#she mostly does physical labour

[redularium]

Winter exclusive Vale

design is my passion / LIE

[sexlapis]

[◉°] … TOJI AND Y/N BEING A COUPLE FOR 10 MINUTES STRAIGHT (PART 5) … 899k views

꩜ : actor!toji x gn!reader

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 (they are actress!reader)

sfw for the most part, fluff, crack, peeping toms & perverts (toji deals w them <3), cute babies, use of y/n

⤷ the way tojiyn is just real at this point…

a/n: thank you so much for 3000 followers that is literally crazy! thank you all sm for enjoying and supporting my fanfics🩷🩷. as a gift u all get more actor toji. i just missed him <33

_____= your name

masterlists

from the actor![character] series:

actor!toji masterlist

actor!nanami & actress!yn being a couple

actor!levi & gn!reader being a couple

taglist: @okayiamkassandra | @tiredslepz | @hayatslife | @shxyxyxxxx | @snowprincesa1 | @laylasbunbunny | @mimiemie | @ncentic | @rosesored | @imover-18 | @gintokhi | @suzuperstarr | @lostgxrlblog | @jallie10 | @nnsav | @bunnyx-sakura | @bubbabobabubbles | @ladytamayolover | @keiva1000 | @morgyyyyyyy | @studiecoherence | @earth2fae | @ce-namonreads | @ib4ryuguji | @hisjaegerist | @basiloverthyme | @sweet-kiwi | @sayitowshi | @iovemytoru | @thecompletechaosmaster | @sugutoad | @inumakiiz | @uzxotic | @1meshugge1 | @kunikuzushisbeloved

*

꩜ first clip

posted on toji’s (mostly inactive) instagram, a clip of you with a little baby no more than a year old standing on your lap. you make funny, expressive faces as she giggles and mumbles in an adorable, pure manner. the pinnacle of innocence.

“look at that! who’s that, baby?” you ask the baby, referring to the person behind the camera.

you turn her around, making her look up. she points, her face beaming with a toothless smile.

“ahh!” she squeaks.

you giggle.“it’s toji!”

a huff is heard from behind the camera and a big hand comes and strokes the baby’s chubby cheeks. “hi princess.”

the clip ends there, but the reaction from the internet only begins.

-

@ynb11111gestfan

a baby??? wtf did i miss???!:!:!

@justalurkeracx0unt

YOU GUYS ADOPTED?????????

@gojosbl!ndfold

which one of you gave birth

@tojizbigfatbreederballzinmymouf

girldad toji? my biggest dreams have come true💕💕

⤷ @herbigdoeeyesss

YOUR NAME?????

-

it’s safe to say, everyone was confused about who this random baby was. so, you were the one to clear things up by posting a video on your story;

“i’m sorry for the confusion guys. yes, me and toji had a baby. toji had a very long labour and he worked so hard and gave birth to a little baby girl <3”

well, that cleared things up.

꩜ second clip

toji walks out of a elevator and is…carrying you in his arms. bridal style. with your bodyguards following close behind (not that you need bodyguards when toji is with you).

the man holding the camera asks toji, “why are you carrying them?”

instead, you respond with a shrug, “my feet hurt.”

toji doesn’t even react. he just walks down the corridor, carrying you like he does it every day.

꩜ third clip

shortly after you began filming for a minor role in a popular television series, there are rumours floating around of toji allegedly physically assaulting one of the members of staff on set.

of course, everyone has all kinds of theories of what happened, but many people are not surprised because, well…it’s toji. they are not shocked by this type of behaviour coming from him.

but then, all is revealed by TMZ in a short youtube video, being a oh so nosy individuals they are:

“we got leaked information about what happened on that set. apparently, the staff member had been secretly recording y/n in their caravan, even when they were getting dressed! disgusting, i know. it’s said that toji spotted them and ‘took’ matters into his own hands. and by that, i mean throwing hands. toji is now being accused of assault by said staff member. in my eyes,” the reporter throws his hands up, shrugging, “that freak got what was coming!”

after that, people are on toji’s side, praising him for what he did. but enough people believed his actions to be extreme and overly violent.

so he releases an apology for his actions in a video, in which it is very clear that he had just woken up and he was still in bed:

“hey everyone. i know just about everyone’s heard of what happened. i would just like everyone to know that…i don’t care,” he chuckles, “i really don’t give a shit. i would do it again if it had to. that piece of shit deserved what he got. i’m only sorry for not breaking his other arm.”

꩜ fourth clip

you and toji are on the red carpet in paris, being interviewed about an awards show and your time in the country.

“so, have you two seen any of the sights and attractions in paris?”

“uhhhmm, no not so much. we really wanted to but we’ve just been uhh, really, really-” you pause for a moment, a second too long as you look at toji, who is staring at you. even from this angle, toji is seen to be smirking and he winks at you.

you blink rapidly and turn back to the interviewer. “busy. yeah, we’ve been really busy.”

“that’s one way to put it.” toji chimes in.

a tojiyn truther favourite.

꩜ fifth clip

you and toji, wanting to raise money for charity, decided ti participate in the bake-off, a televised baking competition.

“okay!” you start, excited.

the excitement doesn’t last very long.

“what even is this [BLEEP]?”

“toji! don’t swear! they have to bleep that out!”

off you and toji go, baking in such a disorderly and chaotic fashion, even the other participants are looking at you sideways.

multiple bleeps are edited in due to toji’s creative language.

“phew!” you breathe out. “i think we’re making good time-”

“ten minutes left!” the host calls out.

“ten minutes!?” toji shouts.

“what? ten? we haven’t even started the buttercream yet! the cake hasn’t even cooled down! what!”

“move,” toji moves into your space, snatching the whisk and bowl of ingredients from you hands and begins stirring like an absolute mad man, “you cool off that [BLEEP] cake, i’ll make this! [BLEEP].”

you dash toward the window, plain cake in hand, and simply…stick the cake out of the window, hoping it will call down faster.

toji and you are stared at in complete and utter confusion.

after sloppily applying the buttercream to the cake, along with the toppings, you and toji are done just in time.

it is your time to present.

you and toji walk to the front, placing the cake in front of the hosts.

“hm,” the woman said, “presentation is messy.”

you and toji glance at each other.

they take a bite.

“oh,” the male judge hums, “not bad.”

“i think it’s quite tasty!” a judge with a british accent compliments. “well done to the both of you.

you and toji cheer silently and high five.

you both came in third place in that round.

go figure.

꩜ sixth clip

you and the cast members of “jujutsu kaisen” are at comic con for a fan Q&A. the place is packed full of fans!

“i…i have a ques-question for _____. I-” his voice cracks wildly and he clears his throat, causing a few giggles in the crowd.

he continues. “i-what-why-what-what do-how-” he sighs and covers his face with embarrassment.

a wave of laughter goes through the crowd, mocking the poor boy even further.

“it’s okay,” you coo to the fan, “i don’t bite.”

the audience laughs some more.

and the toji interrupts with his own comment of, “they sure do.”

you gasp. your head whips towards toji and the crowd erupts with laughter, whistles and hoots of teasing and encouragement.

the fan, now beet red, covers his face again. “oh my god.”

“great! toji look what you did!” you shout. “you broke him!”

*

a/n: new actor toji take it or leave it

[astonmartinii]

a wonderful thing [mamma mia part five] | formula one social media au

drivers: sebastian vettel, fernando alonso & jenson button

in this house babies are delivered in the rb8 not by a stork

MASTERLIST | TIPS

yourusername

liked by jensonbutton, fernandoalo_oficial and 1,203,551

tagged: sebastianvettel, jensonbutton & fernandoalo_oficial

yourusername: welcome to the world florence mia alonso vettel button y/ln ✨ your name may be a mouthful but you’re our beautiful girl, i can’t wait to give you the world x

view all comments

user1: OH MY GOSH - wait so does she have all of their surnames as her last name?

mickschumacher: i’ve banned them from answering random questions so i will - the official last name is y/ln, with all the guys names as middle names! all three of them wanted flo to have y/n’s last name but a piece of them as well

user2: awww that’s so cute

user3: not her having a nickname already

kimiraikkonen: congratulations guys. i’m so happy for all of you, flo has the best parents she could ask for

yourusername: thank you kimi ☺️ xx

jensonbutton: thank you for everything kimi, mostly for being there to catch seb when he passed out 👍🏻

sebastianvettel: YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T TELL ANYONE YES I DID PASS OUT BUT IT MADE ME RESPECT WOMEN EVEN MORE I WAS NOT ASKING FOR MORE ATTENTION THAN Y/N WHO WAS LITERALLY GIVING BIRTH

jensonbutton: yeah i’m not reading all of that

yourusername: don’t worry seb i know you were just overwhelmed

sebastianvettel: NOT MORE THAN YOU I AM PROUD OF YOU

fernandoalo_oficial: when will you let this go… you’re just squeamish, it’s cute

user4: wait is she called mia after the mamma mia summer?

user5: that’s kind of hilarious

danielricciardo: ahhhhhhh she’s here !!!!! i can’t wait to meet flo and i hope everyone is recovering well xx p.s. max i shall swing round to your garage to pick up my £50 next race xoxo

yourusername: thank you danny x p.s. what did you bet on?

danielricciardo: NOTHING

maxverstappen1: he bet that seb would pass out during the birth 👍🏻

sebastianvettel: DANIEL?

yourusername: max?

maxverstappen1: i had faith seb

sebastianvettel: at least someone did

fernandoalo_oficial: she’s so beautiful she takes after her mama

yourusername: thank you nando ☺️ (it’s a good thing we did not do a paternity test, cause lord knows you’d all argue who gave what to flo)

sebastianvettel: well we ALL know she’ll have my impeccable manners

jensonbutton: and my unbelievable charm

fernandoalo_oficial: and lord knows she’ll never lose an argument on the playground, flo will have the alonso sass

yourusername: sounds like a winning combination if you throw in the patience of dealing with all three of you

sebastianvettel

liked by jensonbutton, fernandoalo_oficial and 1,348,445 others

sebastianvettel: beyond proud to be flo's dad and beyond grateful to y/n for letting me be a part of flo's and her life x

view all comments

user6: I AM SO SOFT

user7: holy moly look how small her hands are crying 😭 🥹

yourusername: i have no doubt you'll be just the dad flo needs

sebastianvettel: i'll try my best

yourusername: don't stress yourself out you're a natural so far

jensonbutton: he didn't even bat an eyelid when flo threw up all over him

fernandoalo_oficial: he only cried for about five minutes when flo first held his hand

user8: okay they're ganging up on seb @yourusername @mickschumacher @kimirakkonen spill the beans on the others please

yourusername: jenson was shaking so much that flo's name is barely legible on her birth certificate

yourusername: fernando was so excited about feeding flo for the first time on his own that he spilt half of the milk and then slipped in it (thankfully he'd already put flo down)

mickschumacher: fernando watched her sleep for so long that he physically got cramp and had to be carried to bed

kimiraikkonen: jenson had a 27 step plan to introduce flo and beckett and he was so nervous waiting for labour to start that he walked me through it THREE times

sebastianvettel: okay now i feel better

charles_leclerc: i am so so happy for you guys, i can't wait to meet her !!

yourusername: thank you charlie, turns out AUS23 is the perfect lullaby for flo, she falls asleep as soon as we turn it on

charles_leclerc: hopefully i can play the one i've written for her as soon as possible

sebastianvettel: charlie, i am so touched. i am glad to be called your grid dad

charles_leclerc: and now we're all crying

jensonbutton: i didn't know you could get any cuter, but you reading flo a book about flower classification melted my old man heart

fernandoalo_oficial: i caught him reading her your book and i won't lie i did cry a bit

yourusername: don't forget when he crawled around bumping into everything possible to check if it was "properly babyproofed"

sebastianvettel: when did we all become such saps?

jensonbutton

liked by sebastianvettel, estebanocon and 703,445 others

tagged: yourusername, charles_leclerc & maxverstappen1

jensonbutton: i didn't know that dad duties included comforting our crying 26 year olds as well as flo

view all comments

user11: someone sedate me i am so not normal about this

yourusername: i'd actually say that flo is better behaved than them

sebastianvettel: i agree

fernandoalo_oficial: i must say watching mad max cry his eyes out holding flo is one of my favourite things ever

jensonbutton: it pains me to say but they're so sweet

yourusername: fatherhood has softened you all

user12: they are never defeating the grid kid allegations i fear

user13: applying to be godfather when they're just the overgrown kids LMAO

charles_leclerc: acting like you guys didn't all bawl your eyes out when i played flo's lullaby :(

yourusername: you're right i did cry it was very beautiful charles, thank you

jensonbutton: it was very touching, you're a menace but a thoughtful menace

sebastianvettel: you make me proud to be called your grid dad :)

fernandoalo_oficial: it was a very kind gesture (you will need to pay me back somehow for now having to get a piano delivered? how does one get a piano through the door?)

charles_leclerc: NOW I'M CRYING AGAIN GOD I LOVE YOU GUYS

maxverstappen1: kids are my weakness !!! and mia is so so cute, thank you for having me :(

yourusername: you were great with her maxy, i know you doubted yourself but you're a natural !!

jensonbutton: you're always welcome at ours (though we don't have any more room for trophies, so take them home first)

fernandoalo_oficial: oh maxy, you're a big softy really. it's okay we can all cry on the flight to the next race

sebastianvettel: you're free to be as present as you wish with flo, and free to let us help heal your inner child :)

maxverstappen1: how are you guys all so good at being parents already?

user13: obsessed with max calling her mia when everyone else calls her flo

maxverstappen1: i love mia so much but i also love to remind her parents how they got into this situation

charles_leclerc: this is such a good point

jensonbutton: really? on a post about how much we love all three of you

user14: i'm crying over max being super nervous to hold flo and being assured by all of them (and maybe charles)

yourusername: oh they looked like an old married couple it was very cute

fernandoalo_oficial

liked by yourusername, lancestroll and 1,094,334 others

tagged: valterribottas, astonmartinf1

fernandoalo_oficial: my paternity leave came to an end wayyyy too fast, but thank you to y/n and seb and jenson for giving me the best present in the world. florence is the most precious girl in the world and there's nothing i won't do for her. for a long time i never thought i'd be a father or that i'd even find love, thank you for showing me that i can <3

view all comments

user15: user15 found dead, cause: fernando alonso being TOO FUCKING CUTE

valterribottas: fatherhood suits you

yourusername: did he show you all 200+ pics of flo

valterribottas: yes. multiple times

fernandoalo_oficial: I LOVE MY BABY OKAY

yourusername: we miss you already :( and we love you so much, you deserve this and more

fernandoalo_oficial: i'm so glad i went to greece this summer, i can't believe i nearly went to australia

aussiegrit: i'm so happy for you nando but you're literally bragging about ditching me :(

fernandoalo_oficial: sorry not sorry it was worth it

markwebber: you're such a mean girl . DON'T FORGET we ALL know i was your first love in f1

jensonbutton: you snooze you lose mark hold this L

aussiegrit: i'm literally married

sebastianvettel: tell that to all of your homoerotic tension with half of the grid

aussiegrit: the only thing i wanted to put near your ass is my FOOT

yourusername: okay clearly fatherhood has not completely softened all of you

user16: i see we took like a month to be responsible adults and now normal service is resumed

maxverstappen1: lestappen erasure once again and after you guys just proclaimed us as your children .... i see

charles_leclerc: youngest child being the favourite, some things never change

yourusername: yall finished projecting?

fernandoalo_oficial: you guys literally slept the entire flight? you would've bitten my head off if i had woken you up for anything other than getting off

charles_leclerc: nuh uh my instagram grind never stops

maxverstappen1: we want a feature on our only active grid dad's instagram SUE US

user17: fernando may be away from flo but he's never not on dad watch

sebastianvettel: don't miss us too much and bring home number 33

jensonbutton: i support you whole heartedly but we don't have the wall space for another trophy right now

fernandoalo_oficial: well get to chopping

yourusername: i have faith in you hence why i already got flo's baby hard hat out

user18: BABY HARD HAT???

yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, mickschumacher and 1,415,099 others

tagged: sebastianvettel, jensonbutton & fernandoalo_oficial

yourusername: i felt really lost in my life this summer and decided to take a little trip to a greek island. there i met three great men, but knew it was likely that i'd never see them again. yet here we are, in love and with the biggest bundle of joy i could ever ask for. i love you all and can't wait for the rest of our lives.

view all comments

user23: bro why is MY ass crying i don't know these people but this is adorable and i'm so happy for you

alexalbon: this has been my favourite thing this year and i couldn't think of four better people to have this happiness

yourusername: thank you albono, we'll be visiting the zoo soon, flo is super attached to her horsey plush

fernandoalo_oficial: i'm so glad i met you and i'm so glad you let us in on this insane journey

yourusername: there's no one else i'd rather live through this chaos with

user24: i don't think there's anything like the mamma mia summer to bring the entire grid together

jensonbutton: being with you guys makes retirement the sweet life, i couldn't have asked for a better hand in life

yourusername: there's no other way i'd like to start my day than bagel runs with you

sebastianvettel: after i announced my retirement i thought i'd float around aimlessly trying to find another purpose in life. i don't know how we got to this but i wouldn't change it for the world, i love all three of you and florence so so so much

yourusername: i'm sure we can balance beekeeping with being a full-time dad

user25: flo having four parents who would do anything for her i'm so jealous

maxverstappen1: you guys are so precious, counting down the days until i see mia again

yourusername: respecting the commitment to using mia

maxverstappen1: you chose mia, right? you knew what you were doing

yourusername: sue me.

sebastianvettel: you knowingly named our daughter after mamma mia?

yourusername: how is it with the shoe on the other foot ??? at least mia isn't as obvious as BECKETT

jensonbutton: beckett is NOT OBVIOUS

fernandoalo_oficial: wait how did we not catch on???

yourusername: mia is a cute name !!!

sebastianvettel: maybe max and charles get their scheming from you

charles_leclerc: i do NOT SCHEME

yourusername: ummmmm sebastian your number one boy name was enzo... i may not know f1 but even i know that ENZO IS ENZO FERRARI YOU ARE NOT SLICK

sebastianvettel: damn tough crowd

user26: god i wish they publicised their arguments about naming like they did with the godfathers

user27: i just know those lists were heinous those men should not be allowed to name anything ever

fernandoalo_oficial: ummm actually i suggested florence

yourusername: we BOTH suggested florence

jensonbutton: i highlighted it first in the book

yourusername: NO YOU DIDN'T

sebastianvettel: i'm staying out of this one

user26: thanks for this little highlight reel 👍

note: AAHHHHHHHH PART FIVE i hope we are happy with the name choice, thank you for all of your amazing suggestions. i cannot remember who exactly suggested florence but i loved it so much esp cause flo is such a cute nickname !!! but also big shoutout to @evilsailorsenshi for the mia suggestion i had to make it a middle name to do the series justice x

do not fear this is not the end, i plan on following this lil family for a good while, so i hope this is a good fill of mamma mia content for now.

hopefully i got everyone on the taglist! - also, everyone who replied to my post about life, i am still getting back to people but thank you so much, i love this lil community so much !! please never be afraid to reach out to me if need be i'm always up for a chat!

taglist: taglist: @boiohboii @vellicora @faithm120601 @raizelchrysanderoctavius @luv4kani @eugene-emt-roe @magical-spit @ironmaiden1313 @jaydaaasworld @whoreks @rainerax @nonsensical-nonsence @laneyspaulding19 @chelseyyouraverageluigi @lxclerc @gemofthenight @woweewoowa @tagteamedbitch@imagandom@mypage-myfandoms@mehrmonga@asparklysoul @unstableplant @motorsp0rt@multilovebot@lili-flower03 @its-elias-world @jolixtreesunn@nothingfuninthislife@rileynicol3@kodzuvk@mochimommy2002@fluffyspaceprincess@roseseraj@black-swan-blog27@nyrasslut@justdreamersdream@asfaraslifegets@why4anne@ineffableperson@leilanixx@lunyyx @pupbistro @gaypoetsblog@rafaaoli@champomiel@sadsierra2 @rainerax @lokietro @thecubanator2 @nzygftoji @rockyhayzkid @nmw-am @slytherheign @erikasurfer @turn-around-look-at-what-you-see @greigreyhiyyih @duck-duck-goose-18 @dark-night-sky-99 @ironcowboycopnickel @sizzlingghostoperatorbagel @2bormaybenot @42ndbrokencompass @whotfisvale @lichterfee @sticksdoesart @glitterf1 @turn-around-look-at-what-you-see

[annoyinglandmagazine]

I’ve been thinking about Miriel and her impact on the House of Feanor on the whole, as you do, and I was thinking what if she haunted the narrative even more? I think it’s pretty well established that she was depressed in some shape or form, that there were mental health problems contributing heavily but there were definitely physical aspects as well, ‘But in the bearing of her son Miriel was consumed in spirit and body; and after his birth she yearned for release from the labour of living.’ And I know that Feanor being Feanor was ascribed as a huge cause of this, that he was just so much stronger than the average elf that his birth was particularly taxing but I’m going to go ahead and assume that even if Feanor had been a perfectly normal baby Miriel would have been impacted. It just feels almost like this infant is being blamed for his mother’s death which, while definitely plausible as something that happened in universe, doesn’t really feel fair to him.

I’m theorising Miriel had underlying conditions from long before she became pregnant that made her prone to things like fainting, exhaustion, chronic pain and that in all honesty her having a child was never going to be a good idea. But they wanted a family together and where could be a safer place to raise one? Everything was perfect and safe, why shouldn’t they be able to overcome this little obstacle to doing what everyone else seemed to be doing without issue? Towards the end she was entirely bedridden, not even strong enough to sit at her loom.

Finwë was relieved beyond measure when Feanor seemed to grow almost exceedingly strong and healthy, as if he’d gotten all the strength Miriel had been missing, and he thought that was the matter laid to rest, Feanor was fine and any children of his would be as well. Except they weren’t. Nerdanel’s pregnancies were always a time of great panic, not for her health really because it wasn’t Feanor’s genes they were worried about it was Miriel’s. And Nerdanel was nothing like Miriel but her children…..

Ñolofinwe watches Feanor pacing the palace in a frenzy while a crowd of healers stream in and out of a room down the hall, some five times the standard amount, and he wants to try and reassure him but knows he, with his perfectly healthy baby boy, delivered with no fuss by one midwife just like his two perfectly healthy sons beforehand, to go home to, is the last person in Arda his brother could stand to converse with right now.

The sons and daughters of Fingolfin and Finarfin grew swiftly, strong and athletic with hearty appetites and bright dispositions. Feanor could not bring himself to hate children so he settled for hating his brothers instead. He does not envy them their children, he loves his more than he could ever have loved anything and that’s the problem right there, he loves his sons and he’s absolutely terrified that he’s going to lose them if he lays them down too long. They’re so small and as soon as they leave his or Nerdanel’s arms they seem to tremble with cold so he sleeps with them against his chest for more of the first years of their lives than was usual. After those many sleepless nights he always finds it hard to sleep without being able to feel the rise and fall of their breathing.

Their cousins often do not understand what the difference between them and the Feanorians is, most of them have vague memories of getting scolded within an inch of their lives for fighting one back when they got into childish arguments. Mostly they just resented it or assumed it was favouritism if it were by Finwe or fear of Feanor’s wrath if by their own parents. Angrod did not think too long on how easily Caranthir crumpled to the ground at an unexpected shove, after all he was the older wasn’t he? Surely the rules about being gentle shouldn’t apply? He was equally puzzled when Fingolfin came running and scooped Caranthir into his arms, pale and panicked as Maedhros assured him he’d make certain Feanor wouldn’t hear about the matter if he was alright.

They train and become agile and skilled with blades and bows if not physically broad and strong in the way of their cousins but no matter how their health improves there are always concerns and during their approaching adulthood it becomes clear their worries are not only in body. There are migraines that leave them in dark rooms unable to bear even the sound of footsteps outside, days where Curufin and Maedhros struggle to allow any food past there lips, days where Caranthir sobs for hours with some inexplicable ache, weeks where Maglor cannot find rest no matter how much exhaustion he feels, little cuts and gashes on Celegorm’s arms that seem too frequent to be fully accidental.

If you were to look at this from a modern perspective it would probably be some genetic tendency to bipolar disorder and major depression but they wouldn’t have that kind of language because in my headcanons about Valinor they have very little experience with mental illness and no idea how to respond to it. I’m citing the whole Miriel incident to back me up there.

And just to make this even more angsty have a Tyelko quote from the fic of this I may or may not write ‘Amme always said we were her miracles, that our survival and strength was a blessing from the Valar. I was lucky to make it to my first winter. I wonder now if things wouldn’t have been better for everyone else if I hadn’t.’

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

Okay okay okay I don't know if this will even make sense or just sound dramatic or like rambling so bare with me I guess

I keep seeing people saying "oh you don't think reading should be made political but you read books like ACOTAR and xyz?" and while I totally get the point and agree with it, let's just look at this particular example for a second because it's completely unsurprising.

Let's be real, the majority of the people who read ACOTAR praise the "inner circle". They see them as the good guys, the best of the best, "goals", whatever. It has gotten to the point that it's almost cult-like, I mean I've seen people who haven't even read the books already in love with the inner circle just because fans basically convince them to be.

Anyway, even just their name is already starting off bad, the inner circle? By actual definition an inner circle is a curated group who move in the same circle. AKA the elite few chosen out of complete bias by the leader (not for any particular care for their people or political savvy because we know they have none of that) just because they're "besties"

This particular inner circle consists of

1. A man who has committed sexual assault, abuse, war crimes, murder and more. Has quite literally segregated his own people and abandoned 2/3s of his court. Knows about and allows the unrelenting physical, mental and sexual abuse of the women and children he is responsible for. Locked up survivors of sexual abuse and uses them for free labour and pretended it was some sort of charity.

2. A man who obliterated a village because of his own rage. Committed physical and emotional abuse and sexual harassment. Takes some sort of pleasure out of seeing women in pain.

3. A literal torturer (granted he doesn't seem to actually enjoy his job but he still does it)

4. A woman who abandoned all of the other women who are abused the way she was even though she's quite literally in charge of the place. Who also said that a woman at her worst mentally after severe trauma should be punished by being put with her abusers.

5. And literally a 1000+ year old ex-inmate of the Prison. Baring in mind we don't know why she was in the Prison, she wasn't pardoned or anything similar she escaped so she is still a criminal as far as we know and she is the nastiest skank ass bitch ever so I can only assume she did something horrific based on everything she's ever said. Ever. (this is mostly a Mean Girls joke because Rhysand is literally a Regina George wannabe but also Amren is the nastiest skank ass bitch)

These are the same people who are pretty racist towards Illyrians, make borderline vicious animals out of Illyrian men and allow them to do as they please so that they have disposable pawns to fight their wars and have left the Illyrian women and children to be abused by them. The same people who have decided that the entirety of Hewn city are abusive, not that there could possibly be any other women or children in similar situations to Mor. The same people who, while they build their *checks notes* fifth mansion, tear down buildings for funsies because they can't abuse whoever they want to use their powers. The same people who got pissed off about someone *double checks notes* saving another world and their own.

I'm sorry (not) but the same people who support and adore and worship these characters are typically the ones who "don't want to bring politics into reading" and say things like "it's just fiction". It isn't just fiction. There is no such thing as just fiction.

Reading will always be political. And I'm using ACOTAR as an example because I'm seeing it used and found it ironic in a way but christ nearly every fantasy book if not literally every fantasy book out there has politics that can be directly correlated to our own. I mean I always say that if someone told me that different people wrote ACOTAR and Throne of Glass I would believe them but at the same time that's mostly a joke because of how drastically different they are. I found Throne of Glass so deep, so much more focused on the underdog, the seemingly smaller stories that add up the the bigger picture, the end result of everyone not just the select few (the inner circle). Don't get me wrong, there are problems with it but a lot of them are called out in the writing and you can see that for the most part it's the writing of a young dreamer. And then you have ACOTAR and it's just so privileged and biased and trying so hard to tell you that the elite are at some sort of disadvantage and like basically you could convince me it was written by a straight white man with 0 effort.

Moral of the story is, when someone like SJM uses Breonna Taylors death to hype up her own book, it's not just fiction. When SJM who very clearly self inserts into ACOTAR and puts her own beliefs that she's taken from the real world into these stories that she writes, it's not just fiction. When she takes real world examples of abuse and privilege and segregation and misogyny and whatever fucking else and puts them into her stories, it's not just fiction. When what you're reading directly correlates to or effects your own political beliefs, it's not just fiction. When what you're reading can be translated to the real world in a scarily realistic way, it's not just fiction. When we could wake up tomorrow and be in the exact same situations we read about, it's not just fiction. Fiction is fiction sure, but it will always be based on real life. There is only so much the imagination can do, it needs a base point and that is the real world. So it is never just fiction

[mothfables]

Modern Day Chain Work at a Christmas Market

so i work at a seasonal christmas market and had this idea today while we were doing set-up. time to induce my misery (lighthearted) on my favourite characters lmao

under the cut so it doesn’t take up your dash haha

Time is the closest thing they have to a manager. he does not like this. Warriors is a close second

Twilight + Four are in charge of physically setting up the tent/stall

Legend, Wild, and Four are in charge of displays (well, when Four isn’t fed up from setting up the tent)

Wild works in the back/warehouse, Time the register with regular breaks on the floor, Legend on the floor (he refuses to even touch the register), Hyrule the floor, Twilight on the floor and occasionally register, Sky’s the greeter and occasionally works the floor or other things, Warriors is mostly on the register, and Four does a bit of everything. Wind is technically, on paper, on greeter duty (cause, yknow, child labour) but he sticks his nose into everything, much to literally everyone else’s chagrin

Time tends to put Sky on greeter duty because he knows the other man tends to tire easily, but he does surprisingly well at whatever he’s assigned. that being said, whatever he does, he passes out immediately upon getting home

they tried the ‘My Name is Link’ nametag thing exactly once. they lasted two days before everyone was sick of it

Hyrule is still shy + uncomfortable around crowds, despite working there for four years. Time has tried putting him on the floor to try to boost his confidence, but he still escapes to the back at every opportunity

Legend flat-out refuses to work their busiest weekends. he told Time they’d have to drag him kicking and screaming into the store if they absolutely want him there. Time has yet to test this

Time + Twilight are physically intimidating, which tends to be a deterrent for most shoplifters + Karens. when that doesn’t work, though, they have a secret weapon: Hyrule

shy he may be, put him in front of a Karen and you’re in for a show. more than one of them have stopped what they’re doing to watch things go down. Time has berated them for it but they don’t pay him any mind considering he’s guilty of the exact same thing

also, Hyrule has a sixth sense for potential shoplifters, no matter where in the store he is. Four + Legend have been trying to figure it out but after four years they still don’t have an explanation

Time asked Mallon once if she wanted to work at the market with them. she laughed and told him she’d rather stay on the ranch. there are many days where Time regrets not doing the same thing

Wild does not work the floor. he has stated in no uncertain terms that if he’s put out there he will bite someone. to this day Time doesn’t know if he means a customer or one of them

everyone has their own organizational system that directly contradicts everyone else’s. they all hate it

Wind works the least hours out of all of them (considering he’s fourteen). he’s pouted about this many times, but the rest of them agree he should save his back + knees while he still can

Ravio is perfectly happy with his own shop. he does pop in sometimes to say hello, though, and on occasion brings treats for everyone

[karkkidoesartsandcrafts]

Do you think you can draw a historically accurate version of belle’s other dresses in beauty and the beast?

(While I was searching for the pictures of the original designs for this post I realised I had forgotten the existence of the green dress, which I think she wears at the end of the film?)

I do love making these historical versions so I did do couple of sketches.

I made them based on around 1750s fashion, like the first Belle I made. I do have to admit that the blue dress is not exactly super historically accurate. I gave her jumps, usually a sort of waistcoat that's laced (usually unboned or very lightly boned) and works as a replacement of stays. Usually when they are depicted in art from the time, they are used by working women while they are doing physical labour. Which makes sense, you don't have extra sleeves that might be too warm or hinder arm movement and they are softer than stays so they don't also hinder torso movement but are still somewhat supportive. But upper class women did wear them too as a part of negligee but not really at all in social situations. Then they were usually also quilted. I think it's pretty safe to say Belle is not working class. I think her father could be classified as craftsman and being from that class does make sense to their social status. That would make them under the merchant class and basically roughly lower middle class in 18th century French standards. They do live in rural village though, and jumps seem to be more depicted on rural settings and on peasants too. They are very informal, but it also seems like rural social settings just tended to be more informal. So I think that could lend a little more plausibility.

If I would have taken a safer route I'd given her a jacket/caraco or a round gown/robe a l'anglaise, which were commonly used by middle and lower classes and also upper classes for casual wear. People at the time generally didn't go outside without covering their head. Most women wore caps at least during the day to keep their hair cleaner. In fancier evening occasions (mostly only upper classes and upper middle classes would attend those) they would not cover their hair. Also hats were popular and I've seen several of these very wide brimmed hats, usually made of straw, on artisan and peasant French women.

For her pink gown robe a l'anglaise would have worked too, as it was clearly semi casual, not negligee, but also not the ball gown. But being a castle of a prince and it being used for a dinner scene, robe a la francaise works better, as at the time they were used for salons and other fashionable but not very official gatherings (not outings though) by the nobility. I could have also given it the kerchief, it would have fitted better the look of the original design's neckline made it a little less formal, but maybe we can imagine this is how she wore it to the dinner and she'd had worn it with a kerchief during the day or something.

[mynameisnotthepoint]

Ossan no pantsu EP 4

Disclaimer: I had already watched this drama with subs that were mostly machine translated, so this is less of a first time reaction and more of an "i finally have the whole picture now". This will contain spoilers, so be warned!

As always: thank you to @isaksbestpillow for continuing to provide us with excellent subs to this drama!!

My jumbled thoughts/recap

Daichi and his boyfriend Madoka are wonderful together, even in the moments that they are outside and can't show the full extent of their relationship. They are fond. It shows in the way they smile at each other. Like @bengiyo said in his review of ep 4: it is so good to see Daichi not as this all-knowing gay fairy godfather who saves everyone, he has his own life, with his own troubles, too. And a tree of a boyfriend - Higishi Keisuke is HUGE. (Also, I love the whale poster Madoka has on his apartment walls, did he want to work with sea animals?).

When talking about why he should finish high school, Kakeru only talks about his mom. His dad has been quite stifling to him, and has not respected his boundaries.

"What if you thought about it like this [:] "I'm not bad for causing my mom trouble. Instead, I'm greatful to her for respecting my opinion even if it causes her trouble."" (Daichi to Kakeru, translation @isaksbestpillow) line is fantastic. In episode 3, we as viewers learned that Daichi has been the target of homophobic bullying and that his mom supports him wholeheartedly. He can really understand and relate to what Kakeru is going through, and it is no wonder that he is the only one who can really get him out of his shell, who is allowed inside his room.

And his mom is the one who keeps telling him, over and over, that he is safe in this room and this house. That he can always come back if he doesn't manage at school. She even stays home from work the day he goes to school so she can be there for him if he needs her. Mika is so gentle with Kakeru. She is also really good at reigning in her own enthusiasm/strong emotions as to not startle her son into running away.

Mika's kindness here almost made me cry. Mika and Moe both make sure Kakeru feels loved and will defend him to Makoto if necessary. Moe's "Because society won't wait, isn't that why the family pretends to wait," (Moe to Makoto, translation by @isaksbestpillow) also made me almost cry. They might not know what specifically Kakeru is going through, but they will respect and cherish him.

Makoto has all along known what it feels like to be bullied, and yet he perpetuated the same harshness of toxic masculinity he experienced onto his son (or he did it, because he hoped that in that way, his son didn't have to experience the same thing he did - boy, was he wrong). And his wife doesn't realise he wants to talk about serious stuff (maybe that is just not something he does while eating dinner) and is in her fandom world - while still doing chores for the family. She is doing physical labour for the family but at least she is free from emotional labour for a bit.

To get personal here for a second: My mom was raised quite free of gender expectations, as her dad wanted to pass on his knowledge of technical stuff and only had three daughters. My mom tried to pass it onto me, down to not liking the color pink, but quickly realised i was not interested in building things or taking radios apart (i am a language nerd...). I wanted to be a princess at 4 years old, a boy from 5 to 10 years old, and then as a teen I tried to be as girly as possible. My parents didn't mind me dressing in all boys' clothing (the girls' clothing was often too narrow for my stocky body anyways) and I was allowed to run around shirtless. I still remember my grey camo pants fondly. My neon girl teen phase with the strong eyeliner was less their thing - they disliked my overtly feminine expression more than me being tomboyish. Now I am back to being more androgynous, with bouts of feminity in between. And sadly, i never got into technical stuff :/

Makoto is trying to help and understand Kakeru. His enthusiasm about Kakeru going back to school has been reigned in by his wife, so he is - at least for a bit - less grand in his approach. His offer of him changing schools so he doesn't have to wear the boys' uniform is considerate. I do not speak Japanese, but I realised that Kakeru uses the masculine pronoun "boku", which is more polite than "ore", which one hears other male characters in the series occasionally use. Thank you to @isaksbestpillow for explaining this phenomenon to me! She also pointed out that the only time he uses "ore" is when he tries to convince the girls in his class that he doesn't know anything about make-up after being super enthusiastic about an eyeshadow pallet. (Language is so interesting!! Which made me realise once again I should probably always ask or at least research before going into too much analysis of things i hear/read with regards to this series)

"You've endured my pressuring for years. There can't be anyone at your school as ignorant and obstinate as me. [...] You've got enough immunity." It is sad that this motivation works. Makoto does know what to say sometimes. Still has foot in mouth syndrome, though.

"What if you thought about it like this? "I admire myself for trying, even if it doesn't work out." (Daichi to Kakeru, translation by @isaksbestpillow) Kakeru is truly brave for going to school after only going outside for a little while. It is so overwhelming, suddenly being surrounded by people, especially your peers that scare you. Kakeru running off to the sick bay is truly so relatable. And yet, this sentence from Daichi gives him strength enough to go back to the classroom, even make a connection with the girls that were occupying his assigned school desk.

I love Shizuka, one of Kakeru's new school friends: She makes sure everyone knows his name, and also isn't mad at all that he won't join for karaoke. You really need someone like her in your corner when trying to gain back your footing in a social group. Also, the girls decide call him Kakeru-tan (which I searched up is a cute form of -chan, so they acknowledge Kakeru's cuteness in their chosen honorific for him!!). Yet his meeting with self-appointed make-up guru Karina firmly puts him back with his two feet on the ground: making friends with people isn't easy...

And lastly:

I want to tell this to my bosses every week... This series truly captures the difference between generations (also, Makoto truly is a people-pleasing pushover. By letting others pile work onto him, he also has to pile it on his subordinates...)

[raviollies]

nightmare, pain, secret, and wound for blythe, raha, and lorelai, please!!! (for the not-so-nice OC asks)

Here they are! Enjoy :)

nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

Blythe very much has long standing melancholy over the fact that unlike Raha, she is eternal. She is not mortal, and one day he will fade away, and she will remain. She wonders if she will become a Hag at that point, if she will give in to the loss and turn to the Faewild to be with those as unchanging as herself. Raha is her first and only love, so the concept of losing him is a horror she doesn't want to consider.

Raha fears losing the party members, as they are his only friends. He doesn't enjoy being in cities, interacting with others and his only connection to people is the party. Without them, he genuinely wouldn't quite know what he is living for even.

Lorelai fears losing control and attacking others in a blood frenzy, in hunger, consuming her (similar to Raha) only friends, to commit her cardinal sin once more. She wouldn't know what to do with herself, and probably wish to embrace the sun.

pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

BLYTHE IS A BABY - She does not have high pain tolerance at all. She rarely gets hurt and even the small injuries she tends to get whiny about. She also does not do a lot of physical manual labour, so even with small injuries she will dramatically toss her hand over her head and proclaim someone else must carry her things.

Raha has high pain tolerance as he is quite used to being injured with his numerous scars from his contracts. He tends to downplay his injuries and not voice any complains often leading to others having to forcibly sit his ass down and patch him up (That's what happens when you're traveling alone for about 150 years)

Lorelai actually almost doesn't feel any pain at all. The only things that can make her feel pain is holy magic or the sun (The only time she has gotten injured over the course of the campaign is when Eirwen accidently splashed holy water over her hands, which took a while to heal as Vampire regeneration is much slower when it comes to such forces). So I guess she has very high pain tolerance? If that counts?

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

Blythe has very rarely gotten physically hurt, usually limited to just small wounds that she heals with magic right away. I wouldn't say she has many emotional/mental wounds outside of Theta - she very rarely holds any care for people outside of the few that she cares for, and they have not

Raha is very much covered in scars, majority of them inflicted by monsters he's hunted through out the years, but the very first scars he got was when he was a child and his village was raided and subsequently destroyed. That is where he got his face scar and signature ear nic, was from that event, when he got trapped under a collapsed building when it collapsed during the raid.

Emotionally, the razing of the village was only the start, and the distrust and rejection from the Elves from a different village that took in the refugees, arguably deeper scars, as it left him feeling isolated and lacking any feelings of belonging to a community. After that he avoided not just humans and elves, finding no kinship with either. Neither elf, nor human.

Lorelai is haunted by her rebirth as a vampire, both physically and mentally. As I mentioned, she was turned into a spawn by her father, which does mean she has a permanent scar on her neck, and had killed him when she became a full blooded vampire. The wound on her neck remains a permanent reminder, and is the oldest and only

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Blythe is a big fan of bad erotic novels (think booktok.)

Raha has a thing for stockings and heels.

Lorelai doesn't think Tarrasques exist.

[tumblingghosts]

How about a time traveling Livia where she stops Facet from running to the exit before the peacekeepers shot him , maybe velvreene is still shot and that breaks Facet and he yells at Livia for being insensitive to velvreene 's death and it starts an argument between them that he refuses to cooperate with her even when the interviews come and when he's in the games she is shocked that he can't fight or bring himself to kill someone and can't use weapons and if he sees another tribute he avoid them or leave them alone until the pack corners him and kill him. I personally feel like velvreene and facet didn't really stand much of a chance the only advantage they might have is that they aren't as malnourished as some of the other tributes but they are experiencing malnourishment for what could possibly be the first time in their lives and district 1 isn't involved in physically demanding labour the way other districts are so I feel like before the carrers became a thing they were harmless due to not having any skills with weapons and experiencing malnourishment for the first time

oooo i have a couple different ideas for this depending on how far in the future livia is coming from-

one scenario...

if she’s from way far in the future (e.g. married and probably poisoned by snow), i could see her being a bit more empathetic to facet just because after living so much, seeing facet again makes him look so young. too young. and she doesn’t quite believe this is real at first since time travel isn’t a thing.

and because she’s pretty sure she just died, and she’s lived long enough to not care as much about her social image as she did before, she’s a bit more willing to take some risks, bend some rules. facet is still mad at her because she hasn’t exactly been treating him well before this, and he’s not going to suddenly warm up to her just because she’s a bit nicer. it’s too little, too late, and velvereen is dead. they weren’t really friends, but she was the only piece of home he had. he’s not hopeful enough to believe he’s going to win by fighting. 

livia might be a bit nicer having grown with age, but she’s still lived with a lot of privilege. she can’t quite conceptualize the hardships that facet has had to live with, and even her attempts to help come off as condescending. facet probably refuses to do the interview, even if it hurts his chances at sponsors, just because he doesn’t want to work with livia. maybe livia sponsors some of her own money. 

facet survives for a while just on the things he’s sent, even through his reluctance to accept anything from her, especially since he’s a bit better fed than the others. but i do agree that his chances aren’t good going up in an actual fight, and he likely gets taken out by the snakes with no way to climb quickly enough.

this livia might do some work to undermine coriolanus, given that she’s lived through his ascension and just generally doesn’t like him. even if she can’t save facet or the classmates she lost in the bombing, she is far more willing to throw her money and influence around, especially now knowing that the snows don’t have anything.

alternatively…

if she’s from just after the hunger games end, that’s a whole different story. she’s mostly bitter that facet had the “audacity” to die in the arena bombing, “ruining her chances of winning the plinth prize”. she’s incredibly spoiled, but without any of the age or time to temper that, and when she stops facet from running away, she’s very upset by his reaction.

facet properly loses it at her when she yells at him that he “should be grateful to her” because “she saved his life”, and starts going on a rant about how if he’d tried to run, he would have gotten shot just like his district partner. facet does not take to livia talking about velvereen that way, and definitely isn’t taking well to livia speaking to him that way either. 

he starts shouting back, and doesn’t stop when the peacekeepers are raising their guns. he’s behind the bars of the cage and can’t physically attack her if he wanted to (and he does), but he can shout, and he can make her listen. he goes off on how spoiled she is, how entitled, how she’s been treating him terribly, yet expects him to perform for her. she hasn’t brought any food, yet expects him to still roll over to her like an obedient dog.

at that point, livia starts shouting back about how uncivilized he and the rest of the tributes are, about how they’ll be killing each other in a few days anyway, so why can’t he just do this for her? how she saved him, how arachne’s tribute murdered her, and blah blah blah. facet is not having this, and points out that her ‘rescue’ landed him back in a cage, and set to be slaughtered anyway, so what does she mean “saved”? and then points out that she only cares when her classmates die, but velvereen is dead, and why did she not matter?

livia is starting to repeat the same arguments over and over now in frustration, and facet just stonewalls her. he just entirely refuses to talk to her anymore- not for the interviews, not for strategy, not for anything. livia is getting progressively angrier because this is her second change, and her tribute won’t cooperate. why is he being so stubborn? she doesn’t get it.

then, they’re all being sent into the arena.

facet doesn’t bother for a weapon. he knows he won’t be able to use one. instead, he finds a place to hide in the tunnels. when he eventually comes out later, livia debates heavily on using the limited funds she has to send him something or not. she doesn’t think he’s done anything to ‘deserve’ being sent anything. but she also wants to win, so she does.

facet sticks to the sidelines, and livia starts to see that he isn’t the winning force she’d hoped him to be. he’s just a boy that she hasn’t been giving nearly enough food to. he’s starving and he’s not going to be fighting for her. more than that, it doesn’t seem like he can fight. and she slowly, barely, starts to shift in her views.

he can’t fight- and she remembers the little he told her about how they needed to work to produce jewelry for the capitol. there was no time to ‘train for the hunger games.’ this wasn’t some competition they were raring to go. it was just bad luck, and most likely a death sentence. livia resigns herself to not winning the plinth prize. 

i want to say that livia has this ✨big realization✨ and changes her ways, but i honestly doubt it. she probably feels bad, but for all the wrong reasons. like “i should have visited facet more for food” but because she thinks prepping him better would have given him a better shot at winning, not because he’s a person deserving of basic necessities. 

i feel like it would take more than just a single chance sent back - maybe a time loop where she keeps having to do it over until she learns a lesson. at first, her goal is to get facet to win. why else would she be given another chance? clearly, she’s special and even the universe itself wants her to win, right? (🙄🙄)

so that's what she does- it takes a bunch of loops of trial and error, but eventually, facet wins! she did it!

hooray for her!

except…facet isn’t happy to see her when he wins, even when she tells him that the win is all thanks to her and her strategy to keep him alive. he snaps at her that she wasn’t the one in the arena, he was. that his survival wasn’t because of her at all. livia tries to argue back (because he’s did in so many loops, how could this win be anything but hers?) but facet cuts her off, curses her out, and is promptly taken away by the peacekeepers to be sent home.

the loop still restarts.

livia is bitter after getting chewed out like that and decides the next loop that she’s not going to focus on facet at all. wouldn’t it hurt him if his mentor ignored him entirely? she tries to get close to velvereen instead (who isn’t too keen on her either, but that’s not stopping livia). the bombing happens and this time she makes sure both facet and velvereen are alive. she can’t get closer to velvereen if she’s dead, and livia can’t rub it in facet’s face if he’s dead. 

(yeah…character development is a slow process :/)

what this spiteful loop teaches her is that velvereen is a person too. facet has never gotten along with livia, but after so many loops, livia knows he’s not an uneducated barbarian, even if she still thinks he’s lacking in manners. but the rest of the tributes? they’re just background presences, as ‘savage’ as the rest of the districts. but velvereen- well, she’s alright too, livia decides. 

neither facet or velvereen make it to the end, but they do stick together in the arena. they split supplies, they even go grab some weapons. but when they’re cornered by the pack, it quickly becomes evident that neither of them know how to use them. livia decides that must be the problem - clearly the pair from four and ten are the problem. after all, the tributes from four are brutal, and she knows the girl from ten is perfectly capable of killing an innocent capitol citizen (blatantly ignoring that arachne was provoking her).

if livia wants them to make it further, she has to get them to ally with that pack. it takes several more loops with facet and velvereen extremely reluctant. if they join, it’s going to be obvious real fast that they don’t have fighting skills, and if/when the pack turns on them, it’s going to be bad. livia isn’t giving up on that though, and decides if she can’t convince the d1 tributes to ally with the pack, then she has to convince the pack to ally with them.

so, she starts to interact. she offers food, and the promise of sending more in the arena as long as they ally with velvereen and facet. she talks with them over this loop and the next and the next until she finally figures out a series of events that gets them to agree. except- now she’s talked to them, with them, plenty. and she finds that coral and mizzen and tanner and even brandy - they’re all normal. they’re not very cooperative (especially at the start), but they can talk with her just fine, and she thought that the districts were all uneducated.

this is when doubts properly start setting in. facet is a person, not just her tribute. velvereen is a person, not just facet’s district partner who died. every tribute in the pack is a person, not just a means to get facet and velevereen to last longer. she’s spoken with them, she’s had to get to know them to figure out the right ways to convince them, most importantly, she’s had to sympathize with them. and sympathy is just a hop away from empathy.

livia watches facet and velvereen and coral and mizzen and tanner and brandy die in the arena, and it’s getting more difficult to do. she has another chance, she always does, but she doesn’t know who she wants the victor to be anymore. it can only be one of them. but if facet wins, then velvereen and coral and (etc.) don’t. if velvereen wins, then facet doesn’t. if coral wins, then mizzen doesn’t.

...and so on.

she’s starting to see that more than one of them “deserve” to go home, and she doesn’t know who the “right” person is supposed to be. it can’t be lucy gray, she decides, because lucy gray has won plenty, and the loop still restarts. but facet didn’t end it either. so who?

livia spends even more loops trying to figure that out, fixing scenarios so different tributes win, talking with other mentors, other tributes- she speaks with them, she learns from them, she gains new perspectives without really realizing it. not until many, many, many loops later when she has her epiphany. 

she doesn’t want any of them to die.

no, not just that. none of them deserve to die.

but the hunger games only has one victor. livia decides that’s no longer good enough. everyone is going home. she has decided it, and she’s going to make it happen. she’s the heiress to the capitol banks, and everyone will be going home.

boom! character arc + a new goal :D

of course, change doesn’t happen easily, but she’s got as many chances as she needs. so she can do this over and over and over until something gives, and it won’t be her. it takes a lot- getting the rest of her classmates to connect with their tributes, to get them to see what took her dozens upon hundreds of loops to get, in just a week before the games. 

but eventually, it works! 

one voice of protest might not do much, especially coming from someone already marginalized. but sejanus’s arguments hold more weight when livia - born and raised in the capitol - is backing him. and from there, with the rest of their classmates, this isn’t something that can be silenced. they’re the children to the most important families in the capitol, and banded together, they cannot be ignored. not all of them.

the hunger games end.

livia understands now, why that was so important.

the loop ends.

---

anyway, thanks for the ask!

i love rambling about time travel, as i’m sure you could tell, considering how long this got - 2k+ words! that’s basically oneshot length. i might just clean this up and post it on ao3 later...

feel free to send more time travel thoughts! :D

[danganronpa96]

Oh, this is very interesting. I assume you mean like from the DR3 anime, so (rubs hands together)

DR69:

Luigi - going into a room with the lights on (as no. 2, isn’t it your duty to be in the dark? Also this could stir up some interesting situations in the dark)

Mario - running or jumping (can’t yahoo his way out of this one)

Peter - talking (yep not a peep outta funny family moments guy, no cutaway gags no nothing, what will tiktoks use for footage now)

Brian - reading or writing (no books, no laptops, no pens. He won’t be needing them)

Miku - speaking in English (as an idol, it’s her goal to spread her voice to everyone around the world, so what if it was limited? She can still speak Japanese, and Chinese, but only a select few will understand her. Sure, it’s fine for those who can translate, but what if she was in a dire situation with someone who couldn’t…?)

Teto - Hatsune Miku dying (since she loves her so much, she’ll do anything to protect her, even if that goes for protecting her own life too)

Nagito - telling the truth (kinda like his despair disease, seems he can only lie or keep quiet… How can someone who hardly has any trust here gain any now?)

Sans - telling a joke/pun (at first this was gonna be a joke answer, but… it would be tough for him to remain serious in situations where he’d rather not be)

Parappa - crying (he really has to keep believing now, or else he’ll be clawing not to let all those emotions spill out)

Fluttershy - touching another animal participant that isn’t herself (therefore she cannot tend to any of them if the time comes)

Ashley - being more than a room apart from another person (ultimately forcing her to stick around people rather than isolate herself)

Ayano - not killing anyone in 20 days (this would really challenge her “yandere” persona, and reluctance to kill here)

2D - listening to music (this goes for music out of speakers, hearing someone sing, and even humming a tune. Man loves music so what if no song machine /album ref)

Mr. Krabs - giving or accepting a bargain (not just with money, but favours, requests, and payback all count too)

Dedede - fighting with another participant (whether physically or verbally)

The Conductor - witnessing any act of violence (since he is usually is very disregarding of other’s safety, especially during filming his own movies, perhaps now he has a chance to redeem himself with preventing danger)

DR96:

Hayasaka - giving the poison antidote he was provided to someone else (he can save someone else who triggered their action, at the cost of his own life…. (I smile deviously))

Kurumada - flirting with Hayasaka /JJJ ok but actually using his physical strength to protect someone (this goes for violent acts such as punching, or manual labour such as catching heavy objects from falling)

Mai - making eye contact with anyone (she’s such an outgoing, bubbly gal… so what if she could never meet someone eye to eye ever again? Never being able to look at the ones she loves properly… oh my)

Walter - telling a lie (cue a Walter White version of the Pinnochio scene from Shrek 3)

Jesse - swearing (Jesse don’t say “bitch” challenge impossible 5 dead 20 injured)

Saiki - using his telepathy to communicate (either open your mouth or say nothing, Saiki, your choice)

Kaidou - daydreaming (this includes roleplaying as the Jet Black wings and wearing his bandages and blazer over his shoulders, no more fantasies grow up boy /jjj)

Retsuko - raising her voice (this goes for her heavy metal screaming as well, she can’t stand up for herself anymore seeing as she mostly did it on her own in private)

Natsuki - being called “cute” (I think this would be simple but effective, cue her attempting to never share her forbidden action, and doing all she can to never be called such a thing, even going so far to be as rude as possible even if she doesn’t want to be)

Yuri - everyone does not die in 30 days (if she really wants everyone to die, she’ll do all that she can to make sure it happens before it’s too late for her. Whether she utilises their forbidden actions to do the trick or not is up for thought…)

Hiroshi - touching white objects (such as plates, paper, his own scarf… how practical can one practical boy be now?)

Brian - witnessing spiritual or supernatural activity (this could be talk of religion, going to the Shrine, reading books about such things, and anything to do with Mr. Devil…)

Bojack - participating in the consumption of alcohol (rip this guy IMMEDIATELY)

Latte - verbally conversing with a student (she can be around them, and use body language, but speaking is a no-no, so much for being a professor huh-)

L - performing any of his usual quirks (includes sitting with his knees up, eating sweets, holding things with his index finger and thumb etc., L be normal challenge)

Ena - changing emotional states (meaning they can’t go into their sad, drunk, depressed etc. states. Oh boy get ready for a challenge folks)

[divinekangaroo]

I clipped this from your post because it’s easier than trying to inaccurately summarize! But I was wondering what you think about this dynamic. Whether you see it as a core part of his characterization and what you think it says about him, or whether you see it as kind of a visual shorthand in the series that isn’t indicative of anything about his approach to sex? It seems to me to be very consistent over the years and I’m curious about your take.

Yeah I think the repetition/consistency in how they show this makes it a super deliberate and very core part of his character, at least in how I read it – wouldn’t be nearly as fascinated with the story if it wasn’t.

And I don’t think it’s an accidental visual shorthand because of that repetition. I remember reading somewhere CM said that in S6’s TxL hotel sex scene they actually filmed two full sex scenes, one on the sofa and one in the bed – but in the end they only showed the last few seconds in the bed focused on the faces, as better articulating the purpose of that scene. I think they are very particular about how and what they show about Tommy having sex.

The particularity does add to this sense of overly-performative sex (EVERY sex scene feels performative and slightly contrived to me, even Tommy with Grace, even him using passionate sex with Grace in S3 to distract her XD, even him drunkenly/passionately sealing the ‘transaction’ with Lizzie in S5’s My Property scene) but I think they manage to stay on the side of the line that it feels like Tommy being consciously performative/contrived, rather than feeling like I can see the director’s hand. It’s the same sense when looking at Tommy’s various desks: yes his desks absolutely reek of being a contrived stage, but it’s *Tommy* being conscious about setting the stage, not the set designers/directors.

My reading / what I think the sex says about his character:

his ‘thinking mind’ constantly tries to frame sex as a transaction because he sees himself/his labour/his work/doing killings/offering sex – basically any act of his body as the fundamentality/essentiality of labour – as a unit he can trade for something else he wants. There’s some kind of less thought-out complex/trauma background thing here, where he believes that his worth is only what he can bring in and do for the family – labour, killing, smarts, sex, whatever. Mostly that’s his intelligence/schemes/business smarts, or his ability to push through risk/stress for high stake outcomes (stretching to do things they won’t out of fear), but sometimes that’s also his body (if combined with intelligence - trade your goods smartly, not stupidly, for advantage worth more than the momentary loss of bodily boundaries).

his ‘unthinking mind’ does actually want sex physically because it feels good. Physical release/oxytocin/endorphins etc? libido? I assume this, because otherwise they just wouldn’t bother showing him seeking out prostitutes; he’s not doing that for ego because he was satisfied in S1 that people thought he wasn’t having sex even though he was. But he is also sort of scared of sex because it leads to an intimacy that he can be used or hurt through it, hence why he defaults to prostitutes (S1, S2, S4 - or even the Zelda fling/no possible relationship) when he’s most wounded. Could theorise this is due to actual sexual abuse, but seems more like it’s because he hurts so deeply every time he’s connected deeply with someone – he loved Greta and was broken when she died, he loved Grace and was broken when she died - so, this supports his transactional approach because transactions are conditional, negotiated up front, well defined and ‘safe,’ they can’t get intimate or personal. He can use the transactional approach to justify himself seeking sex, while at the same time netting him something which feels good.

But whatever’s in the middle of the above two, is actually madly desperate for personal connection and intimacy. Despite him trying to apply sex transactionally or as a feel-good-only thing, he falls into some kind of intimacy and connection with the people he has transactional sex with, so frequently it’s a definite pattern. (I could write absolute buckets about May right here)

Even when he tries to avoid intimacy/connection – prostitution - returning from war, he sticks with one prostitute and has a very intimate connection with her? All right that's not typical?? And between S3 and S4 when the family’s shunning him, instead of just being promiscuous and anonymous, instead he has a relatively small rotation of regular prostitutes, knowing their names by preference to anonymity? Even the scene we see where he insists on someone new that he doesn’t know, this sparks from Lizzie pushing him about family/intimacy/connection. I read that almost as a “look at me Lizzie I don’t NEED connection stop pushing me” in front of her to try to make a point (to her, who used to be his intimate sexual connection, in a way that hurts her too to put her in her place? to himself?), immediately followed by him handing Lizzie cash/emphasising transactional approaches.  And this is then followed by that absolutely hysterical fail of a sex scene with the ‘someone new’ prostitute, which I swear is filmed to show Tommy did not, in fact, have any sex, or if he did, it was so lame they didn’t even muss the bed.

Even S6 and the prostitute in America, it’s fascinating they make the effort of showing that having happened, but then focus so much on all the intimacy/connection in the phone call with Lizzie/kids. He needs sex but he's hungry for connection and made vulnerable by intimacy.

(And I could go on about the number of ‘woman on top’ scenes and why that particular position, or specifically the filming/dialogue with May which is one of the more fascinatingly filmed and verbalised transactional relationships because of her class, or why I think Lizzie, the actual prostitute, has the least amount of flesh/nudity showing at all from all his women while he's often MORE naked/exposed in their scenes -- I’ve only been able to watch properly the once through, but had so many thoughts on how they dealt with the framing/camerawork.)

But all up, it feels like it’s trying to show him as a character who performs sex to get something out of it that’s not sex (transaction/treats self as a fundamental labour unit of exchange), but still needing/wanting/enjoying sex (because otherwise why would he pay for prostitutes/why even put sex on the negotiating table men don't do this??), but also constantly he cannot shut down this tendency/urge of his to more softly want/need personal connection almost more than the sex.

It’s just not a common way to portray a guy ruthlessly heading a gang, and that’s why I think it’s so deliberate. They take the expected image of how a guy heading a gang would approach sex (prostitutes, seduction, sexual prowess etc) but it feels like they’ve turned that expected image/action well on its head (cares for prostitute/s, suffers the Mosley-threat and Diana-rape, sexual prowess is mostly in service of women, attempts to depersonalise himself to a unit of trade), and then they use camerawork and the pre-post conversations to show this intriguing drive for intimacy instead of sex.

I hope that’s answered the question? It’s tricky; some of these thoughts more suited to a conversation/branching dialogue than a single post or I get repetitive XD

Tangentially, there’s more thoughts too on how they weave prostitution through as a theme, or the way he’s often in conflict between those motivators of ‘transaction/physical/intimacy’ -- he trips himself up; he gets hurt by trying to lean into one or two of those, and forgetting the other/s, and can’t really ever get them in balance.

[fenrisisms]

the lovely @lastlightinternet tagged me in ye olde six song soundtrack for my ocs, presumably to cause me lasting psychic damage but unbeknownst to them i'm the Sound of my ocs Guy. so anyway they picked some guys and i made some soundtracks. i was really unwell about this. some of them escaped containment and got seven songs, even. i even annotated the playlists. enjoy.

i'm not tagging anyone specific but if you see this and you want to have a crack consider yourself tagged by me c: i linked all the songs on youtube but everything is available on spotify as well if thats more ur speed.

RIVA AMELL -

1. an event that defines their past: knock me down - youngblood hawke [circle. enough said.] 2. how they see themself: i was born, i have lived, i will surely die - young guns 3. how others see them: don't stop me now - queen 4. their closest dynamic: see you in a bit (i still care) - teen jesus and the jean teasers [in the context of origins i think many of his closest relationships are in a state of change and he is at a point of disillusionment with them & struggles to accept that he can be hurt by the actions of people he loved and trusted and still hold that love for them. many such cases for him, mostly people he knew in the circle.] be that as it may - herizen (the get down soundtrack) [the natural conclusion to the aforementioned arc. to me] 5. fight scene music: if u seek amy - britney spears 6. closing credits: blackbiird - beyoncé ft tanner adell, brittney spencer, tiera kennedy & reyna roberts

EIRA MAHARIEL -

1. an event that defines their past: o death - amy van roekel & jeff grace (until dawn official soundtrack) 2. how they see themself: labour in vain - mac the knife [she is depressed and angry but she has a job to do so she can't really care about all that rn. but she does <3] 3. how others see them: smile - wolf alice 4. their closest dynamic: physical - dua lipa [the way this absolutely does not fit on this playlist but it is The eira x alistair ride or die dynamic mental amv song to me. personally. also kind of doubles as a fight song to me because the play on physical (boinking) and Physical (beating the shit outta somebody with ur boyfie) is fun. to me.] 5. fight scene music: raise hell - dorothy 6. closing credits: i hope you dance - lee ann womack

BRONSON COUSLAND -

1. an event that defines their past: second chance - shinedown [there are not a lot of songs about your whole family being murdered by a trusted family friend. so mostly for the twins i did this based on their mental state Before That.] 2. how they see themself: broadfields - young guns 3. how others see them: i won't back down - tom petty 4. their closest dynamic: he ain't heavy (he's my brother) - the hollies [bronson is more shaped by bryant than the other way around so he gets this one. everything he does in origins is for the good of his brother. even some of the more bonkers things. he is not coping] because the night - patti smith [i had So many bronson/zevran songs in mind. ultimately this one made the cut because the Sound of it just works for the emotions they evoke. guys who remember the will to live together.] 5. fight scene music: gimme! gimme! gimme! (a man after midnight) - abba 6. closing credits: a beautiful life - dorothy

BRYANT COUSLAND -

1. an event that defines their past: caught up - chapel [this one stumped me for the longest time because So so much the cousland murder drives his whole character arc but uh. this sums up where he was Right before that pretty well!] 2. how they see themself: landslide - the chicks 3. how others see them: changes - david bowie 4. their closest dynamic: romeo and juliet - dire straits ["hey i know ur husband just died and also we had a screaming affair breakup like 10 months ago right before i was presumed dead but is now a good time to talk about getting married" is basically the same thing as "you and me babe, how 'bout it?" right? anyway bryant x anora song.] 5. fight scene music: holding out for a hero - jennifer saunders (shrek soundtrack) 6. closing credits: that's life - t-pain (live from the sun rose)

KATARI ADAAR -

1. an event that defines their past: rest in peace - dorothy [again there are not many songs that encapsulate the exact circumstances of her background and i refused to put a six60 song on this playlist so this works well enough <3] 2. how they see themself: missile - dorothy i like it heavy - halestorm [at this point i was just like there are So many dorothy songs in this lineup. i should throw something else in there. so i did. but i couldn't get rid of the other one it works too good] 3. how others see them: we will rock you - in this moment ft lzzy hale, marina brink & taylor momsen 4. their closest dynamic: black sheep - dorothy [inside her mercenary company that i invented from scratch are her chosen siblings so. this song is about them and their dynamic <3] 5. fight scene music: enter sandman - rina sawayama [this was so hard for her because so many of the songs on this playlist could double as fight scene songs. so for the last two i just picked songs that Sonically vibe since the lyrical heavy lifting was done earlier LOL] 6. closing credits: poison - starbenders

SYRACUSE TREVELYAN -

1. an event that defines their past: fuyu no hanashi - given (given soundtrack) [contextually this song is about grieving/moving on from a dead lover but without knowing the full nuances of the language it's vague enough that it COULD work about a dead sibling. see the vision] 2. how they see themself: towers (on my way) - young guns 3. how others see them: now come on now (mell hall remix) - KYE ft mell hall 4. their closest dynamic: if i fall you're going down with me - the chicks [again. many such bull x syracuse songs vying for the title but this one is just So funny and exactly how syracuse approaches that relationship. if he's experiencing love for the first time so are you. bitch.] 5. fight scene music: 365 - charli xcx 6. closing credits: this hell - rina sawayama

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

🌟 + Carlys

Carlys was chosen (by Alicent & Otto) to be Aegon's bride because she appeared to be extremely similar to Alicent herself

Unfortunately Aegon sometimes hates her for those similarities, and Alicent always hates her for the differences

Carlys is the eldest of four sisters, her mother died in childbirth and Carlys mostly raised them

Like Aemma (and almost Laena), when Carlys' mom was in labour with her last child, they ended up doing a c-section, both mother and baby didn't make it

Because of this, Carlys absolutely refuses to have any maesters in the room when she's in labour, only accepting midwives (also refuses to allow Alicent in the room). Alicent is furious and says that it is an insult to both the citadel and herself but Aegon supports her (does he actively support Carlys' choice or just want to piss off Alicent, nobody knows)

Carlys and Aegon end up having 13 children. The eldest is killed as a child/infant, there are also miscarriages, details tbd about any other kids for now

Carlys accidentally ends up with a dragon – her baby's dragon imprints on her after her baby is killed

She and Aegon have a wedding in the style of The Faith but also one in the style of Old Valyria. Carlys suggested it by accident, she assumed that they would be having a Valyrian wedding and asked a question about it at dinner, Alicent & Otto & kiddos are very confused but Viserys absolutely loves the idea so it happens, Carlys is still confused

Carlys loves to bake. Her father hated it because it wasn't appropriate for a lady of her standing, but she used to sneak into the kitchens and beg to be taught, and on sleepless nights she can still often be found baking in the kitchens of the Red Keep

Carlys' relationship with her father parallels Alicent & Otto in a lot of ways but was much more overtly abusive (mostly mentally/emotionally, sometimes physically), Aegon is ready to burn Riverrun to the ground when he finds out why Carlys flinches anytime he throws/breaks something

[magicalgirlartist]

[ID: 3 digital drawings of 2 characters (1 higher to the left facing left, 1 to the right facing right) each. The first has 2 young men. The higher one is short with a puffy white coat, blue hat with ear flaps, and big blue and grey boots with belts. His hands are clasped in front of himself and he's smiling gently. A text box beside him says "MATORO, translator and hunter, right hand of Turaga Nuju, legally not allowed to translate Nuju's curse words, friendliest Ko-Matoran ever." The lower one is thinner, with a grey parka with the hood up, a white cape, and blue goggles. He has his hands in his coat pockets and is frowning. A text box beside him says "KOPEKE, ice carver and guard, left hand of Turaga Nuju, bad case of resting bitch face, Matoro's best friend." The second has 1 young man and 1 young androgynous woman. The higher one is lanky with a bright green tank top, unlaced brown and green shoes, a glove on one hand and a beaded bracelet on the other, and feathers in his ponytail. He has one hand on his hip and a bemused expression. A text box beside him says "KONGU, Gukko force captain, right hand of Turaga Matau, a little too serious for his own good, gay gay homosexual gay." The lower one is tall, with a green jumpsuit tied at the waist with a bow, 3 beaded bracelets on one wrist, and sandals. She has one hand to her face and a soft smile. A text box beside her says "TAMARU, navigator, left hand of Turaga Matau, loud and talkative, ADHD icon, egg, terrified of heights, likes to swim." The last has 2 young men. The higher is skinny with a long purple top under a short black vest, purple gloves and boots, and black leggings. He's holding one hand to his chest and the other up, winking. A text box beside him says "ONEPU, captain of the Ussalry, right hand of Turaga Whenua, self-absorbed but, like, nice about it, Taipu's best friend." The lower one is buff, with a light brown top with the sleeves rolled up, black bandana around his neck, chunky black boots, and brown leggings. He's flexing one arm and smiling. A text box beside him says "TAIPU, miner, left hand of Turaga Whenua, Himbo Supreme, doesn't look like Hafu, why does everyone keep saying that." End ID.]

More designs for the Bionicle Sports Anime! Finished the rest of the kolhii teams. Gonna maybe do up some uniform stuff next, or possibly the Turaga and some minor characters like Kotu and Kapura.

Some notes about village fashion under the readmore!

[Commissions open!]

Ko-Koro Fashion: Warm, obviously. Ko-Koro is the coldest place on the island, and while Ko-Matoran are more used to and able to withstand the cold than most others, it's still cold as balls there and they do need to stay warm. Many layers are not only common but encouraged, and a lot of clothes are fur-lined. Snow goggles are also common to help prevent snow blindness. Thick, waterproof boots are a must.

Le-Koro Fashion: Le-Koro is the poster child for "it's not the heat, it's the humidity." Most clothes are light and airy (ha). Feathers are a common decoration, along with flowers from the jungle floor. Kongu is wearing a protective glove to help him with his birds. Friendship bracelets are also popular in Le-Koro. People will make bracelets with their names on beads and give them to their friends. Tamaru has one from Kongu and several from Matoran outside the village as well (Takua and Taipu's are pictured). Kongu has Tamaru's as well.

Onu-Koro Fashion: Onu-Koro is fairly temperate year-round due to its proximity to the Mangai. Clothes tend to be tighter but stretchier due to how much physical labour Onu-Matoran do. They also wear mostly darks, since darker colours hide the dirt. Pretty much everyone wears work boots and gloves at all times as well, even if they aren't miners. Due to their weak eyesight, Onu-Matoran often wear wide-brimmed hats or specially tinted goggles if they have to go above-ground for any length of time.

[littleredroseonthevalley]

Building a Marriage Under a Willow

Summary: Under the guise of sezing the good weather, Guinevere has Arthur take her away to a picnic on a field. Her intentions are not quite so impure.

Rating: K - Intended for general audience 5 years and older. Content should be free of any coarse language, violence, and adult themes.

Words: 1000

Notes: So, in Code: Realize, Guinevere says that she cheated on Arthur because she felt lonely, that Lancelot made her feel needed and worthy. It really colours my view of this story.

A trickle of sunlight peered through the green of the willow tree, contrasting the gentle breeze that weaved through the branches. It was summertime in Britain, the fields are sown, the rain falls sporadically over the land and the people wait for the harvest season labouring in construction and clearing the fields.

The king is tying the horses to a branch in the tree, as to make sure that they would not get spooked and flee away, as the queen finds her footing in the ground once again, mostly unaccustomed to long rides. They were not half an hour away from the castle, but the fields are quiet, lonely and uncultivated. The seneschal had mentioned it was on rotation for rest this season, and so is taken by wild flowers and grass.

It was a season of war, in times past, but with peace under their reign, the king finds himself with little in the way of work to concern himself with. Guinevere sees it as her yearly opportunity to selfishly monopolise the attentions of an otherwise absent husband, not that he puts much of a fight against her.

Arthur settled a floral picnic blanket in the bed of lush grass, brushing the golden strands from his eyes as he turned for her approval. When his wife told him, en passant, that it was a beautiful day outside for a meal al fresco, he summoned the servants and bodyguards to clear a spot in the fields and get their tents out for the queen.

She held his rising hand and humorously reminded him that they had not been alone together for three days now, and his initial plans would gather a whole company outside. Perhaps her august husband would prefer to spend time with her with less prying eyes? He blushed with the implication and lowered his demands to a basket of food and two horses, as he too preferred to have an escapade with her to himself.

The usually cavalier man, covered with regalia and with an imposing visage, had looked so sweet under the early afternoon sunshine that Guinevere could not help herself not to admire him for a minute. His pale cheeks were coloured a gentle pink as he caught the look of adoration in her eye.

“Is this alright?” He asks, looking insecure about the whole thing. Perhaps it still is not too late for the tent?

The queen nods, plush lips turning up into a grin. Arthur smiles back, enjoying the way warm sunlight captures every enthralling part of her being.

He had no business arranging his own marriage, he had ministers and envoys carry this out for him, but by the gods, he knows that he would not be able to choose someone more perfect than the woman before him. Beautiful, kind, politically intelligent and supportive of his ideals. Is there any measure to a man’s luck? Is it a sin to desire your wife so thoroughly?

Unable to be apart from her any longer, the king stretches out his hand, his palm soft as it delicately closes around hers and pulls her toward him. As he wraps her body against his, he smells of the flowers and herbs her maids had been putting on her baths, the oils in her skin and the apples she favours to eat.

Arthur does not kiss her, not yet. Guinevere knows that he is a bit timid with his physical affections, though she is unsure if this is motivated by religion, self-consciousness or a misguided sense of chivalry, but she does not mind reminding him that it is both acceptable and desirable to exchange those acts between them, especially when they manage some precious time alone. The bed of the queen, unfortunately, tend to be quite lonely most of the year, due to travelling, military campaign and hunting expeditions.

Perhaps, if she dedicates herself to this marriage, if she can fulfil her role in this alliance by having a child as soon as possible, if she works in her relationship with Arthur and Lancelot, then she can avoid the terrible future she foresaw. She truly loves her husband, and no measure is taxing enough not to be tried, to be seen to its logical conclusion. Commandeering him into putting aside time for them is certainly not.

As she kisses his cheeks, a hair width away from the corner of his lips, the blond man is taken by a notion of propriety and slips his arms away from her waist, though he still holds on to her hands. He leads her into the shadow and down into the dry ground, ready to serve her the meal.

It takes a moment to settle, with his back pressed into the trunk of the willow with her head resting in his lap. It takes another moment for the conscientious man to relax, to remind himself that at this moment in time, he has no kingly responsibility to attend to.

It is, indeed, a nice day for a meal outside. Just as his wife had said, Arthur considers.

“Are you comfortable, my love?” He asks, running his fingers through her hair.

The woman hums contentedly. “Are you?”

Arthur grins as Guinevere reach for his hand, running her finger gently across the creases of his palm.

“Very much so. Do you have my book?” He asks, looking over to where he settled the basket.

The woman blindly reaches at her side, running your hands over the blanket until you find the book he had been meaning to read recently, but could not find the time. She holds it up, admiring the golden accents on the maroon hardcover. He plucks it from her grip, using his free hand to remove his bookmark.

“How many hands do you need to read a book?” Guinevere asks, lacing her fingers through his.

“Just the one.” Arthur answers, feeling much grateful that she could not see him and tease him for the lovesick expression that adorns his features.

*_*_*_*_*

Guinevere Masterlist