#enobarbus

[omeynzaol]

Pov: It is 11:11 PM, you are working on a literature portfolio on Antony and Cleopatra last minute when you have 4-5 weeks to finish. On another note, You have recently finished Season 5 of BBC Merlin and working you way through the Season 6 script. You see Merlin and Arthur in relationships Antony/Cleopatra and Antony&Enobarbus in some twisted way Cleopatra

Enobarbus

gonna write about how enobarbus eventually stops being balanced bc his passion and his loyalty to antony is preventing him to do so ITS LITERALLY MERTHUR CODED AHHH

Edit: I wrote more, ya think my teacher will, comment on the subtle use of queen theory?

Btw I didn't put my rendition of cleo and her handmaid charmian here and thought y'all might b interested :> (ignore Caesar plsss)

[lednet-sorrow-au-blog]

Teacher:"No,talk more like an old,grumpy man."

Meh:"Okay,be Eurylochus."

Teacher:"What-"

[syntxri]

My DnD Magician (Bard) Enki!

Concepts and non filtered version is under the cut!

[withasideofshakespeare]

trick or treat :)

Here’s one my professor convinced me is truly outstanding!

From Antony & Cleopatra, act II, scene ii:

Lepidus: But small to greater matters must give way.

Enobarbus: Not if the small come first.

WOWZA! What a wild outlook that is! Small matters come before grand, noble ones or, in my prof’s words, the political is personal. That does seem to be one of the most major themes in Antony and Cleopatra!

[boltlightning]

jack quoting antony & cleopatra at phryne completely overshadows the fact that jack played the major-general in pirates of penzance. can we circle back to that

[mmalaria]

Enobarbus is furthering my (and several ppl I’ve acted with) theory that shakespeare had some sort of diabolical situationship with a man named some variation of Antonio bc what do you meannnnn there’s a tragic unrequited gay love story involving an Antonio/Antony in merchant of venice, twelfth night, AND antony and cleopatra??

[bellshazes]

man do you and your honesty ever begin to square. but like he that can endure to follow with allegiance a fall'n lord might just earn a place i'the story. or is that just me

[actual-changeling]

Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner, and today I have something surprisingly not kiss-related—though it is still about the final fifteen because hey, gotta keep the brand image.

I read this post by @goodoldfashionednightingale and began typing a small response. Then I made the mistake of drinking half a litre of coffee on an empty stomach right after taking my adhd meds and my brain began vibrating at the speed of light.

But oh, have I discovered parallels. This, my friends, is about the nightingale, where it comes from, what it means, and what the fuck happened in part 3 of 1941.

Ready? Let's go.

Now, as OP said in her post, s1e3 is important. In the script book, Neil himself says that these flashbacks are where the producers would tell him to cut scenes to save money. They suggested every single one—except for the one he ended up taking out, which was the bookshop opening scene set in 1800. The others are building blocks, you need them to see how their relationship progressed and what kind of important milestones they had.

(side note: author is very miffed that english does not have a separate subjunctive form like german which makes quoting lines way more confusing than it has to be)

The one I want to mention is neither 1941 nor 1967. No, what I want to talk about is 1601. This might be about to get a bit rambly but I will do my best to keep it tidy.

The focus of that flashback is on the Arrangement, yes, but it gives us a lot more information than that.

they both see Shakespeare's plays regularly, maybe even meet in the crowd

Crowley prefers the comedies

Aziraphale does not seem to have a preference, he enjoys the tragedies and presumably the comedies too

there is an oyster woman selling food -> reference to their meeting in Rome when Aziraphale tempted him to try some oysters

Aziraphale reflexively denies their relationship

Crowley might say he is not worried but circles Aziraphale the entire time, keeping watch

they both ask favours of each other and both agree to do them

What stands out to me in relation to what I am about to expand on is the line that Crowley delivers after Aziraphale's little 'buck up'—which Crowley finds adorable btw but that's a post for another time.

"Age does not wither nor custom stale his infinite variety."

Why would he say that? What exactly is prompting this? WHY say that specific line?

At first I thought it might be to tempt Shakespeare because he does commit art theft by just copying that line down, BUT I think there is more to that. So much more, in fact. I am wiggling now because I am very excited about this and my adhd meds are kicking in anyway.

First things first: the line itself.

It appears in Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra, a romantic tragedy, which was first performed in 1607 aka six years after this meeting. Enobarbus is talking about Cleopatra and describing why Antony won't leave her. Her.

Ccrowley uses his—again, who is he even talking about? Hamlet? Shakespeare? Random poetic quote?

No, I think this line is about Aziraphale and it's a code. Right after, the next line from Aziraphale is "What do you want?", meaning that this is their code phrase for 'I have a favour to ask of you'.

Age does not wither nor custom stale his infinite variety

Age will not affect his appearance nor will he ever become boring to Antony. Crowley, who later chooses the name Anthony for himself, tells Aziraphale, an immortal, that he will never age and that he will never grow bored of him.

It's flattery, pure and simple, and it's code at the same time. This establishes the important fact that they might use more of Shakespeare's work as code/already have a system in place (even though he steals Crowley's line for later).

They play their little morality game of back and forth, Aziraphale agrees, Crowley probably manipulates the coin toss, and THEN we find out that the oyster woman is called Juliet.

Why? What is the meaning of that? Why give her a name and that name in particular? Why bring the sexy oysters back into it?

Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1597, so it is safe to assume they have both seen it by 1601, but this is mostly for the audience, not for us-or is it?

Aziraphale gives Crowley puppy eyes until he agrees to make Hamlet popular, and while I don't think Juliet itself is a code word, although it's very interesting that the OYSTER woman is the one with that name (especially adding what we now know about Job), Romeo and Juliet might be.

Yes, the Nightingale song came out in 1940 but the bird has been around for much, much longer, and, as many probably know by now, also shows up in Romeo and Juliet.

This is where I am starting to vibrate at the speed of light because listen to me. Listen.

Crowley is Juliet. Anthony J. Crowley. Antony Juliet Crowley.

(side note: I'm not saying that Crowley chose it based on that—though I am not not saying that—but that it is a clue for us at the audience.)

Why do I think that? In the play, Romeo spends the night with Juliet and then goes to leave as the night begins to end. Juliet tries to stop him and tells him that the birds they are hearing aren't larks, which sing at dawn, but nightingales, which sing at night.

Who is the one always pushing for more? Crowley. He is the one trying to convince Aziraphale it's safe, they're safe to spend time together.

Romeo disagrees with Juliet and says 'I must be gone and live, or stay and die'.

Leave and stay alive, or stay and hell/heaven will punish us. It gets even better though.

We all know how Romeo and Juliet ends: Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, kills himself, Juliet finds him and then kills herself too.

Hey, do you know how Antony and Cleopatra ends?

Antony thinks Cleopatra is dead, kills himself and dies in her arms, then Cleopatra also kills herself—by snake poison; Romeo also died by poison.

The parallels are THERE. They are jumping down our throats! Two tragedies, two sides, several familiar names and phrases, same fear, same ending.

I think by now you can guess how this ties back to 1941.

We do not see how that night ends, but we know it ends. One of them wants to stretch it out, maybe even quotes Romeo and Juliet because look at the setting!

Candlelight, wonderful night they spend together, the threat of Crowley's early demise, and, to quote the play once more, this time Romeo: I have more care to stay than will to go.

Crowley thought it was his last night on earth and went with Aziraphale to his bookshop, to be with him, because he cares more about that than the fact that he will be dragged to hell come morning. Do you remember?

"Expect a legion to come for you first thing tomorrow" THAT is the threat. They have until dawn, just like Romeo and Juliet, which is why she is so desperate for the birds to be nightingales. Fortunately for them, Aziraphale saves the day, BUT there is NO SECURITY. They do not KNOW if a legion will still show up or not. If dawn is a deadline and they will need to fight.

Sure, they improved their chances, but who knows? Maybe they will come for him anyway, it's not like hell is all fair and square.

The best part: it gets even better.

Juliet eventually panics and tells him to go, and Romeo drops a line that huh, sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it?

'More light and light, more dark and dark our woes!'

Remind me, what does Aziraphale say again? Ah, yes. Perhaps there is something to be said for shades of grey.

There is more. Yes, even more. We know the whole rescue relies on a magic trick, a switch. Guess what Juliet yearns for while telling Romeo to go save himself?

Oh, now I would they had changed voices too. While they did not for Romeo and Juliet—they kiss and part—they did for our two. One fabulous switch and we're good.

(side note: Toads? Associated with hell. Larks? Associated with the dawn, yes, but also heaven since Romeo says 'Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat the vaulty heaven so high above our heads.')

So, this was a whole lot of information, let's see if I can summarize my thoughts.

I believe the nightingale is a code word that has existed even before 1941 and gained a lot of importance over the years. In 1941, the song is added to the meaning and whatever happened between the two that we have not seen yet, it fundamentally changed their relationship. Maybe they kissed, maybe one of them tried to convince the other to prolong the night but they parted on not-great terms.

The nightingale and the song become a symbol of hope, a goal to achieve, another uninterrupted night, maybe, or an uninterrupted life.

When they part in the final fifteen, it's morning. Crowley points at the sky and says "no nightingales", which at that point has several different layers to it.

No nightingales because their night is over, just like with Romeo and Juliet, and please, please allow me to add another detail, because I am frothing at the mouth over this. The scene I quoted, known as balcony scene, do you know what it is preceded by?

A ball.

Star-crossed lovers defying their sides, falling in love at a ball, getting a hurried, wonderful night together but torn apart by danger of punishment, the nightingale as a dream, as a wish for unhurried time together. Family rejection, torn apart by parents, willing to die for each other so they can reunite in death.

No nightingales. The ball, the romance, is over, their dancing is over, heaven is tearing them apart, and Aziraphale returns to heaven while they are both stuck in a pit of misunderstanding and miscommunication, all bound together by fear for each other.

The thing is, Crowley hates tragedies, he never liked the "gloomy ones", and he does not want them to end in one—luckily, this isn't the end. Yes, they kiss and part, but the play keeps going. We have an entire act 3 to fix what Romeo and Juliet couldn't, to ensure that this is a COMEDY, not a tragedy.

Both Antony & Cleopatra and Romeo & Juliet died out of fear, hurried into making bad decisions because they knew what would happen if their sides were to catch up with them.

Crowley and Aziraphale can reunite heaven and hell with love, not death. This is THEIR story and they are writing the ending. No more day and night, no more deadlines, no more hiding and sneaking about, no more fear of larks and sunshine.

Good Omens will end the way it began: In a garden with two no-longer-star-crossed lovers embracing the song of a lark as well as that of the nightingale.

I hope this made sense to everyone who was no present while my mind started to vibrate itself into a puddle because the thing is I can see Neil doing all of this completely on purpose.

Thoughts? Questions? Additions? Come and join me in my insanity and until next time I have a mental breakdown over this show (probably in like two hours).

[backjustforberena]

Something I also love about this production is this bit. Cleopatra gets word that a messenger has come from Caesar and her aim is to flatter and get a good outcome - as Caesar presently has the upper hand and they have suffered a defeat. She's playing the politician, feigning to get favourable terms or, at least, some knowledge of Caesar's will. So, she dries her tears, lets down her hair and unbuttons her dress so she's showing more skin. She hides herself then presents herself. She makes herself regal, welcoming, feminine and alluring. She's aiming to charm this messenger. It's a nice bit of staging, when the first half of the scene is a disquieting conversation with Enobarbus and Antony receive a message asking him to surrender: putting Cleopatra's fate, and all their fates, into her hands for she can either give him up or lead him on and that becomes the question.

[lickthecowhappy]

Good Omens season 3 and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra

S3 speculation

This is my called shot. I see a lot of assumptions for a Persuasion plot but I don’t think we’ll get Austen again.

“Age does not wither nor custom stale his infinite variety.” - Crowley (debatable to whom he is referring) “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.” - Enobarbus (referring to Cleopatra)

For the purpose of this, I will abbreviate Antony and Cleopatra to A and C, and Egypt to E for psychological priming purposes.

A and C are living in E. They’re happy to stay there together with one another. Unfortunately, the leadership in A’s homeland recall him to sit on the ruling council. A regretfully leaves C alone on E. 

Back in his homeland, A is forced into a partnership with someone to assure his loyalty since the others in charge are concerned about his loyalty to C. C finds out and is jealous.

A and the others in charge broker an agreement with their main threat but as soon as A’s attention is elsewhere, the others in charge betray the agreement.

A is furious and leaves his homeland to go back to E and his love C. They fight for E together. 

Let Rome in Tiber Heaven above melt and the wide arch Of the ranged empire fall. Here is my space. Kingdoms are clay. Our dungy earth alike Feeds beast as man. The nobleness of life Is to do thus; when such a mutual pair And such a twain can do ‘t, in which I bind, On pain of punishment, the world to weet We stand up peerless.

The plot continues, but Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy, and Good Omens is a comedy. There are other plot points I think could be incorporated (A believing C has died, C being captured, themes of self-sacrifice and no longer fitting the mold you were made from) but for the basic, general plot, this is where my bet is placed.

[vee-nyx]

now that i’m reading the original latin of the pharsalia i don’t think i’ll ever be over suzanne collin’s genius when she wrote thg. there’s traces of lucan EVERYWHERE but my favorite by far is cato’s story, especially this quote:

“the gods favored the victor; cato the lost cause”

because, truly, the gods of the arena (i.e. seneca crane & co) favored katniss & peeta while cato favored the games, despite their dwindling popularity and hatred within the districts.

then there’s plutarch, the embellishing historian, telling true stories with extra spice to subtly influence his audience’s thoughts. seneca, the respected philosopher and friend of the emperor, forced to take his own life as punishment for conspiracy. coriolanus, the general who treated commoners and his tribunal so badly that they eventually threw him out of rome. enobarbus, the cynic who played both sides in the war between antony and caesar.

[theantonian]

Antony Reconciliates Domitius Ahenobarbus

Joseph Lusher as Enobarbus (left) and Nick Baldasare as Mark Antony (right) from Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra, Actors Theatre Columbus 1997

"Antonius sailed from Corcyra into the Adriatic with only a small number of troops, but with 200 ships which he had built in Asia. He discovered that Ahenobarbus was coming to meet him with his ships and a strong military force. Some believed that Ahenobarbus might not observe the terms of the agreement that had been exchanged between them (for not merely was he one of the men who had been condemned for the murder of Caesar, but after his condemnation he had also been proscribed and had fought against Antonius and Octavian at Philippi), but Antonius none the less sailed on with five of his best ships, to show his trust, and ordered the rest to follow at a distance. When Ahenobarbus came in sight with his whole fleet and all his troops, rowing towards them at full speed, Plancus, who was standing beside Antonius, was frightened and asked him to take way off the ship and send someone ahead to investigate this ambiguous behaviour. Antonius replied that he would rather die as a result of a breach of treaty than be recognized as a coward and live, and sailed on. They were now close to each other, and the flagships were identifiable from their ensigns and rowing towards each other. Then Antonius' chief lictor, standing in the bows, as is the custom, and either forgetting that the man who was approaching was of ambiguous loyalty and also commanded troops of his own, or else acting from a somewhat aristocratic attitude of mind, as though subjects or inferiors were coming to meet him, ordered them to lower their ensign. They did so and turned their ship to bring it alongside Antonius'. When the principals caught sight of each other they exchanged greetings, and Ahenobarbus' army saluted Antonius as Imperator. Plancus managed to recover his nerve, and Antonius received Ahenobarbus on board his own ship. They then sailed to Paloeis, where Ahenobarbus had his infantry, and there Ahenobarbus gave up his own tent to Antonius."

Appian, The Civil Wars, book V, 55

[tremarctoss]

now we live beside the pool where everything is good

After the Revolution, four is Finnick’s luckiest number.

Rating: Explicit

ao3 link: HERE

Finnick Odair x Original Female Character, kinda porn with plot, idk?

Finnick is angry. No, not angry, he’s furious. Not only he has to accept another year of Hunger Games and Johanna - of all the people - will be running them together with Enobaria. No, not only that. He also has to attend the hearing of his prep team. All the members working with One and Two were executed publicly already. Those from Three were long dead.

He barely has any time to ponder if and how he can save anyone. Hardly sleeps that night, counting the pros and cons of every member of his team. Enobarbus is the closest to him, the only person working with him all the time and never sugar-coating what’s about to happen. He even tried to warn him when he was about to get sold for the first time. But with over twenty years of experience as a stylist, he is as good as dead. 

Helvina is the only annoying of them all. Always talking about wanting to paint his body sea blue and green and marking him with tattoos. The only reason why he spares her any thought is because she has several children that will end up at the orphanage for sure. He gives up thinking about her when they tell him her husband died defending Snow during the bombing of the Capitol. 

Vibiana is the oldest and the illness is claiming her already. Killing her is mercy. Making her live the remaining months of her short life while they are low on every kind of medicine is just an ill-treatment of a dying person.

Tacita is the last and he almost does not recognize her. She is younger than him, only working as the hairdresser since the star-crossed lovers won their Games. He remembers how long her blonde hair was, how she had to gather it to not sit down on it. Now it is ending just under her chin. How her skin was glowing, dusted with freckles, now it looks almost gray. How her eyes were laughing at all the dumb things he said when she was massaging his scalp, but now they do not even look in his direction. He cannot guess what kind of blue they are today, that’s how much she is focused on not looking at anyone. Someone has hit her across the face and Finnick clasps his hands into fists until he feels his short nails digging into the skin. It was completely unnecessary for sure, she cannot even talk back.

- And we found her not wanting to give up those earrings. Real pearls and diamonds, not those fake things produced at One. - The man sitting in the middle of the long table says. - She could not afford them with her hairdresser payment. So she clearly must have stolen them.

Finnick recognizes them immediately. He remembers the way she blushed when he took out her ugly glass pink earrings out and put those on her instead. How she kissed his hands after. How she wore them all the time during the Quarter Quell while trying to hide her tears. How she tried to smile the night before he got sent back to the arena. How she sobbed when he came to her and kissed her hands himself and told her to take care of herself.

- Those are from me. I thought they would keep her safer than an engagement ring. - Finnick lies. - Thought she could sell them to keep herself safe after the Games.

- Do you still want to marry her? - It’s Coin who asks him. Her voice is bored but there's also a hint of curiosity there. - You never told anyone about her, did you?

Finnick plays his most innocent face.

- You said my prep team was murdered by Snow. - he reminds her.

-----

There’s no ceremony and no fancy outfits and no extravagant dinner. A man comes to his room in the evening with papers and he signs them immediately, all four copies. Tatiana’s hair is still wet from the shower. She is so exhausted that he has to carry her from the bedroom and help her sit down in front of the man. 

- Do you want to marry Finnick Odair? - The man asks and gets irritated when she does not answer. - The contract is not valid until I hear you answer aloud.

- Then I think you should leave. - Finnick does not try to hide his own anger. - Because she cannot speak, never in her life did.

The man gets red in the face, stammers and writes the same note on all four papers saying “the woman is mute but the consent is obvious” before passing them to the girl so she can sign them herself. Leaves without a look in her direction and only shakes Finnick's hand. 

He tries to make her look at him but gives up when she flinches when he touches her chin. The mark on her face is even redder now, mocking him in the dim light.

-----

It takes him four weeks of feeding her until she can eat on her own without getting sick. He starts with creamy soups and gently brings a spoon to her lips. The first day she swallows only a few before shaking her head and covering herself with a blanket. He tries to make her eat a little bit more but she just takes his palm and kisses it on the inside. He gives up, wraps his arms around her and watches her every breath when she sleeps that night. Promises himself to feed her one spoon more every day when she wakes up.

Another four weeks until she does not look away from him. He is still watching her fall asleep and wake up and naming all the shades of the brown and gold her freckles turn now. Reads her aloud Hemingway and Tolkien and Le Guin and Tokarczuk and every book people in his District hid before Peacekeepers so they wouldn’t burn them. She usually watches him when he reads but turns away the moment he stops and looks at her. But when he says “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with that there is.” she blushes crimson and withstands his gaze. He kisses her then, a small peck to her forehead, another on the tip of her nose and two more, each for one of the corners of her mouth. He keeps doing this every morning and night. 

His nightmares stop.

Further four weeks until she takes his hand and points her finger at the door so he can take her outside and show her the Ocean. It’s cold and gray but not windy and he does not catch her when she kneels in the wet sand. Only when her body shakes with silent sobs he realizes he was so focused on having her with him and getting her to feel better he never asked about her family or other things that could be a danger for the both of them. He sits down behind her, not caring how wet his pants get, not caring how cold he is until he gets the whole story out of her. Her fingers, with her nails still raw-bitten, skin terribly dry, shake when she tells him her family died in the bombings and it’s only her now.

- Us. - Finnick tells her kissing the bitten skin around her fingernails. - You have me now. We’re facing the world together.

She kisses him then, her body trembling with nervous energy when she presses her mouth against his forehead, nose and corners of his lips like he did before. 

He takes her for a walk every day after, making sure to talk as much as he can about the Ocean and his District, about the people she may meet and what to expect. He reads the books aloud when they sit in the sand, her body always in his lap, her arms around his middle, her breath warming his throat. He starts dreaming about her naked underneath him again.

When she comes to him after the next four weeks he already knows what will happen. He does not help her undress herself, instead sits on the sofa to watch her take off her dress and takes a deep breath himself when she reveals to be wearing nothing underneath it. The earrings he gave her are the only things she has on and he marvels for a moment how stunning she looks dressed in them. Her hair is grazing her shoulders and he’s glad. He hopes she will grow them long again.

He kisses her deeply then, his hands caressing her whole body gently until she kisses one of his hands and brings it in between her legs. She is so wet he has to remind himself to take it slowly and not scare her. 

- I’m going to carry you to our bedroom now. - He tells her. - Lay on my back on the bed and put you on top of me and use my fingers to make you come. Twice I think. I want to know that it feels good for you and that you know how to make me stop when something doesn't feel right. 

He uses one of his fingers to spread her folds and move it around her clit. She stands up on her tip-toes before bringing her body back down on his finger and sliding her cunt up and down on it. Finnick kneels in front of her and licks her quickly, hoping for a small taste. Moans loudly and pushes his finger in between her folds for another second. He undresses himself and strokes his cock several times before hugging her and pressing his member against her stomach.

- I think my fingers once and my mouth twice after all. - He says holding himself even closer to her. - And this is how far my cock will end up being inside you. It may be a little bit much for the first time so I want you to tap my hand or arm twice when you want me to stop, alright? 

She blushes crimson red from her forehead to her breasts but gets on her toes again to kiss him deeply. Finnick starts wondering where his control is coming from now because pinning her against the wall and sliding inside her heat is everything he’s thinking about. He wraps his right arm under her ass, squeezing one of her buttocks, and carries her upstairs. She starts playing with his hair and he cannot stop the moan when he remembers how she was doing that back in the Capitol.

- I had to masturbate several times after you did that. - He tells her, sitting them both down, her in his lap. - The night before the Games I was thinking about coming into your room and introducing my mouth to your count.

He almost comes on the spot when she kisses him sweetly and signs to him that she would allow him to do that. She kisses him again and he groans inside her mouth when she wraps her hand around his cock.

- Like this. - He tells her and wraps his own hand around hers. - A little bit firmer is what I like. Look at me now sweetheart. I want to see your eyes.

Her blush spreads when he comes on her stomach. He almost pushes her on her back and buries his mouth in her cunt when she takes his hand and starts licking it clean. Finnick takes the closest pillow and wipes her stomach with it. He sends it flying across the room and it hits the wall. He will worry about possible stains on the paint later.

She tries to run away when he lays down and positions her cunt above his face. He has to use some of his strength to keep her in place.

- It’s easier for me to watch you like that. - He tells her. - And I want to be sure I’m not forcing you into anything you don’t like.

He starts with her left knee, leaving small pecks there. He licks his way up and bites lightly where her thigh and hips meet, does the same to her second leg before pressing his tongue to her clit. She makes a sound then, something close to whimpering so he looks up to make sure she’s not in pain. There are tears in the corners of her eyes but she has a hand on her breast and a small smile on her lips so he starts sucking on her clit until she makes those tiny sounds again and has to put her hands on the wall to keep herself up. He doesn't close his eyes and doesn't stop sucking until her hips start moving against his face. 

It's different from what he's used to, to people loudly saying what they expected him to do, but he's good at reading everyone, still has to be in order to survive. He does not stop licking her when she comes. Instead, he spreads her legs even more and brings her cunt even closer to his mouth. She does not try to run away this time, instead shyly moves herself up and down his face, shaking when she falls apart.

He rolls her over slowly, making sure her head does not hit the bed frame. He wipes his mouth with his hand but she sucks his tongue into her mouth when he kisses her. He spreads her again, making sure to inform her about his every move. He slides one finger into her cunt first and she's so wet that the second and even third come in easily. He pumps them in and out quickly while telling her how good she feels around his fingers. How wet she is, how he thought so much about doing this, how he cannot wait to bury his cock in her and make her body shake and fall apart. 

He has to put his hand on her stomach to stop her from trying to get away when she's close. Her body almost snaps in half and she lightly kicks him accidentally in his ribs. She tries to make herself smaller when she calms down and barely has strength to move her fingers in apology after.

- Don't. - he tells her, marking her body with his teeth. He starts with the skin under her left breast. - I don't mind. I enjoy watching you fall apart.

He licks and bites until he feels her cunt clutching at his fingers again. Only then he removes them and rolls the condom onto his cock. She doesn’t try to stop him but nods her consent and kisses his hands all the time while he slides slowly into her. 

- We will get mirrors. On the ceiling and every wall. - he tells her when he finally bottoms out. - so it’s easier for me to watch you and make sure I am not hurting you. 

She blushes even more, he never knew it was possible for someone to do that. But she also nods and wraps her legs around him and brings him even closer so he stops holding back and just fucks her until she scratches him a little. She tries to apologize but he just pins her hand next to her head telling her he doesn't mind.

Because he truly doesn't, he knows where he is and who he is with and that's fine.

-----

She starts cutting and styling his hair after that. It is never as short as during his time in the Capitol and he makes sure to tell her several times that he adores it longer. Loves her for never trying to make him look like the man people in the Panem lusted over. Puts his mouth on her cunt to show her just how much it means to him. Tries to make love to her at least once daily.

- I don't remember sex being so nice and fulfilling for me ever. - He says when she asks if he's not tired. - If I could I would have made love to you all the time.

She just sighs before kneeling in between his legs and unzipping his fly. She kisses his stomach when he tries to stop her and wraps her fingers around his cock before taking him into her mouth. He almost comes on the spot when she looks into his eyes.

- I love you, - He tells her and she smiles with her mouth full and brings one of her hands under her skirt. - so much.

-----

He loves adoring her body with love bites and makes sure there’s at least one visible when she goes shopping in the town so no one hits on her. There’s no point in him following her everywhere. He wants her to have her own space but also wants her to be safe. He gets her two trained dogs so she is never alone anywhere. They are taught to react to certain motions she makes with her hands and it fills him with joy when she giggles when one of them licks her face. 

Two cats come next. To keep her warm when he goes for a run in the early mornings. Those assholes try to keep him out of bed when he comes back and he has a lot of fur to remove from his clothes every day. They also grow so fat they don’t even try to come outside and lazily roll away when she buys or makes new toys to make them move. He is sure they are getting that big on purpose. Their goal is surely to suffocate him. Sometimes when he sleeps with his mouth open one of them lays on his face until he has no choice but to throw them and the dogs out of the room. Of course he uses it as an excuse to lay his own face in between his wife’s breasts after that. 

-----

It takes only four days for Coin to send him back during the first new Games because everyone is sick of him talking about his wife and how much he adores her. Should he buy that book for her? Will that necklace go with her skin tone? Will those cookies last the trip and taste great when he brings them to her? Is that silk scarf something she would wear or just a tacky present?

- You could bring her here. - Johanna tells him when he’s throwing his clothes back into his backpack. - Or to Seven. I think everyone would love to meet her.

- You can visit us and bring Annie with you. - He says back. - She is not going anywhere. Four is her home now.

She is shocked and scared when he comes back early. He needs several minutes to calm her down and explain that everything is alright. He got some more duties at his District after all.

- You will accompany me, alright? - She gives him a small nod and he cannot stop himself from pressing his mouth against her neck and marking her again. - Wear your hair up, okay? I want everyone to know you are only mine.

-----

He does not join the next war when Plutarch rises to power. He ignores all the four summons Coin sends his way and only comes with his wife to the Capitol when it's time for a new President to be sworn in. He spends all the time watching her intensely and barely paying any attention to people around them.

- I'm just thinking about all the things I could be doing to you instead. - He tells her when she raises her eyebrow at him. She just sighs and kisses his cheek quickly and squeezes his hand.

- I don't know how she puts up with you. - Johanna tells him.

- That's rich. - Finnick says stealing a strawberry from her plate. - Especially now that you even ended up having a wife.

She and Annie move from Seven to Four shortly after Finnick welcomes his first child.

[ Four is the number of anniversaries they celebrate before their first kid is born and four is the number of the children they will have. ]

[ Four is the number of breaths he will take before following his elderly wife into death. ]

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

alright antony and cleopatra let’s get it

part ONE! (which is just until wherever the intermission break is)

-choreographed prologue??? 👀

-TECHNO PROLOGUE!!! low key this is such a vibe

-“my boss is a manwhore”

-just let them have bed wrestling fights!

-ANTONY BYRNE??? DUKE VINCENTIO ANTONY BYRNE??? yaaaaaaaaaay

-i love them both already

-seriously they are such an amazing vibe

-the way he covers his face with a pillow when she teases him for blushing omg

-they are just so utterly besotted and it’s making me so happy

-ooh boy we have another soothsayer

-this has the same energy as the carmen card trio

-wait i feel like this actor playing one of the ladies in waiting was in troilus and cressida (edit: yes! it’s amber james! aka cressida and now charmian!)

-cleopatra fully just said “i’m out i’m not talking to him right now” lol

-well that just happened (fulvia is dead!)

-somebody give antony a hug pls

-enobarbus what are you doing

-“I CAN’T DO THE HONEYMOON PHASE ANYMORE”

-she is just so. utterly. brilliant. and. so. MUCH. and i love it

-“eternity was in our lips and eyes”

-oh wait this is the scene from this play they did at [area shakespeare company’s] founder’s retirement party

-their energy is so much and i love it

-“Sir, you and I must part, but that’s not it/Sir, you and I have loved, but there’s not it…”

-soundtrack continues to pop off

-octavius: insecure about masculinity

-octavius wants to cancel antony and lepidus isn’t so sure

-YAAAAAAAY PIRATES OF PLOT CONVENIENCE! (okay maybe just plot spice but whatever)

-okay we fully just skipped a scene i guess (from the few lines i skimmed it looks like “cleopatra and her girls do edibles”)

-okay so pompey is collaborating with Pirates Of Plot Spice TM?

-“okay so how do we get the boys to start fightingggggg”

-okay we’re jumping back to cleopatra and her girls doing edibles

-love the music and love the mardian dude

-“where’s my serpent of old Nile?…now i feed myself with most delicious poison” so uh. about that.

-‘you’re not mark antony’ lolol

-not sad or merry but a secret third thing

-‘charmian that was LAST play’

-the boys are fightingggggggg

-‘i didn’t say i wouldn’t, i just didn’t do it’ mood

-“That truth should be silent I had almost forgot.” OOOOOOOOH

-oh this is definitely a great idea /s

-oh hey it’s the barge speech!

-he’s just a boy who cain’t say no!

-“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale/Her infinite variety.”

-sleepover at agrippa’s!

-LUCY PHELPS OCTAVIA??? (so the duke and isabella did get married in an alternate universe then)

-“i will definitely, 100%, not cheat on you” yeah it’s act two i’m not putting it past you

-no one ever listens to the soothsayer

-FUCKIN CALLED IT

-“Give me some music—music, moody food/Of us that trade in love.” 🤝 “if music be the food of love, play on”

-y’know, iras is so Not Even In This Play

-she is a QUEEN

-“But sirrah, mark, we use/To say the dead are well.” ross over in scotland, about to tell macduff his family is dead: *shuffles uncomfortably*

-i love their banter

-“you did NOT just say octavia was better at banging than me”

-oh she’s straight up beating him up

-“PLEASE DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER”

-she is Going Through It

-pompey: *gives very emotional speech*

octavius: …take your time

lmao

-BOAT PARTY

-so enobarbus and menas are besties anyway? i thought they were on opposite sides (which obvs does not prevent bestie relationships but yeah)

-enobarbus knows what’s up

-BOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAT PAAAAAAAARTY

-yeah lepidus words are hard

-menas has a Plan

-octavius: buddy i am Not Getting Drunk Tonight

-PLAY THIS IN THE CLUB

-Many Complicated Emotions Between These Two,

-antony, fully intending to ditch octavia at first opportunity: well this is awkward

-messenger: i can’t fucking believe i still have to work this customer service job even after getting beat up

-scoping out the competition

-uh oh. there are Political Problems

-GO OFF OCTAVIA (also this is just like blanche in king john)

-“The Jove of power make me, most weak, most weak, your reconciler. Wars ’twixt you twain would be As if the world should cleave, and that slain men should solder up the rift.”

-oh octavius is Big Mad

-“YOUR HUSBAND IS CHEATING ON YOU OCTAVIA” “NO I JUST WANT YOU GUYS TO STOP FUCKING FIGHTING”

-ooh did octavia just take her ring off 👀

and that’s intermission! this is GREAT and i would continue watching but it is also late and i am tired so…rest tomorrow!

[tankerfishthesimp]

tempted to write enobarbus is desperately in love with antony and therefore the power dynamic between E who keeps on warning A and A who disregards his right hand man's extremely correct predictions and suggestions about what he should do next underpins their entire relationship and eventually enobarbus realises that even if he loves antony he will never see him as a lover but only the side man who's always there for him through everything he is fed up and leaves him for caesar, who understands his feelings because caesar also used to be helplessly in love with antony and knows how it's like to be so close yet so far from being with him - the whole thing with caesar marrying off octavia to antony was extremely gay because caesar did everything in place of octavia (due to misogynism as well) and being his brother in law was the closest he could get to antony as the marriage was "to knit your hearts/ with an unslipping knot" - caesar also describes the marriage would make sure they would "never/Fly off our loves again!" which is basically so their love would disappear and leave them again - the entire "There's my hand" bit and their subsequent handshaking literally made me write gay beside the page

[mmalaria]

I’m experiencing what autistic ppl who love math and science experience rn. Like wdym it’s 2 am and im writing an argumentative academic essay about my doomed yaoi and yuri and it’s actually decent and fits the assignment. Like I never got all that shit about “autism is a superpower you’re so differently abled” bc I’m not a STEM person but now I do (JOKE. THAT SHIT IS STILL STUPID) I love Shakespeare and writing about shakespeare yayyyyayaya