#phew I’m done that’s my rant

[mythalism]

im normally not one to defend this asshole because a lot of the criticism of solas is great and valid but i need ppl to stop acting like solas is bringing down the veil to bring back arlathan because he believes it’s “better”.

solas does not romanticize or idealize arlathan. his goal of bringing down the veil has absolutely nothing to do with arlathan being morally superior to present thedas. most likely, his goal has nothing to do with restoring the empire of arlathan at all, and rather is about reversing the damage the veil did to his People- elves, maybe. spirits, more likely.

he is vocally critical of elvhenan as an empire on several occasions. he literally tells dorian not to romanticize it and compares its corruption and depravity to TEVINTER:

he also literally orchestrated a slave rebellion and threw a coup?????

he exhibits some nostalgia, maybe, for things like architectural marvels and of course the magic, but to act like solas ignores the reality of the political corruption of elvhenan and wears rose colored glasses, dreaming about ripping the veil apart and letting everyone die to create a perfect elven utopia just like the last one? it’s a major disservice to his character.

if i were to speculate, id guess that there’s far more to his motivations than we even know at this point, most likely (definitely) regarding the blight, considering how heavily implied it is that he created the veil to contain it, and that that also majorly plays into his need to bring down the veil regardless of the potential loss of life, but since it’s speculative ill can it for now.

regardless, the whole point is that it wasn’t perfect, elvhenan was deeply flawed, but it’s not about the empire, it’s about his People and his personal responsibility to atone for what he did to them. in trespasser he does not say he will bring back arlathan or elvhenan. he says “i will save the elvhen people”. whether you think he’s right or wrong isn’t really relevant (it’s relevant to your own playthrough and relationship to the narrative, of course, but not to the greater themes of the story), it’s not about right or wrong, or whether or not one society was more just or “better” than the other.

even a low-approval solas who HATES your inquisitor and tells a human inquisitor that they proved him right about their people being small-minded and crude will still approve when you help the refugees in the hinterlands and when you leave flowers at an old womans grave. he will still develop respect for cassandra, a friendship with varric. he still plays 4d mind chess with the iron bull to cheer him up. he will still tell blackwall that he will remember the people of the inquisition for their courage:

solas is not weighing thedas versus elvhenan on the metaphorical scales of justice and finding elvhenan worthier of existence, and destroying the other. he is a man who loved his people and in trying to save them, he made a mistake that doomed them, and feels he has to make it right, no matter the cost.

solas’s is not the story of a god making judgement calls on the worthiness of those beneath him, finding them lacking, and condemning them to death. it is a story of a man who has completely lost himself to the enormity of his guilt. it is a story of well-intentioned mistakes, of impossible choices and who has to shoulder them, of losing your personhood for a cause you believe in, of whether or not the ends justify the means, of accountability versus complacency, of progress versus stagnancy, of the role of violence in radical progress, of absolution of guilt, and of loneliness. right or wrong doesnt matter - he knows it's wrong and suggests the process will turn him into a monster. but its not about right or wrong, its about a man alone on an island, who can’t bring himself to surrender, who can't help but fight, knowing it all might end with him.

[bronx-bomber87]

Good evening fandom! Welcome to my inaugural mini review post. Holy hell I can’t believe we’re finally here. These probably won’t be as detailed as normal like I mentioned. Mini review is the goal. It’ll be initial thoughts and feelings. Which will be fun cause all the other seasons other than S5 I had ton of time to reflect on moments. These thoughts for S6 could change when I rewatch the season for review purposes this summer. The exciting thing is having those first reactions. That's what these will be.

So you're getting hot off the presses thoughts haha I just watched it couple hours ago. These are thoughts I had while it was happening. With some editing to make it readable ha Want my reactions be as authentic as possible with these. Why I avoid spoilers tbh. Be interested in seeing what everyone else’s are as well. The gif library was an absolute turd so I didn't get to use all the gifs that were made yet. So I made some. Anyways this so friggin exciting to delve into so let’s get started.

6x01 Strike Back

Tim got scruffier from the finale to now-and I’m here for it. Mm. Plus he's in Metro gear. Phew Lord. Something about scruffy Tim gets me going. Adore them riding together automatically after their battle. I truly love it. The little things I continually love with them. Also LOVING the Metro call sign. Yum If this going to be his call sign all season I am about it.

Oh my lord why is her sitting at his desk so squee worthy to me? It’s getting me all in my feels. I love that Lucy can just use his office as her own. So cute using it to steal it for some study time. I love this so very much. Then her asking if they can ride together so he can quiz her? Tim doesn’t hesitate for a moment before saying yes.

Still amazes me we’re in the place with them. The Tim of old would’ve groaned and moaned about such a task. He jumps right on it for her. Ready to help her out. Even though he’s not sure how much it’s gonna do. Clearly very aware Primm is out to get her. That is common knowledge now.

Lucy is right when she says it sucks. That she has to battle this and face possible wild cards.. It isn’t fair when she's earned her spot more than most. Fought and clawed for everything she's done in this department. Definitely more than Nolan... Hey wouldn't be a review if I didn't pot shot Nolan would it? lol I love Tim finding a solution for them. Saying they can take out do the box calls all day. Widen her knowledge a bit on it. Sharpen her skills with odd calls.

I love her grateful smile when she says 'Thank you.' Loves this man. Damnit they’re so cute their banter coming out of his office is on point. Tim saying she learns best when she’s pissed off. I mean if that isn’t her rookie experience with him in a sentence. Lucy saying this feels like she is giving him permission to be an ass. Heh it kinda is no matter what Tim says.

You know he kinda loves being able to make her his boot again in some form. He is going to enjoy himself with this. There is no doubt about it. That's why he's doing that smile of his. Lucy calling him out knowing this man so well. Pointing her finger and all. God I love these idiots so much. Tim trying to tell her just his smile. Uh huh sure it is Tim.... Lucy following after him with a smile of her own. These dopes I've missed them so damn much.

I’m very much loving Tim has not really shaved in 6 weeks ha. The scruffy remains and I’m excited about it. Lucy is starting to question asking Tim to help her. We all know she learns best from that man sitting next to her though. I also always enjoy when she gets to drive. Another micro shift that has changed that I love so much. Her heart eyes when he says Angela’s cop brain is just booting up LOL Loves this goober of man.

Lucy absolutely losing it and going on a rant of epic proportions had me rolling. LOL Massive emotional downward spiral happening here. I’m dying as I watch Tim take it in. God Eric the master of expressions crushing it again. This was a huge one for her holy crap. Nuclear really. Well done Melissa getting all that in with one breath basically. By the time she’s done I’m cackling at Tim’s expression. LMAO Oh my god these two. God I’ve missed them so much it pained me.

Lucy knowing Tim's reply without even looking at him. Just epic married status at this point. Doesn’t even have to look at him or for Tim to say anything. It’s already there because of that crazy good connection they have. How deeply they know one another. It’s so good. Tim being the smart man he is says nothing. Lucy knowing he’s thinking it haha

Lucy coming to conclusion she will do crazy wild card during the day and the manual at night. She will sleep when it's over LOL Tim shaking his head. Knowing there is nothing he can say right now that'll make this better. Or to derail her crazy train of thought. This is like S1/S2 them with the added benefit of them being together now. It’s glorious.

Getting serious Plain Clothes Day vibes from this episode as well. Except this time Lucy light years away from who she was then. Confidently reciting what she’s going to do Tim nodding along. Tim wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t rock her boat a little though. Lucy getting in her head about the crime scene now. Tim isn’t wrong she did tick all the obvious boxes. That the point of today is looking for wild cards. That’s what he wants her to engage that brilliant brain of her's in. It's why he's here.

To zero in on the 'Out of the box thinking'. Poor Lucy spirals out not being able to decide if she wants his help or not. I ADORE Tim telling her it’s ok to not know the answer. Not shaming her in the least just needing her to make a call. God how far we’ve come. Tim pushes her because he knows that is when she learns best. Trying to add a little urgency to her decision making. Unfortunately it backfires. I kinda loved them calling each other by their ranks in this heated exchange.

Lucy is so flustered it’s giving me PCD vibe once again in the best way. The sprinklers turn on and Lucy panics. There’s the wild card….We watch as a bullet leaves this man’s body and enters the storm drain never to be seen again. Lucy being so very disappointed in herself. It’s reminiscent of the disappointment she showed in s1 but only now she's far more experienced. So it hurts much more now….Oh Lucy my heart. You poor thing. Couldn’t have gone more wrong if she tried.

I can’t believe they played clown music upon her entrance.... Beyond cruel but that's cops. Always taking shots when people mess up spectacularly. Tim trying not laugh.... Babe she is spiraling right now maybe don’t lol Poor thing I would be mortified too. I love how both Tim and Lucy smile when they see Wes and the wee one. My heart. She wants Wes's opinion and he just crushes her with logic. Ugh She needs a hug. Bad day for our girl.

Lucy continues to break my heart as they sit in front of the crime scene. She is on the verge of tears. Verge of a breakdown it feels like as well. Killing me softly. Saying she should skip the detectives exam. My girl. Tim doesn't want her to give up. I will say this fight I feel like I would be Tim. Trying to be so supportive it’s come off as agreeing with her she can’t do it. When really he was just trying to be supportive of whatever she wants.

Can't win for losing right now Timothy. She is in a bad way right now. Lucy has some weight to her argument though. if I was her in this moment I would feel the same way. If I’m in a bad headspace I need reassurances. So I can relate to both of them in this fight. It’s not a fun time for either of them. Tim is still learning that emotional depth he needs to have with her in these moments.

Being supportive has worked before so he's not sure why it's backfiring right now. They’re solid but always room to grow beauty of them. Lucy spots someone pull up to crime scene crying. She has them peel out with Tim not really understanding why. Lucy catching her digging through her trash. She ends up getting a confession. Phew Well done Luce.

Oooh this final scene. Oh my damn lord. This is some PRIMO productive angst holy hell. Eric and Melissa came out swinging with it. I knew they were going to have one more scene about it. I just didn't think it would be this explosive. I adore Tim picking up on how short she is with him. Grabbing her by the arm and confronting her. Growth continuous growth for them both continues to show. Love it. Look at Tim being the one to come at this. I’m so proud of him.

Throwing her words from 5x21 somewhat back at her. Saying this isn’t going to work if she isn’t honest with him. Then Lucy really lays into him. Now do I think he purposely undermined her? No I don’t. Not ever. That’s not in his DNA to do that to someone he loves. I was deeply hurt for him when she suggested this. You can see how hurt he is when she says as such. He’s getting emotional and it makes me as well. I just wanna hug him.

Tim as we know is a DEEPLY loyal person. Also one of my main relations to him as a character. To purposely hurt someone they love isn’t fathomable to a loyal person. It's unthinkable. You have to hurt them first. To undermine Lucy would be to hurt her so he would never. To be accused of such by your favorite person? That cut's so insanely deep for him. I haven’t seen him this hurt since the 'Tim Test' line from her in 4x08. I’m legit wounded for him. He is so upset she could think that of him.

Now Lucy might be onto something with the subconscious part. He could’ve done it not realizing what he was doing. Because love isn’t rational. Man is hardwired to protect her and want to keep her safe. So I could see this especially with her psych background. I think this is solid guess at what happened. Now was this the right time to lash out at him for Isabel stuff? I don’t know…

Felt like a low blow when he was already down for the count. She is throwing him daggers with her eyes most of this conversation. Feels like its more than just the UC right now but that's just my guess at this point. Let's not forget she was having UC doubts towards the end of last season.

Now do they need to have these fights and conversations? HELL YES. My god this subject needs to be discussed. Especially with how 5x20-5x21 were. Want to reiterate this is my first impression. I was literally writing this as I experienced their fight for first time. When I rewatch it this summer this could change. My POV could shift. But right now I see a man who only thought he had her back and was raked across the coals in this moment.

So for me right now in this moment I feel like Lucy had pent up frustrations and took it out on Tim. The protective side of me for him isn’t pleased with that tbh. Doesn't mean I love Lucy any less. I adore her so much. You all know that. But my gut leaned towards Tim in this fight. That may be bias idk but it’s how I felt when it was said and done. Tim was very very defensive when she brought up Isabel. Which hasn't happened in awhile. But his emotions were heightened and he was on the defensive before they'd reach the topic of her.

Lucy basically kicked him while he was down and he felt it. I'm not discounting her feelings at all. She is allowed to feel overwhelmed. Has every right to be. She is STRESSED and it is coming out in all kinds of ways. Ways that aren't like her. I think she stewed on this thought the ENTIRE shift and it came out in the worst way. Which also isn't like her. What she did had him defaulting back to old school Tim. Cutting off the conversation before more emotions were to be had or he said something he would regret.

Basically cut the fight off at the knees and walked away. Lucy’s face says it all when he walks away. She wasn’t expecting that. Shocked he just left her like that. Oh Lucy, you wounded him more than once and he retreated HARD. Leaving her standing there wondering what the hell just happened? God this is so good though everyone. This is the type of angst I'm all for. What a way to start the season off hot damn. Hurts so good angst to get us going. I could not be more excited for where we go this season. Feel free to comment on this. Love to chat with you all about this. All uncharted territory for us all. We're in for quite the ride.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Who are these friggin people? They’re insanely ruthless. Like Rosalind level ruthless in how they just dispose of people. Sending two their team out as a distraction to be blown up. Jesus. Then sniping their own guy. They’re smart but cold af. Then killing who I thought was the boss at the end. Shit. Consider me intrigued.

I liked the 6 weeks later. Makes sense need to do a time jump.

Celina being more afraid of Tim than Harper. LOL little does she know they’re basically the same person haha

Poor Aaron wants to be back in the game and can’t be. I agree with Grey he’s not ready even if he thinks he is.

God I love Nyla Harper. Took that mofo out like the complete bad ass she is. Came with repercussions which made me sad for her.

Angela being more excited to see burritos than her husband lmao I love this woman.

Feeling little potential flirty action for Aaron and his therapist.

[hinny-canons]

Just tried reading cursed child and wanted to see if it was actually as bad as everyone was leading on…

It was.

it was so crappy, I couldn’t get past it. not in any universe would harry james potter, even out of anger, tell his son he wishes he wasn’t his son. not in any universe. I know I maybe shouldn’t be that mad about it but I am. whoever said that was not harry potter, I don’t know who that was, that ain’t my hero.

the real harry potter would have loved his son unconditionally, it doesn’t matter what house he’s in. yes, i know harry loved him deep down, but the whole relationship with albus and harry was not at all how it would have been, given the things we were given in the books before cursed child.

don’t even get me started on how stupid it was to just kill of astoria. that’s a different post.

the only thing i will take from cursed child is albus being in slytherin. that’s it.

phew okay, I’m done ranting :). I wanna know what you guys think of cursed child. <3

[wromwood]

OK, someone PLEASE let me know if this is indeed a stupid trope or if there’s something my autistic ass isn’t getting:

Why do people in fiction keep assuming that things are pranks? It’s always annoyed me, but now it’s really pissing me off for some reason. It seems like every time a character does something (especially if it involves them looking confused, or panicking, or otherwise expressing ‘I’m scared and I need help!’ or ‘That thing I did that made you angry wasn’t my fault and it’s bad for me too, PLEASE, I’m so frightened!’), the other character will get angry and say “If this is a prank...!”

... WHY. Why a prank? It’s hardly ever a case of the boy who cries wolf, either. This happens to characters who aren’t established pranksters, and we often have no evidence at all of them lying or going against their word. The character in distress is often our protagonist, often kind and good, and yet the other person will IMMEDIATELY jump to the conclusion that this is must be a prank, and how DARE they even THINK of playing a prank! If this is a prank, then their fear and terror should be answered with EXTREME ANGER and ABANDONMENT, FUCK the character, may their distressed soul ROT IN FUCKING HELL APPARENTLY

... I obviously have personal issues with this, but that’s beside the point.

I’m more understanding of people who say “Is this a joke?” Because a joke is different than a prank. It’s easy to not understand when someone is joking. It’s easy for a joke to fall flat, or to be delivered too seriously. And it’s understandable to get annoyed at this, or even a little angry. The annoyance comes from “phew, you worried me. Please only use that tone for serious things next time.” The anger comes from “Grrr, I can’t believe I failed to recognize this as joke, or go along with the bit.”

But a PRANK? A prank is different. A prank is intentional. A prank means that the pranker wanted to make a fool of you. A prank is done AT you, TO you. A prank can be (even if it isn’t always) cruel. I understand why people would respond to a prank with rage.

... but why do they assume prank before joke? Why from characters they’re supposed to like? People don’t pull pranks regularly enough for this to be a common fear! Who out there is being a serial pranker and making everyone so jumpy?

ok rant over bye

[thephantomhood]

Also little personal rant time:

My best friend is so infuriating sometimes, but not of any fault of their own. They have this boyfriend (now fiancé???) that gets into so much shit, that my friend had bailed him out of jail 3 times this year already. They bailed him out a couple time last year before too. My friend is pretty broke and this dud just drains so much of their income it’s not funny.

It’s just frustrating to watch because I’m gonna be supportive of my friend being happy, but holy hell does this man also stress them out when he gets into trouble.

He broke up with my friend twice, and they broke up with him twice, but they are both so codependent that it didn’t last long. I’m just so done with him, but my friend loves him so I will be supportive. I can just see though how this relationship is bad for them and their mental health.

And today!!! He got arrested AGAIN (he just narrowly avoided going to jail a couple weeks ago b/c his lawyer got sick and the trial was indefinitely postponed) and the bail is $500. My friend wants to bail him out again, but doesn’t have the money. I love my friend, but I am not gonna give them the money to bail out this dude again. And luckily, they didn’t ask me too, but I somehow still feel guilty for not doing it.

I just have a weird relationship with money because it’s gonna be really tight until my job starts again in December, and this friend already owes me $60. They are actually always really good about paying me back within a week or two though (whenever they get paid next), so I can’t really begrudge them for asking me for money any other time. It’s still stressful though to get asked for money other times.

Phew, very long rant, my bad.

[sometimesrosy]

Thank you for your words. The owner is warned on what he should do, and my boss basically didn’t tell him they needed to go to the emergency room right away, so that gives me some semblance of turns out it wasn’t that urgent urgent? Maybe I’m just looking for excuses. I’m ashamed to say I’ve been working there for two and a half years now, but I never had any training on how to recognize emergencies. All my boss did was send me a few articles from time to time and ask me to read them. I did. It’s just that we’ve had so many similar cases that were never treated as an emergency, and the two symptoms he described seemed so unrelated to one another that my brain didn’t process it. It’s bothering me even more that my boss went there when the owner was making the appointment and I didn’t ask. Anyway, the damage is done, but the situation didn’t progress negatively so it’s “controlled”, the owner didn’t go with him to the emergency room yet. I just hope the kitty cat gets the treatment and help he needs and gets fine. Thank you for listening to my rant.

Phew. Okay. Alls well that ends well.

But I'm pretty sure you'll be more careful in the future.

So maybe it was urgent, not an emergency? Although I don't actually know the difference. I've had some cat emergencies in my life but as long as the kitty gets the care they need, I think that's what's important.

[nyny-213]

Phew y’all after I got done ranting lol I’m shaking no but seriously I need to be more hype about God too though. I mean don’t get me wrong, the fandoms are silly and fun but I have a hard time getting hype for Jesus. I do my best but I’ve always been so insecure about it. I know I shouldn’t be but I am and it can take a toll on me I will not lie. Like sometimes God might want me to do something and I’ll overthink it, because I spent so much time earlier this year just jumping to conclusions and that didn’t leave me feeling right either. I honestly just want to be good with God. I honestly just want to rest knowing that I am good with God. I’m not going to sit here and say I have a Pharisee or religious spirit, but it’s also just like so frustrating not doing anything for God when I see all these amazing people of God doing big things. It’s worse when they are younger or the same age as you. I thought physical insecurities were bad but spiritual ones are a whole different level. Because you truly have to think in a way that’s not logical. You have to think spiritual and literally lean not on your own understanding like it says in proverbs 3:5-6. It’s hard not too, but it’s necessary so it’s a bit of a pickle.

I honestly want to make sure I say it enough but we don’t have much time left frfr. I’m not even trying to scare anyone but it’s the most realistic thing I can think of. Like we are literally on our last days (if you know about revelation in the Bible you’ll get what I’m saying). Jesus is coming back frfr. Anyway that’s it for now with that.

[knittedkikwi]

So, this turned into more of a vent session than I intended. Just need to send it out to the void. Please ignore.

How is it that people send in all their requests at once? Do they coordinate?? I had my work inbox all caught up when I left on Friday. Then yesterday happened. One of my favorite things about my job is that it’s just busy enough to keep me from getting bored but still gives me time to breathe and take breaks. Which, yes, I still took a couple of breaks today because if I didn’t I’d end up staring blankly at my screen and get even less done. But that meant I ended up leaving 20 minutes late. And even then I haven’t finished everything! I did as much as I needed to do to not immediately cry when I get in tomorrow. I was prepared to stay later if it meant I could actually sleep tonight. This was supposed to be my easy week! There’s no payroll this week! I was supposed to be able to do all the employee changes yesterday, spend most of today on a report due tomorrow (which I did actually manage to finish, thank god), and then spend the rest of the week preparing for payroll next week and answering questions from employees. Instead, I got bulldozed by verification requests, which I couldn’t even get to because I had a million little fires pop up from last weeks payroll. That meant I walked in to a second round of requests this morning. Except mandatory government reports take priority, so I couldn’t get to them til this afternoon, by which time a THIRD round of requests were coming through. When I finally called them back, the guy had the gall to ask if the email they sent all of the requests to was still good and what the turn around time was. I’ve had them for a day! Sir, I think 24 hours is a pretty good fucking turn around time for someone trying to juggle payroll, employment verification, employee changes, government wage reporting, and every damn employee question about their paychecks, taxes, and pto for three decently sized companies. Forgive me for prioritizing!

Phew, rant over. For clarity, I love my job. The people are great, the workload is (usually) just right, there’s enough routine that I always know what to do but enough variety that it’s not the same thing day in day out, and they actually actively encourage me to take time off. Partially because the government requires people in my industry to take a week off every year so that someone else has to do my job and hopefully notice signs of fraud, but also because they legitimately don’t want their people burning out. I’ve been there a year and have finally really started to believe that I’m not going to be interrogated or guilt tripped if I ask for time off AND my team will actually take care of my responsibilities while I’m gone.

Like, my last boss never minded me taking time off, but she would ask me why. I think it was mostly because I was the one person she could maybe consider a friend at that place and was just interested in my life as a result. But I never truly let myself forget that she was my boss, so I always felt like she was checking to see if I really needed the time off or if she could turn me down. I always felt like I had to justify my requests. And while I was gone, she was too busy to do my job unless it was 100% necessary, which pretty much just covered new hires and payroll. She did her best, but I would inevitably come back from just two days off and be absolutely buried in emails and paperwork. Then, I would have to deal with overhearing people gossip about me not doing my job. Forgive me for wanting to spend time with my family occasionally.

At this job, my boss keeps telling me to take time off while the weather is nice and I can “go do something fun!” Every email I send asking to leave early is immediately answered with an “absolutely!” I even stopped myself from including reasons for the two afternoons I asked for next month, just to see what would happen. She just said yes. She’ll probably ask when we get closer to the dates, but the distinction is that she’s asking AFTER she’s agreed to the time off. I actually believe that she wants me to rest and will deal with what she can while I’m out. I mean, I not only left for a week, but came back to a nicely organized inbox (better organized than I had it, even), the only things that hadn’t been processed were new hires starting that day (and some term forms that the team clearly hadn’t realized were there. We get so many ahead of time that I keep them in a sub folder of the inbox so I can actually see the rest of the emails I need to answer. Yay for a job where people actually give two weeks notice instead of just disappearing) and any changes that had come through after hours. AND my team was immediately asking what they could help with because they knew I’d have a million emails in my personal inbox (it was actually 69 which is just too perfect). Hell, my boss started checking payroll reports before I even asked! Like, Christ, I haven’t had this level of support in years!

PLUS everyone in the office asked how my trip went and were exceedingly patient as I proceeded to show them a million pictures of my niece. She’s very cute and this was the first time I’d gotten to meet her, so I was a very excited auntie (also, she rolled over for the first time this week and they got it on video!! She’s not even 4 months old yet. The kid’s a genius!). Anyway, there was no shit talking, or if there was, they had the decency to do it where I can’t overhear. I have a hard time believing anyone in this office would begrudge me taking time off though. Everyone else takes off time around holidays or gives themselves the occasional long weekend. It’s really common for me to be the last person leaving on a Friday. Like, so common that the other lady who doesn’t tend to take off those days has started calling the two of us “the usual guard” for holiday weekends. I can reliably predict the days that it's gonna be just me and the other lady. People actually use their time off in this company and it's refreshing. i took an afternoon off to go kayaking and it was surprisingly guilt free.

Anyways, that kinda turned into a second rant that i didn't plan. I just think the sudden spike in demands that I do things NOW reminded me of the old job and kinda sent me into a spiral. I’m really glad to be where I am now. I’m just not used to having 200 demands on my time anymore and having to stay late just to get through half of them. I’m so ready to let go of the old job. It just rears it’s ugly head when I least expect it and I don’t know how to forget it and move on. I'm think i'm going to ask my doctor if she can recommend a therapist the next time i see her. I'd really like some help with overcoming the trauma of that job.

[brummiereader]

Wow what a chapter Lee 😯!! I swear I didn't blink the whole entire time!

The first part honestly had me on edge. Luca was being...loving to her. I was expecting him to flip at any moment 😬. He's volatile behaviour really keeps me questioning what's genuine and what's not. "The turmoil behind her eyes" and this is where you can clearly see the hold he has on her. He beats her belittles her but she still questions her decision, it's honestly heartbreaking.

God, I can't imagine living like this. I know she's giving him up him and trying to urge him to attack that same day, but the way she has to word everything so carefully is so frightening. I literally had a ball of nerves in my stomach through this part, I was so nervous Luca wouldn't go along with the plan. You really set the scene perfectly here Lee ❤️!

Thank god for Enzo, but after reading the whole chapter I fear what will now happen to him. "No one strikes a Sabini without bearing a scar of their own.” loved this line, it really installs in the reader how much power the Sabinis have. Luca is and idiot for everything he has done to Aurora, the daughter of the leader of one of the most powerful families. I hope he gets more than a scar 😡.

Although I was happy to see the smirk wiped off Lucas face when he realised he had been betrayed, I knew what it ultimately meant...he had just learnt it was his own wife that lied to him. You have no idea how much I'm starting to hate this man 😤.

Come on Granny and Gramps, move!! < that's what I was shouting at my phone when Aurora was having to wait behind them. Arghh, it's the worse thing ever when you're waiting behind someone and they won't stop talking to the employee, and the most annoying part is, I reckon the employee indulges in their rambling just to piss everyone off waiting 😬 ( sorry for the rant. Phew, I feel better 😂) .

I knew he was going to be there. “Mi hai spezzato il cuore…now I’m gonna break you, sweetheart.” ...I feel sick. These words are so chilling. Your whole description of this scene was absolutely perfect. The image he was portraying to everyone else was so frightening because we the readers and Aurora know the dark ideas lurking behind his eyes at what he really wants to do. I can't believe his men willingly go along with it all, I guess they're only following orders but it honestly disgusts me 😒.

Lovely Rose is so protective with her ❤️. I was honestly surprised to see Tommy not completely refuse Alfie's request to have him look after her instead. I reckon Tommy has some guilt there, because Rose was right she saved his life, now it's time for him to the same. “You do realize my wife will have your balls if you don’t do right by this woman,” hell yes she will 😂! As always, I absolutely love the way you write Alfie, it is SPOT on!

“I don’t know. She’s up there smashing up the room, speaking in bloody tongues,” this line had me giggling so much! Only Arthur could say this 😂🤭! Any other language than English doesn't exist in Arthur's brain! "Fucking madwoman!” says the madman 🤦‍♀️.

I am so excited to see how Tommy and Aurora will interact with each other in a different setting. I reckon this will be where the love triangle starts. I.can.not.wait 😍!! I know it's kinda cliché to say, but it's going to be interesting to see how a reserved Englishman will deal with a fiery Italian beauty. Something tells me she won't go easy on him 😉. Amazing chapter Lee, superb writing ❤️!

My Sun, My Moon and All My Stars-Part 2

Luca Changretta x OC (Aurora Changretta) x Tommy Shelby

Summary: Aurora and Tommy put their plan into motion. When things go wrong in Artillery Square, she’s the one who must deal with Luca.

Author’s Note: Rose Solomons is an OC belonging to @raincoffeeandfandoms.

Warnings: language, drinking, ethnic slurs, mention of death, fighting, injury, blood, mention of domestic abuse

☀️🌙✨MASTERLIST

Part 1

The last of the letters sat addressed and ready to mail home in the morning, It was important to Aurora that she tell the families about their brave sons and husbands who had given their lives for her family. She pledged continued income and protection on behalf of the Sabini family for their sacrifice, but the promise felt as weightless as the cheap hotel stationary she held in her hand. Rubbing an ink stain from her finger, she hadn’t noticed Luca enter, furrowing his brow at her.

“You’re still awake?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“I couldn’t sleep until I finished my condolence letters,” she said, motioning toward the neat stack at the corner of the desk. 

“Come to bed,” he said, extending a hand for her and she rose to meet him without resistance. “You’re a good woman, Aurora,” he commented, urging her to lean into him.

“Is that what we should tell their children?” she asked into the darkness of the hallway, limbs feeling heavy with exhaustion.

“The Shelbys will answer for this, hmm? They did this,” he stressed, rubbing his palm along her upper back. She winced slightly from her healing injuries, murmuring about the nightly regimen she needed to complete and he guided her into the bedroom.

Aurora sat at the edge of the bed, dark hair cascading over one shoulder as Luca’s long fingers massaged a soothing balm into her bruised shoulder. The moonlight reflected against her glossy locks, drawing Luca forward to kiss the top of her head. Breathing in the hint of spice in her perfume, he mused, “You remember the first Christmas we were married? All the promises we made?”

Aurora nodded as she glanced down at the bauble on her right hand, a gift from their first holiday together as a married couple. The large princess cut emerald nestled amongst smaller brilliant diamonds, one for every child they hoped to be blessed with in the future. “My sun, my moon and all my stars,” she whispered. It was true they’d made plans for a dynasty of their own in the early days, but this was no longer the dream as all her hopes had turned to fear, joy drowning in sorrow and every kiss from Luca sinking her deeper into death.

Luca rested his cheek against her momentarily as he continued, “This vendetta has made me realize how short life is. When we get back home a new life begins for us. Things are gonna be different.”

Aurora’s breath caught in her chest as she listened to his words, eyes slipping closed at the memory of Tommy Shelby’s icy stare as she agreed to the unthinkable.

“When all this is done, I think it’s time to talk about having a family,” he said, caressing her arm. “We have to find a way to move on after Angel and Papa,” he said, a sadness tinging his voice that made her whole body ache even more as guilt permeated her soul.

After a few moments of silence, she looked up to find her husband staring at her in the mirror and she could hardly meet his gaze.

“Did you hear what I said, Aurora?” he asked, pulling her into him. 

“Mmm-hm,” she acknowledged numbly.

Satisfied he had her attention, Luca continued, brushing her hair with his fingers absently as he spoke. “You can stop working for your father and let go of all the worry. Have my children and let me spoil you for the rest of your life, vita mia,” he promised with a squeeze. “God, you’ll make the most beautiful mother,” he praised, kissing the side of her face. When she remained still, Luca pulled away to look at her, finding a tear in the corner of her eye. “You alright?” he asked tenderly.

Aurora’s hand came to rest at his cheek as her mind whirred, unable to answer him until she finally heard herself say, “Luca, I’m so tired. Can we go to sleep?”

“Of course,” he replied with another peck to her shoulder, moving backward on the bed and tossing the covers aside. She slipped beneath the duvet, silk night gown sliding against the smooth cotton and sighed at the relief of the cool material against her face. She watched intently as Luca turned out the light, hoping he hadn’t noticed the turmoil behind her eyes.

————————————-

Two days later, Aurora entered the dining room to find Luca with his head in his hands. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, taking a seat beside him at the table.

Luca tossed a telegram before her and she grasped it between her fingers, eyes flying across the page. She tried to hide the small intake of breath as she realized it came from Camden Town, realizing the plan was in motion.

“The jew says he can lead me to Shelby,” Luca said, leaning back in his chair as he drummed his fingers on the tabletop. 

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Aurora asked encouragingly, reaching for his hand.

Luca pulled back with a shake of his head. “Something isn’t right. I can feel it,” he said stroking his cheek thoughtfully.

“Wh-why do you say that? I thought you had a productive meeting at the distillery. You promised him distribution for his rum in New York in exchange for Tommy Shelby’s whereabouts,” she said, reiterating the terms of the agreement. 

Luca stood and crossed to the window looking down to the street. “I don’t trust him, baby,” he eventually replied.

“I admit he’s a bit eccentric, but Darby said we can trust him. Papa said,” Aurora stressed, attempting not to raise her voice and show her hand. 

“It’s not just him. It’s that wife of his. She’s got opinions on everything, always in his ear,” he said with a disapproving sneer. Luca spun around to look at Aurora as he asked intently, “What was it she said to you that day when you were alone? You never told me.”

Aurora’s eyes dropped to the patterned tablecloth, tracing it slowly as she thought of a believable lie. The clock in the corner ticked away the seconds forcefully, urging her on until she landed on the telegram once more. Placing a manicured finger over a few words she pronounced, “Look, the Solomons mention Artillery Square.”

“And?” Luca asked with clenched jaw.

“Tommy Shelby hides his youngest brother there. Goes to visit him one day a week to give him his orders in person and check on him,” she said confidently.

Luca was listening intently now, studying his wife with suspicion. “And how do you know this, principessa?” he asked. 

“You asked what Rose said. She told me they’ve had a girl from the bakery who was sweet on him. She tried to warn her off and couldn’t. She said she followed her there a few times,” Aurora continued as naturally as possible. 

“And why wouldn’t you have told me this before?” Luca asked with raised eyebrow, pacing back to the breakfast table with a dangerous look in his eye.

Aurora went to him, stroking a hand down his shirt front to calm him. “I had to be sure,” she said, faltering slightly in her delivery before dipping her head under his chin. When Luca accepted her, lacing an arm around her waist, her body relaxed against his. However, she quickly noticed the tension did not leave his grip as he tightened his hold on her.

“Sure of what, amore?” he whispered in a low growl, fingers pressing against her flesh painfully. One hand slipped away to find her chin, pulling her eyes up to meet his in a challenging stare.

Aurora eyes darted momentarily as she forced the lump back down her throat with the note of panic desperate to escape. “I couldn’t risk her giving us false information. Putting you in danger,” she purred.

Luca’s head tilted slightly as his brow softened, “So how do you know she’s not lying?” he implored, wanting to believe.

At that moment, Enzo entered the room and Aurora turned to him with a desperate look in her eye. With her back to her husband she silently pleaded through her gaze as she spoke. “Enzo followed him there,” she said, heart thundering in her chest as she waited for her father’s man to give confirmation.

“Have you been watching Artillery Square?” Luca asked the young man before him.

Aurora gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head toward Enzo and his eyes went wide for a moment, glancing between husband and wife. He knew what needed to be done though fear coursed through his veins. “Yes, boss,” he quickly replied.

“And Tommy Shelby’s brother lives there? You’re certain of it?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Enzo confirmed, feeling a trickle of sweat run down his back.

Luca sighed heavily, running his tongue along the inside of his cheek as he thought.

“You see, Luca, we can trust the intelligence,” Aurora spoke up. Seeing his resolve was weakening at the thought of a victory over the Shelbys, Aurora delivered one last impassioned speech. “Let’s end this so we can go home. You take him today, Luca. You must,” she urged her husband, stroking his cheek gently.

She could see from the glint in his eye that he was ready, having waited too long for vengeance for his family. “Today,” he repeated with a firm nod, assured in his decision. 

———————————————

Tommy waited patiently from a second story balcony late into the afternoon with a machine gun covered by a thick swath of muslin. Residents had been evacuated from the buildings in Artillery Square, though he suspected some still remained as noises could be heard occasionally with the rustle of the breeze. If it were rats or curious tenants, he couldn’t quite be sure. It was of no concern now though, the only thought on his mind was waiting for Luca and his men.

Tommy closed his eyes, taking in one last deep breath and exhaling into the heavens. This would be the end to it all, the black hand and the blood in the kitchen had been nothing compared to this moment when he would finally be victorious. And if he wasn't, that would be the end of everything extra and he could be at peace with Grace. “In the bleak midwinter…” he began before the roar of a car engine could be heard in the distance.

Readying himself for battle, Tommy withdrew the cloth from his weapon and hid beyond the shadows, listening to the distant footsteps of at least four men, recalling all the places he’d stored guns and ammunition around the compound. He steadied his breathing as he’d done years ago in the war, taking in the stream of oxygen as he might the opium or whisky afterward to stop the shakes. He took one last look at his pocket watch, the soldier's minute had begun.

—————————————-

Aurora watched the last of the vehicles Darby provided pull away from the curb and she felt a rush of adrenaline course through her whole body. She packed quickly knowing time was not a luxury today and gathered the tickets Rose had left for her under an assumed name. Everything was falling into place almost too well when she felt a hand on her shoulder as she waited for a taxi. 

She startled at the touch, dropping her case to the pavement as she glanced over her shoulder nervously. This was the moment she was found out. She was certain of it and she nearly fainted as she glimpsed the fedora in her peripheral vision. 

In a blessed moment of relief, the voice that issued forth was not that of her husband, but a warm, soothing tone of her bodyguard. Shoulders slumping forward in instant relief she managed, “Enzo! It’s only you.”

“Yes, Mr. Changretta said I should stay behind and watch over you,” he explained, a note of apology in his voice.

“I won't be needing you today. Go back to the hotel,” Aurora instructed.

Enzo looked confused as Aurora straightened her dress and picked her case up from where it had fallen at her feet. He dipped quickly to pick it up for her, but she grabbed the handle first with a shake of her head. Her hazel eyes turned dark with warning, the same look she’d given him that morning in the dining room and he understood she was fleeing. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t stay,” she said as a taxi pulled up to the curb. 

“No, it’s I who must apologize, Mrs. Changretta,” he replied as he opened the door for her. "Potrai mai perdonarmi?"

She paused as her hand fell upon the door. “Why do you say that?” she asked, eyes snapping up to meet his.

Enzo looked away as he fixed his eyes on something across the road answering honestly, “I never protected you from him. It was my one job and I failed you,” he confessed.

Aurora’s swallowed harshly as she was confronted by the truth no one had dared speak into existence in her presence. She placed a gloved hand over his and gave a gentle squeeze as she tried to fortify him with a look of reassurance. “You've done enough. Be satisfied with that and don't worry. I'm my father's daughter. No one strikes a Sabini without bearing a scar of their own.” Then she ducked inside the cab without looking back.

——————————-

“Dear Lord, vengeance is yours. My father, look upon me. Vengeance is yours too.” Luca whispered before making the sign of the cross and kissing the St. Christopher medal that hung from his neck. As Matteo drove a bread truck deep into Shelby territory, he searched for signs of life in the smoggy streets. However, the neighborhood appeared cold and desolate, gray clouds hanging like a burial shroud over the decaying buildings.

Luca leaned forward to give his final instructions to his men. “He may try to surrender, but remember, I’ll fire the final shot,” he warned them, flexing his gloved hands until the leather cracked breaking the tension in the air. They nodded in silent understanding, exchanging glances as they all recognized the blood lust in Luca’s eyes. He wouldn’t be contained a moment longer.

As soon as the car stopped, Luca jumped from the back, surveying the empty car left by the alley. By all accounts this was Shelby’s car and he smirked with pleasure knowing his enemy was nearby. 

In the distance Tommy watched through the iron bars of the balcony railing as Luca marched through the courtyard, a lion prowling unfamiliar territory with his nose high in the air. He had an unsettling sense of superiority Tommy found nauseating, a reminder of the cavalry who rode past him without a single glance. That was the secret to his plan, however. Hiding in plain sight where Luca would never think to look. Taking one last view through the sights, Tommy’s finger curled over the trigger in anticipation of just the right moment.

No sooner had Luca begun thinking of his plans to ambush Tommy, gunfire reigned down from above. The sharp echoes around him bit at his nerves and the wind opened his coat, exposing him to the elements in a sudden reversal of fortune he hadn’t been expecting. His men poured from the back doors of the bread truck, machine guns in hand, but two were struck down instantly by his side, blood pooling at his feet. “Fuck!” he shouted, returning fire to the balcony above, grimacing as he held his gun against his shoulder tightly and fired several rounds in quick succession.

As the specter of a man in a flat cap disappeared beyond undulating waves of hanging bed sheets, Luca motioned the others forward. “Come on!” he said with a wave of his arm, unwilling to give up the chance now that it had begun. His earlier certainty had been robbed, however, and he now stood motionless despite his command, flattening himself against a wall as he collected his thoughts. His face twisted with rage as he hissed, “I was lied to.”

———————————

Aurora fidgeted with the buttons on her gloves anxiously, willing the couple in front of her to move more quickly. She'd already waited at the docks for hours for her boat and the churning in her stomach was worsening with every passing second. Her nerves were not helped by the elderly pair before her having a lengthy discussion about securing their dog on board, along with endless questions about their voyage. She attempted to take long, slow breaths through her nose, but nothing seemed to calm her.

Finally it seemed she would be next and she readied her papers in hand with a warm smile. As she stretched her hand out to offer them, a clerk approached her. “Ma’am, a word please,” he said in a stern voice.

With a dry throat, Aurora attempted to swallow and hesitantly turned to face him. “Yes, can I help you?” She was certain it was a mistake. Women traveling alone were often questioned and she was confident she could talk her way out of it.

“I need you to follow me, please,” he said with a wave of his hand. "There's been a problem with your paperwork, ma'am." 

"Surely you'll find everything in order if you take a look," she demurred, offering her papers. They shook in her hand as she pleaded, "Please, I’ll miss the boat and my family is waiting in America."

“Now, ma’am, or I'll be forced to call a policeman,” he commanded.

Seeing no other option, Aurora complied, gathering the small case at her side. The row of waiting travelers parted for her, pointing and staring at the elegant woman being led away. Although she kept her head held high, her legs nearly collapsed when she made it to the end of the dock to see Luca towering above her. He smiled at her with a predatory glimmer in his dark brown eyes. “Amore, I was so worried when you weren’t at the hotel,” he greeted her with open arms, pulling her into him like a long lost lover. 

Aurora’s heart raced, beating wildly against her chest. She knew each and every one of his moods. This was his best impression of a loving husband, an act he would discard later in favor of the cruelest forms of punishment. The soft, even tone of his voice terrified her more than the beatings that followed. 

She tried not to react as he pushed the scarf from her head and stroked her hair, fingers tracing along the column of her neck. A prickle of goosebumps developed beneath the wake of his touch as he whispered in her ear, “We could have had everything.” His nose nudged the shell of her ear tenderly as he did when they made love, but his next words came out even more breathlessly as he struggled to temper his emotions. “Mi hai spezzato il cuore…now I’m gonna break you, sweetheart.” Then he placed a rough kiss to her temple, hand clutching at the back of her neck possessively as though he might crush her skull and she whimpered involuntarily.

As he attempted to drag her from view of the remaining passengers waiting to board, Aurora began to feel nauseous. If she went with him, she wouldn’t return home. He had warned her once. Spotting the waiting car at the curb, she began to kick against his hold.

She wrenched herself from him in a moment of panic, his hand clutching at her necklace. It stopped her for a brief moment, a small choking sound emitting from her throat as it held her to him. Then the clasp gave way and she stumbled, watching a shimmering row of pearls fall to the walkway. Her hand flew to her throat as she saw Luca’s eyes widen in shock at the shower of jewels bounce along the ground at their feet.

Seeing her moment to flee, Aurora ran in the opposite direction as quickly as her legs would carry her. The shouted curses began as the sound of Aurora’s heels beat against the pavement, sounding a war drum in Luca’s ears as the blood pumped through his veins provoking him to chase after her. 

She cut a path back through the crowd, weaving between bodies to disguise herself. The murmurs from the crowd intensified as she ducked low to avoid the men in dark coats and her position was given away when a woman screamed out in surprise. “Over there!” Luca called to Matteo who rushed to find her, pushing a man out of his way as he reached for the handle of his pistol.

In an instant Aurora’s brown curls had disppeared once more and the men stopped to watch and listen. They hadn’t seen her remove her shoes and scamper down a ramp, concealing herself beneath a set of stairs. Although soon one of the men discovered the passageway and motioned for Luca. “Here, boss!” he called out. 

The men stalked through the shadowed area slowly, weapons drawn now that they were out of sight of any bystanders. Aurora closed her eyes tightly as she heard the sound of a gun cock, chest heaving and silently praying they wouldn’t discover her position. When she heard their footsteps move on, she took one last gulp of air and ran toward freedom, but the sound of a single shot echoing along the corridor immobilized her with a shock of lightning through her entire body. She dropped to the ground as the sound of police whistles rang out and her vision blurred.

———————————- 

**The Changretta Calls-3 happens here **

Margate, One week later…

As the heavy front door swung open, Tommy’s voice rumbled lowly, “Is she still alive?” Expression unreadable below his flat cap, only his tightly clasped hands and rigid posture gave away his anxiety.

“And good morning to you, Tom,” Alfie said, stepping aside to allow his business associate inside. “Would like some tea, I think Edna’s got some brewing.” Observing Tommy’s pacing, he stroked his beard, adding, “bit of something stronger?”

Removing his cap swiftly, Tommy’s bloodshot eyes came into view and he stepped closer to Alfie as he hissed, “I need answers, Alfie. Right fucking now.”

“Yeah, suppose you do, mate. Come on, then,” he said, shuffling toward the back of the house to find Rose.

As they came into view of the sitting room, Rose’s head shot up. “Mr. Shelby, there are a few things we need to discuss,” she said with arms crossed against her chest. “First, I’d like to know why you left Mrs. Changretta to die when we agreed it was her husband you wanted.”

“Now wait a minute,” Tommy interjected. “I’ve already told your husband, I had nothing to do with that.”

“Of course you’d deny it,” she huffed. “She delivered him to you on a silver platter and it still wasn’t enough for your ego,” she let out a bitter laugh as she marched toward him. Pointing a finger at Tommy accusingly she continued, “If that bullet had been three inches to the left, she’d be dead. She risked her life to save yours, you arrogant prick!” Her words were pitched with emotion, a bit high for her usual register as the emotional distress from watching Aurora suffer spilled forth all at once. 

“It was only Luca and his men in Artillery Square,” Tommy said with conviction.

“Then how did she end up in hospital?” Rose asked.

As the waves crashed outside the open balcony door, Aurora’s words echoed in Tommy’s ear, “I just want out.” She’d been desperate that afternoon in the basement room, clawing her way out of the pit Luca had dug for them. Tommy recognized it in her, the will to live despite being buried. Then all the pieces clicked into place. His throat felt dry and the room far too warm suddenly. Alfie had been right about one thing, the unexpected guilt that arose. He hadn’t meant for any of this to happen when he arranged the meeting in Artillery Square. It was his battle to fight, not Aurora Changretta’s.

The harsh cry of a lone seagull dipping low in the sky brought Tommy back to himself as he choked out, “I proposed an alliance in good faith and I haven’t broken it. The only other person in this country who wants her dead is her own husband. Have you asked her about him?”

The tightness in his jaw and the strained look in his eye told Rose Tommy was concerned for Aurora. Perhaps he even cared what happened to her after this, but he was definitely telling the truth about the events of the past days. Even if she wanted to hold a grudge, she had no choice but to work with him because a war was still raging outside her doorstep.

“She lost a great deal of blood and fell unconsciousness before I could speak with her further,” Rose admitted. “I just know she needed protection and asked to come here.”

“Well let’s settle this, shall we? I’d like to know where the fuck Luca is for a start, wouldn’t you?” Tommy asked with raised eyebrows.

“I told you, she needs rest,” Rose cautioned, still feeling protective over her guest.

“We don’t have time, Rose,” Tommy countered. Rose opened her mouth to argue, fury ready to fly from her until he added more gently, “I can’t protect her or any of us if I don’t have information.”

She couldn’t deny his logic and closed her mouth. Pursing her lips for a moment before beginning, “I’ll check on her, but I don’t want that woman upset. If you speak, you’ll watch your bloody tone with her. She’s been through enough, do you understand?” Rose gave him a stern look and without waiting for a reply, she whisked away to Aurora’s room to see if she might be able to speak.

Alfie let out a low whistle. “Ready for that drink now?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Tommy agreed with a quick nod, watching Alfie push himself up from his chair with a low grunt.

Alfie lumbered to the bar cart in the corner, pouring two fingers of Irish whisky and passed it to his friend with a grumble. As he stood considering the bright morning sun over the water, he reached for the chain around his neck and produced a pair of half moon shaped glasses. Their size was unremarkable in comparison to their owner who held them in his enormous hand with great awe and wonder.

“The man who made this pair of spectacles for me is a fucking magician, Tommy. You wouldn’t believe it,” he said with a satisfied nod. “A fucking magician!” his voice boomed. “Ain’t they lovely though?” he asked, pulling the chain out from his body and offering them toward Tommy for inspection.

Tommy took a swig of his drink, tilting his chin to the ceiling as he allowed the burn of the alcohol to reach his brain. It was too early for Alfie’s theatrics, especially with the weight on his mind. He licked his lips and nodded thoughtfully. “They’re quite nice, Alfie.”

“They tell me things as well. All that’s about to happen," he gestured with an open palm. "I’ve seen into the future with these,” he said in a hushed voice full of reverence. 

“Is that right? Perhaps I need a pair then,” Tommy dead panned, reaching into his coat pocket for a badly needed cigarette.

“Ah, but you already know, dontcha?” Alfie hummed, pacing toward the balcony once more. “It was you who said they was coming for us all one day. That was you, weren’t it?” he asked,  glancing over his shoulder as Tommy lit his smoke, looking more interested than before.

Nodding to himself, Alfie clutched the spectacles in his large fingers and turned his back to Tommy saying, “Hmm, didn’t need a pair of these after all, did ya?” Tugging at the hem of his shirt to polish a spot, he held them to the light for inspection as he continued, “The way I see it, the wops know she’s a traitor.” Alfie stopped, one ringed hand resting over his mouth, stroking his beard momentarily, before he dared speak the rest. “Worse they’ll know by now my Rosie’s one cause they’ve been seen together.”

“What would you have me do, Alfie?” Tommy asked, taking a long drag as he awaited an answer.

“I can’t keep the Changretta woman here another day, mate,” Alfie proclaimed, a veiled request rolled into his statement.

“Rose won’t agree to it,” Tommy warned.

“She might not like it, but she knows what’s best for everyone, don’t she?” Alfie countered.

“Aurora can’t possibly travel,” Tommy argued, pointing his cigarette at Alfie for emphasis.

“She got here,” Alfie reasoned, tucking the glasses back into his shirt front. "She can make it to yours," he said decisively.

Tommy bit the inside of his cheek before slamming his glass on the nearest table, accepting his inevitable defeat in this argument. “I’ll need blankets and a medical kit, plus two cars to accompany us on the drive.”

Alfie nodded thoughtfully to accept the proposal, but his pacing continued as though some other issue still plagued his mind. “You do realize my wife will have your balls if you don’t do right by this woman,” Alfie proclaimed, chewing his bottom lip with worry. 

Tommy looked down the hall where Rose had disappeared as he nodded, “Yes, I do.”

—————————————

Rose helped Tommy bundle Aurora into warm blankets, carrying her down to the car as gingerly as possible. Aurora was still quite delirious from the pain medicine, making a proper goodbye difficult, but she managed to thank Rose, giving her hand a weak squeeze. Rose wiped a tear away as she placed a basket on the bench seat by Tommy. “Be sure she eats the bread I sent,” she instructed. It was the only bit of care she could give now that they would be separated.

“And Tommy…this time you must succeed. This man has to be killed,” Rose implored with fierce determination.

“There's no other option,” Tommy replied before driving off. 

It was close to midnight before they reached Arrow House, rows of men welcoming them back to what had become a heavily guarded fortress. Frances swept from the house the moment the car arrived with questions about room preparations which Tommy answered in short, half sentences, too tired to address properly. He was thinking of the calls still to be made that evening to a doctor, his brothers and Pol. There would be a lot of explaining to do and he could only hope they would trust him. 

As he carried Aurora to her room, the full moon broke through the parting clouds and Tommy looked down at her sleeping form, wondering when he’d gone soft. Hadn’t she been the same woman who tried to have him killed mere weeks ago? Now she rested against his chest, the weight of her in his arms a promise to be fulfilled. He couldn't say if it was Rose's influence or the bandages that lay in the same place against her chest as the red stain upon Grace's dress the night of her murder, but something was driving him to protect her.

————————-

The next day…

“Thanks be to Mary and Joseph," Johnny Dogs exhaled at the sight of Tommy entering the foyer of Arrow House. With Arthur in tow, they followed at Tommy's heels until they'd reached the office. With a heavy sigh, Johnny closed the office door behind him. “You didn't say she was gonna wake up, Tom! We had to barricade the fucking door,” he huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets angrily.

“What’s happened?” Tommy asked, quickly removing his jacket and placing it on the closest chair. 

“I don’t know. She’s up there smashing up the room, speaking in bloody tongues,” Arthur said in disgust, pouring himself a whisky as he shook his head, ears still ringing.

“It’s Italian, Arthur,” Tommy retorted. “And I didn’t tell you to fucking lock her in. She’s not a prisoner, she’s a guest in my home. This is a delicate business which must be conducted accordingly, you understand?” he scolded.

“Yeah, well you’d think she’d act a little more grateful for what you did for her, eh?” he said, tossing back his drink as another loud crash came from the upstairs bedroom. “See what I mean?” he gestured above his head. “Fucking madwoman!”

“Alright, you get Polly for the family meeting later and I’ll deal with this,” Tommy replied with a sigh. Rubbing a hand over his face, he climbed the grand staircase. Despite the lack of sleep and the obvious displeasure of his guest, it was time to discuss strategy.

Potrai mai perdonarmi?=Can you ever forgive me?

Mi hai spezzato il cuore=You broke my heart

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

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[nuatthebeach]

HI, I love your blog. My ask is

What are your top 5 fictional girls who inspire you and you genuinely love them and why?

I love questions like these because they always force me to reflect on why I prioritize certain traits over others in fictional characters in the first place. And this question in particular is fascinating because I’ve come to realize that a certain pattern that correlates with my liking of fictional characters is usually to do with how supremely underrated they are and how much hate they receive from fandom (and it's for really dumb, hypocritical, double-standard reasons in most cases).

I actually for the life of me cannot come up with a top 5 because my brain absolutely refuses to work, and I love so many female characters to the bottom of my heart, so asking me to just choose five is actually really freakin' hard. I’m sure I’ll hate myself when I do remember, like, five minutes after I post this, but until then, I’ll give you my top three.

These are ones I feel so supremely attached to that my fingers itch to write, talk, and obsess about them to the point that I’m sure I’ve scared off all my family members by now lol. Particularly because these characters are not usually a fan favorite (with the exception of one).

My Top Three:

3. Piper McLean - yep, that’s right, I said it. God, I wish I could go back to my fanfic writing days with the wisdom I have now to fully express just how underrated this character really is. A lot of people dislike her because in many ways, she appears to act like she’s “not like other girls.” They point to instances of her cutting her hair haphazardly to not draw attention, having dark skin, hating on her cabin for having Aphrodite as her mother, being “super obsessed” with Jason, and - the part that really gets to me - preferring Jason’s looks over Percy’s. I repeat, people hated Piper for saying her boyfriend was better looking than a dude she just met. And she still is (in fact, it’s literally a TikTok trend).

Reasons why I like her: all of these claims are bullshit. I think she’s just a teenage girl who is very passionate about her culture, wants to protect her father, loves her boyfriend and her friends, and desires to do the right thing. When we first meet her, you realize that all of her memories from her time at that school I highkey forgot the name of were all a lie. She had to relearn everything and get to know a boy she had always thought she knew. Can you imagine how heartbreaking it must be to lose (for lack of a better word) someone she loved in a manner she had no control over? As for all of the “wanting to be not like other girl stuff,” well, I think a lot of people forget that there is this huge stereotype of Native Americans being oversexualized in the media as well as in history itself, and while I can’t make assumptions that is what Riordan was going for, I’m not surprised that fandom has a way of focusing on dispositional factors as opposed to situational and cultural ones because frankly...what's new.

Also, at the time, people used to hate Jason as well, but now I’m seeing more love for him and even less for Piper. Again, this is one of those things I’m not surprised about. Nothing like that good-old fandom misogyny.

How does she inspire me? Y’all, hear my girl out. People are always telling her that she’s weak and the more useless one of the seven. You think she hasn’t internalized that shit? Because she’s the first to have done so. After fighting that ice goddess-villain-bitch on the ship in one of the books, she started becoming really hard on herself to improve her skills and become better. You all are forgetting that Percy, Jason, and Annabeth had years of experience over her. And she learned how to fight with a sword within that same book! Talk about badass development!

Phew, sorry for the rant. For those who agree (or still need convincing), I had written a lot of Piper x Jason fanfic back in the day if you want to check it out on fanfic.net. I stopped writing about them for…well, obvious reasons that people who are caught up on the series would know about 😭

2. Jude Duarte - this is actually one of those rare instances where I am absolutely in love with the main girl character who’s not underrated even the tiniest bit by fandom. And they don't love her because she's perfect they love her because she's morally gray. A glow-up for all of us, let's give each other a pat on the back. She makes mistakes (anvil-sized ones) both on the society- and emotional-level, but she sincerely, whole-heartedly learns from them. I think all BookTok authors have something to gain from reading and writing about her (I'm looking at you SJM die-hards) because seeing a female character who is so unmistakably and unapologetically human is just so refreshing to read. You can trust that when I say I have never read a female protagonist like her, you can believe it, and I'm almost 100% sure you haven't either (at least in American contemporary literature). I won't prattle on more about her because, again, she's fairly well-liked so I don't need to "defend her actions" (rolls eyes) as they say, and this post is getting severely long as it is.

1. c'mon. You know why you follow me. Hermione Granger.

Jk.

Ginny Weasley.

(still love you though, book!Hermione)

I'm just going to copy and paste the reasons why I love this girl from a previous post because it still sums up my feelings pretty well. Stay tuned for some additions at the end.

This girl. If she were real, I’d give her my babies. She is almost the most developed female character in the book series, considering the little number of relevant scenes she was given. I say almost because I actually do think JKR missed the concluding bulls-eye with her arc, particularly in HBP and DH. I, like everyone else, expected her to do a lot more than she did (c’mon she’s one of the only kids connected to fucking Voldemort, that had to have counted for something?!?!). With that being said, she’s the only female character who has a consistent rise in characterization throughout the books: starting off as a bubbly 10 year old waving and crying to see her brothers leave, a shy 11 year old who can’t speak around Harry but can to her diary and trauma ensues, a quiet 12 year old who still doesn’t talk to Harry but is overcoming her reputation as the girl who opened the Chamber and was victimized by literal Voldemort himself, and so on and so forth to the flawed, stubborn, angry, petty, defensive but also caring, compassionate, funny, clever, sassy girl we have by HBP and DH. As the books go on, you really see her shine and become a woman in her own right. And interestingly enough, her arc doesn’t repeat, like Hermione’s and Neville’s does; it has a clear direction that journeys from Book 1 to the end. For all of these reasons, I notice a lot of people claim she isn’t very developed - and while I agree she could definitely be more - I’d also argue she’s one of the most obviously developed too. Plus, I’ve always been fascinated by her connection to Voldemort and wish JKR explored it more herself: from her wand being made of the same wood as his (while Harry’s is made of the same core…hmmm interesting) to the interactions being much more gendered and personal than I’d even argue Harry’s. If I had to read about someone’s relationship with Voldemort other than Harry, Ginny definitely takes the cake, sorry Draco. I could go on and on about her, but if you want more Ginny meta, just check out my other posts dedicated just for her.

I'd also add that I like the fact that she doesn't always fit the mold of a stereotypical book!female hero: she isn't the absolute smartest in the room, she isn't a nitty-gritty perfectionist, she doesn't pine after and date only one boy, she likes nuances and creativity, she isn’t at the beck-and-call of the male protagonist who helps him all the time to complete His Task™, she likes sports and flowery perfumes, she is conventionally attractive and popular and knows it, she does quit her quidditch career to be a mother from an early age, and she does take Harry's last name as her own. None of the aforementioned are bad characteristics/intonations, of course, but the point is that girls' personalities (like all personalities lmfao) can and do vary. You don't have to be a certain type of woman to be a woman. Ginny Weasley is proof that if anyone tells you otherwise, they're delusional and need to get their internalized misogyny in check.

Because that is what being an independent, feminist is... having the power to choose what being a woman in this world means to you.

Thanks for the ask!

[ptergwen]

hi!! can i request something like this-

calling peter baby on accident while still being his best friend and he teases her with cute pet names and confesses that he likes her too 🥺🧡

thanks so much! 🌈🤍

heart broken like into a million tiny pieces thank you....

“and then, this girl got her doll stuck in a tree, so i had to get it for her,” peter rants to you about patrol, the two of you lounged across your bed. it’s become routine for him to sneak in when he’s done and tell you all his stories from the day. they’re usually funny, which makes you laugh, and peter loves to make you laugh.

“how does that even happen?” you wonder, eyebrows furrowed. he rolls onto his stomach to look at you. you’re propped back against your pillows. “right? like, it’s usually a cat or something.” peter rests his head on his arms, lips pressed into a line. “damn. peter climbing a tree,” you hum to yourself, trying to picture it. he’s grinning up at you. “nah, i just...”

he pokes his tongue out and mimes shooting a web, a smile spreading across your face. “thwipped it,” peter clarifies, the expression drawing a curious laugh out of you. “i know you didn’t just make thwip a verb.” playfully flicking your knee, he moves in closer to you. “it’s my word. i can do whatever i want with it.”

peter goes up your body until he’s laying on your stomach, close enough to your heart that he can probably feel and hear how fast it’s beating. he never seems to realize what he’s doing to you.

you’ve been playing the game for a while, seeing how long you can keep your feelings in before they tumble out of your mouth, into the world. every game has a winner, doesn’t it? that means there’s also a loser. the outcome for one of you wouldn’t be so good.

letting out a content sigh, peter nuzzles his face into your shirt. his arms wind around your waist, and you can almost see him smiling. “yeah, i’m good here. night,” he decides, the cuteness of it all messing with your mind. “night, baby,” you giggle out, not processing what you said and instead dozing off with peter on top of you. oh, he heard you loud and clear.

he’ll tell you about it in the morning. right now, he’s perfectly happy sleeping like this.

you’re still sprawled across your covers when you wake up, peter now next to you. your eyes land on him and his wicked smile. that’s never good. “morning, baby,” peter coos, reaching over and brushing some hair out of your face. never mind, this must be a dream. you aren’t up yet. he tries to figure out what’s going on in your head, looking at you expectantly.

something about those two words is oddly familiar to you. you think about the last time you heard them, or anything like them, and then it clicks. you accidentally called peter baby last night.

completely humiliated, you hide your face in your hands. game over.

“aw, princess. what’s wrong? got a case of the monday’s?” peter teases and takes your hands in his so he can see you. you pout your lips out at him. “i didn’t mean to...” you’re not sure you can say it. “to what, darling?” he murmurs, pressing your intertwined hands to his cheek. you’d be thrilled under different circumstances.

he’s making this so much more embarrassing than it needs to be, and clearly enjoying it. one more pet name, you’re kicking him out and banning him forever.

“don’t worry about it, y/n/n. it was kinda sweet...” phew, you’re safe. “baby girl,” peter finishes off. he kisses your palm, eyes staying locked with yours. you pull your hand back from him and roll onto your other side. you’re never speaking to him again. with a small smile, peter grabs your arm. “hey, i’m serious. i liked it.” “you’re making fun of me,” you mumble into your pillow.

“i’m not making fun of you. i was making us even.” to see if he’s kidding or not, you twist back around. his face is serious now, arms open for a hug. you can’t deny one of those. you let him hold you, by your middle, your own arms hanging over his shoulders. peter leans in so he can speak quietly, his lips brushing your ear. “i like you, y/n.” “i...” you exhale, everything falling into place. “i like you too, pete.”

he pulls back to give you a look, a look you somehow understand. “baby,” you correct yourself, this time the word leaving your lips with no hesitation.

[sparklingsad]

title: out of my mind (part 2)

characters: baji x reader, toman peeps 🤍

Prompt: you don’t know if you should tell baji you like him because is he even interested in other people?

summary: here is what happens while you wait for the Toman meeting to end. Some friendship flashbacks with Mikey, Draken and Mitsuya <3. A bit of what happened after the meeting!

a/n: There are some minor editing in the part 1 post of this fic (e.g. they met in middle school, not high school). THERE WOULD BE MORE BAJI IN THE SUCCEEDING CHAPTERS PLS IM SO SORRY SJFGAJK I'm trying to make the succeeding parts better because the first one was written at 2 am and I posted it out on impulse :D tysm for showing love to my writing though :')) you make me guys tear up ily all <3

Series List: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

“I—“ you gulped.

Holy mother of forking shirtballs. What do I say?

“Oh hey y/n.” A calm voice came in front of you.

It’s Mitsuya.

And suddenly you felt like you’ve been fished out of the water when you felt like you’re going to die and drown, there he came, as reliable as ever.

“Mitsuya!” You practically almost jumped towards him and gave him a tight hug.

“Oh Hakkai too!” You smiled and waved at him, but the bashful guy just wasn’t used to you yet. He just gave a polite nod.

“Y/n? Oh I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you there,” Baji suddenly spoke and gave you a small pat on the head.

When you felt a palm light touched your head you came to a halt.

“Oh Baji you’re here,” Mitsuya commented.

Oh right. Baji. He’s here.

And you bumped into him. And you weren’t able to strike up a conversation because your head has been too filled up by your feelings for him and after that everything might just stupidly spill out.

“Yeah. I just got off at home. Mom wanted me to help her with some chores I thought I was going to be late,” he sighed.

“Well, we better hurry now.” Mitsuya gave Baji a smile and gave you a quick pat at the back before heading upstairs. “We’ll catch you later!” He added as he moved forward.

Phew. I am saved.

You were all flustered. But you can’t help but feel a bit frustrated that you weren’t even able to say hi or hello to Baji.

“God. That was so stupid of me,” you muttered.

“How can I get so flustered like that, that I can’t even get my words out?!,” you ranted.

You weren’t really like this. In fact, you have always been a cool-headed person. Calm and collected around everybody. That’s how you got to be friends with Mikey, Draken, and Mitsuya in the first place.

———————————————————————

Looking back, middle school has been pretty crazy for you. You didn’t even have that many friends to begin with. Especially girls.

Well it’s just the school you’ve made into was predominantly boys, and the girls are only a handful per class. You’re actually a bit lucky to have about 15 of them within your class, but you never really got close to them.

You always end up staying by the corridors after breaks and go straight home after class. Not like you have any people to spend after-class hours with. You did feel a bit lonely though, until one faithful afternoon.

It kinda sucks to be the only person not able to hang out with anyone and it is slowly getting into you. On your way home, you decided to buy an ice cream in a nearby convenience store and a pack of doriyaki.

It was a perfect time. You always liked how the sun slowly sets at around 5 pm. It feels warm as the sun glows into the vast sky, but it also starts to feel cooler as the night approaches.

Feeling a bit nostalgic and sad, you decided to stay on one of the park on your way home. You sat down on a swing to settle a bit, though you wiped off some of the sand and dirt that's scattered on its seat.

When you finally sat down and started eating your ice cream like a person who's so done with their life you hear a bantering from the street facing your way.

"Ken-chin, I finished my doriyaki," a blonde declared.

"Huhh? What do you want me to do now? We're almost home. I'm sure Emma cooked up something for dinner. Save that for tomorrow," a huge guy said back.

"But I want it now. I can still eat at home. But I want the doriyaki now." The smaller one retorted.

"Mikeyyyy, how many times do I have to tell you that you've had too much doriyakis for today, " the braided one explained.

"Ken-chin, are you my mom now?"

"Huh?! You dumbass, if I am your mom I would have whooped your hard-headed ass already,"

"Nope. You can't do that because I would have whooped your ass first." and the smaller one suddenly punched the other in the gut and started to run towards the park.

They did not notice you sitting by the swing, but you saw how chaotically they rambled and ran throughout the park just because of a simple doriyaki. You had not said a thing though.

After a while, someone called them out as they were fighting.

"Hey Mikey, Draken! Mind others when you are fighting." A voice came from behind you.

They suddenly turn to a halt when they saw your eyes glued to them. Your face was so blank as your mind was everywhere. But instead of asking what you're looking at the petite blonde looked at the snack on your lap.

"Can I have that doriyaki?" he asked.

"Hey, hey Mikey don't just ask some--" the voice from behind approaches you.

"Oh, Mitsuya--," the tatted one greeted.

You were lost for a moment. Eyes scanning the two boys who just joined the park with you. You were totally clueless, but you responded.

"Uhm. Oh, this? Yeah. Yeah. You can have it!" despite now knowing what's going on you flashed him a smile.

"WAIT? REALLY? Do you mean it? You mean it?", he asked.

"Yeah." you paused. "Yeah! Of course." As if you had to correct yourself.

"Wow you're an angel!" without second thoughts he opened the pack and started to eat the snack right away.

"Hey Mikey! Don't just go stealing other people's food in the park you--" the tall one protested.

"Kwen-chwin--" He said in between munches. "She gwave it t- mwe." "I'm, Mwikwey." he gulped down his snack. "Nice to meet you!" he stretched out his hand to shake yours after flashing a bright smile.

Oh. This sudden friendship caught you by surprise but you shook his hands nonetheless.

"I'm y/n! Pleasure to meet you, Mikey!" you made sure to repeat his name because you do not want to forget it. That would be embarrassing.

"Y/n this is Ken-ch--" gesturing to his friend.

"Enough Mikey. You're the only one who calls me that." He shoots a look at Mikey.

"My name is Ken Ryuguji. You can call me Draken." He said with a small smile.

"My name's Mitsuya Takashi. Nice to meet you. I hope these two are terrorizing you," the person from behind lean over and calmly introduced himself flashed with a sweet smile.

"Oh by the way y/n why are you eating ice cream all alone here?" Mikey inquired.

"Oh well, I am on my way home and I just stopped by to finish my ice cream. I also thought the weather is nice so.." you plainly said.

"Well let's walk you home then!" Mikey enthusiastically offered.

"Oh. Please don't bother yourselves! I'm definitely okay going home alone. My house is just around this area," you try to convince them.

"Hmm, y/n. Could it be that you're thinking of us as bad guys?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"What? I really don't! It's just I don't want to bother two people I just met, that's all!" you tried to defend your statement.

"You just met? What are you talking about? We're friends!" Mikey nonchalantly said.

"Y/n, you have to get used to Mikey like this if he says you're his friend," Draken explained.

"O-oh. Is that so?"

"Hey Mikey. You should be thankful she did not think you were terrorizing her when you asked for that doriyaki," Mitsuya suddenly commented.

"Whatever, whatever. Let's just walk her home" Mikey said unamused.

And you lead them the way to your home.

Those were the good times you thought.

———————————————————————

After the meeting ended, Mikey asked to hang out at his favorite fast food chain, this time with you, Draken, and Mitsuya.

"Soooo.." Mikey said as he finished his dessert.

"What was the designated topic for the earlier hang out that I am not interested in?" he asked.

"Well um, " you start to dig your brain to explain now to your two other best friends what you talked about with Draken.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier y/n. My sisters need me to help them for their assignments so I have to miss it," Mitsuya apologizes.

"Mitsuyaa, it's fine," you gave him a warm smile.

"What is this? Even Mitsuya was supposed to know what you talked about?" hurt and betrayal can be traced in Mikey's voice.

"Well-- " you took a pause and looked at the three of them.

"I told Ken that -- " you continued

knock. knock. knock.

There is suddenly a knock from the window by the booth that you are all sitting in.

It's Baji.

A/n: Thanks for reading through my mess :D ily all, I promise more baji to come for the next parts <33

[botherkupo]

saw a tony stark gif and it awakened my slumbering frustration with endgame/infinity war hkjhkjhk

i could rant for days about why the characters who died should not have been the ones to die, and tony stark is no exception. I dont care if you dont like the character or not, but narratively it was a horrible decision. He’s a character who experiences PTSD because of being a hero, who’s worth is consistently questioned until he does something self-sacrificial, and who really deserved to just retire with his family. like damn

and don’t even get me started on Black Widow dying because ‘oh she’s a female with a past and doesn’t have a blood-tie family of her own’. binch what? Was she the one going around murdering people like some wannabe vigilante emo? Nope

and Gamora. UGH. i don’t even have words for that trainwreck

and the Loki thing was just plain stupid because he’s powerful enough and knows thanos enough to not be like ‘dude, i’m gonna defeat you with sneaky stab. stab stab -- oh crap im dead’

and what was even with captain america’s stupid ending? are you seriously telling me he just goes back in time and chills with Peggy and doesn’t lift a finger to stop anything? Like i’m sorry, I do like Captain America, but if anyone had to be the ‘sacrifical death’, it probably should have been the actual soldier who had been living on extended time because he’d been frozen for heaps of years

phew.

okay im done

[rocorambles]

I just know akaashi, suga, and kenma are freak in the sheets (bruh them and breeding kink cause of possessiveness) phew I need a drink

I knew it was only a matter of time before the pretty setter squad was brought up on this blog. 

Warnings: NSFW, Dom/Sub, Bondage, Edging, Overstimulation, Slight Degradation, Breeding Kink, Sex Toys

Akaashi

- This man is a strict dom. Sometimes people mistake his quietness for shyness and gentleness, but you know better. You know he’s only quiet so he can observe you carefully, seeing if you deserve to be punished or rewarded, planning exactly how he’ll make a mess of you when you’re both home. 

- Loves power play and being in control of you in bed. Loves how you easily submit to him, how quickly you listen to his commands despite the soft quiet tone they’re spoken in. But when you’re being bad and overly enthusiastic or fidgety, he has no problems tying you up in beautiful, intricate patterns and forcefully keeping you still and gagging you to shut you up. 

- Akaashi is a patient man and he loves riling you up and teasing you as he goes about his normal day. He’s fully clothed and drinking a cup of coffee as he stares at you trying to squirm and moan while you’re all tied up, a bunch of sex toys stimulating your pussy, clit, and nipples. But it’s never enough and you pathetically whine for him to let you finish, only for him to ignore you as he puts on headphones and continues to work on his computer. 

- But when he does get his hands on you, he’s rougher than people think he is. His movements are still controlled, but there’s a roughness behind them as he firmly grips you and deeply and thoroughly fucks you, blue eyes intensely staring at your face and his lips quirk up just a bit when you clench and milk his cock as you climax. Will stay buried inside of you making sure your pussy drinks up every last drop of his cum before carefully sliding out and looking on in satisfaction at how gorgeous you look with your pussy stuffed full of him and he 100% uses his fingers to fuck back any of his fluids that managed to trickle out of your sloppy cunt. 

Suga

- This man is a tease. Don’t get me wrong, he can absolutely be the sweetest, most vanilla boyfriend ever and he loves those sessions. He loves making love to you and sweetly smiling at you as he slowly and intimately moves inside of you, but this boy has a filthy mouth that he’s not afraid to use. 

- He’s definitely the type to tease you all day as foreplay and it is effective. The two of you are hanging out with Daichi and Asahi one Saturday and his friends smile at what an adorable couple the two of you are. But they don’t realize that when Suga wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you close to him and seemingly whispers sweet words in your ear that he’s actually whispering lewd dirty things. “I can’t wait to bury my head between your legs tonight, sweetheart.” They don’t see the way Suga accidentally grazes your nipples or pinches your ass as the four of you continue hanging out. 

- Suga is all about body worship. He just adores everything about you and even though you’re so riled up from his constant teasing all day, he still takes his time with you. He kisses what feels like every inch of your skin while never breaking eye contact with you. Definitely makes so many embarrassing comments as he does this. “Your nipples are already so hard! What a naughty girl.” “You’re dripping wet. Mmm you taste delicious.”

- He could make you crazy with just his words, so when he FINALLY slowly inserts himself fully into you, you almost cum just from having your needy aching pussy finally filled. He moves almost painfully slowly, teasingly smirking at you as you beg him for more, harder, and faster. “What a dirty girlfriend I have.” But you’re far too gone to be embarrassed anymore by how desperate you are and his pace quickens, his own self-control dissipating at how you wantonly shake your hips and how beautiful you look being such a slut for him. 

- Unlike Akaashi, he really doesn’t mind all that much when he sees a sticky white trail escape and run down your inner thigh after he’s done with you. It just means he can go another round with you, right? 

Kenma

- Definitely has the biggest possessive and breeding kink out of these three. He’s not really into PDA and honestly, if people aren’t explicitly told, it’s hard to know just from seeing the two of you that he’s your boyfriend. People just assume the two of you are friends which means that a ton of people constantly hit on you right in front of him. 

- But as the more outgoing of the two of you, it’s you who immediately puts a stop to these advances and it’s only the colder stare Kenma gives your harasser and the way he tugs at your sleeve or wrist to pull you away from the situation that indicates that he cares. But after dating the man for a while, you internally gulp nervously, already dreading the punishment in store for you tonight. 

- Sure enough, here you are hours later, in your shared apartment, writhing and in tears as you howl incoherently pass the ball gag around your mouth and strain at the handcuffs and ankle cuffs keeping you in a spread eagle position as numerous vibrators bring you to climax over and over again under the predatory supervision of cat-like eyes. 

- Only when you’re about to pass out from exhaustion is the gag around your mouth removed and immediately you go off on a barely understandable rant to Kenma, knowing exactly what he wants to hear. “Kenma, please, I’m only yours. My body, my love...everything I have and am is only yours. You’re the only I love and want and need. Please please please.” You don’t even know what you’re begging for. Are you begging him to stop everything? Are you begging for him to touch you? All you know is that you need him to understand just how much you love him and you need to drown the insecurity you know he struggles with. 

- And that’s why despite how tired you are, how used your body feels, you eagerly let Kenma thrust in and out of you at a ruthless pace. (If Kuroo could only see just how much stamina and endurance his friend actually had, maybe he would have pushed him harder during volleyball practices when they were in high school). You let him bite and mark you, hissing at how possessively Kenma paints your body, reminding the both of you that he’s the only artist that can paint on the canvas that is your body. You let him cum inside of you, round after round, eyes rolling into the back of your head with the overwhelming warmth and fullness you feel inside of you as your pussy is drenched in his semen. And you know it’s just in your head, but when he’s finally done and he affectionately nuzzles your stomach as he intently stares at the literal pool of sticky liquids that’s leaked out of you onto the bed sheets beneath you, you think you can almost see a slight bump in your lower abdomen from how much cum he’s poured into you.  

[tsumugisindulgence]

Stay for the Night

Since your first day in the Devildom you were disgusted by how often Mammon’s brothers picked on him. They are demons but to channel their hatred onto one person was not by nature, it was by choice and you were sick of it. “So shitty Mammon wouldn’t stay in his room when the newspaper came to interview me today. Ugh I mean how inconsiderate can you be? He is the absolute scum of all three realms. Like are you trying to purposely ruin my image? Not that he could, after all I am perfect but still how dare he!”  Asmo whines about Mammon’s presence in his own home. You knew you could use your pact to shut him up but the issue ran deeper. At that moment you decided to stand up to each brother the moment they dissed your first man. Asmo took a deep breath to blow his nails dry and you slapped him, leaving him surprised. “Oh dear I didn’t know you were into that. Do it again.” he winked. “Quit talking down about Mammon. I am sick of it.” he laughs. “It’s all in good fun dear, don’t worry he can’t even hear.” you stand up from the chair across from his. “Yeah well I can. And you should know something.” You enunciate each word carefully. “Talking trash about people that care about you makes you ugly.” You storm off leaving him flabbergasted. Only a few hours later you caught Levi doing the same thing while you were gaming with him. “And I was like you are more pathetic than a level one boss. Rotfl! He was upset but that newb was going through my limited edition directors cut TSL movie series. I don’t know how you can stand him. He’s worse than the antagonist in My brother is a piece of shit and I can’t wait to kick him out because he is the absolute worst.” For a moment you pondered if his anger was valid but it’s not wrong to look through people’s movies unless it’s Asmo’s sex tapes. “Levi I think it’s endearing that you’re an otaku but the one thing about you that absolutely disgusts me is how comfortably you insult Mammon without him doing anything actually bad.” You stomp out of his room and run into Mammon himself. “Whaha doin human?” For awhile now you’ve had feeling for Mammon that were developing past friendship. It was a challenge to portray this without him being a tsundere. “Hey Mammo chan. I had to leave Levi’s room he was pissing me off.” He squinted his eyes at the door a few meters behind you. “What did he do to ya?” you could tell he was getting aggravated thinking about Levi upsetting you. To calm him down you place your hand on his shoulder. “I’m okay now that you’re here. I wanna talk to you though.” he begins wringing his hands nervously. “Wha-what did I do this time?” You beckon him to follow you and he does reluctantly until you’re outside his room. “Don’t worry I’m not mad at you. Can we talk in your room though?” he places his hand on the knob and opens the door for you. “Phew. That was a close one. Not that I was scared!” you plop down on his couch and he sits across from you. “Levi said you were looking through his TSL movie series. What’s that about?” Once again he gets nervous and starts waving his hands. “It wasn’t like I was trynna take it! I was just looking I swear! I don’t care about that stuff or whatever.” His reluctancy to look you in the eyes made you suspicious. “I think you do. You know if you want to rewatch it with just me this time you could’ve just told me and saved yourself the trouble.” He huffs and crosses his arms. “As if I’d admit that!” His eyes widen at his statement, realizing he inavertantly admitted it. You snicker. “H-hey what are you laughin at human?” Now was a perfect opportunity to spend time together without his brothers. At least you thought. “MAAAAMMMOOOON!” Lucifers voice booms through the door and probably the rest of the house. Mammon jumps ups and hides before the for is kicked open. “If you know where Mammon is I suggest you tell me this instant.” You roll your eyes. “What did he do this time?” “If you must know I had a vintage roast in the cabinet worth thousands of grimm.” He crosses his arms and stares at you. You mimic his stance. “I used it.” He looks at you with fury waiting for an apology or explanation. “Asmo showed me a diy face scrub recipe that called for rough ground coffee beans. I figure it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.” He raises his eyebrows and gives you a look. “Bold. This better not happen again otherwise I won’t forgive you so easily.” He turns around to leave Mammons room and you grab his cape. “I’m not done with you.” He scoffs and takes his cape back. “If you with to discuss this further I’ll be in my room.” He walks out and lets the door shut behind him. Mammon stands up. “Woah you totally stood up to him and didn’t even get threatened to be strung up in the hall.” You walk closer to him and grab  his hand. “I want to finish my conversation with Lucifer. I’ll be back when I’m done. Wait for me?” he blushes and looks away. “Alright not because you asked or anything human. I just don’t have anything better to do.” You laugh at his response and walk out. Thinking about how poorly Mammon is treated by his brothers makes you clench your fists. You were no match for a demon but you would be damned before you let this continue. “I can’t believe you all. You’ve lived with him for years and still haven’t learned to accept his sin.” you mumble walking down the hall and you stop when you hear Satan call your name. He sensed your wrath and decided to check on you out of curiosity. “Is something wrong? It look like you’ve just left Mammons room. What did he do this time?” Your body reacted before you could use reason. Your hand struck his cheek, it didn’t hurt him much at all. You meet his surprised yet inquisitive gaze. “You are all so awful to him! Imagine if I treated you the way you all treat Mammon! He didn’t do anything! Lucifer pissed me off when he accused Mammon of stealing something.” He adjusts his stance. “I understand being upset with Lucifer, but why does it bother you that Mammon was accused. He probably stole it anyway, he’s the most plausible suspect.” You clench your fists even tighter. Through gritted teeth you hiss. “I took it. You bastards always blame him and I’m sick of it.” You walk past him and stomp down to the eldest brothers room. He look up from his desk as you walk in. “I have a bone to pick with you.” You sit in the chair across his desk. “I am sick of you always blaming Mammon. You guys do anything you possible can to beat him up. You degrade him because of his sin. That’s something he can’t completely control. I am aware he could handle his urges better but I doubt you have ever tried to help him in a manor that he would understand. Instead you freeze his card and call him a piece of shit whenever he gives into an urge. Ever stop to think you’re the shitty one for treating him that way. I know your sin is pride, therefore you have this massive ego. Nobody ever criticizes you for being a pompous ass at times. I haven’t even been here for an entire year and I see how you all go out of your way to make sure he feels like shit. I think Beel is the most respectful to Mammon and he still puts Mammon down occasionally.” you continue your rant for a few minutes and take a deep breath once you feel like you’ve gotten everything off your chest. He sits back in his chair slightly surprised about your perspective and how brave you were to scold him. “I see. That’s quite a new view. You haven’t had to deal with him as long as we have. I’m sure you would do the same if you spent a millennia putting up with him. It’s admirable that you have the courage to stand up to me like this. If it is that big of an issue I will possibly consider changing my actions. Doubtful but possible.” You storm out of his room furious that you couldn’t get through to him. On your way down the hall you see Mammon peeping at you from around the corner. When you lock eyes he looks away. Your heart hurts for him. He’s a good demon and you wish he was loved by his brothers. “Mammon what are you doing?” He sheepishly steps out from behind the corner. “You were in there awhile. I figured I should check on ya since I’m in charge of your safety n stuff.” You smile knowing that’s his way of saying he’s worried about you. An overwhelming desire to make him feel loved hits your chest. You’ve had a crush on him for awhile now but he was no resistant to reciprocating affection. Probably because his brothers made him feel like he’s undeserving. That night you sit on your bed flipping through one of the many magazines Asmo gave you with your earphones in.  A message on your phone interrupts the music. Mammo Chan- Where are ya?You- In my room. in under a minute he walks through your door in his pjs. A white tank top and black drawstring pants. You look up and take your earbuds out. He rarely shows this much of his body outside his demon form, which you also rarely see. He has such a nice figure and beautiful skin. To you everything about him was attractive but he was sculpted by god after all. He walks over to your bed and tells you to scooch. “What’re we watchin tonight?” you toss the magazine aside and pick up the remote, happy to spend time with him. “Do you guys have access to human television?” He thinks about it for a second before answering. “I think Levi knows how to connect it. Why ya askin?” “There are a few shows I think you would enjoy. I’ll text him and ask how to do it.” After figuring out how to connect to human television you pull up Pawn Stars. You could tell by his expression he was hooked instantly. He was sitting criss cross on your right leaning forward towards the tv. It’s beginning to drop in temperature as the nights in the Devildom were extremely cold to you. You leave the bed and head over to your dresser. Mammon looks up at you with puppy dog eyes. “Where are ya goin?” He was afraid you were going to leave even though it was your room. You pat his head to ease his worries. “I’m getting cold so I was gonna grab a hoodie.” He sits up straight. “No worries the great Mammon will warm you up. C’mere human.” He beckons you towards him. As you move he pulls back the blanket for your bed and lets you climb in then sits at the edge of your bed. You were hoping he meant cuddle but it was silly of you, he wouldn’t make the first move. So you would have to. You sit up and tug on his pant leg. “Can we cuddle?” His cheeks heat up and he looks anywhere but your eyes. “Yeah sure but only to warm ya up.” The way he stiffly laid next to you made you wonder if he has ever actually cuddled someone or if it was just you. “Can you move like this?” you position his body into the little spoon position and he goes quiet. After all his yeas alive he’s never been in a situation like this, he’s laid with succubi after sex but he was the big spoon and always woke up alone. It hurt to imagine falling asleep with you only to wake up alone. He didn’t want to think about it but he couldn’t seem to focus on anything but your body embracing his from behind, your breath on his neck and your fingers drawing random patterns on his arm. He really liked you and didn’t want to screw anything up like he usually does. He began to worry if this was a prank set up by his brothers. You noticed his body was still tense after a few minutes. “Are you okay? Am I making you uncomfortable?” He sits up and laughs nervously. “Alright which one of my brothers set you up to this? Asmo?” You frowned that he thought you didn’t genuinely care about him. You sit up and move closer to him and look him in the eyes. “Mammon, I  know I only met you a few months ago but I like you.” He puts on his bravado attitude. “Of course you would! Any human is amazed by the great Mammon” You wanted him to take this seriously but you also knew he built walls of false confidence in hopes of making himself feel like more than what his brothers call him. “No Mammon. I like you as in I want to kiss you, go on dates with you, cuddle with you, support your goals. I want to show you that you are so much more than what you think. You’re caring, thoughtful, hardworking, obedient, helpful and so much more.” His eyes tear up behind his glasses. “You don’t mean that. You’re just messing with me aren’t ya?” Frustrated that your words aren’t getting through you take action instead. You push him down on the bed, prop yourself up over him and kiss him. He freezes for a second before kissing back. You’d be embarrassed to admit how many times you’ve thought about doing this with him. His hand moves to your lower back and pulls you onto his body. Now that you aren’t using your hands to steady yourself you run your fingers through his hair. He is insanely good at kissing you. You pull away breathless. His face is no longer fearful but at peace. He’s the first to look away. “I didn’t know ya meant it. Heh why me. I’m the worst of all my brothers.” You cup his cheek and make him look at you again. “You’re my number one man. I wouldn’t want anyone but you. I like you, flaws and all.” His face melts as if this is the first time anyone has ever said that, and it might be. He pulls you into a hug so tight you couldn’t move. He placed his face in the crook of your neck. You feel something hot and wet fall onto your skin and it registers. He’s crying. You lay there on top of him only when he releases you do you notice he’s in his demon form. The awe in your eyes cued him. “Oh um I didn’t mean to. Gimme a sec.” Your arm shoots out to him. “NO!” He whips his head around. “I mean I never get to see you like this. Can you stay like this a bit longer?” “Y-yeah.” He sits there embarrassed as you eye him over. Once you’re satisfied you tell him. “Why’d you turn?”  His usual bravado is gone. “It’s not like you were making my sin act up. I just wanted to.” You interpreted what he was saying, ‘I got greedy kissing you and slipped into my demon form.’ You giggle “Cute.” he switches back. “Hey! I’m not cute! I’m a terrifying demon!” “My terrifying demon.” You smile  at him and he stares at you in awe before his bravado comes back. “Prof course! I’m your first and most powerful!” You remember that the tv is still on. “Oops looks like we missed the rest of the episode.” “NOOOO!” he dives over to the tv repeatedly pressing the backwards button but it does nothing since it’s on a channel. You stand up and walk over to him. He’s on his knees hugging the tv. You tussle his hair and turn to get a sweater now that you’re out of bed. While you’re at your dresser you decide to change into pjs. You figure Mammon is still preoccupied with the tv that he won’t see you. You were wrong. Just after you take off your jeans he turns and begins to ask you a question before letting out a yelp upon seeing your underwear. His hands quickly cover his eyes and he turns away. Now he certainly isn’t looking. After changing you pull his hands off his eyes. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you warn me you were changing?” You shrug. “I figured you were distracted. It’s not a big deal I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of ass in your life.” “Well I mean yeah but you’re my human not a succubus or angel. You’re different.” You smile at his unintended compliment. You crawl into bed under the covers and snuggle in. “Mammo-Chan will you turn off the tv and lights if you head back to your room.” “Whaddya mean if?” “You can stay here tonight.” “Where am I s’possed to sleep huh?” You pull the cover back a little and pat the bed space next to you. “Oh well I guess I should so I keep ya warm.” He starts to walk over. “Turn off everything before you come to bed.” “Oh yea.” He does as you say before climbing into bed with you. You fall asleep on his side with your arm over his chest. 

[mjmnorwood]

[I.D. A header image of two pencils on a yellow background, with title reading ‘How to Format Dialogue’. End I.D.]

Here’s a fact: I have always struggled with punctuation and grammar. When I was a baby writer, they were the biggest barriers to getting my stuff down on the page (“There are capital-r Rules I have to follow?” said baby May. “Grim.”)

I’m not a baby writer any more, and I like to think my punctuation and grammar skills have vastly improved, but occasionally I still come across things I have to learn. Dialogue in particular has a lot of Rules, and learning them (if you’re a baby writer) and remembering them (if you’re more experienced) can seem daunting.

This post is intended to be a one-stop-shop for all things dialogue-formatting, an easy reference for remembering the Rules.

The Basics

Give each speaker a new paragraph.

Each paragraph is indented, which you can do with the tab key (though that doesn’t work on tumblr so I’ve had to use a bunch of spaces to show indents in this post). The exception to this rule is if it’s the first line of a new scene or chapter, which isn’t indented even if it’s dialogue.

Dialogue is indicated with quotation marks, either “double” or ‘single’. It doesn’t really matter which you use, so long as you’re consistent (I have a strong preference for double, though, and use single to indicate when a character is quoting someone within their own dialogue. Is it sad to have favourite punctuation?)

Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.

You can indicate who is speaking either with a dialogue tag, or an action.

What does this look like in practice?

     “When there’s no dialogue tag, you end a sentence with a full-stop.”

     “But if you are using a dialogue tag, you need to end with a comma,” said A.

     “Also, remember that you don’t capitalise the verb of the dialogue tag, because both the speech and the tag are treated as all one sentence,” added B.

     “But what if I want to use a question mark or exclamation mark with a dialogue tag?” asked C.

     “Then you use it as if it were comma because it’s still treated as one sentence!” answered B.

     “Things are different when using actions to indicate who is speaking, though.” A tapped their chin thoughtfully.

      “They are treated as separate sentences, so you need to end the speech with a full-stop and capitalise the action sentence,” B clarified.

     A raised a finger to draw attention back to them. “You can also start a line with action, followed by dialogue."

     “Can I start a line with a dialogue tag?” asked C.

     A gave a thumbs-up and said, “Absolutely! The punctuation is a little more complicated, though. You end the tag with a comma, and capitalise the beginning of the speech.”

      “And what are the rules for if I want to put action or a dialogue tag in the middle of speech?” asked C.

      “Well,” said A, “if the speech is all one sentence, you end the first part with a comma, then have the dialogue tag, and end that with a comma too. The second part of the speech continues without capitalisation since it’s all one sentence.”

      “You can also have two sentences with a dialogue tag in the middle,” said B. “For that, you format the first sentence of speech as normal, and end the dialogue tag with a full-stop, then capitalise the following sentence of speech.”

      “Lastly, you can break up two sentences with action.” A stroked their chin thoughtfully. “For that, treat each part—first sentence of speech, action, and second sentence of speech—as separate, with appropriate full-stops and capitalisation.”

The Fancier Stuff

These are Rules that took me a bit longer to learn. First off, showing characters getting cut off, and trailing off.

     “To show a character getting cut off, an em-dash is what you nee—”

     “Yeah, yeah, we get it. But I think using ellipses to show trailing off is more interesting, so…” Ellipsis-lover trailed off as they saw the hurt look on Em-dash-lover’s face.

Next, multi-paragraph speech.

     “Sometimes, you have a character who goes on for a while,” said Rambler. “Maybe they’re explaining something, or ranting. Whatever the case, their speech is going to take up multiple paragraphs.

     “To show that the same character’s dialogue is continuing across two paragraphs, you leave the quotation mark off the last line of the first one, and begin the next paragraph as normal.”

Finally, showing a character doing an action while they speak.

      “This”—A tapped the screen—“is how you do it, with em-dashes outside of the quotes, because they’re not part of the speech.”

This last technique is the one I’ve learned most recently, and I really like it because it feels so organic and natural to have characters do things while they’re talking. However, like with all nifty stylistic thingumajigs, you don’t want to overuse it ‘cause then it loses its effectiveness.

A common mistake to watch out for...

Using a non-talking verb in a dialogue tag. Things like:

      “I’d like that,” he smiled.

In this case, ‘smiled’ has been used as a talking verb, which it isn’t. You can’t smile words, unfortunately. The proper formatting would be to have it as two separate sentences:

      “I’d like that.” He smiled.

Wrap up!

Phew! We’re finally done! Dialogue formatting is a  m a s s i v e  topic, and to go fully in-depth would take pages and pages, but I hope you’ve found this summary helpful!

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