#if you read through the whole thing I owe you one (1) life debt

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Who Has the Bigger Debt?

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

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VERSE OF THE DAY 

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+ Luke 7:41-42 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM NOT JUDGING 

MY DEBIT IS CLEARED 

I AM DEBIT FREE 

I AM BELIEVING 

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THOUGHTS:

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     People will constantly judge you on who you are and who you used to be. You can change your life around; no longer that same person, you now are this new person in Christ and you have changed your actions, but people will still see you as your sin; when I gave my life to God, a lot of people judged me for my past sins , and that placed weight over my head , they never could stop reminding me of it and condemning me.

I thought if I let people shake their finger at me and remind me of who I was, maybe they’d stop or maybe they see I have changed, and the problem is, nothing we will ever do will stop people from being cruel or saying what they like all we can do is pray and ask God to show them and to help us through it all.

   In today's story, Jesus is at a Pharisee house relaxing at a table, talking, and waiting, and suddenly a woman comes in. She anointed his feet, kissed his feet, and wash his feet with her tears and dried his feet with her hair , and as she did this, everyone was watching and saying things, and Jesus immediately told them a parable “ A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?”

  Immediately, we all know the answer: the man carrying the biggest debit. As he goes on to tell Simon that he shouldn’t judge the lady, the lady does everything in her actions to show gratitude to Jesus she is appreciative of who he is. Still, Simon didn’t verse 46-47. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.” 

   See, a lot of times, we look at someone's sin, and we look at who they are, and we judge them based on that and not look at what they are trying to do; Simon didn’t even see what this woman was doing, Jesus forgave the woman that washes his feet and tended to him because she had a contrite heart she didn’t expect forgiveness she probably didn’t even know she was getting forgiveness, but all she was focused on was showing Jesus appreciation. 

   Jesus would look past whatever everyone else sees and says; what someone ever says about you won’t affect Jesus's opinion or thoughts about you, but we are so gain to place someone in a place of guilt and shame or to say this is a sin , or say ugly remarks to someone , but we never stop to think that we were once sinners. God doesn’t see big and small sins; he sees repentance.

  James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of it.

     We as believers, we must look at people the same way Christ do , that’s why the Holy Spirit tries to mold us and shape us before we start our calling because to go into ministry and have the heart Simon did, you will miss a lot of souls that are trying, just like God gave us plenty of opportunity we must always do the same. The Bible tells us not to judge, but nowadays, everyone likes to judge people according to their sins, but what we must look at is our hearts; we can’t always be ready to condemn anyone of their past or the current sin that has a hold on them.

  •Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you be not judged.

  •Luke 6:37 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

•Romans 2:1-2 Therefore, you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

  See, Simon looked at this woman as a sinner, and he saw her as just that! He didn’t do what he should’ve done to Jesus as he was a guest in his home , the rule was then. When you have a guest in your home you must greeted them with a kiss and anointed their head with oil, but Simon did neither. He saw the woman for what she was labeled as in society, and Jesus saw her as a person who needed forgiveness; a lot of times, people don’t want to come to churches and places where they would be a judge for what they look like, we all are looking for forgiveness and love, but who are we to come in between someone coming to Jesus. Our actions sometimes can block people from coming for the love that we have in God. 

    ***Today, we learned that we can’t judge others by the way they look, nor their past and what society labels them as; the woman in the story just wanted forgiveness, but people there only saw her for who she was, and Jesus looked passed all of her sins , Jesus could of judge Simon for his actions. Still, instead, he taught him and showed him a better way; that’s all Jesus wants to do with us all; some of us see him as this big giant God that’s eager to judge, and he doesn’t want to do that, he wants to show us a better way to behave and a better way to be.

    We can all be better and do better when we allow the Holy Spirit to show us the way. Sometimes, we lack in certain areas because we see the way we do things as being correct, but it isn’t. God isn’t going to judge us about everything; he isn’t going to point and shake a finger at us; he’s going to guide us, he’s our shepherd, just like shepherds guide their sheep where to go and how not to go off a cliff with their rod that is how Christ is with us he’s always willing to guide us with his rod and staff it’s just up to us to hear him. We I also learned about judging others. We can judge all we want, point out and shame, and say this or that is a sin, but we must look at our hearts. Is our heart pure or full of bitterness and hatred today if you need guidance, go to Christ, and he will help you. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, thank you for today; thank you for life, health, and strength. Lord, give us more guidance, help us not to judge others, and to hear you when you speak. Lord, please show us how you want our lives to be; we ask you to help us to follow your will; Lord, help us to see people the way you see them, which is with love; help us to love the way we want to be loved. Lord, change us and give us a heart of purity. Lord, if we are doing anything you don’t like in our life, please show us! In Jesus' Name, amen. 

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REFERENCES 

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+ Matthew 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you

 

+ James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

 

+ Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame.

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FURTHER READINGS 

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Proverbs 1 

Acts 8 

Leviticus 9 

1 Chronicles 22

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[definitelynotshouting]

Hiya!! back again, i require the cat lore. why is he named anarchy?

also have you heard of los campesinos? their songs too many flesh suppers and we are beautiful we are doomed remind me of hunger au

in too many flesh suppers they have the lyrics : "They found two dogs hung from electrical pylons By their hind legs, just down from my road You slit their bellies open, left the knife inside They'd ripped off our collars, we had nowhere to hide" which makes me think of grian and his perception of himself as a monster and the connection of the lifers to cattle "Walk so far, blisters form and heal" sort of literal, chapter 1 "Too many flesh suppers, too many scents linger" also quite literal "You don't pay back the debt you owe your parents for birth By giving grandkids in return" The watchers, what they expected from him, yknow all that "You watch them die Through your declining eyes" they're going distinct and he's dying with a sorta morbid pleasure "My clandestine, broken cage We'll keep them secret 'cause there's no other way You ripped off my flesh And my heart gripped the ribs like a prisoner" just felt similar to your imagery we are beautiful, we are doomed: "As you squint and you grimace, we both know your heart's not in it" the way they know he's lying (the leather boots, the banter that's a bit too dark) and the things that used to be fun are tinged with darkness "I'd like to meet them but they loathe me and I hate them back" the bitterness towards the hermits since he got kicked but they were also his family "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, fondness makes the absence longer" since he was gone people began to question the choice to kick him but now that people want him back he's even more desperate to end it quickly "Length loses my interest, I'm a realist, I'm insatiable Stopped counting days until I fly, with hours before your reply" to him there's no way to continue living without hurting people which is not what he wants "And you feel terrified at the thought of being left behind Of losing everybody, the necessity of dying Oh we kid ourselves there's future in the fucking But there is no fucking future" its a whole thing, people you care about and you miss and you want them to be ok and to be in their life but its one or the other and you're actually a worm in a human skin suit "I'm just practising my accents, picking at old sutures" practicing his lying to mumbo voice "I cannot emphasise enough that my body Is a badly designed, poorly put together vessel Harbouring these diminishing, so called vital organs Hope my heart goes first" the whole thing. its not- he's a worm but he's grian but he is worm he's not a player and all that complicated-ness

this got way longer than i thought it was going to be but i hope you enjoy? and i hope its somewhat cohesive??

-🍁

BEHOLD THE CAT LORE

Also omg???? I ADORE THIS ANALYSIS THATS SO COOL...... i havent ever listened to this band before but i'll look them up and give these songs a listen :DD i love how much thought and effort you put into this, leaf anon!!!! Absolutely wonderful, this was a treat to read!!!!

[thereadinggeek]

A/B/O STYLES TWINS/TRIPLETS FANFICTIONS

The Blood Hounds | L. S [✓] (108159 words) by missyoutoosweetcheeks

Chapters: 50/50

"Are you afraid of me, Beau?" Harry asked huskily, and Louis shivered at the intense look in the Alpha's eyes. Louis didn't answer, making Edward smirk in amusement.

His smirk dropped when Harry's eyes flashed red.

"Well, you should be."

OR

��In which Harry is an Alpha mafia don who has equally dangerous brothers, and Louis is a pregnant Omega.》

!MAIN SHIP : STYLESTRIPLETS X LOUIS!

!ABO DYNAMICS!

!MPREG!

A Larry AU.

!SIDE SHIP : ZAYN X NIALL X LIAM!

Can You Forgive A Broken Bond? (46283 words) by HorrorJunkie

Chapters: 16/?,WIP, incomplete

Growing up, Harry, Edward and Marcel had always assumed they’d mate and bond with each other and then find an omega to complete them when they came of age. Unfortunately, things don't always happen as planned. Marcel can't take the pressure so he takes an extreme route to escape the life being forced on him. Breaking the bond with his brothers and faking his death, he escapes for a new life. It's there that he meets the person he knows he can't live without. A sharp tongued blue eyed omega who takes pleasure in tormenting and teasing his new friend. Marcel finally has the life and love he's always wanted but the past has a nasty way of returning. With everything he loves at risk, he's forced to face his past and turn to the two people who can help him protect his love but who believe he's dead. For Louis, Harry and Edward, learning the truth and the consequences of Marcel's actions will send them reeling for Marcel isn't the person they thought they knew. The secrets he holds can destroy them all.

Love Is The Only Antidote (3275 words) by louandhaz7

Chapters: 8/?, incomplete, WIP

Edward’s drama performance is coming up. His big brother, the world famous actor Harry Styles, decides to take some time off his work and instruct the school play. Harry feels guilty about their relationship – they used to talk about everything despite their age gap, but now because of his demanding job, they slowly drift off, so he decides to fix it by doing this. However, Edward is really anxious about it. He knows his drama teacher, Mr. Tomlinson, is exactly his brother’s type, but he is the one who has been waiting for a whole damn year to graduate and court this Omega!

I Could, But Wouldn't Stay (121011 words) by thatsoundsgood

Chapters: 35/35 ( must reads!!)

Louis has been running from his past for years but you can only run for so long before you're caught.

or the one where Louis' mom married into The Irish Mafia and Louis may meet his destruction in the Styles Twins.

The Best Omega Stripper (100858 words) by IceQueenRia

Chapters: 30/30

Louis is an unmated Omega struggling financially. After getting fired multiple times and giving his seedy landlord a blow-job for rent, Louis shelves his pride and begins work as a stripper at Midnight Memories. He often dances for The Styles twins. Scantily clad and unable to prevent the slick from dripping down his thighs, Louis shakes his hips and wiggles his ass under the intense gaze of their matching green eyes. 1 night the Styles twins show up in search of the club owner who happens to be in a great amount of debt with the twins. Knowing that Simon has a family, Louis tries to come to the man’s defence. SyCo immediately takes the opportunity to stab him in the back, offering Louis to the two Alphas in exchange for cancelling what he owes.

So Glad That I Found You (406212 words) by anosutesto

Chapters: 25/25 (must reads!!)

The Styles triplets have lived together in harmony without any presence of an omega ever since all three of them presented as alphas. The trio is really close. Some might say they're too close. The three of them had agreed that they don't need and neither do they want an omega since they have each other.

Louis Tomlinson has lived his life suffering through selfish alphas who think omegas are nothing but sexual objects. He promised himself and his mother that he wouldn't ever want an alpha after every single one that he met accomplished nothing when courting him and they even disrespected him.

When their paths cross, they didn't think their minds would change. Apparently, minds do change.

Or, Louis and the triplets meet and Louis is the first omega to truly capture their hearts and three alphas would probably be overwhelming when he didn't even want one but hey, Louis likes challenges sometimes.

Four's Company (275654 words) by vampire_angel_z

Chapters: 104/104, (MUST READS!!!)

Short Summary: The alpha triplets need a mate. Louis is too perfect to be true.

Submit To Me (122740 words) by HorrorJunkie

Chapters: 42/42 (must reads!!)

Edward, Harry and Marcel Styles are alphas, rich and handsome. The only thing they don't have is an omega. They want a respectable, well bred, quiet, obedient and submissive omega to share their lives with.

Louis is a beautiful, sassy and smart omega. He's also the owner of a BDSM club called Sanctum.

Their two worlds were never meant to collide until the triplets find themselves meeting the stunning omega who will forever change their lives.

The Alpha Sirens (79995 words) by toby_senpai, larrents_xx

Chapters: 96/96

The Tomlinson twins are omegas part of an underground movement meant to liberate all omegas. When the Styles triplets set their focus on the twins as mates, Louis and William see nothing but opportunity.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

11th November >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop 

on

Saturday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time.

Saturday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the feria (Saturday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Romans 16:3-9,16,22-27 The mystery kept secret for endless ages must be broadcast everywhere.

My greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked death to save my life: I am not the only one to owe them a debt of gratitude, all the churches among the pagans do as well. My greetings also to the church that meets at their house.

Greetings to my friend Epaenetus, the first of Asia’s gifts to Christ; greetings to Mary who worked so hard for you; to those outstanding apostles Andronicus and Junias, my compatriots and fellow prisoners who became Christians before me; to Ampliatus, my friend in the Lord; to Urban, my fellow worker in Christ; to my friend Stachys. Greet each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

I, Tertius, who wrote out this letter, greet you in the Lord. Greetings from Gaius, who is entertaining me and from the whole church that meets in his house. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends his greetings; so does our brother Quartus.

Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the eternal God wants things to be. He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 144(145):2-5,10-11

R/ I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.

I will bless you day after day and praise your name for ever. The Lord is great, highly to be praised, his greatness cannot be measured.

R/ I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.

Age to age shall proclaim your works, shall declare your mighty deeds, shall speak of your splendour and glory, tell the tale of your wonderful works.

R/ I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God.

R/ I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation cf. Acts of the Apostles 16:14

Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!

Or: 2 Corinthians 8:9

Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus Christ was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 16:9-15 Use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Isaiah 61:1-3 He has sent me to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken;

to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord, a day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for ashes a garland; for mourning robe the oil of gladness, for despondency, praise.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 88(89):2-5,21-22,25,27

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth. Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever, that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will establish your dynasty for ever and set up your throne through all ages.

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

‘I have found David my servant and with my holy oil anointed him. My hand shall always be with him and my arm shall make him strong.

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

‘My truth and my love shall be with him; by my name his might shall be exalted. He will say to me: “You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.”’

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation John 13:34

Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 25:31-40 I was naked and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[lucaniisdellamorte]

OTP Question Meme

I was tagged by @honesthearts (thank you Dani!!!)

I’m going to tag @toreadours, @mybiworld, and @rhetoricalrogue no pressure of course!

Also I did all three of my Wayhaven Chronicles ships so this post is RIDICULOUSLY LONG, so I’m gonna apologize in advance for that. PxN= Pax and Nate, PxM = Poloma and Mason, RxF = Reese and Felix

Also no cute otp edits because this post is long enough

DISAGREEMENTS.

Who is more likely to raise their voice?

PxN: Pax but that has only happened once or twice when he felt like he wasn't being heard

PxM: Neither, Poloma goes scary calm when she gets angry and Mason just tends to get growly

RxF: Reese but even that's incredibly rare

Who threatens to leave but never actually does?

Neither for all of them. Threatening to leave is a big deal that none of them take lightly

Who actually keeps their word and leaves?

Neither for all of them.

Who trashes the house?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Neither

RxF: Neither in fact Reese tends to start cleaning to ease their frustration

Do either of them get physical?

Absolutely not for all of them

How often do they argue/disagree?

PxN: Rarely, when they do it's about Pax's safety

PxM: Again rarely, usually when they have to decide how to deal with people

RxF: Even more rarely since both are pretty good about coming to an understanding or a solution pretty quickly

Who is the first to apologize?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Poloma

RxF: Felix

SEX.

Who is on top?

PxN: Nate more often but only by a smidge

PxM: Mostly likely Mason

RxF: Reese

Who is on bottom?

PxN: Pax more often but again only by a smidge

PxM: Most likely Poloma

RxF: Felix

Any kinks?

PxN: Not really?

PxM: Definitely

RxF: Yep

Who has the strangest desires?

Eh I don't like this question but Mason and Reese are more open to different ideas just because they have that experience but I wouldn't say their desires are strange. I think both Nate and Pax are pretty open too but they're happy with...keeping things simple I'll say

Who’s dominant in bed?

PxN: Pax, I guess if I had to pick one

PxM: Mason, but oh boy does he love when Poloma takes the reigns

RxF: Reese a little more often but they tend to switch it up

Is head ever in the equation?

Hell yeah for all of them

If so, who is better at performing it?

PxN: Nate, with the time he's been around, he's had more opportunists to perfect his technique but Pax isn't a slouch okay

PxM: Mason, again with the time he's been around, and that he's been involved with more people he's Really Good but Poloma knows how to drive him Wild too.

RxF: Reese (SURPRISE ITS NOT THE VAMPIRE THIS TIME) They just have more experience but again that doesn't mean that Felix doesn't know how to take care of them

Ever had sex in public?

PxN: Nope

PxM: Once or twice. It's not something that Poloma is into but there have been a few times that she can't wait to get somewhere secluded

RxF: Nope

Who moans the most?

PxN: Pax is surprisingly loud, not that Nate is complaining

PxM: Both, which is something each of them enjoys

RxF: Felix and Reese loves it

Who leaves the most marks?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Poloma leaves the most visible marks

RxF: Both

Who is the more experienced of the two?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Mason

RxF: Reese

Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’?

PxN: Make love more often

PxM: Both

RxF: Make love way more often

How long do they usually last?

PxN: Only about as long as the other

PxM: Mason likes to take things slow and draw them out while making sure Poloma gets a couple of o's in so A WHILE

RxF: Felix lasts a little longer, something Reese blames on him being a vampire

Rough or soft?

PxN: Soft all the way

PxM: Both, depends on the day and their mood

RxF: Soft more often

Is protection used?

Yes for all of them

Does it ever get boring?

PxN: Nope

PxM: Absolutely not

RxF: No but then I don't think many things can be boring with Felix and Reese around

Where is the strangest place they’d have sex?

PxN: In front of the fireplace in the common room in the warehouse

PxM: The back of Poloma's car

RxF: The library in the warehouse

FAMILY.

Do they plan on having children/or have children?

PxN: They plan on adopting eventually

PxM: Nope, Poloma has never wanted to be a mother and with how dangerous both of their jobs are, that's more reason not to and Mason has never been fond of kids to start with.

RxF: Possibly but they would go the adoption route as well

If so, how many children do they want/have?

PxN: Two maybe three

PxM: Zero

RxF: One or two

AFFECTION.

Who likes to cuddle?

All of them are huge cuddlers, though Mason would never admit it

Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places?

PxN: Both

PxM: Mason to no one's surprise

RxF: Felix likes to start shit but Reese is usually quick to retaliate

Who struggles to keep their hands to themself?

PxN: Pax

PxM: Both

RxF: Felix

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable?

PxN: They could cuddle forever

PxM: They could also cuddle forever

RxF: Reese can last for an hour or so before they have to move like switch positions or where they're at.

What is their favourite non-sexual activity?

PxN: Reading together

PxM: Napping together, sitting on the roof and stargazing

RxF: Going for walks, usually through the center of town or a mall

Where is their favourite place to cuddle?

PxN: Couch

PxM: Bed

RxF: Wherever they're both at tbh

SLEEPING.

Who snores?

PxN: Pax

PxM: Neither

RxF: Felix, but very lightly

If both do, who snores the loudest?

Do they share a bed or sleep separately?

Each couple shares a bed after they get together

If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart?

PxN: Both of them apart since they like to stretch out but they're usually touching

PxM: Start off cozied up together but drift apart as they sleep

RxF: Cozied up together

What do they wear to bed?

PxN: Both of them wear pajama bottoms

PxM: Nothing if Mason has a say Poloma wears a tank top and her underwear, Mason wears just his underwear

RxF: Reese usually wears a long tshirt and a pair of shorts, Felix wears pajama bottoms

Are either of them insomniacs?

PxN: Nope

PxM: Poloma struggles to turn her brain off sometimes to fall asleep but Mason is happy to help with that

RxF: Reese has a hard time staying asleep some nights because of nightmares or just general tossing and turning but having Felix there helps

Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside?

PxN: No

PxM: There are some old ones in Poloma's apartment but she hasn't used them in a long time because she hates the side effects

RxF: No though Reese has considered trying them

Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side?

PxN: Side by side

PxM: Both

RxF: All the wrapped limbs

Who wakes up with bed hair?

PxN: Pax

PxM: Both though Poloma's is usually worse

RxF: Both

Who wakes up first?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Mason, he doesn’t need as much sleep

RxF: Reese

Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Neither, though Mason will pour a cup of coffee for Poloma while she's getting ready

RxF: Felix is allowed to make toast and that is IT

What is their favourite sleeping position?

PxN: Usually laying on their sides facing each other

PxM: With Poloma laying her head on Mason's chest or spooning

RxF: However lets them be wrapped up in each other tbh

Do they set an alarm each night?

With the twins and Reese being detectives and having to go into work every morning, yeah (much to Mason's extreme annoyance, stupid loud alarms)

Who has nightmares?

PxN: Nate is more likely to

PxM: Poloma, usually about Murphy

RxF: Both

Can a television be found in their bedroom?

PxN: Nope, its probably some miracle that they have their phones in their bedroom tbh

PxM: Nope

RxF: Nope though Felix has brought it up once or twice, Reese just see the point

Who has ridiculous dreams?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Poloma

RxF: Felix

Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed?

PxN: Nate just because he's taller

PxM: Mason

RxF: Reese

Who makes the bed?

PxN: Whoever has the chance to in the morning

PxM: Neither, both of them think it's a waste of time

RxF: Reese

What time is bed time?

PxN: Pax's usual schedule is to be in bed between 10 and 11 pm

PxM: Whenever they both get there, though Mason has been known to drag Poloma to bed if she’s working too late

RxF: Reese usually tries to be in bed no later than midnight but there are nights that Felix has to coax them to bed

Any routines/rituals before bed?

Nothing unusual for any of them outside of brushing teeth, changing, etc. Just usual bedtime stuff

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Both, neither of them are morning people

RxF: Felix, takes a little bit for him to wake up

WORK.

Who is the busiest?

I think it's fair to say that the twins and Reese are the busiest since they all pull double duty as detectives and agents for the Agency.

Who rakes in the highest income?

I think all the vampires make more

Are any of them unemployed?

Nope

Who takes the most sick days?

The vampires don't get sick but Pax is the least likely of the detectives to take a sick day much to everyone's great worry

What are their jobs?

Pax, Poloma, and Reese are detectives for Wayhaven and liaisons between the Agency and the town while Nate, Mason, and Felix are members of Unit Bravo, with Nate being the second in command and research expert, Mason being the interrogations expert, and Felix being reconnaissance and infiltration expert.

Who sucks up to their boss?

None of them really suck up to their bosses but Pax, Nate, and Reese are much more likely to try and stay on their good sides

Who is more likely to turn up late to work?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Poloma, both because she loses track of time easily and Mason likes to be a distraction

RxF: Felix

Who stresses the most?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Poloma, though Mason stresses more inwardly

RxF: Felix

Do they enjoy or despise their careers/occupations?

All six of them love their jobs actually!

Are they financially stable?

Yep all of them are!

HOME.

Who does the washing?

PxN: Both, depends on who was cooking, if one cooks the other cleans up

PxM: Poloma usually

RxF: Reese usually but Felix dries

Who takes out the trash?

PxN: Both

PxM: Both

RxF: Felix, it’s a game for them. Reese times him to see how fast he can get out to the dumpster and back

Who does the ironing?

PxN: Pax

PxM: In the very, very rare instance that they need to actually iron it's Poloma because it's her clothes that need ironed

RxF: Reese

Who does the cooking?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Poloma, though Mason likes to "help"

RxF: Reese, Felix gets to sit on the counter and not touch anything

Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying?

PxN: Neither they're both pretty good cooks

PxM: Neither

RxF: F E L I X

Who is messier?

PxN: Hmm, Pax maybe by a smidge, they're both pretty clean

PxM: Poloma but it's more of an...organized chaos. Everything has a place, it just maybe could find a better place

RxF: Felix

Who leaves the toilet roll empty?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Neither

RxF: Felix when they first got together but he's doing better now

Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor?

PxN: Neither, that's what the hamper is for

PxM: Both, look sometimes the clothes just gotta live on the floor for a night, it always ends up picked up though

RxF: Felix but he eventually picks them up

Who forgets to flush the toilet?

None of them

Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere?

PxN: Neither, Pax leaves his with his wallet in one specific spot on his bedside table and Nate doesn't drive

PxM: Poloma because Mason has hidden them

RxF: Neither, Reese always keeps their in a little bowl by the door and Felix doesn't drive

Who answers the telephone?

All of them have their own phones and no home phones but

PxN: Pax more willing to answer both of their phones

PxM: Literally either of them will answer whichever phone is ringing just to get it to stop

RxF: It's a race to answer Reese's phone, Felix likes to mess with whoever is on the other end

Who mows the lawn?

PxN: Pax when they actually have a house

PxM: They live in an apartment or the warehouse so neither have to worry about it

RxF: Same as Poloma and Mason

Who does the vacuuming?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Mason

RxF: Reese

Who does the groceries?

PxN: Both

PxM: Poloma since she's the one eating it

RxF: Felix with heavy supervision from Reese so they don't end up with just junk food

Who takes the longest to shower?

PxN: Pax

PxM: They shower together so

RxF: Reese, and Felix is more than happy to join them if they take too long

Who spends the most time in the bathroom?

PxN: I think it's pretty equal

PxM: Poloma, she's got more hair to deal with

RxF: I think this is pretty equal too

MISCELLANEOUS.

Is money a problem?

PxN: Nate is more likely to spend money than save but they always have enough to pay bills

PxM: Nope

RxF: Nope

How many cars do they own?

PxN: Just Pax's motorcycle

PxM: Poloma's little silver car and one Agency suv

RxF: Just Reese's little yellow bug

What’s their song?

PxN: Can't Help Fallin in Love by Haley Reinhart

PxM: The Only Exception by Paramore or Uh-Huh by Julia Michaels

RxF: Bright by Echosmith

Do they live in the city or in the country?

All of them live in the small town of Wayhaven

Do they own their home or do they rent?

PxN: Own their own home

PxM: Rent

RxF: Rent

Do they enjoy their surroundings?

All six of them do yep!

What do they do when they’re away from each other?

PxN: Work, research

PxM: Work

RxF: Work

Where did they first meet?

Technically they all met outside the warehouse that night that Pax/Reese pepper sprayed Adam, but introductions were made the next day when they met at the station

Who spends the most money when out shopping?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Poloma by a little bit

RxF: Both

Who’s more likely to flash their assets?

PxN: Pax, he enjoys some technology so he’s more likely to show off a new phone or tablet

PxM: Neither

RxF: Reese

Any mental issues?

PxN: Nope

PxM: Poloma’s got adhd 

RxF: Nope though Felix reads as adhd to me but

Who finds it amusing when the other trips over?

PxN: Neither they both instantly go into worry mode and check in on each other

PxM: Both. Mason very rarely trips damn vampires so Poloma gets a kick out of it when it does happen and Mason occasionally makes Poloma stumble on purpose just so he can catch her and make some flirty joke to make her blush

RxF: Both! After they make sure the other is okay of course they both have a little laugh

Who’s terrified of bugs?

PxN: Pax isn’t terrified but he sure doesn’t like them

PxM: Poloma would be okay with them if they were outside

RxF: Both

Who kills the spiders around the house?

PxN: Nate catches them and lets loose outside

PxM: Mason, after teasing Poloma and asking what he gets out of it (to be fair Poloma has been bitten a few times and isn’t looking to have that happen again)

RxF:  Both, usually one spots it and the other kills it

Do they have any fears for their future?

I think for all of them their biggest fears involve the life spans of the humans, all of the vampires are going to outlive them and that’s scary. The only solution though is to turn the humans into vampires as well but that comes with its own set of equally scary outcomes. Poloma, Mason, Reese, and Felix tend to not think about any of that at all, mostly because they have a lot on their plates already while Pax and Nate acknowledge the problem they tend to skirt around the issue.

Their favourite place?

PxN: The library

PxM: Bed The rooftop

RxF: The bakery

Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner?

PxN: Nate

PxM: Neither

RxF:  Reese

Who pays the bills?

PxN: Both

PxM: Poloma since she’s had all her bills set on autopay for forever

RxF: Reese

Who’s the tallest?

PxN: Nate by three inches (Pax is 6′1, Nate is 6′4)

PxM: Mason by nine inches (Poloma is 5′4, Mason is 6′1)

RxF: Felix by seven inches (Reese is 5′0, Felix is 5′7 but Reese’s attitude is 6′1)

Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other?

PxN: Pax

PxM: Assuming they aren’t already in there together, Mason by a little bit

RxF: Felix

Who wanders around in their underwear?

PxN: Pax is more likely to

PxM: Mason, though Poloma will too occassionally

RxF:  Felix

Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio?

PxN: Pax

PxM: Poloma

RxF: Both

What do they tease each other about?

PxN: Pax teases Nate about how bad he is with technology

PxM: Mason teases Poloma about her height, Poloma teases him about him being a grouch

RxF: Felix teases about Reese’s bright choice of color in their wardrobe and their apartment but it’s always done in this big over dramatic way that always makes Reese laugh

Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times?

PxN: Neither, both think the other has a great sense of style tbh

PxM: Mason, Poloma is a lot more willing to wear colors and patterns than he is

RxF: Neither, Reese has a fun, colorful sense of style that Felix loves

Who crushed first?

PxN: Pax probably? By like...five seconds

PxM: Poloma for sure though she wasn’t willing to admit it

RxF: Felix definitely but Reese was crushing not long after

Any alcohol or substance related problems?

PxN: Nope, both enjoy a drink occasionally but it’s not a problem

PxM: Poloma is addicted to caffeine but both of them used to have a smoking problem

RxF: Nope

Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am?

PxN: Neither

PxM: Poloma but that would be such a once in a lifetime occurrence that I almost don’t want to say that

RxF: Neither

Who swears the most?

PxN: Pax

PxM: Both, sometimes its a competition to see who can swear the most

RxF:  Reese though it’s usually under their breath

[syn0vial]

Top 5 Boba moments 🥺

ohh fun! :D i’m gonna go in chronological order for these, just for organization’s sake. i’m also going to try and only include moments i haven’t talked much about before, just to keep things fun and fresh!

1. freeing the sea mice: starting from the very first boba fett junior novel the fight to survive, bc, well, chronological order! i like this moment bc it really emphasizes how innocent boba used to be. basically, there’s an aquarium with an eel in the fett’s kamino apartment and while jango and zam are off making bad decisions on coruscant, boba is tasked with it feeding aquatic rodents called “sea-mice” to the eel, something he’s never had to do before. but he doesn’t like doing it. the sea-mice always seem to trust him when he picks them up and he feels guilty for betraying them by feeding them to the eel. so, one day, he decides it’s going to be different. that morning, he feeds the eel his own breakfast (which is like, both sweet and hilarious, like honey did you really just throw your lunchables into an eel’s tank bc you wanted to make sure it was fed even while you’re out here freeing feeder mice? A+ for good intentions, F- for knowledge of how animals work) and tries to free a few of the sea-mice into kamino’s oceans. unfortunately, they don’t survive. the next day, boba reluctantly goes back to feeding the mice to the eel, telling one before he drops it in, “sorry; life is hard on the small and the weak,” echoing a saying of his father’s. this then becomes horrible foreshadowing for the rest of the series, in which boba is orphaned and suddenly finds himself being preyed upon by all sorts of antagonists. i know it’s a kids’ series and it’s Not That Deep, but i do really like that there’s a parallel created between boba and the mouse and the implication of the series as a whole that boba fett didn’t become a notorious hunter because he was always that way, but specifically because he started out as prey. also, it’s kind of hilarious in retrospect that boba felt compassion for rodents, but literally days later attempted to take obi-wan’s life without hesitation. kid’s really got his priorities in order.

2. standing up to jabba the hutt: this is from the junior novel boba fett: hunted, which is my favorite of the junior novels for him. in the story, boba pretends a short-statured adult by concealing his face with his father’s helmet and attempts to find work from jabba the hutt. however, when he finally gets an audience with jabba, jabba indeed offers to bring him back to his palace—as an indentured servant. and this freaking, like, eleven-year-old, staring down the criminal kingpin of tatooine with no weapons and no armor besides a too-big helmet, snaps at jabba the hutt, “my debt to you? what do i owe you for?” naturally, he is immediately set upon by one of jabba’s guards, and, well, i’ll let you read the rest :D

Boba had no time to think. He acted.

Without a sound, he leaped to one side. The Drovian’s knife whistled harmlessly through the air where, a nanosecond before, Boba had been.

“Huh?” gaped the hulking alien.

A small table stood near the viewscreen. Boba grabbed the table and swung it in front of himself, fending off the Drovian’s blade. Jabba himself watched, laughing coarsely.

“You will pay for this!” croaked the Drovian.

As the guard bore down on him, Boba thrust the table upward. The knife stuck in the wood surface. While the Drovian struggled to free his weapon, Boba pushed the table up farther. Then, he darted sideways, kicking at the lumbering guard’s knees. With a groaning thud, the Drovian stumbled and fell. Jabba’s guests laughed as Boba turned to breathlessly face Jabba.

“I am no one’s slave or servant!” Boba said. “I will work for you, for a price—but I will name that price!”

like, this kid really just brought down an armed adult with nothing but an end table AND finishes it off with a badass line defending his autonomy and defying jabba the hutt! definitely one of my favorite moments from the junior novels.

3. the Look he exchanges with lando while han is being tortured in the background

look, idk why this is so funny to me, but it is. lando’s just so full of loathing for this man who is complicit in forcing him to betray han and boba’s just like “you got shit to say to me. or nah?” he’s such a fucking asshole, i love it.

4. staying conscious just long enough to express his displeasure with the situation in iiiiii think the mandalorian armor, idk it’s been awhile: this story takes place post-RoTJ, after boba has escaped the sarlacc pit, killing it in the process, and is being gradually regaining his strength with the help of fellow bounty hunter dengar and amnesiac former slave neelah. at this point in the story, he’s still quite weak and spends most of his time slipping in and out of consciousness. unfortunately, some of boba’s enemies find out he’s still alive and just start fucking carpet-bombing their general location, so dengar and neelah go “shit, we need a bomb shelter, stat!”...and then slowly turn to look at the subterranean corpse of the sarlacc pit. they thus drag boba’s unconscious body back into the pit so they can all hunker down and wait out the bombs. except, surprise, surprise! the sarlacc ain’t completely dead. one of its giant tentacles starts attacking the group and is succeeding in getting the upper hand over dengar and neelah, when suddenly, boba wakes up. takes a look around and realizes where he is. and then grabs the nearest blaster and just goes apeshit firing on the tentacle, finally managing to kill it. too exhausted to talk, he then turns and fixes dengar with the angriest, most hate-filled glare the man has ever seen... and then promptly passes out. i remember just dissolving into giggles the first time i read that scene. just the mental image of boba fett giving dengar the scariest fucking “why the fuck did you fucking bring me back here” deathglare in the galaxy and then immediately losing consciousness. energy well-spent, boba.

5. that time boba did a mission completely in his underwear for no discernible reason, because daniel keys moran: this one’s just like. so delightfully bizarre that i’m not even going to try justifying it logically bc literally the only reason it exists was bc renowned EU author and certified mad man daniel keys moran really wanted to give boba his strong female character moment, because he deserves it. so, in this subplot, boba is tracking this devaronian war criminal who is holed up in a safehouse equipped with security systems that are triggered by the presence of, like, metal. which means boba can’t wear his armor plates and can’t use any blasters or other gadgetry. so boba loads up a compound bow and knife and makes to hunt this guy down. now, what about his armor? obviously, the most logical thing to do would be to just remove the metal plates and hunt in his flight suit. or, if that isn’t satisfactory, go out and buy like, leather armor or something? or just clothes? BUT NOPE. boba apparently goes, “well, if i can’t wear my armor, i’m not gonna wear ANYTHING” and just. does the entire mission in his underwear. he tracks and stalks this man, shoots him with an arrow, and then chases him down with a knife, ALL IN HIS UNDERWEAR. daniel keys moran even goes so far as to explicitly specify that these ain’t no long-johns, either. he’s like, “and the underwear...... MAINLY COVERED HIS DICK.” LIKE, DANIEL? DANIEL? HOW IS IT THAT OUT OF THE TWO BOBA FETT STORIES YOU’VE WRITTEN, BOTH OF THEM MENTION HIS DICK IN SOME CAPACITY? DANIEL? WHO KEEPS LETTING YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS??? and, like, can you imagine being this poor devaronian? you’re just living your fugitive war criminal life when an arrow hits you in the shoulder and boba fucking fett comes sprinting out of the woods at you in his underwear with a knife? what the fuck. this was canon at one point. what the fuck.

[chacusha]

I just want to talk about one of my favorite Quodo scenes. You know, as I do. So S2 E18 Profit and Loss, for all that it’s focused on a one-episode love interest for Quark (and a romance with Natima so intense that it makes Quark very uncharacteristically be willing to risk his life and even give up the bar for the sake of pursuing it), it has some really amazing Quodo scenes. In particular, it has a really lengthy conversation between Quark and Odo that features some great things like (1) establishing important aspects of both of their characters and their relationship, (2) lots of intimate leaning over each other and casual touches, and (3) a flirtatious and shippy dynamic.

Let me walk through the whole scene because there’s a lot to analyze here.

The scene opens with Quark coming to talk to Odo about the urgent need to release Natima rather than handing her over to the Cardassian government who will execute her. Quark tries multiple tacks, all of which fail:

First, he tries to make the appeal that releasing the Cardassian dissidents would lead to a better, brighter Cardassia, which obviously Odo doesn’t buy. Quark doesn’t care about that.

Quark immediately pivots to spinning that change as one that would lead to him getting more profits -- more plausible, at least, but Odo is still skeptical. In response, knowing that Odo doesn’t find benefiting Quark financially to be a worthy cause, Quark impishly says, “Now Odo... don’t allow my greed to keep you from doing the right thing.” Here he’s making a small appeal to Odo’s moral system rather than Quark’s.

But that’s not the reason why Odo was skeptical. He’s skeptical because Quark isn’t being honest about his motivations.

“I know you better than you think, Quark.” - Moment #1 in this scene where the long history and enefriend relationship between Quark and Odo is highlighted.

Odo prompts Quark to bring up the third and more honest consideration: that Quark is in love with Natima. Odo asks Quark why he didn’t just say that from the start, which prompts Quark to go into a long rant about how Odo is incapable of understanding his feelings while Odo listens awkwardly: “What was I supposed to say? That I love her? That I would do anything for her? That without her my life would be meaningless. Sure, I could say those things, but what good would it do? How could I expect you to understand? You’ve never had those feelings. You don’t know what it means to really care about another person. You’ve never been in love. You’ve got all the emotions of a stone. (pause) No offense.”

None is taken, because that is the image that Odo has carefully crafted for himself, which doesn’t in actuality line up with who he is, but he’s happy for others to believe that is how he is like. So even though Quark realizes how harsh his words are and walks it back, Odo is not offended, but nor does he find it entirely convincing either. It’s one of this scene’s many ways of illustrating the conflicting moral codes between Quark and Odo: Quark may view doing things out of love as legitimate, but he knows that Odo can’t enter into that mindset.

(It's not text, but Quark's speech could also be read as Quark expressing his frustration that his own attempts to court Odo have ended in failure -- Quark angsting that he is barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.)

Quark then tries a fourth tack: Making an exchange instead of putting forward logical arguments and appeals. He begins to offer information on the various deals he’s involved in ("Listen to me, Odo. You do this for me, and I promise there'll be no more secrets between us") -- this momentarily catches Odo’s interest -- before Quark chickens out and instead offers information on Rom’s activities instead, which is, well, worthless, lol. Odo isn’t interested in your brother, Quark, he’s interested in you. Quark does have something of value to Odo but he’s not willing to offer it up because, well, he's just not THAT good of a person.

Seeing this fourth try has failed, Quark then makes a fifth appeal:

Quark’s fifth try involves directly leveraging Quark and Odo’s relationship and involves Quark asking Odo to do this as a personal favor to him. Here is moment #2 where Quark and Odo’s longstanding relationship is highlighted, with Quark turning what Odo said earlier back on him:

(Technically, Odo didn’t say he knew Quark better than anyone else; he said he knew Quark better than Quark thought. But Quark is speaking the truth in any case.) Quark actually just spells out their relationship a bit anviliciously: “Sure, sometimes we’re on opposite sides, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t close. I never told you this, Odo, but I consider you as dear to me as my brother.” Again, Odo is unimpressed given that Quark literally just tried to sell out his brother. One can’t help but feel like Quark’s fifth appeal failed for the same reason his fourth one failed: Like with the fourth appeal, Quark began to show some vulnerability here which actually interested Odo, but chickened out at the end. He did have something valuable to bargain with (his relationship with Odo) but wasn’t willing to pay the price it would require (being fully open and vulnerable with Odo about the value of that relationship) -- instead, he deflects at the last moment with something joking and ironic.

Finally, Quark makes his sixth and last appeal. “Odo, look at me. Look at me. I’m on my knees. I’m begging you. I don’t care why you do it. Pick any reason you want. But please, let Natima and the others go.”

On his knees, he makes the Ferengi gesture of supplication. With this attempt, Quark does two things: One, he sacrifices his pride for the first time by openly begging -- in his other appeals, he protected his pride by couching it in logical appeal, anger/disapproval at Odo, irony, or jokes. But here, for the first time, he displays humility, desperation, vulnerability, etc. Second, he lets Odo pick the reason, which allows Odo to also intervene without having to lose his own pride.

The reason Odo picks in the end is (what else) justice.

"Justice," Quark says. "That was going to be my next suggestion."

And then (after being on his knees begging, etc.) Quark slowly gets to his feet, and it’s framed like this:

THIS. IS SO. SUGGESTIVE.

I’m... I'm dying. Definitely a "getting shit past the censors" moment.

Anyway, moving swiftly along, now that Quark has gotten what he wants, it's back to the old light-hearted and flirty dynamic they always have. Now assured Odo definitely isn't doing this as a personal favor to Quark, Quark gleefully declares himself debt-free to Odo. He hugs him and Odo pretends to dislike it.

The scene ends with Odo asking how Quark plans to sneak the dissidents past the Cardassian warship hovering outside DS9. By the way he asks the question and is able to guess just by Quark's mischievous smile, Odo already knows the answer, bringing the episode back full circle from its opening where Odo was investigating Quark for having an illegal cloaking device.

Yeah, bickering, casual touching, their cat-and-mouse relationship, flirtatious dialogue, even Odo grudgingly letting Quark get away with crimes because they're a reluctant team with aligned interests now -- it's all here.

Anyway, I love this scene because it's an extended look at how Quark's moral system and Odo's don't really line up with each other (Quark valuing things like love and profit and not valuing abstract things like justice or order, and vice versa for Odo) to the point where it's actively hard for Quark to convince Odo to do something he's inclined/sympathetic to doing anyway. At the same time, they also have some shared interests (in Quark's dealings, in their relationship with each other) while being engaged in a complex dance where neither of them can quite acknowledge it. For example, Odo says he will release the prisoners solely out of his own sense of justice, but if so, why did it take Quark begging him to move him to act? Before Quark came to his office, he was reading a detective novel, suggesting that Quark's appeal is at least one part of Odo's decision to act, despite what they both say. But it serves Quark's purposes to let this slide ("So, you're not really doing this for me?" "That's right." "Then I don't owe you a thing. Thank you!") and let Odo keep his pride, so he does.

Anyway, I just love how much Quodo there is in an episode that's entirely dedicated to Quark's love for a different woman entirely. That's how powerful the relationship between these two is.

[mavda]

Beast Tamers

Ch.1 |  Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4(1) | Ch.4(2) | Ch.5(1) | Ch.5(2) | Ch.5(3) | Ch.5(4) | Ch.6(1) | Ch.6(2) | Ch.6(3) | Ch.7(1) | Ch.7(2) | Ch.7(3) | Ch.7(4) | Ch.7(5) | Ch.8(1) | Ch.8(2) | Ch.8(3) |

Ch.9: No lies (1)

Naruto’s body gets better with time, but it is a slow process. His father doesn’t show it in front of others, but whenever they are alone, his worry seeps out of him in waves that make Naruto feel guilty. 

But saying sorry only makes his father look more anguished, so he stops soon after. 

“Jiraiya should be arriving soon. The last time he contacted me he was two weeks away from here… that was a while ago, though.”

Naruto nods as his father presses his hand along his bare torso, and thinks of his godfather hurrying but getting distracted along the way. He smirks. His grandfather loves him and cares about him, but he also trusts Minato’s ability and his own research. 

Naruto has long stopped believing an answer will arrive with Jiraiya, nevermind a cure. His father has always been the one with hope, so he always gets disappointed when Jiraiya arrives with research and information that’s helpful but not the end-it-all kind of panacea his father still believes to be out there… waiting to be found.

Naruto trusts his body and his training and the hours he has spent honing his every fiber and being into being resilient. He trusts the hours his father has spent reading every book available and his godfather travelling far and wide to get his hands on any type of knowledge that looks promising. If he has made it this far, it has been thanks to them.

But there is no cure for him. Because he’s not sick. 

And although it has been hard for him to come to terms with it, he understands where he stands in all of this now. What he can and can not do. He wakes and meditates, then meditates again before sleeping, and each time he reminds himself of who he is, of what being himself means. 

He has a duty and a purpose and a debt with his father, with his family, with his clan and with his people. And he will see it through. 

But nowadays, at night, when Hinata makes sure that Neji goes through with the releasing of his chakras and then they cuddle before they go to sleep. Naruto is able to feel a new kind of desperation sitting at the pit of his stomach. 

“Does Hinata know about Neji and… her father?”

“Yes.”

And yet she says nothing. He owes her another apology, and somehow he thinks that she won’t like to hear it. 

“Grandma Mito…”

“Working herself ragged… as well as Shikamaru and everyone else, really.”

“Have they been able to share what I told you about?”

“Yes. Lord Gaara said the same thing, but you know… not much to go off with.”

Naruto remembers the red eyes staring back at him and the black dots around the pupil. The sharingan. A technique unique to the Uchiha, a terribly powerful clan that threatened the world with their ability to control the Beasts without the need for a vessel… which meant their demise at the hands of every other clan alive that saw them as a threat. 

A murdered clan that had been lost to history. A power that meant their complete destruction… or so they thought. 

What do you look for when the records have no more information about their abilities or their history?

The only thing they can know for sure is that they have a motive for wanting the Beast Tamers dead. But now they can only wait for whatever these remnants of the past have planned for them. 

At least until they regain their footing and start the hunt back. 

So a truce is in place and like never before, the Beast Tamers’ clans seem to be working together. And this seeming camaraderie only makes Naruto shudder with unease.

Minato rises before the door opens and Hinata stands there, looking at Naruto like he could be gone any second now. He smiles. 

His father walks to Hinata and whispers things Naruto can’t catch, but by the time he has put his kimono back on Hinata is by his side. 

Neji is not with her today and Sai sits outside their room, Minato exchanges whispers with him, too. 

“Ready for our walk?” Naruto asks with a tone dripping with energy, but his body is slow, and although he is now able to move on his own, he still has to mask the pain that courses through him. 

“Yes.” And Hinata is next to him, supporting him as he stands.

He has been regaining his strength and he has been adamant on moving his muscles on his own. Sakura shrugged at his request and told everyone that Naruto had always been the person that knew himself best. Everyone still worries over him, and having Hinata by his side, anxiously glancing towards him does make him feel somewhat guilty of forcing himself to get better at an accelerated rate, but…

Shikamaru has shared with him the current state of affairs and now is the prime time for the Beast Tamers’ clans to be attacked. Naruto and Shikamaru can only hope that the first clans to be targeted are those worse than them, but there are little guarantees of anything at this point. 

So he bites down the pain. He has felt worse, that’s for sure, and that’s the energy he tries to channel through him. He hasn’t tried to use the Beast’s chakra yet, but he knows his body wouldn't be able to channel the energy correctly anyways. He needs to reach a point in which using that is an option, an option that will not leave him on the ground gasping for air and writhing in pain. 

Hinata always accompanies him with the calmest of airs, although her eyes washing over Naruto every once in a while are enough to give her away. What else has Naruto lost thinking that her body language is enough of a tell tale? 

“Hey,” she knows and she hasn’t talked to him about her father, and he wonders… whether she would rather not talk about it to spare him the worry. Much like himself when he tried to deal with this without her knowledge. “I’m sorry about the letters with your father.”

Hinata stops for a second and then keeps on walking as if nothing happened, “Please, d-don’t worry about it.”

But he does. “I wanted to tell you, but… have you read them?”

Hinata nods her head once, a short movement that Naruto can tell comes from her being embarrassed about the contents of said letters. It’s not like she wrote them, though. 

Hiashi just wanted a source of information and since his own daughter was in the heart of a clan that prized privacy over many other things… it stood to reason that he would want to get something out of this. But Naruto couldn’t bring himself to put Hinata in such a position, even less as he got to know her and realized that she was not like her father at all. 

So Neji took over with only a nod. Nothing ever got out of that room and Neji listened and shared all he knew without reservation. Naruto had to say he had been surprised at his attitude. 

“I know it would put you in a tight spot, so that’s why… well, I got help from Neji. He wrote the letters in your stead, the same way you would with your own penmanship. I… wavered about this whole thing once, shared with him my insecurities about hiding this from you, but he told me that I was right in doing this and that he thought you would be better off without contacting your father again, and well, seeing as he never contacted you to know about… you, made it feel like he was right. If he would have ever asked about you or made an attempt to talk to you, I would have told you immediately, I want you to know that.”

Hinata stares at their intertwined arms and then looks up at him. “I know,” she whispers. She also knows her father wouldn’t do that. Neji was right- is right, she is better off not knowing about her father, and if Neji is the one writing the letters, then at least, “Neji d-doesn’t give him any v-vital i-information, right?”

“No. He does a pretty good job with the reports Shikamaru gives him regarding the clan’s standing with the outside, so- well, no, there is nothing in the letters that your father couldn’t know just poking his nose around.”

“Good.”

“I don’t want to lie to you ever again- rather, I don’t want to hide things from you ever again. I promise that. I owe you that.”

There is a strained silence before Hinata asks, with a tremble in her voice, “Will you be a-all right?” 

And Naruto’s first reaction is to smile and nod, reassure her that he will be fine and this is only temporary. But he senses her question is a little more nuanced than that. “I will. I will recover from this, it hurts and it sucks but it has improved greatly and we are already making preparations to prevent this from ever happening again, so yes, I will be all right.”

“H-how will this a-affect you?”

“We don’t know yet. It most likely had an impact on my body. None of the seals and training I go through are made to withstand a forceful tearing of the Beast, but they did help me withstand this whole thing. If I am here now it’s because of my dad and my training… as for what comes after this, well, we are waiting for me to recover and be able to perform as usual before my dad performs a deeper check on the seal. He’s actually hoping my godfather brings some sort of help that will enhance my seal or whatever, but…” Naruto sighs and battles with himself whether he should even share this with Hinata, seeing as he can’t even bring himself to discuss this sort of thing with his own father. But he did just tell her he didn’t want to hide anything from her, so. “I don’t think my godfather will bring anything that could change my current situation, Hinata. I don’t think there is anything out there that can give me a normal life span.”

Naruto feels himself be dragged to a stop, and Hinata doesn’t look him in the eyes, “What does th-that mean?”

“It means… I don't think there is a cure to having the Nine-Tails inside of me.”

She says nothing, but this time her eyes find his and she stares, something bubbling up inside her.

And somehow Naruto panics, “That- That doesn’t mean I will give up on trying any new thing that comes to my attention. Nor does it mean I will, I don’t know, stop undergoing my chakra release sessions, or doing my meditations or anything like that, okay? I will still try to-”

“I’m pregnant.”

It takes him a moment to process the words that leave his wife’s mouth. His eyes seem unable to tear themselves from her face, trying to make sense of her words. 

"Excuse me?"

"I'm p-pregnant."

There is a rush of feelings Naruto can't seem to recognize. There is the strangled feeling of desperation first, overwhelmed after by anxiousness and worry, but they all disappear in an instant as he realizes that he is going to be a father. 

A father. Him. 

His child. 

His arms find Hinata's waist and he envelops her in a tight hug, buries his face in her hair and breathes her in. 

Their child. 

"Congratulations," he says, voice full of emotion, and Hinata's arms find his body and slowly hugs him back. 

"Congratulations," he says again, and his chest starts to rumble, as a laugh starts to find its way outside. He puts distance between them and cups Hinata's face with his hands. Her eyes shine under the setting sun and Naruto can't control the smile on his face. 

He forgets everything in that moment.

His struggles, the future, his anxiousness, his role as clan leader, his role as vessel. For the first time in forever, his brain forgets to remind him that his body hurts, the pain fog that floats around him disappears. 

He is just a soon to be father with the woman he loves in his arms and the news of a baby coming is all he can think about. 

And this moment he treasures. Even after they reach their room, even after he presses his ear to Hinata’s stomach -who laughs at his antics-, even after they go to sleep and Hinata's soft breath washes over his chest. 

The room gets dark and his mind reels everything he dared to forget in a rush. His smile doesn't falter, and his heart still feels full of happiness. But he cries. 

He is euphoric at the news, and can now gather what all those whispered conversations were about. He brings Hinata closer to him, kisses the top of her head. 

He smiles still, but his eyes are wide open, and he just stares into the darkness of their room. 

[world-of-aus]

Family Matters - (Part 2)

Pairing: MobBoss Bucky! x Reader

Word Count:3,103

Warnings: no warnings that need to be counted for

Author’s Note: Hope you all enjoy chapter two, can’t wait for this series to really take off which it should in chapter three and onward. Thank you all for reading and as always my taglist is always open! 

Chapter 1 / SERIES MASTERLIST

Taking a breath, you brought a shaky hand up to the bronze door knob, you were reluctant to twist it knowing it would more than likely be locked. These doors were always to remain locked, regardless of whether your father was attending to his business or not, “I don’t need any rats snooping around my studies” he would hiss glaring at you and your mother, and as a child you never thought anything of it but as you grew, you were right to heed those warnings or suffer the wrath of your father.

You twisted the knobs a shiver running down your spine when the door squeaked open. The door continued to swing open on its hinges while you stood there frozen, breath baited waiting to hear your fathers booming voice, but it never came. Hesitant steps drew you further into the room, shaky breaths slipped past your parted lips as you took in your father’s secret. Cold, dark, and eerie were just a few of the words that crossed your mind as you stood in your father's grand, luxurious, private space.

Looking at it now you couldn’t imagine your father having a hand in all the things Detective Stark had accused him of. You knew your father though, the type of man he was, he wouldn’t ever be caught with the like of mobsters, murderers, the sin of the city. At least you hoped you would have known him enough, but you were beginning to wonder if you ever did know who your father truly was.

Taking in more of the room your eyes finally fell on the substantially grand expansive flat-topped red wooden oak desk. Your eyes were drawn to the massive wooden structure, but what really caught your attention was the strewn stacks of manila folders and various paper work thrown around the top of it. Your feet carried you towards the desk, body rounding it as you stood in front of where you father was sure to have sat many times.

Shaky fingers ran through the strewn paper work, brows furrowing the deeper you got into it, there was various letter of foreclosures, dubious amounts of bank statements, and even the occasional printed email. You weren’t sure what any of it meant, but from the various red-penned markings you could only assume it wasn’t something in favor of your father. Pulling up the plush leather rolling chair you plopped your tense body into the chair, rolling yourself forward as you sorted once more through the papers, your fingers gripping a foreclosure notice.

Dear Mr. Y/l/n,

This letter is a formal notification that you are in default of your obligation to make payments on your home loan, account #1234567. The current account holds the sum of 5,000 payable May, 27, 2020.

The amount has been overdue since April 27,2020, you have ignored multiple requests to make a payment or reconsolidate your debt.

Unless the full amount is received within 15 days, we have no choice but to begin with foreclosure on your home. We have given you more than adequate notice on this issue, and we have no other choice.

Please act accordingly,

Wilson Lending Inc.

Your brows furrowed deeper as you looked over the notice once more, this couldn’t be right, your father was never behind on his payments, and you would know, your mother was always on top of the finances in your house hold. Looking through more of the papers you stopped at what seemed to be an email,

Mr. y/l/n,

I’ve been nothing but a patient man with you, and frankly I’m growing tired, you wouldn’t want me to send my men to pay you a visit to you and your lovely wife, would you? Shame that your daughter is no longer in the picture, such a tragedy to lose a child. You have a week to get my money, that you’ve owed for seven years now, again, you either pay my money, or I'll find a way to collect, and I assure you Mr. Y/l/n, you won’t want me to have to come collect from you.

Your breath was caught in your throat, fingers stark white from the grip you had on the paper. Tragedy to lose a child, money, collect, you couldn’t fathom what you were reading. What in the world had your father done, what had he been doing under the roof of this house. You sorted through the next one, this one completely knocking the air from you, leaving you feeling more confused and worried than ever before,

Mr. Y/l/n

It’s a tragedy for me to be writing this email, but had I done this in person I can assure you one of us wouldn’t be breathing when it was over. Do you take me for a fool, did you not think I wouldn’t catch on to what it was you were doing? Working with the enemy, such a shame, I know you know this is unforgivable, you were witness to what happened to the other fellow who crossed me. It’s a shame though that you continued to do business with who you did, you’re the only one to blame for your fate. I would end this by saying see you soon, but we both know that won’t be the case. My condolences to your daughter.

The email after that was just eight words long, but it was enough to shake you to your very core.

I’ll be seeing you very soon Mr. Y/l/n.

You threw the papers down onto the desk, your body slumping into the seat, trying to figure out what the hell was going on here. None of these papers except for the foreclosure statement contained any sort of information that could help you to understand what it was that your father was involved with. None of the emails which were your main source of concern contained any sort of information of the sender, and seeing as it was printed there was nothing for you to further dig into. Why was any of this laid out here in the first place, was this meant to be found, did your father want someone to see this information?

The longer you set there and looked at those papers the more you wanted to scream, to cry, you were feeling just as lost and scared, fearful of the uncertainty as you did seven years ago. You were frustrated because you couldn’t understand what was going on, you couldn’t even begin to grasp the reality of your situation. You’ve lost your parents in a tragic accident, you’ve just found out your father worked for the mafia, or at least laundered for them it seems, and to add to all this it would seem that one of the men Detective Stark mentioned earlier wanted to collect from your father, but what was there to collect, your father was losing it all.

You could feel the underlying pins and needles of your nerves, what were you supposed to do, should you contact detective Stark, take him all this information and see what he can make of it? What if you did just that and he thought you had been lying all long, what if he accused you like he accused your father, what if he suspected you did have a hand in all this. You chewed on your lower lip in worry as you thought about the next worry, your mind going back to the emails, were any of those emails from Pierce, Rumlow, or Barnes, and was one of those the men that was going to collect. Thinking back to the first email, you couldn’t place why your father would apparently fake your death, unless you had a sibling you were unaware of. You were stumped and you were only growing more and more confused the longer you sat thinking on all this new information. You felt like your whole life was a lie, everything you grew up in and around was all fabricated to the lifestyle of your father.

You went to pick up the same papers but were jumping back into your seat when the office phone trilled on the desk. Your heart was beating wildly away in your chest, eyes wide as you looked at the noisy device. You stared at it unmoving, should you answer it, should you let it continue.  You weren't given a chance to make the decision as the incessant ringing grew quiet an eerie silence filling the office once more. You stayed staring, once again jumping as it trilled again catching you off guard, it seemed to have gotten louder the second time. With shaky fingers you reached out picking the corded phone up and bringing it to your ear,

“h-hello?”

“Good morning, is Mr. Y/l/n in?” the voice on the other line questioned.

You swallowed the lump in your throat, “No, I'm sorry sir, but my parents have been in an accident and they,” god you couldn’t bring yourself to say it.

“oh, I’m so sorry miss, wait did you say parents, are you Mr. Y/l/n’s daughter?” he questioned

“uh yes, I'm his daughter, may I ask what the reason for the call is?”

“oh yes right, well, I'm calling from Wilson Lending INC, I was needing to speak with your father, but since that won’t be possible,” a pause on his end an irritated sigh sounding through the line, “actually you wouldn’t happen to be y/f/n y/l/n would you?” he questioned.

“Uh yes actually that is me,” you murmured.

“that’s actually great, do you think you could stop by our office, there’s something I will be needing to go over with you, seeing as you’re the next of kin.”

“uh”

“great,” he cut you off, “I can squeeze you in for 30 minutes from now, so I’ll be seeing you here,” he chirped.

You could barely get a word in before the dial tone was sounding through the receiver, the call having ended abruptly. A loud sigh left your lips as you placed the phone back on the stand, your body slouching into the seat, what more news could you possibly take today you thought with a groan.

Thanking the driver your slid out of the seat, coat wrapped tightly around your shoulders as you looked up at the lavish building before you, Wilson’s Lending INC stared back at you in grey bold letters. A shaky sigh left your lips as you felt a sense of dread roll through you, taking tentative steps you pushed yourself to the revolving doors.

The office was quiet, the only sounds in the room was the tapping and clacking of a keyboard from the receptionist, sat a few feet in front of you. Having heard the door the woman looked up an almost bored expression on her unreadable features, “You can follow me this way, Mr. Wilson will see you now,” she mumbled. Your eyes darted around the room, but saw no one else was in the building other than you, “please,” she spoke up again, “follow me right this way,”

Trailing behind her she led you int a small office space, “right in here, Mr. Wilson is expecting you,”

Mumbling a quiet thank you, you watched her walk back the way she had brought you before turning your attention back to the office in front of you. Drawing further into the office you were met with a cheery smile and an ever chipper voice, “Good morning you must be Ms. Y/l/n, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the man beamed as he stood from his desk to make his way over to you.

His firm was grip, his smile contagious, “Sam wilson,” he added, “owner of Wilson Lending INC, its in the name,” he grinned, “please come in take a seat,”  

“since I don’t want to take up too much of your time, I'd like to go ahead and jump into it,” he spoke up after you had made yourself comfortable in your chair. You nodded your head allowing him to go on watching him sort through the papers on his desk, “Firstly I extended my sincerest apologies that we have to be meeting given the circumstances, my deepest condolences miss, such a tragic thing to occur,” he murmured.

You wanted to open your mouth to question that last bit that left his mouth but he was too quick, “Now in regards to your home, as I'm sure you knew it is now being foreclosed because of your father’s failure to pay, because of this before we go through with said foreclosure we are looking to hand over your home to the other co-owner, he has informed us he is willing to take it,”

Your brows scrunched in confusion, “co-owner?” you questioned, “what do you mean co-owner, are you speaking of my mother?”

Sam chuckled shaking his head, placing down the files he had down in front of him, “Your father had a co-owner but it wasn’t your mother,”

You slumped in your seat slightly, “why would he need a co-owner, shouldn’t it have been my mother?”

He let out a sigh, rubbing at his head, “Ms. Y/l/n, your father had a co-owner because alone he did not qualify to even begin the process to home owning, with more challenging lending standards when it comes to an individual's credit score, debt to income ratio, it was easier to qualify with the individual your father asked to co-own with him.”

A frustrated groan left your lips, the web kept weaving around you, “so what does all this mean, why was I called in?”

“It’s difficult to walk away from a mortgage when you have more than one borrower,” he began, eyeing you to see if you understood, “your father’s co-owner has kept up with his half but your father just recently was unable to make the payments, due to this the co-owner was called upon and has agreed to take over your home,” he paused eyeing you again, “the thing is if a co-owner dies their share goes to the other owners, in the co-owner ship a TIC agreement was signed where each co-owner can pass along their ownership through a will, meaning the remaining tenants might end up sharing the home with someone they never intended to.”

“this still doesn’t explain why I was called in, I'm sorry Mr. Wilson but you’re just confusing me further,”

He rubbed at his temples, “what this means, is that on a will your father passed his ownership to you, so I can’t necessarily just give your father’s co-owner the home without your approval now,”

A hand rubbed over your face, “so then give him full ownership,” Sam raised a brow at you, “Look Mr. Wilson my parent’s and I had a fall out years ago, if I can be honest with you I barely even know anything about them it seems, so if that is the easiest way to settle this for my father then so be it, I don’t even reside here anymore, so I can assure you letting the house go to someone who is more suited for it will be the best thing in this case,”

He was eyeing you, studying you, it was beginning to make you slightly uncomfortable, “is there anything needed from me?” you asked hoping to finish this up soon.

“yes, actually you and the co-owner will need to meet, he will need to buy you out, and you will need to be there to sign over given that you won’t have a change of heart,”

You raised your hand, “I can assure you there will be no change of heart,” you murmured, “how soon can we get this done, I don’t plan on being here longer than a week, I'm just here to sort out my parents things and I'll be on my way,”

“If it makes things easier, we can come to you, that way you won’t be pulled from sorting through your parent’s things, though I'm not sure there is much more to sort through,”

You raised a brow at his statement taken aback by the change of tone in his voice, “excuse me?” you questioned.

He smirked at you then, “no, not a thing Ms. Y/l/n, well that is all I have for you at the moment, Mr. Barnes and I will pay you a visit later this evening to go over the legalities of all this,” he grinned shooting you a wink.

You couldn’t help but be taken aback by the behavior as you stood on shaky legs pulling your coat and purse tighter around you. In your fraught state you almost hadn’t picked up on the name he uttered, almost.

“Mr. Barnes?” you questioned the name bouncing around in your mind as your remembered Detective Starks words.

He was grinning again, “Yes, Mr. Barnes, the co-owner of your home,”

Your face paled, heart dropping in your chest, “Are you okay?” Sam questioned his grin never faltering almost as if taunting you.

You nodded your head shakily before you were stumbling back slightly, a feeling of not being able to flee fast enough washing over you. You could hear his laughter sound through the building as you tucked tail and ran.

Hailing a cab you ran back home, your heart thumping wildly in your chest, you couldn’t get off the cab fast enough, handing the cab driver your money thanking him quickly as you made your way up the driveway. You needed to leave, none of this felt right, none of it, and with the information Detective Stark had shared with you, and the emails you had come across, you knew you needed to get out and fast you should have never returned in the first place, you should have listened to your father. You had made your decision as you rushed up the steps of your home head down not wanting to be spotted by any of the neighbors or cars driving down the street.

Searching through your purse for the keys you gripped them tightly as you pushed them into the lock, a gasp left your lips as the door was pulled open taking your keys with it. A tall, bearded, honey blonde stood before you a glowering look on his sculpted features. A shiver ran down your spine, as you back up slowly, another gasp falling from your lips as you back hit a wall of muscle. You turned your head ever so slowly, eyes drifting up to be met with a nefarious grin, deep piercing eyes, and a wicked mind.

“hello y/n.”

Chapter 3

Family Matter’s Tag-list: @broco8 @spideyxxboi @scuzmunkie @person-born-winchester @jennisahoe @rougeone0911 @ilovesupersoldiers 

[authoressofdarkness]

Under the Covers (Chapter 1)

“Do you really think there’s any way I’ll be able to be incognito for any amount of time? Aren’t you worried my ego will feel neglected from going unrecognized so long? Maybe I’ll blow my cover because I’m too desperate for attention.” “You’re not going to be going undercover. You’re going to be assisting our undercover agent.”

AO3 

Someone tell me why I do these things. I swear. Blame @itfeelssogoodmrstark. Now I’ve gotta go work on finals goddamnit-

Narcissistic.

“We need your help, Stark.”

“And why would I help you?”

Self-destructive.

“Because we need you to. And you want these assholes off the street just as bad as we do. You’re the only one in the position to make this mission happen.”

“I’m the only person you consider expendable, you mean. I put myself in danger all the time, so it’s okay for you to do it, too, right?”

Doesn’t play well with others.

“That’s not what I said.”

“And yet that’s what you meant.”

A heavy sigh on the other end. “Hear whatever you’d like, I’m not going to argue with you. I need to know if you’re willing to do this or not, because you’ll need to meet your partner-“

“Partner? I thought I was too volatile to work with others. Besides, Iron Man doesn’t need a partner.”

“Well, we don’t need you as Iron Man. We need you as Tony Stark.”

Compulsive.

“And yet I remember hearing the exact opposite a few months ago. Funny how that works,” he snarks.

“What you do in that tin can isn’t what I need right now. We need something more subtle.”

“Subtle? What about me is subtle? Agent Romanov is the epitome of subtle. Even fooled me. Try her.”

Another sigh, then: “Not that subtle. We need the built-in status and resources that you have as your… distinguished self. That’s key to this mission, as is the partner. Now if you’re gonna ask questions, can you at least come in and debrief in person so I’m not wasting more of all of our time?”

And he has more questions, so he agrees. He’s nothing if not nosy. And it’ll be fun to string Fury along just long enough to get on his nerves even if he decides not to consult on this particular mission.

Consult, of course. That’s his job. He’s too much of a mess to be an Avenger. And that’s fine with him. He likes flying solo, doing things on his own terms, most of the time.

But he has agreed to consult on some cases. Partially because he owes Fury, and he doesn’t like owing people. He’d worked hard to get out of the debt of owing people after everything that happened with Obie. But he couldn’t deny Fury had saved his ass with the whole pallidum poisoning thing. He’d likely have died if left on his own.

And, well, partially because… yeah, maybe he has a bit of a hero complex. But something bothers him too much now about standing off to the side in any serious situation.

And these mutant drugs going around were certainly a serious situation. But he didn’t understand why blasting the drug lord to hell wasn’t going to be enough to handle it.

“So what’s the big idea, Fury?” he asks, a few hours later, as the elder man finally enters the conference room -- where they’d left him waiting for way longer than strictly necessary, he’s sure. “I don’t understand what the big hoopla is. Do you really think there’s any way I’ll be able to be incognito for any amount of time? Aren’t you worried my ego will feel neglected from going unrecognized so long? Maybe I’ll blow my cover because I’m too desperate for attention.” He bats his eyes at him, pulling a mock-sad face.

Fury doesn’t look amused. He drops a file down on the table in front of him. “You’re not going to be going undercover. You’re going to be assisting our undercover agent.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to do anything yet, so careful with all those orders, cyclops.” Tony sits up, dropping the facade in favor of reaching for the file. “What is this?”

“Case overview. Read it.”

“I already know as much about it as you do.” It’s true; he’d already been looking into this particular problem on his own before Fury had contacted him to ask him about consulting. Course, the fact that their interests were overlapping was about the only thing he knew so far, aside from what he’d figured out on his own, but Fury didn’t need to know that.

“Just read it, Stark.”

Tony does. He skims the file, frowning a little as he reads. Maybe they knew a bit more than he did, then.

The head of the operation, from what they could tell, was one Quentin Beck. Or at least, he was the highest part of the food chain that they knew of for now.

He was the man that Tony had landed on, as well. But SHIELD had more on the inner workings than he did. Some of the stock houses, the loading areas, some of the runners involved in the operation. More information about where Beck stayed, what social circles he ran in. He used to be a special effects coordinator, apparently, before he was swept into the life of crime. He had a background in technology and biochemical engineering. Interesting.  

His profile was even more interesting. It looked oddly similar to his, in some ways. Narcissist. Compulsive. Playboy. Doesn’t play well with others. Likes to be the center of attention. Craves power.

“Interesting profile. Let me guess, Romanov wrote it too?” Tony deadpans.

Fury narrows his good eye at him, taking the file back. “Ha-ha. Believe it or not, the similarities in your personalities are part of why we need you.”

“Why? You want me to make friends with him?”

Fury shakes his head. “Beck likes power. He craves attention. He’s smart, he’s sly, and he’s worked years to get to where he is in the food chain. He sees our agents coming from a mile away every time we try to send someone in. He knows who the moles are as soon as they poke their heads out. Two weeks ago, one of our agents went in as a fake buyer and never returned. We can’t afford to keep going like this. We’re getting nothing. We’re losing our people and countless more are dying in the streets because of the shit he’s selling.”

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with me.” Tony tilts his head. “I can’t go undercover. You don’t want me to go undercover, you don’t want me to be friends with him. Am I supposed to be your next buyer? You think he’d buy that? Or do you want me to offer him something? Because I don’t sell weapons anymore, Fury. Not even for you.”

“No weapons. Nothing like that.” Fury pauses. “The long and short is, right now, Beck is untouchable. We can’t get anyone in to get any information and no one is rolling, even the few we’ve managed to get ahold of. He’s funneling his drug money through legitimate businesses, so there’s no proof. He’s covering his tracks well. But he does have one weakness.” Fury pulls a photo out of the file and slaps it on the desk in front of him.

Tony’s eyes drop to it instinctively, and he feels his mouth go dry. It’s a boy -- a pretty boy. Springy, messy curls, Bambi eyes, pouty lips, the whole nine yards. The photo is just a headshot, but he has a feeling that he’s just as lithe and pretty the rest of the way down as he is from the top.

But he’s also young. Obviously young. Mid-twenties, at the most, although he’s struggling to believe that he’s even that old.

He forces himself to swallow, lifting his eyes back to Fury. “Is that his kid?”

Fury barks out a laugh. “No. Not his kid.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Not yet.”

That’s enough to jolt him back to his senses. Tony refocuses, raising an eyebrow. “Yet?” He doesn’t like the sound of this already.

“This is where your similarities come in handy, Stark.” Fury picks up the photo. “Beck has a penchant for pretty young things. Particularly taken pretty young things.”

“That’s sick.”

“That feeds his ego. He likes seducing them. He likes to play sugar daddy for them -- drugs or clothes or money or whatever it is they want in exchange for them making him look good and feel powerful. It’s a game to him. But he only likes high-quality things. The more powerful the men he takes them from, the better.”

“So?”

“So… we need to give him someone powerful to take him from.”

It hits him like a ton of bricks.

This is where your similarities come in handy.

Playboy.

“You can’t be serious. How old is he, twelve? I mean, really-”

“He’s twenty-three-”

“-he’s practically still in diapers. Probably still in school. Forcing him to play lap dog to someone like Beck is just… wrong.”

Fury sighs. “No one is forcing him to do anything, Stark. He knows what’s involved in the mission. I assure you no one will be making him do anything he doesn’t want to do. And he’s not still in diapers. He has a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry and is working on his Master’s.”

Tony blinks. “At twenty-three?”

“It happens. Look at you.”

Look at you.

Yeah, sure, but he’s never met anyone else near close to his level. And look at the amount of emotional damage he sustained from it.

“Fair,” is all he says aloud. “But he’s got so much potential. Surely he’s got better — less dangerous, less dehumanizing — offers. What’s he doing mixed up with SHIELD?”

“That’s for he and I to know and you to not worry about,” Fury says shortly. “All we need from you is to cohabitate and pretend to be together long enough to get Peter inside and for us to see this mission through. Are you going to do it or not?”

“Hold on, back up a sec. Cohabitate? You’re gonna make the poor kid move in with me, too?” Not that he has any qualms about giving the kid a place to live, per se — God knows he has more than enough for both of them. The space, the money, the resources. But that means he actually has to live with him.

He hasn’t had a partner in ages, one night stand or otherwise. Since his capture, he’s plagued by nightmares too much to sleep like a normal person, and letting anyone see the arc reactor or get that close to him, physically, in general is just one big no.

He and Pepper had tried, but there was just too much between them. She had a company to run. He was busy being Iron Man. They had barely seen each other. And when they had seen each other, it was always just… fighting about something or the other. That he was too reckless. That he was too isolated. That he didn’t trust her, that he needed therapy, that the way he lives is unhealthy, that he missed this or that meeting, that he drinks too much, that he just hid too much stuff.  

She wanted to change him, and he couldn’t let her do it. He wasn’t ready. And part of him knows it’s stupid, unsustainable, unhealthy. But he’s not ready to face it all either. He still cares about her, of course, and she’s still the CEO of Stark Industries, and doing a damn good job at it. But the likelihood there’ll ever be a future there is slim to none. He knows that now.

Fury’s voice snaps him back to the present. “It has to look serious, Stark. He can’t just be a fling. Beck won’t take interest in that. We’ve already laid the groundwork for making him move in and making the whole shebang look believable. Now you just need to do your part. Let him stay with you at least a few nights a week, make a few public appearances together, and let him do his job. No one is saying you actually have to sleep with him -- although I admit I hadn’t expected you to seem so turned off from the idea.”

Tony doesn’t dignify that with an answer. “Are you sure this is the only option? Why can’t I just blast him into next week? Or you send Romanov in with her sweet talking to… I don’t know, poison his drink or something?”

Fury sighs. “We need to know what he knows. We need to know more about where the drugs are coming from. How. Why. Who’s involved. Everything. We only get one chance at this, Stark. You know how it works. He’s the highest person we know of that we have a chance of reaching. If he slips away, we’ll have to start over. We lose all our leads. More people die. This could give us everything we need to know. But he has to come to us. And the only way to get him to do that is bait.” He sets the picture back down on the table, jamming his finger into the middle of the kid’s forehead. “He’s fully prepared to do whatever it takes to do so. Are you, hero?”

Hero. It’s not said scathingly, exactly, but it’s clearly a challenge, all the same. A muscle in Tony’s jaw jumps before he forcefully unclenches it, letting out a breath. “So do I get to get his name before he moves in with me, or…?”

Fury smirks. He turns back to face the door he’d come through, raising his voice. “Parker!”

A moment later, the door opens again. This time, it’s the kid from the picture who enters.

He looks even more baby-faced in person. And yeah, he’s definitely just as lithe and gorgeous as Tony had imagined he would be. Great. Good to know.

He approaches the table they’re sitting at with short, fast strides, hands gripping the strap of the duffel bag over his shoulder. He was already packed. They certainly banked on him saying yes, didn’t they?

He comes to a stop beside Fury, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he stands there. “Hi!” he chirrups. “I’m Peter. Peter Parker. Big fan, by the way.”

Aaaand he’s a fanboy too. This just gets better and better.

“Tony Stark. But you knew that, I suppose.” He looks pointedly at Fury. “You’re going to send him undercover? You sure about this?” He just seems so… pure. Happy and outgoing and young and probably way, way too naive to be mixed up with SHIELD’s shenanigans.

“As sure as I was the first three times you asked.” Fury fixes him with one of his looks. “Are you gonna take him home or not?”

Take him home. Like he’s a puppy or something. Jesus.

Though puppy certainly wasn’t what Peter is thinking, if the way his cheeks color slightly is any indication. This kid is going to be the death of him, isn’t he?

“Yeah, I suppose so.” He stands, pushing the thoughts away. “You ready, kid?”

“All set, Mr. Stark.” Peter starts to make his way around the table, and Tony turns towards the door.

“You can’t do that,” Fury says, stopping them both in their tracks. “You’re gonna blow cover before you even establish it.”

Tony turns back to face him, exasperated. “We haven’t even left yet!”

“And you’re calling each other by formalities, walking with six feet of space between you, and letting him carry his own bag. Really, you’re not off to a great start.”

“What do you want me to do, hold his hand and shower him with kisses? We literally just met.”

Fury rolls his eye. “I know this is going to be hard for you, but don’t be so dramatic. You have to act like a normal, healthy couple. You don’t have to make out on the street, but you could walk beside the kid, for God’s sake.”

“I’m not normal or healthy anything. You should know that -- isn’t that what your agent said?”

Fury ignores him, standing up. He looks at Peter. “Better control your boyfriend, kid, before he blows your cover. I’ll call you when we’ve got a place for you to start.” With that, he turns on his heel and leaves.

They both stare at him as he leaves. It’s silent for a long moment before Peter turns around to face him, color still lingering slightly in his cheeks. “So, uh… ready to go, Mr.- uh… Tony?”

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s go, kid.” Tony lets out a breath and heads for the door, but at a slower pace this time, letting Peter fall into step with him. He opens the door for him, then follows him out and leads the way back to his car. This… this is going to be something, but he isn’t sure if fun is the right word for it.

What had he just gotten himself into?

Let me know if you want to be tagged! 

[arysthaeniru]

aAAA the joy of seeing an update on your current favorite fanfic is just aAAA

I always felt that kiwami 1s Nishiki was just a bit too,, I dont know how to describe it; but essentially he just felt off, granted yakuza 1 is a product of its time and therefore the plot is a bit dated and whack as all hell

The way you write Nishiki just feels so much better and realistic; in the original he just seems so uncaring towards Kiryu? which just feels kinda OOC? You'd think he still cares about Kiryu despite it all, especially when you take Yakuza 0 into consideration; and i feel like you portray Nishiki much more accurately

I never thought much about Yumi, because honestly, in the original she was kinda just, there? You actually made her a very interesting person! like I'm actually invested in her in your story! (side note you ever think about her clone who got tortued and died? yeah who WAS that???? thats never brought up is it??)

Theres so much more to talk about but in short; This is the best fix it/rewrite of a game plot I have read to date and it brings me joy in my current stressful school life. and no I will not stop praising it or the author, because this work has made me very happy. ;)

I just have a gift for picking favorites that end up dying,,aand another favorite of mine is Mine

imo theres a lack of soft, reassuring Minedai, i just feel like he'd need a reminder that people love him as a person and not just for the money he can provide, even if its obvious

I'd love to see how you'd write them, but I understand if theres more interesting/appealing drabble requests!

- Carp

CARP, thank you for this <3 this is so sweet!!!!! I’m so happy you enjoy my Nishiki! I had fun playing with what Yakuza 0/the Kiwami additions gave us about Nishiki’s personality and outlook on the world, and trying to reconcile that with the plot that Yakuza 1 initially had. Ultimately, I fell on the side that you did: even if Nishiki’s ambition took him down a monstrous path, I don’t think he’s the sort of person who neglects to pay back his debts. And he’s aware of the huge debt he owes Kiryu. Not to mention, their bonds of trust and love vanishing completely because of jealousy felt unreal to me. Their relationship becoming twisted or strange? Yes, but vanishing entirely felt unsatsifying to me. 

And Yumi!! I had so much fun excavating her character from the clues we get of her in canon. I worry sometimes, that she’s unrecognizable, because you know, I’ve given her a college education, and a whole bunch of interests beyond hostessing alone, but people seem to like it and like her, which is great!! I hate fridging women characters, so keeping her and Reina alive was important to me, hahaha. (RE: fake!Mizuki, there’s this substory in Kiwami that actually addresses who she was, BUT IT’S EVEN MORE HORRIFYING. So that’s why Yumi in my fic is the one captured and tortured by Nishiki’s men, because the thought of this poor innocent woman getting dragged into the mess was just untenable to me.)  

Anyway, thank you for your support and kind words, and I hope you’ll continue to read and that my fic can continue to relieve stress. I--tried to write this about Mine, but Daigo kind of stole the spotlight a little??? I hope you still like it--if not, I will try a ficlet from Mine’s perspective too. I enjoy minedai a lot, but I haven’t had room to think out their dynamic yet, so this took me a while. 

Daigo’s no stranger to being desired. He’s attractive, he knows this—his mother’s beauty lives in his veins, and he’s always had the money to look after himself. Fancy soaps to wash his face, the invisible retainers to keep his teeth straight, fancy suits and skin-tight shirts to show off his frame. For all that Kiryu insists his charisma is something that comes from the soul, Daigo knows it wouldn’t be able to draw the sort of attention he does without being attractive.

Which is to say that Daigo’s not especially thrown off by the intensity of Mine’s gaze. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again. The thing that surprises him is how much he relishes in being seen by Mine.

Maybe it’s because Mine’s an island in a stormy sea, one of the only yakuza his age who’s sensible and level-headed enough to make it big. Maybe it’s because Mine’s gaze is always so reserved, polite, never overly lusty or overstaying its welcome, and Daigo has so rarely been desired so quietly. Or maybe it’s because Majima and Kashiwagi so clearly disapprove of him—Daigo’s always been something of a rebel, and he hasn’t shaken that off, even now he’s in his thirties and is the arbiter of rules for the Tojo Clan.

Daigo can’t quite put a pin on why he’s so comfortable with Mine’s yearning looks, but he’s never been one to hold back when he wants to indulge in something good. Not exactly a hedonist, not by yakuza standards, but Daigo has never kept himself from enjoying life, in the name of some dubious ‘honour.’

Which is why, in an after-hours meeting with Mine, as they eat cheap takeout sushi together, Daigo takes his chance. A momentary slip, the slightest hint of wasabi left at the corners of Mine’s lips and Daigo swoops in, rubs a thumb over the corner of Mine’s lips. Mine stutters to a stop, mid-sentence through a rundown of the real-estate that the Hakuho Clan’s been purchasing up, and stares at Daigo, eyes bewildered.

“Sixth Chairman?” he asks, his voice still remarkably composed.

“Wasabi.” Daigo says, nonchalantly, as if it’s nothing, and sticks his thumb into his mouth, slowly licking it off with a lingering lave of his tongue. He feels a sharp stab of satisfaction as Mine’s eyes turn darker, and his gaze follows Daigo’s hand down.  

Daigo straightens up, languidly, and cracks his neck, casually. At this point in the day, he’s untucked his shirt, and he knows that a slight strip of his stomach will be visible when he stretches out his arms towards the ceiling. And as predictably as clockwork, Mine’s gaze darts downwards, to that pale expanse, to catch that brief second of skin. Daigo can’t help but feel warm. Something about being watched by Mine is exhilarating.

“Smoke?” offers Daigo, but as usual, Mine refuses, with a polite shake of his head.

Daigo knows from hearsay that Mine’s something a health-freak, so he’s not entirely surprised. It’s already too late for Daigo to preserve his health—he knows that his liver’s already been pretty ruined from long nights of binge-drinking as a youth, and this job’s too stressful to withhold from vices like smoking and drinking, without an optimal end-goal. So he walks over to the window, cracks it open a little, and lights up.

The breath of nicotine curls over his body, a tender caress, and Daigo feels his shoulders drop, as the relaxation hits. He pulls off his cufflinks, tosses them into his pockets and rolls up his sleeves. He takes it slow, runs his fingers over his skin a little more than strictly necessary. Surreptitiously checking the reflection in the window, Daigo watches Mine watch him, and smirks at how intense that gaze is, how Mine’s mouth has opened, and Daigo can just see the soft pink of his tongue.

“Dojima’s just fine, you know. When it’s just us two.” Daigo says, turning over his shoulder. He smiles, one of those charming smiles that had always gotten him whatever he wanted as a child, “We’re same-aged friends, after all.”

“Dojima-san.” Mine acknowledges, after a brief pause.

Daigo turns around, to properly look at Mine and lifts an eyebrow. “Dojima. Or Daigo, preferably. Dojima-san’s always my father in my head.”

Mine nods, face impassive. Daigo can’t read him like this. Maybe that’s why he likes when Mine stares at him, filled with longing. At least then, Daigo feels like he knows him. In moments like these, his implacable gazes might as well be a brick wall. “Right. Your Father was also in the Tojo Clan.”

Daigo smiles, wryly, and blows out a puff of smoke. “One of the most horrible men I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting—and I had to call him Father. But damn if he wasn’t good at the job.” He sighs and stubs the cigarette out against the ashtray. “...sometimes feel like I’m competing with his dead spirit. Everybody’s looking at me and wondering if this is what my Father would do. Or what Kiryu-san would do.”

“You’re doing better than any of them.” Mine says, immediately, with a vicious ferocity that Daigo wasn’t expecting. He can’t quite stop his eyebrows rising in surprise, and Mine straightens upwards, looking self-conscious immediately. Daigo regrets his instinctual reaction, immediately. “That is to say, Dojima, that I think that you’ve pulled this Clan into somewhere far more respectable. From what I’ve heard of your Father, he didn’t have the temperament to do proper business on this level—too insistent on formal obeisance and unable to be flexible as the times require. And Kiryu-san might be very honourable, but we are yakuza. There are certain things you have to do as a Chairman, that he couldn’t bring himself to do. But you are practical and do what is necessary, while also not overstepping into excessive violence. You are uniquely suited for this job, Dojima.”

...he’s taken aback a little, he can’t deny it. Daigo wonders if his cheeks are colouring, wonders if his obvious shock is offputting, wonders if this is how Mine feels every time Daigo teases him lightly about his obvious attraction. A startling warmth spreads through his chest, and Daigo can’t stop the slight smile that touches his face. Has anybody ever said something so unreservedly kind and measured about Daigo before?

Maybe this is the difference between everybody else’s gazes on him, and Mine’s gaze. It’s based on something more than desire alone. Respect.

Daigo runs a hand over his slicked-back hair and ruffles it free, with a rueful smile, a smile that he couldn’t take away from his face, even if he tried. “I appreciate that. You know I couldn’t do it without you, right?”

He’d never really believed himself capable of attraction to a man like Mine. All of his previous childhood crushes had been on bright, cheerful conversational, pure-hearted people. Daigo had always figured they would balance out his sardonic cynicism. He’d never thought someone as reserved and principled as Mine would ever make his heart flutter. But then, there was something about that deep hunger and passion that Daigo craved. Perhaps it was because he was no longer the gloomy punk of his youth. Maybe his tastes have changed towards tall, dark and handsome. Maybe Mine’s just that special.

“Dojima—” Mine says, clearly trying to refute it, but Daigo cuts him off.

“I mean it. Everybody in this fucking Clan wants me to do something or be somebody else. Kashiwagi-san wants me to be my mother. Majima-san wants me to be Kiryu-san. Everybody else expects my Father. But not you. You deal with me honestly, and with candour, and never hold any expectations against me except success. I appreciate your faith in me.” Daigo takes a couple of steps forward, until his shoes almost brush up against Mine’s own. He leans down over Mine’s chair. “I could not do this without your backing and help. Truly. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone like you in my life. A true friend.”

Mine tilts his chin up to meet Daigo’s gaze, a hungry devotion in his eyes, and Daigo, for a moment, wonders if this is wrong. If he should hold back, like Kiryu would. But Daigo is Daigo, and Mine clearly wants him anyway, so he leans down and kisses him.

Mine’s mouth is velvety smooth and wet and hot and it is oh-so satisfying a feeling to put his hand against Mine’s broad neck and feel his warmth up against Daigo. He pulls back, with a satisfied sigh, and feels the burn of wasabi across his lips, a final parting kick.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

11th August >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Saint Clare, Virgin

    on 

Thursday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

Thursday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the feria (Thursday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Ezekiel 12:1-12

The oracle of exile against the whole House of Israel.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, you are living with that set of rebels who have eyes and never see, ears and never hear, for they are a set of rebels. You, son of man, pack an exile’s bundle and emigrate by daylight when they can see you, emigrate from where you are to somewhere else while they watch. Perhaps they will admit then that they are a set of rebels. You will pack your baggage like an exile’s bundle, by daylight, for them to see, and leave like an exile in the evening, making sure that they are looking. As they watch, make a hole in the wall, and go out through it. As they watch, you will shoulder your pack and go out into the dark; you will cover your face so that you cannot see the country, since I have made you a symbol for the House of Israel.’

   I did as I had been told. I packed my baggage like an exile’s bundle, by daylight; and in the evening I made a hole through the wall with my hand. I went out into the dark and shouldered my pack as they watched.

   The next morning the word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, did not the House of Israel, did not that set of rebels, ask you what you were doing? Say, “The Lord says this: This oracle is directed against Jerusalem and the whole House of Israel wherever they are living.” Say, “I am a symbol for you; the thing I have done will be done to them; they will go into exile, into banishment.” Their ruler will shoulder his pack in the dark and go out through the wall; a hole will be made to let him out; he will cover his face rather than see the country.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 77(78):56-59,61-62

R/ Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

They put God to the proof and defied him;    they refused to obey the Most High. They strayed, as faithless as their fathers,    like a bow on which the archer cannot count.

R/ Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

With their mountain shrines they angered him;    made him jealous with the idols they served. God saw this and was filled with fury:    he utterly rejected Israel.

R/ Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

He gave his ark into captivity,    his glorious ark into the hands of the foe. He gave up his people to the sword,    in his anger against his chosen ones.

R/ Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Psalm 118:88

Alleluia, alleluia! Because of your love give me life, and I will do your will. Alleluia!

Or:

Psalm 118:135

Alleluia, alleluia! Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees. Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 18:21-19:1

'How often must I forgive my brother?'.

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

   ‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’

   Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the part of Judaea which is on the far side of the Jordan.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Saint Clare, Virgin

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Philippians 3:8-14

I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ.

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.    I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’ O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;    it is you yourself who are my prize.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,    who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight:    since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path of life,    the fullness of joy in your presence,    at your right hand happiness for ever.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia! How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 19:27-29

They will be repaid a hundred times over and inherit eternal life.

Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘What about us?’ he said. ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[lady-plantagenet]

What are your top ten novels about the Wars of the Roses? And why?

I think it’s obvious by the length how enthusiastic I was to answer this ask xx thank you for asking me and giving me also an opportunity to make a masterlist of some sorts of all my reviews xx. But you know? I speak like quite the expert but in reality I’ve read very little histfic about TWOTR because I just newly got back into this hobby (about a year ago) and have little time in general so tbh the last three books on this list I do not personally care for but since I’ve read so little novels of this kind they are here nonetheless hhh (so please people, give me no angry asks asking me why I am endorsing PG, I’m not).

1. The Last of the Barons by Lord Edward Lytton-Bulwer

This is quite possibly the best book I’ve ever read in my life. The gap between these books and the rest is a chasm the size of the world and I wpuld genuinely reccomend this book as an actual piece of literature to anyone, not just TWOTR fanatics. It is written in 1840, in quite old timey lingo and it centres around Richard Neville 16th Earl of Warwick, but in the true tradition of a real classic it is more than just a character drama, it astutely showcases the purpose of Warwick and what he did in the context of his wider world and doesn’t just chalk it up to personal greed. There is also this fascinating subplot about courtship, science and such. Hell, you even get this eccentric ‘natural philosopher’ guy called Adam Warner who tries to make something like a steam engine and gets employed as an alchemist by Jacquetta and Edward IV.

From a historical standpoint it is quite biased as the author himself was a politician (and an actual baron) and tbh I don’t completely agree with his interpretation of history and I can see some of the Victorian inluences slip in, but some of his takes are very refreshing and he clearly consulted the primary sources. I am much interested in his philosophy and life outlook though and while I don’t think his Warwick is the Warwick, I think he (Lytton-Bulwer) understood him like no other novelist could. As for the writing style... here’s an excerpt of a good reads review that I agree with and tells you all you need to know:

“Of course, such a style of writing no longer exists. The language used is essentially foreign to us. But the nobility, the pride of this story work their ways into your bones, your heart. You will yearn for honor once you have left it.“

Basically, go type it into google and see what I mean. You don’t even need to purchase this book it’s all online at the first click on Gutenberg.

Nevertheless, I’ve posted excerpts of it here, here and here =)

2. The King’s Grey Mare by Rosemary Hawley Jarman

This book (unlike the latter) has zero actual historical value. Actually, it sort of does in the way that it hilights certain real events that most people are unaware of when it comes to its protagonist: Elizabeth Woodville, eg the whole Cooke tapestry affair and the whole Desmond affair. Both things which I still stand on the fence about (if you don’t know what I’m talking about send em another ask or pm me). But like, it isn’t political, philosophical or such in any way like the first book, yet you still feel like you are *there* in the 15th century - by the time I finished reading it my heart was wrung dry and I kind of fell into a down for a couple of days because I just wanted to feel the magic again. If anyone would ask me I would give this 5 stars because it perfectly achieved what it set out to do (I can’t expect all books to go above and beyond like #1), it made me feel for the characters who were super complex, was accurate historically and even when it wasn’t it made sense, it got very creative with its themes (which I like to see because I am not interested in reading the exact same story over and over again) and the prose was absolutely magical and brought all the depth to this novel. I’ve read classics with less flowing and poignant prose, yes actual classics!

This book also switches POVs quite a lot (basically it headhops because it’s written in omniscient- but whatever, rules are meant to be broken), so you’ll get to see many of your faves in there, Edward IV, Margaret of Anjou and Grace Plantagenet feature quite heavily. One thing that disappointed me is that it wasn’t really Edward IV/Elizabeth Woodville (at the time I bought it for that), she never really likes him and his love for her kind of wanes towards the end. If you’re not too bothered about that then I say go buy it.

3. The Daisy and the Bear by K L Clark

I put this here because we are already going into shakier territory when it comes to this list. This is kind of the last *really* good, truly five star one. It is a long spoof about TWOTR but god it’s smart! Yet, It does not take itself seriously and has Margaret of Anjou/Warwick the Kingmaker as a crackship and centrepiece and had me in stitches the whole time. I’ve written a long detailed review for it here.

4. Death be Pardoner to Me by Dorothy Davies

This is a novel about George Duke of Clarence. Quite possibly the only novel ever written about him in existence and boy is it a trip - the author claims to have channelled him (she’s a medium). I’ve written a detailed review for it here. I read this last spring and my views have unfortunately changed, the thing is, I’ve come to find out through my research that this was quite possibly a hoax as there are some indisputable inaccuracies (Ankarette Twynyho’s age, the details of Isabel’s death - we *know* she did not die from childbirth, Isabel did not reunite with him after Tewksbury 1471, but right before Christmas 1470). It’s also quite Richardian (the author admitted) and she could have *had* me had she not chose to divulge it in the foreword. Nevertheless, I still like this book because it did get to me at certain points and it’s good quality as a novel, I remember shedding a tear at one point even which is extremely rare for me but I think that says more about my sentiment for the subject matter than the book itself.

5. We Speak no Treason by Rosemary Hawley Jarman (not yet finished, so ranking may vary)

I haven’t finished it yet, so I’ll leave it here for now. This book is a Richardian book about Richard III, but I can’t get enough of this author, I haven’t found anyone to replace her with. The prose is magnificent as usual and I must confess that I’m happy that this book is told through the POVs of three OCs and not Richard, he remains rather elusive and tbf I find the three OCs very interesting and at this point I’m more interested in their stories than anything else. Of course, Richard III is still a fairly prominent part of this novel (even when he doesn’t appear) and it has led to me getting annoyed quite a bit. Given who I am I fumed massively at that one aside that Clarence and Edward have bastards whereas Richard isn’t like that... like are you serious?? At one point the author reassociated the Games and Playes Chesse book to Richard when it was in reality dedicated to Clarence and I got even more annoyed. Leave the poor figure something ma’am? Whatever, as a book about three medieval commoners it’s fantastic and that’s what I pretend it is.

6. Wife to the Kingmaker by Sandra Wilson

Nothing more to add than what I wrote in my (super-long) detailed review on here. This is the case because I read it very recently. This is a novel about Anne Beauchamp 16th Countess of Warwick, it’s ranked higher than Sunne because though it’s less accurate it’s got panache.

7. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon K Penman

I feel very strongly about this Richard III book and what it represents. I wrote a long detailed review about it on here and a follow-up post on the discussion is here ft my awesome mutual @beardofkamenev ‘s insights also thrown into the mix. Xx

8. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

This is a step higher than the other two because this book pretty much changed my life. The thing is, I read it translated into my own language by an extremely talented translator and I was also only about 11/12 years old so it was all very impressive to me then. This book about Elizabeth Woodville effectively introduced me to the TWOTR; an interest that has never really left me these past ten years (though at one point (ages 14-19) it was quite wane). It’s not a good book by any standard (I was quite shocked when picking it up at a bookstore, I had found that when read in the original language it lost all its magic), but I owe a lot to it and some people who now endlessly discourse about how bad PG is need to recognise their debt of gratitude and be a bit more respectful, I think. That is of course unless you came into this era via different media, but you got to admit that a massive part of us got to this place through TWQ, though we outgrew it.

10. The Red Queen and The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

Exact same commentary as above, just objectively not good books. Flat characterisation, misunderstanding of the era, historical innacuracies which don’t add anything, lack of nuance in prose which often dances too close to *gasp* YA prose *shudders*. But these are lower because I don’t owe them a debt of gratitude as I do TWQ. Funnily enough, they are still better than the series.

[thedrarrylibrarian]

Yes, hello, good morning.

Do you have any audio books? I'm looking for something I can listen to in under an hour while I'm cooking dinner or what not.

Thanks!

Hello, good morning to you too! Your holds have arrived!

Ah, podfics! The audiobooks of the fanfic world! I tried to pick a variety of lengths for you for various dinner nights- maybe on a quick sandwich night you can listen to a 10-20 minute podfic, and on a more complex dinner night, one of the 30-45 minute ones, and if you’re cooking for a special occasion, I did include one that’s a bit over an hour.

Podfics (less than one hour)

Nervous Habits by @bixgirl1, recorded by artichaud (11 min)

Potter has a few nervous habits. Draco's developed his own, to cope.

Chopsticks by orphan_account, recorded by TheQuietWings (15 min)

Harry's neighbour is a stuck-up prat who plays beautiful music. But one evening Harry hears nothing but chopsticks and knows something's very wrong. So taking it upon himself to find out what's wrong, he invades his neighbour's space to solve the problem.

What Friends Are For by orphan_account, recorded by TheQuietWings (22 min)

Ron didn’t do the whole ‘emotions’ thing very well. He knew because Hermione was always telling him that “It’s like pulling teeth with you, honestly!” But really, this was just ridiculous.

Rainfall by Saras_Girl, recorded by @semperfiona​ (30 min)

So what if Draco has a rain kink? Everyone likes something weird.

And We Are But Actors by alafaye, recorded by @semperfiona (36 min)

Under pressure, Draco tells his mother that he has a boyfriend; a serious boyfriend. The only problem is that he doesn't actually have one. But he refuses to go through another Christmas single with his mother pressuring him about marriage and children. Enter one Harry Potter who once said he owed Draco a debt.

When You and I Collide by @bixgirl1, recorded by artichaud (38 min)

If asked on his 18th birthday what he thought he’d be doing in three years, Harry never would have been able to predict that his answer would be “letting Draco Malfoy fuck me senseless over the sinks in the loo of a Muggle bar.” This is how the story begins. He never thinks to ask how it ends.

Marbles Lost and Found by Saras_Girl, recorded by xan_reads (40 min)

All Draco wanted was a cup of tea. Now he has to find out what Potter is doing with all of those purple things.

Unseen by @astolat, recorded by @lazulus (1 hr)

When he wasn’t wearing it, he got jumpy, always waiting for someone to come at him wanting something—and now they did it even more urgently, if they ever saw him, because most of the time, nobody did.

The Black Retreat by sesheta_66, recorded by @semperfiona (1 hr, 15 min)

Draco's life as an interior designer was going swimmingly until he found himself having to work with contractor Harry Potter of all people. Surprisingly, they worked well together. Which was the reason Draco had completely taken leave of his senses and asked Potter to help him build something for his mother’s birthday. Pansy's pretty sure there's more to it than meets the eye.

I hope these work out for you! You’re always welcome to contact the Help Desk again! As always, if you find a fic you enjoy, please remember to leave a kudos or a comment!

Lots of Love and Happy Reading (and cooking)!

[etjwrites]

OC Backstory - Emotion Edition | Week 5: Free/Courage

Week 0: Introduction || Week 1: Fear || Week 2: Joy || Week 3: Disgust || Week 4: Sadness || Week 5: Anger ||

Is it over already? This was so much fun! I really enjoyed participating and reading everyone's pieces. Thanks to our wonderful hosts @cirianne and @kosmosian-quills  for putting this on! These prompts filled my mind with layers upon LAYERS of backstory, and really helped me flesh out Brom as a character. Afallon is so much better because of it! 

You probably stumbled upon something between the last prompts, that moved you. An idea that didn’t really match the prompt. A backstory character that deserved exploring. A question that stayed unanswered. For this week, I encourage you to look for these questions and explore them, write on them, and tell me about it!

In keeping with the theme of this event, I chose yet another emotion, the story behind which I'm excited to share with y'all! Brom is about 14 here. (I started writing this and it wouldn't stop. Help.) @yourocsbackstory​

“These paths look treacherous,” Brom said, glancing nervously back at the way they'd come. He and Prentice had been traversing the numerous twists and turns of Hyphantria's revered caverns for quite a while, looking for all the secret entrances. Each time they explored the maze-like tunnels, they went a little farther, a little deeper.

Prentice waved a hand dismissively. “I've a sure foot.” He tapped the top of his boots with his walking staff. “Furthermore, how often have we quested here? These caves are as familiar as mine own hands.”

“We left familiar behind two chambers ago,” Brom reminded his friend. “I'm actively adding to our map as we progress.”

“If on the map, 'tis familiar,” Prentice rejoined. “No matter how new the path may be.” He patted the crystal-studded wall to his left. “In fact, I almost feel at home.”

“The whispering,” Brom said, unease, twisting in his chest. “It's stopped.”

Prentice quirked his head, listening. “Why so it has,” he said, brows knitting together before sheer panic stamped itself onto his features. “Brom, run!” He turned and dashed back through the tunnel, Brom following, the both of them slipping and sliding and cutting themselves against the sharp-edged walls.

Beneath their feet, the earth started to rumble, and dread seized Brom's heart. Would they die down here in the bowels of Hyphantria, ground into dust by the ceiling collapsing upon them? He pushed faster, past Prentice, towards the sparkling glimmer that marked one of the other large chambers whose tunnels would lead them back to the surface.

A sharp cry made him whip around and jerk to a stop. Prentice had fallen, struggling to regain his feet amidst the wobbling, unstable ground. A stalactite shook loose and crashed to the ground just where his head would have been, had he not managed to roll away in time.

Brom staggered towards him, hand outstretched, when the earth shook mightily.

Prentice flung himself at Brom.

Too late.

With a great, groaning sigh, the floor gave way, and Prentice tumbled deep into the newly formed crevasse.

“Prentice!” Brom screamed, dropping to his hands and knees, swaying with the sudden shuddering of cavern. He called his name again, peering desperately into the dark. But while the softly glowing crystal shards that lined the Shalott caves could well enough light the paths and tunnels they'd been exploring, their gentle luminescence was unable to penetrate the deep, yawning blackness that fell away in front of him.

He called again and again, but there was no answer. Either his friend had fallen so far he could not hear him, or he been knocked insensible upon landing. Neither scenario was desirable, and Brom squeezed his abruptly burning eyes shut, refusing to consider the possibility that Prentice might be gone.

No. He had to be alive. Had to be alright.

Ominous rumbles filled the sharp-toothed cavern, more stalactites falling during a particularly vicious quake.

The wisest thing to do would be to run, to flee to the next chamber and worm his way through one of the escape tunnels until he could see the sky once more.

But Brom couldn't leave Prentice here to die. He would be the worst kind of coward if he did that. His first and only friend in all of Hyphantria, who risked all manner of danger to sneak him across the boarder on occasions such as these, and showed him many of the wonders his mother's country had to offer. Brom would save him. Or die trying.

“Give me strength,” he prayed. He thrust trembling hands into his pack, withdrawing his climbing rope.  He kept up the silent prayers. He felt so utterly alone, the jarring earthquake shaking and horribly distorting the natural light of the caves so he could barely walk. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” he breathed, reciting the verses over and over even as his hands shook so much he could barely fasten the clips in place.

Brom tugged hard on the rope once he had tied it off, looping it around for added strength. He looped his climbing pick around his hands, aware he could lose a limb if it snagged in the wrong place, at the wrong time, yet horribly afraid to lose his means of retreat. With one of the picks he struck the vibrating wall, breaking off some crystals, which he tied about his arms.

“Prentice!” he called once more, and again received no answer. “Please be alive,” Brom prayed. “I need a miracle right now.”

Then he turned around, and—clinging to the ropes—lowered himself into the black abyss.

Brom descended for long minutes, the crystals lashed about him providing the faintest light. He steadily climbed deeper, the glow from the ceiling above diminishing until it felt like a distant memory.

This far down it was cold. The quake continued to rage, and Brom grew ever aware of a powerful thirst that made dizzy. But he dared not let go of the rope, not even to slake his needs.

His feet touched ground. He'd reached a small ledge.

Brom relaxed for half a moment, and then a terrible jolt flung him off its crumbling edge. He hit the other side of the crevasse hard, the breath knocking out of him and leaving him gasping as the rope tied around his middle yanked him to a stop. He hung there, dangling in the air, fingers barely able to brush either side.

Thankfully his picks had stayed attached, so he struck out with them, painfully aware that he'd run out of rope, and yet hadn't found Prentice. Brom gulped. He would have to climb up again and unloop the rope.

Ascending seemed to take twice as long, and Brom's arms were shaking when he reached the top. Everything was cast in an eerie blue and white glow, and Brom could feel that time was running out. If he didn't find Prentice soon, the falling stalactites might well block their path home.

Once he had the rope unfurled to its full length, Brom ventured once more into the place that had swallowed his friend. He passed the spot where he'd had to stop before and kept going, deeper, and deeper, the chill of the abyss freezing him to his bones.

And there!

Prentice's walking stick was wedged into a narrow part of the crevasse, two bloodied hands clinging to it.

Brom started crying.

One of Prentice's hands slipped, and he swore at Brom. “I didn't hold on this long for you to lose heart at the finish!” His voice was horse, likely from screaming. The shock had hit each of them in different ways it seemed.  

Ignoring his friend's harsh words, words that were driven by the terror in Prentice's eyes, Brom rappelled down closer. He gathered up the slack in the rope and looped it around Prentice's waist, securing it using a knot his father had once taught him.

“You can let go,” he said, testing the rope to make sure it still held fast.

“I confess, I cannot,” Prentice said, shaking his head minutely. His clothes were torn to shreds, like he'd scraped against the walls the whole way down until his stick had caught, and he had cuts and freshly-formed bruises adorning his entire body. One of his eyes was swollen shut, a jagged cut bisecting it that stretched from his cheek to his temple.

“One hand at a time,” Brom said, getting his hand under Prentice's and shifting it from the stick to his shoulder. He did the same with the other, and the next instant Prentice was clinging to him, limpet-tight.

A massive shudder rocked the cave at that moment, and the gap widened, Prentice's stick dislodging and spinning away into the darkness.

If I had been but a moment later, Brom thought, unable to repress the full-body shiver that twitched through him. He slid one of his picks into Prentice's hand, slipping the loop over his wrist twice.

“You must help me climb, I have not the the strength to lift us both.”

“Aye, 'tis time that I cease clutching you like a babe,” Prentice said, the words meant to be joking. The fine tremour in his voice spoiled the effect.

They struck out together, Prentice and Brom, inching their way up until they reached the cavern floor. Mercifully, the distressing bucking had stopped, and they lay on the rubble-strewn ground until they caught their breath.

“Thank Heaven,” Brom uttered aloud, and Prentice nodded solemnly along.

“You saved my life, Brom,” he said.

They rose to their feet and began the arduous, limping walk back to the escape tunnels.

“I owe you a great debt. I should never have placed you in this position. I . . . I almost killed you. I would not have begrudged you had you fled and left me behind.”

“I wanted to,” Brom admitted, shame flushing his skin. “At first. I was so afraid.”

“But you did not.” Prentice paused for a moment and clapped Brom on the shoulder before they resumed their trek. “I really thought I would die. I screamed and screamed, but you didn't answer. Or I couldn't hear a response amidst the earth's pain. The longer I held on, the more I began to wonder if I were mad for simply not accepting my fate. I had myself near about convinced that I should just let go.”

“Then I saw you, descending into the pit like the Archangel Michael himself. You could have died rescuing me. You looked as terrified as I felt. But still you threw yourself into the unknown. For me. In the greater world, we are yet seen as boys, but Brom—I tell you truly—you are the bravest man I've ever known.”

They turned a corner, and the bright sun greeted them.

Additional thanks to everybody who has read and commented on my work for this event. Y'all rock!

Tag Crew: @adie-dee @writtendevastation @catharticallysarcastic @francestroublr @crystallized-ink

[starry-eyed-psychopomp]

I posted 248 times in 2021

56 posts created (23%)

192 posts reblogged (77%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 3.4 posts.

I added 180 tags in 2021

#toh - 44 posts

#lumity - 28 posts

#the owl house - 19 posts

#toh spoilers - 19 posts

#the locked tomb - 17 posts

#amphibia - 13 posts

#shadow and bone - 11 posts

#raeda - 11 posts

#griddlehark - 9 posts

#yulivia - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#if anyone’s wondering why i’m posting about star wars unprompted i just read some of the recent darth vader comics and i’m feeling things

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Les Mis would be so much better if Marius didn’t exist and the romance was between Cosette and Eponine. Just imagine: two childhood friends/rivals unexpectedly reunite in opposite social positions than they were before. They have to deal with the pain of their pasts mingling with their newfound feelings for one another. Their parents won’t approve, and are are in active opposition with one another, so the whole “forbidden romance” aspect is even stronger. Eponine has a more active role with the students, bringing out more of her pain over the life she could have had and making her ties to revolution and conflict with her parents even more profound, and pretends to be a boy for longer portions of the story. Valjean catches them together and thinks Eponine is a boy, then goes to the barricade looking for “him,” where he finds out the truth and realizes the pain Cosette has been going through. (Maybe he realizes how much she had been hiding from him and realizes he should be more honest with her about his own past) He accepts her and the whole thing brings them closer together. Eponine is more sympathetic to Valjean than Marius was, as she knows what it’s like to be forced into a life of crime. A romance between members of different social classes with a long history together is just a much stronger narrative than two rich kids who meet once. Also Eponine tracking Cosette down and protecting her from Thenardier is much sweeter when they’re the ones in love instead of just doing it cuz she’s into Marius. There’s just so much potential with this!

168 notes • Posted 2021-03-16 22:29:31 GMT

#4

Stop what you’re doing and go read The Girl from the Sea!

It’s a beautiful ya lesbian graphic novel by Molly Ostertag (who you may recognize as the author of The Witch Boy, writer of the gayest episodes of The Owl House, and wife of Noelle Stevenson) about a teenage girl falling in love with a selkie. 

Morgan, a closeted teen in a seaside small town, has a plan: get through high school while remaining closeted and distant from her friends and family, then go to college far away where she can be out and truly find herself. All that changes, though, when she meets Keltie, a selkie who’s much more open and unabashed about her feelings. 

It has so many cute scenes and kisses, with a lot of emotional and relatable elements! While the coming-out element is important, it doesn’t really feel like a lot of the more serious and heavy coming-out stories that saturate gay media. It’s a very beautiful urban fantasy story with an amazing romance and great queer themes! The art is gorgeous and it is so so worth it to get the book. Easily one of my favorites!

290 notes • Posted 2021-06-13 14:55:48 GMT

#3

Look, idk what kind of unholy bargain Dana Terrace had to make to let TOH be this explicitly queer, but I think we all owe a permanent debt to her

686 notes • Posted 2021-08-01 21:03:56 GMT

#2

Harrow: I love all my siblings equally. Ianthe, Mercy, Augustine—

*Looks at smudged writing on hand*

*immediately passes out*

783 notes • Posted 2021-10-01 21:43:51 GMT

#1

Are you kidding me. Seriously, fuck Disney. They buy out a studio just to shut them down and now we’re going to be deprived of a movie that could have been incredible. Blue Sky was about to make a movie adaptation of Noelle Stevenson’s comic Nimona, a creative and wonderful story with LGBT leads and a unique style. This is why I don’t trust Disney; they take over everything and shut down any sort of progress that doesn’t fit their money-making agenda. Capitalism breeds innovation my ass.

25703 notes • Posted 2021-02-10 01:37:29 GMT

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