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nadezhda-wexler · 4 years ago

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A Moment In Time, Again and Again

Hello @xoxobuckybarnes, It is I, your Summer Fic Exchange writer for @b99fandomevents. Thank you for all your amazing prompts, but I ended up choosing “The Squad after ten years”. I really hope you enjoy it.

Also a few points:

1) The whole story is non-linear. It’s like a series of snapshots. It’s related, but chronologically the don’t really make sense

2) It is smut adjacent? Implied smut? Idk, It’s just a few lines because honestly, it’s my first time writing anything like that

3) There might be some spelling errors and grammatical error, sorry if they put a damper on your experience

4) Thank you @b99fandomevents for giving this chance

5) MOST IMPORTANTLY: I hope you enjoy it.

There were many reasons Amy thought that might bring the squad together- well, mainly one- Scully dying (the man was already decaying when she was in the precinct), but this was not it. In fact, this was the opposite of it.

She reads the sign again, still wondering if she dreamt it up. But nope. Norm Scully and Cindy Shatz were indeed getting married.

Amy walks into her old turf: Shaw’s Bar. She feels like she stepped into another universe, everything is different, but somehow, the same. It’s the place she came to right after her wedding. The stools are different and the bar more worn, but the place still feels warm like her wedding night. The back door leads right to the alley where she once tried to conceive (that was a low point) and judging by the fact the Hitchcock is standing right outside the bathroom with Scully nowhere in sight, she guesses even the bathroom smells (stinks) the same.

Her eyes sweep over the room, she can see Rosa and Gina huddles together and she already feels bad for their victim, Holt and Kevin are talking to Terry- it never stops amusing her seeing the very passionate Captain Jeffords squared against impassive Retd Captain Holt and Kevin. Charles is haranguing the caterers, when she hears a voice from behind: “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

They had just gotten into the airport- Jake is bringing all their luggage while she is trying to get her children to calm down. While Maya knows everyone in the squad, Mac has lived with them more. So Mac has decided to fill in the blanks. His stories are wild and absolutely untrue and Maya is hanging onto each word. She was looking to see where her husband was when Maya suddenly tugged her hand and asked in wonder “Did Daddy really catch a thief by sending Mac in undercover?” “No. Your daddy never sent Mac undercover because he isn’t a cop and he is a baby”. “Well, I am not a baby and dad did do that, he just didn’t tell you”

“What didn’t I tell your mom?”Jake joins them, luggage in tow. “That you sent me undercover to catch that thief” “Mac”, Jake says with fake indignation. “You weren’t supposed to tell that. It was our secret” Mac’s eyes has that same mischievous glint she has seen a million times on her husband’s face as he says he told her to maya and launches into his story. They’re loading their luggage into the cart when Jake’s phone buzzes. “That’s Charles and he has already called me 5 times and messaged me a lot. I stopped counting after 10”, Jake says. “Kids, your Uncle Charles is waiting. You know how he gets when you are late!”, he adds.

Mac, without any prompt, holds his sister's hands, so as to not lose her, still continuing with the stories of his feats, she’s sure, without missing a beat. Her heart swells as she watches her kids, Mac being a protective older brother and Maya holding onto his hands and words. Her husband’s hand slips into hers as he asks “You ready to go?” She couldn’t be happier.

"Captain Santiago"

"Captain Holt! Hi!" Apparently even his retirement hasn't made Santiago less flustered. He won't deny there is a part of him that enjoys the reverence. "How was your first year running a precinct, Captain?" He enjoys calling her Captain almost as much as she enjoys hearing it.

"Great! Super cool. Fantastic. Dope. No diggity no doubt" He briefly wonders if she had a stroke.

"Okay, you saw right through me. It's not been easy. Manhattan is completely different from Brooklyn. The squad is also new, they all just transferred about a month or two before me. So they don't even know each other so everyone is walking on tiptoes. And they follow everything I say, but don't really see me as a leader."

"Well, the first precinct I ran, I had a detective who only cared about closing cases, everyone in the squad thought I was a robot, my two best detectives had a bet with each other, my Sargent was chained to the desk and the office administrator was Gina and I had Hitchcock and Scully"

"You are right. I shouldn't complain. I don't have a Hitchcock and Scully"

"No. But that was not what I was trying to say. Once I got closer to all of them, I realised that the detective who did not care, cares not just care about closing cases, the bet made both detectives better, my Sargent saved my life, Gina is still Gina and that being a robot doesn't make me a worse Captain. What you need to do Santiago, is trust your squad. You have a unique opportunity to build this team. But you cannot do that without unflinching trust. So trust them. Help them and let them help you. And if you ever feel the need, please do not hesitate to contact me. I might have retired from the force, but not from being your mentor"

"Wow! Thank you so much Captain. That means the world to me." Some people might call Amy Santiago a teacher's pet in an attempt to mock her, but the truth is she is a teacher's pet because she is a brilliant student. She revels in learning and enjoys implementing her knowledge even more. She is a teacher's pet not just because she is adept at brown nosing- which she admittedly does sometimes, but because she will be the student that teachers can one day be proud of. He might tell her this if it did not make her explode and also because Amy Santiago understands him, so he just smiles.

They had barely reached the terminal before Charles pounced on Jake. Amy and the kids barely had the time to move away from being hit. Genevieve and Amy unload the luggage while the kids catch up. It takes the men one whole minute before they let go.

"Genevieve, thank you so much for taking the kids", Amy says.

"Of course Nikolaj loves hanging out with Mac and Maya. It's my pleasure to watch them."

"Still, thank you! And Jake-"

"NO!", Charles almost pushes her down trying to get between Jake and her. "You get him every other day Amy, you cannot poach him away today."

"Charles, I am not trying to poach him away. I just wanted to tell him to enjoy the night and have fun. Also you visited not three weeks ago and you guys FaceTime constantly."

"FaceTiming is not the same Amy! It has been 28 days, 14 hours aaand three minutes since I have been covered in Jake's musk"

“Ugh! Alright", Jake says. "Charles, why don't you take these two bags and load them into the cab while Amy and I bring the rest?"

"Okay.", Charles says almost defeatedly. "Don't be late."

Jake turns to her. "So what are your plans again?"

"I will go to the hotel, have a long bath after which Rosa and Gina will come pick me up for the bachelorette party after which both will crash with me because according to Gina quote if I am going to stand next to you as a bridesmaid, you need to at least be six and you need help with that unquote"

"I still can't believe Cindy asked you and Gina to be one of the bridesmaids"

"Well, we did help them get together."

"Yeah. And as this goes on, I will be with Charles hoping whatever he made is edible and missing you terribly"

"Stop being a sap Peralta. And have fun tonight"

"It’s Peralta- Santiago, FYI. And I will 100% have fun, but I'm still gonna miss you. I gotta go before Charles comes back. I love you"

"I love you too."

It was a tiring night and Amy just wants to take her makeup off and she really wants to be out of this dress for more than one reason. As much as she loves her kids- and that is a lot- she is glad that they wanted to stay at Holt's place. The kids love their Fauxpas (they are her kids, of course they know what faux pas means and more importantly, when Mac very proudly said it, both Kevin and Holt agreed that "it is a humorous wordplay"). Mac can never get enough of Holt's stories and Maya loves the Classics. She can recite Odyssey from memory. And both of them get away with things that only they (and maybe her husband) can- some stains of orange juice, mud in the house, a few broken glasses- all.of these are forgiven because it's their fauxchildren's doing (it doesn't work as well, but Holt was proud and Maya laughed and so it stuck). And after two days of wedding prep, she really needs a day without being worried about someone breaking something or constantly screaming. And even more than that with the way her husband has been looking at her all night, she really, really needs to be the one screaming.

She is halfway through taking off her makeup when Jake, sans jacket, (but with tie and damn, her husband looks fine) walks in. He puts his hand on her waist. "Babe, do you know how hot you look?"

"Oh is it the running mascara that does it for you?"

He pulls her in closer and from his look she knows that the screaming she was hoping is definitely happening. He says in a low voice into her ear, "No. It's you." It's like each word he says vibrates inside her. "You having been driving me crazy all day. You in that blue dress. You knowing exactly how amazing your butt looks in that dress. You taking control when everything was falling apart. It's you Ames who does it for me."

She turns around and pulls him by the tie and kisses him hard and he's lifting her up onto the counter, kissing every bit of her as he lowers his head between her legs. She thanks the stars that this is her life partner.

(And later she'll counting the same as Jake twists his wrist in the way that he knows will bring over the edge.)

Every time Jake sees his wife, he falls in love with her a little more. Which he wouldn't have believed possible sixteen years ago. She hasn't spotted him, so he takes her in for a minute. Every time he steps into Shaw's Bar, he remembers walking in as a newly wed couple. Sure afterwards the evening did take a turn, but until then it was perfect. Except before that when there was a bomb threat and an actual bomb and Teddy proposing like a thousand times. Wow, his wedding day was a mess. But still it was one of the happiest days of his life because even through all that, he was hitched to the most beautiful woman in the world. Who is now watching everyone waiting for him.

So he walks up to her, drinks in hand and says, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

"Ooh , Casablanca", she takes a glass. "Yes. Charles and I watched it yesterday. We didn't even know what was going on half the time because Charles was crying and making noises half the time."

"Oh, just Charles?" "Okay fine I was crying a little too. Okay a lot. Fine I was the one who was crying the most. Happy?"

"Oh babe. It's cute that you think you should say that to me as if you didn't watch it for the first time with me"

"Oh yeah. Well, I tried. Oh before you ask, the kids are all at the Jeffords' house and Cagney and Lacey are keeping an eye on them. And the best part: without a babysitter's fee."

"Wow, I really missed friends' kids doing things for us for free. Remember when we babysat Cagney and Lacey for like three days straight, without even thinking of money?"

"And if we were to go by the amount our babysitters charge, we'd have enough money to buy Orangina for a whole month."

They move to the counter, perched on the barstools. "You know Captain Holt just called me Captain"

"He's been calling you a Captain for a year babe, you know, cause you've been a Captain for a year!"

"I know! Can you believe?!"

"Of course, because you are awesome and amazing"

"Oh, and he also said that he's still my mentor and that I can call him for advice any time."

"Wow, obviously today was a big day for you"

"I know" Her whole face is lit up. Her cheeks are flushed, from the drinks and the running around making things happen, from the many catching up and from the fact that her mentor called her Captain. Once again he's a little bit more in love. His eyes catch Cindy and Scully awkwardly shuffling around trying to dance. Hitchcock is trying to hide the fact that he's disappointed, but doing a pretty bad job of it. He sees Charles and Genevieve almost having sex which apparently is how they dance. The music changes to something familiar and his wife looks amazing and he wants to dance with her very much. "Amy Santiago- Peralta, may I have this dance? And don't worry, it's reinforced shoes so I won't even know if you step on me." "Ha ha Peralta- Santiago. You are my teacher, so if I'm stepping on your toes, it's your own fault"

"Wow, blaming the victim."

They are on the dance floor, her hand in his, hand on his shoulder, his on her waist. He can see every little detail on her face, the mascara running a bit, lipstick that's smudged. Her perfectly set hair, falling around the edges. She's beautiful.

"I wonder why all the greatest love stories are so tragic"

"Because that's what makes them great. The fact that their love is so powerful that it's unattainable."

"Well I think that it's stupid."

"What?"

"That the greatest love of our life is the one we don't have. It's categorically untrue. My favourite love story has a happy ending anyway"

"You mean Morticia and Gomez?"

"That's my second favourite"

"Well, what's your first?"

"Ours, of course" She smiles and that's all he ever wants to see.

Her hand is in his, the other moves to his chest. His are around her waist circling, as he pulls her closer and she rests her cheek on shoulder. He buries his nose in her hair and she nuzzles into his neck. If he'd imagined a perfect life sixteen years ago, not even in his wildest dreams he'd have thought he could feel like this.

#b99fandomevents #b99 fanfic #jake x amy #Okay #listen #it's my first time writing anything smut adjacent and so all I can hope for is that it isn't cringey #Also maybe the love story dialouge is a bit cheesy #and maybe it really doesn't mesh well #but i wanted it.#but honestly #i just hope yall enjoy this #i dont want my tags to be longer than the story #so ill stop.

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el-oh-her · 4 years ago

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I have limited knowledge on Riverdale and have never actually seen a full episode BUT...

Imaginary Season 5

So it like, left off with the creepy video right? Okay okay okay, so here me out.

Jughead (who tf names their child this???) says to uh, Betty (?) something like “That seems dangerous and so I will go investigate by myself you stay here and be a safe” and she’s all like “Wow jughead you’re so noble! but no.” and they bicker back and forth but Juggernaut convinces her to stay so she stays.

THEN, turns out it was like, a trick right? (Riverdale does that ALL The time I think so this isn’t new) and wherever waterJug goes there’s NOTHING there and he’s just like:

So ANYWAYS he’s confused and goes back to Black Betty (IK she had a dark secret but the writers really slept on calling her Black Betty just ONCE and then playing that song like come on) but BETTY BOOP IS DEAD.

and not Riverdale Dead. Like Dead Dead. No pulse dead.

Juggling Man is now a sad man. He beleives the tape was a distraction to get him away from Betsy, but doesn’t know why. He then does Sad Man Things now like not leaving his room, not eating much, staying home from school etc.

Time skip so that we can see people process grief and stuff

Archie takes the death with little emotion, and this upsets everyone a la “why aren’t you SAD enough for me!” style. This causes some drama between him and Veronica bc she’s definitly the most emotional about this becaues that’s a nice foil to give to her big strong character shit idk. Archway visits Jugarm a lot though, because that’s how he’s processing the grief and Jugleg doesn’t give him shit for the way he grieves because Bros(tm)

CHERYL though, the red headed bitch is in PTSD land because the whole show started because of her brother died (right???) So anyways Cherry Blossom decides SHE’S going to take it upon herself to find Tiny Jennefer Jarou’s killer.

MEANWHILE, Sad Jug is hospitalized or something like that because he was eating so little he fainted. He’s FINE but when he comes to conciousness again there’s Aquaduct sitting there and he’s upset he’s like “DONT DO THAT WE JUST LOST BETSY ROSS NOT YOU TOO!” and then he’s emotional and Jugeye is emotional and the boys get to be vulnerable and emotional with each other and it’s that connection that helps them get past her death. Veronica Sawyer overhears this and learns that people grieve differntly and apologies for being a mythic bitch to Aquaman about it.

Back to Detective Cherry Coke, she’s getting help from Very Annoying’s Drug Dealer / Mayor / ???? Father because he’s powerful and dying and Hiram (???) helps because he realizes he’s dying and wants to do something good for once in his life. He confesses he’s done terrible things, and his close brush with death has made him like, less of a shit person and now that he’s on borrowed time he’s gonna try and not be shit.

Champagne uses his connections (And Jugheart’s dad because he’s like, a cop and wants his son to not be a Sad Jug anymore) and it leads her to the realization that everything is too perfect, too staged. Like, idk. Maybe Harlem Shake’s got some drug dealers or a mafia dude and the dude is like “bruh this is too good this is someone who’s been a criminal for YEARS and YEARS to be this good of a killer.

WHILE they’re trying to figure this out, Beatle’s MOM is killed. LIke ope. Now there are two dead persons and they’re from the SAME FAMILY???????????

Chick-Fil-A is all like “who would want Bet and Mom Bet dead????” and then she slaps her forehead beacuse she’s all like “Duh, Chick! That one creepy dude.”

BUt someone else idk is like “but he’s not a criminal. At least, not a very good one he got caught. It doesn’t make sense.” and then she realizes that CHARLES works for the FBI and that’s not a criminal but someone who WORKS WITH CRIMINALS ALL THE TIME.

I don’t actually know if the characters in world know he’s a bad guy or not but let’s pretend they don’t so it’s a lot of everyone telling Cherry Pepsi that she’s crazy and Charlie and the Cholocate Factory is a Nice Guy (tm).

Idk what happens here some stuff I guess but anyways Slushy Blossom manages to like, find proof that Chicken and Chucky are the big bads and that Chucky did it because she tricked some poor fella, idk, into doing some voyerism thing hidden in her closet, but kept it hush hush, and told everyone (making sure Charles could hear of it) that she’s going to be alone in her room etc and Chucky tries to kill her when she’s like, doing something sexy but tasteful, and Poor Sap in the Closet sees it and bursts out and is like, a hero whomeever they are and scare Chunk away.

Now everyone believes Chevrolet and Charles is arrested and put in prison or whatever.

It turns out, the tapes were all merely distractions and the one that Barbie Doll watched was the only important one, trying to mimic a real serial killer or something stupid like that, and everyone is like “that was dumb clearly it didn’t work. You’re so smort but you didn’t think to send more distraction tapes and Chongus realizes what a dumbass he is in prison.”

THE END

#Riverdale #tv #archie #jughead #betty #veronica #cheryl #I have never seen an episode #This is satire

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lindendragon · 5 years ago

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Another Subcon au idea, I just love them ok.

Going off the popular headcanon that Snatcher only started stealing souls because he had to to counter Vanessa and keep her from freezing everything, which, along with his initial trauma, caused him to go mad. What if Vanessa, after her whole flash-freeze of Subcon, just chilled (ha) and left Subcon alone to sulk in her manor? The Prince/Snatcher doesn't need to steal souls because of that. So, none of that, but the Prince still finds out about his new soul-snatching abilities either by going a little feral on some poor lost sap's warm soul the first time he sees someone who isn't dead, similar to fedoraspooky's headcanons, or he accidentally snatches and eats the soul of someone who wants to kill him because he's a "monster", another thing I took from a fic. He, of course, feels bad for his first murder, and vows never to do it again, until… well, you'll see soon enough. The occasional animal soul is enough to keep him going. As tempting as it is to make himself more powerful, what he has now is enough to take care of his subjects as long as Vanessa doesn't come out, which she, judging by everything, probably won't, so it's fine.

So this au is basically Snatcher if he had morals and wasn't evil.

He still has the same trauma and other emotional issues people generaly headcanon him with, more specifically Doodledrawstings' and Fedoraspooky's and other's headcanons. In short, he still builds up walls, doesn't ever want to be vulnerable or get attached to anyone ever again. He hates who he used to be and blames himself for not seeing the red flags of his and Vanessa's relationship. He does not want to be reminded of the past in any way. Moonjumper like the one from Doodledrawsthings' au exists and Snatcher, despite being a better and more mentally stable person in this au, still hates him for being a reminder of his past self and drives him away. He's basically just hiding behind his smile and morbid jokes all the time while dying on the inside. Depending on his mood, he is either the easily irritable grouch we see in canon or a complete jokester.

Now to the specifics

There's still people coming to the forest and potentially going to the manor and getting killed by Vanessa, not to mention they disrupt the peace here, so Snatcher decides to scare them off.

At first it's just the classic "I am a scary ghost, get out of my forest", but after a while he decides to have some fun with it.

When he's feeling up for it, he and his minions prank and mess with the trespassers.

Occasionally, he'll give out contracts for small chores before letting the contactor go, but only to trespassers he really doesn't like, like those that are deliberately trying to harm his forest.

Sometimes he will act like the Beta version of Snatcher and steal a few pons here and there, never much. He then uses that money to buy himself or his minions something (he shapeshifts and wears a disguise on the rare occasions he goes outside the forest).

His favorite thing to do to a trespasser is to make minor special effects with his powers while chanting ominously about their sins. Scares the crap out of people and sends them running every time. Sometimes people even crack and admit things they have done and beg for mercy. If that happens, Snatcher will usually call them out on it and send them away with the threat that he will know if they don't make up for their mistakes because he knows all (he doesn't). So suffice to say, some people have been straightened out by the experience. But it's not all fun and games. Sometimes the things people have admitted to are, to avoid specification, simply heinous. At that point, Snatcher decides "Screw it, I'm finishing them off and eating their soul." People this bad, or at least, those that admit to it, rarely appear, but it happens, and Snatcher feels that the world is better off without them. At least that's a somewhat humane way of procuring souls.

On a lighter note, sometimes he just chants ominously about tax evasion or something, and sometimes the prospect of it, and not just the spookyness, genuinely scares the Mafia goons.

Honestly the Mafia goons are the most common targets of his more silly pranks

One day someone dropped their phone while they were running away, and after messing around with it for a bit Snatcher finds out how it works. There were memes on that phone and he also manages to get on the internet and it all goes downhill from here.

Mafia goon, to others: Let's face it, Mafia is stranded-

Mafia goons: Look, blueberries!

Snatcher, in a vaguely humanoid but noodly form, shaking the branch while standing on it: Oh my god, my berries.

Mafia goons:*terrified screaming*

Snatcher:*exaggerated giggling*

Some guy, filming himself while walking through the forest: Hey guys we're going through this forest that is supposedly haunted. Apparently some girl died here when she was like nine or something.

Snatcher, in the shape of a little girl: I'm eleven so shut the peck up.

Snatcher, popping out of the bushes: Vsauce, Michael here. How fast can you run?

Someone, walking through the forest, but then they hear, in the distance "hee hee", every once in a while it repeats, coming closer and closer, I mean it, just this jerk, going "hee hee" in Michael Jackson's voice

The stolen mail delivery service is still going strong in this au

When Hat Kid arrives he does the classic "scary ghost" thing this time, but more child-friendly, cause he still doesn't want to severely traumatize kids, so he's a little gentler with them. Hat Kid is not as scared as Snatcher thinks she should be and she won't leave. Snatcher has to physically throw her out of the forest, but every time she goes back and insists on getting her Time pieces back. It's when she says that she detects a Time piece in the direction of Vanessa's manor that he finally snaps

Snatcher then iniciates a boss fight where he pretends that he is going to kill her, hoping that will scare her off.

Hat Kid, of course, beats him and makes him allow her to get the Time pieces. Snatcher is still reluctant, but after what she pulled off, he has hope that she will survive Vanessa (on the outside he still acts like he doesn't care about her safety though).

After Hat Kid gets all her Time pieces, Snatcher approaches her with the "Get out" contact, which Hat Kid promptly scribbles on like in canon and tries to get Snatcher to be her BFF. Since in this au, Snatcher has no leverage over her in the form of her soul or her Time pieces, he allows her to visit the forest as long as she signs a contract to never go near the manor again, which Hat Kid signs right away this time, because darn, that lady is scary.

Hat Kid visits a few more times, and Snatcher finds himself getting attached.

Wow, he kept a somewhat professional relationship with his minions for 300 years (sure, he fixes their plush bodies and messes with trespassers together with them and gives them mail and buys them little gifts, but that was more like how a king treats his subjects, or so he tells himself) and then this kid comes along and throws it out the window.

Of course he is in denial for a while, can't let himself be vulnerable, can't indulge in this, that opportunity was gone the moment he died, he is a scary ghost

Nah he's dad now

Snatcher goes from being forest cryptid to still being forest cryptid but with 200 adoptive ghost children and one alive alien child, two if bow exists, whatever your headcanon is.

Btw if you wanna ask me about my au's, you can do so, but I probably won't answer till july when exams are over idk.

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a-shakespearean-in-paris · 6 years ago

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Jaime Lannister was Personally Victimized

and so was I. An essay. Subtitled how we were wronged, how he was wronged, how Brienne was wronged, how Braime was wronged, and how years of development was wronged.

Let’s begin.

Now couple of things: I don’t read the books (plan to now.) so I’m just mostly going off the show and specifically this season, because this season had 2 Jaimes. This is probably not academically sound, or too terribly coherent, but I frankly just want to get my thoughts out there, because I was plump bamboozled with “The Bells.” Not just because it ruined so many seasons of juicy, believable, utterly transformative character development for my personal favorite GOT character, (and many others as well.) but considering the episodes that came before this one, it made zero sense. Because let me tell you, in 8 x 02, this lowkey Braime shipper was turned into major Braime shipper in the span of one hour, and I was literally made to believe they were endgame. Maybe not ride into the sunset with a bunch of kids on Tarth endgame, but made explicitly clear without a shadow of a doubt that Brienne was Jaime’s soulmate, true love...or whatever you want to call it.

All of this... all for this to culminate in him going back to Cersei. All for all those seasons of change for him to revert to season one, episode one, the things I do for love Jaime. From a storytelling perspective, there is no satisfaction. and it makes NO sense. Now of course D&D are all about “subversion,” but what was done to Jaime was not a witty or clever subversion of a redemption arc, but a complete and utter cancellation of all those years of hard work that they put in and that Nik put in, in order to get us to like Jaime. Jeremy Jahns in his review on YouTube said it best: Jaime Lannister was stabbed in the back. Furthermore, what they did to Jaime, (and let’s face it, he’s not the only one in this catastrophe that was personally victimized.) basically posits the really terrible message that “you can’t change your nature or where you came from or be different from your parents. (Which is what happened in Dany’s case. To be clear though, I think the signs were there for her, but it was poorly executed.)

Either way, such a great message. What happened to Jaime also made no sense from a character perspective. Sure, Mr. I don’t care about innocents. ha. ha. ha. I also totally stabbed a guy in the back when I was 17 because he was going to kill innocents, thus giving me my name and eternal shame. Ha ha ha, look how consistent I am.

You’re not the Jaime Lannister that came to Winterfell. Jaime Lannister died in Brienne’s arms one night and a robot was sent in his place to go to Cersei.

Now this post won’t be talking about the major character inconsistencies (sure you don’t care about innocents Jaime SURE.) or go more into the terrible messages one can get out of this season (and Game of Thrones in general) or go into more detail about how subversion and spoiler culture is ruining good storytelling, but I will say that it reads to me that because such a common theory before Season 8 was that Jaime was going to kill Cersei, D&D thought to themselves hmmm better not do that because that’s what people expect, and in wanting to shock and surprise they invalidated his growth and development by making him die with her. Oh look, D&D. So clever. Yet in stroking your ego you gave the people that once trusted you a taste of ashes. Like...people figuring out where things are going to go is actually GOOD storytelling.

More so though, this will focus on how the episodes before this one were framed and how the tone was set up. Because watching episode 2, 3, and most of 4...they made me believe Braime was endgame. They really did. Then they turn it around and make me expect it was always Cersei?

Utter garbage. Jaime was wronged. So was Brienne. that’s another post though. (so is Missandei, and Dany... and heck we can actually talk about who WASN’T wronged this season.) But with the Kingslayer, let’s get started and discuss how everything, literally everything, was set up in favor of Jaime’s redemption and endgame with Brienne, all for it to get, quite literally, squished.

(sorry if that was a bad joke considering)

Now into the meat and potatoes. First of all, let’s talk about Jaime’s look this season. Is he even blonde anymore?

Both he and Tyrion, who symbolically abandoned the Lannister crest seasons ago, sure aren’t sporting that golden blonde look anymore. I mean Tyrion kind of is, but compared to Cersei:

it’s nowhere near it for both these boys. (heck, I would even argue Jaime starts to lose his signature Lannister look when he meets Brienne.) However, if Season 7 Jaime chooses to hide his golden hand, the Jaime that walked into Winterfell with darkish hair, beard, and cute bangs is really, really removed from his Lannister golden lion look. Furthermore, he even said in 8 x 02 his golden lion days are done. Now why. Tell me WHY we do these things in the costuming department all to send him right back to the lioness? WHY

Now I said I wasn’t going to talk about the terrible themes and messages D&D are positing with this season, but I do have to say that considering episode 4, with Jon talking to his sibling-cousins, and Sansa, Arya and Bran’s discussion about not trusting people, and then Jaime going back to Cersei...the writers are really out here saying that family is all that matters. Literally all. And sure, I love my family, I have a great family. But sometimes, like with Jaime and Cersei, families are toxic. Sometimes the bonds you make with others that aren’t your family are more meaningful than the ones you have with blood. Sam and Jon are like brothers even though they’re not related, and Jaime’s bond with Brienne was far, far more meaningful than with Cersei. It was Brienne, not Cersei that elevated him into wanting to be a better man.

But lol, guess not. it’s like what that one guy from Aladdin yells at Aladdin, “YOU WERE BORN A STREET RAT, YOU WILL DIE A STREET RAT” except with Jaime it’s “YOU WERE BORN A LANNISTER YOU WILL DIE A LANNISTER” except Jaime didn’t get an Aladdin moment where he proves the snooty prince wrong--he just regressed and left his Jasmine all alone crying.

Another thing: ignoring the awful character growth invalidation, if Jaime was going to go back to Cersei just to be with her (and not kill her/convince her to stop as a lot of us, including me, thought in 8 x 04), there just wasn’t enough buildup for him to make this change in episode 4 come “The Bells.” He was happy with Brienne, smiling with Tyrion, (above gif) then he gets news from Sansa and he’s like nah I better bounce? I could buy Jaime thinking he has to save Cersei at least for the sake of the baby, an innocent life. I can even buy Jaime with a guilt complex, thinking he doesn’t deserve his happiness with Bri and it’s in his place to be by her side because of family and the things Tywin used to tell him...IDK there’s a lot we could speculate. But I cannot buy that the same man who walked out on Cersei in season 7 and then STAY AT WINTERFELL FOR A MONTH WITH BRIENNE would just be like...in the span of literally five show minutes with no real good explanation go nah it’s always Cersei when he showed it WASN’T. Now call me crazy, but this could have, could have been done in a believable way if we had seen the spiral. but we needed more with Jaime and Brienne, more hints with maybe his struggling to be happy but being guilty and him realizing he did have a child on the way, wanting to do better for that baby than they did to the others. Just a kind of ambiguous glance at Brienne after a session of sex (after their first time, which he was very enthusiastic about BTW) isn’t enough to convey such a drastic one eighty, nor is him looking pensive after another night with Brienne. (and you know they totally had oathsex that night. Bri was naked it looked like and she came out in robe.)

Now had this happened, I would have still hated it for the terrible message about “always go back to your toxic family,” but it would have played out much more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a random and giant middle finger to Jaime’s arc and Brienne’s character for the sake of a subversion. And heck, I could have forgiven this too if “The Bells” played out differently, and Jaime, realizing Cersei is too far gone, does what we always thought he would do.

*sigh*

Now let’s talk about him and Brienne and how it was filmed/framed. Now either I’m just naive or a big sap (truth to those statements), but it seemed to me that Braime was purposely filmed as though they were the OTP of this final stretch of Game of Thrones. episode 2-half of 4? this disaster human was all BRIENNE BRIENNE BRIENNE. All for it to go CERSEI CERSEI CERSEI.

Episode 2 Jaime and episode 5 are not the same person, at all. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING in episode 2, this man looked at Brienne of Tarth like she was the sun,the stars, his everything, casting glances at her during the whole “trial scene.” Talking to Tyrion, he plump ignored him to stare longingly at Brienne from the ramparts. He knighted her with such beautiful ceremony, and the way they looked at each other after?

A knighting? A marriage? both?

these people all think they’re going to die, but instead of lamenting Cersei, “all that’s mattered” at least according to “the bells,” (LOL) Jaime Lannister wants to give Brienne of Tarth this beautiful act of love. and symbolically marry her And then he looks at her and he’s THAT devoted and such a smitten kitten.

Episode 3. He never left her side during the whole battle. He saved her, then she saved him. Then this shot:

and the other shot of them, fighting side by side? this is literally a fic trope.

Ok so then the oathsex happens but before it happens, there’s a shot of oathkeeper in Brienne’s room, AKA the symbol of their bond and their love. Then they do it, and I know some people have mixed feelings about it, but I personally liked how it happened, even loved how it happened. It was awkward. Jaime said “I don’t want things growing on me” (though he’s made it pretty clear someone has grown on him, great line.) He liked it when she took charge. He reminded her it was a first time for him too. And then they have a kiss that really, in my opinion, culminates the years of bickering and sexual tension. It was my personal favorite GOT sexy scene, because it felt so real. He sleeps with her and they live like lovers for a month. They ARE lovers for a month or so.

and then he leaves and that look he gave her?

that was the look of a man who thought he had to give up on his beloved. Not a man who didn’t love this woman anymore. He’s defeated and broken but he is not not in love.

basically, all the clues (and just THIS SEASON) led to Brienne being his true love. Not Cersei. In Jaime choosing Cersei over the woman who he looked at like he saw the sun not only has made the writers make some really unfortunate implications about toxic relationships, but they’ve also said that people can’t change. They’ve completely disrespected Brienne in the process, making her seem like she was just a blip on his radar... when she wasn’t. She was so much more.

Now maybe all along, Jaime’s arc was not a redemption arc, but choosing who you want to be. Well, if that’s the case, it’s also a bad message. Apparently to D&D you can never change, you’re always doomed to head right back to square one, right back to “the things you do for love” and your toxic roots. If that’s the case then all Brienne was this season was a dangling carrot, a oh look what Jaime could have had if he wasn’t so addicted to Cersei.... sad sad SUBVERSION too bad he’s an ADDICT though!

there’s no empathy. No respect.

I have a bad feeling Bri’s pregnant too. And if that’s the case...if all this woman was supposed to do this season was carry the baby of a man who broke her heart just so the wheel wouldn’t truly break? They’re going to make Brienne just a vessel for a baby, making that Jaime’s “redemption?”

so in conclusion: I was not only infuriated because D&D invalidated so much growth in favor of witty subversion that’s not witty and actually tastes like ashes and proports a toxic message, but what was done tonally made no sense, because Braime was filmed like they were “right.” They also wrote a Jaime that’s more akin to Season One Episode One Jaime, and not the one that came to Winterfell because he made a promise.

I have almost no hope he is alive, D&D said so... but hey stranger things have happened. Nik is being quiet and hasn’t said goodbye to his character like everyone else has whose died already, but maybe he’s just salty/had time to process what happened/just busy right now/ waiting until the last episode to make a final statement. I mean this guy is kind of a troll, but he’s a classy dude and did an amazing job. But if it’s true, if Jaime’s end was to die under a rock, to go deeper and kinda soften this, I do think the Jaime that “died,” wasn’t a Jaime that romantically wanted Cersei, but a Jaime who loved her, finally, like an actual brother and not...the stuff before. There was no kiss, just an embrace. Someone trying to make an ending not so scary.

either way, I never expected or even wanted Jaime to survive Game of thrones until it freaking looked like that he was for a hot minute and get that good sweet ending with the one woman who he truly loved. But if he died,I wanted something better than what he got. I wanted Jaime to die as someone who did do something for love, but for a love that wasn’t a destructive one, or a regressive one. Not the same love as season one episode one, but a transformative love. Someone who did the right thing. For someone who made such an impact on so many people, he deserved better.

And I hear rhetoric from some, mostly not on tumblr, that I should have expected a fan favorite character like Jaime to get a shitty end, because GOT is about subversion. But GOT, above all, has to succeed as a satisfying story for the thing as a whole, and for the characters. It has to make sense. This makes NO sense. And Jaime, such an important character in the mythos, shouldn’t go out like that. Neither should Cersei TBH. She deserved more than standing by a window.

George. Give Jaime better. Please. Not necessarily a ride into the sunset ending with the one who transformed him, but one where he knows he’s a better person and has been transformed. One where he knows he’s changed for the better.

*peace*

#game of thrones critical #got spoilers #jaime lannister deserved better #jaime lannister #game of thrones spoilers #braime #ugh now I can move on #write my fix it fic #got critical #peace

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mc-slowwalker · 4 years ago

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I have a prime sub but it’s to karl… who never streams :’((( I miss karl he should stream more. I have literally never been gifted a sub and a friend of mine has been gifted so many like, george, ranboo you name it. 3 hours after I started typing this I got gifted a punz sub lets gooo. gonna be watching his mcc ad and we’ll see about the ads

so true I 100% agree. cheating is always morally correct. “academic integrity” like okay uni whatever you say it’s literally has no weight if you’re studying to pass an exam instead of actually learning. we should be studying to learn not pass an exam. yeah exactly!! knowledge shouldn’t cost this much.

lmaooo trueee and also moood. (about the antisocial/awkward stuff I feel like to didnt make sense just like that what I was referring to with the next sentence starting with “like”) like I feel bad about feeling toxic about the twitter updates account thing because like I’ve been a person from the twitter updates account but like I’m not toxic for no reason afterwards. yeah it’s 100% so frustrating!! like a while ago I remember seeing “oh I’m not sending dts on dream’s behalf I’m sending them on mine” like huh???? do you not see the problem with that??? ughhh I get you tho I was annoyed with the kaceytron stream as well. I didn’t watch it tho like I watched a bit and was like fuck this then left. yeah I also hate it when he goes on streams of people who actively talk shit about him like :/// lowkey I feel like I’m just a bit too defensive of him sometimes because of all the unnecessary shit he gets from so so many people but at least I recognise that ig. I swear tho, his twitter stans get him in wayy more shit than he does. like that one account that counted the days made me so mad. but yeah it is kind of the same stuff. like I try not to cause I know it’s the same but like when I do it, it feels justified and not just being shitty for no reason but take away all that and it is really the same. like not to be a gatekeeper buuuuut. I’m very good at ignoring it all tho

that’s really cool but also spanish as a requirement in uni (/college idk)??? never heard of that. oh dang that’s cool I’ve always wanted to know more languages. language and the way people use it and like communication in general has always been so interesting to me. I want to say something about like my strong use of “like” now cause I’m noticing it. yeah exactly, the way people communicate online is so interesting!

tubbo should start war with foolish about the beets. that would be funny I think. and amazing lore. cause like not all lore has to be all high production. like I love hugh production lore, I love funny, silly lore, I love “semi” lore I’d enjoy it all. just log onto the smp and like idk do literally anything I will count it as lore. everything that has ever happened on the smp is canon to me. tubbo could literally just like nuke someone and start a whole new storyline. he should nuke the prison. I would say nuke foolish’s summer home over the beets but I’d be too sad about that and it’s a bit of an overreaction. there is much potential and I love tubbos character. also ranboo?? he just said that enderwalk was c!ranboo with all his memories and just like dipped and went to the uk. I do get that they’re all very busy tho and it can be difficult to find the time and all that I haven’t watched much of the bear smp but it looks cool and I may get into it at some point. I feel like I just don’t have any time these days tho

he didn’t drop off the face of the earth!! he did a 5 hour long merch vc. I am australian 😔✌️so I was asleep for half of it but it was nice just listening to it when I woke up. sapanp singing was my favourite bit. like I listened to some of those songs afterwards cause I liked them but it just wasn’t the same😔😔

I feel bad for replying so late tho so sorry about that I just felt very not social all day but I do like that with anon I can kinda just come and go and it’s chill

Yooooo congrats on the gifted punz sub! Yeah I seem to have bad luck with gifted subs, random chance I’ve only gotten sapnap, the fundy gifted was a gift from a friend

The best knowledge is free anyways. Also uni/college always tries to guilt you like who are you the catholic church fuck off. Bruh I’m paying for your services you should be treating me good I’m basically a glorified customer

Bro you where a twitter updates account?? Props to you I am at all times in the worst position to know stuff. Unless I am actively live blogging I have 0 what’s going on. I’m always years late to new informations like I’ll check my phone and realize that I missed a whole lore stream. Also on twitter you can’t even send dts right??? Like here you can actually say the words death die & kill but on twitter you have to censor yourself. “Die” funny, a little threatening but ultimately can be ignored. “d13” hilarious not at all threatening?? Wait this makes it seme like I am cool with death threats I’m not but I’ve gotten a fair share and seen other people get them and they’re always funny to me. Telling someone to die isn’t funny but being told to die is very funny if that clarifies anything. I thinknI watched a lot of the kaceytron stream (however I watched it through a dream fan streaming the stream so she didn’t get any views/money) and the whole thing was extremely upsetting. I can be defensive of him too, not so much for him but more for me. I know he can probably handle most of it but how dare people insult stuff I like. It’s less defending his honor and more how dare people disrespect me through disrespecting things I like. Plus if it ever is too much for dream I know his friends will come in clutch. Bbh saying stuff is the indicator tm that what people are saying about dream is bullshit

Does college means something different to the rest of the world? In the us it’s almost interchangeable with uni except universities can give you a doctorate while college can only get you your undergrad. It’s less that spanish is required and more that we’re required to take two years of a language and I just chose spanish. I’ve met so many people who either only speak spanish or have spanish as their first language that knowing the amount that I do has actually come in handy. Dont think about the like thing too much trust me. It’s a really good comma and indicator that you’re speaking casually but the more you notice it the more upsetting it becomes

I think the beets could be a great plot point because beets suck and I hate them!! I really do like silly lore but I hate the effect it has on the fandom. I haven’t forgiven people for writing off the l’sandburg lore. In the words of the wisest man I ever knew “everything I do on the dream smp is canon to some extent”. Accept that silly lore is canon folks!! That’s what makes the dream smp so much fun! Also high production lore can be super lame guys please this is roleplay in minecraft chill

Wait about tubbo’s lore did we ever find out who stole the one nuke? I don’t watch a lot of ranboo’s stuff but I’m very happy that enderwalk ranboo is besties with c!dream theory is coming along nicely. Uno au my beloved. No about the bear smp stuff I’d also like to get into ballsmp, more of hermit craft, and 3rd life but I’m busy too? Like college hasn’t even started and I’m already sweating. Speaking of other smps do you remember that smp that karl and quackity were invited to but never logged on? Ahoddj that was hysterical. Never gonna watch it, just think it’s funny that they were invited and decided you know what nah

The 5 hour long merch podcast my beloved!!! I had two favorite parts (other than sapnap singing) the first was when he said the alright and we all complained enough that he decided to keep streaming and the second was the final alright where he said bye and then dipped with 0 hesitation while sap & george were still in the call sjsjdk

Again no worries I’ll always be here to answer no rush for anything I’m simply vibing at all times

#ask #anon #long post

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birdiethebibliophile · 7 years ago

Text

{fic} Spirals of Smoke

Rating: T Chapter Warnings: Implied self-harm, self-destructive impulses, smoking (idk, do I even need to tag that?) Relationship: Feyre/Fem!Rhysand Word Count: 957

Here on AO3.

Tagging @squaddreamcourt because apparently it is only through constant badgering that I end up writing, like, anything at all, lol. Also tagging @personpersonper and @myreadingcorner-blog (I hope this is the same person who asked to be tagged).

Summary:

Rhys and Feyre are together, but everything is far from free and easy. There's a darkness gathering - others see it, but neither want to face it.

Part 2 (more or less) of Things I'll Later Lose, and part of the series A Court of Leather Jackets and Biker Girls.

__________________

It was still dark out, and Rhys was sprawled on the steps of her porch, smoking a cigarette. She’d been enjoying the quiet of the surrounding landscape, and then it had been ruined by the roar of a motorcycle. The noise was gone now, but even louder was the glare of the woman in front of her.

Manon had decided to pay her a visit.

“Cassia came to talk to me yesterday.”

Rhys blew a cloud of smoke into the cool night air. “Did she, now?”

Manon, her hair glowing in the moonlight, looked unimpressed. “Those things smell like shit. You been smoking them unfiltered?”

“I don’t see what business it is of yours.”

Manon let out a low hiss. “Believe it or not, Rhys, I care about you. And you know Cassia does. I don’t want to get a call from her in the middle of the night that you’ve run your bike into a concrete wall.”

“You’ve gone soft, Manon,” Rhys said quietly. “As I remember, you tried to kill me once. Is it that chick you’ve picked up? Now that you’re getting laid, you feel bad about our little rivalry?”

“Don’t.” Manon’s voice was like ice. “Don’t mention her.”

“There’s the Manon I know and love.” Rhys let out a long breath. “So. Cassia talked to you. What’d she say?”

“That you’ve been drinking in the mornings – sometimes before you ride. That you wouldn’t tap out in your fight the other night until Aelin had beaten the absolute shit out of you.”

“I don’t drink before I ride,” Rhys said sharply. At least not after that first time. Too much possibility of hurting someone else.

“Whatever. Get your shit together, Rhys. Your people deserve better.”

“Sure, Manon,” Rhys drawled. “You’re the boss.”

“Rhys?”

Both Rhys and Manon turned. Feyre stood in the doorway to Rhys’s house. Her short, coarse, yellow-brown hair was mussed from sleep but her grey-blue eyes were sharp. “What’s going on?” Feyre asked. “What’s she doing here?”

“Annoying me,” Rhys responded.

Feyre pointed a handgun at Manon – the one she carried on the job. Rhys felt a rush of pride as Feyre said, “Do I need to take care of her?”

Manon laughed, a sharp sound, like the snap of a bone. “Don’t bother,” she said. “I was just leaving.” She swung back onto her bike and flicked her aviators back down onto her nose, revving the engine before glancing back at the two other women. She seemed like she’s about to say something, then shook her head and took off, sending up a cloud of dust that soon settled in the still night air.

Slowly, Feyre lowered her gun. “What was that about?” she asked Rhys.

“Doesn’t matter.” Rhys kicked out her legs and stretched, the moonlight harshing her coloring, making her tattoos stand out starkly against her muscled arms. “What are you doing up?”

Feyre tugged her bathrobe up onto her shoulder from where it had slipped off. “Couldn’t fall back asleep without you there. And then I heard voices and thought I would see what was going on. You wanna tell me?”

Rhys sighed a smoke-smelling breath. Feyre wasn’t going to let it go. “She’s… worried about me.”

Feyre walked over and sat down next to her. “Because she’s being a bitch or for an unfortunately sensible reason?”

“What do you think?”

“Both?”

Rhys grinned, slinging an arm around Feyre’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Hit the nail on the head. Are you worried about me?”

Feyre tilted her head to meet Rhys’s eyes. “Yeah, I guess,” she said, not sounding very worried.

“You sure about that, motek?”* Rhys teased.

Feyre snaked an arm around Rhys’s middle, snuggling in as best she could against the cool night. “Well…” She paused, quiet for a moment.

“What is it?”

“I never… I don’t know how to say it. I never thought you were safe.”

“Safe?” Rhys prompted, interested now.

“Yeah. Safe for me, safe for yourself. You’re a fucking burning building, Rhys, Manon’s right. You’re a firefight. You’re a – a cigarette burn, I don’t know. Something hot and explosive and destructive and – jeez, I sound like an idiot, I’m sorry.”

Rhys laughed, and warmth blossomed in her chest like she’d taken a swig of hot coffee. “You don’t sound like an idiot. I like it. But you better be careful. ‘Cause you’re like a forest, and I don’t want to burn you to the ground.”

“Fuck that,” Feyre said with a slight shrug. “If it happens, it happens. Besides, I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, I know.” Rhys paused. “You’re still wearing a helmet when you ride with me, though.”

Feyre snorted a laugh. “Whatever, Rhys. I’m not that much of an idiot. You can keep that particular destructive impulse, ‘kay?”

“Deal,” Rhys agreed. “And – you know you can always fuck off if it gets to be too much, right? Just say the word, and I’m gone.”

“Nah. I couldn’t get rid of you if I tried,” Feyre said, and leaned her head on Rhys’s shoulder. “Pine sap, that’s what you are.”

Rhys laughed. Feyre’s hands were coated with the stuff when she got home five days out of seven. “You say the cutest things.”

“Shut up – we both know I’m right,” Feyre said, poking Rhys’s shoulder.

Rhys hummed in agreement, and they both lapsed into silence, staring out at the expanse of stars that hadn’t yet lightened with pre-dawn glow. She knew as well as Feyre that she was burning. It may not have been as obvious as others’ destruction – Ari’s, for instance – but there was going to be a reckoning sooner or later.

And it looked like Feyre was going to be there with her.

#feysand #acotar #feysand fanfiction #acotar fanfiction #acomaf fanfiction #acomaf #feyre x rhysand #feyre archeron #rhysand #fem!rhysand #f/f #fluff #angst #manon blackbeak #tog #mine #a court of leather jackets and biker girls

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water-hates-learning · 7 years ago

Text

Hey guys look at this ancient unfinished angsty shit fic I found starring my Red Army sona. This is at least a year or so old. Yikes.

....idk why I’m posting this.

------

It’s easy to break people when you know them.

It’s easy to break them because Tord has known them for years.

This would have been so much easier for everyone involved if they had just said yes.

He’d asked one question. All they had to do was say yes.

But they hadn’t.

So now he had to break them.

***

Matt’s the easiest.

He’s nothing but a puppy that desires attention. Give it to him, and he’s yours. For the most part.

Tord finds that Matt’s ego creates a stubbornness he hadn’t anticipated. Matt loves himself. Tord has to make him love working for the Red Army instead. It takes longer than he thought but Tord is nothing if not determined. He just has to be Matt’s hero, he just has to be the person Matt will turn to no matter what, he just has to give Matt exactly what he wants.

It begins with solitude.

“Let me out!” Tord stands in front of the door locked and sealed against Matt’s pounding fists. There is one slot at the bottom of the door, locked right, only open to allow food and water to pass. On the other side, in a dark, cold room, Matt is begging and screaming, “Let me out, please! Where are my friends!? What do you want with me!? Let me out! Let me out! I’ll do whatever you want! You can even have some of my novelty toy collection! Please! Let me out! I’m scared!”

Tord walks away without saying a word and lets the door to solitary confinement slam closed behind him.

He returns a week later to find the hall quieter. His boots echo as he marches to the only shut door in the place and he stops in front of it, listening. At first, there’s nothing and Tord wonders if maybe he pushed a little bit too hard. But then a tired voice calls out,

“H-hello? Hey, is someone out there? I heard you walking down the hall. Look, chum, I just want a shower. A-and maybe a brush? A mirror? Please? Hello?”

Tord waits a moment longer and then walks away again. He thinks he hears a choked off sob as he goes.

An hour later, he’s back with Paul in tow. Tord takes a breath, straightens his coat, and snaps his fingers, nodding towards the cell door. Paul steps forward with a jingle of keys, unlocks the door, and pulls it open, swinging his rifle over his shoulder and aiming it into the cell as he does so. The light strikes Matt full in the face and he falls back with a cry, hands over his eyes as he tries to get his barrings. Blinking tears from his vision, he raises his head, sees the barrel of the gun in his face, and pales dramatically.

“Matt? Matt! Matt, my old friend, it is you!” Tord steps into the cell, smiling just enough to look relieved but wary, “I had heard we’d caught some traitors but I hadn’t given it much thought untili the reports landed on my desk. If I had known it was you, I would have come and gotten you out sooner. Are you all right? Have they been feeding you?”

Matt stares at him a moment and then his expression bunches up into hurt confusion, “You…you punched me in the face!” He accuses, voice cracking, “And blew up my stuff! And our house! You hurt Tom!”

Tord withdraws somewhat, brow furrowed, “Yes, I…I did. I lost control of myself. I am not expecting forgiveness, I just wanted to get you out of here. I don’t know how such an important friend of mine ended up in solitary.” He casts a sideways glare at Paul, as if accusing him of the transgression, and turns his attention back to Matt, “Come on, let’s get you out of there and cleaned up. And get some decent food in you! Goodness, you look half starved! Were they even feeding you?”

“Uh, just bread and water. Not even GOOD water!” Matt scowls, accepting Tord’s offered hand so he can pull himself up.

“Bread and—!? Unacceptable! My dear friend deserves a princely meal!”

Matt perks up a bit, “Princely…?”

“Tell you what, old friend,” Tord hums, completely ignoring Paul and looping an arm around Matt’s shoulders as he leads them out of the hall, “I’ll get a hot bath running for you so you can get all cleaned up. Then I’ll get you dressed in some clean, comfortable clothes, set you up with hearty meal, and send you on your way. No harm, no foul, yes?” He smiles up at Matt, all warmth and open honesty. He really isn’t lying.

Matt, on the other hand, looks hesitant, “But…what about Tom and Edd?”

Tord’s confident stride falters a little, “Don’t worry, you can see them when you leave! I’m sure they’re very worried about you.”

“No, no, ah, T-Tord, they were captured with me!” Matt’s fidgeting with his sleeves as Tord steps them both into an elevator, pressing the button to shut the doors in Paul’s face as he tried to follow them, “We were all taken together! They’ve got to be here!”

A frown flickers briefly across Tord’s face but his promising smile is quickly back, “If that’s the case then I’ll look for them while you clean yourself up. You just relax and let me handle everything.”

“Really…?”

“Of course! Who’s a brave soldier, mm?”

“….me?”

Tord beams and nods and Matt’s smile brightens somewhat. The doors to the lift ding open and Matt shrinks away from the uniformed man snapping a salute in the hall beyond. Tod gives Matt a comforting pat on the back and nudges him towards the waiting soldier,

“Patryk here will take care of you. Just ask him for anything you need and he’ll get it. You just relax, old friend. I’ll go look for Tom and Edd. I’m sure this is all just a big misunderstanding.” Tord steps back, letting the doors slide closed and keeping a reassuring smile on his face until Matt is out of sight. As soon as the lift begins its descent, the smile drops into a thoughtful frown. He knows exactly where Tom and Edd are and he was hoping to keep Matt distracted with good food and a warm bath so he wouldn’t ask about them. It alters the plan a bit but it’s nothing Tord didn’t anticipate. He’s being cautious now; he’d lost his cool around Tom before and he’s determined not to let it all fall apart on him again.

The doors slide open on a basement level and Tord marches into the room, trading a salute with the guards on duty. They’re tough old soldiers, people Tord knew from the time he joined the British Army. They need to be tough to be down here. This is where Tord keeps his more…unsavory pursuits. Only a few trusted people have access to this level of the main base, though Tord readily spreads terrible rumors about what goes on below. Fear is more apt to keep away unwanted attention than orders are.

He makes his way through the main room and turns down a branching hallway, his single working eye flickering from holographic display to holographic display. Some of the displays are off, the rooms beyond empty. Others are marked with bright red exclamation points against the soft blue glow. Only one is marked with a “dangerous chemicals” symbol in sickly neon green. Tord stops in front of this door and pulls one of the gas masks off the sanitation racks nearby, snapping it over his mouth and nose and cringing at the rubbery smell. A quick fingerprint scan and typed in code and the door hisses open. There’s a small room just inside the door, made of thick concrete with vents on the floor and ceiling. As the door closes behind him, the vents hiss and the steel door in front of him slides up into the ceiling.

“Tom?” He rushes into the room and lets his wandering gaze fall upon the man slumped against the wall, ‘Tom!”

Tom’s breathing is shallow, his eyes unfocused and lidded. He twitches at Tord’s voice and his pitch black eyes swivel around to focus on the man before him. The gas constantly circulating with oxygen through the room has done a number on him. He looks sick, his movements sluggish, his limbs splayed about him as if he’s been thrown there like a ragdoll. His shirt is stained with sweat and the chains clamped on his wrists and around his neck have left red marks against his skin. Tom’s eyes narrow and his lip curls into a snarl he barely has energy for.

“Tom, thank god, I’ve been looking all over my base for you!” Tord skids to a halt and crouches down in front of Tom who shrinks away from him as much as his worn out body can, “No, no, Tom, I mean you no harm, I swear.”

“T-tried to…kill me you c-commie bastard…” Tom wheezes, head lolling on his shoulders as he struggles to pull himself up.

“That…I lost my temper, Tom. That’s behind me. You are not meant to be here, I never intended to involve you in any of my plans ever again, let alone see your stupid face. But you are here—all three of you for god only knows what reason—and I will not tolerate it. Not in my base.” Tord frowns at Tom who returns his frown with a confused glare, “Matt is already being taken care of. I can get you out of here to see him but you have to swear not to fight.”

Tom growls.

“If you fight, you will be shot.” Tord says seriously, meeting Tom’s eerily black eyes without flinching, “I am serious, Tom, if you put up a fight you will be gunned down. Do you promise to come quietly?”

Tom struggles with himself, his jaw clenched, his body trembling. But eventually he nods. Once. Sullenly. In defeat.

Tord doesn’t respond, just leans forward and unlocks the chains binding Tom to the wall. Then he loops one of Tom’s arms over his shoulder and heaves, staggering as he tries hold the taller man up. Tom’s trying to get his feet under him but the gas in his system doesn’t let him cooperate and he ends up dangling off Tord’s shoulder like a half melted stick of butter. They make their way out into the wall where Tord pauses to sling the gasmask off and call for help. One of the big guards comes belting down the hall, doesn’t blink at the sight of his leader supporting a sweaty captive, and gently hoists Tom up into his arms. Tom whines, struggling weakly, but eventually gives up when all it does is sap his already drained energy reserves.

Tord smiles, beckons, and heads back towards the elevator.

This is going better than he expected.

****

Tom is asleep on a couch in the suite Tord usually reserves for high rollers who come to visit. Matt is lounging in a chair, half asleep himself with the television volume low. Both of them are showered, well fed, and dressed in clean sweaters and sweat pants. Tom had protested the red turtleneck vehemently but there is little else for him to wear at the moment so he’d taken it. It was too big on him and the sleeves flopped over his hands but it worked; he currently has his chin tucked into the wide collar, snuffling in his sleep.

Tord’s watching them both through the cameras he’s had installed, making sure they’re both comfortable. No doubt they’ll both be wondering where Edd is once they’ve had some rest but Tord will deal with that in due time. Edd was always the leader of their little group, the one who generally got them into and encouraged trouble, the one who could either diffuse or set off a bomb amongst them. Tord needs him out of the picture for a while until he earns Matt’s and especially Tom’s trust. He hates to do this to Edd, honest Edd, but he needs to protect his friends. Even Tom.

Tord doesn’t have much. An army might seem like a lot but that’s all they are; soldiers who follow his orders. Those three…they had been his family.

The short man pushes his chair away from his desk, snaps his eyepatch back over his ruined eye, and heads out the door. Soldiers snap sharp salutes as he passes and he returns them with a nod of acknowledgment; they trust him, are loyal to him, respect him. He, on the other hand, may not trust them but he certainly respects them. It takes guts to do what he has his soldiers do. What he wants them to do. He respects that. It’s what he always respected about Tom; Tom has guts and lets everyone know it, even if those guts are poisoned by years of alcohol abuse and negligence. Tord will clean him up. He’s good at cleaning up broken pieces. Especially if he broke them in the first place.

He takes an elevator a few floors down below the level that contains his first office (there’s one down below used for shadier things than public meetings) and the suites containing his friends. This floor is for people Tord wants to keep comfortable but captive. It’s quiet, cozy, but is well within reach of any necessary tools. Not that Tord plans to use any of those tools on Edd. At least, not in the typical sense.

There’s a person in an overly large, signature blue coat lounging outside the door to Edd’s room with a briefcase beside them, waiting for the Red Leader. They instantly straighten up when they see Tord coming, a wide smile stretching across their face as they snap a salute with a floppy sleeve, nearly knocking the goggles on their head askew,

“Red Leader, sir!”

“At ease, Vee. You read my orders carefully?”

“Yessir. Four times, sir.”

“Repeat them.”

“No permanent damage. Minimal scarring. Just enough to scare.”

“Excellent. Now, he’s been alone for a week with only food and water coming into the room. He hasn’t seen another person. Do not answer his questions. Speak to him as little as possible. Only ask him for information. And under no circumstances are you to mention me. Are we clear?”

“Very clear, sir. Crystal clear, sir. Clearer than air, sir.”

Tord squints at the expert interrogator, “When’s the last time you slept, Vee?”

“No idea, sir!” Vee replies brightly, pulling their goggles down over their eyes, “PVAK reckons it’s been a week, sir!”

“Yes, well, after you’re done here you’re under orders to get some chamomile tea and go the fuck to sleep, soldier. Is that understood?”

“Understood, sir! Should I proceed, sir?”

Tord nods, gestures, can’t bring himself to actually say the words. He backs away as Vee enters the room, hesitates, and then leans against the wall nearby. He will wait here, rather than returning to his office. He will wait here and when the time is right, he will step in. Tord brings his legs up to his chest and tucks his chin into his knees.

It’s going to be a long wait.

****

Vee gives him a questioning look the first time they step out of the room. They were taking a break both for themselves and for Edd. When they opened the door, Tord heard hoarse sobs that wrenched his heart. He had never heard Edd make such desperate noises like that before.

“Red Leader.” Vee is still standing and Tord rolls his eye, gesturing for them to join him sitting on the floor. This is no place for formalities, “Sir, I know you planned for these sessions for once a day, two weeks. But I don’t think he will last that long.”

“You don’t think?” Tord prods, raising an eyebrow.

Vee’s brows knit together ever so slightly, “I know he won’t last. He’s already breaking. If I keep pushing, he may not come back.”

Tord looks at the floor. He’d planned on keeping Edd apart from the other two for as long as possible but it seemed he had overestimated the man’s strength. He drums his fingers on his upper arm, thinking hard. There was no other choice.

“All right, Vee. Go back in there. I will step in shortly. Same plan, we’re just stepping up the timetable.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wait, Vee.”

“Yes, sir?”

“One major injury. Nothing permanent. Enough to land him in the ICU. No broken bones.”

“Are you sure?” Vee’s fingers twitch at the prospect of doing their job but they know who that person in the room is. Or they have an inkling.

Tord swallows the lump of dread in his throat and it sits like a rock in his stomach, “Yes, Vee. You have your orders. Do not question me again.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

The door closes again and Tord hauls himself to his feet, tugging his uniform straight as his does so. This is severely screwing his plans up.

#8ball fics

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toomanyfeelings5 · 8 years ago

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2 5 & 13 for: ginny Weasley, cho Chang, hermione, gay nuns (never reblog these things while I'm online lol)

THANKS SAM I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Ahhh Ginny:

2. Their emotional/moral weak spots:

Ginny will hate you forever if you don’t support the Holyhead Harpies. You could be the best person but if you talk shit about the Harpies you’re dead to her. On a more serious note, she’s afraid of being vulnerable with people after the diary possession, and she hates losing control over her life, or feeling like she’s lost control over her life. On a moral note, she can sometimes do stuff for her own reputation and not because it’s necessarily the right thing to do.

5. Guilty Pleasures:

She takes REALLY LONG BATHS, like she gets all pruney and doesn’t care, she loves it. Ginny also secretly watches the Great British Bakeoff but is ALSO obsessed with cooking shows in the USA. she gets very passionate about it all. which is hilarious, because she can’t cook for shit.

13. What Gets Them Flustered:

for harry/ginny: whenever harry says, “your hair is a sunset,” (he says this a lot) whenever harry kisses her in public (with tongue, because neither of them have any fucks to give), whenever harry says, “thank you for being my wife,” in a very conversational, matter-of-fact way, whenever harry helps ginny cut her hair short.

for ginny/luna: whenever luna kisses her hand, whenever luna braids her hair, whenever luna calls her, “darling,” whenever luna shows her some really cool magical creature specimen and smiles really wide and tells her, “it’s not as pretty as you, of course.” sometimes luna is telling a joke to people and winks at ginny, like they both know what’s funny, and ginny blushes every time.

the thing to remember here is that ginny is a bisexual sap no matter what.

Cho Chang!!!!

2. Cho can be too forgiving–she’s no pushover, but she avoids conflict like the plague with the people she’s close to, and would rather keep her friends instead of potentially making them angry at her. She hates being alone. She hates talking about difficult things. At her most afraid, she can choose what’s convenient over what’s right. She always knows when she does something wrong, but often does it anyway.

5. CHO READS SO MANY TRASHY WIZARD ROMANCE NOVELS. SO MANY. She loves and over-analyzes every single one of them. She also secretly loves playing against Harry or Cedric at Quidditch matches but DON’T TELL HER TEAMMATES THAT.

13. ok so cho blushes all the time, it’s just a fact, but that being said, here’s what gets her flustered: whenever harry leaves terrible little poems for her on the fridge before work, whenever cedric gives her flowers he picked himself from their garden, whenever harry kisses her collarbone, whenever cedric puts his hand on her thigh in public and it’s (mostly) innocuous and casual but cho has read too many romance novels, whenever harry and cedric ask her about the book she’s reading.

Hermioneeeeeeeee:

2. i feel like her emotional and moral weak spots are explored pretty well in the books, but i will add that hermione has a lot of internalized misogyny to get over, and also that she can be impatient and insensitive with others when wanting to achieve a goal.

5. hermione and cho have a book club where they talk about the latest TRASHY ROMANCE NOVEL they’ve read. ginny is nominally a part of this club except she tends to skim the books and ends up with only like, 20% of the plot. it’s great. anyway, hermione also loves knitting even though she’s bad at it, and she is ALSO a huge secret fan of those reality tv paranormal detective shows. she points out when it’s a real ghost and when it’s a fake ghost and gets really into it.

13. hermione gets flustered whenever she’s like, mid-rapid-fire-rant about nothing in particular and ron just gets this big goofy smile and says, “i’m so glad you married me,” and also whenever ron beats her at chess, which they play regularly, it’s like one of their date night things. also whenever her and ron are in a heated debate and ron bites his lip. let’s be real, they both like to solve (ultimately unimportant) arguments with making out.

IT’S TIME FOR THE GAY NUNS:

Ana:

2. she has a lot of deep-seated insecurity and as a result tends to lash out at the slightest criticism. she can be cruel to preserve her reputation and her self-image. she doesn’t care about the rules, but she PRETENDS that she does with the right people–hypocritical. will back-stab and cheat and gossip and do almost anything to feel valued. wants attention all the time. can be willfully ignorant about her flaws/what’s right–stubborn. can be petty, selfish, melodramatic. loves pranking people, causing chaos, being purposely obnoxious (when it suits her).

5. she secretly loves going to church, but not because she’s very religious or anything–it’s calming, and she can ignore her family under the guise of prayer, and she can vent to God. she’s like “animals are kind of gross who needs them as pets,” but she loves cats, and no, she’s not projecting, she’s just going to make sure that this random kitten found starving in the convent is going to be LOVED and APPRECIATED LIKE SHE DESERVES.

13. where do i fucking start. you’d THINK that she’d be like, super smooth and coy and shit, and she is sometimes, because she’s a terrible flirt when she wants to be, but mostly whenever juliana like, smiles right at her, ana internally combusts. ana also gets flustered whenever juliana kisses her knuckles, or says, “god loves you, as i do,” or whenever juliana laughs at a joke ana tells. it’s like, literally any time whenever juliana is really gentle and soft towards her. they could be making out and it’s all good but then idk, juliana’s like “you have such nice eyes” and ana is like “im deceased” bless her.

Juliana:

2. she can put her spiritual needs above everything else–ie, thinking, “i have god who needs anything else.” can get in her own head too much. she gets irritable and snide when she lets stuff pent up, which is often. proud, hates change, holds grudges. is incredibly strict with her morals because she’s super catholic, (and pedantic), BUT she can also put the institution of the church over god/what’s right. she acts rigid and cold and self-righteous, and she can be all of those things, but this masks her deeply-felt loneliness and exhaustion over not being understood. hates feeling out of control.

5. juliana actually really loves dancing. she’s not that great at it, but she loves it. she also loves hearing all about conrad’s illegal pirate adventures, even though they’re technically sinful. she also secretly loves to sing. AND she secretly loves watching plays. and bad jokes.

13. ok so juliana gets flustered whenever ana is super flirty with her, whenever ana kisses the back of her neck, whenever ana says, “you’re lovely,” whenever ana looks at her after juliana is done praying, whenever ana sends her that classic gay smirk when some rando visiting the convent is like, “it’s so great that you’re friends.” also omg here’s the thing. juliana gets Especially Flustered whenever anyone talks about shit about her, and ana gets really protective. juliana doesn’t need to be rescued 24/7 or anything like that, but she really loves it when ana is like “I’LL KNIFE YOU” if someone is like “juliana is uncool” or whatever and juliana gets v flustered. these gays are ridiculous.

#THANKS AGAIN #hp #harry potter #relevant to the gay nun story #asks #long post

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