#but Ive been plotting and scheming. i have a plan now

[fungus-of-death]

This is kind of the pot calling the kettle black but you guys trust too easily I think. I didn't like Vahn from the jump but. Regardless of that I'm gonna kick his ass next time. This last fight was a learning opportunity.

[charliedawn]

A SERVANT’S DUTY Part IV Emperor Geta x Reader

(Also, there is a surprise because I couldn’t write a Gladiator fanfic without writing about my favourite ex-general Acacius who I want to add because he is simply awesome…)

The air in the dungeon was thick with the stench of mildew and damp stone. The walls, cracked and cold, seemed to swallow sound, the only noise being the distant drip of water echoing through the corridor. You walked through the low-lit passage, each step purposeful, as you approached the solitary cell where Macrinus was confined. His name had become little more than a whisper among the palace halls, a faded memory of ambition thwarted, of plans undone. Yet here you were, standing before the door that separated you from the man who had once tried to grasp the reins of power.

The guard unlocked the door, his expression neutral. You stepped inside, feeling the weight of the moment settle upon you. There, sitting on a small cot in the corner of the cell, Macrinus looked more like a shadow of the man he once was. His eyes were sharp, though, like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike. When he saw you, a slow smile stretched across his lips.

"Well, well," he drawled, leaning back on his cot, arms crossed. "The woman who foiled all my plans. To what do I owe the honor of this visit ?"

You stepped closer, not letting his mockery affect you or distract you from your goal. "I wanted your opinion."

His eyes narrowed, amusement flickering. "My opinion ? You come seeking advice from the man you helped ruin, the one whose schemes you so thoroughly dismantled ?" He chuckled darkly, almost bitter as he shook his head in disbelief. "You know, I thought you were cleverer than that. You disappoint me."

You stood silent for a moment, letting his words hang in the air. The flickering light of the torch cast a glow on his face, and you saw how he had changed. His once-strong posture now sagged with time, but there was still a sharpness to him, a sense of self-preservation. You didn’t approach him as an enemy. Not anymore.

"You’ve been in this cell for some time," you said, taking a seat across from him, folding your hands. "But I’m not here to gloat, Macrinus. I’m here because you’ve seen the inner workings of power. You’ve schemed and plotted. I want to know what you would do differently now."

He studied you, his eyes flicking up and down your figure, noting the way you carried yourself now—the difference from the woman who had first entered the palace, the one who cleaned floors and tended to the needs of others. The woman before him now was a far cry from that.

Macrinus leaned forward, his smirk widening. "What I would do differently ? You want the thoughts of a man who had the world within his grasp, only to lose it all ? Who’s now rotting in a cell, a mockery of his former self ?"

You hummed.

"You’re not a mockery," you said, meeting his gaze squarely. "You’re a cautionary tale."

He scoffed, but the flicker of respect in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed. "Well, there you have it. I suppose, in a way, you’re right. But you can’t escape the truth of it. You came to me for advice, but why would you trust a failure ? The path you’re walking now ? It’s one I tried to walk, and look where it’s gotten me." He gestured around his cell, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

You held his gaze. "Because you failed, it doesn’t mean I will. I learned from your mistakes."

Macrinus leaned back, the faintest trace of curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Is that so ? And what, pray tell, have you learned ? That every throne is built on betrayal, that power is always a game of who can outlast who ? You cannot change the rules of the game, girl. You can only play it."

You tilted your head.

"Perhaps," you admitted quietly. "But I have learned that power isn’t always taken with the blade or the coin. Sometimes it is given. And right now, I have been given the trust of an emperor who is learning as well. So, I will ask you again—you who has been where I am right now. What would you do, if you had another chance ?"

He seemed to think about it before he chuckled softly, but there was no malice in it. "Another chance ? With the world watching ? With a senate that will do anything to rip power from you ?" He paused. "What would I do ? I would take it—take everything. Gain the Emperor’s trust once more and bide my time to act. With a softer touch, perhaps. But I would still take it—take everything that I know I deserve and maybe even more."

You stood up and your eyes met briefly. "Thank you," you finally said. "I think I’ve learned enough."

As you turned to leave, Macrinus’s voice followed you. "Just remember one thing, girl," he called out, his tone shifting slightly, the sharp edge of his previous mockery gone. "Power doesn’t come from the people you save—it comes from the people you break."

You paused, then turned back slightly to face him. "And when they rise again ?"

Macrinus was quiet for a long moment. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper as he demonstrated the full extent of power’s cruel truth. "Then you crush them before they have a chance to stand."

Your eyes widened momentarily in shock before you nodded, the weight of his words hanging in the air as you left the cell behind. There was no malice in your heart for Macrinus. He had once sought the throne—he had been consumed by the same hunger for power that you now wrestled with. But unlike him, you would not be consumed. You had learned his lesson, and you would find another way. As you walked away, the flicker of a plan began to take shape—one that was not built on destruction, but on subtlety, trust, and the strength of the people who had been left behind. Macrinus said that power doesn’t come from the people you save ? Well…You guessed you would have to prove him wrong.

…

You found Geta in his chambers, hunched over yet another pile of reports, his brow furrowed in concentration. His exhaustion was palpable, the weight of his duties pressing down on him. It was moments like these when he looked more like the young emperor he was, not the ruler people hoped he would become. Your heart squeezed in your chest. His workload had been momentarily reduced—but to take care of an entire Empire on one’s own was a Herculean task. You stood in the doorway for a moment, watching him. When he finally looked up, his face softened just slightly at the sight of you. But there was a familiar weariness in his eyes.

"I thought you were going to rest ?" you asked.

His voice was thick with fatigue as he replied. "The Empire doesn’t wait for sleep."

You stepped inside, closing the door gently behind you. "No," you replied, your voice steady, "but it does need something else if it is to last."

He gave a small, tired smile, raising an eyebrow. "Oh really ? And what’s that ?"

You moved closer, feeling the tension in your shoulders ease slightly as you spoke. "Trust."

His brow furrowed. "Trust ?" he echoed, his gaze intense. "That’s a tall order, especially when the Senate refuses to listen, when they still seek power at every turn."

You met his gaze, unflinching. "Yes. Trust. If the Empire is to be built, it must rest upon that foundation. But it cannot be a trust that is only given to those with power or wealth. It must be a trust extended to all people—men and women of every class, every trade, every family."

Geta sat back in his chair, hands steepled in thought. He said nothing, but the quiet tension between you both grew. You continued.

"If the Senate is to represent the people, then it must be open to them. True representation is more than just a collection of noble faces, more than just those who hold power in their hands or gold in their pockets. It’s the voice of every citizen who breathes this Empire’s air, who eats its bread, who bleeds its blood. We cannot afford to let the voices of the common people fall silent any longer."

Geta looked at you, the weariness in his eyes replaced by a flicker of something else—curiosity, perhaps, or a growing understanding. "You know the Senate will not accept such a thing," he said softly. "They will see it as a threat, as a way of undermining their power."

You nodded.

"Maybe they will," you admitted with a small sigh. "But power must be earned, not seized. If you wish for the people to trust you as their ruler, as their Emperor, then you must give them a voice. Not just the senators, but the farmers, the soldiers, the merchants, the artisans—everyone. If we are to rebuild this Empire, we need more than just a few nobles making decisions in gilded halls. We need the strength of the people."

You leaned against the desk, your voice growing more resolute. "What is a kingdom if it is built on the backs of the poor and the weak, yet they have no say in how it’s run ? The people are the true heart of the Empire, Emperor Geta. And if you cannot win their trust, if you cannot show them that their voices matter, then everything will crumble."

He was silent for a long moment, his eyes unfocused as he looked at the scattered papers. He seemed to be lost in thought, processing your words, weighing them against the responsibilities and burdens of his crown. Finally, his voice broke the silence. "And how would you suggest we do that ?" His tone was soft, cautious, as though he was afraid of the answer. "How do we open the Senate to the people without tearing the Empire apart ?"

You straightened, meeting his gaze fully. "We start with the towns and the provinces. We invite their voices into the halls of power—not as petitioners, but as true representatives. Let them bring their grievances, their hopes, and their needs. We’ll establish councils that can represent the people—no longer just the wealthy, the influential, but the working, the struggling, the ones who keep the wheels of this Empire turning. We bring them to the table. And we listen."

"Even the ones who still whisper rebellion ?" Geta asked, his voice a quiet challenge.

"Even them," you confirmed, your gaze unwavering. "Because if they are heard, they won’t need to rise in rebellion. If we truly hear the people, we can guide them. It is only in silence, only in neglect, that rebellion breeds. We must show them that their concerns are not beneath us."

Geta leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "And what about the Senate ? How do we bring them into this plan ? They will not like being challenged."

You smiled softly, the corner of your lips turning up slightly. "The Senate is built on old traditions, on wealth and power. But traditions can change, and the powerful can fall. The question is not whether they will like it, but whether they will resist what is right. And when they see the Empire flourishing with the voice of its people, they will follow."

He met your gaze, a long silence hanging between you both. Then, with a slow nod, he sighed. "Perhaps…perhaps it is time for change."

You nodded back. "It is. And it must come from the top, not just from the people. But you, Geta—if you are to be Emperor, it will be because you lead not with the crown, but with your ears and your heart. Let the Senate watch as you extend your trust to them. Let them see what true leadership is."

He rose from his chair slowly, the weight of your words settling in his posture. His gaze held yours, a silent promise in his eyes.

"Then I suppose we have work to do," he declared, the first spark of resolve returning to his voice.

You smiled, the glimmer of hope in your heart stronger than before. "Yes. We do."

…

The proposal had been set before the Senate, as bold as it was necessary. Representatives from each level of society—farmers, soldiers, merchants, artisans, and the like—should be allowed not only to petition but also to sit at the table during votes and hearings, to ensure that the voice of the people was truly heard. It was a radical idea, one that had not been entertained in this gilded chamber for generations. Still, you had made your case to Emperor Geta, and now, the proposal was before the Senators.

You stood at the center of the Senate hall, the weight of the moment pressing down on you like a physical force. The room was filled with the murmurs of the gathered Senators, each one eyeing you with suspicion, each one sensing the shift in the winds. Their eyes were sharp, their gestures subtle as they traded looks of doubt. Geta had stood by you in this, his hand resting lightly on the back of your chair. Though he was present, his presence was almost invisible to the Senators. It was clear they were looking to you as the architect of this new idea—not their Emperor.

Senator Lucius, one of the more outspoken and wealthy members, stood first, his voice booming in the silence of the chamber. "This is madness," he declared, shaking his head in disbelief. "To allow the common rabble into the sacred halls of the Senate ? To have them sit beside us, where they have no business ? It would be the end of order. The end of our civilization."

A chorus of murmurs followed, with several Senators nodding in agreement, their faces twisted in disapproval.

Senator Lucius’s voice echoed through the chamber, a call to arms for the status quo. "Do you think we could simply let peasants, merchants, soldiers—those who know nothing of governance—join us in our deliberations ?" He paused, letting his words sink into the room. "It would be chaos. We would lose control, lose all authority. The Empire would fall into anarchy."

You remained calm, standing tall at the center of the chamber, eyes sweeping across the room, meeting the gazes of the Senators who were clearly opposed. The weight of their words fell on you, but you did not flinch. In your mind, the heart of the Empire was with its people, not the narrow circle of elites that sought to control it for their own gain.

"Senator Lucius," you began, your voice steady, cutting through the murmurs. "With all due respect, what you describe is not an Empire—it is a monarchy of convenience, where only a select few benefit from the labor of those beneath them. You fear chaos because it threatens your control. But let me ask you—what do you fear more ? A little disorder, or the collapse of trust between the Senate and the very people who sustain this Empire ?"

The room fell into an uneasy silence, all eyes on you now. Even Geta, standing by your side, shifted his weight slightly as though he was bracing himself for the next wave of opposition. Lucius opened his mouth to retort, but you continued before he could speak, your gaze hardening, unwavering.

"An Empire where only those with power can speak will never endure. You speak of chaos, but it is the lack of representation, the lack of a shared voice, that will breed the true disorder. When the people realize they are nothing more than pawns in the game of a few, they will turn their backs on the Empire. They will stop building, stop working, and stop fighting."

There was a brief pause as the Senators processed your words. Some remained stoic, others fidgeted. Lucius’ face reddened with barely contained anger, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Are you suggesting that the Senators are the problem here ? That we, who have given our lives to the Empire, should simply bow to the will of those who know nothing of governance ?" he spat, his voice low and dangerous—filled with venom at the challenge.

"Not bow," you replied, your tone cutting through the tension like a blade. "Listen. Listen to the voice of the people, and you will find the strength of the Empire restored. An Empire divided—between the powerful few and the many who serve—will never endure. It is not the citizens who have failed this Empire. It is you, the rulers. You have failed to see that power is not something to hoard, but to share. If we do not learn to govern for all, we will have nothing to govern at all."

You could feel the weight of the Senate’s gaze on you, but you stood your ground. You knew that this fight was bigger than the immediate room, bigger than the backlash you were certain to face. Finally, one of the quieter Senators, a man with silvered hair and piercing green eyes, spoke up. "What you propose is…unorthodox," he said, his voice cool and measured. "But perhaps, just perhaps, it is worth considering. The common folk are the lifeblood of the Empire, after all. Without them, none of us would sit here today."

You recognised him as the voice who had defended you when you had been made Emperor Geta’s advisor. An ally—you assumed.

Lucius however shot him a withering look. "Do not stand alongside such foolishness, Senator Cassius. This will be the end of all that we have worked for."

The murmurs returned, louder this time, swirling through the room. Some seemed to lean toward your argument, while others remained staunchly against it. The division was obvious in the room.

"Senators," you called them, "if we do not change, we are as good as dead. The world is changing. The people are changing. You know of the uprising that almost ended up in chaos outside the palace. The only question is: will we acknowledge it and change with the people, or will we stand in the way and risk watching everything burn ?"

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, Senator Lucius stood again, his expression hardening.

"We vote," he declared, his voice dripping with finality. "Those in favor of this…ridiculous proposal, raise your hands."

One by one, a handful of Senators—less than you had hoped for, but still a start—raised their hands in a show of support. But the majority remained silent, unmoving.

Lucius smirked. "The proposal is rejected. We shall continue to govern as we always have. You will find that the people do not need more than we give them."

He sat down with an air of superiority that left your blood boiling in your seat, the room buzzing with murmurs of approval from his supporters. You stood still, fighting the anger that swelled within you. But as you glanced towards Emperor Geta, you saw that his eyes were focused, intent, and determined. His hand rested lightly on the back of your chair, and his chin was tilted upward, a subtle sign of defiance against the overwhelming majority. He would not let this moment pass so easily.

"Senators," Emperor Geta spoke up, his voice steady and strong, "you may have rejected this proposal today, but this is not the end. The Empire is changing, and so too must the way we govern. What has been decided here today is not set in stone."

The Senators fell into an uneasy silence once again. Many of them exchanged wary glances. Lucius sneered, but even he could not deny the Emperor’s presence, the quiet weight of his words.

"We will find another way," Emperor Geta continued, his gaze sweeping across the room. "The Empire will move forward. And so will the voices of its people."

With that, he turned and left the chamber, and you followed, feeling the stirrings of a battle yet to come. Though the Senate had voted against change today, you knew this was only the beginning. The people were waiting. And soon, they would have their say.

…

You returned to the dimly lit cell where Macrinus was kept. The air was damp, thick with the scent of stone and must. The torchlight flickered along the narrow walls, casting long shadows across the cold stone floor. You paused at the door, your hand resting lightly on the iron bars, staring into the darkened corner where he sat. Macrinus looked up as you approached, his eyes narrowing in surprise. His once sharp features now seemed dull, though his sharpness—his mind—was far from dulled by his confinement. His eyes carried the same glint they had when he had first plotted against the twins. But now, that same cunning seemed more resigned, as if waiting for something—waiting for you.

"Back again ?" he told you with a knowing smirk, his voice a low rasp, though there was still a trace of mockery beneath the words. "Come to ask for more advice from the man you foiled all plans for ? I assume you haven’t grown bored of this game yet."

You let out a soft breath and looked him in the eye. "I do not need advice for myself," you explained. "I need it for the Empire."

Macrinus tilted his head, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Isn’t that rich ? You want advice from me on how to guide an Empire you have helped steer into chaos ?"

You took a step closer, not flinching at the bite in his tone. "I do not believe in chaos. I believe in change. And that is what we need. A new structure. A way to balance power, to share it."

Macrinus snorted, leaning back against the stone wall. "So, what is it you seek from me now, then ? I failed. You succeeded. Why come back ? Perhaps you seek to ensure I stay silent in my prison—an easy move to keep the dog leashed, but ultimately futile, wouldn’t you say ?"

You didn’t answer him immediately. Instead, you paced a few steps in the dim light, feeling the weight of his gaze on you. "The Senate ? They are not going to open themselves to the people. They think they know best, but they only know how to protect their own interests. So I need a way to make them listen—to force them into acknowledging the people who built this Empire."

Macrinus’ eyes gleamed in the shadows. "Ah. I see," he said, his voice a bit colder now. "You are playing a different game, aren’t you ? Not the one of noble ideals, but the one where you make your enemies think they are still in control while you pull the strings. You need to make them believe the people are behind them—make them believe that they will lose everything if they do not heed your words."

You stopped pacing and turned back toward him. "And how do I do that ?"

Macrinus chuckled ominously.

"Do not ask for their permission. Show them it is already happening—without them. Use your power to make it clear that the people have already spoken. Let the merchants and the soldiers see that they are no longer dependent on the Senate to have a voice. And then, let them see their own seats—those same seats of power—begin to feel fragile. Let them feel the shift, even if they cannot control it."

You narrowed your eyes, considering his words. "And you think they will just fall into line because of that ?"

Macrinus leaned forward slightly, his eyes gleaming with dangerous intent. "No. They will fight it, of course. But the more they fight, the more they show the people how out of touch they are with the reality of things. Push them hard enough, and they will have no choice but to bend. After all, you’ve already seen the cracks in their armor, haven’t you ? The senators will resist, but even they know—eventually, they must adapt or be swept aside. There’s nothing worse than being out of touch with those who have the power to pull the rug from under you."

You stood still, the weight of his words sinking into your mind like a stone dropped into a still pond. His plan wasn’t clean—it wasn’t neat. But then again, neither was history.

You let out a quiet breath. "I am not trying to sweep anyone aside. I am trying to build something that lasts."

Macrinus chuckled, the sound dry and humorless. "Good luck with that. But you have already taken the first step—you have shown them that you are not afraid to change the rules. You are an anomaly in their carefully crafted design of power. A servant—friends with an emperor. What remains is making them believe it is a change they cannot resist."

You studied him for a moment, the silence thick between you. Finally, you nodded. "Thank you. For the clarity. Even if it comes at the cost of your own plans."

His lips twisted into a smile—more like a sneer, but still sharp. "Plans change. The question is whether you are prepared to see yours through."

As you turned to leave, you hesitated at the door. You could feel his gaze on you, his words hanging in the air like an unspoken challenge.

"You will find, in the end," Macrinus added, his voice softer now, almost a whisper, "that no one ever truly wins in this game. They only survive long enough to play the next round."

You didn’t reply. Instead, you exited the cell, your footsteps echoing down the hall. The weight of Macrinus’ words clung to you, but it was the path you’d chosen. There was no turning back now.

…

The Senate chamber was abuzz with the usual quiet clatter of whispered conversations, the shuffle of sandals against marble, and the rustling of parchment. You had entered the room in your usual way, poised but unassuming, though this time you did not take your usual seat at the table. Instead, you stood at the back, far from the eyes of the Senators who were still absorbed in their endless debates, their voices heavy with rhetoric and well-practiced tones.

Today, you said nothing.

You simply observed.

Geta sat at the head of the chamber, his fingers lightly tapping against the surface of the polished table, the weight of the crown heavier on his head than ever before. He watched the Senators with an unreadable expression, as if waiting for something to break. The grand speech you had prepared, the arguments and fervor of your proposal, were now still within you, resting in the corners of your mind. Today, you weren’t there to push an idea or challenge an opinion. Today, you were there to watch how things unfolded without you.

It didn’t take long before the tensions in the room began to rise, small sparks igniting in the conversation. Senator Lucius was the first to speak, his words sharp enough to cut through the thick air.

"We cannot allow this farce to continue," he said, his hand slamming against the table, eyes scanning the room. "The people—peasants, merchants, soldiers—will not dictate our decisions. We have been appointed to serve the Empire, not cater to the whims of those who have no understanding of governance."

The murmurs from the other Senators were quick to follow, some agreeing with him, others too cautious to speak too loudly. There were always those who resisted change, who fought tooth and nail to preserve the power they had. It was clear that your proposal had struck a nerve.

You studied Geta’s face closely. His jaw tightened, but his eyes remained calm, as if waiting for the moment to unfold. This was a test—his first real test as Emperor. Would he let the Senate have its way, or would he finally show them the strength of his resolve ? The eyes of the Senators shifted, glancing back and forth, trying to read him. It was a game of control. And in the midst of this carefully orchestrated chaos, you stood silently, letting the tension grow.

After a moment, Emperor Geta stood. The room grew silent.

"Senators," he called them and it carried a weight that silenced even the most outspoken among them. "We have all heard the words of Senator Lucius. And I know that many of you share his sentiments. But I must remind you all that an Empire is not built on the strength of a few, but on the trust of many."

You watched his eyes sweep the room, his gaze meeting those of the Senators, one by one. He was not the boy who had stumbled in fear before Macrinus a few weeks ago. He was the Emperor, and for the first time in this room, his presence commanded respect—not because of his title, but because of the quiet strength that radiated from him now.

"The people are not our enemies," he continued, his voice firm but not unkind. "They are our foundation. Without them, we are nothing. And so, I will not stand by while we ignore their needs, their voices, and their rights. If we are to govern, it must be for all—regardless of their class or station."

He looked toward you, and though no words were spoken, there was an understanding between you. The unspoken bond that had been formed in the quiet moments outside the Senate chamber—the trust you had built together. Emperor Geta was not simply speaking for you now. He was speaking for the future, for the change that was already underway. The Senators were silent, unsure how to respond. They had not expected this from him. They had expected more hesitation, more diplomatic avoidance. Instead, Geta was holding his ground.

But still, the resistance remained.

"Your Highness," Senator Lucius finally spoke up again, his voice tinged with disdain, "you are a young Emperor, and perhaps you do not fully understand the weight of what you propose. The Empire is built on order, on structure. Allowing the common people to sit at the table with us would undermine everything we have worked to preserve."

Emperor Geta’s gaze hardened, but his voice remained calm. "The people are the Empire, Senator Lucius. Without them, your order is meaningless. And I am not just a young Emperor—I am YOUR Emperor. And I decide what needs to be done or changed in order to save MY Empire."

And with that, the room fell into a heavy silence. You could feel the shift—the moment when everything seemed to hang in the balance. Would the Senate bend, or would they fight back with all the strength they had ? Would Geta’s resolve be enough to win the day ? You didn’t speak. You didn’t need to. You simply watched. The stage had been set, and now it was up to those who would play their parts. Would they resist, or would they recognize the change that was coming ?

In the end, it was no longer about politics—it was about trust. And that was the foundation you had been trying to build since your sudden rise is status. Then…Emperor Geta surprised everyone—including you. "That is why I have decided to add one senator to this assembly…"

Geta looked straight at you.

The room fell into an almost oppressive silence as Emperor Geta’s words hung in the air, their weight settling heavily on the gathered Senators. All eyes turned toward him, but it was you who felt the shift most keenly. You hadn’t expected this—no one had.

Geta’s gaze held steady on you, unwavering, as he continued, "A representative not of the old ways, but of the new."

You felt the eyes of the Senate bore into you. Some were skeptical, others intrigued, but all were watching.

What was this ? What was Emperor Geta doing ?

He turned slightly, the subtle shift of his posture signaling a quiet command to the room. "I believe it is time for a new voice. One that has the strength to advocate for those who have long been ignored. For those who will never sit in these seats unless we make space for them."

It took a moment for the words to register fully. He was choosing you. You, the one who had stood quietly, observed, and planned without ever stepping forward to take the limelight all along the meeting. The one who had worked from the shadows, never seeking glory, but driven by something deeper.

"I am nominating Y/N," Emperor Geta said, the words slipping out without hesitation. "To represent the people. To ensure that the voices of those who have long been silenced will finally be heard. Step forward, Senator."

A gasp rippled through the room. The Senators, once sure of their positions, suddenly felt the ground shift beneath them. Their eyes flickered between you and Geta, as though the Emperor had struck them with an unexpected blow. To see you standing there, not as a mere observer, but as the very embodiment of the change they had fought to avoid—it was almost too much to comprehend. You stood, your heart pounding in your chest, but you did not move. You did not speak. The weight of this unexpected responsibility pressed down on you, but there was no room for hesitation. This was a moment you could not—would not—waste.

"Your Highness," Senator Lucius sneered, "You would put a woman, a commoner, among us ? What will that accomplish except chaos and disorder ?"

You could feel the temperature in the room drop as others murmured in agreement. The resistance was already rising, and they would not take this challenge lying down.

But Geta was unmoved. "It is precisely because we have been living in order without purpose, in governance without the people’s trust, that we must act. I trust Senator Y/N. I believe in her vision for this Empire."

His eyes, steady and unwavering, found yours again, and this time, there was no hesitation in your heart. There was only the resolve that had been building within you, a quiet certainty that now, finally, you could make a difference.

You took a step forward, your voice strong and clear as you addressed the assembly, "If I am to sit at this table, I will do so not as a token, but as a representative. If I am to serve, I will serve the people, not the status quo. If the Senate is to truly represent the Empire, then it must open its doors to all classes of society—not just the few who have always sat comfortably in these seats."

You glanced at Geta, and in that moment, everything seemed to align. The path ahead would not be easy, but you were not alone. He was with you. And together, you would face the resistance, the critics, and those who would seek to stop this change before it even began.

The room grew quiet again, as if holding its breath, waiting for the next move. Would they fight back ? Or would they accept this challenge, this new future ? The answer, you realized, was no longer in the hands of the Senators.

It was in yours.

As your first decision as a Senator, you decided to organise meetings between the different parts of society to vote a representative for each faction of society. The amphitheater carved into the side of the hill buzzed with anticipation. Beneath arched colonnades, representatives of every walk of life had gathered—merchants with ink-stained hands, farmers with dirt under their nails, artisans in smudged robes, physicians, fishermen, midwives. Weeks of deliberations, of gathering names and votes, had led to this moment.

Each class had chosen a representative—a voice to speak on their behalf in the new advisory council tied to the Senate. Geta had approved each appointment with a composed nod, pride glinting beneath his measured expression. The Empire had not seen such a thing in centuries.

But the final delegation arrived with a tremor.

The soldiers, garrisoned across the provinces and even here in the capital, had submitted their choice.

General Marcus Acacius.

A murmur of unrest spread like wildfire the moment the name was read aloud. Emperor Geta visibly stiffened where he stood beside you, a subtle tick in his jaw betraying his surprise—no, not surprise. Disbelief. He looked at you and you could see the rage in his eyes. Acacius had once been among Rome’s finest. A man of iron will, beloved by the legions, a tactician and field general who had carved peace from chaos. But during the turmoil following the deaths of Geta’s predecessors, Acacius had chosen a side—and not Geta’s. He’d rallied troops in the East, threatened to seize power, and was eventually captured before a full civil war could erupt.

The Senate had labeled him a traitor. He had been imprisoned in silence, without public trial. Now, his name was back. Chanted by soldiers who had not forgotten him.

You stepped closer to Geta as he scanned the parchment again, as if the name might change if he looked long enough.

"…They’ve chosen him," he muttered, his hold on the paper wrinkling it as he forced himself not to rip it to shreds…Those military traitors. Remembering his name of all names…He looked at you, the ghost of tension behind his eyes. "They’re forcing my hand."

You shrugged. "They’re asking to be heard. And they know Acacius is one who always cared about his men."

Emperor Geta sighed in defeat. "The soldiers have spoken." His words rolled out carefully, like boulders down a slope. "They have chosen Marcus Acacius as their representative."

Geta turned to you, his voice softer now, meant for your ears alone. "You know what the Senate will say. That I have allowed a traitor to sit in council. That I have surrendered to the army. That I have lost control."

You tilted your head. "Or they’ll say you’re the emperor who listened to those he commands. Who had the strength to sit at a table with those who once stood against him…so that they might never need to again."

He looked at you for a long time. And slowly—very slowly—he nodded.

The order was sent.

Marcus Acacius, the traitor-general, was to become the representative of the soldiers of Rome. The name still echoed through the vaulted chamber.

Marcus Acacius.

A hush had fallen like fog across the gathering. No one spoke. No one dared.

Geta stared at the scroll in his hand as though it might catch fire. His expression didn’t change—no fury, no surprise. But you knew him well enough by now to see the flicker in his eyes. A wound reopened.

Acacius had not merely chosen the wrong side during the succession crisis—he had led the movement to dethrone both twins. Had his plan succeeded, Geta and his brother would have been cast aside, exiled, or worse. Acacius had rallied senators, governors, military cohorts—all under the promise of a ‘new Rome.’ It had failed, barely. And Empeor Geta had not forgotten.

He folded the scroll bearing his official seal with deliberate care and handed it off. Then turned his eyes to you.

"They’ve chosen a man who tried to destroy everything—to destroy me."

You were silent for a breath. "They’ve chosen a man they believe still speaks for them."

He hesitated. "Marcus Acacius will not be freed. His crimes remain. He will not sit among senators. But—" That word held the room still. "But he will be permitted to attend the meetings of this new council. In chains, under guard, behind no veil of power. He will be present. He will be heard."

Gasps rippled. A senator stood, outraged. "Your Majesty, this is a disgrace ! You would bring a traitor into this sacred—!"

"—Into a space meant for the voices of all," Emperor Geta interrupted, cold and precise. "That includes the voices we do not necessarily want to hear."

He looked at you then. And you knew—this wasn’t surrender. This was strategy. Control.

"I have spoken. And Marcus Acacius will therefore by the voice of the sword."

The vote stood. The representatives were confirmed.

The torchlight flickered across the damp stone walls as the guard descended into the depths of the prison. Chains clinked with every step. The door to Marcus Acacius’s cell groaned as it opened.

He looked up from where he sat on the low bench. His armor was long gone, his hair longer now, touched with grey. But his posture—straight-backed, still—held the discipline of a soldier. He didn’t rise. Only studied the guard with the wary calm of someone used to waiting.

"You’re wanted," the guard informed him. "In the upper chambers. You are to attend the council meetings."

Marcus blinked. The stillness of his face cracked just slightly, a furrow forming between his brows.

"…Attend council meetings ?" he repeated—surprised by the sudden offer.

The guard grunted and shrugged. "Not my idea."

Marcus slowly stood, not in defiance but in disbelief. "And who…decided this ?"

There was a pause. Then the guard spoke, almost reluctant: "The Emperor. And…his new senator."

A quiet, thoughtful frown appeared on his face. As if trying to see a pattern he hadn’t considered before. He nodded once, slowly.

"I see," he finally said and looked up. "Then Rome may not be completely lost after all."

…

That night

The chamber was dim, lit only by the pale light of the moon slipping through the high arches. The scent of parchment and ink still lingered in the air from the hours Emperor Geta had spent poring over reports, sealed letters, and Senate disputes. The weight of the day clung to him like smoke—every decision, every defiance, every ripple from the stone he’d cast into still imperial waters.

He sat alone now, shoulders hunched, tunic loosened at the throat, a half-empty goblet of wine forgotten on the table beside him. His crown rested nearby—too heavy for a man who hadn’t yet turned thirty.

The door creaked softly open.

She entered with a quiet grace, her steps muffled by the thick rugs underfoot. The guards had been dismissed before she arrived. No name had been asked for. She wasn’t there to be known. Just to serve.

Geta didn’t look up at first.

"Were you sent ?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "I was invited."

He let out a breath that might’ve been a laugh—or a sigh. "That makes two of us."

She didn’t speak again. Only came to kneel beside his chair, not touching him yet. Her presence was gentle, patient, nothing like the hungry hands of courtiers or the sharp stares of senators.

After a long silence, he spoke. "Do you know what happens when you give power to the people ?"

She tilted her head. "They remember they’ve always had it ?"

He looked at her finally. The moonlight caught his eyes—tired, but no longer clouded. "You are wiser than most men I have met this week."

She smiled faintly. "I am honoured, Your Majesty."

He didn’t pull her into his lap. Didn’t press his face into her neck. He only let his head drop slightly, shoulders relaxing just enough for her to gently lean against his side, hand resting on his arm.

And in the stillness, he breathed again.

It wasn’t lust he had summoned tonight. It was peace. Or some soft echo of it, from someone who expected nothing from him.

And for the first time in days, Geta allowed himself to close his eyes.

She was warm, skilled, careful in every movement—but it wasn’t her lips that lingered in his thoughts. It was a pair of lips chapped by time and a sharp tongue that could rival the wittiest of strategists.

It was yours.

At first, he tried to push the thought aside. A mistake of memory, he told himself. A side effect of exhaustion, of blurred emotions and a hundred decisions piling atop each other like stones in his chest. But the more she touched him, the clearer you became. Not in lust, but in presence. Your voice. Your frown when you were deep in thought. The determined calm in your eyes when you stood before the Senate like a storm barely held in check.

And then—your smile.

That fleeting curve of your mouth, never quite for show. The kind you gave only when you truly meant it. Not out of politeness. Not out of duty. No. The one he liked to think he was the sole witness…He sighed.

That smile had ruined him.

Because now, even as the woman before him pressed a kiss to his collarbone, his heart stuttered—for the wrong reason. Her hands seemed so cold, her touch unwanted, her voice the annoying buzz of a fly in the background. His eyes opened. He wasn’t here.

He was there. In the council chamber. In the corridors. At your side.

"Stop," he murmured suddenly.

The woman paused, surprised. "Is something wrong, Emperor Geta ?"

He sat up slowly, pulling his tunic back over his chest, not meeting her gaze. "No. You’ve done nothing wrong."

She tilted her head, sensing something deeper. But she said nothing. Only rose quietly and gave him a small, respectful nod. "If you need anything else—"

"No. You will be paid," he dismissed her before adding. "Thank you."

She seemed taken aback, but left nonetheless and the door shut gently behind her. Alone once more, Geta leaned forward, elbows on his knees, face in his hands. He wasn’t foolish. He knew what this meant. He hadn’t just summoned someone for comfort tonight. He’d summoned someone to erase something else—someone else.

And failed.

Because it was you he longed for. To build with. To trust. To carry this impossible world alongside.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

She must know the impact she had on him. Was it a plan of hers ? To get close to the Emperor and gain his affections ? To make him a pawn in her rise to the stratosphere ? He closed his eyes and chuckled to himself. The worse part was ? He wouldn’t mind. Because he liked the way she played…She was a player unlike any he had ever encountered. She was a player that gave as much as she received.

She thought she was smart—and she truly was.

However, she underestimated his ability to learn from past mistakes. He had been betrayed three times by the people closest to him. He would not be made a fool ever again. He knew her every move, her every step…He knew about her secret visits to Macrinus. He knew exactly what they were talking about. He knew she was learning. But, she was also unpredictable and authentic—a flower in a garden of thorns. Her every word, action and thought were for the benefit of Rome and himself. But he could never truly anticipate what she would do next—it was thrilling. Such dedication…Such pride.

He smirked.

Finally. A friend worthy of an emperor’s love.

[hazybisou]

STALKING IS ILLEGAL KID! | LUKE HUGHES

pairing: f!reader x luke hughes

overview: week 1: luke tries to get y/n to agree to go on a date with him (as if she doesn’t know who he is and the reputation he and the team holds throughout umich) despite her suspicions against the whole scenario.

o. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. au masterlist

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

she felt weird.

everywhere she went, there was always someone (or more) watching. y/n didn’t know why, she just simply chose to ignore it.

so as she made her way out of the library , she couldn’t help but notice a group of guys looking at her from a table in the corner. they turned their heads away as soon as she looked at them. she’s seen their faces around campus. she knew who they were. so why did she ignore them? simple. y/n knew better than to get involved with umich hockey team.

jess had told her about the people she should and shouldn’t be near. one of them including the whole team. it wasn’t anything bad but it was more of a “unless-you-want-to-deal-with-those-idiots-and-their-ways-i-suggest-you-stay-away” type of talk.

y/n couldn’t help but feel annoyed and roll her eyes. this has been going on for the past few days. one of them was always staring her down as she walked by. she was sick of it.

she stood there for a minute thinking of her next decision and if it would be wise and careful. “i’m sick of this shit so fuck it.” she whispered to herself.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

the four boys didn’t notice she had caught them. they were too engrossed in their own conversation (revolving around her obviously) to even look up. they had been coming up for a way for luke to ask her out or somewhat get to know her.

for the past 5 days, ever since the party, that’s all they’ve been doing. planning. scheming. plotting. whatever you wanna call it, it’s all they’ve doing.

���what if you like accidentally bump into her.” dylan suggested with a shrug. “it’s cliche but it could work.”

luke just shook his head. “no way is that happening.” he sighed. “this is pointless. we’ve ran out of ideas. i mean it’s already bad enough i agreed to doing this shit but-”

he got interrupted.

“can i help you?”

they four looked up to find the girl staring down at them.

“i’m sorry?” mark questioned.

“well considering the fact that you’ve been staring at me for a while now, you tell me.” she remarked.

luke cringed and closed his eyes as he realized they had all been caught. they didn’t mean to stare, really they hadn’t, but they did. maybe it was curiosity that got the best of them.

“oh we weren’t-”

she just laughed. “you weren’t what? looking? you know i’m starting to think you all have a problem with me or something.”

everyone somehow turned to look at luke for a second. he just gave them a look in return as to say ‘what?’.

“jess was right. you guys are weird.”

that had confirmed their assumptions. she was jess’s new roommate.

mackie asked, “you know jess?”

she nodded. “she’s my roommate. who has told me what i need to know.”

luke perked up at that statement. “what exactly has she told you?”

“wouldn’t you like to know?” dylan leaned over and said in a low voice so only luke could hear.

luke elbowed him in the rib. “shut the hell up.” he responsed in a whisper before turning back towards the girl.

“not much. just how you’re all self centered dickheads who think way too highly of themselves and need an ego check. you know, the small things.”

fucking jess.

mark turned to her. “do you believe her?”

“i’m starting too.” she said. she was about to turn around before pausing and looking back at them. “don’t let me catch you staring again. it’s creepy.” with that, she turned and walked off towards the entrance.

“bro, go talk to her.” mackie suggested as he gestured to the girl who was walking away.

luke quickly got up and began to jog over in order to catch up to her. he began to slow down as he was right behind her. “hey.”

she paused. “what do you want now?” she turned around and crossed her arms.

“i just wanted to um-i wanted to ask if-can i have your number?” luke got out.

y/n furrowed her eyebrows at the question. “yeah no. especially after what just happened back there.” she took a step. “and i don’t even know your name.”

you idiot. who asks for a girls number without giving them your name first?? she already thinks you’re weird.

is what luke thought to himself as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“it’s luke.”

“maybe next time, luke.”

and with that, she walked away.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

it was a thursday morning and y/n was out, shopping at a strip mall. she and jess had decided to look for new clothes for the spring that was to come in two months.

“hey jess, how about this?” y/n said as she held up a navy blue halter top that had a lace trim to her body.

she turned around to hoping to find jess.

she didn’t.

rather she were met with luke’s tall, lanky, figure.

“i think it looks great.” he responded, a hand in his pocket while the other was pointing to the top. “although i’m sure i’m not the person you were hoping to ask.”

“nooooo, really?” y/n said, sarcasm obviously laced in her voice.

luke smiled and nodded his head.

“where is jess?” she asked as she started to look around, hoping to get out of this situation.

“i don’t know. she saw me and waved and wondered off.” he shrugged.

“thanks, that was very helpful.”

“i know right. i’m such great help.”

“asshole.” she whispered to herself.

“what was that? i couldn’t quite hear you.” luke questioned as he leaned down to her height and put a hand behind his ear, signifying he was listening. she didn’t know why but she somehow found that attractive.

“nothing.” she quickly replied. luke had a smug look on his face. “move, i’m going to find jess.” she muttered as she pushed past luke and began to walk to a different aisle she thought (hoped) jess would be in.

luke stood there, dumbfounded, before he turned around and began to walk with her. “you know we should hang out. grab dinner, talk, get to know each other..” he trailed off and y/n just scoffed and turned around.

“why are you talking to me?” the girl suddenly inquired.

luke was taken aback.

“what?”

“why are you talking me?” she repeated. “i mean i don’t even know you, apart from the fact that your name is luke and you play for the school’s hockey team, but other than that, i don’t, i’m literally talking to a stranger right now.”

luke half smiled. “since when is talking to a pretty girl like yourself, illegal?”

she shouldn’t have blushed at that comment but she did any way. luke seemed to have noticed as he let out a small chuckle.

“that still didn’t answer my question.” she quipped back.

“well, i want to get to know you. i saw you one day and couldn’t help but think, ‘god, she’s beautiful’ so why not talk to you?”

y/n rolled her eyes. “you’re a weird dude, you know that?” he smiled sheepishly.

“i’m gonna go find jess.” she said. “hopefully the next time i see you, it’s when we’re out of college.” she told him as she walked away, a small sway in her hips.

luke stood there, a smile on his face before he turned around to exit the store.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

the next day, y/n was at work at a local diner across the street from campus. she had an afternoon shift from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm. pop had asked her if she could close the diner which she had agreed to. so here she stood, bent over slightly, as she wiped down the booth table at the end of the aisle of booths.

the lyrics to an old song from the 70’s came form the jukebox on the opposite end of the diner and had reached their way to her ears. she had began to sing the lyrics quietly to herself.

there was only a couple, a regular who was a sweet old man named tom, and her co-worker, pop (also known as the owner of the diner) left. he was 52 years old and was still running the place. in y/n’s eyes, he’s a second father to her. he always took care of her and had great advice.

she suddenly heard the bell above the door ring, signaling someone had walked in. although closing time wasn’t until 10:00, she had decided to start getting the place ready for close up time by wiping the countertops and tables.

“sorry, we’re closed.” she announced to whoever had walked in, not even bothering to look up y the table.

“doesn’t seem like it to me.” an, oh, so familiar voice said.

y/n paused her movements as she looked up from where she was busy cleaning, to find the infamous luke hughes, standing at the entrance.

y/n put the rag over her shoulder and walked towards the counter, getting behind it to take luke’s order. “stalking is illegal ya know?” she stated. “no matter where i am, you’re always right behind me.”

luke just rolled his eyes and scoffed as he took a seat on the barstool closest to her. “i’m not stalking you.”

“then how’d you figure out where i work?” she responded as she closed the cashier.

“don’t worry about it.” he waved off.

y/n squinted at him. “you asked jess, didn’t you?”

“no.”

she gave him a raised eyebrow.

“maybe.”

y/n groaned and just grabbed her notepad she used to take orders. “well you’re here now, might as well take your order. what can i get for you?” she asked as she put on a fake smile.

“i’ll take two vanilla milkshakes, please.” luke said and she wrote his order down.

y/n looked up from notepad. “is that all?” she asked the boy. he nodded his head and y/n ripped the paper out. “i’ll be back with your shakes.”

she walked over towards the small window that looked into the kitchen. “order in pop!” she exclaimed as she slid the paper over to the man who took it and began to look at it.

“two vanilla milkshakes? for that lonely fella?” pop questioned as he looked over to luke who was looking around. “is he your boyfriend or somethin’?”

“i barely know the kid. we’ve only talked twice.” y/n said as she held up two fingers.

pop just shook his head and smiled. “he seems like a good kid.”

“i guess. you know he asked me out the other day?” pop raised his eyebrows in amusement. she laughed. “i don’t know. he just did.”

“and you said no?”

“well yeah. what am i supposed to say? you can’t know someone for two days and ask them out. that’s weird.” y/n stated. “and not very proper.”

“he probably likes you.” pop suggested.

“la la la la la la! no! don’t go there!” she told him as she pointed a finger at him. “no.”

he just laughed before he backed up slightly. “i’ll be back with your order.” he said. “for now..go talk to him.” y/n just shook her head.

she walked back to the counter and got to work. tom had paid already, but he had decided to stay for a little longer. she looked over and noticed he had begun to grab the newspaper and his bag. he got up and walked towards the counter. “i’ll see you tomorrow tom?”

“sadly, no. charlotte’s coming down from wisconsin for her birthday.” he replied back with a smile on his face at the mention of his granddaughter.

“oh tell her i said happy birthday.”

“i will. goodbye, y/n.” he waved towards the girl.

“bye tom!” y/n waved back as he left the building, the bell ringing.

she went back to the cashier as the couple came up to pay for their food. she handed them their cash before waving goodbye as they also exited, the bell ringing once again.

“so i was thinking,” luke started.

“i forgot you were still here.”

luke just shushed her. “as i was saying, i was thinking of heading to the beach tomorrow.” luke continued. “and i was wondering if you wanted to come with me? that way we can get to know each other.”

“luke seriously, what is it with you and trying to get me to go somewhere with you?” y/n stated.

“what? you don’t trust me?” luke asked.

“it’s not that i don’t trust you, which i don’t, it’s just that we’ve only known each other for two days and you already want to take me out when i don’t even know you.”

“well then this is your chance to get to know me better.” luke explained.

“you won’t give up till i say yes, will you?”

“mhm.”

“no.” she bluntly answered.

“oh, come on y/n! let me get to know you. learn more about you. you seem like a nice person. it’s obvious from the way you are with strangers and customers.” he whined.

“it’s called having manners.”

“please? just one time.”

“if i say yes to going, will you leave me alone?”

luke perked up at the question. “yes! i promise! you just say yes and i’ll leave you alone afterwards if you want me to.”

“promise?”

“promise. i’ll even lock pinkys with you.” he replied.

“okay.” y/n said.

“okay? as in you’ll go with me tomorrow?” he repeated.

she nodded. “okay, as in i’ll go with you tomorrow as long as you leave me alone later.”

a big smile appeared on luke’s face. “thank you! you’re the best.” he exclaimed before he got up and took his wallet out. he pulled out a twenty before placing it on the counter.

she grabbed it and held it up. “what the hell?”

“for the milkshakes.” he explained.

“oh.”

“okay i’ll uh, i’ll see you tomorrow.” he rushed out before he turned around and began to walk towards the door before he suddenly paused and turned around. “i need your number.”

“oh.” y/n muttered. “um, give me your phone.” she said as she stuck out her hand. he fished his phone out of his pocket before unlocking it and handing it to her. she opened his contacts and added a new contact before typing her number in. “here. text me which one, and at what time.”

“ok i will. bye!” he rushed out. “oh and by the way, you look cute in your uniform.” he told her before turning around and leaving the diner, a slight breeze making its way in.

y/n felt her face get hot and she couldn’t help but smile before it quickly disappeared, reminding herself to not get excited over a boy.

“order is served.” pop said as he placed two milkshakes on the windowsill.

“sorry pop, he just left. but at least he payed his debts.” y/n stated as she held up the twenty dollar bill before placing it back on the countertop.

pop just smiled. “free milkshake?” he said as he held on up towards her.

a smile crept up onto her face. “duh. let me just lock the door.”

so like this is probably the most i’ve ever written in general which is fun. this took me like 8 days to write and it honestly sucks BOOTY!! but like it’s 1 in the morning right now and i’m low on energy so it makes sense? i think. also next chapter is js gonna be the beach “date”?? and some other stuff so be prepared for that. now i will be going to sleep bc i have to deal with children tmrw morning starting at 8:30. (why did i agree to helping out with summer school?? i don’t even know y) goodnight lovelies 🫶🫶

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 168 spoilers and thoughts that IM NOT LATE WITH FOR ONCE! KIND OF! YAY! and more below the cut

.

.

.

OKAY. OKAY CAN WE TALK ABOUT THESE TWO PANELS WITH LLOYD AND JAVIER REALLY REALLY QUICK. i would save this for the end of the post since its closer to the end but im super impatient okay what else can i say. LOOK AT THE WAY JAVIER IS LOOKING AT HIM

HE IS LOOKING AT HIM SO DAMN FONDLY. WHAT THE FUCK. THERE IS WARMTH IN THAT GAZE I SWEAR TO GOD IM NOT CRAZY. "you're such a terrible person" AND HES LOOKING AT HIM LIKE THAT. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. crazy. CRAZY.

the adaptor knew what they were doing . i swear it . like "yeah thats MY evil boyf. he's back to being evil and lively and his perfect bastard self." I SWEAR IT I SWEAR IM NOT CRAZY

this is proof of llovier. im so serious dont even joke lads

back to the top!

not much to say here lloyds expression is just so real sobs yeah . yeah,,, older gens having goofy ass back and forths over things that really arent the main issue here is universal

like i dont quite remember what season theyre in now but its past winter by this point and based on the two panels showing the time of day they had to have been arguing about this for AT LEAST FOUR HOURS 😭 LIKE WHAT THE FUCK (idk how accurate that estimate is im notoriously bad at time but still. a long fucking time) these BUFFOONS

also lloyd being dramatic as hell is so fucking silly HAHAHAHAHHAA

AND THEN THE LORDS FUCKING STARING AT HIM WHEN HE BRINGS UP THAT HE HAS AN IDEA. HELPPP all eyes on lloyd now !!! what brilliant idea do u have next thats absolutely totally not secured through lowkey social engineering!

so so SO happy w how confident he looks here heehee :3 whats with the pose tho lol is that a reference? maybe?

anyway they plan to make a train thru the pantara mountains? vantara? pan,,, idk what the correct translation is ive seen vantara and pantara

also lloyd just knowing exactly how to talk to those old ass political lords and understanding how to string them along idk what it is but i really really like that, it makes sense to me personally

i figure that thats probably something suho just Had to pay attention to back in korea, idk how korean politics works exactly but i imagine the principle of "person in charge can make or break a lot of things" still stands

so like it'd make sense that he pays attention to whoevers in charge of the finance stuff, which political figures care about money, and where that money goes, bc if they fuck with the funds for education thatll directly screw him over. idk if korea has financial aid but whatever equivalent that is that allows suho to get scholarships n stuff so he can stay afloat, if someone comes into power that will negatively affect his odds of getting that funding, he'll need to know and prepare! though maybe this is reaching a little too deep it might not be That Serious lmfao

again i really like how many of these confident / plotting expressions have been showing up IM SOO SO SO HAPPYYYY my schemer my little scheming guy he's BACK HES BACK

the two of them also look really really nice here in these two panels for some reason. i think im going crazy. i dont know why i like these panels its just. !??!?!?!?!??! like javiers hair is completely messy but idk i just ?!?!?!?!? im completely aro so its not like an attraction or anything but idk!?!??!?!?!

finally our first look at the overworld demons!!! these two kiddos seem super cute i really hope they dont . misunderstand or anything and that lloyd and javier can have some fun and heartwarming moments with them,,,, more sillies and soft fluff please!!!!! thats all i ask!!!!

okay that's all! not much to say this episode is just really really cozy to me. ok well as cozy as "lloyd frontera making evil expressions" can get LMFAO it feels like build up into the next section and im really excited to see what he's gonna do with this train idea and with the overworld demons...!!!!!

there was a notice at the end of the ep that the artist is taking a small break for their health so no ep next week, but there'll be one the week after i believe. we must be patient!!! rest well artist!!!!

that's it ill see yall in. two weeks? ill probably have some other yap post for the hiatus week idk, it depends on how my schoolwork goes. see yall then!!!!

[my-eyes-on-the-skies]

ok, ive thinking about the mastermind in aai2 and i just neeeed to talk about it

spoilers for ace attorney investigations 2

okay so ive been mulling over the whole situation that simon is in before the game, and i wonder just how long he's been planning his entire scheme out.

I mean like he had blackmail ready for all of the characters, some of which would have been incredibly difficult to get bc his targets are really powerful figures

that would have been an incredible risk for him, so why do it?

obviously his main motive was revenge but i really dont think he had much of a choice to do anything but take everyone down

if you think about it, simon was living on a razor wire bc the chairman of the pic, the prison warden, and a leader of a fucking country were all after him. if he was noticed at all, then the police would be on his ass bc the chief of police is in blaise's pocket and they could put him in jail, where he'd be cornered by roland. if he tried to leave the country then he'd be at the mercy of the body double. even horace could be a potential threat bc he could slip up and accidentally reveal where he was

there really was no way he could live without danger unless he somehow removed them from power (or in horace's case make him shut up or get out of the way) so he might have realized way in the past that that was his only chance for freedom

as for after that? i dont know if he initially started plotting with the intention of living a free life, but by the time he gets arrested, i really dont think he cares about anything but revenge. but at least he gets some time to sort himself out in prison with his father figure (and maybe curbstomp his dad too)

also now i really wanna see a fic where simon is avoiding everyone in the aa2 berry circus case, like hes flying over phoenix's head with a flock of trained parakeets or smth funny like that asdfajks

[spitefulhoney87]

We all suffer TFES AU

*This is a headcanon ive had in my head after i just rewatched parts of tfes and the season 2 ending- to be honest i made it so i can give starscream a redemtion arc. There shouldnt be any major warnings- maybe some light phychological torture in future stories*

!this is worlbuilding brainrot- no character diologue or interactions!

Synopsis: Mandroid had been foiled and the lives of all cybertronians saved at the end of the battle, yes. And the victors- the Maltos, Terrans, Autobots and Decepticons alike could breathe a sigh of relief at their victory and subsequent survival. But unknown to anyone, the strings of fate will be woven by the madman even after he is gone, for he made sure that even in death, he'll prove a point in the end.  

Chapter I - a madmans plan

A good scientist always plans ahead, at least, that's what Mandroid did. During his year away, he had plotted and made hundreds of simulations, utilizing the time he had gained now that his new form didn't have a need for sleep. All his tests had one goal in mind- wiping out all cybertronians on Earth, to save it when so many were blind to the cybernetic beasts that were mere flippant whims away from wringing humanity's neck. Throughout all his simulations and experiments one thing became sure- the emberstones and subsequently that ''Quintus Primes'' powers were an unpredictable factor. His plans could never be foolproof. So, he implemented a failsafe, something that would ensure that people would see those mechanical war machines for what they are, but he also hoped that his failsafe would cut out the need for humans all together- make the cybertronians tear each other limb from limb themselves. With his actions, he'd make sure that the embers of the Decepticon and Autobot conflict would be stoked into a blaze once more. 

The Maltos stood at the wrecked tower, rejoicing in their victory, hugs and kisses abound between members of the family, relieved everyone ultimately made it out alive. The Decepticons and Autobots taking a moment to compose themselves after almost returning to the well of sparks, thank primus none remained injured. After a moment, everyone composes themselves and gets to work gathering the emberstone shards. The Decepticons, despite their previous misgivings towards the humans and Autobots stayed to help. It seemed like the bridge between Decepticons and Autobots was being slowly but surely crossed. But, after a while the Decepticons that were in its vicinity began to act...odd. The emberstone shards seemed to ignite something in them, as if it was drawing out some kind of restlessness within the previously cooperative Decepticons. It didn't take long for them to conspire and steal the first emberstone shards. Then the second, then the third and then many more after that. Madroids plan had worked. 

Alex's theory about the stones ''rules'' being broken, while partially true, was incomplete. The ''rules'' weren't broken themselves, but moreso supplemented with additional ''rules'' courtesy of Mandroids implanted failsafe, which made it unstable to the point that it had initially shattered. Noone could be faulted for not realizing everything of course, after all, the one person who had schemed this whole plot was already dead and buried and no one would question the good ol' proverb of ''Decepticons will always be Decepticons'' 

The Decepticons were the ones affected by the modified emberstones power- it brought out in them that little whispering voice that weaved itself into their programming. The voice that made false promises of grandure, of returnign home, of getting revenge on those who stand before them. It exacerbating their worst traits and dulling their empathy all the while twisting their previous thoughts and actions to aid in their gradual reshaping back into simple villains. This trait was even more prominent in the newly formed chaos Terrans- lifeforms that were created by the power of the emberstone, but were, from birth, corrupted by its influence.

The effects of the corrupted stones power varied from Decepticon to Decepticon- some barely changed and some became almost... violent.

next/

This is my first writing project and my first language isnt english so i hope this wasnt too jarring to read, if anyone actually sat through this. Hope to continue!

[stealingyourteeth]

i have been thinking. scheming even. about a renegades (YA book series by marissa meyer) and chnt crossover au. i have talents and occupations planned out for at least 4 characters and how a side plot with them would fit into the canon of the original renegades universe.

part 1/???

if you don’t know what renegades and/or camp here and there is i suggest you read this for chnt, and this for renegades!

CAMP HERE AND THERE SPOILERS(?)

RENEGADES SPOILERS

sydney is healer at renegades hq, his talent would be chlorokinesis (the ability to create, manipulate, and animate plant life). this talent is also known as botanokinesis.

jedidiah works in research and development, and he could be a technopath (the ability to control technology). ive also thought about him having a secret talent where he can give life to another being at the expense of his own life?? but i haven’t really thought that through yet

elijah is an anarchist, but he isn’t really around in the subway tunnels and isn’t even aware that the rest of the anarchists moved to nova’s house after the tunnels collapsed (explained more down below). he has the talent of Disabling Aura, people near him feel fatigue and are unable to use their own talent.

adam during the age of anarchy was apart of a villain gang (I haven’t decided which one yet) and had the title “Up and Adam” (as in chnt lmao). after the day of triumph, he now works as a counselor at renegades headquarters, though he uses this job for self gain a lot of the time. he has the ability of dreamwalking, which is exactly what the name states. he can walk into peoples dreams. this could set up an interesting dynamic as Nova never sleeps. (i actually plan on writing a fic where she takes up the counseling opportunity after killing Ingrid at the end of the first book)

heres where the side plot comes in. back in the age of anarchy elijah was put in charge of the hostages (I don’t rlly remember if the anarchists took hostages it’s been awhile since ive read the series all the way through) and sydney was one of the hostages. elijah became fixated with sydney, as his aura worked in a different way around him. when elijah was around sydney, it seemed like sydney’s senses were heightened instead of the opposite. he still couldn’t use his chlorokinesis, but this small defect was enough to send elijah spiraling into obsession. due to this, he spent most of his time tending to sydney, ignoring the other hostages despite what valuable information they may be able to give up.

even after the day of triumph, he was still fascinated with sydney. he was rarely in the subway tunnels where the other anarchists live because of this, and he really had no idea that the subway tunnels collapsed. he spent most of his days stalking sydney from afar, as he couldn’t get close to him considering the effect that he had on sydney.

there’s also like. a side side plot which ill explain.

the reason jedidiah is working in r&d is so he can try and find a way to help sydney survive longer (as he’s still chronically ill in this universe). sydney has been surviving by growing healing herbs and modern medicine, but jedidiah wants to find something more permanent.

ill update this more as i get more ideas, i just want to put this out into the world before I forget ^_^

[grossdyke]

my WIP folder is staring balefully at me while i experience trancelike hallucinations of a story that starts as a normal fluffy wolfstar getting together fic and hard cuts to regulus descending into madness and grief over losing the love of his life his brother. i would pay real money to get your take on it in the bellareg universe

NO BECAUSE THE IMAGE IS SO GOOD… i’ve been thinking about it non stop at work..

ive been wanting to turn the seven scenes from a marriage fic into a little bellareg series.. like im even planning a little sirius jr oneshot… and now i keep having visions of a reg during his last year of hogwarts and sirius has graduated and bella is his fiance and everything is just a mess in his mind. not only isnt sirius home during break, but now he isn’t at school either, and he’s working his way through it by being needy and pathetic with bella and seeking her attention constantly…. like i said in the oneshot: ”He looks at you so sweetly, your baby cousin. As if you’re his guiding star, like he needs you; like he used to need his big brother—”

honestly whats funniest to me about wolftsar in the bellareg universe is that remus to reg is literally just. some guy. he’s more obsessed and convinced of the prongsfoot of it all, and sort of convinced that remus is someone sirius is taking pity on, sort of under the impression that sirius is ’aware’ the he’s too good for remus. james is a pureblood, from a wealthy family, and the one who actually managed to steal sirius away. reg has bever paid any mind to the remus of it all, or the peter of it all either to be fair.. so i think his mind would genuinely break if he found out that in all actuality remus is the one sirius is dating, and not james. while regulus has been obsessing and stalking and hate-wanking over prongsfoot, scheming and plotting to get between them, head filled with images of sirius and james fucking and laughing at him. and then it’s REMUS ???? sirius will fuck this good for nothing scarred twig-like halfblood wizard and not HIM ???? he can’t fathom for the life of him why sirius would let remus touch him. he’s a BLACK!! remus is NO ONE !! <- like he just genuinely wouldnt be able to comprehend what remus actually means to sirius because to regulus he’s so deeply unworthy

and bella lets reg work through this with her.. 🤍 like i also said in the fic: You’re enough like Sirius that Regulus can fall in love with you, and eventually he stops giving you that searching look of his. He stops trying to find his brother in your eyes— until all he sees is you.

[cuntstable]

ive been thinking about ranni and her fail biological brothers a bit aaaand… their relationships to eachother is a bit funny interesting imo. like ranni and rykard were obvs close to each other to the point of trusting one another with their plans and working together. but ranni just like never mentions that her brothers a Weird fucked up snake now Btw. like sorry tarnished wife-sband-whatever, dont go to volcano family btw meeting the family isnt a good idea. sorry.

and the conversely radahn as far as we know was not involved in any of their schemes (though he did try to invade leyndell and got his ass beat my morgott i guess so. who knows.) but rykard Does have a portrait of him in his house so maybe they were close? i like to think that since he left for selia at some point to study he kind of just missed the Scheming phase of his siblings by establishing the redmane frathouse or whatever and just proceeding to fuck around with them until the shattering. he dgaf and ranni and rykard probs thought that he was a fail normie for not plotting assasinations with them. and like as for ranni shes the one to ask you to kill radahn for holding the stars and her faith still. but Also hes like been a disease ridden husk for ages at that point and jerren apparently talks to iji and blaidd on the regular, about ranni even, so who knows!! either ranni and radahn used to be close too OR they werent but she is friends with his frathouse founder boyfriend. which is actually really funny. so whatever

[authortobenamedlater]

Good, bad, questions, and predictions for this week. Harebrained Halo Headcanons of the week.

Good: Casting is still this show’s greatest selling point, particularly Joseph Morgan’s Ackerson. Every performance is stellar, and that goes a long way toward covering the series’ flaws.

I like the look at the rank-and-file military and the confirmation that there are in fact other Spartan teams out there. And, because this is me we’re talking about, I like the religious references. Babylon 5 trained me well, I guess. The St. Christopher Medal, Corporal I’m-a-Baptist, Talia’s family praying before dinner, Shaman Lady telling John to “find your faith, Spartan” because she has seen his death which comes soon. WHAT is up with that by the way. They can’t just leave a line like that there.

The costuming has leveled up this year. The Spartans’ duty uniforms last year, as I’ve said, looked like spray foam insulation and slinkies. These ones may look like the Spartans are managing a Cabela’s, but I still like it better. Also, Kai would rock the gun counter. Not one for modern AUs, but all of the Spartans working at a Cabela’s has some appeal.

The new intro and use of the actual Halo music.

Bad: Honestly, nothing about these two episodes is straight-up bad. It just doesn’t feel like a follow-up to S1. Some of this is a new showrunner, so of course things will look different, but it also seems like they took the easy way out of resolving some things from last season. I am trying to reserve judgment until at least the halfway point, though, so I won’t say more yet.

Neutral: Keyes is an admiral now. Like…OK? What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Did they need a new admiral when Parangosky got the boot? Keyes also seems like someone’s pulling his strings. ONI/Ackerson, probably. Something’s up here. This is not the Jacob Keyes we saw last season.

The show has not told us what ONI is. The lack of context for people who aren’t coming from the games/books has to be frustrating. Also is Ackerson still a colonel or not?

Speculations/wishful thinking/questions: Miranda is working on the S-IIIs, maybe even IVs. Or she has been rebooted to be a line officer like her game character. Miranda DOES have a ship in S1. Halsey mentions “Miranda’s ship” during the fight on Eridanus. So this wouldn’t be as big a leap as it seems. Miranda could be out running some science mission. I like this idea, really. We’ve seen the side of Miranda that came from her mom; it would be cool to see the side that came from her dad.

What “monster” does Kwan mean? My money right now is on the Flood. I’m pretty sure Soren and Laera don’t know Kwan is on the Rubble since Soren asks where Kessler is getting the ideas about monsters. How do Kwan, Laera, and Kessler fit into everything here?

What’s Parangosky up to? The Paramount website had her planning Operation: Red Flag but she’s a civilian now. Also, how did John not know that? Anyway. Was she planning Red Flag when she got cashiered? Is she planning it from behind the scenes?

Soren’s “arrest” is how he gets to Reach (we see him in Halsey’s holodeck prison in one of the trailers) which is how he and John end up fighting together. This might be a good time to mention my plot bunny that Soren and Vannak have some long-standing feud from a training incident in their youth which would get reignited if they ever met again.

Cobalt team will yank their pellets.

John seems very much like Halo 5 Chief this season, don’t know if that’s on purpose or not. Even his brooding about Makee parallels Game Chief’s Cortana angst. Though TV Chief has plenty of that too, he just doesn’t know it. Look how he reacts every time someone mentions they took Cortana out of his brain.

How and when will they reunite John and Cortana? Will she go back in his head? Or a chip like her game self? I see advantages and disadvantages to both. But, given how the show has changed AI, where would Cortana’s chip go? John’s helmet wouldn’t have a port for it, and neither would any ships or…anything. There’s a trailer scene where John puts on his helmet and the visor is cracked, so maybe he needs a whole new helmet and it could be fitted for Cortana? I think with the planet frying there are bigger things to do around FLEETCOM though.

But when they do reunite John and Cortana, are we gonna get the scene from the end of Fall of Reach where Ackerson almost kills John and Cortana gets revenge???? I have said this before but I REALLY want to see that.

Makee. Is this really her? Could it be a clone? Projection? I’m inclined to say it’s her but no harm in entertaining wild theories. At least my Vital Record AU isn’t canon. I was low-key worried about that.

OK, Bum Bum gave me his cold and I need to take NyQuil and sleep now so I’m going to end this here. See everyone tomorrow night since I’m going to drop off Tumblr until I can watch.

[thephantomcasebook]

hi ive never read the books but i had always assumed team black won the war since rhaenyras son ended up on the throne but i saw you say team green won, how did team green win? i dont care about spoilers

Let me give it to you as clean as I can.

Toward the end of the war and after several extremely bloody battles there is a stalemate between the Greens and Blacks.

The Blacks have more Dragons and riders, but they have very little allies beyond the Northmen and the River Lords. So they rely on Dragon power almost exclusively which makes them exceedingly more powerful than the Greens in any engagement.

The Greens have a larger army, but their only dragons are Vhaegr and Tessarion - they have Dreamfyre but Helaena is a non-combatant, and Aegon took off after being injured in the first battle of the war. But while they're not as powerful as the Blacks, the Greens are vastly more intelligent and better equipped than the Blacks. The Greens are also the superior fighters than the Blacks - both Aemond and Daeron are far better dragon riders than most of team black but for Daemon. Also both Criston and Daeron are the best Battle Commanders in the history of Westros which is why even with dragon superiority, the Blacks can't get anywhere.

Now the problems start because, by the end of the war, Rhaenyra doesn't give a fuck about anyone ... everyone is her pawn to gain the Iron Throne - even her own children. While Team Green's greatest weakness is that they care way too much about their loved ones. This is what Daemon and Rhaenyra capitalize on.

Aemond brings calamity, in the end, on the Greens.

Criston and Alicent were in the middle of planning a large and intricate offensive to break the stalemate but it required more men. So, they send Daeron to Old Town to marshal a second army. This is important, because before then Daeron hadn't really fought in any battles. He was left by Criston and Aemond to guard King's Landing and protect Alicent, Helaena, and the children, and also oversee and plot the war in the map room with Alicent. He and Tessarion also were a deterrent from a dragon strike - having taken a good chunk out of Baela (I could be wrong about that) when she and Nettles tried to raid King's Landing.

But when "The White Worm" informs Rhaenyra and Daemon that Daeron - the Greens protector - has gone south, Daemon hatches a scheme to draw Aemond and Criston away from King's Landing so that Rhaenyra could take the city.

Daemon and the Black army launch an attack on Harrenhal and take it. This is important, because, Aemond's lover Alys Rivers is at Harrenhal. So immediately Aemond wants to go and liberate Harrenhal. But Criston and Alicent tell him no, that they have to wait till Daeron returns with the Hightower army from Old Town. But Daemon taunts Aemond till he can't stand it anymore and Aemond takes off on Vhaegar and with half the army to go fight Daemon - and rescuse the woman he loves. Criston, having no choice, takes the rest of the army to chase after Aemond.

Daemon then leads Aemond on a merry chase through the Riverlands while the main Green army falls into a trap and nearly gets annihilated by the Starks.

At the same time, Rhaenyra and several of the dragon riders attack King's Landing now that it has been left undefended with Daeron gone. Rhaenyra goes full Dany and destroys good portion of King's Landing and kills tens of thousands of people. After Rhaenyra puts most of the city to the torch, Alicent surrenders the Red Keep to save the rest of the citizens.

Hearing that King's Landing has fallen, Criston turns what's left of the Greens army around and makes a desperate run to King's Landing to save Alicent. But he and his cavalry are ambushed outside of King's Landing by another portion of Rhaeynra's army. After a desperate and intense fight, Criston and the last contingent of his men are surrounded. Rather than surrender - Criston asks that they let his men live and that the commanders of the Blacks fight him in single combat - prove they're true knights.

instead they shoot him dead with a dozen crossbow bolts, mutilate his body, and bring Rhaenyra his head. It's then that Alicent sues for peace, to end the conflict. But Rhaenyra tells her that there is no going back, that the war ends only when everyone Alicent loves is dead. Then, she shows Alicent Criston's head. This enrages Alicent and she goes full Vaemond - calling all of her elder children bastards and Rhaeynra a whore. Rhaenyra is so deeply shook and angered by this that she orders her head removed. But "The White Worm" intercedes and proposes an alternative.

Since Alicent and Helaena are so pious, perhaps it's time they have bastard of their own.

So, Rhaenyra gives Alicent and Helaena to her men for a week, every man having a turn at either of them. All the while Rhaeynra sits back and watches. However, by the third night, Helaena gets free long enough to throw herself from a tower window and leaps to her death rather than be raped another night.

The news of the "Brothel Queens" incident spreads like wildfire throughout the realm and enflames the common people with hatred for Rhaenyra. Fore both Alicent and Helaena were extremely beloved by the small folk. And the death of Helaena, in particular, enrages the people of King's Landing.

At this point Daemon returns to Kings Landing to figure out what the fuck is going on ... and is shook(th) to the tenth degree by the death and destruction that Rhaenyra caused. Daemon restores order to the Black forces and makes Alicent off limits. Rhaenyra and Daemon have a huge falling out which she tells him that he's dead to her and that she'll kill him if she ever sees him again - exiling him.

So Daemon flies back to Harrenhal and waits for Aemond who is extremely enraged at what has happened and has been on a revenge tour setting the Riverlands aflame, roasting Black lords in their castles with Vhaegar.

Daemon and Aemond duel atop their dragons and they end up killing each other and their dragons over "The Gods' Eye" near Harrenhal.

When news comes back to King's Landing, Alicent is traumatized by grief - first Helaena and now Aemond. But Rhaeynra's response to Daemon's death is basically like "Fuck that guy." and she declares victory for her side and calls for all the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms to come to King's Landing and pay homage to her as Queen.

(a bit of music to convey the feeling at this point in the books)

However, in Old Town, they're still wearing green. The Hightowers call for Daeron to be crowned King, but Daeron refuses - saying that there's a war to win still. And the army he was sent to raise leaves Old Town to go to King's Landing as instructed, but this time to rescue Queen Alicent.

The Tyrells and the Rowans - who have declared for Rhaenyra - move against them but Daeron cooks them with Tessarion and wins the battle by himself. So in awe of his skill and swashbuckling nature the Greens name him "Daeron the Daring" and he immediately starts gaining folk hero status among the common people.

Rhaenyra however is unimpressed and unafraid of Alicent's "Wittle Bwaby Daeron" and sends the Lord of the Reach some help. Then, for the next two months, begin a furious and desperate campaign to rescue Alicent by Daeron, who continues to destroy Black forces - using Tessarion to scout enemy positions and using his recon flights to place his forces. And with each victory more and more people join his army on the road and people start considering him a hero.

Eventually, as public opinion turns against Rhaenyra and Alicent continuously trolling and taunting her about not being able to stop her 'Wittle bwaby", Rhaenyra sends a good portion of the veterans of the Blacks army to 'do something' about the upstart - including sending two of her dragon riders to counter what Daeron is doing with Tessarion.

The Black forces encamp at a town called Tumblestone. But Daeron and the green army steal a march on the Blacks and ambush them in the night. In the slaughter, the veterans of the Blacks shut themselves into the town. But Daeron uses Tessarion to destroy the gates. Also, at this point, the two dragon riders that Rhaenyra sent to combat Daeron turn on the Blacks and start to burn the town.

This is also when the Greens lose control, seeing that this is the same army of Blacks that murdered Ser Criston, sacked King's Landing, and gang raped Alicent and Helaena for days, so they began to massacre not just the Blacks, but the towns people that sided with Rhaenyra. Appalled by the savagery of his men, Daeron tries to restrain them, but by the time that he regains order in the ranks most of the towns people are dead.

With a total victory over the main Black army, they once more try to crown Daeron. But after seeing the monstrous behavior of his men and the shifting loyalties of Rhaenyra's former dragons riders, Daeron instead scolds all of them, saying that he doesn't want to be King - Aegon is their king. He only wants to rescue the queen and bring Justice back to Westros ... this embitters several factions in the greens.

At King's Landing Rhaenyra's rule is failing as she is becoming more and more unhinged. The people are already teetering on revolt and with the disaster at Tumblestone, "The White Worm" is hearing that people are starting to prepare to help Daeron when he arrives. So Rhaenyra starts executing people at random. She also, at the same time, empties King's Landing off the last of her strength in arms to march on Tumblestone and stop Daeron.

This time it's the Blacks that surprise the Greens at the Second Battle of Tumblestone. The Starks and Tullys get into a bloody haymaker fight with Daeron's army and after an extremely brutal and savage fight no one really wins. But the Stark and Riverlord army dissolves afterward. But the Greens can't claim victory either - despite their army still being intact.

Cause Tessarion is dead ... and no one can find Daeron.

He completely disappears and no one ever knows what happened to him. He got his men into quick order and lead the counterattack personally against Lord Dustin and his "Winter Wolves" and then disappeared.

Afterward the Green army without Daeron the Darling to lead them - everyone convinced that he was killed by treachery during the battle - also dissolves before getting to King's Landing.

But Rhaenyra doesn't get a chance to celebrate. Because, when news hits King's landing that Daeron had died ... and by treachery, it's the last straw. All of King's Landing - all of it - rises up against Rhaeynra. They overrun the City Watch and storm the Dragon Pit, killing almost all of the dragons. Joffery goes to the Dragon Pit to try and rescue the dragons, but when he tries to mount his mother's dragon, Syrax bucks Joffery off and he falls into the riot. The mob, seeing Prince Joffery, tear him apart like a zombie hoard.

Eventually Rhaenyra is forced to flea with Aegon III - her last remaining child. But they're mobbed and Syrax his mortally wounded. Eventually, Rhaenyra gets to Dragonstone - though Syrax dies almost right after. But when she and Aegon III enter the castle they find Hightower men waiting and they're seized.

Rhaenyra thinks that this is where Daeron went ... but she is shocked to see that it's Aegon II that has been hiding out in Dragonstone all this time throughout the war. It is then that Aegon orders that Rhaeynra be devoured by his dragon Sunfyre, which she is and right in front of her son.

At this point the Baratheons have rallied their own men and a lot of Daeron's army and march into King's Landing to restore order on behalf of Alicent and the Greens. And when Aegon II arrives back in King's Landing he is named King and the Greens are declared the victors.

As concession to heal the realm, Aegon agrees with Alicent and Corlys to name Aegon III his heir and to marry him to Aegon and Helaena's sole surviving daughter. But also Alicent sees to it that Rhaenyra is stricken from the records as the legitimate queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Thus, ends the Dance of Dragons.

The Greens are the victors but Daemon and Rhaenyra's descendants end up ruling by the sanctioning of Alicent.

[aliensunflower-fics]

‘Akumatized Marinette’ A funny prompt!

So ive seen a few different fics and posts where Lila convinces the class that Marinette is in fact Mayura and/or is working in some way for Hawkmoth, using such evidence as ‘Marinette’s never been akumatized’ and citing how sometimes Marinette’s attempts to be helpful or friendly or yes her mistakes have resulted in an akuma going after her classmates. Also other evidence like how many akumas the class has had total. But what if Lila could not convince class that Marinette was working with Hawkmoth, desperate to connect Marinette to the supervillain in hopes of plummeting her reputation Lila claims that Marinette is in fact AKUMATIZED hence her villainous actions towards Lila!

Now just follow me here:

What if the class don't believe Lila THAT MUCH. Sure Lila has them convinced that she’s a diplomats daughter and that shes got a million illnesses and physical problems and yes she even has everyone believing that she’s famous and that her and Adrien are a secret item [how scandalous!]. But no one in the class will for a SECOND believe that Marinette is working with Hawkmoth. Lila has tried broaching the subject several times, shes tried leaving ‘hints’ and pointing things out that seem ‘incriminating’ but each and every time she does the class scoff and each of them begin listing a 100 reasons why Marinette is definitely NOT a fan of Hawkmoth and would never work with him.

Frustrated but determined to connect the super villain to Marinette and alienate the girl further Lila seethes and plots. Getting more frustrated each failed attempt and trying to chew off her own sausage hair when people talk about how Marinette would definitely kick Hawkmoth’s ass. Then one day Marinette walks in with a totally new look, she’s cut her hair into a messy pixie cut and is going for a pink punk look. The look gets everyone's attention and the day is spent with everyone complimenting the baker girl [she even gets asked out by a few of the guys in the other classes] frustrated that everyone is paying attention to Marinette instead of herself Lila cant help but make up some big lie about how Marinette assaulted her and stole her money.

The class is justifiably shocked! They have been especially protective of Marinette and her reputation ever since she was expelled and nearly akumatized so more then a few of them start yelling at Lila even Alya who normally sides with Lila due to her belief that her designer friend is jealous is furious at Lila for making an accusation like that! Desperate to recover from the poorly timed and worded lie she’s made Lila thinks fast and comes up with a scheme just crazy enough to work! She claims that obviously it wasn’t ACTUALLY Marinette, no it was the horrible akuma MARIONETTE! The class blinks taken aback but they can’t help but ask what Lila is talking about.

The italian smirks feeling sinister pleasure course through her. She begins weaving her sob story tale! About how Marinette had snuck into one of Adrien and Lila’s photoshoots! Where the poor baker girl saw them *gasp* KISSING! Poor Marinette heartbroken and distraught was akumatized into the horrible monster Marionette! Who stalked Lila home and attacked her! She goes on to claim that the Marinette who was in class today was NOT in fact their good friend rocking a new style and haircut but was instead a vicious akuma after all why do you think Lila was keeping so far away from Marinette all day? She’s TRAUMATIZED after her ordeal and now Marionette the akuma is attending class as if she were Marinette! How terrible could Hawkmoth be to be using their heartbroken friend like this!

The class doesn’t want to believe it, but it makes such perfect sense Marinette WOULD be heartbroken by seeing Adrien the ‘love of her life’ kissing Lila her main rival! And just yesterday Marinette looked completely normal with her cute little pigtails and her signature outfit! She never told any of them she was even GOING to get a haircut! And surely if Marinette was going to make such a big change in her appearance she would have told her bestie Alya right?

But now what is the class to do? Poor Marinette is akumatized and they have no idea what to do or what her object could possibly be! Max, always the logical one concludes that they should simply contact Ladybug and have her help poor Marinette! Lila quickly jumps in claiming she already tried contacting Ladybug OBVIOUSLY since the pair are besties! But that Marionette tricked Ladybug into believing she wasn’t akumatized at all! “No!” Lila laments, “were going to need to take care of this ourselves!”

The class is resolute determined to help poor Marinette without the help of Ladybug who has fallen for Hawkmoth’s most clever trick yet. But Lila is quick to warn them that they MUST be careful after all Marionette is a VERY powerful akuma, they cant know for sure the true extent of her terrible powers or when or WHO she might attack next! Lila fears that it will be poor Adrien or perhaps herself again! Insert fake sobs here. The class vow to protect Lila and Adrien from Marionette, and Alya who believes she’s best equipped for this situation since she IS Rena Rouge takes charge of the situation, they decide that no one is allowed to be alone with Marionette and NONE of them are to let the akuma know that they are on to her! They need to play the long game and figure out what her akumatized object is so that they can snatch it and free Marinette from Hawkmoth’s dastardly clutches!

Lila rejoices believing that she’s finally achieved victory, the class now think that Marinette is a dangerous monster and will isolate her, not to mention Lila now believes she can make up any lie she wants about Marinette and that the class will unquestioningly believe her! She goes home with a pep in her step eagerly plotting for all the lies and perks she can get from this newest lie and decides to eat a whole tub of ice cream to celebrate her cleverness, unaware that she’s just signed the ticket for her defeat.

You see the class LOVE Marinette, she’s their friend, and ‘learning’ that she’s been turned into some sort of monstrous extremely clever akuma is both a suprise and none at all. Later on as they all chat in the newly made text group Max points out how it was obvious that Marinette would become the most dangerous and clever akuma shes the smartest person in class besides himself and extremely creative and resourceful. Rose laments about how hurt Marinette must be and how they simply MUST save her as soon as possible. Alix curses Hawkmoth out and claims that the sick freak was probably TARGETING Marinette for awhile now because of how awesome she is. Nino and Kim cry about how their childhood bff needs them now more then ever! And Alya tells them to get ready because they cant abandon Marinette now that she needs them most!

The next day Lila comes to class ready to spin another tale about how the vicious akuma Marionette destroyed her room last night! And while the class do listen and tell Lila that it sucks that happened they seem noticeably... Distracted. When Marinette walks into the room the class practically explodes, Rose and Juleka INSIST that Marinette sit behind them so they can talk! Everyone has some sweet compliment to give to the baker reminding her about how wonderful she is! Lila’s jaw drops open as her classmates practically rush to hug and touch and talk to what they believe is a horrible monstrous Akuma! And it doesnt end their.

Lila asks Alya to hang out at the mall? She cant her and Nino are going to be on ‘Marionette’ surveillance tracking the akuma to see what shes up to and if she might show her akumatized object! Lila decides to try woo Mylene and Ivan into letting her handle their charities ‘finances’? Mylene starts crying about how the charity was Marinette’s idea before she got akumatized and now she might not even remember how amazing it was when shes eventually de-akumatized Lila cant stand hearing them talk about her enemy and gives up her pursuit of the funds. Lila decides to hang out with Kitty Section? They invited Marionette to every show hoping Luka would notice that she’s an akuma and use his amazing intuition to help free poor poor Marinette!

Instead of ostracizing the girl Marinette is now invited to every big event, and is constantly being showered with compliments and love as if the class believes that just loving Marinette enough will be the thing that ‘de-akumatizes’ her. “At least they wont let her anywhere near myself or Adrien.” Lila thinks bitterly as she gets her 5th warning that day that Lila might want to sit out the class going to the movies together with MARIONETTE.

During this time the class has been pulling off various ‘heists’ slowly going through each and every one of Marinette’s belongings to check if its the akumatized object. And I do mean every single belonging. Her sketchbook was ruled out within the first few days same with her signature earrings it was Kim who checked those and it involved a complicated plan involving taking Marinette swimming and having Kim fake a drowning in order to get close enough to ‘Marionette’ to check the studs. Luckily for Tikki, Ondine who was also at the pool decided to save Kim instead and the poor jock got quite flustered when the swimmer performed CPR on him.

Nino and the rest of the boys are the ones tasked with breaking into Marinette’s room while the girl is away on a sleepover with the girls. In order to ‘test’ each object in her room for the source of the akuma. They got a bit too loud and had to make a last minute escape when they heard Tom and Sabine going into fight mode. Poor Nino wasn’t fast enough and was forced to lie through his teeth that he’d been trying to surprise Marinette with a hangout like when they were little kids. [poor kid ended up drinking hot cocoa with Tom and Sabine as they showed off embarrassing baby pictures of Nino and Marinette together]

After about a month or so of shenanigans including a very embarrassing incident involving the entire class accidentally spying on Marinette’s first big date with Luka/Kagami/Felix/Damian [just pick one they are all great ships] and them getting caught red handed thanks to Alix and Kim roughhousing and making a scene at the nice restaurant. And another incident that Alya refers to only as the ‘duck incident’ [Nino can no longer be around birds or feathers] the class is no closer to learning where Marionette’s akumatized object is. And Lila Rossi who thought she’d be bathing in her victory is on the verge of screaming if one more person ignores her!

How does it end? Well maybe the class stage an intervention hoping they can free Marinette with the power of love only for Marinette to fall off of something laughing when she learns what Lila’s big lie was. Maybe Lila finally snaps and screams when she hears the class lament about POOR Marinette for the billionth time. Maybe the class try breaking absolutely everything Marinette owns, Maybe Juleka points out that its kind of weird that Marionette the akuma doesn’t really do... anything? And can change clothes? Can akuma’s do that? No right??? Aren’t their clothes like melded to their body??? Maybe the class finally get Adrien thinking he can ‘fix’ Marinette only for him to very confusedly tell them hes not dating Lila and has never kissed her and what Marinette akumatized??? Maybe The class recruit Luka and Kagami, Marinette’s other friends only for them to have a great laugh at the class before pointing out the literal mountain of things wrong with everything they just said.

Just fun shenanigans and ‘akumatized’ Marinette.

[ Wanna Support Me? Donate HERE! ]

[ Wanna Read More? Masterlist HERE! ]

[sovpologist]

hi, genuine question! I want to like Mara, but d2 lore shows her, in my eyes, as selfish and cruel, set on her own goal with no consideration for others. At least that's what I got from marasenna lorebook.

Why is she liked by so many in community? I feel like I'm overlooking something over things I mentioned above, but I would appreciate a perspective from someone who likes her character! If it's okay to ask!

its totally okay to ask!! this is going to be a long post so im going to put it under a readmore :)

i just want to stress first that mara is like.... widely disliked by many in the community. it used to be very unpopular to like her and if you even said anything remotely positive about her, people would reply to your posts and send you anons about how you were a terrible person for liking such a manipulative and toxic character. it was only recently that community opinion kind of started to shift, and people started to actually appreciate her character as nuanced and interesting. i definitely dont think this is because of me or anything crazy like that, but ive tried to correct misconceptions about her and cultivate a space on my blog at least where people can just openly like mara and not feel like they have to qualify it by constantly assuring people that they know mara's done bad things too (because literally every character in d2 has done bad things, and somehow people understand that liking the uldren doesnt mean you support him killing cayde but cant apply that same concept to mara for some reason). ok, im getting off my soapbox now and im going to just talk about why i like her.

mara is genuinely just such a fascinating character to me. reading the marasenna im really struck by how alone she is, even as a 19 year old human. her mom has essentially abandoned her and says that she's mara's friend but not her mother, and mara's father is never mentioned, so mara literally has no parental guidance or supervision or love. this puts a lot more of her pre-awoken actions into context, such as her not knowing how to interact with people and preferring to keep herself away from the rest of the crew. everyone mara loves leaves her. her mom stays in the distributary, uldren is distant in his efforts to impress and surprise her and then dies, and sjur dies too.

i also love mara's character arc, although it kind of makes me sad. mara is so painfully human in the earlier parts of the marasenna. she's awkward, she's lonely, she thinks her and uldren's secret language is "cool," she gets embarassed at her mom's embarrassing petnames, she hero-worships alis li and listens to her advice. watching her lose all of this and crystalize into a queen is so interesting. remember, mara didn't go out into the fight between the darkness and the traveler bc she knew she would gain power and create the awoken, its stated that she went out there to die. so a 19 year old just trying to die peacefully ends up witnessing firsthand the power of the dark and light and being tasked with essentially creating a new species, knowing that one day she wants to go back and fight the darkness. she becomes such a politician and has to scheme and plot and really loses her humanity while following ALIS' advice- alis was the one who told her that people need a mascot, not a friend. this also makes for a really interesting scene where alis grants mara one favor, and instead of asking for political power, even though mara is such an intensely political and scheming person, she tells alis the truth about the awoken and asks for forgiveness. alis, who mara looked up to, doesnt forgive her, and mara really internalizes this and starts to permantantly close herself off. mara made herself into a queen and lost her humanity in the process. there's a couple people who see the real her, like sjur, but even sjur doesnt really understand her. but her relationship with sjur is also so well written and interesting, sjur being the one person she lets herself drop her mask around and just act human. i made a post about this once, but even mara's speech patterns change around sjur, becoming much more casual and "normal." however, at the same time, mara's mask/persona is a part of her character, and one that i love. people hate her for being "mean," but i like characters like that. mara doesnt take any shit, even from the protagonist, and has her own plans and goals that she doesn't feel obligated to share or change for other people. she's ambitious, sticks to her guns, and doesn't allow other people to influence her.

you say she's selfish, and i think it is easy to brush her off as selfish and doing everything for her own gain, but there's a lot of subtext and outright text in the marasenna and other lore that shows mara genuinely believes that the only way to fight the darkness is to become a being on the same level as the darkness and the traveler. she doesn't let the awoken become immortal gods, which some people regard as a bad thing, but she did that for a reason. mara understands that a people who are eternal and ageless will never grow as people, and she knew that the darkness wanted them to just be complacently sitting aside in their little realm while it does whatever it wants. mara wasn't going to let that happen, and knew she had to find a way to encourage people to leave paradise. you can dislike the way she went about this, essentially encouraging conflict and war among her people, but she did not just do it for her own gain or amusement. mara has also been hated on for starting the reef war/firing a missile at the house of wolves, people act like she did that just for fun too, but the eliksni fleet was heading to conquer earth. instead of just hiding and building up her own resources, which wouldve been the logical thing to do in this situation, mara put her own fleet and power on the line to draw the eliksni's attention away and help earth. she doesn't do things solely bc they benefit her, but because she genuinely loves and wants to help earth. her uncaring persona is a mask, the thing that she feels she needs to be for people to have faith in her.

i have more to say but this is already so long and ive said a lot, so i'll end it here :) at the end of the day, some people are just not going to like mara and thats totally fine. she's not everyone's type, bc she IS ambitious and manipulative and sometimes cruel. i just wish she didnt get a disproportionate amount of hate for being like that when i know for a fact that if she was a male character she would not get this much hate, and i wish that people could just dislike her normally without lying about her or misinterpreting her character and motivations. but if you dont like her, you dont like her! sometimes we just dislike characters, sometimes for well thought out reasons snad sometimes just for no reason! thats completely fine, as long as you're respectful!!

[autumnleaves1991-blog]

The Next One’s on You 4/5

This one is going to hurt. I’m sorry. Here is chapter four: Champagne. Thank you so much for your support. I love every reblog, comment, and like.  Pairing: Maxwell Lord x F! Reader 

Warning: 18 + for language, mentions of pregnancy, toxic relatives  Taglist: @josepedropascal @mrschiltoncat @mrsparknuts @ghostwiththemostbitch @zannemes @oldstuffnewstuff @yespolkadotkitty @heythere-mel @justanotherblonde23 @artsymaddie @anetteaneta​ @maxlordsgf​ 

My Masterlist 

Chapter Four: Champagne 

From the outside the coffee shop looks closed for the evening, the neon's are off, the chairs are up, and all is quiet. Except for the light bleeding from under the door that leads to the back room. There you sit, on the cold freshly mopped tile in the most expensive dress you could ever imagine. Heels kicked off, knees pulled up to your chest, and head down. You slowly raise your head and see your face reflected off the walk in across the room. A diamond headband in your hair, curls falling out of the once elegant up-do, and mascara running down your cheeks. This was supposed to be the happiest day of your life, but it’s quickly become the worst. 

Becoming a figure in the public eye was never part of your ideal life plan. But, falling in love with Maxwell Lord IV and becoming his future wife, did not leave you with much of a choice. When he made the announcement at the next public event the press went crazy. Tearing apart every inch of your life with tweezers, paying old friends, roommates, people you had gone to school with for even a smidge of gossip. They were ruthless and hounded you all hours of the day from the moment you stepped outside your home and then all the way to work. At the coffee shop business was booming and every day you felt like the new animal at the zoo. Everyone coming to stick their ugly faces against the glass and ooh and ahh at the barista who had managed to ensnare Maxwell Lord.

They weren’t interested in who you were as a person or even how you had fallen in love. Because stuff like that, it doesn’t sell papers. Luckily, your fiancé had been navigating the press for years and knew how to keep them off your tail in your private life. Shielding you from them in the comfort of your own home and helping him plan the ‘wedding of the century.’ Maxwell hired a wedding planner that he thought would get along with you and thankfully Juliet was perfect. She was organized, professional, and knew exactly what you wanted.

Yes, it wasn’t the small intimate wedding you had always hoped for but at least it wasn’t gaudy. Invitations had been sent out, food ordered, floral arrangements chosen, cake sampled, everything was going according to plan. Even going dress shopping with your mother, and grandmother had been perfect. Finding an eggshell colored dress with no train and small puffs on the sleeves. The salesgirl had placed a diamond headband in your hair holding the veil in place and giggled telling you it was sent over by Mr. Lord as a wedding present. The headband was white gold and had leaves encrusted with diamonds that shimmered in the light.

The big day was fast approaching, and thankfully Mrs. Lord the former was nowhere in sight. Although it didn’t leave you with a good feeling in your stomach, she had been too quiet. 

On your wedding day you woke up bright and early, Juliet bringing you breakfast in bed and going over the schedule for the day. You sipped a cup of coffee and smiled just letting her talk. When she was finished a team of stylists came in and got you ready. Manicure, pedicure, massage, makeup, and an elegant up-do, you glowed from the attention. When the dress was lifted over your head and cinched into place your breath caught in the mirror at your reflection. Fingers tracing over the fabric soft under your fingers and fitting just perfectly. They slid the diamond headband in place, and you wiped quickly at the tears streaming down your cheeks.

“Oh honey,” you turn and laugh as your father cries watching you, “you’re so beautiful.” You hold out your arms and hug him and he squeezes you tight. Juliet ushers the two of you down and to the limo to take you to the cathedral. The only church big enough for all the guests you had been forced to invite. When you step from the limo you feel like Princess Diana on the television and give a small wave to the growing crowds. Fingers digging into your fathers’ arm as he confidently leads you forward. Inside are your roommates and friends Michael and Robin acting as your bridesmaid/man. They are ushered down the aisle to the wedding march and your dad takes a deep breath leading you.

Your steps are slow and sure as you pass the elegant floral arrangements of white roses. The petals lining the aisle as you smile at some of the familiar faces. When you look up your breath is sucked out and you beam at your husband to be. Wearing a tuxedo and a hint of a familiar pocket square sticking out. He’s perfect, and smiling so brightly he rivals the sun, as he watches you glide toward him. 

You reach out to grab his hand and feel it tighten around your own. His eyes glassy with unshed tears as he smiles at you. Not the fake one from the television but the one he reserves just for you, warm and so full of love. You beam right back at him and mouth I love you before turning to the officiant. You choose not to write your own vows instead following along with the usual lines. Saving your vows for when you’re alone later. When he comes to ask for objections your smile dims as the sound of heels clacking on the floor directs your attention to the aisle.

Mrs. Lord in a white chanel suit is stalking towards you with a sneer. Maxwell moves to stand in front of you when the doors at the back of the church open and in walks….Tom? Your sleazy date from the first night with Maxwell is strutting confidently up the aisle wearing a tuxedo and smiling broadly, coming to stand beside Maxwell’s mother.

“Hi baby,” he coos at you and you shudder.

“What is the meaning of this?” Maxwell hisses clearly angry.

“I have come to bring an end to this sorry excuse for a wedding. My son,” she turns to the crowd like the detective in the novels you read does before unraveling the great mystery, “has been tricked by this little harlot! She has been part of a plot to steal my son’s money and company from the beginning!” She turns to gesture at Tom. “Thomas here told me of her scheme. One year ago, she hired him to pretend to be her date and take advantage of her. She knew my son would be at the restaurant and wanted him to come to her aid.”

“That’s absolute bullsh-“ you're cut off as Michael steps forward.

“It’s true! She asked if I knew anyone she could use as a date to trap some rich guy, I never knew she meant Maxwell Lord,” he points at you and your heart beats loudly in your ears watching one of your oldest friends lie to your face.

“I was there that night, the night she needed to be ‘rescued’ she was all over my son and straddling him on the couch, sure didn’t look like someone who just needed comfort to me!” she shrieks, and several people scoff in outrage although at who it isn’t clear.

She continues on and on making more outlandish claims and each time you go to defend yourself another of your friends, coworkers, or even acquaintances would step forward and collaborate with her. Until you are in tears and Maxwell is withdrawing further and further away from you. The room goes silent as she makes the biggest claim of all, “AND I know she is pregnant! The little bitch is trying to claim my son is the father of her bastard child!”

Maxwell frozen turns to stare at you and your mouth drops open a hand coming to quickly cover it as the tears stream down your cheeks. From the back of the room another voice speaks out, “I can confirm it! She had the appointment two weeks ago, and I performed the ultrasound myself.” The technician from your doctor’s office steps forward holding out a black and white photograph.

Maxwell stares at it and then turns back to you, “Is it true?” he whispers voice cracking.

“Maxwell-“ you reach for him and he takes a step back.

“Is it mine?” he shouts, and you tremble, lip wobbling as you bite down hard enough to taste the tang of blood in your mouth.

“How can you even ask me that? Of course, it’s yours,” your voice quivers and he scoffs.

“Because it seems like everyone you know, is accusing you of sleeping around with fucking Tom!” he shouts, and you take a step back hand protectively covering your stomach.

He glares at you and you take a step back, “Were you going to tell me?” he begs, “That the baby isn’t mine?!”

Your voice cracks, “It is yours! I haven’t been with anyone else Maxwell, you know this!” you shout sobs swelling in your chest. All the guests watching the drama unfold. 

“Another lie!” his mother shouts, stalking over to Maxwell and whispering in his ear like the snake that tempted Eve. “She only wants to take your money, everything that you have worked so hard to build. All of your success will be hers. She doesn’t love you.” 

Your heart splinters as he nods and drops his head, she turns to you grinning. “I think it’s time for you to leave, you are not welcome here anymore.” 

“Maxwell,” you cry reaching for him but he is far away from you now. You hold your head up high and glare at the people who stepped forward. “How fucking dare you,” you say low and threatengly, “some of them taking a step back at the venom in your voice. You walk down the steps slowly and hold up a hand as your family tries to rush you, walking towards a smirking Tom you rear your fist back. It makes a satisfying crunch as you break his nose.

Shaking your hand as it stings and he curses at you from the ground, “Fucking bitch!” 

“Go to hell you lying son of a bitch! If you ever get near me or my child, I will have you arrested,” you storm out of the church blood boiling stomach sour. As you slam open the doors to the waiting area, a waiter for the cocktail hour passes and you crash into him. Coating you in champagne as he quickly apologizes begging for forgiveness.  You're too upset to even notice and when you open the doors of the church the press go nuts. Cameras flashing, you race toward the limo. Jeeves the driver, holding the door open as you dive inside, slamming it closed behind you. He quickly climbs into the driver's seat, and the tires squeal as he drives away. 

“Mrs. Lord, what happened?” You sob into your hands and try to catch your breath. 

“I didn’t become Mrs. Lord,” you mumble and he stays silent just driving until you’ve calmed down enough to give him directions. The night is dark and you make your way across town. You have nowhere to go. You live with Maxwell and your former friends and roommate betrayed you. “Jeeves?” he looks into the rearview in sympathy, “take me to work please,” your voice is soft and he nods turning the limo toward the coffee shop. He pulls up out front and you quickly wave him off as you get out of the car and stumble towards the door. Giselle is locking up for the evening and freezes upon seeing you. Quickly rushing to the door and letting you inside. You collapse in her arms and she lets you spill everything, running her hand up and down your back. 

The wedding, Maxwell’s mother, Tom, Michael, the baby...all of it comes pouring out. When you're spent and your eyes have no more tears you haul yourself off the floor and push into the backroom. Giselle follows and you ask for the keys, “I’ll lock the door when I leave just...please let me stay.” She nods and hugs you tightly again before grabbing her purse and sliding out the side door. You lock in behind you and lean against the door sliding to the floor. 

From the outside the coffee shop looks closed for the evening, the neons are off, the chairs are up, and all is quiet. Except for the light bleeding from under the door that leads to the back room. There you sit, on the cold freshly mopped tile in the most expensive dress you could ever imagine. Heels kicked off, knees pulled up to your chest, and head down. You slowly raise your head and see your face reflected off the walk in across the room. A diamond headband in your hair, curls falling out of the once elegant up-do, and mascara running down your cheeks. This was supposed to be the happiest day of your life, but it quickly became the worst. 

You place your hands protectively over your stomach, rubbing gently. Oh fuck...what have we gotten ourselves into now…

The rasp of knuckles sounds at the back door. 

[ljbrary]

2021 fic review 🤠

tysm for the tag AB!! @anxiety-banana 😊

now sit tight while i overshare 🥰✨

total number of completed works: 18! wow i know thats not a lot in the grand scheme of things but its more than i was expecting considering last January i was proud of myself for posting 2 fics 😭

total word count: on ao3, 65,292! but thats not including wattpad or wips ive done this year, so hold on one moment.... 

oh... oh wow... i have more words in wips than i do in posted works and it comes to about a whopping 67,271 words but thats not including stuff in my notes app or on paper because im too lazy to go through that lmao

but anyway that puts the rough total at... 132,563 words holy crap i need to get a life-

looking back did you write more, less, or the expected amount of fic this year?: MORE DEFINITELY MORE LAKSDJLJDS,F i didnt really expect to write at all really so yeah definitely a lot more

your own favorite story of this year?: dont- dont ask me to choose something i am the most indecisive person i know- especially when all the options are bad ones

okay in all seriousness id say weighted words hurt more than loaded fists (if you know how to use them) because its three of my all time favorite things: rex and ahsoka brotp, pure and unrefined angst, and modern aus. 

did you take any writing risks this year?: um id say posting my writing to begin with? considering im mortified of people finding out about this lmao (eg. this summer when my older brother sent this text to me after finding my wattpad, tumblr, and ao3: “so I just found out you’re a fucking nerd. the jig is up.” with a screenshot of my tumblr page and i wanted to either kill my brother or myself but unfortunately chose to do neither and just panicked by digging up blackmail to hang over his head 🤩

do you have any fanfic goals for the new year?: idk, nothing too big probably, but i really really really want to finish some of the wips im super excited about, like this angsty modern au one shot i started like last feb/march featuring anakin and ahsoka that i have sitting in my google docs with no discernible plot yet and 16,110 words 

most popular story of the year?: in terms of kudos/hits, lean on me (but let me laugh, first). basically, ahsoka purrs in her sleep, and everyone finds it very amusing (except for her). ill be honest i dont like this one; i dont like the writing but ig people seem to like it well enough?? somehow the only angst-free fic i wrote is my most popular and idk how that tracks but it does ig

in terms of how people have received my fics, ive been told by people that they like it’s not good grief (but it’s better) which is just anakin and ahsoka post wrong jedi arc (and angst, per usual)

story most under-appreciated?: id say weighted words hurt more than loaded fists (if you know how to use them) because its pretty much at the bottom of my stats on ao3 for both kudos and hits yet it if i had to choose one i like the best it would probably be that one

most fun story to write?: OOOH DEFINITELY MY CRIME AU SERIES JSKDHFS

trust goes both ways (or neither) its not the most glorious of writing but hey it was so so so fun to plan and write and- oh hey author look! its not done yet! (im sorry i promise i havent forgotten about it skjdhfdsljfk sorry AB @anxiety-banana 😭)

most unintentionally telling story?: idrk what this question is supposed to mean in all honesty but maybe im just dumb but im still gonna pretend i know how to answer it

maybe when there is nothing left but us (and of course it had to be you)??? because its my first fic on ao3 and yeah i guess thats kind of self explanatory. its basically an order 66 au where (spoiler alert), rex sacrifices himself for ahsoka to escape, and in the process maul tags along -- uninvited, as always. 

biggest disappointment?: myself

sorry i couldnt help it it was asking for it.

i guess id say the road to hell is paved with good intentions because i planned it all out and then never worked on it again which sucks because its totally something i want to read but ig thats not happening anytime soon 💀

biggest surprise?: all of them. im not kidding. none of them were planned and all of them were the product of both poor life decisions and even poorer executive functioning skills.

but maybe i’m not here to save you (you will save yourself)?? because its a six of crows fic and id only written star wars stuff until that point, which was in fact like four weeks ago so-

no pressure tags: (sorry if youve already been tagged haha) @ashgryff @ahsokryze @lynnpaper @hannah-schooler @dashedwithromance and anyone else who wants to do it!! 😊

[theangryhistoriananna]

We have been fed 500 years of lies......but it’s not about Anne Boleyn

Also known as @bunniesandbeheadings did this to herself. 

Jane Boleyn, usually referred to as Lady Rochford in most works that speak of her, will forever be regulated to the margins of history....and honestly that’s okay. She wasn’t a history maker like so many of her other female contemporaries-including her sister-in-law and niece....so most history books will (and do) overlook her and most works that do mention her are focused entirely on other people, and so the people writing these expose's don’t do very much Jane Boleyn specific research on her when they fit her into their works, be they fictional or not.  

That in itself isn’t a bad thing. I don’t expect people to spend 5+ years on her specifically if they are working on a book about Anne Boleyn or the Reign of Henry VIII. A week or two (tops) of going over the times she cropped up in records and maybe fact checking statements made by other historians-including her only biographer to date- is really all that one would need to do to be able to fairly accurately sum up her role in the court of Henry VIII and it’s politics. 

But being such a minor figure has a huge downside to it. And that’s when you’re actual story gets buried under an orchestrated smear campaign based entirely on unsupported rumors and gossip that has never been definitively proven or even convincingly proven that has gone on almost unchallenged for 500 years. 

Of course Jane’s not the first, and certainly not the last, woman to suffer a smear campaign. It’s one of the world’s favorite past times after all. Anne Boleyn herself was the subject of an awful smear campaign.....and one that would continue well into the 17th and 18th centuries before finally being seriously called into question in the 19th century. But Anne Boleyn’s also always had her defenders-many of the English Protestants hailed her as a heroine and a martyr for their cause. And in the 19th Century she began to be painted not so much as an evil seductress but as a tragic, romantic heroine. 

By now there is a great deal of information on Anne Boleyn, many do still paint her as a schemer and and an adulterer, driven by ambition and nothing else, but I’d argue since Eric Ives released his definitive and well researched biography on Anne Boleyn in the 1990s, and certainly since Natalie Dormer dazzled us all with her portrayal of the woman in the showtime hit “The Tudors”, most biographies of Anne have been overwhelmingly positive...or at least more nuanced and fair. The scheming and cold Anne seems to have mostly retired to the world of fiction, and even in that realm this portrayal’s popularity seems to be on the downturn with only a few books, such as Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, still choosing this Anne for literary reasons. 

There is still of course plenty of myths and negative stories about Anne Boleyn, there always will be, but its easy enough for an interested individual to do the bare minimum amount of research into her and her life and have those myths dispelled....or at least seriously put into question. 

The same cannot be said about Jane Boleyn unfortunately. But it’s hardly surprising......she’s no Anne Boleyn after all. On paper she’s nothing more than a footnote...nothing worth taking a real serious gander over. So people don’t. 

They don’t bother to look at the facts even when they are staring them in the face. Because Jane doesn’t matter. 

Right? 

Except that Jane is more than a footnote on a page. She was a living and breathing person, and deserves to be presented as accurately as possible. 

When it comes to Jane Boleyn two things are generally taken for as fact: 

1) She was the informant who gave Cromwell and Henry the incest charges against Anne and George. 

2) She hated the Boleyn family. 

Would it surprise you to hear these two facts aren’t facts at all and are in fact just a theory that has almost no evidence to corroborate it?

I mean if you’ve followed me for more than .5 seconds...then probably no, it doesn’t surprise you. But the majority of people who have an interest in the Reign of Henry VIII, even many who are very knowledgeable on the time period, probably would be. Those statements are still taken as fact, and to say otherwise is somewhat controversial. 

But the evidence simply doesn’t support either of these statements. No first hand or even second hand statements name Jane Boleyn as being an informant for Cromwell or Henry. In fact no one names her as being responsible for the incest charges at all. No one even ALLUDED to her in that respect. Only Chapuys mentioned Jane at all, not in regards to the incest charges, but apparently because Anne had told her sister-in-law that her husband, the king, couldn’t please a woman and suffered erectile dysfunction. The fact that Chapuys mentions this as having been revealed during George’s trial seems to suggest that George was either privy to his conversation himself or that Jane told him about it later. 

Other than that. The records are mute about Jane when it comes to her involvement in the trials. 

Her name wouldn’t even be brought up in connection to the incest charges till the reign of Elizabeth I, and by people who had no real evidence to base their claims on, just rumors, hearsay and “family stories”. It’s interesting that about the time Jane’s name started to crop up with these accusations, her family by birth, the Parkers, were in disgrace and exile.  

And what about the second ‘fact’? Did Jane hate the Boleyn family? 

Again, the evidence, as scarce as it is, seems to say no. That Jane Boleyn was an integral part of the Boleyn family, and was a favorite of Anne’s. Historians have always assigned the motive of jealousy for why Jane turned so viciously on the Boleyns, usually it’s been that she was jealous that George-her husband-clearly loved Anne more than he did her. Lately however it appears the motive, while still jealousy, has switched from “jealous over a man” to “jealous she wasn’t in the in crowd”. But this is....a strange statement to make. Because a quick glance at the records show Jane was VERY MUCH a part of the in crowd, arguably even more so than Mary Carey or Elizabeth Howard-Anne’s sister and mother. Jane was one of Anne’s foremost ladies. She was presented at Anne’s coronation march through London as one of England’s premiere ladies, riding in a spot of the highest honor, directly behind Anne herself, among the most powerful women in the country (including the Duchess of Richmond), far above what her station as a Viscountess entitled her. Neither Anne’s sister nor her mother were given the same honor. 

But even before that it seemed Jane was and always would be very staunchly supportive of the Boleyn clan and their interests. She would leave Katherine of Aragon’s service shortly after Anne was recognized and would join her sister-in-law’s service, while other members of Anne’s family-chiefly her aunt the Duchess of Norfolk- would refuse to do so. She would later be one of the women Anne brought with her to France to be presented to Francis as the future Queen of England. Jane, alongside Mary among others, were hand picked by Anne herself to participate in a masque to impress the French king and his loftiest nobles. During Anne’s tenure as Queen Jane was a relatively powerful woman as sister-in-law to the queen. And while George or Anne could-have they truly not liked her-sent her away to wallow away in some country house ignored and forgotten-she never was. In fact she seemed to be rather welcomed, well liked and popular in Anne’s court. Certainly Anne trusted her, as on two occasions it was her sister in law she would turn to. I’ve already mentioned the damning secret she told Jane about Henry’s lack of sexual prowess. But we have another incident that Chapuys paints us about Jane and Anne. Interestingly this man, who is often erroneously used to prove Jane’s guilt, always painted Jane as being in league with the Boleyns, not against them. According to him, Jane and Anne plotted together to get rid of a woman who had caught Henry’s eye and had written friendly overtures to Henry’s daughter Mary. We don’t have details on this event, and there is even some doubt over whether it actually happened or not as no one else speaks of it, but according to Chapuys, the plan backfired on Anne and Jane and Jane was banished from court instead of the lady. 

Whether it happened or not, it is important that Chapuys always presented Jane Boleyn as working with Anne and not against her. 

All in all that Jane was jealous because she wasn’t one of the “cool kids” is even less plausible then “she was jealous that George loved Anne more than her” because the evidence is just so in our faces that this was not in the least bit true. Jane was very much one of the ‘cool kids’ of Anne’s court, and when Anne fell, Jane lost that.

But hey when the story isn’t about Jane Boleyn who bothers to fact check on her?