#the entire family is obviously using her but they also all seems to genuinely enjoy her as a person (at least her own generation)

[thesmokinpossum]

It's honestly kinda insane to me that Vito trusts and respects Fredo so little that even with his strict catholic moral he literally trusts the reports of his late son's ex-mistress more than anything his actual son has to say like wow, you're not even pretending to care for this man at this point 😬

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for going off on my boyfriend for going in the wrong hole?

Sorry for something so obviously NSFW and TMI, but I don't really feel comfortable asking anyone I know IRL because I don't want it getting back to my friends and family who don't know I'm sexually active. (yes I'm an adult and it's perfectly legal but my entire community is very religious)

I (F19) have been courting a guy we'll call Alex (M22) for about a year now. Alex is a really nice guy and has always been respectful of my boundaries. I'm kind of soft spoken and he advocates for me harder than I do. If one of our friends interrupts or speaks over me he'll stop them and say "I'm sorry, but she was talking and we should let her finish." He's even defended me like that to my parents a few times. He also gives me rides to and from all my classes, and is always so attentive to me. He is so open with his feelings and communicates with me openly and freely, so much that he has made me a more open person as well. I genuinely feel like he brings out the best of me, and he says I do the same for him.

I say all this to emphasize that is absolutely the only aspect of our lives I've ever had a problem with him with. I told Alex pretty early in our relationship that I wasn't a virgin (a very bad thing in our community), and I understood if that was a deal breaker for him. He said it absolutely wasn't, that he still liked me and still wanted to court me. That he would keep that a secret for me no matter how our courting ended, either in break up or marriage. And that there was absolutely no pressure to ever have sex with him if I didn't want to.

I was also the one who told him I wanted us to be sexual before marriage and he agreed. The first time we did it he asked how I felt about anal, and I said it was a hard no go for me. He just said "okay" and never brought it up again.

But a couple of weeks ago we were doing it and Alex was behind me and suddenly it went from V to A. I screamed because I was surprised and it hurt a lot, and he immediately stopped and started apologizing profusely. He seemed so upset by it I ended up being the one comforting him and telling him it was okay, but obviously the mood was killed so we just stopped. But then a week later it happened again the exact same way. And again he seemed so upset by it and it immediately killed the mood.

Alex has tried initiating a few times since then but I really don't want to have sex with him if this is going to keep happening. He said he feels hurt that I cringe away from his touch like he's a monster, and I snapped back that he should quit hurting me like one then. That once I could understand but he did it twice and I would be stupid to trust him not to do it again. He looked really hurt by that and said it was just a mistake, that it happens a lot to everyone. I said it never happened with me and my previous boyfriend. He said that's just because we got lucky, that he has had more sex than me and he knows this sort of mistake happens all the time.

Then he said he could tell I was still in the feelings stage about this and not ready to work it out, so he would wait as long as it takes for me to come around and talk to him. Because he loves me and doesn't want this small disagreement to hurt us. That made me feel really small. Like I was a kid being scolded by a parent. Now I'm kind of feeling like maybe he's right? He does know more about sex than I do, and both times it happened he immediately stopped and we didn't get to finish having sex, so I have a hard time believing he enjoyed doing it?

So I'm here to ask tumblr, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[madame-fear]

Hiii ✨ Do you think you could write something where the reader is Aemond’s twin/wife but she’s in love with Luke? Maybe something slightly spicy? Totally okay if not 🫶🏼

*ೃ༄ 𝐏𝐑Ū𝐌𝐈𝐀 𝐁Ā𝐍𝐄 [ — ✧ 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 ] .ೃ࿐

— ☆ amira speaks : hope you enjoy this sweet darling, and it was as you expected! sorry if the 'slight smut' is... a bit explicit, i'm still getting used to writing this type of content — but deeply hope it's of your liking! Lucerys is briefly aged up. — summary : [ — ✧ request ] Lucerys, the boy you've always loved, and his family travel back to King's Landing like they always occasionally do after the eye incident with your brother-husband, Aemond. But this visit, is far more different than the others. — word count : 4.1k (why so long? sorry!)

— pairing : lucerys velaryon x aunt! targaryen! (aemond's sister) reader — genre : fluff, smut at the end.

TW | Fingering, Praising Kink (maybe, slightly?), Incest, smut content.

After a two long years of not officially seeing, House Targaryen and House Velaryon travelled once again back to King's Landings. Though the relationship between your half-sister Rhaenyra and your mother Alicent was rather tense, your father King Viserys often insisted on bringing the whole family together to try and make things less uneasy, the tension was always still heavily felt in the environment.

Despite Rhaenyra's relationship with your mother was not exactly the best, she did have a particular fondness and respect only for you. Unlike your brothers, you were always very loving and caring with her sons, the Velaryon boys. Growing up together before they moved to Dragonstone, you always defended them when your brothers referred to them as bastards, always took care of their wounds if they got pushed too harshly when swordtraining with your brothers, gifted and read them your favourite books, and all sorts of things. With your kind, and genuinely affective self around them, both Velaryon boys and you grew deeply close; rapidly becoming their favourite relative.

Especially, the one you most grew closer with had always been Lucerys. His sweet, naturally timid persona always seemed to take a liking for you, often finding himself enjoying the mere sight of your presence around him. And you, obviously, found yourself having a small crush growing on you for him, that only worsened throughout the years as you both fully grew up.

Even after Lucerys slashed Aemond's — your twin brother — eye, you never stopped feeling the way you felt towards him, and his family. In fact, despite profoundly adoring your twin brother to no end, you couldn't help but think deep down inside of you that, in a part, he completely deserved it for misbehaving with the Targaryen girls, and the Velaryons. But, much to your — and Lucerys' — dismay, that same night your brother had his eye taken off, your father also betrothed you to him.

You felt like a mere consolation prize for the lost of your twin's eye. The thought of being betrothed to him, eventually getting officially married, and having to produce heirs sickened you in the stomach, as well as it made Lucerys feel utterly devastated at knowing he'd never get the slightest of chances of having you.

Not only you had been betrothed to your twin brother Aemond, but your half big sister Rhaenyra and her family moved permanently to Dragonstone, only visiting King's Landings once in a while, very occasionally, whenever your father invited her to spend some days in the Red Keep.

Despite travelling to King's Landing occasionally, everytime her entire family did so, you deeply treasured the moment. Every single chance you had of spending time with Lucerys and continue bonding together, putting aside the tension between your families, you spent it properly without wasting a single second. And every year he returned back to the Red Keep at least for a few days, or a week, the more you became head over heels for him. His gentle and timid nature intensified, and the more handsome he became.

Unbeknownst to you, Lucerys' thoughts regarding your persona were the exact same you had for him. Every time he met you once again when his family travelled to King's Landing, your beauty and grace seemed to increase with the passing of time. The small crush Luke had grown for you when he was still a young child seemed to remain there with him, and only becoming more intense.

This time, House Targaryen's trip back to King's Landing was no different than usual. Like you always did, you briefly chatted with Lucerys about how you had been during all this time that you weren't able to see each other, things that had happened in your life, your studies, the new knowledge you had acquired, and other sorts of things. Though, you did notice, Luke seemed to be more distracted than he usually was.

Both of you leisurely strolled through the corridors of the Red Keep, guiding him towards the grand library, where you usually spend your time. The walk had begun with a small chat, but eventually, it fell awkwardly silent between the two of you until you finally arrived to the library.

You held a deep, fervid passion for books, and it was rather notorious. It was a lovely way of spending some quiet time with yourself, and your very own thoughts. And of course, everytime Rhaenyra and her children returned to King's Landing, you always dragged Lucerys to the library since it was both your favourite place to stay together silently, and peacefully.

You had taken Lucerys to the library an hour and a half right before dinner, where you could spend some proper time together. The evening was spent by you showing all the book you had read this entire time, and talking your thoughts about the topics discussed and mentioned in those books. History, medicine, novels, herbs, languages, philosophy — all sort of books, no matter the topic.

Lucerys attentively listened to every single word that rolled off your delicate lips, and following you around the bookshelves. Though, at one moment, his attention at your words slowly faded away from him, dumbfoundedly nodding at whatever you said, and mindlessly following you around.

His attention was suddenly being fixed on how gracefully precious you looked. The passing of time simply favoured you even more, and the way you treated him so delicately and kindly — unlike your siblings — made his heart flutter with warmth, and newly found feelings that you provoked on him.

“... And this, is my favourite book, so far.”

Your voice suddenly snapped him out of his own trance of thoughts, having been distracted staring at your beauty. His green eyes lowered to the hefty, grand book you currently held in hands, that read on it's cover 'The History of Old Valyria'. By his briefly bewildered face, mindlessly nodding to whatever you said, you could notice his attention wasn't really on the books you were showing him.

A tiny grin formed on your lips, and a scoff rolled off from it. “I apologise, I must be boring you with all my rambling. Am I not?” you asked with a certain joking manner, though deep inside, you were afraid he had other concerns rather than discussing about books. An intense flustered tinted his entire face, and rapidly shook his head in disagreement.

“N-No! You could never bore me, at all!” his green eyes were fully widen, still shaking his head, denying your statements. A playful smirk formed your lips at seeing his state, and in particular, noticing the intense crimson fluster smearing his face. “I-I absolutely adore all of the books you have shown me, (y/n)-” you interrupted him by placing a soothing hand on his shoulder, and rubbing it gently. At the feeling of your delicate touch, his heart nearly skipped a bit. “I am simply jestering with you, Lucerys. You need not to worry too much.” the glint in your eyes seemed genuine, and soft; noticing how nervous Luke had gotten.

Unconsciously, your hand remained rubbing his shoulder leisurely, and softly, as well as your eyes fixed on his green ones. You just couldn't get enough of touching or grasping him with any dumb excuse, and being nearby his presence. The comfort his soft nature brought you was unlike any other that you had ever seen, making you fall even harder and deeper for Lucerys every time you thought about it in-depth. A relieved sigh escaped his lips, as well as an embarrassed timid grin formed on them.

“I-I'm sorry, (y/n).” he continued, looking deep into your eyes. “It's just that...” his voice volume lowered slightly, briefly pausing whatever thing he'd say next, shyly gazing down at the ground. His heart fluttered tightly against his chest, not being able to properly form the words without stuttering. “S-Sometimes...” he continued, managing to finally stare into those bright eyes of yours. “... I cannot help, but get distracted at how beautiful you have always been.” lucerys admitted to you, his voice remaining low.

Your eyes widened with surprise. Did he really get distracted at... your beauty? The mere thought of it made your heart begin to pound violently against your chest, as well as provoke a delicate rosy shade on your cheeks. It finally made sense all those occasions you caught him staring at you intensely, and stupidly grinning; as well as those moments where he lost his focus in middle of a conversation with you. Though, you could still not believe that, your lifetime crush admitted such thing about you.

Seeing you being left with no response and notoriously surprised at his words, he rapidly cleared his throat with shame, looking back at the ground. “I-I'm sorry. I should not disrespect you, nor make you feel uncomf–” as his eyes tried to gaze down with embarrassment, you quickly managed to take hold of his chin with your fingers in a soft, yet firm manner, and forced his gaze back to yours. Your sudden actions left him nervously confused, and gulping in silence, awaiting for what you'd do next.

“No. You have never disrespected or made me feel uncomfortable in any way, Lucerys Velaryon. And could never do such thing.” you began, staring deeply into his green eyes, that didn't left your own. “I just want to know, if you... really mean your words?” you inquired, rather hopeful of hearing his following words. Those big eyes of his seemed to shine even more, nodding in response. Without any of you fully realising, your faces had gotten more and more closer.

“Y-Yes, of course I do! I mean every single one of my words, (y/n).” he mumbled, stuttering briefly, feeling overwhelmed — in a good way — as he noticed how close your face was to his. “You... are the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life. Beautiful, in every sense. Phsyically, and personally.” luke continued, becoming more confident on his own words as he noticed how you clearly didn't seem bothered by his words. “You are perfect. Every inch of you is perfectly delicate, graceful, and...” as he stopped talking, thinking carefully every single one of his words, you released the grip from his chin, and moved your hand to softly caress his warm, reddened cheek with your fingertips.

His gaze tried shifting elsewhere, avoiding the intensity of your own eyes in the nervously tense atmosphere. Though, after a few silent seconds, his eyes finally fell on yours, without a scintilla of doubt that you truly seemed unbothered.

“And... you make me feel so in love with you. I am in love with you, and always have been.” after fiercely debating with himself whether or not to say those words, he, strangely enough, finally found the courage — and liberty — to express how he truly felt for you. Even if you tried remaining calm at Lucerys' unforeseen confession, the astounded expression on your face was too notorious to be hidden. Your heart pounded tightly against your chest at hearing his words coming from his rosy lips, and his soft spoken voice.

Both your hot breathing was felt hitting against each other's skin in a delicate manner, as your faces were inches away. How you had always felt for him could no longer be hidden from you, especially at knowing that he was in love with you, the same way you were deeply in love with him. From the nerves of hearing the pleasuring words of your crush confessing his love to you as you had fantasised about for so many years, your hands even bega to slightly tremble.

With slight quivering lips and trembling hands, your hands pulled Luke even closer to you, as your faces were merely a few inches away. Objecting against yourself with uncertainty for a some seconds, all you could manage to do was stare with desire at his daint lips. Objecting against yourself until, you could control yourself no longer anymore, giving into the strong feelings Lucerys provoked on your heart, leisurely clashing your lips against his own, as your hands cupped both his warm cheeks.

Lucerys stood still, feeling his body stiffen. Much like you, his heart thumped loudly, hoping you wouldn't be able to hear said pounding. As unbelievable as it was, the one and true love of his life was kissing him, even if he thought such moment would forever remain only in his wildest fantasies, and made-up scenarios.

Your lips were soft, as if the delicate petal of a rose grasped against his own needy lips. His chest burnt with yearning for you, and gave into the feeling of how you both fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle that had been missing from each other for too long. His green eyes fluttered shut, as one of his hands made it's way towards your waist, and the other one went to the back of your head; interwining his fingers around your hair, and pulling your face closer to his, savouring the kiss.

The kiss was fervid, luscious, and as fiery as that of a dragon's breath. Contained desire and longing came out to light with every passing second of the kissing, making Lucerys feel briefly bold, and even use his own teeth to slightly bite and nibble on your lower lip.

“(y-y/n)...” he moaned briefly, pulling inches apart from you, but close enough to have his lower lip grasping against yours, and his accelerated breath. “D-Do you feel comfortable, with this? I-I might have acted on my impulses, and I do not wish to disrespect your marriage with my uncle–” interrupting him, a breathless scoff came from your lips. As your hands cupped his cheeks, one of it's thumb went to position itself on Lucerys' lips, softly dragging your fingertip all across the lower lip, with your eyes focusing on his green ones.

“My marriage, with my twin brother? Please, Luke.” whispering, your eyes descended to stare at his lips, passing your thumb across them very slowly. “Our father forced our betrothal, and even if I deeply adore my twin, I was merely my brother's consolation prize for having lost an eye.” you continued, pecking the corner of his lips. “I never loved my brother that way. But you, however, are the one I have always been deeply in love with.”

His eyes fluttered shut once again with delight at hearing those words coming from your lips, allowing you to take control of the situation, and click your delicate lips against his own. His hand remained on the back of your head, and the other one was firmly placed on your waist. Small, low-toned humming rolled off his lips, indicating that he seemed to be pretty satisfied.

The kissing eventually became more intense, occasionally pulling apart just to breathe in back some air, and continue. Both your lips were moist from all the desperate kisses you gave each other continously, not stopping for a brief second. The atmosphere between you grew fiercely hot, and intense, as his grip on your body and yours on his sligtly chubby cheeks tightened.

“You have no idea, for how long I've wanted this moment with you, (y/n)...” he mumbled, breaking apart for a moment, staring at each other in silence. Having the desperate urge of feeling more from you, his hands were placed on your chest, and in a soft, yet firm manner, he made your back hit against the bookshelf that was behind of you, and threw himself to you, wrapping his arms tightly against your body.

Fervidly kissing you, one of his hands descended to your waist in a leisure manner, as you held his face, desperately needing to feel more from each other's lips. Soon, his lips began slowly trailing kisses down to the corner of your lips, your jaw, and they particularly focused on kissing your neck once they were there. Especially, his rosy lips focused on nibbling on the soft spots that, Luke could realise they sent you shivers all over your fragile body.

“I need you. You have no idea, how badly I have always needed you.” his voice tone was low, and nearly breathless as he spoke in between wet kisses, beginning to bite gently on a soft spot in your neck. At feeling his teeth gnawing on that spot, a quivering sigh escaped from you. “Lucerys...” you whimpered, throwing your head back, giving him more access to your skin.

A sudden wave of heat overwhelmed your chest as you could feel his fingertips leisurely descending from your waist, to your legs, and slowly sliding them under your dress. The way his fingertips ran across your skin under your dress made you feel even more vulnerable to him, your breathing becoming accelerated as you felt a wave of shivers run down your back once again.

As his fingertips ascended to your hips under your dress, he reached the waistband of your underwear, sliding his fingers under there as well. Pulling apart for a brief moment and staying inches away from your lips, his breathing became more accelerated and nervously gulped, as your own breath sharpened at the feeling; closing your eyes with the satisfaction of the pleasurably burning sensation that grew in your chest.

“M-May I continue? P-Please...” in a whiny tone, he nearly begged for permission to touch you any further. With a small hum, you weakly nodded your head, opening your eyes to look into his shiny, passionate green eyes. “Please, I need you to continue... Please.” feeling your core getting fully moist under your panties, you begged back to him. Which, strangely enough, this woke a new sensation inside of the young prince; one, that seemed to enjoy hearing — and seeing — you beg to feel more of his touch.

With no response whatsoever, his lips went back to grasping your neck, and then your collarbones, filling them with tons of wet kisses. As you had approved of his actions, his fingertips moved delicately to fully slide under your underwear. The Prince's movements were dreadfully slow until he reached your core, knowing this would make you feel even needier for his contact. The sight of you beginning to have a shaky breathing, a trembling body under his touch, and your quiet pleading was already a massively fiery turn-on for him.

His fingers finally found their way to your dripping wet core, with the tip of his fingers painfully rubbing your swollen labia from all the arousal you received from him. A strangled noise came from you, feeling how one of his fingers stimulated a particular, pulsing sensitive spot.

“Fuck–” you panted, breath hitching, your head hitting against the bookshelf behind of you. A shudder came from Lucerys at the feeling of lustful adrenaline drowning him on his insides, while your fluids dripped on his fingers. Pulling away from your neck, his face remained inches away from your skin only to tease you with his rapid, hot breathing — his gaze ascending to admiringly stare at your expressions full of pleasure.

“You like the way I make you feel, do you not?” he teased, a small smirk forming at the corner of his lips. “And I have not even introduced a finger... yet.” as he kept teasingly whispering against your skin, an exhaled huff escaped from you, as you partly opened your lips. His fingers kept rubbing your throbbing genitalia, and carefully, he inserted two fingers inside of you, making you jolt in surprise.

“Lucerys, please...” you whispered in a slurred speech, biting back a moan stuck on your throat. The two inserted fingers inside of your core made a slow, lithe in-and-out motion, as one of his other hands remained firmly holding your body, beginning to feel how you squirmed and trembled under his touch. With a lustful grin on his lips, his eyes admired the way you furrowed your eyebrows in pleasure, releasing some daintly pants and huffs.

“Seven Hells, you are so beautiful, (y/n)...” some exhaled huffs came from Lucerys as well, feeling aroused by the way your inner, moist, dripping walls tightened around his moving fingers, that began to increase the intensity in which they moved. “You are such a precious girl, with delicate moans.” he continued. The way he notoriously praised your grace with a dumbfounded look on his face, seemingly proud for making you feel pleasure, made you even wetter than you already were.

A shiver ran all the way down your spine, your knees becoming weak and quivering as he continued inserting some more fingers, and increasing the way he moved inside of you. “I-I love the way you moan, my princess. Y-You are all I have ever wanted...” his sweet words, a bit strangled from his own satisfied panting, aroused you more.

An uncomfortable, tight knot began forming on your stomach; your moaning and groaning being increased in volume, feeling his fingers sliding in and out of your core, with your aroused liquids staining his fingers. “Please, please... Don't stop–” you lazily begged, interrupting yourself with a bit too loud of a moan, barely being able to form proper sentences, and breaking the peaceful silence that continously overtook the grand library of King's Landing.

“Come for me, my love. Come for me....” he kept breathlessly whispering, beginning to place some sloppy kisses on your neck once again. One of your hands held a tight, trembling grip on his shoulder, and the other hand made your fingers firmly interwine with his brunette, messy hair, as you arched your back.

Panting, moaning, and groans filled the library; intensifying the nearer you were to cumming. His lips ascended to take in between his teeth your earlobe, taking the opportunity to whisper in your ear. “Come for me, and scream my name, Issa jorraelagon.” heavily breathing against your sensitive skin, some High Valyrian nicknames fondly rolled of his lips.

A great shockwave of electricity and inner heat began tightening your chest, as you felt the previous uncomfortable knot break apart, and make you fully release your cum on his fingers. Squirming under him, your nails digged into his body in a desperate manner, crying out his name as he grunted with pleasure at feeling your discharge. Your knees buckled, feeling your body collapse against his own quivering one after having discharged on him.

You placed your head on his shoulder, breathlessly panting from exhaustion, and a great sense of pleasure that remained on you. Slowly, his wet fingers slipped out from you, and the hand Luke had used to satisfy you appeared from under your dress. Placing some tender kisses on your jawline, Lucerys tightly held you in his arms, pressing you against his chest.

“You have no idea, the amount of years I spent being jealous of your twin brother.” he murmured in between kisses on your jawline, rubbing his hand on your back. “But now, I'm rather proud of knowing I can have you all by myself, gevie ruklon.” at his gentle words and treatment, a weak grin formed on the corner of your lips, wrapping your arms around his warm body.

Before you could respond anything to him — though you felt too over the moon to do so —, he sighed, and spoke up again. “I'm afraid that, despite profoundly wishing to continue this any further, we must attend dinner before they start looking for us, my love.” shaking briefly your head in disappointment, you sighed along him. Positioning your body as straight as possible, you remained gripping his body with your arms around it.

As you briefly pulled apart, Lucerys stared at you with pure affection on his eyes. A delicate hand of his moved a strand of your wet with sweat hair, tucking it behind your ear. The actions of the princeling made you notoriously blush with a tint of rosiness smearing your face, making him smile like the absolute fool in love he was.

“For now, that will be everything...” in a whisper, his eyes scanned your shy features, admiring every inch of his skin. His heart filled with immense love and, at the same time, carnal desire for you. Without being able to contain himself, Lucerys pulled you closer to him, with his hands then travelled to take a tight grip on yours; squeezing them. Approaching his lips near to your face, he placed a little kiss on the tip of your nose, making a quiet giggle come out from you.

“But, after dinner is over...” Luke continued speaking in a whisper, placing his forehead against yours. A joyful, yet teasing grin beginning to draw on his mouth, as his eyes fluttered shut.

“... I will teach you how to ride a true dragon.”

♡ taglist : ♡

@jjamieberry @anemicroyalcore @countsmoon @tickle-euphoria @beeebo234 @manuholland6 @capellaadara @kyuupidwrites @tchatso @phantasyy @tasty-nutella @mstxdes @valeriecash

[batfamfucker]

Episode Three things I loved:

Bill and Frank. Obviously.

Old gays in general. Two gay men who get to grow old together and die together happily (As happy as you can be in the apocalypse).

Secret basement below the basement.

Bill's bunker. It's awesome.

Bill being Autistic for his entire screen time. Tell me that man isn't neurodivergent. I love him.

The fact Bill and Frank died together and it was lovely and they were happy instead of Bill finding Frank hanging like in the game. I'm glad they got to go together peacefully.

The gay coding with their words. 'A man who knows which wine to put with rabbit' 'I know I don't seem like the type' 'No, you do.' He read that motherfucker. 'Who's the girl' 'There is no girl' 'I know'

The piano scene. The fucking song throughout the ep. And the end as Joel and Ellie drive away. The open window. The message within the lyrics.

The cute little town.

Them bickering and being a married couple.

The meme-ability of Bill. 'The government ARE Nazis!' And 'You WHAT?' I need them as meme templates thanks.

Honestly that whole scene 'They ARE' 'They are NOW but they weren't THEN'

Bill's fucking Illuminati stuff. The hilarity of him staying alive because of his conspiracy theories.

Bill being a fucking badass tbh. The minute FEDRA leaves, just breaking into everywherr. Seeing him set up that town, having a full blown plan, setting up traps and building a goddamn generator, relaxing as he lets his traps take care of infected, just enjoying his steak and laughing. Knowing he does that a lot 'Gets me everytime'. Man's was made for this. He slayed tbh. That whole scene was so satisfying.

I was scared Frank was gonna use Bill, and he did at first, but then seeing him genuinely begin to love and care for him. Refusing to let Bill die when he got shot even though Bill told him Joel could care of him, wanting to marry Bill on his last day.

Honestly Frank just being sassy and dragging Bill lmao. 'We need friends babe. Sweetheart please you just sit in the basement all the time. You need a social life other than me, and for my own sanity, I need one too. So I've made a friend over the radio and you can't do anything about it. Now get me my paint'.

Tess being an AllyTM. Her and Frank being besties whilst their paranoid husbands scowl at each other.

Joel unable to say the word 'partner' for Bill and Frank lmao. You just adopted a lesbian. Honey, you've got a big storm coming.

I was hoping Ellie would get to meet Bill and he would tell her about Frank (Before going into the ep, based on the game) so she would have a nice little internal 'I'm not the only gay in the world thank god' moment. But I didn't mind since the whole episode was amazing.

The strawberry scene.

Bill apologising for getting older quicker but then it's Frank that needs the help later. My heart.

Frank and his paintings and beautiques.

Frank knowing Bill poured the pills into the wine bottle so he'd die too.

The marriage scene. Them exchanging rings. Having the same last meal and wine they had for their first meal together. Sitting next to each rather than across the table. A shot of the hole that Frank fell into, where they met. Sobbing. I love them.

They are the definition of 'In sickness and in health, till death do us part' and it hurt but it was some beautifully.

Knowing any Homophobic Gamer BoysTM were ripping their hair out at this episode.

It ripped my heart out but the fucking skeletons. The baby blanket and transition to seeing that baby and the mother. Knowing what happens. Hearing a mother comfort her kids and seeing a old lady and a whole community of families and knowing what happens to them.

All the fuck the government stuff. It feels like all the fucked up shit they did is so realistic and would happen.

The letter for Joel. 'Keep Tess safe'. And the symbolism of knowing there's at least one person (Ellie) worth saving. Worth living for. My heart.

Also, though. 'Hehehehe'

Ellie reading 'hehehehe'

The casualness of human bodies in the apocalypse. Periods actually referenced in an apocalypse show! Joel tossing Ellie some deodorant! Him being prepared to take care of a teenage daughger again! Ellie telling him he needs to shower (Also their banter). Ellie stocking her bag with toilet paper.

Joel making a small gravestone for Tess out of rocks from the river. That hurt.

Dad Joel coming out more and more each episode.

The forest scene. Joel giving his jacket to Ellie to sleep in so she wouldn't be cold. Him making sure she eats even if he doesn't.

Ellie roasting Joel. Joel roasting Ellie. 'Shit at shooting or life in general' Joel's continous 'offended but mostly confused I just got dragged by a 14 year old' face.

The arcade machine.

The repeat of the 'Anything bad?' 'Just you' joke.

Ellie being lowkey a psychopath again? The basement scene and her seeming to enjoy killing the infected dude.

Ellie being upset he stashes the massive gun. Because same.

The plane scene. Ellie's excitement all episode. Every question she asks. That's my Ellie.

Joel's dark humour. 'So did they'.

History Lesson With Joel.

Flour Zombies Confirmed. It's no longer Plants Vs Zombies, it's Plant Zombies.

The way he said the date of the outbreak, the subtle pain, and you can tell it's engraved because of that reason, as well as Sarah's death, and his birthday. I can't wait until Ellie finds out it was his birthday. And/Or about Sarah.

Contractor (?) Joel dragging Bill about his fences and using his KnowledgeTM to bait him into trading. Him being right.

Ellie's first time in a car. 'It's a spaceship'

'Women's shirts'. Joel really is thinking of her and it's nice to see he's used to taking care of a teenage girl and how he goes back into that role with ease. Him getting used to that again, even if begrudgingly at first.

Everytime Joel tells Ellie off. Dad Mode Joel Activated.

The fucking seat belt scene. Joel telling her to put her seatbelt on. The parallel of him saying that to Ellie like he did with Sarah. Him leaning over her and Ellie being completely comfortable with him doing so. Her not knowing what a seatbelt is.

Joel trying to get Ellie not to play music but then not letting her turn it off when he realises it's a song/artist he likes.

Joel warming up in the final shot when he likes the music. Ellie hating it. It's giving Dad Who Listens To Smooth Radio Whilst You Die Inside. I know because I've been there.

No school scene. Not introducing the bloater so soon. I'm glad we're building to that. Makes it seem much more impactful.

Basically the entire episode.

All I 'didn't like' (/Joking) was that they didn't hide literally everything in that house in the secret basement below the basement so raiders won't find anything when they come, so it'd still be there if they ever need to go back there. But that's just because I wouldn't be able to deal with it if that were me. I'd be making sure no one finds that shit. It's mine, and I'd go back for it when possible. Maybe. At some point. Hopefully. Or live there myself if I wasn't in Joel and Ellie's situation. I also wanna see Joel swinging upside-down from a chain at some point.

Joking aside, this episode is great. The show continues to not only meet my expectations, but exceed them. I can't take the fact that there's only nine episodes this season because I don't want it to end and I hope season two isn't about the second game, but for the show's later seasons to be about the years and adventures Joel and Ellie have together after the events of the first game, if season one meets the end of the first game. Because I love them and need more of this.

I'm so excited to see where this show goes. It has the perfect balance of sticking to the source material yet also doing new stuff that also surprises people who have played the game. I adore it.

[good-beans]

HAI!! haii so so . Listen i was having milgram thoughts as one does and decided to bother you talk to you . Also because i want to lowkey hear your thoughts about this

So i was thinking maybe milgram has a cleaning system thing done by the prisoners?? Like cleaning duties and stuff and obviously i had some silly thoughts like fuuta getting paired with someone taller and not being able to reach a spot that's just bugging him, and they just tower over him and clean it. Also mahiru being extremely good at cleaning because she's always wanted to be the perfect shoujo heroine. And Kazui being good at it to try to make up to his wife for not being able to love her. Muu being a rich girl™ probably wouldn't be all that good at it and I'm not entirely sure about Haruka or Yuno. Shidou probably did help around the house when his family was still around, and being a doctor, probably wants the place to be sanitary, so he'd be good at it too. Anyways, then I thought about Amane.

Like obviously she values cleanliness or purity, but her house isn't exactly the best maintained right? Would that result in her being relatively lax about the cleaning? Or maybe since her guardian was someone who "strayed from the path" (i didn't really know how to put it) she wouldn't want to follow in their example? Making her want to keep the prisoner more clean? I didn't have enough time in school to think about it (sad) but even rn i cant really come to a proper conclusion. Keeping things sanitary was definitely not what she was raised with and if the cult was fine with her running around with her bruises unbandaged and living in her definitely not properly maintained house. But also not wanting to follow something that her guardian did would also definitely be something I'd expect from her…

AHH thank you sm for telling me!! >:3 It’s literally never a bother, I always want to talk Milgram adfsdfsdf I love this 👀 I expand a bit with my thoughts below but all of that is so perfect YES

Omg I love all those -- Mahiru, Shidou, and Kazui definitely seem like the very best cleaners! Mahiru genuinely enjoys it but also holds herself to high societal standards. Kazui probably doesn’t actively enjoy it, but he’d like the clean household and being a good spouse. Shidou seems like he’s just a very meticulously clean person in general -- he also wants to be a good husband but he’d be exactly the same even if he never married lol. 

I think Haruka and Muu would be pretty bad at it, just because they’re not used to the responsibilities. (Muu gives me very genuinely spoken “you missed a spot” vibes lmao. She’s trying to be helpful, but depending on who she says it to, it goes pretty poorly…) 

Fuuta, Yuno, Mikoto, and Kotoko strike me as the type to be varying levels of messy on their own but when they’re forced to clean they do a good job. Fuuta’s bad with leaving gross food/trash/laundry around. Yuno is sanitary, but her possessions get painfully cluttered. Mikoto and Kotoko fall in the middle of this spectrum. Kotoko seems like she’d honestly just forget about taking care of her living space, while the others make the conscious choice to let it go for a while. 

I’m dying over Fuuta not being tall enough to reach a certain spot ASFSDF that’s exactly what would happen 😂 Also I know none of his clothes are his prisoner color, but I’m picturing that classic laundry mishap where he ends up dying his uniform pink by washing it alongside something red… 

And Amane. Hm. I’m intrigued by her case, because I would have said without a doubt that she would be super clean and organized due to her teachings -- but then that mv shot (combined with the injury treatment you mentioned) clearly shows her mother doesn’t live that way. It’s definitely an option that she’s a hypocrite in many areas: punishing Amane for things when she herself has done worse, demanding Amane be perfectly clean when her house is a mess, etc. It could also be that she never asked for that, but the rest of the cult drilled the importance of purity into Amane -- and this contributes to the ways in which Amane notices her mother’s straying). 

Whether cleanliness was expected of her at that time or not, though, I think you’re right: she’d be disgusted with her mother’s lack of it, and this would fuel her to keep everything in Milgram in perfect order. Es may have been the one to originally set up the cleaning/chore rotation in t1, but once she starts speaking for the cult in t2, Amane is the one really enforcing everything. At first, this probably annoys the others (they don’t want to be bossed around by a scary 12yo). But the way she talks about perfection and punishments would likely cue them in on her past, making them act a bit gentler about the whole situation. Some of them try to get her to relax and not fear undue punishments if things aren’t clean, but she’d likely take it as an insult to her code rather than an offer of reassurance :( Still, I think given her physical/mental strain, some of the others would successfully convince her to let them help, and take a few of the tougher/grosser cleaning jobs off her hands.

[heretherebedork]

I see Ray and Boston being different sides of the same coin aka diametrically opposite of each other.

I mean, Boston is filled with love. His parents both love him. His dad thinks he's doing a fantastic job in school and his mom wants him to live in New York with her. They're supportive of his artsy dreams. Boston is even full of self love! He doesn't sleep around because he's sad, he sleeps around because he's happy and he thinks it's fun and he deserves to have a great time in his great life.

Ray has no love. He has no familial love, no friend love, no self love. He's not having any fun.

I don't know what you mean that they have the same tragedies. I think they see the truth in each other but not because they're similar at all.

I don't think Boston is as loved as his father implies. His father is proud of him, yes, but really only in terms of what he thinks he's doing. He's, rather obviously, long used the idea of sending him to America as a threat for not acting within the lines he's set up for him to fit in order to support his campaign.

And how much do we know about Boston's mother loving him? Just because he can be sent to her in America doesn't mean she's loving and waiting eagerly for him. In fact, it sounds like they've had very, very little contact in the time.

I read his relationships with his parents (and theirs with him) extremely differently than you do. And that's okay.

But I see Boston as trapped not just in his father's expectations but in the knowledge that his father is merely waiting for him to fail with the exact certainty that he has already fully accepted that he cannot succeed and will be sent overseas to his mother because he cannot uphold the image his father wants him to hold up.

I did not think Boston's dad was genuinely supportive of his son's photography so much as he wants to know what Boston might be hiding from him. Because he is proud of him, yes, but he is proud of him more in terms of how he can use him for his campaigns.

Ray does not have family love but there is definitely implications in his father speaking to Sand that there is love there that is not being expressed in any kind of healthy way.

I just view Boston's family dynamics very differently than you. I do not think that Boston's relationship with his parents is anywhere near as good as you think or is meant to be read that way.

I also view his sleeping around very differently. He's so malicious about so much of it and so uncaring, avoiding connections entirely because he knows he isn't going to stay there and isn't going to make anything that lasts a long time because nothing can last a long time. His reaction to Top was not happy and fun and he is not just enjoying himself. He is confident in sex, yes, but that's the one thing he seems actually confident in.

[fictionkinfessions]

Sometimes I feel awfully bad for how I tricked the Gleefuls, as unlike my originally written source, I never remember them being unkind to me.

Yes, I was supposed to be a 'slave' in some manner of speaking, but the most Stanford ever believed he'd done was make it so I was unable to use my stronger powers without permissions. He never truly achieved that, but I did fake it so that he would believe my "weak, pathetic creature" act.

They were never unkind to me though. I have one strong memory of making breakfast for them all one day, and it was one of the few times I chose to make it faster since I'd woken up late, and both of the children just seemed to fascinated to watch me use genuine magic to levitate things.

Mabel, unlike in the originally written version of my AU, was still just as much of a bubbly sweetheart as in the original show. She still wore bright things, but it was often Decora and similar fashion styles. She also was the only one who was very insistent that she do her own chores, make her own plate and clean it, and generally seemed unhappy to make me do any of her own work.

Dipper was a lovely boy, different from the Original Show but still equally as much of a smart kid, he loved reading and since our home had a library at the time I was always able to find him reading different books throughout the weeks. There were a few times I was able to get him to accept conversation with me, and despite already knowing most of the things he learned about, he was still obviously incredibly smart.

Stanley, despite all his acting, was around the same as the Original Shows version. He just acted a lot more "proper" with everything, but regardless, was rather fun to have conversations with. He was the only one I could ever count as "cruel", and even then he was just a bully at heart, same as he was whenever he was a teenager, so I never took any offense at it.

Stanford... I miss him dearly, despite how he had been treating me, or at least how he THOUGHT he was treating me. I miss the times I could get him to crack, to let down his walls just long enough to hold him and kiss him, and despite what he believed I could still easily read his mind. I enjoyed the way he thought about me, because despite how he tried treating me, the one thing I will never forget is just how often he thought I was Beautiful. I would sacrifice so much to be able to see him again, no matter how he would feel about me after what I'd done.

I know I lied to them, I faked my entire personality and pretended to be a depressed 'demon' that was unwillingly serving them, only to slowly lead Stanford into building the portal incorrectly as to remove the 'Weirdness' from Gravity Falls, but I still did truly love them as a family. I wish they could have accepted the world I'd brought them, as I would have without a doubt ensured they'd lived a peaceful life under my own ruling.

I miss them. Sometimes I wish I'd just kept playing along.

I apologize for such a long submission, I'd been reminiscing for a long while and I believe I might have literally let my heart explode if I kept all of this to myself any longer.

-Will Cipher (Fictive) (#👁️💙)

x

[audiopilot]

Chimera Stolas

I thought I’d share here some notes on the Stolas that Octavia and Blitzo created in Occultation in Chapter 13/14, since I’ve had a few people message me about it!

I had the definition of a chimera as “a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve” in mind, but also that he’s made from parts of Octavia and Blitzo like the mythical creature. Though it’s not impossible to achieve as shown in the final chapter. 

Blitzo: The bedroom scene.

Obviously that is all from him LOL. It’s Blitzo letting Stolas fully into his life as they’re in his own room in his own apartment. Blitzo is also becoming consciously aware of what Stolas’ eyes changing means (very intense emotion) so it’s full on intimacy here.

Loona is also entirely from Blitzo, though her presence represents how Octavia is starting to see her as a friend and potentional sister. That her bedroom doesn’t have the keep out sign and caution tape is his desire to have Loona accept him as her dad, and Octavia having her own room is both Blitzo making a place for her in his life and Octavia doing the same for him.

Blitzo: "Sometimes it's nice to lay down for a while." 

What this means becomes obvious in chapter 16, where “lay down” is shown as emotional intimacy. 

Octavia: "You didn't have to do this!" and “This looks wonderful, did you both enjoy making it?” 

Octavia wants to make up for pushing away Stolas, both in general but also from when she ignored him after he couldn’t remember the pool. She’s super guilty over not realizing what that forgetting meant, but also as it followed in the wake of witnessing Stella push Stolas in the garden. 

I think someone commented on how selfish she seemed in her early chapters, and of course she is, she’s a teenager lol. She’s also spoiled by Stolas and is struggling through the realization that he’s a person with faults and things she doesn’t like about him. Lastly, she wants acceptance for what she can do and who she is becoming as a person. 

I think it’s important to realize that Stella abuses Octavia as well in this story. And being exposed to domestic violence (no matter what type) is an abuse of its own. Though neither Octavia or Stolas fully view it as what it is. It’s not explicitly stated until Octavia has the realization in Chapter 15. But Octavia still hasn’t come to see how her mother treats her in a similar way, at least not yet.

Blitzo: “Do you think we should wait for them [Moxxie and Millie]?”

Blitzo is considering Stolas and Octavia as part of his family here. In Chapter 11 he genuinely thinks of Moxxie and Millie (and Loona of course) as family. So he’s wondering if he can ever have them all together in one home, but he’s not sure that’s possible so they never arrive.

Octavia: The Sea People story.

The selkie story is from Octavia's memory of Stolas telling it to her. Stolas actually embellished the sharing/caring/happy part in reality. What Mr. Butler told him had such a huge impact on him though Mr. Butler would never realize it! Except for the last part, which as Octavia said, she made up because she wants to be enough for him. 

The story itself is based on The Selkie Bride folktale.

Blitzo: “Well, it's what holds us together. Protects us from the outside. To give that up means a lot, don't you think?" 

Loona asking about the skin and Stolas answering is basically Blitzo talking to himself. It’s about how Blitzo is guarded and resistant to the idea of letting anyone in. And it’s him explaining his own interpretation of what the skin in Sea People means.

Octavia: "I might have recited it a hundred times at least!"

Stolas said this to Octavia in Chapter 3 and is pulled from her memory. It’s her recognizing the things Stolas has done for her as a father.

Octavia: "You could never tell me anything that would make me think less of you."

This is Octavia’s desire to be listened to, and again for acceptance, no matter her mistakes or the things she feels guilt over. It’s her hoping she will always be loved no matter what.

Blitzo: "Oh, are you frustrated we didn't finish, Blitzy?" and "We can lay down again soon. After all, I'm only here to assist you." 

Both Blitzo’s desire for sexual and emotional intimacy here. The “assist you” line is what Stolas said to Blitzo from Chapter 2! It’s not only a memory, but also Blitzo poking himself a little over the concept of using Stolas, which he doesn’t start regretting until he sees/talks to kid Stolas. He realized that someone needed him and he left them. That’s why he compares him to Loona at first. I thought a lot about Stolas’ obsession of “please want me” versus Blitzo’s one of “please need me” and how that influences their view on relationships.

Octavia and Blitzo: "It will be the same for you, one day, when you love someone so much."

Octavia is interpreting why Stolas told her Sea People, and what she got out of the story from him in that it represents how Stolas’ views love. It’s also a tiny callback to Chapter 1 when Stolas told her the “proper mate one day” comment.

Blitzo because, even though he’s been in denial over it, he’s realized Stolas actually loves him after reading those notes and what he’s seen in Stolas’ head. It’s why he freaks out so much after hearing it, plus that he’s “waking up” from his and Octavia’s shared dream. It’s pretty terrifying to both be faced with what he really wants and also that none of it is real. 

Meanwhile, Octavia is never sucked into it because she’s aware of what she wants compared to Blitzo. That the dream lingers even after Blitzo “wakes up” is her holding onto it. Her watching Stolas eat is her remembering all the times they’ve shared meals together and missing that. 

Anyway, if you made it through all of this lmao, this is probably one of my favorite scenes in the story. :,)

[consumeronionbulletin]

Once Upon a Small Town (2022)

It's hard to dislike this show, even if it's the TV equivalent of a giant fluffy bag of cotton candy. It's short, sweet, safe, and uses a bunch of familiar tropes. It feels like Hometown Cha x 3 only with a smaller budget, and way more farm animals.

There's a meet cute, followed by a long lost Childhood Connection, with both leads having an Orphan Family Story, as well as a Double Love Triangle with a Surprise Ex-Girlfriend. The writing feels lazy, but they manage to do just enough work that it doesn't feel like pandering. You know from the beginning that the OTP will make it okay, and that the love pentagram will be complete, with everyone important paired off just in time for the last episode.

The Performances

Park Soo-young (aka "Joy") as Ahn Ja-young. Park Soo-young has an entire career as part of a K-pop group (which I know nothing about), but she's started to branch out into acting. She's pretty good in this. I think it helps that this is a small series with no one there to outshine her, but she's onscreen with kids, and animals, and (despite the cliche) she isn't completely upstaged. I even felt genuine feels a couple of times from her performance.

Chu Young-woo as Han Ji-yul. The other lead is also a very young actor, but kept enough of my interest that I never got bored with him. Again, it helped that his character was a bit of a stoic, but he was obviously trying his best and had a few good moments, especially the episode with the Old Man and the 30-year-old Bull. I wouldn't say his chemistry was off the charts, but this was basically the Korean equivalent of a Lifetime Movie, so it didn't have to be.

Park Ye-ni as Young-Sook. I picked this show up because I enjoyed watching her play a side character in You Are My Spring. The writers didn't give her much to work with until the end, but she did a good job with it and was able to bring out a few good moments in the last 3-4 episodes when they gave her something to do. Still funny and fun to watch.

Baek Seong-cheol as Lee Sang-hyeon. Normally, this character is the boring third wheel, and his/her job is to help the OTP figure out their feelings and then disappear. One of the smarter things the writers did was to make this character be a childhood friend who is a pretty decent guy. Instead of just getting dumped on, he was helpful and supportive of Ahn Ja-young. He just wanted something that she didn't. The downside to this choice is that it can make all of the characters seem indecisive and wishy-washy, but the acting (especially from Baek Seong-cheol) was good enough that you felt like you understood and respected the characters instead.

Everyone else. The Auntie brigade was fun. The small town cops were okay. The little kiddos were largely okay, and even good in a few places. All of the side characters (including Old Guy With 30-year-old Bull) were good. The actor who played the ex-girlfriend was very new but didn't mess things up. So there's no big complaints.

TL; DR:

It's a cute show that you can just put on with dinner or in the background and not worry about it. It knows what it's trying to do, and it manages to accomplish most of those goals without screwing up. If you like fluffy romance stories, you'll probably enjoy this.

[yuesya]

(chainsaw man manga spoilers)

Hi I just read the first chapter of step from the light (away from the dark) which was very nicely written regarding OC’s turmoil and their adaptability (compartmentalization oof) to the situation!

I was wondering if you were aware about the theory that Makima was also the mastermind behind the incident with sawatari and katana man since

Sawatari was shown to be under makima’s control in chapter 76 (in public safety uniform too)

The fact that the gun devil has no interest in denji at all (and also in different pieces across different countries)

Makima did it so that she could have control over the special divisions now that Pochita was within her grasp back then

All in all, I’m curious to see how your story will write out now that the overarching antagonist of part one is gone. Can’t wait to see the Hayakawa family and the plans you have for Madoka and Kishibe!

Hopefully, I did not come across too harsh. I am not expecting you to change your outline/plans just because of this theory but I would like to hear your thoughts? (I had to read through the entire chainsaw man tvtropes foreshadowing page to find this out because hoooo chainsaw man has a lot of tiny details and I am quite appreciative of that)

Hope you have a nice day :)

Hi Anon! Glad you enjoyed the first chapter. I was not aware of this theory, although looking back on the manga there definitely seem to be implications that hint towards this.

Regarding the points you brought up:

(More below the cut!)

1. Sawatari being dressed in the Public Safety uniform didn't particularly stand out to me when I read it at the time, mostly because at that point she'd already been killed by Makima and was presumably under her power while Makima used her to fight the Gun Devil. So, her being dressed like that for me was just a sign of Makima's control over her, rather than a sign of Sawatari secretly being a covert Public Safety agent working under Makima the entire time, or something along those lines.

(If you look at Chapter 86, Reze, Quanxi, and Katana Man are all wearing Public Safety uniforms despite not having previously been dressed as such prior to falling under Makima's control.)

I suppose the narrative might imply it, though, and it's definitely a big oof if that's actually the case! Especially with how the Snake Devil bit off her head before she could be interrogated, because then that begs the question of -was her death really because of a breach in contract? Or because Makima wanted to silence her?

Still, considering how Sawatari did kill several Public Safety agents and made a genuine attempt on Makima's life (and was honestly surprised when Makima lived), I think there's also some room to argue that Sawatari was not affiliated with Public Safety or acting on Makima's orders.

2. Probably the most compelling evidence towards this theory would be the Gun Devil turning out to have been dead this entire time. Because if it's dead, then obviously it couldn't have been giving out orders this entire time as an evil mastermind. In that case, we'd have to look towards the operation and question where the guns come from, if it's not the Gun Devil.

Makima is a definite possibility. Because Makima works for the Public Safety Bureau, under the Japanese government. I believe it's also canonically confirmed that governments around the world in CSM-verse secretly produce firearms on their own and just use 'contract with the Gun Devil' as a scapegoat.

So there's another distinct possibility that Sawatari and Katana Man's escapades are some kind of government-funded venture. Maybe by the Japanese government, maybe not. The Special Divisions are mostly experimental divisions mixed with fiends and devils; it doesn't seem like something everyone would agree to.

(Waves hands.)

3. Consolidation of power for Makima. With the exception of Kishibe, all members of the new Special DIvision 4 defer to Makima without question.

It's certainly a potential motivation, although considering what we've seen of Makima's abilities and machinations I don't think it would've been strictly necessary for her to go and kill off basically everyone else in divisions 1-4 just to centralize her power and control who Denji interacts with. That's just my personal opinion, though.

TLDR: I didn't know about this theory and I think it's definitely very plausible! Thanks for bringing it up to my attention. However, in the context of step from the light (away in the dark), Makima is not pulling the strings with Sawatari. Chalk it up to AU if ever haha.

[vole-mon-amour]

IWTV, 1x05, part 1.

He-fucking-llo and ex-fucking-CUSE ME??? ARMAND?? The hell is going on here? What kind of toxic co-dependency is happening?

I wish Daniel could shield himself from Louis. This isn't a fair game.

How did they film a scene with pigeons with broken wings? I'm very concerned.

I... dislike how it's all about the cutting.

She's in there 'cause YOU wanted to 'save' here, asshole. Stfu.

I'm way too lazy to make a gifset of his hands, but manual screencaps I can do. Ahhh.

Everything about him. His anger when he read the diary. Lestat's fault? Lol. Never though I would be hating on Louis, but here I am. You're a fake bitch. <3 As if it wasn't enough that I wanted to slap you in the book, but here you are, pissing me off way before the show ends.

Surely someone giffed this??? KING!!

He's a walking, talking, breathing piece of art. Such a doll.

Holy fuck. Those hands. The combination of those nails and those hands. And if the nails were longer... Ahhh.

Meanwhile, I'm going to join the club of "Why the hell are they smoking?" Looks cool? Nah. They don't enjoy alcohol, as far as I see in this show, so why smoking? Only sex seems up their alley.

Lestat—you broke into my house when I wasn't there and now I'm going to fucking kill you—De Lioncourt :') I mean, not the cop, obviously, but it's that energy.

H-hands... All of him.

!!! For once, it is not Lestat's fault & I am LIVING. I'd gif this.

He said Family with no secrets, so he's truthful <3 I'm never going to have kids, thanks <3

Beautiful, just beautiful.

I see your reaction, Lestat. If they won't use this as foreshadowing, it's going to be a waste.

The idea of Claudia meeting a vampire of her own, out there, is nice, that I can adnit. Completely out of canon, but there's something to it. Still, I think I prefer the motivation of the book: Claudia is so tired of the abuse, of not knowing what's out there, of wanting Louis with her. "He's more like a dad"? Well, it ain't like that in the book. I like her being in love with him. I like them traveling together. I like her being eager for knowledge. This part of the story in the show? Totally not my thing. I still have some scenes in my imagination, the two riding a carriage, killing those brainless things/vampires, only meeting real ones in Paris. Claudia holding Louis' hand, trying to kiss him. Those two loving each other. Yeah, that would be a real jam.

Also, the fact that Bruce attacks her and tries to assault her. I keep thinking about what Armand said in the book, how he wouldn't turn that boy/slave of his even if he was in danger. Cause he's too young, wouldn't be able to protect himself. His body not fully grown. How he talked about "this child with you", and Claudia being stuck in a body of a freaking FIVE. YEAR. OLD.

I really like the idea of Claudia traveling with Louis better. But I'm afraid I have a very different picture in my mind than the show gives me. Something closer to the first movie. That'd be some picture. Need to rewatch the movie, definitely.

Baby, NO! I'm not ready for that. ;_;

Miserable mocking king. That chuckle is everything. I want gifs.

Leave him, Lestat, and all your problems are gone. Better be lonely than unhappy with someone. And for so many years, my goodness. What kind of shit your parents did to you so you hate yourself that much?

Also, the way his voice gets way deeper when he's angry, gloomy, screaming. Wow. Princess? Baby girl? You suuuure? He identifies like a male & he is definitely one.

Genuinely not sure what's Armand's purpose, but I'm glad he intervened. That was a very shitty thing to do of Louis. That slap to Louis from Daniel was very well deserved. Also, I'd watch Daniel and Armand being lovers. It's an intriguing idea.

Louis is obsessed with Claudia while Lestat is tired of his whining & would like to do something fun. Very much yeah.

Was about to crop to the hand, but the entire picture is a masterpiece.

Ah yes, Louis' sister arranging a gravestone for him, knowing he's supernatural. You don't care about canon, do you?

"To be Louis' sister." To be Louis' WHAT????????????? This show is a joke.

[somanyfuckedupiftruebooks]

Mag 17

The return of Mike! And evidence that he was an asshole long before he made a living throwing people off of towers. Knowingly setting Leitners loose into the world crosses the line from negligence into maliciousness.

I'm so interested in the relationship between Jared and Sebastian. Growing up as friends, despite how different they are. Then Jared feels betrayed when Sebastian leaves for uni and grows to resent him. So when he returns, Jared starts terrorising him, including showing up at his place of work, but is very careful to never do anything in front of witnesses. And Sebastian is still weirdly fond of Jared, despite things like getting hit over the back of the head with books.

Yeah, I think they were exes.

Fun fact! On my very first listen this was my biggest scare of the series to date. Don't get me wrong, the recording from Lost Johns' Cave was creepy, but the sudden sound of the door opening ripped me out of the statement, and at this point I hadn't really been paying attention to the meta narrative so it was completely unexpected that anyone would interrupt Jon. Seems silly in hindsight, but it's very ironic that the first thing in the show to actually get my heart pounding with genuine fear was the arrival of Elias.

Haha, Archivist's in trouble!

As I said during Naomi's statement, this listen through has made realise that Elias is just using her compliant as an excuse to make Jon back off from annoying the Lukas family. I mean, I knew he didn't give a shit about Naomi, but I figured he was just doing this to be a dick and make Jon feel like he's being watched.

I still think he's doing both of those things, but the primary motivation is the fact that he got an annoyed phonecall from Peter and he's trying to hold off their next divorce another couple of weeks.

I'm confused by the line 'if Rose kept her equipment in better condition'. Obviously it's a reference to the fact that he's frustrated by needing to use the tape recorder, by why is that Rosie's fault? Wouldn't it be the recording software on the laptops in the Research and Archives departments that isn't working? What does Rosie have to do with that? Is she personally responsible for all the equipment in the Institute? I thought she was Elias's P.A.?

No idea what Jon means by that. But at least he's going to be more lovely! That should be good to see. XD

Another reason why Elias felt the need to come down here in person, because Jon hasn't flagged anything unusual about Martin being gone and maybe he was hoping that if he pointed Jon in the right direction it might lead to a Corruption mark. Unfortunately Jon is too busy enjoying Martin's absence from the Archives to want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Alternate caption: MARTIN!!! MARTIN MY BELOVED!!! WHERE ARE YOU???

Love that it's so completely out of character for Jared to read a book that Sebastian flags the entire interaction as weird.

Also a great detail that Jared was afriad even as he was captivated by the book. I will never get over the fact that an essential component of being an avatar is fearing your patron. It's so great that serving them grants power but not relief, not escape.

Poor Mrs Hopworth. She's really going through it. But this whole interaction makes me read her as the mother who disapproves of her son's boyfriend. The shifting of blame from Jared to the book to the man who 'gave him' the book, the way she silently throws the book to the ground and only interacts with Sebastian after he mentions Jared by name, her fury and disgust (she actually spits at him). To me it all reads as classic homophobic 'you've perverted my innocent son with your evil queerness' nonsense.

This might be a tenuous connection, but I've actually read Misery since the last time I listened to this episode, and I wonder if the reason it's included here is because all the fucked up stuff that happens to the protagonist's leg in that book is extremely evocative of boneturning.

[thebeautyoffanfics]

Can I request Hanako (or Amane Yugi), Teru Minamoto, and Akane Aoi (the male) with a female s/o who is literally invisible to people. (This totally not based on events that actually happened to me-)

Like some people, even her close friends, won’t even notice she’s there and if she’s has to asks something she tends to repeat it or stutter. She also tends to get forgetting or lost on school trips, etc.

This has happened for as long as she could remember and she’s use to it by now but sometimes it still hurts when they forget her

Headcanons please!

hanako x f!reader, teru minamoto x f!reader, akane aoi x f!reader

a/n: sure thing!! I feel like Hanako would understand that as a ghost, so I think I’ll write for him in his ghosty form! I hope that’s alright :)) thank you so much for requesting, and I hope these turn out alright!!

I’m really sorry if these are shorter or poorer than normal, and if they’re formatted strangely- I’m doing my best to get requests done on my phone (´ε｀”)

warnings: none?

word count: 1,414

Hanako <3

He understands, he understands more than anyone- so he thinks. I mean, he’s a ghost. He literally cannot be seen by anyone who isn’t an exorcist, near death, a fellow supernatural, or bound to him in some way.

Still… honestly, he gets pretty defensive over you-

They can’t hear him, but you can. (They can’t hear you, but he certainly can.) It’s honestly somewhat humorous, Hanako standing behind you, shouting that they’d better listen up!!

“IF YOU GUYS MAKE (Y/N) REPEAT HERSELF ONE MORE TIME?? Are they deaf, (Y/N)?? I think they’re deaf?????”

His reactions like that are half-joking-half-serious. He’s genuinely upset that they treat you like that- but he hopes that all his ranting and going on helps you to feel better somehow?

He can’t exactly follow you on trips, but! He makes Yashiro “Honorary (Y/N) Defense”! Meaning, since he can’t, she’ll defend you in his place!

You get interrupted or ignored? Hanako tells Yashiro to help you out, and (though she would any way) she’s raising her hand somewhat shyly- explaining that you were trying to talk.

Getting left behind on a field trip? Yashiro is sticking by your side! She turns around constantly, making sure that you keep up with her, and especially making sure that you get on the bus with the rest! As per Hanako’s request, and her own care for you, she’ll let you sit next to her.

Hanako is always very talkative, but he’s still very patient with you- he loves to have conversations with you, which is a big reason he doesn’t get why they treat you like that. You’re such a great person-! You’ve got such a cute voice-!!! Why don’t they listen-?!!!

To be honest, he finds your stutter kind of cute… he’s quite bold, so you being timid is something he doesn’t mind! Hanako doesn’t mind listening out for you- even if the other people aren’t in a relationship for you, isn’t it… basic human decency?? What happened to that???

“It’s really alright, Hanako. Things like this have happened since I was little- it hurts sometimes, but I’m mostly used to it.”

Hanako would then grab your shoulders gently, looking in your eyes with some determination!

“You shouldn’t have to be used to that!! I’m used to it because I’m dead, but you’re… alive. You can be heard and seen by everyone, yet they choose to not listen- it’s… ridiculous. I’m sorry that you have to deal with that, (Y/N)... really.”

Uncharacteristically soft moment, but it simply hits different for him due to personal experience. I’m sure as a human, the only time people saw him were when he was bullied, and now he’s- obviously- not seen by nearly anyone. It’s such a lonely feeling, and he genuinely hates that you can relate to it.

Teru Minamoto <3

It’s hard to not garner attention as Teru Minamoto’s girlfriend- so, people certainly acknowledge you once your relationship is made public/becomes obvious.

But! Before the entire school knew about the Prince having a girlfriend, Teru was… quite defensive over you- even before the two of you were a couple, he’d notice the way others seemed to step all over you. Ignoring you, interrupting you, forgetting about you.

Like Hanako, he doesn’t get it? You’ve got his attention, how do you not have anyone else’s? You’re so cute… and really do have a lovely voice, appearance, and overall are really pleasant to be around?? If anything you deserve more praise than he does-

He also doesn’t get it due to the fact that people acknowledge him a little too much-

Anyway, he tends to give that praise he thinks you deserve to you!

Meaning, he brags on you so much. Compliments you to your face, telling you how nice it is to converse with you- telling his family how lovely of a person you are. He even mentions it to classmates, which does start to earn others being more noticeable of your presence.

Not afraid to stick up for you in the least!! Who wouldn’t listen to Teru?? The moment someone interrupts, he’s politely making his way into the conversation- offering an “I’m sorry, I don’t think (Y/N) got her chance to speak.”

“Th-That’s okay, Teru. I appreciate it, but I’m used to things like that,” You told him after class, slightly embarrassed.

“Used to things like being ignored?”

“Yeah..?”

“...you shouldn’t have to be. I’d never be upset with you, but it does upset me that people have been so willing to pretend you aren’t there? I think you’re lovely, and nearly impossible to ignore. It’s simply confusing, I suppose.”

BRO if he, for some reason, isn’t on the field trip and you get forgotten- it’s game over for the chaperones will get their heads chewed off. Except he’ll be calm and collected while doing so- however, on the inside, he can’t express how upset he is.

“Is it not your job to make sure all the students are accounted for? What if (Y/N) had gotten lost? Do you not realize she could have been kidnapped? Should some low-life had decided to try anything strange, the blame would have been on you, and therefore our entire school. What would that do for both your’s and the school’s reputation?”

If he’s on the trip? You won’t be getting forgotten <3 Even you were to get distracted for a moment, he’s grabbing your hand and making sure you stay caught up with the class. Sits with you on the bus, and makes absolutely sure that you’re safe and with him!!

Akane Aoi <3

He worships the very ground you walk on. We all know how he treated Aoi? Well, now that’s how he treats you- maybe a bit less exaggerated and dramatic, but all that love and more is there!

So, he’s admiring you, and sees that you keep opening your mouth in an attempt to speak- only to have someone interrupt you, not even acknowledging that you’re there??

“Hey, (Y/N), what’s up?”

“O-oh, I was just trying to ask them something…”

“Oi, you heard her. Shut up for a moment and let (Y/N) get her question in.”

Most are somewhat aware of how scary Akane can be, so they’ll certainly listen whenever he’s there. Heck, people occasionally keep an extra eye open if they know he’s around- making sure they don’t unintentionally look past you.

If you dislike his very direct method, he’ll try to be nicer to others about it. But, he can’t help but get defensive- like our other boys, he admires you so much, and enjoys talking with you so much, that- by this point- others are simply missing out?? Like, it’s basically their loss for treating you like that. And it’s his mission to shower you in love and admiration to a point where others do the same- platonically of course, and boys better rethink anything that isn’t strictly “wow (Y/N) is cool, it’s cool that she’s taken by Akane.”

Cos, as we all know, if someone even says “oh, (Y/N) probably makes a cute girlfriend” it’s game over. RIP unknowing student, he had no mercy bashing their skull in </3

“Akane, it’s really fine, you know? Things like this happen been happening since... forever. I’m just not easily noticed, I suppose. I’m used to it!”

“Hmm... well, get un-used to it. You’ve got the most beautiful presence and voice of anyone I know! And, I want the class- for everyone- to be able to acknowledge that. You shouldn’t have to repeat yourself constantly, nor be ignored like that. Not on my watch, at least.”

You won’t be getting forgotten. He’s ahead of Teru, ahahahaaaa!!! If he isn’t on the field trip, he’s telling someone who will be to keep an eye out for you “or else <3”. The person wouldn’t even bother to question it- just nod and keep an eye out for you constantly. They even offer to have you sit with them! How sweet! Glad to know they value their skulls!!

If he’s on the trip, like the others, he’s keeping an eye out for you constantly. He’ll hold your hand the entire time, stopping as you pleased, but keeping an eye out for the group. He wants you to see what you want, so you will- all while staying with the class, or at least close to the class. If he, for some reason, were to lose sight of the class, he takes comfort in the fact that you wouldn’t be lost alone.

[rax-writes]

More

Fandom:  MCU Pairing:  Baron Helmut Zemo x Reader Warnings:  Sexual intercourse with a female-identifying person with a vagina + a bit of sugar daddy Zemo vibes at the end Notes:  Y’all... don’t judge me. I have a power kink, and Marvel did me dirty by randomly deciding that Zemo is fifthly rich royalty. And my girl @henrysmorgan​ did me even dirtier by actively encouraging my attraction to this fucker. So, blame Marvel, and blame her. // This is kind of really fucking long, and I didn’t edit it much, because I wanted to get it posted before episode 4, in case that episode flips the script. So, potentially some editing issues, and slightly rushed writing. Hopefully it’s alright, but please let me know if I screwed up anywhere. // Lots and lots of TFAWS ep. 3 spoilers

When Bucky texted you to ask that you meet him in some dusty, old, abandoned-looking car garage, you certainly didn’t know what to expect. All you knew was that an old friend needed your help, so you intended to be there.

It had been a few months since you’d last seen him, and even longer since you’d participated in any sort of mission, but you suspected that was what you were walking into. Being exposed to the Mind Stone had granted you the power of telepathy, which meant that SHIELD was quite keen on persuading you to work for them. They trained you in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, and you went on miscellaneous missions a handful of times. They put in a lot of effort to convince you that it was your moral obligation as an “enhanced individual” to help them with these missions, but you ultimately decided that that simply wasn’t the kind of life you wanted. Instead, after the Blip, you began working a desk job for SHIELD, which is when you crossed paths with Bucky, helping him with paperwork associated with his pardon, and the two of you formed a friendship. But SHIELD kept trying to coerce you to get back into the field, constantly badgering you about it and making it clear that you weren’t wanted if all you were doing was paperwork.

The truth is, you weren’t cut out to be a superhero, and you had no desire to be. It didn’t help that your entire country had been reduced to rubble several years prior, leaving you with a bottomless pit of homelessness in your heart. So, you left SHIELD, and started a life in Berlin, where you were content to live out your days as the owner of a small bakery, residing in the small apartment above your shop.

That is, until Bucky Barnes dragged you into a particularly sticky situation, with a certain Baron Helmut Zemo.

You knew that helping Bucky and Sam would throw a colossal wrench in the life you’d created for yourself in Berlin, but after they explained the situation with the super soldiers, coupled with Bucky’s puppy dog eyes, you found yourself refraining from storming out of the building the second you saw Helmut fucking Zemo.

“We need you to keep an eye on him. You don’t have to tap into his mind 24/7, we just want a heads up if he’s going to screw us over,” Bucky explained.

"Look, we really need him. We’re obviously scraping the bottom of the barrel here, otherwise he'd still be in that cell. And neither of us want to be packing a criminal around like a rich bitch's chihuahua, so we need you here to make sure we're not gonna get bit," Sam explained.

"Fine. But you both owe me," you relented, and they both took sighs of relief. You glanced at Zemo, locking eyes with him for several tense moments. He gave you a polite smile, giving off the impression that he had nothing to hide – which he didn't, as his thoughts showed his intentions were pure at the moment. "We're good for now. He just genuinely wants the opportunity to take down these new super soldiers."

Sam and Bucky nodded, visibly releasing tension from their shoulders as they moved to head out, now reassured that Zemo was truly on their side. Meanwhile, Zemo eyed you with curiosity and awe, murmuring, "Fascinating."

The four of you walked on the landing strip toward a private jet, owned by Zemo.

"So all this time you've been rich?"

"I was a Baron, Sam. My family was royalty before your friends destroyed my country," Zemo explained, before glancing at you with a small smile. "But you knew that already."

"Wait, how did she know that?" Sam asked, then turned to you. "How did you know that?"

"I am Sokovian myself. I was certainly not royalty, but I lived there for my entire life, until it was destroyed," you explained, stopping outside the jet as Zemo greeted the elderly butler, Oeznik, in your native language. It made you smile to yourself; it had been years since you'd heard it spoken. Zemo shot you a grin when he noticed, and when you took a peek into his mind, you saw that he understood exactly how you felt.

As the butler handed Zemo a flute of champagne after you all boarded the jet, the Baron smiled politely as Oeznik stated, “Apologies if that's a little warm. The fridge is out, but I will see if there is some good food in the galley.”

Zemo glanced as you sat across from him, then in Sokovian, Zemo told Oeznik, "Another flute for the lady, please. And if the food does not pass the smell test, give it to the gentlemen."

"It's good to have you back, sir!"

As the man retreated to the cockpit, also in Sokovian, you noted, "You are a mischievous man, even more so than in your infamously criminal ways."

"You will find that there is more to me than meets the eye, angel," he responded coolly, the Sokovian language rolling off his tongue like honey. Before you could respond, admittedly enjoying speaking Sokovian, Sam grew tired of everyone speaking a language he couldn't understand.

"Why don't you tell us about where we're going?"

After a tense exchange between Bucky and Zemo, followed by a discussion about Marvin Gaye, Zemo finally got to the point: Madripoor. You exhaled slowly, resting your forehead in your palm in exasperation.

“You couldn’t have invited me on a mission to Cancun? Or Paris? Why must it be Madripoor?” you asked Bucky, who shot you a tight-lipped, pitying smile, silently apologizing for what he was dragging you into.

“What’s up with Madripoor? You guys talk about it like it’s Skull Island.”

“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s,” Bucky explained.

“And upon seeing it, you would see that times there haven’t changed one bit since then,” you added.

“It’s kept its lawless ways. But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone,” Zemo said.

You frowned as you caught a glimpse of Bucky’s thoughts as he went silent. Fear. Anxiety. Disdain. Apprehension. You reached across to rest your hand on his shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze. He shot you a small smile, then looked out the window.

Upon landing in Madripoor, one of Zemo’s contacts met you on the landing strip with a new wardrobe for you, Bucky, and Sam, and Zemo explained that each outfit was per his instruction, carefully chosen to fit the role each of you would be playing in Madripoor. One by one, you took the covered clothes hanger to the bathroom of the jet and changed. Bucky was first, stepping out in some sort of leather number, looking eerily similar to the Winter Soldier you’d seen in photos. Sam was next, donning a three-piece suit of burgundy and gold. He looked sharp, although he was immediately complaining about how ostentatious it was. And finally, you stepped into the room and closed the door behind you, unzipping the covering on the hanger and revealing your “carefully chosen” outfit.

“Ich werde dir im Schlaf die Eier abreißen, Zemo!”

Bucky choked on his water and Zemo chuckled under his breath, while Sam looked between the two in confusion.

“I don’t know what she said, but she sounded pissed,” he observed, eyeing Zemo suspiciously.

“She informed me that she intends to remove my testicles in my sleep.”

“And why is that?”

“Perhaps because he’s chosen to parade me around Madripoor like a cheap whore,” you said angrily, stepping out of the bathroom with your hands on your hips, glaring at Zemo.

“That dress is by Armani Prive, and your shoes are Louboutins – far from ‘cheap.’ And you do not look like a whore, the dress is merely more revealing than what you are used to,” Zemo argued, standing and walking over to survey your outfit. He seemed to be enjoying what he saw, judging from the way his eyes raked up and down your body, but you didn’t dare check his thoughts to confirm or deny it.

If you were honest with yourself, he was right. It was a very nice dress; plum purple, matching the color of Zemo’s turtleneck, with long, fitted sleeves, all of it made of the softest silk you had ever touched. It was fitted at the top but flowy from the hips down, with a low balconette-style neckline, showing more of your chest than you were accustomed to, although you pulled it off quite nicely. It ended just above your knees, which was fine, as you sometimes wore skirts of that length. Overall, the luxury of it and the low-cut neckline ensured that you were out of your comfort zone, but you looked stunning – and expensive, despite your spite-fueled initial claim.

“I thought the color would look nice on you, and I was right. And I knew that the flow of the fabric at the bottom would allow for this,” Zemo said, his hand gingerly trailing from your waist to your thigh, where he pulled up the hem of your dress slightly to reveal the edge of the Glock strapped into your thigh holster. He smirked as his suspicion was confirmed. He knew you’d find a way to arm yourself, regardless of what you wore.

In hindsight, the way Zemo touched your side and lifted your skirt was all far more intimate than you should have allowed, and yet… you couldn’t deny the way your breath caught in your throat when he touched you, or how his close proximity made your body temperature rise, as he gazed down at you with those intense brown eyes.

Christ, you needed to get laid. Soon. Before you further entertained the idea of jumping the bones of a highly wanted criminal.

“Touch me like that again, and I will kill you where you stand,” you informed him sternly, and Zemo immediately took a step backwards, looking apologetic. From the corner of your eye, you saw both Sam and Bucky visibly relax, tension leaving their shoulders. You had read their thoughts briefly, and they were both wondering why the hell you were so calm about getting cozy with Zemo. The absolute last thing you wanted was for them to know that you were, in fact, inexplicably drawn to being that close to the Baron.

As the four of you walked along a bridge in Madripoor, Sam was quick to resume his complaining.

“We have to do something about this. I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.”

“Only an American would assume a fashion-forward Black man looks like a pimp. You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing. The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.”

“He even has a bad nickname,” Sam grumbled, then looked at the phone Zemo handed him. “Hell, he does look like me, though.”

“And who am I supposed to be?” you inquired, glancing down at your clothing to see if you could guess who you were meant to be portraying. An heiress or socialite, perhaps.

“My fiancée,” Zemo answered simply, the faintest smile on his lips.

You barked out a crude laugh, “Oh, I think not.”

“There is no one involved with Madripoor who looks like you. And it is rare that there are newcomers to the island, especially not in the place we’re going. Pretending you are someone random would raise concerns about the intentions of your presence; you would be perceived as a potential threat, which would jeopardize our mission. It is far easier to simply pretend we are engaged, I assure you.”

You hesitated a moment, before arguing, “No one will believe that we are engaged.”

Zemo pulled something from the inside pocket of his jacket, took your left hand, and slipped it onto your ring finger. It was a solitaire diamond ring; not large enough to be gaudy, but enough to catch anyone’s eye.

“They will if you play your part well,” he told you, then addressed the rest of your party when he added, “No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There is no margin for error.”

The four of you reached a sleek black car, and climbed in, you in the back between Sam and Bucky. The ride to Low Town was tense and silent, as each of you mentally prepared for what lay ahead. When you arrived, Zemo offered you his hand as you exited the car, and the pointed look in his eyes told you that it was time to begin playing your part. You took his hand, and as you began walking into the heart of Low Town, he laced his fingers with yours. As the crowd drew near, Zemo wrapped his arm around your shoulders, gloved fingers brushing against the exposed skin of your shoulder. After reading his mind, you realized that it was both for the sake of protecting you, and showing possessiveness to make it believable that you were his girl – and because he simply enjoyed having your body close, although you suspected that he’d rather you have not known that.

Despite the fact that you had been on a few missions for SHIELD, you were not exactly incapable of fear; you did not possess nerves of steel. All of the missions you’d been on were low-profile, and you were mostly just there for the sake of gathering information from those reluctant to share it. Sure, you’d been in danger before, you’d had to fight your way out of several sticky situations, but this… this was different. You were in the crime capital of the world, a lawless place filled to the brim with crooks, thieves, and murderers. More than likely, any given person around could slit your throat and never bat an eye or give you a second thought. Swallowing your own pride in the face of fear prompted you to return Zemo’s gesture, wrapping your arm around his waist and sticking close to him, which earned a smile from the man.

When you arrived at your destination, Zemo approached the bar and leaned against it confidently on one arm, the other still wrapped firmly around your shoulders.

“Hello, gentleman,” the bartender greeted, before his eyes fell on you. “Who’s your new lady friend, Baron?”

“My fiancée,” Zemo answered, then turned to you and ran his finger along your jawline, as you looked at him in adoration. “Isn’t she lovely?”

“Very,” the bartender acknowledged, then turned to Sam. “Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.”

“His plans changed. We have business to do with Selby,” Zemo responded.

The bartender made ‘Smiling Tiger’ his usual drink, which apparently consisted of… something he cut out of a snake, and dropped in a shot glass with a bit of liquor. You shared a look with Bucky before he turned away to survey the room, and when you read his thoughts, you found that you both desperately wanted to laugh out loud at Sam’s ‘short end of the stick’ situation, but didn’t want to risk everyone’s lives for the sake of a chuckle. You returned your attention to Zemo, opting to sell the whole “fiancée” thing a bit more by turning into him and tracing patterns on his chest as you gazed at him affectionately, while the bartender handed you and Zemo each a shot glass of your own – sans snake organs, thankfully. You both downed yours, while Sam understandably struggled a bit more with his, but still managed it.

A random man approached Zemo then, and as Zemo turned to face him, he protectively moved you behind him a bit.

“I got word from on high. You ain’t welcome here.”

“I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me…” Zemo countered, gesturing toward Bucky, who looked menacing as he pretended to be the Winter Soldier. “Or bring Selby for a chat.”

After a weary look in Bucky’s direction, the man walked away, and Zemo turned back around to face the bar, this time keeping you in between him in the bar, in case someone were to come up behind him – which they did a few moments later.

“Winter Soldier… attack,” Zemo commanded in Russian, as a different man came up and laid a hand on Zemo’s shoulder. With a pained look in his eye that quickly shifted to cold determination, Bucky grabbed the man’s hand with his vibranium arm, twisting it as he removed it from Zemo’s shoulder. Zemo took a step away from the bar to allow you room to turn and observe as Bucky beat the absolute shit out of various challengers. Zemo wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close to him as he noted, “Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.”

The unmistakable sound of numerous guns cocking drew your attention away from the altercation, and Zemo gently pushed you behind him as he surveyed the room to note all the weapons drawn. Sam grabbed Bucky’s bionic arm to stop him, but Zemo whispered, “Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us.”

“Well done, soldier,” Zemo then said to Bucky in Russian, signaling for the ‘Winter Soldier’ to stop.

“Selby will see you now,” the bartender interjected, and Bucky released his grip on the random man’s throat.

“Thank you,” Zemo responded, walking off to find Selby, grabbing your hand to guide you, but not before you spared a sorrowful glance at Bucky as your friends followed closely behind.

As Zemo took a seat on a couch across from Selby, you sat close to him, crossing your legs gracefully as you leaned into him, your arm wrapped around his as he clasped his hands in his lap authoritatively. You watched his exchange with Selby in silence, as did Sam – and Bucky, of course, considering he was pretending to be the Winter Soldier.

“By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison,” Selby told Zemo, then smiled as she looked you up and down, before her eyes found the diamond ring. “And not engaged – to a woman far out of your league, I might add.”

“People like us always find a way, don’t we?” Zemo answered calmly, then looked over at you, staring into your eyes with warmth and adoration, and you smiled lovingly at him. “My beautiful fiancée was a guard at the prison. We fell in love over the years, and she helped me escape. Anyway, I’m sure you have already figured out what I’m here for.”

The conversation went relatively smoothly after that, until Sam’s goddamn phone rang and screwed the entire operation. In the blink of an eye, Selby was shot dead, you had shot two of the guards with the gun strapped to your thigh, and Sam and Bucky had each knocked out one, before Zemo suggested sneaking out of the bar as best you could, without any weapons. You secured your gun back in its holster, not missing the way Zemo watched as you hiked your dress up to do so, before making a break for it with the three of them.

Once you were on the streets of Madripoor, bounty hunters began to come out of the woodwork, and when they began shooting at you, Zemo abruptly grabbed your hand and ran down a nearby alleyway. As you were running, the heel of your stiletto caught on a grate, and you’d have fallen flat on your face if Zemo hadn’t caught you.

“Are you alright?” he asked hurriedly, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist as he supported you, before standing you back onto your feet. You nodded, and he glanced over your shoulder as he noticed a few men looking down the alley. “Forgive me.”

You were about to ask what he was talking about, but then Zemo abruptly grabbed you by the backs of your thighs and lifted you up, pinned you against the wall behind you, and kissed you.

The men at the end of the alleyway muttered something about “freaks who do it in public,” then their footsteps faded as they walked off, clearly thinking the two of you were some overly horny couple, not two of the people with an insane bounty on their heads. But you were barely paying them any attention, a bit preoccupied with the fact that Zemo was fucking kissing you, and much to your chagrin, you really fucking liked it.

Once there were no more voices and no more footsteps, Zemo broke the kiss and sat you down. The two of you stared at each other for a moment, before you heard more gunshots, and you broke into a run in the direction Bucky and Sam had gone, desperate to find your friends, and no time to process what the hell just happened.

As soon as you caught up with them, the two bounty hunters nearby were shot dead, and the four of you turned to see Sharon Carter emerging from the shadows.

An hour later, you found yourself in her swanky home in High Town, in a change of clothes, since the brick wall Zemo had held you up against ripped the back of your silk dress. You lied to Sam and Bucky, saying that it happened because you fell while running in your heels, and thankfully, they believed you. Sharon commanded the four of you to lay low and enjoy the party, which Sam and Bucky left her living room to go do, entrusting you with ‘Zemo watch.’

It seemed as though he was merely nursing his brandy in lieu of abandoning it for the party prior to finishing it off, but his eyes were on you most of the time. You didn't necessarily believe he could be plotting to overpower you and run off, but there is always that possibility, so you delved into his mind to check.

Expecting to find thoughts of strategy about how to defeat the super soldiers or travel plans, or even plots to escape you, Bucky, and Sam, you were astounded to find nothing but thoughts of you.

The way it felt to kiss you in that alleyway, and how he had monetarily debated just staying there, having his way with you against the brick wall before Sam and Bucky could locate you. The dress from the bar, and how it rested on your thighs, revealing just enough to have his mouth watering without being revealing to the point of immodesty. The way your necklace currently rested against your bare collarbone, and how desperately he craved to litter the area with love bites. The delicate skin of your throat, thinking of how it would look with his hand wrapped around it, just enough to cut off a bit of air but not enough harm you. How alluring your voice is, and how much he'd like to know what it would sound like to hear you scream his name. The softness and warmness of your skin when he had his arm around you in the bar, and when he held your hand as you fled the scene, and he wondered how soft and warm you were elsewhere.

"Your thoughts are filthy."

He bristled immediately, sitting straighter in his seat and eyes going slightly wide, either forgetting you can read minds or not realizing you'd be doing it right then. It only took a moment for him to regain his composure, before he took one long, last drink of his brandy and set the glass on the table in front of him. He turned his whole body to the side to face you, as you sat on the opposite end of the couch, wearing a small, somewhat mischievous smile.

"I suppose there is no sense in denying it, is there?"

"What game are you playing, Zemo?" you snapped. He was rattling you. As much as you hated to admit it, he was. For the entirety of the time you'd been around him, this wanted criminal had been flustering you, and goddammit it, you wanted to know if it was accidental, or for nefarious purposes. He could be using it as a tactic to throw you off your game, so that he could get away when it was just the two of you – like right now.

"There is no game, Liebling," he stated softly and sincerely, sensing your discomfort. Slowly, he scooted closer to you on the couch, so that the arm he had laid across the back of it was now behind you, as he stared intently into your eyes. "Merely the natural response of a man who has been widowed and then locked in a prison cell, and therefore has not known the touch of a woman in many years, sitting next to a woman of absolute ethereal beauty."

You said nothing, merely stared at him, sizing him up to see if he was toying with you or telling the truth. Zemo sensed your lack of belief in his words.

"If you doubt my true intentions, you are welcome to delve as deep into my mind as you'd like to find the truth."

In all honesty, you'd have done that already if you weren't trying to avoid being even more flustered by his thoughts about you – but you couldn't tell him that. So, you did as he bade you, and searched his mind to find any shred of malevolence towards you, but you came out empty-handed. Zemo genuinely just wanted you, craved you, like a starved man sitting in front of an endless buffet. He watched you carefully as you came to this conclusion, and although you said nothing further, he knew that you had found what you needed to know.

"Just say the word, and I will never approach the topic again, as well as attempt to quiet my thoughts about you. But if there is any part of you... deep inside you," Zemo paused, eyes grazing you up and down purposefully, before continuing, "that has any interest in being with me... I will do anything to bring that to fruition."

The ball was in your court now. You could tell him to get bent and never speak to you like this again… or you could get your rocks off, and maybe even get something more in return.

"Such as?"

"Name it, Schätzchen. Anything you want. A car, a mansion, jewels – say it and it's yours, if you will be mine," Zemo proposed earnestly, licking his lips quickly as he looked at you, visibly thrilled that he was getting somewhere with you.

You weren't the type to accept gifts from men you barely know, but… this was Zemo. A man who had done a great many terrible things, which soothed your guilty conscience. So, you said the first thing that came to mind.

"A car," you blurted out, then explained, "Mine broke down a week ago, and it's beyond repair, so… a car."

"Tell me the make and model of your preference and I'll have it delivered to your home within a week's time," Zemo said calmly, then brushed a lock of hair away from your face, before allowing his fingers to trail delicately along your cheek and jawline. "Is that all, Kätzchen?"

"No. One more thing," you replied, then looked at him sternly. "You must agree to never speak of this to Bucky or Sam."

"You have my word," he assured you, smiling in amusement.

"Then I'm yours."

Zemo's smile faded slowly, and he merely stared at you for a split second, before cupping your face in his hands and pulled you into a searing kiss, full of ferocity and sheer desperation. It shouldn't have been this easy, to kiss a man who's done such terrible things – yet here you were, melting into his embrace, allowing him to pull you into his lap and straddle him, your hands resting on his shoulders and gripping the black fabric of his turtleneck. His hands laid flat against your back as he kissed you in this new position, slowly gliding down, down your sides and to your hips. He kissed you in a way that was feverish and fast and hungry, as his fingers dug into your skin, holding you firmly against him as if he were fearful that this was all a dream and you'd disappear at any moment. Upon taking a peek into his mind, you realized that was actually exactly what he was thinking. Additionally, he mentally spoke to you directly, somehow knowing you were reading his thoughts at that moment.

"Tell me if I do anything that you do not like, and know that you have absolute freedom to end this at any given moment."

You pulled away slightly to nod in confirmation that you received his message, before resuming the kiss. Mind hazy and instincts taking over, you found yourself tugging his bottom lip between your teeth, earning a low groan from Zemo. One of his hands darted upwards to grab a fistful of your hair, right against your scalp at the base of your neck, and he pulled on it harshly, causing you to let out a wonton moan. He then laid that hand flat against the back of your neck, holding your lips firmly against his as he kissed you with even more fervor, and the other vacated its position on your hip to slide slowly up your torso, until he began palming your beast through your shirt. You moaned softly against his lips, but not as loudly as a moment ago.

Zemo wanted more, needed more; he longed to hear you loud and desperate. So he delved that hand at your neck back into your hair, gripping it tightly once more, and used it to pull your head backwards a bit, so that he could have better access to your neck. The action itself, and the tightness of his grip, earned an embarrassingly loud moan to escape your lips, and you felt him smile against your skin. He moved his hand to the middle of your back, supporting you as you leaned back a bit to grant him better access. As he littered your neck and décolletage with kisses, you felt him pull the neckline of your blouse down a little, then felt the sharp pain of a bite on your chest, above your breast. When you looked at him with narrowed eyes, he wore a cocky little grin.

"You should not be surprised, Liebling. I know you saw that I've been wanting to do that all day when you read my mind," he noted. "Wear a high neckline tomorrow, it will be fine."

Before you could respond, Zemo pulled you flush against his chest with that hand behind your back, and into another heated kiss. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, and without thinking, you ground your hips down on the bulge resting against your core beneath your skirt. He groaned, both hands flying to your hips to push them down again, guiding them as you repeated the action. It only took a minute or two of this before Zemo had enough, abruptly grabbing you by the throat and throwing you down onto the couch beside him. He then loomed over you, one hand propping himself up and the other applying slight pressure to your throat, gazing at you with admiration in those searing eyes, pupils blown wide from lust. You looked right back at him, pupils undoubtedly dilated as well, eyes half-lidded, panting a little, and hair a bit of a mess.

"You are an absolute vision," Zemo praised softly, to which you smiled, then he released his grip on your neck to lean down and kiss you again. That only lasted a moment, before he broke the kiss to pull your blouse up and over your head, tossing it carelessly to the side. Your bra joined it shortly after, then he moved to your skirt, fussing with the zipper for a moment, but it seemed to be caught on something, as it wouldn't budge. Before you could interject and state that you'd get the zipper yourself, Zemo ripped the seam apart with his hands, before tearing the article from your body and tossing it like he had with the blouse. A gasp escaped you, but you had no time to think much about his actions, before he was pulling off your panties and bra as well, dropping them somewhere beside the couch.

He was then looming over you again, kissing you breathless as he rested on one elbow while the other hand toyed with your nipple, his knee coming up to rest between your legs as he laid between your body and the back of the couch. You tangled your fingers in Zemo's hair, moaning against his lips as you sought friction against his leg. He smiled softly against your lips, before your hands wandered, finding the hem of his shirt and tugging it off of him. You had just managed to get his belt off before his hand left your breast, trailing downwards across your torso as he moved his knee further away from you, before delving between your hips and expertly locating your clit.

No longer capable of focusing on ridding Zemo of his clothes, your hands gripped his shoulders, and he hissed deliciously as your nails dug into his skin when he began rubbing small, methodical circles on your clit. Small moans fell from your lips as he watched the way your mouth hung open slightly, face relaxed and eyes closed as you enjoyed his work. But again, he wanted more, needed more. Still observing you, he delved his middle and ring fingers into your core, causing you to let out a loud gasp that faded into a long, low moan. Zemo smiled to himself. That was the reaction he was dying for.

He kissed you senseless, drinking in your moans and gasps of pleasure like wine, his free hand cradling the back of your head as your arms wrapped around his neck. It didn't take Zemo long to find that sweet spot, deep inside you – as he'd subtly alluded to earlier – that longed for his attention the most.

You couldn't help but moan loudly and cry out, "Fuck! Baron!" Zemo growled low in your ear, clearly a fan of your usage of his title as he picked up the pace, fucking you with his fingers with expert precision and speed, sending you hurtling over the edge with a string of curses in both Sokovian and English. By the time he removed his fingers from you and stood, you were seeing stars, breathing heavily as you laid flat against the couch. When your dazed gaze found him, he was naked from the waist down, and was just finishing rolling a condom over his length. You had no idea where he got it from, but you were way beyond giving a shit at this point. Zemo then rejoined you on the couch, roughly spreading your legs apart as he kneeled between them, looking at you with a primal, deep hunger in his eyes.

"You are certain that you want this?"

"Yes, please – fuck," you cut yourself off as he began rubbing your clit again.

"Yes please, what?" His voice was low, teasing, as he continued his work below. "I want to hear you say it again, Kätzchen."

"Yes, please, Baron."

"Good girl."

Zemo took your leg and rested your calf on his shoulder, before easing himself into you, agonizingly slow. You watched through half-lidded eyes as his brows furrowed together, his jaw went slack, and his eyes squeezed shut as he bottomed out. He was silent, but you very much preferred it when he was a bit vocal. So, you flexed your muscles down there, and he groaned, letting his forehead fall against your shoulder.

"Do not do that if you want this to last long," Zemo suggested through clenched teeth. You smiled to yourself, then said the magic word that you knew would get him going.

"Yes, Baron."

He growled again, right in your ear, then sat more upright to begin a harsh, quick pace of thrusting. His hips collided with your body each time, causing a delicious sort of pain, and he leaned down to lock you in a messy, deep kiss.

A few minutes later, Zemo moved your other calf to his shoulder as well, and the new position enabled him to get delectably deep inside you. You raked your nails down his chest, watching as a shudder ran down his spine, all the while releasing small, breathless moans and whimpers. When he opened his eyes again to gaze down at you, he licked his lips before delving both hands under your head and into your hair, and forcefully gripped two fitfuls of it at the base of your skull. The moan that tore its way from your throat was animalistic, as your nails dug into his forearms as you desperately gripped them from their positions on either side of your head. Just then, he hit a spot deep inside of you, and that familiar, tight coil in your lower belly began to form.

"Fuck! Right there, Baron, please, right there!"

"As you wish, Schätzchen."

Zemo began to thrust even faster, careful to maintain the same angle as he released his grip on your hair and leaned up a bit, so that he could resume rubbing your clit. Moans began to fall from your lips practically endlessly, and somehow, you still needed more. More, more, more. You took his free hand and laid it on your neck, and he instinctively wrapped his fingers around your throat, careful to apply pressure on the sides but not the front, as to avoid harming you. When he opened his eyes once again and looked down at you, he couldn't stop the moan that escaped him.

"You will be the death of me, mein Engel," Zemo whispered, seemingly more to himself. All you could do was moan in response.

"Baron, I'm going to – fuck – I'm —"

"Yes, come for me, Kätzchen. I want to feel you."

That was all the encouragement it took. Well, that plus how perfectly he was rubbing your bundle of nerves, and how his pace nor angle had faltered once since you had requested exactly that. You came undone again, legs shaking as your nails clawed at his shoulder blades, earning a series of groans from him. As you came down from your high, Zemo's hips began to falter, enthralled by the waterfall you had become, soaking the base of his cock as your walls squeezed around him. His hand at your wet heat abruptly moved to grip your hip, at the same moment his hand around your throat clutched at your hair again, and he met his end with a loud, gruff moan as he spoke a mantra of nonsensical praises and your name.

Zemo rested on his arms on either side of your head, and he let your legs fall to the sides of him, breathing hard against your neck as he occasionally peppered kisses there. He remained inside you for a few moments, savoring the feeling, before you chose to have a bit of extra fun by flexing your lower muscles and squeezing yourself around him again. With a sharp intake of breath, he pulled out of you, shooting you a glare.

In Sokovian, he murmured, "You are a naughty little thing."

"You adore it."

"That I do," Zemo conceded, then stood and walked off to the restroom. You heard the tap run, and a few moments later, he returned with a glass of water for you, sitting beside your feet on the couch and resting his heels on the coffee table. He was exceptionally handsome like this; still catching his breath, sweat glistening on his forehead and chest, a content look upon his face. You spent a minute or two admiring him, before he looked over to you, and a smile blossomed on his lips.

"I cannot thank you enough for that. I must admit, I spent countless nights alone in my cell, dreaming about getting to touch a woman like that again. Especially considering the fall of our country, I never could have imagined I would be lucky enough to lay with a stunning, intelligent Sokovian woman."

"In the spirit of confessions, it's been a while for me, too. My last boyfriend was about two years ago. And I'm not the one-night-stand type. So, do with that what you will," you stated, earning a small chuckle from Zemo. You sat up so that you were sitting beside him, instead of laying down, as you continued. "I fantasized about it a lot myself, but I never even dared to think my next time would be as good as this was."

Zemo smiled, a mix of pride and joy, then his smile softened as he leaned toward you, brushing a lock of hair away from your face. "This doesn't have to be our last time, you know. I would be honored to have you as often as you'd allow me to. And I assure you, I would make it worth your while. I will give you whichever vehicles your heart desires, more jewelry than you know what to do with, take you to the most beautiful places in the world, dine at only the finest restaurants – and above all, treat you like my queen. Take care of me, and I will take care of you, Liebling."

You allowed your curiosity to get the better of you, as usual when you feared that someone was lying to you. You searched his mind for any fraction of false pretenses, but there were none. The man simply found you intoxicating, and would do whatever it takes to keep drinking you in.

The arrangement wouldn't exactly be an easy one, nor would it be all that wise – nor morally correct, in all honesty. But he was undeniably sexy, and the danger and reprehensibility of it all made it that much more alluring. And besides all that – the way his power and wealth turned you on, how good he was capable of making you feel – most Sokovians were dead, and you missed home. Getting to speak your native tongue with him, chat about your country – it made you feel at home with him.

But you wouldn't give Zemo the satisfaction of agreeing to him that quickly.

“We'll see.”

—————

Part Two

[dream-to-be-frog]

small things i adore about dil dhadakne do:

how farah picked ayesha to dance with and how in scenes they are both in they genuinely get along and seem to talk and enjoy each other’s presence....

the way they seem like real people..... when ayesha asks for a divorce her voice starts off hushed and choked..... when she tells her family she doesn’t want to be with manav anymore (the first time, on accident) she walks out and her freakout walking seems natural.. like i walk like that when i am sick and anxious after an outburst....

the sibling interactions are actually SO GOOD... when kabir is laying on ayesha’s bed and steals her ice cream just to mess with her and in gallan goodiyan when they hook arms and are just being silly goofy together without it seeming weird or forced or weirdly sexual between sibling banter (a trend that fills me with fear and makes me want to puke) and how they support each other, especially against their parents

the couples all have like. really good chemistry. (noorie and rana we see less of but they’re genuinely cute too.) like sunny and ayesha have so much shit they haven’t even discussed but are so very obviously in love with each other. like how farah and kabir are in such a new relationship but everything kind of clicks for them but the arguments and fights seem natural for how new it is while also showing their closeness.

the way all of the family is shown to have problems... kabir is an ass businessman and doesn’t know what he wants out of life besides that it is not this...... ayesha hates her marriage and can barely stand her husband and has so many unresolved feelings for sunny...... neelam kind of sucks but i DO feel bad about how awful it must have been to know your husband was cheating on you but not be socially or financially in a place or society to leave him and how that makes her binge eat....... how kamal definitely sucks but he has anxiety and shit... like i may not like the parents but at times i can sympathize and they are both very human even in their badness... anyway y’all all therapy please my fucking god

the FRIENDSHIPS.... you can tell even in limited interactions how much kabir and noorie love each other, how close sunny and ayesha used to be, how well ayesha and divya get along even though they probably don’t see each other so often despite being cousins, how divya and rana and noorie are all friends now,

they have some really fucking good dialogue.... once again it flows very naturally and this is a very repressed group of people so whenever something comes to the surface they have to make sure it’s done right and it always is... the ayesha and sunny arguments are always so real sounding.. yo

the way that ayesha followed farah out when the fake noorie news came out... BESTFRIENDISM

kabir holding sunny’s entire head and saying seriously into his eyes: “i love you” (and then running off yelling “ayesha is getting a divorce” so true bestie)

kabir jumping off the fucking cruise ship like booboo the fool and sunny yelling right before he jumps “NO NO THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT” LMFAOOOOOO

mixed feelings on priyanka chopra as a person but she is SO BEAUTIFUL THIS WHOLE MOVIE her outfits her makeup her hair flawless i am so gay

the way that when kamal goes to attack the ship people to get a lifeboat all his friends are like okay i guess we are holding these random authority men down despite yelling at his son who he is trying to save like 3 minutes ago

neelu saying let me come with you! if not now then when! and the way ayesha fuckin’ dives under that man’s arm right as sunny comes barrelling towards him trying to help her get past and him asking are you okay. listen this whole scene is so good

“sunny? mera intezaar karoge?” “HAMESHA KE LIYE”

how this scene doesn’t wrap the movie TOO perfectly? it’s like: they are all trying to do better, but they are still working on it, and there are a lot of things they’ll need to learn to communicate through and work on together but maybe things can be okay

[ashesandhackles]

The Hogwarts Express scene in Prince's Tale: A Sirius and Snape analysis

I really, really enjoy Sirius and Snape as characters and their respective narrative functions in story. But what gets me most about them is how much Rowling hints about their backgrounds and so much of it makes sense with regard to who they are as adults. So I am going to be breaking down a very small scene from Prince Tale and getting into long winded hypothesis about their respective childhoods.

So, let's start with Snape. The scene begins with Snape rushing to find Lily, already in his Hogwarts clothes. Harry notes he must have been eager to get out of his clothes - ones that look like he borrowed from his mother, as Petunia spitefully pointed out. This has always been a very interesting detail to me - first off, it indicates how poor Snape's family is. Second, this indicates his tiny rebellion from his father - he refuses to wear clothes of the abusive man, and prefers his mother's. I admit, I am partial to the reading that Snape refuses to associate with his father in tiny ways, rather than Tobias refusing to hand his son clothes.

(I have seen readings which say that it is also a sign of neglect - perhaps his parents bought clothes that simply don't fit him, but I am more inclined to think it's a hand me down, simply because Harry identifies so strongly with it. Because Harry knows what it is like to wear a hand me down that don't quite fit, that are too big for you, or the ones that make you look ridiculous.)

Lily and Petunia's relationship is fraught with Petunia's jealousy. And young Lily is upset over it when Snape meets her. "I am not talking to you. Tuney hates me" she tells him. "Because we saw the letter from Dumbledore". Young Lily shows signs of being extremely emotionally reactive and this scene is one of them. It's easier for her to deal with Petunia's rejection of her by telling Snape she doesn't want to talk to him. It's a childish displacement of her hurt over her sister's rejection. (I am genuinely baffled by interpretations that Lily and Hermione are similar. Hermione is very cognitive person, Lily, as we have been shown repeatedly in memories, is not).

Snape, however, with his bad history with Petunia and his inability/ poor social skills to understand why this matters to her, goes: "So what?"

Lily, who throws him a look of deep dislike, says "So she's my sister". This seed is important because this is what develops into "he doesn't get me" feeling she later displays in her teenage scenes with him. Interestingly, most of Lily's personal relationships have deeply interwined love and dislike - Petunia (whose rejection bothers her but she cheerfully informs Sirius that Harry nearly broke a vase her sister sent - which means there is resentment on her end too), James - who she was attracted to even before 7th year but also disliked at one point, and Snape - again, a contentious friendship filled with love and distance.

"She's only a -" we dont get to hear what Snape intended to say. And given his own acrimony with Petunia, it could be anything. However, I read it as "She's only a Muggle" because it ties into his feelings about his father. Snape, who is proud of being half a Prince, emphasizing his magical lineage from his mother's side, his refuge in a violent, neglectful home. (Barty Crouch Jr and Snape with their disappointing fathers - I imagine Voldemort is supremely attractive leader to people with broken homes like this)

Snape, by all accounts, shows a disorganised attachment style. His caregiver, his mother - and perhaps the only parent he seems to have regard for, is too preoccupied by her own abuse to be there for her son - we see this in glimpses Harry sees in OOTP: " woman cowering" where a man shouts at her, and a young, neglected Snape cries in the corner. Children born in homes like this have trouble regulating their emotions, simultaneously displaying tendencies to aggressively lash out or show disassociative symptoms. Both of which Snape displays. Statistically, this is also seen more in low income households where economic instability and resulting domestic instability creates an unsafe environment for the kids to safely form ideas of their identity, or express emotions in healthy ways, modelling instead out of behaviour seen at home.

Then, Snape reminds her that they are going to Hogwarts. He is already in his Hogwarts clothes - now, Snape gets to be the impressive figure. The one who told her about magic, who theorised about how Muggles get letters from magical people, the one who told her about Dementors and Azkaban. He has already left behind the Spinner's End version of him, he wants to bigger than that, and is keen to be in place of magical learning and to join Slytherin. Essentially, he shows signs of unstable identity, insecurity - all prime for grooming into a cult.

And here comes along James Potter, who looks around at the mention of Slytherin. James's comment uses Snape's line and directs it to Sirius instead and it becomes a conversation between them, as a way to bond more with a fellow "rowdy boy" Sirius. Effectively ignoring the other two.

Sirius as we see here, "does not smile" when James talks about Slytherin. He essentially says something that can be construed as a way to nip that conversation in bud: "My whole family has been in. Slytherin". This suggests to me that there is some loyalty to his family there and his disillusionment with them isn't entirely fixed yet. After all, Sirius's intense loyalty to his friends, more specifically James, did not come out of thin air. It is reasonable to suggest that he felt some loyalty to his family at some point and the intensity with which he regards his friends is a reaction to burned off and being a "displaced person without a family" as Rowling put it.

Interestingly, while his reaction to his mother and Bellatrix are obviously sore spots, his response to Regulus is comparatively quite soft. ("Stupid, idiot" - something he calls James later on in the same book, OOTP). I imagine Sirius has quite complicated feelings about his brother and he is capable of nuance (when the person isn't Snape, where his dislike seems to be borne of an intense projection): "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". As someone who is grown up among them, Sirius would understand that.

His framing of Regulus's need to please his parents also further highlights what exactly is the source of disillusionment. He calls Regulus "soft enough to believe them" - which means he is crediting his own intelligence to see through his parents bigoted world view. Clearly, bigotry is not something the Blacks explained in a way that Sirius, eldest of their male line and their heir, bought it. It also probably didn't help the Blacks case that Grimmauld Place is in a Muggle neighborhood and that their eldest son is a bit of a wild boy with interest in pushing boundaries. His intellectual disconnect leads to the righteous rage he later feels but it began there. (Boy, it must suck to discover that everything you have been taught to value in the world and in yourself as the heir is essentially rubbish). Since his differences with his family began with seeds of intellectual disconnect rather than on intense empathy with downtrodden, it makes him, as a pureblooded privileged boy, unable to truly understand Lupin's fears regarding his lycanthropy. Hence, the Werewolf prank (I am not getting to the Snape bit, just the Lupin bit). To James' credit, he does understand what that means for Lupin and saves all three of them from different set of consequences.

Anyway, back to the scene. James, who has made an ass of himself in front of his new friend, who he was getting along with fine until now, then goes "Blimey, I thought you seemed alright". (Btw, I find James wildly large ego kind of hilarious here, especially in light of Snape's comment about him to Sirius in OOTP: "You will know he is so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off him"). Sirius, who I believe has been raised like "royalty" as Blacks would, has good enough social skills to defuse a situation. He grins and says: "Maybe I will break the tradition".

This line is an indication of Sirius's desire for independence, an identity seperate from his family. The use of the word "tradition" is interesting. It sounds like Sirius is expected to behave in a certain way, the heir of Black family whose parents thought being a Black "made you practically royal". Adult Sirius is contemptuous of this, or their "valuable contribution to Ministry" which means they just gave gold - it tells me that any and all conditions put on him by his family were to fulfill tradition that is either worthless or holds no meaning in his eyes. The root of the emotional abuse Sirius suffers from his family is this - realising his parents love for him is conditional on him being a certain way. (In fact, you can read Regulus desire to emphasise his connection to the family as a reaction to what he sees with Sirius - Sirius does not behave, Mum and Dad don't love him). As a child with unconscious knowledge of lack of love, Sirius then acts out, they react, rinse and repeat "until he has had enough". Sirius chafes against boundaries well into adulthood and doesn't react well to people enforcing it on him, even if it is out of love for him. Cue the fire scene with Harry where he behaves as if Harry is rejecting him instead of protecting him.

Sirius asks James about where he wants to go, and Snape, who is incensed about James being insulting about a House he put stock in, which he made part of new identity (so that he is no longer that Snape boy from Spinner's End) and was in general trying to be impressive about in front of Lily, "makes a disparaging noise" once James talks of Gryffindor. Snape's response to James' : "Got a problem with that?" is interesting. He says: "If you'd rather be brawny, rather than brainy-"

This is an important value for Snape. He knows he is clever and values it. He spends his spare time inventing hexes, making great shortcuts to Potions. He has genuine thirst for learning and he hones it. In SWM, we see that he has written far more longer answers than anyone else, he is poring over his paper after exams. He even mocks Hermione's lack of inventive answers: "Answer copied word to word from the textbook, but correct in essentials". He values originality. It may be me stretching this, but I am partial to the reading: this is his way of rejecting his father once again, who is implied to be a violent man. (in other words, someone who is hypermasculine - "brawny". In fact, Snape's rejection of hypermasculinity is a huge post on it's own - Potions (brewing, cauldrons - coded as feminine arts), the doe Patronus, his proficiency in Occlumency and Legliemency (intuitive mind arts, again seen archetypically feminine) etc).

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you are neither?" - Sirius is quick with emotionally cutting insults. Snape hasn't even finished his sentence, but Sirius is already on his case. Which suggests growing up in a household with sharp tongues. It's a fair assumption, given Mrs Black's half mad portrait. It also tallies with Sirius's talking about his mother: "My mother didn't have a heart Kreacher, she kept herself alive out of pure spite" . The wounds are fresh enough on this. (Another interesting way Snape and Sirius act as inverse mirrors - Snape rejects his father, Sirius rejects his mother. Sirius acts as proxy for James for Harry while Snape takes on Lily's role of protecting him). However, you know who else is spiteful? Sirius.

While James is the physical bully (the tripping Snape, doing most of the bullying in SWM), Sirius attacks emotionally. ( Sample the one about Snape's appearance - "I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment, there will be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word" or even the carelessly vicious- "Put that away, before Wormtail wets himself in excitement"). Curiously, with all that talk of how his mother being spiteful, it's her room he spends time in when he is depressed. (Again, in inverse mirror way, we can talk of how Snape looks for a father figure in Dumbledore - craves his validation and is proud of Dumbledore's trust in him). We could argue it's also because Buckbeak is there, and perhaps it's the largest room in the house, but it's very telling that's where Sirius spends time when he is "in a fit of sullens". Sirius's sense of abandonment from his family, makes him look for family connections with friends - a trait he shares with Harry. Interestingly, the first time he glimpses Harry in Privet Drive, Harry is also running away from home - just like he did. Anyway, I could go on.