#yes I used a Kermit gif for this

[synchodai]

Hello I am here to ask you about……….

The hour of the wolf.

🐺🐺

Okay, so! The Hour of the Wolf....hahahaha, you asked for this.

war has no meaning, but how we come to peace does

So war is meaningless, right? At least, that's what Fire and Blood depicts The Dance as — a cycle of violence that destroys everything and everyone that gets trapped in its vortex. We, as a society, have moved on (hopefully) from the concept of the dictator whose unchecked, absolute power is fine for them to have because they are just inherently more righteous and better than any human being. Narratives about powerful heros waging just and righteous wars are looked at with reasonable suspicion and are often decried as propaganda.

"We were king’s men, knights, and heroes . . . but some knights are dark and full of terror, my lady. War makes monsters of us all. " - Thoros of Myr, AFFC

We have all agreed that in war, everyone ultimately ends up the loser and the biggest losers are those who had no hand in starting this in this first place. At least, that's very clearly the narrative of the Dance, right?

Alright, so if war is meaningless, then where do we find meaning? Well, whenever I read any story or book about war, the most important and constructive part is always in how the author or historian chooses to resolve it. Because the natural inertia of a wheel demands that it keep spinning forever — it takes an active choice and will to power to break a cycle, come to a resolution, and stop it. Yes, the war is meaningless, but how it ends isn't.

With that premise in mind, this is why the Hour of the Wolf and Aegon III's Regency is my most read, analyzed, and beloved parts of Fire and Blood. Only the Hour of the Wolf takes place during the civil war of the Dance, so let's focus on that.

the hour of the wolf

A (not so) quick summary for those who haven't read or don't remember this part:

After the Battle of the Kingsroad, the Tully black-aligned forces overcome the Baratheon green-aligned forces when the Baratheon army underestimates their foe (for being made of women and young boys) and gets betrayed by the Crownlanders who were part of their van. When the Tully army arrives in King's Landing, they find that do not need to retake it because Aegon II is dead. Aegon III has been betrothed to Jaehaera and declared the presumptive monarch. This ushers in a period known as The False Dawn, where the city and the black-aligned armies celebrate, believing they have won and that the war is over.

That is until Cregan Stark arrives with his army of northmen and ushers in The Hour of the Wolf (the darkest hour of the night in Westerosi time-telling). He easily seizes control of the city because he has the biggest army and he's the most senior commander at 23. That should tell you something about the state of this war when literal children are leading armies. Without Cregan, this is the person who would be your highest ranking officer:

(In the books, Kermit Tully is 19 and Oscar Tully is 13. Kermit leads the Riverland armies in F&B.)

Cregan is like, "Children, this isn't over."

Who told you the war was done? The Clubfoot? The Snake? Why, because they wish it done? Because you won your little victory in the mud? Wars end when the defeated bend the knee and not before. Has Oldtown yielded? Has Casterly Rock returned the Crown’s gold? You say you mean to marry the prince to the king’s daughter, yet she remains at Storm’s End, beyond your reach. So long as she remains free and unwed, what is to stop Baratheon’s widow from crowning the girl queen, as Aegon’s heir? - Cregan Stark, F&B

He's aggressive and being a bully about it, but...it's a logical course of action given what kind of person he is and the world he exists in. Yes, Westeros was dangerously close to having more people die in a pointless war because of Cregan Stark, but that's a feature, not a bug of his character and what he represents (which I WILL go into great detail later). It is very important to the themes of this story that someone like Cregan Stark exists and that war isn't wrapped up with a victorious battle and a neat little bow.

For now, King's Landing starts to fall into despair and turmoil once again when people find out that war might not be over after all.

With the infallibility of hindsight, we now look back through the centuries and say the Dance was done, but this seemed less certain to those who lived through its dark and dangerous aftermath. - Maester Gyldayn, F&B

Luckily, the peace efforts made during The False Dawn are actually well-received not by the lords, their armies, or their commanders — but by their widowed wives. One by one, green-aligned Houses begin to come to King's Landing to negotiate and accept terms peace, and this was only possible because the lords fighting the war are dead and their widows are godsdamned tired and just want to put their own lands to rights. The final nail in Cregan Stark's plan to restart the war effort comes when Jeyne Arryn arrives with Rhaena Targaryen and her newly-hatched dragon, Morning.

The smallfolk of King’s Landing, who not a year before had slaughtered every dragon in the city, now became rapturous at the sight of one. Lady Rhaena and her twin sister, Baela, became the darlings of the city overnight. Lord Stark could not confine them to the castle, as he had Prince Aegon, and he soon learned that he could not control them either. - Maester Gyldayn, F&B

The Three Widows, the Maiden of the Vale, and the Dragon Twins absolutely wreck Cregan's control of the city. Big strong northman suddenly finds that being the biggest man with the biggest stick isn't enough to control the city — and it is delicious. For all Cregan's characterization that he is this harsh, unforgiving, and unyielding warrior, the women cow him not by playing his game of swords or aggression, but by their willingness to lay down arms. Rhaena doesn't arrive with a dragon to assert her power and threaten people with it, but instead uses it as a symbol of hope. After the darkest hour, the hour of the wolf, comes Morning.

This is when I fell in love with Fire and Blood.

judgement of the wolf: no truce with the fur(r)ies

Okay, fine, so our foes have decided to willingly lay down their arms. What are we supposed to do with all these weapons, the men we specifically brainwashed and traumatized to die in war, and the many many crimes left unanswered? SUCH A GOOD QUESTION. A quandary that we still struggle with in our 21st century. Reparations, whomst?

Here are the answers F&B gives. The weapons? Well, they're mostly decommissioned or in the process of being decommissioned. Dragons will no longer be a problem. The men? Marry them to widows that need a strong arm and have them rebuilding homes and fields. The crimes? Well...

We have to tackle the question of what justice looks like in a world where people are forced to commit violence on one another. Killing your fellow man during times of peace is treated very differently from killing your fellow man on the battlefield. When everyone's hands are stained with blood, who is left to mete righteous judgment and punishment to those who have sinned?

This fucking idiot, that's who.

Okay, that was a joke — I don't think Cregan Stark is a complete idiot or that it should be an idiot who does the judging, else GRRM would have made Mushroom do the sentencing.

But what he is, however, is somewhat of an outsider. He is a Westerosi lord paramount who has grown up with their feudal system and common laws, but he is also severely out of place in the King's Landing court because he is from the North. And the North has a very different way of dispensing justice than the south. It's no coincidence that it's the Warden of the North who takes on this task, not only presiding over the trials, but also being the executioner himself.

The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die. … A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is. - Eddard Stark, AGOT

All the lord paramounts agree with the need to enact justice. It's their primary job as feudal lords, but understandably, none of the lords who have been embroiled in the many, many years of civil war want more blood on their hands.

On one point Lord Cregan remained adamant, however; the king’s killers must not go unpunished. Unworthy as King Aegon II might have been, his murder was high treason, and those responsible must answer for it. So fierce was his demeanor, so unyielding, that the others gave way before him. “Let it be on your head, Stark,” Kermit Tully said. “I want no part of this, but I will not have it said that Riverrun stood in the way of justice.” - Maester Gyldayn, F&B

Everyone in Westeros has a feudal conception of justice — very Code of Hammurabi, eye for an eye, "the higher you are on the social totem pole the less harsh your penalties," "it is the order of things" kind of thing. But the North has a less romanticized and more utilitarian view of justice. Ned speaks of it as a duty to sentence a man to death. They remember and keep to oaths, even when circumstances have drastically changed. So things like compassion, leniency, and mercy? Why, those get in the way of duty, don't they?

The north is hard and cold, and has no mercy, Ned had told her when she first came to Winterfell a thousand years ago. - Catelyn Stark, AGOT

To get classical, biblical even, an ideal Northern Lord is depicted to be this impartial, cold, and relentless hand of justice, unable to be swayed by love, pity, or glory, like Zeus calling down lightning on sinners as punishment. Except Cregan Stark is not Zeus. He's more like the furies — a powerful, single-minded force of nature who cannot be stopped from exacting righteous vengeance to those who have done indiscriminate evil. And to this day, some do still idealize that form of justice where every thief must be given the same punishment regardless of circumstance of context.

Again, this is why I love Cregan Stark and why I think he is such an important character on a thematic level. Because he represents the "old way" and a male power fantasy of how to win a war where all the evil-doers are either slain indiscriminately or forced to submit by the unquestionably honorable strong man who stayed true to his word to the very end.

And he's shown to be EXTREMELY out of his depth. You cannot plead with a force of nature; there can be no truce with the furies — but the furies do answer to gods. And who are the gods that move and stay Cregan Stark's hand?

the trial of corlys is the trial of westeros

Before we answer that questions, let's set up the trial and examine what's at stake.

These three are the big players who are accused of the most grievous crime of high treason, and they all represent an aspect of Westeros. Orwyle is a stand-in for the smallfolk. He did what he had to, mostly on the orders of others. Larys represents the low/upstart nobility who have been kept under the boot of the royals and who have rebelled against their wishes to assert their autonomy. Corlys represents the high/established nobility, also pushing for his own advancement but through a reinforcement of the status quo.

Orwyle is banished, sent to the Wall, but ultimately treated with leniency (by Tyland Lannister, not Cregan Stark). Larys refuses the offer of being sent to the Wall and chooses to be executed instead, extinguishing House Strong (the true upstart usurper house imho, not the Hightowers). Corlys is pardoned.

(Judgement of the Wolf by Ertaç Altınöz)

Let's focus on Corlys's verdict, because that's the one that baffles the historians and characters in the book.

Corlys is a key character throughout the Dance because he is arguably the only character that serves as the running thread all the way to the Council of Harrenhal to 101 AC to Aegon III's regency. He is the only character who has served as witness to everything, and he is arguably the guy who planted the seed of the civil war.

As far as Westerosi nobility goes, Corlys is nouveau riche. He didn't inherit his wealth like most lords; he made it through his Nine Voyages, going so far to surpassed House "We Have Literal Gold Mines" Lannister in terms of sheer wealth. Corlys was this close to becoming a king. If common law were followed and Jaehaerys didn't pass over Rhaenys, Corlys would have achieved social mobility the likes Westeros has never seen without using bigger army diplomacy. It's the closest this extremely rigid hierarchy can get to a rags to riches story, honestly. In other words, Corlys represented a new order where any bloodline could theoretically sit on the throne.

And so, in order to prevent that, we come to the original sin of the Dance. Jaehaerys passes over Rhaenys for Baelon. That leads to the nobles passing Laenor over for Viserys. Which leads to Aegon II being passed over for Rhaenyra. And this all snowballs into the Dance. All of that arguably because Rhaenys married Corlys instead of one of her Targaryen cousins or brothers.

Whether green or black, Corlys represents the nobility asserting their growing influence over the ruling dynasty and the decisions they made to further undermine their monarch's power to advance the prestige of their own House. This is not to say Corlys is evil, but that he is simply what all highborn strive towards — power, wealth, and influence. Corlys is Westeros moving forward, past the need to rely on the Targaryens for power and security.

Viewed in the most charitable way, Corlys and nobility like him werw a check and balance to the power of the monarchy, a promise of social mobility — something indeed necessary for the good of the realm. Viewed in the least charitable way, Corlys is an opportunistic traitor who allowed their liege to fall to ruin.

Lord Velaryon did not attempt to deny his guilt. “What I did, I did for the good of the realm,” the old man said. “I would do the same again. The madness had to end.” - Maester Gyldayn, F&B

Cregan Stark, snow-addled and hailing from an ancient heritage who values pacts and order, does not view him charitably. Using cold laws of the world they themselves built and live in, Corlys admitted to treason and treason is to be punished with death.

But to execute Corlys is to punish a person who built himself from the ground up, who is a repository of knowledge and foreign experiences, was the reason Rhaenyra and her claim ever stood a chance, was the person who sued and arranged for this peace, and acted primarily for the good of his House and family. There's also the very real danger that executing such a powerful man would start a whole new war, causing Alyn Velaryon to rebel against the Starks and the crown.

And so, a lot of people argue against the decision. But the cold furies were once again stayed by the wisdom and restraint of women.

jace, baela, & black aly: pretty words that can topple mighty oaks

The justice and fury Cregan Stark rains down is ultimately because he has been summoned by a greater authority in this war — otherwise, my man would have stayed in the North. And who moves mountains, who summons this force of nature, who calls upon this winter storm?

Two years past, Cregan Stark had made a promise to Prince Jacaerys. Now he had come to make good his pledge [...] - Maester Gyldayn, F&B

IF YOU THOUGHT I WOULDN'T MAKE THIS ABOUT JACEGAN, YOU ARE SORELY MISTAKEN. STRAP IN, FOLKS, WE'RE GOING DEEP.

“What is the life of one bastard boy against a kingdom?” “Everything.” - Stannis & Davos, ASOS

Jace's bastardy is the driving force of this war — he is the fruit of Rhaenyra being named heir (necessitating her marriage to Laenor) and he is the reason why it begins (Aegon II only being convinced to challenge his sister because of her heir's bastardy).

Only when Ser Criston convinced him that the princess must surely execute him and his brothers should she don the crown did Aegon waver. “Whilst any trueborn Targaryen yet lives, no Strong can ever hope to sit the Iron Throne,” Cole said. “Rhaenyra has no choice but to take your heads if she wishes her bastards to rule after her.” It was this, and only this, that persuaded Aegon to accept the crown [...] - Septon Eustace, F&B

Jace is disruption of the established order writ small. He is both born a crime and a prince. So we know where most characters stand whether they have an agenda of supporting bastards and other slightly "outsider" nobles (see: women, second sons, etc.) to hold power or they have the opposite agenda of wanting it to be strictly traditional.

But for some reason, Jace being a bastard or disruption of the social order doesn't play a part in Cregan's decision to ally with him at all. The Lord of Winterfell is offered three things: friendship, a pact sealed in blood, and a betrothal to a daughter who does not exist. He does what he does based solely on a promise of a person long dead. This boy must be god for he commanded a force of nature solely by the strength of his word.

“Words are wind,” says The Testimony of Mushroom, “but a strong wind can topple mighty oaks, and the whispering of pretty girls can change the destiny of kingdoms.” - Maester Gyldayn, F&B

What exact words Cregan and Jace, we'll never know.

But we do know what other characters do say to Cregan to get him to stay his hand. There are only two people that manage to do this. The first is Baela Targaryen who was Jace's cousin, step-sister, childhood friend, and betrothed.

Lady Baela brandished a sword and declared that she would cut off the hand of any man who sought to harm the men who had saved her, the Wolf of Winterfell smiled for all to see, and allowed that if her ladyship was so fond of these dogs, he would permit her to keep them. - Mushroom, F&B

Baela along with her sister Rhaena plays a huge part in pushing Cregan to pardon Corlys, but the person who closed the deal, saving Westeros from its own destruction, is Black Aly by offering her hand in marriage in exchange for Corlys's life.

“A lean tall creature was this wench,” says the dwarf, “thin as a whip and flat-chested as a boy, but long of leg and strong of arm, with a mane of thick black curls that tumbled down past her waist when loosed.” [...] “She smells of woodsmoke, not of flowers,” Stark told Lord Cerwyn, said to be his closest friend. - Mushroom & Maester Gyldayn, F&B

(A promise of marriage stays Cregan's hand, so the theory is that it was also a promise of marriage that moved him in the first place. Whose marriage? Well, my stance on that is pretty obvious but you all are free to speculate otherwise. Also, Aly being flat-chested like a boy, being Jace's age, having dark curls, and smelling like woodsmoke 👀)

Regardless of my jacegan truther shipping, let's talk themes. Jace is what got Cregan moving, and it is two aspects of Jace that stay his hand. Baela reflects Jace's Valyrian side, his boldness and dragonfire. Black Aly is Jace's First Men side, his dutifulness towards his family and capacity for sacrifice.

love doomed us, love saved us

Reading Fire and Blood, you understand the cycle of violence continues because of grief and the need to avenge loved ones. It only fully spirals into an all-out war once Luke and Jaehaerys are killed. Characters are so motivated to protect and save their families first and foremost that they end up destroying them. Each loss demands more blood.

The grief and rage of losing a child could burn down the world. - Catelyn Stark, Game of Thrones - Histories & Lore: The Dance of Dragons

So...how did this war end? Not with force, not with another victorious battle, and not even with bent knees. The unstoppable force of retribution that we summoned from the white primordial plane that would have prolonged this war and left nothing but scorched earth... stopped because a girl who smelled like woodsmoke offered her hand in marriage? What?

Let's go back to what Thoros said: war makes monsters of us all. Even when motivated by very human emotions like love and grief, ceaseless pain, cruelty, and brutality turn people into animals.

There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs. - Jorah Mormont, ASOS

To me, this is the whole point of the Starks and the North. Fans think Starks are "honorable," which sure, they can be...but not in the same way knights are. The North doesn't have a code of chivalry — that's an Andal thing. First Men are honorable in the same way a winter storm is honorable. Winter doesn't discrimimate and it comes for us all, but there's no humanity in its retribution. The world northerners live in is incredibly cold and harsh, so they must harden themselves in order to survive. Their magic literally involves them turning into animals, and every Stark has the capacity to be a savage beast.

But even beasts need warmth and companionship.

Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. - Eddard Stark, AGOT

There's something insanely compelling about having to be both tough and communal to survive the winter. Starks must be stoic and fierce but also carry this deep capacity for love and family.

Going back to The Dance, the cycle of violence ends because a girl offered herself to a wolf, and she allegedly reminded him of his lost friend who allegedly reminded him of his lost brother. And suddenly he wasn't a beast anymore, sent out to die while spilling the blood of his master's enemies. Maybe he was thinking with his cock, but at least he was thinking like a man.

Love is the bane of honor, the death of duty. What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms ... or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy. - Maester Aemon, AGOT

personal notes on cregan stark

I love Cregan Stark because he is me in my darkest hour with my self-destructive coping mechanisms, my desperation to prove myself, my anxiety that I will never be safe from those who wish to hurt me unless I hurt them first.

He is the hyper masculine reaction we have towards any kind of trauma, and he seems so strong and stoic and something we should aspire to be. But he's really not — it was a good thing that for all the talk about how "unyielding" he was, there were actually people he deferred to in the end. When you have been raised to be the best fighter in the world and know nothing but fighting, making peace is the challenge. If you have been taught glorify death in battle, choosing to life suddenly becomes radical.

Whenever I talk about this character, I feel like I'm Theon crying in the corner and clutching onto my portrait of Robb, saying, "You don't know him like I do!" Because fans valorize Robb as a king the same way they hype up Cregan as a badass. The man was so out of his depth that he left after 6 days on the job.

He's credited for dispensing justice during the Hour of the Wolf, but out of about 22 people that were arrested, do you know how many he actually executed?

Two. Larys Strong and Ser Gyles Belgrave of the Kingsguard. The rest took the black and Corlys was pardoned. So for all the talk that he's this big, tough guy who cleaned up everyone's mess, he actually did very little in terms of what people consider cleaning up.

That being said, I still very strongly believe that his role made this book worth it for me. Because if Cregan did not show up and the False Dawn continued onto peace without the Hour of the Wolf, it would not have changed the outcome of the Dance but it would have a drastic downgrade to its themes and message.

Instead of the women and widows willingly laying down their arms to dissuade a powerful man from going scorched earth, it would be a bunch of them following Corlys's lead and re-establishing Corlys's version of the status quo. Corlys would never have been tried as a criminal, which was very important because without that, he would have been the arguable "winner" of the Dance. Him being forgiven by Aegon III shows the child exercising power over his life and actively choosing to forgive his crimes instead of being a puppet who is ignorant of said crimes.

The northmen marrying Riverland widows instead of dying in battle is so near and dear to me, because it show that even in ruinous and the harshest of circumstances when you've left everything and death seems like the only choice, there is more value to your life than to whatever glorious death you might imagine for yourself. There is someone out there who will love you and build a home and family with you, no matter how old and how much of a burden you otherwise think you are.

You're mine. Mine, as I'm yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we'll live. - Ygritte, ASOS

[captainlunaxmen]

All for the Cameras

Chapter 9

Finnick Odair x fem!reader

Hello! I'm sorry it takes me this long to write each chapter, but I have so many ideas for so many fics, and also, I don't want to fuck this one up😅

Let me know what you think, especially now that we're entering Mockingjay pt1, I would appreciate some feedback, so I can get better and better.♥️♥️♥️

Chapter summary: time to face the consequences. But that doesn't mean the fight is over.

Chapter warnings: violence, torture, guilt, implied rape, non-consensual touching, Cal, Finnick being a sweetie pie.

Tag list:

@guacam011y @justtrying2getby @idontevenknow1359 @alexandra-001 @bambikitten @maggiecc @redh00dsbf @haneybunny @1-800-styles @sisiking99 @merromimo @yourdailymemedelivery @regsg18 @gordorio @bambikitten @gracieeleanorr @shev3nom @honethatty12 @savingprivatecass @erindiggory @martahabla @sterredem @aawdrea @wpdarlingpan @strawberry--fawn @barbarathewanderer @ih8books @a-mysterious-potato @mayonesavegana @celinaiscrying @katherinejess @meri-soni-meri-tamanna @abaker74 @syd649 @meikoo @secretsicanthideanymore @p1stachi @laylasshiftingtonight @yourmumstoy @s0urw00lf @kermits-bitch @littleshadow17 @piya-re

I'm sorry if I can't tag everyone😔🥺

Masterlist

Y/n's Pov

My mind can't register nothing but pain.

In my head.

In my chest.

Everywhere.

All I can feel is pain.

I can vaguely hear voices around me, but I can't make out what they are saying.

I'm tied down on a table, lights prevent me from seeing more of the room. I try my best to move, but I can't, I can't move an inch and breathing gets harder.

Suddenly the pain is gone. I immediately try to catch my breath and I try to also understand where I am exactly.

"The pain you feel right now is nothing compared to what I felt when I found out about your betrayal."

My chest tightens even more when I hear Cal's voice.

"Do you have any idea what that felt like?" He comes into my line of sight, I can clearly see his anger, jaw clenching as he leans over me, "you hurt me, princess."

"You... you... hurt me... f-first..." I stutter out, my throat hurts badly.

"Me?" He scoffs, "I hurt you first? Princess, do you hear yourself? I gave you everything."

I want to scoff, want to throw everything I've hold back all these years, but I'm too weak.

"You..."

"Shut up!" He screams right at my face.

"General." A voice calls from what I assume is the door.

Cal immediately stands straight, hard look on his face as he steps back.

"President Snow." Cal nods his head.

"Leave us, general." Snow orders.

"Yes, sir." Cal nods and looks down at me, "I will see you soon."

I look up at the ceiling, focusing on calming my heart and breathing.

"You know, miss L/n," he starts speaking as he walks closer, "I have to give it to you, you did fool me. I did thought you were finally realising what being in the Capitol means. What these games mean."

I dare look at him once he's close enough. He has a smirk on his face.

"And you believed me?" I ask with the voice I have left.

"I did, and for that I owe you my respect. If only you were this good at lying before I had to kill your brother... such a shame." He sighs, "I remember that day too, miss L/n, I remember the hatred in your eyes, how easily I could read you, your thoughts and your intentions. You wanted to die, didn't you?"

"Better... than this..." I mutter.

"Oh, yes, I know. But you made a mistake." He states, it's almost like he's teaching to a class, "do you know what mistake?"

I gulp and take a breath to answer.

"I... I cared..." I answer weakly.

"Exactly." He nods, "you started to care not only about the tributes you were assigned to, but the mentors... and the tributes you weren't supposed to help." My eyes shot to his face, "I have to say you also got better at hiding that, for a good while I thought you stopped. This will be no comfort to you, I'm sure, but I am very proud of you, my dear."

"An insult..." I grit out.

"Of course. Oh and let's not forget the threats you had to invent... wonderful ideas, absolutely wonderful. With that you convinced me, I have to admit. Ideas worthy of the Capitol." He says this knowing I feel guilty, knowing that I hated being part of the games.

"Just kill me already." I breath out.

"Kill you? My dear girl, how could I? I would never kill Capitol's Princess, no, no." He chuckles.

"Then what? Torture me until I don't know who I am anymore?" I try to raise my voice a little, but the pain in my chest makes it hard.

"No, that's for Mr. Mellark to find out. " He casually say and I open my mouth to say something but he cuts me off, "no, you will be always aware of what's going on. And whatever mistake you make, they will pay."

"No..."

"You see, miss L/n, you might think you got so good at lying that I wouldn't know you anymore. But I do. And I know the worst torture for you is not pain, even though that will come too of course, no, it's hearing your loved ones in pain and not being able to help them." He looks proudly at me, satisfied with my terrified reaction, "or better... knowing you are the reason they're screaming."

He then looks beyond me, to someone, nod his head and in that moment screaming fills my ears. My eye widen recognising the voice.

"No... no..."

"It's Mr. Mellark first session, thought you wanted to assist." He says, I pull at the restraints, but they're too hard and I'm too weak, "know that the pain he's feeling right now is sponsored by you, miss L/n."

After that he walks away, I scream at him all the insults that come to mind, but the exhaustion is kicking in.

Peeta screams and screams and screams, I can't imagine what they're doing to him, what he's thinking...

It's all my fault...

My fault.

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

Finnick's Pov

All Finnick can do now is make knots, knots, and knots. The only thing to try and keep his mind busy... but it's no use.

All his thoughts are consumed by guilt as he sits on the hospital bed in 13. He doesn't deserve it. He keeps repeating to himself. He should've gone back.

"Finnick." Katniss suddenly calls.

"I wanted to go back for Peeta and Johanna... but I, uh...I... I couldn't move." He dares look at Katniss. He can't read her expression, and he doesn't even want to. He sighs, "they have Y/n, too. They took her." He notices her expression softening, knowing the two girls were slowly developing a friendship, "she's, uh... she's in the Capitol." Then a horrible thought makes its way into his mind, "I wish she was dead. I wish they were dead and we were too."

Does he actually want it? He knows what the Capitol is capable of, and he knows that death would be more merciful. He can't even imagine what they're doing to his friends right now, how they're torturing them.

Death sounds so much more appealing.

Y/n's Pov.

The fetal position doesn't offer that much comfort as people say. The cold floor makes sure of it. I don't know how long they kept me tied up to that table, how long they forced me to hear they screams.

The doors opening get my attention and I immediately sit up and move closer to the wall. I hear the cell's door next to mine opening and closing. Then footsteps exiting the room.

"Y/n?" Peeta's weak and tired voice calls me.

"P-Peeta..." I move to the bars, along the wall we share, "Peeta, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't..." he groans, I can hear he's getting closer too, "don't blame yourself. It's... not your fault."

"I feel like it is... If I..."

"No," he cuts me off, "don't go down there. Don't blame yourself."

"What... what did they do to you?" I ask, hesitantly.

"I don't think thay will do you any good." He says, even in this situation he tries to look out for others.

"Please..." I whisper.

"Electrocuting." He sighs.

"Peeta..."

"Not your fault." He firmly says. "What about you?"

I sigh, still feeling my head throbbing.

"Same, and in the meantime they made me... listen to you."

"Oh..."

"You have to be stronger then them," I tell him.

"What... what do you mean?"

"Don't let them change you. They know it's your fear... Don't let them." I instruct, "Whatever they're going to do to you, whatever they're going to tell you, it's not real."

"I... I'll try." He says, his tone is scared and unsure. I wish I could do more, I wish I could take that pain from him.

"You have to."

An angry scream interrupts us and suddenly the doors are open again.

"Fucking assholes! Let me fucking go!"

I can see Johanna's being thrown into the cell in front of ours and the guards immediately leave without a word.

"Fuck!" She screams hitting her hands on the ground.

"Johanna..?" I call.

"Y/n! I thought they killed you!" She exclaims.

"That would've been too kind."

"You're right. Torturing people is more like their style." She agrees.

"What's their plan?" Peeta asks, a little hesitant, "I mean, what use could we be?"

"To convince the Capitol." I say.

"What do you mean?" Johanna asks.

"The Capitol loved Katniss and Snow wants to discredit her, he needs to." I explain, "he needs to convince the Capitol Katniss is the villain... or... convince them she was a victim too."

"Why would he do that?" Peeta's confused.

"Because it could use this to convince the districts too. If the districts believe she never wanted a revolution, if they believe she's only wants everything to go back to normal, they won't raise against the Capitol. They won't have a leader anymore. He could still control them."

"Why would they believe it?" She asks again.

"They managed to convince everyone of all sort of thing in the past few years, I wouldn't be surprised." I say.

"Right... and where do we fit in this plan?"

"Make us say what they want."

"How?" Johanna spats.

"Don't underestimate them." I glare, "don't think they don't have the means to get you to do what they need you to. And trust they will do whatever they can. And the Capitol can do a lot. You should know."

"Fuck. Fuck!" Johanna punches the wall, frustrated.

"No need to hurt yourself now, Johanna. Don't steal all the fun." I sarcastically tell her.

"So much fun, indeed." She agrees, "fuck! We better be dead."

"I wish... I wish." I breath out, I notice Peeta has been quiet for a while, "Peeta? Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I mean, no. Sorry, I..." he sighs, I can tell he's holding back tears, "I guess I'm scared."

"I know, I am too."

I hold out a hand between the bars, hoping he would see it and take it, thankfully he does, it's not the most comfortable position, but it gives us some comfort, I wish I could do the same with Johanna. I look at her and she sadly smiles and nods her head.

"It's okay." She whispers.

The doors suddenly open, harshly. Automatically we all move to the walls, to somwhow hide, knowing full well ot would be no use.

Then Cal gets in front on my cell, and my chest tightens again at the sight.

"Stand." He orders as he open the door.

I'm apparently taking too much time so he enters and yanks me up.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Johanna yells and hits the bars.

"It's okay..." I tell her, and Cal drags me out.

"You shut up," he says to Johanna, "unless you want another session."

"I'm okay, don't worry ab-"

"Shut up. Walk." Cal orders me.

No other choice but to walk.

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

Cal drags me all the way to a long corridor until we reach a room, in which he, not so kindly, push me.

The room is small, there's only a table and two chairs, it looks like an interrogation room or something. But what scares me the most is being alone in such a tiny space with Cal.

"We need to talk." He states, closing the door behind him. "Sit."

I do as he says, my eyes on him in case he wants to try something... not that I could be able to do anything about it, but it's little comfort... little.

"Why?" He simply asks.

"Uh?" I'm a little taken aback by the question.

"Why you? Why did they had to corrupt you?" He asks.

"Corrupt me..? What... what do you mean?" I'm just as confused.

"Why would you risk everything for them? It doesn't make sense to me." He says, sitting down in front of me, he tries to take my hands but I move them out of the way.

"Everything? What everything?"

"Your life, our life together. "

"You... are you serious?" I can't help the anger raising.

"We were so happy together, we want-"

"You were." I cut him off, "you were happy, I was miserable. Your father paid me to be with you, then you kept on paying me. You forced me to. Snow forced me to. You and any other person in the Capitol."

"I gave you everything." He grits out.

"Gave me every- what the fuck are you referring to? The clothes? The jewellery? Or the bruises? Maybe the nightmares" I spit back.

"I love you." He says.

"No you don't." I'm exasperated now, "you don't. I don't know what you think you love, but it's not me."

"Don't you ever tell me what I feel. I know damn well." He stands up, and come closer.

Once he's too close I get up too, to get as far as the small room allows me to.

"You have no idea what love is." I tell him.

"And you do?" He scoffs, "don't tell me..." He stops for a moment, considering me, "was I right all this time?"

"About what?"

"Odair." He simply says and I instinctively look away from him, "I was right!"

He quickly corners me into the wall, hand around my neck and the other grabs my wrist tightly as I try to push him off.

"Cal..."

"Remember this: you are mine. Mine. We will get married soon, the people will see you as a victim of this mess, and once I get my hands on him... I will kill him and you will watch." He threatens.

"No..."

"Yes, now, if you don't mind I missed our time together... I plan on making up for lost time." He whispers, face getting closer to mine.

It's when I feel his lips on mine that I start to push and turn around, but he's too strong for me... all I can do is let him.

Finnick's Pov

Finnick's been sitting all day, he doesn't even want to eat or sleep, he only does because he knows Y/n would scold him for it.

The door opening catches his attention, and relaxes a little seeing Haymitch walking in.

"Mr. Odair." Haymitch nods and stands in front of him, "how do we feel today?"

"Maybe better than you." Finnick answers, "How's rehab doing?"

"It could be better... I have to admit." He replies, tone's heavy.

"I have to ask..." Finnick starts.

"She was supposed to be at the rooftop with me, we waited, we did wait... until we couldn't anymore." Haymitch starts to explain, guilty visible in his expression and talking, "I kept my eyes open the whole time just to catch a glimpse of her, but I'm afraid the peacekeepers were already at her apartment." He sighs, "I'm sorry."

"I don't think she would like you blaming yourself." Finnick tries to joke, tears in his eyes.

"Oh, I know." Haymitch sadly smiles, "we'll get them all back."

"Really?" Finnick doesn't want to hold his hopes up, but if there's even the smallest chance of seeing her again, he would grab it.

"I owe her." Haymitch mutters more to himself than to Finnick.

Finnick wants to ask him how he thinks they're alive, but suddenly, the Capitol theme starts, and the Capitol symbol appears on the TV in the room.

"What's this now?" Haymitch groans.

"Hello. Good evening." Ceaser face appears as he greets the audience, "and a big welcome to all in Panem. I'm Ceasar Flickerman. And whoever you are, whatever it is you're doing... if you're working, out down your work. If you're having dinner, stop having dinner. Because you are going to want to witness this tonight."

"What do you think they're doing?" Finnick asks.

"No clue." Haymitch replies, eyes focused on the TV.

"There has been rampant speculation about what really happened in the Quartel Quell. And here to shed a little light on the subject for us is a very special guest. Please welcome Mr. Peeta Mellark."

"What the fuck...?" Haymitch scoffs.

"He looks well..." Finnick comments.

"Yeah, you know better than anyone how good the Capitol is too hide all sort of bruise." Haymitch says.

They pay attention to what Peeta's saying, he explains what happened, how he lost Katniss before the end.

"What do they want to do?" Finnick's confused to see Peeta like this.

"I don't know... maybe they want to destroy Katniss' image of leader...I don't know." Haymitch mutters, "or maybe Snow wants to destabilise her."

They fall silent again seeing Peeta referring to the camera.

"I want everyone who's watching to stop and to think about what a civil war could mean. We almost went extinct once before. And now our numbers are even fewer. Is this really what we wanna do? Kill ourselves off? Killing is not the answer. Everyone needs to lay down their weapons immediately. Or else that's it. For all of us."

"Peeta... are you calling for a cease-fire?" Ceaser checks.

"Yeah. I am. I want everyone to stop the senseless violence. This is not the path to change." Peeta agrees.

"What..." Finnick starts, alarmed, "what are they doing to them?"

"I don't even want to imagine." Haymitch groans.

"Now. Ladies and gentlemen... a special surprise." Ceaser begin to speak again, "you love her, she's part of everyone's family and now she's been entwined in today's speculations, but such misunderstanding will be easily wiped off once she gets to say her side. Please welcome our Princess, Y/n L/n!" He announces.

"What?" Finnicks stands immediately getting closer to the screen.

"Hello, Ceasar, long time no see." She brightly smiles at the host.

"Indeed, my dear." Ceaser takes her hand and kiss the back of it, "it's so nice to have you back here. Unfortunately, we're not here for our usual chat, are we?"

"No..." she says, sadly. Finnick gets even close to the screen so he can notice any detail possible. "But I think I can make some clearance on this whole situation, if you'll allow me of course."

"Look." Finnick tells Haymitch pointing at Y/n's hands, "look at her fidgeting."

"She's nervous... what about it?" Haymitch asks, getting close too.

"Look at it." Finnick repeats.

Haymitch then focuses on her hands, she's wearing rings and she is turning them left and right.

"There's a scheme." Haymitch breaths out, "she's sending a message."

"Yes, she is!" Finnick can't help but exclaim, "she is! My brave girl."

"You know that if they find it they will kill her." Haymitch warns.

"I know... she does too." Finnick goes back at looking at her face, she doesn't show any emotion except the ones she uses to fool the Capitol.

"I have to tell Plutarch." Haymitch walks out.

"As you could hear, all a misunderstanding." Ceaser announces, "It's great, let me tell you, you would've broken my heart."

"I could never!" Y/n fakes pity, "you're my favourite person!"

"Hear that! I'm her favourite person!" He laughs and takes her hands, "let's not make your future husband jealous now" he winks.

Finnick notices Y/n slightly tensing, he notices because he knows her, everyone else wouldn't blink an eye at that.

"Oh he knows he can't top you." She winks back.

"Now you flatter me, my ego is too big without all these praises." He smiles, "Alright, people of Panem, it's all for today. Have all a good day and stay tuned for more news!"

And with that the TV turns off.

"You're still fighting..." Finnick mutters by himself, relieved by seeing her on screen, "my brave girl."

[winter-soldier-101]

Why me! 2

Word count: 1317

AemondxReader

Aemond has been watching you from afar since the day he told you he would kill you and your babe so you’ve stayed away from him since then.

“Are you going to talk to him?” Rhaenyra asks you.

“How can I talk to him when he told me he would kill me and our babe if the babe didn’t look like him all because he thinks your son Jacerys is the father so you tell me how could I ever look at him the same.” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra.

“(Y/N) I know what he said to you but he does love you” Rhaenyra tells you.

“He told me that I let your bastard son touch me and of my babe looks like your bastard son he will kill us both that’s truly what he said to me so don’t fucking tell me that he loves me because he doesn’t love or care about me anymore” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra and walks away from her and everyone else.

“(Y/N)” A voice calls out the voice of the one man she truly trusts.

“Elmo, is that really you?” (Y/N) asks as she holds him tight in a hug.

“How I’ve missed you so I miss seeing you run around Riverrun with Kermit” Elmo tells you as he lets you go.

Elmo Tully is like a second father to (Y/N) when her father died fighting in the StepStones with Prince Daemon, (Y/N) was thankful to Prince Daemon he had brought her fathers body back and paid mother some coin to help with everything.

“I want to go home Elmo” (Y/N) whispers out as she cries in his arms.

“I wish I could take you back home (Y/N) but I don’t want your mother and brothers to be in any danger” Elmo tells you.

“I do not want my child to know his or her father hates them so please if I die on my birthing bed take my child and never let Aemond near him or her” (Y/N) tells Elmo.

“I will do everything I can for you and your baby (Y/N)” Elmo tells you.

Aemond stood behind the wall of the secret passageway as he listened to your conversation.

“When Aemond told me he would kill me and the babe I thought about jumping from Maegor’s tower so we wouldn’t feel unwanted and unloved.” (Y/N) says as tears fall down her face.

Aemond listens to your cries and feels his heart break as you say you wanted to end your life because of what he said.

“(Y/N) it’s okay you can write to me and your mother any time and if you need me I will come.” Elmo tells you.

“I just want to tell the King that Jacerys is the father of my baby and let me and Aemond go away from each other.” (Y/N) tells Elmo.

“(Y/N) no you can not do that the King will punish you if he feels like you abandoned your vowels to Aemond” Elmo tells you.

“I know I just don’t know what to do.” (Y/N) tells him.

Three days later

“I have decided that my daughter and heir Rhaenyra Targaryen will be crowned Queen in a fortnight the ravens have been sent and all Lords and Lady’s shall be in attendance to celebrate their new Queen” Viserys announces to the masses and to his council members some shocked at the news.

“Your Grace, are you sure you don’t want to name your first son Aegon King?” Otto asks Viserys.

“Otto enough of this my daughter will be Queen and that’s final!” Viserys yells out making sure everyone understands.

5 months later

(Y/N) lay in her birthing bed as Maester Mellos tells the midwives to get some water and cloth as you begin to push.

“Princess get ready to push” Maester Mellos tells you as you let out a scream and push.

“One more push Princess” Maester Mellos tells you as you push one more time and stop when you hear a loud cry.

“A boy Princess” Mellos tells you as he shows you your son and gives him to the midwife to clean him up.

“Princess I need you to push one more time” Maester Mellos tells you as you push once again and hear another cry.

“Another boy Princess” Mellos tells you.

“Twins oh my Layla will you get Queen Rhaenyra.” (Y/N) asks her handmaiden.

“Twin boys Aemond” Alicent tells Aemond.

“Yes mother I’ve heard I’ll visit when I’m done training” Aemond tells Alicent as he leaves her alone standing there.

“Should I call you Queen Rhaenyra now” (Y/N) asks Rhaenyra.

“No you don’t have to call me Queen Rhaenyra (Y/N) your my good sister and oh your boys are beautiful (Y/N)” Rhaenyra tells you.

(Y/N) looks at her sons and sees both have white hair and not a single brown hair in sight (Y/N) lets out a little laugh.

“I don’t want him anywhere near my sons” (Y/N) tells everyone in the room as Alicent walks in.

“My dear girl, how are you feeling?” Alicent asks you.

“I’m fine Alicent where is my husband at?” (Y/N) asks Alicent.

“He went to the training yard for a-“ Alicent starts to tell you.

“Yes of course he did let him know he is not allowed in my room and he will not be allowed to see my sons” (Y/N) tells Alicent.

Three days later

(Y/N) holds little Aragon as Aeneys lays still in his bed but a soft knock wakes him (Y/N) puts Aragon down and picks up Aeneys and opens to see Aemond along with Jacerys.

“What are you doing here Aemond?” (Y/N) asks him angrily as Layla waits for you outside.

“Layla come in and take the boys please?” (Y/N) asks Layla.

“I’ve come here to apologize to you and Jacerys and see my sons.” Aemond tells you.

“No they are my sons not yours!” (Y/N) yells at Aemond and tries to close the door on him.

“(Y/N) stop I’m sorry I’m trying to make everything right and make it up to you.” Aemond tells you.

“No you don’t deserve to meet my sons” (Y/N) tells him.

“(Y/N) I’m going to see them so please move?” Aemond asks you.

“No, they are my sons, remember their bastards to you so leave me and my sons alone Aemond.” (Y/N) tells Aemond.

“(Y/N) let me see them now” Aemond says as he pushes the door open and makes way over to the boys.

“No stay away from my sons” (Y/N) says as she pushes Aemond away from the twins.

“(Y/N) enough!” Aemond yells as he pushes you to the floor.

“You will never put your hands on me again. If you do it will be the last time you have hands. Do you understand me?” (Y/N) tells Aemond as she gets up off the floor.

Aemond looks at you shocked as he holds his left cheek.

“You can see Aragon and Aeneys when I feel like you are ready to be their father” (Y/N) tells Aemond.

“You named them with me?” Aemond asks you.

“Yes I named my sons because their father wasn’t there for them when they were born” (Y/N) tells Aemond.

“(Y/N) I’m sorry that I hurt you and I’m sorry about what I said about you and the boys and Jacerys. I'm sorry for what I said about you and my wife and sons” Aemond says to you and Jacerys.

“I appreciate your apology, Aemond but I have not forgiven you yet.” (Y/N) says to Aemond.

“Thank you for apologizing uncle and I’m sorry about all the pain me and Lucerys caused you.” Jacerys apologizes to Aemond.

Taglist: @dc-marvel-girl96 @immyowndefender @izfrogzyy1 @lexi-anastasia-astra-luna @hc-geralt-23

[natalyarose]

omg ive been absorbing all you galactic mid-mula posts and got curious enough to check my chart...

only my Ketu shifted from Ashwini to Bharani... everything was the same damn thing lol

it makes sense tho cause my chart feels so maddeningly appropriate even though that Ashwini to Bharani shift is interesting.

hahaha love the gif, kermit be so real :')

yes!! a lot of people will find that the placements that end up changing in the ayanamsa switch are the ones that never fully sat right with them but they kinda just forced to fit.

like okay I'm going to use one of my outer-ish planets as an example- I had Saturn in Ardra in Lahiri and I never really 'connected' with that placement much. I figured that maybe it's because it's not a particularly personal placement to me, but it still didn't quite fit. In mid-mula, it becomes Saturn in Punarvasu (in my 10th!) which makes a world of sense when I think of my 'career'/life events, public image, etc.

Glad you're feeling connected to your chart!! 🩷

[lya-dustin]

All is bliss

Chapter 53

Cw: grooming, murder, child abuse, fertility issues, magic, description of injuries, body horror, ableism

Gif by @daenerys-tarrgaryen

Taglist: @mercedesdecorazon @sweethoneyblossom1 @watercolorskyy @alexandria-millie @ewanmitchellcrumbs @darylandbethfanforever9

Rhaena ---despite Jeyne putting her foot down saying it was too dangerous--- was packed along with her stepbrother and their dragons and escorted to her father by the army Jeyne promised father and her half-sister, Nettles.

Why, she isn’t sure, but Nettles thinks it’s to show off their dragons and make the Greens shit themselves.

“I do not like him.” Her eight and ten year old half-sister made her displeasure known after Ser Corwyn, a man of eight and twenty, helps her onto her horse.

“But I do, Nettie.” The girl said playing with the red ribbon he gave her back in the Eyrie. He was handsome, and great at jousting, and if Nettles was into boys, she’d find it very attractive when he takes off his tunic when he spars.

Rhaena had scarcely turned five and ten ---two weeks ago--- when the lords and knights in Lady Jeyne’s court begin to fight for her attention. She supposed it was her turn since everyone’s getting betrothed.

Baela is betrothed to the heir of House Rowan who Lady Jeyne claims is part of a conspiracy to kill Aegon and make Aemma queen. Aegon was led to believe by his councilors he had truly become loyal to him, and the Usurper believed them.

Joanna Westerling has sent a raven to father offering herself or his choice of her four daughters in exchange for ridding her of the Red Kraken. Father had ---according to Nettles--- chosen the widow as her bravery had him rooting for her despite her allegiance.

Rhaena has plenty of offers, but the choice is up to father, unfortunately.

Kermit Tully offers himself as a groom for Rhaena, as does three- and ten-year-old Bloody Benjicot Blackwood, Jason Lannister, Lord Manderley’s heir, Lord Tarly and Ser Corwyn Corbray.

Rhaena would gladly choose Ser Corwyn if it were up to her. It wasn’t fair mama married papa out of love, she tells her sister when she says he is too old for her.

“Your mother was two and twenty, and he killed the Sealord’s annoying son for her. If Ser Corwyn cares for you an ounce of what Daemon cared for his two late wives, he will wait until you are of age and know your own mind, little sister.” Nettles points out and changed the topic. “Do you think Vhagar knows Morning is hers?”

“Yes, when Aemond was Aemma’s hostage Vhagar would let her curl up beside her, she even let us get on her saddle. Unless you try to command your parent’s dragon, they don’t harm you. When Baela trained Moondancer for fighting, Vhagar refused to hurt her. Caraxes has no such problem, but that is because Caraxes is a jerk.” Rhaena explained wondering why she’d ask that.

Morning was as large as a colt now; the freedom of the mountain helped her grow as if she were a wild dragon like Nettles’ Sheepstealer. She was not a fighter, she needed training for it, but if she were to be around and hurt, Vhagar would have no other choice than to rescue her hatchling.

“Why does father want me there?”

“Baela’s escaping Kingslanding as we speak, Daemon wants Vhagar out of the fight and the only way to do it is if her hatchlings lead her away from the battle.”

Prince Aenys suckles at Alys’ teat as if she hadn’t bound his life to hers. The babe would live as long as she did while he was still at her breast.

It served as insurance, and the only way the babe lives. Had he been handed off to an ordinary woman, the babe would have been blue by morning.

Alys had done this before. With Ida’s first boy, Simon’s eldest grandson and the housekeeper’s bastard girl. They all lived long and healthy lives, save for little Simon who she felt Daemon bring down Dark Sister on him.

Every dying child she nurses becomes tied to her.

She cannot give life, but she may nurture it. A small consolation for when your gods take away your chance to be an ordinary woman with an ordinary man and give birth to perfectly ordinary children.

Her husband had been killed by the same demon he sired on her; Larys’ horrible mama had been killed by the demon Alys gave birth to when she gave King Viserys her maidenhead.

She had prayed for a chance to get away from her stepmother who believed her to be the reason Larys was born the way he was.

The gods answered, just not the way she had hoped.

Her mother, a witch from Oldtown, had been proud, her father toyed with the valyrian steel link in his old chain as she tearfully explained her situation when three- and ten-year-old Harwin found her cradling Willam’s body in her bloody bed.

After that Alys honed her skills while father and Harwin helped erase any evidence of her …experiments out of love for her.

Her sisters remained blissfully unaware of it all, Larys loathed her for she knew his true nature, but Harwin adored her as all little brothers adore their big sisters.

As thanks for keeping her secrets, Alys kept the curse of Harren the Black at bay. The curse that plagued Harwin since Lady Beatrice Rowan gave birth to him on an unlucky day.

He had nightmares of fires, of being locked in his rooms and Larys laughing as he beats the door bloody until he burns alive.

Alys used all her arts to keep her brother alive, as long as she never left the castle it would not claim sweet Harwin who was so much more than just the Breakbones.

Then one night, Larys drugged her with sweetsleep and locked her in a cottage in the woods just outside the grounds to kill their father and brother.

Same brother Larys envied for being everything he wasn’t.

He wants her dead, now that he has lost everything for betting on the wrong horse. He killed his kin for a cursed castle, so she let it all fall on his frail shoulders.

Once he is dead, Ida’s sons with Lord Whent will inherit the title and lands that come with Harrenhal. Osbert Whent, a boy of four who would need a regent. Someone Ida knows would die and kill for him.

And that someone is his beloved auntie, Alys.

“The babe dies if I die.” She tells him as she continues to care for the baby prince.

“The babe is a bastard, he has as much value as you do, sweet sister.” Her brother said with a smile. “The little queen will have others. She doesn’t even love the babe, perhaps she may thank me for ridding her of it.”

“You do not know the rage of a mother, Larys. Even if she claims not to love her son, her blood will not let her rest until he is avenged.” The witch chided him for thinking all mothers were as cruel as his.

Lara Strong had made it loud and clear that she’d been disappointed in her son. She wanted a son better than Harwin who had always seemed uncannily perfect.

Larys, while loved by his father and siblings, loathed them for believing in the venom his mother raised him on. Hated them so much he became a kinslayer thinking he could fill that void in him with wealth and a title.

Nothing more terrible in this world than to live without ever knowing love.

“So you say, sweet sister, so you say.”

“The Silent Sisters’ said it was beyond their ability to embalm her, the most they could was wrap her as tightly as they could.” He murmured squeezing his eye shut as if trying to will the memory of it away.

Usually, he is the one holding her, and tonight Aemma returns the favor. She braids his hair, helps him remove his false eye and when he asks her to comfort him in the way he had assumed, she turns him down as she has not fully recovered from the birth.

“I’m sorry you had to see it.” Aemma whispered tucking him under her chin as he is fond of doing with her.

Alicent’s death had been so gruesome she was wrapped in linen drenched in fragrant oils like a Valyrian instead of having her body embalmed as it was typical for Andal funerals. The spikes had torn through too much, even now some pieces of her clothes were stuck under the worst ones she fell on.

Whether she took her own life or was murdered was an entirely different beast. The only one in the room was Alys who swore on the Seven-pointed star she was burping Aenys on the other side of the nursery when it happened.

Not that they believed her, but they can’t change Aenys’ wetnurse without risking the babe becoming ill or worse, dying.

Even if grandfather’s and Aemond’s theory that she used her dark arts to kill her mother were true, they would have to postpone any trial and execution after Aenys has been weaned.

That would mean Daemon must wait another year to avenge her mother as he vowed that day she died.

“What are you thinking?” he asks turning so he could rest his head on her breast. If you saw him like this, you wouldn’t believe he was the same haughty prick you see in public.

“The same woman who killed your mother and mine is the same who nurses our son. We’ll have to wait until he is weaned to kill her.” She answered and he quietly chuckled.

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll kill him?”

A good question. One her grandfather and Baela and Jena and even Aegon had asked her since Alicent’s murder.

“No, self-preservation trumps all, she knows the moment anyone gets a whiff ---real or imagined--- of her mistreating the Prince of Dragonstone she is dragon food. Why do you think all your brother’s supporters are flocking to me now that the end is nigh, dear husband?”

Most courtiers had turned Green to keep themselves alive and with all their wealth, now they switch their cloaks for black to do the same. While Aemma will spare them, she will still punish them for their treachery.

They didn’t learn anything from when Jaehaerys spared their forefathers, this time Aemma intends to make the lesson stick.

They must learn the world cannot have a second Otto Hightower.

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Episode 6, Part 1 Recap

Alright, let’s cover Episode 6 with my usual mix of commentary, thoughts, analysis, reminders, screen caps, and silliness. 

By the way, I’m trying to keep my page a safe place to visit (or follow) even if you’re way behind-- I’ll make sure there are no spoilers above the “read more”. 

If you want to jump to my take on one of the songs click below:

Gang and Zoom

Home and Love Killa

Law and Man in Love

Rush Hour

Limousine

Feel Special

Not Spring

Butterfly

Tomboy

We start at 45 seconds in with a partial ranking, including votes so far (no distinction is made between K and G votes, or if these have already been blended using MNET math). Since 28 is the new cut off, this range may be of interest to us Star Creators. Here’s what they tell us, and I threw in their mission song and their rank as of the elimination in the previous episode:

24 Lee Seung Hwan Danger 507,3381   (20)

25 Cai Jin Xin Hot Sauce 419,853  (50) 

26 Ollie Hot Sauce 405,996  (28)

27 Hiroto Very Nice 389,175  (21)

28 Ma Jing Xiang Very Nice 366,570 (32)

29 Lee Jeong Hyeon LMR 349,008 (39)

30 Mun Jung Hyun Very Nice 336,421 (23)

31 Anthonny LMR 285,564  (19)

32 Jung Min Gyu Very Nice 266,096 (27)

None of the top 18 from the previous ranking has fallen into this range (though for all we know they could have fallen further, though it seems unlikely). Most of them are roughly where they were before, though the biggest story is definitely Cai Jin Xin, who was 50th at the first elimination and has jumped to 25th. It’s also worth noting that Anthonny has fallen from 19th to 31st -- kind of a big fall in context. 

Next, we can skip past the intro and recap to 1:39. The trainees are gathering to talk about their feelings… sort of. Because really this is a prank, and the staff has this woman made up to look like a scary ghost appear in front of them, and then when they run backward, a man in an obvious mask rush at them from behind. I don’t really love pranks, so I’ll focus on stuff I do enjoy: 

I like how the boys seem to be sitting in sort of random groups, not all K or all G, and they seem comfortable with each other. I hate the K-G competition stuff, and I’m so glad they do too. Like, I worry about the world and how we’re getting along with each other as a planet and stuff like this makes me feel a little better, that the basic spirit of empathy and friendship prevails even when MNET tries to drive a wedge between them.

Haruto is wearing a tiara. 

3. The mask the monster is wearing looks like it cost $3.99 at Family Dollar and I’m kind of here for it

4. Park JiHoo barely reacting to it, saying, “I told you, they totally would do this! They had to do scary stuff!” Ok, Park JiHoo, you just won me over. 

5:02 in, the episode actually starts! 

The boys all come in, and now they’re all wearing simple long sleeved white t-shirts that either say K or G, along with name tags that have their rank and name on them. I’m going to reproduce their current name and ranks here, so if at any time you are feeling like “who is that?” you can consult the list. They’re all wearing name tags with their numbers on them, so it’ll be easy enough, I hope! 

The white shirts don’t look good on any of them. Also, they all look tired. They’ve been instructed by the producers to wonder aloud about who the new star master will be (I assume). Kim Tae Rae is hoping it’ll be Hyolyn (from Sistar), and I mean, yes? That’d be great. 

But it’s Huta (Lee Minhyuk) from BTOB! A lot of the trainees seem really overwhelmed, especially Cha Woongki, who is freaking out, Kermit-meme style. For the record,  BToB debuted in 2012, and Huta was born in 1990. I liked his song “Ya” a few years back. He also has a song called “Boom” that I’d never heard but it’s got a great pre-chorus. He likes to go shirtless sometimes, and it seems like the people like it, judging by the “most played” sections of his videos. Side note: BTOB is signed under Cube, which is the same agency that Hui and his group Pentagon are from, so Huta is probably a sunbae/hyung to Hui. They don't seem to greet each other, though, so who knows.

Huta checks in with international sweetheart, Sung Hanbin, about how he feels about being ranked first place (“It made me think I should work harder from now on!”) and then checks in with Jeong I-chan, ranked 52nd, about how he feels barely having made it (“I’ll work harder from now on!”). Huta tells them all, basically, to never give up, or something, and they’re all touched. Now that everyone has decided to work harder, let’s give them a challenge!

Side note: Jeong I-chan seems to be in a better headspace now than he was at the elimination ceremony, so that’s good. 

Huta reveals the challenge: A Dual Position Battle. 

For the “Vocal & Rap” performances, they have to rearrange a song and write new raps.

For the “Vocal & Dance” performances, they have to rearrange the song and come up with their own choreography.  

For the “Rap & Dance” performances, they have to write a new rap and come up with new choreography. 

Considering that very few of these performers are likely to know how to do any of these skills, this is going to be a challenge. It’s especially cruel to expect non-native speakers of Korean to write a rap in Korean -- I wonder if they’re allowed to write a rap in English, if they speak that? Enough raps in K-pop songs are 50%+ in English that it wouldn't be unrealistic for them to write in English. I mean, risky risky wiggy wiggy this is an emergency, you know? 

Huta says, “the dual position battle will also be a battle between K and G,” and they’re all like SELMA???? (REALLLY??????) Huta doesn’t even have the heart (or cue-card reading skills) to drag out the joke, and almost immediately tells them that no, he was just kidding -- they can completely ignore the K/G divide from now on. They are all super happy to hear that. I’m happy, too!

The songs are:

Vocal & rap:

Tomboy, originally by G-Idle; Limousine originally by BE’O, which I admit I wasn't familiar with; Man in Love originally by Infinite, which came out in 2013 and I’m not familiar with; and Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms, originally by High4 and IU. 

They’re all super excited for Tomboy, which was a massive hit. The older trainees remember Man in Love, but the younger ones have never even heard of it.  

Vocal & Dance

Butterfly, originally by BTS; Feel Special originally by Twice; Love Killer originally by Monsta X; Home by Seventeen

At the announcement of the Twice song, Cha Woongki starts doing the choreo, and Seo Won says, “are you ready for the group of queens?” which is important foreshadowing. You guys, I am not going to speculate on anyone’s sexuality, especially since in Korea, being gay is still considered a mental illness by many, but I will say that a lot of guys on this show are surprisingly comfortable with their feminine side, and I’m here for it! Zhang Shai Bo is losing it, since Feel Special is his favorite song of all time, and I mean, same. 

Love Killer is also my favorite song of all time. It was my ring tone for a long time until my fella got sick of my phone saying “Oh, I’m sorry, did I make you anxious?” every time someone tried to reach me about my car's extended warranty. 

Side note: Krystian seems to have redone his hair a bit, dying it a bit darker and dying his eyebrows brown again, and it looks miles better. I’m glad to see it. 

Rap & Dance

Law by Yoon Mi Rae and Bibi; Rush Hour by Crush; Zoom by Jessi; and Gang by H1ghr music. 

The trainees are overwhelmed at the idea of trying to improve on a song by Bibi, which is the correct way to feel, since Bibi is a goddess who walks amongst us. Rush Hour was already sung by Jay and Kamden in the Star Level Test, and no one wants to compete with Jay’s vocals. 

At the reveal of Zoom, Takuto says, IN KOREAN, to Haruto, “I like this song so much I set it as my morning alarm.” Two things: Takuto, you learned a lot of Korean! His pronunciation sounds good to me, not that I’m the best judge, but yeah. He could be speaking Japanese to Japanese-speaking Haruto, but he’s choosing Korean -- that’s big. Also, Takuto likes Jessi? That’s a relief, because I can’t take someone who is all aegyo all the time. 

My little cousin Kum Jung Hyeon says he’ll never do Gang, never-never-cherlte-cherlte, so you know he’ll end up doing it. 

At 15:10 in, Huta begins to explain how song selection will work, and basically, it’s this -- the lowest ranked people go first, and choose a song, but if someone higher ranked wants to push them out, they can. If you get pushed out, you have to go to a song that has room in it. Unlike in previous seasons, the arrival of a newer person doesn’t automatically kick out the lowest ranked person, though. Instead, the new person chooses the person they want to kick out. So this will be extra awkward. 

The members of the team that wins within each category will get 100,000 points each, and the one who gets the most votes within that team will also get 150,000 extra points. Also, the three teams that win get to go on MNET and get special online promotion. 

Since MNET spent their whole budget on those matching pajamas that time, this is the best they can do for a set for the song selection process, which runs from about 17:00 to 31:00. 

Is that duct tape forming the lanes? I love the chandeliers just sort of hanging there from the ceiling, just the perfect compliment for that elementary-school style indestructible gray carpet. 

I’m not going to recap the song selection beat for beat, but here are some things I enjoyed or thought were interesting:

Tomboy is the most popular and fought over song, followed closely by Love Killa.  

Krystian got a real evil edit for pushing someone out -- they were all pushing each other out like that, but only he looks "evil."

The Rap/dance songs filled up the most slowly.

I loved Ma Xing Jiang confirming that he’s in front of the correct song by doing a little of the choreo (since maybe reading English isn’t a specialty of his).

I think it’s a bummer that Yoon Jong Woo can’t do Love Killa, since I think he’d suit it really well. But I don’t know why he chose to do Home -- he said he wanted to do a performance with Seung Eun, but I still don’t understand. 

It was also a bit sad when Ricky got kicked out of Love Killa, party because I think he’d be great at it and partly because he really wanted to work with Mr. Sexy Kim Ji Woong.

I don’t think Matthew should have taken Tomboy. I think he would have done better with a lighter, sweeter concept song.

I loved it when my little cousin Kum Jeong Hyun just wanted to have General Gunwook on his own team and so was begging Sungbin to kick out Gunwook 

I loved Lee SeungHwan just being like, "yeah, alright, I’ll rap and dance, heck yeah," when he got kicked out of his team. That’s the spirit, dude! I keep low-key forgetting who Lee SeungHwan is, so I double checked. He was on the Mirotic team for the Star Level test, and he was the put-upon and hard-working leader of Lee Da Eul’s very own personal song, Danger by BTS. Oh yeah! Him! He’s a peach. 🍑

We learn, via a subtitle that is hardly addressed, that our sweet Lee Hwanhee, the main vocalist from Kill This Love-K (who is also from the nugu group Up10tion), has left the show due to health issues. I hope he’s ok. He can still sing, at least!

We also find out that the Top 9 get these fairly ugly windbreaker jackets to wear, so that’s... good…? I guess...? Also, I wonder if these fine themed garments are available for purchase at a store near me at an unreasonable price, so I can show my love for the boys through consumerism.

Team: Love Killa

Shirt color: Dark blue

Positions: Vocal and Dance

Leader: Seok Matthew

Time stamp: 30:49 Screen time: 4:28

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Seok Matthew (2) All I Wanna Do / KTL - G 20 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Kim Ji Woong (3) Mirotic / BD- K 24 ⭐⭐⭐ Kim Gyu Vin (6) Kick It / LMR - K 18 ⭐⭐⭐ Seo Won (18) Attention / Very Nice - K 22 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Seo Won feels bad as the only non-top 9 on the team -- he’s worried he will drag the team down. 

Matthew wants to be the leader to prove he’s not a baby who needs to be taken care of. I get the feeling that Kim Ji Woong doesn’t really like being the leader, and is only too happy to hand over the reins.  

When it comes time to pick someone for the killing part, English pronunciation becomes an issue, and Matthew correctly says that the feeling matters more than pronunciation since they can always work on pronunciation later. They give the part to Kim Ji Woong, which is really a good call, though I think Kim Gyuvin would do a great job at it too. 

Team: Feel Special

Shirt color: Light Blue

Positions: Vocal and Dance

Leader: Cai Jin Xin

Time stamp: 35:19 Screen time: 2:31

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Cha Woong Ki (25) Bloom Bloom / Very Nice - K 20 ⭐⭐ Zhang Shuai Bo (36) Reveal / BD - G 21 ⭐ Lee Dong Gun (48) Criminal (shoes) / Hot Sauce - K 17 ⭐⭐ Cai Jin Xin (50) Reveal / Hot Sauce - G 19 🚫

Cai Jin Xin says, “I love our team,” in English, and (a) his English is really well pronounced and (b) me too!! Woongki says the team is well balanced, because they have two G and two K team members. Also, as Jin Xin points out, “only the pretty guys are here.” I will say that this seems to be the Team Full of Queens that Seo Won prophesied earlier, and again, I am totally here for it. 

They are realizing that it might be a tough job, because they’re all comparatively low ranked, and also, the music is really high pitched. They are given a version of the song in a lower key, but I feel like they could lower it further, right? They are allowed to rearrange the song. Because it’s so high, no one wants the main vocal, or even a normal amount of stage time. Woongki, who seems to be taking on an actual leadership role in addition to the Killing Part, encourages the others to be confident, saying that this might be their last stage so they should take the chance to stand in the center one more time. He interviews later on that he’s never had to beg people to take parts before!  

Team: Home

Shirt color: Black

Positions: Vocal and Dance

Leader: Yoon Jong Woo

Time stamp: 37:50 Screen time: 4:02

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Jay (9) Rush Hour / LMR - G 21 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Yoo Seung Eon (17) Kick It / Very Nice - K 19 ⭐⭐⭐ Dang Hong Hai (33) View / LMR - G 19 ⭐⭐⭐ Yoon Jong Woo (38) Mirotic / BD - K 22 ⭐ Ji Yun Seo (47) Kick It / BD - K 18 ⭐⭐⭐

They’re distributing the parts, which of course is tricky here since there are a lot of great vocalists on this team. Ji Hoon is still really really bummed to not get to work on Love Killa, but he’s consoled a bit by getting to work with a good team who seem to all respect and like him. 

The original choreo is a lot, and the chorus is really high. Naturally they give the main vocals to titanium voiced Yoo Seung Eon whose voice is like, Exo quality. I love Kim Tae Rae, but I have to admit that Seung Eon is the best vocalist on the show, better even than Hui. 

The team is trying to decide who will take which dance position, so they dance to “Na bina”, which is kind of funny.

Team: Butterfly

Shirt color: White

Positions: Vocal and Dance

Leader: Chen Kuan Jui

Time stamp: 41:52 Screen time: 3:45

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test /Challenge 1 age final star level

Chen Kuan Jui (26) Tiger Inside / KTL - G 22 ⭐⭐⭐ Lim Jun Seo (30) Replay/ Danger - K 17 ⭐ Cong (35) View / Very Nice - G 22 ⭐⭐⭐ Brian (41) Kick It - G / BD - G 20 ⭐

This team has a nice sense of camaraderie. 

Lim Jun Seo is lacking in skills, and is open about that, which I have mixed feelings about. Honesty is good, but you need to have a positive attitude. The other boys on the team promise to help him -- Chen Kaun Jui offers to help him with his dancing, and Cong offers to help with his singing, saying, in Korean, “I too. Vocal.” Jun Seo replies by calling him “hyung,” which makes Cong smile. Cong’s Korean is obviously still a bit elementary; that’s not a criticism, just a note. I have all the sympathy in the world for the global trainees who don’t know Korean. 

Incidentally, we see in a flashback that Lee Da Eul volunteered both of them to go first on the first day, and he did that knowing that Jun Seo did NOT want to go first, and I’ll let all 2-3 of you reading this decide for yourself whether that’s a cool thing to do or not.

Anyway, they are trying to decide who gets the killing part based on freestyle dance, and Jun Seo is like, so we’ll learn the choreo quickly? And it’s like, no honey, no, you sweet child. Once he realizes what freestyle means, he’s out. I’m like, “Just give the killing part to CKJ already, because you know he deserves it,” and they do.

I hate that the story is mostly about Jun Seo, instead of being about the far more talented Chen Kuan Jui. I didn’t like CKJ much at first that much for whatever reason, but he’s grown on me a lot. I think he’s sweet, hard working, and an incredible dancer. I don’t think he’ll make it onto the final lineup, but I hope we keep seeing him around the kpop verse. 

Team: Gang

Shirt color: Black

Positions: Rap and Dance

Leader: Lee Seung Hwan🍑

Time stamp: 45:32 Screen time: 2:08 

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Kum Jun Hyeon (14) Nunu Nana BD - K 19 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Lee Seung Hwan🍑 (20) Mirotic Danger - K 22 ⭐⭐⭐ Mun Jung Hyun (23) The Real Very Nice - K 17 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Lee Jeong Hyeon (39) The Real LMR - K 20 ⭐⭐⭐ Chen Jian Yu (45) Call Me Baby BD - G 24 ⭐

This team consists of mostly people who got kicked out of the song they wanted. So, their spirits are kind of low. My little cousin and noted yeller Kum Jun Hyeon is bummed out -- he really wanted that bleepin’ Tomboy. And none of them have any experience making choreo. I do think that my little muffin Mun Jung Hyun knows something about rapping, and that maybe Lee Jeong Hyeon does too, so fingers crossed. 

Side note: Chen Jian Yu looks great with his current hair color. Miles better than the light blue and also better than the dark color he had in the Star Level Test. 

No one steps forward to make the choreo, so my little cousin Kum Jun Hyeon finally steps up, saying, “Although I can’t guarantee the quality, if I didn’t do it, I didn’t think anyone else could do it.” I find that very charming. Fighting, little cuz!  

WHAT KIND OF PERFORMANCE WILL THEY PREPARE???? We’ll find out… 

Team: Zoom

Shirt color: Dark blue

Positions: Rap and Dance

Leader: Keita

Time stamp: 47:40 Screen time: 2:37

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Keita (8) Conduct Zero /KTL - G 21 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Haruto (16) Glitch Mode/ LMR - G 18 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Ollie (28) Kick It - G /Hot Sauce - G 16 🚫 Wumuti (43) UN Village/ LMR - G 23 ⭐⭐ Park Hyunbeen (49) GBTB/ Hot Sauce - K 17 ⭐⭐⭐

Keita, who is really feeling himself, says that he likes the song and wanted to do it, and adds, “I thought things would go well if I came to lead this team, regardless of whoever came or was here already.” Like, he’s not wrong. 

Naturally, they make him leader -- I knew that as soon as I saw that he was on the team. 

And they start practicing the Killing Part -- it’s that beginning part, “I see you looking at my P-I-C,” and they all want it. Hyunbeen says that they’re all wary and competitive with each other, and he’s especially desperate to win the extra points because of his low rank. He wins the killing part, though, so he’s over the moon. Oh god, are the judges going to tell his team to give the killing part to someone else?  

Team: Law

Shirt color: White

Positions: Rap and Dance

Leader: Park Hanbin

Time stamp: 50:17 Screen time: 2:06

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Han Yu Jin (4) Kick It BD - K 15 ⭐⭐⭐ Park Hanbin (22) The Real Hot Sauce - K 20 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Wang Zi Hao (29) Veil KTL - G 21 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Na Kamden (31) Rush Hour BD - G 21 ⭐⭐⭐ Lee Ye Dam (42) Gambler LMR - K 20 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This team is excited to be working together at first -- both Wang Zi Hao and Lee Yedam are among the very best dancers on the show. However, most of them are not really rappers -- they’re just vocalists. Park Hanbin says, “I rap like I’m reading a book.” Hey, we saw Lee Yedam rap in his Star Level test, and he was really good! But they’re worried anyway -- most of them don’t specialize in rapping and they don’t know how to write lyrics. Oh no! A lot of trainees I really like are on this team. Well, to be fair, I like almost all the trainees at this point, so I could say that about pretty much any of the teams. 

It does seem that Na Kamden has some vague idea of how to write rap, at least. That’s really all you need -- one person who can write a rap and teach it to the others. Fighting, Kamden! Yujin steps up, too, saying, “I did learn a bit about rap.” Meanwhile, the other three can make the choreo. They’re going to get through it! 

Side note: Did they make Han Yujin at the same laboratory where they made Sung Hanbin? Do they also make purse sized dragons there? Little dragons that will love you and be loyal to you? Is that the kind of thing they also make at this laboratory? I hope I can visit there someday. 

Team: Rush Hour

Shirt color: Light Blue

Positions: Rap and Dance

Leader: Oh Sungmin

Time stamp: 52:23 Screen time: 2:57

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Ricky (12) Kick It - G /BD - G 18 ⭐⭐ Takuto (15) Instead Of... /Danger - G 15 ⭐ Hiroto (21) Conduct Zero /Very Nice - G 20 ⭐⭐ Ma Jing Xiang (32) Reveal /Very Nice - G 19 🚫 Oh Sung Min (34) Bloom Bloom /LMR - K 21 ⭐⭐⭐

By the time we visit them, they’re already dancing. We can see from their sign thing in the background that Ricky has the Killing Part, and is both main dancer and main rapper; and we watch as Oh Sungmin is unanimously voted the leader. He’s the oldest, he used to be in a debuted group (TOO/T01) and he’s also the only 3 star (and there aren’t any 4 stars). So, that makes sense. But it does seem odd to me to be starting the choreography when they haven’t written their raps yet…?

Naturally, it’s hard to teach Takuto. You can see that he’s doing the steps more like they’re the steps from “Na Bina.” Sungmin is trying -- he even says “Daijobou?” to Takuto, which is Japanese for “Ok?” -- but he’s going too fast for someone like Takuto, and he’s going to need to break it down a LOT more. 

Meanwhile, Ma Jing Xiang is trying to move ahead, and there’s an interview from Hiroto about how MJX is just “thinking about himself,” how he did the same thing in Very Nice, trying to learn the choreo from the K-team who were so far ahead. Ricky apparently is studying the choreography video, and again, we’re told that this is bad, but why? Ricky speaks a few languages and is a kind soul, and I bet he’s trying to learn the choreo at least in part to be able to help his teammates. But the show makes this looks selfish, and Oh Sungmin interviews, “We need to work on our teamwork first.” 

I don’t understand this take. Why does the word “teamwork” seem to mean “We have to get Takuto step-perfect on each dance phrase before the team can go to the next phrase”? Couldn’t teamwork mean, “We work on different things to get the whole job done”? Doesn’t it only benefit the team to have more people who know the choreo and music in general? While Takuto does the same 10 steps over and over, why should the whole team do that? Especially considering that Takuto is in the safety zone, rank wise, while MJX is definitely not and needs to do everything in his power to put on a good show. Takuto can go ahead and screw this up and he’ll still probably make it through the next elimination round. And that’s a bummer, but that’s how these shows are. 

Ok, let me out myself. I’m a teacher. WHAT? Yeah. I am. I don’t work at a school -- I teach adults, who sometimes are older than me, as well as teenagers and little kids. It’s a weird job and I’m not YOUR teacher so don’t worry about it, ok? Alright. So we go that out of the way. And the thing about being a good teacher is that you have a responsibility to the students who are ahead just as much as to the students who are behind, and a lot of teachers don’t know how to fulfill that obligation.

And it’s not really Oh Sungmin’s fault that he doesn’t know how to be a really great teacher, but I think that if I were there, I’d advise him to not worry right now about Takuto getting the choreo perfect. It’s going to take a lot of work before that happens, and it’s not going to be today. They should be going for the big picture, and making sure that everyone has a chance to get the basics of their routine down so that it becomes possible for people to do individual practice later. It’s like putting together the frame of the jigsaw puzzle first, and then putting together the pieces in the middle. The frame helps you get started and know where to put the other pieces.

Ok that was probably more than you cared to read but anyway. That’s how I feel. This is dumb and irritating. 

On to the next team! 

Team: Man in Love

Shirt color: Dark blue

Positions: Vocal and Rap

Leader: Lee Dong Yeol

Time stamp: 55:20

Screen time: 3:10

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Kim Tae Rae (11) The Real BD - K 20 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Jung Min Gyu (27) My House (Red) Very Nice - K 23 🚫 Lee Dong Yeol (40) Who Very Nice - K 24 ⭐ Choi Woo Jin (51) Nunu Nana Hot Sauce - K 18 ⭐

They’ve elected Dongyeol, who is a member of the group Up10tion, their leader, and that makes sense. 

The team is sitting around listening to the song, and Mingyu is saying it’s nostalgic for him, and WAIT is that a hickey on TaeRae’s neck?

I mean it’s not. Is it? It’s not. It can’t be. But also, whoever makes out with TaeRae, please be gentle to his neck, ok? That’s where he keeps his singing parts. He needs those. For singing. 

Anyway, the team is talking about how much they like the song. Mingyu and Dongyeol, age 23 and 24 respectively, remember and like the song, while Tae Rae didn’t know it before but liked it when he heard it prior to song selection. Tae Rae thinks it suits his voice well, and Mingyu agrees, interviewing that he’s grateful that Tae Rae joined the team. I'm grateful that Tae Rae joined life!

They each try the killing part, and Dongyeol sings a bit, and his voice is actually much better than I thought it was, though he cracks a bit. When he’s done, no one reacts, so he applauds a tiny bit for himself until everyone else joins in. Aww. Then TaeRae sings and it’s so nice. It’s just… yeah. Listen, I know that titanium voice kid, Yoo Seung Eon, has a better voice, but I like TaeRae’s better. It’s like how Chen from EXO has a better voice than D.O., but I’d rather listen to D.O. 

Meanwhile, Choi Woojin is having trouble even finding the note to sing. I’m kind of surprised he chose vocals, but maybe he was scared to write a rap? In that case, what is he good at? I watched his Hot Sauce and Nunu Nana performances, and he was basically a backup dancer in both -- he doesn’t seem to be a vocalist in any way, either as a singer or a rapper. What a bummer that we lost Hong Keon Hee and Kim Min Seong, because both of those were in the Nunu Nana group with him and both did a much better job in their various performances. 

Red house Mingyu sings really really loud, apparently, and Woojin sings very quietly, so this will be tough. 

Team: Limousine

Shirt color: Light blue

Positions: Vocal and Rap

Leader: Anthonny

Time stamp: 58:30 Screen time: 1:27

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test/Challenge 1 age final star level

Anthonny  (19) Glitch Mode /LMR - G 19 ⭐⭐⭐ Krystian (37) Call Me Baby /BD - G 23 ⭐⭐ Park Ji Hoo (44) Freak /Hot Sauce - K 16 ⭐⭐⭐

Anthonny has been elected leader, but Park Jihoo ends up kind of stepping up to lead. He suggests that they think about what the song is really about -- it’s about a man achieving his dreams. They’re working on achieving their own dreams, so he thinks they can focus on that in their raps. 

Trainees writing raps about how they’re trainees who want to debut? 

Krystian is on his Very Best Behavior, and calls Jihoo, “Park Jihoo-shi,” which is kind of ridiculous given that Jihoo is seven years younger than him. He would still be polite in Korean standards to call him “Jihoo-ah” or something like that, and I bet he knows that. 

Krystian calls him “mature” (in English), and since he can’t find the right word in Korean, explains it as, “you know what you’re doing.” And Jihoo agrees: “Genius, genius,” he says in English, of himself. Jihoo is a hoot. 

(Incidentally, Jihoo says he’s 18, because he uses the Korean age system, which says you’re a year old at birth, and that also calculates your age based on the year it is, whether or not your birthday has happened yet. So he’s really 16, and will be turning 17 in July, by international standards.)

Team: Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms

Shirt color: Black

Positions: Vocal and Rap

Leader: Jung I Chan

Time stamp: 59:57 Screen time: one whole minute

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test /Challenge 1 age final star level

Lee Da Eul (13) Replay /Danger - K 18 🚫 Bak Do Ha (24) My House (Blue)/ Hot Sauce - K 20 🚫 Jung I Chan (52) Mirotic /Danger - K 20 ⭐⭐

Oh boy. This team. MNET gives them exactly one minute of screen time and most of that is just mocking their past performances. 

I think Bak Doha is a decent guy who just needed better advice from his agency and more realistic goals in life, and I hope he makes it as an actor. Jung I-chan has been at this a long time and must have some talent or he wouldn’t keep making it halfway on shows like this, but he’s yet to really prove himself at a key moment. And you guys know how I feel about Lee Daeul -- I don’t like being unkind so I literally cannot say anything about him, whether it be about his personality, past behavior, or observable skill set. It would be such a redemption moment if any of these three could do something great in their performance, but I’m not exactly holding my breath. I’ll say though that I-chan has the best attitude he can have, considering.

Team: Tomboy

Shirt color: White (but basically, purple/blue top-9 jackets)

Positions: Vocal and Rap

Leader: Hui

Time stamp: 1:01:05 Screen time: 5:25, the longest of any team by a full minute

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Sung Hanbin (1) Beautiful Beautiful LMR - K 21 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Zhang Hao (5) Kick It - G KTL - G 22 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Hui (7) Shut Down LMR - K 29 ⭐⭐⭐ Park Gunwook (10) GBTB KTL - K 18 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This team is a little TOO stacked. Three of them are top 9, and General Gunwook is in 10th place. They have three excellent leaders on the team -- Hui, Zhang Hao, and Gunwook would all make excellent leaders. And they have three excellent candidates for a center/killing part roll - basically, anyone but Hui would do a fantastic job at it. (Not that Hui can’t, but the others are that bit better.)

Gunwook says, “You can’t have a better team than this. As if I were Liu Bei, who gained Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, my shoulders kept rising.”

Ok, a few things about this. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Koreans talk about “shoulders rising” as if that indicates pride or confidence -- maybe it’s a bit like “holding your head up high” in English idiom. Makes intuitive sense, too.  

Next, it’s as if General Gunwook knows that I call him General Gunwook, because he’s making a reference to Liu Bei. Lui Bei was a Chinese warlord (born in the year 166) who founded Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. Liu Bei gathered a team together during the Yellow Turban Revolution of 184, which I’m sure you already know all about, and gathered a group of loyal followers, including Guan Yu and  Zhang Fei. So Gunwook is positing himself as a Warlord Emperor, and his teammates as his loyal generals. Love it.

The show seems to be implying that Gunwook is a little too solicitous of his team, fetching the lyric sheet and getting pens for them and stuff, but that’s what you do when you’re a polite younger person in Korean culture, and Gunwook is a polite guy. Of course he’ll get a pen for someone who is 11 years older than him! 

Zhang Hao says that Gunwook was scary in Kill This Love, but now he’s a cute and sweet dongsaeng (younger sibling/friend). He seems genuinely surprised, but I’m not at all. Gunwook expands to fill the space -- if no leader is present, he’ll lead, and if one is present, he’ll follow. He’s a General, but he recognizes Hui as a Major General, and will follow commands.  He’s also smart and wouldn’t want to look like a rude kid on TV! 

Zhang Hao really wants the killing part, and so do Sung Hanbin and Hui. I think Zhang Hao is by far the best, and General Gunwook agrees with me, but the win goes to Sung Hanbin. That’s kind of a bummer but given how popular he is I guess it’ll work out well for the team. Zhang Hao is a class act -- he’s bummed, but he knows that Hanbin is also really good. So he sets himself the challenge of being able to rap quickly in Korean, reasoning that if Yuqi from G-Idle can do it, so can he! Hanbin is helping him and he’s improving already. Zhang Hao, fighting! 

Side note: Kind of funny that they’re not acknowledging that Hui is from the same agency (Cube) that G-Idle is from. Hui probably knows Soyeon and Yuqi and the girls, at least in passing. I kind of wonder whether Hui and Soyeon get along? They’re both music producers who lead their teams and take responsibility for their members, so they have all that in common. On the other hand, sometimes people don’t like each other if they’re too much alike. Man, imagine if Soyeon and Hui teamed up, Triple-H style? Or even better, just a Pentagon/G-Idle crossover group, NCT style, where they just use whichever members from either group that would work in a particular song? Sigh. A girl can dream. 

And with that, we’ve reached the end of this part of the Recap! Click here to go to Part 2, which is my discussion of Gang and Zoom!

Or if you'd prefer, you can scroll up to the top and look at one of the other songs! Or if you'd prefer, you can go on to Episode 8.

Thanks for being here! <3

[popculturebuffet]

Monthly Muppet Madness: The Muppet Valentine's Show and Muppets: Sex and Violence (Comission for Emma Fici)

Happy almost valentine's day all you happy muppets! Yes we've got a whole lotta love going into this week's reviews and it was weird not to include my faviorite troupe.. and once I found out the first pilot was valentine's theme, I asked to cover it this month and asked emma if she'd be intrested in using her patreon review to cover the other seemingly fitting pilot, Mupppets Sex and Violence So here we are: Jim had WANTED to do a muppet show since before even Seasame Street, but had hit roadblocks trying to get it out due to executives having the same low view of puppets as they presently do of animation, assumign i'ts only for kids and has no merits. And while my thoughts on that line of thinking are pretty clear

It didn't make it easier for Jim. It's why it took two pilots to even get to series and why I likely coudln't find a ton of background on either pilot. The most I got is the first was so succesful that they ordered a second special, and that lead to Lew Grade's series order and one of the greatest tv shows of all time.

I"m always curious about the early origins of something and just coming off covering the Wilkins Ads last week I went into this one with high expectations.. were they reached? Find out under the cut

The Muppet Valentine's Show:

I was shocked to find with these pilots that Jim Henson of all people had growing pains, especially at this stage in his career. It's reassuring, as it reminds me EVERY creator takes a while to get going, I know i did, but it's still weird to see something that's ALMOST the muppet show but feels just enough off to feel weird watching. The format is the show nailed down: a wraparound bit with a bunch of sketches and the majority of the sketches are fantastic: We get a great Kermit number with him singign froggy went a courtin to "miss mousY" and fighting her other suitor, a spectacular giant rat puppet, before both end up going to get beers since Miss Mousy runs off with some other dude. IT's a fun bit and one that would fit perfectly into the muppet show proper… and likely only didn't because while Miss Mousy showed up ocne she had to quitely retire aka run the fuck away from miss piggy if she valued her life.

We also get one starring my man thoggg! This.. this is Thogg

I forget his name often but always light up when I see him and it was wonderful seeing him get a bit focused on him, something i'm not sure Muppet Show proper ever did and Mia Farrow is wonderful as his partner. It's a shockingly romantic bit and nicely swee tfor the holiday.

Finally out of the bits I really liked we had a visit on Koozebane as kermit reports on two aliens doing the Galley-o-hoop-hoop, which involves coldiing into each other and exploding

Which is easily the highlight. I'ts not bad and worth a watch.. but what makes it often a slog is the wraparound which is a mess with the cast consiting of Wallay, George, Mildren and Brewster

Yeah none of these characters lasted.. George was the janitor for season 1 befor ebeing replaced, and Mildred and Brewster would have cameos but while Mildred has some personality, she sadly didn't stick around and the rest THANKFULLY didn't. Paticularlly wally who comes off very

Comared to the actually 70's and awesome electric mayhem. I think Jim quickly realized too cool for school just didn't remotely fit him , and those kinds of characters were better as punchilnes. it also has a script is being written as the episode happens gimmick which isn't terrrible but ultimately just dosen't fit the muppets zany stylings. The Muppets Valentine's show is.. fine and worth a watch if you like Muppets History, but not hugely recomendable as a whole. I would WHOLE HEARTDLY recommend the segements I mentioned though> All are worth a look.. their just not worth sitting through a bunch of characters who just didn't work at all to get there.

The Muppet Show Sex and Violence:

Are you ready for some SEX AND VIOLENCEEEEEEEE? Well too bad because the title's more a joke, as you likely expected. It's also still not qutie there yet and a bit of a harder watch than the valentine's day show. The core is better and the sketeches are good.. but it has one thing holding it back from feeling "like the muppet show but just a tad off": for some reason the sketches are all cut up and thus some like at the dance, a great wrestling bit and mor ehave their timing boggled by taking place throughout the show. It can be disoreninting to watch at times and Jim smartley went back to doing them one at a time and the better sketches don't do this at all.

That said while the presentation is boggled, there are a LOT of great ones: presidents trading banter as mount rushmore, at the dance, a hilariously tangly wrestling match, and the debtu sof the swedish chef, electric mayhem and statler and woldorf who are great as always.My tie for faviorites are return to beneath the planet of the pigs, which would later evolve into PIIIIGGGSSS INNNNNNN SPACCCCCEEEEEE, but here is a hilarious planet of the apes sendup, and theater of thigns where the pencils get a new ruler. It's a corny pun but I absoltuely love it. The sketches are all fantastic aside form birds and the bees which is just a bit of birds singing.. ti's just about half get cut up in a way that just wrecks the pacing. The muppet show sketches work so best because even the songs have a nice, fast pace for them, and thus unless a it is designed to be recurring, it dosen't work that way. Jim learned his lesson but it sadly mucks up some really great comedy.

The wraparound is better as it is cut up on purpose and is basically just host nigel, floyd and my boy sam the eagle meeting the seven deadly sins, all various great muppets. Ti's for a pagent that gets cut off by the credits, but ti's a bit that works for me.

What dosen't.. is Nigel himself who I frequently forget exists because he has no real personality. I mean.. Wally was hilariously tonedeaf, but he at least had a personality and cool dude shades> nigel is just there and thankfully this finally got jim to realize Kermit was the missing piece.

So Sex and Violence is both more and less like the muppet show.. but it was close enough. The pilots aren't great and I once again recommend the skits more than the whole.. but I will say they help illustrate why the muppet show is so special: it's all teh various parts coming together and when you see it with the core quartet mostly missing, no real center character wise.. you see WHY their so special. With just a few pieces their fine but it's as a whole they truly shine. Without Kermit's steady hand, Piggy's overdramatics, Fozzy's bad jokes or Gonzo's delightful weirdness, the show just isn't the same. You can have the muppets without these guys, as we'll hopefully see with Mayhem, they can do thier own things and sketches, but without them at the center of the madness it just dosen't feel the same. All the supporting cast was there but the heart of the muppets hadn't developed yet. And once it did we'd get something truly amazing. For now we just get some specials I honestly struggled to talk about for the last few days as ther'es not a ton to say other than "these just arne't great yet". But I appricate them for reminding me why me and emma do this and why the muppets matter. Their not just a bunch of sketches: their this weird family doing these sketches and you need that vibe for it to work. So how do I rank em? well let's see

Yeah it's.. sadly low. Valentine's mildly edges out Haunted Mansion, as it's three skits are enough to make it slightly better in my eyes, but sex and violence is so far the lowest ranked thing that's not a crime against nature as the choppy formatting just makes it hard to watch.

Next Month: FOLLOW THAT BIRD. FOR REAL THIS TIME. COME HELL OR HIGH FUCKING WATER PERSONAL ISSUES BE DAMMNED. We're actually doing this so I can finally get this giant childlike bird off my back. SEASAME STREET. NEXT MONTH.

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Bob Cratchit (A Christmas Carol)

Tagged by anonymous

Favorite thing about them: How kind, gentle, and warm-hearted he is, and how much he loves his wife and children.

Least favorite thing about them: Hard to say... there's virtually nothing to dislike about him. But some might argue that he's too patient and resigned to his hard life. For example, when he raises a toast of gratitude to Scrooge as "the founder of the feast" on Christmas: of course it shows his generous spirit in contrast to Scrooge, but it might also send an unfortunate message of how "the deserving poor" react to their oppressors. At least in most versions, his wife is allowed to be bitter.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I try to be gentle and polite and avoid conflict.

*I enjoy spending time with children.

*I love Christmas.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I don't have a spouse or children of my own.

*For now at least, I don't live in poverty.

*I'm female.

Favorite line:

When his wife asks him how Tiny Tim behaved in church:

“As good as gold, and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”

And in the vision of the family mourning Tim's death:

"But however and whenever we part from one another, I am sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Tim—shall we—or this first parting that there was among us?... And I know, I know, my dears, that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was; although he was a little, little child; we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves, and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it.”

brOTP: His children, especially Tiny Tim, and Scrooge after he becomes a friend.

OTP: Mrs. Cratchit.

nOTP: Any of his children.

Random headcanon: After his fortunes improve thanks to Scrooge's redemption, when Tiny Tim is well and all their past concerns are behind them, Bob and Mrs. Cratchit will have a seventh child. The Annotated Christmas Carol points out that the Cratchits can be viewed as idealized versions of the Dickens family in young Charles's childhood, with the children corresponding in gender and birth order to himself and his siblings: Martha = Fanny, Peter = Charles himself, Belinda = Letitia, unnamed girl = Harriet, unnamed boy = Frederick, Tiny Tim = Alfred. But there's no equivalent of the youngest Dickens brother, Augustus, presumably because he wasn't born until Charles was a teenager. So I imagine that there will be another Cratchit son born after the events of the story.

Unpopular opinion: At the end of the "Tiny Tim's death" vision, he's not pretending when he says "I'm very happy." Whenever I see someone write that he "pretends to be happy" it doesn't ring true. Yes, his cheerfulness at the start of the scene is feigned, before he finally breaks down crying, but by the end, I'd like to think he takes real comfort in knowing that Tim will never be forgotten and that the memory of his goodness will always be an inspiration to the family. It doesn't erase his grief, but it's not just a facade either.

Song I associate with them:

"The Lord's Bright Blessing" from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol:

"Christmas Children" from Scrooge (1970):

"One More Sleep Till Christmas" from The Muppet Christmas Carol:

Favorite pictures of them:

This classic illustration by John Leech:

This illustration by Sol Eytinge Jr.:

Gene Lockhart in the 1938 film:

Mervyn Johns in the 1951 film:

David Collings in the 1970 musical Scrooge:

From Richard Jones' 1971 animated version:

Mickey Mouse in Mickey's Christmas Carol, 1983:

David Warner in the 1984 TV film, with Anthony Walters as Tiny Tim:

Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992:

Motion-captured Gary Oldman in Disney's 2009 CGI film:

[dragonmasterkaylz]

Lambert’s Beloved Wife

Lambert was breathing heavily as he finished off the last of his enemies, and he looked up at the full red moon before sighing. He fell to the ground and his sword quickly turned back into a crown, which floated back onto his head. Then he looked behind him and found his wife standing there. “It’s safe now. Come here, my love”. Her tail started wagging as she sat next next to her husband and hugged his arm. He smiled and kissed her head before saying, “I’ll do anything to keep you safe, Wolfie”. “I know you will”.

She looked up at the sky with her big blue eyes and smiled. “Beautiful, huh?” Wolfie nodded and said, “I’m surprised you found the perfect spot to look at it”. He chuckled and turned her head gently before saying, “I wasn’t talking about the moon. I was talking about you”. Her cheeks turned pink and she looked away in a shy manner. “M-My Leader…! We were supposed to be looking at the moon!” Lambert laughed and said, “You’re so cute when you get all embarrassed like that. Now… come here…”.

He leaned over and kissed her, trapping her in his arms. Wolfie gasped and then laced her fingers through his wool, pulling him closer. He held her thigh in a tight grip and kissed her deeper, making her hum happily. Her tail wagged with pure joy and he pulled away before whispering, “I love you and I’m so glad I married you”. He kissed her again and she thought about the possibility that she was dreaming. But she couldn’t be, right? It felt too real. Lambert then pulled away and whispered, “Wolfie, my love… you’re dreaming”. Her eyes widened in shock. “Huh?”

“WOLFIE!!!”

She woke up to see Bonnie looking over her and she looked around to find that she was still wearing her red uniform. “Come on. It’s time for our Leader’s Sermon. You don’t want to be late, do you?” “No… of course not”. Wolfie brushed her hair and then walked with her to the temple. Lambert smiled as he saw that all of his followers were in attendance. “Hello, my children. It’s time for another ritual. Today, we will be ascending one of our more senior members. More specifically, Kermit, who has been with us for a very long time”, he said with a smile as he looked at the frog. “But first, we must address something serious”.

Lambert closed his book and then looked at his followers before saying, “Someone here has been spreading rumours around and telling other followers that I’m a ‘bad leader’, so on and so forth. I would like someone to own up to it. If you do, your punishment will be light”. Wolfie then looked at Zorro, who was clearly feigning innocence. Then she put her hand up and Lambert hummed. “Now, I know you haven’t been spreading rumours. You’re my most faithful follower, Wolfie”. She blushed and nodded. “But… my Leader, whoever is doing this isn’t going to come forth willingly. You know that”. He hummed. “… Yes”.

His eyes scanned his followers until he got to Zorro, who was looking awfully suspicious. “Then… I would like to appoint you as my Loyalty Enforcer, Wolfie”. Her eyes widened in shock. “M-Me…?!” Lambert smiled and said, “Why of course! You are my most loyal follower and you spread love around this Cult every single day. You’re the reason why everyone here is so friendly with one another. But, as my new Loyalty Enforcer, you must also find out whose been spreading these rumours around. You also must have concrete evidence as well”. Wolfie smiled and said, “I won’t let you down, my Leader!” “I know you won’t”.

After the Ascension Ritual, everyone got back to their daily tasks while Lambert went on a Crusade. Wolfie was tending to the crops, when she heard Zorro and Bonnie talking behind the statue. And so she decided to listen in. “I want to be the one to marry Lambert, but I think he’s going to marry Wolfie! I hate her so damn much!” “Calm down. If you want, I can spread rumours about her instead of our ‘fearless leader’. So, when the time comes, he’ll want to marry you instead”. Bonnie nodded and said, “Yes please! But the only problem is that she’s so perfect!” “Don’t worry… I’ll find something that’s wrong with her…”.

Wolfie’s ears flopped and she whimpered before heading back to water the crops. She was upset for the rest of the day and Lambert was surprised when he saw her. She was sat on the ground, her tail in between her legs and whimpering to herself. “Are you alright?”, he asked. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him before standing up. “My Leader! Um… I found out who’s been spreading those rumours, but I don’t have any proof”, she said sadly. He hummed and then looked around. “I don’t think you’ll get any since they’ve been spreading rumours about you as well”. She nodded and then teared up.

“W-Why me…? I didn’t do anything wrong…!”

Lambert pulled her into his arms and she blushed before looking up at him. He just smiled down at her. “Who did you hear spreading those rumours?” “Zorro and Bonnie… who I thought was my friend. She wants to marry you so bad that she’s willing to say such horrible things about me”. He nodded and then pulled away before holding her face in his hands. “She knows who I want to marry and she’s jealous. Don’t let it get to you…”, he told her before kissing her. Wolfie looked surprised, but she closed her eyes and kissed him back. When he broke away, she giggled and asked, “Am I dreaming?” “I hope not”.

He held another Sermon on the same day and all of his followers were confused. “My children, I know the identities of those that have been spreading rumours about me, but also Wolfie”. Lambert closed his eyes and said, “Zorro. Bonnie. Please step forth”. The guilty looks on their faces told him what he needed to know and he walked up to them. “Is anything you said about me and Wolfie true?” Zorro then growled and tried to attack him, only for another follower to grab him from behind. “No… none of it was”, Bonnie confessed. “But I really wanted to marry you, my Leader! I love you more than Wolfie ever will!!!”

Lambert scoffed and shook his head, looking away from them both. “No you don’t. You know what the benefits of marrying me are. You would become my second in command and be able to lead the Cult whenever I’m busy with a Crusade”, he stated before glaring back at them. Then he walked over to Wolfie and lifted her head up, stroking her chin gently. “The difference between you and Wolfie is painfully clear. She looks at me with love in her eyes, but you don’t!” Bonnie then backed away and Lambert said, “To the pillories with those two and then you can all go to sleep. Wolfie will stay here with me for the night”.

As soon as the door was shut, Lambert pulled Wolfie closer and kissed her. She kissed him back and laced her hands through his wool. When they parted, the two giggled and she said, “I love you Lambert”. “I love you too Wolfie. Here…”. He walked away and grabbed a new outfit for her, which was all in white. “H-Huh…?!” “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get married to you tomorrow and I want you to wear this”. It was a white cape with pink accents, along with matching socks and a white and pink bow to go in her hair. She blushed and said, “I’d love to marry you, my Leader”. He chuckled and said, “Just call me Lambert, okay?”

The next day, Narinder officiated the wedding and the rest of Lambert’s followers were entranced by how beautiful Wolfie looked. “By the power invested in the Red Crown, I pronounce you husband and wife”, Narinder said just as the Crown was lifted off of Lambert’s head. “Huh…?” It’s power then went into Wolfie, who was lifted up and her cloak turned black and blue, along with her ribbons and socks. “Hm… the Red Crown has given her immortality. It must think that she’s worthy enough to also hold some of its power”. Lambert smiled and then kissed her passionately, causing everyone to clap with pure joy.

“I love you, Wolfie”.

“I love you too, Lambert”.

END

[ducky-died-inside]

I posted 12,316 times in 2022

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#5

do you have anymore protective camilo and carlos . like shes the 2nd golden child and is supposed to be perfect ( at least thats what abuela thinks ) and they tell abuela off after seeing her finnaly cave ( and if your not comfortable with that ) someome insults reader and they get protective ( and if your not comfortable with that ) just protective camilo and carlos . also if you do not have time to right rn this can wait and pick the part that your the most comfortable with cause i dont know if any of this is crossing bondaries . have a good day / night .

I have so many ideas for protective Camilo and Carlos

Stuck: Protective Camilo x Fem reader (platonic), Protective Carlos x Fem reader (platonic)

Summary: You accidentally get stuck as an animal that Abuela doesn't like. She doesn't like that and gets mad at you. Camilo and Carlos tell her off and comfort you.

Genre: Angst to Fluff

Notes: You have the power to Shapeshift into animals while your brothers can do people

Warnings: Angry Camilo, Angry Carlos, Angry Abuela, Sad Reader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You stood in front of your mirror, trying to decide which animals would be "safe" according to your Abuela. Safe meant it was pretty and not dangerous. If was dangerous but pretty? Nope. If it wasn't dangerous but not pretty? Nope. It had to be perfect.

You went down through your list, crossing off animals that you knew wouldn't fit the mold. When you came across an animal that you weren't sure of, you would put a question mark next to it, so that you knew to ask Abuela later.

Abuela was constantly changing what she thought and animals that used to be ok were suddenly too dangerous or not good enough, so you had to go through the list at least once a month.

It was one of your favorite times of the month and one of your least favorites because you got to see all these animals that you could be, and weren't allowed to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you went down the list, you got stuck. This happened sometimes when you used your power too much, or when you were shocked or surprised. You'd get stuck as the animal form you were in. This time it was an albino tiger. One that was pretty, but dangerous.

When this happened, only two people could ever get you to turn back. Your other two thirds, Carlos and Camilo.

You used your paws to open the door, looking around to see if anyone was coming. You thought it was clear, but then you heard your Abuela's voice filled with anger.

"Y/N? What are you doing?"

You slowly turned your head, fear in your eyes. You tried to shift back, but your powers wouldn't respond.

"Y/N, why do you look like that?! You know I don't like that animal!"

You ducked your head, scared of what was coming next.

"How can you help the miracle when you look like this? You were supposed to be perfect, not dangerous! You were supposed to be the responsible triplet! Not this! Change back ri-"

Camilo and Carlos heard her triade, and came out of their respective rooms as fast as possible.

"You want to finish that sentence, Alma?"

Carlos was the first to talk, anger in his eyes.

"Say it one more time, I dare you."

Your Abuela stepped back a bit, startled by Camilo's behavior. She expected this from Carlos, but never Camilo.

"How dare you?! I'm the head of this household and I won't accept this disrespect!"

"Disrepect? What about the disrespect from you?! You've been putting way too much pressure on Y/N! Why do you think she's stuck?! Because you are constantly changing what you approve of and she needs to figure it out once a month! Do you even know how many times this has happened?! No! Why?! Because you don't care about Y/N unless she is the perfect version you want her to be!"

Abuela opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, not able to come up with a way to respond to that.

Camilo lead you to his room so that he and Carlos could get you to change back.

See the full post

210 notes - Posted February 13, 2022

#4

I feel like Ride The Cyclone was less about the contest and more about how fucking horny all of them were

213 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

#3

Someone wanted more triplet au stuff so here I am! I'm just gonna do some headcannons for now while I work on a sequel to Bad Friends!

Camilo, Carlos and Reader Triplet Headcannons: Just cute things that would happen between you and your bros!

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Angsty, Carlos has a knife(yay), Carlos and Camilo threaten someone

When Camilo and Carlos get into fights, you're the one who breaks it up

Whenever you get asked out on a date, Carlos and Camilo will threaten them when you go to grab something

"Hey Y/N! You ready for our date?"

"I sure am! I just need to grab something really fast."

"Ok I'll just wait then"

Carlos grabbed his shoulder as soon as you were upstairs.

"You do anything to her, I gut you."

Camilo grabs the other side. "You kiss her before she's ready, you better learn to sleep with one eye open. Got it?"

The poor boy nodded as you came down the stairs, your smile reminding him why he's here.

"Ready?"

He nods quickly, glancing back at your brothers.

"Remember what we said, Fernando. Have a great night!"

You looked at all three of them, confused. "Dios mio, what did you guys say to him?"

"Nothing much, just telling to have a good night with you."

Very overprotective bros

You love them to death though

You three would come up with the best pranks to play.

You would make them apologize when they went too far

Carlos will often carry around a pocket knife, making the phrase "put the knife away, Carlos." a regular thing heard around Encanto.

You three all worked together in your own weird way

Carlos was the evil one, you were the sensible one, and Camilo was the jokester that held you two in balance

You and Camilo are often put under the most pressure as Carlos doesn't do most of his chores if he does any

Carlos is definitely Abuela's least favorite as he doesn't do very much for the town

Camilo will sometimes forget his name and what he looks like due to using his gift so much

Seeing as Carlos doesn't use his gift as much as Camilo does, it doesn't happen to him almost at all

You and Carlos help Camilo get back to being himself whenever he has a hard time remembering

See the full post

307 notes - Posted February 7, 2022

#2

Request: Camilo and carlos with twin sister reader who can hear peoples thoughts and one day at dinner she gets overwhelmed and starts hyperventilating and abuela says " yn calm down " ( like that one scene ) and she does a coping mechanism ( like rubbing her thumb over her knuckles ) while saying " your fine , your fine " and they just snap and then comfort her .

Thoughts: Camilo x Fem reader (platonic), Carlos x Fem reader (platonic)

Summary: Abuela gets mad at you when your powers are too much.

Genre: Angst to Fluff

Notes: @kailoveswom3n please keep requesting! They are so much fun to write and you give so much detail in them! This takes place a month before the movie. Thought key: (pay attention to bolds)

Camilo, Carlos, Pepa, Félix, Mirabel, Dolores, Antonio, Abuela

Warnings: Angry Abuela, Angry Camilo, You run away,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were an outcast. Your power made it so that you could hear peoples thoughts and people didn't like that. You didn't like it either, but you were stuck with it now. This made it very hard to find friends who would stay.

You were worse than Dolores and Bruno to them because Dolores could only hear sounds and Bruno at least left before doing more damage than he already had. But you? You could hear every secret thought even if someone didn't say it aloud. You liked to keep your head empty when you were younger, so when you learned a secret, you had to tell someone.

You don't do that anymore because Abuela started to accuse you of hurting the miracle by sharing the secrets you knew. So you became the image of good enough to Abuela. You didn't become absolutely perfect like Isabela, but not rowdy or an absolute menace like your brothers, Camilo and Carlos. The sweet middle spot for the sweet middle child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You hurriedly got ready in front of your mirror, fixing your hair and makeup. The Diaz's, another very important family in Encanto, were coming over tonight for dinner, so that they could establish friendships with each other. As they got closer, a thought that wasn't yours entered your mind.

Food time!

You decided that if Camilo was ready for dinner, you should get downstairs. You didn't want all of the food to be gone before you got there. You grabbed your worry stone on your way out (A worry stone is a stone that has an indent for you to rub your thumb over). This was going to be a long dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner was running smoothly, everyone talking and joking. You could hear everyone's thoughts about each other, and they all seemed to have good opinions of each other. You rubbed your stone, trying to calm the mess of thoughts. As you listen, one string of thoughts catches your attention when you hear your name.

Y/N better not ruin this night for the Encanto. We need these relationships with others. She's already brought enough shame to my family.

Your eyes widen as you hear Abuela's thoughts. You try to stop the thoughts running through your head. Your breathing starts to get faster as the words repeat in your mind. Your rubbing of the stone gets faster and faster until you think you might break it. Tears start to roll down your cheeks, and your brothers see, but so does everyone else. Including Abuela.

"Y/N, calm down! We are trying to have a nice dinner tonight! How can we do that if you are breaking down constantly?"

You apologized and excused your self from the table. On either side of you, your brothers were fuming, glaring at Abuela.

You didn't notice for a while, trying to calm yourself with your stone and whispering "calm down, you're fine, just calm down, you don’t need to make a big deal, just calm down" to your self on repeat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Camilo stood up and excused himself and Carlos from the table. He lead Carlos to kitchen so that you could talk to them.

"What happened? What did you hear?"

"It's nothing, Camilo. I'm fine now."

"It's obviously not nothing. If something got you to cry when you cry less than I do, it's obviously something."

You looked over to Carlos. He had a point. You sighed, trying to figure out the best way to say what Abuela had thought.

"Abuela was thinking that I was going to ruin the dinner with my gift, and thought that I already brought enough shame to her family. It's like she didn't even think I was part of the family."

Camilo clenched his fists and his eye started to twitch.

See the full post

313 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Not all men" You're right. Noel Gruber, Mischa Bachinski, and Ricky Potts would never

859 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[strawberrymeriadoc]

I posted 4,377 times in 2022

That's 3,952 more posts than 2021!

32 posts created (1%)

4,345 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@twofingerswhiskey

@akindplace

@yharnamsnewslug

@spacelazarwolf

@jewish-kermit

I tagged 622 of my posts in 2022

#queer history - 24 posts

#&lt;3 - 17 posts

#merry - 13 posts

#late 19th century - 11 posts

#early 20th century - 11 posts

#jewish history - 11 posts

#love this - 10 posts

#gimli - 9 posts

#early 20th century queer history - 9 posts

#intersex - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#lowkey you remind me of the kids who used to bully me on the bus. you are a b a d a s s motherfucker though. you know what you want from li

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I think I might be pansensual and demisensual? I once in a blue moon have a desire to make out with a stranger. I often have the desire to hold hands with, snuggle with, rest my head on friends I have known for a while. When I see people talk about wanting to kiss or hold hands on a first date it makes me extremely uncomfortable to consider myself in that situation. But I like the idea of handholding if I have known you a while and happen to develop that attraction to you. Extremely rarely I have the desire to kiss people I’ve developed sensual attraction for. For clarity I’m also aroace. Never have a desire to have sex with others. Have no idea what romantic attraction is but it tends to make me uncomfortable. But snuggling with specific people I’ve known for a while? Regardless of gender? (If the trends of my life mean anything) yes! So aroace pan- and demisensual!

12 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#4

sad i didnt make the blocklist of trans men and transmascs who talk about their experiences and oppression...sigh...i need to step up my game...

15 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

#3

hey just a PSA please tag that weird body horror thing where the faces are all scrunched up as "unreality" for your psychotic followers! mmmmk thanks

16 notes - Posted June 11, 2022

#2

Any other aces have extremely sexual, kinky fantasies but not want to actually do them with anyone even over text? when i imagine these kinky scenarios, i can't really "see" the person doing them with me. this is different from aces who say they're into kink but in a non-sexual way. my fantasies are entirely sexual, im just not feeling any attraction to anyone and im not participating with anyone else while i have sex.

24 notes - Posted April 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

On this Trans Day of Visibility, a reminder that trans male and transmasc experiences are extremely invisible and that is why so few transmascs have any idea who they are or that what they are is normal. Hyper visibility has its own extreme problems but on this tdov I think it’s important to note that a *healthy* amount of visibility for trans folks would be great. That way when trans men are like “I would like access to competent! reproductive care”, TERFs in the UK (let’s be real here) won’t suddenly point at trans women and blame them. Get mad at us transmascs at least! Fuck! Don’t just ignore us. (But in all seriousness nobody should be getting mad at trans folks for existing)

85 notes - Posted March 31, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[frodopotter7]

Vampire George Au

Hello my friends,

So I had this idea for a long time now and I would like to write a fanfic about it, but I would like to know if people are even interested in this.

The idea is that George Harrison is a fruit vampire.

Okay so what is a fruit vampire? It’s basically a vampire, but instead of blood they suck fruits, since George is vegetarian. Also their teeth get extra sharpie and long to suck the fruit and then get back to normal. Fruit vampires are like real vampires: Really strong, fast, no appearance in the mirror, not that much effected by the sun, but the sun can easily give them a sunburn, sharpie teeth, pale skin, hypnoses, turning into a bat and all that. But fruit vampires actually kill different then normal vampires. When they bite someone the firth time everything is fine. The bitten person just get into a trance and then wake up as if nothing happened(so like a moscato bite with a deep sleep), the second bite turns the person into a fruit vampire and the third kills.

But wait the others would notice all that right?: Nope. Fruit vampires only get their powers, when they don’t eat fruits. If they don’t eat fruits for a longer time they can turn in to mindless killer and need to drink actually peoples blood to get normal again, but after drinking blood their powers are much stronger(so like you can’t see them in a mirror and all these vampire ability’s).

The Story: So George was bitten by a fruit vampire, when he was only a little kid. He always controlled it, since it is easy to hide. Now the Beatles are in Hamburg and Ringo Starr had just joined them. George really likes Ringo and is really nice to him. Ringo is really shy in front of George, because Rory and the Hurricanes usually made more fun of him and saw him as a joke. All is groovy. But because of the stress in Hamburg they don’t find anytime to eat anymore. They don’t have money for any food and just get a little something everyday. While they about to record their firth album George nearly loses control. He notices that his body slowly changes more into a vampire and the only one who really notices anything is Rings, who tries to help, but George just gets aggressiv to easily. In the night then George loses control in sleep and on the next morning the Beatles hear about a dead man that was found near where they slept. The man has strange marks on his neck. George knew it was him and separates himself from the band. As Ringo tries to help, he finds out the truth and everything is getting too much for poor Georgie.

(That‘s my firth drawing to this. I know it‘s not how George looked in Hamburg, but I can‘t draw him that good in his teddy boy years)

Okay, that’s my plan. Who else likes this? Would you like to read a one-shot or two-shot of this? @bridgeoverstrawberryfields @doyouwantmetocomewithyou (also my art is of course not that amazing as yours) @bracketsbracketsbrackets I taked you all, because I love all your Beatles blogs and you all like Georgie. So I would like to have your opinion. You of course don’t have to, if you not want.

Have a good day

Peace and Love to you all✌️🌻♥️

And here is the direct way to the fanfic

[stcries-a]

       small stater call?  make sure to specify muses -

[lotties-ashwagandha]

Venable as our wife nd we are expecting a baby or having a kid with us 🫣

omg this request has me in a chokehold

-

KERMIT CAN’T BE YOUR FAVORITE MUPPET.

pairing: wilhemina venable x pregnant!reader

word count: 706 (sorry it’s so short, I had writer’s block and have been so busy!!)

notes and warnings: bro mina would absolutely be the best mother ever she would fight a bitch for her family

my kidnapped tumblr users (taglist lol): @cartoonpeoples @thedeconstructionist @traumatisedfangirl @cordeliass @paulsonsratched @mayfair-fleur @goodeday2u

You sighed, dialing her number once more. You knew Wilhemina had bad phone signal at the store, but she had been gone almost an hour longer than she had said she would be back and you were beginning to become worried.

The line rang eternally, and you began to pace the living room, muting the movie playing on television.

Eventually, Mina’s voice rang through the phone. Before you could say a word she went right into slamming the customer service of Walmart, telling you about how terribly unhelpful they were and how she was determined to call the manager tomorrow morning while she was on the way to work.

You were hardly listening — you were just glad to hear her voice. Her safety brought you warmth and your own sense of security. “Mina,” you smiled, “what were you looking for, anyway?”

She was silent for a moment, and her response was unconvincing. “Nothing of importance.”

“Which would be…?”

“Toilet paper,” she said, as if it were a question.

You choked back a laugh at the terrible excuse, deciding to wait until she was home to interrogate her further. “Alright, well, I hope you and your toilet paper get home safely.”

—

When Wilhemina finally arrived, she again went on a rant about Walmart customer service. You followed her into the nursery the two of you had prepared for the baby you were pregnant with, watching her with a smile as she took four Walmart bags into the nursery.

“What did you buy?” You asked again. “It looks like it’ll take up half the room.”

“Oh, I just got some supplies,” Wilhemina said quickly.

You stole one of the bags from her, and you almost melted at seeing what was inside. Five toys had been stuffed into the bag — a race car, a princess doll, a stuffed elephant, a stuffed dog, and a stuffed cat. “This is all so cute,” you exclaimed.

“Yes, well, I was going to get a giraffe but they didn’t have one,” she said with a sigh.

You couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped you. “What’s in the other bags?”

She let you rummage through them as she organized the toys that had been in the first bag.

She had bought every sort of toy she could find, from space ship action figures to pink stuffed unicorns.

“Mina, what is all of this?” You asked with a warm smile.

“I wasn’t sure what our child would like, so I just thought I would be prepared and buy everything,” she said as if it were obvious, though a small smile played on her lips.

“Wilhemina Venable is going soft,” you teased, approaching her and taking her hand.

“Only for the two of you,” she replied as she began to rearrange a collection of stuffed Muppets. “And maybe for the Muppets as well.”

“Who’s your favorite Muppet?”

“I can't have a favorite, I adore them all equally.”

“Kermit is my favorite.”

Wilhemina raised her eyebrows, completely serious as she organized the stuffed animals. “Kermit? He can’t be your favorite, he’s everyone’s favorite.”

“But his song about rainbows was so sweet!”

“Yes, but what about Fozzy? He’s sweet as well.”

“Maybe our baby’s favorite will be Fozzy, then,” you said with love, and you could see Wilhemina was fighting back a smile.

“I hope so,” she said with a sigh. “I hope all of it goes smoothly — that we’re as prepared as we think we are.”

You reached forward and took her hand, and a bit of the stress faded from her features. “It will all happen perfectly, just as it’s meant to,” you promised. “We’ll be a perfect family, just the three of us.”

Wilhemina nodded, taking a look at the nursery — all lining the walls were stuffed animals, princess toys and Superman action figures. The crib in the center was home to blankets and a bundle of pillows, all fluffed and prepared for the lovely future that was to come.

You knew that together, the future that waited ahead could be conquered in every way — the two of you along with the child due soon would overcome any obstacle, and you would surpass every malady in triumph.

Only, however, if Fozzy was your favorite Muppet.

[forsworned]

+warnings. none really, slight violence? slight peeping tom from shinobu lol

+word count. 2.8k

+categories. f/m

+relationships. hashira x reader, kagaya ubuyashiki x reader

+characters. hashira, kagaya ubuyashiki

+author’s note. this is a substantive edit of my chapter one, so basically just a better and clearer context since it is not a headcanon and is a real series so it's in a story mode not a bullet point mode does that make sense? i'll include links for part two and the unedited part one, and part three iis coming up since i got a few requests asking for it. enjoy!

+summary. reader is on her way to work on a stormy day and is hit by lightning! she wakes up finding herself in an unknown world with strange people who talk about demons?! can she survive in this crazy world?

+chapter(s). one(unedited) two three four five

「chapter one: when lightning strikes」

It was like any other day. You woke up, had your breakfast, and headed to work. This time though, it was storming. Storming so much in fact, that you even called in to ask if your workplace was even open to which your boss replied, "Of course it is. We're a business! This storm is nothing." in an annoyingly cheery tone.

Yes, yes. Of course, how could you be so silly as to ask if your workplace was open in the worst possible weather to drive in. It's not like your life mattered anyway.

You sighed as you looked at your keys. It's not like you worked far from your job. You moved here recently because you had been promoted so walking wouldn't be much of a thing. Rummaging through your shoe closet, you found your old kermit umbrella that was in perfect condition. You laughed looking at it. It was silly to be embarrassed of such a thing, but it was a gift to you from your secret santa at work and you had yet to use it. You grabbed it anyway and made sure you had everything on you and went on your way.

As you locked your door and opened your umbrella, you saw a strike of lightning nearby. The sound was so deafening that it made your ears ring and your whole body jolt.

"Holy fuck that was close." You murmured to yourself. "And my boss still wants me to go to work. "

You let out another sigh as you began to walk towards your place and until you felt an odd feeling in the pit of your stomach. You tried to push it away, but it was driving you insane. Like someone pounding at your door, but you sank further under your sheets hoping they would go away.

For some reason your brain was telling you to look at your hair, but you didn't understand why. Rotating your head to look over your shoulder, you noticed that your hair was lifting like it was rubbed up against a balloon and someone was holding it just above you.

Your heart dropped. And along with that your umbrella and you broke into a sprint.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Any moment lighting would strike right on you and you did not want to get in that crossfire. Something in your mind was telling you it was too late because all you saw a bright white light before everything went dark and silent.

* * *

"Oi! Oi! You wake up! Who the hell are you?!"

"Can you shut the fuck up?" You groaned and attempted to turn over and run a hand through your hair, but you felt immobile.

Your eyes fluttered open. It was bright. Very bright.

"Do you really think you're in a position to fucking ask me who I am? Now, who are you?" An angry voice sounded closer to you, but it felt halted for some reason.

You blinked your eyes a few times, trying to adjust your eyesight. Nine heads were poking into your view. All of them curious except for one very infuriated one.

"Sanemi-san. Calm down. This poor child has been lead astray from a far away country.” Another voice spoke. His stature was insane and by insane you mean like 8 feet tall and jacked as hell. He was holding prayer beads and seemed to be blind as tears streamed down his cheeks? How odd.

"Where am I? And why am I bound up?" You asked, but it was like you were talking to yourself because everyone was talking amongst themselves. All of them looked odd and out of place. Like they were from a completely different era, more so a different universe. Maybe this was all just a strange dream...

This Sanemi guy seemed to calm down almost immediately as he spoke. “No, it’s more like they’re from another universe.” Sanemi examined you and turned you over.

You struggled for a bit realizing that all your struggling was in vain.

"You know, I really don't appreciate being bound up without my consent."

It was a petty joke. A funny one at that. If this was a dream there was no harm in a little fun.

The pink haired girl and tall white haired male tried to cover up their mirth, but failed. Most of them either looked embarrassed, confused or amused.

The angry one looked caught off guard by your choice of words. Nonetheless continued on as if he were unfazed. “Oh well, who cares let’s get rid of this threat.”

As Sanemi raised his sword, you closed your eyes ready to meet your fate but a fiery haired male seized his actions.

"We do not kill humans. Even if they were seemingly shot down from the heavens."

You let out a breath of relief. Thank you, oddly handsome looking man. Wait...did he say shot out the heavens?

“We should wait for Oyakata-sama.” The pink haired girl peeped up looking quite nervous. Everyone looked from her to you begrudingly agreed.

"She's right. We all know what happened last time." The small ravenette spoke up. Her voice was light and airy. You liked her.

"This is annoying." The tall white haired men huffed. You felt a little betrayed for some reason. Did he not think you were amusing enough to stay alive? Rude.

"Wait what do you mean I was shot down from the heavens?" You asked, but again, every one seemed too preoccupied with themselves.

Sanemi's attention was back on you, but not to answer your question.

"Where did you come from? You're not even wearing normal clothes." He probed.

Instead of answering his question, you remained silent and gave up on struggling. This whole thing was pointless. If they weren't going to answer your question why should you answer theirs?

"Oi, do you not know how to speak?” Sanemi would poke at you with his sheathed sword.

You closed your eyes and sighed. "It's like you said. I'm not from around here. It doesn’t seem like this is the most modern era."

“What’s that suppose to mean?” The taller white haired male looked down at you puzzled.

You ignored him too. That was until he poked you with his foot. "Oi, answer me."

“What year is this?”

“1912, why?”

What the fuck? Now you were really confused. There was no other reason to not think this was a dream at this point.

“Shit, I’m from 2021.” You mumbled.

A unanimous “huh?” emitted out of them as they look at you dumbfounded. Understandable. If you were to find some rando who time traveled and said they were from 1912 you would be equally befuddled.

“Stop, messing around.” A shorter male with mismatched eyes hissed at you.

Damn, for a bitter sounding person he sure was pretty. You thought for a second before remembering your phone in your back pocket

“Reach into my pocket.”

“Why, so you can blast us all the way to hell? No way.” Sanemi grimaced down at you. Meanwhile, the ravenette to his left seemed amused at the situation unfolding before her.

“Why not? We’re Hashira. We’re prepared to handle all threats. Let them show us whatever proof they need to.” She shrugged at them with a smile that seemed to be plastered on her face.

“Fine, Muichiro. Reach into their pocket.” Sanemi looked over to his right to a smaller male with dark long hair and mint green at his tips. Unusually enough, his hair matched his eyes.

“Why me?” He pouted.

“Because I said so.”

Muichiro begrudgingly listened to his elder and approached you to pull out what looked like a slim brick. He sized it up on his palm and then suddenly the screen lit up and everyone gasped. It slipped from his hand and onto the grassy ground. You didn't really notice up until now how green and lush the grass was.

"What the hell is this?" Muichiro asked holding up the phone between his index finger and thumb away from his body.

You rolled your eyes. "It's not going to explode. It's called a mobile phone. Can I get up now?"

“Mobile phone?” The fiery haired male inquired, ignoring your request as he peered over Muichiro’s shoulder. Muichiro began to press at the screen until he locked it.

"There's a code?"

You sighed knowing you weren't going to get up for a very long time. “Yes, you press the buttons on the screen to unlock it.”

“Unlock?” The taller white haired male looked at the phone questioningly.

“I think they mean we need to press the buttons on this so called "screen” like how you would with an actual phone from our era.“ Muichiro spoke up.

"Oh like a safe!” The rosette cheered.

“It would appear so. So what’s the passcode?” The fiery male looked at you for answer.

“It’s 390876.”

Muichiro slowly tapped the numbers on the screen and it unlocked leading them to the mainscreen and they all “ahh” in awe as Muichiro slid the phone side to side.

“Now that’s flamboyant!” The taller white haired male exclaimed.

Muichiro then tapped on the miniature camera that revealed the image that was right in front of him which was a dark haired male you completely forgot about standing there extremely uninterested at the situation unraveling. Everyone would gasp at the mirrored image in front of them.

“It’s like a camera, but in real time.” The ravenette examined. A devious smile now playing on her lips. “Wow, who would’ve thought. He looks just as incompetent through a camera as clear as this.”

The uninterested male turned to look at her with his signature annoyed expression and everyone laughed at how done he appeared to be with her. Hell, even you’re laughing at him. You thought for a moment that the crying man was missing out on the spectacle but he laughed anyway seemingly knowing the expression on the male's face.

“How do we capture this moment?” Kyoujurou asked peering down at you again.

“I think you press this button.” Muichiro pressed the white button to snap a picture and the screen blinked for a moment.

“Whoa! I think you just took one! How do we look at it?” The tall white haired male looked at you nearly face down on the ground.

“Can I at least get up?” You questioned and they all gave each other a look.

“Well, they don’t seem to be a threat. If anything happens we’ll handle it.” The raventte shrugged.

To your surprise Sanemi, trudged up to you and begins to unbind you.

"Having fun?" You teased, but he ignored you as he undid the last knot.

You finally sat up and rubbed your sore wrists. "Next time if you're going to tie me up like that be sure to use cotton."

Sanemi blinked back at you several times astounded by your brash statement and some of the Hashira turned away trying their best not to laugh.

You brushed off your clothes leaving him shocked and held out your hand to get your phone back.

Muichiro handed it back to you and began to show them all the functions of your little device. They were especially impressed with your Minecraft app.

“So, you just create your own world?” The taller white haired male eyes were sparkling with interest and you nodded and smiled at him. You began to show him how you could build your own house and herd your own cattle.

Yeah, big deal.“ Sanemi crossed his arms in defiance.

What a sourpuss.

"You don’t have to be so uptight.” The ravenette spoke up as she watched you beat a sheep to death and collected the meat. “Hmm, mutton sounds kind of good…”

“You guys are ridiculous. It’s not even that cool.”

“Oh that’s a cute puppy!” The rosette exclaimed at the photo that someone had posted on Instagram.

Sanemi’s ears perked up at the word “puppy”. “Let me see that.”

He grabbed the phone out of your hand and seemed to be holding himself back from cooing at the cute baby pitbull that you all were admiring seconds ago.

“Someone’s whipped about dogs.” The taller white haired male scoffed. Everyone seemed to giggle. Sanemi, however, did not find this very amusing as he had shot everyone an icy glare and they instantly hushed.

“Well,” You gently took the phone out of Sanemi’s hand. “I’m not sure what good this will do you guys. I need to get back to my universe.”

“What is your universe like?” The crying man was sitting down now with his prayer beads clasped in his hands.

You feel inclined to sit with him and you begin to explain how it wasn’t much different from this. That there were cities and rural areas much like their own, but your universe was just more modern and had advanced technology. You began to talk about how there were apps to connect people from vast countries and delivery services at the touch of a button.

“Wow! They just show up at your door when you want?” The rosetter was practically drooling at the mentioning of food and you showed her the vast options.

Everyone gushed at what they would want to eat right now and how convenient it would be to have someone deliver food right to their door.

“Aren’t we having fun with the "threat” you asked me to take care of?“ A voice smooth as velvet softly spoke.

It sent a pleasant feeling down your body but it seemed to have frightened the bejeezus out of them. They all turned around to bow down towards him yourself included.

"This is your leader?” You whispered, but everyone seemed to ignore you.

“I’m merely just someone who gives out orders to get rid of demon threats. What is your name child?” He asked and you looked up to see what looked like a blind man with a soft and gentle smile peering down at you.

“[first name]…[first name] [last name].” You murmured in awe at the man.

I mean this guy. He was pretty, like really pretty. And the woman clinging to his arm was just as pretty if not gorgeous. Upon peering a little longer at him, you noticed a darkened scar over his eyes. Was he blind?

“Well, [first name]. You don’t seem to be a threat to me, so I’ll have the kakushi see you to a nice bath and meal and help you get this sorted out in the meanwhile.”

“But Oyakata-sama–” Sanemi spoke up, but , Oyakata-sama just shook his head.

“No need for any more interrogation. We will decide what to do later.” He turned over at you and smiled. “We will speak soon, [name].”

You only nodded as the kakushi began to sweep you off your feet. They didn't say much to you as they led you to your destination. Not that you had much to say in the first place. Well you did, but you didn't quite know how to ask. What the hell was a kakushi? A Hashira? And who was the mysterious Oyakata-sama and his probably gorgeous wife?

Question after question, you were filled up with too many thoughts but soon enough you were in an empty traditional Japanese bathhouse.

“Here, get yourself washed up. Dinner will be ready soon.” A kakushi handed you towels and bathrobe.

“Thank you.” You murmur taking the the towels from them and then begin to undress yourself. Folding your work clothes neatly on the bench and then padded over to steaming water.

You dipped your toe into the water to test the temperature. You hummed in approval at the warmth and then sank into the water wondering how the hell you got yourself into this situation.

“Maybe… maybe if I just close my eyes this will all go away…” You shut your eyes for a moment and began to count.

“Why are you counting, [name]-kun?”

You opened your eyes to see the ravenette staring down at you with curious violet hues. Your bones rattled at her sudden appearance. It seemed as if she appeared out of thin air. You hadn’t even heard her footsteps…

You quickly covered your naked body, but she wasn’t even fazed. “W-what are you doing in here?”

“I wanted to check on you. I know this all probably super overwhelming.” She said as she sat down next to you. "By the way I'm Kocho Shinobu."

“Well, could you maybe do that when I’m dressed, Kocho-san?”

“Bodies are just flesh, but if you feel so strongly then find me when you’re done.” She smiled at you before disappearing again.

“Wow, she inhumanly quick.” You muttered to yourself as you submerged yourself into the hot spring once more.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? Wait didn’t he mention something about demons?! Your eyes flew open for a second but you shook your head. Nah, you just imagined that, but maybe he did?

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[lokisgoodgirl]

Good morning lovely🤍

I recently had this discussion with my sister and now I’m eager to hear all the qualified SAS-opinions…

Which outfits of those 5 do you like and why? Which one did not manage to amaze you?

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GOOD MORNING INDEED Well, well what do we have here? FIVE Loki outfits for us to rank and analyse? You didn't ask for a ranking, but I'm gonna. Top spot: Number 2. The Avengers 1/ Thor TDW 'fit will always have my heart. The thick leather. The strap. The powwwer. He IS that outfit. I don't think I need to elaborate further. Second: Number 5. Although I do prefer the dark version (figure 1.6 below). The way it clings in all the right places. It definitely gives him some straddle room and I'm here for it. It also helps that Ragnarok Loki just has me drooling like a pervert for the entire movie. Third: Number 3. The suit💀 It's the Midgard clothes on a god, we've had this conversation many times and I just...it's the stuff that Avenger! Loki fantasies are made of. The 'fit that launched 1000 fics. Fourth: Thor 1 Loki 'fit. First of all...the top half is perfection but I loathe those trousers. 🤣Also although the overall vibe is fire, I do prefer when we can see his hair beneath the helmet in later iterations but that's just me. That cape does look especially soft, I must add. Fifth: Controversial, but in that particular scene I feel that the 'fit is too bright. Too green. I get that it's the Dark World outfit styled up a little buttttt it's a little kermit-garnish, personally. Although having said that, would I still strip it off slowly, inhaling every piece of leather as it revealed his bare skin beneath? Yes I would. Figure 1.6:

Thank you darling for this lovely distraction :P

*ding ding* for your consideration: @lady-rose-moon @lokischambermaid @xorpsbane @fictive-sl0th @thomase1 @thedistractedagglomeration @loopsisloops @sarahscribbles @mischief2sarawr @holdmytesseract @michelleleewise @mochie85 @vbecker10 @theaudacitytowrite @holymultiplefandomsbatman @muddyorbs @lokikissesmyforehead