#ignore the plot and just stare at the beauty that is robert

[bobbie-robron]

But giving up your own home? Your friends and your family.

10-Jul-2019

[itstheimpossibledream]

The Siren

Sorry for taking so long to write a new story!  Again always feel free to request pairings or plot lines/lmk what you think. Feel free to follow!Please don’t use my fic without my permission.

Summary : A siren lives a double life as a performer, until the Winchester brothers interfere. 

They dimmed the lights after your number and you take a step back as the curtains close. You reach back and feel the step with your foot and you step down one foot , then another then- SPLAT! "Ow!Oh fuck!......Oooo!" you hear sound techs and stage managers run to you from every direction but all you can focus on is the pain in your ankle. Two guys in suits rush up to you. The one is putting way too much pressure on your foot as he lifts it. The other rushes to your side "Hey are you okay? You really missed the step." You heard the slight chuckle in his voice but decided to ignore the shame you felt rising in your chest. Awesome. Great, you fell in front of this very beautiful man,you check the man at your feet to see if he's also hot but mostly because if he is you've most likely died and gone to heaven. He is, but it's somehow in a different way, you throw your head back to look at the ceiling "It just really hurts" you say, refusing to remove your gaze from the ceiling. Well, I guess they heard the song, they have to come to your aid regardless. "Thanks, thanks okay excuse me." you say trying to continue avoiding eye contact while you push yourself up against the man who was asking you questions. 

"Ummm I don't think you can stand on that -" You cut off the man at your feet with a "OW!" great. So, now you're embarrassed and have a broken ankle. 

"Hi- ummm Robert Plant FBI ." he says flipping his badge open and shut. " You may want to give us a few seconds to take a look at that."

You slump back into the stairs he now had you propped up against. You make eye contact with the young man who is in charge of your quickchange. He shrugs at you, so he has no idea what the FBI is doing at a Broadway rehearsal before opening. Interesting. Someone rushes in to drop off a first aid kit and you allow them to patch you up and bring you back to your feet with a few jokes about being clumsy, and not being coordinated. The ankle was sprained, not broken but still hurting with every step. The officers sat you down in your dressing room chair. 

"So-(Y/N) You're like one of the biggest broadway performers under 30.That's pretty amazing." Says the one with the long hair, this is the one who rushed to your side. 

"Yeah- unfortunately we're not here to fangirl but we were wondering if you've noticed anything strange in the theatre recently.Ahhh that's what the foot guy's face looks like you think. He is definitely not hard on the eyes either. 

"Why are your mirrors covered?" the longhaired one asks.

"I prefer the darkness." you say cooly hoping neither of them read too much into it. 

"So ummm-  there's been accidents happening in this theatre for years and they're suddenly getting much worse, what can you tell us about that?"

"Well, I'm not so sure- I'm a replacement in the cast. The woman who played the role before me only said that this place was driving her crazy and she had to leave.......I'm not sure if that helps but, that's what I was told." you shrug

" Do you think other cast members have heard about some strange things going on ? Or felt anything?"

"Felt anything?" you asked 

"Felt chills or seen smoke or anything out of the ordinary ?"

" Ummmm .... maybe ask Ryan- our stage manager, he mentioned something weird like that around their first rehearsal in the theatre I think. "

"Okay. Thank you !" the small one said, as he stood up and adjusted his suit jacket.

"I'm gonna uh- ask some more questions." the tall one grumbled moving in his seat, "Whatever." the short one rolled his eyes and left the room.

"So - how does a broadway performer prefer the dark ? I thought you guys were all lights, camera action?" 

"Well obviously that's tv/film."  you chuckle.

" Sure, but you know what I mean."

"You mean why would someone who lives for applause be comfortable in the dark and silence?........ We're all different I guess. I do it for the love of the art. Not for the people." you shrug out of the top half of your costume as the theatre's medic rushes in. He doesn't look away from you which at first makes you shift under his gaze but, then you somehow settle under his stare. 

"Guess I should go and let the real doctors tend to you" he sighs.

"Guess so." you smile timidly, watching him standup and rebutton his suit jacket. You found it strange that for a moment you didn't want him to leave."Well- um let me know if you need help with anything else." you smiled knowing you shouldn't have offered up your time, knowing it would put you more at risk of being found out but, what did you really have to lose. 

"We will(Y/N)" he said, handing you a card from his inner breast pocket with a wink. Okay, so he felt it too. weird. He disappeared into a cloud of stage managers and health care workers all hypothesizing about your health and how soon you would be able to perform again. 

The general consensus ended up being soon but not, soon enough. The average human would need a guaranteed two weeks off of the ankle but, you knew you would be healed by tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The lock clicked as you closed the door to your apartment. Maybe the two weeks of relaxation wouldn't be so bad. You heard a crash in your kitchen and before you could move in that direction you felt an arm around your neck, holding you in a headlock until you passed out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you woke up , you were tied to your kitchen chair. Great, you should have known they were hunters. They were way too smooth to be law enforcement. Did you really let a pair of hunters beat you at your own game? You flipped your hair back, staring up at the ceiling and rolling your eyes. How could you have been so stupid. 

"Missing your spotlight now huh sweetheart?" the shorter one asked. 

"I'm bored with bad cop where's the good cop." you winked doing your best to get under his skin. 

"Good cop choked you out ten minutes ago but, ask and you shall receive." he extended his arms sideways motioning for his brother. The tall one now sits in the chair in front of you. He crosses his arms and flatly says "We know you're a siren, what we don't understand is why these kills don't match up with your usual MO. 

"What do you mean ?" you ask.

"I mean there's no love/lust connection to be found.Just murders."

"Woah woah woah I don't murder people." 

" Then what do you call it" quips the short one.

"Putting them out of their misery." you respond quickly. 

"Fine. why are so many people being put out lately?"

" That's the thing, " you say" I don't know. It's not me.I know you won't believe me but it's not. I didn't do it."

"Dean." the tall one motions to the smaller one to meet him out in the hallway.

What the fuck was this??? Two seconds in town and they already got the jump on you and were currently deciding whether to kill you or not. Awesome. So, the tall one liked you, maybe you could talk your way out of it. They spent  a while in the hallway, and while you could feel your progress of pulling against your restraints , you knew it was not enough for you to be free anytime soon. Eventually , they reentered the room and you were met with silence. 

"So?" you ask. They look from one to another refusing to share the verdict.The short one exhales and uncrosses his arms saying " We believe you, we don’t think you did it." 

"Thank you!" you exclaim"Now, untie me."

"Woah woah. Not so fast" The tall one quips. "We need to make sure it's not you, ya now just to be on the safe side."

"What does that mean ?" you ask

"It means I'll be watching you here for the two weeks of your healing house arrest , while Dean checks out the theatre."

"O.okay..." you said, not upset at all by that plan. They shared a look, obviously surprised by how easily you were accepting their punishment. 

"Just......okay?" Dean asked 

"Yeah I'm fine with him staying here- could use the company actually." you smile up at Dean.

"Ooooookay he says, backing toward the door. Sam, come here." The tall one quickly closed the space between the two of them and lowered his head so his brother could whisper to him. He must not have liked what he said because he pushed him towards the door and said "just leave" .

He steps out of your line of eyesight and you can hear him let out a light sigh. 

"Sooooo that's like your bestfriend or something ?" you ask.

"Brother" he responds wryly

"Ah..........So am I staying tied up for these two weeks orrrrrr."

"Ha.Sorry." he laughed moving toward you to loosen your restraints. Hands first, he let you go. When he finally got to the last tie on the bottom of your right leg you were considering how to make your move. You watched the muscles in his shoulders move as he untied you. "Fuck it." you sighed not realizing you'd partially spoken aloud. "What?" he said turning his face up to you.You grab both sides of his face and pull him in, kissing him hard.  He wastes no time decoding your move and immediately responds by kissing you back, wrapping his hands around your ass and lifting you up. He replaces your spot on the chair sitting you on top of him. You straddle him and grind into his lap kissing down his neck and then unbuttoning the top of his shirt to reveal his chest. He doesn't seem to have time to watch you struggle with the buttons and simply pulls the flanel from both sides, just ripping it off. You sit back on his knees as he peels it from his shoulders and throws it to the ground next to your cat's water dish. You admire how ridiculous his body is, just endless muscles, strength, force all of it wanting you in this moment. 

"what?" he asks, trying to decode your face you just smile and respond with a flippant "nothing". He was perfect in this moment. He kisses you sweetly, pulling your arm above your head, he hadn't been this assertive before but, you liked it. Then, you felt the rope again. The rope he had just untied you from, he brought your other hand up and wrapped it in with the rope, and easily looped you through a metal hook that jutted out from your ceiling, you had just bought a chandelier to go there but, assumed this was just as good a use as any. He pulls your tube top down to your waist and immediately latches on to one of your nipples, sucking it until it stands at full attention. You didn't intend to be naked in your kitchen, hanging from your ceiling when this started but shit now who cares? Once he gets both of your nipples hard he steps back to admire his handy work.

"god you are fucking gorgeous." he exhales. You look up at your tied hands and try to figure out where he is going with this. He notices your look and moves in close to you.

"You didn't think I'd just trust you automatically right?" He lowers his mouth next to your ear "You're still a monster."

That wasn't exactly what you were expecting but, it had never happened that someone knew who you really are - what you really are and still had an interest in you. You didn't even know that that could happen. 

"Why would you still be willing to be with a monster?" you ask as he shimmies you out of your pants.

"We're all monsters" he smiles looking up at you, looping your foot through the fabric and then tossing it aside."Some of us are just better at blending in." Somehow, that answer did even more to catch you off guard than you had expected and you immediately wanted him more. He reached up and shook the hook you were attached to, checking to see if it was sturdy enough to hold you but, completely rattling you in the process. 

"Yellow is a good color on you." he says motioning to the lace thong you have on.

"Seems a bit unfair that you still have pants on doesn't it ?" you chide. His heavily lidded eyes come up to meet yours.

"As the lady commands" he says, pulling at his belt,you watch the muscles move in his forearm as he quickly undoes the button at the top of his jeans. He steps in towards you, and you take note of the outline of his cock that you can see clearly through his boxers.You had figured he might be proportional for the height but this is way more than you had expected. You see a smug smile play at the corner of his lips but, this is way more satisfaction then you're willing to give him. He begins to touch you and you're shocked by how gentle those large hands can be. And god does he know how to use them. His green eyes shine with pride as you whine and writhe on his fingers. You buck your hips on his hands and he chuckles to himself.

" God,I knew you were a little slut." he let's escape his lips before you feel him pull his fingers out of you. You let out a pained whine at the fact that he hadn't allowed you to come. He lifts your chin and says "Don't worry baby I'm not done with you yet." He kisses you again, harder this time. You feel a sting as he goes in to smack your ass for a second time. If that's how he wanted to play it fine but, he could only tease you for so long. You hook a leg around him and pull him in the short distance between you. You look him directly in the eyes "If you're going to fuck me, fuck me." his hand immediately flies to your throat and you hear him pull down his jeans and boxers further while you become acutely aware of the heat at your entrance. You can feel his head slowly pushing in and you gasp at the full feeling. He chuckles to himself "Long time since you actually enjoyed it huh?" You bite down on your lower lip, controlling your ragged breath and feeling yourself pulsing hard all over him. That obviously had an effect on him. He moans and it only makes you want more.He grabs your leg, pulling it up a bit higher, and starts slowly pulling in and out of you, you watch as his brow furrows " Oh my god, you feel so fucking good." You lean in to kiss him and he pulls his head back moving his hand up from your throat to your chin "You are not in charge anymore baby." he says firmly pulling your face in and giving you the kiss that you wanted but, under his terms. His tongue is soft as it slides into your mouth and you begin to move your hips more, grinding into him as much as you can. He starts moving again, fucking you slow, painstakingly slow. "This isn't going to be quick like your victims, I want you to feel me." he pushes in and out of you , never breaking eye contact and you can feel your resolve waning. Your breathing becomes ragged and his muscles are starting to glisten with sweat. You let out a noise as you feel the pressure build for you. "That's right baby, cum on this fucking dick." he growls. You can't hold it anymore and you feel his hand move to your ass. Just feeling his hand was enough to send you into a string of curses and heavy breathing. He grabs your chin with his other hand and draws your face close to his, practically breathing into your mouth. " I'm going to make you come again okay?" he breathes lightly in between kisses. You can't even say anything, you just nod. He moves his other hand to your ass and picks you up. You're suspended in the kitchen, him holding you up your arms wrapped around his neck , just trying to hold on. You grab a bit of his hair at the nape of his neck and tug, his eyes roll back and he lets out an extremely masculine grunt. He breathes out a low "fuuuuuuck" and the way your body responds is so quick. You're close again, panting and digging nails into his shoulders. You can hear yourself allowing different versions of "yes, Sam.Oh my god yes." escaping your lips. He grabs you tighter, fucking you more and more until you can't stand it. You come on him again, crying his name. "Oh my god, oh my god." he says  and can feel him slowly pumping into you. He shakes as he comes and you're so grateful for the release, for the euphoric feeling. It pushes you over the edge again and you dig your nails into his shoulders and whisper his name.Eventually, you’re able to come back down. You stand there like that for a moment, just intertwined in each other. He kisses you again, when he pulls back you feel the need to remind him that there's still a lot of time before Dean is supposed to come back. He looks up to meet your eyes and smiles. "I guess there is."

[gaitwae]

Beyond Words, Darling •||• 3

Summary: With what started as a dream, Mary Crawley realizes just in the nick of time that her new love is the last person she expected. (canon defiant season 5 afterwards)

+-+-

Mary was unsure of what to feel, to say the least. Walking into her room to get ready for dinner, she realized she was in a daze. It was just a soft peck to her hair, yet she was holding onto so many things. Tom’s soft embrace; the sharp but sweet smell of cologne and honey; how Branson held her face like she was breakable. Delicate. 

Mary wanted to feel breakable to someone again. 

“Oh, Anna, this is dreadful,” she cried, relieved to see her lady’s maid. She sat down in front of her mirror. Anna shut her door for her. Mary pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“M’lady?” Anna asked. She folded Mary’s spreadsheet and set it on the bench. “What happened?” 

“Nothing happened , per se.” Mary thought back to the smell Tom carried. Or maybe it was the way his lips formed words differently. Or it could have been his eyes; either way, it was driving her insane. “I may have more than a dream’s experience, Anna,” she said carefully.

“Oh, m’lady?” Anna teased. “You know, Tom Branson would have been a fine choice in a different world.” She set the spreadsheet down and grabbed Mary’s brush.

Mary fluffed her hair out. “In a different world, we wouldn’t be given the opportunity to grow so close.” She closed her eyes as Anna pulled the brush through her locks. “He was rather affectionate as we worked. I can only assume that something is going on or I was imagining things.” 

“How affectionate? Perhaps I can help, m’lady,” Anna offered, starting to tease her hair in place.

“Well, he sat close to me, and talked about if he married again,” she said passively. “He kissed my hair —”

“A kiss? Oh, my lady!” Anna laughed excitedly. “He kissed you! Oh, I knew that look meant something!” Anna grabbed the hair oil next to Mary’s wrist, but all Mary could think of was What look?

“Look? Whatever are you talking about?” Mary’s heart had moved to beat in her throat. “The way I looked at him? Or did he look at me in a different way?”

Anna hid her smile. “Nothing, m’lady, just this morning. How you two locked eyes, that’s all I meant.” 

With a small smirk to her long-time friend, Mary warned, “I hope you aren’t playing me a fool.”

Anna laughed at that. “I would never m’lady. Now, back to getting ready for dinner. Would you like to wear the pink or the black dress…?”

Mary had decided, in the end, for the black dress. Its sequins at the belt glittered and drizzled down to the skirt, while the top half had soft lace patterns sewn in like silken velvet. She convinced Anna to let her hair hang loose, as well, with pins holding her hair out of her face like delicate fingers of metal. 

Mary relished the feeling of being beautiful. She loved how she could express herself with looks alone and still seem cold without having to let her walls down. If there was one thing she hated, it was being vulnerable, being on the brink of shattering or letting walls down. It was frightening to her. 

Unless, of course, it was the way that Tom made her feel vulnerable. 

As she made her way to her seat, she noticed how Rose was bouncing with excitement at the dinner table, with Tom whispering to her in a prankish way. Ohh . Mary knew Rose was the type to scheme, but she felt a prick in her heart at the idea that Tom was included and she wasn’t.

“You don’t suspect she’d really do that, do you?” Rose whispered, eyes wide with whatever this newfound knowledge was. Mary wondered whom it was about.

Tom gave a musical chuckle. “I do. I know her well, more than I knew my wife.” That stung. What woman could he know better than darling Sybil, other than perhaps his daughter or his mother?

“That complicates things, doesn’t it?” Rose laughed.

“Complicates what?” Mary asked, sitting down next to Tom. He wore a white tie and a sharp suit. Mary couldn’t remember who was coming for dinner for the life of her, and that was probably a good thing. It meant that she wouldn’t have time to stew over what she hated about that particular guest. In the meantime, she could gaze into Tom’s blue eyes. 

“Just matters of the party Rose wants to throw. She’s not sure who to invite,” Tom answered. Underneath the table, fingers wrapped around hers. She pretended not to feel her skin crawl. He smiled, gave her hand a small squeeze, then let go. “Have you heard from Tony Gillingham?”

“Not really,” she said. She tried to sound even. “I’ve been avoiding him. He wants me to marry him and I’m not sure what my answer will be.” She gave Tom a small smile.

“Hopefully he’ll be a lucky man.” His expression was hard to read. Mary couldn’t tell if he was surprised or disappointed. He just feigned a tiny smile and turned his head away. 

Tom wasn’t expecting the feelings that came along with Mary getting married. He wasn’t expecting the squeeze to his chest or the stone to drop into his belly. Above all things, he didn’t expect his lungs to forget how to breathe in a sort of anger that he never associated Mary with until that moment.

A warm coal sat in place of his heart. Tom could have ignored it, but it lay with a searing pain. Impossible to ignore. 

“I would think that I would be the lucky woman,” Mary said. “He’s different; but not quite the different I would have hoped for.” Doubt littered her confident words. Tom could breathe a little easier, now.

“What kind of different are you looking for, exactly?” Tom slowly whispered to her. 

Mary smiled wryly. “Different in a way… someone who I can love through the tired days and the hot and messy ones.”

Tom smiled. He didn’t want to help Mary be with Gillingham. “Maybe Tony will grow to be that for you.”

“Perhaps.”

Dinner had gone on smoothly. Everyone was getting along, laughter rang through the meal, and it was a jolly good time. Robert hadn’t seen such a natural evening since before Matthew died. 

How odd , he thought as he left for bed that night. Why would Matthew have played any role? He felt silly, like a schoolboy who should have known the answer to a simple equation. Yet, reason why dinner was so different, why it seemed like the evenings when Matthew was still walking the Earth, eluded him. 

Why, those days were when Mary was happiest—

Hold the bloody phone.

The earl turned to his wife. “Cora, darling,” Robert said carefully, sorting his own thoughts out as he spoke, “was Mary acting rather strangely, tonight?” 

“Now that you mention it, yes,” Cora replied, her jaw dropping. “She was laughing a lot with Tom—” Cora cut herself off, staring at her husband.

“You don’t think Tom has anything to do with this, do you?”

“I certainly do!” Cora said with a wicked grin. “I know he was married to Sybil, but they’ve definitely grown together into different people. Robert, they acted like husband and wife tonight!”

Robert smirked at his scheming wife. “You’re plotting.”

“You’re plotting, too, don’t chide me,” Cora said. She looked like a cat who was catching more mice than usual. “Will you help?”

“Of course, I’ll bloody help!”

[heavenly-roman]

Death Of A Hero

Plot: “This is not how Virgil would’ve liked to spend his Saturday night, but such is the life of a vigilante, unfortunately.”

Warnings: !! Major Character Death !!, blood, injury, guns, mentions of a robbery, police officers, mentions of paramedics, crying, swearing

Pairing(s): prinxiety

Word Count: 1779

if you like this, consider buying me a coffee?

Taglist: @emo-disaster

(ao3 link!!!)

im also tagging @prinssess61 because u requested this a long time ago and I finally got around to it!! (thank u for your patience!!)

+++

This is not how Virgil would’ve liked to spend his Saturday night, but such is the life of a vigilante, unfortunately.

“Put the weapon down,” Virgil commands calmly, commending himself for not letting his fear show in his voice. He adjusts his grip on his bow and arrow, using it to gesture to the ground. He feels his smirk grow as the perps eyes widen and his hands fly up, slowly lowering his gun to the ground. His smirk falters, however, when he realizes it’s not because of himself, but because of him .

Officer Prince stands beside him, his gun pointed at the robber. His face is stern, focused, and it takes Virgil a second to realize that he’s talking to him.

“-seriously, Storm, this is dangerous , why are you even here?” Prince asks, and Virgil scoffs.

“Are you kidding me? The city is in danger and I’m here to stop it, Detective Dipshit.”

“That’s what the police are for, Emo Hawkeye,” the officer retorts.

“And let everyone get killed before you dumbasses get here? I don’t think so, Bitch with a Badge.” Virgil moves towards the robber, before looking back and realizing the cop wasn’t following him. He rolls his eyes, asking, “Are you going to arrest him, or do I have to do everything myself?”

Prince shakes his head fondly, “Uh, yeah, I should… do that.”

Virgil gives him a look, one that he hopes conveys no shit . Rolling his eyes again, he lowers his weapon as the officer cuffs the robber. The vigilante waits for him to finish his task and sit the criminal down, and then proceeds to lean his elbow on the shorter man’s shoulder. “So, feel bad that I did your job for you again?”

“Hardly,” Prince shoves Virgil’s elbow off of him. “Now, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a job to do.” Virgil raises an eyebrow. “You mean the job I just did?”

“No, Robert Downer Jr., the paperwork and the putting-the-bad-guy-in-jail job,” Prince scoffs.

“You’re really loving the marvel nicknames today, aren’t you, Inspector Clueless?”

“You’re trying to be a superhero, so you get superhero nicknames,” the cop shrugs.

“I’m a vigilante, big difference.” “Sure there is, Superman.”

“Don’t you have a job to do?”

“Thought you already did it for me?” Prince’s satisfied smirk makes its way onto his face, causing Virgil to groan. Prince starts walking towards a group of approaching officers, clearly proud of himself, when Virgil speaks without thinking.

“Wait,” He calls, jogging to catch up, occasionally looking back at the perp to insure he’s still there. At Prince’s raised eyebrow, he continues. “I, uh, wanted to know if… okay, look this is really weird for me, I don’t even know if you’re gay, I-”

“Yes, I’ll go out with you, Storm.” Prince interrupts.

“Really?” Virgil’s shocked look earns a chuckle from Prince, which in turn makes Virgil pout. “Don’t laugh at me, Prince.”

“Roman.”

“Roman?” The name feels strange on his tongue, but it’s the right kind of odd.

“That’s my name. Figured you should know it if we’re going on a date,” Roman shrugs. “And yours?”

“Not so fast, Roman, I like to take things slow.” he slings his arm around Roman’s shoulders. “ Real slow.”

“So that means you’re not taking off your mask anytime soon?” the officer asks, once again removing Virgil’s arm from his body.

“Not in your wildest dreams, Princey,” Virgil laughs. He moves towards the robber, intending to bring him to the nearest cop car, when he hears a shout and a loud bang.

“Storm, look out!”

In a flash, Virgil finds himself on the ground, and with a heavily breathing Roman on top of him. Virgil teases, “Woah, Roman, on top of me before the first date? I thought I said I took things slowly.”

Roman lets out a humourless chuckle, “Yeah, uh, sorry, I just- you were almost shot.”

Virgil’s eyes widen, and he whips his head to the side, surprised to see a second and third robber running from the onslaught of officers. Pushing Roman off of him, Virgil jumps into action, pointing his bow and arrow at one of the criminals. “Drop your weapon, hands on your head.” The criminal scoffs before freezing, feeling Roman’s gun at the back of his head. “He said,” Roman coughs out. Virgil thinks he must’ve hit the ground too hard and knocked the wind out of himself. “To drop the gun.”

Letting the gun fall, the criminal drops to his knees while Roman signals another officer to cuff him. Virgil peers around the corner to see the third perp flat on the ground, his hands roughly being moved to the small of his back. Turning back around, all the blood drains from his face when he sees Roman leaning against a wall, face devoid of colour, and a blank look in his eyes. His vision trails down to Roman’s torso, where his hand is pressing into his side, and his shirt is covered in blood.

Approaching quickly, Virgil sucks in a sharp breath at Roman’s clearly laboured breathing. Rapid fire, he spits out his immediate questions. “Roman, when did this happen? Are you okay? Have you called for a medic?”

Roman slides down the wall, only minorly wincing when his shirt catches on the wall and rubs against his wound. His breathing slows, and Virgil can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not. Roman speaks quietly, “Ambulance has been called, no need to worry.”

“When did this happen?” Asks Virgil, crouching down to examine Roman’s side.

“Remember that time when you almost got shot?”

Virgil pauses his actions and frowns. “Are you telling me that-”

“I got shot while protecting a civilian? Yes, I did.”

“Roman-”

“I’m serious, no matter how much you try to be a superhero-” Roman shifts, leaning more of his back against the wall. He breathes deeply, and, to his credit, barely makes a face of pain whilst he does so. “No matter how much you try to be a superhero, you’re not. You’re a civilian, and I’m a police officer. I’ll get a shiny badge for this, whereas you’d just get hospital bills.”

“I don’t like that you did this for me,” Virgil admits. His voice is small, and if he were someone else, he would admit to the few tears running down his cheeks. He moves to add pressure to Roman’s side, quietly apologizing when he hisses. “I know you would’ve done it for anyone, but you should’ve… you should’ve let me take it.”

“Yeah, fat chance, Panic! At The Everywhere. No way I’m letting you get shot because you have some ego to protect,” Roman rolls his eyes, and Virgil sees a stray tear before Roman wipes it away and plasters on his false bravado.

“Virgil.” “Virgil?”

“That’s my name. Figured you should know it if we’re going on a date,” Virgil shrugs.

“Or if I’m dying in your arms,” Roman responds, laughing to himself, which then morphs into a cough. He pulls his hand away, dramatically motioning to the blood on his palm. “It’s like all of those murder mystery movies, where the host coughs into their handkerchief and then they pull it away to reveal blood.”

“Figures you’d watch those movies. And you’re not dying in my arms, Roman.”

“You’re right,” Roman moves himself to lay in Virgil’s lap. With some strain, he pulls one of  Virgil’s arms around his waist. “ Now I’m dying in your arms.”

“Roman, goddammit, this is not something to joke about!” Virgil cries. He presses down on the wound again, making the man in his lap groan in pain. He pulls his mask off, attempting to use it as a tourniquet. He pretends to ignore Roman staring at his face. “Fuck, shit, fuck, I have to do something , you’re dying because of me -”

“Virgil,” Roman coughs. He reaches up and wipes the free flowing tears from Virgil’s face. “It’s okay, there’s nothing you can do.”

“There- There should be something, I-”

“Hey, gorgeous, look at me,” Roman smiles weakly. “You can do something, okay? I’ll give you something to do to help.”

“Please,” whimpers Virgil.

“Just-” Roman’s coughs are hacking now, and despite the blood dripping down his chin, Virgil can’t help but realize how truly beautiful this man is. “Just hold me.”

Virgil nods, cradling the man who saved his life . He lets out a soft, “yeah?” when Roman says his name again.

Roman smiles weakly. “Sing to me?”

“Okay,” Virgil whispers. He sings the first song that comes to mind. “ That night I put my youth in a casket, and buried it inside of me. That night I saw through all the magic, now I'm a witness to the death of a hero .”

“Your voice is soothing, it’s nice,” Roman mutters. He closes his eyes and hums along with Virgil’s singing.

“ I burned all the pictures in the attic, and threw away the magazines. That night I saw through all the magic, now I’m a witness to the death of a hero .”

Roman’s face goes slack, and Virgil panics. “Roman, wake up, please , this isn’t funny, wake up Roman, wake up !” he slaps Roman’s cheek, but he doesn’t stir.

Virgil is sobbing now, clutching onto Roman’s limp body like a lifeline. He’s getting blood all over himself, it’s sticky and warm, but it’s Roman’s, and so he’ll suffer. Violent thoughts dance through his mind, mostly of revenge on the asshole who shot at him, but he ignores them in favour of petting Roman’s hair.

Eventually, the paramedics - when did they get here? - tell him to step aside, and that they need access to the body. Virgil wants to scream at them, how dare they show up too late, and then refer to Roman as just a body ? He refrains, however, and asks for just one more minute with him, please. They oblige, although begrudgingly, and leave him be.

The only thing Virgil can think to do is to sing.

“ The death of a hero, he couldn't be saved, now I'm cutting the grass and I'll cover his grave. I'll cover his grave. The death of a hero, I'm turning the page, now I'm cutting the grass and I’ll cover his grave. I'll cover his grave.

That night I put my youth in a casket and buried it inside of me. That night I saw through all the magic, now I'm a witness to the death of a hero. I burned all the pictures in the attic, and threw away the magazines. That night I saw through all the magic, and now I'm a witness to the death of a hero .”

[rayshippouuchiha]

I came out of Endgame with tears in my eyes and my heart filled up to the brim with absolute seething rage.

Even as I write this now my hands shake with some sick mixture of sadness, rage, and bitter disappointment.

So I preface this by saying that I am emotionally compromised and some of my views might shift with time and distance.

But, for better or for worse, this is my first rage flushed take:

I am so disappointed and so angry that after all of the tension, all of the build, all of the time and sweat and tears, all of the loyalty, we were rewarded with this.

Endgame had its high points, I’m not saying that it didn’t.  There were some genuinely funny moments and some heart rending ones as well.

Every single second Tony Stark was on screen was flawless as always.  Robert Downey Jr. once again proved why he and he alone was suited for the role of Tony Stark and the task of carrying the majority of the MCU for the past 10+ years.

That’s not to say that the rest of the cast wasn’t good.  All of the actors all obviously brought their A game and then some when they were allowed to by what I loosely call a script.

So yeah, there were some highs.

But when its comes to Endgame’s low points?

Its low points were subterranean.

They lowered the bar and then they dug underneath it.

Again I’m writing this basically fresh from the theater and with my emotions still high so do forgive me if this is a bit jumbled around or if I ramble a bit as I cover some of the real issues I had with the film.

So, first thing to address was the overall tone of the film.

For this to be the much glorified Endgame, the “battle of our lives”, there was, in my opinion, a distinct lack of true tension in this film.  Instead of a fraught, nail biting, tension filled ride, Endgame is more of a ... brisk jog through some vaguely sticky situations.

Instead of playing the story straight and giving the situation the gravity it deserved, the narrative went out of its way to put humor that served no other purpose than to ruin what tension had been previously built.  And, in my opinion, the tone of the film suffered for it.

The humor and jokes were humorous, I’m not saying they wasn’t.  I genuinely laughed out loud in the moment.  But I also feel that, with the majority of the comedy that was wedged into the narrative, the film suffered for it.

Now let’s move on a bit to the actual plot of the film.  Again, forgive me if I bounce a bit:

Jeremy Renner was breathtakingly heartbreaking as Clint Barton.  Renner was finally allowed to stretch his legs a bit in this film and he proved that, had he been given the chance, he would have given us a Clint Barton to take our breath away.

Watching with Clint as his family died helped to set what should have been the tone for the majority of the film from there on while reminding us of just what was lost and just what was at stake all at the same time.

Chris Evans brought heart to his portrayal of a Steve Rogers who seems both lighter and more weighted down in this film than ever before.

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha finally showed more emotion than “head tilt”, “lip purse”, and “arched brow” and it was beautiful.

The brief flash of friendship and affection between Nebula and Tony was perfect and heartwarming as well.  Nebula was magnificent as the “feral space cat desperately in need of softness and a friendly hand” when placed side by side with a slowly withering Tony Stark who is, even at his lowest moments, still kind to this alien cyborg he doesn’t know but to who he owes his life.  They flowed together with an onscreen chemistry in their few moments side by side that felt organic and aching.

Together Tony and Nebula embodied a truly important life/plot point of “meet kindness with kindness and kindness will be your reward”.

Moving forward in time hearing Tony vent his anger and his pain and his distrust at Steve was cathartic in a lot of ways.

As was watching Tony rip the arc reactor from his chest and slap it into Steve’s hand.

In this moment Tony is handing Steve his metaphorical broken heart and leaving someone else to, for once, try and pick up the pieces.

But then, unfortunately, things go rather steeply down hill from there.

With Tony out for the count in a hospital bed the others hunt down and execute Thanos with basically a hand wave and all hope for the stones is lost.

Until deus ex rat-ina unleashes Scott Lang from the quantum realm and the logic of the film takes a sharp left turn.

Scott Lang was missing for 5 years.

To him it was 5 hours.

To which I say, why did Janet van Dyne, age during her stay in the quantum realm?  If, according to the MCU canon, every year in our world was roughly only an hour for Scott Lang, then why didn’t Janet come out of the quantum realm only 30 hours older instead of 30 years?

I feel like the answer is probably “because” but yeah maybe I’m just fuzzy on my Ant Man so if I’m wrong then just ignore that bit please.

Also, just a side note, I adore how it’s been 5 years, Wakanda is very much an ally and still up and running, and yet Rhodey still don’t have working legs.  But alas, racism.

Moving on. 

So with the main villain dead and Tony Stark having solved time travel in his living room, because I stan legends only, we’re now subjected, and that is the very word I’d use to describe what happens next, to what is called a Time Heist.

Cute.

Also Bruce Banner and Hulk have now merged Steven Universe style despite Hulk being scared green-less 5 years ago.  But that’s all good, Bruce smoked a ton of weed, they meditated, went on a cleanse or whatever.

Either way Bruce finally did that character development that everyone had been shouting at him since Avengers 2012 and accepted Hulk as part of him and they’re now Dr. Hulk which was … something that happened?

A thing that they chose to do.  The direction in which they set their narrative wheels and then powered full steam ahead and plowed us right over in the process.

But yeah, Time Heist!  That’s the way to go, the only way apparently.

Because going back in time to stop the Snappening isn’t an option due to reasons that are explained and still look and feel paper thin but probably just honestly boils down to “Russos”

Our intrepid heroes will now split up and surf through time Bill and Ted style to collect the Stones from different points in history.

Yay.

So the rest of the film is basically that, a big old jewel hunt through space and history where the Russos attempt to fool us into thinking their plot points are cohesive and cool by donkey punching us repeatedly in our nostalgia-sacks.

We’re treated to, in no particular order, such hits as:

“Ah 2012 and the invasion of New York only not as interesting but Tony Stark is very much an ass man, but then we been done known that.”

“The Ancient One and her still very distracting skull vein coming at you right now”

“LOKI YOU LITTLE SHIT”

“The one time I envied Scott Lang because, for a split second, he got to be inside Tony Stark”

“Let’s watch Tony Stark simultaneous take a Hulk to the face and have a small cardiac event all at the same time but from different angles”

And let us not forget

“Tee Hee Hee us white bois just had to find a way to make sure Captain America say “Hail HYDRA” but it was for “spy reasons” so weren’t we clever???????”

Yeah boys, great job.

So edgy.

(Although as a side note I do agree, Steve Roger’s ass really is America’s ass and I’d like to thank him for that. Personally.)

But then, of course, Endgame would not have been complete without:

“Steve Rogers stares longingly and creepily at Peggy Carter from behind a window, further backing up his one defining character trait in the MCU which is the inability to move on.  Also she doesn’t look up at all despite being a trained spy and all around badass who probably should have noticed the 6 foot slab of American Beef staring at her from less than a foot away, dark room or no dark room.”

And then my personal favorite:

“Tony Stark sees Howard Stark, the father he described as “calculating, cold, he never told me he was proud of me, never even told me he loved me” but it’s all good cause Tony’s a dad now so looking back all he sees are the good times with his emotionally neglectful and abusive father who says there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his unborn kid and now they awkwardly hug while I try not to scream “FOOTAGE NOT FUCKING FOUND HOWARD AND NO THAT ONE 3 MINUTE VIDEO DOESN’T COUNT YOU SHIT” at the screen and explode in pure rage.”

Joy.

Truly a scene that was necessary and fit the narrative of Howard Stark’s personality and was needed for Tony to uh get closure or grow as a man and a father or something …

It totally wasn’t yet another excuse to give a canonically abusive father screen time in a way that seems genial and sweet in an attempt to give them a bit of redemption that they neither earned nor deserve.

But yeah, whatever, moving on.

Also Rhodey remains an absolute gem and he and Nebula get shit done.

Only oops, not so fast.

Because apparently the only one who is going to run into the whole “two of you can’t exist in one place at one time without consequences” rule is Nebula who, despite her bitchin orange stripe/badge of character development, managed to like synch up with her past self?

Because she didn’t turn her bluetooth/quantum entanglement function off I guess.

Either way Orange Stripe Nebula, O’Snebula as I call her, has accidentally air dropped all her files into OG Nebula’s mental iPhone.

So yeah now big old Past Grimace knows what’s up.

Ooops??

So shit goes down and then Past Grimace is like “you need to Trogan horse this shit, least favorite daughter” so OG Nebula does because “daddy issues”.

Dr. Hulk puts on the gauntlet and Kentucky fires his arm bringing all the people lost in the Snappening back to life now, 5 years after they got dusted.

Which is … honestly a recipe for disaster in so many ways.  What about the people, like the guy in Steve’s support group, who have started to move on?

What about the people who have remarried, have built new lives?

All of that’s ruined now.

It’s fantastic all those people are alive again but jobs, housing, food, healthcare, government, all of it is back in massive disarray across the universe.

And bringing those people back does nothing to bring back the people who didn’t die in the Snappening but died from causality instead.  All the deaths caused by suicides, by car/bus/train/plane/ship/etc crashes, by a lack of first responders, by the civil/world/interplanetary wars that probably raged across the universe due to entire governments disappearing?

All of those people are still dead.

The Snappening killed half of all life in the universe.  Causality probably killed another good ¼ after that.

And Dr. Hulk’s Un-Snappening saves none of them.

This isn’t a true solution, it’s a shitty band-aid.

But yeah, Russos so….

Moving on.

Yadda Yadda Yadda, plot plot plot. OG Nebula goes undercover, Past Grimace ends up in the future, there’s some fighting (which was admittedly BAD ASS), shit happens, and Tony saves the day like we all knew he would.

YAY!

Despite the massive rambling up above I’m not gonna plot out the entire movie right here though a lot will probably get covered coming up because here’s where I get down and start talking about the various character arcs too.

Because what a wild fucking ride those were.

Okay to take it from the top Scott Lang’s arc was fine.  Beyond my questions about the quantum realm his was clear cut and fine although I do wonder at his luck at being, apparently, the only Scott Lang in San Fran to go missing.  Well either that or he was staring at some other Scott Lang’s name instead of his own and in that case “awkward”.

Bruce’s arc was … look I could have done without all of the cringy Dr. Hulk stuff that they played up for laughs.  If they were gonna brush Hulk being terrified under the rug they could have found a better way to do it besides just erasing the duality between Hulk and Banner with a hand wave.

But yeah, Russos.

Carol Danvers was beautiful and magnificent and completely brushed aside.  Yes she was out in the universe handling shit, yes I know they did that so they could focus on the core Avengers, etc etc etc.

But it’s a damn shame that Carol Danvers, and her glorious haircut, was reduced to being the sorely needed and totally badass cavalry and last minute ace in the hole when she should have, logically, been a part of the vanguard.  Honestly I have thoughts on why Carol’s entire character should have been saved completely for the next phase of the MCU instead of introduced so late in this one but I digress.

O’Snebula was a perfect shining bionic light and I love her.

Gamora is now alive in the future but at what cost?  Not that her life isn’t worth something on its own, it totally is and she deserved the loophole resurrection 10000%.

Shit’s gonna be awkward though cause she doesn’t love Quill, she doesn’t love the Guardians, doesn’t really know O’Snebula or the universe she’s been thrown into.  She doesn’t have the memories or the experiences or the character growth and even if she does go back to her family she’ll never be the same person.

Now her and Quill’s relationship, if they ever have one again, will be reduced down to Quill going “you fell in love with me once you could do it again despite us no longer having the shared experiences that bonded us together”.  Same can be said for the rest of the Guardians as well.

Guess we all know what the plot of GotG 3 is gonna be about.

And that brings us to the story lines that really and truly upset me.

Which is basically all the rest of them.

Natasha/Clint’s combined story-line, Thor’s everything, Steve’s … Steve, and then finally Tony.

Now the Natasha/Clint story-line started out promising.

Clint’s rage and pain was obvious, his heartbreak poignant.  His decision to use all of those to cut a bloody swathe through the criminal underworld was both Dramatic(™) and understandable.

Natasha’s love and grief for him, her desperate attempts to hold onto what she has left by throwing herself into her new job, was a perfect demonstration that Natasha Romanoff is very much not a robot.  She was exhausted, frayed at the edges, and she had tears in her eyes, over Clint.  And then she pulled herself together, slipped her mask back on, and pushed her way forward.  This was all excellent.

It was also a nice narrative callback/parallel to have Natasha be the one to go out and bring Clint in from the cold.

Natasha plays touch stone, plays stability, for Clint and for many of the others.  For the first time Natasha is truly portrayed as a person all the way down to the core instead of some witty quips in a catsuit.  Plus her eyebrows finally came back from the war and her hair looked good again.  So there was that.

Clint and Natasha’s arc comes to a climax on Vormir as they search for the Soul Stone and Red Skull, the Nazi cockroach that he is, gives them the same spiel he gave Thanos.

To get the Soul Stone you must give up the life of the one you love the most. A soul for a soul.

Narrative wise this is consistent, we all knew this would happen as soon as they started searching for the Stones again.  It was obvious.

It was also obvious that Clint was the perfect sacrifice.

He’s got nothing left, his family is dead, he’s already lost the people he loves the most, he’s spent five years being a borderline monster.

And he is also, without a doubt, the thing that Natasha loves the most.

Clint was ready and willing to go, ready to die for the blood on his hands, ready to sacrifice himself for the chance that his family would be saved.

Ready to lay down on the wire and let Natasha walk over him for the sake of everything.

Clint dying made sense, was narratively sound, and heartbreaking.

All of which are only a few of the reasons why Natasha’s death was such a goddamn betrayal.

Instead of following along with the narratively sound death of Clint Barton, an Avenger that’s been ignored for most of the films as is, the Russo brothers instead chose to fridge Natasha.

Clint dying would have been the perfect mirror to Gamora’s death.

Gamora was a daughter unwillingly sacrificed by her father to destroy half of all life in the universe.

Clint would have been a father willingly sacrificed by a friend to save half of all life in the universe, his own sons and daughter included.

But no, we didn’t get that, instead we got a gratuitous scene of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, splayed angel like and bloody on the rocks below.

Instead they fridged the Black Widow, the only woman of the original Big Six, because they couldn’t bring themselves to fridge a man.

So Clint gets the Soul Stone.

Such a fitting end for the Black Widow right?  Dying in a man’s place, mourned on screen by a circle of men, but ultimately set aside rather quickly.

I understand why Natasha wanted to be the one to go, I understand that she didn’t want Clint’s family to lose their husband/father and that her true family was the Avengers. I get that.  It doesn’t mean I enjoy or agree with the decision they made any more.

It doesn’t make me any less tired of watching female characters die for the sake of men and their families.

Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself for the universe and her family and that deserves respect even if I absolutely hate it as a narrative choice.

Oh and what about the absolute NERVE of the Russos to have that awesome Lady Power Battle Strut happen but only after they killed Natasha, one of the Big Six?

Bitter? Me? Nooo.

Now, moving on to Thor.

Thor.

Oh my actual God, Thor.

The levels of disrespect Thor, Chris Hemsworth, and the fans were shown with this character arc/story-line in Endgame is breathtaking.

The absolute, shameless disrespect.

They turned Thor into a cowardly, drunken slob who has spent the last 5 years ignoring his responsibilities to what’s left of his people and instead has spent his time drinking, sulking, and literally yelling at kids over PSN??

Endgame’s Thor has the bullshit reasoning that he needs to stop trying to be who he thinks he should be and instead be who he is.

Which flies completely in the face of literally all of his character development from Thor all the way to Thor 3 and then Infinity War.

The entirety of Thor 3 was Thor’s hero’s journey culminating in him finally being the king he was always meant to be.  Finally maturing and stepping forward to lead his people.

I am supposed to believe that Thor, depressed and guilty or not for not killing Thanos when he had the chance the first time, just abandoned his people like that?

I’m supposed to believe that Thor would piss all over everything the majority of his family and friends died for?

I’m supposed to believe that Heimdall, Loki, countless soldiers, and The Warrior’s Three and Lady Sif (I guess), all died to protect Asgard, died for the people and for Thor, and Thor just what? Turns his back on all of that to become a drunk?

No, Thor wouldn’t do that.  Thor should have been down there beside Valkyrie working those fishing vessels when Bruce and Rocket came calling.  If Thor had any hesitance to join them it should have been, “I can’t abandon my people, I am needed here.”  He should have been fiercely guarding the tiny fraction of Asgard that’s left.

Thor’s depression and guilt was valid. Don’t mistake me on that. But they played it for jokes.  They made him a caricature of depression, made him “gross” and incompetent and the butt of the jokes, and in the process diminished what should have been a painful and poignant arc for Thor.

Instead we got Big Lebowski Thor, bathrobe included, who does stand up and fight yes but, in the end, gives up his crown and just fucks off to space to have petty pissing competitions with Peter Quill so he can?? find himself?? despite finding himself in Ragnarok already???

Thor’s entire arc in Endgame was shallow, mishandled, and disrespectful to the character, to Chris Hemsworth, and to the fans.

You, we, he, all deserved better than this.

Now we get to Steve.

Steve Rogers, Captain America himself.

I’ve had a lot of salt about Steve’s character and actions in the MCU but, all of that aside, he deserved so much more than what the Russo’s did to him in Endgame.

Hell he’s deserved so much more than what’s been done to him since post-CA:TFA.

But this is about Endgame specifically soooo….

Steve’s shown leading a support group in the beginning of Endgame, is shown talking about moving on and moving forward and learning to let go. Which is wonderful.  It sounds like the exact character development we’ve all been waiting for for Steve.

Which is, of course, the exact moment when Steve goes “nah just kidding, we don’t ever move on”.

Which, given the circumstances, is pretty fair.  If Steve was only thinking/talking about Thanos and the events of Infinity War.

But of course he wasn’t.

CA:CW should have been the end of the Peggy Carter saga for Steve.  He mourned her, he was finally moving forward, he’d kissed Sharon, he threw everything away to save Bucky, he gave up his shield, etc etc.

But no.  Endgame finds him right back there, clutching that goddamn compass, and making moon eyes at a woman who we all thought went on and lived a life without him, got married, had kids, and generally existed outside of Steve Rogers.

But no.  The Russo’s had to take that away from us too.

And yes yes I know I know multiverse or whatever but still.

Steve steamrolls his way through Endgame with skill and determination.  He picks up Thor’s hammer, finally worthy, which how??? Why???  (perhaps because he’s no longer keeping secrets??? Or maybe that’s just my salt talking? Who knows? Not me?)

And then he fights Thanos head to head.

(Although him wielding the hammer brought up an entire separate set of issues cause I’m pretty sure Mjolnir doesn’t actually summon lightning. Ragnarok pretty much said that the lightning has always been within Thor.  Mjolnir was just a control accessory.  But, you know, Russos *jazzhands*)

And then, in the end, he insists on returning the Stones on his own.

Only he doesn’t come back like he was supposed to.

Instead we’re given old Steve Rogers.

Because Steve returned the Stones and then ….went and found Peggy Carter and got married and lived an entire life with her ignoring everything he would have known was going to happen to her and around the both of them or something???

Or maybe not if the multiverse thing holds up but then who knows any more???

But then how did Old Steve end up right there by that lake on that day at that right time if he’s technically from a different multiverse???

Either way Sam gets his shield and the mantle of Captain America, which was fantastic, and Bucky more than likely knew Steve’s plan all along but the best read I really got on him was basically “eh” so he might well have been happy for Steve too.

But still, instead of finally achieving peace and continuing to learn to live in the future with Bucky and Sam and the remnants of the Avengers, his family and the life he’s built there over the past years, instead of putting the shield down because he’s learned to let go in the now, Steve only puts the shield down because he chooses the past.

He chooses the past over all of that and all of the people left who love him. Sure the argument could be said that he knew they’d be alright but still.

There is a deep well of dissatisfaction inside of me as to how Steve’s entire ending arc was handled.  Why did peace only come to Steve after Tony and Natasha were both dead and then was only found in the past?

No disrespect to Peggy Carter, I adore her, but were the relationships he had in the future worth so little that the past was the only place he could find happiness?  A past with a woman that he knows loved him but still moved on and found happiness outside of him, lived a full and happy life without him?

Steve didn’t get a character arc so much as he got a character circle.  A character loop.  He went right back to where he started.

Endgame erases all of the character development Steve underwent post-Avengers.  Just brushes it all under the rug.

The Russo’s stole the character development Steve Rogers spent a decade undergoing to give him their version of a happy ending.

They robbed him and us both of every bit of growth and forward motion Steve has underwent and I will never forgive them for that.

And now we get to Tony Stark.

Anthony Edward Stark.

The Iron Man.

Tony’s arc is, was, the longest and best developed arc in the entirety of the MCU.

It’s spanned 10+ years and has been nurtured and hand fed by Robert Downey Jr.

If Endgame got one thing right, one thing at all, it’s how they handled the majority of Tony’s arc.

From him laying the smack down on Steve once he was home, finally venting his emotions and his anger, all the way to him solving time travel before tucking his kid into bed, and then building an Infinity Gauntlet on his own even though Thanos committed genocide to get the one he had.

Tony Stark’s arc was glorious and expected and sad.

I think that my one almost complaint is that Tony stopped for 5 years.  On one hand he deserved the rest, deserved the chance to find happiness.  He was hurt and tired and he’d faced his demons and been left bleeding out with the death of half the universe weighing on his shoulders.

He deserved to just stop for a while.

On the other hand stopping is not something Tony has ever been good at, just like Pepper said.  A part of me thought Tony would be working, frantically, to find something, anything, to turn back the hands of time.  To track Thanos down. To get the Stones and then to get everything else back.

To get Peter and all of the others back.

But that’s not the route they went and I’m … okay? I guess, with that.

Tony was validated and vindicated and everyone would have finally listened to him.  It only took the death of half of the universe to do it.  But he was too tired, too hurt and untrusting to keep pushing.  I can respect that.

But of course once an idea worms its way inside Tony can’t let it go.  So he solves time travel on the fly and sets out to save the world.

Again.

His one stipulation is that he will do anything, everything, he has to in order to keep what he has now.  His wife Pepper and Morgan, his sweet little daughter.

So of course he doesn’t get to do that either.

After all of the blood, sweat, suffering, and mental illnesses, Tony doesn’t get his happy ending.  Not really.

He gets to rest, yes, but he loses out on everything he wanted to do with his kid.  In the process of saving the universe he becomes the one thing he never wanted to be for Morgan, a distant father.

A face on a screen, stories, memories other people have.

No matter how many holograms or inventions or whatever Tony left to Morgan, it’ll never replace him.

Morgan got 5 years with her father.  She’ll spend the rest of her life hearing stories about him, about how much of a hero he was.  And hopefully, with Pepper and all the others behind her, Tony will remain a hero to her and will not, instead, become her version of Captain America.  An untouchable symbol that Morgan will never live up to.

So, in the end, Tony sacrifices once again.

Watches the future he wanted crumble to dust in his fingers, lightning scorching him from the inside out as infinity rips him apart.

And he dies there, surrounded by some of the people who love him best.

His best friend.

His wife.

The son he almost had.

And, despite all of that, it is very very fitting that his death was at his own hands.

Thanos could take out half the universe, he could traverse time and space, he could humble Thor, terrorize the Hulk, rip Steve Roger’s up, survive shield and hammer and so much more, but the one thing he couldn’t do?

He couldn’t kill Tony Stark.

The only thing that could kill Iron Man, could kill Tony Stark, was his own heart.

Tony Stark takes the Infinity Stones in hand knowing how this is going to end, knowing that Stephen Strange set him on this path years ago.

Because didn’t Strange warn him?  Didn’t Strange tell him outright “I’ll let the kid and you both die to protect the Time Stone”?

Tony just never expected it to take a few hours and then 5 more years for Strange’s promise to finally be fulfilled.

So Tony does it knowing that after everything he’s been through, all of the pain and the suffering and the battles, it was only enough to have earned 5 years of happiness, 5 years of his dream.

5 years of being the father he always swore he’d be.

Tony Stark takes the Infinity Stones and dies for the entire universe, for his family, for his daughter.  Dies knowing that he’ll be doing the one thing he didn’t want to do, swore he would never do.

Leaving them behind.

Tony Stark brings us full circle as he stands as both equal and mirror of Thanos once again.

Man to Titan.  Good Father to Bad Father.  Life to Death.

Tony Stark picks up the weight of the universe and then he dies making sure that it has a future free from the same fear that has haunted him for a decade.

A warm light for all mankind, sent to sleep, to rest, knowing that finally everything will be okay.

And all he had to do was die for it.

So, I’ll close this out saying this:

This was written in one solid push after my first viewing and Endgame was dissatisfying for me as you might have guessed.  I am disappointed and angry at so much they chose to do to end out this iconic decade of cinema and to close out these character’s arcs.

There were a lot of points and little details I didn’t get to cover in this and perhaps a lot of points you might not agree with me on.

That’s okay.

Because, no matter what, there is one thing I know for sure.

We, I, will always have Tony Stark and the lessons he taught me.  The pain he endured and shared with all of us.  The bravery and strength he inspired in so many of us as we watched him struggle with physical and mental illnesses on screen.  As we watched him obsess and stress and love and grow.

I have never loved a character more than I love Tony Stark.

I have never been impacted by a character as much as I have been by Tony Stark.

I’m not sure if I ever will again.

So, Tony Stark is Iron Man.

He always will be.

And he saved more than just some fictional universe.

He saved a lot of us along the way too.

And we’ll always love him for that.

[janiedean]

fic writer tag game

tagged by @randomingoftherandomness ty!!!

AO3 name: janie_tangerine

Fandoms: asoiaf/got (currently active regularly), the witcher (sticking to reading/writing fic for now but I’m planning on being somewhat active in that sense), dark tower/iron fist/bastille day/deadwood (not active because there’s no audience at any given time for three of them and with IF I need to be in the mood but like... I can become active in a moment if there’s the need xD), spn/lost/mcu that’s not IF/tvd (probably not going there anymore but it’s been a nice ride and might revisit I MEAN I REVISITED WITH TVD SO), various others I can write for occasionally which are all on the fandoms and ships page

Number of fics: 477 on ao3 but if I crossposted the lost/spn fic I have on lj that I still haven’t managed to import we’d be at 600 at least not counting the stuff I wrote on tumblr that I should crosspost but eh a lot

Fic I spent the most time on: lmao some flowers bloom dead, that’s because I still haven’t finished it

Fic I spent the least time on: anything under 2k was probably written in twenty minutes tops

Longest fic: sticking to ao3, in the darkness on the edge of town (asoiaf, jb, 102k hahahahahahaha)

Shortest fic: in which Robert Baratheon really, really hates pigeons (asoiaf, robert & ned + ned/cat, 568 words)

Most hits: I'll be the frosting to your cupcake, wench (asoiaf, jaimebrienne) which is at 54431 and I’m still in complete awe of it

Most kudos: five people who didn’t believe Ned Stark for one second about Jon’s paternity and one who did (asoiaf, ned + jon + various others) which is at 3437 and I’m honestly flattered that many people found it that funny xD

Most comment threads: and give all the love that you have in your soul (asoiaf, jaimebrienne + jonc/rhaegar & omc) at 216, understandable as it was like eight chapters spread over six months of me agonizing over how much I hate writing timetravel XD

Most bookmarks: more like the man you were meant to be (asoiaf, jb + jaime & cat, jaime & jon, jaime & ned & various others) at 1367 which I’m v. glad about that fic fluff I’m 100% proud of xD.

Total word count:  3806645 (with good peace of everyone who ever told me I was snobbish towards fanfic back in the day xD)

Favourite fic I wrote: I don’t wanna pick favorites because honestly they’re all my children but if I had to pick one it’s in the darkness on the edge of town for various reasons which we can sum up in I wouldn’t change a word of it and that usually doesn’t happen X°D

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: there’s a few I’ve wanted to sequel and I def. need to finish sfbd (one day) but like atm your best bet is that I’m going to add part three to that series I somehow started where geralt likes wearing dresses and more opera singers au xD rewrite... not really because I don’t have the patience for it, if I don’t like something enough to share/I know I can rewrite it I don’t post it xD

Share a bit of a WIP or a story idea you’re planning on:

I haven’t technically written shit these last two days and I should rectify but for sharing ideas... I need to do part four and five of her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you ie the jaimebrienne witcher fusion as in I need to find a way to rework the last wish so I can have yennefer!catelyn in it with some sense and I also want to have pod being the resident child surprise but I can’t have it like in canon for obvious reasons so I’m still plotting, also AGAIN I SHOULD FINISH SFBD AND THE TARG TELENOVELA NOW IF ONLY MY CRACK MUSE CAME BACK FOR GOOD (but for the targ telenovela it’s all on here under its tag lol) and I could do a bit more of the soulmates hearts thing but I should see, anyway since I want to give you a WIP too let me see ah well have part of the next sfbd chapter that has been in the works since nanowrimo 2018 which one day I’ll hopefully finish kdslg have at it

“Lannister,” Robb interrupts, “I think everyone knows. If you want to say he’s your son —”

“Fair, fair. Well, before I left, he wasn’t… relishing his position, so to speak,” he sighs. “Actually, he was downright hating it. Cersei pretty much always ignored his existence but now she can’t, of course, since she thinks she can rule through him, and as much as she never really let me near him if not for the bare necessary…”

“She didn’t?”

“She figured someone might have asked starting questions if I had any relationship with any of them,” he says, and now he sounds bitter, as if he rues having let her. “I — he really has no stakes in this war and he didn’t even want that position.” He takes in a breath. “The lady and I, we might have discussed what to do after this is over.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Going back to her island for a while, take a well-deserved rest, and other things that you really don’t need to get concerned about. But I was wondering, after we’re done in King’s Landing, would you be amenable to send Tommen there if we come with you to the Wall, until we come back?” He’s staring at Robb with tired green eyes that for once don’t seem to be making fun at him or anyone. “I know it would mean —”

“I don’t think it’s undoable,” Robb tells him, if anything because he can hear that he sounds as if his sister didn’t let him have a relationship with Tommen, maybe he wants to, and if he wants to bring him to Tarth where he’s supposed to go following the woman he loves or so it seems, it’s not hard to imagine why he’s asking this. “He’s young and he hasn’t been anything like Joffrey as far as we know, we can just say that if he gives up any claim on the throne he can go with you, as you would be his closest relative willing to house him, and I highly doubt a Targaryen king would want you in his guard. But you were planning to leave it anyway, weren’t you?”

“His Grace is very perceptive,” Lannister says, sounding relieved. “Very well then. I — thank you,” he says, and then he turns on his back and leaves the room as well.

Robb sure as the seven hells had not foreseen this turn of events, but he’s not going to be the person complaining about it.

“If he is thanking you I guess anything might happen at this point,” Theon says after neither of them speaks for a long moment, and Robb has to laugh at that, some. It was funny, after all.

aaand tagging let’s see @lodessa @lordhellebore @vanessawolfie @uniwolfwerecorn @myrxellabaratheon and if you’re a fic writer and wanna do it consider yourself tagged u__u

[amyrichy]

Robron Awards 2017

Sexiest Scene & Best Kiss - The Belt Grab Kiss - 14th October 2016 - I mean the sneaking off like a pair of horny teenagers, the belt grab, the grabbing of the faces, the pushing up against a wall...need I say more? 

https://youtu.be/3IZlZt5V23o?t=198

Most Heartbreaking Scene - Saying Goodbye - 23rd February 2017 - Trying to be strong for each other while saying goodbye not knowing when they were next going to see each other? A brutal come down from the previous days festivities, They may not have cried but I certainly sobbed enough for the both of them.

https://youtu.be/xsSqymXScWc?t=161

Best Acting by Ryan - Robert And Aaron In The Woolpack Bathroom - 26th May 2017 -  Ryan has been ON FIRE this year! He has been given a lot of extra content and has absolutely risen up to the challenge of that and tbh I could write a book on how talented he is and all the magnificent scenes he has had but I had to pick one scene. A difficult choice and i’ve gone with one some people might perhaps find controversial but honestly in that bathroom scene my heart broke for Robert as much as Aaron. You could FEEL the desperation coming off him in waves. You could see how terrified he was of losing Aaron and how he could feel his whole life with him falling apart. Just one of his amazing performances that has brought me to tears this year. BRAVO! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEAKjUhnWko

Best Acting by Danny - Aaron Admits His Prison Abuse - 6th April 2017 - Again Danny is always amazing and I cannot think of a single time that he hasn’t brought it to the table but this scene just broke me. Aaron had held it in for so long, been strong for so long and it just all came out. He’s nervous at first but once it comes out he can’t stop, some of the things are so difficult to admit he almost struggles to breathe. Another fantastic heartbreaking performance from Danny.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y8cdAVM5Mg

Best Wordless Scene/Best hug - Prison Release Reunion - 6th April 2017 - Aaron is released from prison where he’s gone through hell for the last two months. He steps out into freedom and he sees a nervous Robert stood across the road. They stare at each other for a moment and then he runs, he’s running and running and he’s colliding into Robert, into his arms. You can see the relief, the emotion on both of them. So many things said in that one scene without either of those boys saying a word. A bomb could hit and I doubt it would’ve separated those two. In that moment where they are clutching onto each other like their lives depended on it, nothing mattered. They’d finally been reunited.  

https://youtu.be/p26RRKmDnA0?t=152

Best Overall Episode - SSW 2016 (Monday) - 17th October 2017 - What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this masterpiece? It was the episode that made me fully begin shipping these two. It had it all, humour, drama, heartbreak, arguments and a heartstopping cliffhanger but what really came through in this episode more than anything was how much these boys loved each other, how they’d go to the ends of the earth to protect the other and make each other happy. I was going to pick the wedding for this award but how could I not pick the episode that made me realise how special the story of their relationship was? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQeWKMTbTe8

Best Fight/Argument - ONS Reveal - 25th May 2017 - So I mean look, anyone who knows me knows I despise the ONS storyline with a PASSION! I will never understand HOW and WHY the writers would think it was a good idea to blacken such an amazing love story with something as LAZY, DISGUSTING and DISRESPECTFUL as a cheating storyline. However the reveal went a very small way of repairing some of the damage that the storyline caused to the Robron storyline. Maxine Alderton (Long live the queen) wrote the episode where Robert confesses to Aaron his infidelity and what an episode it was. Heartbreaking, emotional and downright beautiful at times, it was one of those episodes where despite them having a huge argument and their relationship hanging by edge of a thread, the love Robert and Aaron have for each other shines through. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtZ-brdVubo

Best Family moment - Xmas 2016 - 25th December 2016 - They were not the major players in this episode so why have I chosen it? Because you see how much they FIT IN! Robert and Liv join the Dingles for the weirdest family Christmas I have ever seen yet! It was their first christmas together but if you didn’t know better, you’d say Robert, Aaron and Liv had been a family forever, not a few short months. I feel like i’m cheating a bit because there were SO MANY family moments in this episode! From Aaron teasing Robert for enjoying the drinks, to Robert joining in the charades with the dingles, to Aaron and Liv throwing snowballs at people (watched by a laughing Robert), to Robert parenting Liv and refusing to let her drink, to Aaron and Robert snuggled up on the sofa being all soppy and Chas giving Robert a big hug as well as Aaron. This episode was filled with moments that proved Roblivion had become their own little family unit within the Dingles.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkyktE5xIfk&t=

Most Rewatched Scene - In The Forest SSW - 17th October 2016 - Aaron and Robert both build up the courage to be honest with each other when an upset Robert confesses to Aaron a dark moment from his past and Aaron responds by letting Robert know how much he really thinks of him and confessing his love for the first time in nearly two years.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ECzsffn4nc

Sweetest Moment - First Dance - 21st February 2017 - With the craziness of their wedding day finally over, a tipsy Robert manages to persuade a reluctant Aaron to dance with him and surprisingly Aaron agrees. They clutch onto each other, wrapped in each others arms, ignoring the public audience. While they dance, Aarons grandma returns from prison but they literally don’t look up. No-one else matters, they are in their own little bubble. At the end of the scene, you see Aarons face and although he doesn’t say anything, you can literally see the thought in his mind. “I want this moment to last forever” 

https://youtu.be/BiGTU60FH6E?t=46

Best I love you - Post ONS reveal - 25th May 2017 - They’re sat next to each other in the dark on the floor of their new home. Both still recovering in the aftermath of the bomb Roberts just dropped on their relationship but somehow...they’ve survived. They’ve spent the whole day fighting for their relationship and somehow they’ve got through it. Broken and messed up with their relationship having been through the ringer but they’re still there together and AGAIN you see the love these two have for each other shine through. “I love you” Aaron says sincerely and you can see it in Roberts face, he can’t believe it, never thought he’d hear those words again “Still?” He asks unsure, Aaron nods. “I love you more” Robert says and that’s how that episode ends. Both our boys broken and bruised but ultimately TOGETHER clutching onto each other in the dark...and that was so beautiful. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq1RdwdRfzI

Best Robert Quote - “Don’t ever say I don’t love him, I never stopped” - September 2017 - Robert and Aaron aren’t together anymore and a heartbroken Robert is trying to distract himself by waging a villainous and slightly ridiculous revenge plot against the White family. Unfortunately this means getting close to Rebecca. When Liv returns and questions his closeness with her, he snaps and finally we see his true feelings about Rebecca and the baby come out, along with a display of raw honesty about his feelings for Aaron. A heartbroken Robert has given up all hope on a reunion but that doesn’t mean he’s ever stopped loving Aaron.  

https://youtu.be/Kplpw1GDUx8?t=224

Best Aaron Quote - “You’re not a disappointment, you’re amazing” - 17th October 2016 - Anyone who knows Aaron Dingle knows he wears his heart on his sleeve and would do anything to protect his loved ones. Anyone who knows Aaron Dingle also knows he’s rubbish at expressing said feelings. He’s the type of guy who’ll go out and beat someone up because he’s heartbroken rather than admit it or would much rather kidnap someone to prove his love than actually say the words which is why this scene was so special. Robert was upset after divulging a painful secret from his past but an emotional Aaron was able to make him feel better by telling Robert exactly how much he thought of him and then dropping the “I love you” that Robert (and the audience) had been waiting for, for almost two years.  

https://youtu.be/1ECzsffn4nc?t=121

[princess-in-a-tower]

The Secret “Betrothal”

In my post Sansa Stark & Arianne Martell: The Hard Road to Marriage, I analyzed the parallels between Sansa and Arianne in regards to their marriage options and the male attention they attract.

Both of them had been quite unfortunate in the department of romance and marriage, yet, out of the both of them, it is quite evident that the one who “drew the shortest straw” is Sansa Stark. Arianne, despite the awful and insulting marriage offers, had a healthy sexual life with numerous lovers. Sansa on the other hand had to suffer much worse things than humiliating marriage proposals. And my question is why?

Why did GRRM have Sansa go through all that?

In AGOT, one may claim that Joffrey, the handsome but sadistic bastard prince, and the Hound, the horribly scarred, crass older man who calls himself a dog and spits on knighthood, are GRRM’s way of deconstructing Sansa’s naïve take on the world.

In ACOK, when Joffrey abuses her publicly in every way possible, one could say it is because GRRM wants Sansa to see exactly how cruel and terrible a beautiful person could be. When the Hound comes to her room intending to rape her after fleeing the Battle of the Blackwater, one might say it was because the plot demanded it. Even when Ser Dontos, a 40 year old drunken disgraced knight starts asking her for kisses as payment for his help, one might say it was to teach Sansa that nothing in this life comes for free.

But then, ASOS comes and the misfortunes of Sansa, when it comes to men, keep on piling up in a way that can be seen as neither realistic nor coincidental. While she’s still in King’s landing, Olenna Tyrell approaches Sansa to propose her a marriage between their houses. Sansa of course thought Lady Olenna meant to marry her to the Knight of Flowers, who was the epitome of everything Sansa ever wanted in a husband, if one disregarded the fact that he was homosexual. The elderly lady had other plans in mind for Sansa though. She meant to help her escape King’s Landing and usher her to Highgarden in order to marry her other grandson, Willas Tyrell, a man more than a decade her senior and a cripple. But Sansa never married to any of the Tyrell men thanks to the machinations of Petyr Baelish.

Somewhere in the beginning of ASOS Petyr Baelish, a man 18 years her senior, offered to marry her himself, but Cercei refused him. The Lannisters then proceeded to marry Sansa to Tyrion Lannister; a malformed dwarf and a man 13 years older than her.

After the Purple Wedding, Sansa fled to the Vale with the help of Petyr Baelish, posing as his natural daughter Alayne. Then, the night of her aunt’s wedding to Baelish, Marillion the singer, who is a serial rapist in the books, tries to force himself on her despite her ardent protests. Sansa’s aunt, Lysa, later promises to wed her to her son, Robert Arryn; a frail and sickly child who happens to also be whiny, skittish and very spoilt. And of course, at the end of this book Petyr Baelish, her uncle by marriage, kisses her against her will.

In AFFC this pattern continues. Despite the fact that Sansa is posing as Littlefinger’s daughter, he keeps on kissing and touching her inappropriately and he even starts grooming her sexually. Robin Arryn, despite his young age, also takes many liberties with her, like slipping into her bed at night, attempting numerous times to suckle at her breasts and also kissing her without consent.

This beautiful picture comes to an end with Harry the Heir in the books. In TWOW Sansa has two interactions with Harry, yet we do not learn much regarding his character, other than the fact that he can be an arrogant prick, so it is possible that he’ll be proven to be a decent fellow in the future. In the show though, the “Vale Plot” was abandoned completely and Sansa travelled to Winterfell to become Ramsay Bolton’s wife. I believe nobody needs the details on this one…

In case you were not counting, between the books and the show we have ten men. Ten men who desired Sansa in a sexual way or who were almost-betrothed/betrothed/married to her. And in case you failed to see the pattern, they were either*:

1.      Horribly disfigured

2.      Crippled

3.      Sick and frail

4.      Old

5.      Abusive of her (verbally, physically or sexually)

6.      Bastards or generally not highborn enough have such relations with a princess**

*Most of the men presented above meet more than one of those criteria. I obviously did not count Ser Loras Tyrell, because he never desired Sansa due to his homosexuality.

**Sansa is still Princess of Winterfell, despite Robb’s demise.

So the question still stands.

Why did Sansa have to go through all that?

We already know GRRM is trying to infuse his story with realistic elements, hence all the suffering our beloved characters have to go though. But, quite frankly, it seems impossible and unrealistic for one girl to have such terrible luck with men. If we were speaking of another author’s work, it could be attributed to coincidence or the need to needlessly torture a character, but that is not GRRM’s style. Every line in those books is written with extreme care and with some hidden, to the reader, intent. Everything that happens in ASOIAF, happens for a reason. Everything is part of a bigger scheme; one only the author knows.

But, GRRM also loves teasing us with foreshadowing of events yet to come. Sometimes it happens through prophecies, other times through symbolic imaging and other times through the recounting of past events, which obviously get repeated, but with some kind of twist in the end.

So, if Sansa’s story has already happened to Arianne in a fashion, could we possibly get an answer to our question from Arianne’s narrative?

Coincidentally, we can, because Arianne Martell asked the same question in one of her chapters from Doran Martell; the man who she believed has single-handedly orchestrated the whole debacle that was her love-life.

 Her father's face darkened. "This mistrust does you no honor, Arianne. Quentyn should be the one conspiring against me. I sent him away when he was just a child, too young to understand the needs of Dorne. Anders Yronwood has been more a father to him than I have, yet your brother remains faithful and obedient."

"Why not? You favor him and always have. He looks like you, he thinks like you, and you mean to give him Dorne, don't trouble to deny it. I read your letter." The words still burned as bright as fire in her memory. "'One day you will sit where I sit and rule all Dorne,' you wrote him. Tell me, Father, when did you decide to disinherit me? Was it the day that Quentyn was born, or the day that I was born? What did I ever do to make you hate me so?" To her fury, there were tears in her eyes.

"I never hated you." Prince Doran's voice was parchment-thin, and full of grief. "Arianne, you do not understand."

"Do you deny you wrote those words?"

"No. That was when Quentyn first went to Yronwood. I did intend for him to follow me, yes. I had other plans for you."

"Oh, yes," she said scornfully, "such plans. Gyles Rosby. Blind Ben Beesbury. Greybeard Grandison. They were your plans."

She gave him no chance to reply. "I know it is my duty to provide an heir for Dorne, I have never been forgetful of that. I would have wed, and gladly, but the matches that you brought to me were insults. With every one you spit on me. If you ever felt any love for me at all, why offer me to Walder Frey?"

"Because I knew that you would spurn him. I had to be seen to try to find a consort for you once you'd reached a certain age, else it would have raised suspicions, but I dared not bring you any man you might accept. You were promised, Arianne."

Promised? Arianne stared at him incredulously. "What are you saying? Is this another lie? You never said . . ."

"The pact was sealed in secret. I meant to tell you when you were old enough . . . when you came of age, I thought, but . . ."

"I am three-and-twenty, for seven years a woman grown."

"I know. If I kept you ignorant too long, it was only to protect you. Arianne, your nature . . . to you, a secret was only a choice tale to whisper to Garin and Tyene in your bed of a night. Garin gossips as only the orphans can, and Tyene keeps nothing from Obara and the Lady Nym. And if they knew . . . Obara is too fond of wine, and Nym is too close to the Fowler twins. And who might the Fowler twins confide in? I could not take the risk."

She was lost, confounded. Promised. I was promised. "Who is it? Who have I been betrothed to, all these years?"

"It makes no matter. He is dead." 

That left her more baffled than ever. "The old ones are so frail. Was it a broken hip, a chill, the gout?"

"It was a pot of molten gold. We princes make our careful plans and the gods smash them all awry."

A Feast for Crows - The Princess In The Tower

 To Arianne’s immense shock, she learns that there was a hidden reason behind her father’s actions and all the suffering they had caused her: She was betrothed to Viserys Targaryen, who everyone believed to be the rightful, but exiled King of the Seven Kingdoms.

So, Doran did not allow Arianne to meet other eligible bachelors close to her age, in fear she would accept a marriage offer from them without his consent. He kept her in Sunspear instead and brought her only the most insulting matches he could think of. Biding his time until Viserys was ready to take back his birthright.

Arianne never knew her father’s intentions and by the time she found out, her betrothed had already died thousands of miles away, when his brother-in-law poured a pot of molten gold over his head.

Quite ironically though, this whole conversation between Arianne and her father Doran could have been a conversation between Sansa and her “father” GRRM as well, would such a thing have been possible.

GRRM, as another Doran, has made a series of even more unsuitable and offensive matches for Sansa. But he did not stop there, as Doran did. The rest of the men GRRM has put her way, who were not “suitors”, but desired Sansa in a sexual way, were even worse than the suitors themselves. And that in my opinion is more than queer, considering Arianne and Daenerys had at least few decent men come their way, all the while living in the same world and time period as Sansa.

In short, Sansa’s arc when it comes to men is completely unrealistic and, seemingly, needlessly terrible. That is why I believe the exposition of Doran’s plan was the author’s way of foreshadowing in a way another “secret betrothal”; one existing in GRRM’s mind only.

Sansa Stark cannot come across a decent, single, man in her storyline, because she is already “promised” to another.

And if Arianne Martell was promised to a Targaryen King, why not Sansa Stark as well, since history is supposed to repeat itself?

The obvious choice would be Aegon Targaryen, Rhaegar’s son, who died and then was “raised from the dead” in a manner of speaking. According to the official story, Aegon’s head was pulverized against a wall during the sack of King’s Landing by the Lannisters. Varys though claimed he swapped Aegon with another baby, taking the heir to the Iron Throne in his custody to raise in secret. And now Aegon has landed on the Stormlands, with the Golden Company at his back, seeking for allies to take back what is his by right.

Is the Iron Throne really his by right though?

Not very likely, if the foreshadowing in the books is anything to go by. There is plenty of meta on the subject of Aegon being a Targaryen pretender, so I will not analyze it any further in this post. Here I will just follow the assumption that he is a fake and not a true Targaryen, due to the ample book evidence and the fact that Varys’ story has more holes than Swiss cheese.

So, could Aegon be Sansa’s intended? That is a loaded question with a complex answer, since there is no other textual evidence to foreshadow such a thing, except maybe from the “Ashford Tourney” theory, which can be found here.

First of all, we know that Aegon and Sansa are not exactly free to make their own decisions. Aegon is Varys’ pawn and ultimate secret weapon and Sansa is Littlefinger’s. I doubt any of those two players would let their protégé anywhere near the influence of the other.

How would Varys and Baelish know though who is behind Sansa and Aegon?

First of all, it is their job to know, but also both Varys and Baelish are intelligent enough to come to that conclusion on their own. When Varys finds out Sansa Stark is alive, won’t he suspect that Baelish was involved in her escape, considering Baelish’s obsession with Catelyn? Similarly, when Baelish finds out Aegon is alive, won’t he immediately pin this down on Varys, who had not only the opportunity, but also the means and the motive to do such a thing?

For Varys and Baelish to take such a huge risk and unite Sansa with Aegon, there has to be tremendous gain in store for each of them individually.

If we examine things from Varys’ perspective, what Aegon needs is legitimacy and an army. In order to gain both, Aegon absolutely needs Daenerys and Dorne on his side.

What will definitely not give Aegon the legitimacy and the army he needs is Sansa Stark. Even if we completely disregard the fact that Sansa is still married to Tyrion (who is in Essos at the moment), a marriage to Sansa would offer Aegon nothing. Sansa is the princess of a Kingdom destroyed by war and taken by enemy forces. She has no army to command, no provisions to offer, no claim to the throne; just a good family name and a pretty face. Literally any other highborn girl in Westeros would be able to offer Aegon more than Sansa at the moment.

We can also examine the possibility that Littlefinger will offer Alayne’s, not Sansa’s hand in marriage to Aegon. From Aegon’s point of view again, this union would be disadvantageous, even if it brought him the Vale army. It would offer him no legitimacy, since Alayne is only the bastard daughter of a minor lordling and it would also prohibit him from finding another, more fitting consort in the future. But, even if that was brushed aside for the sake of the Vale army, I don’t think Varys would let Aegon play into any of Littlefinger’s plans, especially ones including his daughter.

On the other hand, if we see things from Petyr Baelish’s perspective, a marriage between Sansa and Aegon would not further his agenda in the least. I do not presume to know what Littlefinger’s plans are in detail, but there are enough passages in the books hinting at his goals. So, by those hints we know that he hates the feudal system as a whole and that he wishes to make it crash and burn. We know he wants revenge from those in position of power, who had treated him so unfairly for so many years, denying him his dear Cat. And of course we know that he wants more power, more money, and most of all, sweet Sansa all to himself. Littlefinger handing Sansa over to Aegon and Varys, along with the Vale’s allegiance (since Aegon would not take her any other way), would be the equivalent of putting his plans in a pile, drenching them with gasoline and lighting them on fire.

From Sansa’s point of view now, if she were allowed to make her own decisions, a marriage to Aegon would bring her no joy. Sansa wants to go back home; to Winterfell. To rebuild and recreate the happy family she has lost. What she definitely doesn’t want is to go back to King’s Landing as the consort of another boy-king. She’s been there, done that and she does not want a repeat. And maybe Aegon is not as bad as Joffrey, but still, he would never be able to offer her what she wants; a life in Winterfell.

And there might not be much foreshadowing regarding a match between Aegon and Sansa, but in ASOS, there is almost half a chapter’s worth of foreshadowing of Sansa building Winterfell out of snow. Why would GRRM write all those beautiful, nostalgic and loaded with symbolism paragraphs, if he meant for Sansa to stay in the South for the whole span of the books? Wouldn’t it make more sense story-wise, to have her go North instead? To Winterfell?

And even if that is not enough, there is also this:

[…]The realm should be in absolute chaos and disorder when the Others arrive, and the unity of Aegon and Sansa that some fans suppose will happen will make for a worse novel. It just means that Littlefinger just took Sansa to the Vale and almost immediately returns her for nothing to really happen.

Sansa and Aegon will not marry since it would be heavily to the destruction of the story.

Lord_Tyrell: “Why do people think that Sansa will marry Aegon?”

But, even if we completely disregard all the above and just assume Sansa is promised to Aegon anyway, then history would repeat itself without a single plot twist. Sansa, like Arianne would be tied to a fake, exiled King. Aegon, much like Viserys, will fail in his pursue of the Iron Throne, and lose his life over it during the unavoidable war with Daenerys and ultimately, Sansa will end up alone, just like Arianne.

In short, Aegon VI Targaryen is probably not the one.

The less obvious choice is Jon Snow, Rhaegar Targaryen’s second son. Jon Snow’s parentage has been confirmed by the show in the last episode of the 6th season, but many readers had reached the conclusion that R+L=J years before that moment. Despite that, we do not know whether he is Rhaegar’s legitimate son or not.

Again, if the foreshadowing in the books is anything to go by, then Jon Snow is the legitimate son and heir to Rhaegar Targaryen. There are countless metas on this subject as well, so I will not analyze this it any further here.

So could Jon Snow be the Targaryen King Sansa is “promised” to? Most of the things needed in order to answer that question, have been extensively analyzed by @blindestspot in their meta A Time for Wolves - The Case for Jon and Sansa, so I will not attempt to cover them all in mine as well.

What I will examine though is whether Jon Snow could take Viserys’ place in this re-do of history, but this time with a twist. 

Viserys, who never was a King, grew up believing he was meant to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Jon, who was the King all along, grew up believing he was a bastard, meant to take no names or titles. Viserys was named his father’s heir after Rhaegar’s death, passing over the -still alive- Aegon. Jon was offered to become his father’s heir after Robb’s demise, yet he refused to take his other trueborn siblings’ birthright.

Viserys borrowed a sword just to appear kingly. Jon was offered a sword for his bravery, yet he thought himself unworthy of it. Viserys refused to adapt with the Dothraki way of life, believing they were savages below his status. Jon embraced the way of life of the Wildlings, coming to respect them despite believing them to be savages all his life. Khal Drogo killed Viserys when he found out he sold his sister to him for a crown. Jon’s brothers killed him when they found out he was going to sacrifice his honor in order to save his “sister” from the husband she was sold to.

Jon and Viserys are mirrors of each other. They are the same person, but reversed. Everything, from their personalities, to their ideas and choices is the complete antithesis of the other. They reach the same crossroads along the way, yet they pick the opposite path from the other every time. In their every step, there is a repeat of history, but with a twist in the end… even in death.

So, if Viserys Targaryen, never got a crown, wouldn’t it be expected that Jon Snow will? And if indeed Sansa’s love-story is a repeat of Arianne’s and Jon’s life-story is a repeat of Viserys’, would it be so shocking if there is a “betrothal” between Jon and Sansa as well, which this time will end with a marriage? A repeat of history, this time with a twist.

And if those are indeed GRRM’s plans, this time around there will be no gods to smash them awry like Doran’s, because the only god existing in ASOIAF is GRRM himself.

[iwillsendapostcard]

The Poisoned Chalice

Read on AO3 here. 

[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] [Part Five] [Part Six]

This is is part seven of my fic for the ‘seven days of robron’ run by @robroninlove. Obviously when I saw that this is the AU day I knew I had to write a fairytale, and it is from this prompt that the whole fic was formed. I’m strangely proud of this chapter- it has definitely been my favourite one to write. After all of the drama of the past week, writing 400 odd words of one character pouring out their heart to another has been wonderfully cathartic. 

The fact that I made @robertisbisexual cry is an added bonus ;)

Summary: There is a plot to poison Prince Robert and it is up to his manservant, Aaron, to save him.

Day Seven- Favourite AU- Fairy-tale (obviously!)

He arrives back in the rooms of the court physician to see Princess Rebecca standing over a prone and pale Prince Robert.

“What are you doing!” the exclamation is out of his mouth before he can stop it.

“Aaron!” Princess Victoria exclaims from another corner of the room. “You made it back!”

“I did, and I have the ingredients for the antidote.”

“We may not need them; Princess Rebecca says she has another cure.”

“I’ll take them anyway,” says Paddy taking the pouch from Aaron. “Just in case Princess Rebecca’s method should fail.”

“This will work. I am sure of it,” Rebecca says from where she is standing by Robert’s still sleeping form. “There is nothing more powerful in the world than true love.”

Paddy nods at her but moves over to his work space nonetheless. Victoria, on the other hand, moves over to Rebecca.

This is his chance, Aaron realises. He could speak out now and expose Rebecca for what she is, expose the harm she has done Robert. But as he looks at her he questions if he may be wrong. He has no reason to believe Christine over her younger sister. For all he knows, everything he has been told is a lie. More than that, Christine only told him that Rebecca’s kiss would not work because she doesn’t think Robert is capable of loving anyone. What if she is wrong, and Robert really does love Rebecca?

And how could he not? She is tall and graceful and pretty. She has shining blonde hair and big expressive eyes. She is elegant and refined. She is everything he is not.

She leans down, strokes a hand through Robert’s golden locks, and presses her lips to his.

The air around him is charged with something that makes Aaron feel like a storm is coming. He half expects a thunderclap to sound when Rebecca ends the kiss.

But nothing happens.

The heavens do not open, the ground does not shake, and Prince Robert does not open his eyes.

“I don’t understand…” the Princess whispers.

“It’s all right,” says Victoria, placing her hand on Rebecca’s back in a gesture of comfort. “Aaron brought the other cure. He’ll wake up soon.”

“No! This should have worked!” Rebecca pushes away from Victoria to lean down and kiss the Prince again. Her beautiful face is cracked with worry. Her shock at her failure is almost comical.

“I don’t understand,” she says again when more of her kisses fail to work.

Aaron takes a step towards her and leans in close so that Paddy and Victoria won’t hear their conversation from where they are preparing the antidote.

“Your sister told me everything,” he says to her, quietly. “She told me what you asked of her, of what you wanted.”

“Then you know this should have worked. True love’s kiss would have awakened him.”

“You need to ask yourself, Princess, what reasons your sister could have for helping you and what she could hope to gain from harming you.”

The Princess reaches out and slaps him clean across the face. He stumbles a bit; she is too slight to have really hurt him, but she has taken him by surprise.

Paddy too as he shouts, “what’s going on?” from where he is working on the antidote.

“I will not be spoken to in this manner by a servant!” she exclaims.

“What did you say to her?”

“I said only the truth!” he retorts. “When I went to fetch the antidote, Princess Christine told me it was the Princess that had poisoned Prince Robert, and why she did it.”

“And you believe what Christine said to you?” asks Paddy.

“I do.”

Rebecca stamps her foot, “I won’t stand for this,” she says, and storms out of the room.

“Is this true?” Victoria asks once she is gone. “Did Rebecca really poison Rob?”

“It is what she told me.” Aaron confesses, “Rebecca wants Robert back, and Christine wants Rebecca accused of murder so that she can take the throne.”

“Oh, this is all such a mess!” Victoria exclaims, her voice thick with tears.

“I brought the antidote. It’s going to be fine.” Aaron reassures her. But a look in her eyes makes him doubt himself.

“We were getting desperate,” she tells him. “That’s why we listened to Rebecca when she said she had a cure. Robert… I’m so sorry, but he doesn’t have long.”

Suddenly, every thought is abandoned. He has to be by Robert’s side.

The Prince is lying exactly where Aaron left him. His skin is still pale and clammy but now his hair also seems to have greyed as if every ounce of colour and vitality has been drained from him. Robert looks so vulnerable, lying there at death’s door. Aaron daren’t reach out and touch him, afraid that his body will already feel like that of a corpse.

“How long do we have?” he asks desperately.

“We don’t know,” Victoria tells him. “Aaron, I’m so sorry!”

“No,” Aaron says. “He drank the poison to protect me. This is my fault.”

“He stubborn,” Victoria replies with a comforting squeeze of his shoulder. “He never makes anything easy.”

“How is the patient?” Paddy asks from where he is stirring together the herbs Aaron brought back.

Victoria moves to feel her brother’s brow, then presses her fingers to his wrist to take his pulse. She stands as still as a statue for a shockingly long time as Aaron feels his heart drop through the floor.

“Not good,” she eventually says. “His heart is barely beating at all.”

“Aaron, could you hold him up please?”

He nods in agreement and arranges himself so that he is sat behind Robert on the bed, the Prince’s back against his chest, his head resting on his shoulder. He wonders, briefly, if this is how Robert felt that day by the lake as he held a shivering Aaron in his arms and tried to keep him alive.

Victoria and Paddy both stand over him as they administer the potion, Paddy dropping the liquid onto the Prince’s tongue as his sister massages his throat to make his body swallow. The three of them are tense as they wait for the potion to have any effect at all.

The Prince’s body suddenly stiffens and Aaron grips onto him tighter on reflex. Then, one enormous shudder wracks through his body, shaking the Prince so violently that Aaron struggles to keep him within his arms. There is one great gasp from him, so strong that it might suck all the air from the room.

And then nothing.

The Prince’s body suddenly goes limp, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. His head lolls on Aaron’s shoulder and he looks down to see Robert’s eyes open and staring up at him.

But there is no life in them.

“What happened!” Aaron cries out. “What do we do?”

He cannot rip his gaze from the ghastly sight of Robert’s dead eyes.

He feels Paddy and Victoria step back from him. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. We were too late.” Paddy says.

“No! There has to be something more we can do!”

Victoria touches his arm very softly. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. He’s gone.”

She reaches out and gently closes her brother’s eyes, robbing Aaron of the sight of them forever.

…

Paddy and Victoria go to inform the King and Prince Andrew about Robert’s death, leaving Aaron to guard the body.

At first, he cannot bear to be near it. The skin and bones that he once adored so much have become gruesome now that there is no longer life in them. Waiting in the room alone with the body is torture because he cannot quiet the small voice within him that asks if maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that they were wrong and some part of Robert clings to life still.

“I cannot believe you have been so foolish!” he exclaims to the empty room, for the first time letting his anger about the whole situation boil over. “You’ve thrown your life away! And for what?”

Before he knows what he is doing he finds himself at Robert’s bedside, his knees buckling under the weight of his grief.

“It should have been me that drunk the poison. You and everyone around us knows this. Why wouldn’t you just let me save you?

“Why did you have to be so stubborn? Why did you have to be so chivalrous? Why couldn’t you let me do this one thing for you?

“How am I supposed to go on now?” he continues, the words pouring out of him, “How am I supposed to live knowing that the only man I have ever loved gave his life for me? And I loved you, Robert. I loved you more than anything. And now you’re gone.”

He buries his head in Robert’s shoulder, unable to stop the sobs that now wrack his body. He’d never admitted his love aloud before, and now he does not know what to do with himself. It is like a cork has been popped from a bottle and there is nothing to do but accept that everything will come pouring out.

“I love you… I love you…” Now that he has said it he is incapable of saying anything else. “I love you, and I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. What I’ll do without your smile, without your humour, without your bravery, or cleverness, or wit. How can I wake in the morning knowing that I won’t see you anymore? How can I sleep and know that I will only ever see you in my dreams? How can I move on knowing that I never had one chance to kiss you?”

Aaron is sure his face must be a mess of tears by now. There is even a wet patch on Robert’s breast where Aaron has been resting his head. Though Robert’s face is pale with death at least now there is also an air of peace about him. Perhaps, if Aaron was ignorant of what had gone before, he might have thought the Prince was only sleeping.

This is his last chance. With all the reverence of a worshiper at the altar of their god, Aaron leans down and presses his first and only kiss to Robert’s lips. It is sweet, and it lingers, but then it is gone.

When he finally moves back and looks down at Robert again, he is shocked to see Robert’s eyes open, lively, and staring right back at him.

[movetogetherau]

ok FIRST OF ALL FUCK THOSE REPORTERS😡😡😡-again and again i am astounded by Sana's patience with people. FROM THE START. EXCUSE YOU-SANA IS A FAMOUS ACTRESS (AND THE LEAD 🤔)-LEARN HOW TO PRONOUNCE HER NAME OK IF NOT THEN ASK HER TEAM😒(YES SHE HAS A TEAM-SEE ABOVE RE: FAMOUS) ALSO THEN APOLOGIZE WHEN YOU BUTCHER IT(LIKE I KNOW YOU WILL)-IDK MAN-BUT TO MY NEXT POINT EVEN IF SHE WEREN'T AS FAMOUS (ie YOUSEF) YOU SHOULD STILL RESPECT THE ACTOR😾😾😾YOU HAD ONE JOB 🙄 She is 1/5

2/5 LITERALLY so pure and so kind hearted that I think "wow, we are not worthy.” They both are, seriously-😇😇😇-ok but the upside to these ignorant fools is that we got some KEY/CLUTCH/MAGICAL/POETIC YOUSANA MOMENTS that damn near killed me😩😩😩 💝👍💝👍First, when Yousef (OBVIOUSLY) knew and focused on the plot of the movie that drew Sana to the project😩😍😭-Also Sana, I see you girl 👀 with them stares….ALSO WHAT WAS THE MISTAKE THE CHARACTER MADE BC Y’ALL I WAS CACKLING AT THAT CENGIZ3/5 REFERENCE😂😂😂-ALSO SMILING AT EACH OTHER IN AN INTERVIEW??? LIKE I KNOW YOU TWO ARE SMILING AT EACH OTHER?? 👀 😊😉😍😎 👀 Then ok OMG I RECOGNIZE THAT HOLLYWOOD TODAY SET...just sayin’ in any case-OMGGGGG ITS HAPPENING EVERYONE CALM DOWN ITS HAPPENING! Anyway-THEN the REAL fucking magic happened, as if I wasnt crying bc of how fucking beautiful and pure these two are, YOUSEF comes in to respond to the 😡😒😡😒😡😒😡😒 qstn. AND THEN 🖐🏽???😩😭😩😭-to say the least I was those twitter4/5 commenters. OK SO Tbh I’m surprised they didn’t force a 💍 down their throats at that last meeting smh 🙄-Idk I just feel icky about ROBERT ok🤔?OMG THEN THOSE ☎️ to the parents-again, 😊😉 👀 😍😊😉😎😍 👀 I SEE YOU KIDS YOU DON’T FOOL ME-ESPECIALLY THE WAY THEY TALK ABOUT EACH OTHER-like, I was gutted, GUTTED with the level of respect and admiration and affection they have for one another ALREADY WHILE "FAKE" DATING 😩😍👀😉 (again, who are they fucking kidding-”fake”5/5 HAHAHAHAHA-”SURE, JAN”🙃)-BUT OH SHIT NOW SHES CALLING ELIAS😁😳I’m NERVOUS, bc I feel like Elias isn’t here to take any bs and I’m JUST SCARED (but what if this equals besties👊🏾🙀?and now they’ll meet?(They being bros for life in another life yousef and elias)I JUST DONT KNOWWW) 😰-BUT IN CONCLUSION I AM OBSESSED AND THIS WAS BEYOND AMAZING👍🏽🤗❤️😍🙆🏽💐 (ps sorrrrryyyy for the long message-I JUST HAD A LOT OF FEELINGS-I hope that's ok?😳😁✌🏽🌺🙎🏽)Oh and I just sent you five messages, but I just had to say that this entire ch. was so precious that as I was writing the message I was just like "Are you fucking kidding me" as kristen wiig does in Bridesmaids-bc literally when I think you two can't just make this couple any more pure/precious/LEGENDARY or the way that they show their love for each other any more amazing, there you two go, writing some (fucking) scene that just, leaves me in shock. 🙃🙃🙃🌸🌺🌼🌸🌺🌼

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

THANK YOU so much for this comment!! Noelia and I were freaking out about how much you wrote and are really happy that you did, thank you!okay so to the reportes, I know right?? We got mad just writing it but yees, at least we got cute yousana out of itHAHAH that was more of just a Cenguz reference but we’ll let it open for you to think about what it could be haha“Tbh I’m surprised they didn’t force a 💍 down their throats at that last meeting smh” (you’re not the only one not liking robert, keep looking out for him)You’ll have to wait and see for Elias reaction is all I can say :D

Thank you again! That really means a lot to us and we don’t know how to articulate our gratitude honestly!“I JUST HAD A LOT OF FEELINGS-I hope that's ok?” And don’t apologize for long messages, we live for them haha

[peakyxshelby]

I do.

Finn Shelby x reader

The reader's parents are setting her up in an arranged marriage

“Please don’t leave me,” Finn was grabbing both sides of your face tears in both of your eyes. You stared at him even looking at him was breaking your heart, you couldn’t hold it in anymore. You started sobbing into his chest. Neither of you could believe this was really happening. Your parents were marrying you off. Finn Shelby wasn’t good enough for an Anderson girl, that’s what everyone would say anyway. Your Grandfather owned almost all of the land in and around Birmingham. Your family was the richest family around. Your father, Robert Anderson, brought you up in some type of mansion, you were sent to private school and treated like what he thought was royalty. Your family had money and a reputation to uphold, but you weren’t interested in the money. You were interested in Finn. It was two days, two days until you would be married to Samuel Williams, a respectable man with a very respectable family. You begged and pleaded your parents not to make you do this for months but you were ignored, the wedding was planned, the house was bought and the invitations were out.

“I can’t be what other people want me to be Finn, I’m just not that girl.” He tightened his grip around you, you never wanted to leave his embrace. You felt safest in his arms.

“You’re my girl,” he said choking over his tears. “I know you have to do this but is there nothing you can do to get out of it?” You looked up at him shaking your head.

“What am I meant  to do?”  You were leaving tonight to go up to your grandparents in the country to get prepared for the big day, then after the wedding, you would be moving down to Brighton with your new husband, this could be the last time you ever saw Finn. You both knew this but neither of you could bare to think about it.

”I don’t know who I am without you (Y/N)” These words broke you, You couldn’t let him go.

“I need to leave,” you say as you hear the beeping of your brother's car outside. He told our parents he was taking me out for one last meal when in reality he was taking me down to see the blinder. “And if this is the last time I see you, know that I love you more than anything.” You were both full on crying now.

“I love you (Y/N), always.”

“Please figure this out, You always do.” Finn didn’t know what you meant by that but before he could ask you had given him one last kiss and ran away. Looking back one last time he memorised every detail of her face, he broke down as she drove away.

Finn walked into Polly’s house where his whole family was gathered celebrating little Karls 4th birthday. As soon as he walked in everyone knew what had happened.

“She’s gone isn’t she.” John came over embracing Finn in a hug before they both sat down on the couch Polly rubbing his back to soothe him.

“What the fuck am I gonna do?”

“You will find away,” Polly said to him with a stern voice surprising everyone as this contrasted with her soothing gesture before. “I envy you. You and (Y/N). I envy the love you have, you’ll make it work.”

“When’s the wedding?” Arthur asked he looked like he was plotting something.

“Two days.”

“We’ll need men,” Tommy said going along with Arthur as if they were having some sort of private conversation over Finn’s head.

“We are stopping that wedding Finn.”

“You look beautiful,” your sister said tears in her eyes as she admired you. “I know you don’t want to do this, You’re so strong you know.” You said nothing. You hadn’t spoken all day, there was no chance in hell you would pretend in you were enjoying this. And as your father came to collect you to walk you down the aisle you began to bawl.

“I can’t do this! I love Finn!”

“Keep your voice down (Y/N)!” Your father hissed at you as you sunk into the ground crying. For a moment he saw his little girl again as a vulnerable young child. He got down on his knees beside you.

“I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.” You looked into your father’s eyes as he gave you a tight hug. He was apologising sincerely, he truly believed this was the only way and this scared you. You didn’t want the moment to end you wanted to stay hugging your dad forever not married to a man you didn’t even know. But it was time to go time to leave any hope of a life with Finn Shelby behind you. You didn’t think anything could pull you two apart but as the church doors opened and the hundreds of people that had turned up stood up to admire the bride to walk down the aisle you knew any hope was gone. Samuel stood at the top of the church and honestly he looked as unpleased as you were. You looked up and prayed that this wasn’t how it would turn out. Please god, don’t let this be how my life turns out.

As you made it to the top of the aisle you faced Samuel as the priest began to speak.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the presence of family and friends to join together this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony, which is commended of St. Paul to be an honorable estate, instituted of God and therefore is not to be entered into unadvisedly or carelessly, but reverently, joyfully and in the love of God. Into this holy estate, these two persons present come now to be joined. Let us pray.

Please join hands. I ask you know to repeat the marriage vows”

“Get the fuck down! Oi! Get down!” Arthur, what the hell is Arthur doing walking into the middle of my wedding. That’s when gunshots started going off. Banging off the roof of the church as Tommy and his boys walked into the church. Some sort of smoke bomb was thrown in and the whole place went up in hysterics. Everyone running for the exit. That’s when you felt someone grab you.

“Finn,” you jump into his arms wrapping yourself around him.

“My god you are beautiful,” he stared you up and down and twirled you round under his arm to see you in all your glory. “Come on we need to get out now.” It was all a bit of a blur but you were dragged into a car and then five minutes down the road let off at a big house when you got in there was already a couple of blinders kicking about the place was set up, music was playing and there was booze everywhere, little by little all the men started to come back. You didn’t know what the hell they had done or what Finn was planning but you were glad you were out of there. As Tommy, Arthur and John walked through the door you ran over to them.

“No one's hurt right? My family is ok??”

“Everyones fine, the church damage is paid for already, you’re free (Y/N)” Tommy said spinning your round and pointing at a table Finn was standing on Beckoning you up. “Looks like you’re needed.”

“Oi Arthur!” Finn shouted, “I think i need your help here.” Finn helped pull you up onto the table and face you looking at you with the biggest smile.

“What’s going on here?” You laughed.

“Sssh, you’ll see.” He winked at you as Arthur joined you two on top of the table.

“Attention please!” he started as everyone in the room went silent and turned to stare at you. “We are gathered here today to officially invite (Y/N) Anderson to join our Finn Shelby here on his life adventures and officially become a blinder.” The whole place roared and started shouting and cheering before Arthur shut them up again.

“Finn i believe you have vows to say.”

“Do you (Y/N) Anderson accept to run away with me, Finn Shelby?”

“Yes, I do!”

[scriptmedic]

How To Write More Memorable Doctors (Even If They Never Speak)

This post appeared first on Patreon! Want to see the future? Consider donating!

(Image (c) Jeff Eaton. Commercial use approved.)

Let’s face it: doctors are almost never at the heart of storytelling. For the vast majority of stories, if a doctor or nurse is getting mentioned, they’re patching up a main character, or delivering a piece of bad news. They’re bit parts. They’re plot devices, not characters.

And all too often, that means that they become bland, or a stereotype. They get ignored. They get forgotten.

But what if they didn’t have to be? What if I told you that even the most background doctor, nurse or medic could be made to stick in the audience’s mind?

Let’s consider an example.

The doctor smiled. “Hi. I’m Doctor Roberts. Your son was in an accident, but he’s okay, we’re just finishing up the stitches now.”

As prose goes, this is simple, quick and to the point. The focus is allowed to remain on the event: accident, stitches, almost done.

But the doctor in this example is a non-entity. What’s their voice like? How old are they? Are they sympathetic? Apathetic?

Now, going into too much detail for a drive-by character like Dr. Roberts here would obviously be too much. But there are still ways to make her memorable.  (You didn’t even know she was a female, did you?)

Formula: Understand the Assumption, Turn It On Its Head

Really, this is the foundational idea of all of these techniques. Background characters are going to come with a load of assumptions, most of which you, as the writer, do not control. When I say the word “doctor” to you, you have an image that comes to mind. It’s probably very, very different from mine.

But there are certain commonalities. Many people assume that the word “doctor” means someone who is:

Young

White

Male

Attractive

For an example, this is what Google Images pulls up when you search for a “doctor”:

Medicine, and medical personnel, are anything but. We come from all walks of life, all ethnic backgrounds, all identities and orientations. We are proud of our diversity. So any time you can subvert this harmful stereotype, especially in a noticeable way, you can take what might have been a wooden cut-out of a character and make them at least mildly memorable.

Here are some techniques that implement this strategy beautifully… 

Technique: The Red Stethoscope

This is a tried-and-true technique to add just a hint of human-ness to otherwise wooden background characters.

The doctor smiled. “Hi, I’m Doctor Roberts.” She adjusted her bright red stethoscope. “Your son was in an accident, but he’s okay, we’re just finishing up the stitches now.”

This is a subtle change, but your readers will notice it. They’ll notice it because it stands out. The stethoscope itself is furniture, sure, but it’s unusual furniture. Typically, stethoscopes are black or navy blue, or a handful of muted colors. A red stethoscope, then, is out of the ordinary.

It implies that the person wearing it is also unusual. It begs a question, even subconsciously: what kind of a doctor would wear a red stethoscope?

Typical “red stethoscope” items could include:

A “Hello My Name Is” sticker on her namebadge. (This is an Actual Medical Thing, with real history, if you’re curious.)

A fountain pen, or a jelly pen with a pom-pom on the end

An ugly troll doll pinned to her scrubs

A flower made out of medication bottle caps on her ID card

Librarian / bedazzled glasses

Bright orange running shoes, or excessively pink scrubs

Scrubs, gowns, or even skin that’s splattered with blood.

Technique: The Big Birthmark

Admit it: our popular media has trained us into thinking of what a doctor looks like. Typically they’re movie-star pretty and only barely pushing 30, or else they’re grizzled and have that rough-hunky quality (House).

So that’s our assumption. How can we turn it on its head? Nontraditional beauty comes in lots of forms:

A big, splotchy birthmark right on the cheek that draws your eye no matter what you do

Smeared or mussed makeup

Looking just like that one movie star

A shock of hair that’s gone gray prematurely

An ER doctor who appears to be in his 70s

A big ol’ scar, anything from a nasty jagged cut to fishhook marks

A lopsided smile or droopy eyelid

A limp

A strange or humorous name, like Dr. Wigglesworth or Nurse Hammer.

 Technique: The Surgeon With A Lisp

Turning physical attributes on their head are one challenge, but another is to make a character memorable by how they speak. A couple examples could be:

A lisp (lithp?)

A st-st-stutter on certain words

An accent that isn’t common to the area in which your character works (a Minnesota accent in a story set in N’Orleans), from the other side of the world (an Irish accent in Japan), or that might not match assumptions made about someone’s appearance (such as a man with an Indian name and dark skin speaking with a Scottish accent)

Someone with definitive speech patterns, such as never using contractions (“I do not think that he is in much pain”) or swearing (“Fuck, I just sutured that!”)

Muttering things under their breath as though they’re distracted.

 Putting It All Together

So if we snag one item from each column—which is overkill, by the way, you may only need one feature on the list—now we get something like…

The doctor smiled, and adjusted her bright red stethoscope. “Hi, I’m Doctor Roberts.” She brushed back a shock of very prematurely gray hair. She had East Asian features, but her accent was pure Texas drawl. “Your son was in an accident, but he’s okay, we’re just finishing up the stitches now.”

See what we’ve done? Nothing has functionally changed. But now Dr. Roberts has personality. She has a story all her own, even if we never learn it. She’s still the same plot vehicle as before, but now there’s something to remember about her.

But what if they never say a word?

Well, consider the following examples…

Dr. Saunders rushed by, her curly hair a tangled, wet mess, presumably headed for the punch clock.

A nurse passed through the hallway, her Hello Kitty stethoscope belying the serious look in her eye.

The nurse was back, the one who changed my meds. I couldn’t remember her name, but her birthmark drew my eye in such a way as to make me slightly embarrassed for staring.

The medic doing CPR had bright green hair and an undercut. It bounced into her eyes as she pushed on my father’s chest.

Functionally, all of these characters are still just background pieces, but now they stick out, at least a little bit. Your character will remember that event differently because of those details.

What are YOUR best tricks for making unique background characters?

Drop them in the comments or in a reblog/share!

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

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[limines]

So last week I 1) finished IT the book and 2) took myself on a self movie date to see IT Chapter Two at my local theatre and...

1) the book was incredible. beyond words amazing. the storytelling and the characterization-- inspiring. the type of writing I study in hopes of one day writing even half as beautiful as stephen king.

2) the movie was........ well, I had a blue icee at the movie and that was really good. the movie itself? I had to try to mentally separate the movie and the book because it was not only incredibly different, but it was different in ways that were not good. I have a lot to say, and I’ll say it below just because I have to vent. It was alright. I didn’t despise watching it. I had a pretty good time, sitting all by myself in row E, sipping on an icee. but altogether, it was pretty disappointing. This is all my personal opinion. Stephen King might think the movie is a fucking masterpiece. Hell, Stephen King was IN the movie. But this is just how I felt.

I’ll go by characters, because the characterization in the movie was the biggest thing that bugged me.

I’ll start with Richie, because he was the one that I still really loved. I hate that they took out his voices, though. I know that some in the book are dated (it was the 1950s in the book and Richie’s parents were racist-- you can imagine the rest), but I think they could have been replaced with ones that weren’t offensive. Impressions or accents. It’s not necessary, I just thought it was charming. I LOVE that they made the choice for Richie to be gay. It felt really natural and not overdone, and it just felt really heartwarming to have that affection in the movie. Lots of people have speculated about Richie and Eddie before, and I think it was an excellent choice to reflect that in the movie. Also: Bill Hader is my king now.

Beverly Marsh is for some reason a psychic now??? That little plot element was so vague and unnecessary that it wrote itself out of the movie. It was never ever relevant to the plot in any way, shape, or form. Why on earth did we have to make Beverly a psychic? To make up for the fact that you practically left out the rest of her personality in the movie? Bev has a stunning personality. But the movie traded her personality for psychic abilities. Also, Bev’s mother is 100% alive in the book, and she also suffers abuse from Bev’s father. It was a little lazy to write her out entirely. Maybe it was done to give her father a more defined reason for the abuse, but it wasn’t really necessary.

Ben Hanscom, first of all, visited the Derry library to recollect, which I thought was very important to his character. Instead, he visited the high school. Not a terrible change, just one I personally didn’t understand the need for. But the big thing I noticed about Ben is that he was made out to be jealous of Bill and Beverly. I never thought that Ben was jealous of them. He notices their affection and understands what is going on and steps aside. He lets Bev make her own choice, and he doesn’t glare or try to separate them or interrupt them.

Bill Denbrough’s wife Audra is not a bitch. She’s a concerned and caring wife. I know that they probably made her out to be one because they had to explain why Bill wanted to smooch Bev, but I just kind of hate that trope that a man will only cheat if his wife is a nag. Bill himself seemed very... unstable in the movie. In the book, the Losers are scared, yes, but they know the whole time of what they have to do. None of them try to leave, none of them pack and drive away. They know what they have to do, and they do it. One of the eeriest things about the book in my opinion was that when It would play tricks on them, the adult Losers would often back off, stare, or counter the thing with witty attacks. Bill Denbrough was a peak example of the movie Losers, who were afraid, wanted to run, and yelled and screamed a lot. The Skateboard Kid (who never gets taken by Pennywise, btw) and Bill have a calm little chat. Bill warns the kid, but never shakes him by the shoulders. That’s creepy to do that to a random kid in the street, Bill. BOOK BILL IS BALDING AND I KNOW THAT IN MOVIES WE HAVE TO MAKE PEOPLE LOOK ATTRACTIVE BUT IT’S KINDA FUNNY. 

Stanley Uris. I shouldn’t even have much to say about him because he’s not there much, but good god. Stanley Uris did not commit suicide as some kind of “noble sacrifice”. What the hell does that even mean. That really irritated me. At least they let him have a nice little bird puzzle. My boy Stan loves his birds.

Eddie Kaspbrak. Oh, Eddie. My poor Eddie. Eddie, who in the book led the Losers through the sewers and sprayed his inhaler at It and punched It directly in its spider eye without a second thought. Movie Eddie made me so sad and mad. sadmad. Eddie, who is a celebrity limo driver and cares deeply for people and is NOT A FUCKING COWARD. That’s such a lazy choice for Eddie’s character, and I was really disappointed with that. But the character that most disappointed me was...

Mike Hanlon. Dear god. What did they do to you, Mike. Mike Hanlon, in the book, is a devoted and passionate historian who diligently takes note of all of the old Derry stories involving It. He does not even possess a Native American artifact, much less would he deface it. I have hardly ever seen something so misinterpreted as the ritual of Chud. Mike Hanlon does not lie to convince his friends to come back to Derry, and he wouldn’t. He was so cautious to even call them in the first place. He’s not a madman. AND HIS PARENTS WERE NOT CRACKHEADS. Mike Hanlon’s mother was a nice, loving lady, and his father was a wise man who died of cancer. Mr. Hanlon had his own experiences with It. Mike Hanlon’s story in the book is inextricably tied to the racism rampant in Derry, and to completely exclude that from the movie is lazy and ignorant. Also: Mike isn’t even at the final battle with Pennywise. He’s at the hospital after getting stabbed by Henry Bowers. 

PENNYWISE. Pennywise is more often NOT  a clown that she is a clown. And I say she, because IT is female. The Robert Gray/Clown alter ego is because kids like clowns, and kids are Pennywise’s main food source. But in the final battle, Pennywise is in what is closest to true form. No clown. I like the clown look, don’t get me wrong. I love Bill Skarsgard, I think he’s a genius and decidedly pretty attractive when he doesn’t have that big ass forehead. But IT is something beyond just a physical form. The Deadlights, The Turtle, The Other-- these are ancient entities. Clown Spider? Not that impressive compared to an ancient otherworldly being. 

I loved the first movie. I thought the first movie kept true enough to the characters, despite minor changes, that the second part would also be relatively similar. Movies don’t have to be exactly like books, but when a book is written as masterfully as IT, then there are reasons for every choice. To change that many important things was lazy and unimpressive. I love the Losers Club and I love the book. The movie just didn’t do the characters justice, and the story is nothing without those Losers. 

[infidelqueen]

I had seen the man a few times sitting behind my bank.  The matted dirty blond hair, kind wide smile, and wheelchair holding up his mutilated frame had become as much a part of my morning routine as the coffee cup sitting by my side.  We would wave and sometimes I would bring him a bagel with bacon and egg on it.  We never spoke much but our morning routine was a lovely start to most of my days.   One morning I pulled into the driveway and I saw, for the briefest moment, a wince cross his usually cheerful face.  It was nearly invisible and for most people they wouldn’t have given it a second thought.  We waved and I went about my business but his face, that brief moment of discomfort, wouldn’t leave my mind as I completed my banking that morning.  When I left I had decided that it was time to ask him.  I rolled down my window “Do you need anything?  You don’t look like you’re feeling well today.”  He looked at me, those hazel eyes that had seen far too much pain in one lifetime, “Do you have a Tylenol?  Sometimes sitting in this chair makes my muscles ache.”  Unfortunately I didn’t and the clock was ticking closer to my time to head into work.  It simply wouldn’t do.  I ran into the CVS, grabbed a bottle of Aleve, and ran it back over to him.  When I handed it to him, along with the large bottle of water I had purchased, it was as if for the first time he had met kindness.  His eyes sparkled.  “I only need two.”  I told him that he could take the bottle since it is a continuous problem.  “My name is Robert but my friends call me Legs.”  He pointed to his amputated limbs. “I’ve never asked your name.”  I told him my name and apologized that I had to get going.  This brief exchange was the beginning of a six month long friendship.  We would share stories over lunch and laugh at how ridiculous I was for bringing a picnic blanket as if I was eating a fancy meal.  He’d tell me about his time in Vietnam and the pain of losing his wife and child in a car accident.  His years of drug use to drown his pain and the time he lost control of his wheelchair on a hill and took the ride of his life.  I would tell him about my son, my life as a single mom, and the abuse I suffered at the hands of my ex.  Robert (I refused to call him Legs) became a sounding board for my very superficial worries and he confided in me about his fears of being handicapped and homeless.  He lived in the tent city in a local grouping of trees and came to sit out in the parking lot during the morning because it was easier on him to get about on the asphalt.

Six months later I pulled into the parking lot to find it empty.  Absent and devoid of the beautiful smile I had become so accustomed to.  I was immediately gripped with fear and wasn’t quite sure what to do.  I called the non-emergency line of our local sheriffs’ department.  Explaining why I was concerned about a homeless man that sat behind my bank was a challenge and in the end they couldn’t tell me anything.  I debated on what my next move would be, I couldn’t ignore his absence.  The next morning I left particularly early and I trekked through the wooded area to tent city.  I was met with some uncomfortable stares and a few snickers.  Finally an older man came up to me “You gonna kick us out?”  I smiled at him “No.  Not at all.  I am looking for Legs.  I haven’t seen him in a couple of days and I was worried about him.”  His face fell a little “He got sick.  He’s in the hospital.”  Apparently, according to this man, Robert started spiking a fever and they couldn’t get him to feel better no matter what they did.  He was taken by ambulance to our local hospital but the hospital wouldn’t let them in to see him.  They kicked them out of the hospital when they tried.  I promised him I would fill them in as soon as I knew anything.  We decided to record some videos on my phone and I called off work that day.  I needed to see him and make sure he was being taken care of.  The hospital staff had no issues with letting me in his room.  He smiled wide at me “I just can’t shake you can I?”  I started laughing and told him that friends don’t give up on each other.  I sat with him for several hours that day, we ate our lunch, watched the videos I had made, and just had a decent time.  He had sores from his wheelchair that had gotten infected but that the doctors were being great.  He stayed in the hospital for a week and I visited nightly, reporting to his friends every morning.  His health was not quite as hopeful as he made it sound and the concern on the nurses’ faces was not missed on me.  They wouldn’t tell me anything and I didn’t pry but I knew things were far more bleak than what he was telling me.  On March 2nd Robert passed away in that hospital.  I had gone to see him, as I had been doing all along, and found an empty bed where my friend had been lying.  His remains were interred in a hospital paid for plot that remains unmarked.  A grave that very few people would even take a second look at but one that I visit regularly.  I cried that afternoon in the arms of the homeless, as we together mourned the loss.  In my world, the world outside that tent city, no one could understand why this death hurt me.  To so many others Robert’s worth was barely above that of an annoyance.  To me it was quite different.  I don’t say this to toot my horn and I don’t say it to point out the societal woes of veterans sleeping in tents in the woods.  I don’t say this to be political or to make people who don’t help feel guilty.  I point this out for one simple truth: God and religion are not needed at all to be a good human being.

<> on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

Our news has been filled with images of Hurricane Harvey and the human connection that has caused so many brave people to forge through rising tides to save those they probably have passed in the street a thousand times without caring one bit.  It takes a disaster of true magnitude to make people act like human beings.  We may disagree on religion, politics, and sports teams every other day of the year but come at us and we ban together like ants protecting their homes.  I would, however, like to point out that while we see brave images of people being pulled from sinking vehicles and little old ladies being carried by strong young men we have the antithesis story as well.  This is the story of a multi-million dollar megachurch with an enigmatic pastor who decided to lock out the needy from his arena of a sanctuary.  He can flash a bright white smile like a champion, whip the gullible into a frenzy, and collect that money like a junkie needing a fix but don’t you dare ask him to actually house those that cannot give him anything in return.  It was social media that made him actually stand up and act like the Christian he claimed to be.  I have seen so many people defending this man and I have seen so many people denouncing him; I am completely different.  My real issue is that exact argument I just posed.  Why is he not acting in a Christian way?  It’s not that I am not upset about what he’s done but I don’t see why I should equate his religion with being indicative to goodness.

We hear it all the time, “They are churchgoers”  “they are very christian”  “He acted like a Christian should”.  They are dropped like a perfectly reasonable way to describe good behavior but I contend that religion is not indicative of a person’s goodness.  What if we change those religious words and replace them with the word “human”?  Would their meaning be somehow diminished?  The answer is no.  No it would not change the description one bit.  Matter of fact, in many ways, it would increase the goodness that is implied.  To do a good deed because you are expecting a celestial pat on the back is hardly a selfless act.  We are on race, the human race.  We are all stuck on this tiny rock together and it doesn’t require a god to help each other out.  It’s our natural state of being.  Toddlers are wonderful little helpers and they don’t care who you are in order to want to help you.  We are beautifully and wonderfully unique and once we can embrace this the easier it will be to find the empathy to help others.

So what is an atheist to do?  How do we give back to our communities when there is no shortage of religious based non-profits that seem to monopolize most areas.  Here’s my opinion, start on your own.  Make your circle better and that will go outward from you.  Help an elderly neighbor, give a homeless person a meal, or volunteer at local non-profits that are not religious based.  There is also a great amount of secular non-profits that could always use donations or time.

Give to Hurricane Harvey Relief Here

List of Secular Non-Profit Organizations

American Civil Liberties Union

The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of constitutional protections and guarantees relating to First Amendment rights, including the freedom to practice religion or choose not to, equal protection, due process, and right to privacy.

Amnesty International

AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. In pursuit of this vision, AI’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.

DefCon: Campaign to Defend the Constitution

DefCon is an online grassroots movement combating the growing power of the religious right. It includes a blog on religious freedom issues, action alerts, and in-depth articles on scientific, religious, and legal issues of the day.

Doctors without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in nearly 70 countries.

DonorsChoose.org

a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack.

EWB Canada

Engineers Without Borders Canada focuses on creating systemic and lasting change to battle global poverty. Currently, their geographic focus is on sub-Saharan African countries, namely Malawi, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Zambia and Liberia. EWB invests in people – smart systems changers, and they incubate the systemic innovations that these leaders create to accelerate rural African development. It’s not about projects. It’s not about technology. It’s about people working with people to create lasting, scalable change that unlocks human potential.

EWB-USA.org

Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) helps to provide clean water, electricity, sanitation systems, and education. The concept is very similar to Doctors Without Borders.

Foundation Beyond Belief

Foundation Beyond Belief’s (FBB) mission is “To demonstrate humanism at its best by supporting efforts to improve this world and this life, and to challenge humanists to embody the highest principles of humanism, including mutual care and responsibility.”

Goodwill Industries

Unlike their counterpart, the Salvation Army which is an evangelical Christian “charity” that is also politically and socially-active promoting religion, Goodwill is a secular organization that runs thrift stores coast-to-coast. From their page: “Our network of 165 independent, community-based Goodwills in the United States and Canada offers customized job training, employment placement and other services to people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.”

Kiva.org

lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world.

Oxfam International

Oxfam International is a confederation of 12 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice. The Oxfams operate in over 100 countries worldwide working with local partners to alleviate poverty and injustice.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the diversity of life on Earth. An environmental group that protects natural habitats and the wildlife within them. Focuses on “science-based” initiatives.

Population Connection

Population Connection is the national grassroots population organization that educates young people and advocates progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth’s resources. Works against faith-based policies that are supported by the Religious Right.

Rotary/Rotary International

Secular organisation, the world’s first service club organisation. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. Motto is “service above self”. Notable project is global Polio eradication.

Secular Avenue/SAFE

Secular Avenue is an atheist charity reaching out to people in the secular community. Mission is to help secular individuals achieve safety, stability, and autonomy. The SAFE program helps people who are unsafe at home due to leaving religion, domestic abuse, or coming out as LGBTQ.

The SEED foundation

National nonprofit that establishes urban public boarding schools to prepare students from underserved communities for success in college.

S.H.A.R.E.

The Secular Humanist Aid and Relief Effort or S.H.A.R.E. was developed over twenty years ago for those who wish to contribute to those people afflicted by natural or human disasters without having to use the intermediary of a religious organization. S.H.A.R.E. is a program of the Council for Secular Humanism, which for 29 years has been the leading organization promoting the rights and values of secular humanists in the U.S. and abroad.

The Union of Concerned Scientists

The leading science-based non-profit working for a healthy environment and safer world.

United Nations Children’s Fund

UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a “first call for children” and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF provides emergency and disaster relief.

Wheelchair Foundation

The Wheelchair Foundation is a non-profit organization leading an international effort to provide free wheelchairs to every child, teen and adult who needs one, but cannot afford one. For over 10 years, the Wheelchair Foundation has been delivering hope, mobility, and freedom to people with disabilities, in an effort to provide at least 1,000,000 wheelchairs around the world.

    Honoring Humanism I had seen the man a few times sitting behind my bank.  The matted dirty blond hair, kind wide smile, and wheelchair holding up his mutilated frame had become as much a part of my morning routine as the coffee cup sitting by my side.