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alastor-simp · 9 months ago

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Antidote💊 - Angel Dust x Powerful Reader Part 2

⚠️Warning- This story contains mentions of violence/sexual themes, so skip the parts if they make you very uncomfortable. Story will get a bit steamy towards the end ⚠️

"ENOUGH!!" A loud voice boomed from behind the two. Valentino jumped and glared past his shoulder, finding you standing there, glaring with immense rage. Angel looked on you in shock, wondering how the heck you got in here. Valentino let go of Angel's neck, causing him to sink to the floor, gasping for breath. "How the flying f✪✪✪ did you get in here?!" Valentino sneered at you, standing up to his full height. Trying to suck in a breath, Angel stared at you, eyes watering from the tears. He extended his hand out to you. "Y-Y/N! Its okay. Get outta here!" Begging you with his voice, he didn't want you to suffer at the hands of his boss. Stepping closer to Valentino, you glared into his eyes, icy blue irises flaming with anger. "Angel is coming with me right now!" Guffawing with laughter, Valentino bent over holding his stomach, amused at your words. "Oh this is priceless. You seem not to know who you are messing with, little b✪✪✪✪?" Raising an eyebrow at him, you gave an evil chuckle: "Let me show you exactly who I am."

A cool breeze began to blow through the whole room, shocking Valentino as he was wondering what the hell was going on. Icicles began to arise from the area where you stood, traveling across the room and towards the ceiling. The air turned cold, deadly, even taking in a breath felt like a stab in the throat. Valentino was in utter disbelief at your show of power. Blue ice began to appear on your hands, morphing into frozen claws. The color of your hair turned snow-white, and your once brown eyes, began to glow an ominous cerulean blue. Angel wrapped his arms around himself, trying to cover himself from the coldness, while staring at you in utter shock. An evil smile emerged from your face, almost as demonic as Alastors during his transformations, as you walked slowly, like a predator stalking its prey, towards Valentino. "Figured out who I am yet?" Cocking your head at Valentino, you stared up at him, amused at his reactions. Dread emerged from his eyes, as Valentino realized you were not to mess with, but his tendencies got the better of him and he moved to strike. In a split second, he was pinned against the wall, shards of ice impaling his wing. Attempting to break free was impossible, your shards were too strong. "HAHA its amazing how many people try that and fail!" Your feet carried you over to the pinned moth, enjoying his struggle. "Who the hell are you?!" he screamed out, trying to remove himself from his position. "I am the overlord, Morana! Still surprised you haven't caught that by now, but you are a dumba✪✪, so it was to be expected" A sharp tooth smile was etched onto your face. "As I said before Angel Dust is coming back to the hotel with me. Understand?" Valentino continued to stare at you in fear, before his signature smirk came back. "Fine, take him back! Won't do you any good! He is bound to me by contract. Sooner or later, he will come crawling back to me!"

Angel listened to all of this, still in shock by what was happening. Valentino's words affected him greatly, as tears rained down his cheeks. Your face lacked any emotion as you inched closer to Valentino. A large icicle claw raised towards his lower regions, where his privates were. "!!!!!" Valentino jerked, wondering what the heck was going on. The sharpness of your claws, were digging into his skin, while a trail of ice began to form around the area. "You must really value this part of yourself. It would be extremely traumatizing for you if it were to SNAP OFF!" Digging your claws deeper, a trail of blood began to pool down below you, then freezing the second it connected with the ground. "Imagine the headlines! Di✪✪ face Valentinos package removed violently and cascaded in a block of ice for all to see!" Your demonic laugh filled the room, as Valentino screamed in agony. "STOP! PLEASE I WILL DO ANYTHING!" Begging was his last resort, proving he valued his di✪✪ more than anything. "I will let go, under one condition." Valentino stared at you in fear, mixed with some hope. You leaned closer and whispered into his ear. "Dissolve the contract, along with the copies."

Widening his eyes in shock, Valentino jerked back, furious at your request, no way was he going to lose his money maker. Shrugging your shoulders at his response, you took a step back. "Suit yourself." The claw began to elongate, cutting into his skin. Valentino screamed bloody murder, as he felt the sensation of the sharp icicles going in. "OKAY OKAY!!!" Valentino screamed out, causing you to stop. A glow appeared in front of the both of you, expanding to reveal a golden contract. There was a signature at the bottom: "Anthony", so that was Angel's real name. A demonic language began to spill from Val's lips and the contract began to rip before dissolving. "And the copies" Grunting, Val caused more glows of light to appear, performing the same ritual, and canceling all of the contracts. "Thats all of them." Valentino rasped out, as he stared down at the floor in defeat and utter humiliation. "Excellent!" Your claw removed itself from his flesh, blood continuing to drip from the area. You kept him pinned to the wall, a fitting punishment for someone like him. Moving closer you whispered into his ear. "If I ever see you near Angel again, hear you call his phone or threaten those he cares about. I will freeze your body and leave you out in the streets as a gift for the angels at the next extermination." Valentino whimpered in fear, nodding his head.

Moving away from him, your eyes gazed over at Angel, who was still crumpled on the floor. The ice around your hands began to disappear, and the frosted air began to clear, except for the ice shards holding Valentino. Getting on your knees in front of Angel, you asked if he was okay. Still shaking, Angel wasn't able to utter a word, but he nodded his head at you. Wrapping your arms around him, you lifted him up, bridal carrying him. Yes you were shorter then him, but you were still extremely strong. Angel remained silent, his head nuzzling into your neck, as he wrapped his arms around you. The both of you left the room, leaving the pathetic insect behind. Charlie spotted you holding Angel, as you left the dressing room. She insisted on knowing what happened, but you told her not to worry, and that it was time to head back to the hotel, as Angel was injured as well. Charlie nodded and the both of you left the establishment.

The shock on everyone's face when they saw you carrying Angel Dust, through the doors of the Hotel. The bombardment of questions came flooding at you, but Charlie was able to quiet them down. Pointing at Husk, you told him to help carry Angel Dust back to his room, and draw him a bath as well, seeing as he was still shaking. Husk complied and took Angel from you, carrying him to his room. Niffty ran to the kitchen, going to make some food and tea for Angel. Charlie went to Vaggie and calmed her down, as she was fuming that someone hurt Angel. Heaving a deep breath, you placed your hands against your face, trying to calm down as your emotions were still running high. Alastor was the only one who was still with you in the lobby, observing you while cocking his head. His smile was still there, but his eyes were expressing concern, especially having seen you and a bruised Angel. "Y/N my dear? Care to fill me in on what happened?" He approached you, gazing down at you, waiting for your response. Heaving a sigh, you looked up at Alastor and explained everything that transpired at Valentino's club. "Despite what I did, I'm aware there is going to be consequences with my actions since I just injured one of the three Vee's. If they plot something, I will show force and defend this hotel and everyone in it." Red irises continued to gaze at you, locking on to your determined eyes. Al placed his hand on your shoulder. "Y/N, you saved Angel, and he must be very grateful that you did! I doubt the other Vee's will even attempt anything unless they want to suffer your icy wrath and m̵̹̌̔͠i̷̪̼͙̅̀͗͆n̷̫̮̻̲͑͒̍̈́̔͜ė̴̠̯̮̩͂̐͘͝!"Demonic symbols appeared in the air before they disappeared.

Smiling at Al, you thanked him for making you feel better. Alastor smiled back at you, placing his hands behind his back. "Now then! I'm pretty sure there is a certain someone that you want to check on! Best be off now, my dear!" Alastor snapped his fingers. Your body then was teleported from the lobby to the door of Angel's room. Entering inside, You spotted Husk sitting on the bed, appearing sad. Husk's ears twitched, seeing that you had entered the room. "Hey kid, Angel is in the bathtub. I would be cautious though, he is a bit on edge." Husk said, while walking towards you. Thanking Husk, you told him it was okay to head back to the lobby. Husk nodded as he patted your head, before leaving Angels room.

Peeking your head into the bathroom, you tried to spot Angel. Steam filled the room, and in the center was Angel, sitting in the bathtub, covered in bubbles. His head was against his legs as he was hugging them with his many arms. Slowly approaching, you sat near the edge of the tub, next to him. "Angel? Are you alright?" Eyeing him, you wanted to make sure he was ok with you getting closer, as you placed a hand on his back. "Why?" was what you heard from Angel, as his face was still muffled between his legs. Tilting your head, you asked him why what? "WHY DID YOU DO THAT FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME?! I DON'T DESERVE TO BE SAVED!" Angel bursted all of this out, his eyes staring back at you angrily. "I wanted to help you Angel. What was I suppose to do, let you get abused by that psychopath?" Angel scoffed at you. "I'm use to dealing with his bull✪✪✪✪. I never asked you to do all that stuff." Getting angry, you grabbed Angel and pinned him to the wall, splashing some water on to the ground, forcing him to look at you. "YOU MAY NOT HAVE TOLD ME TO DO ANYTHING, BUT YOUR EYES CLEARLY DID!! YOU WERE TERRIFIED OF HIM, OF VALENTINO! I SAW YOUR FACE WHEN YOU ANSWERED THE PHONE AND WHEN CHARLIE AND I WERE AT THE STUDIO! YOU LOOKED COMPLETELY TRAUMATIZED! I CHOSE TO SAVE YOU BECAUSE YOU DESERVED BETTER THEN THIS AND I CARE ABOUT YOU! YOU DIDN'T DESERVE ALL THAT TRAUMA, ANTHONY! NONE OF IT!" Angel stared at you, listening to you belt out all of this to him and calling him by his true name. The tears came flooding back, as Angel started to break down in front of you. Letting go, you grabbed him into a hug, comforting him. You apologized for having to pin him like that but he needed to listen to you.

Angel continued to cry, his makeup combining with the tears, dropping down into the soapy water. You moved your hand to his back, rubbing comforting circles into it. "I'm too far gone to be saved toots. Valentino has me so drugged up on his poison and bull✪✪✪✪. He knows I'm gonna come crawling back to him. Ready to chug down on his poison like a fuc✪✪✪ addict." Angel had let you go, going back to his previous position of hugging himself inside the tub. Placing your hand against his cheek, you motioned him to look at you. Angel questioned what you were doing, until lips locked onto his. Gasping, he wasn't expecting a kiss from you. You kissed him softly, almost afraid that if you went to far he would break. Melting into the kiss, Angel closed his eyes, pulling you closer towards him. The kiss lasted a minute before it came to an end, leaving you both gasping for breath. "What was the smooch for?" His white fur, was sporting a a bright pink, as he continued to take in breaths. "Antidote. If your so soaked up on Val's poison, then I will be your antidote." Angel stared at you, shocked at your statement towards him. "HAHAHAHAHAHA OMG TOOTS, YOUR SO FREAKING CORNY!" His smile had returned to his face, as he exploded in laughter in front of you. His laughter was contagious, and soon you followed after him.

The laughing session soon quieted down, and the both of you stared at each other. Angel eyes were gazing at you softly, moving one of his hands to trace your lips. "Could ya do it again?" Looking at him shocked, you continued to stare at him, as he continued to trace your lips. "Y-ou want me to kiss you again?" Angel responded by pulling you, placing you inside the tub and on his lap. "Yes." His eyes were looking at you lovingly, making your heart skip a beat. Moving slowly, you leaned in closer, capturing him in another kiss. The both of you moved in sync, moving slow and tenderly. His lips were like pillows, incredibly soft. This felt heavenly, giving you goosebumps and butterflies in your stomach. The both of you broke apart, string of saliva between your lips. Angel placed a hand on your cheek, moving to kiss your forehead. "Wanna continue this on the bed?" His voice whispered into your ear, sending chills down your back. You became tongue-tied, and responded to Angel by nodding your head.

Your back landed flat on the bed. Angel crawled onto it, hovering over you. His fur was still wet from the bath, as it was dripping on to you. He was beautiful, you thought as you continued to gaze at him. "Um Angel. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm pretty sure your body is exhausted from work. Plus you prefer guys right, so you-" A finger was placed on to your lips, silencing your words. "Shh baby. It's alright~" Angel was looking down on top of you, admiring you with his heterochromic eyes. His hands traced your face, your arms, and legs, causing your heart to flutter. "Since ya gonna be my antidote, baby. I better indulge in it~."

Tagging : @saturnhas82moons, @unholycheesesnack, @luujjvi , @forbidden-sunlight , @pinkcrystal44 , @veethewriter , @rains-sleeping , @danveration , @sarahwasbeforeee , @cookiekyo , @iiotic , @delectableworm , @91062854-ka , @lovesomemha

Part 1 Here

Epilogue Here- Smut Warning

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reineyday · 10 months ago

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i’m back to say that magnificent was so so so good!! i love the uta mihawk interactions and how mihawk wants to protect her. i think my favorite part though was when mihawk was talking to shanks all nervous about whether he could call uta his daughter, but shanks answers with an “of course.”

this fic made me wonder why mihawk would do if he was present during the one piece film red… would he come along with the red crew, or would he already be there like the others (luffy, law, etc)?

awh 💖💖 thank u for your continued support! it means a lot :') and im happy you enjoyed the fic haha 🥰

UH, long answer short: i kind of have headcanons that position him before, during, and after the movie hahaha. sorry this reply turned out longer than i expected but my brain's got a mihawk & uta agenda goin' on rn. 😂 thanks again for the ask! ➡️

i actually have a bit of a draft going of mihawk seeing the "shanks destroys elegia" headline, seeing what's up, and finding uta, which i started before i wrote up magnificent lol. that's kinda where i picture him--doing something before everything happens, bc his curiosity makes him wonder why shanks would do smthg so uncharacteristic.

i recognize that's kind of a cop-out answer tho LOL so in regards to the movie itself in the canon(ish) timeline, i imagine he'd probably be there beforehand like luffy etc. he'd be there bc buggy and his crew got tickets and he was somehow dragged there against his will (similar to how law says he's chaperoning bepo but a lot more antagonistic about it aha), probably bc croc decides it might be beneficial to go, for whatever reason. probably scoping the crowd. (pls imagine the cross guild at uta's concert garnering Looks and standing out very obviously, but no one wants to say anything about it LOL even if the crowd is very anti-pirate. like, the strawhats and soen charlottes were there so. why not some ex-warlords?)

when there, he'd be like, "hey wait isn't that shanks's kid? didn't he say she left to sing? huh." and then maybe possibly even dial shanks on his baby den den about it bc if he's the type to bring luffy's poster all the way to an island, he'd probably try to ring up shanks. then he wouldn't be able to connect and clock that something is Up bc he knows shanks is just kinda hanging on his ship rn, on his way out from wano. i dont think he'd be with shanks along with his crew, and i dont think he'd bother going after the fact to help if he wasn't there to start with, which is why i think he'd already be there for separate reasons. ;P

anyways, i also have the start of an idea where the movie happens but uta survives, and shanks, stressed, is like, "hey, y'know what, everything's ramping up and everyone's trying to kill uta and she's still recovering from this wakeshroom shit so she'd probably be safer on land but the marines will be looking for all my known close associates... i'm gonna drop her off with mihawk. he trained those two other kids and the misanthropic fucker (affectionate) has probably found a new island by now anyways, since he isn't a warlord anymore. it should be fine. he'll say yes."

he sets out with his crew to follow mihawk's vivre card. benn and yasopp get the news coo and start laughing about something but they don't tell him, and whatever, he's going to see mihawk soon. he's definitely being led to land, which makes him feel vindicated, until it becomes more and more clear that the structure standing out on the shore is a huge big top tent, and there's an unfortunately very familiar flag flying, and shanks is like, "oh god, don't tell me," and then promptly has to dodge a flying fist and yelling about how he isn't welcome here and what the fuck is mihawk doing with buggy???? and benn and yasopp, having seen the cross guild poster in the news and hidden it from shanks, are laughing so hard at him while he deals with this momentary crisis where two completely different parts of his life have seem to connected without his knowing about it.

(buggy is happy to see uta bc for all that they fight shanks and buggy did make some sort of effort with their brotherhood every now and then so he knows uta and she calls him "uncle bugs"!; mihawk ofc says "yes" to taking care of her bc he feels qualified to handle young adults now lol (he says this with an air of gravitas that is hilarious when considering how he interacts with zoro and perona, which is stoically and poorly); uta makes fun of her dad relentlessly for not having made any moves on the guy he's been in a situationship with since she was a literal child; and croc comes home from a meeting to find international pop sensation uta (that the news said tried to take over the world during her concert or something???) reclined on their couch drinking tea. wild day for everyone.)

#rei replies #dracule mihawk #one piece #uta #one piece uta #mishanks #akataka #one piece red #one piece film red #i also have half an idea of mihawk finding uta and gordon and being like 'they could move in with me i guess'#and the next time shanks visits he's like 'uh. that's my daughter? and her teacher?' and mihawk is like 'no she's my daughter now. duel?'

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bcofl0ve · 1 year ago

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just would like to add that Austin getting a lot of shout and praise for a movie that he’s not saying much in, and commenting that this shows he’s a movie star, is pretty astounding? I understand people being protective, as I’m the same way. And when you care about someone, sometimes we then behave like Mama Bears lol. But maybe we should save the mama bear act for when it matters. And not for something Austin is getting good reviews for haha. Maybe I’m also focusing on the negative as well of seeing only negative things the fandom is saying, but it just seems they’re really worried about him when the shouldn’t be. I’m so glad we have another movie to talk about. Nobodies mentioning “the voice.” He’s gotten a ton of praise, and alot have mentioned he is a reason why the movie works. I don’t know if it’s because he’s not the lead, and so that’s why people are lashing out because he is not getting as many headlines as Jodie. But we need to be ok with that. Austin was probably happy with a quiet character after Elvis and then Dune lol. So excited for Dune btw and he will likely be the standout in that. But just want to add he has been mentioned over and over as a standout in this without saying many lines! End of Essay Ch. 2

oh i truly can’t knock anyone for going mama bear bc i very much feel that way too sometimes even if i don’t always bring it to the timeline (self aware wolves?)! like you said! i get it! and it is at the end of the day coming from a place of care so i don’t think anyone is a bad fan for simply being a little overworried. but also like you said…time and place!

and i agree with everything else you said too. obviously he didn’t have to prove himself to me, i think he’s one of the best actors of our time. but when that first reaction to mention him was so positive i very much felt like i could breathe out after being wired as hell refreshing twitter waiting. i’m so over the moon that people are seeing him for the star that he is- and seeing that star power even in a role that doesn’t seem to be hugely dialogue heavy.

austin has busted his ass to get to where he’s gotten and i’m so proud of and happy for that kid. all his dreams are coming true (,: how exciting!

#❤️

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angelhummel · 2 years ago

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2022: a summary

Post your favorite and/or most popular edit from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months!)

I was tagged by @crayonstoperfume which is super crazy to me and also probably not a good idea bc I can already tell most of these are going to be shit posts aslkjsflks but I guess that is my specialty so lets see!

January

Screw them. Just go for it, Hummel.

February

happy super bowl sunday to those who celebrate

March

Glee + Reductress Headlines (31/?)

April

[untitled blam post]

May

Glee Anniversary Appreciation Week - Day 2: Favorite Relationship/Dynamic

June

and nobody seems to notice...

July

[untitled dodgeball post]

August

Glee + Reductress Headlines (57/?)

September

Glee + Reductress Headlines (77/?)

October

Glee + Reductress Headlines (81/?)

November

[untitled incorrect klaine quote] AND 🎼 One Song Per Episode; 1.16 Home - A House Is Not A Home

December

I love Glee because the music still SLAPS. Like, my GOD. Sometimes the songs are euphoria for my ears!

Okay glad to see that four gifsets actually made it onto the list, that’s nice! But it was fun to take a little look back on those as well as my sillier posts and remind myself how much fun it is to make stuff for my lil fandom

Truthfully I haven’t been in a very gleeful mood lately but maybe this is what I needed to get back into it. Besides I’ve got a ton of positivity posts to make and a ton of reductress headlines stockpiled in my image folders so hopefully the motivation comes to put them all together and get them out there!

Thank you to everyone who’s still following me, and to everyone who actually reblogs and likes my stuff to give me these sweet sweet notes. We made it thru another year just chugging along in our little corner of the internet. Can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us. Probably plenty of new cast scandals and lots of new music that makes people say “thank god glee ended before they covered this” haha so funny original joke <3 And hopefully also some fun and silly little posts from my blog to counteract all that bullshit lol

Hope everyone is taking care + I love you all + see you in 2023!!

#glee #mine #long post #also i tag anyone who wants to do it lol #idk who hasnt been tagged

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clood · 2 years ago

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Hey! 3 and 25 for the fun meta asks, please? :D

hey!!!

3: a scene i want to write but it’s basically too much effort…. it’s not that these are really That Much Effort but i just don’t have the brain space rn to start a new fic BUT

a scene where leorio finds out kurapika is marrying neon would be so so so delicious. i have the whole thing in my head, where he reads the news in the paper and not from kurapika himself, and the whole mental turmoil that would come from it would be wonderful. but to do that i’d first need to have a ton of exposition from kp’s point of view about his goals and the mafia, which seems like a lot rn. and then i’d need the follow-up of leorio moving on but not really, and then i’d also need to figure out how the rest of the story plays out xD but someday!!!!

this is living in my phone notes for now, just so it’s got somewhere to be:

after the sun has set on their young friends’ adventures, reality finds leorio and kurapika in very different positions. leorio paladiknight, a young and brilliant new doctor, resigns himself to cradling his own heart when the one person he had hoped would is on the other end of a telephone wire that’s been cut in somewhere in the middle. kurapika—just kurapika, please, has dug his own deep, dark grave where he will someday lay himself among the disembodied eyes of his brethren.

it is one morning, where leorio cradles his heart in one hand and his mug of coffee in the other, where our story takes an… interesting turn.

“neon nostrade engaged to marry mysterious bodyguard,” the biggest headline reads. below it, a grainy photograph of the nostrade heiress draped clumsily over the arms of a straight-backed and stoic kurapika.

leorio has to do a double-take, a triple-take, before the letters on the page fully sink into his brain and form the proper words in the proper order.

kurapika? marrying into the nostrade family? this can’t be right.

leorio, having never quite lost his habit of calling up an old friend and having never quite accepted that he will never pick up, hits the number 1 to speed-dial the contact his cellphone provider is probably only ever moments away from manually blocking themselves.

the line rings once before the voicemail robot recites the instructions at the same time that the voice in leorio’s head does.

i’m also wanting to write another foray into the world of kurtan culture and craft, which would need A LOT of worldbuilding if i want to do it right. coupled with the idea that i have to include a more nontraditional element to this fic (that i’ll keep secret til it happens bc i think it could actually be really fun), i may not get to it anytime soon hah.

25: personally the most fun part of writing is the frantic word-vomit stage where every line you write is just pure genius and you just feel like nobody else could ever be such an incredible writer as you are in that moment. there’s something so chaotic and beautiful about that feeling xD and then it all comes crashing down during the second attempt at the fic haha but while it lasts it’s like i’m king of the world babey!!!

#ask game #thank you for this hehe so fun!!!#also it’s worth nothing that the snippet was written in the euphoric state i mention as the answer to 25 #so be gentle with it xD #my writing

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cavehags · 4 years ago

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i realize this will probably bring up old drama so you might not want to answer it. but do you ever regret, however on purpose or on accident, bringing all that unnecesary hate towards Katara? i'm really sad and dissapointed tbh. i'm a woman of color and katara was so important to me growing up. my favorite animated woman ever. and then this resurgence comes and theres so, so much unnecesary hatred for her and everyone ignoring everything that makes her a good character.

(2/3) 2- and you know, i expected this from the male side of the fandom. they were misogynistic to her and the others even back then so i would expect it to be even worse with how internet culture is more mysogistic now that ever. and i wasnt wrong. male atla fans had some truly horrible takes and views that just came across as racism and misogyny. but, i expected these circles to be better. to be a safe space for us woc who love this character. but i found the same weird hatred for her.

(3/3) 3-i just, i cant believe i feel less welcome now that i did even back then. and back then i didnt even paricipate really. but at least i could enjoy fandom content without stumbling into misogyny and racism every other post. also sorry for sending this to your personal blog b i just wanted to let you know you controbuted to that too even if it wasnt your intention. at least you realized that and arent contributing to it anymore right? cause honestly the hate has only gotten worse not less.

hey anon. thanks for asking this question, because i hadn’t addressed this topic previously and this gave me an opportunity to do so.

no, i don’t regret publicly interpreting a character whom i love through a nuanced and human lens. and i don’t regret combating the one-dimensional interpretation of this character, which posits that she’s merely an vaguely defined object of attraction for some boy or another, and a singularly gentle, mature, maternal figure whose sole purpose in life is to nurture others. those interpretations suck. they rob her of the humanity and complexity that make her character unique and they stem from misogynistic tropes that reduce women to the services they can provide to men. the thing in the world that matters most to me is fighting misogyny, and this trend to diminish a proud and powerful and angry teenage girl by exaggerating only her most socially acceptable traits is misogyny.

unlike you, i did not grow up watching avatar: the last airbender. the shows i watched growing up did not have a lot of girls who felt real to me. the girls i saw on tv growing up were simple. they were the main characters’ crushes. they were simple, desirable, usually sweet and loving, and not much else. if they had a flaw, it was that they were, at best, “awkward.” whatever that means. or if they were the protagonists, which was rare, they were nice enough and tried to do the right thing, but they never had strong feelings like resentment and anger. they weren’t allowed to be unfeminine which meant they weren’t allowed to be bitter, angry or in any way flawed. they didn’t look like the version of girlhood i knew to be true for me personally, which included a lot of anger and frustration and powerlessness.

that crappy representation left me with internalized misogyny that chased me for longer than i’d like to admit. i did not learn to think of girls as humans who could be as interesting and flawed and messy as the boys were. i did not value myself as a girl, and later a woman, because i thought the best thing a girl could be was... bland. boring. pretty, but empty. passionless.

it would have meant the world to me to see a character like katara.

because katara is angry. she has every right to be: she’s had so much stolen from her, including her mother, her people, and her childhood. katara has a short fuse. she yells. she snaps. she fucks up. sometimes she makes mean jokes! i never saw a single one of those dreamily perfect cartoon love interests make mean jokes when i was a kid. she is extremely idealistic--it’s her defining character trait--but we see the bad side of that as well as the good. we see that her need to help others leads her to act rashly, to get herself into danger, to put others in danger too.

and she has her very own arc. it’s not about her love for another person, either (what a snooze of a storyline); it’s about growing up and learning to break down some of that stubborn black-and-white thinking that we all indulge in as children. it’s a true coming-of-age arc and it belongs to a fourteen-year-old girl.

when i, to use a phrase i find crass, “entered the fandom,” i quickly realized that other fans’ perceptions of katara did not line up with the things i valued most about her. other fans seemed to valorize her most socially acceptable feminine qualities: her generosity, her kindness, her dedication to helping others. and of course i love those parts of her--i love everything about her--but what is really remarkable about avatar: the last airbender is that katara’s many important virtues are also counterbalanced by equally significant flaws. a good character has flaws. katara is a good character, and a deviation from the characters who made up my formative media landscape, because she has flaws. her temper, her idealism, her stubbornness--these are flaws. flaws make her seem real and human and challenge the mainstream sentiment that girls are not real or human.

it simply did not occur to me that celebrating these aspects of katara that make her a realistic and well-written teenage girl would spark ire from other adult fans. it absolutely did not occur to me that i would then be blamed for somehow causing misogynistic interpretations of this character, particularly given that misogynistic interpretations of this character are the very thing i sought to correct when i began to blog about this television show.

i’m told there are “fans” on instagram and tiktok who think katara is whiny, annoying, and overly preoccupied with her trauma. i do not use instagram or tiktok, so i wouldn’t know, but i’ll take your word for it. respectfully, however, they didn’t get that from me. misogynistic takes on katara have existed since before i came along. i have never, ever called katara whiny. and seeing as i have been treating my own PTSD in therapy for nine years, you can safely conclude that i don’t think anyone, katara included, is overly preoccupied with their trauma. that’s not a thing. do i think she’s annoying? of course not! as a character, she’s a delight. does she sometimes find real joy in aggravating her brother and her friends? yes, because she’s 14. i, an adult, am not annoyed by her. sokka and toph often are, because that is katara’s goal and katara always succeeds in her goals. she’s not “annoying.”

if there are “fans” who are indeed following lesbians4sokka and somehow misreading every single post and interpreting them to mean that we hate katara and they should too, i don’t really know what you want me to do about that. l4s has over ten thousand followers and we have already posted so many essays disavowing katara hate. our feminist and antiracist objectives in running the blog are literally pinned with the headline “please read.”

furthermore, you cannot reasonably expect my co-blogger and me to control the way our words will be received. we should not have to, and are not going to, add a disclaimer to every post saying that when we critique or make jokes about a teenage girl we are doing so through a feminist lens. our url is lesbians4sokka, and we are clearly women. if that alone doesn’t make it obvious, then refer back to that pinned post.

it is indescribably frustrating, and really goddamn depressing as well, that people are so comfortable with the misogynistic binary of Perfect Good Women and Flawed Wicked Bitches that they perceive any discussion of a woman’s flaws to be necessarily relegating her to the latter camp. if that is how you (a generic you) perceive women, then i’m sorry, but you’ve internalized sexism that i cannot cure you of. and it’s unjust to expect my friend and me to write for the lowest common denominator of readers who have not yet had their own feminist awakenings. we do not write picture books for babies. we write for ourselves, and with the expectation that our readers can think critically. reading media through a feminist lens is my primary interest; i have no intention of excising that angle from my writing.

as i go through my life, i am going to embrace the flaws of girls and women because not enough people do. as long as the dominant narratives surrounding women are “good and perfect” and “unlovable wh*re,” you’ll find me highlighting flawed, realistic, righteously angry women in the margins. and for what it’s worth, it’s not just katara. i champion depictions of angry girls in all sorts of media. that’s sort of my whole thing. my favorite movies are part of the angry girl cinematic universe: thoroughbreds, jennifer’s body, hard candy, jojo rabbit, et cetera. on tv, in addition to katara, you’ll find me celebrating tuca and bertie, poppy from mythic quest, tulip and lake from infinity train, korra, and more. i adore all these women and see myself in them. i hope you find this suitably persuasive to establish that i have sufficient Feminist Cred, according to your standards, to observe and write about these very flawed and human fictional women.

what i’m saying is this: i decline to take responsibility for the misogynistic discourse orbiting a children’s cartoon. as someone who writes about that series from a perspective that seeks to add humanity and nuance to the reductive, one-dimensional, overwhelmingly sexist writing that already exists, i am pretty taken aback that i am the one being blamed for the very problem i sought to address. except not that taken aback because i am a woman online, haha! and this is always how it goes for us.

finally, i think it sucks that you’ve chosen to blame me for a problem that begins and ends with the patriarchy. i can’t control the way this response will be perceived, just like how i can’t control the way anything will be perceived because i am just one human woman, but i do hope you choose to be reflective, and consider why you’ve chosen this avenue to assign blame.

#anyway! this answer is too long and it's undignified to answer ''fandom drama'' queries on le blog #but here we are in 2020

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grumpy-zane · 4 years ago

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((Idk what to title this. DOTD stuff/Royal Blacksmith HC lore.

WARNING: this is long.))

Dareth ran the tablecloth up and down the counter, scrubbing out the spots that had ring stains to the beat of the song cracking from the radio. It was still too early in the evening to open up shop, but he didn't mind the wait. It gave him a lot of time to double check everything and re-count inventory. He flicked off the radio and on the TV, leaning on the counter to catch the news.

Nothing important was happening today, unless you counted traffic jams as a lethal city attack, and it was the perfect weather to hit the beach according to the news. No doubt Gayle was trying to find something to talk about, but, "Not a single story to get a scoop out of today, miss reporter," he spoke to the screen. Eyeing the window, he contemplated going out for an hour to catch some rays. Not that he needed it immediately, but he had notice that his tan was starting to fade as of late.

Knocking against the door pulled him from his thoughts. "We're not open yet, come back in three hours!" Dareth called, hoping his voice carried though the thick wood.

"Not a patron!" A prideful voice muffled back.

"Lou?" He stood up and answered the door. "Lou! Good to see ya, how have you been?"

"Well I've been just wonderful," he smiled and stepped inside, taking a seat at the bar while Dareth returned to his position, "I stopped by to talk to you about Day of the Departed plans."

"You know me, always room in my schedule for that. That's a few months away though, right?"

"Yes, but its always good to plan these things far in advance. Anyway, the other day when I was going through the archives, It hit me that I never let Cole experience how the Royal Blacksmiths formed."

Dareth lowered the TV volume, "Wait, I thought Cole didn't want to be a Blacksmith?"

"No, of course not! But its family history that I think he and his friends should know.. on top of a performance of course! That’s why I've come to you! We need the Jade Palace rented out." Lou beamed.

Bewilderment struck across his face, "Lou. You can't just rent out the Jade Palace- sure the city rebuilt it and turned it into a memorial.. museum.. actually I haven't been inside. But! Isn't that a little 'out there' in terms of.. you know.."

He laughed, "That’s why I came to you! You know how to make the impossible work out! And it's perfect too! 'The Royal Blacksmiths perform at the Jade Palace: a Historical Unraveling', I can see the headline now." He looked up, picturing the scenario in his mind.

Dareth folded his arms and thought about it. No doubt he'd have to talk to a rabbit hole of people just to pull it off, at least Lou came to him about it now rather than one week in advanced. "I'll see what I can do," he sighed.

"Haha, yes! I knew I could count on you!" He jumped up and headed towards the door, "I'll give you more details once I flesh them out. This is going to be so much fun!" The door shut in excitement.

---------

"You said your dad planned something?" Jay popped a few pieces of candy in his mouth, "something about the palace?"

"Yeah," he reached over and dug into the bag, grabbing out a taffy. "He said he had something special for the team- more importantly me, but he extended the invitation. He said something about Blacksmith history, I just hope he doesn’t drone on and on." Cole rolled his eyes.

"It sounds like you didn't have a very good experience with this in the past?"

He shrugged, "My dad was never a 'when I was your age' person, but he was a 'your great great whatever' person when it came to performing. I didn't like listening to it, so I never payed much attention."

The two climbed the front stairway just as people were departing. so much for making the show, but at least they weren’t absurdly late and didn’t leave Lou waiting half an hour. Kai and Nya looked away from the entry way and waved at the two, drawing the attention of Dareth was was hovering around the side walls. He whistled, Lou snapping away from the conversation of the quartet and smiling. “Cole! Jay! there you two are!”

“Hey dad-” the two hugged, “sorry we missed the performance. Crime never rests.”

“Yeah, luckily Pixal and Zane took over for us.” Jay chirped, “So, a story? Will it be in the form of a song?”

He laughed and rested a hand on Cole’s shoulder, leading the two up through the entrance. “No, no, I’m afraid not. The boys want to call it early tonight, so it’s going to just be me.” Lou nodded to the rest of his group, the three calling their goodnights and goodbyes. “So, you said two of you aren’t showing up, what about Lloyd?”

Jay and Cole exchanged glanced, then repeated the motion with Kai and Nya.Usually everyone would be here, but the S.O.G. no doubt made him rethink things in regards to his father. “I’ll keep a look out for him,” Dareth waved a hand and smirked, “I already got the low-down and I’ll get him up to speed. You guys enjoy the tour.”

The interior was much like it was before the destruction, though more antique fitted for the occasion, no doubt. Glass cases displayed attire and relics of an older time; worn armor stood tall on wooden racks, faded paintings hung beneath special lights, weapons held vertically reflected the gold trimmings surrounding them, and masks hung from the walls. Lou proudly walked past the displays to a dark lit wall, “As all of you know who the Royal Blacksmiths are, I won’t e going over that. Instead, I want to start from the very beginning.” He flicked on a light, illuminating the wall with a portrait through a lamp. “Before there were Blacksmiths, there were entertainers. This group of four traveled through Ninjago by foot, performing tricks no one had seen before! Their acts drew the attention of the Royal Family, who’s prince was delighted by their performances! So much so, that he invited them to perform at the palace.”

Cole tried not to sigh, feeling deja vu from this spiel. Taking a look around, it seemed like no one else was feeling the same. Whether that was for better or worse...

“Mr. Compère, You’re needed!” Lou jumped with the rest of the group, the masked man wrapped his arm around the Blacksmith, his attire making him look out of place, hailing from a lost time.

“M-Mr. Compère?” He sputtered.

“Yes, the King wants to see what we can do!” He was promptly pulled away, the person stopping to look back at the stunned Ninja. “You best be making your way to the stage if you don’t want to miss the performance.” He held up a finger to the lips of the mask, dispersing away into smoke.

Jay gawked, “Did you just SEE THAT?!”

“Who was that?” Kai asked, Cole pushing everyone aside.

“I dunno, but I don’t like the sound of what he has planned. Come on!”

Grand pillars held up the octagonal roof, the rafters danging dozens of lights of varying color, each held at a height that pointed down to the stage. The squad shoved open the doors, weapons brandished ready to fight when they were once again dumbstruck. On the far side the king sat, his green robes draping over his armored body. The Jade undertones in the trimming angled in a way that drew attention to his pale face, his dark eyes watching intently at the four masked men who stood in a circle with their backs on the inside. Among the four, one rose up an instrument: a lyre, intricately carved in ancient Ninjagian. The notes that escaped it echoed in the large room, the lights flickering as the air reacted to the music. The other three drew comically long blades, lifting them to the air and spinning around in a dance.

“The King and his son watched as their performance spelled out the story of a bard, One of which caught in plans that would prove to be quite fatal,” Lou’s voice spoke from the upper floor. As if on queue, one of the masked figured drove their sword into the other, shocking the royalty as the other two dropped to the floor dramatically. The bard only paused, returning to his playing once again. Another masked person stabbed their sword through, followed by the third, but the playing did not cease. This frightened the assailants, the person turning and gliding towards them, scaring them off stage. “It was such a grand display of endurance, that the King thought it would be foolish to simply send them away without compensation. Thus, he dubbed the ensemble, ‘The Royal Blacksmiths’, entertainers of the Royal Family.”

Cole lead the way around the lower balcony, the lights above blowing out suddenly before flickering back on. The stage had dramatically changed, one of that reflect a circus. The ringleader faced the four who had taken a seat next to the railing. Kai blinked, “Hey is that-”

“Ladies, and Gentlefolk, Tonight’s performance is none other than The Wondrous, Illustrious, Roooyaall Blacksmiths!” He brown cape flew as he lifted an arm to them, the curtains flying open as a large tiger leapt forward. One of the blacksmiths, wearing a black suit and white face paint with red accents, jogged across the ring, leading the large cat around the obstacles and through the tubes. From the other side, another Blacksmith ran out, performing flips through the same obstacle course and landing on a rolling board. A third leapt over the back curtain, landing in the hold of the rolling one who lifted them elegantly. The fourth emerged in a cloud of smoke, holding an arm out to the Ringleader who promptly through his hat and cane.

“Cole, That’s your dad!” Jay giddily squealed, pointing at the center circle.

“What?!”

Lou gently bowed, spinning the cane around and throwing it into the air, catching it and tossing it up again even higher. “No more was the need to act plays and stories, the people wanted to see something extraordinary, and so it was!” Lou shouted, barely turning around in time to see the tiger leap from the back curtains again.

“Dad look out-!” Cole leapt up from his seat, gripping the railing as the tiger fell into the hat and disappeared completely. Lou caught the cane and tossed it up again, winking at his son as he whipped the hat directly at him. It spun back around just out of reach and out of the light. The wheeling blacksmith sped up their circles, tossing the other into the air and catching the cane. The other landed next to Lou, striking a pose as the third slid out from the curtain on the other side. Lou kept his hands raised, marching in place as the cane was tossed up again. He grabbed it just as the last smith found his place behind the three, sparks exploding from the end of the cane like fireworks. The hat finally came back around which he promptly caught, lowering it to the ground and letting a small house cat step out of it.

“But it was so, that the life of excitement wasn’t something everyone could handle. Generations of building up elaborate stunts were daunting to the eyes of a junior, and so he chose a different approach,” Lou spoke as the quartet began humming various pitches. “He thought no one should bear to hear such noises that left ears ringing, Instead he came up with a new plan! One that involved singing!” He held the last word on a high note.

The tiger let out a low grumble, its purring distracting everyone to look at the side wall. “Oh nuts,” Dareth, the ringleader, smiled sheepishly, gently scratching the large cat under the chin.

Lou cleared his throat, “And so here we are now, carrying out the tradition to entertain no matter the form, display, or song. I hope you all enjoyed the performances, you especially, Cole.” He smiled up at his son.

Jay barged into the conversation, “That. Was. Awesome!”

“How did you pull it all off??” Nya asked, beaming.

“I would have never guessed that it was that deep,” Kai mirrored their excitement, “who knew?”

Cole leapt down from the balcony and approached his father, “You did all of this, just for me?”

“Of course, Cole, It’s family history!.. and I wanted to let you know that, not everyone in our historical line wanted to do what their fore-fathers did. I’m proud of you, that you’re a ninja, It gives me a lot to write and sing about!” He gripped Cole’s shoulder and laughed, pulling him into a half hug.

The other ninja had leapt down, asking the others as the group of performers congregated in the pit. It was a shame that Zane, Pixal, and Lloyd missed it, but Cole was sure that Kai had recorded at least part of it on his phone for his social media followers. The earth ninja eyed around at the general happiness, content with it, and leaned against his dad. “Happy Day of the Departed, dad.”

He squeezed him back, chuckling, “Happy Day of the departed.”

#ninjago #Lou #Dareth #cole #jay #nya #kai #the royal blacksmiths

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moonysbitofmagic · 4 years ago

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A not-so-depressing post-war headcanon

The first thing Fred Weasley noticed was that he could hardly hear.

When he sat up from the rubble and dirt surrounding him, he was surprised he was even alive - don’t get him wrong. It’s not every day someone survives a duel with a death eater, but he survived. And as George and Ron and Percy and Harry ran to him in relief, it wasn’t happiness and reassurance that filled his chest. It was worry.

Because he could hardly hear their cries of joy.

Perhaps this was just a state of shock - it had to be. However, the days went on and Fred was growing quite tired of having to shout to hear himself or yelling at his family to speak up even though they were practically losing their voices. He hated it. (But come to think of it, who would enjoy it?)

Hermione had suggested hearing aids, a muggle invention that seemed horribly uncomfortable, and Fred refused. Bill was sure there was some sort of charm or potion that would help, but the only problem would be the consistent application of it and Fred wasn’t keen on undertaking the effort. He was left with no solution and it depressed him.

One day, though, he woke up to George shaking his shoulder. His twin brother was clutching onto a newspaper as if for his dear life, waving it in the air, an oddly delighted look on his face. Fred simply turned over in his bed, morose as he had been for the past month. What could George be so happy about?

“Fred, look! This is genius!” George exclaimed. He continued shaking Fred’s shoulders in a desperate attempt to wake him up, but the attempts were to no use and Fred groaned, shutting his eyes even harder. If this was another “solution” for his hearing, he didn’t want it. His hearing had gotten only slightly better since the end of the war and Fred was just fine growing accustomed to it.

“C’mon Fred, don’t be like that,” frowned George. And as you could guess, Fred continued to be just like that. ‘If you don’t wake up, I’m replacing your position with Percy.”

Fred immediately shot up in his bed. His blanket fell to the wooden floor, covering his pounds of rubbish and clothes that were refused to be picked up - a direct result of his mood. Yet he didn’t notice. His eyebrows were raised in a panic, an unhappy expression on his face. “You wouldn’t!” He crossed his arms.

George did not respond. He simply held up a page of the newspaper, pointing towards a section of it. It was a muggle newspaper, Fred could tell. Headlines like “Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones Marry!” and “Minimum Wage Rises in Great Britain!” and “Democracy Restored in Indonesia!” splattered the page, but George was still pointing at the corner of the page. Fred quickly noticed that it was, in fact, an advertisement.

It read: “University of Exeter: British Sign Language Course Offerings”.

George’s face was lit up. This was the first time Fred had seen him so excited since the war, and it was hard not to be so happy himself.

“Hermione showed me this!” George grinned, folding the newspaper and setting it down on Fred’s bed. “Apparently it’s an actual language. That you speak - wait for it - with your hands!”

“You’re joking!” Fred suddenly uttered.

“No! And Hermione says that - what is it? - the ‘University of Exeter’, isn’t too far from here. She’s willing to pay the cost for it too. I think it would be pretty bloody cool, what do ya think?”

Fred thought about it. It did seem genius: a language spoken with your hands! It would certainly be much easier than all the frustration he had gone through just to hear things well. George had lost an ear earlier that same year and it would only benefit him too. So Fred nodded, smiling. It was the first time he had smiled since the war.

And little did he realise how the idea would turn out. Even if they had to hide their magical identities, Hermione had helped them blend into the muggle world and even showed them how to take the underground train to the location - a concept that completely baffled the twins. The class proved interesting and by the end of it, Fred and George had their own language to utilise and it proved to be quite handy. (Haha, get it?)

The rest of the family relied on the basics that the twins taught them, but were too confused to learn more. It was fine with Fred, though. He could hear them just enough to slightly make their voices out. George was always willing to translate for everyone when Fred couldn’t hear them well, and often found himself translating for Fred to others when Fred didn’t want to shout at them. It even was useful the two wanted conversations without being overheard (which was quite often, to be honest) and they felt closer than ever before.

The thing that surprised Fred and George the most, however, was that sign language even provided them with a conversation starter with girls - who found sign language to be mysterious and attractive. For once in a long time, Fred wasn’t so sorrowful.

Because even if the war was devastating, he had something to keep him sane, which was just was he needed.

#but this would actually be so cute #like just imagine fred and George signing with each other #fred weasley #george weasley #harry potter #post war #battle of hogwarts #fred weasley headcanon #george weasley headcanon #post war headcanon

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frustratedpoetwrites · 4 years ago

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Where Do We Go From Here?

Chapter Ten, George’s miscalculation

read on AO3 here

I do realise this is is the third thing I have put out in as many days and that kind of production level is unheard of for me haha.

This has a little bit of NSFW stuff right at the beginning of the chapter so I’m going to put it all under the read more line.

Warnings, NSFW and Overdose.

Bill slid a hand through his wife’s long silky hair as she continued to use her mouth to pleasure him. They had always enjoyed making love in the mornings, but lately Fleur had been unhappy with him and not been so receptive. But this morning she had chosen to take the initiative, and Bill was in no position to stop her, not that he ever wanted to stop his incredible witch.

He closed his eyes and bit his lip, concentrating hard, it was almost a relief when she sat up gracefully and mounted him, sliding down his girth and gasping at the sensation, massaging him from the inside, he raised his hands to her breasts her ivory skin almost luminous in the pre-dawn light, sliding his roughened hands down her body to stimulate her more. She swore elegantly in French as his fingers swirled around her sweet spot, riding him a little harder. He could always tell when she was completely lost in the moment when she reverted back to her native language. He wanted control and went to flip them over but she shook her head pushing him back down stopping him. He growled a little and she laughed deeply and throatily, then gasped and swore again as he twisted his hips slightly increasing the pressure on her body. When she wanted to take charge he just had to lie back and take it and do his best to control himself so her pleasure did not end too quickly. He was having more trouble than he normally did keeping his body calm, her soft moans were getting stronger, he could feel his body winding up despite his efforts to keep control.

“Fleur.” He gasped, letting her know he would not be able to last much longer.

“J’suis proche.” She breathed back to him, he grabbed one of her breasts roughly tweaking the nipple and he knew she was there as her hips moved with less control. “Mon amour, oh mon dieu!” The feel of her climax tipped him over the edge and he could no longer hold on, he gripped her hips in his hands as he emptied himself. She collapsed onto his chest breathing heavily.

Bill kissed the top of her head as they later rested together, her head in the crook of his shoulder, one leg lying over his.

“Not that I am complaining,” he started gently rubbing a hand along her back. “But what did I do to stop you from being cross with me?” She moved slightly so she could look up at him, her deep blue eyes sparkling.

“I have been thinking about family, about why you want to have children now. I am happy you did not tell your mother the truth about why we were having the argument”

“It’s none of their business.” He replied simply running a hand through her silvery tresses, her hair felt like liquid as it slipped quickly through his fingers.

“As you say,” She agreed. “perhaps I have been selfish to think that a baby would spoil what we have. I love our house. The life we have together. I do not want to stop being me, just yet.”

“You made that clear to me my love, and I understand. I was being unreasonable to expect you to stop working and start a family straight away. If you want to wait I am okay with that.”

“Merci my love, but I am not sure that I do want to wait for much longer. When I saw Teddy my heart just melted for that sweet child.”

“You really want us to start trying?” His heart leapt at the thought but he tried to keep the hope out of his voice. Her reasons to wait had been perfectly valid, and his assumptions had been more than a little behind the times. When she had stormed off to Hogwarts to see her friend, leaving him angry and confused, and more than a little bit jealous. It had been a bit of a wake-up call for him. He remembered his siblings as children, had helped his mother with looking after them, and he had always assumed that all witches wanted to have children as soon as they were married. Of course, they had not wanted to while there was such darkness in the world, but when they were finally free to live again it had been top on his list of priorities. It had been until he told his wife this.

“Perhaps not trying. Perhaps no longer preventing?” He understood her meaning and felt it was something he definitely could be on board with. He loved the time he had to spend just the two of them, but he also missed the joy and madness of a house full of children. He kissed her deeply letting her know how happy he was that she had changed her mind.

Harry and Ron had been so busy the last few months leading up to christmas, actually being told to stop and take a break had been quite a shock for them. Keeping busy had been something they could both focus on, but it was nice to have Hermione and Ginny home for a while.

They all knew how difficult Christmas was going to be this year, difficult in completely different ways for each of them. Harry and Hermione hadn’t even had a Christmas last year, they had both been rather shaken up from their visit to Godric’s Hollow to even care what day it was. Ron himself had been too filled with guilt and remorse that day to think about anything past his missing friends, until he had heard his name from the deluminator and found another level of determination and purpose. He wanted to make this one a bit more special for all of them.

He was planning to leave Hermione’s house early on the Monday before Christmas, they had got up and had breakfast together but he insisted he needed to go to Diagon Alley alone. There had been no point pretending he was doing anything other than Christmas shopping, it wouldn’t have taken Hermione’s brains to figure that out.

“So do I get any clues as to what you are buying me this year?” Hermione asked as they sat at the kitchen table at her parent’s house, she was wearing casual muggle trousers she had called leggings with a giant jumper that was almost as long as a dress, and thick fluffy knitted socks. One foot was resting on the seat of her chair and she was half hugging her leg as she read the profit. He had glanced at the headline when the owl had delivered it, but knew if there was anything significant he needed to know, his girlfriend would tell him. He was already wrapped up against the cold December air, his Gryffindor scarf wound tightly around his neck and party obscuring his face. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head fondly.

“And spoil the surprise?” He chuckled. “Let me know something my girlfriend doesn’t for a little while longer.” She pulled his head down to give him a proper kiss, moving his scarf out of the way.

“Don’t be all day, I will miss you.” He cleared his throat at her suggestive tone, and considered shopping another day, but he had made arrangements with and he couldn't change them now.

What she didn’t know was that his Christmas shopping was already done and he was planning on spending the day organising something special for the family with George. He had been trying his best to spend more time with his closest brother. George was working too hard, and drinking too much, especially now that Angelina had started her new job and was spending a lot of her time away from him. George kept trying to play down his relationship but Ron knew how much he missed her when she was not around. Ron had been helping in the shop when his Auror training would allow it, he could now create many of the products that sat on the shelves without any trouble at all. George had actually been impressed with how quickly he had picked up the somewhat tricky recipes. He had told him without any hint of sarcasm.

The air was crisp and cold as Ron made his way towards the joke shop from the leaky caldron, frost still clung to the fabric awnings and shaded corners of the cobbled street, his breath fogging the air. It had taken him longer to leave Hermione’s house than he had originally planned. They had showered together for an exquisitely long time that morning.

As he walked along the colourfully decorated streets still thinking about how wonderful his girlfriend was, he stopped at a little bakery and bought a couple of bacon rolls for himself and his brother, who no doubt was still asleep and would have nothing in his kitchen apart from coffee and fire whiskey. Biting into his own snack he continued on his short journey.

The brightly painted shop caught the eye from a distance and Father Christmas in his reindeer pulled sleigh was still whizzing around the shop window. Snow was falling from the roof of the building and disappearing as soon as it landed on the pavement. The effect of the whole thing was brilliant. Portable snow was another new product that George had perfected. Ron suppressed a slight agitation as the lock did not open as he placed his hand on the doorknob. George had said he would add him to the building security, but not yet it seemed. Taking his wand he muttered the password at the lock and heard it click. The door chimed Ho Ho Ho as he entered but apart from that the shop was eerily quiet without the noise of customers. Snow fell inside too but only on the large Christmas tree that dominated the centre of the shop it’s branches decorated with an array of products. Remembering to lock the door behind him he took the stairs two at a time.

“George!” He yelled opening the flat’s front door. “Hey, George get up you lazy arse I’ve got you some breakfast.” The paper bag dropped to the floor as he saw the body of his brother lying face down behind the sofa.

Harry was enjoying himself this morning, feeling more relaxed than he had in weeks, due to the positive influence of Ginny. He was sitting on his new broom wrapped up against the cold watching her fly. It had been so long since he had flown, the long summer they had spent together seemed ages ago. Of course then they had been able to fly in just shorts and t-shirt but now it was definitely warm jumpers hats and scarves weather and the bulky clothing was restricting his movement. He had been tempted to take off his coat more than once but he was not working hard enough to stay warm without it, and a warming charm would more than likely overheat him the way he was feeling right now. He had only stopped to grab a drink, but he couldn’t take his eyes from watching Ginny. She always looked amazing on a broomstick, she was fast, confident, and graceful. He knew he had flying skills of his own but he had not been practicing like she had. She was flying rings around him today, literally. She was laughing as she pulled her broomstick up beside him and deftly caught the water bottle he threw at her. They were hovering over the paddock at the back of the Burrow. The air was crisp but still, a hard frost still covered the ground, the winter sun was barely above the horizon. He manoeuvred his broom a little closer so he could wrap his arm around her.

“You are flying brilliantly,” He told her honestly, kissing her temple. “I was struggling to keep up with you. I am so out of practice.”

“And here I was thinking you were going easy on me.” She laughed. “Hopefully we can convince everyone else to play when they are all here later.” He nodded his agreement, then before she was ready shot off towards the other side of the paddock. Before he was even half way there she had caught up, her hair streaming behind her as she beamed at him. He considered his options for a split second before Ginny decided for him and turned her broom sharply cutting his path, he barely managed to change his direction in time. He was about to give chase again when a silver flash and Ron’s jack Russell was running around his head.

“George is at St Mungo’s please come, bring mum, tell everyone!” Ron’s voice had sounded calm but his agitation was evident by the behaviour of his patronus before it vanished. They wasted no time in discussing with each other what could have happened, they both dived for the ground, Ginny running into the house while Harry put their brooms away quickly. He rushed inside when he heard Mrs Weasley cry out in shock. Ginny had an arm around her mother’s shoulders and was leading them to the fireplace.

“Can you go get Dad from work? I will call everyone else from the hospital.” He nodded at her and watched them walk into the green flames before running back outside and apparating to the ministry.

Angelina stumbled out of the floo at St Mungo’s and would have fallen on the floor if not for a strong hand grabbing her elbow until she could catch her balance.

“Thanks.” she said politely then recognised the green eyes staring back at her and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back a little awkward with this rather tactile greeting. She usually enjoyed putting her old teammate off balance but this was not the time, she just needed a hug. “I came as soon as I could. I've been worried sick. What happened? Can I see him?” Harry opened his mouth to answer but stepped aside as he spotted someone else approaching.

“Angelina!” Ginny yelled and barrelled into her hugging her fiercely. “Come on he was asking for you.” She grabbed her hand and pulled her towards one of the wards walking quickly. Harry took her bag and followed without a word. “The bloody idiot’s been taking the draft of peace to help him sleep, he mixed it with fire whiskey last night. If Ron hadn’t been going to see him I don’t know what would have happened.” She explained then started grumbling under her breath muttering more insults to her brother’s intelligence, anger flushing her cheeks. If Ginny was this angry with her brother it was doubtful he was still seriously hurt. “They revived him and pumped his stomach. The healers say he will have to stay in for a few days until his levels are properly balanced, whatever that means.” She stopped for a moment and turned her attention on Angelina. “Did you know he was self medicating? He brewed his own potion, it’s supposed to be taken under medical advice. He made it far too strong.” She closed her eyes for a moment, the fear for her brother coming to the surface. “Why could I not see? I should have helped him more.”

“I didn’t know he was taking it, I promise. We enjoy a few drinks when we spend evenings together but it is never to the point of passing out, nothing stronger than beer.” She looked at her friends kindly. Harry was now holding Ginny as if she would fall if he didn’t, she accepted his embrace without comment resting her head on his chest. Angelina suppressed a pang of jealousy for their relationship, they were so openly in love it was sweet. However it was hard to watch when you were desperately in love yourself and having to hold it back for fear of rejection. “You didn’t see it, because he didn’t want you to. He is stubborn with his grief.” She didn’t add that every Weasley she knew was equally stubborn but catching Harry’s eye she knew he had caught the unsaid sentiment.

Angelina saw the crowd of redheads up ahead and knew that George would be behind the one door on this stretch of corridor. They were all looking towards it in concern as they huddled together. Ron was sitting on a flimsy hospital chair, his hands laced behind his bowed head. Hermione sat beside him rubbing his back in a way that said she had been trying to comfort him for a while with little success. Everyone else was standing around, Fleur was comforting Molly in a very role reversal way holding her close and rubbing her back. Arthur was off to one side speaking with a tall wizard dressed in the unmistakable robes of a healer, Percy stood by his father's side paying close attention to what was being said. Bill stood as if on guard by the door his arms crossed his wand in his hand. Ginny walked her past them all.

“He kicked us all out.” Bill stated going to stop their progress, Ginny just glared up at her oldest brother who actually shyed back slightly at her look. Angelina was always amazed at how easily the tiny form of Ginny could overpower her brothers with nothing more than her presence and a glare. Bill seemed to be weighing his options before he shrugged and stood aside, “Well don’t blame me if he throws things at you, I gave you fair warning.”

“He won’t kick me out.” Angelina said confidently. “If he tries I will kill him myself.” Ginny gave her another hug and opened the door, letting her go on alone.

The room she entered was quiet, George’s was the only occupied bed, the other was stripped to the bare mattress. He was propped up on pillows with a tube running from his arm up to a bag containing clear liquid. His eyes were closed but she knew he was awake, his right hand would occasionally move or twitch with his constant nervous energy. The only time she knew he was ever completely still was when he was sleeping. She moved to stand at the foot of his bed. He looked pale under his freckles, his cheekbones were more prominent than she remembered the last time she had seen him. His hair was getting long and it looked unwashed, she wondered if he had eaten a proper meal since she had left.

“You know there are less dangerous ways to get my attention. If you wanted to see me you should have just Owled.” She told him firmly placing hands on hips.

“Angie?” He croaked, his voice a bare whisper, his eyes staying closed. “Are you really there? I have been dreaming of you. You can’t be here, you should be in Montrose. I am not worth losing your new job. This is nothing, just a little miscalculation.”

“I always knew you were a fool but I did not think you were a bloody idiot too.” She had not taken a step closer to the bed, her feet felt like lead. She disliked hospitals greatly, unfortunately it was an inevitable part of Quidditch, and hospitals always reminded her of her mother’s battle and its eventual inevitable end. She had been only thirteen when she lost her mum, a difficult time for her and her dad, especially trying to cope with a confused girl going through puberty. Fred and George had cheered her up without ever knowing they were doing it, their friendship had been so important to her growing up. It had meant the most that first September after her mother’s passing.

Fred had always been the more confident twin, although few had ever bothered to notice, he had asked her out for the Yule ball. They’d had a great time together and had shared a few kisses, but the rest of the time he spent it telling her how great George would be for her, and she had silently agreed with him. George had never asked her out, he had just watched her with his big puppy dog eyes when he thought she was not paying attention. Any time she thought he would finally ask her, Fred would start to flirt outrageously, making her laugh, and his brother would back off with a sigh. It had been like that the whole time they were at school. Then one day last April, when everything was getting really frightening he had turned up at her door and they had connected in a way they never had before and started snogging right there without the need for words. Perhaps it was the fear of possibly dying tomorrow that they had ended up in bed perhaps that had just been an excuse, either way she would never regret it. “I thought we were just casual anyway, just a bit of fun you said.” She didn’t want him to know how deeply her feelings truly ran. She was terrified he would back off and shut her out. She alone fully knew how much he was hurting, how much he was refusing to admit to even himself that he was. She hoped that this would be a wakeup call for him to accept the help of his amazing family, to admit to himself he was not okay.

“Oh Angie, if only you knew how much you mean to me. I’ve liked you for so long. Fred said I should not waste a day, if I liked you I should tell you. Why can’t I do that?” She went to answer him and convince him she really was standing right there but he continued to speak. “It’s not me you want, not really. Fred’s gone so I am the runner up prize.” The bitterness in that statement was unquestionable.

“Blind as well as stupid.” She murmured, finally moving to his bedside. “I like you, I have always liked you. I miss Fred too, but he was my friend. It’s you I want to be with.” She took his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his. His eyes fluttered open as she did so, the arm without a tube in it tried to hug her.

“You really are here?” He breathed. “I love you.” She could not stop the grin that spread over her face at his words.

“You have a funny way of showing it.” She scolded mildly before kissing him again. “I love you too and if you ever try to kill your self again I will kill you.”

“It was a mistake, I don’t want to kill myself.” He slid the back of his hand against her cheek. “Why is it so difficult to be taken seriously? I try so hard to be okay, it’s exhausting. When I go to bed I don’t sleep, not without a little help, I thought it couldn’t hurt. Instead I have hurt everyone, including myself.”

“You had me worried sick you bastard.”

“The healer who treated me wants me to come in regularly. I am going to do it. Fred would be very upset if I worked myself to death, even if it was to keep our dream alive.”

“Fred would want you to be happy.”

“I know, but I never thought I would have to be happy without him.” She kissed him again more gentle this time, and pressed her forehead to his.

“When my mum died so many people would say to me. She’s not really gone as long as you continue to love and remember her. I tried to believe it but most of the time I thought it was bullshit. But then when we won the house cup in fifth year and everyone was so happy. I thought I felt her there with me, for just a moment. It will never go away, but it gets easier to carry, and sometimes you have to let others help you too.”

“I will, I promise.” His eyes were a little bloodshot but they looked at her with such sincerity she knew it was true. They were going to be better together, there was a long way to go but he was definitely headed down a better path.

Charlie floo’d home from the international port key department to find an empty house.

“Mum? Dad?” He called to no reply. His concerns started to grow as he saw the abandoned mugs of tea still sitting on the kitchen table. His mother would never leave dishes unwashed. He walked to his mother’s clock, every hand apart from his own was pointing at St Mungo’s. “Fuck.”

Dropping his bag in the middle of the kitchen he Apparated right there. He rushed over to the welcome witch who gave him a practiced smile. “My family is here. Where are they?”

“Do you know the patient's name sir?”

“Weasley.” He yelled

“Charlie?” Bill strode over to his brother and pulled him into a hug. “Sorry, with all the commotion, I forgot you were getting in today.”

“Who is it? What’s happened?” Charlie asked, still panicked despite how calm Bill appeared to be. Bill always appeared calm.

“It’s George but he’s okay, more embarrassed about it all if I’m honest” the taller brother laid his arm across the shorter’s broad shoulders and led him to a set of chairs. “We have all been busy with our own shit we didn’t notice how much he’s been struggling to cope. He overdosed on a very potent brewing of the draft of peace. Ron found him, he’s been keeping a closer eye on George and helping him out in the shop as much as he can. It could’ve been worse, he was only comatose for a few hours.”

“At least one of us is looking out for the rest.” Charlie stated glumly. Bill looked at him sharply.

“Hey! That’s not fair. He has been very good at pretending to be okay, and it’s not like any of us are coping much better. Losing Fred, I still can’t believe he is actually gone, I half expect him to appear one day claiming it was all an elaborate prank.” Charlie snorted at that.

“Pretty poor taste.” Was all he said and Bill nodded his agreement. They sat in silence for a moment. Charlie wanted to go see George and the rest of the family but something about Bill’s body language made him stay and wait. Bill and Charlie had always kept in close communication, the only person he perhaps conversed with more with was Ginny because she always had all the news from everybody else, and she never criticised his life choices like he knew their mother would. Bill had always been his confidant, his adviser, the first time he’d ever got drunk it had been with his big brother, true it had been Bill's fault. Likewise it had been him who had first heard about Fleur and his nerves about introducing her to the family.

“It’s so good to see you, I miss you.” Bill spoke up eventually, Charlie just nodded. They were not the type to delve into deep and emotional conversations, for them this was the equivalent of holding on each other and weeping.

“It is not easy to be so far away from you all, especially right now, but I love my work, and I know I would not be any help if I hung around at home. I just don’t feel like I fit there anymore.”

“I admit I found it difficult living there when I came back from Egypt. Even more so when Fleur moved in too. Having our own space has really helped. Don’t guilt yourself into coming back. George is as fine as he can be considering. We are all going to take better care in looking out for him, and he has promised to get professional help. Your heart is in Romania, with your dragons, even mum and dad know that. Come on, I will take you to see everyone else, I have been hogging your company for too long.”

Everyone was pleased to see Charlie. They crowded around him like the long lost relative he was, even George managed to brighten up at his brother’s arrival. Everyone apart from Ron who was still sitting with his head in his hands when Charlie sat beside him.

“Cheer up Ronnie, you didn’t put him here.” Charlie said as brightly as he could muster.

“Didn’t I?” Ron stated glumly. “If I hadn’t been selfish last night and stayed over at George’s instead of my…” He paused looking around for their mother, seeing she was out of earshot he continued but still kept his voice low. “My girlfriend’s. He wouldn't be here now.”

“True he wouldn't be now. But who’s to say what would have happened another day? Unfortunately this was bound to happen eventually and what if it was a day nobody visited? You were there to save him Ron, he’s going to get the help he needs.”

“I suppose you are right.” He agreed glumly.

“Of course I am. Now go and see Georgie so he can say thank you for saving his life.” Ron managed a weak smile at that and got up to speak to George.

#hinny #hinny fanfic #hinny fanfiction #bleur #romione #post war hinny #my continuation of HP story #Harry Potter #Ginny Weasley #bill weasley #fleur weasley #Ron Weasley #hermione granger #charlie weasley #george weasley #Angelina Johnstone #georgina

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samfenderdaily · 4 years ago

Note

what do you think the lyrics of the outro of ‘use’ are?

i hear “oh you love her” but i can’t find it online??

and also what do you think the meaning of it is? is it about the negative press famous people get? or maybe a relationship, but i know he doesn’t sing about that very often. it’s literally just a guess haha

The official lyrics (this is my physical copy of Hypersonic Missiles) are 'Are you lost brother?'. I know, I couldn't hear it at first either haha

I don't think it's about a romantic relationship. It could be about how tabloids distort the truth, though. Everything tends to be sensationalised nowadays, especially when it comes to celebrities. They want catchy, clickbaity headlines. So when someone like Sam - someone with a 'loose tongue', who's very honest and doesn't beat around the bush - writes about sensitive and controversial topics, the press (specifically tabloids) have a field day. They purposely misconstrue everything he says, they misquote him... I'll give you an example: apparently, 'Poundshop Kardashians' was accused of being misogynistic. Someone thought Sam was criticising girls who wear lots of make-up; he wasn't, of course. He was talking about celebrity culture and how people will worship celebrities one day (and try to be like them at all costs, erasing their own identity) and 'cancel' them the next.

However, the lyrics of 'Use' seem to be much more personal. Newspapers don't usually 'harbour jealousy', and 'save me your story of woe' is not something you would say to a journalist. Maybe the song is about a friend he has fallen out with, who has animosity towards him and talks behind his back. They 'use' him and his fame, they tell stories about Sam just to make themselves look more interesting.

If this is what the song is about, then the lyrics in the outro tie it all together. Sam calls this person 'brother' and maybe he's not actually jealous, he just feels lost. It sounds almost like Sam is willing to help him, despite everything. So it ends on a positive note, after all. This is a bit of a reach, to be honest, but it's just my interpretation.

The song could also be about both things (the press and the ex-friend) for all we know. And sometimes his songs are just loosely based on his personal experiences, so he might know just as much as we do about its true meaning lol

Feel free to elaborate on what I said, I might be entirely wrong 😂

Anyway, I might as well include this whole thing in the album review one of you asked me to write (I haven't forgotten about it, I promise!) 😅

#I had something else to say but I forgot 🙃#sam fender #samfenderdaily #asks

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twiddlebirdlet · 4 years ago

Text

Inbox Collective Part II

hagarsays said: I don’t believe that cause if Chris liked something we would have gotten a notification saying Chris Evans likes....... also people and photoshop shit

Anonymous said: well one thing's for sure this pr seems to be hitting, it has been posted everywhere and all comments are positive from what I reading , people like him obv and they love lily and no one is suspicious , the only criticism I'm finding is with fans because of the Corona thing (rightfully so), the general public doesn't seem to notice it, i think it's because the picture seem cozy and don't not flashy unlike sebastian

Anonymous said: I also don’t understand how ppl can’t hold their fave accountable like that doesn’t make you or your fav a bad person. Everyone makes mistakes, calling them out helps them realize they were in the wrong and hopefully allows them to grow to be a better person

Anonymous said: The like and unlike of the tweet coupled with these new pics of him looking at the camera is just so shady to me. Its not as if he’s had any bad press at the minute or really has anything to sell, so what does he actually have to gain from pulling a stunt like this at almost 40 years old? Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.

Anonymous said: Is he still in London to be practicing lines with her

Anonymous said: I find it hard to believe he liked that tweet cause people can fake something like that all the time and you would have gotten a notification saying Chris Evans like something I didn’t get anything I just got a RT notification

Anonymous said: Don't know if I'm reaching here but Jenn Streicher sometimes used to do lily's make up but the last time I can find is 2016 so I don't know if she could of introduced them

Anonymous said: Chris’s Great Maskless Papwalk Stunt Adventure! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Oh, Twid, you kill me!

Anonymous said: Seb took the pressure off of Chris cause he been seen with his GF without a mask and they are out in the open😂

Anonymous said: I’ve been seeing some people say he did this for a personal trip and they are dating. The paps were there coming out. What do you think about this?

Anonymous said: I know you won't agree with me but I think they are serious and talked before. I am not saying she's is soulmate but it's gonna last.

Anonymous said: So pretty much every article is running with the hot new couple?? take. And no denial from either side. I guess they're playing this game through? Just curious what you think, if the goal was to get buzz around their names, but they're not actually doing the dating thing, when would you think a denial would come?

Anonymous said: So idk who situation is way worse Seb or Chris cause Seb is out and about with his GF and they aren’t wearing a mask while Chris was with lily and no mask but it was at night so what you think

Anonymous said: Okay out there theory. Maybe CDAN was right it could of just been dinner and explains the very little romantic information we're receiving. I know in previous interviews the avengers cast has gone to dinner together out and about with little pictures. I think he's even just gone with Scarlett we just never got any photos. Thank God. And as sketchy as it seems I've been at friends house way later than 1 am and literally played games/talked. This could possibly be a set up or exactly what it looks

hagarsays submitted: I’m other news SEBASTIAN WHERE IS YOUR MASK 😷 https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fthesebnews%2Fstatus%2F1280541447570194432%3Fs%3D21&t=OWNjN2E2OTY3ZWNmODBhNDI3ZGJmODQ3MDRmY2YwYzM2Y2QxMWY1NSxjMmVmNzY5YmZjNWMzODIyNDY1ZDVmNDYyY2M2ZjcwMmE3YTNhYTAw Twitter

Anonymous said: Hello. I'm new to Chris Evan's blogs or fansite so this question might sound ridiculous. But why am I seeing so many people suggesting he or his team have staged things, especially with women, for the paps? I guess he never seemed like the type to me so it's all surprising. Also, in the photos with Lily he didn't seem aware of the cameras. However, she seemed very aware as she was looking dead at the photographer. She didn't seem to be trying to avoid it Thanks in advance for any answers

hagarsays said: Some people who where fans are leaving the fandom over what happen like that a really stupid reason they are acting like he did some bad that he can get arrested😂😂 like clam down people it’s not that crazy

Anonymous said: I personally think this was a hookup or a PR stunt. Even if they did get together in the hotel, I don’t think Chris would intentionally be this careless to let the paps see. Either way, good for them. If it’s an actual relationship, I’m happy for him. I just don’t see how it would work rn under these circumstances and them living in two different countries. Also, people are still going on about the condom. Like, who cares. At least he’s being safe if it was 🙄

Anonymous said: lily is so smart, first she calls the paparazzi to photograph her going to a hotel where she is staying and then the paparazzi catches her with chris, she is very committed to disconnecting from her ex

Anonymous said: Do you think he’s still in London or back in MA?

Anonymous said: Just Jared posted another article mentioning an old interview where Chris talks about dating actresses because of life shared experience. Considering that JJ is really celeb friendly, I wonder if this has to do with his team or if it's just a slow news day.

Anonymous said: ASP launch reschedules in 3..2..1

Anonymous said: It's funny how many people now are desperately trying to prove that Lily and Chris didn't sleep together because they believe he's with a certain engaged actress instead. Like Chris voluntarily left the event with Lily, got into a cab with her, and they went to the same hotel, but gosh, he had no idea this was going to happen and he is just shocked! They're trying to make it seem like Chris was utterly clueless and Lily was the bad guy in all this so they can still believe he's true to the tree.

Anonymous said: Chris just tweeted and deleted again. That is twice in 24 hours. I really need that gif where he says I am not angry just disappointed to be inserted here.

Anonymous said: Hopefully these "mask manips" will make their way back to "The Maskless Boy Blunder" like Scott & Yvette Nicole Brown was so eager to bring those acylics & bonnets manips to his attn…😒

Anonymous said: You are killing it, Mod. Case in point: “The Great Maskless Papwalk Stunt Adventure” moniker and the reminder of Chris’ penchant for overly melodramatic 90’s films. You are the best. Please insert appropriate self-congratulatory gif here.

Anonymous said: Someone left a comment under asp instagram post that Chris didn’t wear a mask and now that post gone.

Anonymous said: Did you read Lainey Gossip's article? She actually thinks Chris self quarantined for 2 weeks after arriving in the UK. Oh lord 🤦🏽‍♀️. He literally got there last week, and is probably out of there by now.

Anonymous said: What he tweeted and deleted?

Anonymous said: Ya what’s a little weird. I went on US weekly to look at that article and it was not on a top headline where news from yesterday was still on there. And it’s hard to find. Even US Weekly was like ya we aren’t getting paid for this nonsense. Haha.

Anonymous said: A starting point just deleted tweet and ig post. Yesterday Chris deleted his retweet. Very interesting 🤔

Anonymous said: ASP instagram just deleted post. WTF happening. Too much bad comments?

Anonymous said: Bets on Chris retweet new ASP tweet or not?

hagarsays submitted: ASP was 3 years in the making didn’t he just started interviewing politicians in 2019? https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fasp%2Fstatus%2F1280502252319449089%3Fs%3D21&t=YmEyZmYxMzMzYTkxMDNkMzdlNTdkMjFlZWQwZWNkOWFlM2Q3NDZjYixmM2VmZGE1NzhhNGYzZThmNjI1ZWNhYmYzOWEzODRlMWU0ZGRkZTI2 Twitter

Anonymous said: Her hotel is closer to the club they were in and nicer too. Why did she go to his and walk through the back while he took the closer door like i love lily she can do better. I read he did the same thing to Jenny even after they went public like i wonder how he even brings it up

Anonymous said: Do you really think he was there for work? Idk why I find that so hard to believe. Apart of me thinks he literally flew to meet her and had it papped. What are your thoughts? The flight isn’t that long from Boston.

Anonymous said: Is this definitely a pr stunt? Could it not be the start of a new relationship between him and Lilly whilst acknowledging it’s crap timing without a mask etc

Anonymous said: people know say that him was holding a condom he must be embarrassed now

Anonymous said: Flying across the sea during a pandemic, not wearing a mask, was wrong. But Chris is in love, again. He's been following her IG for quite a while now and their mutual friends (Powley and Cooper) probably introduced them via Skype, Zoom, whatever. It's been 2 years now, so he's more than ready for another affair. This will get really interesting once they start flying back and forth to be together. Should be fun watching this one - Chris finally has himself a Disney princess!

hagarsays said: Also I just realize this if they wanted to milk this PR stunt even more they would have made another plan where they meet up somewhere and look like they are having fun. I honestly think and I could be wrong this was a one time PR stunt cause as of now I haven’t see any fan pictures of Chris and fans from London know where he staying so that’s why I think he back home or maybe yet hiding 😂

Anonymous said: I'm the anon who mentioned that some relatives got sick during a barbecue. I wanted to thank you for your answer and say that today, my cousin told us that my aunt will be released from the hospital. The staff was sweet and sent pics and a video for my cousin.She stayed there almost 2 months.I couldn't recognize her. She is really weak and could barely speak at the video. She has a long road to fully recovery.Take this virus seriously guys.My aunt is young and had no health problems before this.

Anonymous said: Lmao if the anon is talking about those actors not doing pap walks, a lot of them have, esp when there was some controversy. And Tom Hanks had a whole affair with Rita Wilson. Like, some of ya'll are projecting.

Anonymous said: Literally in a crowded park? The group looks like they socially distanced and kept to themselves so let's not overstate things. People have been spending time at parks and not wearing masks since it's outside. Making assumptions on any "candids" doesn't work since you just see a fraction of what happened. Especially if we're assuming PR.

Anonymous said: I wonder if we will get a Dodger pic or a pap walk wearing a mask. Does anyone know how twitter reacted? I don't have an acct there, so I don't know.

Anonymous said: Do you think that Chris and Lily’s PR stunt really increases his chances of getting the Emmy nod? Cause although it might get his name in the media, idk if it’s a good look for his image or ASP. Plus, if he wants to be taken seriously as an actor and not be seen as just Captain America, idk if engaging in a fake relationship and traveling abroad to club without a mask will get the Emmy voters on his side.

Anonymous said: Not going to lie this whole situation has made me lose a little bit of respect for Chris. Also just seen pictures Johnny Depp in London and he is wearing a mask and think he came from US.

Anonymous said: I am Dumbfounded! Why is everyone still Surprised at Chris Evans Behavior? It is expected that he will do more stupid things than good. One step forward, two steps back. Oh! Make it three!! LoL and what is the basis of Emmy's for a nomination? By Being more popular and who have more exposure in press and media? Isn't supposed to be who have a better acting and who is a more talended actor? Which Chris Evans is Lacking? Sorry not sorry but he is mediocre at best. He needs Acting Workshops badly.

Anonymous said: I’m assuming Chris is back in MA about his deleted retweet. But that would mean he was in the UK for 3-4 days. He was also styled for an event (he never dresses that nice). I don’t buy into lily breaking up with her BF and then quarantining with him for 3 months. I think they are still together but it’s a bad look for her to just get back with him if he cheated. So her team makes her look desirable and having fun and then her and Matt will “rekindle” their romance (1/2) With her not even being papped in the hotel that makes me think nothing happened and it was a setup. Usually Chris’ team puts out an article for relationships. Which didn’t happen with (this) lily. I bet their will be announcement about her being in a project with him soon (maybe LSOH). And she will be papped with Matt. Chris is so private that i doubt that he would start doing this now. There’s too many places he could have been papped in the UK but wasn’t. Just my take🤷‍♀️. (2/2)

Anonymous said: “Sometimes what Chris says doesn’t always line up with what he does. Today is another example.” What do you mean?

Anonymous said: The club checks your temperatures at the door and it was reopening night. They have rules for people who can come there because of this pandemic. Why and who he was with? I don’t care but I hate that people are making it seem like he was in some nasty club with glow-sticks dancing to old rap music & ringing in the New Years then took a girl back just to fuck her. How ridiculous and presumptuous of people. Chris has his faults but he’s not a complete idiot.

Anonymous said: Did you see the IG post from justheretoruinlives literally it zooms in on what they portray as a condom. Lololol

Anonymous said: girl i think like you !! I see many say they already had sex just for being at the hotel at 1am? but we only know that she supposedly entered the hotel through another door? but in the photos she is not inside !! Also, don't we really know if it was that hour or not? DM is never as reliable as the medium! I also think PR but I want to think that this was more of her! We can only hope what Chris's team says about this!!!

Anonymous said: Chris is just blegh the past couple of months. ASP for starters. He’s going to get torn to shreds for it and rightfully so. No doubt he’ll slowly stop acknowledging its existence and cut the partnership in a few months. His quarantine interviews.. dude get some new one liners. Saying the same thing always. Trying to use big words so he sounds smart. He sounds pretentious and annoying. Then ignoring Rudd to scroll on his phone and constantly cutting him off.. BOO!!! I’m over his hypocritical bs!

Anonymous said: I’m trying to figure out why Chris would partake in this kind of PR stunt right now, though. It’s SUCH a bad time for that... what would be the purpose for it?? Not trying to be combative, I’m just truly baffled by it. Like, why??

Anonymous said: I didn't even watch his last interview I'm disgusted he's acting even younger than me and I'm mid twenties. This took attention away from all the semi-good things he's doing. I don't think most people are paying attention anymore. Megan is going to have to sadly clean this up if she didn't have a hand in this.

Anonymous said: Nobody has memory of anything serious he's doing anymore lol. Defending Ryan right? Sorry never heard of her. He reduced himself to tabloid fodder and it's disgusting.

Anonymous said: He’s been working PR for the past 8 months. He mad his insta in December, made it public in April (around the time of DJ a similar strategy they did for Jen A.), had a single but dating article in Jan. Has been doing nonstop press since April/May. Mentions LSOH in the last couple interviews. Follows Lily (June) and is now papped with her. Well played Chris, well played

Anonymous said: So does the timing of his tweet indicate he is back stateside? I noticed he followed someone last night (DJ costume designer) when it would have been the middle of the night or very early in the UK. He's probably back home.

Anonymous said: Sounds like she playing cat and mouse with her ex. Buying decorations one month then getting papped the next with someone new. Not saying it isn't possible to move that fast. But....if ex came a knocking she would probably ditch this pr blunder.

Anonymous said: As much as we tried to deny it, we knew Chris could be messy. I’m REALLY disappointed that Gemma Chan was with Lily on her maskless park romp the other day. I’m a big fan of hers and thought she was smarter than that, especially since she’s said a lot supporting frontline healthcare workers through this whole time. Really over this selfish behavior from everyone, both celebs and normal people. It’s just making this longer and harder for all of us.

Anonymous said: The thing is: Chris says he wants sth, but I doubt that even Chris knows what he truly wants. That's okay! A lot of people don't know what they want. What really bothers me is that he keeps selling the same narrative over and over again (cuz he knows we will buy them) and then do sth that suggest the opposite of what he states. C'mon man, be yourself and don't give a damn to people's opinions. It's better than contradicting yourself. Sorry if that doesn't make sense

Anonymous said: Mark Ruffalo is a national treasure. Take notes, Chris. You could learn a thing or two.

Anonymous said: Must be nice for him that he’s in a position where he COULD get a Covid test on demand if he wanted one (and I’m SURE he could). Even in my state, which is doing worlds better than other states, we have a testing bottleneck and also concern about supplies. People who are sick are having to wait. Healthcare pros and teachers and essential workers are having trouble me getting tested. I know I shouldn’t get so upset about him but it’s just really disappointing.

Anonymous said: Also if he knew he was gonna be papped why didn't he wear a mask. I think a case might be made for that as well. When he moved Scott no mask. Assuming most people wouldn't even notice probably and only one did. LA protest his most likely chance of being photographed, he had a mask. Even posted on his story. I'm just grasping at straws🤔

Anonymous said: She have an article on DailyMail every single week. So angry about this dumb decision to play a pr couple. I had a better opinion about Chris.

Anonymous said: Well if the artwork thing is true I can definitely see this being pr and her having no actual interest in him. But no pr can explain away why he endangered himself and others. I hope scott tore into him.

Anonymous said: I thought it was PR 101 to like not be in a PR relationship with a girl who calls the paps, and was rumored to be doing drugs in a park a few days ago. I feel like he has a better pool to choose from to be taken seriously

Anonymous said: Change of subject/pace: I wonder why Halle Berry thought she was going to do what they VERY PUBLICLY shut down Johansson from attempting not to long ago: play a transgender in a movie. If Berry wasn't paying attn then, surely her team was?? And now with JKRowling v Everybody... Maybe Berry thought her "historic" Oscar-win would protect/excuse her…???

Anonymous said: cya Chris! > I’ve watched all his interviews and imo he doesn’t come off as cocky but that’s just how I see him. I still think he’s a good person that needs to get his shit together. I hope everyone is staying safe

Anonymous said: I don’t watch his interviews. Can the other anon elaborate on how he came across as self-absorbed, cocky, hypocritical and dumb? I believe you, I just don’t want to do the work myself

Anonymous said: I had a weird feeling when him and Scott starting following her as well. Maybe it was because she was weirdly being papped a lot at the time where I would be like why is this girl getting papped

Anonymous said: The girl that was with Sebastian posted a pic of then two togheter on jet sky one day before the pap pics

Anonymous said: The thing that those pictures from Saturday but posted on Monday morning US time speaking it self. But I think this was planned from both sides. Lily could approved way earlier. I can’t wait for their next walk of shame pictures.

hagarsays said: Also his fans even said they have no problem with lily James and him being seen together it that he didn’t wear a mask is the problem but also they all moved on cause it’s so unnecessary to go back and for with pictures that’s where taken on Saturday

Anonymous said: Not to be that person...but lily was seen in a park with Gemma Chan, Billie piper, Dominic cooper - All not wearing masks. Her and Chris were at mark club which is a private members only place with a dress code and social distancing rules - no mask reg (check the site). The doorman wasn’t wearing a mask either. The UK seems weird with rules and while I don’t like it - I am not surprised. They DRESSED up but didn’t need masks. What’s wrong with this picture?

hagarsays said: I agree can we all move on cause we are all going on circles at this point and it’s making us all go crazy for no reason. So if there another major information between them you would know also if there a statement we would know too but as of now there isn’t

Anonymous said: Entertainment tonight, people and us weekly have reached out to there team for a comment do you think they will get an answer

hagarsays said: If I’m right he started following once he got his insta cause I had to look at something and her name was part of the 70 total following but now he follow 3 more people

Anonymous said: Chris does not even follow the director or any producers of LSOH on Instagram so I would not assume his following Lily is automatically related to the movie.

Anonymous said: Have you seen the knives out page? They blocked the ana de armas update page. Hilarious break if you need one.

Anonymous said: I think like you. I think mainly chris is there for work !! Maybe it's already gone or is it still there? in my opinion I think it was more PR of her than chris !! when chris has done a type of PR that involves that he spent the night with a girl? why many think that already !! maybe the hotel part was part of it? why is chris seen entering the hotel quickly?

Anonymous said: Asian Tree gal pal is Scarlett. She didn't have on her unique engagement ring in one of the grocery store pap sets (she's had it on in subsequent sightings) that might've given her away, and when dressed down with her hair pulled back she's no "Black Widow," and still managed to get ID'ed, so NOPE, no excuse for Evans to not have on a mask or one in view.

Anonymous said: And if he "forgot" his mask, I'm prettttty sure the luxury hotel or exclusive restaurant would've arranged to get/lend him one. Buuuuuut then we wouldn't have 50+ "candids" at different locales, angles, and postions, now would we...? 📷📷📷

Anonymous said: Asian Tree gal pal is Scarlett. She didn't have on her unique engagement ring in one of the grocery store pap sets (she's had it on in subsequent sightings) that might've given her away, and when dressed down with her hair pulled back she's no "Black Widow," and still managed to get ID'ed, so now excuse for Evans to not have on a mask or one in view.

Anonymous said: My opinion is she called the Pap but the plan went to the left with the back door. This is not coming from Chris he wouldn’t leave anyone sees him with out a mask in this pandemic. Even if it was just for the Pap walk

Anonymous said: I live in the UK, we don't have to wear mask, we do have to social distance though, u are allowed to be in a bubble, i wouldn't say a 4th of July fuck is social distancing or being in a bubble. I work with some very sick people who have had life saving treatment cancelled. Then u get people like Chris who do as they please for a weekend fuck😡

Anonymous said: Getting back to the Michael and Alicia thing, did they start as PR and end in marriage? Or is the marriage also PR? I know that sounds ridiculous, but I’ve heard it happens

Anonymous said: I wonder if Megan is like “sooo that backfired” LMAO I haven’t really seen a lot of positives hahah

Anonymous said:

I would like to know what's on Cris's mind now what is he feeling, if him regrets this “drama”

Anonymous said: I hope he does get dragged for not wearing a mask and I don’t feel sorry for him that he can’t retweet something without crazy comments. For someone who pretends to be smart using big words he sure is stupid sometimes. Also-did you see the Tom Hanks PSA...lol “I have no respect for people who don’t wear masks) I could care less about A Starting Point. Covid has hit so close to home with friends and family I’m just floored about this.

Anonymous said: If they use the “having fun” “seeing where things are going” language in the next article about them it’s a publicity stunt. Because those phrases are not only what Chris’ team has used in the past but it’s also what many other celeb PR stunts use.

Anonymous said: Maybe Chris deleted the retweet because he knows most of his fans aren’t happy with him right now so he’s rather lay low

Anonymous said: Sorry but does that anon have more information on Minka and Trevor? How do they know they’re dating????

Anonymous said: Surley if they were dating they would be staying in the hotel together the past week or so or however long he's been there, it's clear from the pics she hadn't been there with him before and had to wait to be let in, they would know who she was surley……

Anonymous said: Some of his fans moved on cause they know this whole situation is BULLSHIT and it’s all PR shit for the movie while other are demanding Chris to say something

Anonymous said: I just want to comment and laugh at you explaining to the other Anon what the ‘Dark Ages’ where. That’s the most appropriate and best description I’ve ever heard over that wretched and gross time lol

Anonymous said: The ASP launch is literally one week away. He should be promoting that instead of doing this. He's sabotaging himself. I don't really think it will affect the success or failure of the website itself, but it's taking away from what should be his promotional narrative. That's why I have a hard time accepting he'd play this game this way right now.

hagarsays said: Also if Chris is back home we would never know not if he was seen somewhere in Boston

hagarsays said: I really just want to know why do this like what’s was the reason was it because lily might be taking Scarlett role so they want to make a name for her so they picked Chris cause they know how his fans will react like I need to know😂

Anonymous said: Meanwhile Scott is on IG advocating for trans safety and rights. I think he’s a great advocate and ally and I appreciate the awareness he brings way more than something like ASP.

Anonymous said: lmao people are making assumptions though. Did you physically see him walk through the front without a mask? Did you also see the doorman without a mask? All of these assumptions are ridiculous at this point. People say it's pr so they get the pics then what? You literally don't see it.

Anonymous said: Those screenshot are from a gossip site. Also in the UK we call it snogging🤷‍♀️

Anonymous said: Do you believe the DM that said they where making out in that person post you posted

Anonymous said: Just wanted to say thank you for being logical and realistic about all of this. I see a lot of people trying to make excuses for Chris and say this isn’t PR

Anonymous said: I'm pretty sure lilly still lives with her ex. And was probably partying so hard to get over said ex. Then gets papped again with a new guy. It feels like maybe revenge more than her actually being interested in casanova over here.

Anonymous said: I think like you. I think mainly chris is there for work!! Maybe it's already gone or is it still there? in my opinion I think it was more PR of her than chris !! when chris has done a type of PR that involves that he spent the night with a girl? why many think that already !! maybe the hotel part was part of it? why is chris seen entering the hotel quickly?

Anonymous said: Considering how vastly worse Black people have been impacted by covid, anyone who tweeted about BLM but isn’t taking the pandemic seriously is a fucking hypocrite in my opinion

Anonymous said: Why would this trip's purpose be LSOH? It's not like Chris is involved in the making of it, i.e., producer, etc. Why would he be going to London to meet with Lily? I believe they've been in touch in the past month or so (email, DM, text, etc.) and he wanted to personally meet with her. Wait and see what happens after the launch of ASP to see if he goes back there or if she comes over here.

Anonymous said: God I hope Megan wasn’t... he would need a new PR team immediately.

Anonymous said: I don't see him settle down. I never felt this vibe coming from him even with all what he says in interview. I think I like the idea to be a husband and a dad but if he did it he couldn't hook up with women he meets in nightclub, ask their number to girls, go to strip club with all the freedom he has right now. I read often it's because he doesn't meet again the one but he doesn't invests energy, make compromises for a serious relationship for me.

Anonymous said: If I were the PR person arranging this, I would have booked Chris at the same hotel lily was papped at a few days and sold it as “they hit it off at the party and were staying at the same place, what they did when they got inside is anyone’s guess” leaves fans speculating enough without the embarrassment or messiness of her going waiting around a back door for no real reason

Anonymous said: Also wasn’t it teased that lily and producers wanted to do mamma Mia 3🤔

Anonymous said: I think settling down with a wife and kids sounds nice to Chris in a “maybe one day...” kind of way but it’s not something he’s eagerly looking for or trying to make happen.

Anonymous said: Being papped during a hookup seems way off from settling down to me….

Anonymous said: I’ve always said his settle down wife and kids thing was PR😂😂 either way this is messy and I don’t think they knew it would backfire. Also the US weekly and People article mentioned it could be for work after hours of the dailymail article and fans roasting him for not wearing a mask and traveling

Anonymous said: maybe him is having a midlife crisis

Anonymous said: I think that’s the big takeaway here. If it’s real it will never work. Mr. Boston ain’t leavin Massachusetts for anyone anytime soon and she is firmly rooted in the UK. I don’t dislike her at all, the opposite, I actually like her better than most of his exes, but as a fan of both, this just isn’t rooted in reality long term. I’d be all for the man having some fun if the rest of the world wasn’t on fire right now.

Anonymous said: Umm shouldn’t we not idk jump to conclusions until we officially know what happen between them

Anonymous said: Thanks you guys for making this MORE about these dated, sloppy (PR?) moves and his reckless UNMASKED/NON-QUARENTINED behavior. I'm glad this didn't turn into outright bashing her or needlessly excusing him as *certain* parts of his fandom does with EVERY tenuously linked female in his orbit. Business or pleasure, HE has more to lose in just goodwill. Our climate is MUCH diff than in '15-'17. He & this better be "handled" in keeping with our changing world/times, cuz it's short-sighted and tacky.

Anonymous said: HAHAH! He is not settling down. He is literally hooking up or creating a narrative he is hooking up at 1am in a pandemic. Clearly Dad Chris Evans I want to get married and carve pumpkins reputation and brand has flown out the window.

Anonymous said: She was with a man for 5+ years and might have been cheated on. In the last 7 months she’s been papped a lot and with different guys and looking like she’s having fun. Now with an A list actor. This is her team making her look desirable and her making her ex jealous. For Chris it’s getting his name out there more and pushing the bachelor image. He followed her months ago and I would be surprised if this was planned but I think it backfired and makes them both look tacky😬

Anonymous said: Get a grip! Nobody here knows Chris at all, none of us do. You can't say things like 'I don't think Chris would like this' or 'Chris wouldn't do that' because we don't know. All we know is the very carefully cultivated image presented to us by him and his team. We have no idea who the real Chris Evans is.

Anonymous said: This is all so messy and quite frankly embarrassing because it’s so transparently PR. I think they both made bad choices here - Chris especially since his penchant for privacy made me expect more from him. How long do you thing this circus will last? I was around for the last PR stunt so I’m not sure how these things go.

Anonymous said: I don’t think she’s any messier than he has been in the past. I’d like to think he’s changed but the reality is we have no idea. His last major relationship had its own set of bright red flags. There’s plenty of judgement to be had about the pandemic situation but directing anything else towards just her isn’t really fair. I know a certain faction likes to always blame the woman but they’re in this together, whatever this is. I see people already turning on her and it’s kind of obnoxious.

Anonymous said: more to that anon's point about her being super messy. WHY would he want to be associated with that messiness when he has seemingly worked hard to get rid of or at least hide his partying image? I'm not sure I'm phrasing that right. But my point stands. He wants to be taken super seriously for the whole ASP thing and I don't think this helps him. The only real 'winner' here is her.

Anonymous said: I really and I mean REALLY hope this was just a work event and they went for one night stand. But if he will do pr dating with her or he’s really into this young drug addict with messy relationship history Im out of this fandom. He says how he wants a family and trying to look smart using all those fancy words but in reality he’s a huge disappointment.

Anonymous said: To everybody who is disappointed at Chris cuz he seems to be acting different from the image he's been projecting over the last years: Mr. Mercurial has always stated his appetite changes a lot. Maybe this is just an example of it (yes, I'm being sarcastic) 🤷‍♀️😂

Anonymous said: Why are people making a big deal about separate entrances to the hotel? Most hotels right now will only let you in the main lobby if you're currently staying with them. I think you even have to make a reservation before you get there. Lily isn't a guest at the hotel so they aren't going to let randos walk through the main lobby.

Anonymous said: None of this makes sense. I can only see 3 possible explanations: 1. They met for work, but where so smitten, they hooked up (but how would the paps have had advance notice?) 2. They met on SM and planned a date (but he’s never invited paps to his first dates before. 3. They really are hooking up and he’s so insecure about everyone knowing he was single in lockdown that he wanted to broadcast getting laid to the world (maybe he’s more of a bro than we thought?). But why so cheap and tacky?

Anonymous said: “Do you think he may have taken her back to the US given that she has been living in a hotel?”>>>>>I think some of you might be getting a little bit ahead yourselves over this one set of photos.

Anonymous said: “after one date/hookup” No one knows the real reason they were there or together. It’s just speculation at this point.

Anonymous said: I think it’s his old suit.

Anonymous said: I don't blame you for not noticing, Chris follows a few random women. People were just focused on the wrong one. Nothing even indicated they had contact until the pics. Even though I wouldn't be suprised if most of the contact was through their pr agencies. Once again who is buying this random relationship/hookup.

Anonymous said: I don’t know anything about lily. What’s her reputation?

Anonymous said: You think him & Lily are a thing now bc he followed her months ago on ig? He’s not dating every female he follows tho. Maybe it’s bc of LSOH.

Anonymous said: Yeah those were the words I was looking for to describe this whole thing. Cheap and tacky. The right way to reveal something to the public is them going out and getting papped at dinner, something more romantic that can at least give the illusion of a potential serious relationship, not a party and back entrance of a hotel. It just looks so messy and dare I say gross. Don’t reveal a potential hookup even if it’s just for the sake of publicity.

Anonymous said: Cheap, tacky and irresponsible considering the current situation at the world. He doesn't have Marvel anymore. I was curious if he would take the path of the actors and actresses in HW. IMO, this answer it all. I know he used PR before but it used to be subtle. This is ridiculous and entitled, principally, because of the current situation, as I said before.

hagarsays said: The only people who follow Lily is a scott and Chris but Chris been following her since he got insta. But idk about Lisa and his sisters cause there page is private

Anonymous said: The funny thing is this pr date is getting alot of positive feedback. So I could see then dragging this out for a couple of months. The only people that see through this are fans🤦🏾‍♀️. I bet that if they reported this on the gossip news tonight while dragging them for not wearing masks, he would stay his butt inside until filming and stop the shenanigans. Which I doubt they will, but it seems tone deaf to report on Nick Codero. Then report on two idiots w/o masks on gallivanting around London

Anonymous said: I'm staying away from Chris's tag on Twitter because it a mess. Some are excited about the prospect of Chris and Lily, some are pissed about the international travel and being maskless, some are confused by the randomness of the whole thing. I'm just not sure this is the kind of press he needs before the launch of his political website and the Emmy noms. I hope his team puts a pin in it soon. Also, it's difficult to take ASP seriously after seeing his irresponsible behaviour.

Anonymous said: Something I find interesting is that in the people article they mentioned Chris and her both quarantining separately. I have no idea why they would believe anybody would buy this relationship. Even as a hookup it's sketchy. Honestly they should let it die. They couldn't even get the dates right on some of the articles.

Anonymous said: No one knew Chris was even in London so that sounds like PR to me. Makes no sense for it to be unknown he’s there & then pap pics get posted from this site who is known to stage pap pics. What else would it be?

Anonymous said: I don't think they were at a party though. The article says they were at the private club, and that's it. No mention of a party anywhere.

Anonymous said: Wasn't she at the front door of the hotel at first then went round to the back/side, how would she know all the doors to the hotel, I doubt this was their first encounter at this hotel

Anonymous said: Lily and her group of friends are known to partake in shall I say powdered sugar. That’s nothing new that’s been the talk of the town for years here in London. That group of friends are known on the party scene which is their right but I don’t find druggies to be cool.

Anonymous said: I’ll never understand how these things translate into award nominations….

Anonymous said: A bunch of outlets said they were making out but like I don’t buy it. This might come back to bite me in the ass but like idk

Anonymous said: Trying to think logical and the timing of pandemic and them both being in different continents, information and pictures in May that she’s back with her ex, before Covid Chris traveling between DC and Canada... How these two could be dating?... even starting as online would be a nightmare because of time in both countries. This ether a PR stunt or she called paps when he asked her to his room.

Anonymous said: I've had a real fun day today thanks to Chris. Like many of you, I've been at home now for over 3 months. I'm really enjoying this. I'm hopeful this will continue to give me some laughs over the next few months. I'm looking forward to her arriving in Boston, that will really kill the fandom :):)

Anonymous said: Am I the only one who thinks they banged? I’m not denying they were there for work but how realistic is she left after the phots

Anonymous said: maybe we'll see the “new couple” at the Emmys

Anonymous said: What’s happening in the Seb fandom? Do people think that’s a PR stunt, as well? And, you’re awesome, Mod. You keep things in perspective.

Anonymous said: I feel like all this nonstop discussion about are they, aren't they plays right into their hands and gives them the attention they wanted. Granted it's a small section of his fandom here, but I hate playing these games. In an effort to change the subject, I for one would love to hear your thoughts about ASP (whenever you're up for it of course). As a fellow Texan, I almost canceled Chris on the spot after he met with ted cruz. Gross.

Anonymous said: If you go on her twitter (Minka) she didn’t take her geo tag off she has been back and forth in nyc since Jan. Also spotted in NYC in March. And follows Trevors Manager’s wife on IG. I know that is a random follow but she wouldn’t just randomly follow his managers wife if she didn’t know her. Either way she has been in NYC back and forth with the geo tag and obvi not working and you wouldn’t stay with a girlfriend back and forth.

Anonymous said: Do you think it’s a hookup gone wrong or PR?

Anonymous said: Speaking of LILY 1.0: Biel pulled the same stunt yrs ago w the then "King of F-Boys," I MEAN Sparta! Broken up w Timberlake (over Olivia Munn?), well after filmimg wraps, managed to get pap'd cozy on a motorcycle w recent costar Gerard Butler, despite both wearing shades & helmets, being in traffic on PCH. Everybody denied everything, but Biel was reunited & ENGAGED soon after. IF thats what this is, Evans should be weary of possible "rebound n release" relationships by now, but we're here!🍿

Anonymous said: I hope he doesn't post about masks and protecting yourself and others because that will be even more hipocritical.

Anonymous said: Ok, I have to voice my opinion since it seems everyone else has -- he has been following her on IG for quite a while now, perhaps they have been dm'ing and decided to give it a try. We'll have to see if she shows up in Concord MA. It's just really bad timing though - a pandemic and ASP starting up. Is he really this stupid?????

Anonymous said: I can’t take ASP seriously from a guy who went to London to hook up and not even wear a mask, or a guy who did all of that for PR. He is a joke.

Anonymous said: If it’s PR I give to 3 - 6 months

Anonymous said: If he's back in the USA then that's even crazier to me. Why would he go to the UK for just a few days, whether for work or not? That would be a bit weird even if there wasn't a pandemic going on.

Anonymous said: This is almost as entertaining as Ben and Ana.

Anonymous said: With JS and MK it was organic and there were things leading out to them being together. This is out of the blue and with no previous indication of it happening. Also London is a long way for causal sex or even a first date. The fact that Chris is most used news sources say he’s there for work. It just seems like a very sloppy and thrown together PR stunt.

Anonymous said: Looking at lily's Instagram following list Chris is second on the recent list, do you think its possible they were both at the bar separately and met then they hooked up then she followed him?

Anonymous said: Valerie is crying in LA right now hahahahah

Anonymous said: There was rumors about Lily and her sniffing habits. People can google them self. Chris could find someone with a better image if he really serious about asp website and his own image. Remember back in the days there was rumors about him and drugs too. People who hates him and his politics views will use this info.

Anonymous said: Do you think with this Deadline interview is his team trying to change the focus

Anonymous said: Even looking at JS and Minka there was some level of affection and SOME discretion. This was lily Collins, Lucy Pinder-esque. I think if he would have been papped at the airport and then later at a grocery store with him it would have been different. Ben and Ana are believable because it was months in the making this is out of nowhere

Anonymous said: The only other movie besides LSOH that Chris is rumored to be involved with is Bermuda, and that seems to have gotten a lot less traction than LSOH. Would it be likely that he's already starting work on a movie that no one's even heard of yet?

Anonymous said: Someone on LSA pointed out that he follows Bel Powley this weekend and she was in the park with that group. She was in lobby hero and in the party with Pete Davidson last year with Chris. So he is friends with her and is maybe the link.

Anonymous said: Feels like bad timing with ASP launching next week

Anonymous said: This screams PR but for what I’m not sure but I’ll bet money that she’ll be announced as Audrey in LSOH.

Anonymous said: Honestly I hope this is real because why have you risking your life and being photographed doing it. I'm sick of celebs and pr. Even though Ben and Ana are hilarious and entertaining. I thought he would be past this at this point. It's disappointing and he knows it's nothing but drama. Are more people really gonna see the movie/visit his website/hype him for Emmy's cause he's dating/boinking lilly? I'm truly done with him

Anonymous said: It's sad with the number of years Chris is in this industry, with his pass with Minka and Jenny he didn't learn his lessons or is doing it for have his name in the media for a nom. I didn't see Ruffalo do it. He lives his life with his wife and kids and shared pictures from the set. If it's a pr romance or just for speculation Chris uses the bad way if he wants to be take as a serious actor. Very disappointing if it's that bc I don't see a rs between us when he was in Usa and her UK.

Anonymous said: Do you remember that girl that was papped holding hands with Chris and we never seen then togheter again maybe this will happen again

Anonymous said: I would like to point out that the taxi could have stopped closer to the hotel. Not only Lily did her "walk" in front of the hotel but Chris did his too. And if he went there for work, he could and should have restricted his stay only for work, which obvioulsy wasn't what happened.

hagarsays said: Wait I though lily is still rumored to be In LSOH it’s been confirmed now?

Anonymous said: if they be together and both on LSZH is just gonna add more rumors about Chris and his co stars and I don’t think is good to his career to be rumored with costar in all his jobs

Anonymous said: This trip might be work related (with a hook up on the side), but this very well could be the start of a relationship between them. The long distance works for John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Maybe Lily will like living in Concord MA. They could have been having a long distance get to know you via email or DM and now are ready to go public with it.

Anonymous said: Wasn't Matt seen out with Claire during the time he was supposedly back together with Lily? I don't think their "on again" was ever confirmed.

Anonymous said: Tbh she doesn’t seem like the type to be going to Boston to hang out with him and dodger she just doesn’t fit that vibe imo. And he doesn’t seem the type to be going to London every few weeks to see her?

hagarsays said: Just putting out there regardless relationship or not it won’t changed how I feel about him I will always be his fan😂 BUT Chris your on time out for leaving dodger

Anonymous said: I’m glad he’s getting called out about the mask thing. That and the travel are really the only things here that bother me. I’m in a hotspot. I know people who have gotten sick. A friend of mine was forced back to work with the public and now she and her family are awaiting their results. I was heartbroken to hear about Nick Cordero yesterday. This pandemic isn’t over. I’m disappointed to see him blatantly flout the rules. I feel for the driver and hotel staff.

Anonymous said: I wonder if the hotel Chris is staying at only lets guests staying at the hotel entry through the lobby. I had to stay at a hotel for work and received a pdf that only guests can go through the lobby. If I was meeting up with someone they would have to wait for me outside. I also had to get my temperature taken each time. They wouldn't be able to keep track of all non-guests not staying at the hotel.

Anonymous said: Also these pics were on Friday and bars/pubs and restaurants were closed in the UK until 4th July they were allowed to open from 6am on the 4th. But hey one rule for the rich and famous and one for everyone else

Anonymous said: If they were together, and he flew down to London just to be with her (like some people are saying), wouldn't he at least have checked into the same hotel as her? This smells like a PR game or one night stand or something.

Anonymous said: Actually Tom cruise is the only person who doesn’t have to do the 14 days quarantine idk why but there an article about it

Anonymous said: She was pictured in different hotel couple days ago not the same they pictured Chris with her. So no they did not live in same hotel and was pictured together by accident. Also if she was staying there she wouldn’t go from the back doors.

Anonymous said: I think Chris has been in London at least since late June. I follow his twitter and he’s randomly for weeks posted at oddly early (EST time) - 6-7 am. Too early for PST, kinda early for EST quarantine. I wondered if he was overseas and saw on IG last week he started following Gemma Chan and other brit actors. I think he’s been in London (lowkey) until those pics since late June. I think he flew private and he’s been incognito until those photos. Basically - I don’t think he JUST flew in

hagarsays said: I feel like the more his team stays quiet the more it get worse cause so mine think Chris is the reason Matt and lily broke up so if I was megan I would put out a statement so everyone can move on already cause drying quite make shit way worse

Anonymous said: The funny thing is I actually like Lily James. I’d actually like them together. I just don’t like these circumstances or this timing. The quarantine rules are rules for a reason, I don’t care who you are. This is some BS I’d expect from a Kardashian or Trump kid. It’s selfish.

Anonymous said: My guess is that it’s PR with a lie pleasure mixed in….

Anonymous said: as much as people or US did not confirm that they are dating? and they are the font that chris uses !! I think Chris is in London for work and people say something with that !! I think it was an exit maybe as friends or just for PR for both of them !! dailyM is so exaggerated already by little it says that chris had sex with her in its headlines !! In addition, if CN is correct, maybe it was she who originated all this to generate people to talk about dating with Chris?

Anonymous said: To be fair on the coke thing it’s no secret Chris has imbibed in partying in the past. I don’t care what he or she do to party. I care that whatever they’re doing now is during the Covid crisis. I’m sure the masked attendant in the background would love to not have unmasked people gallivanting around.

Anonymous said: Agree that this has all the hallmarks of PR. Even if it’s real, she’s not as objectionable as some of his exes and she is age appropriate. It’s just the timing of things. For someone who tried to appear “woke” and has spoken of the seriousness of the pandemic, this isn’t a good look. I’d love to be able to go on my now cancelled London trip this summer with my friends. But I’m not a celebrity so the rules actually apply to me. That’s really the only problem I have with this.

Anonymous said: Considering the article were put online with such a small difference, maybe his team sent the same e-mail to everyone? Lol

Anonymous said: confirmation about their relationship > Media articles don’t know shit tbh half the time they’re labeling a relationship even when there’s nothing to be labeled

hagarsays said: His team need to say something cause right now people are going crazy also one fan was being rude and making fun of lily tweet is not there but this whole thing is just a hot mess

Anonymous said: If this all just PR it was a dumb move on his part. I see most of his fans calling him out or their at least not happy with him. And this could get him some bad press right before ASP goes up (which might also get a lot of backlash)

Anonymous said: Shit... it’s really happening... It’s gonna be a long summer guys.

Anonymous said: The US weekly article seems to suggest he is just dating around still. Do you think? The People article says it can’t contact his agent

Anonymous said: If they are dating they look like a cute couple I have to say

Anonymous said: Relationship? I don't think any article confirmed it. This sounds more like pr for Lily in regards to Matt. They even bring up their "tense" lunch/dinner or whatever it is.

Anonymous said: There are rumors SJ could be pregnant (though that rumor seems to be around a lot since she's not super-skinny), maybe that's why she's been replaced if in fact Lily will be Audrey? I remember Billy Porter basically confirmed SJ and Chris would be in LSOH, maybe back in April or May?

Anonymous said: From what I’ve seen Chris makes an extra effort to get to know his cast and crew so I wouldn’t put it past him if he went to London to meet up with the cast or just see things that are happening for LSOH. He just doesn’t seem like the guy to fly out to a different country for a girl he’s a real homebody imo

Anonymous said: It's still so strange that mere days ago Chris was all "Yeah, LSOH is on the backburner right now" and then like practically the next day he's in London, seemingly for work. And if this turns out to have nothing to do with LSOH then it's doubly strange. And what's going to happen with ASP? He's either going to have to do it from the UK or he'll have taken these big risks just to be in London for like a week. If he wanted to do PR for an Emmy, I'm sure he could have found an actress in LA or NYC.

Anonymous said: What pisses me off the most about this Chris nonsense it that I’m a nurse and we have so many patients new coming in and we unfortunately see them die. I really wished he wore a mask even if the UK said it was fine to be without a mask. Chris miss rona ain’t a joke she don’t care if you’re hot rich and young. I love him but my god it breaks my heart seeing people die from this.

Anonymous said: There was another daily mail exclusive about Matt and her quarantining together and back together. Close Friends was the source talking about their connection. Than they were papped biking together

Anonymous said: I agree with the anon that said the narrative from us weekly or people will depend on the reaction to this. Time will tell I guess.

Anonymous said: This has nothing to do with Scarjo, she is clearly out of the games. Lily James will be in LSOH, that' s why he started following her weeks ago. But I agree this is all a big staged mess. Who knows if it will turn into a real fling though. Drugs and alcohol, she is definitely his type.

Anonymous said: I agree with everything you said this screams pr also i did a quick search of Lily and she has been in the press so much the last couple of weeks with so many exclusives by the daily mail! She also checked into a central london hotel on the 2nd july and guess what its only 7 minutes away from Chris's, so perfect for paps to get there shot of her outside his hotel and her to go in and hide in the lobby for 10 mins then get a cab back to her hotel 👀

Anonymous said: “Chris never travels outside of the US unless it’s work related. In all my years of following him, I’ve never once seen him travel abroad for recreational reasons. It’s always for work.” THIS THIS X1000! Chris never leaves the US (or Boston really) unless it’s for work. I really don’t think this was a coincidence, there’s so many think that various anons have pointed out but this is probably the most important one.

Anonymous said: When did he done his live interview? He’s definitely less than 14 days in London so he really didn’t followed the rules.

Anonymous said: I feel like this is PR only time will tell tho. They may end up being thing but rn I’m leaning towards PR

Anonymous said: Hi! Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how does a PR "relationship" would help with the Emmy noms? Is it the fact that he is out there more, so there are better chances of voters checking out his work? That's the only way I can make sense of this. Thank you!

Anonymous said: If it’s just PR that’s worse than if they were dating/hooking up. He thinks an Emmy is worth risking his health and the health of others?

Anonymous said: "And Chris wants that Emmy nod to finally feel like he’s taken seriously as an actor. They both would greatly benefit from this being a thing. " Sorry but how you find an actor serious after he flew in a middle of global pandemic to go to a private party with an actress who have not the best image lately. It's definitely good for her but for Chris it's a different picture.

Anonymous said: It may be less irresponsible than it appears. Rich people have access to tests, fast-acting (hours) & reasonably accurate. Films are a business. Insurance is a huge factor. An actor’s carelessness during pre-pro would alarm the $$$ guys, I would think. Haven’t read much on how insurance is now structured during CV19 but if LSOH is going forward, then someone weighed the PR opportunity against possible severe illness that would cost $$$. And decided they were safe enuff to pap stroll.

Anonymous said: I’m the anon who asked about PR romance. So basically his PR people have him seem shady to get attention since bad publicity is still publicity? I mean to say, is this his PR persons ideas for him to do these things or his and they cover for him?

Anonymous said: about emmys Mark is amazing in his role he deserve win the show is amazing

hagarsays said: Honestly at this point his team needs to put on some type of statement cause it’s not going away anytime soon until they set the record straight on why he there and was seen with lily

Anonymous said: It’s just disturbing to me since Amanda Kloots husband died of Covid 19 last night and then this morning Chris is maskless traveling, staging pap pics. Like we are in a pandemic. If this was from his team, they need to be morally better.

Anonymous said: But now it's a bad image for Chris... Going to UK, partying, hook up with his costar... oh boy it's feels like early 2000.

Anonymous said: I was hoping he learnt from his past relationships with MK and JS but no. I am disapointed but more by the fact he didn't wear a mask. We've got lots of people who are sick in Europe

Anonymous said: Not saying it’s not possible but I don’t think Chris into online dating, so this looks like pr for me. They didn’t see each other for months before last night. I hope Megan will think something smart and we didn’t see new couple alert.

Anonymous said: I feel like we only get paparazzi photos of Chris when it PR and have been called. You have never of known that he was in London other wise.

Anonymous said: This club (Marks) is not a nightclub. It’s basically like any media members club. People have meetings, sociales, eat and drink. It quite formal. You can hire it, or part of it out for meetings and events. So this is definitely work based. The hotel? I don’t know. Would CE hook up with an actress he may be working with straight away maybe? But it think not.

Anonymous said: i feel like this isn't the right time for them to do promo, it makes them both look like assholes

Anonymous said: The place they went to isn't a night club. It's a private club with very strict covid-19 rules. It's members and invite only. They have private rooms and limited staff during the pandemic. They have a thermal imaging thingy to check temperatures as well. So he wasn't around the general public or strangers. Read up on Mark's Club.

Anonymous said: It’s funny how some fans give him and Lily a pass because she’s pretty. Just wait while they found pictures of her wasted from last week. This is not a good look for a “politician” Chris.

Anonymous said: I hope he stays at quarentene when he comes back. The right thing to do was to not travel at all but since he was irresponsible enough for that, I can only hope he be responsible when he comes back, for his family.

Anonymous said: Take a step back and look how Chris is dress. He is usually casual for parties and hookups (Jenny, Minka) this instance he has been styled. He’s is currently on a Emmy campaign and has been in the us since forever. He followed lily months ago. Then these pics were specifically released to the dailymail (a UK based gossip site). And the paps just so happen to there at the right place and right time. Yeah they could be doing it but Chris is WAY more sneaky that this.

Anonymous said: LMAO. His staged pap walk got foiled by getting locked out of the hotel. How embarrassing. 😂😂 Chris Chris Chris don’t you know these stunts backfire?

Anonymous said: Seeing the pic of Stan at the yatch with the staff wearing masks and then seeing the pics of Chris with the employee of the hotel wearing a mask is practically a deja vú. I don't think this is good PR but of course people will run to defend him and ship them.

Anonymous said: Lily still share the house with her ex

Anonymous said: If this is PR it’s stupid and lazy. Another (British) Lily in an on again/off again relationship who will probably rekindle her romance with her ex in a few weeks. And, who runs his PR? Partying and implied hotel sex during a pandemic is not a good look. At least in Seb’s case, it looked like he was dating his girl. This looks like a hookup with a potential co-star. What, did they get tested just so they could sleep together (if that’s the narrative)?

Anonymous said: The photos where taken on Saturday night but are only been posted Monday afternoon.

Anonymous said: So can we wait for a pic of Dogder? If people calls out him on twitter, chances are there will be a new pic.

Anonymous said: I don't care if it's real or it's PR. It's stupid and reckless. He is travelling and walking maskless in the country in Europe with more deaths by covid and during a pandemic that killed more than 100.000 americans and thousands of people around the world. And yes, I am calling out Chris, as I am calling out people around me. Just because governments are putting less restrictions because of money and economy, doesn't mean we all should act as if nothig is happening.

Anonymous said: now I think that chris definelly follow women that he is interested and maybe slide in her dms

Anonymous said: Some people think they called the paps to put out an an official announcement about their relationship soon. Also, did Scott go with Chris to London? Or did he start following her after he saw the pap pics?

Anonymous said: **THANOS SNAP!** and the fandom's in a tailspin cuz he's done everything all at once! Travelled into a RECENTLY former pandemic "hotspot," "caught" with a "usual suspect (wht female, 30s, brunette, relationship status: complicated 😏)," pics framed like a pre-walk-of-shame (also that shitty site's M.O. - which had pics Fri but waited til Mon to release 😉), DAMN plebeian rules! = no mask or courtesy 2wk self-quarantine. So sensational...& stupid. Now: ASP who? But let's sit n sip together. 🕵🍿☕

Anonymous said: Guess ASP and serious smart guy image not his priority anymore. Rumors about dating his costars like in his twenties more interesting to his team. Sorry Megan but it’s not the right time for this bullshit.

Anonymous said: Also with it being a PR thing, surely this is not the Image he wants out there. Travelling to the UK, going to a party and hooking up all during a pandemic. I live in the UK and things are a mess here at the moment. I would not be heading out like that

Anonymous said: No masks, she was in DA with Michelle. He’s not normally one to get caught with a woman when he’s out with one (cause we know he’s no monk). Time will tell

Anonymous said: Gemma who?

Anonymous said: I mean considering in May she got back together with Matt Smith idk what to think. Also hook up fine but I don’t think this girl is moving to Boston having 4 kids and being his wife at home...I’m not taking this seriously.

Anonymous said: I just need to vent. So I apologize in advance but Chris is an idiot. I just saw the photos of him & Lily James that were allegedly taken friday on the Daily Mail site. And I am angry. Not because he is doing whatever with whoever but because he decides to go London & walk around without a mask, the day that all the pubs and clubs reopened. Like I said. He is an idiot. I truly thought he had more brains due to the fact that he was wearing one while he was in LA. Again, I'm sorry for the vent.

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leanarg · 4 years ago

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((Warning!: I might have let my imagination run a little too freely haha but I think it’s not so bad... Hope you enjoy reading it and then please forget about it ;P Thanks! <3 [5.4K] ))

Practice Challenge Sense of duty

Everything was gray. Everything always is at this hour of the day. Dozens of messy draft notes on my desk waiting to be finished, but I knew if I turned even for a second I could miss this.

I stared into the rising sun in the distance, it looks as if an enormous golden eye was spying on us. It’s rays somehow starting to paint the sky of soothing lavender and brilliant amber colors that reflected on every building tall enough to escape the shadows; fortunately, The Globe building qualified among them.

It’s not like I owned the building or anything but just being able to work here has always -since last year- made me feel a sort of pride, and looking out at the city at dawn while the strong smell of coffee flooded the entire office, has become a special habit of mine to reinforce that feeling.

While traffic sounds managed to filter from outside through the thick, fancy glass of the building I’ve always found it hard to fight the childish impulse to try to spot any delivery truck among all the vehicles that look so small from up here. Our bulldog edition was printed and sold to the distributors the previous night to be out first thing in the morning and by now the Daily should be already in the stands, stores, and even at the front doors of our subscribers for them to know what’s going on in this and other countries. Like a window to the world. It makes the long process worthwhile.

That’s right, physic solid newspapers. I sighed. What I wouldn’t do to see my name printed on a broadsheet, under the tailpiece of a “hard news” story and announced on the first-page headline. That’s the dream, The goal.

But surprisingly, in that particular moment, all those thoughts were replaced by something else.

Herson Grant, editor in chief of The Globe - or like I call him, dad -summoned us to give us “off the record” information. We got the news we all, in some way, knew they were coming. Illèa’s prince had reached the age required to have a selection and since his scandalous engagement brake off last year, the country was expectant. There hadn’t been an official announcement yet, but as press, we had our sources.

We were told to be prepared for the changes this big event would signify for the newspaper. Of course, as soon as the selection starts, or even before, the complete broadsheets will be covered by it. From “Business” to “Society” and of course “Politics”.

The Selection was important for every Illéa citizen in one way or another, that was made clear years ago by the general shock caused by the news of Queen Anjali canceling hers. I remembered reading about it on some old newspaper editions. The country was divided; some, supported her demonstration of independence and capacity to make decisions even against what's expected, and others organized strikes to show their discontent.

I thought Her Majesty’s decision might have some selfishness in it, considering a lot of people were affected by it, but when it comes to putting duty and love on the same scale…

Is choosing love selfish?

I wasn’t the most capable person to answer that question, considering that every guy I’d dated in college had ended up in horrible disappointments.

“You definitely have a thing for jerks, Lea” Liv said to me once before suggesting I should date the guys I would never even consider dating, as a solution, but honestly I preferred to focus on my career and all the things I wanted to achieve professionally.

That way the only one who could disappoint me is myself. And I wasn’t going to let that happen.

The news of the upcoming event was circling my head, causing uncertainty and anticipation feelings inside. As an entertainment reporter and writer on the digital platform of The Globe, this whole thing was going to give me a lot of work to do. The public would want to know everything. And I would have to know about dresses, sponsors, twos applying, twos not applying and

If I listen carefully I will be able to hear the crashing sound of all those famous relationships breaking. I laughed for myself.

I might have been joking about it, but my brain was already listing the prospects and the interviews I would have to schedule in the next few weeks. But, my mind went even further this time, I caught it considering an application. I wouldn’t have to write about gossips and chatter but most of all, the idea of taking part in one of the most important events of our time suddenly sounded incredibly appealing.

All the lives, all the stories. The real stories.

My curiosity was taking control.

“Leana.” I recognized the annoyed voice behind me, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes, Rita.” I turned, her exasperated face didn’t surprise me.

Rita was my editor, one of the several ones around here, she was in charge of the digital side of The Global, more specifically the “socials” department. She was a non-natural blond, middle-aged woman, and not very fond of me.

“Just came from the upper floor, the boss wants to see you.”

I smiled on the inside. Her common ways with me used to be unsettling a year ago but with time they had become somehow amusing for me. “Can I just mention, that new tone of yellow on your hair... compliments your skin tone?” I said, keeping the overdue polite tone, but always careful of not giving any hint of sarcasm.

She had a slight moment of content on her face but then she switched for a glare. “Didn’t you hear me?”

I snickered, I had an appointment for an interview and no time to get on further with the teasing. “I do, but…” I frowned and stopped to check my watch, my eyes widened at the hour. My father was always aware of my exact work schedule, so it didn’t make sense he was sending for me when he knew I wasn’t even supposed to be here anymore.

I started, more to myself than to her. “That’s strange, my dad knew-”

“No, girl, I’m talking about the real boss.” She interrupted me with an amused expression. Of course, she had intentionally hidden that little detail to mock me.

I wonder how she knew I wasn’t going to tell my father about her using the words “real boss” in that sentence. He would definitely take it as a disrespect to the position he had earned with years of work. Though some might think it wasn’t that hard for him.

During his time as a reporter, he had given Maxwell Loyd, - the head chief, and owner of the editorial-, a lot of profits with his excellent nose for scandals and exclusives.

Unlike me, my father used to have his vocation among the showbiz world. He’d got a certain charm, the eloquence to talk and enchant people, so the celebrities used to spill the whole tea about their personal lives and relationships to him, just like that. Probably that same irresistible charm was what made my mom fall for him.

I know, more than a charm sounds like a superpower.

Anyhow, I didn’t think the later discredited his achievements. I liked to think I have inherited some of it, but the society and entertainment world were not the kind of journalism I’d dreamt to do and I wasn’t planning to keep doing it.

“Coffee?” Mr. Loyd offered with serious countenance. I had been sitting in front of his desk for almost 5 minutes and he hadn’t said anything. He was just walking around his office moving papers from one place to another, then plugging his laptop and doing what seemed to be his daily routine in his incredibly fancy office. Meanwhile I was following him with my eyes, as if by staring, I could somehow make the words burst out. I cleaned my throat before, “I appreciate your offer, Sir… I wonder if you had considered my request?” I asked, daring to guess this whole thing was about the proposal I had sent days ago attached to several reports of stories I had been investigating. They were not finished, but I knew that with the support of the editorial office, more specifically, its resources I could find the missing pieces and they would be ready to publish. On paper. Because they were worthy of it. He leaned forward supporting both of his arms on his desk and I could swear I saw a little smirk on his face. “I have read it, Miss Grant, but you are here because the selection is almost here and as a writer of entertainment on the digital platform I wanted to know about your plans to cover everything related to it. Of course he did.

My shoulders slumped and I bet my face showed all my disappointment. “Well, I already have a list of the twos that I think would be participating …” He reclined on his comfortable chair, pensative. “I was thinking about more original content.” Before I could answer anything he added, “have you considered applying?” “Excuse me?” Was he suggesting what I think he was suggesting?

“I mean, as a young Illéan citizen it’s only natural that you want to give it a shot.” He shrugged innocently. “I just wanted to know how many people I can count on, during that time.” The suggestive tone hadn’t left his voice. “Even to know when to schedule a meeting to talk about your interesting proposal.” So that’s where his smirk came from. I swallowed my surprise and played along. “The idea crossed my mind when we were informed this morning, but I have projects here that I’m not sure I would want to put on hold. So, nothing is decided.” I gave him what I hoped was a short relaxed smile. “Miss Grant, you are quite a smart girl.” He sighed. “I rely on your discretion about this.” It wasn’t even a question. He left from his seat and I followed him to the door. “One thing, I had an appointment to interview Gerald Ross, I was supposed to be there now.” I checked my clock again. “Don’t worry about it, I sent someone to replace you.” With a short nod he closed the door behind me.

I stayed there for some seconds, taking everything in. This floor had a stronger smell of coffee, surely it was from a better quality.

I didn’t know what to feel. Should I’ve been feeling angry? Insulted? Then why was I considering it?

No! I was already doing that before this conversation happened. I thought, trying to reassure myself and to bury my ambition.

I looked around coming to my senses, everyone was focused on work, the sound of their fingers typing on the keyboards resounded on this floor level as they did on all the others, luckily no one had seen me there, standing like an idiot. Except for...

My eyes spotted my dad walking towards me, with a smile in his eyes.

“Miss Grant, I was informed you were in a meeting. Is there a problem?”

My father and I had a strange strategy to keep the professional talk during our work hours and the father and daughter moments at home, but honestly we almost never succeeded.

“I rely on your discretion about this” I remembered the boss’ words.

“Uh, yeah-no… It was about a proposal I sent Mr. Loyd” I chose to answer, doing too many hand gestures. I always have always hated that horrible habit of mine. I looked up at my dad and I noticed the unmistakable guilt all over his face. I frowned, as my brain connected the dots. “You have been talking with him about my proposal, didn’t you?” “Miss Grant...” He said with a warning glare. He didn’t want to do this now, not in front of his subordinates. I didn’t want to make a scene either, I had a professional reputation to maintain too, and almost everyone in the building already thought I had gotten my job only because of my father’s position.

I’ve had to live my life proving myself to them, to my exes, to my boss and even to my dad.

I clenched my jaw. “I should have known it.” My words were full of anger but I kept the steady tone. My father and I had a beautiful relationship, we understood each other, we supported each other, except that he had never wanted me to change the entertainment journalism for the hard news. And I just had found out that he not only didn’t support my dream but he probably had prevented it from happening. And maybe this wasn’t the first time, I had sent letters and requests to the boss more than once. He remained silent, but his expression was almost apologetic.

“I have work to do.” I said after calling the lift.

Back in my workplace, the sky at the other side of the glass had lost its colorful tones to show a light tone of blue. I could sense a headache coming, but the dress wrapped in plastic and delivered to my desk was a reminder that I didn’t have the time to be miserable. My mother had helped me to choose it the previous day and we asked the store to send it here today. The thought of my mother made me want to call her and vent about all the thoughts that were bothering me, Virginia Grant was the only mediator that had always been able to fix any argument between me and my dad.

“How could you marry him?... I mean, you were a two!” I asked her one day.

She smiled. She knew I didn’t mean it. It was one of those exasperating times when you can only remember the negative things about a person, and even make a long list of them. Of course my mother had a list on her own, but hers was completely opposite from mine. She loved my dad but based on my experiences, that kind of love was something I was far to understand.

The call would have been a delay as well, so I picked the dress, my backpack and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

The dress was black and long, without my high heels its border would sweep the floor. Elegant enough to make me feel pretty but somehow simple and comfortable with hidden pockets at its sides for my pen and journal. Ideal to go around covering an event from the red carpet until the last two would leave the party.

For a moment I wished I was the kind of girl that brightens with a nice outfit, but I had a lot to think about and a headache, with nothing but my professionalism to hold on to.

I checked my reflection on the mirror a couple of times before a couple of ’dings' on my cell phone announcing a message.

“YEAH YEAH YOU LOOK DECENT, LET’S GOOO!”

I walked outside to the busy city, the honking of cars and the strolling people; just an ordinary day. The sun rays and clear sky forced me to squint and narrow my eyes, but even then I could easily spot Harris' wild long curls tied on a small ponytail back at his neck. He was facing the street, but looking down at his camera screen, probably getting it ready for the upcoming red carpet.

Photographers gadgets is probably the only topic I avoided asking about since that one time I dared to inquire about camera settings. He gave me a complete lecture about all the tools that could be used to fix the light before taking a picture, and I ended up more clueless than before.

“Wow!... no one can ruin a nice dress like you do, boss” He said when he turned around.

I rolled my eyes “Says the boy with the twisted bowtie” We had to speak up so our voices didn’t get lost among the noise surrounding us, but beside that, my tone sounded more harsh than intended.

Harris and I had been working together since we both entered The Globe editorial office. He was assigned to be my assistant photographer, and he was a great one. We made a good team at the beginning and after a year I would say we had become good friends. He’s always mocking about how everyone hates me for my last name and I mock him for ...being him.

He let his camera hang from his neck and fidgeted with his bowtie trying to fix it. “Hmm… I guess the meeting didn’t go well”

I turned my head almost too quickly at his remark. “Which meeting?” “You all reporters had a meeting this morning, right? You texted me about it.” He frowned, I wasn’t sure if it was because he had noticed something was going on or because he was giving up on making his bowtie look presentable.

“Oh, yes that one. It was to-” I massaged my forehead slightly “to confirm Prince Arin is sending application letters before long, so the selection will happen”

He shrugged. “I already see all the extra work complaints coming” he said sarcastically.

He knew I was always working on not assigned notes and sometimes I dared to drag him into helping me, even when that was not included on his paycheck.

But right now he had no idea what he was talking about and I couldn’t tell him; even if I could, he would have started to ask questions I wouldn’t have been able to answer. Besides, I hadn't made my decision yet. I scoffed a laugh. “Come on, let’s find the Vespa before we both lose our jobs for being late to the PET gala.” “Well, my charm would have to do.” He shrugged looking down at his still twisted bowtie. “It won’t.”

When we arrived at the old Festerman mansion the place was already bursting with energy. The large carpet was placed across the garden and part of the street. The celebrities hadn’t arrived yet and the fanatics were being held somewhere waiting for the time they could access their special place closer to their idols, even when it was too early we could listen to their cheering screams from time to time which I guess were more for them to bear the waiting than to anyone else.

Cast, crew and the carpet runners were coming and going from one place to another taking care of last details and keeping the order among the press people; always being careful not to step on the soft fabric on the floor, otherwise it’s bright striking red tone would turn into crimson before the guests’ arrival.

The media pen was already open so after parking my yellow Vespa we quicken our step towards our designed slot. Along my first year as a reporter I had to make important acquaintances and no matter what other people could say the most important ones are not the celebrities but the backstage people, the ones that could be invisible for the majority and essential at the same time.

“Tom!” I shouted and waved when I spotted the red carpet runner. He was in charge of supervising the press on several red carpet events.

We’d met once at the Angeles movie awards, he blocked my way when I wanted to get close to Serena Davis but I took an expensive pin off my hair and convinced him she had dropped it and she would want it back. It was one of those times I felt even more thankful for my grandmother’s fancy presents. Of course he got mad when he saw me doing an interview almost in the middle of the carpet but his attitude changed as soon as I started to interview him to do a behind the scenes article.

Actually, it turned out to be a success.

“The new guys!” He greeted us. “Who do you want me to send your way this time?” hHe asked. Our colleagues at our sides, stopped arranging their things for a moment and gave us a glance, we pretended we didn’t notice. “Umm, Angelina Brown, Meryl Miller, Brady Tylor… I think Lin Yang has some drama going on right now and the Lane-Cadwell couple would be great, if you can He let out a long whistle. “The couple would be hard but I will see what I can do.” He fixed his eyes on Harris' neck and pointed. “Your bowtie is all … wrong.”

“Harder than Estelle Dawson?” Harris asked with a smirk, leaning on the structure that was keeping us at the edge of the carpet ignoring completely Tom’s observation.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I scolded. It was not that my grandmother was hard to reach as the celebrity that she was but she would never, under any circumstances, get close to me while I’m on duty.

She still hated my father for stealing her daughter and resented my mother for marrying a three, but she seemed to be fond of me and my baby brother. At least that’s what I felt when she made us visit her at her home. She used to send the limo just for the two of us. Tom looked confused at our talk so he just excused himself and left to continue with his chores.

“Light test!” Harris let out suddenly. He always used to say that when he needed me to turn to the camera to take me a picture, it helped him to prove if it was set correctly according to the lights in the place. I tried to smile a little for it.

“So, I need an update... and the plan,” he continued casually, while he took a look at my recently taken picture.

Harris and I were sent to cover the PET event, interviewing the celebrities and updating the people live on the newspaper's new blog. I asked him to capture a moment or person with his camera and sent it to my cell phone then I posted it with a caption and the people enjoyed the content from the comfort of their houses. It wasn’t so bad, but I had other motives.

The host of the massive PET event, Lanna Winster was a splendid, exotic retired actress; lovely to the public eyes; generous. She had the enough power, connections and money to organize this traditional gala to raise money for the animal shelter Paw-Prints animal shelter. Of course, her friends and celebrities adore, and support her. When you googled her name you could find an infinite amount of pictures of her posing with all kinds of lovely animals.

We had the honor to meet her for a short interview a few months ago at one of her luxurious mansions for the newspaper’s blog. Not even at the most prestigious hotel we were treated that well. Harris was desperate to come back for a second interview someday. For me, she was only a wealthy woman doing some good with her loose change.

My real job started when rumors started circulating around the office. An anonymous source had seen talking with the main organizer of some sort of hunting convention. Everyone was shocked with the news but in absence of evidence we couldn’t make anything public. I spend a lot of time searching documents, watching her old interviews, and reading information on antique papers. I even swallowed my disgust and tried to apply for the hunting convention myself, but applications were closed until next year.

Who would think that murderers were that organized?

I didn’t have anything, until a few weeks ago The Globe received a press invitation for the PET gala, we were informed it had been moved to the old Festerman mansion, which seemed very unusual.

National events with that level of importance always took place in Angeles; and the old mansion was… very old and until she decided to make small repairs “just for the event”, it had been pretty much forgotten.

As soon as I knew this, I made some visits to the Festerman mansion, the first time I wanted to get inside, but someone had posted a guard on the entrance, I also spotted security cameras around the property.

The rest of the time was just there to have some nice chats during my lunch breaks. The guard was just a few years older than me, basic humor and didn’t seem amused with his job. And I was supposed to be some neighbor on my way home stopping to say hi three days in a row. By Friday I already had what I was looking for. A name.

“... just… I think you should send a complaint note or something” I said lifting a shoulder. “Hard workers have some rights and you should be allowed to get out for a drink or something during the day, I mean besides the lunch break that you have to take in here.” I made a grimace for emphasis. He laughed a little and after some seconds he said, “I don’t think Miss Jean would mind if I-” I recognized the name as soon as I heard it, I had it written on my journal. She was Lanna’s maid. I checked my watch before he could even finish his sentence, “I’m so sorry, I’m running late, but I really think a complaint note could work.” Harris didn’t know the last part of the story so when I finished he was amused. “I can’t believe he fell for that one!” “Yeah, that’s not the important part of the story, Harris” I said. My mood was a bit better after telling him the whole story so I didn’t mind his teasing. He never seemed interested in my clandestine work, but for some reason he was always willing to help.

This was the closest I’d ever been to have a complete story worthy of the front page of a newspaper. Loyd would have another option but publish it and I wouldn’t have to apply for the selection.

At least not under his terms.

As the light and warmth of the day ebbed, the bright light of the big reflectors filled the place, the red carpet went on as usual.

The celebrities paraded along the garden matching their fashionable expensive dresses with their pets. We saw dogs, cats, rabbits, even horses -which had to remain parked outside- The carpet had to be cleaned more than once during the night, but the staff seemed to be well aware of that since the beginning. The afternoon passed between flashes, short interviews and fans alternating between shouting names and expressing “awwe’s” at the sight of their favorite people and their cute companions.

I got almost all the interviews I wanted and Harris captured all the relevant moments, but the event was far from the end.

The night had arrived by the time we got inside the mansion. Lenna Winster had made several repairs on the property but I suspected she had kept an ancient look for aesthetic purposes. The interior looked old but solid. They had placed several tables around a big room, decorations on the walls and bar for drinks at the end. The press had their own place to eat, but it wasn’t forbidden to wander around or get a drink as soon as we didn’t follow or bother the celebrities with any more questions. Although we were permitted to take pictures and record videos to keep the public updated.

“This is good, but not as good as I expected.” Harris complained as he took a break from the camera to finish his blueberry trifle. “We haven’t tasted better deserts than the ones that gave us at that restaurant inauguration, remember? I said with a small smile as I looked around the room, noticing every movement.

My eyes were mostly on Lanna and her people, but I couldn’t make it obvious, so I just took some time to make annotations on my journal. Who was chatting with who, which celebrities were friends now, which were friends and now they were not. No that I cared about gossip, but those kinds of details could be very useful sometimes. My eyes crossed with my grandma’s a couple of times, but the most I got from her was an acknowledging nod and she got a smile in return. What would she think about me applying for the selection? I laughed inside. Of course she would love it!

“Are you kidding? I will never forget how sick I felt the next day for eating that much...”

Harris continued talking, but I couldn’t hear the rest of his story, because right at that moment a tall, black haired young man, who I recognized at the guard of the mansion, entered the room and whispered something to one Lanna’s bodyguard. He leaned towards the table where his employer was sitting, interrupting her chatting and laughing with the people at her table. They exchanged some words in what seemed to be a low tone and then both of her custodians started to walk away, leaving her unprotected. I raised from our table trying to conceal my rush. I kept my journal back in my pocket and took my purse from the table. “I will be right back.” I said to my friend, I couldn’t quite catch his reaction because my eyes were set on our host’s guards. I quickened my steps among tables and people, turning back slightly. I guessed since neither I was any celebrity nor I was bothering any, no one paid attention to me.

I followed them out of the room and across a long corridor, just a few waiters passed by but they kept focused on their duties. The music and laughter was fading behind us, the house outside the main room looked genuinely old, but fortunately, this floor had been fully carpeted, otherwise my high heels would have been a problem.

They finally stopped after rounding a corner by what it seemed like a back door. I stayed hidden behind the wall but ventured to peek my head to see what they were doing. Both guards were opening a big wooden box that based on what they said it had been delivered to the wrong house. One of them reached down and picked out something that at first it looked like some ...kind of... soft material, but when it was out completely I was sure it was fur. Real fur.

I stared at it for some seconds, not quite sure what to do.

I need a picture. My hands were shaking while I opened my small purse while I kept eye contact with the fur of a dead tigger. I managed to get my cell phone out but as soon as I lifted it to shoot, it slid and dropped on the floor making a “thunk” sound against the carpet.

Damn! I didn’t stay to know if they had heard me. I picked up my phone and walked as fast as I could without looking back heading for the main door.

Outside the night was dark and starless, it was late but there was still some traffic on the street. I texted Harris to meet me outside with my clumsy fingers. I was still shaking but this time it was out of anger and frustration. How could I be so stupid?!! I was so close?!!

On our way home, Harris sensed my mood and didn’t ask me anything, he knew I would talk about it tomorrow before or after we get scolded for not staying till the end of the event to cover it completely. But I wasn’t worrying about that, all I could do was to drive while I questioned myself. A day that had looked so nice in the morning had gone so wrong. What was I thinking, risking myself for nothing! I shouldn’t be doing any of this. Maybe my father was right, maybe everyone was right and I wasn’t made for this work.

In the middle of my messy angry thoughts the selection came to my mind again, or maybe it had never left. I decided I was going to fill that application letter as soon as it arrived home. But why was I doing this? To accept my boss’ proposal? To satisfy my own curiosity about Illèas biggest tradition? Or maybe, like Queen Anjali I needed that... something to even my life scale, which so far was fully inclined to the “duty” side.

#PC #OC6 #((can't believe I'm finally posting this))#((it took me soooo long))#((THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL THE SUPPORT CASSEY!!! ))#((THANK YOU FOR READING SIMEE))

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arcanalogue · 5 years ago

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ON TYRANNY - An Unsolicited Tarot Tour, pt. II

In my initial post groping for symbolic parallels between the Major Arcana and Timothy Snyder’s ON TYRANNY, we covered The Fool and The Magician.

In the few days then (just to show how fast time seems to move during a budding oligarchy), video has surfaced of the President speaking to rich donors at one of his own hotels, in which he says: “The European Union is a group of countries that got together to screw the United States, it’s as simple as that.” He goes on to explain why this is surprising: “We’re all sort of from there, right?”

He also tweeted a thinly-veiled threat suggesting that Adam Schiff, the US rep who gave a rousing speech in the impeachment trial the other day, “has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!”

There’s also video of his pick for Special Advisor to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, Paula White, working this bit into a sermon: “We command all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now.”

And just for fun, a case of the Wuhan coronavirus was detected near Los Angeles, and today officials are reporting that, as feared, the disease is contagious before the appearance of symptoms. There are still plenty of good folks left at the CDC, right? The lights are on, at least?

But if we let paroxysms of fear induced by bad headlines stop us from going about our day, pretty much none of us would have made it through 2017 — and yet here we are, two full years beyond that point, still rallying, still cracking jokes, still helping each other get things back on track. And sure, my beard and chest hair are suddenly growing in all white, but that’s fine! The sharper contrast will be dazzling against all of my goth attire. How’s that for a silver lining?

Anyway, on to the cards.

The High Priestess represents everything we take for granted about our own awareness. She’s the source of our inspiration, the dream we awaken from that colors our perception of the day; she’s the vapors sighing from a crack in the earth, and she’s also the Pythia who hears and interprets those whispers.

Most of us realize we’re more than just our cognition, or our memories, but it’s still quite easy to lose track of the various pillars our interior world is formed around... until one of them is suddenly swept away.

And it’s the same with our exterior life, because “interior” and “exterior” are only matters of scale, baby. Your mind is your own (for now), but how did it become what it became? What unseen protections was it afforded?

Most people probably think of libraries, or organizations, or certain publications when they hear the word “institutions.” But so many different things fall under this category, it’s actually mind-boggling! It really makes you ponder about the particular framework of your community. Some are more fragile or less corporeal than others; to LGBTQ people, a bar can serve as an institution. Hell, in Brooklyn a taco restaurant can be described as a “mainstay” if it manages to last 15 years.

Some institutions are really only useful to those who created them, and others or who are well-adapted to them, and are bound to crumble naturally with time. A lot of what history has thought to provide will be useless to people in the coming century and beyond; their needs are evolving drastically, right in front of our eyes. This is why we also need to create safe and fertile territory for new institutions to be formed, and try not to take it too personally when the world just moves on. Memento mori, and all that.

But this entropy is not what Snyder’s talking about: he says DEFEND institutions, implying they are under attack. And some of this is very easy to watch for, because we think we know what an attack looks like. But as Snyder’s chapter points out:

“Sometimes institutions are deprived of vitality and function, turned into a simulacrum of what they once were, so that they gird the new order, instead of resisting it. This is what the Nazis called Gleichschaltung.”

You know, like appointing industrial tycoons to manage the EPA and the Department of Education, or leaving countless government positions unfilled so that none of the departments can function quite as they used to.

No one can look after all of them, and none of us knows which we’ll depend on most in a key moment. That means we all have to fan out and each claim a different piece of the puzzle. But which one? And how?

Reflect on the mental architecture that contributed to the formation of your own mind, and then let the Priestess guide you.

The tarot-ticklers of antiquity may have determined that The Emperor’s power trumps that of The Empress (as the cards are ordered so that each one “triumphs” over the one that preceded it), but he can’t exist without her, and everyone in the kingdom knows it.

In this chapter Snyder invokes the popular saying “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” adding:

“When we think of this saying today, we imagine our own righteous vigilance directed outward, against misguided and hostile others... But the sense of the saying was entirely different: that human nature is such that American democracy must be defended from Americans who would exploit its freedoms to bring about its end.”

In readings I often explain to people that The Emperor represents the outward-looking ruler, the conqueror, the prospector, the warlord. The Empress is the inward looking ruler, tending to the needs of the people, governing, presiding over everything that gives life meaning.

I mentioned above that the very concept of interior/exterior is only a matter of scale. Those terms are used very flexibly, aren’t they? There’s the interior of my body, and the interior of my home, and the interior of my apartment complex, and so on. At some point it stops being “my” anything. Suddenly we’re looking beyond my town, or my state, or my country. Sometimes others draw those lines for us, and other times we have to be The Emperor, pushing back against that line, drawing one of our own, defending what’s rightfully ours.

Regarding our own interior as a nation: in case you hadn’t heard (HAHA!) we’re about to stagger through a series of important elections. The one thing we know for sure is that the results of these elections will be disputed, no matter what they happen to be. If we can no longer trust the outcome of an election — due to internal fiddling, not just foreign — then what’s the point of having them at all? You can already sense everyone’s fatigue, ripe to be exploited.

The GOP is already slavering for it, canceling primaries left and right so that Trump will run unopposed for reelection. A “one-party” election suits them just fine. Debates only raise questions, and give a platform to challengers. In order for Trump 2020 to seem like an inevitable choice, he has to be the only choice.

Ruining the public’s faith in American democracy is part of the strategy, because of course it is. Later in Chapter III, Snyder offers yet another popular saying: “Where annual elections end, tyranny begins.”

The work required to protect the upcoming election, and make sure people still care about the outcome, can only be done by Americans organizing and working together on every level: personal, local, national. The fatalism and cynicism everyone’s feeling is understandable, but it ought to drive one toward active participation in preserving what little democracy we have left.

Otherwise, what’s the point? If it’s more important to have your worst fears confirmed, to be able to say “I told you so,” to bargain with the inevitability of fascism, then you’re rooting against The Empress and the rest of us. You’re part of the rot in your own kingdom.

If you’re someone who does Empress-related work, this is your new practice: she is calling you to serve as guardian and minister of the interior. Whatever inspiration you manage to muster, your role is to imbue others with it, and resist whatever negativity you may encounter as you do so.

Are your friends and family registered to vote? Are they sure? Do your representatives in Congress have a plan in place for when Trump refuses to concede? What communities near you could use a leg up in terms of outreach? Ask questions. Get creative. Be a constructive part of the pressure.

What you manage to accomplish on your own may seem meager, but pouring energy into these concerns will remind others why this fight still matters, and it will encourage those who never forgot. We need everyone in this fight.

Our last “real” election can’t already be behind us. The Empress is counting on us to make sure of it.

This is Part II in a series of posts about Timothy Snyder’s ON TYRANNY, which can be purchased via your local bookstore, and also here.

#the empress #the high priestess #major arcana #timothy snyder #on tyranny #tarot cards

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thequeenofadream · 6 years ago

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Dancing in the moonlight (Roger Taylor x Reader)

Summary: you’re an up and coming artist who could need some more coverage so your management decides to pair you in a fake relationship with the one and only Roger Taylor. how will things go when things get not so fake?

Words: 4,025

Notes: swearing, fluff, angst but blink and you’ll miss it.

A/N: there’s a lot of movie references here most obviously to all the boys i’ve loved before haha anyways at this point everything i touches flops so idk but hey i love you all anyways <333 also i spent like five hours on this wow kill me

🎀 tagging: @obsessedwithrogertaylor @malekdarling @i-padfootblack-things

~~~~~~~~~

Dancing in the moonlight. It sounds like such an aesthetic and romantic venture, but has anyone stopped to think about it? Two people dancing in the dark of night with only a glimmer of light to guide their way. It sounds terrifying. What if you trip? What if you get lost? To most it would sound like a enchanted moment to share with the one you truly love, but to you it sounded like bullshit. Dancing in the moonlight was something to good to be true, especially when you had no choice.

That was all you could think about when your manager had instructed that you get into a PR relationship to promote your next album. You weren't unknown, you had a management team afterall, but you could certainly use more coverage. You weren't one for partying all night so that could explain some things, but you weren't a complete prude. The media, however ran with that. You thought it was stupid and most importantly disingenuous. You didn't want fans who only payed attention to you because of who you were dating. You had strongly protested against it, but your label approved of it and quickly found someone to be your ‘other half’. You were sitting on a sofa in an office waiting for your so called ‘boyfriend’ to arrive reading the morning’s headlines.

ROGER TAYLOR IN KINKY GAMES WITH FLAKE GIRL.

You rolled your eyes. Roger Taylor, drummer of queen, was quite the guy. All you could ever hear of him was his risqué escapades and one night stands. You didn't necessarily hate him with a burning passion, but you were annoyed by him. He didn't seem like the kind of guy you'd become friends with. His lifestyle didn't really coincide with yours. You were much more reserved and quiet compared to his adventurous personality.

You looked up at the clock and back at your manager sitting in the chair across you. He was 30 minutes late.

“good thing he isn't my real boyfriend.” you scoffed, and rolled your eyes showing your annoyance.

“Cut him some slack, (Y/N). “ Your manager, Hera, spoke, pleadingly. You had become good friends and you trusted her for what was good for you career wise. It was just this one time that you were doubting her choice.

The door flew open and out came a middle aged man first and the blonde drummer you had just seen in the paper. You eyed him up and down and could in fact admit that he did look quite handsome and charming. His blonde hair complimented baby blue eyes, how the beach sand compliments an ocean's waves. His physique wasn't toned, but he wasn't a complete stick figure either.

Roger caught you staring at him and raised an eyebrow.

“I didn't think I would catch the ‘polite and innocent’ (Y/N) staring at me.” He smirked sitting down on the spot next to you on the couch. You rolled your eyes setting the newspaper down on the coffee table.

“I can be the impolite (Y/N), if you'd like.” You retorted crossing your arms. Roger was about to respond when the middle aged man spoke up.

“Okay, please stop bickering. We have some work to do.”

Hera just nodded along and you sighed deeply. It seemed like Roger was clueless to what was happening due to his puzzled expression.

“Okay, Jim what exactly is going on?” He asked giving into the curiosity.

“The folks over at trident think you've been way too risqué lately. They want you to have a PR relationship to cover some of it up.” He said picking up the newspaper you were once reading. He handed it to Roger and pointed to the headline.

He grit his teeth, reading through the article. He didn't understand what was so bad. They were a rock band for fuck’s sake, not a bible choir. Suddenly the gears in his mind l started to click and he put two and two together. He looked at you and then Jim and back to you.

“I’m gonna be with you?” He gasped, pointing a finger at you accusitoringly. You didn't understand why he was overreacting so much. I mean you didn't like it either, but you didn't go and point fingers at anyone.

“Yeah, problem?” You asked, almost too defensively. He sat back and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated. The man you now knew as Hera chimed in trying to state the positives of the situation.

“Look, you'll both get to show to the media the other side of yourselves. (Y/N), you can show them that you're not the prude they think you are and Roger, you can show them that you're also a charming young man who doesn't take women for granted.”

“But I don’t-”

“We know Rog, but that's how the public perceives it.” Jim interrupted him with the harsh truth.

Roger let out the deepest sigh you've ever heard and took out a pack of cigarettes.

“I’m going for a smoke.” He exited into the alleyway, lighter and cigarette in hand. Jim sighed and went into the hallway, not knowing how to handle Roger. Hera went after him, trying to bring some comfort.

You just sat there, watching everything unfold. You couldn't really do anything against it so you just watched him storm out, but you could get what he's feeling. You decided to go after him and try to sympathise. You entered the alleyway to see him with a lit cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. His back was leaning against the wall. He immediately sees you and takes a long drag, before huffing out the smoke in his lungs.

“What do you want?” He asked, his eyes full of spite.

“I just wanted to say, I don't want to do this either.” You spoke softly, now wanting him to get any more stressed.

“Of course, you wouldn't.” He mocks you.

“I bet you were the one who suggested this whole thing.” He went on throwing his hands up.

Anger started bubbling up within you, and you had to restrain yourself from slapping some sense into him. To say you suggested this was an absolute insult to you.

“Look Roger.” You paused and smiled sarcastically.

“Do you really think I'd want to be pretending to share intimate moments with someone i barely know? No. I’d much rather spend time to myself, writing music. I find this whole thing dishonest and I don't want to lie my way to the top. I want to do things I’ll be proud of.”

Roger stopped for a moment and looked at you, his blue eyes gleaming into your (E/C) ones.

“I know, I'm sorry.” He dropped his cigarette and squashed it into the floor. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the words to say.

“I know it seems like I don't care much, but I want other people to see that I'm an artist as well. I want them to know for my music, not the women I’ve shagged.” He says, finally letting out his emotions.

You were now apathetic to man you swore you couldn't befriend. You saw how the media portrayed him and you were glad you weren't in his position. I mean sure he could pretend to not care and ignore it, but deep down inside, he cared a lot.

“Okay, here me out.”

“Hearing you out.”

You leaned sideways against the wall before continuing. “We both want the same thing, we're both being forced to do this and we both want a change of perspective. Can't we work together? ” You suggested.

“I mean of course, but how?” both your minds tried to figure out how you would handle the situation of being together. An idea popped into your head and you took Roger’s hand and dragged him inside.

“Hey, hey where are we going?” He asked as you brought him back into the office. You let go of his hand and went behind the desk to look for some pen and paper. You laid them both out and the desk as Roger sat down on the other side of the desk.

“We have to set boundaries.” You said taking the paper and writing down a rule. You put it back down and Roger took it reading what you written down.

“No sex?”

“Listen if I’m gonna do it, I wanna do it with someone I really do love.” You said handing him the pen.

“Fair enough.” He said writing down something else on the paper. You peeked over to see what he was writing.

“But we have to at least make the public believe that we're head over heels with each other.”

You saw what he wrote and it said PDA. You cringed at the thought, but he was right. You might as well get over it.

“Fine.”

“Aw, come on. I’m not a bad kisser. In fact maybe you'll find out later.” He winked which sent a shiver down your spine. You tried not to make your blushing evident, but it very much was. Roger like making you flustered, and would plan to do so in this fake relationship.

“Okay, no wait” You stumbled over your words before finally forming a cohesive sentence.

“One more rule, we tell no one. No bandmates, parents, sisters, brother, friends. Got it?” You wrote it down while Roger watched. You signed your name at the bottom the very bottom signifying your agreement. You looked back up and stuck out your hand waiting for him to take it.

“Just one person please.” He begged profusely. You thought about it and figured there was no use arguing with him. You were both agreeing on things and you had take the seize the opportunity.

“Okay, okay.” You said as he took your hand. He took the pen and added ‘except one person’ on the last rule.

“Now sign the paper.”

“Are you serious?”

“Just do it.”

You pestered him and slapped his shoulder playfully. He raised his hands defensively, giving in. He signed at the bottom and it was done. You stuck the paper in your pocket and this was where your fake relationship started.

It was a month into your ‘infatuation’ with one another and the masses were eating it up. You were both showing your more romantic sides and quickly became quite a power couple. People were quick to forget both of your pasts to focus on the your ever blooming relationship. It was so believable that eventually you both had been invited to parties together.

As you got to closer to him, you saw past the flirtatious jokes and alcohol fuelled activities, and saw the music devoted, passionate drummer. You tried to tell yourself you weren’t falling for him, but it was far too late. On the other hand, he also started to see your less innocent side which was not as innocent as he thought.

“So (Y/N), what’s the most romantic thing Roger has done so far?” Freddie asked smiling at you both from across the dinner table. Roger brought you to dinner with the boys as to introduce you to one another. It was going pretty well and you quite like them. They were fun to be around and they feeling seemed to mutual.

“Hm.. I don’t know Fred.” You thought deeply of an excuse, when you realized it was your time to fluster Roger as he usually does.

“Well, there as this one night where roger came to my flat and woke me up in the middle of the night and surprised me with a box.” You paused looking to see Rog’s reaction was currently nothing. He sat back to see how you would fair.

“The box he had was a decoupage of his face and hearts. I was still hazy so I had not had a clue what was going on, so honestly I thought either I was going mad or Rog was absolutely pissed.” Brian and John had started chuckling whilst Fred listened on intently.

“I opened the box and saw a toy car inside, which Roger proceeded take and told me that i’m in love with my car was about me. I was obviously shocked and still half asleep so I told him to fuck off and went back to sleep.” Everyone at the table, but roger laughed, you included. He just pouted trying to look enraged, but ended up looking like a cute kid who just got embarrassed.

“I knew it couldn’t possibly be about a car.” Brian said in between laughs.

“I mean he locked himself in a cupboard.”

Everyone continued to laugh making jokes based off the encounter whilst Roger just waited for everyone to shut the fuck up. He obviously couldn’t protest, but he was pissed. You started feeling guilty for the partially blind melon and decided to boost his ego the slightest bit. When things started to die down, you spoke up.

“Although I will say, that morning i did show him how to fuck off.”

You winked at Roger and his jaw just fell, leaving his mouth agape. He had never heard you say something with even the slightest hint of suggestiveness. You just giggled at him, seeing how surprised he was by your little comment.

“That sounds about right.” Fred raising his eyebrow.

Later on when everyone had left and you and Roger were the only ones left. He asked you about it.

“So what happened to no sex?”

“I didn’t say we could pretend.” You said sipping more of the champagne you had. Roger just shook his head not knowing how to feel, turned on or turned on. He was starting to wish things weren’t pretend.

You had become quite good friends behind the scenes so acting like a couple was becoming less and less of a drag, but your label would always find some way to exaggerate your relationship by creating elaborate plots that would surely catch the media’s eye.

“You want Rog to fake save me from drowning in the ocean?”

They were trying to make Roger seem like some hero type character and you were some damsel in distress; you both responded in ways that got you in trouble. Bottom line, you saved Roger from fake drowning in the ocean. For a label named after the weapon of the God of sea, they didn’t have much control what happened out on that beach.

This incident however sparked numerous others that the management did NOT like.

What you and Roger did was basically do the opposite of what they’d say. If they had told you to go to a new movie premiere together and start some fight only to end up in some passionate make out session in front everyone, you’d go to either yours or roger’s flat and watch whatever movie was on. It was something you both took deep pleasure in for the purpose of fucking over the management and having a good time.

“This is so much better compared to mingling with whoever the fuck the whole night.” You said throwing a popcorn into your mouth. Roger just laughed at you in amusement. He couldn’t believe how laid back you had become because of him. He was proud in a way.

“True.” He smiled as you rest your head on his shoulder. The movie carries on until quite an emotional scene broke out between the protagonist. In that moment a scary thought entered your mind, unannounced and you didn’t know how to react but to blurt it out.

“So what happens when this is all over?” You asked looking up at him, scared to see what he would say. “Well we’ll still be friends for sure.” He said taking some popcorn from the bowl you held. You looked him eye to trying to set it to a more serious tone.

“I’m serious Roger. Do you promise?” You asked as he looked at you, your eyes filled with dread. He smiled soft, knowing exactly how to put you at ease.

“(Y/N), I could never forget you even if I tried. I don’t think I could even go a minute without thinking of you.”

All these little things you did, only hastened your attachment to him. If you could hold onto him for the rest of your life, you would.

You were in love and it was as if a wrecking ball had just wrecked your heart a million times over.

About seven months in, they had called you both in to the very same office this all started. The room was silent and you sense something horrible was about to happen. Unfortunately, you were correct.

“You both have to break up.”

The CEO said firmly as you both sat opposite him. You were going to protest, but the man who was your boss laid out the rules very quickly. He didn’t want to see you together ever again.

You couldn’t even hear what he was saying after he had said you couldn’t see each other anymore. Your vision went blurry and you didn’t know how the both of you were gonna handle this. You wondered what would happen to your friendship. Was your chance at a real relationship crushed for good? You didn’t know and that was what scared you most.

You were miserable. It was as if you and Roger were finally finding your way when stumbled and fell. You were sure you wanted him more, you didn’t have to pretend to love him. You were in love with him, you knew it by heart. You wanted tell the whole world you loved him and you could only wish he would love you in the same way. You could die happily in his arms, but right now you could die period.

The little meeting ended and he left you two in the room to say your goodbyes. The silence was thick just like in the beginning. A billion thoughts were running through your minds so it was understandable. You were about to speak up when Roger beat you to it.

“Well, It was nice knowing you (Y/N), but I guess our time in a fake relationship is up.”

He stood up and left the room, leaving you to it. You would have gone a followed him, but you were too much in the state of shock to do say. You couldn’t believe that he had just done that after everything the both of you had been through. He just threw every memory you shared as if it were nothing. Tears started to streak down your cheeks as you heard the door open. Hera saw you crying your eyes out and immediately deducted what had happened.

“Fell for him?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you weren’t going to.”

“Me too.”

You had tried to forget him, despite all the polaroids the you had posted around your flat. You didn’t want to take them down just yet, but you couldn’t stand to see his face. He kept you alive, but killed you softly all at the very same time. You would laze around your flat the whole day and spend the night on the sofa the whole night mindlessly watching whatever came on.

You felt as if all the life had just been sucked out of you. You didn’t see any point in living. You were merely an empty vessel among other vessels.

The news about your break up had been a headliner for about 3 days now and you couldn’t care what anyone thought anymore. You threw all newspapers you received in the bin, as soon as you saw your and roger’s name. Fred and John had come over with some chocolates and flowers feeling immense pity. They had even offered to take you out, but you couldn’t not in the state of mind you were in. Brian had also sent over a homemade loaf of bread which was really random but appreciated nonetheless.

You were doing your usual routine one night when a knock came from the door. You grumbled, getting up from your comfy seat. You sauntered towards the door, slowly and groggily as the knocking went on. You opened the door the see the devil himself, Roger.

You were shocked and on impulse, you slapped him hard.

It created a loud sound you were sure the whole complex heard, but you didn’t bother at this moment. He just stood there with his eyes wide open, holding the cheek you had slapped.

“oUch.”

He said rubbed it over again being in unbearable pain. You rolled your eyes not knowing what else he could possibly want. You stepped aside, letting him come inside and glared at him as he came in. “Sit down, I’ll get you an ice pack.” You said walking to kitchen and opening the fridge. Roger sat down on the sofa, the same sofa where you would both hang out with one another, snuggling against the cold.

Meanwhile, Roger was afraid for what was about to happen. He didn’t mean to just leave you hanging, but he didn’t want start a fight and get you into bigger trouble, so he and the rest of the queen just decided to leave the record label. They had all agreed they were shit. He didn’t mean to ignore you in the meantime, but it seems like he has fucked up big time. He got caught up in everything he was doing for you that he forgot you, yourself.

You came back with an ice pack and held it against his cheek, until he did it himself. You finally composed yourself and asked.

“Roger, what the fuck?”

“I deserved the slap, but I can explain further, if you’d let me..” He said raising his hand defensively in case you would strike again. You laid against the sofa armrest and crossed your arms.

“It better be damn good.”

“I didn’t want to get you in trouble so the band and I left the label. I know you said we could only tell one person, but I had to tell them so that they’d understand. I mean we were gonna leave them anyways ” You looked away, your expression softening.

“What I’m trying to say is that when I said our fake relationship was up, I meant it. I want our fake relationship to over.” You looked back at him, and took his cheek in your hand, removing the ice pack and placing your palm against his cheek.

“What do you want then, Rog?” You asked, the icy glaze you once had melted into empathy.

“I want our real relationship to start.”

He closed the gap between the both of you and kissed you like he never had before. You had both kissed many times in the past, but this one felt real, genuine and so much better. It wasn’t a show you had to put up for anyone. It was a moment to be shared by the both of you ONLY. Your lips were soft against his, and he instantly felt the sorrow and pain you had been through the past days, but all that was forgotten when he kissed you so sweetly. You felt like a volcano of flower petals had just erupted and you both were in the midst of it. You both pulled away to breathe for a second.

“I really really love you (Y/N).” He took your hand and intertwined it with his.

“Roger Meddows Taylor, you have no idea.”

So Maybe you were wrong. Maybe dancing in the moonlight was as romantic as it sounded. There were risks and dangers, but they all paid off. You just needed to have trust in one another, that was it. You needed to let fate do its thing and lead you to him as it led him to you. You just needed to trust that everything was going to be alright. You couldn’t trust yourself to fall in love, but now you did.

You were no longer dancing in the moonlight, but you were dancing in the sun and Roger was your sunshine.

~~~~~~~~~

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