#he is trying to keep thomas in line with the morals that thomas has had ingrained in him since probably young childhood

[glacierreblogs]

tags via @cutebisexualmess

hey so we put your morally grey character in a fandom. yeah half the fanbase makes them into a perfect angel who did nothing wrong and the other half depicts them as a cartoonishly evil villain who hurts people for fun. no we dont know how to explain that people can do bad things for good reasons or good things for bad reasons. sorry man

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Betrayal for the Greater Good

Warnings: betrayal, tranquilizer, counter-betrayal

Summary: Shadow is a morally gray anti-hero with wings who has a dark past. The villain her team is fighting is incredibly powerful, and she knows that average humans don't stand a chance. So she decides to set out alone to track down and go head-to-head with the enemy without her teammates to keep them safe, acting selflessly for once... little does she know, her human friend had other plans.

"I can't let you do this! I did the calculations myself, there's a good chance you won't make it back alive," Thomas argued, seeing that Shadow was about to leave. He'd caught her in the middle of packing up to go fight Villain alone. Caught red-handed before she could escape and head off to battle.

"That means there's still a small chance I do. I'll take it." Shadow huffed in annoyance, heading for the door, when she heard a quiet click behind her, and froze stiff, eyes widening.

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you do this to yourself. I know you're trying to be selfless and heroic for once out of some messed up attempt at redemption, but this isn't the way."

Shadow slowly turned around, eyes widening further with surprise to see Thomas holding a modified gun in his hand, leveled at her chest. "What do you think you're doing?" She growled, voice dropping low and dangerous.

"Saving you from yourself," Thomas answered, mouth set in a grim line. "This weapon fires tranquilizer darts strong enough to down horses. It should be more than enough to take out a bird-woman."

"...You really think I won't survive if I walk into this fight?" Shadow asked, biting her lip apprehensively and not meeting his eyes. He nodded, face full of tension and concern, but also determined resolve. She tilted her head thoughtfully, as though second-guessing her choice, before letting out a heavy sigh of defeat.

"The tranquilizer won't be necessary, I... I see your point. And I trust your judgement. If you think it's not a good idea... then it isn't. I'll stay here." She let her wings sag convincingly. She saw Thomas visibly relax with relief, and a heartbeat later he hesitantly lowered the tranq gun.

"Thank you for talking some sense into me," Shadow added, offering a small smirk.

"Thank you for listening." Thomas groaned inwardly with anxiety, running a shaky hand through his hair. "I'm sorry for threatening you like that, I just... didn't see any other way to talk you out of it. I know how stubborn you are."

Shadow slowly walked over to him and put a light, reassuring hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head to meet her gaze, and was startled by the icy darkness in her expression, tinged with guilt and regret. She leaned closer to him, smiling sadly.

"I'm still stubborn. Sorry, kid... You're too gullible for your own good. You'll forgive me eventually," she whispered into his ear.

"What are you--" That was as far as he got, when there was a flash of movement next to him, and Shadow jabbed her fingers right above his collarbone.

He let out a gasp of surprise, the tranquilizer gun falling out of his hand as a terrible, aching pain overtook him all at once, radiated through his entire body. He instantly went limp, and she caught him, lowering him to the floor so he wouldn't hurt himself by falling.

"Ow... what did you...?"

"There's a vulnerable nerve cluster right above your collarbone," Shadow explained slowly. "Hit it right, and it essentially shocks the entire nervous system at once with agonizing pain, temporarily paralyzing you. Don't try to move, or it'll hurt worse." She picked up the fallen tranq gun and threw it to the other side of the room, well out of reach. "You'll regain your mobility within the next two hours."

"Why...?" Thomas tried to turn his head to catch her gaze, but sparks of pain immediately erupted behind his eyes, and he realized that she was right: even the smallest movement was practically unbearable. He couldn't help the sharp cry of pain that tore loose from him, and he didn't miss the small guilty wince she tried to suppress.

"I apologize for this, but trust me, it's in your best interest." Shadow rose to her feet and stepped away from him, turning toward the door.

"W-Wait! You can't be serious! Come back! Please!" Thomas bit back a scream as he rolled over to his stomach, desperately trying to get to his feet, every small twitch of his body followed by a white-hot wave of agony. If he could only reach the tranquilizer... he could stop her from making the biggest mistake of fighting Villain alone. But everything hurt so much.

Shadow paused to look back at him as he clumsily attempted to get his feet beneath him, even as his legs kept sprawling to the sides, refusing to cooperate with his will.

"D-Don't go!" He panted, chest heaving. His voice was strained with the effort of trying not to slur his words as small tremors wracked his whole body.

Shadow shook her head regretfully. "Don't fight me on this, kid. We both know you already lost. You're only making it harder for yourself." Then she left through the door, blocking out Thomas's protesting shouts of anger and hurt mixed with pain. There wasn't time for that anymore.

I have to focus now. Thomas will be fine in a few hours. He might hate me, but at least he'll be alive.

Masterlist

@lumpofsand

@scoundrelwithboba

@isikedmyself878

[evita-shelby]

have a preview for The Black Horse and the Gold

Heavenerys and Amos Bolton belong to @call-sign-shark with some tweaks from me so they fit during the time period the adventures of Dunk and Egg(A Knight for the Seven Kingdoms novella/new show) takes place.

for context its been over a century since the last dragon died, the Dance of Dragons happened and removed women from the line of succession. will try to provide some more context as the show has yet to come out.

i base my au more on the books than the show because i didn't like eitehr adaptation except for providing faces for the characters.

His sigil is a black horsehead.

Not the gold his elder brother uses nor the gray his aunt uses as Lady Gray, but black, the original sigil of their house.

Thomas Ryswell is not the first to press his suit, but he is the only one who has not participated in the tourney to gain her attention.

He is a good rider, Heavenerys had confirmed the rumors of House Ryswell having the best horses and riders beyond the Neck. Heavenerys Targaryen had also been having an affair with his brother and would wed him the moment her half-year mourning period was done. It would look bad on her father, Aerys, if she didn’t put on her widow’s weeds for the ghastly Amos Bolton.

After all, she was the only daughter of the new King and was the only hopes for his crown not to pass to his mad brother, Rhaegel. Things were expected of Hev, should she have a son, he may rule as his grandsire’s heir since the Dance of the Dragons forever barred women from inheriting the Iron Throne.

Things were not expected from Aeva, well, not beyond keeping some semblance of decorum even if everyone knows how loose her morals are. She was free as the wind and no net would ensnare her for as long as she lived.

They come by each other while riding in the Kingswood, she in her shimmering golden mare and he in his black as coal stallion. No words are exchanged and yet he understands she is suggesting a race between them.

Hev had said he was the best rider in the north, no one could outrace him and as they push their horses to their limits, Aeva considers her cousin may not have been exaggerating because he’s her lover’s brother.

The Princess’ riding veil has fallen off somewhere and her dark mane flows freely behind her. She laughs and purposely loses to him as they race to the stream they intended to take their horses to.

“Well met, Ser.” The princess addresses the northman whose sorrows cannot leave his eyes no matter what he does. He may not speak to her unless she does first, she was princess and he merely a second son of a vassal house after all.

Amos hated it when Aeva would pull rank on him. The fool believed that because he managed to get his grubby hands on the new king’s only daughter, he had any right to believe himself the family’s equal. Amos was still a vassal lord to Lord Stark; Aeva was a daughter of House Martell and House Targaryen through her grandmother Daenerys, sister of the late King Daeron II and wife of Prince Maron Martell.

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. Aeva would be damned if she didn’t live by her house’s words.

“I am no knight, your highness.” He corrects looking as wild as she does. A less honorable man would’ve demanded his reward already and yet Thomas Ryswell does not push it.

“All men are knights where a woman is concerned, Lord Ryswell.” Aeva manages to make him smile as she quotes part of Florian the Fool as she comes close enough to see his damnably blue eyes up close. You can see the core of a person through them, discern between friend from foe and lie from truth. “You ride better than most, none have been able to keep up with Erinys like your steed has done.”

“You threw the race, your highness, I would have preferred a fair game.” The dark-haired young man points out and yet stays just a breath away from her.

---

Hopefully i might finish it soon lol

@justrainandcoffee @mischievouslittlecreature @cillmequick @call-sign-shark @peakyswritings @hoodeddreams13

Erinys is a name given to Demeter after Poseidon raped her while both had horse forms, means raging. Would've gone with Nymeria but i think for a Dornish promcess that might be insulting her ancestress.

[donner-mathis-official]

Time to think about Molly because all of the characters in this game drive me insane with the little tidbits we get to know about them.

Ok so it’s pretty clearly hinted at that her husband was a terrible man that she didn’t want to marry (“I could have been something!”, really the whole conversation about his death), and directly stated that she very intentionally left him to die.

There are two things about her, though, that I really find fascinating. They’re more theory than outright, but I think I can back them up. Those are:

1) Molly tried to get out of the relationship as best she could with what she was given, long before the events of the game.

2) Molly knows that her murder spree is morally questionable, but has decided that even if it’s wrong, if she saves someone else from being hurt by a bad man, then it’s worth it.

Let’s start with the first one.

I firmly believe she talked to Father Thomas at some point about her relationship. He’s a religious leader, and, based on the fact that he was the one to gather people into the community centre, is probably a community leader as well. The type of person you go to when you need help. Molly says Father Thomas won’t help Astrid (indirectly but she has been roaming Pleasant Valley for a week post-first flare at time of our first entrance, so she must know he’s the only one there when she says “nobody there will help you”), and it tracks that he likely would not have helped her out of that relationship. Most Christian sects, to my knowledge, are against divorce to some degree, and we’ve seen that Father Thomas has no qualms with pushing his religious views onto others (making Astrid take the rosary). All of this together means it’s highly likely Molly tried to get out the “right” way first. She did everything she was supposed to, and still found herself stuck. Given that scenario, it’s obvious why, when the wolves gave her an out, she took it.

As for her knowing what she’s doing is wrong, I’d like to point to her asking if Mackenzie is one of the good ones. I absolutely love this line, because it says so much about who she is. It’s her offering Astrid something she was never given; a chance to get out. It’s her acknowledging that there are good men, and that she doesn’t want to kill them. That she only wants to kill the ones that will hurt people like she was hurt. Then following that up with “then I hope I never meet him”? This is probably my favorite exchange in Wintermute because it’s so short and direct yet says volumes. She wants Astrid to be happy and find her good one again. She would rather a risk a good man dying than a bad man going free. This isn’t just a revenge quest against any man she thinks is bad; it’s her trying, in her own way, to keep people safe and make the world better. This shows too, in her choice to leave Father Thomas alive. He’s a sitting duck, with no way of protecting himself. She could have killed him. She clearly holds contempt for him, and if you subscribe to the first theory I posited, he’s a large factor in why she had to stay in that horrible marriage. But she chose to leave Father Thomas alive, and I think that’s in no small part because she knows that those plane crash victims need him. That even if he screwed her over, he’s making the world better right now.

Anyways I love her and I think more women should kill people

[theokapuco]

Maze Runner Aus that have been locked in my brain for year's and have now finally found a way out

Tmr expect the Ivy Trio [Thomas, Newt, and Minho] are corrupted / the corrupted versions of them

WCKD is still a thing in this World except they never had a Maze plan in place, instead, they took to experimenting on the subjects to get the results they want.

Thomas was a subject that showed great promise, he seemed to have the flare but his blood would constantly be getting rid of it. WCKD decided to test his limits and see if there was a certain amount of the flare his blood can take. This resulting in him becoming half crank with his blood constantly fighting the flare but the flare always grows back.

Newt is a Crank subject, he is given potential cures to the flare very often which made him conscious of his mind compared to the other cranks, but he still acts like a crank just with self-awareness now. When he attacks people he doesn't do it mindlessly he does it with purpose and knows what he's doing.

Minho was another subject who showed promise with his blood being able to cure people for a short amount of time, expect his blood didn't contain the flare like Thomas's did so he went through a different experiment. Basically the same as the movie where they put him through realistic scenarios of his worse nightmares expect he ends up losing his mind and is unable to tell what is real and what is fake.

God Au

This story does not have a plot line yet, just characters

Thomas is the God of Heros and is considered one of the nicest Gods so if you want to communicate with a God, most people recommend going to him

Newt is considered a Pathway, which basically means he's a way to get to the Gods, him and Thomas have been married for thousands of year's, he is moral but keeps his morality with a necklace Thomas gave him that connects him and Thomas together. Basically, Newt relies on Thomas's life source to keep him alive. If the necklace is taken off nothing happens, he just goes back to being moral.

Minho is a moral in this Au, he does not have a role in this Au right now but he is the main focus of this Au, with Newt and Thomas being side characters at the beginning before being main characters later on.

The Graveyard Shift [Newtmas Au]

A simple sweet Au that was inspired by "The Nightmare Before Christmas" & "I have read the complete works of Montague Summers as well as Vampires: Burial, and Death and would just like to say the Penny Dreadful's are horribly inaccurate" by Singtome & "Amalgamation" by Tattered_Dreams

Thomas is a part of the Zombie population and quite literally lives in a graveyard, he is a part-time worker at a gas station that runs 24 hours, with him taking up the Graveyard shifts. Something features about Thomas is that he can not feel pain but that does not mean he isn't hurting, he's hand could be on fire and he wouldn't know until someone pointed it out. He is also able to rip off his hand, but only his left hand specifically since that was cut off before he became a Zombie.

Newt is basically Mothman and likes bothering the shit out of Thomas during his shifts. He has bright red eyes and large moth wings, at the beginning Newt would try to scare Thomas by popping out of nowhere, hanging upside down by the ceiling but Thomas has gotten used to it and doesn't even bat a eye.

There was a time when Thomas did scare the shit out of Newt when he got stabbed by a Robber but didn't notice until Newt pointed it out and all he said was "Oh,,,how did that get there? 🤨☝️"

Basically; Strangers to Friends to Lovers

Extra --> A small concept writing of this story expect Thomas works at a coffee shop instead with Brenda

October weaves through September, summer sun green leaves turning into fall orange and reds. Pumpkin spice hangs in the air, breeze passes through the town, and the sun covers up.  Thomas yells a “see ya” before leaving his home, closing the chain link fence behind him and sprinting through the dead weeds and cracked brick path.  He rounds the corner, using the lamp post as leverage to make a sharp turn. Busting open the doors of a dingy old looking coffee shop made of dark oak wood and filled with books, webs, and mold. 

The Flower Shop Down the Street [Newtmas]

Another short and sweet Au expect with superpowers

Thomas and Newt are around 26-30 years old, they are married and run a flower shop together, their flower shop is considered one of the most popular for the fact that Thomas has water base powers that allow him to water the plants more easily, with him being able to pick up water.

Newt on the other hand is a Planter but more on the weaker side of being a Planeter where he can't fully grow a plant but he can aid them in the growing process.

Extra--> I did write a short story about this but will only show some since I do not like the writing of it, I was like 14 when I wrote this LOL

Thomas places the watering can down the floor, next to a row of multicolored roses. And like magic, the water in the can float up, Thomas having his hands out. The water parted into four balls of water, all for different kinds of roses. He puts them into place above the plant stand, spreads his fingers out and let the water drop onto the roses like small rain droplets. Minho claps his hands in slow motion "ah, impressive" Minho says sarcastically. Thomas rolled his eyes " yeah I know, am the best " Thomas replies. He continues watering the plants the same way he did with the roses. Minho watching, the thing is, Minho wasn't born with powers and he always had an interest in them. When he was a kid he would pretend to have super speed and run across the field making 'zooming' sounds. He was kinda jealous of Thomas and Newt but he got over it and accepted the fact he was powerless. 

This is it for now but in the future I probably will draw fan art of some of these Aus or built more onto them

[badatthingsbuttrying289]

Mociet fusion

This is my very poorly drawn mociet fusion whom I have named Salus which is latin for safety or welfare, which I think fits well.

He's got three eyes two of which come from Patton and the third from Janus. He also technically has eight arms, but he hides four of them, and if he could he'd hide the extra two. But he can't.

His appearance leans more towards Janus than Patton, though it is easy to tell that Patton has some influence on Salus' appearance even if it is subtle, like the flower on his sun hat being the same flower used to represent Patton in some of the merch.

Salus has patches of snake and frog skin all over his body, though due to the fact that Patton has not accepted that part of himself yet, Salus is rather self-conscious about it and has a habit of covering his frog-like features up.

When it came to his outfit I wanted to keep a balance between Janus' style and Pattons, although, I'm not sure I did it right and I may have to redraw him sometime. When searching for a 'balance' outfit I took inspiration from the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins and Eclipsa from svtfoe, so instead of Janus' shepherds crook thing that he has, I gave him an umbrella cause I feel like it fits better with Patton's personality. The umbrella works kinda like Mary Poppins umbrella and is sometimes used as a shield to protect the others. Also, he does have glasses I just forgot to draw them.

I had a lot of different ideas for his emblem thing, including a frog and a snake forming a heart, or a snake wrapped around a heart shaped lily pad but I wasn't really sure how to draw that, plus it wouldn't really fit until Patton learns to accept and embrace his frog traits. So for now Salus' emblem is a two headed snake shaped like a heart.

Once the other side's learn of his existence I believe his relationship with each of them would be strained at best seeing as the others are still angry at his two halves for a lot of reasons. Except for Remus who thinks he's cool, Salus is both deeply disturbed by and incredibly fond of him. I think Roman would feel betrayed by the fact that Patton trusts Janus enough to fuse with him, Logan would try not to let his emotions get in the way and attempt to study him (though he would be quite bitter towards him) and Virgil, despite his anger and frustrations towards Patton, would see their fusion as Janus manipulating Patton or as an abusive relationship of sorts and would try to defuse the two of them in the hopes of helping Patton.

For his personality I want him to be a mix between his two halves but still be his own person. I know he'd be good at puns and that he'd be the type of person to drink apple juice from a wine glass to make himself feel fancy, he's also the type of person who just knows when people are sad so he leaves cookies outside their door but denies his involvement when questioned. He has an unfortunate habit of not being able to ask for help because he feels he can fix whatever it is himself and he doesn't want to bother the others. He wants to be acknowledged as his own person rather then an extension of Patton or Janus. I feel like his morals are somewhere along the line of 'Do no harm, take no shit' he does truly care about Thomas's friend but if he feels they're hurting him or are toxic in any way he will advise them to change their behaviour but if they don't he'll attempt to cut them off. He care more about Thomas's wellbeing them the wellbeing of those around him(Thomas) and will advise Thomas to take a break to take care of himself and to set healthy boundaries rather then helping everyone who asks him. He does feel bad about having such 'selfish' motives but at the end of the day he feels that this is what's best for Thomas.

He's also an empath.

[treesap-blogs]

HI GUYS IM POSTING ON SUNDAY INSTEAD OF SATURDAY!! Sorry. Back with a review of “The Sunbearer Trials” by Aiden Thomas

Hello, Tumblrians! It’s been a while since I’ve made a review, I’m sorry about that. Alas, only two weeks after school, my mom took me down to the South to go visit some family 😔it was lowkey miserable! 2/10 don’t recommend I got gaslit so many times lmao

SORRY FOR NOT POSTING ON SATURDAY😭I was very busy! I’m gonna try to stop making self-imposed deadlines, because a) I literally never follow through with them so they read like empty promises, b) I get last-minute anxiety paralysis and never upload.

Anyways! Here’s a review of a queer book, because they probably would’ve been restricted in the state I was in. Maybe not banned per say, but definitely not accepted with open arms. The only open arms we’re getting in South Carolina are guns, and dear old Uncle Dave pretending he’s asking me for a hug and not forcing me to do it out of moral/familial obligation. Sorry.

Not really any Book Discovery Backstory for this one, except for that I wanted to get around to reading every single Aiden Thomas book. And this was originally meant to be for the Trans Rights Readathon, but I got tired and gave up! Oops.

The Sunbearer Trials is the book in question! For once, its advertising is pretty accurate: Think The Hunger Games’ nail-biting (and televised) battle royale, mixed with the demigod folklore and plot aspects of Percy Jackson (but make it gods of Mexican instead of Greek/Roman mythology)! Teo, a Semidiós transgender teen(son of Quetzal, the god of birds), because of his Jade status, doesn’t expect to be chosen as a competitor in The Sunbearer Trials: a group of deathly games played by Semidiós teens, where the lowest-ranking has the “greatest honor” of all—be sacrificed in order to fuel the Sun’s power and keep the Obsidian evil gods at bay. However, that doesn’t mean Teo’s worried about others: his friend Niya, the higher-ranking Gold daughter of Tierra, is one of the strongest heroes of their generation and dangerously likely to be chosen. So he’s in for a nasty surprise when two Jades get selected for the games this year, one being Xio, the thirteen year-old son of Mala Suerte, and Teo. Now the two of them must compete in five mysterious trials, against far more powerful opponents, for glory, pride and their own survival.

For a book with that intense of a summary, I wasn’t expecting for it to be as humorous and fun as it was? But I’m kinda glad for that, because hundreds of pages of just on-page child death will inevitably get emotionally taxing. So, I found this to be a very enjoyable read! I liked the descriptions of food!!(don’t read this on an empty stomach), and our character dynamics, which I was pleasantly surprised by because I usually dislike or outright hate books with large casts! Aiden Thomas definitely had his priorities straight on the characters to center though, and although we got to know a bit about everyone, it didn’t feel like there was too little or too much time spent with anyone. It didn’t feel crowded, basically.

Not to be that book account, but we also got a bit of rivals to lovers, with Aurelio and Teo! I was a little on-the-fence about it at first because, you know, tropes, but I ended up growing to like the genuine bond they developed amidst the trials. Also, Aiden Thomas just has a way with writing gay yearning I think! 

With all that said, although this book was a fun read, it felt juvenile at times. If some of the cursing or sexual humor was cut out, it could definitely pass as a middle grade. Personally, I don’t like middle grades, so this was disappointing to me especially considering how dark the summary is? Some of the lines (particularly Niya’s) were so corny or cringey I had to laugh. Add that to this being in a modern world, and I take critical damage from being reminded that memes and vine coexist with demigod death games in this book. 

Anyhow! Overall, this was an enjoyable (even if flawed) read. As you guys should know, I love culturally rich stories, and I loved the Mexican parts of the settings and story. And if you read the summary for that and thought to yourself “hey! That sounds right up my alley”, I’m not stopping you from checking it out. I’ll also be reading the sequel, because there was a hell of a cliffhanger.

Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½ stars/5. Finished 04/05/2023.

(Book content/trigger warnings: fire/fire injury, child death(on-page), violence+blood, bullying, gender dysphoria.)

-Paz, signing off!

[scarletooyoroi]

With a firm gaze fixed upon the parchment before him, it wasn't any external details that gathered his attention, rather, it was taking a dive into the recesses of memory to recall times experienced during the Vision Hunts.

This particular tale finds itself charted to the anomaly of a building upon the coasts of Watatsumi. Where it served as a veritable guard during the vicious times he found himself under pursuit; Suigetsu pool. It was a fortress woven in architecture that had divine level resistance to the cruelties of water and its pressure. In a way, it feels as if the circumstances have prompted the mechanisms to protect him from those underneath the Narukami banner. ..And the things discovered there?

This is what he busies the setting he frequents with the scratching of a pen on paper.

' My travels have allowed me to discover a current of truth from those fated days. To learn of old wars and the bygone woes of that era of Watatsumi. The legacy of Umigozen and Mouun and the eve of Orobashi's downfall. The spear I've recovered during conflict had a name, one whispered to me most particularly when I settled or found reprieve by the sea. Wavebreaker's Fin.

Is this a normal occurrence? Proof that either my strength had grown or that my sense managed to extend to further reaches? Teyvat has no shortage of rumors that strife is an essential key in carving a path to hidden strengths. In that same vein, through the absorption of Mora and crystals I've managed to forage, the lingering voice within the spear speaks alongside of its returning strength..'

'Telling of all it witnessed. Emotions of its wielder, even leading me to the hidden mansion within Suigetsu pool, Umigozen's domain.. I think such a discovery had brought surge of vigor to the weakening morale of our forces at the time. For myself, it felt as if I was allowing a bit of the past.. some distant connection, whatever it may be, to find peace.'

'While I've sworn to keep secrecy on their techniques in terms of honor. I believe that songs performed by the sea holds a much deeper purpose now.. and part of me wonders if others beyond the Divine Priestess's ability, are trying to see if they can reach.. no, reform that old potential into something new.'

There's a line of satisfaction as he settles the pen down for the time being. There was less of a frantic buzz within his mind with these thoughts being physically expressed. Despite being a good stretch of ocean away from the lands of Inazuma, often does he find his mind turning back to those days. Just the itch of bringing the wavebreaker back into his hand had to be resisted.

"I've.. certainly have a lot more I need to process than I thought. Thinking back on it now, those days are certainly a blur." A chaotic, messy and heart wrenching travail at its core. Even now it breeds pain within his heart of heart's, proud in the bitter reminder of what his resolve carries so firmly in the current day. What Thoma is glad for however, is that a desire imbued within any adventurer's heart was not exchanged as a price.

[justmoreocs-writing]

I feel sick. This is one conversation that I really didn’t want to have. The idea of doing this goes against everything I feel, everything I know. It doesn’t matter that there are old loyalties, friendships that have long since been shattered between our families. Everything has changed. Honestly, that shared past, that knowledge of exactly what I’m walking into, somehow makes this all the worse. I can’t let those things cloud my judgement. After all, Thomas Shelby is no longer the cheerful guy I used to know. He’s ruthless and powerful, and dangerous.

Someone clears their throat and instantly I’m up; hands balled and every fibre of my being prepared to fight.

The maid raises an eyebrow, and I allow a little of the tension to slip from my muscles. I refuse to relax fully though. Not in this house. Not ever.

‘Mr. Shelby will see you now.’ Her voice is curt, as if she thinks this whole thing is wrong. She doesn’t know the link, doesn’t know that this isn’t as scandalous as her head is probably rewriting the whole thing to be. Nonetheless, she opens the door and motions me into the office.

I had no idea what to expect when I step into the room, no thoughts of what I might be greeted with, but as soon as I walk in I know that it was nothing like this. Bookcases line the walls, stuffed with enough books to give every child in Birmingham one each - or, at least that’s the impression it gives. Two windows at the back of the room filter in too bright light, allow it to spill across the large desk and practically reflect off the papers on it.

Thomas Shelby stands between the windows, his back to me. Smoke curls in the air beside him. The whole thing gives the impression of power, of how little this meeting really means to him. But I’m not going to let it get to me.

The door is eased closed, still the sound is a little too sharp and it draws my attention. Not that I turn my back - I know better than not to keep an eye on Tommy. Already he’s facing me though. I’d heard the rumours of his need for glasses, but I’d yet to see it. Now, faced with his familiar blue eyes framed and more pronounced for it, it’s easy to spot the danger in him. The differences that he’s had since the War.

Despite that, despite the odd little shiver of concern that ripples down my back, I stride confidently towards the desk. My heart slams against my chest, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing it.

Without invitation, I sit opposite him and level my attention on him. The barest quirk of amusement flicks across his lips. It’s a look from the past I half wish had remained there.

He blows out a mouthful of smoke. ‘You’re the last person I expected to see here, Elysia,’ he notes, cutting straight to the chase. He taps ash in the tray, takes his seat. ‘What changed?’

‘Nothing,’ I practically growl, balling my hands on my knees. I know he’s trying to figure something out, trying to work this to his own advantage before I can make my own move. Slowly, I release my fists, mentally counting the seconds. ‘I see you have an Italian problem.’

Any ghost of amusement evaporates at my words. I can see the moment his eyes shutter against the pain they’ve already caused him.

‘But it’s more than that,’ I press. ‘They pose a threat to Small Heath. To anyone who refuses to cave to their extortion.’ I don’t mention how similar the gangs are on the outside; it wouldn’t help any, but I allow the implication to hang in the air, there if Tommy is willing to acknowledge them or not.

‘And you can help?’ Tommy asks, the scepticism obvious. He’s contemplating me as he takes a long drag of his cigarette, as he releases the smoke. This isn’t his idea, so he needs to weigh up the options, see if there’s any real strength behind it. ‘Little Ellie’s all grown up.’

‘Not quite,’ I murmur, earning a questioningly raised eyebrow. ‘But that’s kind of the point. Spence used to tell me stories about Italians when he couldn’t sleep. About their family ties. About their own kind of morals.’

Tommy’s expression is carefully blank, and I know that’s more dangerous. He’s thinking, weighing up his options properly. He needn’t do it though; I’ve already figured out what I’m really offering, the possible consequences of being little more than a human shield.

‘Why?’ he asks eventually, forcefully putting his cigarette out in the tray. ‘What do you get?’

I want to scream at him, to throw all my anger his way. There’s only one reason that I’d make this deal, the only reason I’d sneak to his house instead of speaking to him in the Garrison. But I know it’ll do no good. He’s expecting an explosive reaction, and I will not give him that. Instead, I take a steadying breath.

‘Spencer stays out of it all. This fight, your little games, everything.’ My voice is surprisingly steady; pride blossoms in my chest.

Tommy bobs his head, but I’m already shaking mine before he can try ordering me about.

‘I want it in writing, Mr. Shelby.’

The barest ghost of a smile passes across his lips.

I stand, smooth down my skirt and nod my consent.

‘Michael will have the paperwork tomorrow,’ he says, ‘Miss Carr.’

I nod briefly before walking out of the room. I’ve finally caved, finally made a deal with the devil to try and protect my family. I just hope that I won’t regret it.

[citrus-boys]

HELLO it is me. the anon from the other day. first post on this blog !! very cool

anyway my personal hc is that they ran away from the foster system together when they were early teens, around 14/15. they were constantly moved around, and they were just tired of it, so they lived on the streets for awhile there, never sleeping in the same place twice. uhh ill put a read more just in case

then they got their first job. i think it started with stealing/destroying/other crimes similar, then they got further into the business and were asked to do more and more.

by now they're around 16, and they still outright reject any killing jobs, no matter how much money is offered and no matter how immortal the jobs they do take get. they're scared of crossing that line because they're just kids!!! they never meant to hurt people they were just trying to survive!!!

so that's why i think their first kill was a total accident. a job gone way wrong, ends up with someone dead. they feel terrible, they can't sleep for days, they don't leave their house or go anywhere alone for a while after. then they realize, they have passed their own moral boundary. they've already killed. what does it matter if they get into the business of killing now? it made a lot more money.

it's terrifying, but they realize they've reached the point of no return.

and thus they start taking hitman jobs, get a handler, become professionals. it's around this time that tangerine starts trying to look super fancy and put together. before, he wasn't too worried about it, but now he's realized he's a professional killer now. it's a career, and he wants to put on this persona of being a really rich guy who never fails a job, when in reality he's still very uncertain of their skill. their falling past the 'point of no return', killing someone, just showed how little control he had. So he regains control in the form of the way he presents himself.

As for Lemon, he kind of toughens a little more. He stops talking about Thomas and his other 'childish' interests as much, except to read people. He realizes how much danger his brother is putting himself in by acting like a full, tough professional straightaway, just as they get into the heart of the business, so he becomes more protective, taking his place as more of a voice of reason, as well as trying to keep Tangerine out of harm's way. He'd always been the voice of reason, in a way---being a calming presence to rein in Tangerine's unpredictable emotions and temper---but now he was more protective physically, as well. <- this is pretty much what i said in the anon ask about how he has a phase where he tries to 'grow up' but Tangerine makes him go back to who he was before.

IM SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG I have been thinking about this forever

i need headcanons about movie tangerine and lemon's teenage years / early 20s / brain's still developing years lmao

i think that

- despite them being twins tangerine gives off eldest brother vibes so as soon as they turned 18/19 he made sure he got them a decent place to stay

- like they're both unhinged and crazy but I feel like lemon was the protected one at least at first

- they probably had a tiny place with wallpaper hanging from corners of the walls

- and like a kitchen without a table but they had two smol couches so!!!

- lemon was very good at stealing in supermarkets making sure they got extra snacks. and maybe an extra lunch

- tangerine stole cars maybe?? lol

- this is around the time tangerine got his necklace like. he was in his early 20s

- then stealing became a job, then stealing jobs led to other type of jobs..

- and then they never stayed in the same town too long

- totally unrelated but I think lemon is very good at drawing... trains especially

and then I need someone to add more to this please 😭 like how did they become paid assassins what was their first kill and so on ??

[cinnamonest]

Of course, you have the Soft Boy™ types that are generally good-willed and would try to help -- namely, Thoma, Chongyun, Bennett, Venti, and Kazuha. Theirs is fairly short and simple, they all try to help in some way, although Thoma, Bennett and Chongyun tend to use words whereas Venti and Kazuha are more inclined to quiet actions and gestures. It's also worth noting that Kazuha and Venti fall somewhere in a slight middle ground where, while they certainly try to improve your self-esteem, it's not impossible that they might also find themselves utilizing it.

For Venti, he's pretty aware of it, and makes an active choice to do so under some justification he can come up with to rationalize it to himself, while Kazuha does it more subconsciously. In his mind, he would never do such a thing as manipulate your self-loathing! And he's right, he would never... not on purpose, at least. Doing so without really thinking about it, though, means he doesn't have to necessarily ever have to acknowledge his actions, so he can convince himself that whatever he said or did had some other explanation.

On another note, amusingly, while not really as deadset on helping, some of the "socially inept and incredibly dense" types of boys (Cyno, Diluc, Xiao) would try to make you feel better, they just don't really know how or what to say... this ultimately results in making it infinitely worse by basically insulting you, telling you your self-perception is wrong and that you're incredibly stupid to feel that way, then proceeding to not understand why this upsets you, or why him seemingly irritated about it frightens you. But hey, at least he tried.

The ones who will outright manipulate you into being low-confidence to minimize risk of you leaving them without a shred of shame, however, falls to the predictable ones: Ayato, Kaeya, and Childe. All three are absolutely not above it morally, and see it as a useful way of sort of keeping your behavior in line. The approaches are a bit different though, it can be generally summarized by a basic strategy:

Childe's is very direct. This man will outright attack your insecurity at the root and very blatantly address it -- aw, is it because you think you (*insert whatever flaw*)? Bastard has no shame and no hesitation, he finds your reactions cute, even if you get mad or tearful. His method is to basically neg you about it, but insist he likes that thing or doesn't mind it. He's generally fairly indiscriminate when it comes to traits or habits and doesn't really feel the need to change anything, so it's very unlikely he has any intention of actually stripping you of the behavior or trait at the root of the insecurity. In fact, he's not lying when he says he likes it or doesn't mind... Your reactions are just funny. Besides, he also keeps reminding you of it anyway, because hey, even if he doesn't want you to change it, making sure to keep you paranoid and insecure about it will ensure you don't go running off with someone else.

Kaeya and Ayato, however, have it more indirect. Kaeya's strategy specifically is very backhanded. This man has mastered the art of the backhanded compliment, presenting words in such a way that it makes you feel bad, picks at an insecurity, but at the same time you can't be mad because it's worded in such a way that you feel it wasn't intentional on his end. Ayato's method of manipulation is the least aggressive, and the most indirect. He has a way of making you think about insecurities without ever bringing it up. He just places things and guides conversation in such a way that he knows that what he says will make you think about that thing, that it will be the natural train of thought you'll have, all without ever actually touching the subject or coming close enough to the matter that you might suspect it being intentional.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Draft of Chapter 5: Flames of Death

Warnings: running into fire, death, cardiac arrest, severe smoke inhalation, intense rescue

To get the context: Shadow is the morally gray stoic anti-hero from my in-progress fantasy trilogy, who has wings and fangs and magic, and is allied with a human teenager named Thomas who is looking for his missing brother who was taken and held captive by an organization called Jackal. They have already followed several leads and infiltrated Jackal headquarters on one occasion searching for Thomas's brother, and Jackal has had enough of it. They retaliate. But with Thomas's brother's life on the line, can them save him before it's too late?

"Shadow, could you please work with me for once instead of making everything more aggravating?!" Thomas groaned. "I was under the impression that this was an alliance. As in, both parties work for the greater good."

Shadow shrugged casually, her white wings moving up and down with the movement. "Hey, I don't like you either, and I'd rather be anywhere but here right now, but alas, I'm stuck with you. I swear I'm losing brain cells just standing near you." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "But fine, I'll give this whole 'working together' thing a try. Any idea on how to locate your brother?"

As if on cue, Thomas's phone beeped with an incoming message. He pulled it from his pocket and stared at the screen in confusion, his brow furrowing.

The message had been sent from an unknown number. Thomas had installed advanced, near impenetrable firewalls that he had created himself previously to prevent any nonessential calls or texts from coming through, which is why it was strange that one still managed to wriggle its way onto his phone regardless of his protections.

He clicked on the text so that it filled the screen. There was a video attachment that had been sent. A message also came with it, displayed below the attachment. It was an address, followed by more information.

1576 Maple Street, 67882.

Come alone, or he dies. Tonight, Midnight.

Thomas felt his heart drop to his stomach as he dreaded clicking the attachment after reading the words. He finally mustered up the courage and opened the video. A second later he gasped. On the screen was his brother, Lucas, tied to a chair in a nearly empty room. Shadow peered over his shoulder, her curiosity piqued by his reaction.

"What is it?"

"It's him... it's Lucas!"

"Welp, that’s definitely a trap. You happen to be looking for your brother and coincidently Jackal gives you the chance to save him?" Shadow snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “My guess is that you’ve become such a pain, that they're trying to lure you out to kill you and put a permanent end to the problems you keep causing for them.” She saw the expression on Thomas's face as he opened his mouth to say something, and cut him off with a shake of her head, already knowing exactly where it was headed.

"No. That is a very stupid idea. We don't even know if they will keep their end of the bargain."

"Come on, you know we're going there anyways. We can't take the chance that Jackal is not lying." Thomas looked up from his screen and met Shadow's eyes. She sighed in exasperation.

"What part of 'it's a trap' did you not get?"

"Whatever happens, I would do anything to save him. Even if it turns out to be a trap, at least I tried. Please, will you help me?" Thomas pleaded with her. He could see that he was starting to get under her skin when she stared hard at the floor, looking conflicted. A few long moments passed before she finally looked up again with a frustrated groan.

"Ugh, fine. I'll come along. As backup only though, understand? I won't intervene unless I deem it absolutely necessary."

"Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret it!" Thomas gushed.

I’m already starting to, Shadow grumbled quietly to herself.

It took a few hours for everyone to get prepared for what was to come at night. Thomas handed out earpieces to everyone so they could all easily communicate later.

"All set?" Tanner asked Shadow. She was loading up a small bag with field supplies. Thomas saw her packing a pair of binoculars and a variety of deadly looking knives and blades.

"Ready," Thomas said, determination in his eyes. Shadow's only reply was a brief nod of acknowledgement as she tucked one last short dagger into her boot.

"Great, let's move out!" Tanner led the way to the car.

Shadow followed them out before she disappeared into the dark night with a whooshing sound as her wings propelled her into the crisp, chilly air.

"Uh... isn't she coming too?" Thomas asked, confused.

"Of course. She just prefers to fly instead of drive, remember? One bonus is that she won't have to deal with traffic. I expect that she will arrive at our destination a few minutes ahead of us. It will give her extra time to pick a decent hiding spot with a good vantage point," Tanner explained.

"Hiding spot?" Thomas echoed, and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Of course. We don’t want the general public seeing her, and we don't know what we are walking into. It's best to maintain the element of surprise, just in case."

"Just in case what?" Thomas swallowed nervously as they started driving. Tanner didn't reply.

In the backseat, Thomas thought of all possible scenarios as to how this could play out. Most of them ended in tragedy. They drove for fifteen long minutes before the car slowed to a stop as they reached their destination.

Thomas had butterflies in his stomach as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. His legs felt shaky beneath him. The night sky was solidly black, with only a few bright stars scattered here and there against the light-polluted background. It was midnight. Right on time.

"This is the place?" Tanner asked skeptically.

"Yes, this is the place." Thomas swallowed dryly. Before them stood a shorter than average skyscraper, located on the corner of the street. It was only ten stories tall. The two of them approached the building with caution. Thomas pulled out his phone, and texted the unknown number that had asked him to the address.

I need proof of life.

He didn't have to wait long. A live video link came through and Thomas clicked on it, his heart racing. In the video feed, he could see his brother still tied to a chair, clearly unconscious, his face bruised and various other wounds on his body, but alive nonetheless. There was another message attached to it.

Third floor.

It was all the proof he needed. He approached the doors and reached to grab the handle, but Tanner put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Something's not right," he warned, then touched his comms with a wince. “Shadow still thinks this is the absolute worst idea in the history of bad ideas. Although she worded it a bit more… colorfully. Maybe we should take a step back to think this through."

"No. I can't leave him in there. I won't," Thomas insisted, shaking his head vehemently.

"Just... be careful. That's all I'm saying," Tanner added slowly, a worried expression on his face. "Shadow is in position on a nearby roof in case anyone tries to do something stupid. I'm already on a private channel with her."

Thomas nodded nervously, then took a calming, shuddering breath, steeling his nerves, before entering the building.

-------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, from a rooftop across the street, Shadow lay in wait, staring through a pair of night vision binoculars. She scanned the skyscraper for activity, and finally found it on the third floor up.

Gotcha, she thought to herself. Through the reflection on the window, she could see that Thomas's brother was indeed inside the structure. Jackal hadn’t lied about that much, at least. There appeared to be a tripod in front of him with a phone on it, which is how the video link must have been sent.

But why is there no one else in the building to guard their prisoner?

She felt a familiar tingle at the back of her neck as her gut told her that danger was near. And her warrior’s sense was rarely wrong. She scanned the other floors through the binoculars, and saw a strange box on the second one. There was a red digital readout above it, but it was too unfocused for her to read what it said. But Shadow didn't need to. She had seen this little black box before, and she knew exactly what kind of damage it could do.

The box, she believed, contained what was known to her as a fire bomb. Fire bombs were a type of illegal weapon that had been banned in almost every country in the world, and few people knew anything about them. Where there was one, there were usually more, all connected to the same remote trigger, and placed in strategic areas to cause the most destruction.

When detonated, it released a powerful, explosive jet of fire around a room, almost like a flamethrower, but twenty times stronger. It could set a whole building aflame in mere minutes, destroying everything inside. It was originally meant to be a means of assassination that was designed to look as though it were only a freak accident, to cover evidence.

The damage left by a regular bomb is unmistakable, but the trail a fire bomb leaves is far more erratic, and anyone looking at the aftermath would naturally come to the conclusion that it was probably just an accidental gas explosion or another such cause. The fire bombs were generally placed on the lower levels, so that the fire would work its way upwards from the source point.

He's walking into a death trap.

"Tanner, you need to get him out of there right now!" Shadow barked into her comms. Tanner immediately sprung into action, not even bothering to question her reasoning as he rushed into the entryway, where Thomas hadn't even made it to the elevator. He grabbed the teen by the arm and started dragging him back towards the door to safety, while Thomas yelped in surprise and confusion.

They had almost made it out when the bomb went off, completely engulfing six of the ten stories in flames. Tanner stumbled out into the fresh air, still maintaining a strong grip on Thomas.

"No! Thomas cried, struggling to free himself from Tanner's iron grip as he saw the fire spread through the building. "I have to go back in! My brother is still in there! Please, you have to let me go!" He was near hysterical. Shadow could hear Thomas's pleas over her comms, and searched through her binoculars to try and relocate his brother. The fire effectively blocked her view.

Bat-droppings! She swore silently. She knew that there was only one more possible option for saving Thomas's brother now, but the thought was daunting, even to her. And the realization sent a cold shiver running down her spine, and her white feathers bristled with apprehension.

I am his only chance of survival.

No, why am I even considering this right now? I can't fly through fire! She thought to herself angrily. Why should I care about some random human anyway? I hate them! Besides, I tried to warn the stupid boy anyway… It’s not MY fault it was a trap!

She tried to talk herself out of it, but her conscience wouldn't let it go.

You should care because you know what this kind of pain feels like, it told her. Thomas’s desperate voice had awakened a long buried, sad memory from her distant past.

I remember… Shadow gritted her teeth and shut her eyes with a shudder. When she finally opened them again, they were filled with newfound resolve and determination.

Forget this, I'm going in. I am such an idiot…

“Tanner, get Thomas somewhere safe. I'll handle his brother," she growled through her earpiece. And with that, she reluctantly spread her great feathered wings and launched off the rooftop, heading on a straight course for the burning skyscraper.

From the street below, Tanner could see what she was about to attempt. "Shadow, no!" He shouted into the comms, watching as she gained more speed, making a beeline for the third story.

Up in the air, Shadow ripped her communications device out and threw it away.

I need my full focus on the task at hand if I'm going to pull this off.

The building came towards her with frightening speed, and at the last second before contact, she crossed her arms over her chest, ducking her head down and pulling her wings in tight against her body, turning herself into a speeding projectile. A feathery bullet.

Well, here goes everything…

Shadow forcefully smashed her way through the building's window with a loud crash, and it easily gave way upon impact, raining shards of glass onto the streets below. She rolled and skidded to a stop on the tiled floor, grunting as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Not the most graceful entrance I could have made," she muttered under her breath. The fire raged all around, making it hard to see anything as she peered through the thick haze.

Shoot, I forgot how flammable I can be, she thought with a shudder, and quickly snuffed out a small spark that had set one of her white feathers aflame. She started picking her way through the rubble consisting of burnt pieces of furniture and fallen down parts of the ceiling. The room was much larger than she had expected, and progress was slow.

"Lucas?" She coughed. Her breath came harder as the hot air scorched the inside of her lungs. The sweltering heat was almost unbearable against her face, and her eyes began to water from the heavy, suffocating smoke.

"Lucas, where are you?" Shadow reflexively jumped back as a large flaming beam came crashing down in front of her, narrowly missing her by mere inches, and slammed straight through the floor, leaving a giant hole in front of her.

That was waaay too close…

The fire roared furiously around the room, the searing heat stinging her skin as she continued her search.

At this rate, I'll burn to death before I find the stupid kid.

The room was gigantic, and visibility was at a minimum. She suddenly remembered a lesson a mentor had once taught her about slowing down and taking time to use her heightened senses, one of her species' greatest advantages.

Though there was danger all around, she took a deep, smoke-filled breath and closed her eyes in concentration, tuning out the many sounds around her, and sifting through each individual noise with utmost focus and delicate care. Only one caught her interest.

A voice? She listened harder, straining her sensitive ears to the limit.

"Help... anyone..." The voice was so faint, she could barely hear it over the loud crackling of the fire. She got an idea. Her eyes flew open and she suddenly began lashing out at the smoke before her with her large white wings, blowing it away in powerful strokes long enough for her to see the faint outline of a wingless human form through the orange haze, still tied to the chair.

It was Lucas. It had to be.

Found you. She quickly made her way over to him, navigating around all the hazards on the floor. Dozens of blisters covered his exposed skin from the immense heat, and his head hung loosely against his chest.

He'd better not be dead right now or I am going to be seriously ticked off, she thought angrily. Shadow was relieved to feel a subdued, weak pulse beneath her fingers as she placed a hand against the side of his neck. He was only unconscious, probably having used the last of his strength in his last weak cry for help.

He can't take much more of this. And I don’t think I can either…

Coughing and wheezing, she drew a small dagger from her boot and freed him from the chair, slashing easily through his restraints, then carefully picked him up in her strong arms. Her chest and lungs ached for air, but the fire consumed so much of the oxygen, that there was very little left for two beings to breathe in. She was growing lightheaded, and quickly became aware of how little time she had left to escape before she would risk passing out, which would be a certain death sentence. But when she turned around to make her exit, the flames had grown far more aggressive, blocking the hole in the window from where she had come crashing in.

Great. As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, she thought sarcastically. There were only two choices available.

Either I have to fly through fire, or be crushed when this building finally caves in.

She chose the former. Holding Lucas close to her chest, Shadow braced herself and charged through the flames, beating her large wings furiously, and her feet lifted from the ground. She shot from the building like a bullet, trailing smoke from burning feathertips. She immediately veered steeply downwards into a near-vertical dive, heading for the nearby river that ran through the city, which was only a short distance away.

Just a little further. I can make it. She released her grip on Lucas a single second before she went over the retaining wall at the edge and hit the water, so that he landed on solid ground, while she continued onward with a loud splash when contact was made. Her feathers sizzled as the flames were suffocated from lack of oxygen.

Masterlist #2

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222

[justkending]

Moral of the Story. Chapter Five.

Summary: Marrying too young out of highschool leads to a naive and failed marriage. Now 10 years later, word comes that the divorce was never actually completed. Bucky and Y/N have to come back together after all these years to settle what wasn’t all those years back. Passive attitudes, miscommunicated endings, and reminiscing of old loves and lives all comes back for the two.

Pairing: Bucky x Y/N

Word Count: 3200+

Chapter Five:

Once the meeting was done and over, Bucky and Y/N both left at the same time. Bucky was kind enough to hold the door open for her as they made their way back to the street, but Y/N’s goal was to get back to her car as quick as possible. So she gave him a curt thank you and moved quickly to leave. 

“Y/N!” Bucky shouted just as she was less than 10 feet away. She paused with a cringe on her face before turning back to him. He was walking hesitantly to catch up with her. “Listen, I know it’s been a few years.”

“A few is an understatement,” she mumbled and he heard, but decided to move on. 

“I just- I,” he stuttered. What the hell was he doing? “Would you want to get coffee? Catch up some? I-,” Before he could finish, she cut him off. 

“Listen, as great as that sounds,” she tried to say nicely, but he could see the nerves in her face. “I actually have plans right after this.” He deflated some in his spot. She noticed and though she thought she wouldn’t care if she hurt him after all these years, something deep down proved that thought was wrong. “I-I just haven’t seen my family in a while, and the little time I have left here this weekend, I wanted to spend time with them where I could.”

“Right, right,” Bucky tried to brush off unbothered, but failed. “I’m sure your dad misses you, and you him.”

“Yeah, it’s been a few years. That and I haven’t been back in the city in 10 years, so I have a lot to catch up on,” she nodded. 

“Wait, you haven’t been back here in 10 years?” he asked shocked. He thought she had a least been in town throughout the years. Even if he hadn’t seen her. 

“Um, yeah. I kinda…” she hesitated, but figured where would the truth hurt? “Guess I wasn’t ever really ready to get back here.” Bucky knew what she meant even if she wasn’t saying it verbatim, and it hurt his heart knowing he was the cause. Well, I guess both of them were, not just him. “That plus starting up Horizon, it was hard the first few years. But the family still sees each other for the holidays.”

“That’s right. Colorado,” Bucky nodded. 

Y/N had kept forgetting for some reason that Bucky and her father were with each other at least once a week most of the time. Always hanging out and doing guy things, or really, father and son types of things. Meaning he knew of, if not actually knew, Sherri, Denise, John, and Chloe too. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t know about the yearly Colorado trip. 

“Right,” Y/N nodded with pursed lips, putting it all together and Bucky realized. 

“Oh, God sorry. I promise I’m not stalking you, it’s just your dad and I-” he started to defend his knowledge. 

“It’s fine James, really,” she said with a wave of her hand and a slight chuckle. One he never expected coming from her. And the name… He wasn’t sure the last time he heard her say Bucky. As soon as they decided to bring an end to their relationship, that nickname never passed her lips again. “I know you and my dad are close.”

“You’re not upset at that?” he asked, slightly confused. 

��I’m not evil. No matter how much you may think,” she mumbled the last part. “I-I… I know the relationship you two share. You’ve had it since the beginning of time practically. I wouldn’t dream to take that from either of you.”

Bucky didn’t respond. Because all he could do was look at her with a longing look. God, he missed her. Sure he held some anger from where they ended things, but he had moved on for the most part. Now he just missed his best friend. The girl he grew up loving. From best friends to girlfriend, to eventually fiance and wife. He missed her. Just who she was as a person when resent wasn’t a feeling she had toward you. 

Sure, it was a lot to think back on in just the thought that she still cared for him enough not to banish her father from him, but it spoke volumes for who she was as an individual and he missed that. 

“I mean not that I really have a say in other people’s life, but if I did, I wouldn’t do such a thing,” she looked down, fidgeting in her spot seeing him staring at her like earlier all over again. 

“I know you wouldn’t,” he responded, quickly noticing his stare and looking down at his own shuffling feet. “Well, in that case, I’ll let you go. Thomas has been excited beyond measures to have you home. I won’t keep you from him.”

She nodded as they made eye contact again and started to turn back to her car. But before she could get too far, knowing this may be the last time he sees her again for a while, if not ever, he had to say it. 

“Y/N?” She turned at her name and sent him a questioning look. “I’m glad you’re doing ok. You seem to really be taking the world by storm like you always were going to,” he smiled softly and she blushed some before returning the smile. 

“Thank you, James. You too. You seem like you’re doing some pretty amazing things yourself,” she nodded once. 

They didn’t speak more than that, but instead walked back to their cars. Not without a second glance here and there. 

___________________

“So? How did it go?” Thomas asked as soon as Y/N walked in through the garage door. Him and Sherri sitting at the breakfast nook with cups of coffee in hand and wide eyes ready for all the details. 

“It went,” she responded, throwing her purse on the island bar stool and going to make a mug for herself. 

“Wow, such a colorful description. Anything more and she’d be over doing it,” Thomas exaggerated, getting a giggle from Sherri who stood up and joined Y/N’s side grabbing the creamer and sugar for her. 

“Come on now, sis. Good? Bad? Magical?” she added the last word with flare. 

“Anything besides magical,” she sent a playful glare to the woman. “I will say this though.” She walked over and sat with a huff in the nook across from her father, practically deflating in her seat. “I am still technically Mrs. Barnes.”

“What?!” they both gasped. 

“How?” Thomas pushed on. 

“Well I guess the meeting today was just to update the papers and nothing else. I mean, yeah. A few signatures here and there, but it’s not finalized.”

“So it was just an revision meeting? When’s the final cut?” Sherri asked, leaning on the back of Thomas' chair. The two watching their daughter with intrigued eyes. 

“A few days?” she said more in a question. “Matthew, our new lawyer, said him and his partner are going to update them within the next day or so, and then send us the final write up to sign. After we send those back in, it’ll all be settled.”

“You still going to have John overlook everything for extra measures?”

“Never hurts. I really would rather NOT go through all this mess again. Getting divorced once sucks, but twice? Yeah, I’d rather not have to do it a third time. And all with the same man,” Y/N sighed heavily before taking a long chug of her coffee. 

The couple ahead of her sending each other a silent message to the other. Y/N hadn’t noticed as she closed her eyes at the upcoming headache, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have time to question it as her phone started going off. 

Looking down, she saw the office calling her. On a Saturday?

“I have to take this. I’ll be back in one second,” she groaned, taking her coffee mug with the buzzing phone to the back patio. “Hello?”

“Y/N! Hey, I have a quick update,” Melody’s voice came through the other line.

“Why are you at the office on a Saturday?” Y/N said a little sternly, but good intentions were behind it. 

“I got an email from our recycle plant we had scheduled for that Monday meeting and it couldn’t wait until Monday,” she was quick to explain. “But listen. They had to reschedule. The main guy and his wife, the bosses of the vendure who was coming to discuss the offers, had a family emergency come up and asked if they could postpone it a week.”

“Um, yeah sure. That’s fine,” Y/N shook her head trying to run the schedule through her mind. “Did you contact Bee’s Knees and let them know about the postponement?”

“Yes, and they said they were fine with it as well.”

“Ok, good,” Y/N nodded. “So I have a clear schedule besides background work Monday. Is that all?”

“Well…” Melody drug out. 

“Why does that sound like a Natasha kind of ‘well’,” Y/N questioned with a quirked eyebrow. This wasn’t receptionist or assistant talk about to happen. 

“Speaking of Nat, we thought because that was your only big meeting for the week and everything else is normal for the rest of the week, you should extend your stay in Brooklyn,” she replied. 

“What?”

“Come on. We both agree you haven’t seen your family in far too long, and a weekend trip isn’t going to cut it. That plus, Nat made a good point that you have tons of old friends you haven't seen in way too many years either,” she went on. “Why rush catching up with everyone, if all the work you need to do can be done on your laptop from Brooklyn? That and for once, your schedule isn’t overstacked with meeting after meeting. That happens once every few months. Plus, you’re already in New York!”

“Ok, ok. Calm down there, Sparky,” Y/N chuckled at her friend being out of breath. “I mean I guess, you’re not wrong…”

“She can’t be. I’m the one who came up with all this,” Nat’s voice broke in. 

“Oh, yeah. I may or may not be hanging out with Nat and Yelena,” Melody giggled bashfully. “Or be partially tipsy.”

Y/N rolled her eyes at the three, but couldn’t stop the laugh from coming out of her own mouth. 

“You sneaky little bitches,” Y/N chuckled. 

“What can I say? We’re Romanoff’s,” Nat smirked through the phone. 

“Well, I’m a Hill, but Romanoff by descent,” Melody added in. 

Again, another joking eye roll. 

“Now I have to change my flights and everything,” Y/N sighed. 

“Oh, woes me,” Nat mocked. “What a challenge it must be to log into your computer and change a flight to another week…”

“Hey, smartass,-”

“Lucky for you, you have me. I state once again,” Nat laughed. “I already checked into your flights to see if we can get a cheap reschedule.”

“How’d you know my login information?” Y/N asked, confused. 

“I have my ways, now don’t interrupt,” she scolded before continuing. “I was able to find you a flight around the same time, plenty of time to get to your rescheduled meeting, and it won’t cost you a hair off that pretty head of yours.”

“How’d you manage that?” Y/N asked with a smirk of her own now and a pop of her hip.

“I’ll say it again since apparently you’re deaf. I have. My ways,” the red head replied. 

“You sure you weren’t a spy in another life or something? Because sometimes you and Yelena have some strange tricks up your sleeves that I’ve only seen done in movies.”

“I would like the answer to that as well. Like how they coroerced me into a girls night while I was hiding in my apartment trying to take a relaxing night to read,” Melody spoke up. 

“Drink your juice, babygirl,” Yelena’s voice came quietly in the back. 

“With all that being said, we are gonna to let you go. We’re going to get all the details of last night out of this little one and go to a few clubs,” Nat explained. 

“Oh, I’d love to hear the details when you have them,” Y/N laughed. 

“I’ll have a nice 5 page paper ready for you tomorrow morning,” Yelena yelled from a distance.

“I’ll be expecting it. Now you girls go have a good time and please show Melody what she’s missing out on!”

“Can do, boss lady! Love you! See you next week!” 

With that, the phone call ended and Y/N looked at the empty lock screen. 

“I guess we’re staying a little longer.”

________________

“So, how’d it go?” Steve asked coming home from his early half shift. 

Bucky was sprawled across the couch with a pillow over his face, a sports playback running in the background and a beer that looked like he had been nursing all afternoon on the coffee table. 

“She looks great,” he mumbled into the cushion, but Steve couldn’t syfer the words.

“You’re going to have to say that again without a throw pillow over your face,” he chuckled, kicking off his shoes and throwing his keys by the door before heading to the nearby kitchen. 

“I said, she looks great!” Bucky all but grunted as he sat up. Frustration and annoyance clear in his answer. 

“And why do you sound like that’s a horrible thing?” Steve laughed again from the distance. 

Bucky groaned as he stood up and walked into the other room with Steve. He was parading through the fridge for an afternoon snack, or by the looks of the clock on the oven, lunch. 

It was 12:30 already?

“Because Steve, it makes it hurt all the more,” he pouted, crossing his arms as he leaned against the island in the middle of the space. 

“Her looking good, hurts you?” Steve asked, standing up with a tupperware bowl of leftovers in his hand. 

“I don’t know!” Bucky sneered at him, angry that his best friend wasn’t catching on to his feelings that even he didn’t understand. “I guess deep down, I was hoping she didn’t age well so that walking away would be easier. But there she was, walking in like fine wine. All mature and curvy, and… Perfect…” he mumbled the last part. “She did smack me though,” he added, thinking back with a dazed face. 

“Smack you?” Steve chuckled, popping the cold food in the microwave. 

“Our lawyer is blind. I asked a simple question of out of all the states to live in, why New York in that kind of condition?” Bucky said, hating how it sounded. “I realize now, after processing it, that was stupid and rude.”

“Hence why she smacked you,” Steve laughed, copying the brunette's stance on the opposite counter. “You’re an occupational therapist, Buck. Out of all the things to understand, it’s people adapting to their handicaps and disabilities.” He couldn’t help the laugh at his friend who seemed oblivious to the irony. 

“I was nervous, ok?!” Bucky defended, throwing his arms up and going to pace the room now. “Y/N and I had been sitting in awkward silence for the most part of the meeting so far, and that was the first piece of conversation that came to mind.”

“I’m hoping for your sake, he wasn’t a dick about it.”

“He wasn’t. He actually said he gets asked that a lot. Apparently, he hasn’t been blind all his life and said he’s lived here all that time. Helps when you grow up in the environment you live in.”

“Very true,” Steve agreed, grabbing his food and stirring it around before taking a bite and talking again. “Besides her looking ‘perfect’, did the process go well? You know, besides her reprimanding you like a mom?”

“Ha ha. You’re so funny,” Bucky deadpanned. “But yes. We signed our things and updated it all. Hey, did you know she’s a co-founder of Nat’s woman’s home? I guess not a co-founder, but investor?”

Steve finished his bite and shook his head. “Can’t say I did. It must be recent if that’s the case because neither Nat or Y/N told me about that.”

“I think it is, but damn…”

“Damn what?” Steve asked. 

“Well, at first she had me dropping my jaw at the fact that she did everything and more that she had hoped to do. She’s become an environmentalist like her grandmother and has started a whole business based on it.”

“I mean she was an environmentalist as soon as her GG had her walking. Remember how she would always take our straws at restaurants and have the waitress take them back so we didn’t ‘kill the turtles’? And that was before that was a like a worldwide trend,” Steve remenised, moving to the living room to eat at the couch. Bucky following. 

“God, yes. She started carrying like 10 reusable straws with her as soon as they came out with them. That and remember the amount of reusable bags she had in her backseat any given time of the week?” Bucky laughed, joining him in thinking back to the dated memories. 

“So many she would hand them out to people in parking lots at grocery stores to use themselves,” Steve added. “God, she really loves this planet. I admire her passion though. We need everyone to have a heart for our home like that.”

“She made it everyone's mission around her to know just how important it was,” Bucky smiled at the thought as he looked off in the distance, wrapped in the memories he loved. But that wasn’t the point. The point was he would never be close with her like that again. What they had was done and over… Or would be. “Funny thing actually…” Bucky chuckled awkwardly. 

“What’s that?” Steve asked, looking at the TV in front of him. 

“We may or may not still be married…”

There was a pause as Steve stopped mid-chew and slowly turned his gaze from the baseball reruns on the screen to Bucky with a tight smile. 

“Excuse me?”

“I guess that wasn’t the endgame for today’s meeting…”

“What was?”

“Getting things updated and signed so that the papers were actually ready for our divorce,” Bucky answered. 

“So she’s still Y/N Barnes?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t say that to her face. She looks like she wants to physically throw up when you call her that,” Bucky slouched in his chair. His hand coming up to cover his face as he rubbed his temples with his thumb and middle finger. 

“So still married?”

“Still married.”

“How long?” Steve sighed, putting his food on the counter and leaning back in his own seat. 

“As long as it takes to make up the new divorce settlements and get them signed and sent back in. Until then… I’m a married man.”

If you would like to be tagged in this series, please send an ask! It keeps things more organized for me. If you comment, I most likely will not add because I loose them:)

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@taylormobley​ @ximaginx​ @vicmc624​ @leyannrae @lonerlovescompany​ @jessyballet​ @angstysebfan​ @tita127​ @semistablecentenarian​ @im-a-light-child​ @alyssahowden​ @studiesinspanish​ @natyvwe​ @rebekahdawkins​ @fanfictionjunkie1112​ @millennial-teenybopper​ @scotlandasshole​ @aquariusbarnes​ @shinykoalacat​​

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[dragonindigo245]

Official post for my orange side theory

AND NO IT IS NOT WRATH OR ANGER

WARNING: Spoilers for Working Through Intrusive Thoughts. I'm not gonna bother adding the spoiler tag to this post because all the spoilers are going to be under the read more.

Also this post is long so be warned.

Back in early August of 2020 I came up with an orange side theory I have stuck with for a long time. I always found the orange side theory of wrath/anger to be odd, seeing as anger is an emotion not a personality trait, and therefore made an effort to try and discover what I can see the orange side being. In light of the fandoms response to the latest asides saying that orange being wrath is "now canon", I figured it was time to bring it back, along with new points and explanations.

What is the orange side exactly? The answer is simple. He might not be this exactly, but orange is naivety, irrationality, or the inability to see logic clearly.

This started when I made the connection to the dark sides being complete opposites to one another. For example, Janus and Patton are opposite ends of the moral spectrum, Roman and Remus are opposite ends of the creative spectrum, and Logan himself is on the functionality/rationality spectrum. The opposite end would be something like naivety or irrationality.

After that post, I made another a couple of months ago with 3 main points, the first being the opposite ends point. The other two points are just as important.

Point 2: It ties into the 3 monkeys theory

The recent episode confirmed the 3 monkeys theory, further solidifying this point. In case you live under a rock or are new to the Sanders Sides theories, the 3 monkeys theory is based on the whole "See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil" thing. The dark sides all have powers relating to each of these.

Janus has the ability to mute the sides (speak no evil), Remus has the ability to muffle the sides (hear no evil), and Orange has the ability to... make... their eyes pretty? I'm sure that we will get an actual explanation on how he influenced Logan in the future lol. Regardless, orange is definitely see no evil.

Now you may be asking, Indigo, how does this tie into irrationality?

Do you know what irrationality is? The inability to SEE the world clearly or to SEE reason or logic. Irrationality blinds you to reason itself. It makes sense, seeing as emotions are illogical and orange clearly did something to push Logan to an outburst. When orange provided his influence, Logan's eyes glowed orange, indicating he lost the ability to see purely logically. While, yes, orange did this with anger as a vessel, irrationality takes many forms.

Point 3: Color symbolism

Something that is frequently overlooked when fanders make theories about the sides is that each side ties into their color scheme in some way. Roman being red ties into him functioning as Thomas' romantic side, Patton's light blue tying into his gentle nature and trustworthiness, etc.

Orange is a color that is tied to joy and youth. Being naïve to the world around you crumbling down will often make you happier. While some naivety is great and can make you happy, in large doses it is a threat to your well being.

Point 3.5: How is this connection accurate?

A great deal of the plot in this episode, especially the endcard, showcases this irrational blindness to all of the issues the sides are having with each other. Throughout the episode, Logan keeps having to sacrifice his plan to help Thomas and then once Nico calls Thomas, Thomas doesn't know how hard it hurts Logan to once again be brushed off. In the endcard, Patton and Roman tell Logan that this is more important, not realizing how rejected Logan feels.

This isn't just happening with Logan either. Patton and Virgil have had some rising tension as of late as well. This is showcased the most clearly in this video when Virgil snaps at Patton and says "Oh thank goodness. You're giving him permission." sarcastically. Patton takes this as "I didn't know you would give him permission" whereas Virgil was meaning "He doesn't need your permission to feel good about this". Furthermore, each of the light sides have argued with each other individually in different episodes except for Virgil and Patton.

With Janus recently being more accepted, Remus appearing and hurting everyone, and the tension each of the main sides have... it's all going to fall apart. Nobody but the dark sides seem to notice this tension, not even Thomas. Why? Because they are being naïve. The orange side is either keeping them blissfully unaware or the very fact they are unaware is giving the orange side power.

What is the new point you mentioned?

This video with the orange side really got my gears turning. I began making connections that otherwise I didn't have the ability to make, or never happened to think of. The fact my theory has managed to hold up in a heavy orange side lore video only solidifies my confidence in this.

Point 4: The dark sides revolve around the truth

This theory is a little more of a stretch but if I'm right, then this is all the evidence I really need to confirm that orange is irrationality.

Janus is essentially the ring leader of the dark sides. He keeps them hidden until Thomas wants to be aware of them, with the potential exception of Virgil who we don't know when he was revealed to Thomas. However, each dark side has something in common besides witty remarks. They all center around the truth.

Janus and Remus are easier to figure out, seeing as Janus is literally the embodiment of lies and Remus has multiple times where it is obvious he provides the unfortunate truth. Remus being the bringer of truth is showcased multiple times, which I will only bullet point because this post is more-so about orange than him.

His line of "I would never hide anything from you."

Janus bit in Forbidden Fruit that goes "No longer will you deceive yourself about the ugliness within you."

Logan admitting Remus can help Thomas in his own way

Virgil on the other hand is harder. Unlike the other two, Virgil represents a completely different angle of this "truth theme". Virgil represents the fear of both the truth and the unknown. Why would Janus even need to even repress the dark sides in the first place if Thomas wasn't afraid of the truth that they were apart of him? Why would Thomas had admitted he didn't want there to be more dark sides after he asks if there were more of them if it were not fear he had more unwanted parts of him and fear of not knowing what they were?

Virgil knows Thomas' fears. This would have made admitting he was a dark side such a hard feat. If he felt Thomas was chill with the dark sides, Virgil could have instantly told Thomas he was in fact one of them. In a way, this makes Virgil the perfect bridge between the light and dark sides. The dark sides provide Thomas with the truth he needs or wants, and the light sides figure out how to handle it.

Point 4.5: What does this have to do with orange?

Orange would keep Thomas from the truth. While, yes, this is the exact same thing Janus does, Orange would do it another way. Janus makes Thomas unaware of the truth he KNOWS. Unconsciously, Thomas still knows what Janus hides. This makes it entirely different from how naivety works. Naivety would keep him from ever learning the information in the first place.

Furthermore, we saw that orange is potentially connected to Janus in some way. The very last thing we see in Working Through Intrusive Thoughts is the flash from Janus' eyes, to oranges eyes. This could be a slight hint at Janus and Oranges functions not being so far apart.

Or the writers just thought it would look neat. That too.

Is Logan the orange side?

I can say with almost 100% certainty the answer is no. We saw before each sides introduction, they manifested themselves in the other sides.

Janus silenced Roman in Accepting Anxiety Part 2, Remus manifested in Roman by giving him random unwanted outbursts (like the naked Aunt Patty line that Roman said he didn't know where it came from in the Christmas episode), and therefore it follows orange is manifesting in his own way.

Furthermore, Logan is not the type of character to turn evil. He has outbursts and is being beaten down but he would never snap for good. If anything, we have seen from Putting Others First that he would only appear as needed if he felt ignored.

Logan is not one to let his emotions make irrational decisions for long, and he almost always goes to make up for his mistakes the moment they happen. He always has Thomas' best interests at heart and has witnessed Virgil realizing force is not the way to go about it.

It makes no sense for his character and there is no reason for it to happen narratively.

Please note that this post is simply a theory and I do not wish to start arguments about if I am right or not. If you are going to provide counterclaims, please do so respectfully and do not clog my notes with your own essay. Thank you!

[jwillowwolf]

Okay, so I have a Theory for what will happen in the Finale, but it comes with a very long rant about my reasoning for said theory, so I’ll put it under the cut. Basically, I just got excited and wanted to talk with someone about what I think will happen and have turned to the internet to share my thoughts. Warning for spoilers from Working Through Intrusive Thoughts bellow.

Before I can get to what I think will happen, I need to explain the context of my thinking. Currently, we have Logan feeling ignored, Roman feeling lost, Virgil feeling defensive, Patton feeling confused, Remus just being his dramatic gremlin self, and Janus is in his element.

Logan himself said to Remus “It’s not every day Thomas... is interested in... carrying out this sort of thing.” Showing that today was important to Logan and spoiled by 1) Remus’s interfering, and 2) Thomas going out with Nico. Not to mention he lost his cool for a second and now we’ve got Orange to look out for.

Now, there are two possible theories I know of on this scene. 1) Logan is the Orange-side, which seems to be the most popular opinion. 2) the Orange-side, similarly to Janus, can possess other sides. Personally, I think that Logan being the Orange-side is most plausible.

We have seen Logan almost lose his temper before when he threw a piece of paper at Roman in ‘Learning New Things About Ourselves’. He seems shaken by that, almost scared of what he did. Or maybe of what could have happened. He looked even more shaken in ‘Working Through Intrusive Thoughts’ when we got a glimpse of orange in his eyes. He knows there is a dangerous side to him, an emotional state of anger and frustration that he’s been doing his best to keep under control.

How much longer will he be able to control it though?

Next, we have Roman still feeling kind of upset towards Patton, if his stiff reaction to him speaking in the end card is anything to go by. I describe him as feeling lost because in a way he’s lost his moral compass. After what happened in ‘Putting Others First’, I think he distrusts Patton and considering he has in a way followed morality’s lead through all of this, he’s now struggling through questions of what he decides for himself is wrong and right. And he needs to get this right because he’s meant to be the hero, the good creativity. Or that’s what he’s believed all this time.

He’s been conditioned to see things in black and white. To him, there’s meant to be a clear distinction between a hero and a villain, which means if he does something that is not considered good then he’s bad. You can see how that mindset affects him firstly in ‘Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts’ “It’s a little like looking into a funhouse mirror, but instead of a giant head, or like, long legs and a tiny torse, …it shows you… everything you don’t wanna be” and then at the end of ‘Putting Others First’ “He’s (Janus) asking us to go back on things we’ve known for years! rights and wrongs, should’s and shouldn’t’s!”

The world is not black and white like Roman was taught, so now he’s lost himself in trying to understand the many different shades of grey around him.

Continuing down the angst road, we have Virgil’s uncharacteristic behaviour towards Patton. Yes, we have seen him act this way before, but ever since the ‘Accepting Anxiety’ arc he’s acted differently. More like his true self with the knowledge that he’s safe and among friends, like Logan said in Fitting In he’s part of the group. So, what changed?

Logically he would act out this way as a part of his fight or flight response, or more specifically he’s fighting against what scares him. He acts this way towards Janus and Remus (although it’s harder with Remus since he’s Remus) he gets defensive, cold, and downright mean because he’s trying to protect himself. My point? Something about Patton is scaring Virgil.

If we look at the relationship between them before Virgil’s behaviour, then we have what happened in ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts'. Virgil was at a terrible point of stress over Remus showing up, mainly because Patton was stressed at Remus showing up. Pat’s knee jerk reaction to Remus and what he contributes sends Virgil into a panic because, in a sense, they’re connected as Thomas’s emotions. This may seem odd but stick with me here.

Fear and stress are the two things that drive Virgil. In ‘Why do we Get Out of Bed in the Morning’, he mentions that Thomas feeling stressed over deadlines and projects causes him to “work overtime”. As for fear, that’s clear enough in ‘Moving On’ parts 1 and 2, with his reaction to Patton’s Room. The strong influence of emotions in Patton’s room may have heightened his function because emotion is a core part of who he is. In fact, in ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’, Logan asks Virgil how Thomas is feeling. This means that he is just as connected to Thomas’s emotional state as Patton.

There isn’t a clear indicator of what happened between ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’ and ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’ to prompt Virgil’s behaviour towards Patton. Or is there? Let’s look at what exactly he says to Patton:

First from ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’: “How can Thomas Feel B-A-D with his inner D-A-D?” “I can think of a few ways.” This is the first time Virgil lashes out at Patton, and it’s obvious through the whole episode that he’s stressed out.

He actively wants to address the problem throughout the episode and is in a lot of emotional turmoil since the others seem to be ignoring it while he just can’t. Seriously, the pain piles upon him till the point he and Thomas fall into an anxiety attack.

So why does he antagonise Patton here? Because Patton is the one ignoring the problem. Patton is the one most actively ignoring what happened and Virgil is feeling hurt by that. Sure, Logan is distracted, but Logan understands that there are healthy distractions and can stay concentrated on the movie, causing him to not notice Virgil’s dilemma until later. And Roman is still following Patton’s lead here. When he took a jab at Virgil at the beginning and Patton said, “that’s not nice Roman.” He instantly panicked and scrambled to amend himself.

After ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’, we don’t see Patton and Virgil interact again until the end card of Working Through Intrusive Thoughts. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re giving him permission.” “Well, y-yeah. Of course I would.” Virgil bringing up Patton giving Thomas permission seems out of context, and yet it’s perfectly in line with the ending of ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’ where Patton said “I can’t control every little thing that pops into your head. This may be unnecessary, but, … It’s okay if you sometimes think some… Icky thoughts, Thomas. You have my… permission”

This begs the question though, why is that the line that stuck with Virgil? Because Virgil doesn’t want to be manipulated anymore.

If we look at his relationship with Janus for a moment, then anyone from a mile away can see the two have some sort of history. Something that goes beyond even Virgil’s past as one of the others. The relationship that they used to have. It’s been established that Remus used to unsettle Virgil, so I doubt they spent too much time together, but Janus? That’s a very different story.

Janus is deceit, lies, and denial so he may have hidden Virgil from Thomas. He may have lied to Virgil about his function to keep him under control. It was the best way he knew to hide Virgil from Thomas. But in the end, Virgil came to the realisation that Janus was a lair and hence they must have had a terrible fallout.

This began his arc as the ‘antagonist’ in Thomas’s life. He no longer allowed Janus to control him and faced the light sides on his own. He fought to have his voice heard along with the rest. Now he’s scared of losing the freedom he fought for via Patton taking control.

He’s been down the road before where he was taken advantage of, and he doesn’t want to fall for that again. Never again.

Oof, okay, now we come to Patton himself. He seems fine from the outside, but we all know that he has a habit of keeping his negative emotions on the down-low. He doesn’t exactly know what he’s done. That doesn’t excuse it, but it does put his behaviour into context.

In ‘Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts’ he realises how his reaction to things has influence Thomas’s wellbeing. In ‘Are There Healthy Distractions’ He’s trying to stay committed to Thomas's decision and not influence changing his mind towards facing the problem. Then in ‘Putting Others First’, we see how absolutely distressed he’s feeling because the influence he has over Thomas could be used for bad and hurt Thomas.

In a nutshell, he doesn’t want to become the bad guy, but he doesn’t know how to correct his behaviour. In ‘Putting Others First’ he even asks Janus “What can we do”. It shows that he knows he’s doing something wrong and wants to do the right thing, but everything he’s ever known has been torn apart and now he’s just left confused.

He doesn’t know what to do anymore.

Remus is just doing what he normally does. He’s functioning just fine and honestly, there isn’t anything much to unpack about his behaviour. He’s being himself. Although perhaps there’s something, or someone, behind what he’s doing.

It’s no secret that Janus is the brains of the two (although Remus can create some magnificent Rube Goldberg machines) and could be the mastermind behind this scheme. Since he was introduced, we knew Janus hid behind lies and worked with complex plans to fulfil his goals. The ending of ‘Putting Others First’ shows that he has a part of himself that is only looking out for others but that doesn’t change the fact he’s planning something.

His words at the end of ‘Working Through Intrusive Thoughts’ “Yes, everything is just… fine.” He knows something is not fine. He may even be behind instigating the entire thing.

This time though, perhaps his scheme is meant for good. He can see how the sides are very different from each other. Their working together as the light sides is incredibly unstable. Thomas's mental wellbeing is practically hanging from a thread.

How do we solve this problem? Expose it. So far, Janus's meddling has been to push things into the light. to get Thomas to face all aspects of himself and better understand the complexities of the world.

The truth needs to come out before things can get better.

And all of that brings me finally to the main point of my rant. My personal theory about what will happen with the finale.

Patton and Roman/Virgil currently have an unresolved conflict. That’s what will start the episode. Patton is trying to fix things with Roman and/or Virgil. Logan will try to be the mediator for the situation, and no one seems to be listening to him.

Then Janus shows up and is now on Patton’s side. This is making things worse because well Roman and Virgil still don’t like Janus at all. Perhaps Virgil will even snap and give more context into what happened between him and Janus, comparing Janus and Patton now that Pat seems to be betraying them. Remus even shows up and adds his own comments to further unsettle everyone. The fight is going to get bigger until finally, Logan snaps.

Orange-Logan is now part of the mix, and he is angry. Nothing is holding him back anymore so now everyone is going to have to focus on him. They will listen to him now, which is good, but because anger has taken over, Logan isn’t the same. He’s not able to reason with his own emotions and act as the voice of reason. Everything is coming down!

So now the fighting has gotten even worse, even louder, everyone is stressed and hurt and shouting and then Virgil says “stop”. He doesn’t shout it, he just speaks in a normal calm tone, although his voice is echoing a bit. Everyone does stop mainly out of confusion at his sudden hushed tone, then they see what is happening to Thomas. All their arguing has caused him to spiral into a panic.

Virgil calms Thomas down from his panic, and then Logan from his anger. It’s good for Logan to stand up for himself to be listened to, but anger will get them nowhere. He even apologises for not listening to Logan before things got this bad.

Logan calms down and apologises for his behaviour then calmly calls out the others on their own actions. With a calmer atmosphere, everyone can see a bit more clearly where they were in the wrong and apologise to one another. They talk things out, come to an understanding and resolve their feelings.

Anyway, if you made it to the end of this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this theory and any theories you have regarding the finale. Thank you for reading and I hope that you have a wonderful day.

[idanit]

possibly underappreciated Good Omens fics I enjoyed once upon a time

Indirectly inspired by a video series about fanfiction I watched, I decided to pull together a list of Good Omens fics I have bookmarked as stories I enjoyed, but which have less than 250-300 kudos at the time I’m writing this. No particular order. They’re accompanied by short excerpts from my private fic reading notes (not originally intended to be read by anyone but me, mind), sometimes slightly edited for clarity—and, sometimes, the comments I left on the fics.

This list sat in my drafts for a long time and the recent S2 announcement reminded me of it. I’d love it if it inspired you to do something similar! Spread the love.

And mind the tags, please.

△ = general and teen ▲ = mature and explicit 

thermodynamic equilibrium ▲ 7K the author has such an ear for dialogue and is unapologetic about what they want to write the characters like. They think of the characters as a mix of TV and book canon, but they feel like a homemade blend to me. (...) It’s very funny.

such dear follies ▲ 6K I can really picture this Aziraphale—Crowley as well, but her especially. She’s rather distinct. (...) Nice writing.

The Words Were With - △ 1.2K post-Blitz vignette, Aziraphale realizes what he feels and wonders if they're human enough for this. I liked it, and I liked the tag "transhumanism, but in reverse?", too—what an interesting idea. I'd say it's a vignette in a dire need of a follow-up, but, well, there's the show. The show is the follow-up. It fits very nicely within the canon and I totally believe it could have happened, like a deleted scene.

Gossip and Good Counsel △ 19K/? I love their companionship and how they're set up to be opposites by the management even though they get on pretty well. It feels very in keeping with the canon, but I feel like the fact that it's an F/F set in this particular time period adds a meaningful layer to the situation. It's women supporting each other in the world of men, working with the personas that are created for them, but, privately, being normal, well-rounded people. (...) and of course your writing is always a pleasure to read. (...) SDHDGDHDHDG Maisie is truly an Aziraphale.

Crowley Went Down to Georgia (he was looking for a soul to steal) △ 6K This was nice. Based on a song I didn’t know. Crowley goes to a funeral in the USA, one of a fiddler he knew and lost a bet to once. (...) The fic has not one but two songs composed for it and embedded inside it and that makes it even better. I really enjoyed the experience.

The Thing With Feathers △ 18K WARLOCK you'rE HORRIBLE AND I LOVE IT I would read an entire novel-length fic just of Crowley fighting his battles with Warlock. Written like this? It would be a blast. (...) The OCs are believably characterized and well-loved by the story. (...) Everyone seems to need a friend in this house. (...) This was so fun, and at the same time, their mission has weight here (...) We wonder about what the future holds even though we know it.

Here Quiet Find △ 11K This fic aimed for my head and the aim was sure precise. It was a story of Crowley sensing Aziraphale's distress and finding him in a self-quarantined English village in the seventeenth century, tired and anxious. It's hurt/comfort, so there was washing and bedsharing and I had to love it, so I did.

outside of time △ 2K Post-Almostgeddon, (...) nicely-written, short, but strung with a soft kind of tension and unspoken words. There's no drama, just "can we really", and "do you really" of sudden freedom. They fall into being inseparable. Book canon, which I like for this story (sitting on a tarmac). I liked the footnotes. There's a mention of Eliot. All in all, very much yes.

She'asani Yisrael △ 2K It’s Crowley going through a two-hour service and drinking blessed wine. He also keeps an eye on a boy he was asked to. It’s 1946. It was pretty good, so far the best Jewish GO fic, I think, from the ones I’ve read.

To Guard The Eastern Gate △ 11K  I loved it. You really made Sodom feel lived-in; the description of Keret, Hurriya and Yassib's house and relationship were great. I got attached to both them and the city (...) Aziraphale and Crawley’s interactions were generally very entertaining. I laughed (...) Your rendering of their voices just lands so well (...) But then oh, the entire ending (...) hurt, hurt a lot, and your descriptions are so vivid.

If you’ve been waiting (for falling in love) △ 14K AAAAA a good ending line. The whole paragraph, in fact. I love a good smattering of philosophy in my fics, and this was really nice. I can get behind Thomas Aequinus's and Crowley's view on eternity. It's (...) a pretty simple fic (...) - the courage to express yourself and take a risk is awarded with winning what was at stake by the virtue of reciprocity - but the way it was intertwined with a study of how they would experience a forever was done well. 

Holy unnecessary ▲ 2.2K It's well-written. (...) this is my type of sexual humour if I have any. So subtle. Blink and you'll miss it. Lovely.

The Parting Glass △ 17K Through the ages, they're dancing around their relationship until after the Armageddoff. (...) Wow, this was really, really nice. Very simple in its concept and nothing I haven't read before, but very well-executed. (...) AAAAH I LOVED the first chapter. I always like abbeys as settings, that's a given, but the banter, the good writing, the moral ambiguity!

Name The Sky △ 33K This Crowley is different, but very intriguing. Without his sarcastic talk, and much more animalistic. (...) I love how expressive Crowley is. (...) This fic has a very nice balance of drama and levity. I don't love Crowley-before-the-Fall stories very much, but with this execution I can read about it. (...) Okay I've read Crowley offering fruits, and even Aziraphale biting fruits, but the two of them sharing the apple? Outstanding. Ingenious. What a take.

A Flame in Your Heart △ 5K post-Blitz (why are so many dance fics post-Blitz?), they go to the bookshop and have an actually believable conversation. Then they dance the gavotte. It was really nice! Believable writing, emotions, the dancing! (...) Of course it's too early for them, (...) but the author's note? yeah.

Put down the apple, Adam, and come away with me ▲ 32K At this point it's just reading original stories with characters with names and some personality traits that I recognize. (...) I really enjoy this, the careful dance, the opposition between their views. (...) This is well-written, wow. (...) it's not an easy read (...) this story feels very believably 50s, but also reaches out to the present time. 

Liebestraum ▲ 10K/? It really is like music. I'm enjoying the writing a lot. (...) oh my actual god. This, this? Wow, uh. This came for my throat. (...) THE MUSICAL COMPOSITION, THE MOTIF RETURNING, THE AUTHOR KNOWS WHERE IT'S AT (...) Excellent. This hits the right beats so precisely, (...) and with feeling, too.

Down Comforter △ 2.4K and they lay down in angeldown, a soft rug ‘neath their heads– alright. Well, Crowley lies under Aziraphale's wing on a Persian rug after the Apocalypse, and they talk (...). It was sweet.

The Corsair of Carcosa △ 5K Crowley wakes up from a nap, visits Aziraphale for some drinking, and they read The King in Yellow that he happens to own. Good writing, so I'm bought. Aziraphale mentions Beardsley, so I'm bought twice over. My god, a discussion of etheral/occult madness? Caused by some wrong/true reading? Yes.

Very Good, Omens! △ 6K It's rather well-written, well-pastiched. People don't do that too often, nowadays - try to write in the style of a particular writer. (...) I love wordplay like this.

Reviving Robin Hood: The Complicated Process of Crème Brûlée △ 30K it's well-written (...), has a rhythm to it, and quiet humour. (...) Finally some nice, good, light writing. The attention to detail! (...) I'm still reading most of it aloud, the rhythm of it compels me to. (...) okay this does sound like Pratchett&Gaiman, the Good Omens itself (...) The fic is meandering, hilarious, sensitive in all the right places, and overall lovely.

my dear acquaintance △ 1K Oh. Oh. Yes, yes! Aziraphale in Russia, Russia I've never been in, but I can feel the snow and the evening of. Very real, and the bar, too. Attention to detail - vodka flavoured with dill, what on earth? Yes. He would totally have a distinct taste in operas and he would totally complain about a subpar one. I'm glad Tchaikovsky's there.

there is a crack in everything △ 1.8K This was good! Ah. Inspired by a comment (...), I went looking for Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cortese fics—really, what a big brain moment someone had and why have I never thought to look for them? This is Crowley getting suddenly anxious and Aziraphale going out of his way, through all his layers of not-thinking and denial, to console him. I also really liked how the Arrangement is a carefully unacknowledged partnership-marriage.

Scales And Gold And Wings And Scars △ 6K  No conflict, no plot, one tiny arc like a ripple on the surface of water on a calm sunny day - of Aziraphale discovering Crowley’s scars. It's the South Downs and it's early summer. They bask and swim in a spring. Non-sexual nudity, love in the air like a scent. Nice.

Nineteen Footnotes In Search Of A Story △ 0.4K This is a Good Omens story told only through footnotes. Your mind can fill in the gaps. Fascinating (...). Also, it’s an experiment so apt for this particular fandom.

Hell on Earth △ 6.5K Oh, I loved it! How could I not love it: it's Beelzebub-centric, it's historical, it has classical painting, and even a hilarious scene with a cuneiform phrase, as if I didn't enjoy this story enough already. There are so few Beelzebub fics out there and I find searching for them very difficult (I accept recs if anyone has any), and it's such a shame, so this was really like a gift to the fandom. I absolutely adore the way you portrayed them, small, frightening, powerful, and confident. Also, it was super fun to see how different Crowley seems when we're not in his POV or in a story about him and Aziraphale. (...)

Go Up to Ramoth-Gilead and Triumph △ 24K Daegaer is... pure class. (...) hdhdhdh what pfttt why you so funny (...) I love this Crowley. (...) This got unexpectedly intense. (...) I love the little nods to the fact that Israelites, especially the poorer ones, still believe in other gods. I also really like that they sleep on roofs. It's just the kind of detail that grounds the story and shows that the author is, in fact, a historian.