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loverrofmineee · 4 months ago

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The Parting Glass - Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal x OC

AO3 | Summary | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Chapter 3- You Deserve It

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The past three weeks had not been kind to those at Thorpe Abbotts. Crews were going down left and right, and to top it all off, a crew had crashed during a test practice. Morale was low on base, and Bucky deemed that the remaining crews, alongside the women of the base, should all go out for a night at the local pub.

As the girls got ready, each one had a job to do. Anika was in charge of painting nails with clean coats of Victory Red, due to her perfectionism. Lilibet was helping each girl with makeup, helping to ensure their red lipstick would be smudge-proof for the evening ahead. Shiv provided the girls with sips of alcohol that had been swiped from the bar, and Aileen was doing her best to set the tone for the night. Sorcha had been tasked with doing each of the women’s hair, pushing aside each girl's complaint of her being too forceful.

“Ouch!” Aileen cried from her seat on Sorcha’s bed, “Why do you always have to be on hair?”

“You asked me to! And unfortunately, beauty is pain, love.”

Aileen sighed in agreement to her response, shifting the conversation so that she wouldn’t be focused on how much pain her head was in, “I’m going to dance with a man tonight.”

“Let me guess,” Shiv started, seemingly knowing how the conversation would go, “That man would be Egan?”

“No,” Aileen stated, causing the girls to gasp, “I’m done with him. There’s no point in chasing after a man when there’s so many available.”

Sorcha smiled at her friend's words, feeling a mixture of pride and sympathy. As much as she wanted the Major and Aileen to get together, there was only so much she could do. Aileen was right in her own way, seeing as there were dozens of men who would fall at her feet if she so much as smiled at them.

“Anika would know something about that, wouldn’t she?” Lilibet teased. Anika let out a noise of shock before launching her pillow at the girl. Harmonious laughter sounded from the chorus of girls, each reveling in the harmless teasing of the others. A sense of peace washed over Sorcha as she looked upon her friends. For a moment she forgot that they were all stationed on a military base, miles from home. The atmosphere of the hut felt like one of a college dorm, with girls giggling over boys they liked, sneaking sips of alcohol, all while getting ready for the night.

“Okay,” Shiv spoke, grabbing the girls' attention, “So we know Anika has DeMarco, Aileen will find whoever, and Lilibet has her boy at home. That leaves you and me, Devs.”

Sorcha was fast to shake her head at Shiv’s words, “Absolutely not. I have no interest in falling for anyone right now.”

The girls let out various sounds of protest at their friend's words. Each one of them wanted to see their friend appreciated as she should be. Sorcha was not one to discuss her dating history, firmly stuck in the belief that the past should remain in the past, and that there was no need to rehash what happened years ago. Still, her friends attempted to bring the topic of romance up when they felt it was necessary.

“There’s no point in changing my mind girls.” Sorcha stated as she finished up Aileen's hair, “Oh don’t you look gorgeous!” Aileen spun herself around, letting the girls shower her with praise as she giggled.

“Yes, yes, we all look gorgeous. But could we get going now? I don’t want to miss all the fun.”

“Ma’am yes ma’am. Anything you say, Major Shiv.” teased Anika, giving the girl a military salute and walking towards the door in a march. Aileen was quick to follow the girl, her giggles continuing as the group headed towards the door. Lilibet stood beside Sorcha, linking their arms as they stepped out into the darkness of the evening.

“They’re going to be a lot to handle tonight, aren’t they?”

“When are they not Lils?”

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The pub was bursting with energy when the women arrived, the sound of music combined with lively conversations was enough to make Sorcha burst from happiness. This atmosphere reminded Sorcha of home, as her parents would take their family to local pubs, eager to engage with fellow Irish immigrants in the community. Sorcha had learned to dance by the age of 3 and could list off the names of countless drinks by 8. Some would look at her upbringing and believe she was a walking stereotype, but Sorcha took it with pride, not being ashamed of how she was raised.

As soon as the girls stepped foot in the building, John Egan was there to greet them. The man stumbled on his way over, but still exuded charm, “There’s my girls! We’ve been waiting up for ya.”

“Clearly not long enough,” Shiv stated as she gazed at the Major, unimpressed.

“You wound me, Shiv, you really do.” Bucky clutched his heart, exaggerating the effect the words had on him. Still unimpressed and unenthused by the Major, Shiv grabbed Aileen and Anika and moved towards the bar, leaving Lilibet and Sorcha on their own.

“She doesn’t like me,” Egan said as he turned to the women in front of him.

“No, she does not.”

“I love how you sugarcoat things for me Devs. Really makes a man feel good about himself.”

“If you wanted to feel good about yourself, you wouldn’t keep me around.”

Bucky chuckled as he took in Sorcha’s words, leaving the conversation as he pursued a new target. Lilibet looped her arm through Sorcha’s as she led them to the bar. Once they arrived, they could see Anika chatting with DeMarco, and a few feet away Shiv and Aileen were looking for a suitable candidate to be Aileen’s next match. A soft smile fell upon Sorcha’s lips as she watched the scenes around her. There were a few times she felt at peace during the war, and seeing her friends happy was one of those times.

“I ordered you a Whisky if that's ok,” Lilibet spoke as she noticed her friend's fond expression, “You do so much for these girls, Devs. Honestly, they all look up to you.”

Sorcha shook her head as she received her friend's compliments, “No. If anything, they look up to you. You’ve been here longer than we have.”

“Don’t try to deflect my praise and then call me old!”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Lils.”

“Do I?” Lilibet teased before taking a sip of her drink, “In all honesty, Devs. I know you’re not looking for anyone, but what about Egan? I mean you’re with him all the time. Practically glued to the hip.”

Sorcha was quick to dismiss her friend's words, “Trust me, that’s not a thing. First of all, it would crush Aileen, even though she says she’s over him. Plus, we’re just good friends. I know that because he hasn’t made any real advances on me. I know what everyone says, but it's better to let them continue than lose my friendship with him.”

“God, you’re so mature.”

“I only seem that way, Lils. Believe me, I’m not always this way.”

Lilibet rolled her eyes at Sorcha’s words, understanding that no amount of arguing would sway her position. The two women stood in comfortable silence as they sipped their drinks and watched the scenes in front of them. Occasionally they would whisper something to the other, whether it was poking fun at a pilot who was too drunk to walk, or checking in on their girls. Aileen was currently chatting with Curt Biddick, whereas Shiv had opted to converse with some Red Cross girls. Sorcha and Lilibet had to decline dances with a few men, given that Lilibet had a boyfriend, and Sorcha was just plain uninterested. Though to her credit, Lilibet only chastised her friend's lack of socializing a few times.

Sorcha was on her second drink of the evening when a blushing Aileen came in front of her, Curt on her heels. “Ma’am,” the young man spoke as he addressed the two women. Sorcha could feel the nerves pouring out of him, though she couldn’t blame him, seeing as the Tower Girls had built a reputation for being protective over one another.

“Curt, it’s nice to see you again.” Sorcha greeted as she eyed the man up and down. “I hope that you’re treating our Aileen all right.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Oh please don’t call any of us ma’am,” Lilibet groaned, “It makes me feel so old.”

Aileen was quick to chastise her friend, giving Lilibet a quick slap on the arm, “Leave him alone Lils.” Curt chuckled beside the girl as she wrapped an arm around his waist, not going unnoticed by Sorcha.

“Ease up on the guy, that’s my New York brethren you’re talking to.”

“That’s right,” Curt spoke with a sense of pride, “Aileen mentioned that you’re from New York and that you’re Irish. Seems like we have something in common.”

“Oh please,” Aileen interrupted with her thick accent, “You two are Irish-American. I’m the only Irish one in the group.”

Sorcha and Curt shared a look at the girl's words, laughing to themselves in a quiet understanding. “Of course you are, who else could compare?”

Aileen flushed at Curt’s words, unable to form a proper response. Before she could get her words in order, Bucky called for Curt to join the men at their table.

Curt turned to Aileen as he planted a brief kiss on her cheek, “Duty calls. I’ll be back soon.”

The Irish girl's face was bright red, matching her ginger hair as she avoided the knowing looks of her friends. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” Sorcha cooly asked, receiving a glare from Aileen, “We’re just happy for you. Biddick’s a nice guy.”

“Just don’t get too attached already, sweetheart,” Lilibet said softly. She took it upon herself to be the mother hen of the group, having more life experience, as well as a strong relationship.

“I won’t!” Aileen protested, “I promise, I won’t. He’s just such a sweet guy.”

Sorcha and Lilibet chuckled at the girl's words, understanding them to be half-true. Aileen was the youngest out of their small group, so then others took it upon themselves to watch over her. Each girl had their own way of going about it, Shiv being the most direct with her advice. Sorcha viewed Aileen as the younger sister she had always wanted. The two were close, but no one could compare to Lilibet in Sorcha’s book. Sorcha met Lilibet on her first day at Thorpe Abbotts. Lilibet had recently been transferred there by the WAAF, to train the newcomers and share her 4 years of experience. Sorcha found herself drawn to Lilibet, asking her about her life since the start of the war, eager to try and understand what she was getting into. Lilibet was kind to her, divulging what she felt comfortable with, and in time, growing close to the girl filled with questions. By the time the crews arrived, the two were inseparable.

The women remained by their place at the bar, chatting about the work ahead of them tomorrow, that no one was looking forward to. Shiv and Anika eventually rejoined the group, falling into conversation alongside their friends, each girl attempting to pry information from Anika about her night with DeMarco.

Sounds of commotion outside broke the women out of their exchange, heading into the alleyway where the scene was occurring. When they stepped outside they were greeted by the image of an RAF officer lying on the cobblestone, and Curt being spun in the air by Bucky. All eyes fell on the group of women as they emerged, their cries of victory being replaced by shy silence.

Curt though, was undeterred as he made his way over to Aileen, “Guess who just socked an RAF prick in the face!”

Aileen avoided the man's eyes and she attempted to be judgemental, but a small smile cracked her terrible facade. Sorcha and Lilibet glanced at Aileen as Curt wrapped an arm around her, “What?” She exclaimed, “He probably deserved it.”

“Damn right, he did!” Cried Bucky who was standing alongside Buck and Croz, the latter meeting Sorcha’s eyes with a nervous smile.

“How about we get you boys home?” Lilibet asked as she attempted to herd the group down the alleyway and back into the street. Sorcha was about to follow before she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She didn’t need to look to know it was Bucky, alcohol reeking from him.

“What’s your stance on boxing, Devs?”

“I don’t really have one Bucky. Sorry to disappoint.”

“That’s a shame. You should’ve seen Curt go at that British know-it-all.” Bucky said as the two followed the rest of the group back to base. “That kid has fists of lightning I tell ya.”

Sorcha chuckled at the man's words before prompting a question, “Dare I ask what the fight was about?”

A sudden seriousness washed over Egan at his friend’s words, all the drunkenness leaving his body, “They were telling us how to bomb. Saying we’re going on suicide missions. As if I don’t know that! Believe me, I do. I’m up there as an air exec, watching my men go down mission after mission.”

Sorcha remained silent as Bucky spoke, taking in each of his grievances. She felt pained as he continued, wishing there was a way to help him in this moment. Both of them knew what the obvious fix for his problem was, but Bucky had a job as an air exec and would do his best until he could get demoted and back in the forts. All she could do to comfort Bucky was squeeze his hand, knowing that no amount of words would take away the pain and loss he felt.

“You’re doing what’s been asked of you. Every man on base looks up to you Bucky, all you can do is lead them the best you can.”

Bucky glanced down at Sorcha, a soft smile playing on his lips, “Enough of this sincerity, Devs. Doesn’t look good for my reputation.”

“God forbid I’m nice to you for a moment. I’ll remember this when you’re hungover tomorrow”

“I take it back,” Bucky replied quickly, “You can be a menace when I’m hungover.”

“I’m not that bad!” Sorcha protested as Bucky laughed at her, “You always think I’m a menace.”

“All in good fun, Devs.”

Sorcha shook her head as the pair returned to Thorpe Abbotts, heading to their barracks.

“Please, you’d be lost without me.”

“I’m sure that's true,” Bucky said as they approached Sorcha’s bunk. “Goodnight, Devs.”

“Night Bucky, drink plenty of water tomorrow!” Sorcha called as the man walked away.

As she stepped into her bunk, Sorcha felt a wave of exhaustion crash over her. She knew everyone would feel the repercussions of the night the next day, but all she could focus on was getting a decent night’s rest.

#mota fanfic #mota #robert rosenthal #rosie rosenthal fic #rosie rosenthal fanfiction #rosie rosenthal x oc #john brady #john egan #gale cleven #jack kidd #my fic #my ocs #my writing #curt biddick #harry crosby #fic: tpg

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spineless-lobster · 2 years ago

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Alright so I was reading the wikipedia article for the limpet mine because I am Very Normal™ about the antics my favourite characters get up to, and I went down a rabbit hole about this guy who I believe to have somewhat inspired the character of the Captain. (long post warning, TL;DR at the end)

I present to you, Cecil Vandepeer Clarke, the man who helped develop the limpet mine. (the last name Clarke might ring a bell to those who have read There’s A War Going On by Glowinggreeneyes)

Born in 1897, (which could’ve been the Captain’s birth year) he first served in WWI as a second lieutenant. He did quite a few things but the main thing that I want to focus on was his achievements. He was rewarded the Military Cross medal for his part in the battle of Vittorio Veneto in Italy in 1918. If you’ve seen my other infodump post you know that in the Captain’s pilot design, he had the Military Cross (underlined in red) and the Italy Star (underlined in blue) as medals (which later changed). Now, the Italy Star was specifically for WWII but I feel like we can excuse that because of creative licensing and all that. I just think the link between Italy is interesting. The France and Germany Star and the War Medal are part of his canon design, so which ever part of his story that relates to that must’ve made it through the cut which is 👀

Clarke married Dorothy Aileen Kendrick and had three children, which isn’t that important but my brain won’t let go of “a friend of Dorothy” so there’s that.

Clarke developed the limpet mine during WWII with his friend Stuart Macrae. They had to think of a detonation technique (remember, they had to attach the mine to the hull of the ship. You can’t have your frogmen blowing up) they found that an aniseed ball (a type of candy that resembles a gobstopper, only smaller) left by Clarke’s children in his office disintegrated at the perfect rate in water in order to detonate the mine.

While they were testing the limpet mine, they had to make sure it didn’t get damp in any way lest the aniseed ball starts dissolving. So naturally they wrapped it in a condom while not in use.

I initially made this post because the thought of the Captain being all flustered next to Havers while handling a detonator wrapped in a condom was sending me into hysterics but uhhh I got a bit carried away.

The Captain mentions that the limpet mine used suckers to attach to the side of the hull. But in reality they used magnets to attach them to the ship, which was the idea from the start. So tbh I have no idea what he’s going on about.

Now here’s something interesting; Clarke worked on improvements with the limpet mine in a country house called Aston House, which was acquired by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1939. The mine was being manufactured by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the house was handed over to them by the SIS where it was known as Station XII (hm, oddly close to Button House XI don’t you think?) Clarke also developed many other weapons at the house. Aston House is in Stevenage, Hertfordshire which means literally nothing to me but it might mean something to someone else.

While developing the limpet mine Clarke had come up with the idea of an underground tank (which sounds cool as hell) and proposed his idea twice, the first time to the Ministry of Supply (which was rejected) and the second time directly to Churchill himself (who essentially said “that’s great, but we’re making one of those already”). Although he was put in charge of the “trenching machine” as he was made assistant director in the Naval Land Section, he grew to hate his job and was called for military service shortly after he left. (Hm, who else absolutely despises the navy? Perhaps our favourite little army man?)

Clarke was later promoted to captain (but acted as a major) and was stationed at Brickendonbury Manor (Station XVII) where he trained SOE agents. There he suffered a bone fracture due to a rough landing during parachute training. The wiki article doesn’t mention where the fracture was but if it was in his knees I might punch a wall.

Clarke was released from the army in November of 1945. He returned to Bedford where he joined the Territorial Army as a captain and served there for six years before being transferred to the Intelligence Corps. Later he ran as like a counsellor or something and was part of the Labour/Liberal Party, but I don’t think that’s very relevant. He retired as a major at the age of 60 and died in 1961. The wiki article doesn’t mention a cause of death (which is just poetic irony at this point) but it does mention that he had a non fatal heart attack. But non fatal means he didn’t die from it so ?????

TL;DR:

- Possibly same birth year?

- Similar(ish) medals

- Developed the limpet mine with a close friend

- Stationed at a country house (twice in the case of Clarke) during WWII

- Hate the navy (though that seems to be common amongst soldiers)

- Fucked up bones

- Worked in intelligence and weapons development

- Prominently known as a captain

- Died under mysterious circumstances apparently

I am leaving out A LOT of other information so there might be more connections that I’m missing. If you wanna learn more about Clarke and the limpet mine I found this article which delves further into the development and it was a very fun read.

I… I need to lie down

#mr. willbond I am shaking your hand #like there HAS to be SOME sort of inspiration because if not then this is a horrifying coincidence #I hope the captain also has a silly nickname like ‘nobby’#anyways this took me one late night rabbit hole and three and half hours to make sooooo….#I am so normal about this show #this is what? captain infodump number 57?#bbc ghosts #the captain #bbc ghosts captain #the captain bbc ghosts #oh yeah I’m pulling out all the captain tags for this #long post #tawgo

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verybadatcardgames · 1 year ago

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Sightshipping for 001?

Also answering for @over-roaming-waves, who was curious.

Sightshipping

when I started shipping it: Back in 2017, I started drafting a fic about their adventure in Egypt trying to hide the God Cards. It was really supposed to be a drama/humor fic about Isis having a constant headache and finding Pegasus to be an annoyance (because I personally found Pegasus to be an annoying character at the time), but as I kept writing, I really fell in love with both of the characters and imagining how their personalities would clash and complement one another

The adventure fic was up for a while, but I yanked it offline not long ago. The story is undergoing revisions and I want to redo it as a comic because I'm a masochist

my thoughts: Do you like to read novels?

I have so many thoughts, but for the sake of the ask, I will try to keep it short.

I really like the idea of them being so set in their plans pre-series and not really being amicable at the start, the both of them so committed to their pasts and their Items that it blinds them from seeing any alternatives from their personal life scripts. Then both their plans go up in flames (Pegasus loses Duelist Kingdom and Seto shows Isis the grim fate she believed in is not infallible), they both lose their Items, and with Atem crossing into the Afterlife, they're no longer tied into the Great Game. So now they have this freedom to explore the future and what the world has to offer, but there's also uncertainty and powerlessness in not being able to foresee what is coming, not knowing what other people are thinking, and not knowing what to do next.

And somewhere in there, I like imagining them going from business acquaintances to friends to lovers.

(also my constant daydream about Isis wanting to confess to Pegasus that she foresaw him getting the Eye ripped out of his head but didn't say anything back then because she didn't believe she could alter destiny with a warning but uh oh-oh no Seto proved you can change the future so she feels like utter crap that Pegasus nearly died and fears he won't want to talk to her again and the looming sense of dread and judgment haunts her; she's so scared he's gonna kick her to the curb when he learns she could have saved him so much grief if she had just said something

and she's so absorbed in the guilt of her past inaction that she doesn't realize Pegasus can plainly see she's torturing herself with all these thoughts so he reaches out and touches her hand and

ok I'll shut up)

What makes me happy about them: The possibilities--in the anime timeline. They're both alive and there is a chance something could happen. Daydreams and headcanons abound

What makes me sad about them: They stand in a room staring at each other for less than 10 seconds in the anime. Isis talks about wanting to "fulfill his wishes" offhandedly in the manga (by getting the God Cards back from her brother). The most dialogue we see exchanged between the two of them is in a GBA game

MY CROPS ARE THIRSTY AND I AM KEEPING THEM ALIVE WITH A NOVELTY SHOT GLASS

things done in fanfic that annoys me: Oh

Oh honey

There is not enough fanfic of this rarepair for that to be a thing

things I look for in fanfic: I dunno I have to look at my WIP folder

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Isis with her job and intermittent dates with Aileen Rao; Pegasus sober with his art supplies and comics

My happily ever after for them: Married with 5 kids but one of them is a daughter biologically fathered by Seto Kaiba after Isis and Pegasus have a heated threesome with him in Marrakesh. Isis and Pegasus know the kid is Seto's, but they don't tell him because it would make things complicated, but Seto does eventually find out at his daughter's 13th birthday party. Seto punches Pegasus in the face and tells him he isn't surprised Pegasus could be that cruel but he can't believe Isis hid the truth from him, which leads to Isis' oldest daughter resenting her because she believes she was the product of an affair, even though she wasn't, but the fine details were not disclosed as Isis thinks the news that Pegasus isn't her biological father was already traumatic enough and she felt it wasn't appropriate to tell her teenage daughter she was conceived during a passionate threesome

Like it all works out in the end when all their kids are adults with their own lives and it gets better after a lot of shit hits the fan but that's my future/next gen "happily ever after" headcanon

who is the big spoon/little spoon: It switches, but I'd say Pegasus is the big spoon 70% of the time. He likes to hug Isis to his chest and doesn't want to let go because she is warm and comfy

And he has PTSD related to this

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Morning, afternoon, and evening tea time--and movie night.

#ask #sightshipping #pegasus #maximillion pegasus #pegasus j crawford #isis ishtar #ishizu #ishtar #aileen rao #yugioh #ygo #dm #duel monsters #seto kaiba #headcanons #fanfic woes

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kamaribvb · 1 year ago

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Talia's Suffering, Chapter Four: In Which Adrian Pulls Through to Save Talia

Pairing: Y/n x Yoongi

Trigger warning: kidnap, threat of forced marriage (the threat doesn't come from Yoongi obvs);

Word count: 5576;

genre: fluff, angst, horror, fantasy.

Rating: mature;

Summary: Yoongi reveals his wizard heritage and the story behind how he discovered it, and subsequently the QRS contacts them to apologize profusely and ask to work together. Y/n ended up having different plans, but she ends up kidnapped by Astaroth, then rescued by Talia, Yoongi, and all his wizard friends.

Fortunately, the teleport brought them directly into Aileen’s barn. Knowing that Y/n and Yoongi was due for some alone time, Aileen promptly left to dismiss her babysitter and greet her children.

Once Talia was settled beside a campfire, Yoongi and Y/n sat in front of her, with Y/n on his lap facing him. “So do you have time to answer my question from before now?”

Yoongi slumped back against Talia as he folded his hands together around Y/n’s torso. “Of course. Truth be told, I’m technically part wizard, so after my dreams started coming true at around the time I became an adult, I reached out to an uncle by marriage for help. He reassured me that there was nothing amiss by explaining that I’m the direct descendant of a couple of wizards, and that the powers of true blood wizards don’t typically appear naturally until adulthood. Subsequently, he introduced me to a wizard acquaintance of his, who taught me everything he knew about magic. At first, I loved almost everything there was about being a wizard.” His teeth gritted a little.

“But?” Y/n gently prompted.

He shook his head. “The rest of the story involves The Devil’s Brigade, so are you sure you want to know?”

Y/n nodded.

“Throughout my time as his student, I kept asking him about how I could pay him for his services, but he just kept shaking his head and telling me that we’d discuss it later. That day came when I had finished my training-at least in the sense that he had told me everything he knew. After the party, he sat me down and gave me this speech about how appreciative he was of my willingness to pay him for his work, but instead, he wanted me to work for a secret organization. I had an ominous gut feeling about it-why hadn’t he been upfront with his plan to enlist me as a member of this organization and why did the organization need to remain secret? On the other hand, he had spent a copious amount of ingredients and time to help me learn about magic when he didn’t have any obligation to do so. So, I agreed to hear him out, with the stipulation that I was not going to commit to doing anything until I knew what the organization was and how carrying out my job description would affect the people around me. After a bit of back and forth, he blindfolded me and took me to a villa in a gated neighborhood community. Once inside, he introduced me to the vampire that owned that villa, Cornelius, who welcomed me and showed me around.. After the tour was done, he left me alone with some of his donors, so I could understand how donors are typically treated at this organization. At first, it sounded similar to how feeding works between us-a consensual partnership in which the human party is financially compensated generously for donations, is free to travel wherever she/he/them wants and can withdraw from the agreement whenever, temporarily or otherwise.“

Y/n snorted loudly, to which Yoongi squeezed her hand sympathetically and asked, “Do you want to hear the rest of the story?” Y/n nodded. “However, after some time, one of the humans started showing all the signs that she was struggling to break free of mind control by making sudden movements and rapidly changing expressions that seemed out of place. Naturally, I recognized the symptoms for what they were, so after a moment of thought, I called Cornelius back in to ask for individual interviews. He graciously agreed, and I noted that he certainly seemed relieved at the prospect. I asked to talk to Rayne first, so after Cornelius took the other four out, I immediately began doing what I could to help Rayne by using a spell meant to subvert mind control to a proxy created by the spell. The problem was, this spell involved using light magic, which is extraordinarily uncomfortable and risky for me to use since I’m part vampire. Natural light doesn’t immediately burn my skin like the lore says about normal vampires, but it does become increasingly hot on my skin the longer I’m exposed to it. However, I managed to maintain the spell long enough for her to let me know that everything I was told was a lie. IIn fact, she was quite eloquent-I believe her exact words were something akin to ‘being part of this organization as a donor is akin to being a slave trapped in the worst version of hell on earth’.

“Hold on, that sounds like one of the donors I became friends with while I was still there. Can you describe her?”

“She was about my height, with long black hair past her shoulders, light brown eyes with a round face and she wore this pink plaid halter neck dress that went down to her knees.

“Yeah, that sounds like my friend Ray. But wait-“ Y/n suddenly went pale and stiff. “Jagi. Please say your tutor wasn’t a tall man with pale skin, purple spiked hair, and a tendency to wear black bandanas named Astaroth.”

“Actually, that sounds exactly like my tutor. Why? What’s wrong jagiya?”

With a swear, Y/n rose to her feet and began pacing the room while she trembled slightly. “Astaroth is the leader of the Devil’s Brigade and the man who kidnapped me, but I didn’t know he was a wizard! That explains why no one has ever been able to escape except people who Alistair enslaved! I’m willing to bet that he found out I was alive by having a vision that involved me, which prompted him to send me that letter. Oh goodness, I hate to think what that means for Alistair and anyone else he has allowed to escape…”

Yoongi rose to his feet to pull Y/n reassuringly into his arms. “Jagiya, slow down. What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly shaking so much?”

“Oh, that’s right, I haven’t told you my story yet, have I? Well, come on, I’ll tell you mine after you finish telling me yours while hurry to our destination,” she said as she grabbed his hand and proceeded to walk out of the barn.

“Wait, where are we even going?”

“Back to the headquarters of the QPS.”

Startled, Yoongi stopped walking. “What? I don’t want either of us to travel anywhere until I hear why you are so damn scared suddenly and insistent on going back to Adrian.” Yoongi looked her up and down closely, checking for signs of mind control.

Y/n began tugging on his arm as she said, “I’m not being brainwashed, Yoongi, you don’t understand! Alistair was the vampire I was paired with, and I gathered over the time I was there that he was the least brutal of them all. If Astaroth kills him for lying, which he absolutely will given the opportunity, it’ll mean that the Devil’s Brigade won’t have any members who allow donors to escape! AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO PEOPLE WHO GOT CAUGHT ESCAPING, YOONGI, THIS ISN’T ABOUT MY DIGNITY OR MENTAL HEALTH AND THE CURRENTLY IMPRISIONED HUMANS ANYMORE-“

“Y/n, Y/n, jagi, deep breaths. You aren’t as likely to be able to help anyone in this state. Come on, breathe with me.” Yoongi had gently prompted her into his arms, and when she obliged, he leaned his forehead against hers and began taking breaths. Y/n acquiesced to appease him, but quickly found that the breathing exercise was at least calming her heart rate down. After a few minutes, Yoongi spoke again.

“I can tell your heart rate is under control now. Thank you for humoring me. Now, none of the members of that organization should be able to cause significant harm to the donors there since the morning after I left, I snuck in to create a protection ward somewhere hidden. It should be functional for at least a few more months, so we have time. Also, we don’t need to rely on the QRS. I have a bunch of wizard friends who have been preparing to help us, remember? Some of them are even vampire slayers. Besides, I don’t approve of the way that Adrian treated you. The potion he used does work better on people who are sweaty, but it was not necessary to torment you to accomplish that.

Just then, Aileen came running over. “What the hell, why did you leave Talia all alone?”

“There’s been a new development, but it isn’t as urgent as we thought originally, so let’s head back,” Y/n said, then she noticed a letter in Aileen’s hand. “What’s that?”

“It’s a letter from the QRS, but I want to hear your explanation first. What is going on?”

Y/n summed up what had happened since Aileen had dropped them off in the barn while they walked back to check on Talia.

“Wow. So, best case scenario, we have a few months before all hell breaks loose,” Aileen concluded. “My vote is that we at least hear what the QRS has to say. After all, punishing the supernatural like the members of the Devil’s Brigade is their MO, and it is possible that Adrian is the black sheep of the bunch.

“I second that. Okay, so we overrule you, Yoongi. Aileen, open the letter.”

However, instead of a normal letter, unfolding the paper revealed a colored 3D hologram that depicted several men, one of them being Adrian held by the collar. The one in front spoke. “Greetings, Y/n, Yoongi, Talia and Aileen. My name is Judge Barlow, I’m the head magistrate here at the Quintessential Protection Squad. All of the people around me that you do not recognize are my advisors, and on behalf of the entire organization we would like to offer our sincerest apologies for what transpired during your time at our headquarters.” As the man spoke, all of their bows deepened to a 45 degree angle, except Adrian. As they straightened, the man who spoke noticed that Adrian didn’t bow, and consequently, glared at him. In response, he begrudgingly gave a half-bow, but Judge Barlow was clearly unimpressed, as he forced him to bow properly by placing his hand on Adrian’s head. Subsequently, he spoke. “It is precisely the type of insolent behavior you are witnessing from Agent Hudson that gives the QRS an evil name and why I also do not blame any of you for walking out on him. Therefore, he has been suspended from this mission and will not be taking on any others until he can recite all 300 pages of the code of ethics word perfect in a magically induced slumber while my colleagues and I stare at him like he stared at Y/n-shi while she danced. Indeed, during the reprehensible interactions you had with him, he broke nearly all the protocols we have.”

In response to his words, two of the men in suits dragged Adrian out of sight. “Overall, the impression Adrian gave you of this organization is completely inaccurate, so allow me to rectify that by giving a brief overview of our organization, how Adrian broke protocols, and why you should opt to work with us still.” He opened the laptop, and with a click of a button, a power point appeared against a wall.

“The Quintessential Protection Squad is an organization of professionals of a variety of different species that all work together to protect humans from being victimized by malicious supernatural beings. However, QRS agents do not prance around the land kidnapping humans targeted by supernatural evildoers in the name of our mission-rather, it is strictly forbidden to do so; instead, what is typically done if there is a threat of invasion is the creation of magical barriers around the target and then a call for backup. Which is precisely what Adrian should’ve done. Maybe then your house and cave wouldn’t be overrun with vampires right now. Anyways, after the initial contact with our clients, we typically explain what we do and give them the option to work with us or not. Indeed, we do have ways to force any wrongdoers to refrain from being in proximity to our clients, so contrary to what Adrian said, continuing to interact with us is never mandatory to be kept safe. It just helps. If the client in question agrees to work with us, we typically bring them back to our headquarters, at which point we explain their rights. I’ll explain those later if you agree to meet with us. In fact, I should warn you that despite my decision to temporarily suspend Hudson’s membership in this organization, I can almost guarantee that he is still watching you as though I haven’t said a word. But to sum up, the Quintessential Protection Squad is an organization of professionals dedicated in general to prioritizing the safety and desires of our human clients above all else. We do not demean or patronize our clients intentionally, for entertainment or otherwise. As an illustration, I will now describe to you the plan we have come up with, should you decide to work with us.” And with that, Judge Barlow clicked a button to allow the power point to show the next slide, which depicted a map of a series of villa’s that looked familiar to Y/n. And no wonder-it was a map of the area surrounding the headquarters of the Devil’s Brigade, collectively known as Infernum.

“This is a map of Infernum, which, as some of you know, is what the members call the headquarters and all the surrounding villas that house the members. Recently, we have been tracking the mail that is sent from this address, and much like you, several other humans have been contacted by the organization as well. We already have some of them under our protection, and we are working on getting in touch with the rest of them. But anyways, after we have all the humans secured, Y/n will work with a team of our human agents to teach them how to infiltrate the organization as donors.” Immediately, Y/n stiffened and began shaking her head vigorously, as though Judge Barlow was watching. Yoongi squeezed her hand supportively. “Once each agent has been assigned to a vampire, each agent will wait until daybreak. Once their vampires are asleep, the agent will apply a human transmogrification potion to the doorway of the room their master sleeps in. Subsequently, each agent will gather the other donors in the villa and bring them outside, where there will be a car waiting to bring them back home. If you agree to help us, please meet me as soon as possible at the Travelers Tavern in Starfolk. I’ll wait there for 48 hours from now, the date and time at this moment is July 18th 2054 at 4:40pm central time. I hope to meet the four of you in person soon.” At that point, the letter shriveled up and disappeared.

“Yoongi, what is a human transmogrification potion?” Aileen asked.

“It is a special potion that can turn any supernatural creature that comes into any kind of physical contact with it into a human. In any case, it is abundantly clear that you don’t agree with the plan, Y/n, so I’ll call my friends now.

Y/n put a hand on his arm. “You are free to do whatever you want, love, but I don’t think we need their help after all. I’m going in myself.”

“WHAT?” Yoongi and Aileen exclaimed.

“Have you lost your mind from stress, Y/n?” Aileen demanded.

Y/n shook her head. “I have no doubt that Judge Barlow thought he was telling the truth when he said those agents consented to being involved, but I remain unconvinced. True consent requires that the giver to be fully aware of what they are consenting to, but abuse and trauma are phenomena that I’m convinced no one can truly understand without experiencing it themselves firsthand.”

“But why on earth does that mean that you suddenly need to infiltrate the organization yourself? And who says the agents haven’t experienced abuse or trauma already?” Aileen demanded.

“Aileen, you need to stay here to take care of Talia and your kids, and the only one that can safely handle the transmogrification potion is me. Actually, jagi, please do call them-they can participate by helping the donors escape after I trap each vampire in their building. Besides, I’m also apparently the only one that knows some of the rooms that vampires stay in have windows. As for the agents, I certainly hope they haven’t, but even if they have, the ward will probably wear off before I can successfully teach them how to act, and none of them can contact the organization without seeming suspicious. I can.”

“How?”

“By responding to the letter, of course.”

“This plan is still insane,” Yoongi insisted. “It’s too dangerous for any human to attempt this by themselves. What if you can’t trap all the vampires before sundown? What if you are caught or hurt in the process? At least bring me with you!”

“Love, I am not going to dictate your actions, but at least hear my plan out in its entirety before dismissing it,” Y/n pleaded. “So, the plan I am thinking of is I travel to the tavern tomorrow to tell Judge Barlow not to send any humans to infiltrate the organization, and then explain my plan to him. If he agrees and some of the humans he has tracked down agree to help me, great, I’ll have helpers. If not, I will allow myself to be kidnapped alone. Meanwhile, you and your friends will be making enough transmogrification potions to apply to at least 30 doorways that are standard size, as well as 20 windows that are 36x 40 inches. And a satchel to carry it all in. Once I am re-initiated into the program, I hack into the organization’s files to obtain a list of all the names of the donors, then leave to arrive at work. That’s what I’ll let them believe, anyway, but what I’ll do is show up to an agreed upon location to give you or one of your friends the list and to retrieve the satchel. I will also draw a map to the headquarters. Subsequently, someone will give the QRS the list so they can track down the donors that won’t be there when I set the next stage of the plan into motion. From there, I will return to Infernum to start trapping all the vampires in their rooms and releasing the donors. I’ll send each of the humans to the front door, where you and your friends will eventually meet them to help them escape.

“No way,” Yoongi said firmly immediately.

Y/n stared at him with narrowed eyes. “You didn’t listen to a word I just said, did you?”

“Correct. Any plan that involves you singlehandedly taking on 30+ potentially angry vampires would be suicidal, so of course I won’t approve. Jagi, do you want to tell me something?”

“If you had listened, you’d know that you do actually have an important part in it,” Y/n snapped impatiently. She repeated her plan.

“This plan is better than I thought, but I still think we should at least consult the rest of my wizard friends to check if we can come up with a better plan,” Yoongi argued. “What harm could just one more day have?”

“I suppose.”

And with that, Yoongi called his friends, and the seven of them agreed to meet up at Aileen’s house the following afternoon. While Yoongi and Y/n was sleeping the next day, however, Y/n was awoken by a phone call that changed her mind about waiting. As the phone vibrated, she sleepily climbed out of the coffin to answer it in a different room.

“Hello?” She sleepily muttered.

“Is this Y/N L/N?” Y/n thought the voice sounded strangely familiar, which put her on edge.

“Who’s asking?”

“It’s Ray McDonald.”

Y/n’s face lit up. “Ray! How are you, how did you escape?”

“I didn’t. Y/n, you need to hurry up with your plan, the situation here is even worse than normal now! I just found out that they started adopting kids and babies from orphanages to use as donors, and they have it even worse than us because none of them are allowed to leave since no one will miss them if they disappear! It’s awful-“She started crying.

Y/n was fully awake at that point. “Ray, I am working as fast as I can, but I can’t make any promises about when or if I’ll be able to intervene. Please stay strong and hang in there, alright? Is the headquarters still in the same place?”

“Yes-“Suddenly, the line went dead, but Y/n knew not to call back in case she had been caught by a member of the Devil’s Brigade. Instead, she quickly penned a note to Yoongi to explain the situation, put on clothes, and headed out the door to the Recruiters Tavern.

Once she arrived, she entered the building, where she was greeted by the bouncer.

“You must be Y/N L/N,” they said.

Y/n removed her hood. “Yes. I’m looking for-“

“I know who you are looking for. They’re in room 8. Walk through the entrance, down the hall, take the second left, and it’ll be the third door on your left,” he said in a bored tone of voice.

“Thank you.”

The problem was, Y/n made a mistake by not heeding Yoongi’s advice for the sake of a bunch of orphans that didn’t exist to begin with. In her haste to meet Judge Barlow, she overlooked two crucial pieces of information: the Recruiters Tavern was the same place that ‘Aileen’ had requested to meet, and that she, too, was an escapee.

“Long time, Y/n,” Astaroth greeted as he magically locked the door. “I hope you have enjoyed your freedom so far. It was child’s play to imitate Rays voice to trick you here, but nevertheless, I do not plan to let you out of my sight ever again. I suggest you come with me back home.”

“And why would I do that?” Y/n glared.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ll kill Talia, and by default her babies. Besides, if you cooperate like an obedient little vermin now, I’ll consider giving you a slightly less ruthless punishment for escaping without my permission.”

That was all it took for Y/n to submit to Astaroth’s will, so together, they walked calmly out of the tavern, where a car was waiting for them. However, fortunately for Y/n, Judge Barlow saw them leave and put two and two together. He quickly sent a text to his team of advisors back at the organization ot let them know to prepare for war.

Before long, Judge Barlow was pounding on the front door of Aileen’s house, and it was Aileen who answered.

“What’s your problem, Judge? It’s 4 o’clock in the morning, I have kids and even guests who are preparing for war!”

“Out of my way, Aileen, there is no time for politeness or small talk. Please take me to Yoongi,” he demanded as he pushed past her.

Aileen glared and put her hands on her hips. “What in the audacity-are you out of your mind-“

“Y/n’s been kidnaped.

“Follow me.”

On the way, Aileen grabbed a bucket filled with water that she had planned to dump on Yoongi to help wake him up. When that didn’t work, she started screaming and banging the metal pail against his coffin, which promptly awakened his friends Jungkook, Jimin, RM, J hope, and V as well as Yoongi.

“EVERYBODY WAKE UP, Y/N’S BEEN KIDNAPPED!”

Aileen’s methods must have been extremely effective, because within two minutes all of them were dressed and had started preparing for war.

Meanwhile, Y/n was trying her best to act as though she knew these were her last moments of life. She was crying and shaking, but not hard enough to impede her speech.

“So, how did you manage to imitate Ray’s voice so well?” She asked.

“Please, I’m a wizard. Voice imitation spells are child’s play, as I said. So, what have you been up to while you’ve been away?”

Y/n had no desire to tell this monster her life story, but on the other hand, it would be foolishness to anger him. So, she answered, “Oh, you know, this and that. Boring human stuff, I’ll spare you the details.”

Astaroth nodded. “I appreciate your consideration, but I’m bored, and we still have another ten minutes before I need to start preparing for our wedding.”

Y/n’s mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about?”

Astaroth smirked. “Y/n, you know the rules. Anyone who is caught escaping is punished by experiencing their worst nightmare. I know that what you value most is your relationship with your boyfriend, so by this time tomorrow you and I will be married and mated as vampires for eternity. And don’t you worry-I’ll be sure to be very gentle, so that pesky little ward my annoying pupil left behind doesn’t interfere.

Y/n started panicking for real at that point, but this time she was desperate enough to risk dying to escape. First, she tried opening the door, but when that didn’t work, she unbuckled to start slamming her entire body weight against the car window while Astaroth laughed uncontrollably. Eventually, Y/n’s head hit the window hard enough to knock her out, much to Astaroth’s amusement.

Once they had arrived at the headquarters, Astaroth carried Y/n into the building to bring her straight to the kitchen. There, he turned on the hot water and dunked Y/n’s head under the hot water, which prompted her to scream in pain.

Unfortunately for Astaroth, Y/n’s scream meant that he was too distracted to notice Adrian hiding in the shadows, or the small needle spiked with delayed human transmogrification potion he fired from a small bow into his leg.

“Good, you are awake. You can start by cleaning up this disaster of a kitchen by scrubbing the floors, handwashing the dishes, and cleaning the windows. And I don’t want to catch you slacking by dousing your head in cold water, I don’t care how bad it hurts. I need to head to bed now, so I’ll leave you to it. Rayne here will keep an eye on you in the meantime, and if you even think of escaping, she will be punished alongside you.

And with that, he left, but Y/n didn’t dare waste time by greeting her old friend since she knew she needed to at least have the dishes done before Astaroth came.

Adrian walked into the room quietly, with a hand to his face to indicate that neither girl should speak.

“All right, Y/n, I have completed my mission. Astaroth should start changing within the next ten minutes, and once he does, I suggest that the two of you run as fast as you can to the nearest exit. You’ll know it’s time to leave when you start to hear his screams.

“Wait, can’t you take us with you?”

“Not my job anymore, princess. Call it payback for getting me fired.”

“Wait-“ Adrian vanished.

“Who was that?” Ray asked.

“A particularly ill-mannered and unchivalrous acquaintance,” Y/n muttered. “But he was probably telling the truth, so you should leave to start packing.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Sure enough, Astaroth started screaming right on schedule, but what no one had anticipated was that the screams would wake up every other vampire in the vicinity as well. Nevertheless, Y/n and Ray ran through the kitchen to the nearest exit. Fortunately for them, Adrian was not as heartless as he acted-he had notified Yoongi where the headquarters was, so by the time Rayne and Y/n made it outside with a couple of vampires hot on their heels, Talia was waiting for them with Yoongi, Jungkook, Jimin, RM, V, J-Hope, and Aileen ono her back. Talia promptly picked up one human in each of her claws, then flew off into the night sky.

Relieved that they arrived on time, Yoongi asked Talia to raise her paw so Y/n could join him on her back. He planned to kiss her, but Y/n was quicker and completely overwhelmed with relief that they were reunited-she promptly dove into his chest to wrap her arms and legs around him like a koala bear.

Instead, Yoongi rubbed her back reassuringly. “Hey, jagi, you’re safe now. Wait, why do you have a bruise on your head?

“If I tell you, will you promise not to jump off Talia to face the Devil’s Brigade yourself?”

“Jagi.”

“Yoongi.”

“Look at me.”

“I don’t want to.” Truth be told, Y/n was stalling because she wasn’t sure if the swelling from the burn had gone down. One thing that was certain, however, was that if Yoongi saw it he would in fact jump off that dragon to run back to the Devil’s Brigade to burn the entire place down. Y/n didn’t want to be separated from him just yet, but she was dreading returning to the headquarters.

“Why?”

“I’m comfortable like this. Did I ever tell you that your chest makes the best pillow?”

“I’ll ask Adrian if you don’t tell me,” he threatened.

“For all you know, he doesn’t know anyway,” Y/n countered.

“Then you won’t mind if I give him a call then, right?”

Y/n quickly grabbed hold of both of his arms. “Please don’t let go of me yet, I’m scared.”

Yoongi snorted. “I know you better than that, jagi. Your heart rate may be up, but it’s not from fear-“

“Oi! Keep it PG-13 for the single people!” Aileen complained. “And for the love of all that’s holy, please, shut up. I’m trying to sleep here.” Aileen had made herself comfortable in Jungkook’s lap.

That didn’t deter either of them from continuing to whisper shout as they argued, though.

“I didn’t mean it like that, you perv. I was just kidnapped by my worst enemy, I’m traumatized!”

“Which of us is the pervert, really? I already knew that’s why your heart rate was up! Besides, if you are hurt, I need to see you properly so I can help you.”

“If my cuddles really bother you that much, I can ask Talia to grab me again.” Yoongi tightened his grip. “You know that’s not what this is about. I’m just worried for you.”

“Will you still love me if my face has scars?”

“Someone disfigured your face?”

Y/n cursed her lack of sleep internally. “Just answer the question. And give me five more minutes.”

“You know the answer, and I know you are just trying to distract me. It isn’t working and it won’t. Fine, I’ll ask a different question in the meantime: why in the name of Talia’s claws did you go off on your own in the first place?

“Astaroth used a voice spell to imitate Ray’s voice during a call to let me know that the members of the Devil’s Brigade had started adopting orphans to add to their organizations. Including babies.”

“And then?”

“The truth is, I felt heartbroken so I left you a note, then left right away. The bouncer must’ve been in cahoots with Astaroth, since he directed me to his room, which is why I ended up meeting him instead of Judge Barlow.”

“Next time, just wake me up. There are ways around my aversion to the sunlight.”

Speaking of, Talia stopped at a rundown hotel, since daylight was about to break. Everyone got their own rooms except for Y/n and Yoongi, who had to carry Y/n into the hotel room, since she still refused to let go or meet his eyes until they reached their room with blackout curtains.

After daylight broke, Y/n spoke. “Do you still want to know?”

Yoongi yawned. “Duh. Tell me everything.”

“So after I met him in the room, Astaroth threatened to kill Talia if I didn’t go with him quietly, so I did. He brought me out to a limousine, where we small talked for a few minutes before he slapped me right in the face with a reality check.”

Yoongi turned towards her on the bed as he opened an eye expectantly.

“Truth be told, I should’ve seen it coming, but I didn’t. See, one of the rules that the Devil’s Brigade has for its slaves is that escape is strictly forbidden, and anyone who is caught doing so will be punished with their worst nightmare. Somehow, he found out that what I value most is my relationship with you, so…my punishment was going to be becoming his mate and wife.

Even sleep deprived from the influence of the sun, Yoongi still managed a whisper yell as he shot up from the bed “HIS WHAT?”

“Now you know why I was too needy by the time you came! The bruises are from trying to break through the car door. I must’ve knocked myself out…”

Yoongi’s expression softened as he climbed back into bed to pull her against him again and kiss the bruise gently. “You will never be too needy, jagi. Still, he’s lucky I’m too tired to slowly rip his head from his body and feed it to Talia. Don’t be scared, I’ll do that and more tomorrow.”

And with that, both of them fell asleep in each other’s arms.

#kvanity #suga imagine #suga fluff #KWRITERSWORLDNET #fantasy imagine

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year ago

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Phil Hands, The Wisconsin State Journal

@PhilHands

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 18, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 19, 2023

“I approve this message.”

Joe Biden’s Twitter account put that line over an ad using the words of Georgia Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Turning Points Action Conference speech from last weekend, in which she set out to tear down the president’s policies but ended up making him sound terrific.

The description she intended to be derogatory—that Biden “had the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on”—was such an argument in Biden’s favor that the Biden-Harris campaign used it to advertise what the Democratic administration stands for: “[p]rograms to address education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, labor unions.”

Generally, Biden and Harris have so far made the case for their reelection by meeting with voters in their home districts, emphasizing job growth and infrastructure investment in those districts, seemingly trying to demonstrate—without fanfare—that a well-run Democratic government can help ordinary Americans. But Greene’s misfire was just too good not to highlight. The programs she was denigrating are, in fact, enormously popular.

Biden has generally stayed out of the headlines that involve the 2024 election, giving Republicans free rein to define themselves for the American people.

That definition became clearer this morning, when former president Trump wrote on the right-wing Truth Social network that the Department of Justice’s special counsel Jack Smith has issued him a target letter associated with the investigation into the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. A target letter usually means that prosecutors have enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. It offered Trump four days to appear before the grand jury to tell his side of the story, an offer Trump is expected to refuse.

Then, it is likely that he will be indicted.

Trump reacted exactly as one would expect, called Smith “deranged,” and claiming his own legal troubles were political: an attempt on the part of President Biden to eliminate his chief 2024 rival. (There is no sign that Biden has touched the investigation, but of course Trump tried to eliminate Biden in 2020 by pushing Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into Hunter Biden’s work with Ukrainian company Burisma.)

Trump harped on the idea that the investigation into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election is “A COMPLETE AND TOTAL WEAPONIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT,” an accusation echoed by Trump loyalists Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Marjorie Taylor Greene, both of whom were also involved in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also echoed the accusation that the target letter is a sign of political “weaponization” of government, prompting Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) to respond: “As Speaker, you are expected to uphold the rule of law. A target letter does not reveal what evidence the grand jury saw, nor what all the charges might be. Attacking a potential indictment before seeing the evidence and charges is irresponsible.”

But if Trump received the target letter on Sunday, why did he complain about it only today?

That delay might have had something to do with another legal issue: today’s hearing about the national security documents case, overseen by Judge Aileen Cannon. One of the issues to be discussed at that hearing was setting a date for the trial. The Department of Justice wants to go to trial in December; Trump wants to delay it until after the 2024 election.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted that today’s target letter changes the calculations for the documents trial because no matter what Cannon decides, it seems likely that Trump will face another federal trial in Washington, D.C., over the events surrounding January 6, 2021. The Washington, D.C., trials for those involved in the events of January 6, 2021, have moved forward with few delays.

This week’s bad legal news for Trump did not end there.

On Friday of last week, Trump’s lawyers tried to stop Georgia’s probe into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. They asked the court to disqualify Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, who has been investigating that attempt, and to stop Willis from using any of the material gathered by the grand jury investigating the case. Yesterday, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously rejected his petition, allowing the probe to go forward.

Then, today, Michigan’s attorney general Dana Nessel charged sixteen fake electors who signed fake certificates claiming that Trump had won Michigan’s electoral votes in 2020 with felonies: forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, election law forgery, conspiracy to commit election law forgery, publishing a counterfeit record, and conspiring to publish a counterfeit record.

The sixteen Republicans met in the basement of the state Republican Party’s headquarters and signed fake documents claiming that they were the state’s legitimate electors and that Trump had won the state. Their actions were part of a plan to claim that the electoral votes of certain states were “contested,” allowing then–vice president Mike Pence to reject the votes of those states and throw the election to Trump.

The fake electors attested they were “the duly elected and qualified electors for president and vice president of the United States of America for the state of Michigan,” Nessel said. “That was a lie. They weren’t the duly elected and qualified electors, and each of the defendants knew it.” “The false electors' actions undermine the public's faith in the integrity of our elections and not only violated the spirit of the laws enshrining and defending our democracy, but we believe also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan and peaceably transfer power in America,” Nessel said. “This plan, to reject the will of the voters and undermine democracy, was fraudulent and legally baseless.”

Text messages at the time show that the sixteen were “all asked to keep silent [so] as to not draw attention to what the other states were doing similar to ours!” One of those charged was former co-chair of the state Republican committee, Meshawn Maddock, who called the charges “political persecution.”

Legal analyst Renato Mariotti noted that the charges against the sixteen fake electors send a powerful message for those at the state level who might consider abetting Trump in the future. Those fake electors aren’t part of Trump’s inner circle who might get some kind of a reward for their trouble. They are just party operatives who are facing an expensive, stressful, and humiliating experience that could lead to hefty fines or imprisonment. Their example might well make others think carefully before they sign on to similar plans.

Josh Marshall pointed out in Talking Points Memo today that the lines of the 2024 election are coming clearer. Trump’s many legal troubles simply strengthen the loyalty of his base, making his nomination for the Republican presidential candidacy even more likely. But voters in the general election are unlikely to rally to someone facing multiple indictments in several different cases, especially ones related to the attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election, which horrified most Americans.

The Republican Party is now “handcuffed to Donald Trump,” Marshall writes.

President Biden’s policy of focusing on his job while letting the Republicans define themselves might be a smart strategy.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#political cartoons #Phil Hands #aging #force of evil #Joe Biden #Biden-Harris Campaign #Talking Points Memo #MAGA republicans #TFG #election 2024

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hyperforcereignition · 2 years ago

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OC Evolution is... funny.

So, once again I found Mila’s old Picrew ref and... boy, did she change a LOT from this.

Course if we wanna go even further back, there was when she was a twin OC back when I was 11 and in recent years, it’s been fun going back to OC’s, I used to have and revitalize them into well... proper characters. Which is how she got her start, down to changing her name from Melody to Mila because it suited her better.

First we had this, where she was more soft spoken, still had some of her punk origin with the ear piercings... This was in 2020, when I was trying to and initially could not get a beat for the kind of story I wanted to tell. I had ideas... boy did I have a LOT of ideas. She was honestly more of a girly girl and while goth, was more gothic lolita... and than I realized, that didn’t really work with her profession and it didn’t suit her. I also wanted to do other things with her but talked myself out of it...

Then came 2022, when Aileen visited and we binged season one of SRMTHFG and she kicked me to give writing a fict for it a try and I wanted Mila along for the ride again.

And that’s how we got THIS version of her. This is where her real personality, started to come through. She was no nonsense, still knew how to have fun, but she also had that gentleness to her still... at this point I was using a base and decided...

This ain’t her. Because once again her personality made the deciding factor and after awhile of writing ReIgnition, THIS wasn’t it.

Thus, we get to this.

Embraced her gothic side, with declaring she was never going to fully outgrow it. Brought back the piercings. Probably had too much fun picking outfits for her, buuut that’s the fun of vroid studio. This is, what I can confidently say is her.

Mila is a no-nonsense, snarky, fiery young woman who doesn’t put up with crap from anyone and I mean ANYONE. Passionate for her job as a florist and working hard to upkeep her parents legacy, she runs Hanamura’s Botanicals with an iron fist. She’s skilled with flower language, ikebana, basically if it involves plants, it’s in her wheelhouse.

A former singer, who’s band Cosmic Void disbanded after a certain incident on Shuggazoom, she still practices and plays guitar in private but it’s a hobby now. She’s never sure if she’ll ever get to perform again, but she still uses her vocal training... Sometimes to others’ chagrin. (She can belt out a death metal scream, that’d wake the dead)

She takes care of the family home and makes sure Chiro has a place to always return to. She’s had a hard time finding the balance between being “Big sister” and “Mom” and she’ll be the first to tell anyone who asks, that she has one kid already. It wasn’t easy, none of it ever was, but she has no regrets...

Well, except maybe letting him go out on a certain fateful day to the outskirts of the city...

It’s kinda funny how figuring her out, also helped in figuring out what kind of story ReIgnition was going to be, as while she’s a main driving force... she’s not the main character. That, belongs to Chiro. Mila is just along for the ride, albeit mostly against her better judgement or outright determination to get involved.

So yeah, just my rambles about my girl and what went into figuring out what I wanted her to be.

Honestly, I just like to think that my childhood self would be happy to see where I’ve gone with that first OC.

#SRMTHFG OC #OC rambles #Mila

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originaltyphoonkryptonite · 5 hours ago

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Chapter 20: Time To Talk About Granny Melinda And Her Family

Zella pov

The entire Wayne family, plus Gus, Cippia, Aileen, and me were in the study room either in pjs or sweats. Though I guess the four of us now count as members of the family. Well, I should say the five of us, have to count the baby. It was after the reception which ended after dinner. Aileen was sitting next to Gus on one couch and Cippia was curled up with Damian. Dick and I were curled together on a sofa. Everyone else on chairs or couches.

"So," Gus started to say. "I am guess everyone is here to talk about me having powers and about the girls' grandma."

"No kidding.", Jason snorts.

"Well like I said, Melinda was from a long line of shadow users and each one would get a mark. The mark proved the person had the power."

"You said that is the only difference about her and Zella's power.", Tim says.

"Well I wasn't exactly truthful. Because each shadow user could be put into categories which helped when training for a specific type of job. And each mark was slightly different to represent that type. But they all could bend the shadows to their wills in to objects like weapons or tools. That was consider the basic all must master before discovering their unique abilities."

"What are the categories?", Bruce asked.

"There is Zella's type, which is more or less one with shadows, hence the shadow form, wisps of shadows reacting to the user's will, and traveling through shadows. That was called The Shadow's Shades."

"I see."

"Another type was called Living Shadows. They could make life with shadows. But it wasn't as powerful as you would think. They could only make up to two creatures that are like Cippia but instead are intertwined into their master's shadow and they had to be small creatures. The critters get to a certain size but it was only about 5 ft long as the maximal limit. That was Melinda's powers."

"Really?", I asked curious.

"Yup. They had mind of their own but couldn't get too far from their person before fading away. I believe the limit was 2 miles. The critters also couldn't change shape like Cippia."

"Then why can Cippia?", Damian asked.

"I believe it is most likely that Cippia might have been the test subject that scientist mentioned to Luthor before we rescued Zella.", Bruce said with a thoughtful look on his face. "He may be a mix of the Living Shadow and the same type of Zella to such a point he can change his very body because he is basically in a permanent shadow form."

"That makes sense.", I said after thinking about it myself.

"So what creatures did Grandma make?", Aileen asked.

"Snakes.", Gus says simply.

"Snakes?"

"Snakes. Two in fact. One dark as shadows with red eyes and the other was more of a smoky shadowy with purple eyes. Their body constantly flowing and wavering due to their shadow bodies instead of Cippia's solid one. Kinda like the parts of Cippia that flow at the edge of his fur when he is in his large form."

"Did she name them?", Jason asked as we all looked at him. "What? I am curious."

"Rumplesnakeskin for the red eyed one and Excalibur for the other......She loved fairy tales."

"Was there any other types?", Dick asked.

"If I am remembering what Melinda told me there is two more. The Healers are what the name suggest. They could heal with shadows. The other one, they.....they had a nasty ability...they could kill with shadows.."

"But couldn't anyone with the basics could kill?", Steph asked.

"That may be true but the way they could do it was very nasty. They could kill by absorbing a victim's shadow. Hence the nickname, Shadow Reapers. They could also control people by taking over their shadows."

"That....that sounds horrible."

"Believe or not, they weren't as menacing as their name implies. Their job were to protect the family from people that try to harm the family. So they only acted like that when on duty. Otherwise some of them were the sweetest person you could ever meet, excluding Cinderzella of course.", he finishes while winking at me.

"Gus!", I said as I hid my face into Dick's shoulder as the rest of the family laughs at my blush.

"So they were the rare ones?", Tim asked.

"Nope. Zella's type was the rarest. In fact it was so rare that one was born every few generations."

"So how come Zell doesn't have a mark?", Dick inquired.

"Simple. If one with a mark marries another with powers, any descendant that get powers won't get a mark. Don't ask me why, not even the family knew why. But they could tell they were part of the family by the 'feel of the shadows'. Again, don't ask me, the family just knew. Even if the person had a completely different power, the family just felt that person's shadow with theirs and they would know."

"So is it possible to have a kid with powers if one of the parents doesn't?"

"Well if both parents have very strong genes, then it is guaranteed. If one was strong then it was a 50% chance."

Judging by the look by the way Dick nuzzled the top of my head, he was happy. When I looked up from hiding I did see the smile and he whispered, "Even if the little guy didn't have powers, I'd still love him."

"And how do you know it is a boy I'm carrying?", I whispered back.

"I know."

"So what did the marks look like?", I asked with a blush once again when I realized everyone was staring at us.

"The Healers' looked like a infinity symbol on its side with a staff in going from end to end. The Shadow Reapers exactly the same but with a sword coming through the symbol while it it is on its side instead. Melinda's where her two snakes intertwined. Those with her powers tend to have their mark be of the one or both critters. Shadow Shade's are Zella's superhero costume symbol."

"Had to throw in some family pride?", Alfred asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course. Zella should be proud of her powers."

"Was it possible for one to have more then one ability?", Jason asked.

"More like with enough training, they could learn a bit of another skill set. So for example, with healing one could learn enough to close wounds but couldn't fix broken bones, injured organs, or save someone by feeding their shadow with shadows until they could get proper medical help. Or just heal them themselves. I am not fully sure how they do the healing.", Gus said with a shrug.

"So now that is out of the way, why didn't you use your powers for healing me when I got back from patrol?" Dick whines.

"Because you didn't know about them and it would look weird if I did."

We all laugh at Dick's pout. We then spent the rest of the time talking about little mishaps that happened during a mission. Like Tim getting caught on a giant hook when he jumped down from a rafter to take out some henchmen when he was Robin.

#oc #nightwing

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pancakes-bookclub · 1 month ago

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So... Deep breaths.

I'm starting on the Starlight Brides series, and... Oh boi. We have some issues.

So, the first book, Alien Minotaur Prize, by Hattie Jacks, is actually good. It's not on my top 10 books, but it's an ok and even fun read.

Again, it's a Mail Order bride, because you read one book like that and now Kindle thinks it's the only kind of book I like/want to read. At least until I actively look for another kind.

So, Ginny is being threatened, and has to sign up to the Starlight Lotteries, that no one really knows it's a Mail Order Bride program, thinking it will get her off the ship Brittania. So, baby girl ends up getting married to an Alien Minotaur king.

From scrubbing air vents for a living to a queen? I wouldn't complain either.

It's a good book. Some scenes could be taken off, as they're only there for the spice, but they're well written, and there are some time gaps that could be filled with some character and relationship development but I understand that it's just them falling into a routine so it doesn't really make sense.

Now, we get to book 2, Aliens Werewolf Prize, by January Bell, and... I couldn't write about this one without having something else as a reference, so I decided to put them both together.

Aileen works on the shittiest possible job at [Unnamed Space Station] where humans are the lowest of the low, cleaning a perv brain in a jar and caring for a sentient tentacle in an exhibit. She and her best friend registered for Starlight Lotteries years ago in search of better options, and they just got accepted! Now, she's going off to marry a Werewolf clan leader (they all have political agendas to look for a bride), and y'all know the rest.

However!

Ok, the Minotaur is not one of my top 10 books, but it's a good read.

The werewolf? Girl, we got some issues to work out here!

So, Book 1, we have many named characters, even if they don't even talk, we see that the characters have a relationship, respect and understanding for the people around them. Ginny got a full Entourage just so she wouldn't feel lonely!

Book 2? I think we have, like, 5 or 6 named characters, and most of them don't show up for most of the book. Like, my girl spent time in the kitchen, the chef made her food, and not a single word was exchanged in the whole scene! And we clearly see that time passed because the chef had to make her food from scratch! That was some wasted potential on world building and character development just... Defenestrated!

And he showed up to her with a FULL ON 50 SHADES SHIT ASS SEX CONTRACT! Like, I know that they're mail order brides, and that comes with a contract about their safety, a trial period, some money/dowry they'll get if things don't go as planned... And that's understandable. They're being thrown in a whole new situation and need a safety net.

But a sex contract? To establish their boundaries? No. That's a big ass no no and a red flag if I've ever seen one. Boundaries should be talked about and respected. There's no need for it to be written down on a healthy relationship.

Also, book 1? Ginny goes out. She spends time knowing the people, the cities, she pulls her weight for the position she now holds. She even spends some time with her new husband before getting officially married.

Book 2, is... Rushed. She gets the job, spends a day at a Starlight Hub Station Thingy to get prepared, gets in a shuttle to his homeworld, gets married, he takes her to a vacation house or whatever, they fuck and... That's it?

Also, darling, this is a werewolf romance book. Why the fuck is it that the only time we "see" his wolf form is when she's going back to the main home, and she vaguely mentions a) hearing distant wolf howls in the night when he's not in bed with her, and b) having his furry form cuddling her. Where's the fear/excitement that comes with seeing your werewolf partner change for the first time? Trying to comfort them because the change hurts? Bring unsure if you should tuck tail and run, or jump them?

And, as much as I don't really like it when a book is just sex scene after sex scene for bulk, shock value or "the horneez", we have one scene, that keeps jumping from POv, which is extremely annoying and breaks the immersion in the scene.

Ok, fine, the biggest sin this book committed is being too short. I want to know more about those wolves. I want to see them better, understand their lore and story.

"but Pancake, it's a romance book! Why are you complaining that they focused on the romance?"

Deep breath

That's not the point. The romance, although a bit rushed, is ok. It's not a bad romance (gaga ooh lala aah 🎵🎶)

But it lacks what makes it a good romance to me. And it has one red flag too many for my taste. Not even Dark Romances are that level with Boundaries!

Overall, book one is a 6/10. Not bad but could be better, I have a couple notes, but I understand that using them would make it into all but a slow burn series. And book 2 is a 4/10. Could definitely be better. Hell, could be 10 pages longer.

#book reccs #smutty books #books and reading #book review #booklr #books #bookblr #January Bell #alien werewolf prize #pancake reviews #18+ mdni #Hattie jacks #Alien Minotaur Prize #Starlight Brides Series #reviews

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officialtayley · 1 year ago

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from what i know aileen is actually also very into bands and music their husband now is son of a country singer he has podcasts etc.

i still have b’s ig and her ass posted a photo with “god is love and love is real” caption few days ago😭☠️ i dont think shes over it since he prob was the last decent person she dated and she became whole different person to be with t, was a faith hill girl then suddenly started listening to radiohead, etc lol

yes see i remembered aileen was always into music, but her job wasn't music. but omg i saw they got married like quite a while ago cause i think i still follow them on twt and the last name changed and i saw everything! but i never looked into the husband tho but that's funny 😭

i saw that post 😭 it is a lyric from a mwy song too but i think that also goes w what u said, she was so different before and then suddenly changed to fit his style and that included her music taste.... brunette, black/dark clothes, suddenly she's a radiohead lover, seeing the change was wild

#anon #answered

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niennandil-me-writes · 2 years ago

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a dhampir and a vampire meet at a bar...

cn: alcohol, illness mention, toxic relationship

[haven't shared anything in a while, so might as well finally post this. I wrote this before our Death House run finished, so this isn't canon because Ivory actually met Lupa during the run. but it's a nice character study.]

In the first inn she could find in Barovia, Ivory sat hunched over a bottle of the cheapest liquor they would sell her, trying to forget… whatever happened over the last 24 hours. The people she had left behind, the things she had seen and heard. She knew there was still a job to do, but right now all she wanted to do was spend what little money she got from the lady at the brothel and drink her trauma away.

The seat next to her creaked. “Ivory, is that you? What a coincidence!”

Ivory jumped at the milk-smooth honey-sweet voice beside her. She jolted around and saw a pale woman with long strawberry blonde hair take the seat next to her. She smiled at Ivory, showing her fangs for just a moment, then leaned over the counter to call over to the barkeeper in a higher pitch like a little girl: “One peach schnaps with cream please, and a cherry on top if you have that. Her treat.” She nodded her head at Ivory.

Ivory cleared her throat. “What makes you think I’ll pay for your drink, bitch?”

Lupa smiled at her. “Oh, did you forget already? You offered to buy me a drink after we got done with your job back at my village.”

Ivory’s face twisted into a grin that was closer to a grimace. “Well, I thought we got that one handled already.” She pulled on her neckerchief, revealing the pale scars beneath only to Lupa and only for a second. Not the two cute points that were the stereotype (and which Lupa herself sported beneath the colorful necklaces she wore) but a wide and ugly gash like someone took a whole bite from her neck.

“Yes, and you could show a bit gratitude for me not outright murdering you.” Lupa’s drink arrived, and she lifted the tiny glass in the air for cheers before sipping on it.

“Not for lack of trying, I assume.” Ivory took a sip as well, without returning the cheer.

Lupa smiled. “I really did think you were gone for good. But then I heard that Ivory Umbra, vampire hunter, was traveling the land again, and more famous and esteemed than ever. I must admit, I was positively surprised. You are interesting, Ivy.”

Ivory flinched. “How do you know that name?”

Lupa laughed. “It was simply a nickname derived from Ivory. But from your reaction I’m guessing it is your given name? Ivy Nicolescu, then?”

“How - ”

“You had some of your identifications in the purse I took from you. The one sewn hidden in your coat? Irene Finch, Iris Bluejay, Aileen Bruckner… lots of the same starting sounds, now that I think of it.”

“Makes it easier to react to a new name,” Ivy said. “And to explain why you reacted to one you’re not carrying right now. So you were the one who stole my wallet! You know how much cash I had in there? Fuck it, of course you know. You could have at least bought me dinner before sucking my blood and disappearing with my money and certificates while I was passed out.” Why did she ever let it come to that? And why had she reacted to her given name like that? It was a rookie mistake, laying her cards on the table like that. She had to be more drunk than she had thought. “Besides, you can’t tell me Lupa is your real name. What, you chose that after turning into a bloodthirsty monster to deal with the emotional anguish that comes with it, like a wild wolf?” Not her best comeback by far.

“It is, in fact, my given name,” Lupa said, way too calm, and for a moment Ivy considered throwing the half-empty bottle at her, but she already knew Lupa was stronger than her, and by a lot. “I must say, I was a bit disappointed when I found out you went right back to posing as a hunter.”

“What, you thought I’d change after you almost kill me.” Ivy chuckled. “Turn over a new leaf. Take up some honest work?”

“A bit, maybe.”

“Well, here I am, right back where I started.” She took a sip, looking over the bottle at Lupa. “At least I don’t kill people.” That was true. She only drank blood from animals, and except for vegetarians and vegans and the owners of said animals, nobody should have an issue with that. The few times she had taken blood from humanoids, she had exerted self-control to only weaken them – and to return in the morning to promise to slay their attacker, for a small fee of course. Worked every time.

“Well, how do you know I do?”

Ivy pointed at her neckerchief.

“Oh, but that was self-defense,” Lupa pouted. “You were a vampire hunter threatening to slay me, after all.”

“Did you believe that even for a second?”

Lupa just smiled, and Ivy took another sip of her sweet sweet alcohol.

“I have killed a lot of people,” Lupa said then, still smiling, but with a threat in her eyes now. “All of us vampires have. That is the way we are.”

“Well, I haven’t. That’s something I’d never do.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ivy, did I make you feel like I included you.” The tone of her voice was begging her to punch her in the face. “You are barely a vampire, after all, a dhampir, and not even one born of vampire blood.”

“Yes, and not a murderer,” Ivy said. “So morally, I’m above you.” She shot Lupa a teethy grin.

“Don’t act all high and mighty.” Lupa’s smile was getting icy now. “You’re meaning to tell me you’ve never harmed anyone?”

“Never said that.” Ivy gulped down some more whiskey. “Just I didn’t kill anyone. A con artist isn’t a murderer.”

“What about all the people whose money you took for taking care of dangers without ever doing so?”

Ivy waved her hand in dismissal. “Made-up dangers, made-up fears.”

“The people lost in the woods trusting the “vampire-bone” talismans you sold them to protect them? You think they make it home safely? Oh, but they are such easy victims. You wanna know how many vampires own your pendants after they took them from your victims?”

“Not my fault they lost their common sense over some necklaces I gave them.”

“But it is your fault if a mother spends all her money on Madame Iris Bluejay’s Miracle Elixir instead of saving it for some real medicine for her deadly ill son. Or if some poor soul spends their last savings on a speck of land that a Miss Irene Finch promises is filled with gold. Need I go on? You might not have killed anyone directly, but do you seriously think your scams have never cost someone’s live? You’re not a vampire, you’re worse and lower than that: You are a leech. You may not take lives, but you ruin them.”

“That is not murder,” Ivy said through gritted teeth. “Those people chose to believe me, they have only themselves to blame.”

“So, do you have yourself to blame for me attacking you after you fell for my lie of being a sweet innocent village girl?”

“You know what?” Ivy slammed down her bottle. Lupa actually flinched, and Ivy grinned in satisfaction. "Yes. Yes, I do have myself to blame. I was stupid to trust you. But you know why I did? Because I was trying to scam you. I wanted nothing more than you treating me like that heroic figure, that dark and mysterious vampire hunter, so I could bang you and then leave in the morning. So when you treated me exactly like I wanted you to, I didn’t question that. The best scams are always the ones played on wannabe scammers themselves. People who think they’re paying less than you’re worth. Who think you don’t know about the gold buried on the land you’re selling. You think those people are so innocent? Well, they’re not. They always see something in it for themselves, or they wouldn’t respond to such an obvious scam.”

“The way you sound so much like one of us when we’re just turned,” Lupa hummed. She finished her glass – how in the world could she take that long for a shot glass – and then licked the cream from her lips. Ivy felt herself blush at the sight, and then took another swig to keep Lupa from seeing it.

“We all tell ourselves we don’t have a choice, and anyways, it’s our victims’ fault for not being careful,” Lupa continues. “Life’s not fair, not for us, and not for them.”

“Well, it isn’t.” Damn, why did she sound so whiny right there? “I mean, listen, I never had any real chance in life, no education, no money, no nothing. Other people got a head start. Call me a liar and a cheat, but rich people are cheating at life.”

“And your parents never had time for you, always working, so now you get the attention that you crave by pretending to be all those big personalities.”

Ivy stared at her, and something in her expression made Lupa laugh out loud. “Oh, Ivy, you are so easy.”

“Fuck you,” Ivy murmured into her drink.

“Oh, now don’t be all sulky.” Lupa laid a hand to her shoulder. Ivy pulled away, a bit too quick, a bit too revealing, and Lupa noticed, judging by the fire in her eyes. “I wanted to tell you something else. My friends, they are actually quite happy with what you’re doing. As I said, they noticed your talismans, and they heard about you. There was some fear at first, but after I told them about you, they were very relieved. So, you see, you are actually under some protection now. They like having a fake vampire hunter on their side.”

“Who says I’m on your side?”

“Like I said, you’re under my protection now.” She smiled, wide, baring her fangs, and even through the daze of the alcohol, Ivy understood.

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear,” Lupa chirped. “And until then, you just have to do what you always do, little leech.” She lifted her empty glass. “What do you say? Another one of those and then you could pay for a room for the two of us?”

Ivy tensed. She couldn’t help but look at Lupa again, her pale skin, freckled face, intense green eyes, her loose dress showing more of her chest than was probably decent. The alcohol didn’t make this easier.

Finally, Ivy tore her eyes away. “Pay for your own damn drink.”

“Fine, then.” Lupa got up and walked over to another lone traveller at the other end of the room, no doubt enticing them to get something more than schnaps from them, leaving Ivory once again alone with her bottle and her fears.

#my writing #oc writing #ivory umbra #lupa #vampires #dhampir #cn alcohol #why am i writing people at a bar that often?

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fadiingliight · 1 year ago

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"God, dammit, I wish I was famous, but then I'm hot so at least there's that." she said with a laugh. Aileen was glad Leila would listen to her, there weren't many in town who would listen to her unfiltered thoughts without judging her or being horrified by what she had done. "I don't like starting over either, or change of any kind. But sometimes it's like, two bad options so what can we do." She shrugged her shoulders, life was a bitch throwing lemons at her face and she did not appreciate it. Making lemonade was a dumb idea, she would just close her eyes and bite into the lemon which looked less sour. "Clearly, I would have gotten you out of it before you wasted time planning a wedding. What was that like." she scoffed, it was crazy to think of her friend as a bride, very unlike her. "Also, you better help me get a job here, I am running on fumes."

"Perks of being famous," she replied with a wink. Leila supposed there were worse things than being recognized outside of the lounge especially as that recognition was often accompanied by free drinks. "Valid." Leila wasn't really interested in the details of Aileen's drama. All she knew was that she supported her friend. It was be hypocritical to expect Aileen to apologize for leaving when Leila had done the same thing. Of course, there hadn't been an abandoned child at the center of it all, but she wasn't going to judge. If Aileen said that she was back, that was good enough for her. She'd leave the drama to Aileen and Eli, unless, of course, Aileen asked for advice. Which she definitely had not. "Nothing really. I'm all moved in to the new apartment. It's weird starting over, but also weird thinking I could be a wife." She laughed, the sound full of self-deprecation. "It's all because you weren't around to tell me I was being a dumb ass."

#aileen x leila #aileen x leila 001 #aileen darjean | threads

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ofaphrcditearchive · 7 years ago

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crowns task 6 // aileen o’conor

name: aileen ciara o’conor

place of birth / date of birth: 20th may 1985. aileen was born in dublin, ireland at the same hospital as all of her cousins, her big sister and her niece. naturally.

star sign: taurus

sexual orientation: heterosexual/romantic

relationship status: single, feels like she doesn’t have the time to start a relationship with work and aine.

religion: was christened catholic at home. she doesn’t follow it strictly but still finds comfort sometimes in prayer and goes home every easter/christmas etc to celebrate the holidays with her family.

spoken languages: speaks english and also knows gaelic conversationally but doesn’t really use it. also knows french and spanish and could probably get by in basic conversations.

lives: in primrose hill in a yellow terrace house with aine and her cat, named crumpet after aine’s favourite breakfast food.

drives: she got her license back in ireland when she was 17 before she left for uni and does own a secondhand jeep that she loves but hardly ever gets to drive it in london. mostly uses the tube to get around and to and from work.

occupation: practising human rights law in a london firm near kings cross.

education: up to degree level. studied llb (hons) law (european and international) at sheffield where she also got her masters whilst working as a paralegal up there.

parents / brief family history: grew up in a very happy and close family. her parents owned the popular local so aileen and her sister kathleen grew up above a pub and they loved it. the regulars were also slipping the sisters packets of crisps or ‘tipping’ them a couple of euros to take their glasses to the bar. both the sisters had their first saturday jobs there of course. leaving her family to go to university in the uk was terrifying for aileen because she had to leave her family behind, and was especially difficult when her sister’s husband died and left her with a newborn baby. not long after, kathleen and aileen’s dad died in a car accident and it broke her heart. still, she took aine in and the family are gradually moving past this tragedy, though there will always be a hole.

tattoos/piercings: aileen only has one piercing on each lobe. has a four leaf clover tattooed on her ankle, also has sunflowers on her right side.

fashion sense: aileen likes to experiment with her fashion and actually does try to follow trends despite not having the time to go out and shop most of the time and when she does it’s always for aine. she’s a girly girl, loves a skater dress, lot’s of florals and pastel colours and has a guilty pleasure high heel collection. wears a lot of pencil skirts for work with cute frilly blouses. accessorises with scarves in her hair and owns a lot of jewellery, loves a chunky necklace and bangles. on the weekends she’s very bo-ho and does have three leather satchels that all pretty much look the exact same.

music: she’s an 80′s girl at heart okay. loved bowie and michael jackson, george michael (she loves wham pls), bon jovi, queen, journey, fleetwood mac, madonna. anything soft rock and she’s there. b*witched were her youth tbh and she met them once at home and freaked out like a fifteen year old. anyone irish and she’ll listen to them even if they’re shit. hates galway girl, thinks it’s the worst song she’s ever heard.

sleeping habits: aileen sleeps like the dead all the time. only wakes up when aine literally jumps on her back otherwise would sleep through the whole of sunday. she’s an old soul, so aileen is usually in bed by 9 and either stays up to read a book or watches trash tv, loves i’m a celeb and big brother especially, also a secret towie and made in chelsea addict. honestly as long as she has a cup of tea before bed then she’ll go out like a light pretty easy. has to get her eight hours or she’s proper moody.

eating habits: look she’s basically a football mum okay. so she does her best to make sure that her three year old niece gets all she needs. i’m talking five a day, no fizzy drinks in the house, only drinks water and milk but on the weekends she cracks and it’s dinosaur nuggets, potato waffles and beans because you can’t be good all the time. does her best to have three meals a day, always strives to have breakfast with aine and to get home in time to have dinner too since aine spends most of the day with a nanny she feels she owes it to her to be there for mealtimes. oh and she bakes, god does she BAKE.

social media: isn’t a huge social media person. she keeps facebook updated mostly for the sake of her mum, so she can see what her daughter and granddaughter are up to in england. does have instagram and it’s mostly cute pics of aine or inspirational quotes, or dorky selfies tbh. snapchat is an utter loss to her and she literally only uses twitter to keep up to date with news and pop culture. has tweeted a few times but she mostly retweets cat videos or chrissy teigen, and she loves baking twitter.

hobbies: aileen loves to read, will literally read anything tbh but loves a good sappy romance novel because she’s still and always will be, a hopeless romantic. she loves to cook and on weekends aine is her little helper in the kitchen, where they make a ridiculous amount of cakes for two people to be able to finish. so aileen often has to bring in cakes to work which her office does not mind at all. still loves to sing, karaoke is her favourite thing ever though she misses dueting with kat. used to play piano, fiddle and the violin but doesn’t really have time for it now. loves going for a run round the park, recently joined a mummy and me class with aine at the local parish centre. still knits, because she’s a grandma.

cologne / perfume: PRADA CANDY EAU DE PARFUM. “to embody this explosive femininity, miuccia prada wanted an excessive fragrance with too much of everything. the Prada style oriental eau de parfum is a unique signature in keeping with the traditions of high perfumery, combining laotian benzoin, a synthetic caramel accord and a more neutral cocktail of musk.”

hogwarts house: obviously aileen is hufflepuff, there’s just no sidestepping it. she’s loyal and always works hard to get where she wants to be. doesn’t believe in having anything handed to you and things you need to earn it. she’s kind to a fault, has a heart of gold and she wears it proudly on her sleeve even if that gets her hurt more often than not. some might call her naive, but she’d argue she’s just optimistic.

#crowns.task6 #crowns.auweek #( * aileen | modern. )#sO i changed aileens job #because i wasn't feeling journalist for her tbh #and i re-read her intro #and she's so into law #and in au she can actually Be a lawyer so!!#my baby bringing justice

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usernoneexistent · 3 years ago

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Who do you think you are? Colin and Euphemia

Okay, I was really inspired by the lovely @the-al-chemist so credit goes to her for the idea but I wanted to make my own who do you think you are, just so I have the family background because the character profiles are taking me a while, mainly because I’m doing some drawings for them but I digress.

We start with Juniper, Jacob and Clover’s great grandparents, before the branches split at John and Aileen, it’s time for their parents to shine in the early 20th century.

Colin Moss, a Scottish pureblood wizard with his wife Euphemia, a pureblood witch from the powerful Macnair family. Though the family never officially disowned her for marrying Colin, she is certainly looked down upon for eloping with someone of a much lower social status and a Moss. Colin took over the bartender of his grandfather Robert's pub The Naughty Cliffs while Euphemia worked many odd jobs to bring in money, mainly as potioneer, brewing up illegal potions and tried to start her own newspaper print. In 1900, they had their first child John Patrick Moss and five years later they had a daughter, Aileen Martha Moss.

Both children ended up in Hufflepuff, John was quieter of the two but always stood up for those who couldn’t fight back and became sort of the rock in the family. Dependable and ready to help anyone in need. He idealised his father and admired how he constantly gave away money to those need it more than them. He was determine to be exactly like Colin and after Hogwarts to work at The Naughty Cliffs and to become an activist for werewolves, vampires and other beings who were heavily discriminated and tried to help in changing laws to allow more equality.

Aileen on the other hand was very loud and had the mouth of a sailor. She played as beater for the Hufflepuff quidditch team and after a while once people stopped getting intimidated by her, they actually started to enjoy her and she became the popular 'jock' at Hogwarts. Aileen seriously consisdered a career in quidditch but those plans got skewed when she met an american wizard shortly after graduating.

In 1948, Euphemia was ratted out by a client and was sentenced to Azkaban for for selling illegal potions. Her sentence was seven years but she passed away shortly after being unable to endure the conditions there. Colin died weeks later from heartbreak.

#who do you think you are #i only just created them and i’m so in love with them already #colin and eupehmia moss #could we just call the hphl ocs #juniper’s great grandparents #i swear i cried writing the last part #Aileen is a bit inspired by Luisa from encanto #be ready for more blue hair

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work-of-waking-up · 4 years ago

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In Defense of the Psychopath

Alright, wanna venture into my crazy ass brain? I’m going to start by saying one thing that will set the tone for everything else that follows: Villanelle is not a psychopath in the way that we currently understand them. Why am I even bothering to write about a fictional character, you ask? Because representation is important. Media portrayal of various mental and behavioral health topics (including ones that people might not think need to be discussed) is important and this show has a big audience. I also just want to contribute to the conversations that are taking place because I am seeing A LOT of them and the reason for that I believe boils down to the fact that Jodie makes Villanelle so relatable and people want to know what that means and looks like for them. Even those who felt they could relate to Sandra’s Eve, or the relationship between the two, maybe questioned what that meant the further they went down the path with them. “It’s probably a bad thing I relate to a psychopath, right? But she can’t be a psychopath because she cries and she feels things! Psychopaths don’t cry, which means she isn’t realistic so therefore it’s okay that I relate to her! Right? Or are my assumptions about psychopaths and people with antisocial personality disorder wrong? I relate to Eve but look what she is underneath it all...so does that mean I relate to that part of her too?” Not only is villanelles character relatable, but people see the freedom inherent within her, the freedom that Eve sees, and they realize that, at least on some level, they want it too. The show has (unintentionally I think) created a massive dialogue which is super cool and you can tell everyone involved on the show is aware of that now, I mean they have a consulting psychiatrist so I think that speaks for itself. This is less of a commentary on the character herself and whether or not she is a genuine psychopath, and more so a commentary on the conversations she has inspired and why... For the record, this is literally just my opinion sprinkled with a few facts, nothing else.

So, the term psychopath gets thrown around in the show, more so in the beginning, MI6 explicitly labels Villanelle this way, even going so far as to use her in a presentation about psychopaths, although I think that was more so to gauge Eve’s response than anything else. The reality of Villanelle, which we come to learn, is that nobody has been able to get close enough to really know the truth. Anna and Konstantin both got close but we never hear either of them use that word (Konstantin says it once but he clearly doesn’t mean it, it was more of an attempted manipulation tactic). They make it clear that she has, and can, and WILL cause damage, but that’s as far as they go. Eve is getting close and she tells Villanelle when they first meet that she knows Villanelle is a psychopath but it’s obvious from Eve's behavior and things she says later on that she truly doesn’t believe Villanelle is what everyone says she is. It’s easier to label her as a psychopath because that alienates and isolates her and her behavior completely. She is an outlier with behavioral anomalies and therefore it isn’t necessary to look any closer. For MI6 and others (not talking about the shows creators) to label Villanelle as a psychopath is easy, it’s lazy, it’s reductive, it serves a single purpose... a means to an end. They (anyone other than Eve basically) simply do not care about Villanelle’s truth. But as an audience we are lucky enough to see more of her with each episode. The psychopath label begins to fade and Oksana is what’s left. We know based on what she has said that she is aware that people think she is a psychopath, a monster, a person built to kill. It’s not always easy to decide that who you are is different from who you’ve always been told you are, especially given her history. Villanelle hasn’t told us yet if she thinks (or knows) that she is a psychopath, but it’s clear towards the end of last season that she no longer wants to be the person that they (meaning the twelve, Dasha, Konstantin, etc.) created. We see moments where she clearly has no remorse and clearly enjoys what she does, but then we have little moments sprinkled in between where she very obviously struggles, even if its short lived. And those moments are important. We have the moment where she struggles with the choice to shoot Konstantin, saying he is a good person, she thinks. This comes shortly after a conversation she had where Irina tells Villanelle she thinks she is a good person because she is sad, so we know she is thinking about it, we know the awareness is there, and it becomes more and more there as times goes on. I like to think of it in terms of having moments that are pure Villanelle (ie the way she killed Inga in the Russian prison), and then we have moments that are Oksana, vulnerable and emotional. Villanelle is a creation and a mask whereas oksana is the truth. Those moments are starting to really mean something. I'm not even going to start with her trip to find her family, that’s its own thing, but it's a Really Big Thing.

So. Villanelle is not a psychopath in the way that we currently understand and perceive them. Yes, she displays psychopathic traits, and yes, she absolutely has antisocial personality disorder. I read an article where the psychiatric consultant for the show (makes it pretty obvious how hard they worked to make Villanelle as realistic as possible) said that the Villanelle in Luke Jenning’s books scored a 32 on Hare’s psychiatric checklist, but I like to think (and I think a lot of people would agree) that number is a bit high, at least for Jodie’s Villanelle, maybe not even hitting 30 at all (close though, let’s be real lol). The max score is 40 which would be a fully blown primary psychopath. For reference, Ted Bundy scored 39. This checklist is flawed though, mostly created and based off the prison population. Which is why it isn’t used as a proper diagnostic tool. 32 is apparently extraordinarily high for a female (think Aileen Wuornos), which brings me to my next point which is that because it’s hard to measure a lot of the classic traits objectively, there is not a ton of solid data surrounding psychopathy, and even less of it is on female psychopaths. Like most things in life, psychopathy exists on a spectrum, there are levels and layers. It’s not black and white, there’s no definitive test (psychopathy isn’t even in the DSM-5 because as I said earlier it’s extremely hard to measure objectively) and it's important to distinguish between someone who exhibits psychopathic traits and someone who is actually an identifiable psychopath. Chances are high that someone you know displays at least one characteristic shared with psychopaths and this doesn’t make them one.

I think what’s important about this is that mental disorders (mental illness/personality disorders/etc.) of any kind are much more nuanced than a lot of people tend to think they are. That they exist less in black and white and more in shades of grey. Jodie Comer is absolutely remarkable for showcasing that through portraying the different layers of Villanelle. Her performance is a literal gift. We cannot keep thinking and acting like we know everything about how a person thinks, feels, and behaves based strictly and entirely on one label. The thing that has stuck out to me the most, the reason I decided to even write this bullshit babble, is that one of the most searched topics about the show is whether or not it’s realistic that Villanelle cries, and honestly how sad is that? That makes me sad for V. Is it more realistic for her to develop connections and cognitive empathy if she was made into a psychopath vs if she was born that way? Is there a legitimate difference between the two? And how do we even decide which one is applicable for someone? It’s important to add that antisocial personality disorder is not the same thing as psychopathy or sociopathy. You can have aspd and not be a psychopath. Research has shown that about only a third of those diagnosed with aspd would meet criteria to be considered a psychopath. Society is not doing a great job at getting people to understand this. But to be fair, understanding personality disorders specifically has been somewhat problematic, a lot of diagnostic confusion and overlap between disorders. A LOT of work needs to be done. But as far as portrayals go, society has strictly chosen to go the route of giving us psychopathic characters and having them be inherently violent, incapable of remorse, feelings, or change. Poverty of all emotions. Subhuman. They are made out to be so abnormal and unrelatable to the point where the character of Villanelle has sparked so much debate and fascination simply because she exists in a way that actually IS relatable...and layered and beautiful and thrilling. We thought she would be the bad guy and yet we root for her at every turn, we cry for her, we want good things for her! We see her darkness and without question or hesitation we forgive it. She makes us question what we’ve previously been shown. Questioning whether or not it’s realistic that she acts the way she does is less important than questioning our own personal assumptions and beliefs and where those come from. I think that’s awesome. Villanelle is truly a gift. She is hands down one of the most well written fictional characters, which is saying a lot considering when you put something, or someone, in a box it doesn’t leave tons of room for expansion. and I honestly don’t even really need to say this, but.. Jodie Comer.

#killing eve #villanelle #jodie comer #eve polastri #sandra oh #villaneve #feel free to rb #if you want #oksana astankova

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