thumbs off for what he did! Maybe that's a reasonable consequence in Brendon's eyes! He can't piece together that that's incompatible with his love and respect for Brendon. Because he is a CHILD.

Hm, the sister lived in Other Thragoness all her childhood and Hugh refuses to say any more. Some evidence she could be Paddy's mother, then.

Oh NO poor BABY (he was caned)

Ch. 13:

Hugh: Hm. Why does hurting my baby cousin/nephew feel bad. Why am I trying to make him feel better. Why CAN'T I make him feel better by just pressing a button and magically turning off all his hurt feelings, it's like my actions have consequences

Ah yeah, Hugh's got a point, doesn't he? The "telling Brendon" threat isn't just empty, it's more likely to end HIS world instead of Paddy's.

Hugh: Well, having recreated my childhood trauma, I guess I'll recreate the consolations we got as well! Please don't examine any of this too closely (SUCH a mess)

And he literally HAS a way out of this self-created trap. Brendon wants to tell him Paddy's here! He is asking for an opportunity! And Hugh decides to keep going with the layers of lies instead.

"Hugo mio" aw that's cute

"DON'T TELL ME HE'S LIKE ROBIN I DON'T LIKE THOSE IMPLICATIONS"

"You would like him yourself if you knew him." OOF

Ch. 14:

Can't believe Paddy told Hugh he was "mean" for the first time ever and it was over Hugh's teasing him with a glimpse of "the baby"

(Also that Paddy's immediate reaction to hearing the baby was in the house was "Brendon doesn't like it better than me?" <3)

Brendon's a knight for the costume party. Of course.

Hugh speaking well of Quentin is…a lot. But also OW the blatantly awful things lying BARELY under the surface of what he tells Paddy--and that is the best he has to tell! It's just All Awful!

Of course, this isn't sustainable either. But give Hugh credit, he has very little practice thinking about other people's emotional welfare. He's trying not to be actively cruel here!!

Ch. 15:

Oh no, baby. :( Progress with Hugh is good but a barrier between him and Brendon is BAD. Unfair to both of them.

Ugggh, ANOTHER unjust adult in his life. Just what Paddy needed.

"Did you enjoy living at Victoria Lodge?" "Why, was I meant to?"

Brendon is his world! And yet he believes Brendon might cut his thumbs off! THIS is why little children are so vulnerable!!

He's HURTING HIMSELF ON PURPOSE to make a chance for Brendon to take care of him. HONEY

Oh the ESSAY. The best thing Miss Prince ever did was send Brendon Paddy's essay.

His mostly-dead relatives are his imaginary friends. I can't believe Paddy actually brought MORE Gothic to Thragoness.

His imaginary dad is just a version of Brendon who approves of him AUGH

He's REENACTING THE RING ABUSE AS A PRETEND Brendon get this child some better occupations

Ch. 16:

No Brendon not like that

…The flipside of the problem is that Brendon ALSO doesn't get that Paddy loves HIM. Because Paddy doesn't TRUST him and Brendon is misdiagnosing the symptoms (and doesn't have confidence he CAN do a decent job with Paddy)

Hugh. Hugh. I GET that you can't cope with Brendon's feelings being hurt either, but it doesn't help to yell at Paddy without actually explaining what he did wrong, and it ESPECIALLY doesn't help when this whole thing is your fault

(Though tbf, Paddy HAS been hiding his problem from Hugh. And Hugh doesn't want to see anything unpleasant unless it's put directly in front of him, so)

Hugh is such a WILD mixture of growing self-knowledge and complete blindness to Paddy. "Not that YOU would know anything about living in dread of discovery, of course"

Ch. 17

Ah yes the WORST POSSIBLE PERSON to catch Paddy. SURE WHY NOT.

All three of the Tenthragon boys are having the WORST DAY IMAGINABLE.

Incredibly impressive, though, what coherent characters both of these brothers are even filtered through Paddy's POV.

Oh Brendon. Buddy. I understand what you're doing, and Hugh literally asked for it because he can't achieve emotional honesty to save his life, but DON'T.

Ch. 18:

Okay, I did not give Brendon enough credit. I mean, I still suspect he doesn't know how MUCH he means to Hugh, but he's putting more even thought into this than I thought.

Paddy loves Hugh too. :( It shouldn't have been his job to learn to understand Hugh, but he has a bit anyway.

He's writing LETTERS to Hugh.

No one is entirely happy and everyone concerned here misses each other and it doesn't CHANGE anything

Oh, the mysterious sister is here?? She's here with her husband???

Auggggh the Snake is HERE.

UGGGGH the sleeper command to "obey Brendon" at the beginning of the book came from HIM? Of course it did. Lifelong expert in frightening children.

Hey. Hey Hugh. Thanks for stealing Paddy when he was a baby.

Ch. 19:

…Oh. Somehow I did NOT place that all the tragic Tenthragon deaths probably weren't accidents.

…Really should've picked up on that.

Oh GOLLY. (Quentin getting legal and financial guardianship over Hugh.)

Hugh telling the whole story in third person because he can't deal with actually TELLING Paddy.

I repeat: even if it wasn't Hugh's intention, the arrangement he put into place ended up being probably the best outcome possible for Paddy.

…I'm sorry, are you telling me that Hugh is STILL NOT A LEGAL ADULT. CURRENTLY.

I knew he was young, but…

That's what you DO miss when POV is filtered through a nine-year-old.

(Brendon might still be in his twenties himself, then. He probably is. OOF he has had WAY too much on his shoulders for WAY too long.)

(He IS in his twenties. He's I think twenty-five?? What an INCREDIBLY good adult he's been.)

Noooo, Brendon, Paddy DOES deserve to know. He's already in the middle of this, he should get to navigate it with some understanding of what he's seen.

Oh, all right, if Hugh didn't want it read then it's fine. Hopefully Paddy can wait a bit to understand his family fully.

Dread.

It ends THERE?

#tenthragon #also feeling a desire to reread the rebel & the redcoats (for the healing from anger and grief) and enemy brothers (for the siblings)

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twistedtummies2 · 2 years ago

Text

The Devils I Know - Number 30

Welcome to “The Devils I Know!” For this spooky time of year, from now till Halloween, I’ll be counting down My Top 31 Depictions of the Devil, from movies, television, video games, and more! Today’s Devil is One Bad Kitty. Number 30 is…Julie Newmar, from The Twilight Zone’s “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville.”

The original version of “The Twilight Zone” actually had SEVERAL episodes involving the Devil, and each one featured the character being played by a different actor. The first appearance was early in the show’s run, during its sixth episode, “The Escape Clause.” In here, the Devil was played by Thomas Gomez. Perhaps the scariest episode was “The Howling Man,” where the Devil was played by Robin Hughes. In “A Nice Place to Visit,” the Lord of Darkness was depicted by Bagheera himself, Sebastian Cabot. And in “Printer’s Devil,” the Penguin decided to jab his umbrella into the hellish blend, as Burgess Meredith tackled the part.

Meredith was not the only Batman Villain to play Satan in the series, however. While all of these episodes and all of these Devils were great, my personal favorite appearance by the arch-demon was in the episode “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville.” This episode aired during the fourth season of the show, and features the original Catwoman, Julie Newmar, as “Miss Devlin” – a female take on the Devil herself. The plot of the episode focuses on one William J. Feathersmith: a prosperous but totally unscrupulous businessman. He has had to step on a lot of little people to get to the top, and now that he’s there…he doesn’t regret a single one of his actions and decisions, but he DOES feel rather bored in life. After all, now that he’s at the top, there’s nowhere else to go, and he longs for the good old days of his youth. This is where Miss Devlin comes in: she makes a bargain with Feathersmith to de-age him and send him back in time to those good old days, so he can relive them once more. Ironically, Devlin does NOT take his soul, because, according to her, his soul ALREADY belongs to her, due to all the evil deeds he’s done to get to his station in life. Instead, she declares she will take all but a little over a thousand bucks from him, leaving him with virtually nothing. Feathersmith agrees, since he figures he can make the same choices he made in the past to get back to where he once was. However, once he gets back to the past, Feathersmith soon realizes his great mistake: he may LOOK younger, but he’s actually still an old man inside, and risks dying before he can ever even enjoy the fruits of his labors. On top of that, the reality of his youth is not nearly as romantic as he remembered it to be, and he soon finds that – after spending so much of his life leeching off the hard work of other people – he has almost no recourse when it comes to fending for himself. Miss Devlin agrees to send him back to the future (hide all your Christopher Lloyds)…but Feathersmith’s decisions in the past have now completely changed the course of his life, and he finds no comfort there, either. This is a classic time-travel story with a powerful message: Feathersmith is an awful so-and-so, and it’s hard to defend him much or say he doesn’t have what’s coming to him. However, we still sympathize with him, regardless: we’ve all wanted to revisit places in our memories and relive what we consider our glory days. Nine times out of ten, though, those fondly-remembered moments aren’t nearly as golden and grand as we like to believe, and there’s no telling what we could or could not do in the future if we truly chose to return to the past. Newmar’s Miss Devlin is truly a treat: in many ways, her performance here is actually a lot like her Catwoman, depicting the Devil as a slinky, playfully wicked femme fatale, with elegant grace and a dark sense of humor. Long story short: if you ever wanted to see Catwoman wear devil horns and torment an old capitalist…I guess your very strange and specific wish will be granted with this episode. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 29! HINT: He loves an island adventure.

#top 31 devils #the devils i know #fiction #october special #halloween advent calendar #tv #the twilight zone #julie newmar #miss devlin #of late i think of cliffordville #twilight zone #best #favorites #number 30 #list #countdown

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mmikmmik2 · 4 years ago

Note

If you were to sort the Infinity Train cast(s) into the Major Arcana a la the Persona games, which Arcana would you give everyone?

anon I had SOOOOO much fun thinking about this, thank you so much for sending me this. I sorted all the major characters, plus a few other entries, based on a mix of Arcana symbolism, Persona series character archetypes, and general vibes. I came up with answers I feel pretty good about for all but four of the Arcana. (Was really tempted to say Strength is every human character who doesn't board the train because they can handle their problems on their own lol.) This is going to be a long-winded post, so I thought I’d post just the list as an image (which hopefully won’t be too blurry!) rather than wrestle with Tumblr formatting trying to make a short list, and put a big text wall under the readmore talking more about my picks.

If this list does end up illegible, the same info is under the readmore as text! Plus some characters for Magician, Strength, Justice, and Death that I didn’t want to add to the “official” list because they’re more based on headcanon. (Although my reasoning for some of the “official” picks is pretty weak lol.)

One-One as 0. The Fool

Oh my gosh, what am I?

IT is great at fleshing out character backstories and families, so One-One at the beginning of S1 is one of the few characters who really feels like a blank slate. He's got a lot of his baggage back by the end of the season, and I think One and One-One are more similar than they seem at first glance, but S1 does seem to have been very formative for One-One and how he thinks about what he's supposed to be doing and how he relates to other people. So it does kind of feel like his fool's journey.

Alrick Timmens as I. The Magician

The magician begins the journey... by beefing it on a dirt bike, dying, and sending his wife flying off the deep end. Rip.

Alrick was an engineer like Amelia, so I could see him suiting some of the themes of the Magician, like conscious thought and manifesting ideas. His apparent playfulness and insecurity are similar to the Magician characters in Persona.

Kez as II. The High Priestess

“We can’t make this decision for you, Kez.” “You know what to do.”

I thought really hard about making Kez the Magician because just like every Magician since Persona 3, she's dumb, horny, and insecure dlkjasfdkl

(and also her showing up at the start of the story arc and being helpful but also super needy is very Magician)

But the idea of "intuition" really does suit Kez. Sometimes her intuition is as bad as her conscious reasoning, but I think that's a lot because she's so confused about what happened with Jeremy, and Morgan making Kez feel like she did a bad thing by helping him.

Tuba as III. The Empress

She made me feel like I was warm all the time.

Tuba's a mom. Sorry, this one's not that deep, haha.

Simon Laurent as IV. The Emperor

Highest number! I'm the leader now.

Simon has a lot of issues, but the one that felt the most prominent to me was his unhealthy relationship with power, authority, dominance, and rules. Another quote I considered using here was what he said in Grace's memory of meeting Amelia: "I never thought I'd get to see the Conductor with my own eyes. He's perfect! Everything finally makes sense again." In his emotional crisis, he thought everything could be fixed just by the existence of a huge, scary, powerful, male authority figure, even if they weren't doing anything helpful or informative.

Atticus as V. The Hierophant

I like to think that our stones are sturdy and handsome, like the Corgis that crafted them.

Atticus is a figure of traditional authority who deeply loves the history, society, and culture of his people. He often provides spiritual wisdom and encourages Tulip to get out of her own head and engage with the world around her. Also in Persona, Hiero is the Dad Arcana so it's very funny to me (a) to make the little dog be Hiero and (b) that the little dog really does have the strongest Wholesome Dad Energy of the whole cast.

Jesse Cosay as VI. The Lovers

Don't tell me what to do. I'm not going to be a part of anything like this, on or off the train.

This was my first and easiest pick lol, Jesse is sooooo Lovers. Like, the focus on choice and personal values and relationships? Yep, that's Jesse. It works on an "actual meaning of the Arcana" level and a "vibes with the Persona characters" level lol... popular, upbeat, and having such an identity crisis.

Lake as VII. The Chariot

I'm my own person, who is getting off this train!

I don't know if Chariot captures all the ways Lake grew over the course of S2, but I feel like they had the most externally focused conflict of all the IT characters, which suits Chariot. They've been fighting to stake out their personhood from start to finish, and they took action and used their willpower to achieve that goal. Also they have at least a little jock energy which is a prereq for Chariot tbh.

Frank as VIII. Strength

I dunno, I kinda imagine him as a simple man and easily underestimated, but with a lot of heart. The Cat may say they're keeping things casual but I don't think she'd take him with her on her private vacation unless he had some kind of inner toughness that would let him stand toe-to-toe with her.

Morgan as IX. The Hermit

I need to be alone right now. Kez... maybe... we can talk later.

I like that Morgan embodies toxic self-isolation and stonewalling and rejection, but that she seems to be moving towards the positive aspects of Hermit and taking some time to calm down and process and think. I like it when characters can embody the best and worst of their Arcana.

Tulip Olsen as X. The Wheel of Fortune

We have to adapt to the changes in our lives. It's the only way things can get better.

Tulip has a lot of themes and conflicts, but this one is a clear standout as the most important. I also like it for Tulip because, while she has to handle a lot of difficult and even traumatic situations, some of the change that challenges her isn't as unambiguously bad as e.g. the death of a loved one. It really is just change itself she's struggling with, and that's Fortune babey. Also, from the perspective of the train itself and lots of other characters, by reversing Amelia and One-One's positions again and changing how One-One administrates the train, Tulip is the one giving the wheel a spin. That's fun.

Lucy as XI. Justice

One of my friends once described the Justice characters in Persona as "the ones the player character is ultimately accountable towards", and I like to think of Lucy as kind of being that for Grace (...since Hazel has excused herself). Lucy is the Apex kid we see Grace interact with the most, the first Apex kid Grace admitted to herself that she had harmed (see Grace very briefly showing distress and then regret when Jesse points the harpoons at his face and she stops him), and the first person to confront Grace when she came home in The New Apex.

Min-Gi Park as XII. The Hanged Man

I don't know if we'll sell a single album, but we'll figure that out as we go.

Min-Gi sacrifices his "realistic", "sensible" goals for a more personally (spiritually, even?) enriching life that's beyond his control and outside of the expected norm. Like the Hanged Man, who dangles foolishly upside-down, but as a deliberate choice and in a state of serenity and enlightenment. I also think this arcana suits a reading of Min-Gi's character development as starting off going slower as a way to stall and live in denial, but then going slower with deliberation. Compare his arrogant insistence on refusing to act in The Astro Queue Car to his patience and care in The Castle Car and The Train to Nowhere.

Jeremy as XIII. Death

This isn't about the death of his family - I'm thinking of his reluctance to admit his number was going down. He cared about Morgan and Kez, and it's possible both that he may have really wanted to stay with them despite his exit and that that might even have been a healthy choice - they're real ass people with feelings and everything, not holodeck characters. But I also think Jeremy was using his life with them to avoid moving on out of that fog (because it was hard and it hurt and he didn't want to think about what that would mean for him and Morgan) and Morgan was enabling him.

Ryan Akagi as XIV. Temperance

Maybe the experience is the point. I wasn't just rushing you. I was rushing myself.

I think this one speaks for itself. Also, the other quote I considered putting here, from The Art Gallery Car: "You told me I can't appreciate the song without taking in the rest of the album. I need the whole package."

The Cat as XV. The Devil

I always do the right thing.

Honestly, this is one I really wasn't sure about. The Cat isn't a great pick for a lot of the meanings of Devil. She is definitely consumed by material comforts, and the short-term rewards of ignoring her issues at a long-term cost, though. This is more of a "vibes with Persona characters with this arcana" pick... Devil characters tend to start off being somewhat exploitative or even antagonistic towards the player character, and gradually showing a more conflicted and genuine side.

Amelia Hughes as XVI. The Tower

There's a hole in the universe where Alrick used to be.

Amelia's life is defined by catastrophe and upheaval - both those she's suffered and those she's inflicted on others.

Hazel as XVII. The Star

I'm going to keep loving you like you're still here.

When I think of "The Star" as a small but inextinguishable light in the darkness, Hazel seems like the obvious choice. Although we left her deeply wounded, I think she still has a flicker of her hope, faith, and purpose.

Grace Monroe as XVIII. The Moon

But it's unfair for me to tell you how to understand yourself. I mean, I don't even fully understand me.

Grace is probably the most complex and dynamic character on the show and hence one of the most difficult to place. I considered Empress, Strength, Devil, and Judgement for her... I think ultimately, lies and illusions are the most unifying theme of her character arc. Also, from a Persona angle, her pursuit of status out of a lack of true self-worth reminds me of Ai and Mishima.

Alan Dracula as XIX. The Sun

Brought together by the majesty of a superpowered deer!

I'm sorry dkjasfklads this is largely because I thought it was funny to have this completely inexpressive dead-eyed deer as Sun akfk but also... like... it kind of works okay!!! Think about the genuine joy and comfort and positivity he brings to Lake and Jesse (and me)!

The New Apex as XX. Judgement

"Then what are we gonna be?" "Guess we'll have to figure it out?"

This is kind of a Persona mythology gag again because of Judgement being a group social link near the end of the narratives of P3 and P4, when the protagonists have pierced through the lies and actually figured out who the villain of their game is and are ready to really start making progress.

0 as XI. The World

Ah, train does it again!

It's an ending and the completion of a journey, but also the beginning of a new one. And the world is literally what the passengers receive at the end of their train journey. Welcome home.

#infinity train #infinity train spoilers #protagonists of IT #Anonymous

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samanthadalton · 4 years ago

Text

The Bodyguard (AU) PART 1

pairings: Poppy x Bea

Wanted to write a fic based on this post, thank you @alexlabhont for showing us that tik tok. Going to be a series so i don’t know how many parts. Also this is a slow burn and I’ll add more context as the story progresses so it makes sense (i may steal some names of counties from PB 😅👀)

warnings: mentions of blood, violence and death in this chapter

taglist: @cloud9in @somewillwin @alleycat97 @baexpoppy @save-me-the-last-dance @helpconfusedpersonhere @dopeyouth @alexlabhont @thedaft1 @veenast @cloakanddaggerthings (added people from my usual poppy taglist if you wanna be added or taken off just let me know ☺️☺️)

word count: 5.1k (wasn’t expecting it to be this long)

also i was using my phone to copy and paste from google docs so i apologise if the layout of the fic is weird, it kept cutting off sentences and paragraphs so hopefully they’re actually here and the story makes sense 😅😅

2 weeks earlier

Poppy stands, paralysed with fear, as she watches her assailant point the gun at her. The tears threaten to free fall as her eyes move towards her father’s dying body, blood sprouting from his mouth. He clutches at his chest, his hands and chest painted red as his breaths come out short and harrowing. Poppy balls her hands up into fists, her lip slightly trembling as she watches the aggressor yell, her mind too overwhelmed to articulate the words coming out of his mouth. She watches the evil glint in his eyes as he watches the life drain of her father’s body; how his lips twist into a viscous scowl as he screams at her, the gun in his hand wildly flying around. A deafening gunshot pulls Poppy out of her reverie, her hands moving to grab her body, looking for the wound, but when she hears the assailant’s body hit the floor, seeing the blood oozing out of his mouth, she turns back to see the royal guards pouring into the room. A sigh of relief comes out of her, before realisation hits her and she slides her body over to her father, her hands uselessly hovering over him and the dam of tears break through.

Present

Poppy gasps heavily, her sleep immediately breaking as her body jerks upwards. She brings her hand up to wipe the slick cold sweat that breaks out on her forehead, steadying her excessive pants. Another night where her sleep is broken by the same nightmare, she shudders at the thought of the man who killed her father invading her thoughts, recollecting the way he broke into a malicious grin as she lamented for her father’s life. She lets out a shaky breath as her hands subconsciously grip the blanket, her brain going haywire as she squeezes her eyes shut.

“It’s just a dream,” she whispers to herself, “it’s just a dream.”

Unsure of how much time has passed, she sharply inhales, opening one of her eyes to glance at the window, the sunlight barely peeking through the curtains as she groans throwing her head back onto her pillow, a groan escaping her lips. Just as she feels the sleep about to consume her, her bedroom door flies open, immediately alerting her.

“Why are you still in bed?” Her mother raises an eyebrow, her tone stern, yet lacking any emotion.

Poppy sighs rubbing at the temples of her forehead, agitated “I was hoping to have a few more minutes to myself.”

Her mother dismissively waves her hand at her, “get up. We have business to deal with.” She turns and walks out of the room, leaving Poppy on her own.

After a while Poppy makes her way to the Great Hall, her lady in waiting greets her with a warm smile, “good morning your Royal Highness,” she slightly tilts her head as she bows, her brows slightly creased with worry as she gazes at the eyebags under Poppy’s eyes.

“Goodmorning Taylor,” Poppy scans the room, “where is my mother?”

“Her Majesty requested that you have breakfast in the garden today.”

Poppy hums, “she hasn’t been in the garden since father passed.” Taylor gives Poppy a sorrowful smile, struggling to respond to Poppy’s blunt admission. Poppy waves her hand, “I’ll meet her now.” She walks through the palace until she reaches the garden, she closes her eyes, feeling at peace for a few fleeting moments until it’s broken by her mother’s voice, calling out to her.

“Poppy quit dilly dallying, take a seat we have much to discuss.”

Poppy obediently follows her mother’s orders, carefully sliding into her seat, keeping her posture upright as one of the servants pours her out some tea while she glances expectedly at her mother, “so why all the urgency today?”

“There’s going to be some changes at the castle.”

Poppy raises an eyebrow, “oh? Do tell.”

“There will be an increase in security, we won’t have a breach like last time.” As Poppy gazes at her mother, she sees her face fall for a few moments, grief swimming in her eyes before she quickly masks it, her usual stoic demeanour taking over, making Poppy question whether she actually saw her mother show some emotion. “The Royal Guard are putting in some more extreme measures to ensure our safety here. Speaking of which, I have someone I would like to introduce you to.” She lifts her hands, beckoning someone and when the figure comes into appearance, Poppy can’t help but stare a little.

The woman is young, she looks slightly rough around the edges, but still quite beautiful. Poppy’s gaze darts down to her arms, they’re heavily toned, meaning she’s very strong. She assesses her uniform, her suit looking more polished than her usual guards, and when their eyes meet, her gaze pierces into Poppy’s, momentarily taking her breath away at the sheer intensity.

“This is your new bodyguard.”

Poppy’s face twists into a scowl, “a bodyguard? What am I twelve?” Her eyes dart back to the woman’s, anger boiling inside of her, “and she’s a woman.”

“With all due respect Miss Min Sinclair,” the woman speaks up, her voice smooth as velvet and her tone welcoming, a stark contrast to Poppy’s hostile demeanor. “I’ve had a lot of training. I graduated top of my class and I’m more than qualified to look after you.”

“Look after me? What are you, my babysitter?”

“Poppy!” Her mother calls out, admonishingly, “I apologise for my daughter’s enmity, she’s yet to learn the poise of a princess.”

The woman bows her head, “no need to apologize your Majesty. I understand the situation is overwhelming.”

Her Majesty speaks out, “as for Miss Hughes being a woman,” Poppy feels her heart beating in her chest a little faster, Hughes, it rolls off the tongue easily, “she will be able to guard you at all times, even in situations where you may be compromised. I think it’s only fitting that your bodyguard can keep a close eye on you.”

Poppy opens her mouth to retort but the bodyguard beats her to the punch, “Your Highness if I may?” Poppy gives her a small nod indicating her to continue, “I’m not here to intrude on your life, I’m here to ensure your safety. These people are ruthless, I know you’ve seen first hand what they are capable of. I’m here to make sure you don’t share the same fate as your father.” As she speaks, her voice is steady, strong, lacking in compassion but filled with promise. Poppy watches her with a careful gaze, unsure of what to make of her new companion.

“I don’t have a choice, consequences of being the royal heir I guess.”

Poppy stands and turns her back to walk into the palace but her mother calls out to her, “darling do me a favor and show Miss Hughes her chambers.”

“Am I her maid now?” Poppy retorts through gritted teeth.

“Seeing as she’ll be taking up accommodation in the room adjacent to yours, it's only fitting you show her where to stay. I’m sure she needs to do some preliminary security sweeps.” Her Majesty gives Poppy an authoritarian glare and Poppy sighs before walking off, her bodyguard trailing after her.

Poppy leads her bodyguard into her room, gesturing to the room, “well this is your room, but that’s already obvious. I’ll have one of the maids make up your bed for you.” She turns to the woman, assessing her, “so, do you have a name or do I call you Hughes?”

“Bea. But if you feel comfortable calling me Hughes, I won’t stop you.”

“I’ll feel more comfortable if my mother stopped treating me like a child and keeping me at bay from the rest of the world.”

“Well that’s why I’m here. So you can resume your usual activities but having someone watch over you while you do.” Bea walks out of the room, and goes into Poppy’s room, her eyes darting all over the room, as she begins sweeping the room.

“Excuse you? What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Poppy says, her voice filled with agitation.

“A security sweep. I have to make sure your room isn’t compromised.” Bea continues looking through her room, as she begins opening and closing drawers, her slender fingers feeling around the outside and inside making sure there is nothing suspicious.

“Well unless you’re secretly a pervert, there’s nothing there except my underwear.” Poppy rushes to close the drawer, a blush creeping up on her cheeks. Bea’s eyebrows shoot up but she steps away, her expression blank as she does. “Well. My friends are coming over, try not to get in the way.”

Poppy begins lumbering toward one of her living rooms, and squeals as two girls begin running up to her. Bea protectively stands in front of Poppy, signalling to the girls to stop. Poppy rolls her eyes, pushing Bea slightly to the side, “at ease soldier, they’re not going to kill me.”

“Can’t be too careful.”

Poppy responds with a scowl before turning to her friends, her scowl immediately diminishing. “Ladies, it’s been a while.”

A girl with ombre coloured hair wraps Poppy into a right hug, a solemn expression on her face, “I’m so sorry Poppy, I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you.”

Poppy’s lip quivers for a few seconds before she bites down on it, slightly sniffling, “thanks Veronica.” Bea watches the interaction with careful eyes, observing the fall in Poppy’s expression as she pulls apart from the hug before being tackled into another one by a blonde girl. “Jesus Chloe, maybe my bodyguard should step in.” Bea steps forward, but Poppy smirks, “chill Hughes, I was kidding.”

“Right.” Bea’s expression remains serious as she watches the girls, but Poppy expectantly glares at her.

“Can we get some privacy?”

Bea nods, walking to the corner of the room, her eyes not leaving Poppy as she crosses her arms, standing guard. Veronica gazes at Bea, her eyes filled with admiration as her roams Bea. “She’s hot.”

Poppy scoffs, “don’t tell me your standards have dropped so low,” Poppy reprimands, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

“Not all of us are surrounded by gorgeous princes and aristocrats,” Veronica teases, “let me thirst in peace.”

“But she’s a bodyguard,” Chloe adds, a tinge of disgust in her tone.

“Classist much Chlo?” Veronica huffs, as her eyes return to gawking at Bea. Poppy sighs, but indulges in polite conversation until her obligations as a princess arise and she says goodbye to her friends before indulging in her chores.

Over the next few weeks, Poppy is still hostile towards Bea, still not fully comfortable with the idea of having a bodyguard. Tensions around the palace are at an all time high, as the number of guards have increased and are always at alert.

“Good morning your Highness.”

Poppy gasps, clutching at her chest, “jesus!” When she glances at Bea she swears she can see a hint of a smile of her face but it’s gone just as quick.

“Your mother is asking for you.”

“Of course she is. Well we shouldn’t let her Majesty wait.” Poppy climbs out of bed, her body still slightly sleep deprived as she stumbles towards the bathroom, Bea watches her with a frown before following her. “Excuse me? Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?”

“How long have you been struggling to sleep for?” Bea’s tone is monotone but her facial expression is worrisome.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Bea sighs, letting her usual icy demeanour drop slightly, “do you remember the old head of security, Marc?”

Poppy nods, “he was always so nice to me.”

“That was my father.” Poppy’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Yeah.” Bea gives Poppy a half smile, “before I took this job, I kinda resented my father, I used to think, how does a man who talks a big deal about the importance of family barely be in our lives? What job was so important that he could barely be at home with us? But I understand it now. I know I haven’t been working at this post long, but I get it.” Bea’s eyes pierce intensely into Poppy’s, forcing the strawberry blonde to let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. “My job is to protect you, Miss Min Sinclair, I won’t let anything get in the way of that.”

Poppy’s eyes search Bea’s looking for… something she can’t quite put her finger on, “that’s…. reassuring. Thank you Hughes. And you can call me Poppy, if you’re supposed to be always around me, we can drop the formalities.”

Bea gives Poppy a nod of appreciation, “of course, Poppy.” She gives her a small smile, “well I should let you shower.” Bea turns to leave but Poppy calls out to her.

“Hughes.” Bea stops in her tracks, turning to face her, “why did you take this job?”

Bea looks off into the distance, a pensive look on her face, “curiosity. I wanted to follow my father’s footsteps in terms of training but when your mother offered me the job, I felt compelled to say yes. Just to see how demanding it would be and now I see my father in a whole new light.” Poppy gives Bea a sad smile, “I can’t imagine what it feels like watching your father die in front of you, but give yourself time to grieve. Don’t be like your mom and lock away your feelings, because it will eat you up until it’s too late.” Bea pointedly glances away, training her gaze to the ground, “I’ll wait in the hallway, you should hurry, your mother was adamant about you meeting her as soon as possible.” Before Poppy can thank Bea, she’s already out of the bathroom. Once Poppy has finished getting ready, Bea greets her with a small nod, and Poppy can already feel the shift in their relationship, as she begins to feel more at ease with Bea being around her.

Once they enter the Great Hall, Poppy takes a seat at the table, and her mother greets her with a frown. “I thought that when I urged the significance of this meeting you would come faster.”

Before Poppy can reply, Bea intercepts, “that was my fault Your Majesty, I was going over the security guidelines for the dress store.”

Poppy’s mother turns to face Bea, a glimmer of humor in her eyes, “thank you Miss Hughes, and I told you call me Ana, you’re practically family.” Bea bows her head in gratification, as Ana gestures towards one of the chairs, “why don’t you take a seat and eat some breakfast and I won’t take no for an answer.”

Bea smiles and takes a seat opposite Poppy, before reaching out for some croissants, placing them on her plate before pouring herself some tea, not letting one of the house servants do it. “Thank you.. Ana.”

“Of course, also I’m giving you the day off for the gala next week.”

Bea furrows her brows in confusion, her eyes shooting to look at Poppy, “what about..” she clears her throat as her eyes meet Poppy’s, “security?”

Ana dismissively waves her hand, “I’ve hired the best security and I’ve personally gone over the plans with the Head of security, we’re safe. Bea hesitantly nods, as she pointedly glances away, looking down at her plate.

“Thank you.”

“As for you my dear,” Ana turns to Poppy, her expression emotionless, “this will be our first public appearance since,” she cuts herself off, “it’s imperative we make our guests feel at ease, so make sure you do your rounds and introduce yourself to all of our allies.”

“Yes mother,” Poppy says obediently. “May I be excused, I have an appointment at the dress store.”

“If you must, we will continue this conversation later. Also tell Miss Lombardi that the dress I received was beautiful.”

“Of course Your Majesty.”

Once Poppy reaches the dress store, Bea protectively goes in first and begins looking at the store, earning a confused glance from the owner. “Bodyguard.” Poppy retorts, earning a nod of understanding from the woman. Bea gives Poppy a nod of satisfaction earning an eye roll from the strawberry blonde who makes her way into the back of the store to greet her friends, Veronica and Chloe who look like they’ve been waiting a while based on how comfortably they’re sitting on the couch. Bea does a quick security sweep on the insides of the dressing rooms as the girls indulge in some small talk. Once she’s done, she gives Poppy a satisfied nod.

Veronica says as she pushes herself off the couch to stand, Chloe follows suit a few seconds later. “My mom left your dress in the dressing room.” Poppy smiles and makes her way inside while Bea stands in the corner of the room, patiently waiting as Poppy tries on her dress. The woman from earlier enters, holding some measuring tape and a box of needles, pins and thread in one hand while a few dresses are draped across the other, just as Poppy exits the room, wearing her dress. Bea casts a glance, unable to tear her eyes away from the strawberry blonde.

“Your Highness.” The woman says as she bows, earning a small but unnoticeable eye roll from Veronica. “If you just stand up on this, I can make the final adjustments. Veronica sweetie, take these dresses and you girls try it on while I do the final measurements for Miss Min Sinclair. Veronica grabs the dresses beckoning Chloe to follow her into the dressing room, Poppy stands on the platform, staring at herself in the mirror but she catches Bea’s eyes on her through the mirror, tilting her head with curiosity glistening in her eyes.

“Hughes, what do you think?”

Bea breaks her stoic demeanour as she gives Poppy a panicked look, breaking eye contact, “I don’t think it would be appropriate.”

Poppy sighs, “no need to be such a prude, I’m only asking for your opinion.”

Bea clears her throat, “you look..beautiful.”

Poppy breaks out into a wide grin, her eyes roaming herself, “hmm I do. You did an amazing job Ms Lombardi.”

“Thank you so much Your Highness.” Veronica’s mother replies, a smile on her face.

Veronica’s voice rings out, “I need some help zipping up.”

Veronica’s mother turns back to look at Bea, “if you won’t mind dear, I have my hands full.” She makes a show of displaying the needles and pins in her hands and Bea gives a polite nod before making her way to the dressing room.

“Someone needs help with a zip?”

“Yes.” Veronica opens the door of her dressing room, a small smile on her lips, “hi.” She turns, presenting her back as Bea steps forward to zip her up, placing her hand on the small of Veronica’s back as she begins pulling up the zip. “Poppy told me you’re not working the gala.”

“Yes I’ve gotten the day off,” Bea responds, her tone flat.

“Well do you have any plans for the day?”

“Considering I just found out I have the day off I haven’t made any sudden plans.” Bea steps back, finished with pulling up the zip and Veronica runs her hands down the sides of her dress before turning to face Bea.

“Thank you.” Bea gives Veronica a polite smile, “Be my date to the gala.”

Bea lets out a small laugh, “well aren’t you blunt?” She responds, a hint of a smile of her face.

“Well I didn’t grow up with everything being handed to me, so bluntness is kinda my thing. So will you?” She stares at Bea expectedly.

Bea sighs, slightly scrunching her lips, “I don’t think that would be appropriate. You’re one of Poppy’s closest friends and it wouldn’t be professional of me.”

Veronica raises an eyebrow, unimpressed, “so? Screw unprofessionalism. People like you and me are like at the bottom of the food chain. I love Poppy but at the end of the day, she’s still royalty and will always look down on people like me or my mom. So if you wanna enjoy a party, do it! Don’t let them dictate you like that.”

“Are you done?” Bea replies with a smile. All the while, Poppy steps into the dressing room but steps out of view, watching the interaction, only seeing Bea from the angle she’s standing at, but she feels a small pang in her chest as she watches Bea smile at Veronica, wondering why she’s never seen Bea smile like that at her. “If I say yes will you stop ranting?”

“Maybe,” Veronica retorts, suppressing a smile by pressing her lips together in a thin line.

Bea nods, “okay, I’ll be your date.” Veronica cheers, pulling Bea into a small hug before planting a kiss on her cheek. Bea slightly blushes before pulling away, her icy demeanour returning, “I should get back.”

“Oh of course. To be continued?”

“Yes.” Bea places a chaste kiss on Veronica’s cheek before walking out of the dressing room. Poppy panics as she sees Bea about to turn in her direction and runs back out to the room, pretending as if nothing has happened.

The rest of the day goes by and it’s as if the heart to heart between Poppy and Bea in the morning hasn’t happened as Poppy’s hostile personality returns and she begins pushing Bea away again, infuriating the bodyguard as the strawberry blonde makes her job harder.

….

The day of the gala arrives and Poppy is like a spawn of satan, rushing the servants around, screaming her head off as she barks orders at them. “Your queen has insisted that tonight goes perfectly, do not disappoint otherwise it will be all of our heads on a spike.” She glances around, fixing the decor, or making someone else fix it for her, before getting ready, slipping into her dress. She places a crown on her head, the jewels sparkling under the chandelier lights, as Poppy smooths down her dress, appraising herself in the mirror.

“Guess who?” A pair of hands cover her eyes, as the voice speaks low and playfully into her ear.

Poppy squeals, pulling the hands away from her eyes before turning, “Bradley! You came.” She greets him with a long kiss, before pulling away, wiping her forefinger across his lips, “sorry gif some lipstick on you.”

“That’s okay,” he laughs, as he pulls on the hem of his suit jacket, straightening it. “Shall we?” He holds out his arm as Poppy wraps hers around it, smiling up at him, “you look gorgeous by the way.”

“Thank you, you look dashing.” The couple make their way to the ballroom where the party is already in full swing, “we just need to make some quick introductions.” Poppy gazes around the room, noticing the increase in royal guards standing at their posts, and feels a tinge of satisfaction, no ones dying today, she thinks to herself as her and Bradley, introduce and mingle with the important people.

Simultaneously, Bea opens the door of the limo, before taking out her hand which Veronica gratefully slides her hand into as Bea pulls her out of the car. “You look radiant by the way.”

Veronica blushes, “thank you, and you clean up spectacularly well.”

“Thank you,” Bea says as she runs her hands across her dress. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

When they enter the ballroom, Veronica offers to grab some drinks as Bea stands, scanning the room looking for anything suspicious. As she does she catches Poppy with her arm wrapped around an unfamiliar man, a wide smile on her face.

“Come in you’re off duty.”

“Sorry,” Bea replies, flushing with embarrassment, “habit.”

“That’s okay,” Veronica hands over one of the glasses to Bea, before taking a careful sip of her drink.

“Who is that with Poppy, I don’t think I’ve been debriefed on him yet.”

Veronica scans the room until her eyes fall on Poppy, “that’s her boyfriend Bradley.”

Bea raises her eyebrows in confusion, “boyfriend? I wasn’t told about this.”

“Well that’s probably because he hasn’t been here for the last few months. He was off building homes in a poor country or something.”

“Huh that’s charitable of him,” Bea replies flatly.

Veronica drains the contents of her glass before intertwining her fingers with Bea’s, “enough about them let’s dance.” Veronica pulls Bea onto the dance floor, and begins grinding on her, while Bea awkwardly stands, unable to apprehend what Veronica is doing. They’re interrupted by a familiar voice.

“So you two are here together?” Poppy’s eyes dart between Bea and Veronica, her tone nonchalant.

“Yes we are,” Veronica wraps her arms around Bea’s neck, pulling her closer. Poppy gives Veronica a weird look. Sensing the tension, Bea slightly pulls out of Veronica’s grasp turning to look at Bradley.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” she holds out a hand which Bradley shakes, his expression warm and inviting.

“Bradley, and you are?”

“My bodyguard,” Poppy interrupts, her tone slightly mocking.

“Bea Hughes.” Bea brings her hand back to her side, a smile on her face, “it was nice meeting you.”

“Same to you,” Bradley gives the girls a small nod before pulling Poppy away, whispering into her ear, “I think we should get out of here, there’s something I wanted to show you.”

“How? This place is heavily guarded.”

“Follow me.” Bradley takes her hand as they slip away from the party, unsuspectingly.

Bea looks over at Veronica, a frown on her face, “is everything okay?”

“Yep. Did you hear the judgement in Poppy’s voice? God she can be so infuriating sometimes. I need a drink.” Veronica storms off, leaving Bea in the middle of the dance floor. Her eyes begin scanning the room and she feels alarmed when she notices Poppy not in the room anymore. She begins looking all around the room before Veronica joins her, confused. “Is everything okay?”

“Where’s Poppy?”

Veronica surveys the room, huffing, “she’s probably gone to hook up with Bradley.”

Bea frowns, “something doesn’t feel right, I’m going to go look for them, stay here.” Before Veronica can respond Bea is already gone, making her way through the crowd as she slips out. Bea begins looking around the palace until she sees the end of Poppy’s dress just as she goes into a room, hesitantly Bea follows. Just as she reaches the room, she twists the handle, opening the door and goes into a defensive stance as Bradley swings around, pulling Poppy against him, holding a knife to her throat.

“Hughes,” Poppy whimpers as Bradley harshly shushes her.

“Let’s all just calm down here,” Bea raises her hands, her voice low and soft, “let’s not do anything abrupt.”

“Let us leave and nothing will have to happen.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Bea takes a step closer promoting Bradley to push the knife against Poppy’s neck, making a small cut.

“Can’t do that I’m afraid,” the previous warm glint that shone in Bradley’s eyes are gone, replaced with a more hysterical one, insanity glimmering beneath the surface. “This is for the Sons of Veronica.” Just before he can do anything, Bea leaps forward pulling Poppy out of his grasp, stepping in front of her, just as Bradley’s knife wildly swings, slicing her, just under her chest. Bea groans slightly before grabbing his wrist, pulling it backwards, evoking a scream from Bradley as she snaps his wrist.

“Poppy run!” Poppy hyperventalies as she reaches the door but when she throws it open, she gasps.

“Hughes.”

Bea turns to see a wide, built man, standing in the doorway, anger written in his face. She throws Bradley to the side before, pushing Poppy away, throwing a series of precise punches at the man. Unfazed, he grabs Bea by the throat, throwing her against the wall, his grip tightening. Bea gasps as she clutches at her throat, feeling the air leave her lungs as she tries to muster up the strength to claw and punch her way out. Instead she feels dizzy, her eyes slowly closing as she feels herself losing consciousness. Out of nowhere, Poppy smashes a vase over the man’s head, causing him to loosen his grip around Bea’s throat. He angrily huffs, backhanding Poppy, as she hits her head against the corner of a desk. Bea calls out of her, anger filling up her entire body as she lets out a primal battle cry and swipes her leg under the man’s, resulting in him losing his balance. She then flips his body around, pressing the front of him to ground as her knee digs into his neck. A few moments later his body goes limp and Bea moves away, running towards Poppy who lays on the ground unmoving.

“Poppy!” She calls out, worried but she sighs breath of relief when she sees Poppy’s eyelids fluttering open. “Are you okay?”

Poppy nods clutching at her head, “my head hurts,” Bea reaches out, placing her fingers on a small cut that has formed on Poppy’s head.

“You’re okay.” A series of groans snaps her out as she looks up to see Bradley trembling as he holds out a knife, his hand violently shaking. Bea stands, kicking him square in the chest, causing him to crash into some cupboards, knocking him out. Bea pulls out her phone, calling the guards to put the palace on lockdown in case there are any more surprises.

After being checked by a medical professional, Ana rushes pulling Poppy into a huge hug, tears falling down her face, “thank god you’re okay. I don’t think I could handle losing your father and you.” She gratefully kisses the crown of Poppy’s head before turning to look at Bea, a grateful smile on her face. “And you Miss Hughes,” she pulls away from Poppy, pulling Bea into a hug, “if it wasn’t for you I-“ she begins sobbing as Bea rubs comforting circles on her back.

“Just doing my job.”

“Thank you,” Ana says, as she holds both of Bea’s hands in hers, “even when you weren’t on duty you saved my daughter’s life, thank you.” Bea nods as Ana pulls her in for another hug. Poppy watches as the police put Bradley and the other man into handcuffs, a frown on her face.

She turns to her mother, “what is Sons of Victoria?”

Ana stammers, “where did you hear that?” She gazes around the room, her expression careful.

Bradley mentioned it before he attacked us, what are you not telling me?”

Ana awkwardly glances around the room before lowering her voice to a whisper, “we have a lot to discuss.”

#playchoices #queen b #poppy min sinclair #poppy x mc #bodyguard au #i hope you guys enjoy this #i’m sorry if it’s bad it’s like 4am rn #(basically 5am idk

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