#our cast just happens to be crazy overpowered

[microwaving-tesilid-argente]

thinking also about the lines "ephael, get them!"/"uh... okay. (zooms towards the enemy despite the hesitance in his voice)" (toy mansion) and "ephael, why aren't you protecting your weak supporter!" (snow queen) and ephael seamlessly backing hestio up when he falters (reunion).

☝️methinks that hestio is this bossy and demanding firstly bc he's just like that and secondly bc ephael has enabled him all his life by meeting him wherever he stands. hestio has never really needed to be nicer to his friends because they both have the patience of saints. hestio is a little spoiled. he doesn't even have aura.

[tinyundercover]

pepper & felix

part eight

Felix's apartment becomes very crowded.

MASTERPOST word count: 2.9k

Basil’s needle was heavy in her hand. Exhaustion weighed on her shoulders as she walked through the walls, suppressing a yawn. She must have been walking for hours.

Seven days ago, she had stormed away from Pepper and left him alone. Since then, she had crafted a small space in the corner of the apartment complex, where she was confident she wouldn’t run into Pepper by accident. With twenty-eight years of borrowing experience, she didn’t struggle to survive alone in an unknown location. 

However, seven days was a long time to sit alone with her thoughts. 

Basil turned a corner and approached a crack in the wall, thick enough for her to peer through. She immediately recognized the apartment as one she had passed seven days ago. Good. This is the right direction.

Her thoughts raced. Was it really possible for a borrower to be soulmates with a human? How was Pepper so okay with that?

She swallowed, walking briskly down the hall. Pepper was her younger brother, and she would always be protective of him… but he was twenty-two. He could make his own decisions, no matter how much it scared her.

Guilt crept into her stomach, and she sighed. She regretted leaving Pepper alone with that human. He had seemed so confused, so nervous. She hoped that he was doing okay.

It had been selfish of her to leave. She had been undeniably terrified, yes, but so was he. She should have been there for him.

After twenty more minutes of walking, her surroundings became more familiar. To her left, a round white sticker was stuck to the wall, covered in a thick layer of dust. Pepper had placed it there a long time ago as a landmark.

Her heart swelled. “Pepper?” She called softly, voice wobbly with disuse. She eventually came across a small crack in the wall and peered through, her stomach jumping at the sight of four massive humans, scattered around the living space. For a moment, she wondered if she had taken a wrong turn, but then she spotted the blonde human. Felix. This was definitely the right apartment.

She chewed her lip, mind racing with nightmare-inducing possibilities. Pepper wasn’t out there with them, right? He wouldn’t do that, right?

After a moment of observation, she concluded that Pepper was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank in relief.

“Pepper?” She called again into the walls, confident that the humans wouldn’t hear her over their own overpowering voices. “Are you around? Pepper?”

Pepper didn’t seem to be nearby, which meant he could be anywhere in the apartment. Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip on her needle and set on her path.

—

“The director said the cast list should be out tonight,” Alice groaned, flopping onto the couch next to Owen. “It’s almost nine o’clock. What are they waiting for?”

“Maybe they’re still deciding,” Breanna offered, chewing her lip. She was sitting on the floor next to Felix, who had his laptop open and was periodically refreshing his email. His heart was racing with anxiety.

Owen was the only one of them who wasn’t fretting. He leaned back on the couch, shrugging. “Does it matter? You three are obviously gonna be the leads. Why worry?”

The three others erupted into a chorus of “you don’t know that” and “of course it matters.” Owen raised his eyebrows, falling silent.

“I swear, I’m gonna go crazy,” Alice muttered, playing with her silky black hair. She was checking her phone as often as Felix was checking his laptop.

After a second of silence, Breanna suggested, “Let’s just talk about something else… you know, to take our minds off of it. Um, anything interesting happening recently? Alice, Felix, how are your soulmates?”

Felix opened his mouth as if to respond, but Alice answered faster, voice suddenly bright. “He only lives four hours away.” She sat up straighter, beaming. “We’re gonna try to find a time to meet up soon– maybe this summer. I can’t wait.”

As if on cue, the three others turned to Felix, expectant. He hesitated.

“Oh, uh… things have been pretty good with my soulmate.” Felix fiddled his thumbs, feeling a bit embarrassed that Alice had grown so close with her soulmate and he barely knew a thing about his. “I mean… I don’t know where he lives, yet, but we’ve been talking a lot. We usually just tell each other about our days.”

“Do you know anything personal about him?” Owen asked expectantly, earning a glare from the girls. “Seriously, you’ve been talking for like, a month.”

“Well…” Felix’s mind was racing. His soulmate had always seemed so shy and reserved that Felix felt uncomfortable pressing him for more information than he was willing to give. “I don’t know. We’re just taking things slow.”

The other three seemed a bit unhappy with his answer, and Felix fidgeted uncomfortably. “What about you guys?” He focused on Owen and Breanna. “Owen, you’re twenty-one, right? Have you heard anything?”

“Nah,” Owen said, shrugging. “Not yet.”

“Only a month until I turn twenty-one,” Breanna said, crossing her fingers. “Hopefully my soulmate will–”

“The cast list is out!” Alice suddenly gasped, clutching her phone. “I got the email, oh my god, I don’t wanna open it–” She threw her phone to the side.

“What?” Immediately, Breanna scrambled over next to Felix. Felix’s heart caught in his throat as an email appeared in his inbox, titled The Little Mermaid Cast 2024. 

Alice jumped off the couch and moved next to Felix as well, jaw clenched tight. Her face was pale. “Open it,” she urged, voice quiet.

With the girls hovering over his shoulder, Felix took a deep, shaky breath, and clicked on the email.

The Little Mermaid Cast 2024

Ariel ......... Alice L. Prince Eric ... Felix B. Ursula ........ Breanna A. Sebastian ..... Ricky S. continued

“Holy fuck,” Breanna said.

Felix’s heart had dropped past his stomach and was now doing cartwheels around the room. He blinked several times, unsure if he was reading it correctly.

Noise erupted around him as Alice and Breanna burst into cheers, grabbing onto Felix and shaking him. He gasped, laughing, relief and excitement and shock and fear racing through his body in waves. “Oh my god— congratulations, you guys!” he stammered, bringing a hand to his forehead.

“We did it!” Alice cheered, throwing her arms around Felix in a hug before lunging over to give Breanna the same. “We fucking did it!”

Owen was patting Felix’s shoulder, congratulating him, but Felix was more focused on the bookshelf, where he swore he saw a tiny glimpse of movement. His heart swelled, and he briefly wondered if Pepper was happy for him.

—

Pepper smiled, leaning forward to see Felix better. Felix was undeniably thrilled, speaking excitedly to the broad-shouldered human next to him. 

This human— Owen— was taller than Felix, and when he had walked into the apartment Pepper had been appalled by his size. Pepper had spent the last hour lingering on the floor by the bookshelf, observing the humans from the safety of the shadows. He remembered Alice and Breanna from the audition.

Felix had warned him yesterday that his friends were going to spend the evening in the apartment, and although Pepper was a bit disappointed that he couldn’t wait for the cast list with Felix, he understood. 

Clearly, the cast list had brought good news for all of them. Pepper watched them curiously, heart growing at their positive reactions. 

“Pepper?”

Pepper nearly jumped out of skin. He spun on his heel, shoulders tense, spotting a glimpse of movement past the thin crack in the wall. 

He spent a nervous glance at the humans before approaching the wall, peeling inside. “Hello?” He called cautiously, wishing that he had something more than his hook to defend himself. “Who’s there?”

“It’s— it’s Basil.”

His heart skipped a beat. Blinking several times, he squeezed his way through the crack, stumbling to his feet within the darkness of the walls. 

There, standing an inch away, was his sister. Basil’s brown eyes were intense, her hand clenching her needle. 

“Basil,” he whispered, heart pounding. Relief filled his body at the sight of his sister, completely unharmed. He had been wondering how she was doing. “I— you’re back—?”

He was cut off. Basil threw her arms around Pepper’s shoulders, squeezing him tight in a firm hug. Pepper blinked, then wrapped his arms around her as well, his breath catching in his throat.

“Pepper, I’m sorry,” Basil murmured. Her bushy black hair made Pepper’s neck tickle. “I really, really am.”

Pepper gently pulled away, holding Basil’s shoulders so that he could meet her wide brown eyes. He stuttered for breath, blinking rapidly. “Basil, what… what? Where have you been? Are you okay?”

Basil swallowed, dragging a hand down her face. “Listen, I… I’ve been thinking… about you, and your soulmate.”

Pepper nodded anxiously, stepping back. He vaguely heard the sounds of humans talking behind him.

“I still don’t know how to feel about it,” Basil said honestly, shifting on her feet. “I mean, I’ve spent twenty-eight years fearing humans, so when I found out you were talking to one, I kind of freaked out.” She gave a sheepish smile, glancing Pepper up and down. “But… I guess he hasn’t hurt you, yet, so he can’t be terrible.”

Pepper’s breath left his body in one exhale. “Right.”

“He’s really your soulmate, then?” Basil asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” Pepper murmured, flushing. “He is.”

“Have you told him?”

Pepper swallowed, a bit surprised at how much Basil was willing to listen. Appreciation for his sister flooded his heart. “No,” he admitted, glancing over his shoulder. “I don’t really know if I should.”

“Because… you don’t trust him…?” Basil asked, tilting her head. 

Pepper chewed his lip, then stepped forward, taking Basil’s hand. He gently guided her towards the crack in the wall, where she only raised her eyebrows expectantly, then followed him out into the open.

Felix, Breanna, Alice, and Owen were still crowded around the living room, speaking with wide gestures. Pepper felt Basil press into him instinctively, and he made sure the two of them were well concealed in the shadow of the bookshelf.

“His name is Felix,” Pepper murmured, pointing to the blonde human who was sitting cross-legged and leaning against the couch. Warmth filled his heart at the human’s soft smile. “Listen, I know it seems crazy, but he’s actually a good human.”

Basil sent him a sidelong glance, but said nothing, so Pepper continued.

“He caught me a few weeks ago,” Pepper explained, eyes trained on Felix. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. I thought he was gonna kill me, but— but he just… let me go. And once I realized he was my soulmate, I actually started to talk to him more, and he… he’s really kind, Basil. He’s never tried to grab me, or hurt me, even though he could have.”

Basil followed his gaze, observing Felix. “He could be just trying to get you to trust him,” she whispered uneasily. 

Pepper hummed thoughtfully. Obviously, he considered that several times over the past few weeks. But… “Why, though? He could snatch me up at any time.”

Basil paled. “Don’t say things like that.”

“He won’t,” Pepper assured quickly, comfortingly taking her hand in his. “I promise. You know me, Basil, I would never talk to a human if I thought it’d be dangerous. I mean, I still get nervous around Felix… but he’s my soulmate. I’ve lived with my soulmate for a year, and I had no idea. I can’t just move away and forget about him.”

Basil’s brown eyes softened. “Yeah. I understand.” She moved closer to Pepper, taking a deep breath. “It’s just scary, you know? I mean, you’re my little brother. I want you to be safe around him.”

“I am,” Pepper promised. “I really am.”

Basil paused. “Then… why haven’t you told him? That he’s your soulmate?”

Pepper went quiet, peering around at the group of humans in front of them. His heart twisted. “I don’t want to ruin his life,” he admitted heavily. “He has all these friends, and goes to school, and does theater, and… and he’s not even supposed to know that borrowers exist.” 

He watched as Felix patted Breanna’s shoulder, saying something to her, and he continued with a frown. “We’ve just become friends, and it’s actually going well. I really like him. I’m just worried that if I tell him that we’re soulmates, everything is gonna get fucked up, and he’s not gonna want to be around me anymore. I mean, what kind of human would want to be soulmates with a borrower? It’s not like we can go out in public, or anything. I— I think he’d just be sad, to find out I’m his soulmate.” He blinked rapidly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Oh.” Basil let out a small breath, glancing between Pepper and Felix. “I see.”

Pepper only nodded, gray eyes trained on his soulmate.

“Well, there’s no need to rush things,” Basil said gently, leaning closer to Pepper. “You don’t need to tell him until you’re ready. It’s okay.”

Pepper sent her a small smile, and the pair of them fell into silence, observing the four humans. 

They all seemed so happy. Breanna and Felix were sitting on the floor, chatting to Owen, who was seated on the couch. Alice paced around the room with her phone pressed against her ear, excitedly waving her hand around to emphasize each word. Pepper’s heart swelled, knowing that the cast list had brought good news for all of them.

It was undeniably terrifying to see four humans in his space, but Pepper had reluctantly grown accustomed to them over the course of the evening. Felix clearly liked them, and that was enough for Pepper.

“I should probably go,” Breanna said after a moment, checking her phone. “I’ve got an exam tomorrow morning. Owen, you ready?” She glanced up at the redhead, who nodded.

They had arrived together. Pepper still didn’t understand what “carpool” meant, but that was the explanation they had used.

“Congratulations again,” Breanna said brightly, giving Alice and Felix each a firm hug. “This is gonna be such a good show.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Felix offered. “Alice, are you sticking around?”

“If that’s okay,” Alice chirped, sitting down on the couch. 

Felix nodded, and after Breanna and Owen bid their final farewells, the three of them walked to the kitchen. The front door clicked a moment later.

“They’re not so bad,” Pepper offered, glancing towards Basil. His sister was watching Alice intently, who was on her phone.

“I guess,” Basil said thoughtfully. “I still think they’re too big for their own good.”

Pepper laughed softly, then turned towards the wall. “Do you want to stay at my place?”

Basil sent Alice one more wary look before following Pepper. “Yes, please,” she said gratefully, rubbing at her face. “I haven’t slept in a thousand days.”

Pepper stopped before he could enter the wall, raising an eyebrow at his sister. “Where have you been, by the way?” He leaned against the bookshelf, sparing Alice a quick glance.

“In the corner of this building,” Basil explained, jerking her head in the direction she had gone. “Maybe a twelve hour walk? I made a little temporary home underneath the vending machines.”

Pepper blinked in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t know there were vending machines here. Maybe I should do some more exploring, huh?”

Basil laughed. “Dude, I got a whole candy bar from a vending machine the other day. It was awesome.”

Pepper smiled in amusement. “That sounds dangerous.”

“Nah, it was totally worth it. Have you had a Twix bar before? It was life-changing, I swear—”

“What the hell?”

Both borrowers flinched. Pepper gasped, stumbling against the bookshelf as a massive form knelt down in front of them, blue eyes wide and piercing. 

When had Alice come over here?!

On instinct, Pepper and Basil both dove for the crack in the wall, colliding into each other with panicked gasps. Pepper’s heart thudded against his ribcage as he ushered Basil towards the opening. “Shit, shit, shit—”

In a flash, pressure closed around Pepper. He immediately thrashed out, gasping for air.

Pepper wasn’t unfamiliar with being inside of a human hand, but being grabbed without warning brought a whole new wave of panic. Memories of his and Felix’s first meeting flashed through his mind, and his ribs began to ache. 

“What the…” Alice’s voice was quiet, filled with shock. Pepper couldn’t bring himself to meet her cold blue eyes. He continued to struggle, hoping beyond hope that Basil had managed to make it into the walls. 

“Let him go!” A voice erupted from the ground, rough with terror. 

Alice went still, blue eyes flickering down, and Pepper’s breath caught in his throat. No, Basil, get out of here—!

Basil’s shriek made Pepper’s stomach drop. He twisted, and in the corner of his eye he could see his sister squirming and kicking and snarling in Alice’s other hand. 

She looked so small. 

Alice’s sharp voice made Pepper’s heart drop. “What the fuck are you doing in Felix’s apartment?” Alice demanded, glancing between them. Pepper gasped for breath, mind racing with nightmarish thoughts.

He didn’t respond, trying desperately to look at Basil. His sister was fighting desperately, and he could barely imagine the terror she was currently feeling. 

The front door clicked, and in an instant, the world seemed to freeze. Pepper almost sobbed in relief, knowing that Felix would immediately swoop in to rescue them. 

“Fuck,” Alice mumbled. 

Pepper’s vision blurred as Alice suddenly moved him into her other hand. His shoulder knocked into Basil’s, and he barely caught sight of her wide, petrified gaze before the two of them were shoved unceremoniously into a pocket.

____________

yeah... things were going a little too well for Pepper so I had to fuck things up. whoops :P

i hope you liked it!! <3

TAGLIST: @smallsday @compact-katrina @satethesatelite @taters169 @entomolog-t

[fanstuffrantings]

So I didn't mention it, we continued our rewatch and got halfway through oracion seis.

Current notes:

I said at the beginning of the arc that the plot keeps happening so fast and my sister reiterated that which reaffirms my feelings that we just never slow down at all to let things breathe.

Jellal is a plot device. That's literally all he is. He shows up to progress things and never exists beyond that, and it sucks, because once more I state, the concept of him is interesting.

Mashima introduces really really powerful characters who we never see reach their full potential ever again because he realizes their powers break encounters and he nerfs them.

Lucy getting a massive power up we see used once more in the entire series and then is never referenced again has me wanting to fight.

Gemini is such a weird spirit in how it was written. First, a spirit capable of using the exact magic of an enemy fighter should cause a massive drain on the Celestial wizard's own mana because how else are they able to just have magical energy to fight? Second, I get in the case of celestial wizards that their imitation can cause confusion for the other spirits, but why not just have all other forms of magic be illusions they can cast? Gemini is the most overpowered key in the series and it never gets used, once again, because mashima realized it broke all battles and made stakes nonexistent.

I'm really starting to get tired of sadistic villains with no redeemable qualities showing up when I know full well they'll get redeemed if mashima wants them to be. He never adds nuance to evil characters and it makes it hard to buy when suddenly they're good. I know when we get back around to Minerva and I have to sit through her heel face turn for a second time I'm gonna go crazy. Heaven forbid we let a villain struggle to be good and still have nefarious impulses.

[berrydoodleoo]

endwalker thoughts, long post

Finished the MSQ so I wanted to write down some thoughts. It got long. Tons of spoilers here, obviously. Organized by character ‘cause ... I don’t know, that’s just how it came out.

FINAL WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW.

- Hydaelyn. I admit, I was kind of worried about how they planned to handle Hydaelyn. Shadowbringers sowed some doubt about Hydaelyn and her role, and it seemed like there were parts of the fandom really running with an Agnes All Along theory about her motives. Which isn't to say I don't like a good twist, but I feel like this twist would have undermined a lot of the story -- not just characters like Minfilia and Krile, but also the WoL and a lot of the narrative's underlying themes. So I was really, really pleased that they gave her some ambiguity but stayed true to her initial portrayal as a benevolent, if mysterious and enigmatic, force.

I also like the role of faith in her story: the people of Etheriys have faith in Hydaelyn, praying to her for protection and salvation; in turn, Hydaelyn has faith in the people of Etheriys, praying to them for salvation of her own. Her faith is complicated, she is full of doubt and pain, and in the end her final act is one of surrender. She doesn't get to see the resolution of the long war she waged in protection of the star, doesn't get to see Meteion defeated or the Final Days resolved. But Hydaelyn has faith, and because of that faith, the impossible becomes possible and the world is saved.

- Hydaelyn and Minfilia. In fact, Hydaelyn’s entire arc was mirrored by Minfilia and Ryne in ShB, which is a bit of poetry I’m kind of going crazy over. We talk a lot about what happens when you put women in the writing room, and I think this is an example of that.

- Hydaelyn and Zodiark. Zodiark ended up being very incidental to the story, which was a surprise to everyone, and a lot of what was assumed to be his role is passed to Meteion instead. What we do learn of him and Hydaelyn changes some of the earlier elements of the story. I think a lot of us previously assumed that they were equals locked in some yin-and-yang battle for human souls. With Shadowbringers, the idea that maybe Zodiark was the good guy trying to restore us to our Ancient selves and Hydaelyn was a duplicitous force stopping him also started coming out. The idea that Hydaelyn was an underdog of sorts in their battle of wills is an interesting twist. Also that Hydaelyn/Venat was making a stand for our independence and worth, while Zodiark/Elidibus was fighting (for reasons understandable but still wrong) to restore the broken, unjust, but beautiful world that created the Final Days in the first place.

They also cleared up how Zodiark was able to protect the world from the Final Days -- since dark-aspected aether is that of activity and movement, summoning Zodiark kept the aether from stagnating and allowing dynamis to build up and despair to spread. With Big Z's death, the dynamis could overpower the aether and Meteion could do her work.

- Hydaelyn and Venat. I think it's really powerful that, in the end, Hydaelyn was created and Zodiark sundered because of human action. We see the moment of the sundering, and it's solely because the surviving Ancients wanted to use Zodiark to cheat death for themselves and their loved ones at the cost of others' lives. It was never a cosmic battle of Light and Dark, Good and Evil, just another story about loss and greed and a lone soul doing everything they could to stand against it.

- Venat. Total fucking badass. Her lines before the sundering were some serious Old Testament shit: "No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk." Very God casting Adam and Eve out of Eden. The idea that once we were saved by grace, which we squandered, and now must save ourselves through work? I'm not Christian but I think there's some universality that really comes through. And the idea that she has been enduring in suffering and loneliness, sustained by her faith in someone she loves? I am Weak for this theme. It kills me with Lunafreya in XV and it kills me here.

- Minfilia and Ryne. I am so happy that they weren't forgotten. Thancred and Urianger both mentioned Minfilia and continue to be connected by their shared bond with Ryne. Ryne's time in the MSQ was brief -- I wish her scene had been voiced -- but I'm hopeful that she'll play a role in the follow-up quests. Given all of the space and time traveling we've been doing, I wonder if we're going to pick up the Thirteenth quests that we started on the First? I really hope so!

- Zenos. His whole schtick really is caused by a lack of intimacy and connection, isn't it? The only way Zenos has ever connected to others, even as a child, was through battle, and at this point it's too late for him to accept other approaches (at least not without overcoming a boatload of resistance). Which is really the tragedy of his character. Before EW, I tended to think of Zenos as unrepentantly amoral, but his conversation with Jullus suggests otherwise. It was a rather good point -- *would* people have been okay with Zenos' actions if they were in the service of some 'greater good'? This is a challenge to the characters we met in Garlemald, of course, but also to the players. Would we be more forgiving of the death and destruction Zenos sowed if he had a 'good' motive for it?

His willingness to help the WoL is also an interesting twist. I've seen some fics take his character in that direction, a sort of trained attack dog who will help the Scions at the WoL's request, and I admit I find it an interesting one. It doesn't hurt that Zenos has one of the best character designs in the game at this point. Also, his getup reminds me of the Lucis Caelums from VX -- the gold knee brace seems like a deliberate callout -- but I can't quite untangle what the reference is supposed to mean.

- Meteion. I admit, I really liked her? They gave her Ryne's face and the twins' hair, a deliberate attempt to play on those associations that worked on me! Her introduction and first meeting with the WoL was charming, and her relationship with Hermes seemed like a deliberate mirroring of Ryne's relationship with Thancred. I wanted to scoop her up and protect her from the people who didn't see her as a person, let alone a child in need of guidance and protection. She reminded me a lot of Cole from Dragon Age, another character that I am completely weak for.

I also liked the symbolism in her design -- she starts out as a bluebird (associated with happiness), her bird-form has a swallow's shape (associated with hope), but she also has harpy/fury elements (mythical beings associated with torment and despair). When we finally get through to her, she becomes a bluebird again. I liked the juxtaposition of the little bird chattering at the massive Endsinger, begging her not to hurt herself or anyone else, and the imagery of her creating a bridge to lead us back to the others was lovely. And in the end, she's a very lonely character, and I'm a sucker for lonely characters.

- Meteion and Hermes. One thread that I think was dropped in a bad way is emblemized by these two. The Ancients did not see familiars, like Meteion or our WoL, as real people, and it really showed. Even familiars who had souls weren't considered 'people' people, capable of independence and self-determination. Hermes felt bad for killing the creatures he created, but he didn't have a problem sending them on an impossible, potentially soul-detroying mission for nothing but his own benefit. I thought Emet-Selch was going to call him out on this -- which would have been the height of irony, considering -- but he just criticizes Hermes for the potential impact of his actions on the Ancients instead. No one said a word about Hermes' choices and their effects on Meteion and her sisters, not even Venat.

Later, Alisaie lampshaded things a bit by observing how Emet-Selch's creations called them children, while the Ancients called WoL a familiar, and how this heralded Emet-Selch's growing acceptance of the Scions' humanity. But it needed more, really. Hydaelyn's sundering and testing of mankind may have been high-handed and merciless, but at least she acknowledged us as humans. My experience with the FF games suggests that self-determination and the ability to decide one's own fate are important reoccurring themes, so it was disappointing to see them so glossed over here.

- Meteion and Zenos. This also leads to a tie between these two characters -- both given over to apathy and despair, both misused by their creators/parents, both hungry for connection. Maybe this is an idea they'll pursue more in later expansions? I kind of felt bad for Zenos, seeing him left to die alone in that empty space. It made me want a better, happier ending for him, despite all the evil he’s done.

- Emet-Selch. I've always liked Emet, although I'm not as fannish about him as I am some other characters. They really captured the parts of his character that are entertaining -- the tsundere tendencies, really -- but neglected the parts of his character that are infuriating and give him depth. Which is well enough, I suppose, he had an entire expansion and he's dead now, so there's not much point in rehashing things. Still, much of what we saw in Garlemald is his doing, and like Hermes, he has a lot to answer for regarding his treatment of his children/creations (i.e., Varis and Zenos, as well as the Empire as a whole). Varis' fate ends up being a grim one, and I can't say it’s undeserved, but it's a bit frustrating that Emet-Selch is never taken to task by the characters or the story for the massive wrongs he wrought upon people smaller and less powerful than him.

- Emet-Selch and Hythlodeus. There’s such a vibe of intimacy and trust between these two. Hyth going off to sacrifice himself for Zodiark and Emet's empty, extended hand was pretty ouchy. The fact that Hyth was one of the souls Emet sought to restore through Zodiark gives his actions some needed emotional oomph -- his thousand-year crusade always felt a bit empty to me in ShB, but know that we know Hyth better his despair is more tangible.

- Hythlodeus. He was utterly delightful at all points. A total cinnamon roll of a character. Also, I want to steal his hair for my WoL.

- The Scions. The connections between the Scions and the WoL were a huge part of this expansion, and so were the connections between the Scions themselves. I liked the the little pairs and trios that formed -- the three Archons, Alisaie and G'raha, Alphinaud and Estinien, Krile and Tataru. It's hard to have an ensemble cast and give everyone time in the spotlight, and I think they did a pretty good job for the most part. The only character who's consistently neglected is Y'shtola -- I feel like we need to do a transfer from the twins to her, as some of their scenes started to feel quite redundant by the end. Of course, Y'shtola is a very reserved character not gripped by any serious pathos, which is a nice change, but still.

G'raha really came into his own here, balancing the dorky catboy we met in ARR with the seasoned leader we saw in ShB, and the hints they dropped about Corvus suggests he has more story to tell. Urianger also finally had some time in the spotlight, and it was good to see someone in this game get a damn hug for once. I think one of my favorite Scion scenes was Alphi and Ali in the Garlemald dungeon, and then the door swinging open and the camera showing us nothing but Estinien's legs. It was truly badass and heartwarming, the reminder that even in the cold and darkness, someone will come for you. Also, Y'shtola to Estinien: "'Remove from the field' is not a euphemism for 'enthusiastically murder'".

Also also, Thancred and Urianger keep ending up paired off, and I suspect someone on the writing staff is aware of the 'Ryne has two dads' jokes from ShB and is encouraging them shamelessly. Overall, there was a quite a bit of potentially shippy interactions between pretty much every pairing you could think of, which I like -- it's the writers' way of encouraging people to play and have fun with the characters, rather than trying to lock down and control the narrative.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Mia Deserved Better: An Analysis of RE8's Themes/Symbolism

Foreword: I would like to thank @lepusrufus for posting about both Mia and Miranda, and at one point directly saying that Mia deserved better, which is a large part of what caused me to start examining her role in the canon story. Now, I will say that this post, like some of my previous explorations of Village (such as my attempt to determine Donna's age), will not be the best organized. My ADHD makes such things rather difficult for me. However, I have tried more than usual, and have broken up this "essay" into several distinct sections. Still, I am worried that my thoughts will not be as concise or coherent as they were inside my head.

Under read-more for length and spoilers for RE8: Village.

Introduction:

Village is, inarguably, about parenthood. Is it a horror game? Yes. Is it also science fiction? Also yes. But is it still, at its core, a story, and therefore contains imagery, symbolism, and themes? Yes. Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with Mia deserving better. My proposal is as follows: While Village is overall about parenthood, it is more about motherhood than fatherhood. Furthermore, Mia's background + actions from the previous game tie her story directly with Mother Miranda's, making their potential interactions massively important to the story... and could have served the theme beautifully. The missed potential in her involvement in the story is honestly a little bit absurd.

Now, let's examine each of the Four Lords + their sections, as the beginning of analyzing the game's theme.

Lady Dimitrescu + Castle:

Ah, perhaps the clearest (albeit unimportant) bits of theme within the whole game. We are immediately presented with another parent, with three daughters she loves very, very much. Initially they work as a team to capture Ethan, easily overpowering him. When they do split up, each still has dialogue regarding their family members. Each of the daughters expresses a desire to be like their mother/make their mother proud. Lady Dimitrescu herself gets very upset every time one of her daughters perishes, and delivers some important dialogue about this in her final confrontation with Ethan.

To paraphrase, Lady D says that Ethan has done something unforgiveable, caused damage that can never heal, and deserves to die before his daughter. That last part is interesting, in the sense that Lady D seems to believe that outlasting your own child is a fate so terrible that she would not wish it upon anyone, including the person who killed her daughters.

Throughout her dialogue and actions, Lady D serves as an important figure of a living mother. What do I mean by that? Well, the only other mothers we see in game are Mia and Miranda. The former doesn't show up until almost the end of the game (seeing as the "Mia" at the start is not actually the real Mia), while the latter does not have a living child, and her behavior has (presumably) changed quite a bit since that loss. As Ethan goes through Castle Dimitrescu, he watches (he causes) Lady D to go through what Miranda did all those decades ago. When we see her loss, when we experience her loss, it is something we connect with, even comparing it (as Lady D does) to Ethan's loss of Rose.

For the more visual side of symbolism, we can turn to Lady Dimitrescu herself. She is very tall, is visibly older than the majority of the Village cast, and has a fairly classic (old-school) motherly look. Everything about her reinforces her position as an example of a mother, especially when she's with her daughters and becomes such a strong figure of protection. Her height allows her to seem the caretaker for her children, even though they are scary/intimidating in their own right.

Donna Beneviento + Waterfall House:

Yes, the baby/fetus/monstrosity is part of this. No, it is not the only bit of thematic work in this section of the game.

To begin, you can find out that Donna is officially the adopted daughter of Mother Miranda. Her birth parents are dead, implied to be from especially tragic causes (more than is the norm when it comes to "orphan making"), and she has suffered greatly from it. We see that she has been seemingly neglected by Miranda, and is incredibly isolated. The tragedy of her loss, along with the consequences presented by it, are something to keep in mind further down the road, when we inevitably deal with Ethan's own death.

One of the consequences of the environment Donna was raised in is, arguably, her reliance on Angie. While interpretations of their exact relationship (aka how much control Donna actually has at any given point) vary, the two very clearly have something akin to a mother/daughter vibe. Alternatively an older sister/younger sister sort of thing. This shows in the way that Donna holds/carries Angie, as well as the contrast in their demeanors. Moreso, the fact that Donna gave a part of herself to create Angie is almost enough to make the symbolism nonnegotiable.

We also see that Donna has a strong understanding of family/family dynamics, through the way that she uses her powers to manipulate Ethan. She dissects his connections to Mia and Rose, taunts him with the lengths he's willing to go to save his child, then shows him a grotesque version of parenthood: The aforementioned fetus monster. Does the monster represent Ethan's fears, or Donna's?

What if the monster is how Donna sees herself, in some way, perhaps thinking that it's her fault her parents died? Bit of a stretch, but it's not a keystone of my theory, so I'm just throwing it out there. We could, however, go a step further and ask ourselves if Donna has noticed the way Miranda neglects her, and the fetus monster is how Donna thinks Miranda sees her. A baby, true, but grotesque, so terribly imperfect compared to her "real daughter" (Eva, obvs).

Regardless, the monster presents an ugly side of parenthood. It shows us the blood, the hunger (with the way it repeatedly attempts to swallow Ethan whole), the wailing. If Lady D shows us the love of parenthood, the bond, Donna in turn shows us the hate, the misery. Everything that one must endure to reap the rewards of family.

Lastly, we get one last bit of symbolism with Donna's death: We play a game with Angie. A childhood classic, hide and seek. Ethan chases her down repeatedly, stabbing away, seemingly only hurting the doll. But what happens when he kills Angie? It turns out that he killed Donna. You kill the child, you kill the parent. A reinforcement of the connection that comes with parenthood, along with another notch in Ethan's family-murdering belt (not saying that he's the "true antagonist" or anything, just keeping track for one of my later points).

Moreau + The Reservoir

Let's get the worst possibility out of the way: Moreau, weakest and sickest of the four lords, lives in a reservoir, where he is relatively safe. To defeat him, you have to drain the water, forcing him onto dry(ish) land. Paired with the main ideas of his section (which I will detail after this nightmare), one could theorize that he's meant to represent birth itself. Again, he's safe in his ("womb") water, and becomes vulnerable when he leaves (like a fragile newborn). Kinda gross, in my opinion, and also not a strong enough connection for me to care much about. It was merely an interesting (albeit horrifying) enough thought that I felt it warranted sharing.

Moving on to the big stuff with Moreau: He's a baby. Evidence: Whiny, has difficulty moving around, struggles to adapt to his growth, throws up a bunch, loves his mother very much, cries for his mother when he's in trouble, etc. Although Mother Miranda does not care for him, he clearly cares for her, and plays yet another role of an abandoned child (like Donna). Without Miranda there to protect him, he perishes terribly, crying out for someone who does not care to answer.

Hearing him cry out for Miranda, over and over, only for her to continue ignoring him is a key piece in the build-up to our confrontation between Ethan and Miranda. The game, in many ways, centers around the comparison between the two. In my humble opinion, Mia should have been involved in this comparison, as opposed to supplying the solution to the result of said comparison. Yes, I know that was a lot of words that don't mean much yet, but trust me, I'm getting there.

Heisenberg + The Factory

Ironically, of the four lords, Heisenberg is the most similar to Mother Miranda. In his massive factory, he is alone except for his numerous experiments, the results of decades of playing God. In comparison to Ethan + Mia, Heisenberg represents artificial parentage, or more accurately, the artificial creation of "life". While the others Lords also performed experiments, they used living subjects. Heisenberg instead chose to use corpses, which he then "brought back to life" with cybernetics + his powers, a somewhat futuristic version of Dr. Frankenstein.

Together, Miranda and him show a rotten side of parenthood (whereas Donna + Moreau showed us the uglier side of the children themselves). To put it simply, they are bad parents. They throw their "children"/experiments into the fray, uncaring, using them as pawns for their own greater gain. The most important part of this is that Heisenberg offers to "help" Ethan: By using Rose as a weapon. In his act of refusal, Ethan demonstrates one of several important distinctions between himself and Mother Miranda. Where she is willing to use her "children" (read: lives that she is responsible for) as tools, he is not.

Miscellaneous Symbolism/Imagery:

The old hag is one of my favorite parts of Village. She's seemingly nuts, has a crazy old lady laugh, wears bones that make soothing bone noises when she moves, and she draws lots of symbols in the dirt. If you look closely (I can provide screenshots if anyone desires, but it will take a bit of work to get them onto my computer), she's drawing one of the most iconic images in the titular village: The winged unborn. This symbol acts as the key you build up after every fight with a Lord, understandably called the Unborn Key (which turns into the Winged Unborn Key). Whether this counts as foreshadowing towards the hag's identity reveal is technically irrelevant, but I like to think it does.

In essence, you build up the key, this depiction of an infant, to progress in the game. The more wings it gains, the closer you are to your goal of rescuing your child.

The cadou itself is very clearly fetus-shaped. Furthermore, the only place within the human body that we know it ever gets implanted is in the "tummy" (thanks Moreau), aka roughly where someone's womb is/would be. Every infected person we see presumably had the Cadou implanted there (though I think it would be interesting if implanting it in different spots caused different mutations. of course, that is a discussion for another day). To become immortal, you have to "bear" a "child". Does it get more direct than that?

Mother Miranda gained her immortality in part for her grief at the loss of her child. She embodied the despair that Lady D spoke of, becoming an eternal source of anguish. Just as the loss of a child is a wound that lasts forever, so too would Miranda last forever (well, until Ethan comes along).

Mia is a loving mother, who puts up with the BSAA making her move across the world, deals with the complications of having a mold husband and mold baby, and has proved herself (see her section in RE7) to be an immense badass. Previously I had forgotten that, and even embarrassed myself in the comments of another person's post by implying she wasn't a tough, ass-kicking machine. Y'all remember feral Mia? People talk about "poor Ethan's arms", but sometimes we forget that Mia was one of the people who did a number on them. Furthermore, she's one of the only living people (from outside the village) to have any connections (pun intended) to Mother Miranda. They worked together, although possibly not directly, on Evelyn. If anyone in Village has a chance of really understanding Miranda's plight, or knowing the truth behind it, it would be Mia. Yet we don't see them interact a single time. Which leads me to the next section...

Conclusion On Theme + Missed Potential:

Okay, okay, so it's pretty obvious at this point that, as previously stated, the game's theme is parenthood. Every section has its symbolism, the story is very obviously about a man trying to rescue his daughter, etc, etc, but what's the point? Is there a lesson, or a more focused interpretation of the central theme? Let's take one last step back, and focus on something I've mentioned a few times now: The comparison between Ethan and Mother Miranda.

Recurring dialogue from Ethan, Alcina, and Mother Miranda all point towards the developers acknowledging that the characters are similar, but there's nowhere near as much conversation about it as I would like. Several times we have the antagonists ask Ethan how he's so willing to kill someone else's child, or prevent them from (essentially) doing what he's doing (aka saving his daughter). While Ethan responds with a mix of "well you started it" and "aghhh fuck-a-you, bitch", there's a much more solid, unspoken difference: Mother Miranda sends her underlings to kill, so that she may revive her daughter. Ethan kills (read: does the work himself) to get his daughter. The difference is much bigger, and more important, at the end of the game, when we realize just how far it goes. Ethan dies to save his daughter. Time and time again Mother Miranda has killed others for her work, but in the end she is stopped when someone willingly dies to stop her.

Where does Mia come in? Mia, the badass mother, the one who once worked alongside Mother Miranda, should have been the nail in the coffin. She is the one who survives, who lives on to raise Rose, she is the silent solution to Ethan's sacrifice. Miranda, you fool, what could you have accomplished if you had held onto your makeshift family? Through Mia (and Chris, to a lesser degree), his "loss" becomes a victory. There's a certain poetic justice that comes with Rose's full family being instrumental in saving her, when Miranda so readily spurned her own family.

Mia could have had an actual conversation with Miranda, their history giving the latter a reason to actually listen. I'm not saying that Miranda would have changed her mind/plans, but the conversation would have been a well-needed contrast to Ethan's "arggg what the fuck is happening, I only have two reactions to things. agg fuck you". Additionally, I feel that Mia (who was captured and had to endure who-knows-what) deserves the opportunity to be the one who points out Miranda's mistakes, who delivers the final "fuck you" to her. More than that, she's the one at the end who can say that hey, maybe she can understand some of what Miranda did. Was there anything her and Ethan wouldn't have done to save Rose? As much as Ethan is a foil to Miranda, Mia could (and should) have played a similar role.

When so much of the story and symbolism revolves around Miranda's experience as a mother, it only would have been fair to shine a light on her equivalent. Her better.

There's more I wanted to say/feel like I didn't properly get across, and I might add more to this at some point, but it's 5:40 AM right now, and I'm starting to feel like my brain is slowing down, so... Feel free to reblog/comment and add your own thoughts!

[fluffywing-e-tarot]

Hybrid Traits (2)

Part 2

School felt incomplete when Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo walked to the carriages that were pulled by the black skeleton horses. at least their group felt incomplete. The four of them had been going to school since Tommy first showed up on the train all those years ago.

"Where is Purp?" Draco asked climbing into the carriage with them. They had sat apart on the Train. Draco with his Slytherin friends, and the Notorious Gremlins in their own cabin.

"Home." Tubbo said, yawning " got a last-minute thing that needed to be treated."

"Really what happened," Ranboo asked. Tommy wanted to scream. Ranboo's memories should not be a part of the Hybrid trait development.

"RAnboob. don't tell me you're having memory problems," Tommy said in disbelief. facepalming. They had discovered that RAnboo's memory problems were connected to his other half giving Ranboo the selective Memorie problems.

"Ranboo our traits are coming back, "Tubbo said to his husband. Intertwining their fingers. a smile on his face " You were enderwalking again."

RAnboo eyebrow's creased in concentration. He noticed Tommy winces as his back jolted into the carriage. Tommy's back was in agony. again. He groaned for what felt like the Hudrenth time.

"You okay?" Draco asked.

"I'm fine it's just my wings are growing. It hurts like a bitch." Tommy said pinching his shoulder stretching his neck he has started to feel the limbs growing.

The Carriage Ride Draco was acting Irritated by the lack of Purple. But he looked confused when Tubbo started mentioning his craving to eat some cans. Ranboo and Tommy were laughing at the confusion of Draco.

The three of them separated to their selective houses. They were respectful of the House seating arrangement on Important Occasions.

Dumbledore began his usual speech of greeting students to the new year of Hogwarts. Tommy rolled his eyes at Iron as he began to shove food in his mouth the moment the food was in front of them. he piled his plate with all of the delicious variety of food for the meal. Dumbledore got up again to greet the new professor.

hem hem.

Tommy looked around for the Bitch that dare interrupt Dumbledor. Shore the Gremlins didn't trust the Headmaster Authority figure. but the man did gain their trust as they recovered that the Ministry was twenty times worse for denying the claim of Harry and Tommy that Bad V was back. and the one that stood against the denial was Dumbeldore.

Tommy followed Harry's gaze to the Pink Frog at the professor's table.

"She was at My hearing."

Tommy raised a "And your not Dead, exiled or expelled?"

the Gryffindor had gotten used to Tommy's traumatized past. Shrugging of the mention of the Exile.

"It was determined that my Patronus was cast in self-defense. And everyone there agreed with the evidence given." Harry said

"Pog," Tommy said

\○/

Purple arrived at Hogwart a week into the term. His horns curled above his head. Wings tucked awkwardly behind his back. He was in his uniform robe with his purple Hoodie underneath.

"Hay Purple" Tommy

"If you don't have a decent reason to talk to me. Don't" Purple said his violet eyes now slit like a Reptile. Tommy could feel the Ex mercenary's threat of stabbing Tommy.

"Ok, ok bitch dragon Hybrid coming through," Tommy said he knew how growing traits felt like. It was painful and sore after growing them even after the traits came in. Purpeleds senses must be in overdrive as all of Purple's traits came in at once.

Purple walked over to the Slytherin table. All eyes were on Purple and the newly developed Draconic features. Tommy followed behind.

"Wow," Draco said. His eyes focusing on purples Draconic traits in wonder.

"Just a heads up Purp is feeling cranky here so minimal conversation with him is the best."

"I will stab you, "Purple said.

The Slytherin looked between each other. A silent conversation went between them. Draco gave irritated expressions. Rupert and Gregory were sympathetic, Pansy shrugged and giggles grabbing her bag, and left. Tommy watched as the developing Boss Woman left she pulled a wooden sword from her bag.

"I'm not going crazy that Pansy is becoming more of a PvP boss right." Tommy question

"She is," Rupert confirmed.

"Good cause she looks like a Wife Hunter now," Tommy said. Whistling after the Boss woman.

"Tommy if you don't leave now I will use your body heat the entire day," Purple said. Tommy clicked his tongue not sure if he could overpower the dragon Hybrid.

"Fine enjoy being your cold-blooded, Reptile." Tommy mocked.

"EnderDragon Hybrid are a warmblooded idiot." Purpled flipped Tommy a bird.

Tommy rolled his eyes. To return to Tubbo and Ranboo. He was greeted by Tubbo with a headbutt directly to Tommy's head. It knocked Tommy off his feet and onto the ground.

"What the nether man." Tommy looked up

"I am Goat! " Tubbo exclaimed and started running back to his husband.

"Tubbo don't make me get the sponges," Tommy shouted running after him. Tubbo decided to lept into Ranboos arms. Ranboo had been growing taller his trouser legs were showing a large portion of the socks. It was a playful chase from the great hall to their class.

A Father once more

Star Gazing

Hybrid Trait : part 1

[capsiclecevans]

“you bring out the best of me”

Warnings: none as usual, just floofy fluff Summary: Chris finally wins the Oscar he has always deserved and he dedicates his win to you and mentions you in his acceptance speech  Word Count: 1.5k  Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader 

⭐︎ ashleigh’s masterlist ⭐︎ | ☾ ashleigh’s taglist ☽

*:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

Chris was nervous, there was no doubt about it as you watched him button up his crisp white shirt in the mirror, his hands trembled lightly as they reaches for the next button. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be nervous on award show nights, but tonight was more intense than every. It was the Oscar’s and Chris was nominated for the first time, and he was a favourite to win for his role in the latest drama he was the male lead in. His anxiety had been building over the last couple of weeks on the build up of tonight and you had tried your best to help calm him, but you could clearly see how it was affecting him as he was getting ready in the hotel room you had for the night. 

You carefully stand up from the chair you was sat on, making sure that you didn’t stand on the elegant dress you was wearing, walking over to your nervous wreck of a boyfriend. You rest your hand on his shoulder lightly, not wanting to scare him as it was clear that he didn’t notice you approach him, the thoughts in his head overpowering everything else. He looks at you and tries to smile at you, tight on his lips, you smile back gently. You have never seen him this nervous before and it struck at your heart because he was sweetest man you have ever met and he didn’t deserve to feel like this. 

“You are going to be fine, I will be there right beside you the entire evening…” You say, finishing with the buttons on Chris’ shirt and helping with tucking it into his black slacks and then with his bow tie. Once you have finished you straighten the collar of his shirt and press a kiss to his cheek. 

“There we go…” You step back lightly, looking Chris up and down slowly, smiling to yourself before looking at him. “If you aren’t the sexiest man in the world, then pigs can fly…” You say, earning a laugh from Chris for the first time since you had both started getting ready for the award ceremony. 

*:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

The red carpet went better than you imagined, Chris kept you close the entire time. Either an arm round your waist, hand on the small of your back or hand-in-hand. Like he was scared you were going to go back against what you told him in the hotel room while you were getting ready. Now you were sat in your seats, your hand resting against Chris’ thigh as he spoke to James Corden who was sat to his left about their plans for the next year or so. You were just taking in the occasion, smiling to yourself when the light hit your engagement ring just right for it to glimmer and catch your eye. In the plans that Chris was talking about was your upcoming wedding, or as the press was calling it ‘The Wedding of the Year.’ 

You were brought out of your little daydream when Chris’ hand came to wrap round yours gently, covering your ring lightly. You smile up at him softly and raises your eyebrows as he smiles back at you, leaning over and kissing your cheek softly. You lean into the touch, a small flush coming to your cheeks. 10 years together and you still acted like you have only been together for a few months, this is the affect he had on you and you never wanted this feeling to stop. You were completely in love with this man and you knew you both would do anything to keep each other happy. 

“You okay?” He asks, looking at you, a smile touching at his lips. Far from the anxiety riddled Chris that you had in the hotel room, you smile and nods, squeezing his fingers with yours to let him know you are happy. 

“Yeah, just taking everything in…” You chuckle before leaning into Chris, striking up your own conversation with him till the ceremony started. 

*:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

As the ceremony went on, you could feel the nerves radiate off of Chris as his category came closer. You reach over and rest your hand on his knee, smiling at him lightly when he eventually catches your eye with his. He sighs a little, smiling nervously before taking your hand in his, bringing it up to his lips for press a kiss to your knuckles. 

You look over to the stage when Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Lawrence are announced to present the Best Actor award. You smile lightly at Chris and squeeze his hand gently, keeping a hold of it so he has a grounding point over the next couple of minutes. Whether he won or lost you knew you would be exceptionally proud of him and what he has achieved. 

“Wow, tonight has been fantastic, with some worthy winners…” Sandra says as Jennifer smiles and nods along with her. 

“And we have 6 outstanding actors lined up for this next award, Best Male” Jennifer says into the microphone on the podium before introducing the nominees. “The nominees for Best Male Actor are, Joaquin Phoenix for Joker, Antonio Banderas for Pain and Glory, Chris Evans for Life of the Party, Leonardo DiCaprio for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Adam Driver for Marriage Story and Johnathon Pryce for The Two Popes.” 

“And the winner is…” Sandra says as she starts to open the envelope, looking down and reading the winner before looking to the crowd and leaning to the microphone. “Chris Evans for Life of the Party.” 

Cheers erupt around you and Chris as you look at each other happily, pride emanating off you as you kiss him briefly, standing up to hug him as James Corden claps him on the back in congratulations. You are sure you hear Robert Downey Jr. a few rows back shout “Go on Capsicle!” But it is drowned out by the cheers and clapping for your fiancé. 

There was now a permanent smile on your face as you watched Chris walk up the steps of the stage to accept his well deserved Oscar trophy. All his handwork had paid off and you could not be more proud of him. 

The clapping finally died down as he stood at the podium to give his acceptance speech, after receiving the award from Jennifer and hugging both her and Sandra, he nervously chuckled before catching your eye in the crowd. You smile at him and give him an encouraging thumbs up, tearing up a little at the sight of him accepting the most prestigious award of his life. 

“Wow…I can’t believe this…thank you…” He starts off, still in utter shock that he has won and that he is holding an Oscar that will have his name engraved on it by the end of the night. “I’d just like to thank everyone on the production of Life of the Party, especially Rian Johnson our director, this wouldn’t be happening right now if it wasn’t for you and your brilliant job at directing. Also, my parents and siblings, they have been so supportive throughout my entire career and I would never have started acting if you didn’t give me the courage to do so.” He takes a deep breath before he turns slightly in your direction and smiles softly, like he is now only talking to you, ignoring the hundreds of people in the theatre and the TV cameras that are broadcasting the ceremony live across the world. “And finally I would like to give the biggest thanks to my wife-to-be, my soulmate and my everything. She’s been with me ever since before I was casted as Captain America, Steve Rogers as you will, and she has been my rock ever since. I couldn’t have done this without you, and sometimes I am shocked at how you handle everything that comes with myself and this life. I know it is crazy and overwhelming at times but I love you and in everything I do, you bring out the best of me, I love you so much darling. This award is for you.” 

You couldn’t help the tears fall down your cheeks as Chris spoke about you, in front of millions of people watching in the theatre but also at home. He never shied away from declaring his love for you or showing the world how in love he was with you. When he finally arrived back to his seat during the next, and final, ad break you hug him ever so tightly, even more in love with him than you were moments ago before he won the award if that was possible. You were extremely excited to marry and spend the rest of your life with Chris, and hopefully the news in the form of a small baby onesie sporting the “My Daddy is an Oscar Winner” on the front that you had printed for tonight, not that you knew he definitely would win, would seal both your happiness for years to come as you gave it to him the next morning after spending the night celebrating with each other in the hotel room you started the evening in getting ready than out at the Vanity Fair Party. 

*:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

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[cluescorner]

have any opinions on part 4 of JoJo?

It's the best one in terms of writing, plot consistency, and actually being coherent. The relatively lower stakes (trying to find 1 serial killer instead of trying to save the world) lends itself very well to a story set in a small town and also allowed for more character moments. One of my favorite parts about Part 4 is that we get to see the characters just...being kids together. Like, one of my favorite episodes is the Harvest one where Josuke and Okuyasu are just being dumbasses together constantly.

Josuke is probably my favorite JoJo so far, but I haven't gotten past Part 5 yet so that might change. He really feels like just some guy who happened to be born into the Joestar family and now has to deal with this crazy new world. He makes a lot of mistakes because he's inexperienced and also a LITERAL TEENAGER, but he also is his father's son. He is extremely clever and can quickly manipulate the situation to his advantage. He's like a Joseph who's also a decent person and not friends with a LITERAL N*ZI so that's nice. He also wears his heart on his sleeve and he see him get visibly upset and happy and angry and just overwhelmed throughout the Part. He feels like a real person that I can relate to, not just a badass punch man with 3 personality traits. So he's the best JoJo so far imo.

I also think the general main cast is also all solid. There really aren't any that ruin the show for me, even of the ones I like least. Okuyasu is such a good character and I honestly feel like he was underutilized both as a fighter and as a character. The Hand is so overpowered and literally could neutralize Kira in the span of like 5 minutes, so I feel like giving that overpowered Stand to Okuyasu, a character who isn't exactly bright enough to understand the full capabilites of his Stand and how to utilize them, was a good decision. Even if it was ultimately underutilized a LOT.

And the potential behind his character, a kid who has been only with his brother and his father (who are both kinda monsters in their own right) for as long as he can remember who then LOSES his brother after trying to fight Josuke, who then becomes friends with Josuke DESPITE all of this and quickly works his way into his friends' lives, who has a power related to taking EVERYTHING AWAY IN ONE TOUCH (Stands are a reflection of their user's soul so...), AND who is shown to be extremely kind-hearted despite his trauma but is also likely suffering in silence?? I think Okuyasu had the set up to be the best character of the part but Araki just didn't follow through. This kind of stuff is why I enjoy fanworks so much, I have already read so many that explore Okuyasu and they're all fantastic. I absolutely adore Okuyasu and his 'death' was the first moment in JoJo that I almost cried real tears.

Koichi is...fine. I like him and I get why everyone else likes him. In any other season I'd likely have way more to say about him, but every single character is pretty good in this season so I don't really have that strong of feelings about him.

Rohan is so funny to me. Like, this man only cares about his manga and does NOT care about being a good person and he doesn't try to hide it. One of the first things he does is try to fight our heroes because...he wants Koichi for his manga. He was about to force Okuyasu to kill himself and Heaven's Door is such an OP ability that I feel like I don't have to say anything. And the only reason he loses is because Josuke doesn't like manga and he insulted Josuke's hair. This is the kind of stuff that I love about this part, the ways our heroes win are so weird and clever that it makes the battles feel more real. Rohan is also a pretty well-written character and he contrasts very well with the other characters to create some very fun dynamics.

Part 4 Jotaro is better than Part 3 Jotaro. A major reason why I didn't really love Part 3 is because I didn't like Jotaro as a protagonist. He's too disinterested and stoic for me to enjoy as the LEAD OF AN ENTIRE PART but I always thought that he would work better as something else. And apparently, that something else was a genuinely amazing mentor character. He has seen the worst that Stands have to offer and he's very familiar in dealing with them, so he makes for a great contrast to our extremely inexperienced team. And he's also given less screen time, which means I don't get tired of his stoicism and OP-ness as often. I actually enjoyed that he only uses Time Stop when it's absolutely neccesary, since that's the ability that killed SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE HE KNEW. But Part 4 Jotaro also isn't infallible. He almost dies to a FUCKING RAT and that was honestly one of the most human moments Jotaro has ever been given. He's just waiting for Josuke to figure out what to do while he keeps getting turned slowly yet slower into a pile of fleshy goop. And he also cannot handle Kira on his own like he could handle DIO because Kira is a far more subtle opponent. You can't just beat Kira by punching it until it dies, you have to actually think about what you are and aren't doing. It makes Jotaro feel more like an actual character and less of 'Protagonist Syndrome'.

On the subject of Kira, HOLY SHIT KIRA IS SUCH A GOOD VILLAIN. I still think that DIO is the best villain so far, but I flip flop on him and Kira more often than I'd like to admit. Kira is the perfect 'low stakes' villain. He's a serial killer with a fetish for hands and a desire to live a 'normal' life, which prompts him to stay hidden as long as possible. I tend to dislike whodunnits where the audience knows who the killer is, but Kira's inability to actually stay hidden for long makes sure it never feels like it goes on for too long. I also adored his ability, it's a far more 'planning' based one than any ability we've seen up until this point. You need to know what you're doing with your ability and Kira, though he's also a dumbass at times, knows Killer Queen inside and out. Bites The Dust is also a great ability for him to have and his weird sort of relationship with Shinobu also made him very fun.

The Bites the Dust arc is the best JoJo has to offer. In the same vein that many told me that the DIO's world arc +the final battle was worth every minute of the rest of Part 3, I am telling anyone who is still unsure of whether they want to watch Part 4 that the Bites the Dust arc is worth every minute you spend on Part 4. Though, if you really aren't feeling it, you can start when Kira first shows up and just watch from there. The other episodes are great, but if you don't like low-stakes slice of life stuff then just start when Kira shows up. Because the Bites the Dust arc is so good. It's just so good. It feels like a culmination of everything we've built towards throughout the season with crescendoing character moments and an impossible situation that only desperation and preparation (funnily enough the two traits Kira is most defined by) can solve. Really, the Bites the Dust arc is so good that I'm not even gonna talk about what happens during it explicitly. I refuse to spoil this arc, watch it yourself please. But try to find a Trigger list for it, because it gets DARK. Be safer than I was while watching it, lol.

So yeah, I love Part 4. It's probably the best part so far. Is it my favorite part? IDK, gay italians and women are real in Part 5 so I think I'm still more about that part so far. Part 5 is my favorite, but Part 4 is the best and it's honestly not even close. Even if you don't want to watch JJBA (entirely valid, I hate this show sometimes and if you aren't a fan of sausage fests...this show isn't for you probably) I still recommend Part 4 or at least the Bites the Dust arc. It's the best JoJo part, hands down.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics where there is an arranged marriage. In some of these fics, the arrangement is between Louis and Harry, and in others, it is between Louis or Harry and someone else before they get together. Happy reading!

Note: This list was updated in March 2022. Any newly added fics are marked with a 🍑.

1) Frozen | Mature | 5790 words

Note: Please remember to check tags for any trigger warnings.

Despite being forced into an arranged Mating, Omega Louis sees the opportunity for happiness when he first looks into the eyes of his intended. However, the naive Omega quickly learns not to judge a book by its handsome cover when his Alpha, Harry, turns cold-hearted, indifferent, and sometimes utterly cruel, leaving Louis to wonder what he's done wrong.

When an accident occurs six months into the miserable Mating, Louis is forced to care for a man who so clearly despises him.

2) Keep Me Safe, Keep Me Sane, Keep Me Honest | Explicit | 8820 words

Louis is the Prince of England. All past omega princes and princesses have been married and pregnant at age 18, so his parents arrange him to be married to Harry Styles, the royal family’s PR guy.

3) Oranges, Whipped Cream and Blueberries | Explicit | 9164 words

Louis was an omega of a pure bloodline. He had known since he was merely eight years old that he was to be bonded with a high ranked alpha. Not the one of his choice, but the one deemed suitable for him by the elders.

Little did he know that the alpha would be the leader of his pack; the greatest pack known to their kind.

4) Infinitely All For Me | 10630 words

The Alpha Louis’ been betrothed to since he was 14 has finally come of age and Louis’ been delivered to his home.

5) Falling Down For You | Explicit | 14750 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

If there was an alpha that Louis wanted to call his, it would be Harry. But what happens when an arranged marriage, a hungry press, and doubts get in the way?

6) Manners and Misjudgements | Explicit | 21178 words | 🍑

“Everyone you mention the Duke to raves about him, just like you are defending him now. But no one looks behind the façade he so ably maintains to deceive you all.”

Liam sighs deeply. “You sound like a crazy man right now, Louis.”

“I will prove to you who the Duke really is, just wait.”

7) Darling, You Give Love A Bad Name | Explicit | 28955 words | 🍑

Louis' has been best friends with Gemma all his life in this stupid little town he's grown to hate. What happens when, after one night together with his best friend's brother, he falls pregnant? Surrounded by small minds and conservative cultures, Louis has to deal with parents that demand they do the "right" thing. Get married before anybody finds out.

8) Compete Against The Stars | Explicit | 30980 words

“We should probably keep our distance,” Harry says, now backing up until he’s leaning against the wall opposite of Louis. It already feels too far away. “I don’t know if I can handle not being able to touch you in some small way.”

Louis nods and looks down. “The solstice will be here soon,” he murmurs.

“And with it, our mates,” Harry finishes, his voice cracking at the last word.

9) Best Colours For Your Portrait | Explicit | 37717 words | 🍑

Louis bites his lip in, his eyes leaving Harry's face, they are cast low as he takes a deep breath before sighing, "In solitude, I felt the liberty you spoke of."

"But," The omega glances up, his eyebrows twitching as he brings his face closer to Harry's neck to overpower the alpha's scent with his scent, "I mostly felt your absence."

10) Canyon Moon | Explicit | 40985 words

For as long as Louis has remembered, he has been promised to be mated to Harry, his best friend and the future pack alpha. But Louis’s heart belonged to the forest and to the hunt more than he could ever imagine it belonging to Harry.

Then Harry’s father dies in a violent accident, and Louis’s future alpha disappears on the wind.

11) Don't Want No Other Shade Of Blue | Explicit | 43232 words | 🍑

“I know you’re putting on an act,” says Harry after a moment, and Louis scowls when he realises the prince is actually amused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” says Louis.

“All I’ve heard over the past couple of years are rumours of Prince Louis’ kindness, and generosity, and oh, he’s so handsome I can barely pour his tea without shaking!” says Harry, putting on a silly, high-pitched voice for the last bit. Louis’ scowl deepens. “I would already know if you were just another selfish, bratty omega prince. You can’t fool me, darling, but I admire your efforts.”

“As you said,” Louis grits out, “those are only rumours. I assure you, I’m a terrible person.”

12) Tastes Like Summer, Smiles Like May | Explicit | 47519 words | 🍑

A cold prince, an alpha with nothing left to lose and a kingdom with a secret.

13) In A World Alone | Explicit | 51142 words

Harry’s breath catches as the glow grows bigger and bigger until he’s squinting his eyes and blinking at the sudden intense brightness. He closes his eyes, rubbing at them helplessly. When his eyes open again- he gasps, grip loosening on his bow as he gawks at the sight before him.

Because the swan is gone.

And in its place is the prettiest omega Harry has ever seen.

14) Provoked. | Mature | 53383 words

“You’re not afraid of me.” Harry had just retired from his study for the night and was getting into bed beside Louis.

His mate chose to indiscreetly cower away from the Alpha’s arms that lay jobless at his sides. “How can you tell?”

“Come here.” Harry had no sense of empathy or gentility; he commanded when necessary and simply took what he needed at other times.

Louis turned over onto his other side, facing Harry with wide and cautious eyes. He regarded Harry’s rigid side profile in the dark with a mixture of emotions. “I am afraid of you.”

15) Untamed Hearts Align | Explicit | 55975 words | 🍑

For as long as Louis has known her, Lady Margaret Tomlinson has had two aspirations for the remaining years of her life. The first was to out-dress the Duchess of Kent at every soirée and gathering. The second was to marry off her omega nephew to the most honorable – and highly ranked – alpha suitor she could find.

He does not expect for her to arrange a marriage between him and the crown prince, and he certainly does not expect to fall for him.

Everything changes when Harry disappears.

16) I’ve Got You | Explicit | 62988 words | 🍑

As a reward for saving the king's life, Harry is offered omega Prince Louis' hand in marriage. Neither of them has any interest in the union going forward, and so they concoct a plan to prove to the king that they are far from a perfect match.

17) Liberté | Mature | 64603 words

AU. 1647. “Pretending you don’t have a heart is not the best way to not get it broken. It’s just the easiest.”

18) Mead Of Poetry | Explicit | 65053 words | 🍑

A Regency ABO AU loosely inspired by the second book of the Bridgerton series, "The Viscount Who Loved Me".

19) Violent Delights | Not Rated | 76174 words | 🍑

Prince Harry is arranged to mate Princess Charlotte, but first he must spend a month completing courting traditions which ends in a mating ceremony. When he arrives to the Tomlinson castle, he finds the forbidden North wing holds that which the family has worked hard to keep secret. Mainly: the sickly sweet Prince Louis, who’s rare gender has forced his family to keep him locked away for his own protection.

20) Bless the Day Our Heartbeats Aligned | Explicit | 97454 words | 🍑

The one where after years of being gone, Knight Harry returns to his best friend only to find out that Louis is betrothed to another.

21) Blue Ice | Mature | 102967 words

An AU where Louis finds himself in a marriage he didn’t bargain for.

22) Be My Omega | Explicit | 138372 words

It all started when the alpha laid eyes on the short curvy omega and he knew at that moment that his life would never be the same, in a good way of course.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[karlajoyner]

Edge of Great (Luke Patterson x Reader)

A/n: Hey guys so this is my first imagine on tumblr. I know it’s pretty long but my fingers just kept typing.🙃 Definitely let me know if I should make shorter ones or longer ones or even a series! Also let me know if you guys have any requests or plots that I could write and for who! Finally finally let me know if you like it in a first reader POV or if i should try a third person POV! Oh and if I should post them in a book on wattpad or keep the content strictly on tumblr!!!😁 (Ps. I’ll most likely be adding a song to every chapter whether it goes with the chapter or not!) Check out my last post for more information on my writing.

Warnings: None

————

I sat in the studio along with my bandmates tuning my guitar. We were currently waiting on Julie to return from school so we could begin to practice for tonight. Her dad got us a gig playing for a couple of her friends to start a following. Which made a lot of sense when Julie explained it to me. Right after Luke sent me into a frenzie of confusion.

"Hey y/n/n you think you could help me with these lyrics for tonight?" Luke called from the couch. I stood up from my comfortable spot on the chair under the loft and flashed myself onto the spot right next to him.

"Sure Lukey" I said taking his writing journal in my own hands and sitting back to scan over the words.

Y/n- I believe, I believe that we're just one dream

I mumbled hearing Luke start to strum on his six string the melody of the song.

Away from who were mean to be that were standing on the edge of

Y/n, L- Something big something crazy our best days are yet unknown that this moment is ours to own

He joined in.

Y/n- Cause we're standing on the edge of great

L- (On the edge of great)

Y/n- Great

L- (On the edge of great)

Y/n- Great

L- (On the edge of great)

Y/n- Cause we're standing on the edge of

We sang to each other back and forth with smiles plastered on our faces.

Y/n, L- Shout shout. C'mon and let it out, out. C'mon and let it out, out. Don't gotta hide it. Let your colors blind their eyes. Be who you are no compromise. Just shout, shout. C'mon and let it out

We paused running out of lyrics. My mind racing searching for the next line.

Y/n- What doesn't kill you makes you feel alive

I sang softly as he leaned in closer with a smirk plastered on his face.

Y/n, L- Ooh-oh. I believe, I believe that we're just one dream. Away from who we're meant to be. That we're standing on the edge of great

We finished out of breath. My smile grew as Alex and Reggie began to clap.

"That was great"

"Yeah we’re gonna rock Julie's garage tonight" Reggie said making it sound less cool than it actually was.

"Definitely" Luke said standing up.

"Thanks for the help boss" He said sending me a smile.

"Anytime" I grinned before turning around to go take my previous seat to finish tuning my guitar.

"I'm gonna go find Julie and let her know we've got the song ready for tonight thanks to our amazing rhythm guitarist"

"Sounds like a plan" Alex said.

"Don't forget to mention how beautiful I am as well" I teased earning a smirk from Luke.

"I never do baby" He winked at me before disappearing. A small laugh escaped my lips before going back to my guitar.

"So" Alex said catching my attention.

"So?" I repeated looking up at the drummer boy.

"So you and Luke?"

"Me and Luke what?"

"You and Luke are like in love each other"

"We are not. Well I'm not. Can't say the same about pretty boy" I said teasingly.

"Yeah sure you're not. Reggie back me up here. Please tell your best friend that she's totally in love with Luke"

"You're totally in love Luke"

"I am not. Reggie your supposed to have my back"

"And I will. Once you admit you have a thing for Luke" He said smirking at me. I glared at the two boys in front of me who weren't as oblivious as I had thought they were.

"Okay so I have a thing for Luke. So what?"

"So you should tell him"

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"So he can admit he's in love with you too"

"And why would he do that when he's clearly not"

"Seriously? Didn't you see the way he was looking at you when you were singing? It looked like Reggie when he sees pizza"

"Pizza?" Reggie perked up excitedly. "There no pizza" Alex said a frown appearing on the bassist face.

"Just because looks at me a certain way does not mean he loves me"

"Really because last time I checked constantly touching each other means you like each other, constantly flirting means you like each other, and when was the last time you wore one of your own shirts" Alex said pointing at my outfit. I sunk back into my seat. He was right about everything down to one of the many shirts Luke had let me have.

"Come on y/n just admit it after we died something more changed with you two. We all see it. Even Reggie sees it and that's saying something"

"Yeah. So it's not like he's ever gonna say anything. So why should I put myself out there to possibly get rejected and heartbroken by my best friend? I mean how do we even know for sure if he's in love with me. Or even likes me for that matter?"

"We don't. Yet" Alex said smirking.

"Oh that's his thinking face. I haven't seen that since 94" Reggie said backing up slightly.

"I think we're in trouble"

It had been a couple hours after Julie had gotten out of school. Yet her or Luke were nowhere to be found. I groaned walking out of the bathroom in the back of the studio.

"Seriously Alex. This is your great idea"

"No my great idea is to have you and Reggie flirt like there's no tomorrow. This is just small details" He said fixing the fit of the flannel on my body. It was Reggie's lucky flannel that took a lot of convincing to get off his body.

"Okay but why'd I have to change my shirt" I said looking down at my own crop top that I hadn't worn in a very long time.

"Because it was Luke's. We need him to think that you don't need his clothes anymore"

"Why did I let you drag me into this?"

"Because deep down you want him to say something about it don't you?"

"Well yeah but-"

"Hey guys!" A familiar voice popped into the garage.

"Luke" I spoke pushing Alex away from me.

"Hey man what happened to practice?" Alex asked casually.

"Julie had some stuff to do after school so I went along. But she's on her way so we should get a few runs in-" His words slowly came to a halt sending me a strange look.

"Isn't that Reggies lucky flannel?"

"Uh yeah. He let me barrow it. For good luck. Here's your shirt back by the way. I don't think I'll need it anymore" I said trying to hand him back the shirt I was wearing previously.

"You know you don't have to give it back. It's yours" His lips simpered.

"I know but Reggie said if I needed to I could just barrow his"

"Oh" was all Luke before taking the shirt out of my hands.

Suddenly the garage door opened and in walked Julie.

"Hey guys" She smiled.

"Ready for tonight?"

"Definitely"

"Flynn's coming over before to help me get ready. Girl time?" Julie asked looking at me.

"I'll be there" I smiled.

"So are we ready to rehearse?"

"Where's Reggie?"

"He went out said he would be back in a bit"

As if on cue the other ghost popped in with a smile on his face.

"Luke" He said his eyes going wide.

"Your back"

"Yeah I am. Who are the flowers for?" Luke asked eyeing the bouquet of roses in his hand.

"They’re for y/n. You know she deserves the best" Reggie said nervously sticking his hand out for me.

"Thanks Reggie" I smiled lightly.

"She also deserves her favorite flowers. Sunflowers in case you were wondering"

"Luke" I scolded him taking the bouquet.

"I think it's a sweet gesture Reggie. Seriously thank you"

"Your welcome" He smiled pulling me into a light hug.

"I think we should rehearse before it gets any later" Alex suggested trying to ease the now very notable tension in the room.

"Sounds good" Julie said awkwardly stepping past Reggie and Luke who were standing a few feet apart. I looked at Alex who gave me a small nod.

"Uh Reggie can you come here for a sec I need your help" I said pulling him away to my guitar stand. I placed strap around my body waiting for the brunette to turn his attention to me.

"Uh sure. Cutie?" He spoke in a questionable tone before looking down at me.

"You need his help with guitar?" Luke asked clearly confused.

"Well yeah"

"But I always help you with guitar" "He offered earlier if I needed help to come to him"

"Yeah. I did that" Reggie said trying to act tough.

"Whatever" Luke scoffed.

I watched as he swung his guitar around his shoulder aggressively. I glanced at Julie who was sending me a confused look so I quickly shrugged my shoulder not knowing what else to do.

It was mere minutes before we were heading out to perform. The tension in the air was now overpowered by excitement.

"I'm so nervous" I said bouncing my leg up and down anxiously.

Suddenly I felt a hand land on it stopping my movements. I looked up to see Luke smiling down at me.

"Don't be nervous your gonna do amazing out there"

"Thanks" I smiled back.

"Yeah. Your always amazing. Did I mention you look beautiful tonight? Wearing my flannel. My lucky flannel" Reggie said with a pestering smile as he swung an arm around my shoulder.

"We get it. It's your flannel" Luke interrupted immediately removing his hand from my leg. I looked at Alex who was stifling a laugh.

"Uh thanks Reg. You look good too"

"Oh I know. And I'm gonna look better singing up there with you. It'll be like old times. You and me. And a microphone"

"You and me. And a microphone" Luke mimicked him. I almost laughed only to be startled by someone walking in.

"Hey guys are you ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be" I spoke. Julie simply nodded her head walking out.

I stood up pacing around as I heard Julie begin the opening notes on the piano outside.

"Hey your gonna do great out there" Luke said stopping me from walking anymore.

"Thanks. You are too. You and Julie have great chemistry"

"Well yeah. But I think we have great chemistry too" He said taking my hands in his.

I finally looked into his eyes see him staring into mine in. A small smile forming on my face.

"Guys!" Alex called knocking us out of our trance. I panicked immediately flashing outside with Luke. Landing beside Reggie with my guitar at hand. Luke only a few feet away in his own place.

J- I believe

I believe that we're just one dream

Away from who we're meant to be

That we're standing on the edge of

Y/n- Something big, something crazy

Our best days are yet unknown

That this moment is ours to own

I joined in singing into Reggies microphone beaming with excitement. I scanned the crowd seeing smiles on people faces. This is all we ever wanted.

J- Cause we're standing on the edge of great

All- (On the edge of great)

J- Great

All- (On the edge of great)

J- Great

All- (On the edge of great)

J- 'Cause we're standing on the edge of great

L- We all make mistakes

But they're just stepping stones

To take us where we wanna go

It's never straight, no

Luke sang sending me a wink before continuing to sing with Julie.

L,J- Sometimes we gotta lean

Lean on someone else

To get a little help

I giggled as Reggie leaned on me. Back to back. Both of us playing our guitars to the same beat.

J- Until we find our way

I believe

I believe that we're just one dream

Away from who we're meant to be

That we're standing on the edge of

Y/n- Something big, something crazy

Our best days are yet unknown

That this moment is ours to own

J- Cause we're standing on the edge of great

All- (On the edge of great)

J- Great

All- (On the edge of great)

J- Great

All- (On the edge of great)

J- 'Cause we're standing on the edge of...

J- Shout, shout

C'mon and let it out, out

Don't gotta hide it

Let your colors blind their eyes

Be who you are no compromise

My heart rate picked up. The scene from earlier replaying in my head as Julie sang the next lines. Taking a chance I looked in Luke's direction to see him already looking at me with a grin on his face. I smirked walking over to the piano.

J- And Just shout, shout

C'mon and let it out, out

J, Y/n- What doesn't kill you makes you feel alive

Ooh-oh

J- I believe

Julie sang as Luke and I let off a similar guitar riff making me laugh.

I believe that we're just one dream

Away from who we're meant to be

That we're standing on the edge of great

Making my way over to Luke I let out a giggle as I pulled his beanie down slightly messing up his look. Before making my over back to Reggie. I looked back at the brunette to see him grinning from ear to ear.

All- Something big, something crazy

Our best days are yet unknown

That this moment is ours to own

Cause we're standing on the edge of great

(On the edge of great)

J- On the edge of great

All- (Great, on the edge of great) On the edge

All- (Great, on the edge of great)

J- 'Cause we're standing on the edge of...

L- Running from the past

Y/n- Tripping on the now

J- What is lost can be found

It's obvious

Luke, Julie, and I finished singing towards the audience.

Making eye contact with a few kids before flashing out myself back into the garage where Alex and Reggie were already waiting. Adrenaline coursing through our veins as another presence poofed into the room.

"That was amazing!" Luke shouted excitedly.

"I can't believe we just did that. Did you see how pumped they were?" I asked falling back onto the couch besides Reggie.

"Yeah. They loved us!" "Remind me to thank Julie for playing our CD later"

"Tonight it's her garage tomorrow it's- it's clubs, dances, and worldwide tours" Luke said eagerly. Taking the free spot to my left.

"God I wish we could feel like this all the time" I said leaning into Luke.

"Me too y/n/n" He said placing an arm around me. A sudden fake cough erupting from Alex's lips. I looked over to see him staring at me with a look.

"Oh uh- Reggie you were great out there" I complimented the boy sitting up.

"Thanks. You uh- you looked hot" He tried to sound cool but failed miserably.

"You think?"

"Oh yeah- I mean the sweat on your forehead and like the heat and-"

"What are you going on about?" Luke asked confusion plastering itself on his face.

"I think what he means is y/n is attractive. Right Reggie?" Alex asked.

"No, no don't answer for him. Reggie be straight with me do you like y/n or not?" Luke asked standing up.

"Why does it matter if I do or don't?" Reggie questioned standing up as well.

"Because you out of everyone know that I like her so why are you letting her wear your clothes, buying her flowers, and calling her hot. I thought I made it clear she was off limits" Luke said my mouth widening in shock.

"I'm off limits?" I asked looking at him.

"How many people did you make it clear to that I was off limits?" I asked not really wanting an answer I was expecting.

"A few"

"A few? Micheal Brookes?" I asked remembering a guy I began to talk to at the beginning of our senior year who randomly stopped talking to me one day. I watched as his head dipped in a short nod.

"Jacob Miller?" I continued watching his nod once again.

"Grant Dean?" Nod.

"Nick Harper?" Nod.

"Derek Johnson?" Nod.

"Seriously Luke? Your the reason I never had a boyfriend my senior year. To make it worse I died a virgin. You asshole" I shouted standing up. I was fuming at this point. He had no right. And he still did it. My head whipped towards the garage door heading it creak open.

"Hey guys" Julie and Flynn smiled walking it.

"You guys did great out there" Flynn said happily. Julie immediately noticing the tension in the room and the frown upon my lips.

"Are you okay y/n?"

"I don't know why don't you ask Luke?" I spoke before flashing out.

I landed in the only place I could think of. A single tear escaped my eye as I sat on the marquee of the Orpheum. Our dream. His dream. I stared out onto the lit up street of Sunset Boulevard. If he didn't want me seeing anyone he could've said something. For the longest time I wondered why guys were such assholes. It wasn't them. It was Luke. It was always Luke.

"I know your mad" I heard his voice speak from behind me.

"I think I'm beyond mad Luke. How could you?" I asked standing up and turning towards him.

"I came crying to you all those times wondering why guys didn't want me. And-and you made me think that it was all me when it was really you. Telling them to back off. Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"Because-" He was at a loss for words. Looking like a kicked puppy.

"I-I wanted you" He finally spoke up.

"You what?"

"I wanted you" He spoke more confidently.

"I wanted you to myself. I- I every time you came and told me you were talking to someone new it hurt because I know it should've been me who asked you out. Who got the courage to just tell you that I-" He went silent the anger in me evaporating in a matter of seconds.

"That you what?" I asked quietly.

"That I love you. I know I'm late but I can't hold it in anymore. After seeing you and Reggie today I got jealous just like I used to back in high school. I know this'll probably ruin our friendship but I don't want to lose you so I really need you to say something right now before I go insane not hearing your beautiful voice" He finished off finally looking at me. The look in his eyes was as hurt. And I wanted to be mad. But I couldn't be. Not when he just admitted what I had been wanting to hear for so long.

"Your 25 years late. But I think we have an eternity to make up for that" I said his eyebrows flying up in surprise.

"Really?"

"You really think I wanted to wear my own shirt today Patterson? Alex told me that if I kept wearing your clothes I'd only fall deeper in love you" I spoke a smile reaching both our face.

He quickly made his way towards me. Leaning forward until his lips attached themselves onto mine. I giggled as he lifted me in his arms holding me close. Our lips molding perfectly like they were made for each other.

"This isn't real" He whispered putting me down.

"Your mine. God your mine" He mumbled pressing open mouth kisses down my neck before connecting his lips back to mine.

"It's definitely real Lukey"

"I love it when you call me that" He mumbled into my lips.

"Don't get all soft on me now Patterson" I laughed pulling away.

"I'm sorry for what I did before I really am. For making you upset and I'm gonna spend an eternity making it up to you"

"It's okay Luke. It's in the past now. I just would've preferred if you would've not scared away every guy that tried to talk to me"

"I promise I'll never hurt you like that again" He said holding me close by the waist. As I began to suck on his neck to begin leaving a hickey.

"And I promise you won't be a virgin for much longer" He whispered reattaching our lips again.

[outrunningthedark]

the thing about madney shippers though is I see them go "see? Our ship wasn't around this episode and we're not complaining" but, like, your ship is canon, they just had a child, there was never any doubt they were happening, you didn't have people calling you crazy for wanting a ship or seeing a possibility, you don't get mocked and harassed. We're not remotely in the same situation. Madney shippers are so spoiled.

Thank you for bringing this up because I think it highlights an important point re: why Buddie fandom seems to “overpower” everything else.

If someone supports Madney or Bathena or even HenRen. . . you’re getting content from the writers. (HenRen deserves much more screen time, but that won’t happen unless Tracie is added to the main cast :/)

Supporters of canon ships don’t have to create AU gifsets and cling to “possibilities” for their faves. They don’t necessarily *need* the fanfics (unless it’s a fix-it) because the story is being told for them.

I mean, if we actually analyzed Buddie posts on here, how many are AUs where they’re canon? How many are explanations for why we should keep hope alive? How many are headcanons for what we think is going to happen or what we want to see? What about the parallels?

The Buddie fandom watches 911 every week, takes what is given to us (or not) and keeps posting. If Tim & co. won’t deliver the storyline we hope for, we’ll create it ourselves. That’s the beauty of us. We never give up. 😎

[samdeancass]

Childhood Friends or Something More?

Requested by: JulzLovDraco4Eva on Wattpad

Pairing: Ron x reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Characters: Ron, Y/N, Harry, Hermione

A/N: Set in Year 7.

Description: Y/N and Ron have been harbouring feelings for each other for years. When something terrible happens, Ron finally admits his feelings before its too late.

Ron Weasley. What could you possible say about Ron Weasley? He had been your childhoodsd friend for as long as you could remember. You told him everything, which is why you were a little skeptical when he introduced you to Harry and Hermione. You didn’t want strangers finding out your secrets, but as the years went on the friendships were formed and you trusted them both with your life. Which is why you told them about a secret you didn’t want to share with Ron.

“Harry, Hermione, I need to tell you something but you must promise that you won’t tell Ron. He can’t find out.” Both of them turned to each other and then turned back to you, nodding their heads. You took a deep breath and let the words fall right out of your mouth. “I have feelings for Ron. I don’t know when they happened and I don’t know why, but what I do know is that he can’t find out. I don’t want to ruin our friendship over some stupid feelings.” Both Harry and Hermione stared at you with smiles on their faces and brought you in for a hug.

What you didn’t know was that a few weeks later, Ron would find out about your feelings in a very terrifying way.

The hunt for the Horcruxes was not going well. The four of you were breaking apart. You and Ron had just had an argument about everybody’s role in the group and you were really not happy about the things that he said to you whilst wearing the Horcrux locket.

“Y/N, you don’t deserve to be here with us. You’re one of the most useless people I have ever come across, there is no need for you to be here! What exactly do you bring to the table? Harry’s the leader, Hermione’s the brains and I’m the muscle. All you are is a pretty little face.”

Tears began to cloud your vision as Ron’s words sunk into your brain. You turned away from Ron to wipe your eyes but when you turned back, Ron had disappeared. Sadness began to overwhelm your body as the words that he had said whirled around and around in your brain. Hermione had watched the whole ordeal from the entrance of the tent and immediately ran to your side, evidently upset with what Ron had done.

The next morning, you and Hermione were awoke by a noise coming from outside the tent. The both of you quietly got up and snuck towards the entrance of the tent, spotting Ron and Harry in the near distance. A smile erupted on your face as his ginger locks became more evident as you began to walk towards the both of them. Hermione stopped in her tracks and held her arm out behind her to indicate for you to stop aswell.

A questioning look overtook your features. Hermione gestured over to the boys using her head and your eyes went wide. Harry and Ron were both surrounded by Voldemorts followers: Death Eaters. You both hid behind a large tree before any of them saw you and tried to devise a plan to save the boys.

You and Hermione both snuck off in different directions and tried to ambush the group of Death Eaters. You ran towards the group and made sure that the boys were out of harms way before casting any harmful spells. Colourful magic surrounded all of you as the mini battle ensued. Curses and spells were spilling from your lips as you desperately tried to keep the Death Eaters away from you, but no matter what spell you tried they were always too strong for you.

One of the Death Eaters knocked you on the ground and held his wand to your throat. He dragged you up off the floor and walked you over to where the others were. Tears began to stream from your eyes as the reality of the situation set in. Harry, Ron and Hermione all stopped fighting and raised their hands in defeat as they seen your figure appear before them.

Screams was all that could be heard in the walls of Malfoy Manor. You were writhing in excruciating pain as Bellatrix cast spell after spell on you to get answers about the horcruxes. You could feel your body begin to shut down as the pain was beginning to get too much to bare.

Ron was pacing back and forth across the dungeon floor as your screams penetrated his ears. His hands were covering his ears as he tried desperately to block out the sound. Panic was evident in Ron’s eyes as your screams began to get louder. “I can’t take this anymore, Hermione. I need to do something now! I need to save her!” “Ron, what on earth are you going to do?! She’s a powerful witch, there’s no way you'll be able to take her on alone!” Hermione stood in front of Ron with her arms crossed over her chest. “I have to try. I love her and there’s no way she’s going to be hurt anymore.”

Before Hermione could respond Ron had ran past her and into the dungeon door, sending it clattering to the ground. Harry and Hermione both followed suit and managed to overpower the guards with wits and surprise. Harry managed to get the wands back and slid Ron’s across the floor to him.

“EXPELLIARMUS!” Bellatrixs wand flew out of her hand and into the furthest corner of the room. “STUPEFY!” She was sent flying across the floor and was knocked out cold. Ron ran up to your side and cradled you in his arms. Tears ran down his face as he took in your bleeding and broken form, rubbing his thumb on your cheek.

Footsteps sounded next to you both but Ron paid them no attention, he was too focused on the situation at hand. You all apparated to the Weasley safe house and loud sighs of relief came from Harry and Hermione, who both left the room to give you two some privacy.

Ron lay you down on a bed and swept some stray hairs from your face before tending to your wounds. A while later, your eyes fluttered open and you sat up straight in panic. Ron rushed straight over to your side and cradled you in his arms. “Your safe now, she’s not going to hurt you ever again.”

Tears fell from your eyes as the memories of the pain coarsed through your body. You clung on to Ron for dear life as the fear and pain left your body, leaving you weak. “How-how did we get out?” You sat up slightly and faced Ron, rubbing your eyes dry. He took your hands in his and gave you a small smile.

“Hearing your screams of pain were making me go crazy, I couldn’t just stay in the dungeon and listen to that happen to you. I mustered up all the strength I had and busted my way out to get to you. I was so worried about you, I thought I was going to lose you.”

You placed one of your hands on his cheek which he leaned in to. “You’ll never lose me, Ronald Weasley.” His smile grew wider at your response. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re my best friend, but your more than that to me. I’ve had feelings for you since the Yule Ball in Year 4 when I seen you in that gorgeous dress.” You giggled and blushed at Ron’s confession. “Having you nearly die right in front of me made me think how precious life is and how much time I’ve wasted not telling you how I feel.”

You smiled widely and brought his hands up to your mouth, kissing them. “I have feelings for you to, Ron. I always have.” Your eyes locked together and you both slowly leaned towards one another, initiating a passionate and loving kiss.

[stellarcat52]

Timeless blue chapter 11

Archie flew ahead as Douxie and Krel hurried behind him. The shattering of glass quickly notified them of where Arthur and Morgana had just jumped out of the window, and where Nari had been frozen solid in a block of ice.

With a quick spell Douxie frees their friend. “Oh, thank you. The order shall surely rip your soul to pieces for this.”

“We’ll work on your pep talks later. I don’t think my little trap was going to last-“ Archie flies in as Douxie speaks.

“The arcane order is back, we’re out of time Douxie.”

“Alright, let’s get Nari back to the others. She’s safer with all of us.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure the order doesn’t”

as if summoned by their name Bellroc and Skrael make their presence known, “Nari!”

“Find you. Go!” Douxie casts his arms back, pushing his friends away from him and their enemies. “Keep running, don’t look back!”

Without the head start the others had, Douxie fell behind the order. His infinite corridor suddenly replaces him as the only thing between them and Nari.

“An infinite corridor eh? Beginners magic. This cannot hold us!”

Douxie let’s a sphere of fire fly past him and into the door that would transport it to behind Skrael. “Buttsnacks!”

“You will die for this!”

Douxie summons his staff, “That was kinda the plan. But it’s worth it, because it means my friends, Krel,” his voice softens as he realizes this is what Krel had feared. Their separation, someone getting hurt, “and Nari can get away!” He finds his courage, saving the world or saving his friends wasn’t a choice he could make. He could make the choice between saving the world and saving himself, although he forced the pain of leaving Krel behind into his stomach.

———

Krel looks behind him immediately after he hears Douxie being pushed down, seeing the infinite corridor go up, even without knowledge of what it is. That barrier would trap Douxie in with two beings more powerful than Krel knew.

“Krel! Douxie will be fine!” Archie had seen more of Douxie’s battles than Krel had, and yet he had to force himself to trust the small dragon.

Even as spells sound from behind them, Nari, Archie, and Krel only spare a few glances back, none of them pausing for more than a moment to try and listen for Douxie’s voice. When they finally got to a place where Archie could safely fly Nari down, Douxie and the Order’s battle is naught but echoes.

Archie glides down and Krel takes inspiration from Morgana in the past to try and levitate himself down. He still falls a great distance, but the Akiridion body is not as fragile as a human one.

Jim and Claire were having a face off, Toby and Steve were off to the side. Krel had never seen such bright human eyes before now, Claire had unnaturally purple eyes that flowed with her own magic.

Krel glances down to where his arms have these magical traces inside, each one glowing and fading as they’re needed or dormant.

As Claire unleashes a great beam of dark magic, Jim falters and gives the whole team hope. This side of him was a result of the order’s magic, if Claire could overpower it and save Jim, surely Douxie, and Morgana, could do the same.

Behind them, Krel saw the gold of Morgana’s magic against Arthur.

“The world isn’t ours anymore, you have failed to destroy it, and I have failed to save it.” The fight between Claire and Jim seemed to fade to background noise, Krel could almost entirely forget about it. “Perhaps they can fare better!” She unleashes another attack. “You are no longer worthy of wielding Excalibur! Magda mani achtenebris kraga doom!” The explosion caused by her spell inturrupted Claire’s concentration and cast Excalibur aside. Just as all seemed to be doing better it was made clear that Excalibur is not what kept Jim tied to the green knight.

“Please Jim, I love you!” Claire’s choking cry almost made Krel jump in to help. “We all do.”

Jim drops Claire after what seemed to be a moment of thought.

———

Douxie was struggling against the order, but he was holding his ground better than he ever thought he could against such powerful legendary creatures. The Order were gloating of his defeat even though the wizard still stood, out of breath albeit. As the order finishes, speaking of a summoning that will happen once they are through with him, Douxie mustered up a final spell.

“Tenebrius...” he started, a blue magic circle being danced to life in each hand and then on the surface on which he stood, “exellium!”

His and the order’s unspoken magic meets, both sides struggling against each other.

Between the magic circle holding his spell together and the mystic glow in his eyes Douxie struggled to see clearly.

“Goodbye, my friends, goodbye Krel.”

He lost the magic keeping him alive and safe from the Order’s attacks. He only hoped what last burst of strength he had given would keep the order away from the other’s far below.

———

Krel watched as Camelot fell, how Claire and Jim got their happy ending. He finally thought things were going up, but as soon as the Order’s lair explodes, and he sees Douxie’s limp body falling through the air, he thinks it foolish for those thoughts to exist.

He was the first to start running. He didn’t bother risking using a portal, Douxie was right about him being untrained.

He still was out of sight of Douxie’s body when he hears that sickening thud.

Claire and Archie had made it there faster. Arch had an ear to Douxie’s chest and with every breath that Douxie must not be breathing his feline features only seem to grow more grim. Krel takes a few moments to get the guts to join the others around him.

He looked down and wished that somehow he could give his core to the human he loved.

Douxie’s body seemed too cold for someone who had only been dead for a few minutes at most. Krel sat down on his knees and pulled Douxie’s head onto his lap. He just stared at him for a minute, tears blurring his vision and too scared to blink them away in case Douxie vanished. He hung his head down, only taking a moment to wipe each of his eyes individually.

“Krel?” Archie caused him to look up, just for a second.

“Why did he have to face them alone?” Krel choked. “I was right there, I could have gone back.”

“That’s just the way Douxie is.” Claire answered, Krel only now noticed she was holding onto one of Douxie’s hands.

Zoe spoke up as she came over to kneel beside them. “Hisirdoux never really learned how to accept help. Not from anyone beside Archie. He always had to them himself, stupid apprentice.”

“Wait!” Archie shouted, pressing an ear to Douxie’s chest again. “His heart!”

Krel could feel the tensing of Douxie’s back muscles as he loses the stiff relaxation of death. His skin grew to a temperature that wasn’t as frightening, but still cold.

It was if Douxie had a second chance, like what a core would have given an Akiridion. Maybe this is something magic could do to humans.

The moment Douxie opened his eyes, Krel stopped caring how. He couldn’t even find the words to say.

“Douxie.” Archie purring into Douxie’s chest. “You brave, foolish boy.”

“Ow!” He yelped as Douxie helped him sit up, shifting to be besides him. “Ow! Everything hurts!”

“Sorry.” Krel mumbled as Douxie looks over at him and grins.

Claire took his attention back for a second. “I can’t believe you’re okay!”

“Barely, seems you’re the one with mine lives!” Douxie let’s Archie rub his head against his cheek. “Don’t you ever do something like that’s again.”

Krel pulls Douxie to his feet, holding him up with his arms. “You scared me you idiot.”

Douxie nearly falls and clutches his chest. “Hey! I just came back from beyond the grave! Be careful.”

“Sorry.” Krel turns his head and kisses Douxie’s cheek. “I’ll protect you next time.”

“I feel like I missed a lot.” Jim spoke up, eyes widening as Claire ran up to hug him, still very happy to just see Jim as a human again.

“Same, but I think we can catch up over brunch.” He looked around again, Krel could see the worry in his eyes. “What about Arthur and Morgana?”

“Squished.” AAARRRGGGHHH looked towards where Excalibur lay imbedded in the stone.”

Of course Toby immediately tried pulling the legendary sword out of the rock it had cut into. To no avail, but he tried nonetheless. Blinky, Douxie, and Claire all urged Jim to try, but his efforts were fruitless as well. Excalibur stayed rooted, and as the group leaves it behind, Jim leaves behind his hope that he may still be a trollhunter, though that might not be the worst thing right now.

———

Zoe and Nari got ready to leave, New York would be gaining two magical beings within a few weeks, and Akiridion 5 would be gaining at least one new human citizen. Claire and Jim were still on the fence of whether or not they wanted to stay or just visit Eli and Aja. Either way after this they knew they wanted to stay together.

Krel and Douxie had told the group they were dating, and Krel got a surprising amount of threats from the almost everyone. AAARRRGGGHHH being an exception but also Jim, Nari, and Toby.

Krel knew that Douxie would get some as soon as Aja and Varvatos were told the news, and Eli would be ready to ask Douxie so many questions about magic that he’d go crazy. Still, nothing could make these two want to risk staying on earth with the Genesis seals one more day, so alongside with Toby, Jim, and Claire, they step into the portal to Akiridion 5 and are whisked across the universe, traveling past planets and stars in mere seconds.

The earth would be safe unless something changed, and although they knew something would, Krel and Douxie were willing to put that to the back of their minds for as long as they can. They are happy, safe, and together.

And as long as Nari is out of the order’s hands, that’s all they care about.

[rainbowcaleb]

impossible magic

fictober prompts: 4 "incantations" mixed with 5 "you are here"

CW: blood, implied torture, imprisonment, chains, disassociation, hurt with a dash of comfort at the end, also mutual pining~

((also available on ao3 if you’d rather read there))

--------

 If he died, there would be no coming back.

 It was a secret Essek kept carefully hidden away. It was the reason behind the argument that pushed his father away to a place he didn’t return. His mother must know. There was nothing that escaped her notice and his father had no love enough for his son to keep his secret. But Essek knew his mother was like himself in one important way; she was a master at compartmentalizing information if it could be used.

Right now Essek didn’t really care about whatever political machinations he had inherited. The tiniest whisper of regret was trickling across his consciousness much like the drops of blood that had finally slowed their flow down his forehead.

He had woken from unconsciousness held strictly in place by manacles and chains. His arms were pulled taut behind him, mere inches of chain holding his wrists down to the shackles on his ankles. Every link, every piece, every ounce of the metal was heavily enchanted to block any magical escape. Even if Essek had any feeling left in his fingers, he wouldn’t be able to cast.

 Sparing no expense, his captors had his neck collared with a thick heavy ring, just tight enough to drag painfully when he tried to swallow. Another enchantment laced through it and he knew if he tried to speak magic it would shock him with lightning. He knew because he had already attempted one desperate incantation. The collar was attached by a short length of chain to the wall behind him, so he wasn’t even able to find relief by lying on the ground without choking himself. He was forced to stay upright, his voice the only boon still left to him, but all his decades of magic rendered useless.

 Essek had long stopped feeling the pain of his legs against the uneven stone floor and he had long lost track of the time. It was more than a week. He had scraped bloody lines on the floor with his knee to keep the time, but after the days kept going and going, he had lost the motivation to bother. No water came. No sustenance. No visitors. But they didn’t want him dead, otherwise he would be already.

 This was calculated torture. They were waiting for him to break. Since his captors had taken the risk of leaving his voice in place, clearly they were hoping for him to give information. Otherwise, why not just slash his throat and be done with him? Perhaps they knew, impossibly somehow they knew Essek only had this current life and to kill him would end the trail of any of his secrets. He could be locked away by an enemy that intimately knew him. And now they were simply waiting. Essek wanted to heroically believe he could last until a rescue came, or perhaps he could overpower his captor, but he knew he was too weak. They had already won when they captured him.

 It was some amorphous time between one week and two when the first visitor came. A bucket of ice cold water was dumped on his head, waking him from a feverish daydream, and he opened his mouth trying to catch whatever drops he still could.

 There was a laugh from some distance a few feet away, male or female he couldn’t tell, and then footsteps receding before the slam of a door.

 It would be another week before another bucket of water. They were doing the bare minimum to keep him alive. They were waiting. They were patient.

 All Essek could do was try and keep his mind. He had lost motivation and strength long ago. If it wasn’t for the collar and chain holding him upright, he would have collapsed many days ago. Essek had to hold grasp onto his mind, the most important part of him, his most powerful part. He could not lose this too. He repeated lines of incantations, imagining their sigils and components in his mind's eye, but being careful not to move his mouth. He did not know if anyone was watching or what they were watching for. He started with the first spell he ever learned, testing his memory too, and then worked through each spell variation until he advanced to its final form. And then he would pick the next simple spell, working through each one like a library in his head, keeping his mind occupied. His whole body had surpassed from pain into nothingness. Essek felt completely detached from anything material around him. All he had was the repetitions of incantations, the words a rhythm in his head that kept his heart beating.

 Another ice cold drench of water. It woke him from a fitful sleep, having dozed off somewhere between reciting dunamantic spells. His body protested, the tension against his shackles friction again as the water trickled down. It was a terrible reminder of where he was.

 He coughed out his first word spoken since he was brought here. “W-who?” Essek didn’t need to know why.

 The voice just laughed again, mirthlessly. He heard the door shut again.

 Even though time had completely slipped from him, Essek had come to expect the water that came in a regular pattern.

 It did not come that week.

 There was something warm and glowing near his legs. His first thought was that perhaps his mental incantations had impossibly broken through the spells on his manacles and a drift globe had materialized. Something small and soft patted his knee. He smelled sulfur. Then there was an earthshaking explosion and the door he assumed was somewhere in this room was knocked down onto the ground. Essek’s eyes were still closed, he barely opened them anymore, but he could still see shocking orange light through his eyelids. Then it dimmed.

 He heard scuffling, metal being dragged, multiple footsteps. Something grazed his face, but it was so light it felt like he imagined it. Essek felt the tension of the chains snap and he toppled sideways, suddenly loose from his bonds. Softness caught him instead of the hard stone floor. The last string of fight that had been forcing him to stay awake snapped.

     Essek woke lying down. It felt like the first time in a decade that his body wasn’t twisted into a terrible position. He opened his eyes. It took more strength than he expected to force his eyelids open. He didn’t bother trying to move his limbs. The pain was greatly dulled, but the exhaustion was filling his bones with lead.

 He didn’t recognize where he was. The whole room emanated a soft amber glow, the walls a plain ocher paint, the floor a polished wood. Essek tilted his gaze as far as he could and he saw a small nightstand beside him, a pitcher of clear water next to a glass, and several emptied potion bottles beside it. He was in a bed. Someone had found him and cured him and tucked him into bed. Essek knew who. As his senses woke up from however long he’s been asleep, he knew. The magic he felt flowing through this entire room told him with certainty. Caleb.

 There was a click and a door opened. Essek didn’t turn his head to look, but several footsteps entered. He saw the familiar blue of Jester lean over him.

 “Oh my gosh we were getting so worried, it's been days, we didn’t know when you would wake up and it’s been kinda crazy having to haul you out and have Caleb recast the Tower and stick you back in and-”

 “J-jester.” Essek’s voice felt tight with under-use.

 “Yes, that’s me!” She gave him a blinding smile. “You remember! You were kinda delirious when we found you, like you didn’t recognize us and were mumbling spells under your breath. You didn’t cast anything though, I don’t think you had anything left in you.”

 Caleb was over her shoulder, looking at Essek with a guarded expression.

 “H-how, there?” Essek asked.

 Caleb finished his thought. “We heard you.”

 He had so many more questions, but his voice wasn’t cooperating. Jester picked up on this.

 “It’s a long story, but I was trying to send you a message about Vess, ‘cause we were gonna do this thing for her but there were some crazy red flags and we thought you might’ve heard something, any anyways your reply was super weird. It was like you were whispering on the other side of a door and it was hard to hear you and it didn't even make any sense. Just a couple words in between some long pauses.”

 “It was a spell. When Jester repeated the words to us, I recognized it as your Echo spell.”

 Essek had no memory of a Message, or doing any magic. The only thing he could imagine was that somehow his repeated incantations had briefly broken through the shackles.

 “Well, whatever it was totally made me worry! It was so random and weird for you to respond like that. And then when I scryed it was like a big blank space and then I got booted out from the vision with a painful shove! It was scary enough that I Messaged our housekeeper, gosh I had almost forgotten we had gotten one but thank goodness we did, and had her go look at your house and there were some weirdo guards posted outside who said you were not to be disturbed. But they were totally unconvincing and weird.”

 He was barely following the story. The drag of sleep was threatening him again, and nothing felt better than the soft bed he was resting in at the moment. Essek tilted his head to look properly up at Caleb. There were bags under his eyes, nothing new, although they looked darker than he last remembered. There was a mostly healed cut across his cheek and the cuffs of his coat looked dusty black with ash.

 “Jester, can you find Caduceus? I think this calls for some tea.”

 “Can’t you get one of the cats to-”

 “Jester.”

 “Okay, fine, fine. I can take a hint.” She winked at Caleb and stepped out the room, closing the door behind her.

 Essek kept his eyes open, trying to take in Caleb’s face as the guarded expression was faltering under the weight of something happening in his thoughts. Caleb’s arm jerked forward, then paused, but he completed his movement to gently brush a lock of hair from Essek’s forehead.

 “I will not ask, because I know the answer will be ‘no I am not okay’.” Caleb gave him a wry smile but then it faded again “We were...We investigated and what we found, or didn’t find that is, was disturbing. So many lies so easily spread, and you-” The hand returned to Essek’s face, the lightest sweep of Caleb’s thumb across his cheek. “We were worried.”

 Maybe he still had a tinge of delirium, but Essek had to ask. “And you?”

 There was the briefest shock in Caleb’s eyes, like he hadn’t expected the question. But Essek had to know. In between the flow of magic words that kept his mind occupied, the daydream (painful, beautiful, impossible) that came to him was the memory of teaching spells to Caleb. Of wanting to teach him more. Of wishing to spend more time with him. Of pursuing that thread of something that seemed to keep pulling them back to each other. He had to know.

 Caleb leaned over and pressed his lips to Essek’s forehead, familiar yet unfamiliar, the touch feeling much more intimate in this position while alone in the room.

 “I was worried.” Caleb’s words were a puff of hot breath across his forehead. Then he straightened back up and pulled his hand away.

 “Caleb-”

 “Do not make me say more.” There was a small smile on his lips, but Caleb’s eyes looked sad.

 “Not now...We-,” Essek was really wishing his throat felt less like glass. “Can we talk later?”

 There was a noise at the door as the handle turned. Caleb didn’t turn to see who it was and instead kept his gaze on Essek.

 “Yes.” He stepped back as Caduceus and Jester walked into the room. “Yes, later.”

 Essek was given another cold potion and warm hands of healing, and then he drifted off into unbothered sleep. Whatever they had given him was preventing any restlessness or dreams. However, Essek still found himself chanting a spell to himself as he sank into sleep; it was the first spell he had taught Caleb, its words as familiar and soothing as that memory itself.

[voyage-of-the-basset]

how I, an unqualified person, would have written the SAB screenplay

so we are all talking about how this was the most perfectly cast show ever but they really should have kept the storylines separate, as SOC and SAB really have nothing to do with each other. I, however, would like to propose a compromise, and also challenge Netflix to create a time machine and go back in time and do what I tell them to do. ANYWAYS

SEASON ONE of SAB should be SAB and ONLY SAB. No Crows. Okay. One Crow. It’s Nina. She’s at the Little Palace for long enough to meet Alina and make us all fall in love with her before Zoya gets kicked out for attacking Alina and Nina joins her to go on a merry quest to whereverland. During this time, we get to see regular SAB scenes, however, I propose that there’s the underlying tension of the knowledge that jurda parem is becoming a thing, which would dramatically change the course of the war during this time. The Darkling wants to get ahold of it to make himself and Alina more powerful. They do! not! know! how addictive it is yet! 

Nina is kidnapped during this time by Matthias. They’re off doing that scene.

The show takes its’ course as it does, minus the Crows, but after the grand reveal of the Darkling actually being Batshit Evil, we get a little scene of him having a meeting with a bunch of people, one of which is bitching about how somebody stole his Del Kappel painting. He tells them to get him some jurda parem. It’s at the Ice Court. Somebody says “I’d hate to meet the motherfucker genius enough to get into there and crazy enough to try” (but. a better line) and we get the fadeout to a cane tapping along the streets. End season. 

SEASON TWO would bring us back to Nina, who is in Ketterdam after a week of desperately trying to free Matthias, unable to return home after the reveal that the Darkling is actually Batshit Evil, and not knowing how to help her country but desperately wanting to try. We’re finally introduced to Kaz and co. in the scene that we get at the beginning of SOC, because it’s a badass perfect scene to be introduced to them, and Nina is eager to help. The only real change in this storyline is that Van Eck is sorta working for the Darkling.

Alternating between the Crows and Alina, we get to see how Alina is now a little bit traumatized by the dark, because the events of the Fold have fucked her up a smidge. Because of this, she loves her light more than almost anything else. Just loves it. Her power makes her so happy. This is relevant for *angst* reasons. The events here stay pretty true to the book, except we also see the tensions in Ravka rising because of the threat of jurda parem. Maybe fights are even more impressive now because some of the Grisha are on it. We get to learn that their stores of it are running out though and we really really need Kaz to be successful. 

Spoiler: Kaz is successful. But then Van Eck is a Giant Prat and we end up falling into season three. Also, because this is a tv series with a limited number of episodes, Inej probably won’t be kidnapped for time-saving reasons. Sorry, I know, we won’t get the “I’d come for you” scene. 

SEASON THREE starts with Alina in her weird cave place thing idk it’s been awhile since I’ve read the books. However, Nikolai is gone, travelling with Zoya and Genya to Ketterdam because there’s chaos happening in the streets and he needs to be there to get the parem since they think it’ll be the only way to get Alina’s powers back after her fight with the Darkling. However, the rest of the events unfold similarly to the books, bringing the viewers back to Ketterdam in time to see the chaos sequence that is the entire book (minus Kaz’s kidnapping). We get to see Nina become the Queen of Mourning, and watch Van Eck’s downfall. 

However, the ending is slightly changed. Matthias lives, because his death was stupid and useless and we’re not dealing with that again. Nikolai and co. take Kuwei and the jurda parem back to Ravka, though their interest is in undoing the effects of the parem, rather than dealing it out to Grisha. On their way, they intercept Alina and co. on their journey to the firebirds, and Kuwei tells Alina stories about Shu Han, since she’s curious about her origins and also I, personally, want to know more about it since we really don’t see much in either of the series. 

Later, during the Final Showdown, Alina realizes that she has to take the parem in order to finally overpower the Darkling. Kuwei already told her about what happened to Nina, and she knows that the flipside of being the Sun Summoner is to become another Shadowmaker (? I don’t actually remember what the Darkling’s power is called). Gaining powers over the shadows has been her big fear throughout this storyline, so it’s more of an ultimate sacrifice than simply giving up her powers, which is something she’s always wanted. So she does it, and destroys the Fold and also the Darkling. We get our happy ending. Alina and Mal finally decide to go see the world. Nikolai recommends they avoid Ketterdam. 

[dicapriho]

Important quotes to take from this article, that sums up perfectly why Daenarys’ treatment in season 8 was so heartbreaking..(long post with bullet points for easy reading):

Game of Thrones is "a world where women are often treated as disposable objects, Daenerys outwitted and overpowered her male enemies. As the sole protagonist in her own storyline, far from the rest of the characters, she was set up to be one of the few unambiguously [female] heroic figures in the series."

"in just a few episodes, she quickly transformed from a woman who has prided herself on saving the downtrodden to one who burns the innocent."

"[Daenerys’] treatment this season from the makeup of the writers’ room: The writers and directors on the show have always been overwhelmingly male, and women were shut out of both writing and directing jobs for every episode in season 8."

"Throughout her life, Daenerys has shown a commitment to justice...She freed the slaves in Meereen... When Drogon burned one child, she chained up her other two dragons, leaving herself more vulnerable...She put her fight for the Iron Throne on pause to fight in Jon’s war against the White Walkers [in the North where she knew she would feel unwelcome]."

"She was called the “Breaker of Chains” for a reason. When she misstepped, we forgave her, as we forgave, say, Tyrion for strangling Shae." [And Jon for killing a child for betraying him!]

“Daenerys has certainly used “Dracarys” to punish plenty of people during her reign... she always gave some compelling reason for doing so.”

She first used her dragon’s fire to kill a warlock who tried to imprison her, and again against a slaver who tried to cheat her...she crucified all the masters in retaliation for them having killed slave children — but they had killed children...She burned all the Khals who were threatening to keep her as a slave or rape her, or both."

Dany’s advisors gave awful advice:

"Daenerys agreed to make Tyrion her hand because Tyrion said he “knew things”...specifically, he claimed to know how to make alliances in Westeros and exploit people’s hate of Cersei in order to put Daenerys on the throne. Except, Tyrion did…none of that."

"...when did Tyrion convince a single lord that if they joined their side, they could get a new title and nice castle and see the land’s most hated woman [Cersei] burned to a crisp? Never."

"...what Tyrion did do: Try to cut a deal with slavers that would have kept slavery legal for a longer period of time, until Daenerys decided to burn their ships instead; convince Dany not to fly to King’s Landing and burn the Red Keep, which would have resulted in far fewer Kings Landing deaths; come up with the horrible plan to capture a wight that almost got Jon killed and lost Daenerys a dragon and still didn’t earn Cersei’s allegiance; convince Daenerys to trust Cersei, who has never proven herself to be trustworthy; forget to remind Daenerys that Euron and the Iron Fleet would almost certainly be waiting near Dragonstone, thus losing Daenerys another dragon; free Jaime from captivity in an effort to help both his brother and Cersei escape death at Daenerys’ hands..."

"Don’t even get me started on Varys, who didn’t write a single letter to a single lord to gain intel against Cersei or an ally for Dany but did find time to spread the word about Jon’s true parentage...”

“Tyrion and Varys were supposed to be her helpers. They failed her. Instead of owning up to this and realizing the part they have both played, Tyrion and Varys begin to worry that Daenerys is a flawed ruler exactly because she’s losing faith in them over their terrible decisions."

On the Sansa v Dany struggle:

"...The writers of the show cited much more petty reasons for their [Sansa and Dany's] conflict: “[Daenerys is] also very pretty, and how much does that factor in? Sansa starts off this season very suspicious and not at all friendly with Dany.”"

Her Isolation:

"In the last few episodes, Daenerys finds herself envying the love that Jon’s people feel for him...it’s destabilizing for her to arrive in Westeros and find that people are not eager to see her. Why, exactly, the Northerners don’t appreciate her dragons — without which they could not have defeated the Army of the Dead...."

"Daenerys rightfully glowers at Jon as his countrymen celebrate the fact that he mounted a dragon a couple of times when Dany has been riding one for years [Not to mention she is the first Targaryen in hundreds of years to have successfully mothered & raised/trained dragons]...In a mission to make Dany feel as isolated as possible, the show killed off her closest advisors, Jorah and Missendei."

"Daario is controlling Slaver’s Bay in her absence. Yara Greyjoy is sworn to her. In theory, the new Prince of Dorne would be allied with her since Daenerys struck a pact with Ellaria Sand. Daenerys could have called on any of these allies when she faced Cersei’s army but didn’t — simply because the show needed her to be alone ."

On Missandei:

"Game of Thrones fridged Missandei. There’s no other way to put it. Her capture and death happens just so Daenerys would feel isolated. The fact that the writers turned the only major black female character on the show into a device to motivate Daenerys feels even more cringeworthy."

"The fairly quick transition from complicated hero to totally mad villain leaned heavily on an oft-repeated line: “every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin”. But should Daenerys’ Targaryen blood necessarily doom her? After all, Jon is half Targaryen, too. So why does he get to sit comfortably on the other side of the coin?...The show has long been obsessed with various characters’ struggles to shake their family’s legacies. Tyrion killed his own father and joined Team Daenerys, only to betray Daenerys in order to help his family again." 

"Daenerys has long tried to differentiate herself from her father, the Mad King, only to become her father’s daughter."

"...the show’s most recent plotting flaws was Varys’ rushed decision that Daenerys was a terrible enough queen that he would endeavor to poison her — quite a stretch for a man who served under King Joffrey...Remember that Varys once wanted to put Dany’s brother Viserys, a demonstrable megalomaniac, on the Iron Throne."

"...when Varys found out Jon was a Targaryen, he began openly conspiring to undermine and overthrow Daenerys...He accused her of being paranoid while simultaneously conspiring against her, which means she had every right to be suspicious...Again, it’s a failure of the show that the man who was once revered as Master of Whispers walked up to Jon in the middle of a crowded beach and suggested he usurp Daenerys."

"Other rulers we think of as heroes in this story have executed men for less than attempted murder: Robb Stark executed Rickard Karstark for killing the Lannister hostages, against Robb’s orders...Ned Stark executed someone for abandoning the Night’s Watch...Jon Snow executed the men who succeeded in murdering him (before he was resurrected) including Olly, a young boy."

"...Jon betrayed Daenerys’ trust by telling his family, and Tyrion betrayed her — twice. Davos also betrayed her too for totally inexplicable reasons by helping Tyrion smuggle Jaime to Cersei...Her advisor’s lie to her and gaslit her, plain and simple. And yet the way that Daenerys’ destruction of King’s Landing is shot, we are supposed to see her as the irrational one and Tyrion as one of the victims of her terror."

"...either due to time restrictions or lack of source material or just plain lack of creativity, the show took shortcuts this season...And those shortcuts tended to rely on the laziest of sexist stereotypes about crazed, power-hungry women."

"Maureen Ryan at the Hollywood Reporter put it best: “Inescapably, infuriatingly, what we’re left with is apparently the central message of Game of Thrones: Bitches are crazy.” "

"...Had [Dany's] paranoia been seeded many episodes ago and grown over the course of several seasons, it would be an epic Shakespearean tragedy. Instead we must infer this descent based on her frizzy hair."

"Worse, the moment when she seemingly decides to rule with fear, not love, comes after she’s romantically rejected by Jon...” [Suggestible that the lack of requited love is a strong enough reason for a level-minded strong woman to fall into a pit of craziness, despite all the good she has ever done and vows to continue doing..]

"Varys suggested that Jon would be a better ruler exactly because he did not want to rule. Figures in mythology and history ranging from Moses to George Washington to Harry Potter have been heralded as heroes because they came to power reluctantly. Those figures also tend to be male. How do our stories cast women eager for power? As evil queens. And now Daenerys is a cliché."

"There have been a lot of problematic characterizations of women this season, as revealed by the writers’ own commentary surrounding the episodes...Sansa essentially parroted what the writers have been saying for years about her rape by Ramsay Bolton — that it made her stronger...and the showrunners called Cersei, one of the smartest, most vicious characters on Thrones, “just a girl who needs the comfort of a man..”

"...in the end, Daenerys cycled through several tired stereotypes: Another evil, power-hungry queen literally shot with a dragon’s wings behind her; the crazy lady that a noble man has to heroically overcome..."

Like Cersei, Dany was a character introduced in the first episode, who ws incredible meaningful in the narrative of Game of Thrones. Instead of going out with a bang, Daenerys’ death wasn’t a bang like she truly deserved, but a whimper and forgotten to emphasise the man’s conquer and victory.