#this is also for all my wicked mutuals this is what i have to contribute the fandom

[chocolate-mallowmelt]

nobody in my family group chat appreciates my art so now you have to see it

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Writing smut without cringing the whole time? How do you do it.

Writing Smut 101: Overcoming Smut Shame

CONTENT WARNING: NSFW RELATED CONTENT BELOW.

The short answer, nonnie, is: you don’t. 

That is to say, writing smut is always kind of cringe—especially if you’re new to it, or simply “not in the mood” to write. 

But rest assured, feeling embarrassed is completely natural. The trick is learning how to overcome the cringe when it does happen, instead of letting it deter you.

I’m going to break this up into a few sections: 1) Why you might be feeling this way, 2) How I, personally, combat the issue, and 3) Some more tips that might help you get the ball rolling.

1. Why You “Cringe”

It’s important to find the root cause of any form of writer’s block so you can pull the weed out instead of just trimming it back. Smut writer’s block is its own special brand, and generally, the main issue writers have when it comes to smut is stigma.

Speaking openly and honestly about sex, in Western society, is still very much a taboo.

No matter how “progressive” we like to think we are, the inherent shame surrounding pleasure-seeking experiences, and the detailing/consumption of them, has been ground into us since we learned how to understand the concept of gratification.

And I’m not just talking about sexual gratification. This applies to everyday things, as well. Eating, shopping, relaxing (or doing virtually anything in capitalist society that does not directly contribute to capitalism).

So it makes sense that you would feel any amount of embarrassment, awkwardness, or “cringe” when writing smut. It’s something our society teaches us is wrong to want. Unfortunately, that shame translates to writer’s block when we sit down in front of the computer.

A lot of this blockage might stem from not giving ourselves permission to write the thing.

We’re staring at the blank document, knowing we want to write smut, and suddenly the thoughts start streaming in: This feels wrong, is this wrong? What if someone comes in and looks over my shoulder while I’m writing? Am I describing this right? Is this too unrealistic? I have NO idea what I’m doing, and everyone is going to know it.

These are all perfectly normal thoughts, and definitely ones I still have from time to time. But they’re also probably the direct cause of why you feel so blocked. Luckily, I have some bits of advice to give you on how to unblock yourself.

2. How I Combat Smut Block

✦ First, when the intrusive thoughts occur, instead of ruminating on them, think of each one as an impermanent object. You can use any metaphor, but I like to use the imagery of leaves:

Each negative thought is a leaf floating down the river of your mind. If you focus only on the leaf, you’ll exert a lot of energy running to try and keep up with it, consequently miss everything else around you. But if you acknowledge that leaf as a temporary part of the scenery, and let is pass, you can process and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings a whole lot better.

Remember: you are separate from your thoughts. You are not defined by them. The things you think sound stupid might be incredibly exciting to someone else. 

If you can string a sentence together, you can write smut. This is all part of giving yourself permission to write the thing that makes you feel uncomfortable.

✦ Second, I’d suggest giving good thought to how you personally experience embarrassment, how you experience excitement (of the sexual variety), and how those two might sometimes commingle or feel similar.

For me, they are very comparable, like different shades of the same emotion—but there are differences which are important to note. 

If I’m making myself blush from excitement, this is a very good thing for writing smut. It means that what I’m writing feels real enough to evoke something in the reader, even if the reader, like me, knows what’s going to happen.

If I’m making myself cringe, however, it may be time to take a step back and readjust my perspective.

✦ Third, ease yourself into it! Don’t jump straight in the deep end and expect to know how to keep your head above water if you’ve never swum before.

The way I eased myself into smut was first by writing “Steam”—a category of fic I made up because the current vocabulary lacked an efficient term for fics that straddled emotional romance and explicit content. 

Essentially, steam is smut-adjacent but not explicit, and here’s a step-by-step example of how I transitioned myself smoothly from one genre to the next:

I first wrote my fics Wicked Game and You Are (both of which feature either a heavy make out session or teasing + lots of sexual tension) with this “steam” concept in mind.

I wrote the first chapter of Fine Line, which has brief but explicit descriptions of fantasies, framed by a very sexually charged scene.

I released my fic Crashing, which is probably more of a bridge between Steam and Smut, and features soft-focus fingering. Nothing in it is explicit—it focuses more on the emotions than explicit detail—but it’s very clear what is happening.

After I wrote those, I felt just confident enough to make that final stride over the threshold into smut. I wrote my fics Holy, King, and the second chapter of Fine Line all within weeks of each other.

And trust me when I say, once you get the momentum going and receive that validation from people who’ve read your work, it becomes SO much easier to sit down and start writing. 

You just have to finish that first piece.

✦ Finally (and I know I’m going to sound cliche when I say this), just like any other skill, the more you practice the more confident you will feel and the better you will get. 

So practice, practice, practice! 

If you’re nervous about posting smut for the first time, have a trusted friend/mutual Beta read it for you. It’s the online equivalent to someone holding your hand before jumping off the cliff, and works wonders for the nerves.

3. Keep The Smut Rolling

Now that you have some tools to help get you past the blockage of writing smut, here’s how to keep the inspiration flowing.

✦ Start by incorporating smutty fanfiction/erotic fiction into your regular reading rotation- 

Of course AO3 is a fantastic resource for smutty fanfiction. 

If you’re a fan of TFOTA or ACOTAR and want some of my personal fic recs, visit my fic rec masterlist.

In terms of erotic fiction, my personal favourites are anything Anais Nin (specifically Henry & June and Delta of Venus), The Thornchapel series by Sierra Simone, The Godwicks series by Tiffany Reisz, and The Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reisz.

There are also sites like Literotica and sexstories.com, which play host to explicit short fiction (not fandom based).

�� Next, I’d recommend having a designated digital space for smutspiration- 

This can be a list of “smutty” words/phrases kept on a separate document on your computer, for those days when you just can’t think of the right way to describe something. 

Or you can create a private side-blog or Pinterest board for your favourite smutty fanart or other kinds of visual smutspiration.

✦ For that matter, try following some smutty/18+ blogs (ONLY IF YOU’RE 18+) here on Tumblr-

Many of them have a plethora of what I like to call “lemony snippets”, a.k.a. short text posts that describe (usually in conversational language) explicit scenarios. 

This is useful because it will normalise the concept of sexual fantasies in your brain, making it less weird for you when you try to come up with ones of your own to write into smut. 

Not to mention, your dash will be rife with inspiration.

✦ I would also suggest checking out 18+ ASMR on YouTube (AGAIN, ONLY IF YOU’RE 18+). 

My favourite account is Professor Cal Official, but Auralescent also has some good content. 

Headphones are highly advisable for this, as their stuff is very dangerous for work.

So, nonnie, I hope this has provided you with at least one helpful tip. Whether you took anything away from this or not, just know that the feelings of embarrassment when it comes to writing smut are entirely normal. And the best way to keep those feelings at bay is to confront them head on. 

-Em 🖤🗡

Writing Advice Masterlist

Writing Masterlist

2K Celebration!

[seokmins]

Elv's Vincenzo Analysis on Feminist Figures

Okay, so like, I couldn't go into full length when I wrote this for my discussion assignment but I can go off on tumblr sjdfkj since some people asked - this is more an incoherent rant elaborating on what I snuck into my homework assignment lol, but yeah, I just really like Vincenzo's character writing as a whole. I could literally go off on any drama but sometimes I'm just lazy skdfjsf - warning for spoilers!!

So, essentially my points are how well-written the female characters are in Vincenzo. First off, we have a female director, which is awfully rare to see in Asian dramas. Even "female" oriented/aimed dramas have a man sitting in the director's chair and maybe one other female scattered somewhere. Heewon is literally a queen - directing a dark comedy.

Now onto my character analysis. I love Chayoung - and tbh I didn't really at first. But looking at her now, (and the actress Yeobin - god I love her!!!) Chayoung isn't portrayed as a typical female lead. She's loud, witty, excitable, and at first - was focused on money and profit while winning her cases at Wusang. IMHO, she was a bit self-centered and selfish. She was flawed. She fought with her father and even though you could tell they loved each other, both of their prides were too big to come to terms with the differences in the approach in lawyer cases. Sadly, she had to come to terms with the fact that she could never reconcile with her father - a regret she'll carry with the rest of her life even though she knows deep down he loved her and was proud of her. He knew she had the passion to fight for what's right. And that's what she does! Albeit, I found the switch kind of abrupt but Chayoung's not perfect. Now, her interactions with Vincenzo.

TBH, I love the slow burn between the two leads. It's not forced and it's not a huge part of the show - their relationship (romantic or not) is portrayed in the small things and I LOVE THAT. Chayoung isn't stupid - she figures out Vinny's a mafia and who his mother is. The most outstanding thing to me is that yes, Chayoung doesn't like/approve of killing - I mean, who really does? But does she stop Vinny? NO. Does she tell condemn him and tell him to change himself or his methods? NO. She comes to terms with it and supports him in her own way just as he does. There's the mutual gain of trust between the two, like how Vinny ends up telling her the truth of the gold and is there to cool her down, pursue her vengeance, and handle her emotions in a cunning way. I know there's more well-written analyses out there between their dynamic. Honestly, I love them - it's a rather mature relationship and I know they both need to confront some of their emotional baggage/issues first but they work so well together.

Now, onto the next female character I thought of - Myunghee. NGL, if Chayoung annoyed me at first, I really couldn't stand Myunghee. Like at all. But, I really liked how she was written as a character and the actress did a fabulous job. Myunghee is a villainess woman. Unlike Chayoung, she will go to whatever lengths she can for the results she wants. She wants power. There is no underlying concern or reason except for her own greed and benefit and there's nothing she won't do to get that - except for that article that those men want her to write about excusing their friend's harmful deeds against women. Even if she's painted in a "negative" light, Myunghee's motivations are her own, not for a man or for someone else. Yes, she works for Hanseok but even he relatively trusts her and her plans. He doesn't really vent his anger out on her and instead trusts her wicked wit. They're on the same page of "playing god" and wanting power but for their own reasons. They're working together.

Even the other side female characters have their own story and power. Each puts up their own battle and contributions. Take Miri - she's the only survivor of hiding the gold and is a programmer. Truly, didn't see that minor plot twist coming. I also like that even though there's equal thirst over Vinny (hellooooo XD), but like it doesn't distract them from their duties.

[xhxhxhx]

Saw something in the further reading section of Michael Kulikowski’s Imperial Tragedy (Profile, 2019) today:

There are countless books on the fall of the western Roman empire, and more appear annually, with variable scholarly trappings but nearly all quite conventional. Still, ripping yarns and neo-Victorian analyses can be found in any bookshop. So, for those so inclined, can thinly disguised nativist tracts on how immigration (and ‘immigrant violence’) brought down the empire. To name names would be invidious.

I thought this was a dig at Peter Heather, Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London and author of The Fall of the Roman Empire (Oxford, 2005) and Empires and Barbarians (Oxford, 2009), so I looked it up and discovered that not only was I right, but Kulikowski has serious beef with the guy:

Peter Heather has been fiercely criticized by members of the so-called Toronto School of History. Michael Kulikowski, who belongs to this group, has accused Heather of neo-romanticism and of wishing "to revive a biological approach to ethnicity". Kulikowski claims that Heather "manifests a clear methodological affinity" to the 19th-century writer of the Goths Henry Bradley.

But Kulikowki’s beef is nothing next to the righteous fury of Guy Halsall, Professor of History at the University of York:

Guy Halsall has identified Peter Heather as the leader of a "counter-revisionist offensive against more subtle ways of thinking" about the Migration Period. Halsall accuses this group, which is strongly associated with University of Oxford, of "bizarre reasoning" and of purveying a "deeply irresponsible history". Halsall writes that Heather and the Oxford historians have been responsible for "an academic counter-revolution" of wide importance, and accuses them of deliberately contributing to the rise of "far-right extremists".

Halsall got so mad at Heather, first at the 2011 Leeds International Medieval Conference and then online, at his blog, that he threatened to leave academia entirely:

Well, it's more or less a year since I started doing this blogging lark 'seriously' (the inverted commas are obviously necessary).  And, as they say, what a roller-coaster of a year it's been.  I've shut down the blog twice, brought it back twice, come to the verge of formal complaints being sent to my university twice (once justifiably, once most certainly not), lost at least one friend, lost 99% of the respect I had for someone I had hitherto held in high esteem, quite possibly lost the chance of a job I wanted because of this blog, taken some pretty visceral abuse, and so on.  All good fun!

On the other hand I have learnt some lessons.  One is that even bastards have feelings.  Another is that if you have twenty-odd followers and maybe 100 hits a day, that (allowing for hits from people looking for something else, like Elizabeth Kostova's novel The Historian or ever-popular balding guitarist The Edge) does not mean that  only twenty or thirty people in the whole wide world read your blog.   Thus you need to be a bit more careful about what you say and how you say it.  I've also learnt that eminent historians don't always read what you write very carefully, and just how deeply-ingrained the elitist culture of the British historical profession is, as well as just how few principles are actually held by the overwhelming majority of the practitioners of said profession.  And this in response to something that I actually thought long and hard about how I wrote.

And as a result of all this I have realised that no good is going to come of me continuing to smack my head against the glass ceiling that those of us not from 'a particular socio-educational background' (you know the one) eventually run up against.  I have instead come to the decision, essentially, to give up on it and 'seek my fortune' elsewhere than in the confines of the academic career-path, as it is now constructed in the UK at any rate.*  I'm actually quite excited about this as I think it offers a lot of possibilities, creatively and ethically.  It's been a liberating decision.  Those of you who know that I set most store by the writings of those co-opted into the canon of the existentialists (almost none of whom ever called themselves by that name) will appreciate exactly why I am proud of this decision.

To some extent it makes up for the bad faith I showed in backing down and removing my post on why it matters to get angry about the lazy and irresponsible (indeed, yes, just downright knuckle-headed) way in which some historians in and/or produced by our most prestigious Thames Valley-based university write about politically and socially sensitive topics like migrations.

Halsall ultimately sanitized the 2011 IMC paper that started the war with Heather --  the neutered version is still up on his blog -- but the original was apparently quite something:

Perhaps unsurprisingly for those who’ve heard him speak or read him on the Internet, this was the one that really started the war. [Edit: and, indeed, some changes have been made to these paragraphs by request of one of those involved.] The consequences, if not of this actual speech, at least of its subsequent display on the Internet, have been various, unpleasant and generally regrettable, and I don’t want any of them myself.

Thankfully, the purged parts of the original were reproduced by some noble soul on the Civilization Fanatics forums before they were lost to the ages:

Thus we can have Ward-Perkins’ sneering parody of late antiquity studies and Peter Heather’s distortions of counter-arguments. In many people’s minds the choices before us are evidently, either, that nothing happened, or, that there was a huge catastrophe caused entirely by invading barbarians. Obviously this is not the case. Plenty of people other than me -- most famously, Walter Pohl -- have written about serious, dramatic change happening in the fifth century without blaming it on the barbarians and without denying that there were migrations in the fifth century. Yet this -- if I dare call it such -- third way seems nevertheless to be very much a minority position.

But I am not convinced that a simple lack of exposure to sensible alternatives really explains the continuing, fanatical devotion to the idea of the barbarian migrations, especially outside the academy.

I have recently said that:

“When a British historian places an argument that the Roman Empire fell because of the immigration of large numbers of barbarians next to arguments that the end of Rome was the end of civilisation and that we need to take care to preserve our own civilisation, when another British historian writes sentences saying “the connection between immigrant violence and the collapse of the western Empire could not be more direct” [a direct quote from Peter Heather’s Empires and Barbarians (Oxford, 2009)], and especially when the arguments of both involve considerable distortions of the evidence to fit their theories, one cannot help but wonder whether these authors are wicked, irresponsible or merely stupid.”

Obviously, these are not mutually exclusive alternatives.

Are these writers setting themselves up as ideologues of the xenophobic Right or have they simply not realised the uses to which such careless thinking and phrasing can be put? You can draw your own conclusions, although it is worth noting that Ward-Perkins has been happy enough to write on this subject for the neo-liberal magazine Standpoint, which regularly publishes pieces attacking multiculturalism. There comes a point when one has to admit that actually the most charitable explanation for all this really is that these writers are simply a bit dim.

Outside academic circles, it is certainly the case that the adhesion to the idea of barbarian invasion has a heavily right-wing political dimension. Apart from the barbarians’ role as metaphor, already discussed, it is worth, very briefly, thinking about the other reasons why people are so ready to pin the blame on the barbarians. Slavoj Zizek’s Lacanian analysis of antisemitism provides some valuable ways forward. Essentially, the barbarian, like the figure of the Jew, acts as a screen between the subject and a confrontation with the Real, which Zizek sees, slightly differently from Lacan, as the pre-symbolised; things that haven’t been or can’t or won’t be encompassed in a world view. Zizek showed that arguments that “the Jews aren’t like that” are almost never effective against anti-Semites because what real Jews (or actual immigrants, one might say) are like is not the point. Similarly, arguments about the empirical reality of the fifth-century cut little weight with those wedded to the idea of Barbarian Invasion. Just as the anti-Semite takes factual evidence as more proof of the existence of the international Zionist conspiracy, the right-wing devotee of the Barbarian Invasions sees factual counter-arguments as manifestations of the liberal, left-wing academy peddling its dangerous multicultural political correctness. I have read a great deal of this on internet discussion lists -- including a review of my own book, and one of James O’Donnell’s! Michael Kulikowski received a similarly-phrased review from a right-wing academic ancient historian.

The barbarian is the classic “subject presumed to”. The barbarian can change the world; he can bring down empires; he can create kingdoms. The barbarian dominates history. “He” is not like “us”, enmeshed in our laws, our little lives and petty responsibilities. The barbarians -- and you only need to read Peter Heather to see this -- are peoples with “coherent aims” (a quote), which they set out single-mindedly to achieve. No people in the whole of recorded human history have ever had single coherent sets of aims. Well -- none other than the barbarians anyway.

Halsall has never resiled from his belief that Heather was essentially a fascist, nor backed away from his commitment to resign from his post in righteous indignation -- maybe not in 2011, or 2019, but certainly by 2023 at the very latest:

My anger about all this is justly infamous but has been badly misrepresented.  I do think that some things are worth getting angry about, and the misuse of the Barbarian Migrations and the End of the Roman Empire to fuel xenophobia and racism, and the way some modern authors pander to this, is one such.  However, to look at the origins of this ire and animus, I invite you to compare my engagement with Peter Heather’s work in Barbarian Migrations, and its tone, with Heather’s engagement – if you can call it that – with my work, and its tone, in Empires and Barbarians.  I never expect to be agreed with; I do expect basic academic courtesy to be reciprocated.  If people see fit to treat me intellectually as a second-class citizen, the gloves will come off.  That may stem from my own biography as (unlike so many) a first-generation academic not educated at the 'right' schools and universities, but there we are.  I will be leaving the profession within the next four years (well done, guys) so I have nothing to lose by not apologising for that.

Kulikowski might have gotten in a good dig, but Halsall will always be a true master of the art of Being Mad Online.

[missroserose]

Since everything's a little weird right now & most seem to be bored I thought we could play a quarantine game 💘 answer the following! 1. how has your day been? 2. what is the last thing that made you smile? 3. what's keeping you entertained these days? 4. if you are in some kind of quarantine/self isolation: is there anything you'd like to achieve in this time? 5. post a selfie! (if you're comfortable with that) 6. last but not least: send this to some mutuals to keep the game going 💜

Aw, Delphine!

1.)  Today just started, so I’m going to answer for yesterday, and—it was a little rough, ngl.  It’s not like I didn’t expect to be laid off, and I’m lucky enough to be in a place where I’m okay for now, financially, but man.  Even more than the income loss, the loss of that sense of identity is tough.  (Woo, capitalism, where the primary part of your identity is always your job!)  It’s kinda hard to be a massage therapist when everyone’s staying six feet away from you, haha.  Still, I’m trying to focus on other areas where I can do things for people and gain a sense of identity.  Writing is looking like it’ll be a part of that, I posted a story the other day for the first time in months and I’m working on a commission for @screamingheads that I’m really excited about.

2.)  Reading @blahblahblaharringrove​‘s post about being wooed by a girl who loves jazz records!  I adore Ty and I hope they do eventually get to meet this girl and the chemistry is amazing.

3.)  If you mean in terms of “filling time”, I’ve been doing a few things.  I’ve been using a daily self-care checklist to give myself some structure and keep from spiraling into anxiety—I’m both grateful and a little resentful at how well it’s working.  CorePower has been posting some of their online yoga videos for free, which I’m grateful for—the Sculpt ones especially, though the only weights I have are 10-pounders so I’ve got a ways to go before I can get through an entire class with them, haha.  And if you’ve been following me at all you’ve probably noticed I’ve been hyperfixating on The Lost Boys in a big way; I’m grateful I have this space to do so, and I’m making some new fandom friends!

4.)  I’m not quarantined per se, but I’m under a stay-at-home order—yesterday Brian and I went to get groceries and that was the first time I’d left the house in days.  As to accomplishments…I’m working hard on being less perfectionist in my writing.   Which, tbh, is my constant struggle, but I feel like everything being so chaotic in the outside world is helping, in a weird way?  Like, the world is so blatantly imperfect right now, who’s going to judge me if my contributions to it aren’t pristine and polished and finely combed?

Other than that…well, keeping up some kind of physical activity is important for my mental health.  I’m kind of backsliding on guitar/music…not having in-person classes to practice for hasn’t been helping my motivation there.  (That may also be depression about the world creeping in, too.)  And I have the hardcover deluxe editions of the entire run of The Wicked & The Divine—and I still haven’t finished it!  What better time to binge the whole series?

5.)  I’m tempted to use one of my goofy Snapchat filter selfies, but I suspect the intention behind this is to foster camaraderie in how none of us look particularly put together right now (except the people for whom that’s  important, of course—go you!).  So here’s your  still-sleepy, pyjama-and-bathrobe-wearing literal I-woke-up-like-this selfie:

[winterironholidayexchange]

2018 WI Holiday Exchange: Gift List

A giant THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of the @winterironholidayexchange this year. No matter if you created something, shared our posts to get the word out, or are now leaving comments and kudos on all the wonderful stories and art, this exchange wouldn’t have been possible without each and every one of you.

You rock, you are the best, and we love you.

And now, the thing we know you’ve all been waiting for: the complete gift list.

Enjoy! ⛄

“Welcome! Everything is fine.” by burbear for sara_wolfe

The afterlife was a lot weirder than Tony thought it should be. For one, it’s called the Good Place, and the points system that decides whether a person goes to the Good Place or not definitely had a flaw in it somewhere because, hello, why would he, Tony Stark of all people, be in the Good Place? Also, there’s a ridiculous number of frozen yogurt shops.

Just what the fork is going on here?

❄

Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream by DreamcatchersDaughter for glyphsbowtie

Bucky accidentally crashes a blind date and hes not all that sorry about it.

❄

Mini-Stark by TheMaroonRedWolf for Tahlruil

De-aged Tony fic. My fill for the 2018 WinterIron Holiday Exchange.

❄

Wicked Game by StarSpangledBucky for OneSmartChicken

Leading a double life was troubling enough for Bucky, one as the superhero ‘The Winter Soldier’, the other as a florist. Now that his newfound friend, Tony Stark (who only knows him as Winter) has met the other side of him, things get complicated. Bucky isn’t prepared for the consequences he might face, as love between himself and Tony starts blossoming…quicker than he ever intended.

❄

Up, Up, Down, Down… by burbear for monobuu

Tony has just about had it with Loki and magic, seriously. Being transported into a kid’s movie? How is this even a kid’s movie? And no offense, Thor, magic hammers are not that great. Oh, and to top it all off, he’s dressed in ridiculous blue outfit like some kind of retro handyman while his crush gets a badass cyber-suit.

God, he hates magic.

❄

barren winter with his wrathful nipping cold by sevedra for StarSpangledBucky

Tony had expected to spend this Christmas alone. But he has James now. All is looking up for them until secrets try to tear them apart.

❄

Undercover by glyphsbowtie for marsmaywander

“It’s absolutely an option.” Bucky unfolds himself from the doorframe, rising to his full, impressive height languidly, like a deadly cat uncurling from a nap. “You’re all too recognisable, right? Nobody is going to recognise me. Stick some nerd glasses on me and I’ll blend right into a tech conference.” The idea of Bucky in glasses does things to Tony, but he clears his throat and looks back down at the laptop, trying to avoid making eye contact with Bucky. “Yeah, except for one obvious problem, old man. You’re a million years old and know absolutely nothing about tech.” - Bucky and Tony work together on a mission, and Bucky reveals he knows about Tony’s secret crush on him.

❄

The Tsum of Our Parts by Shi_Toyu for Briz

Tony couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t had his soul Tsum. The little thing had appeared as soon as Tony was born, which wasn’t completely unheard of. It just meant that his soulmate was older than him, old enough to have already developed their own Tsum characteristics, so maybe early teenage years. That happened all the time. It wasn’t even particularly scandalous. They’d probably meet later in life, when the age gap didn’t mean quite so much.

What was unusual was how cold his Tsum was.

❄

Howl At The Night by Eirlyssa for beir

Having escaped from their kidnappers, Bucky and Tony have to find a way to get home. Unfortunately, Tony isn’t doing very well.

❄

Plums by Morethancupcake for Feelingsinwinter

“Everything hurts for a second, and the Asset fights the nausea, tries to figure out where he is, what he’s supposed to do, and most of all, who decided to taunt him with his words.”

The Asset isn’t supposed to dream, but he does, and soon his world revolves around a smart little boy with brown eyes.

❄

Journeys End in Lovers Meeting by TheSopherfly for Arboreal

Bucky writes letters to his sweetheart back home during the war. Nobody knows his sweetheart is Anthony Stark, Howard’s younger brother.

~

In which Tony and Bucky meet, part, and meet again.

❄

Get Your Flirt On (Or: How to Stare Your Way into a Date) by InsaneJuliann for Nantai

Bucky’s come to Hogwarts for his seventh year, and joins the Quidditch team at the persistence of his friends Clint and Steve. Through a Quidditch game he meets Tony - competitive and constantly sending Bucky challenging looks. Bucky has no idea what his deal is - or why everyone he knows thinks Tony’s not as much of a jerk as their little stare-offs would make him seem.

❄

Tattoos and Tulips by MassiveSpaceWren for Morethancupcake

Silver fox tattoo artist Tony goes on a date with florist Bucky.

❄

Prank Wars gone wrong by IronEyes for dendrite_blues

Bucky and Tony are roommates and hate each other from the start. It starts to delevop in a prank war that hurts nobody, until Tony takes it too far. Or does he?

❄

Swipe Right by dendrite_blues for tonystans

hey we hooked up last night and it turns out you are my kid’s teacher.

❄

You’ve become quite familiar by MassiveSpaceWren for Morethancupcake

Tony recently gained a slighly scruffy crow as a roommate.

❄

Of instagramers and their followers by eriot for TheVagabondBoy

prompt:  Bucky the Instagram Thot, Tony the thirsty hoe.

❄

Resilient by nativemossy for gryvon

Anthony “Tony” Carbonell, disinherited son of a billionaire, proud graduate of a community college in nowhere New Jersey, and out-and-proud bisexual is the proprietor of a small coffee shop by the name of Resilient. Now that his life has settled down he’s beginning to suspect that he might have a few problems that are making work much harder than it needs to be.

James “Bucky” Barnes, disabled veteran, hermit, and long-suffering best friend has returned from Afghanistan to a world that he doesn’t quite know how to live in. He wants to contribute more to the world than sitting on his couch and collecting his check every month, but is having a hard time gathering the energy to do much more than tie his shoes.

A coffee shop full of meddling friends might be just the place where both men can find a place to heal and move on, hopefully together.

❄

Anima by Arboreal for burbear

Bucky had always been able to hear the voices of the things around him.

❄

Focus by Nantai for eriot

Bucky Barnes, veteran and ex-assassin, is just trying to make some legal money for once. He is reformed after all! Tony Stark, billionaire and mob boss, really needs an escort who can double as security because Steve is a worrywart.

Neither planned for secrets to come out and apologies to be made. And yet, here we are…

❄

Resting Murder Face by camichats for lordofsoup

Everyone knows that Bucky and Tony love each other.

…Except for Tony and Bucky. After watching them pine uselessly, the Avengers and Company do their best to get them together, even if the oblivious idiots make it more difficult than it needs to be.

❄

I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight by Sullen for TheMaroonRedWolf

Okay, look, it’s not James’ fault, no matter what the rumors say. The guy was so scrawny he could be blown over by the wind. This is a crowded hallway! If you don’t want to get knocked over, you should keep some meat on your bones, your stance wide, and not run around corners and into him.

❄

I Will Always Be by blue_pointer for celtic7irish

In a world where people see through the eyes of their soulmates when they sleep, Tony Stark’s dreams send him off the edge.

❄

You Bring Me Peace by Towaneko for IronEyes

Time has been reversed for Tony Stark and this is when he first meets Bucky Barnes.

❄

Not Exactly What I Wanted by Tahlruil for phlintandsteel

Tony has always been happy to piss off Alphas who try to control him - especially Howard Stark. Unfortunately he managed to push his father just a little too far… and the man arranged to have him auctioned off to the highest bidder. Now he’s married to a guy he hardly knows, one that is too damn patient and too damn nice. There’s no way that isn’t an act, and Tony is resolved to be a little shit until he finds out the limits of his husband’s fake personality.

Though he’s been back from the war for a while, Bucky has been left scarred by the experience. The most prominent one is the personality that came into being because of Hydra’s torture and brainwashing attempts when he was captured. They were rescued before they became the Winter Soldier, but Winter is still very much sharing space in his head. Winter has never responded to anyone positively… until they met Tony at an auction Bucky had been dragged to by a former commanding officer. They are both captivated by the Omega and buy him despite their better judgement.

❄

The Warlord’s Tribute by TheSopherfly for MassiveSpaceWren

Warlord Bucky, rumored to be ruthless, ends up in the possession of Tony, who slowly learns that Bucky isn’t so bad.

❄

Safe (Only In Your Loving Arms) by tonystans for Eirlyssa

“No eating in the lab, that’s poor etiquette.”

“And you’re all about etiquette and rules since when?”

Tony playfully rolled his shoulder and turned his head away from Bucky, acting the part of scandalized. “Since Steve gave me one lecture too many.”

❄

One More Day (Five Hundred Left To Go) by Rospergs for Estelle

Tony and Bucky go to the same gym. Bucky looks very rough and intimidating. Tony is a single parent and looks small and frail. Then Tony finds out Bucky is the new preschool teacher at his child’s school, and is super kind, and amazing with the kids. Lots of mutual pining happens.

❄

Love Planted a Rose by Gavilan for iCheat

Bucky wants to show Tony how much he likes him … but how?

❄

We need to talk about babies by GenericUserHere for sevedra

The classic ‘I’m pregnant but we haven’t discussed having tiny humans yet’ fic Otherwise known as Tony is pregnant and Bucky is accidentally a dick but luckily these idiots have friends who help them work out their shit

❄

Dust to Dust by lordofsoup for Shi_Toyu

One moment Tony is fighting TaskMaster. The next moment he’s back on Titan.

❄

ready to comply. by rightsidethru for james

It wasn’t often that Tony himself went to the weapons conventions that those in the business knew about: he’d always been of the opinion that that was what his minions in R&D were for—scoping out the competition, making notes on key elements that they liked, seeing how Stark weapons were assessed by those in attendance. Tony already knew that his designs were top-of-the-line, that the companies who could stand up against the leviathan of his reputation were few and far between—but there were still contenders. Sometimes.

❄

Don’t Overthink It by Potrix for Gavilan

Now, Jim is about as straight as a person can be—tested a couple of times by drunkenly making out with his best friend, which Tony loves to bring up whenever it’s really inappropriate to do so—but he has no problem admitting that, objectively speaking, Barnes is an attractive guy. He’s got that whole gruff, frowny, bad boy thing a lot of people are into going on, but whenever he actually does smile, it’s devastating.

One time, Jim had seen a girl on the street do a double-take and nearly walk into a magazine stand after Barnes had smiled at one of Tony’s dumb jokes.

Or, alternatively; Rhodey means well, meddles, and actually sort-of-kind-of ends up helping in the end.

❄

over or under me? by Larissaloki for Sullen

hunger over bucky made a phone call the night before and forgot.

❄

Under Your Skin by Niki for endof_theline

It’s not often an alpha gets quite as deep under an omega’s skin…

❄

mythos by beir for Towaneko

The lights flickered back on. There, standing behind Barnes, was the Merchant of Death.

❄

Project Relationship by iCheat for blue_pointer

Peter and Harley are best friends and they have a project to do. After some debate they decide to get their Dads together. Scientifically. It does not go as they planned.

❄

Love Tap by Feelingsinwinter for DreamcatchersDaughter

When Bucky started dating Tony, a kindergarten teacher, he was expecting the usual trouble. Some issues with Bucky’s life as a mob boss to begin with, a bit of screaming, a bit of swearing maybe. Some fight, possibly, after all Tony looked ready to fuck shit up if need be. He wasn’t expecting Tony to accept it with open arms and start to gift him with bags of rifles but Bucky could roll with it.

Probably could’ve done without the troubles that came with that, however.

❄

Stay in my arms if you dare (or must I imagine you there) by Estelle for Chef_Geekier

Bucky doesn’t exactly think that being a bodyguard is his dream job, but after leaving the military, it was a good way to make money without having to go through a lot of education and training. When he gets hired by Howard Stark to protect his son, he thinks that that will be easy enough. Turns out that it isn’t, especially not once feelings are involved.

❄

Happy Together by TheVagabondBoy for Potrix

The tattoos might have been one of the first things of Bucky’s that Tony had fallen in love with.

❄

The Long Con (Don’t Kid Yourself) by phlintandsteel for camichats

When Tony finds out that Howard is thinking about changing the terms of Tony’s trust fund, he embarks on a not-so-elaborate scheme to prove that he’s totally settling down and not in continued need of Howard’s “guidance” until 25 instead of 21. Step 1: Get a fiance Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit (Finally be free of Howard)

Unfortunately, Tony Stark is the worst con-artist ever, and may only be kidding himself…

❄

In Your Hands by james for its_inherited

Sometimes Bucky needs help to relax.  Tony loves to provide.

❄

The Price of Forgiveness by celtic7irish for Cheerydandan

Tony fell in love once.  And then his lover left without so much as a good-bye, and Tony moved on with his life.  Now, Bucky Barnes is back, hired to be Tony’s personal assistant and hoping to pick up where they left off.  Can Tony learn to forgive him?  Will he risk opening his heart once more?

❄

While You’re Busy Making Other Plans by marsmaywander for TheSopherfly

Bucky was cold, tired, and his bum shoulder was killing him. Being stuck in the middle of Nowhere, North Carolina with a busted bike was not how he envisioned spending the last few weeks of his leave. Thankfully, there’s a sleep-deprived, big-hearted mechanic there to help Bucky out.

❄

Forward-Facing by Eirlyssa for Larissaloki

Bucky is doing fine, he really is. But Steve wants him to be more than just fine, which is why he asks his friend to join a yoga class in the park.

Which is where he first sees Tony.

❄

answering a salty siren call by OneSmartChicken for GenericUserHere

Yeah only an idiot wouldn’t have at least a little crush on Bucky, and Tony really wasn’t an idiot.

❄

Three times Tony brought Bucky out of a zone by Briz for InsaneJuliann

And one time he didn’t.

❄

Nothing Changes (Except You) by ezazahaz for badgerling

Between teammates bickering over breakfast cereal, a boring Stark Industries meeting Pepper wants him to attend, and rampaging trees in Central Park, Tony isn’t having the best day.

The fact that it keeps repeating only makes it worse.

But then it turns out he isn’t alone–Bucky Barnes remembers the repeating day as well. They’ll need to work together to find a way to escape the mysterious loop… and maybe become a little closer in the process.

❄

Ready to Comply by monobuu for Rospergs

For the prompt: “What if Tony had been captured by Hydra.”

❄

Let This Be Called a Word Unpronounceable by badgerling for rightsidethru

Tony was fine serving the detention he had earned. He was not okay with serving detention with Bucky Barnes. And he definitely not okay with running for his life from a manticore. An apparent manticore. Because there shouldn’t be manticores in the Forbidden Forest.

❄

The lesser of two evils by Briz for ezazahaz

Bucky has trouble sleeping when Tony ends up hurt by his hand during a mission

❄

Grown With Love by endof_theline for nativemossy

Tony Stark, college student, single father, and wingless? Tony meets a stranger at the gym that helps him in a way that he had deemed impossible, it’s just a bonus that the single father status might change to father along the way.

❄

Better For You by gryvon for malome78

Tony stares at the extensive array of baked goods. There are shelves full of different flavors of cupcakes, trays of cookies, a variety of scones and muffins and things that look good but he has no idea what they are. There are almost too many options. He’s getting diabetes just from looking at all of it.  

“What’s the occasion?” Hot barista asks.

“Business meeting. What says ‘Sorry for showing up an hour late?’”

Hot barista comes to a stop across the counter from Tony, arches an eyebrow, and says, deadpan, “Being on time.” 

[ladybalem]

Almost perfect - a Confession about Balem Abrasax - part 1 of 2

Hayo! This is a request, check it out: https://ladybalem.tumblr.com/post/183273246103/hiiiiiiiiiiii-just-a-balem-abrasax-imagine-where Well, I've asked what it was exactly the gender of the sibling, but, as the dear anon vanished in the haze and didn't tell a thing, I've wrote it a sister, cause it was what I felt, although the idea of a brother attracted me a lot too, lol. Maybe we can have a version of it in the future ;P It will depend on my level of craziness at the point, lol. Let's go Jupiter, my children. I always feel like home there! Yayo! * * *          It seemed it had been ages since (***) had been adopted by Lady Seraphi Abrasax, and it was true, actually. The extremely long and old age less life that the RegeneX provided used to make people at Orous to loose completely the notion of time, and with the heirs of the House of Abrasax it wasn't different. Time, when you're practically immortal, it ceases being everything you own to turn into a mere further detail.          From the beginning (***) had been always the closest to the elder brother, Balem, in detriment of Kalique or Titus. We can say that from the very start they two felt like a mutual identification, that united them, making them to become close, while the other couple of siblings it was just like a mere presence, the most part unpleasing for both, what only contributed to strengthen the bond between (***) and Balem. And the eternity made the rest. They knew and understood each other needing just a single glance for it, and one pleased themselves in the presence of the other as it actually used to happen to nobody else. But lately things seemed to have been got a bit different.          At the truth, how such things start is something to which no one can know for sure, but also (***) also Balem, although of having had been raised together as siblings, lately they've been seeing each other differently, and although of one or another slant or allusion sometime left out by one or another, always in a very subtle way, no one of them had been gone the most far and not even less tried nothing that could surpass the limits prescribed by the condition fastened upon they two. But the truth it was that, since Seraphi had died, it was like if the obligation they had about behaving themselves as siblings was dissolving itself slowly day after day.          And so they two, (***) and Balem, were a night at the vestibule of his dwellings, drinking a bottle of wine and having a talk, as they always used to do. Lazily leaned on the divan, with her bare feet on the smooth seat, (***) was drinking small sips from her glass, looking at the blood-like dark liquid with day-dreaming eyes while she was speaking, having in her face a wicked smirk:          - You know, Balem, the cattle in our farm planets isn't like we, although they could be look a like to us. They're inferiors. It's simple.          - It is due to ideas like this that our mother always said you were bad, (***) - Balem said with a paused and low voice and a expressionless face, sluggishly taking a sip of wine as well.          Wickedly smiling (***) savored another sip, throwing to her adoptive brother a glance as sharp as a dagger:          - But you're different. You haven't these sentimentalisms of her.          - No - Balem said simply and in a bit bored way, placing his glass aside - I have not. I comprehend they are what they are: Raw material, made to create profit.          - Exact - (***) said, letting her own fingers to play with the fabric of her long dress, slightly pulling up the hem of her skirt and uncovering her ankles slowly - We're alike, in the contrary of Kalique and Titus... - and took another sip - I would appreciate a lot, by the way, to presence a harvest. I'm very curious about seeing how it's made, in the contrary of Kalique, who quakes at the very thought of it - and she laughed, raising her eyes to Balem, awaiting for what he would say.          Calmly uncrossing and changing the legs quite slowly before to cross them again, Balem examined his own nails of a hand before to lean his arm on the back of the floating divan in which he was sat down, aside to that in which (***) was occupying, but he didn't say a word.          - Have you ever personally seen a harvest, Balem?          - No, (***), I have most important subject to occupy myself with - he responded - Harvesting is a subalterns' task, you well know.          - I know, but even so I want to see one - she said, then all of a sudden asking him - Which will be the next planet to be harvested, Balem?          - Belonging to each one of the four of us?          - Any one of us, it doesn't matter. Which it will be the NEXT? - (***) responded, in an excitedly way, pulling her long skirt up a bit more and letting her legs to appear from under it, almost to her knees.          Balem thought for a while.          - A small one, belonging to Kalique. In about 220 years, in average.          - I would like to see it - and she straighten up, inclining herself into his way - Would you accompany me there in that day, Balem? I want you to be with me, by my side.          For the first time Balem looked at his sister sat at the divan at his side, scrutinizing her for a while before to finally say:          - I do not believe you would have fun, (***). There is no suffering. Everything is quite ethical and very clean.          All of a sudden laughing, (***) led the glass to her lips for another sip.          - And do you think I would have fun seeing the cattle to suffer, Balem?          - Yes, I think - he responded still serious and looking into her face, in the same impassive position, seeing her to empty her glass with a single and large sip, in an irresponsible way, as she laughed still.          - Maybe you're right. I would have fun seeing them begging for mercy. To which we would deny them, of course.          The shadow of a smile passed through Balem's lips but soon vanished away, cause he wasn't the kind of demonstrations of fondness and not even less of his own feelings. But (***), who well knew him, smiled even more, knowing that she had, in any way, his approval and, placing her empty glass aside the beautiful young woman smiled teasingly this time as she inclined her torso forward, intentionally or not to make her low neck to put itself in relief into the way of Balem's eyes.          - Won't you say that you're ALWAYS right? - she teased.          - It is not needed to say what you already know - Balem affirmed, once again disinterestedly examining his own nails before to once again put his glance upon her, who then inclined herself into his way a bit more.          - But in the contrary of Lady Seraphi, you appreciate that I am like this.          - In the contrary of our mother, I know to appreciate your qualities.          Laughing one more time (***) turned her face for an instant, before to get serious again, looking at his face as he bit her bottom lip in an amused and playful way, then allowing herself to descend her eyes through Balem slowly, traveling through all of his thorax and then his long legs hidden by the pieces of the quite tight leather clothes he wore before to rise her glance up again. And when (***) finally did that, she could see Balem was doing exactly the same to her, looking at her slowly from head to toes, his glance delaying a larger time on her legs in display and specially in her low neck. And smiling the beautiful woman moved herself softly, slightly messing on her hair that was all tied up in a refined hairdo, loosing a thin lock, to which she started to play rolling it  around her fingers, pleased by seeing her brother's green eyes put on her breasts. And still smiling she saw him to avert his eyes slowly, as he stretched an arm into the empty glass, taking it, and (***) got up, taking the almost empty bottle to serve him with the last dose of wine that there was.          In silence Balem observed the sister to bend slightly over him as she was fulfilling his glass carefully and deliberately slowly, delaying more than it was needed just to make her breasts to stay close from his face for the most time, and when she finally finished, but keeping the same pose, Balem took a long sip in a tranquil way, once again putting his eyes on her low neck while drinking the wine, when he said under a breath:          - (***)...          - Yes, brother - she responded with a teasing voice, holding the empty bottle in a hand and with the other one holding on to the back of the divan.          - Shall I ask what are you intending? - Balem said in a  serious way, holding the glass at the height of his lips as if he was about to take a sip at any moment but having his glance inside hers.          - And don't you know? - (***) smiled in a wicked way, lifting a leg and getting up on it doubling it over the seat aside Balem, making her body to come even closer to his face, but he was keeping  impassive, in the same position and coldly holding the glass. (To be continued...)

[smollandtoll]

HC: Sid + Anna First (OT3)

So, in a universe in which Anna decides early on in her career that she wants to be a sports journalist, and also decides that if she truly wants to be the top of her career/internationally recognised she’s going to have to go to America and work for ESPN or some other major sports news conglomerate (and we’re definitely not saying that we think that north america is the be all end all for sports in the world because that’s ridiculous but slide along with us here as we have no idea what we’re talking about).

So she studies English, and moves to the states maybe enrolls in college there, starts working her way up. Probably ends up in the metropolitan area (NYC, Philly, Boston, DC), flowing through all the hockey and football and basketball circles for various sporting events, reporting on them.

She and Sid meet through mutual friends.

Maybe after the concussion but before Sochi. Their first date is actually a business meeting, they’re getting coffee to discuss a plan of attack for a profile she’s writing on him probably - he’s wearing all Penguins gear and giving off his best mannequin/robot impression and she’s trying to be 100% hard hitting JOURNALISM. But then they find themselves laughing helplessly at the way Sid spills his coffee and Anna mixes up a word or two (it reminds him of how endearing Geno is probs, he also definitely considers for A HOT MINUTE that he should set G & Anna up maybe).

He probably is deeply interested in how she came to be in the sports business, considering she’s a long way from home and so knowledgeable? Like her looks are one thing, but her SPORTS BRAIN … #sidnerdboner. They’re both super driven, and Anna is smart and funny and sharp as hell, AND she can talk hockey and keep up, and Sid is just like so sincere and a little goofy but also charmingly serious, and they just like each other. They talk for LITERAL HOURS. The coffee shop they’re in probably has to shoo them out when they close and they’re both horrifically embarrassed at how off-track that meeting got when they look around and the place is basically empty.

They both walk away thinking about each other. If he’s honest with himself Anna makes Sid think a lot of Geno. Both tall hot Russian brunettes, smart, funny, take no shit while also giving you shit- and Sid’s definitely been somewhat conditioned to be into Russian accents. He knows how to keep it on the DL in the locker room, but, he’s thought about it. And Anna’s gorgeous, of course he’s thinking about her for a bit there. But, y’know, Sid’s not one to walk away thinking he’s got it in the bag; he probably thinks they just connected well and he’ll hear from her when the article comes out and the little crush will taper off with distance.

So then Sid finds out that Anna has handed off her interview notes with him to someone else in the dept she works with. Sid is completely not there for it, like “But why?! You worked so hard!”

Anna: Can’t be professional and date you. It’s a conflict of interest. Sid: ...date? Anna: Just waiting for you to ask Sid: Oh! Um! For sure.

Sid definitely thought she was out of his league, and maybe would be better off with Geno. Someone more confident and flashy, who knew how to buy her jewels and surprise her with designer shoes and take her on luxury vacations to appreciate her completely aesthetic and not-at-all-practical swimwear. He got a little lost in her instagram one time, SUE HIM HE’S A RED BLOODED MALE AND SHE LOOKS LIKE THAT.

So, he was not prepared for her abrupt interest in him at all...but he likes her too and well, he can’t date Geno...so maybe this is like a healthy middle ground. She reminds him of G so much in addition to everything that’s great about her, and this way he gets the best of both worlds maybe. Y’know, sublimate the one crush into the other.

So then he does ask her out, and they continue to have riveting sports conversations, and Sid appreciates her wicked sense of humour and how familiar she feels. He feels like knowing Geno has been his cheat sheet for knowing Anna, there are things she wants and does and complains about that he’s heard before and has already figured out solutions to, and he’s heard all about Russian women and what they’re into over the years (not that these stereotypes are all true but like, there are cultural differences!).

Sid and Anna are also both SMOKING HOT and have athletic, aesthetically pleasing sex (as much as sex can be aesthetic) that Sid is so INTO BECAUSE HER LEGS NEVER END. He’s so into her natural beauty, her ability to look sexy in one of his oldest hole-iest hoodies and a penguins cap with little to no sleep, face puffy, and her emails open on his breakfast bar. She’s all messy hair and gorgeous tan limbs in his kitchen, and he feels luckier all the time for having her. And Sid - we all know Sid is good boyfriend material; dedicated, honest, funny, hot. Listen, it’s good.

Anna gets along with Sid’s parents, his sister. She definitely gave Taylor hat & hair style advice when dealing with a feminine face that has a strong jawline. She understands EVERYTHING about hockey, including his need for routine or for her to disappear occasionally. His heart stutters when she trash talks baseball players and pinches him after games where he missed easy shots. He loves it, she truly understands and never lets him have an inch.  BASICALLY SID IS HEAD OVER HEELS.

Of course he’s super nervous about introducing her to the guys ESPECIALLY GENO. He’s pretty sure everyone is going to tease him about finding female!Geno and Geno is going to have THOUGHTS because he and Anna will have a connection that Sid cannot understand or access. He’s #nervous.

Geno finds out he’s dating a Russian woman and for the most part IMMEDIATELY HEARTILY APPROVES because Russia best. But then you know he starts really pressuring to meet her. Geno and Anna don’t know each other at all in this universe, she was never a Russian media personality and he’s super famous so their paths never really crossed.

When they do meet it’s at some team get together BBQ. Sid’s been taking Anna around and introducing her to all the guys, and even though they all knew about her they’re still drawing some looks because Sid, damn. You can tell just by looking at them how gently smitten they are with each other. G’s obviously one of the first intros bc let’s be real, he hasn’t let it go since he found out and introducing Anna to anyone other than Flower or Tanger or Duper first would definitely earn a fine. They start chatting and there’s a bit of a nervous charge in the air but Geno is nice and says hi in Russian, and they find out they know a bunch of the same people in Moscow. All those weird woodwork mutual friends. And that takes them into a little chat about Moscow and their favourite places there that Sid can’t really contribute to.

Anna just looking back and forth between them and giving Sid searching looks and as they walk away like, “Your friend seems nice! Malkin’s a big name in Russia lately, I wasn’t sure what kind of man he’d be!”

Sid Thinking: Oh god they have so much chemistry Geno Thinking: ...Oh fuck I am SO INTO MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRLFRIEND Anna Thinking: Everyone is so nice! And hot! Zhenya is so tall. Sid is so thicc these boys are #blessed

Anyway just imagine Geno watching Sid and Anna chatting and laughing together, making the rounds. Sid’s arm just super casually around Anna’s waist, both of them laughing with Cath and Tanger. He would be lowkey jealous of them both and confused about why seeing them together makes him feel like shit. He’d go home with images of them together running through his head, Sid thumbing her hip, the way they leaned their heads together when talking, the arch of their throats laughing, the look in their eyes when they looked at each other.

Just imagine all the events and nights out Anna and Geno find themselves chatting amiably in Russian at. Sometimes they get talking about Sid, one of the many things they have in common, about how they met and funny stories about him. Anna telling Geno one time "well, this is just good timing, I've established my career and I'm ready to get married and be a mom?" softly, while gazing fondly over at Sid and licking BBQ sauce off her thumb.

G is just DYING because Sid's got that plan to like not have kids until he retires but LIKE MAYBE SHE'LL CHANGE HIS MIND. BUT SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO, HE SHOULD JUST WANT IT. A woman this perfect longing to carry his children??? He should be so lucky!!

Geno would always slink home a little miserable and lonely and self-pitying - flicking through his phone’s contacts thinking to organize a hookup but being too depressed to even do that. He’d get a little petty and mad the way G gets, “Sid doesn't even really care about getting married, not lonely like me, not that desperate for another person, he'd be fine on his own! It's not fair!”  He can’t believe how jealous he is but also just can’t get over it.

(It’s easier too to think he’s just jealous of Sid because Anna is amazing, but sometimes after too many vodka shots he can acknowledge that he thinks about Sid with Anna as much as he thinks about Anna with Sid - in the way you can when you know you’re not going to remember the realisation in the morning)

He'd be so terrible about everything, so unreasonable and so jealous of them both, just in a mood for months. He’s not very good at hiding his own feelings for other people’s good. And Geno’s moods affect every part of his life. Sid would probably try numerous times to ask him what's up, maybe eventually would have to sit him down in both friend and captain capacity and be like, ”G are you mad at me? What’s been going on with you? Your penalty minutes are off the charts.”

He’d keep getting brutally shut down and their relationship has NEVER been off like this. They GREW UP TOGETHER, Sid knew Geno was all bluster usually, but when he sat him down solo he usually cracked open and let Sid scoop out and sort through all his tremendous emotions. But now being shut out like this was painful and threw him for a loop. And of course Anna hears all about it, witnessing all of Sid’s bewildered hurt and confusion.

Then eventually Anna would have ENOUGH and be like "fuck this guy for making you feel like shit and also this is wreaking havoc on both your seasons!!"

Sid: I maybe just fell a little bit more in love with you

So she secretly goes to yell at Geno in a language he'll understand. Anna rocking up to his house and being like "So #1 fuck you, #2 what is your PROBLEM?"

Geno: YOU ARE MY PROBLEM! Anna: you don't like me dating Sid? You think I'm not good enough for him? Geno: NO. THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM Anna: So you're jealous of him then? Geno: Also no Anna:  You're jealous of me then. Geno: NO Anna: SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM Geno: BOTH. BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.

He might break into big ridiculous angry tears about it, just months of his own bottled up feelings and emotions he hasn’t been able to vent to ANYONE exploding out. Anna just looking at him with wide eyes for a moment before ushering him further into his own home and setting about making some tea.

Is there some comforting arm patting and texting Sid under the table? Maybe. But mostly Geno realizes what’s happening and gets his shit together enough to shoo her out of his house after profuse apologies and promises to get it together and start acting like a professional. Hopefully it’ll give him some time to curl up and lick his wounds and try to actually get his shit together.

But you can’t exactly put that cat back in the bag, and Anna goes back to Sid, who is so earnest and concerned, sits in his impossibly broad lap and asks if he’s ever thought about fucking Geno. They would look at each other in stunned silence for a few beats too long as a flush slowly rises in his cheeks which gives her her answer.

Sid like “I...I thought about setting the two of you up when we first met. You reminded me of him so much, and I couldn’t have him…but I could have you.” Followed by a rush of reassurances that of course he wants her and she’s his priority that she shuts down with a kiss. They maybe sit there like that for a bit with their foreheads together, just thinking about it.

More than fucking then. A relationship. A great love.

She would probably mull it over for a few days, scrolling through Geno’s instagram where he’s displayed his tender beating heart for the entire world to see. He loves animals, and children and his family. He’s not bad looking at all, the sheer size of his hands make her press her thighs together deliciously. She probably consults his birth chart and considers if she could handle two competitive, headstrong Leos, let alone one who is paired with a Tiger’s stubborn ego. She’d think about all the ways it could work, all the things they like about each other, and also about all the ways it could get fucked up and ruin everything. These things are complicated.

In the end she decides it’s not up to her, it’s up to them. So she bullies them into a sit-down with each other, locking them in the yard with enough food and beer to last the afternoon but promising she would only let them in when they’d worked out their problems and feelings and had come to a mutual decision about how to move forward. Neither of them had even known that the other had any feelings or interest like that; there’s a lot to talk about. And when they’re ready, they knock on the patio door so she can come talk too.

Of course the only real option is to move forward is as a triad, and Geno is not nearly noble and self-sacrificing enough to suffer through his own miserable lonely pining future for the sake of preserving a loved one’s relationship like some Canadians we know. So they agree this can work and move forward, and Anna immensely enjoys the addition that Geno makes to the relationship, spoiling them both with the kind of romance that didn’t come naturally to her or Sid, insisting on dinners out and sunny vacation spots. Also he has impeccable taste in lingerie and she enjoys taking him shopping to surprise and fluster Sid with later. Geno gets both of them, and to push his way in the middle on the couch and be annoying during quiet couch reading sessions, and to argue in favour of puppies and babies, and to smirk at Sid when he walks in on Anna’s legs around Geno on the kitchen counter. And Sid, he just gets everything he’s ever wanted pretty much.

IT’S A WIN ALL AROUND. OT3.

[thelazyhermits]

A possible story prompt?

Lol Hey Haze XD Sorry for disappearing for a while but i’ve been looking for a few reverse harem fics fo Undertale when I got this idea for a story and I basically just wrote out everything that I’ve thought out so far and I wanted opinions on it. If it gets good enough of a response I might write it, or I’ll just put it out so someone else can write the idea. The basic premise i’m pretty sure someone else has written something similar, but this is my take on it so I wanted your opinion on it and what I can do to improve it, or what you think other people who might know how to improve it.

So here you go

An AU where its a Megaverse, where when all Monsters got out of the mountain, their AU versions came up with them. When Monsters came out on the surface, it was hard to ID everyone since they’re were alternative versions of themselves (Even of Frisk and Chara) and their different background, so to differentiate each other they added Middle Names to their ID’s which they choose. So the ‘common’ nicknames are just nicknames(Like Blueberry and Stretch, etc), but some characters will be referred by their official middle names (Cuz i thought nicknames like Crooks and Axe were kind of mean so yeah), so as to avoid insults.  

All the Sans’s and Papyrus’s are billionaires and are involved in a thing where the first to find and bond with their chosen mate becomes the Head of the Skeleton family. (Who proposes this? Maybe too much in house fighting resulted in this proposition to be made by US!Alphys and UT!Undyne betting that there was no way they could get someone to fall in love with them with the way they were acting???)

Rules to the Competition thing to be named:

They can’t tell their chosen Mate the stakes or about the competition (AKA head of family). They have to seduce and charm their chosen mate with their own wits and talents.

If they don’t know their status of wealth (As in what positions they are as head companies and real status of wealth), they are not allowed to tell them, their chosen mates have to figure it out themselves.

They Can’t marry and then divorce, they have to soul bond mutually and prove it by the bonds tying their souls. 

They can’t force someone to fall in love with them by magic or other methods.

They can’t sabotage one another’s attempts to woo someone (dolly so if they are pursuing the same person)

The first one to bond and Mate with their chosen prospectives, earns the right to be the Head of the household.

Enter MC, who is an author that is aquatinted with Muffet and Grilby (cuz she loves sweets), who somehow gets involved with the Skeletons by accident. Some fall in love at first sight, other just wanted to piss each other off, eventually became a fight not for the head, but for the hand of the MC, who is somewhat oblivious of it all.

MC- An author of somewhat renown, whose books touch people emotionally. Shy, sweet with a wicked sense of humor. Puns is something she loves but sometimes have a slow reaction to, but when she recognizes it, she’ll howl for days. When it comes to love, she’s like a classic shoujo protagonist, dense and airheaded. Some social cues go over her head, not all, but some especially in regards to flirting. She’s also incredibly stubborn on some opinions, but she knows when she’s wrong so she’ll apologize. Has no sense of direction and depends on her phone for directions. Love sweets and has no alcohol tolerance. Lives in an apartment in Monster Town. Was raised by her Grandmother when her parents passed away and still keeps in touch with her. She is aware that Monsters are rich from the Gold Exchange and assumes this of UT!Sans and UT!Papyrus when they first met (which was like 6 months after they got out of the Underground) but is unaware of how truly rich the two became when in those six months they became pros in their professions (she knows of what professions they are in, but are unaware of their positions and how famous they truly are since she stays in Monster town all the time and monsters don’t overreact when Sans and Co became filthy rich). Just considers them like all monsters. Is unaware that they have a huge ‘family’.

All monsters are rich from the Gold exchange when they got out of the mountain, but the Skeleton household are on another level.

UT Sans - Head of IT company, basically redone computers and phones in a revolutionary pace and almost became a billionaire by accident. He has a second job as Grilby’s comedian sometimes. Still loves Ketchup and puns and is still really lazy. Was acquitted with the MC before the Competition when he told a run and she took such a long time to react, but when she did she howled with laughter. This was just soon after they got out of the surface. Took an interest from then on.

UT Papyrus - A Master Chef who has numerous famous restaurant chains. Has several cookbooks published in human and monster food and has advanced cuisine in both technology and techniques. Was passionate in his job and somehow ended up with more money than he needed. Is an acquaintance of the MC and sometimes teaches her to cook. Is already infatuated with her when she was kind with him when they first got out of the surface when tensions were still high between the two races. 

US Sans - Head of several athletic companies, a successful business man who has a successful worldwide brand of athletica for monsters and humans. Is still very active and jogs often. Has not yet met the MC as of the beginning of the story but forms a crush when they first meet when she was kind to him for consoling him when he and Stretch got into a fight.

US Papyrus - Head of a successful game company. He had revolutionized a new game engine and is in progress of developing a fully functioning VR experience. Is still very laid back and still loves Honey. Is fond of the MC after helping him and his brother patch things up. Wasn’t really interested in the competition but eventually…

UF Sans - Head of an Automobile company. Revolutionized the Engine and made cars and bikes run smoother than ever. Has his own customized bike and treats it like its his baby. Was interested in the MC when his flirting sort of flew over her head, and when she accidentally flirted back unconsciously he got flustered. Was his goal originally to get the MC flustered but he got in too deep… In the Underground was lazy and was treated badly by Papyrus in public, but at home they were kind to one another and took down those facades. They have a strong bond.

UF Papyrus - Head of Fashion company. It was a surprise for everyone when he went into this but it started when somebody challenged his sense of fashion (given that his uniform had spikes) so he took on the challenge and designed suits and clothing that wowed the world and became an internationally famous designer almost overnight. Still very fit and trained for duties of the Royal Guard. He’s a very ruthless businessman and met the MC when she was dressed sloppily and couldn’t stand it and forced her to change her clothes to something more neat. Starts Tsundere, but as he slowly falls in love with the MC becomes more and more devoted to the MC and eventually is super devoted to the MC that when he tries to seduce her he bring the big guns (Flowers, clothes, fancy stuff) which sorts of confuses the MC because how did Tsundere become DereDere all of a sudden??? IN the Underground he had to act tough with everyone and his brother, but at night some days he would ask Sans to read to him his favorite story. They have a strong bond. He nags on his brother to be more active (though not as much as before given how successful they are) for his health.

SF Sans - Head of a famous hotel chain. HIs hotels are rated to be of the highest quality and hospitality and famous people are always eager to stay at his hotel chains. HIs hotels are also infamous for having Casino’s in them and people tend to gamble their money away which he keeps. Was unimpressed with the MC as he met her later on compared to the other, but is taken in by her kindness eventually. Like UF Papyrus, he was a total Tsundere when he met the MC, and originally pursued her because he wanted to steal her from everyone else to piss everyone off, but eventually became DereDere for her. He wants to spoil her (which the MC always refuses) and wants to be spoiled by her. He acts petulant when the MC doesn’t pay attention to him . Loves his brother but in his underground he had to act cruel to him in public, though at home they were affectionate and Papyrus would read him his favorite stories at night to issue each other.

SF Papyrus - Is a famous Auction holder and bidding master. He gathers infamous antiques that originally seem like they are worth nothing but are actually historical or monetary treasures. Earned his keep by accident. Also occasionally bids on stocks that he always gets right. He loves his brother and knows why his brother treated him badly in the underground but given their nightly readings, they hold very strong bonds. Though unfortunately as a side effect he has low self-esteem which he hides by acting confident and apathetic. Just went along with his brother’s plan to seduce the MC but fell in love pretty fast with the MC because she was super kind to him.

HT Sans and Papyrus - They both share an agriculture company and advocate for less food waste and contribute to lower starvation rates. They have been known to develop agriculture techniques and advance agriculture that it reduced food waste and compost. UT Papyrus and HT Papyrus have good relations given that UT Paps requests ingredients from him. They work together really often. Although UT Sans is somewhat wary of HT Sans because of what they went through, he is kind to HT Paps because he is still another version of his brother. When they got out to the surface, they had their injuries looked at, so HT Paps has braces and glasses, while HT Sans got his hole fixed. Though HT sans is slower than UT Sans, he is slowly regaining back his former magic prowess that he once had. Was introduced to the MC by UT Papyrus and are intrigued by her.

G!Sans - Head of an internationally famous Music Company. HE himself is a famous singer but he has so few released tracks that they are weighted in gold. Only a select few have heard him sing in person. He manages and creates top artists constantly. Has a large fanbase and still smokes and were leather. Met the MC when she visited Sans in his house (which she did not think would be a mansion) and is amused by the whole situation and thought to meddle because he thought it would be fun, accidentally got in too deep.

G!Papyrus - Head of an internationally known Pharmaceutical Company. Has advanced medicine by leaps and bounds and has cured several diseases. Has a love of tea and would like his ‘brother’ (He came from a version of echo tale that fused Gaster and Papyrus, so technically he is not brother with G but they got along together so well, they treat each other as brothers- this head cannon was from TheLazyHermit) to stop smoking. is an absolute gentlemen and due to his personality he is loved by many people and has his own large fanbase. Treats the MC kindly and is slowly developing feelings for her.

Other AU’s to be added??? I dunno?? Maybe, but given how many Skeles are here already adding more might be too much XD

What do you think of this so far? I have so many Undertale Prompts that I want to write but might never produce cuz the idea can get super longwinded… Maybe I’ll just post a bunnyplot pile and let people use the ideas…

I talked with Silver and got the ok to post this, so we could see if any of y’all had any ideas you wanted to contribute for this story plot. Also, if you wanna try writing this, be sure to give proper credit and let Silver know. ^-^

[chibimyumi]

Interview Furukawa Yuuta & Uchikawa Reo on Tango on the Campania (Part 1)

The heart-warming interview Furukawa Yuuta & Uchikawa Reo. What is the part of the significant label of ‘black’ in the musical “Black Butler”?

2017.12.14

Original interview

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2!

“It was super fun to play games and card games with Mr. Furukawa in the hotel!” (Uchikawa)

Q: I have seen the previous production “Musical ‘Black Butler’ ~NOAH’s ARK CIRCUS~” as well. That was the first time the two of you worked together. Would you mind telling us your first impressions of each other again?

Furukawa: “My first impression of Reo was that he was so incredibly cute. His facial features were beautiful, and the way he carries himself was lovely, and his personality was adorable too. As the rehearsals progressed however, his impression changed as well. No matter what Reo does he looks only forward, and always looks like he is having fun. Whether it was how he communicated with others, how he carried himself at the rehearsal studio, I could feel he had the mentality of a professional. He was not just cute, he also showed me his sides as a professional actor.”

Uchikawa: “The instant Mr. Furukawa entered for the photoshoots for the first visuals, I was so excited I screamed: “Oh! It’s Sebastian!” Mr. Furukawa is so handsome and tall, but it doesn’t end there, he’s also has many funny aspects about him. It’s absolutely great to be with him!”

Q: The previous project was your first stage performance right, Uchikawa. Were you not very nervous on the first day of the performance?

Furukawa: “It is indeed rather hard to imagine, right? What must it be like to be 12 and standing on that stage? Was it fun? Was it scary?”

Uchikawa: “Um, I guess I was super nervous. My heart was racing so badly I could hear the sound of it pounding. I saw the great flow of spectators coming into the theatre through the monitor, and I ended up just going “aah….!”

Furukawa: “I could not tell that you were nervous at all. Were you able to sleep properly the night before?”

Uchikawa: “On the one hand I was happy that my family and friends were coming to watch, but on the other I put a lot of strain on myself and could not sleep very well the night before. But as the performances went on I became calmer by the day.”

Furukawa: “Family [amongst the audience] can be very nerve wrecking, indeed.” I know the feeling of the heart pounding against the chest very well. Even now, every time before the start of a show, I feel like I have turned into a racing heart in my entirety. If anything, more than Reo, I might have been the one who was the most nervous (laughs).

Q: As a senior, please share some advice on how to combat the tension.

Furukawa: “Oh no, if anything, I am the one who should be advised (laughs).   However, before, Mr. Kitano Takeshi did say: “it’s the end if you’re not nervous in front of an audience.” So when I heard that at least I knew it was normal to be nervous.”

Q: The previous production was toured, what memories stayed with you?

Uchikawa: “It was super fun to play games and card games with Mr. Furukawa in the hotel.”

Furukawa: “To me it was especially fun as well. I also loved having breakfast with you. Even in our private times Reo and I spend a lot of time together. That had been an important contribution to the building of our mutual bond.”

Q: The combination of Sebastian and Ciel was among the highlights of the previous production, right?

Furukawa: “As time progressed, the both of us were able to see for ourselves that our breaths came to match each other’s better and better. The tempo of our speaking is a given, but the morning routines on stage of dressing him, helping him into his shoes and the preparation of breakfast became increasingly smoother. Even without having to say it, we grew to know what to do in order to make the job of the other easier. Every time that moment arose, I could feel the distance between us shrunk even more.”

Q: The scene of Sebastian helping Ciel into his shoes is quite an iconic one, indeed.

Furukawa: “That is a scene the author Toboso Yana-sensei is very particular about.”

Uchikawa: “At the beginning of the rehearsals, it was very difficult to get into the shoes. So the prop master made slight changes to the shoes for us.”

Furukawa: “We practiced [putting on the shoes] countless times, did we not?”

Uchikawa: “Even if I managed to go in, the shoes would slip off again once I tried to walk. It was difficult in many ways.”

Q: Did you struggle with anything that was not visible?

Furukawa: “What I found incredible was the scene where Ciel had to walk on the tightrope. It went wrong several times during the rehearsals, so it could have gone wrong too during the actual show. We did say: “let’s think of a way to catch such accidents should they occur,” but no mistakes happened during the actual shows. I was stunned by Reo’s strength during shows.”

Uchikawa: “I had to make turns in the middle of [tightrope walking], so I really worked hard for that. And depending on the theatre, the tightness of the rope secured was also different every time, so I had to adjust how to balance every time. That was very challenging, but very fun.”

“I look forward to see how Sebastian’s hidden past will be portrayed.” (Furukawa)

Q: Would you mind telling us about what you think of your characters?

Uchikawa: “What I found very difficult about playing Ciel is that there are no children around me whom I could look to for reference. Even though [he] is a child, he’s also like an adult. It’s quite challenging for me to keep that image of Ciel in my mind while building his character. Ciel is someone who carries many heavy weights on his shoulders, such as that of human lives. However, he’d never allow himself to be crushed, and instead only shows his cold side. I think that is very cool.”

Q: I personally think [the way you use your] eyes is something very impressive.

Uchikawa: “Ah yes. In both the comics and the animated series, Ciel’s eyes have always been very iconic, so I always pay a lot of attention to how to express myself using my eyes in acting.”

Furukawa: “As for me, the last time was my second time [playing Sebastian], so I had already received advice from the spectators who saw “Musical ‘Black Butler’ the Lycoris that Blazes the Earth 2015”. Using that advice, I have tried to approach Sebastian with a new air. What I personally tried to pay more attention to was the balance between the butler and the demon. There is a part of the wicked demon that exists in Sebastian’s core. I have gotten more conscious of emphasising that [wickedness], while portraying a much, much deeper side of Sebastian’s character.”

Q: The scene with Beast was especially demonic to me.

Furukawa: “That was a scene from the comics that could not be faithfully re-enacted on stage entirely, which was why I had been fussing excessively about how to make myself look sexier. But honestly, I feel that much more than me, it was the music and the choreography that did the work. The choreographer Ms. KOHMEN created a choreography that emphasised sex appeal while matching it with the music. It was all thanks to the help of the staff that that scene became something even worth looking at.”

Q: Upcoming is the enormously popular “Luxury Liner Arc”.

Furukawa: “When I was reading [this arc] in the original comics I honestly got very excited. The hidden stories of characters that were disclosed [in the arc] were all incredibly interesting. It was saturated with highlights.”

Uchikawa: “There were many mysteries that were suddenly unravelled in this “Luxury Liner Arc.” So I’m really excited about how they are going to turn all this into a stage production!

Furukawa: “At this point of the interview we are in now we have not received the script yet, but I really want to read it as soon as possible. I finally get to work with the portrayal of a glimpse of Sebastian’s past. As of now, I am anxiously waiting to see what the production that is created with the combined effort of cast and staff will look like.”

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2! (it’s the CUTEST)

[my-arya-underfoot]

Debunking the Sansa-Lyanna Parallels

For whatever reason, the Lyanna = Sansa interpretation has been getting increasingly popular in the fandom. There’s this growing theory that Sansa and Arya are both equally like Lyanna and represent the different sides of her. In the extreme, there’s arguments Sansa is actually more like Lyanna than Arya.

“Arya and Sansa represent two faces of Lyanna.” “Denying one is actually denying Lyanna’s story in complete.” “Sansa’s romantic soul and Arya’s wild nature.”

Which, honestly drives me crazy – because you have to twist all three women out of character to justify the parallels.

There are way too many Lyanna/Arya parallels to explain here. If anyone wants a summary here are some good ones. But tbh, it’s not even something you need meta for – the books are incredibly explicit about the parallels, from their personalities (“wilful”), Stark-ness (wolf blooded), skills/interests (sword fighting and riding) and appearance (Northern beauties). Ned, Harwin and Bran all compare them outright.

Meanwhile, here’s the one explicit Lyanna/Sansa comparison: “He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once.” – Ned, AGoT.

Btw, this is not an anti-Sansa meta. Sansa has multiple parallels to other characters and inherits traits from many family members. (Ned, Catelyn, Jon, Sandor, Dany, Lysa, Cersei, Littlefinger, Brienne etc.) And there’s obviously overlap in characters she and Arya share connections with. But Lyanna Stark is not one of them. This is a debunking of the general Lyanna = Sansa evidence (book based).

Sansa/Joffrey = Lyanna/Rhaegar 

1. Sansa was blinded by love for Joffrey, Lyanna was blinded by love for Rhaegar

A. Don’t know how anyone missed this but – we don’t know the full Lyanna/Rhaegar story. The whole point of the event is how murky it is. We can't assume it was as simple as Lyanna being blinded by "love" Rhaegar and losing all common sense like Sansa did around Joffrey. That’s one of many interpretations. It could have been about the prophecy, closer to a straight kidnapping, Rhaegar being the one blinded by love, Lyanna running away by herself initially. Using the most unreliable story in the entire series as a basis for this theory is headscratching.

B. Lyanna is presented as perceptive and realistic about men, not idealistic. From actual quotes: Lyanna “Robert will never keep to one bed.” Lyanna “love is sweet dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man’s nature”?? That girl was blinded by infatuation for Rhaegar? Blinded in the way Sansa you-literally-tried-to-kill-my-sister-in-front-of-me -but-I-repressed-it-to-keep-my-fairytale-alive, was by Joffrey? Doesn’t line up.

C. A far better comparison to Sansa/Joffrey is Lyanna/Robert. Both Sansa and Lyanna were faced with marrying a young, handsome noble who was friends with the family and would give them status and a comfortable life. Sansa was overjoyed and Lyanna was unhappy. Both were faced with unpleasant truths about their betrothed: Joffrey was a monster and Robert was unfaithful. Sansa, the romantic rewrote events, idealized Joffrey and convinced herself he was wonderful and she loved him. Lyanna was clear-eyed, cynical and stated the facts. Completely opposite reactions.

D. Fun fact. What character saw Joffrey for what he was, is good at reading people's true character and isn't blinded by looks or status? Arya.

2: Both Sansa and Lyanna fell in love/had romances with Princes

We’ll put aside the question marks over R/L. Let’s say it’s a straight love story. It’s still starkly different from Joffrey and Sansa.

A. Sansa/Joffrey was an arranged marriage – Rhaegar/Lyanna was a forbidden affair. For most of the time Sansa was “in love” with him, Sansa’s relationship with Joffrey was fulfilling expectations of what she should be doing. Only at the eleventh hour did Joffrey become "forbidden.” Meanwhile, Lyanna and Rhaegar fell in love while they were both betrothed/married. It was always a rebellion against acceptable behaviour. Again, Lyanna/Robert is a much better parallel to understand the characters.

B. Even if R/L was a love story…then the argument is Rhaegar did love Lyanna and it was mutual. Sansa and Joffrey wasn’t mutual because he certainly never loved her.

C. Apart from being Princes I’m still waiting on similarities between Joffrey and Rhaegar. Aerys? Sure.

3: Lyanna and Sansa both betrayed their families for love/infatuation and started a war

A. We still don’t know what went down between Rhaegar and Lyanna. Certainly, not enough to parallel Lyanna running off with him to Sansa betraying Ned to Cersei.

B. Again, Sansa’s “betrayal” of her family was to uphold her arranged marriage. Lyanna’s “betrayal” was to turn her back on society and arranged match, and vanish for months with a married man. Vastly different circumstances.

C. Sansa going to Cersei was notably out of character for "eager to please since she was 3" Sansa vs. "wilful, wild" Lyanna and Arya. In the same book (chapter?) Sansa even compares her disobedience to feeling "almost as wicked as Arya."

D. The causes of both wars were complex and Sansa at least played a pretty minor role in hers. Her actions in contributing to the War of the Five Kings aren’t given nearly the same weight as Lyanna’s disappearance.

4: Sansa is more likely to run away for love than Arya

A. Um. No. Sansa is repeatedly characterised as dutiful and living by society's standards. Her causing the scandal of the century by running off with a married guy/someone unsuitable? No way. Not if she was in Lyanna's situation with a comfortable future before her. We see Sansa persuade herself her situation/match is fine –  rather than flee from it – with Joffrey.

B. You know who is known for running off? Arya. In her first chapter, she runs away from being a lady, she runs off after the Trident incident, she fantasies about running home while in KL, she’s literally on the run for ACoK-ASoS, she runs from Harrenhal, the Brotherhood, Westeros itself. If one of the Stark girls has a *screw all this, I’m outta here* attitude, it’s Arya. And a teenage Arya running away from an arranged marriage? 100% plausible.

C. Also, falling for someone unsuitable? How about that infamously wilful younger Stark daughter? Arya falling in love with someone forbidden - *cough* bastard blacksmith *cough* -  would be totally in character.

5: Both Lyanna and Sansa were held prisoner in the South during war

A. This parallel undermines the previous basis for Lyanna being a romantic. (I.e. The argument that she wasn’t a prisoner but went willingly with Rhaegar).

B. Let’s say Lyanna was kidnapped – still starkly different from Sansa. Sansa was held as a political pawn and on show. Lyanna was kidnapped for unknown, possibly personal reasons and hidden away from society. Sansa has more parallels with Elia’s role in the war than Lyanna’s.

C. If we start making a list of every character who is held prisoner during wars – Jaime, Tyrion, Ned, oh look Arya! – we’ll be here forever. Very weak parallel.

Lyanna and Sansa are romantics – Arya is a realist/cynic

To reiterate, everything we see of Lyanna’s reaction to Robert indicates she’s a practical realistic, not a romantic. But let’s break down the evidence.

1: Lyanna cried over Rhaegar’s song so she’s sentimental like Sansa not Arya (“The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle…”)

A. Yes, Sansa's more sentimental and loves songs. But interpreting the scene as a Lyanna/Sansa parallel, blatantly discounts the rest of the sentence: “…but when her pup brother teased her [Lyanna] for crying she poured wine over his head.” NEVER in a million years would Sansa do that. Not at a public Southern tourney and feast. Man though, you know a Stark girl who would do that? Who is far more wild and playful with her brothers? Arya. The Sansa parallel lasts Iess than a sentence before we’re back to Lyanna/Arya.

B. The fact Benjen bothered to tease Lyanna at all suggests it was out of character for her. I can't see the Stark boys teasing Sansa for crying, as it's the kind of thing she'd be likely to do all the time and wouldn't be ashamed of it. No point in teasing her. Teasing gutsy, sighing-over-songs-is-stupid Arya for crying though? Sure.

C. "Sang a song SO sad it made the wolf maid sniffle." The point is the song was exceptional in being able to make Lyanna cry. It’s “man, that’s unusual” not “oh, typical Lyanna sniffling away”. That comment is more about the Lyanna/Rhaegar relationship, not Lyanna’s allegedly sentimental personality.

D. Arya likes songs and Arya cries. That’s not exclusive to Sansa and Lyanna. This great meta goes into more detail both about the significance of songs for all characters in Asoiaf and how emotional Arya can be. But enough to say, Arya may not love songs as much as Sansa does, but she likes them and has favourites – Nymeria, Wenda the White Fawn etc. For all we know Rhaegar was singing a Nymeria/Wenda fanfic. And Arya cries a lot throughout the books, right from her first chapter over messing up her needlework.

2: Sansa and Lyanna both loved flowers. Lyanna was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the tourney at Harranhal = Sansa was given a rose by Loras at the Hand’s tourney.

A. News to me that “flowers” are a motif exclusive to Sansa’s character. Not only are flowers sprinkled all over the series, they’re more present in Arya’s story. In Sansa’s first chapter, Arya brings Ned purple flowers (Ned who brings Lyanna's statue flowers) and is excitedly discovering new plants while Sansa is sitting in her carriage. Not to mention the heck ton of nature imagery in Arya’s chapters. This is a weak link.

B. Lyanna gets a crown from a prince who spurns his wife? Sansa gets a rose from an implied gay guy? Much love. Much romance. Much parallels. If GRRM wanted that parallel, he’d have actually crowned Sansa QoLaB. There are hundreds of tourneys in the series, both of them attending doesn’t mean anything.

C. This is the same tourney where Lyanna first beat up a bunch of squires and may have gone on to dress up a knight and compete in the joust. Go ahead anyone who wants to argue that’s a Sansa not Arya move.

3: Arya has no interest in romance, Sansa and Lyanna do. Arya thinks love is stupid and Sansa is silly for liking it

A. Still very little evidence of Lyanna being some diehard romantic.

B. We cannot compare a 9/10yo Arya to a 15/16yo Lyanna. That’s skipping Arya’s entire puberty a.k.a when girls start to explore romance, love and sex. You can't take a few lines from a child as a blanket statement of Arya's views for love forever. It’s also comparing a Lyanna who grew up in a secure environment until she hit her teens vs. Arya who was thrust into a warzone as a child. Sorry Arya isn’t thinking about romance while starving on the run.  

C. Arya’s dismissal of romance is entwined with her own insecurities about failing as a lady, her ‘ugliness’ and being inferior to her sister. It’s a defence mechanism for something she worries she can never have. Also, she rejects Sansa’s versions of idealised love and conventional expectations of romance – not love full stop. Lyanna didn’t seem sold on the conventional marriage set up either.

D. Despite her age and circumstances, Arya still manages to have a ship tease with Gendry – a relationship more genuine and straightforwardly romantic than anything Sansa’s had. (Not discounting her complex dynamics with Sandor, Joffrey, Willas, Harry and Tyrion).

E. For the record, in the same conversation Arya told Ned Dayne "love is stupid" that people like to cite, she was mortally offended by the suggestion that her father loved anyone else ever other than her mother.

Sansa represents Lyanna’s “beautiful and feminine side” and Arya her “wildness and rebellion”

These aspects are not exclusionary and there's no indication Lyanna had these two opposing sides. In the same conversation that Ned tells Arya that she's like Lyanna, he refers to Sansa and Arya as "different as the sun and moon." (Not “two sides of the same coin” as is commonly quoted - that’s about the Targs).

So really. "Arya, you're the opposite of your sister! And almost exactly like Lyanna!" = "Sansa is like Lyanna". But let’s go through.

1: Lyanna and Sansa the beauties  

A. Arya is beautiful as well. For more detail go here – she’s growing into her looks. She doesn’t think she’s beautiful but other characters are commenting on it. Trying to imply Arya is “too ugly” to parallel Lyanna, so Sansa has to fill that part is gross on multiple levels.

B. Arya is explicitly describe as looking like Lyanna. By Ned. Lyanna’s brother and Arya’s father. If Arya isn’t beautiful, then Lyanna isn’t either.

C. Lyanna wasn’t a conventional Southern beauty. She was a “wild” beauty, Northern looking and even boyish. None of which matches with Sansa’s appearance – but all of which tallies with Arya.

2: People saw Lyanna and Sansa’s beauty but not “the iron underneath”

A. Ned's comment about Robert not seeing Lyanna's iron seemed far more about Robert’s blindness than Lyanna hiding her iron. The conversation was about Robert’s version of Lyanna, not how Lyanna herself behaved.

B. Nothing suggests Lyanna “hid” her iron. She publicly tipped wine over Benjen, she beat up the squires in the open. There's little indication she hid her strength under courtesy and ladylike behaviour like Sansa did.

3: Lyanna and Sansa were feminine

This may be the argument that raises my hackles the most. For a start this bizarre use of ‘feminine’ gets thrown around without defining what it means. So, just what.

A. Let’s assume ‘feminine’ refers to Westerosi ideal of the perfect lady that Sansa embodies: Girly, concerned with appearances, gracious, a submissive wife etc. Then…everything tells us Lyanna was the opposite to that. She was off wanting to carry swords, squabbling with her brothers, resisting marriage proposals and possibly entering jousts. None of that is traditionally “feminine.”

B. If we take a wider view of feminine as women owning their gender, femininity and role as a woman – Arya isn’t a genderless blob. Her being disguised as a boy and Faceless Men training is about how desperately she clings to her true identity…including her gender. She constantly corrects people about being a girl, takes on a caring and even maternal role (Weasel) and has female heroes.

C. Suggesting Arya is less “female” than Sansa – and thus unworthy of paralleling Lyanna – because she has traditionally boyish interests and fails the Westerosi ideal is pretty appalling tbh.

Random Parallels

1: Lyanna and Sansa were betrothed to a Baratheon

A. Not sure how anyone missed this – it was kinda a major plot point way back – but Joffrey wasn’t a Baratheon. He didn’t act or look like a Baratheon. He was a Lannister through and through.

B. You know who did have a major connection to a Baratheon? You know a Stark girl, Robert’s son legitimately fell for? Oh whoops, Arya. While Robert and Gendry are very different and the Arya/Gendry relationship is more genuine than Robert’s infatuation with Lyanna, it’s a more concrete parallel than Sansa/Joffrey.

C. Don’t know how many times I can say this, but the Joffrey/Sansa vs. Robert/Lyanna parallels highlight Sansa and Lyanna’s differences not their similarities.

2: Lyanna and Sansa Defend the Weak (Howland Reed and Dontas)

A. Yes, Sansa does defend Dontas, that was a great moment. But "defending the weak" is a recurring theme for Arya, while it’s a one off for Sansa. Arya has Mycah, Weasel, going back for Gendry, saving the Northernmen, hanging out with the defenders-of-the-helpless Brotherhood without Banners, saving Sam in Braavos, "they should have killed the masters not the slaves" etc. Arya's story is entwined with defending/befriending the oppressed and downtrodden. Sansa's is not.

B. Arya and Lyanna had much more similar approaches to defending Mycah/Howland scenes in physically beating off the attacker. Sansa's approach differed in using diplomacy and flattery. And "saved someone once" is a pretty loose thematic parallel.

3: Lyanna rejected Robert = Sansa rejected Tyrion

A. Sansa was horrified at marrying a dwarf old enough to be her father after she'd been a prisoner of his abusive family for months. Lyanna didn't want to marry a young, handsome lord who was a good match and arranged by her family.

B. Sansa resisted Tyrion yes, but she didn't reject him and she didn't run away. She endured. Again, going with the Lyanna-went-willingly-with-Rhaegar/ran away version of events – Lyanna rebelled in a much more blatant way.

C. Sansa/Joffrey is a much better parallel to Lyanna/Robert, than Sansa/Tyrion. How Sansa reacted to that situation – an ideal, arranged match – is an accurate point to compare her character to Lyanna. (Man, people really hate these Sansa/Joffrey vs. Lyanna/Robert parallels).

This Ended Up Very Long and I’m Sorry

Ultimately, the problem with framing Sansa as an equal half of Lyanna is you have to mischaracterize all three characters to get there –  Claiming Sansa is more likely to rebel, that Arya has no soft side and Lyanna was a blind romantic. Until we get more book details on the Rhaegar/Lyanna relationship, the main argument falls apart.

If we're talking parallels, it's less that "Sansa was one half of Lyanna" and more "Sansa was the inverse of Lyanna." One was dutiful and one rebelled, one went for her arranged marriage, one rejected it. Which makes sense as Sansa is a foil to Arya…a character who, as the books made clear from the start, does parallel Lyanna.

There are plenty of characters who connect to both Arya and Sansa. Ned and Catelyn reflect different aspects of their daughters. Brienne has two sides that reflect the two of them – both a romantic idealistic and unconventional woman. Let’s talk about those parallels instead.

[rlsdesign]

Secondary Research

I have conducted secondary research into several methods of disposing clothing and investigations into how fast fashion effects consumer behaviour. 

In my research I found Grete Birtwistle, now retired fashion marketing professor at Glasgow Caledonian University, a thought leader into consumption of fashion and behaviour. Birtwistle has written, collaborated and been referenced in several studies and journal articles two of which I will discuss and research.

So the wicked problem I have chosen to investigate for this design project is fast fashion.

Summary

Adrian Jones (2019) reported that Australia ranked number two in the world for textile waste disposal. Every year the average Australian will dispose 23kg of clothing, while some are donated to charities a large amount is sent to landfill. Fast fashion contributes to this as it is produced and sold at low costs resulting in low quality and therefore shortened lifespans. This increases the rate of disposability clothing as they are thrown away into landfill, donated to be resold or recycled for a new purpose. 

Charities take on post-consumer textile waste dominantly in Australia by collecting clothing disposed in charity bins and drop-offs directly to charity shops. In a study comparing Chile and Australia’s disposal habits Bianchi and Birtwistle (2012) found in both the countries consumers with a positive attitude to recycling were most likely to donate to charity than give away to family and friends in the disposal stage.

Of course, charities cannot take the full brunt of donations as De Polani (2018) reported that  overwhelmed charity, The Salvation Army, on average spends $6 million on landfill fees due to unsellable goods in Australia. 

Hyun-Mee (2014) found in a study of college students in the US that although as fast fashion consumers they were interested and concerned about the environment, they were also less likely to recycle as they may not know that all apparel products are recyclable.

In their study Morgan and Birtwistle (2009), mainly focusing on ages between 17-24, the study revealed young female consumers were unaware of the need for clothing recycling. However, it was a mutual agreement that there wasn’t much awareness on the issues of fast fashion due to lack of media coverage. They did though find expression for interest in potentially changing their attitudes towards recycling and reuse. 

Weber, Lynes and Young (2017) found that although fashion consumers purchase more than non-fashion consumers, they have a stronger interest and are willing to do something more than just throw out unwanted clothing. With this general interest there is potential of enhancing waste reduction in alternate methods such as reselling and swapping or more sustainable recycling methods.

Fast fashion is cheap, convenient and trendy and so is easily purchased and disposed of. While there are others taking steps to improve quality and processes in the design and production stage, there must be significant consideration into post-consumer behaviour and the disposal stage of fast fashion.

Figure 1. Fashion waste in landfill (Spring, 2017).

Fast Fashion

Fashion as clothing is defined as a style or expression popular at a particular time and is accepted by a wide audience (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). Fast fashion is a major part of the fashion industry and refers to the practice of replicating trends straight from the runway right into stores at a rapid pace to keep up with consumer demand. Fast fashion clothing is produced and sold at low costs resulting in low quality and therefore shortened lifespans. This in turn increases the rate of disposability of clothing as they are thrown away into landfills, donated to be resold and reused, or recycled for a new purpose. Fast fashion overall affects the secondhand fashion industry. (Kaikobad, N., Bhuiyan, Z., Sultana, F., Rahmna, M., 2015). This means this industry must be properly marketed and set up to have a positive impact on the environment. Overall, fast fashion fuels consumer culture as it encourages to constantly buy and therefore increases the amount of clothing waste. While sustainable clothing is taking a rise to counter the effects of fast fashion through the design and production stage, methods must be carried out to effectively deal with textile waste and avoid contributing to landfill.

Adrian Jones (2019) reported that Australia ranked number two in the world for textile waste disposal. He also stated that on average the Australian buys 27kg worth of clothing each year and staggeringly will dispose 23 kg of clothing a year as well.  While some of this textile waste is disposed into landfill, however some of this clothing does get donated to charities to be resold. Or it is collected by collection commercial companies where lower quality textiles are exported to landfill either in Australia or overseas. Jones reports a worrying picture “More than 70 per cent of the world’s clothing, and we made over 100 billion garments last year, are made of plastic, using a chemical process and made from oil. We produce 40 million tonnes of polyester for garments each year and currently recycle none of it” (Jones, 2019). This is problematic as polyester takes up to 200 years to decompose, adding to the negative problems of landfills. 

Donation

Bianchi and Birtwistle (2012), found that in Australia textile waste is sent every year to landfill by manufacturers and consumers. Charities take on post-consumer textile waste dominantly in Australia by collecting clothing disposed in charity bins and drop-offs directly to charity shops. Bianchi and Birtwistle (2012) notes that this is unlike other developed countries where there are more private textile waste collectors, merchants and traders. When clothing is collected by charities, they are sorted to be resold or distributed to those in need, however there are still large amounts of clothing are sent to landfills every year. In their study, Bianchi and Birtwistle investigated the disposable behavior of consumers in Australia and Chile where they found “that the strongest driver of consumer donating behaviour is attitude to recycling”. (Bianchi and Birtwistle, 2012). In both the countries studied it was found consumers with a positive attitude to recycling were most likely to donate to charity than give away to family and friends in the disposal stage. Overall Bianchi and Birtwistle (2012) state that the disposal stage is often overlooked and implies that encouraging consumers by educators, the media, and even fashion retailers to recycle can achieve higher rates in recycling and sustainable methods of discarding.

Of course, charities cannot take the full brunt of donations as De Polani (2018) reported that charity op shops such as Salvos (Salvation Army) are overwhelmed by donations that they mostly cannot resell.  De Polani reports that The Salvation Army on average spends $6 million on landfill fees due to unsellable goods in Australia. He quotes area manager Kelly Morrison "Things will then get damaged and broken and unfortunately most of those items can't be salvaged because we don't have the means to repair and they'll end up in landfill", De Polani (2018). People are often unaware of what is appropriate to donate or recycle and need better awareness and education of this issue.

Figure 2. Donations left outside (Jacobsen, 2016).

Disposal Behaviour

Hyun-Mee (2014), an associate professor at Northern Illinois University, investigated the post purchase behaviours of young consumers such as fast fashion disposal and hoarding. The study questioned Mid-Western college students in the US, finding correlation that fast fashion purchasing was related to disposing and negatively related in participation in recycling.

Overall, consumers who purchased more clothing and fast fashion were more likely to dispose and hoard apparel more.

Hyun-Mee notes that consumers less likely to recycle clothing was that they constantly keep buying fast fashion and the discarding of clothing is more convenient and easier. Another interesting discovery found was that although fast fashion consumers were interested and concerned about the environment, they were also less likely to recycle as they may not know that all apparel products are recyclable. This was partly due to seeing fast fashion apparel as low quality and therefore not worth recycling and “that consumers concerned about the environment do not seem to know about ways to recycle textiles” (Hyun-Mee, 2014).

In their study Morgan and Birtwistle (2009) conducted interviews, consumer focus groups and surveys of young fashion consumer’s disposal habits. Mainly focusing on ages between 17-24, the study revealed young female consumers were unaware of the need for clothing recycling. However, it was a mutual agreement that there wasn’t much awareness on the issues of fast fashion due to lack of media coverage. They did though find expression for interest in potentially changing their attitudes towards recycling and reuse in which “Participants also stated that they might consider modifying their clothing consumption and disposal behaviour if they were more aware of the social and environmental consequences” (Morgan and Birtwistle, 2009).

Weber, Lynes and Young (2017) found that although fashion consumers purchase more than non-fashion consumers, they have a stronger interest and are willing to do something more than just throw out unwanted clothing. Fashion consumers do engage in consistent cycles of buying new trendy clothing, disposing and then seeking new clothing but as fashionable items do sometimes require effort and investment in price, time and care it also means they are also willing to do something other than contributing to landfill. In their overall study based in Canada, there was a consistency in the desire to donate clothing and with this general interest there is potential of enhancing waste reduction in alternate methods such as reselling and swapping. By pursuing more sustainable approaches in textile waste and disposal to offer to fashion consumers it can shift post-consumer behaviour.

References

Spring, A. (2017). Fashion waste in landfill. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/dec/06/landfill-becomes-the-latest-fashion-victim-in-australias-throwaway-clothes-culture

Bianchi, C., & Birtwistle, G. (2012). Consumer clothing disposal behaviour: a comparative study. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 36(3), 335–341. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2011.01011.x

Cambridge Ditionary. (n.d.). fashion. Retrieved from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fashion

De Polani, G. (2018). Charity op shops are flush with donated used undies and stained furniture they can’t resell. Retrieved from

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-17/australian-op-shopping-waste-costs-millions-for-charities/10383490

Hyun-Mee, J. (2014).  Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviours. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 42(8), 688–697. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-03-2013-0055

Jacobsen, J. (2016). Donations left outside. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.ecowatch.com/fast-fashion-1994121280.html

Jones, A. (2019). Turning a growing problem into a growing opportunity. Retrieved from https://www.governmentnews.com.au/type_contributors/turning-a-growing-problem-into-a-growing-opportunity/

Kaikobad, N. K., Bhuiyan, M. Z. A., Sultana, F., & Rahman, M. (2015). Fast fashion: Marketing, recycling and environmental issues. Int. J. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Invent, 4, 2319-7714.

Morgan, L. R., & Birtwistle, G. (2009). An investigation of young fashion consumers' disposal habits. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33(2), 190–198. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00756.x

Weber, S., Lynes, J., & Young, S. B. (2017). Fashion interest as a driver for consumer textile waste management: reuse, recycle or disposal. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 41(2), 207–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12328

[an-ambivalent]

omg your haunting yandere jumin was so good, you don't have to but could you do maybe a backstory as to why she ran away or what happens after (doesn't have to be smut tho but thatd be cool) idk the plot sounds really good haha :)

Hello Anon! Thank you, I’m glad you liked it! :) You are the first person to request here on Tumblr, so I highly appreciate it! You ask, and I deliver :DD I hope this meets your standards. My writing is rusty so I apologize if its bad ^^

For any others who are interested: Here’s Part One: Haunting [Yandere! Jumin Han] [Reader-Insert]

WARNING: Hints of violence & other sensitive topics. Read at your own risk.

Part Two: The Life Of The Rich

A few weeks had passed since [Name] had joined the RFA. After her arrival within the organization, many events had occurred which were a turning point of not only her own life, but also for the old members of the RFA. Evidently, one of the main events which had occurred was the extravagant party that they were able to hold successfully. There were many guests, a lot of people from within the organization and out that [Name] had befriended, and many meaningful memories that she had made. Life felt as if it was a bliss. For someone who once struggled to even afford three proper meals in a day, it was an unimaginable luxury for [Name] who received healthy and nutrition food, much more so, when she had someone to cook  for her.

There were so many changes and they were happening too fast. Alas, that is to be expected when one who entertained customers for a living suddenly climbed the stairs of statuses within society, and lived a luxury which was only seen in films.

A few days prior to the party, [Name]’s life was chaotic and hectic with all the planning, moving, and dealing with certain issues Sarah. These days were also filled with a new blossoming love which was mutual between [Name] and Jumin.

With so much happening, [Name]’s life was as busy as ever. The time she shared with Jumin was filled with meaningful and intellectual conversations. Both of them conveyed understanding, and equivalent sympathy towards one another. There was not much time spared to completely know one another; their personality, their likes, or little trivias from the past. You know, the basics. Instead, both of them believed they had formed an emotional connection on similarities, and had pursued their relationship on such a whim.

Jumin was a person who dedicated his entire being to whatever he pursued. It was only natural he went all in when it came to love.

He had proposed, and she had accepted.

They both failed to realize that relationships went deeper than just emotions especially when the relationship had the label of romance attached to it. While many preached personality over appearance, physical attraction contributed just as much as personality if not more, especially in a sexual relationship. One’s background, beliefs, morals, future ambitions were all factors which heavily influenced a relationship. The attraction was not the issue. However, the lack of knowledge of each other did become one.

The reality of a relationship should never initiate after marriage.

After all, detrimental secrets only lead to chaos.

A few weeks had passed since [Name] had joined the RFA, and with the party already held, the date for the next one was not even close to being set.  

The hectic life turned into an one of a freelancer. With her old life abandoned, and nothing to do but wait for her spouse to return, [Name] felt herself become agitated due to boredom. She glanced around the living room she sat in, her eyes scanning over every single object and its detail as they searched, searching for anything to pass the time with. Then, her eyes shifted towards the kitchen where she saw a pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

Her eyes widened and she remembered.

Hadn’t the maid called in sick today? And she had forgotten to call in a substitute.

Shrugging, [Name] stood up and walked towards the sink. As she made her way towards it, her eyes flickered towards glass cabinets which showed her reflection. For a moment, she came to an abrupt halt, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise at her own reflection. It was as if she had never seen herself before.

She looked tidy. Her hair was brushed nicely and appeared to be soft as silk, instead of messy. Her clothes represented someone of class, who’s sense of style would be featured in magazines for others to follow. She wore light jewelry that seemed as if it was worth of millions. She looked polished, taught, and respectful.

It was someone she did not know, it was someone that was not her.

She felt something nag at the back of her mind, and her heart beat pounded faster momentarily than its’ normal pace.  

However, she quickly shook her head and resumed her walk towards the sink.

***

Presently, Jumin was in a business meeting with a client who desired sponsorship for his business. After what seemed to be hours of endless discussion, much to his relief, the meeting was nearing the end.

He tapped his index finger against the surface of the table in annoyance, his eyes flickering towards the clock which hung in his office wall.

The meeting was meant to be for half an hour, and it was fifteen minutes past the time. By now, he was meant to be more than half way home, ready to greet his cat and his love. The client who obviously lacked time management skills did not seem to understand the basic concept that Jumin had a life outside his business.

And so he decided, why should he initiate business with someone who obviously lacks the basics such as time management in work practice?

He shouldn’t and that was it.

“Thank you for your time,” Jumin began, flickering his eyes towards the customer in a steel-like gaze. “That will be all. I will let Assistant Kang show you out,” He said, standing up.

The client, a 24 four-year-old male with messy brown hair, gasped in surprise when he was interrupted mid-sentence.

Desperation and plea was written all over his face.

“B-But I haven’t expl-” He said, but he was cut off by Jumin who sighed.

Irritation specked his eyes, and he glanced down at the client with a look which almost screamed murder.

“You had half an hour to go over everything but instead you were discussing irrelevant matters. For a potential customer, the least you can do is learn how to get straight to the point, not consume more of my time than what I offered, and actually have a good proposal for an investment. Your lack of sound business skills is enough to know that this will not work. Now, if you will excuse me from being bored to death, I have a wife to return to,” Jumin stated coldly, as he grabbed his coat.

The client sat there baffled at his response, his mouth hung open in shock at the harshness he had just been a witness to.

However, one word remained in his mind: wife. Oddly, this rang a bell of nostalgia. It made him recall something, or rather, someone.

The client recalled seeing the following headlines in the news: The Hottest Bachelor No Longer The Hottest Bachelor And It’ll SHOCK You!! So, Does Jumin Han NOT #GAY?!? #Number Four Will Change The Life You Didn’t Know You Had!  

He recalled seeing a person next to Jumin, his wife, and she seemed strangely familiar. It was as if he knew her. Dare he say,  he knew a ‘wilder’ version of her, but he could not recall where.

Jumin, who was making his way out of his office, froze when he heard the name of his wife slip the client’s lips.

“I’m sorry?” Jumin said, turning towards client, a threatening aura beginning to raid off him.    

The client turned his head towards Jumin and had a wicked grin which promised disaster plastered upon his face. Such expression caused Jumin’s fingers to twitch in disgust, an urge to punch it off his face rushing strongly through his blood.

“It’s [Name], right? Your wife? No wonder I knew I had seen her before,” The Client said, tilting his head. “Although, the last time I saw her, the sight was… Dare I say, much more exhilarating than what I saw on the magazine,” He finished, his grin widening.

Jumin clenched his fist, his eyes narrowing into a threatening glare which promised hell. Anger was seeping into his face. However, when he spoke his voice was calm and composed.

“And where did you see her?” Jumin asked.  

The Client’s grin spread further across his lips so the wickedness of it morphed into a plain sadistic sight.

“[Name]… Ah, she looks so polished next to you. When I saw- sorry, let me ‘rephrase’ that. When I had her, she was much more wild like an untameable beast. I still remember it clearly: the sight of her beneath me, my hard earned money splashed around her. If nothing useful, she did me a decent service at least. And now she’s with you? No wonder she looks so sold out and polished with money. I’m surprised a useless stripper like-” The Client continued, however, he was interrupted with a fist harshly hitting his face.

He screamed as he felt the harsh impact of the punch on his nose and teeth. His scream was loud enough to attract the attention of other workers.

Jaehee, who stood outside Jumin’s office and was waiting for him, rushed in the room with concern written all over her face.

She entered without knocking, and the sight of blood dripping from Jumin’s hand caused her eyes to widen impossibly huge. Then, her eyes flickered towards the Client who was bent in pain, holding his nose, and groaning in pain.

One or two splatter of blood dripped heavily from his nose and onto the floor.

Jumin, who was towering above him like a tyrant, glared harshly and clicked his tongue in agitation.

“Look at what you have made me done,” He began, his voice etched with anger and danger. “My skin is coated with your filthy blood. Maybe I shou-”

“Mr. Han!” Jaehee snapped, interrupting him. Her voice caused him to freeze, before Jumin turned his head towards her.

“Assistant Kang,” He greeted, as if everything was normal. Anger vanished from his face, and was replaced with his normal stoic expression.

His eyes flickered to the groaning Client and then towards Jaehee.

He sighed. “Looks like I got a bit carried away,” Jumin murmured to himself.

“A bit?!” Jaehee shrieked in surprise.

Jumin ignored her outburst before he flicked his hand, causing a few blood drops to fall on the floor.

He looked at Jaehee with a gaze that ordered absolute obligation.  

It was a look often worn by dictators and it was look which sparked fear within her and she did not like it.

“Take care of this mess. Call my lawyer, and find a way out of this,” He commanded with certainty.

Jaehee opened her mouth to reply. However, by this time, Jumin had already walked past her.

His expression was dark and only one thought occured in his mind.

I need to set things straight with [Name].

Masterpost

[hencethebravery]

I was tagged by the lovely @mossandmushroom​ to discuss 5 things I’ve written that I love. It’s very rare that I truly love anything I write, but… I shall do my best. xo

I could see why other writers might not enjoy doing this, so, don’t feel obligated, but I will be tagging… @abbadons-little-witch; @shoedonym; @seastarved; @winterbythesea; @the-reason-to-sail-home; @thejollypirate; @caprelloidea, and anyone else who feels so inclined!

1. The Wanderings of Oisin (OUAT – CS – 2K). This wasn’t my first piece for OUAT, but it’s my first major study of Killian Jones as the glorious, handsome, intellectual drama-bomb that he is. It’s also the first part of a larger series devoted to Killian and his love of literature and poetry (that I refuse to believe is non-canonical). It is only 3 parts so far, but I guarantee there will be more.

For all the apparent downsides of living in a “land without magic,” for all the complaining he had endured at the behest of many a Storybrooke resident, Killian Jones could only silently disagree with the miserable masses. And it wasn’t as if he never felt the occasional longing for a quiet, empty stretch of field, the silence that comes with no electricity or television; even the memory of certain pieces of clothing buzzed pleasantly in his mind. But truthfully, even without the potions and the fairies and the instant gratification of fancy spell work, Killian could not help but forgive this land when he happened upon its poetry.

2. Lilac Wine (OUAT – CS – 2K). This was a gift for the wonderful Kat, simply because we were obsessed with the finer details of the Neverland kiss. I just wanted to examine the aesthetics of that kiss as much as possible, from the sweat on their skin, to the way their stupid faces pressed together. It’s just a masterpiece of a moment, and I wanted to contribute to the fandom’s general appreciation of Neverland and 3x05.

In the moments before she briefly fumbles, grabs the lapels of that stupid coat and makes him lean, she notices an absolutely abhorrent sheen of sweat across his brow and cheeks. It’s been there for days, this island wins first prize in overall humidity, and everyone has been slightly sweaty since they arrived, but it plays differently along the planes of his face. And why, good God, why, can’t sweat, just be sweat? Only it’s not, because it barely shines, but it emphasizes a blush in his cheeks that she keeps noticing; this flushing pink that she can’t stop looking at.

3. The Silence (Teen Wolf – Stiles x Lydia – 5K). Before I got lost in the enormous CS trash bag, I spent some time writing for Teen Wolf, mostly because of Lydia Martin. I have some pairing preference, but mostly Lydia, whose character development rivals even Killian Jones. Often when I wrote anything for Teen Wolf I jumped into the future a bit, only because I am a grown person and high school is terrible, so I basically just slotted Stiles and Lydia into their early college years and gave Lydia some room to understand her powers and be amazing. There’s also kissing and eating grapes poolside.

And, of course, the day she had told her parents that she wouldn’t be going to college next year. That she needed to take a year off, figuring out what it was that she really wanted to do. It was the disappointment and worry in their eyes that she hoped the aforementioned blurriness would eventually reach and snuff out, so that she could pretend she hadn’t thrown her entire life away because of a few nightmares.

From that day onwards she lived her life in sharp, clear focus. She never forgot a thing (even when she wanted to), and as she lay in bed at the end of each achingly bright day, she was pretty sure she could make out her future less and less, dwindling away into the horizon like an old Hollywood couple, heart-shaped and silhouetted in a fancy convertible.

4. If it’s darkness we’re having, let it be extravagant (Teen Wolf – Lydia Martin – 3K). This also includes some Scott x Lydia, because honestly, either pairing tickles my fancy, but it’s mostly a Lydia Martin witch AU. There’s actually some mild world-building in this, which is why I’m proud of it. I should re-watch Teen Wolf, tbh.

Somewhere between the ages of 10 and 12, they had sent her into the void alone; a “learn by example” kind of lesson. Up until that point, it hadn’t been unlike any other elementary school, aside from the large dusty tomes on her nightstand, it was all arithmetic and spelling exercises. So when her grandmother had led her upstairs into the attic one morning, she had become immediately suspicious. Even at 10, 11, or 12 (those years are all so fuzzy) Lydia was the kind of child with an instinctual apprehension of nearly everything around her; people, places, and things. Except the cat; blind Hypatia, the stray that slept at the foot of her bed, loyal until the end.

5. “Show us how to make the scars talk!” (SoA – Chibs x Tara – 1K). My first major foray into fanfic was for Sons of Anarchy, when I became enamored with the idea of Chibs and Tara. I already loved Tara, and Chibs is Scottish and handsome, but there were a few bonuses: Neither of them were Jax or Gemma (both of whom I despised), but they also had something else in common. They were mutually scarred doctors with dark pasts and I thought they would have been beautiful together. Amazingly, I ended up writing 7 different fics for these two. Too bad this show crashed and burned in the worst way possible.

Tara knew the lesser spoken of history; about how he had gotten those permanent half-smiles etched onto both sides of his face. Wicked souvenirs from a painful time in his life that anyone with a brain would kill to forget, but there they would always remain, unabashedly staring right back at him every time he glanced in a mirror (or maybe when he noticed the curious expression on a woman’s face). When she forced herself to look down at her hand every morning all she could think about was Abel, and his young, barely there heart, beating in her capable hands; and how if that had happened now she wouldn’t have been able to save him, he would have died in the hands of anyone less capable than herself. She knew it may have been arrogant, but that was surgeons all over wasn’t it? If they weren’t emotional train wrecks with God complexes, then they probably weren’t very good surgeons.

[dailybiblelessons]

The Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Revised Common Lectionary Proper 17 Roman Catholic Proper 22

Complementary Hebrew Scripture from the Latter Prophets: Jeremiah 15:15-21

[Jeremiah's lament] O Lord, you know;  remember me and visit me,  and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance do not take me away;  know that on your account I suffer insult. Your words were found, and I ate them,  and your words became to me a joy,  and the delight of my heart;  for I am called by your name,,  O Lord, God of hosts. I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,,  nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone,  for you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing,  my wound incurable,  refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,  like waters that fail.

[God's response] Therefore thus says the Lord: If you turn back, I will take you back,  and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,  you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will turn to you,  not you who will turn to them. And I will make you to this people,  a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you,  but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you,  to save you and deliver you, says the Lord.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,  and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture Torah Lesson: Exodus 3:1-15

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,¹ and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”² But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever,  and this my title for all generations.”

¹Jesus uses this phrase when the Sadducees question him about the resurrection (the woman with seven husbands) Matthew 22:23-33 and Luke 20:27-40. Peter uses this phrase in his speech at Solomon's portico ²Stephen recounts this episode in his defense before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:1-53.

Complementary Psalm 26:1-8

Vindicate me, O Lord,  for I have walked in my integrity,  and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me;  test my heart and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes,  and I walk in faithfulness to you.

I do not sit with the worthless,  nor do I consort with hypocrites; I hate the company of evildoers,  and will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence,  and go around your altar, O Lord, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,  and telling all your wondrous deeds.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,  and the place where your glory abides.

Semi-continuous Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,  make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him;  tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name;  let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength;  seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done,  his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of his servant Abraham,  children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

Then Israel came to Egypt;  Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. And the Lord made his people very fruitful,  and made them stronger than their foes,  whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,  to deal craftily with his servants.

He sent his servant Moses,  and Aaron whom he had chosen.

Praise the Lord!

New Testament Epistle Lesson: Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.¹” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.²” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹Deuteronomy 32:35.   ²Proverbs 25:21-22

New Testament Gospel Lesson: Matthew 16:21-28

There are parallel passages at Mark 8:31-9:1 and Luke 9:22-27.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus told his disciples,“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Year A Ordinary 22, RCL Proper 17, Catholic Proper 22 Sunday

Selections are from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible text is from New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV) copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Image Credit: The Ascent to Calvary (detail) by Tintoretto, via Wikimedia Commons. This is a public domain image.

[dailyofficereadings]

Daily Office Readings July 17, 2020

Psalm 31

Psalm 31

Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

1 In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me. 2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.

3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me, 4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

6 You hate[a] those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. 7 I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have taken heed of my adversities, 8 and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.

9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also. 10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery,[b] and my bones waste away.

11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror[c] to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. 12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. 13 For I hear the whispering of many— terror all around!— as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. 16 Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love. 17 Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord, for I call on you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go dumbfounded to Sheol. 18 Let the lying lips be stilled that speak insolently against the righteous with pride and contempt.

19 O how abundant is your goodness that you have laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of everyone! 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from human plots; you hold them safe under your shelter from contentious tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege. 22 I had said in my alarm, “I am driven far[d] from your sight.” But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all you his saints. The Lord preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily. 24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.

Footnotes:

Psalm 31:6 One Heb Ms Gk Syr Jerome: MT I hate

Psalm 31:10 Gk Syr: Heb my iniquity

Psalm 31:11 Cn: Heb exceedingly

Psalm 31:22 Another reading is cut off

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm 35

Psalm 35

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

Of David.

1 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! 2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me! 3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life. Let them be turned back and confounded who devise evil against me. 5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on. 6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

7 For without cause they hid their net[a] for me; without cause they dug a pit[b] for my life. 8 Let ruin come on them unawares. And let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall in it—to their ruin.

9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his deliverance. 10 All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me about things I do not know. 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is forlorn. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed[c] on my bosom, 14 as though I grieved for a friend or a brother; I went about as one who laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning.

15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; ruffians whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; 16 they impiously mocked more and more,[d] gnashing at me with their teeth.

17 How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions! 18 Then I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19 Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me, or those who hate me without cause wink the eye. 20 For they do not speak peace, but they conceive deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. 21 They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it.”

22 You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me! 23 Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense, for my cause, my God and my Lord! 24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me. 25 Do not let them say to themselves, “Aha, we have our heart’s desire.” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed you[e] up.”

26 Let all those who rejoice at my calamity be put to shame and confusion; let those who exalt themselves against me be clothed with shame and dishonor.

27 Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant.” 28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all day long.

Footnotes:

Psalm 35:7 Heb a pit, their net

Psalm 35:7 The word pit is transposed from the preceding line

Psalm 35:13 Or My prayer turned back

Psalm 35:16 Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the profanest of mockers of a cake

Psalm 35:25 Heb him

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 4:19-5:1

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 Those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal, 21 saying to the Israelites, “When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea,[a] which he dried up for us until we crossed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

The New Generation Circumcised

5 When all the kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them, because of the Israelites.

Footnotes:

Joshua 4:23 Or Sea of Reeds

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 5:10-15

The Passover at Gilgal

10 While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. 11 On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Joshua’s Vision

13 Once when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you one of us, or one of our adversaries?” 14 He replied, “Neither; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and he said to him, “What do you command your servant, my lord?” 15 The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Romans 12:9-21

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;[b] do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;[c] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes:

Romans 12:11 Other ancient authorities read serve the opportune time

Romans 12:16 Or give yourselves to humble tasks

Romans 12:19 Gk the wrath

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Matthew 26:17-25

The Passover with the Disciples

17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

20 When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve;[a] 21 and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” 25 Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

Footnotes:

Matthew 26:20 Other ancient authorities add disciples

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.