#had a Mitski soundtrack and two slow dancers was playing

[tender-hearted-cousin]

So I made this blog because I saw a great production of Richard II. It was a condensed version of the play with a limited cast, so they combined characters. I hadn’t read/seen the play, but knew the basic structure and themes.

Bro, when I tell you I LOST it when Aumerle started talking about losing Richard and barren wombs. Like, my eyes got wide and I leaned forward in my seat. And THEN the tender hearted cousin scene? And then the goodbye before Richard’s taken to London? And then Aumerle’s willingness to betray his father in the treason plot? And Aumerle regaining favor by executing Richard?

Must be noted that it was a super small pit stage with one spotlight to show Richard’s cell. Aumerle crosses the light, enters the cell, and stabs Richard. Then they just. Hold each other, and sway, and Richard kisses a sobbing Aumerle’s forehead. Then the scene ends. Richard dies. Bolingbroke is crowned. Aumerle’s betrayal is complete.

Bruh it ended up being framed as a Christ narrative which just. Drives me insane. Like, Richard makes himself into a Christ figure throughout to play to assert authority. Man REVELS in the role. But then, Aumerle is cast as Judas. Richard condemns both of them. Idk I love that. The director did an excellent job, and the actors had great chemistry.

Small, inconsequential note: Aumerle was cast as a non-binary actor and Richard was played by a woman. Made the combination of Aumerle, the Queen, and Essex into one character really interesting.

[arknights-imagines]

hi it’s nice to see you back! i hope you’re enjoying is2 🐈‍⬛ can i request an imagine where phantom regains his self once he sees his beloved s/o coming to rescue him? they’re so worried and scared for him that he feels extremely guilty but i would like to see a little personal reunion between them!! 🥹

Hiya anon 💕!! Tysm for your request and for your kindness, I'm enjoying Integrated Strategies 2 a lot aaa 🥳 the theme is v awesome and it's super fun!

Phantom has definitely grown on me v much since I first encountered his character and first wrote for him 👉👈! I also happen to be a huge fan of the original 'Phantom of the Opera' musical which is probably also why I came to love him lots lolol 💞~

I absolutely loved your idea omg anon, v soft but also potential for lots of emotions 😭🥺 So ty for sending it in!!

(I also wanted to mention that - along with the soundtrack for 'Phantom of the Opera' - I listened to 'Two Slow Dancers' by Mitski on repeat while working on this as I think it fits the piece well sbdjsb~)

Anywho, I really hope you and everyone else enjoys 💕👉👈!!!

Taglist for Phantom + All Writing!:

@cl3v-j

@too-many-donuts-stuff

@zone10-8

@tiredstudents

@marahuyos

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Rescue Him

Imagine format; mixed perspectives between the Operator and the reader, written in second person!

Contains: Phantom, gender-neutral Operator as the reader, spoliers regarding Phantom's past and events of Phantom and Crimson Solitaire, established relationship, Phantom addresses the reader by the nickname "little kitten", Shalem as a background character, fear, brief mentions of death, talk of self-loathing, lots and and lots of emotions from both Phantom and reader sbzjsb, hurt and comfort with a soft ending 🥺!!

Word count: 2.3k!

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Phantom - no, the Blood Diamond of the Crimson Troupe -, his body was a puppet on strings. The curtain parted as he entered the stage; dressed in an ostentatious outfit of red and black, face hidden by his distinctive white mask, and eyes glowing with indescribable malice.

A reverberating voice from overhead began its announcement, “The time has come. The red moon is here. The stringed puppets are all dancing. All for the most supreme art. Now go, my ‘Blood Diamond’, go. They are the audience you have eagerly awaited.” The spotlight fell upon the Feline, all the eyes in the room drew to him. His movements weren't his own as he slowly lifted his arm and began to summon his Arts. The stage and all surrounding it was ready, he was ready.

A commotion from his audience took the Blood Diamond’s attention. There, you stood far from the stage with your weapon in hand, surrounded by your squadmates all immobilized by shock, and Shalem’s hand holding your wrist tightly to prevent you from moving. For a moment - just a moment - you all simply stared at the Feline, wide-eyed and transfixed.

You had stepped into the Castle with not an ounce of hesitation. You had stood before its gates, posture firm like a commander, or the confident lead actor of a play, perhaps; when you had moved forward, the rest of the Squad had followed behind. You had persisted through a near-endless traverse through the Castle, ignoring your aching, worry-riven heart, with the only thought in your mind being to find him and return him to Rhodes Island safely.

Now, however; as the Blood Diamond stared directly into you, his irises darkened by malevolence, fear took hold of your entire being and shattered any semblance of bravery you had left with its claws.

Shalem opened his mouth and attempted to tell something to you, but he wasn’t able to say a word. In a flash of movement you tore your arm from his hand, let your weapon drop to the floor, and began sprinting towards the stage.

The Blood Diamond’s eyes remained on you as you quickly approached. Your hand outstretched to him and your lips moved, ‘Phantom’, however your voice failed you and only produced something just barely above a whisper. Before you could come any closer, Shalem rushed forward and hurried to wrap his arms around your form, preventing you from moving.

The Feline made no reaction at you - not even a slight furrow of his brow or miniscule twitch of his lynx ears - as a heart-wrenching dread fell upon your facial expression. He only tore his gaze away from yourself and Shalem; something deep within his chest couldn’t bear to look for any longer.

His Arts leaving flickers of crimson behind and the spotlight following after him, the Blood Diamond descended from the stage. As he neared you, his eyes squeezed shut; he prepared to finally strike, to sing.

It was only then that you finally found your voice again - “Phantom! Please, it’s me!!” You yelled suddenly, words leaving your throat shakily and breaking by the end of your sentence. The Feline before you froze; his lips fell agape, his eyes snapped open, then his gaze immediately fixed onto you.

You were struggling against Shalem and desperately trying to rush towards him instead, your face confused and twisted in affliction, as if seeing him like he was inflicted physical wounds on you. “Phantom!!” You tried again, louder this time, and your eyes began to fill with tears - when they spilt onto your cheeks, the Blood Diamond’s heart suddenly surged.

What was he doing? Why were you here?

With that, his mind rapidly became a scrambled cacophony, dissonance between his own thoughts and a voice in his head that wasn't his own causing pain to rush to his temples. His breathing became uneven and his heartbeat was now deafening in his ears.

This was not who he was, was it?

Though he made an effort to resist, whatever was possessing him forced him to step forward, to follow the script; the Feline’s motions were strained when he raised his hand to at last strike down with his Arts and prepared his voice to sing.

Then - as his mouth parted to release the first note - in a last attempt, you cried out, “LUCIEN!!”

The name - his name - from your lips was a blade, finally cutting the Blood Diamond away from the strings controlling him. The hostility flickered from his eyes, he covered a hand over his mouth, the crimson Arts surrounding him dissipated; he returned to you, once again becoming himself. Phantom collapsed to his knees.

A silence rested upon the entire room, slowly. Your chest ached from the assault of your hammering heart, your face was wet with tears; you silently begged this to be truly over and not be another one of the Castle’s hallucinations. Shalem and yourself became utterly still, both your eyes fixed raptly to the Feline on the floor. He wearily lifted his head, then a raspy and quiet whisper came from his lips, “...little kitten?”

You were certain you had never moved so fast in your life.

Breaking out of Shalem’s hold, you rushed towards Phantom and fell to the ground right in front of him, “Lucien! I’m right here- I’m here!” You took his cheeks into your hands, unbelievably gentle. Hastily, you removed his white mask from his face and discarded it to the floor; the moment your gaze locked to his, your uneven heartbeat calmed and relief melted onto your facial expression then down your body. The Feline’s copper eyes were soft, tender - albeit slightly glazed over -, and most importantly, familiar and truly his. The hint of a smile came to your lips, “...You’re back.”

Phantom rested against your affectionate touch, placing one of his own hands over yours and answering quietly, “Yes…Yes, I’m with you…it is over-” His sentence was cut off by a rough cough, which quickly evolved into a fit of hacks and gasps that ripped through his body, “Ack- my…my throat, little kitten-” Pressing on the Originium crystal in his pharynx with one hand, he shakily attempted to grab at something attached to your belt with the other - an Oripathy Infection monitor.

You jolted, snapping into motion. After taking the Infection monitor off your belt and in your hand, you used a moment to remove the broken remnants of his previous one from his neck; you brought the device close, and Phantom’s hands guided your own and assisted you in clasping it around his throat. It locked shut with a ‘click’, firmly suppressing the Originium Crystal.

Intertwining both of his hands with your own, you waited for his coughing to cease. When it did, you piped up softly, “Is that better? A-Are you okay?” He nodded in response, “I’m fine, I thank you greatly.” With his composure regained enough, he focused his gaze on your face - a choice which he was quick to regret, as he felt his heart sink to the floor at the sight.

The relief on your expression had been immense, however it was merely ephemeral. Now, your facial features were trembling and your eyes were becoming tearful once more; though it was fading, the fear that had gripped you just moments before still clutched onto your body. The Feline felt the tremors in your hands - your hands that were so tightly squeezing onto his, as if he would vanish if you were to let go.

“L-Lucien…I-” When you couldn’t restrain your emotions any longer, small sobs racked through your body and tears quickly fell down your cheeks - Phantom’s heart shattered and he found himself choking on its pieces, unable to speak.

So you did instead, rambling through your crying, “I-I was so, so worried about you. When the Doctor told me y-you were suddenly gone and no one could find you anywhere, I was just- just terrified.” Sniffling, you hesitantly released one of his hands in order to wipe your face with your sleeve, “And when the Squad and I were sent out to Victoria to rescue you…I-I was scared that when we found you, you were going to- to be hurt, or y-you wouldn’t be able to regain your senses, o-or you were dead-” Just speaking that last statement aloud, just the prospect of it, broke any composure you were still straining to keep.

As he watched you collapse into plaintive cries, Phantom’s lynx ears flattened against his head and shame overtook his face expression; guilt weighed down on him, so heavy that he struggled to breathe. You deserved better than this, the Feline told himself, better than him; he’d never be able to atone for all the distress and heartache you had been forced through because of him.

Though strained, his voice returned to him, “Hush now, little kitten. You need not say anymore…come, come here.” Though he felt unfit to hold you, Phantom nevertheless brought his arms around your form and into his embrace; one of his hands placed itself on the back of your head in order to gently guide your face to the curve between his shoulder and neck, the other coming to rub up and down your spine in a soothing manner. The Feline’s movements were slow, uncertain; he waited for you to flinch away and refuse his touch, ‘justly so’, he believed.

And yet, you didn't. Instead, your body lost its posture once in his hold; you curled into him, nuzzling into his neck and bringing your hands to his chest where they clenched into fists, fingers closing tightly on the fabric of his clothing. Phantom’s eyes widened, your unexpected closeness prompting a small fission of shock to shoot through him. He was only stiff for but a second - under your warmth, his body involuntarily melted into your own. The Feline’s hands slid down your form and he wrapped his arms around your waist, then his head lowered to rest upon your shoulder. For a short while, the two of you simply remained like that.

When your sobbing quieted to small sniffles, the Feline went on speaking, “Though it is not enough, I deeply apologize to you. I…I believed I’d long since slain those of the troupe…but it seems that is not so, and I fear I was wrong. The fault…the fault is all mine.” Body suddenly stiffening and jaw now tight, Phantom began to recoil from you, “My little kitten, you…you should not be here. You need to take your leave quickly, there is nothing to be gained from staying alongside me. The shadows and the evil they hide, my sins…none of this is anything you ought to bear.”

However, you didn't allow him to move away. You shook your head against his shoulder, before pulling him closer by the cloth of his shirt and wrapping your arms around his neck. You replied, “N-No, Lucien, stop. I don’t care about any of that…I’m never leaving you, o-okay?” Worried he wouldn't believe your words unless you reinforced them somehow, with careful hands you trailed your fingers up past his nape. They combed through his hair and stroked over his lynx ears gently, as you went on, “…I’m just so happy you’re safe and you can come back home to Rhodes Island. I don’t know what I would’ve done if…if something happened to you...” The Feline’s reply didn't come right away, his mouth fell agape and his eyes widened slightly at your ever-so tender words.

He, whom the darkness constantly treaded behind and whom tragedy loomed over, was not deserving of you; Phantom had convinced himself so, his mind told him so. What made him worthy of the words that came from your heart? What made him worthy to hold you as he was, as if you were his?

Though, even so, the Feline was unable to restrain himself from once again easing into your arms, a serene expression on his face. If you gave your love to him unconditionally, if you allowed him to rest in the safety of your embrace, then he would never ever refuse it and would be forever grateful.

Phantom lifted his head from your shoulder in order to leave a light, fleeting kiss on the crown of your head. His eyelids closed shut, and he lingered there for a moment, before speaking finally - a whisper and words honest, “No. It’s I who would find myself lost without you…many thanks, little kitten. ”

The sound of soft footfalls approaching reminded the Feline that you and him weren't alone; one of his lynx ears twitched, and his eyes opened. Shalem stood a short distance from the two of you, with Miss Christine - when had she gotten here? - trailing after him, “...Welcome back then, Phantom. Ah, beg pardon for disturbing you both…but shall we go now? Surely, by remaining in this Castle, we would only be inviting more disaster.”

Though reluctantly, pulled away from Phantom’s embrace. After taking a moment to wipe your face of any wetness and to gather yourself with a long, steady breath, you looked to Shalem and the rest of your squadmates. “You’re right. Please, let’s all get out of here. I want to leave Calais-Blason, go back home, and never see this Castle again...” You remarked with a sharp sigh, rising up from the floor. Phantom followed, moving to stand as well, “Yes, we oughtn’t tarry here…” - but you were at his side in an instant, before he could attempt to lift himself off the ground. You brought his arm around your shoulders, “Lucien, careful…here, I’ve got you.”, and assisted him up.

The Blood Diamond’s performance had been brought to an abrupt end. The curtain was closed, the script discarded, and the stage abandoned. It was time for Phantom to leave from under the spotlight of the Crimson Troupe, and return to Rhodes Island.

“...Little kitten, wait.”

You blinked, immediately turning your head to look to him. Phantom slowly inhaled, then his words left his lips, carrying with them every bit of adoration and gratitude he had, “I love you…endlessly, with all that I am.”

A sincere smile arose to your face, and you replied with not even the slightest delay, “And I love you more, Lucien.”

“The Blood Diamond”, “Phantom”; anyone could call him whatever they wanted, but he would always be Lucien to you.

[paddington-two]

5,12,and 29 for the 3 song meme :)

5. three songs you wish you could forget (because listening to them hurts)

oh you’re sick for this one...these are a bit random but I have my reasons

eyes off you by bombay bicycle club

two slow dancers by mitski

fly me to the moon by frank sinatra

12. three favorite songs from video games

this was really hard to only pick 3 so I didn’t lol....I love viddy games

distant memories from dragon quest xi

riding from breath of the wild (sometimes i’ll play and just ride around on my horse just to hear it...it’s so peaceful and pretty) also shoutout to tarrey town theme for the same reason and also the final boss fight tracks because the pianist is just going absolutely ham and i love it. honestly just the entire botw soundtrack kicks ass so it was hard not to put any more on here

the prologue tune for animal crossing new horizons (i’m already nostalgic for it....this song just reminds me of earlier this year when everything first went to absolute shit, but I had this game to play and it was so comforting)

29. three songs that influenced you most (some songs change or save lives)

hmmm.  I don’t know if i could think of 3 specific ones for this but the one that came to mind was answer by phantogram. It helped me realize that I was done waiting for people and effectively gave me the push I needed to break free of them, so I’m grateful for it. I also really like elements by a fine frenzy for its message about carrying on even when shit gets tough.