#yes i'm giving this its own tag because i have Ideas now and may end up writing a fic about it eventually | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lunarblue21 · 2 years ago

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I posted 2,344 times in 2022

That's 810 more posts than 2021!

114 posts created (5%)

2,230 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@whythursdaynext

@coloradocowgirlforchrist

@lostinhistory

@its-a-writer-thing

I tagged 2,335 of my posts in 2022

#q - 2,089 posts

#text - 461 posts

#writing - 343 posts

#ice age feels - 233 posts

#images - 217 posts

#ice age - 199 posts

#beauty - 188 posts

#ci musings - 159 posts

#ficcing - 149 posts

#writing tips - 129 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i also haven't ever seen giffed here on tumblr diego taking the mortal blow soto was gonna inflict on manny either... which is also a hugely

My Top Posts in 2022:

Imagine if Diego actually died, but temporarily. Imagine the potential. Him going to a spirit realm and seeing the souls of Nadia, his fallen packmates, not to mention Manny's first mate and child.

Well, canonically - going off by what Chris Wedge said on the DVD commentary - he actually did, but this is such a really cool idea!

It's in fact been touched on, long ago, in the Ice Age ffn archive with the fic, "A Second Chance" but other than that it's an intriguing idea that hasn't really been touched on, at least especially in terms of Ice Age fics.

I would know because I've always been on the lookout for fics like "A Second Chance" and so far it is the only one of its kind wrt fleshing out what might've happened when Diego 'died' in IA1.

I am planning to put my own spin on it involving Brede when I get to the IA1 parts of Lacrimosa, too, because I love the idea of Diego 'dying' like he did in IA1 and Brede bringing him to Her afterlife where he receives forgiveness from Nadia via Brede's intervention since Brede belongs to and is loved by all species in my CI-verse for Ice Age.

Also I guess the above is technically L spoilers, of a sort, but anyone who has read Lacrimosa would know of the importance I give to Brede (and how it's already been implied She comes to those She loves in their dying moments) so it's kinda more of a foregone conclusion than a spoiler. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, I will post this idea to the Ice Age tag and hopefully sooner or later someone might actually write it! Maybe even you, anon! :)

But hopefully someone does because a fic exploring Diego's experiences in the afterlife/spirit realm during his 'death' in IA1 would make for an intriguing one-shot fic!

Not me I am too brain rotted on Lacrimosa (and Impossible) right now and I have character deaths upcoming in L (spoilers!) so yeah....

27 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

1 & 5 for Lacrimosa!

Aww thanks so much for the questions!

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Welll... it goes back to that extremely vivid dream I had in 2009, involving Diego, Peaches, and a mysterious antagonist - a tigress.

Before that, like pointed out in my other reply, I had a very different story in mind - I just wanted to write a nice fluffy Manny & Diego & Peaches father/uncle daughter/niece fic, though a mammoth as a villain was part of that original concept for the fic when I was calling it, "My Two Dads."

That dream altered everything though and eventually the overall fic changed from "My Two Dads" to being called "Cruel Intentions" and "Lacrimosa" was originally intended to have only FIVE (yes, five!!) chapters but considering that I'm about to post chapter 16 at the end of this month that didn't happen...

So, basically, the inspiration - the M2Ds concept + the vivid dream - melded together into what has become my "Cruel Intentions" series.

I really hope I can complete L this year because I really wanna get truly to work on CI, since I already have 20k words and basically two 10k chapters written for CI bk 1 at the moment...

5: What part was hardest to write?

Nothing really so far! However, "Lacrimosa" is heading into its collision course of mammoth vs sabres + the humans are coming fuller into the picture + The Scarlett has schemes up her paw... and it seems each new chapter (if you seem my posts referring to them) deal with a new emotional crisis or trauma, I think they might be.

But, from what I remember from when I first began writing Lacrimosa at the start 8 years ago, nothing was really "hard" to write per se.

I try not to get too attached to my OCs or my Diego/Theo pairing because this is a story where Anyone Can Die, so...

28 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

Wow, on ff.net Legend of Zelda has fics published as far back as the year 1999!

That's amazing! I was only 8 years old when some of these fans of the Zelda games were posting their fanfics!!

29 notes - Posted February 16, 2022

More Ice Age gushing!!

But anyway, I love love love how you can SEE the visual representation of Manny and Diego's friendship/relationship evolving from Manny ordering Diego to stay in front so that Manny can keep a eye on him

to 50 minutes into the movie and with the group in sight of Half-Peak, Diego goes from being in front to walking alongside.

It's like that quote, attributed to Camus, that goes,

"Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."

And really, all Manny needed in this movie - and despite Diego's betrayal - was a friend to just walk beside him and be his friend and be there for him in his pain.

oh my word I love this movie so much!!! ❤❤❤❤❤

47 notes - Posted March 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

An underrated moment in Ice Age 1, I feel, is at the climatic battle with Soto and again, illustrates Roshan's importance to the group as a whole.

Oh, and by the way, for people who believe that Soto wasn't double-crossing Diego himself, the novelisation has him say, "You asked for it!" as he's lifting his paw to strike Diego dead!

The thing that makes him pause is Roshan crying out nearby, as he and Sid turn the corner. Note that Sid is completely floored and unable to do anything since this wasn't the herd's plan, but Roshan makes an upset baby cry when he sees Diego on the ground bleeding out and that is enough to distract Soto AND save Diego's life.

Part of me has always wondered, did Diego hear that cry despite being unconscious? Did Manny or Sid tell him about it? Does he know that Roshan, in a way, prevented his death?

I just made a prompt sort of thing in my Ice Age prompts folder (currently 10+ pages in gdocs) but ugh, I've always wanted to see someone write Diego realising that he owes his survival, in part, to Roshan, or that he was able to hear that cry somehow despite being unconscious!!

98 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #lol most used tag is my 'q' tag that tracks #also happy to see my Ice Age post about Roshan & Diego and whether Diego knows how Roshan saved him in IA1 made the rounds somewhat!#that's nice :)#Ice Age feels #also love how 'Ice Age feels' is my 4th highest tags neat :)

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mrsalwayswrite · 3 years ago

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Sinners and Saints (Sihtric x reader)

Summary: One day you stumble upon your childhood friend, Osferth, whom you have not seen in years. Yet the more time you spend with him, the more you find yourself drawn to his companion, Sihtric….and the butterflies his dark eyes give you.

This is my contribution to @emilyhufflepufftlk 100 followers challenge! Congratulations again! I’m so happy for you!

My prompt was - "Love doesn't discriminate, between the sinners and the saints." - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton (in bold within the story)

Words: 5500

Warnings: A couple of swear words, fluff, my poor attempts at humor, Osferth being a good bro.

Tag List: @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @flowers-in-your-hayr

This gorgeous moodboard was made by @flowers-in-your-hayr. All credit goes to her!

"...so there she was, aye, and next thing I know, she flips 'er dress up and I see the most perfect set of…."

"I'm going to be sick." Osferth mumbled to himself, trying to block out Finan's retelling of his prior night. To the laughter of his companions, he started to push away from the outdoor table at the alehouse. He was no virgin anymore, Finan and Uhtred had seen to that, but he still felt squeamish when listening to their stories of recent conquests. His mother's voice whispered in the back of his mind, things she had told him before her passing, about respect and love. Plus, he could not help but think that this idea of conquests, of women's worth derived from what pleasure a man could take from their bodies, was what brought bastards into this world….like him.

"Alright, Finan, we get it. You saw the arse of a goat and couldn't help yourself." Uhtred teased, slinging an arm around Osferth so he could not escape them- most likely to find a church and pray for their souls.

"Oi, lord! Ya know that was one time!" Finan feigned mock-outrage, making Uhtred and Sihtric laugh.

Osferth put a hand over his eyes as if that would somehow block the image from his mind. Something he desperately did not want there.

"How much longer are we here, lord?" Sihtric asked, changing the subject, while twirling a dagger between his hands fluidly.

Although Osferth would never admit it aloud, and God forgive him, it was hard not to be jealous of how easily his companions handled their weapons like they had been born with weapons in hand. They continued to tell him it was practice. Recently though, he decided it was a gift that he clearly did not have.

"Until I feel satisfied with the training of Lord Godwin's fyrd and his defenses." Uhtred stated indifferently, as if it was something he had to repeat to himself often.

"Ya think King Alfred knew how much of a horse's arse Lord Godwin is?"

Uhtred glanced up, a tiny smirk on his lips. "Probably."

"But he knew you were the man for the job." Osferth commented. Not necessarily to defend his father but to hopefully bolster Uhtred's confidence. "The men respect you, even if their lord fails to acknowledge his own respect."

"The baby monk is right." Finan said. "What else needs to be done for the town?"

Uhtred and Finan began discussing ideas and strategies, Sihtric adding an occasional comment but mostly just listening.

Osferth found his attention wandering, since this was an area outside of his expertise. His gaze drifted to the town and its residents who moved about to complete their duties under the midday sun. Their group had only been in this large town for two days and already Osferth was keen to return to Coccham.

From amidst the crowd, a familiar face caught his attention. The world tilted off its axis as his entire body went rigid, all his focus zeroed in on her. His heart hammered in his chest and the air whooshed from his lungs painfully.

"Y/n?" He muttered to himself, disbelief and shock clearly painted in his tone and on his face.

"Baby monk, ya alright?"

Finan's words did even register, so consumed by the ghost before him. Rapidly, he slid off the bench, almost losing his footing when he went to stand, but pressed on, hurrying towards her.

"Y/n!" He called, an almost desperate tone in his yell.

When she did not turn around, he shouted louder. "Y/N!"

That time she paused, then slowly turned to find him standing still amongst those walking around him, a solid rock in a stream of people. He held his breath as he intently watched her expression, suddenly worried seeing him would not be as meaningful as he hoped. He could see her utter his name silently, eyes wide. Then in the next moment, she dropped the basket on her hip and ran towards him. He opened his arms just in time for her to collide with him, and with her embrace, a painful wave of nostalgia and guilt crashed over him with the strength of a tempest.

"It's really you." She finally whispered, peering at him in awe.

"Hi." He smiled, his own shock clouding his mind from forming coherent sentences.

Then to his surprise, she reared back and punched him in the arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?" He whined, rubbing the offended limb.

Throwing her hands in the air, they landed on her hips as her voice rose in anger. "For disappearing in the middle of the night without telling me!"

"I did tell you."

"That you were THINKING about leaving, not that you WERE leaving!" She reared back and punched him in the arm again, ignoring his pained cry as she continued to berate him. "I spent an entire day running around the monastery trying to find you only for Father Harold to finally pull me aside and tell me you left for Wincheaster."

And there was the heaping of guilt he knew he deserved. "I'm sorry….I just….I just knew if I didn't leave that night, then I never would."

Her face softened at his quiet admission, understanding passing in her eyes. "I know. I wasn't truly surprised…. Just wish you'd have told me before."

"I'm sorry."

She sighed, all anger and frustration disappearing, much to his relief. She was a force to be reckoned with when truly in her fury. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, traveled here with the Lord Uhtred to assist Lord Godwin in his defenses….or something."

"Uhtred? That Uhtred?"

He smiled at her, catching the reverence in her tone. "That very one."

"How did you find him? How did you join him? Wait! Are you a warrior now? We have a lot to talk about and you better get started." There went the hands on her hips again, making his smile widen at the image. Even as a young girl, when her hands were on her hips, you knew she meant business.

"Would you like to meet him first?"

A shy look passed over her face that he was unused to seeing. "I'm…. I'm not presentable to meet a lord."

He scanned her, noting the dried mud on the hem of her dress and shoes, the small smear of what looked like flour on her left temple. What he noticed most was how the years had made her even more beautiful. She had always been a pretty girl but now, she truly looked like a beautiful woman. A fact he was unsure of how to feel about.

He chuckled lightly after a moment. "Well, you certainly smell better than Lord Uhtred so I think it's fine."

That caused her to tip her head back and laugh loudly, the desired effect of his comment. She gathered up her basket and walked next to Osferth, back to the table where his companions were. It was impossible to ignore their curious stares as they approached.

"Lord Uhtred, may I introduce y/n. Y/n, this is Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg." Osferth said, standing next to her at the end of the table.

Uhtred nodded graciously, clearly wondering why this woman mattered and why Osferth was introducing her.

"Oh, it's an honor to meet you!" Y/n gushed, a bright smile on her face. "Uncle Leofric told us so much about you, but I never thought I'd ever meet you in person."

"Leofric?" That caught his lord's attention, his gaze narrowing and eyeing her with renewed interest. "How did you know that turd?"

"When he came to visit Osferth, he'd tell us stories."

"Ah….all exaggerated, of course." Uhtred said with a cocky smirk.

"Wait. I think we're missin' the most important thing here." Finan leaned forward, dark eyes bouncing between Osferth and her, as he pointed a finger at them, hand still wrapped around his cup. "Ya said 'Uncle Leofric'....are ya related to Osferth?"

Osferth answered quickly. "No, her family owned the farm next to the monastery, so we grew up together." Then he furrowed his brows as a thought hit him. He had been so amazed to see his childhood best friend (only friend really) that he had not realized that she should be back at the farm and not in this town. "Wait, y/n, why are you here and not at the farm?"

Her face crumpled for a brief second before she was able to mask it into a neutral expression. She shrugged casually, but he could read the subtle tension in the action. "We lost the farm, so mother and I came here to look for work."

"Ah." There were so many things he wanted to ask but could tell now was not the right time. If she lived here, he would have plenty of time to hear the full story later. Instead he decided to change the subject. "So, you know Lord Uhtred, the others are Finan and Sihtric…. And Sihtric is also a bastard." He added as an afterthought.

That made her face light up as she turned to look at the Dane. "Hey, another bastard! We really need to start a club. We can all rant about how awful our fathers are."

"You're a bastard?" Uhtred asked, shock evident in his voice.

"Yes, my lord. My mother was a servant for a lord. Got pregnant. The lord's wife did not like that so sent my pregnant mother back to her family. Certainly, it was our Lord's Will because how else would I have been able to grow up with Osferth?" She asked, patting him on the cheek affectionately. He blushed and swatted her hand away, much to the other's amusement.

"I reckon you have quite a few amusin' stories of growin' up with Osferth, eh?" Finan smirked.

"I might….but I don't share secrets for free." She matched his smirk with her own crooked smile.

He slapped his hand on the table. "I'll owe ya a drink! I need to 'ear this."

"No….oh no, no, no." Osferth said but knew it was a lost cause before he even tried to deter them. The rest were already deciding when and where to meet that night. "Lord help me."

"It's not that bad." She teased, bumping his arm with hers. "The worst one is when we went streaking naked through the monastery."

Osferth felt his face heat up like the flames of hell itself as everyone laughed. "It was your idea."

"Yeah, yeah, so you like to remind me." She smiled fondly. "Now, if I don't get back home, my mother is going to think I've run off with some man or I've been kidnapped. Either way, she will raise the fyrd herself to find me. I will see you all tonight."

The others said their goodbyes but before she could step too far away, Osferth gently touched her arm, halting her movement.

"Y/n….I'm….I'm glad our paths have crossed once again."

She pulled him into a tight embrace. "I am too, Osferth. I've missed you." With that, she turned and walked away with her basket still on her hip; but not without glancing over her shoulder at the group before disappearing around some buildings.

Once out of sight, Osferth sighed and turned back to his companions, only to see them all still staring intently in the direction she disappeared.

"No….y/n is off-limits to you fornicators." He stated firmly, well as firmly as he could be.

"She's very pretty…." Uhtred declared, a playful grin on his face.

"Lord, no. All of you, keep your hands off of her."

"Or what?" Finan chuckled, eyes alight with mischief. "You'll fight us, baby monk?"

"I will if I must."

"Alright. Her dignity won't be tarnished." Uhtred lifted his cup in Osferth's direction. "Your reputation might be tonight depending on what stories she shares."

Osferth groaned, sitting back down next to his lord. "I'm going to need a lot of ale."

"That can certainly be arranged!" Finan laughed, jovial once more.

As discussion started back up again, they all missed the silent, longing glance Sihtric snuck one last time in the direction she walked away….

*****

Over the next several weeks Lord Uhtred helped increase the defenses of the town and instructed the guards and fyrd how to better defend against the Danes.

During those weeks, you found yourself frequently spending time with Osferth and his companions. First it started off with meeting them in the evenings for ale, laughter and good company. Within days, it became almost expected for one of them to purposefully seek you out. Most of the time it was Osferth and Sihtric coming to join you in whatever your tasks for the day because they were bored or unwanted in meetings. It was not difficult to tell that although they were certainly welcomed members of Uhtred's group, not everyone else saw them in such a positive light.

So the three of you often passed the hours away together, waiting until evening to rejoin Uhtred and Finan at the alehouse. Their presence became such a regular occurrence that your mother practically adopted them, they even had their assigned seats at your small kitchen table for meals. Somehow, they seamlessly slipped into your daily life in a way that seemed like they were meant to be there this whole time.

Even at the alehouse in the evenings, you usually found yourself nestled between Osferth and Sihtric on the bench. A place you certainly found yourself enjoying more and more….especially next to the Dane.

Over the weeks, there was something growing between you and the Dane. It gradually revealed itself with each passing day, growing like the roots of an oak tree. It was through the borderline flirtatious comments that you teased each other with. It was in the subtle touches that caused butterflies in your stomach to dance, from your fingers barely gracing each other when passing something, to the way you leaned your head on his shoulder when your eyelids threatened to close, to the way your thighs would touch under the table and away from view of the others. It was in the lingering looks when your gazes locked and you swore you never wanted to look away. It was in the consistency of being next to one another whenever you could, either sitting at a table or just walking down the street, almost like your bodies were magnetized to one another's.

Plus the more you talked to Sihtric, the more you desired to know about him. For he was like no other man you had ever met.

Almost a fortnight after you reunited with Osferth, there was one particular evening after staying out far too late with the four men and drinking a bit too much, Sihtric graciously offered to walk you back home. You knew propriety demanded Osferth should be the one to escort you but he was already passed out, head on the table and snores emitting from his mouth. Giggling at your childhood friend, you accepted Sihtric's offer and the two of you easily fell into step.

On the walk you learned more about his past, about going up in Dunholm and his cruel father. You had heard bits and pieces while with Osferth and the others. Maybe it was under the cover of darkness, maybe it was the extra ale flowing through both of your blood, but he confessed secrets to you he had never told another besides his mother. When you reached your home, before he could slip away, you clutched his arm and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. After, you bid him goodnight and slipped inside your humble home.

After that night, he always walked you home, sometimes alone and sometimes one of the others would join. But when it was just you two, when you were alone, you would bid him a goodnight with a kiss on the cheek or he would kiss your hand, locking eyes with you in a way that made a fire stir in your belly and your core clench.

There was definitely something between the two of you, but neither seemed able to verbalize it or take the next step.

*****

"So, what is going on between you and Cedric?"

You turned your head to look at Osferth, who laid on the grass next to you, soaking in the heat of the early afternoon sun. "What?"

"You know….that blacksmith. The one you were talking to the other day."

"Oh." The memory hit you. You had stopped by to drop off your mother's damaged cooking pot for Cedric to attempt in fixing, although you personally thought it was a helpless cause. The dent in it was significant, but he offered to see what he could do. As you dropped it off at his workshop, the two of you began discussing an approaching saint's day and the celebration that would occur with it.

Several minutes later, you heard your name called and looked over to see Osferth and Sihtric walking towards you. You bid Cedric a farewell, promising to stop by the next day to come pick up the pot. After receiving his promise to try his best at fixing it, you headed off towards the stables with your fellow bastards. At the time, you had not thought the encounter significant but with it happening two days ago and Osferth now bringing it up, you wondered how long he had been ruminating on it.

Finally, you simply said, "he's a good man, and has been kind to my mother and I since we arrived here."

"Is he….pursuing you?" Osferth turned his head to scrutinize you, his lips pursed slightly as if concerned about your answer.

You openly laughed at the notion. "No, that's silly. He is just a kind man."

If anything, you had to fend off flirtatious advancements from some of the young men that worked under Cedric. Those same young men quickly learned to keep their eyes on their work and mouths shut. When one openly called out to you, and before you could offer a sharp retort, Cedric threw a hammer at him from across the shop. He bellowed that he did not allow heathens to work for him and if they chose to act godless then they needed to find a new place of work. Their blatant interest diminished after that and Cedric made a point to be the only one that conversed with you if you came to the shop. Although he was easily ten years your senior, you found him a likeable man with a quick wit and sarcastic comments that occasionally left you in stitches.

The idea of him pursuing you was an amusing idea. He was still a bachelor, never having married, claiming that his work and apprentices kept him far too busy for much else.

Your answer appeared to satisfy Osferth. A thoughtful look crossed his face and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but immediately slowly closed it and turned his head back to stare at the blue sky.

A stillness settled after your answer, only interrupted by the frequent bird song and the wind through the tall grass. You closed your eyes, enjoying the sun's warmth and just lying around relaxing on the hill outside of the town, away from the hustle and bustle and chores that demanded your attention.

"He was watching you like a man who wants a woman." Sihtric stated after a couple minutes of peaceful silence.

Startled by his sour tone, you shifted up to look over at the Dane. He sat on the other side of Osferth, one leg propped up and an arm casually slung over it, but his gaze was focused straight ahead, staring off into the distance. Now that you thought about it, over the past two days Sihtric had become more reserved and sullen than you had ever seen. Even his companions commented on it a few times to which he would shrug his shoulders or make an excuse and walk away. You had thought he just missed Coccham, the group having been away for so long, or something happened that made him introspective. It had also not escaped your notice how the prior closeness between you two had halted. Now you wondered if there was something more to his demeanor.

"Well, that is most unfortunate for him since I am not interested in him."

"Does your mother not want you to marry?" Osferth asked, his voice deceptively neutral.

Sighing, you leaned back on your hands. Eventually you knew Osferth would bring up the topic, he was your friend after all and you were certainly of marriageable age. Actually far too old to not be married by some people's standards, but you ignored them. "She does but she has told me that she will not force it upon me. She said I should make my own choice….that if I am able, I should choose love."

You knew your mother offered you that choice in hopes your life would turn out differently than her own.

"But if Cedric is a good, kind man….could you not love him….or someone like him?" Osferth pressed.

"Perhaps. There are plenty of men I have seen who the church would call a 'good' man but are cruel in their own home, and there are many men who are calloused but it's obvious they love their wife and children. My love doesn't discriminate, between the sinners and the saints. I would rather choose a man whom I know loves and cares for me than a man I know is 'good' but carries no love in his heart." You paused, the candid confession rolling off your tongue before you realized it. Sighing, you ran a hand over your hair before quietly saying. "I just….I just want someone that loves me….sinner or saint."

Not a word was spoken as all three contemplated your statement, the silence hanging heavy like a brewing storm. Tilting your face to the sky, unable to meet the gazes of your companions, you chastised yourself for the candor with which you spoke. Osferth had asked a simple question initially and you chose to make it complicated. They did not need to know how you longed for love, how the hope for it in your potential future was what kept you going. It was foolish and you supposed after this, they would only see you as a silly girl with outlandish dreams of a storybook romance.

Finally, Osferth broke the silence. "Well, I shall be praying fervently for this man….hopefully he knows what he is getting into before he marries you."

You laughed, appreciating his lighthearted comment. Reaching a hand out to smack Osferth's arm, you teased. "Keep that up and you won't be invited to my wedding."

"Your mother will let me in."

"Yeah, you're probably right." You glanced over in the direction of the town, regretting that your time away had to end. "I need to head back, those chores won't finish themselves."

The three of you headed back to the town, quiet contemplation cloaking your group. Yet you feared that whatever spark lay between you and the Dane had been extinguished forever by your unexpected honesty. For still he refused to look your way, keeping his gaze focused forward. If your heart fissured within your chest, you swallowed down the pain. It was better for the spark to die out now then burn brightly only to be smothered later.

Or at least that was what you told yourself.

*****

"What you said….about the sinners and the saints…."

You whirled around, heart leaping into your throat with a silent scream on your tongue. In the small herb garden behind your house, you had thought you were alone. After the awkward conversation on the hill earlier that day, you sought solace in your chores. Thankfully Osferth and Sihtric headed back to meet with their companions on their own accord, leaving you to trudge through your muddled thoughts with all the grace of a newborn foal.

Now you found the very person who your thoughts centered on, standing just a few paces from you….and your heart began to race for a very different reason.

When his voice trailed off, those dark eyes that set fire licking through your veins dropped to the ground, you quietly stood up from where you had knelt, wiping the dirt from your hands, although you moved no closer.

"Sihtric?" You tried to prompt him.

"Is it true?" His piercing gaze lifted to meet yours, stealing the very breath from your lungs. "Your love doesn't discriminate?"

"Yes." You breathed out.

He nodded silently before taking a step closer to you. "And what about….what about Danes?"

Your chest pulled tight at his words, yet a coy smile grew on your lips. The flutter in your belly made your gaze drop for a moment as you tried to stifle the excitement making butterflies dance. Although this was no declaration, it was the closest the two of you had talked about what lay between you. Taking a steadying breath, you prayed this moment would not pass by without confessing the truth that you had harbored in your heart for weeks now.

"Not even towards Danes." You shook your head, the smile still on your lips. "And…. There is one I'm becoming quite fond of lately."

"Yeah?" He took two steps closer, somehow moving cautiously but eating the ground with each determined step.

"But….do you think this Dane could be….fond of me?" You softly murmured, feeling as if your heart lay in the palms of your hands for all to see.

That last step separating you two disappeared almost before you finished asking your question. His hands ever so gently reached over to take yours, entwining your fingers together. The two of you stood so close, your chests almost touched with each breath you took. Your breathing seemed to cease under the intensity of his gaze and a shiver raced up your spine. Yet you had no desire to withdraw from him.

"He would be a fool not to." He whispered, the barest hint of a tremble in his voice. "I'd bet you are constantly on this Dane's mind. That he cannot go a day without seeing your face and hearing your laugh. You are the first thought that he wakes to and the reason he falls asleep with a smile. That you have become the north star that it seems the gods have been guiding him towards for his whole life."

As he spoke, everything faded to oblivion around you. The past and future vanished. Dane versus Saxon disappeared. The world narrowed down to this….this moment….this moment that you had dreamt of but never thought would come true.

The two of you continued to stand there, lost in one another's eyes with fingers intertwined. Your heart raced within your chest but a cooling breeze swept away the fears that plagued your mind. For staring at him, you knew he spoke no falsehoods. That he owned your heart just as much as you owned his. That very heart you could feel hammering away in his own chest. His eyes fervently held yours, a silent conversation, a confession, spoken only in looks but you both understood the language. His gaze dipped down to your lips, tracing them before slowly rising once again to your eyes. A curl of pleasure blossomed in your core as you witnessed the fire now in his eyes.

"If this Dane wanted to kiss me…. I wouldn't mind."

A deliciously, sinful smirk teased his mouth. "As my lady commands."

His head tilted, leaning towards yours. Unconsciously your eyelids fluttered closed. Then the briefest of touches made your knees weak and your mouth part open in a sigh. After a moment's hesitation, he continued to shower your jawline with kisses. Needing to touch him, your hands landed on his chest, feeling the tunic that covered his firm chest. Your hands moved upward to grasp the back of his neck, his pulse jumping for a second as your nails scraped his skin. His hands landed on the curve of your waist, bringing you even closer to him, erasing the unwanted space between your bodies.

As his lips began their ascent upward along the otherwise of your jaw, you moved. For the burning sparks in your body screamed if he did not kiss you, you would spontaneously combust. Shifting your face, you stole a kiss on his lips before he could place it on your skin. It was more of a gentle pressing of your mouths, but even then, you heard a sharp inhale from him. Before you could question him, his mouth returned to yours with soft, probing kisses that urged you to respond. Not that you would ever deny him. What started off as a gentle flame quickly became a roaring fire. Breathing became unnecessary, for how could air bring you life when your body craved Sihtric, when your lungs demanded to breathe him in instead. He led you in a drugging kiss that had you melting against him. Your lips drank from one another as if that alone could sustain you forevermore.

"THANK YA, GOD!!"

The passionate kiss abruptly ended as Sihtric and your gazes darted towards the side of your house. Only to be met with the sight of his three companions standing at the entrance in various states of smugness.

"Oh, for the love of Odin…." Sihtric mumbled.

You buried your face in Sihtric's chest, face heated in embarrassment but unable to stop the giggles that poured forth. So caught up in finally confessing your feelings and kissing the man who haunted your dreams, you forgot that anyone could walk by and see you. His arms tightened around you, keeping you within his protective, loving embrace….and you knew there was nowhere else you would rather be.

"Took the two of ya long enough." Finan continued, leaning against the side of your humble home with a shit-eating grin.

"Amen." Osferth had a small, teasing smile on his face. "Thought I would have to lock them in a room together before one of them finally confessed."

Apparently, you and Sihtric were not as subtle as you previously thought. Now it made sense why Osferth was questioning you about Cedric and your thoughts on love and marriage earlier. Your heart flooded with gratitude towards your childhood friend, for without him you doubted neither Sihtric or you would have spoken up. Peering over, you caught Osferth's eye and mouthed a quick 'thank you'. He nodded, a simple joy radiating from his face.

"Lord?" Sihtric called over with a blank expression. "Permission to continue?"

Uhtred chuckled. "I guess you've waited long enough. Go ahead."

Without waiting a moment longer, Sihtric tipped your face back up towards his and claimed your lips once more. You vaguely thought you heard laughter coming from the others but it all blurred away, like a faint sound while underwater. All you could see, all you could feel, all you could hear was Sihtric.

Just how you wanted it.

Suddenly you yanked your head back, your breathing labored and lips swollen. "My mother is helping at a nearby farm today. She won't be back until it's dark."

He hummed against your skin trailing small kisses along your jawline and down your neck as if unable to keep his hands and mouth off you now that the dam had been released.

"I'm not as pure as Osferth thinks me to be."

That statement made his actions stop. Carefully he raised his head to meet your gaze. "After dark?" He confirmed, voice rough in a way that sent a bolt of heat through you.

"Yes, she planned on having supper with them….so my home is currently empty….and I did just clean my blankets the other day…."

He swooped in to give you a feverish, greedy kiss that left no doubt where his mind had gone. When he finally pulled back, you were surprised your legs could still hold you upright. Your whole body felt like puddy in his arms and he had only kissed you, albeit you doubted you would ever forget the way his mouth worshiped yours.

"You are certain? You want this?" He softly asked, staring into your eyes once more. "You want me?"

It was the last question, the vulnerable undertone, the hint of insecurity in it that sealed your decision. Letting your actions be your answer, you grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the direction of the door to your home. It did not take more than a second for him to come beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist.

With his taste on your lips, the future did not matter right now. It did not matter that he was Dane and you were not. All you knew was Sihtric was neither a saint nor a sinner, but simply a man deserving of love. The river of your love was pointing you directly towards him, and you silently vowed to never let it run dry.

#ems100 #mzwrites #The Last Kingdom #the last kingdom fanfic #the last kingdom fandom #the last kingdom imagine #sihtric x reader #sihtric kjartansson #Sihtric #sihtric imagine #Uhtred #Uhtred of Bebbanburg #osferth #finan #finan the agile

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rogue-durin-16 · 4 years ago

Text

LIFE-SAVING SHARPIE

Summary: Despite being a muggle, Y/n's mother was an expert in divination. She tried to teach Y/n, who saw it as a mere muggle game. But, oh, what a powerful weapon a muggle game can become in the hands of the right witch.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Genre: angst (w/ a good ending)

Tags:

Fred Weasley: @whiskeyn-rain @lumos-solemn

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: injuries, death(ish)

A/N: I'm not saying I'm incapable of writing an angsty ending for a Fred Weasley story, but I'd rather not do that, so here comes a stupid story that occurred to me this morning, enjoy <3

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

"Y/l/n!" I sighed. "Is it true?"

"Your mom is into divination?" George question made me throw my head back in desperation as both twins made their way through the Great Hall to meet me.

I knew that day would be a bumpy one the moment we entered in the Divination classroom. The fact that a muggleborn aced a new subject since class one was strange.

I knew I would have to give some explanation to my friends after. Ron was particularly shocked by the fact that my muggle mother had taught me —against my will, may I say— lots of Divination-related things. I knew Ron, being Ron, would surely tell every soul that would listen about his discovery, but I had hoped for him to wait until the third period at least.

"Secrets spread like wildfire here." I said.

"Are you secretly a soothsayer?"

"Yes, Fred. You see, I have the Sight." I ironically stated, and, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to get closer to the boy I fancied, I added "Want me to read your palm?"

They shared an amused look, fully aware that I was joking. Even in the Wizarding World, divination wasn't something to believe in.

There were supposed to be people able to see the future, such as professor Trelawney, but no student had seen her predict a thing, so she wasn't the best example.

George was the first one to sit down. "Predict my future, oh, you who were gifted with the Sight." I snorted as he laid his palm before my eyes.

I picked his hand on mines, "Hmm..." Fred hovering over my form from behind wasn't ideal for me to concentrate. "Okay so..." I felt one of his hands toying with the clasp of my necklace, brushing my nape. "Will you stop touching my necklace and sit down?" I demanded.

"Yeah Fred, sit down." George reprimanded his brother. "She's trying to see my future." I heard Fred chuntering before he plopped down on my other side, leaning on a tad too close for my liking. "Alright, fortuneteller, is there a love line?"

Of course he would ask about that. "Let's see..." I traced said line, unable to remember to the T what my mom had tried to teach me. "So, the heart line is arched... Which means..."

"That you can't tell a thing?" I slapped Fred's arm.

"Which means he's balanced." I corrected him. "You're able to realize when you need to take care of yourself, and when you should let a someone in." George seemed invested. "You'll have just one serious partner, but they'll be the right one."

"Well, that doesn't sound half bad, huh?" He looked at me with a content smile.

"My turn." Fred spoke, smacking his brother's hand away and replacing it with his left one. "The line of life or whatever." He scooted a bit closer and I felt my heartbeat pick up. "What's my fate?"

"Are you left-handed, Fred?" I questioned with an eyebrow raised, already knowing the answer. "I need your dominant hand." Oh well, that came out wrong.

"Straightforward, are we?" George snorted at his brother's remark as he exchanged hands, turning to straddle the bench to be more comfortable. "Alright, what do you see?" He had leaned on to the point where he only needed to tilt his head down a couple of inches to rest it on my shoulder.

"A hand." I deadpanned, which earned a playful push from him. "Okay, okay— I see..." A puzzled frown took over my gaze. "Wait—" I turned to George. "gimme your hand."

"What?" Fred questioned, shifting his position ever so slightly.

"Uhm..." The frown grew bigger, and I had to remind myself what I was doing was a joke. "You... don't have a lifeline?" I dubiously informed. "I mean— it sorta... Starts? but then it fades away." I widened my eyes and froze, remembering what that meant.

I saw Fred tilting his head slightly. "Is it so bad that you won't tell me what it means?" He asked jokingly in order to lighten my distraught mood.

"It— well, it means that you'll die at a young age." My eyes met his and, despite the amused smile that always danced on his lips, fear slipped out of his orbs now, too.

"Wait what?" George propped himself on his forearms to see his brother's palm. "Can't be. Check mine?"

"I just did, you git." George wasn't even smiling. Maybe he did believe it. "Yours is fine."

The three of us stayed in silence for an instant. Even if none of us believed in divination, the fact that Fred had no lifeline was rather unsettling.

"It's fine." I cleared my throat, turning to my bag and leaving Fred's hand over the table on the process. "Apart from seeing the future, I can fix lifelines." They looked at each other when they saw me grab a sharpie. "Don't move." I demanded, holding down Fred's right hand before tracing a black line where the lifeline was supposed to be. "There. A long, healthy life."

When I looked back at the twins' faces, I saw them ready to laugh. Distress had already left them, and that helped my own evaporate.

"Merlin, Y/n!" Fred dramatically exclaimed. "You've just saved my life!"

"She sure did." George agreed, patting my back.

"Now go and tell Ron to shut up." I didn't want to imagine what would happen if people started to believe I could actually predict their future; the twins were sceptic and even they had somehow fallen for it.

I was so focused on George getting up that I didn't even notice Fred's hand flipping and wrapping around mine.

A soft kiss was placed on my cheek and I felt my face heating up even before meeting Fred's proud grin. "Figured I'd give my savior something in repay." His eyes seemed to flicker to my lips for a second; it's just my imagination, I thought, unaware of Fred's thumb caressing the back of my hand until he removed it in order to stand up.

Four Years Later

FRED'S P. O. V.

One second I was laughing at Percy's joke, and the next one everything was black; not only visually, everything was pitch black in every fucking sense.

I heard nothing, I couldn't touch anything, my voice was gone.

My mind was completely blank, until a thought slipped in my brain: 'you'll die at a young age'.

My head was spiralling now. I was dead. That's what death felt like? Nothing?

Y/n's words kept going on and on, frying my brain. How ironic it was that the voice I would have forever in my mind belonged to the girl I had been in love with since I was fourteen, and the words were what we thought to be her silly prediction.

I had no idea how long it had been, but suddenly I felt it; a tear running down my cheek. A flaming hot tear, burning its way off my face. Then I felt something else, some sort of rope wrapping tight around my right hand and wrist, so tight that it made my pulse speed up.

My pulse.

It dawned on me that my heart was beating fast against my chest. It was beating.

I needed to breathe.

"FRED!" Someone forced my eyes open; It was Percy. I couldn't see him right away because the lights were blinding to my eyes, but I recognised his voice. "FRED SAY SOMETHING!"

"Y/n..." I couldn't hear my own voice, but I felt her name going through my vocal cords.

"HE'S ALIVE!" Ron cried. "you're alive-" my sight was blurry but I could pick out my younger brother's crown in front of me as he sobbed over my chest.

"We gotta get him out of here right now!!" Of course it was Hermione who got everyone moving. As both my brothers managed to pick me up, I felt my eyes closing once more. Not even the fear of not waking up again stopped me from passing out.

READER'S P. O. V.

I had volunteered as Healer to help Madam Pomfrey during the Battle, that's why it was me who received two Weasleys practically dragging a third one into the improvised infirmary.

I recognised him from his jacket. "Fred..." At first I thought it was his corpse, that's how bad he looked.

"Y/N!!" It was only when Fred seemed to tilt his head up due to Ron's cry that I reacted, rushing to help them. "Keep him alive!" I only nodded, taking Ron's place as he took off.

With one of his arms over my shoulders and the other over his brother's, we managed to carry him to one of the stretchers; his painful weak groans went directly into my ear as we moved him, triggering the tears I was holding to fall.

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

FRED'S P. O. V.

"—alive, somehow." Y/n's voice, though it sounded far away, let me know she was close. "No, don't wake him up."

"Listen, you gotta get him to St. Mungo." It seemed George the one talking, but his voice was too shaky to tell. "in an hour this is gonna get really ugly, I want him out."

"George, we're besieged." Her tone was hopeless.

"Look at him, You said it— It's a bloody miracle he's still breathing." my brother's voice shattered; all I wanted was to get up, hug him and say I was okay, but I felt my brain spinning once more. "Bill and I will escort you out of the castle so..."

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

The next time I opened my eyes, terror inundated me; everything was dark again. I gasped for air and propped myself up, instantly regretting it. A stabbing pain attacked every part of my body, triggering a shocked cry out of me.

"What are you doing?!" Y/n whisper-shouted, before placing both her hands over my chest to push me back to the bed again. "Are you mental?" Her fingertips moved out of the way a bandage that covered my eyes. "Oi, listen," when she noticed my shaky hands desperately trying to reach my face, she took them in hers. "You're safe."

I tried to say something —anything—, but my throat was sore, and the only thing that was able to leave it was her name.

"Shhh." She hushed me, letting one of her hands travel to my face. "You have to rest." I would have sworn she was crying, but I couldn't tell. "Everything'll get better." Her thumb stroking my cheek was the most soothing thing I had ever felt, so it wasn't difficult for me to close my eyes, this time willingly, though I was equally scared. "I'll stay by your side." The reassuring squeeze her hand gave me, made me aware that she had noticed my fear.

Before drifting off, I felt Y/n's lips placing a chaste kiss on my forehead, making my heart hammer against my chest.

I was still alive.

A Month Later

READER'S P. O. V.

It was Ron who sent me an owl the moment Fred finally got out of the hospital. He informed me that, instead of going to the Burrow to rest a few days—as planned—, ha had gone straight to the shop.

That's how I found myself the next morning inside Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, which was not-so-surprisingly full of people again.

Due to the huge amount of customers, it was relatively difficult for me to spot the twins.

Apparently, I turned out to be easy to spot.

"Y/n!" I turned in the stairs' direction to be met with a very enthusiastic George who, before I could even greet him, engulfed me in a hug.

"I see you can't catch a break." I observed, pulling away with a big smile on my face. That place really made the trick to bring joy to everyone.

"You can't imagine." He replied, his gaze wandering around before pulling my hand. "Oi, Fred! Look who dropped by!" He shouted over the hubbub, leading me to the till counter, behind which I saw the reason why I had come in the first place.

Just as Fred's eyes noticed me, he attempted to rush out of the till. I left George's side as soon as I realized that he, in fact, couldn't really rush out.

"Merlin's beard!" Despite he had just had to grip the counter in order not to fall, he tried again. "Take it easy, will you?" I scolded him, steadying him by his forearms and helping him step back to rest against the till. "Do you want to go back to the hospital?"

"If you're the one taking care of me, I wouldn't complain." The first time his eyes fell on my lips, I missed it because I was still securing him. The second time it was impossible to miss. "You know? Your sharpie saved my life."

I snorted at his nonsensical words. "You're delirious, Weasley." My hands finally left his forearms, just to be picked up on his. "Still suffering from the concussion?" I joked, trying to deviate my own attention from my fast heartbeat.

Another glance at my lips.

"I should get going." George spoke behind me.

"I was going to visit you tomorrow." Fred stated, his gaze now focused on my eyes.

"Sorry to break it to you, love," I pointed out, motioning at him with our hands still held. "But you can barely walk."

"Yeah, but I needed to see you." He looked somehow sheepish; I doubted I had ever seen him like that before. "I'm gonna be as clear and concise as possible—" He cleared his throat and forced himself to look at me. "I'm pretty much in love with you." I didn't know my eye could go as wide as they went. "Thing's I've known for a good couple of years now." He shrugged. "Telling you scared me, but then this happened." He gestured at himself. "And now not being able to tell you scares me even more." His eyes scanned me before looking around. "This wasn't the ideal place to tell you, but I didn't want to wait any longer."

I gulped, trying to process it as fast as possible.

"For Godric's sake, Y/n," he gently tugged my hand. "Say something, please." Fear started to take over him, even if he tried to keep it at bay. "It's alright if you don't feel the same, we can still be friends, I promise—"

"How do I kiss you without hurting you?" I questioned, already feeling the heat on my cheeks.

I could tell by his face that, out of everything I could have said, he was not expecting the answer I had given him. "Ever the caring one." He let go of my hands to cup my cheeks. "Just kiss me," he sounded so happy, it was contagious. "I'll deal with the pain later."

I listened to him and, holding onto his blazer, stood on my tiptoes and crashed my lips against his— only because I had been wanting to kiss him for too fucking long.

I got lost in the kiss and my brain completely dismissed that an entire wall had collapsed over the boy before me just a month ago; my hands went up to his neck, pulling him closer and, consequently, earning a painful groan from him.

"Shit! sorry." I was quick to let go, suddenly very aware of our surroundings, too.

He just shook his head and pulled my back to him, this time by my hips. "I said I'll deal with it later." He spoke against my lips before going in for a second kiss.

I was more gentle now, careful not to cause him too much pain.

To our dismay, we were interrupted.

"You said love confession!" George snapped us out of it; this time the groan Fred let out was from annoyance. "not snogging session in front of our customers! Get to work!"

He huffed, unwillingly separating from me. "If you stick around until lunch time, we can resume this."

I pretended to think about it. "I guess I can find something to do until then." My smile was as wide as his, and it grew wider when he pulled my into a hug, placing a kiss on the crown of my head. "I love you too, by the way."

His laugh reverberated on his chest. "Good to know."

"Freddie! Now!" This time it was me who groaned at George's demands.

"Help me out, love." Fred requested, pulling away from me so I could help him move behind the till counter. "See you in a couple of hours?" I nodded, pecking his cheeks and walking away from the shop.

It was when I started to walk down the Diagon Alley that it clicked.

His lifeline.

The sharpie.

"OH MY FUCK—"

#fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley x slytherin!reader #fred weasley #fred weasley x hufflepuff!reader #fred x you #fred x slytherin reader #fred x y/n #fred lives au #fred weasly x reader #harry potter fanfiction #fred weasley fanfics #fred weasley fluff #harry potter #battle of hogwarts

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neonnoir-ao3 · 4 years ago

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Some Words of Comfort.

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people (especially those who have read spoilers/are actively searching for leaked content) lament about their future reactions to the deaths of our beloved characters in-game.

We all knew this was inevitable, and that them living was not an option for the plot of the game, but the time has finally come to face it head-on.

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I understand that someone outside this community might be like “it’s just a game”, but I know it’s way more than that to many: the concept of a female villain that, to many, can be seen as sympathizable and even endearing, is a bit of a new concept— especially on such a large scale as this instance.

In addition, Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters have become a bit of a comfort item for some (with an emphasis on sapphics/wlw, from what I’ve seen personally) in the form of a large, protective, and caring hypothetical partner, or even just a maternal character one can appreciate simply because of her love for her children. Regardless, most of us are here due to some desire for comfort.

Take my own story with this community, for example:

(tws for death, covid, suicide, and general medical emergencies)

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Frankly, 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have ruined me. I lost two men who were the only two positive father figures I’ve ever had. The last of the two tested positive for covid and deteriorated within days, to the point where less than a week after testing positive, my family was making the choice to pull the plug. This all occurred days before Christmas and my birthday. On the first day of the spring semester, having not had the time to properly mourn my grandfather, my mother is in the ER for multiple days with an internal infection that doctors said likely would have turned septic if she had waited to come in any longer. This led to three surgeries throughout the next few months. (Oh, and one of my relatives quite literally dropped dead on that first day of class, too). I am also estranged from one of my parents, and they have been trying to contact my family: they have multiple untreated mental illnesses (severe NPD, bipolar, and more) and they are extremely aggressive in that state of mind and they are agitated extremely easily. That only brings more stress, along with resurfacing trauma and related emotions. Every moment of every day has been a struggle. So much so that I failed half of my classes voluntarily simply because I couldn't do them anymore.

To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t expect to be here right now. I expected that the pain of simply moving forward would have finally overridden my fears of death and that I would have already ended my suffering by now.

Then, in late January, I saw something trending on Twitter. About a new female villain in an upcoming horror game. And it went from there.

As cheesy as it sounds, this fandom and its content seriously saved my life. In the darkest of days, I’ve come to this tag for comfort. The oddest way I found said comfort was through those who were attracted to Alcina aesthetically. I have extremely long-term trauma related to being bullied and being the victim of a hybrid catfishing/'Oreo Game' on early social media by peers in middle school to the point where I do not think of myself as being able to be loved, let alone being worthy of it. Finding this community not only provided a great form of escapism (and opened a door into a fantasy world where I could imagine my own person vampire milf gf), but also gained a little bit of self-esteem (as many of you know, I share a lot of visual qualities with Alcina. -yes, I'm still kinda freaked out about it-) via seeing people where features/attributes like mine were actively praised and desired rather than insulted and pushed away like they have been until now.

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(okay sorry that kinda turned into a trauma dump but I needed to emphasize the fact that this community has seriously helped me during a really dark point in my life, and I know I can't be the only one with that sort of experience)

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What I’m trying to get across here is that, like many others, this community and its content have been comforting and therapeutic, and it really is more than just a game to us. It’s entertaining and even a form of escapism in these extremely trying times. We all have some degree of PTSD from surviving a literal mass plague— and this is something we're using as a method of coping. a distraction. a coping mechanism.

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

With that being said, here are some ways to hopefully assist in lessening the emotional stress:

(please note that I am not a mental health professional and these may not be healthy coping mechanisms for everyone.)

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Understand that it’s just a game.

I know, this sounds completely counterintuitive, but it’s more or less about keeping your level of immersion down. Personally, I can’t do scary shit in general: I have to listen to music on low volume while watching dark ARG vids at night or when I’m alone because I get too into it, and then my paranoia kicks in. Sometimes just pausing for a moment and grounding yourself/reminding yourself that this is a video game: a jumble of code and 3D rendering that doesn’t have to affect your views/headcanons if you don’t want it to. Did your favorite character just get slaughtered? Nope, that 3D rendering of them just got un-alived, that’s all.

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Ignorance is Bliss/We are the Captain Now

Simple: Capcom can’t even pronounce Dimitrescu right, or even acknowledge the way it’s correctly said in Romanian culture itself. How can you trust them to give you a perfect canon? That’s the thing: with that logic, you can’t. What they say is true means little (if anything, for that matter) to your headcanons and preexisting ideas of the Dimitrescus. In short: fuck ‘em.

I’m currently seeking a double major in pop culture, and one of the cool things I’ve learned so far is affirmational vs transformational fandom. Affirmational is where official canon is seen as the law of the land, and followed to a T. Transformational is seen as much more inviting for audiences, allowing them to bend canon as they wish to fit their own creations. This fandom is obviously transformational, so take that game canon, rip it up, and get back to whatever you were doing.

Capcom’s canon is not the end-all, be-all. Far from it, actually.

Want to still acknowledge canon? Godmod your way out of it.

Character A died? It’d be a shame if they emerged from the rubble they 'died in' a few hours later, very beaten but alive nonetheless... how awful would it be if they sulked away, nursed their wounds, and continued to live... (/s)

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Ignore it completely.

Remember: give it time. Once the game drops, there w be a wave of grief, but eventually, we as a community will recover, and get back to business as usual. Think about it like the in any way. Stay with the version in your head that makes you happy.

Get Creative!

If you're into creating fanart, writing fics, or even just posting a list of headcanons, take some advice from the late Carrie Fisher: "Take your broken heart, and make it into art". Make the fluff oneshot of your dreams! Draw the fanart you've been wanting to! dump lighthearted headcanons into the tags! Not only will it cheer you up, but sharing it with the community will spread the love!

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I know a lot of people are struggling with this emotionally (especially with the pandemic making entertainment like this even more important sources of escapism and coping mechanisms) and I hope that, at the very least, I was able to help comfort one person who reads this.

Remember: give it time. Once the game drops, there will be a wave of grief, but eventually, we as a community will recover, and get back to business as usual. Think about it like the flowers that bloom after major wildfires: after a period of loss, some beautiful can still come of it.

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💙

#tall vampire lady #lady alcina #lady dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #castle dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #dimitrescu daughters #dimitrescu family #dimitrescu sisters #cassandra dimitrescu #countess dimitrescu #house dimitrescu #resident evil #re: village #resident evil village #resident evil: village

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iaintyourbro · 4 years ago

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The Unknown Journey Continues

Part 1

I know it's been a while... but I've been going down a rabbit hole with @starlight-samurai regarding time loops, Jenova, Minerva, and more fun. So I figured I'd try to put it into one post to get the insanity out of my head. Everything in here is based on things we've found by either going through more obscure Ultimanias, learning more about Dirge of Cerberus and trying to decipher what the hell Jenova is by putting together various sources - including other Square Enix games - and how they handled freakishly similar scenarios.

Did you know there is a companion mobile game for it that was out on the good old flip phones? Did you know there was an online mode in Dirge of Cerberus only available in Japan, but had story elements that were not in the main game?

The sad part is, there's still so much to go through...

(I've also had various discussions with @ourfinalheaven, Manu, who doesn't have Tumblr, so here is her Twitter. and Somebody's Nightmare (here is her Twitter). So I wanted to tag them here, as it's much more fun to discuss these ideas as a group, since it'll only help you build on and strengthen your own ideas.)

Please be aware, there will be Spoilers for FFVII - Almost all Compilation titles, Xenogears, and NieR Automata throughout this.

So let's go on a journey where we explore what actually already exists in the compilation - including the idea of the whispers and timeloops - how Minerva may play into everything, and what exactly Jenova is capable of doing.

I asked Sesi if he'd ever played any of the NieR games, because he'd said something that made me wonder if they were going to take a similar approach. As a very, very quick high level summary: NieR Automata deals with a time loop type of idea. The androids will be rebooted and repeat the same things over and over again. This is broken when 2B is killed by A2 because she becomes infected with a virus. That being said, you have the option after Ending E to either erase all of your data and end the cycle OR you can try again. The Pods have a discussion, and one asks, "But won't they just do the same thing again?" and the other replies with "Maybe. But it could also be different this time."

Here's Sesi's message back to me when I asked him about this (cleaned up a bit since we were having a casual conversation over Discord):

Maybe I could just guess based comparatively on the Dirge storyline, because that was sort of SE's first flirtation with “robots and androids” since they’re all programmed and locked behind like task managers and shit that can shut them down. The story of the online mode for DoC that came out in Japan, we never got to see it, you’re basically an Android OC and you have to get to “the end of the level” and then essentially die, and a new one takes its place. This keeps happening until Weiss is essentially freed from being able to be task managed by the guys who are suppose to be able to control them and I know from tons of years with Square games that they’re verrrrry bad at differentiating their narratives they tend to just keep “ripping themselves off” so is it anything close to that?

Cuz if so I think I kinda know what you’re saying and yeah, I agree, I think with CC bringing in its poetic symbolism and LOVELESS, and DoC bringing back the cyclic nature of the lore, whispers, premonitions and future visions, proto-Materia and the perversion of this next cycle since the planet can no longer cleanse and protect itself and its will is weakening lesser and lesser to the point where it’s fate is “in a true sense of jeopardy This time essentially it’s all tied in together and sort of played as though it's a fated track; a cycle of events and something has hitched it, thus the whispers manifesting and Sephiroth's higher implied control over his destiny. Of course, even all that is just their new red herring game, but it’s definitely a part of the lore they want to play with, in order to go back and reMAKE the OG with the comp inserted from inception. Also gut punch a lot.

Time Loops

I was somewhat surprised to find out that this concept is NOT new to FFVII's universe. It's discussed in Dirge of Cerberus... probably one of the least played and least understood of the compilation. (Trying to sell a third person shooter with terrible controls to a market of mostly people used to turn-based combat wasn't going to go well.)

On top of it, we didn't even get all of it, since online mode was never released outside of Japan, and the Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode was on Amp'd Mobile and Verizon flip phones back in 2006. Were you around for the cell phones in 2006? I had the ones on the list, and how somebody could play a game on those blows my mind.

Square has a tendency to reuse themes from their other titles. Probably one of the most blatant is the similarities between Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII. They were both being developed at the same time and a lot of ideas that didn't make it into FFVII ended up in Xenogears.

NieR

So how does this work? In NieR (both Replicant and Automata), you play the same path multiple times. Each time, it's slightly different depending on what side quests you did your first and second playthrough, but there's also other subtle differences throughout the story. In Automata, you get to play as 2B your first playthrough and 9S for your second. They follow the same path, but you get it from his perspective the second time and it reveals a bit more of what is going on. However, even with some slight differences, the main plot points stay the same and the ending result it also the same.

Then on your third playthrough, you wake up in the Bunker, and you're getting ready to go on a new mission. This time, though, 2B is killed and shit hits the fan. Things get crazy, you play as a new character: A2. In the end, pretty much everyone "dies", but you can choose to "reboot" and try again. You also can say you are done and let them all rest and delete your save data (the game gives you the option for both Automata and Replicant, and with Replicant, it actually leads to a new ending).

The striking thing for me is... There are certain events that will always happen, no matter what.

Fixed Points in Time

It's been years since I've watched Doctor Who, but there was something that stuck with me, and that was the fixed points in time. You can read about all of them here, but here's the basics:

Now, of course Doctor Who goes into this with much more detail and it's a recurring theme. However, as you read through that page, you'll probably find many aspects that have been used in various JRPGs that you've played. And Doctor Who most likely pulled some of the idea from classic Science Fiction novels. Each story puts its own spin on it.

How does this relate to FFVII Remake? Well, when they say that the major plot points will stay the same, it reminds me of this. No matter what, Cloud must fall into the Sector 5 Church, the Sector 7 Plate must be dropped, Aerith and Zack both must die, and Meteor has to be summoned, to name a few. So, with a time loop, those things would still have to take place in order to prevent a complete collapse of reality (at least in how Doctor Who uses it).

Therefore, the Whispers are ensuring that the Will of the Planet is followed.

One of the major themes in FFVII is that of loss. People die and they do not come back. Yes, other FF games do allow this to happen (FFX, FFXIII, FFXV), but VII is not those games. It was written with that idea in mind, that once a person dies, they, just like in real life, are dead and cannot be brought back.

I've previously written that I think they'll make us believe we are able to change fate, but we will eventually be slammed with the reality that we can't. That is because the planet has determined that certain events are fixed points.

Xenogears

Xenogears takes a bit of a different approach to the loop idea. Instead of repeating the same time period over and over, it has the characters reincarnated, and the same outcome happens each time: Elly dies. However, each time it's different. After all, they're in various time periods, in some cases thousands of years apart.

In all of the lives of Fei (who will have a different name in each time period) and Elly (who is always Elly/Elhaym), Elly will end up dying trying to protect Fei and the others. In one life, she is a religious figure at a totally not Catholic church, in another she's the wife of a scientist who was working to create children from nanomachines due to mass infertility issues. But she is ALWAYS with Fei, even if his name changes.

In her Mother Elhaym time, this is when Lacan (Fei) finally snaps. Though he's not fully aware of his past lives, he becomes aware, the anger consumes him, and he becomes Grahf. Fei is then reborn into the time period you play the game in.

There's a lot to unpack with this, so I won't go into it. Grahf wants to destroy God (Deus) because he thinks if he does, then it'll stop the suffering (his suffering).

If you do want to read more about Grahf, you can do so here, but it probably won't make much sense unless you've played Xenogears up to that point... Since it's much later in the game that this is all explained.

Lacan's desire was to stop the cycle of Elly always sacrificing herself for his sake. Though Grahf is not a perfect existence - he's not fully "The Contact", he sacrifices himself in order to let Fei move forward, and hopefully stop the cycle, by destroying the Deus system. (Elly also tries to sacrifice herself here, but Fei goes after her and stops her.)

Now, some people may think I'm saying that Cloud or somebody is going to do this in order to save Aerith or Zack (or his village or mom), but in FFVII if they do the loop method, I don't think Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the others are aware of it. Most likely, it's only 'Sephiroth' and Aerith who are aware of it.

How this Could Be used for Final Fantasy VII

I'm stressing could because there's so many different possibilities on how they use this (if they are using this), so please, don't take this as fact. This is based on speculation based on what we know.

A time loop is a great way to explain away the differences in the story that we've seen: Biggs being alive, Wedge living for longer than he should have, etc. Since these are not major plot changes, they can simply say that this time it'll be slightly different... but your fixed points (major plot points) will remain the same.

It's a way to pull in some of the more obscure themes from Dirge of Cerberus and also play with the LOVELESS lore.

It could all simply be a big red herring and it's really just a remake of OG, but with the compilation tied together nicely... since it works much better when it's combined and not in 50 different games, books, movies, etc.

I don't think it's a "sequel" per say, not in the way I generally perceive a sequel. It's more of a loop of the same thing. The question is, when is the loop started and what will cause it to end? When will the planet (if it even is the planet) determine that it's good enough to begin moving forward?

JENOVA, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Minerva - Oh My!

Let's be real... Genesis isn't exactly the most popular character in the FFVII Compilation... but what if they make him one of the most important to the story? //Ducks as various fruits and vegetable are thrown in my direction//

I think what Genesis is probably most known for is his love of LOVELESS. He has the entire thing memorized and randomly says lines from it throughout Crisis Core. LOVELESS lore is still something I'm trying to grasp, so I am not going to comment much on it. Once I understand it more, I'll update this.

...And then this happens. The secret ending for Dirge of Cerberus, where Genesis picks up Weiss. Weiss, who has now been introduced along with Nero in FFVII INTERmission and is an optional ridiculously hard boss in the Shinra battle simulator in chapter 17 of the main story. There is some lore associated with the battle sim - so if you don't plan on beating it or you just can't, you can look up the pre-battle and post-battle cut scenes on YouTube. They're very short, but interesting. (I beat this asshole last night - it's a hell of a fight.)

....To Be Continued because apparently Tumblr won't allow more than 10 images per post now.... Next will be more on JENOVA and Sephiroth along with Minerva.

#ffvii #ffvii genesis #ff7 genesis #ff7 intergrade #ff7 intermission spoilers #FFVII intermission spoilers #FFVII Intermission #Final Fantasy VII #Dirge of Cerberus #FFVII Weiss #Xenogears #nier automata #final fantasy vii #ff7r #final fantasy 7 #timey wimey

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help-im-a-gay-fish · 4 years ago

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OK! THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVOURITE FLUFFYNIGHTKILLER HEADCANNON I'VE COME UP WITH.

My people, I love this and I hope you do. Its a long one, but I promise its worth it.

So ever since I read this head cannon from @yuriyuruandyuraart I've had one nagging thought.

Polygamous marriage is illegal.

So as much as I loved this story of them getting engaged, they couldn't ever get married, but I didn't wanna rain on everyone's parade so I kept it to myself. Until now!

While talking with @jann-the-bean I came up with this and Jan loved it! So I hope you guys do to.

So imagine that the 3 of them are going around telling their friends and family about their engagement, in the classic happy kind of way. It's all well and good, Dream is thrilled to find out his brother is so happy. However, then he realises the law and Dream pulls his brother aside.

Dream "Uhh Night...Can I talk to you?"

Nightmare "yeah?"

Dream "I'm so happy that you got engaged brother.."

Nightmare "........."

Nightmare "but?"

Dream "but..... But isn't Polygamous marriage illegal?"

Nightmare "......."

And that was the glass shattering moment. Dream wasn't trying to be cruel or anything like that. He was just generally concerned that Nightmare hadn't thought of that.

So later that night, Nightmare brought it up to his partners and of course both of them where upset when they remembered that law. So began a long talk about what they could do. In the end Ccino mostly just said that it didn't matter to him if they were married, so long as they were together. Since he's still just a small city boy, he didn't really see that there was to much they could do, he was content to just maybe have a ceremony where they promise to be life partners, but not marry.

Nightmare and Killer on the other hand were not satisfied with that.

That Night, when Ccino was asleep the two got to talking. I like to think that over the years that Nightmare and Killer have become icons for the poly community, much like Elton Jon is one for the gay community. The two of them decided that they were going to use this to fight for the right to marry each other.

It started small. Posts on social media, comments in interviews. They started speaking out that they should be allowed to be wed. Because they loved each other and the law shouldn't stop them. There where online polls and campaigns as their fan base who had been a huge fan of the throuple started to back them up.

This is when Ccino became alerted to what they were doing. He was scared that they could damage their reputations and careers over this. He told them that he wasn't worth everything they were risking. That if they really wanted to get married, the two of them could and he'd just keep being their boyfriend.

They told him no and then lovingly told him to shut up and they would take care of it.

So began the start of a long legal battle, which all together spanned about 2 years. From when they first started talking about it online, to when the find judgment was made. They were denied.

In the end the court ruled that if polygamy was legalised, it would cause alot of issues. Its a taboo for a reason, and some people would just abuse it for their own gain.

Both Killer and Nightmare were heart broken. Ccino told them that he was so proud of them for trying and that he loved them more then ever. But Killer and Nightmare were still really upset.

This upset Ccino, because he'd seen how hard they had worked and as he thought over everything, he realised that he was actually irritated himself. In fact, he was a little angry. So now it was his turn to say No.

Ccino "you know what? No!"

Killer "what?"

Ccino "they said they couldn't legalise it because people would abuse the system"

Nightmare "yeah?"

Ccino "well I say No! That doesn't apply to us. You aren't some guy who wants a bunch of wives. We are 3 people who all love each other equally. We should have the right to marry"

Killer and nightmare "........"

Killer "we thought you said that you were ok with it"

Ccino "I'm not. Of course I'm not! I want to marry you both! "

So this prompted them to start a new campaign. If Polygamy couldn't be legalised for everyone, then they was campaign for the court to give the 3 of them legal right to marry. If a man could get the rights to marry himself (true story) and a women could be granted the right to marry a building (again, true story) then the 3 of them should be granted permission to marry.

So they took it back to court and this time Ccino took a more active roll in it, though Nightmare and Killer were more dominant. Ccino appeared with Nightmare and Killer in some interviews, but even if his mental health was much better at this point, he still couldn't fully handle all the pressure. But he put in a lot of work behind the scenes to help his partners in the case.

They Luckily still had the support of the public. They argued that they didn't want to abuse the system, they didn't want to have the bunch or wives or a bunch of husbands. They were 3 people who all loved each other deeply and just wanted to be married to each other.

Imagine the judge in court asking them why they wanted to make it legal to marry Ccino and why they couldn't just date him. And Killer just stands up like.

"dude have you seen him!? Who wouldn't want to make that fluffy marshmallow their husband?"

Then as Jan said this leaves poor Ccino (who is sat next to him) just a blushing mess and he says “Killer, don’t be so loud it’s embarrassing..”

Meanwhile, nightmare staring the judge dead in the eyes.

“I agree he’s to adorable not to marry, I mean if we don’t marry him someone else may try to steal him. And I refuse to let that happen”

(thanks for these ideas Jan)

After another 2 years or so of fighting for it. After all the public backing and the long process. Killer, Nightmare and Ccino are finally granted the right to marry.

Just imagine Nightmare trying to keep composed in court, though his having a little party in his head, and Killer on the other hand just stand on his table in court like.

"yes! Ha!"

Then he points at Ccino "guess what fluffy buns! We are marrying you!"

Ccino is so shocked, but he's also so happy. He truly never would have dreamt of this happening.

The moment that Nightmare, Killer are handed over the legal documents, they don't waste a moment, they grab Ccino and jump straight into their car. Then they drive straight to Las Vegas to elope not stopping to change or pack any clothes or anything, because they don't want to wait a second longer.

Of course Ccino gets super flustered at their suggestion to elope.

Ccino "get m-married right now!? But don't you want to wait? And have some big celebrity wedding? You mentioned it before"

Nightmare "nope"

Killer "we've been engaged for over 4 years, we want to put a ring on it right now!"

Nightmare "we don't need a big wedding, or all that stuff. We just need you to say I do"

Nightmare and Killer "so... Will you?"

Ccino "......"

Ccino "YES!"

(though maybe they stopped to pick up dream on the way. Nightmare probably knows that Dream would kill him if he missed his wedding.)

So the 3 were married in a small Chapel. Nothing fancy, but for them it was perfect. They all agreed that they would probably host a proper reception and ceremony for their friends and family to attend later. But for now, they didn't need that, they just needed to be married. It was a very small simple thing.

They probably stayed in a Vegas hotel that night. Probably had some time to celebrate. I just imagine Killer waking the two of them up the next morning with breakfast he'd ordered like:

"Good morning Husbands"

And he just can't keep the smile off his face.

About a year later they have a more formal ceremony. Which of course is super fun. But for them it doesn't change that fact that their actual wedding was truly perfect.

And dam I just love those 3. Jan was the one who wanted me to share this with you guys and I really hope you like it as much as me.

Dam it Dream XD

BTW, I know this most likely isn't fully realistic to what the legal system is like, but give me a break. I’m not a lawyer, I’m a shipper. Its fiction, just let me have it.

studio verse by @zu-is-here

original nightmare by jokublog

original killer by rahafwabas

original ccino by black-nyanko

Oh and @kotikaleo I'm sorry I forgot to tag you! You always as to be tagged in this stuff. Sorry idk if you saw it

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astriefer · 4 years ago

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Please have this messy, badly written scenario as a humble gift to you, because I wanted to do something since I reached 200 followers!

Bits of Truth

They stood in front of the Carstairs' townhouse in Cornwall Gardens. Christopher seemed mildly confused about what they were doing there as if he had not been paying attention. James shared one last glance with Thomas before he knocked on the door.

A few bits of silence flew by, in which they had held their breaths. Then footsteps tapped on the floor, and the door cracked open.

A wave of relief passed through James that not Sona nor Risa or any other maid came to open the door. Then he thought what a peculiar thought it was for him to be relieved by. Alastair looked at them, frozen in place, blinking a few times as if he didn't believe they were truly there. He rejoined his composure hastily. He didn't let them in - he stood in the front door and his eyes searched theirs for an explanation. It was like a weird staring contest. Eventually, Alastair spoke first. "Cordelia is not here. You know it fairly well."

He moved to close the door. "We haven't come for Cordelia," he said quickly, which received another incredulous glance from Alastair. "Well, we have. But not because we thought she'd show up here. We came to talk to you."

Alastair narrowed his eyes, expressionless, and considered James. Then he glanced at Christopher and Thomas, noting their desperate eyes. "About my sister?"

"We won't take long," promised James, despite he wasn't sure it's true. Alastair studied him, and James felt himself going rigid. He leveled Alastair with his indecipherable gaze.

Then Alastair had stepped back from the door and ushered them in. "My mother is in her bedroom, resting, and Risa went shopping for supper. So, you have to be quiet. Make it quick.'

~~~~

Alastair took their coats and tilted his head towered the parlor. A kettle whiselted in the kitchen. As he gestured them inside he turned the other way. A fire burned in the chimney, and a book rested peacefully on the armchair. When James examined closer he discovered it was written in Persian. Thomas mumbled something about Persian poetry.

Alastair came inside with a tray and James thought he was, for a change, being hospitable, but he ignored them and disappeared up the stairs. When he got back, empty-handed, James assumed the tea was for his mother. Alastair placed the book on the table as he sat down in front of them. Thomas and Christopher set on a love sofa and James set stoned on another armchair. He didn't waste time being the kind host, James presumed. "What it is about my sister?"

The golden-eyed boy decided the best tactic was started from what he knew. That wasn't much, but it was the most important thing, and he was certain about it, at the very least. "I love your sister."

Alastair raised his eyebrows, amused. "Yes, that's something that tends to happen between married couples, I've been told."

James shook his head. "This marriage, of Cordelia and I," just saying her name on his lips made a treacherous skip of his heartbeat, full of hurt and love. "It was a sham marriage."

Alastair pools of dark marble were fixed on James when he explained, rather awkwardly, the events that led to their marriage. And then events that led to Cordelia leaving the country. He prospected Alastair would be outraged, throw spears at them, maybe even recite some very angry poetry phrases in Persian. Instead, Alastair was very still for very long. When he did speak, the words weren't the James expected them to be. "I knew the marriage wasn't out of love," Alastair said calmly. "But I didn't expect you to tell all that rubbish."

James blinked. "It's the truth."

"Oh, I know," Alastair returned with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I doubt you would come up with such a ludicrous idea on your own, even if just to spite me. and I also know Cordelia wouldn't have slept with you unwedded, no matter how much she loved you."

All the thieves caught their breath when Alastair leaned forward, his month curving in an odd angle. "I also know being married to you was a wish she never thought would come true, and that you cared for her. You claimed her as yours and you defended her. It was good for Cordelia, and so I said nothing."

James snorted, although he hadn't found the conversation funny. Not the least. "I thought I loved Grace at that time. I felt bad when the thought of living with Cordelia was more appealing than I expected." The thought of Grace made his features harden. "And because of Grace, for years I've been blind. Manipulated. I lost my wife and Parabatai. She played with me like a doll; messed with my feelings, messed with my life. This is unforgivable."

He did not notice Christopher who tensed up and fixed his spectacles on his nose. "She did some bad things," he said, surprising them all. "But I don't think she's evil."

James furrowed his brow. "She's like a siren: beautiful and compelling, but going after her will only end in you being drowned."

"I see," Alastair said, turning back to James. "But why? Why did she do it?"

"Does it matter?" James asked. "She hurt so many people. She doesn't even deserve to apologize. It won't matter anyhow - the damage is done. After all she has done...sorry will never be enough. Nothing will."

"It matters," Alastair said. "Because you don't know her side of the tale. You don't know what she thinks. What she feels. You don't know if she had to do what she did."

He was tempted to say Grace has no feelings at all. "I believe I'm allowed to be angry."

"I do agree that what she had done to you is far above a jest or a play with hearts," there was a strange flame burning in the deep ponds of Alastair's dark eyes. "And you have no obligation to forgive her. But why not hear what she has to say? You are the one with the power. You know the truth. She can not affect you any longer."

James shook his head. "You don't know Grace," he said coldly, gravely. "She will try to use me. She will try and make me do as she wishes. I will not be a pawn in her game again. She controlled my life long enough."

Alastair glanced away, pondering over something. Thomas turned his head nervously between James and Alastair. For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, Thomas inquired, "Why do you insist James will hear her out?"

"You have no idea of her motives," Alastair retorted. "What she's done - she must know it's wrong. And she will have to live with this knowledge for the rest of her days. You are allowed to be angry, James, and rightfully so. But don't let it blind you. That you have been kept from certain kinds of evil doesn't mean everyone else had. You have no clue what led her to those decisions." Alastair looked distanced. James managed to guess he's not been talking only about Grace. "You should talk to her. You may not forgive her, but you deserve to understand, to know why to hear the plain truth. And you should let her mourn what she could have had and lost."

James wasn't sure he fully comprehended. "I wouldn't have loved her. Even without the bracelet issue - my heart belongs to Cordelia."

"What do you mean?" Christopher asked. "That not everyone had been kept from evil."

Alastair shrugged. "I met Tatiana Blackthorn only once. She's a madwoman. She doesn't seem like the kind of caring, kind mother to pet her daughter's shoulder. Besides, Grace seemed to be controlled by Tatiana, rather than working alone or alongside her."

"She took the love of my life away from me," James growled. "Nothing can atone for that."

"The love of your life is my sister," he reminded James. "I can hardly find the idea of her being heartbroken a good thing. And the one who caused this pain is not much liked, as well. But you shouldn't think that just because you would've done it otherwise, it was an option for her. You can't know what are the options in front of people. You can't know how they feel unless you talk to them. So talk to Grace, James. Then seek out my sister. If you love her like you claim you do, will you give up on her so easily?"

"No," James stood up, "I will not."

Alastair nodded. "why did you come and tell me about your little schemes? Why now?"

Now, after so much time of lying, why tell the truth? Why not keep it in its cage of delicately made lies?

James cut his gaze to the book on the table. Thomas answered instead in a quiet voice. "She is your sister. You must have been worried about her. We wanted to tell you because - because you deserve to know the truth and understand why things happened the way they did."

What Thomas did not say was what none of them wanted to admit. Cordelia ran away to Paris with Matthew. Even if she'll be back in only two weeks - they all were worried sick. James couldn't blame her, he was awful and blind. All of this was a mess. If she needed time to calm down in Paris, he couldn't deny it of her, even if he had a say in this choice.

Alastair studied Thomas, and James felt the half-Persian hadn't quite believed them. It was true - they needed his help in the future. But it was a start. "Anything else? A ghost friend? Another evil aunt?"

"No," Christopher affirmed.

"Good," Alastair said. James might have imagined it but he thought he saw Alastair sneak a glance at Thomas before standing up. "Now get out of my house. Risa will be here any minute."

~~~~

I- how?? Thank you so much, everyone!! 🙈 Thank you, you can't understand how much it means to me. 🥺

This is mind-blowing. Truly. For whatever reason you follow me, know that I love you <3

Tagging some of my mutuals, you are all wonderful and make my time here so much better (not all of them because my brain is all wonky, but I mean all of you): @kit-12 @littlx-songbxrd @pink-party-dino @shadowhuntertrash @gummybears-4u @itsdaughterofthemoon @mcrrythievcs @fictionally-fantastic @reyna-herondale I'll tag more but I don't want to bother anyone so... thank you!! I don't know what people find in my blog, but I am grateful, and I appreciate all of you endlessly.

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prismatales · 4 years ago

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Reminiscence

Word count: 1.8k

Bingo slot: Fireflies

Pairings: None (Sibling bonding! Touya x Reader)

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, slight angst, slight mention of injuries.

Synopsis: Touya takes his little sister on an adventure to see the "fairies".

This is my first entry for @bnhabookclub's bingo event! Special thanks to @pixxiesdust, @honeytama and @samanthaa-leanne for beta reading this for me!

There are things Touya dislikes in the world. But if there's something he absolutely despises with a strength nearly as powerful as his flames, is when his father's actions end up hurting someone in his family.

Like right now, for example, as he holds his crying sister in his arms. Poor little Y/N can't seem to stop weeping after the constant mistreatment of their father. The man's harsh attitude eventually took a toll on the little girl. All because she turned out to be quirkless, or as he deems her, "Just another failure".

Touya's glaring at nothing in particular as he thinks about the old man. His self-restraint is challenged when he has to hold back the anger to evade lashing out at the man they have the misfortune of calling "father."

But right now, his main focus is calming down the little girl, crying in his arms while he's sitting on his futon at the same time he tries to console her.

"Shhh, It's okay y/n."

He may not admit it, but out of all his siblings, she has to be his favorite sister. After all, she's the only one out of their brothers and sister who shares the most traits with him.

Growing up, Touya came to despise his appearance. Every time he looked at his reflection in the mirror, the sight of that crimson hair and those teal colored eyes always made him feel alienated from Natsuo and Fuyumi.

After all, they only had some slight streaks of red hair, unlike Touya, who's whole head sported the same red locks of hair as him.

So, when his mother gave birth to a healthy pair of twins, and he saw the little boy who's left side of his head had the same hair color as him, as well as the little girl, who's hair was completely engulfed in the same shade of red as him. Touya almost wanted to cry in the spot, and that loneliness in his heart stopped soon after that.

He actually cried, but if you ask him, he'll always say otherwise.

His eyes wander around his room in search of a distraction, and something catches Touya's attention. The calendar at the top of his desk, with the current date circled down in a fine line of bright red marker. It gives the teenager a great idea, one, that would most likely calm down his little sister instantly.

"Hey, Y/N." She sniffs weakly, wiping away the teardrops rolling down her face with her tiny hand, before looking up at her big brother. "Did you know that there's a place nearby, where you can see fairies?"

As soon as he mentions the magical creatures, her eyes instantly light up, wide open in wonder as she looks at him with pure innocence in her eyes.

"Really?" she asks her brother, who smiles in relief upon seeing her reaction. Touya nods eagerly, playing along to distract her from the past events.

"Yes! But they only appear if you're a strong person! Are you strong, y/n?" He pokes her in the nose with his index finger, and she can't help closing her eyes in surprise. Squeals erupt from her throat by her brother's antics, and he struggles to fight back a chuckle.

"I am strong!" she shouts, still rubbing the small tears away from her puffy face.

"Strong enough to stop crying?" he asks her with vigor, and his attempts to cheer her up work when she sniffles one more time, before nodding at him with a fierce pout, the sight nearly makes Touya clutch his heart, amused by the little rascal pretending to be brave.

"Yeah!"

"Good! Then go get ready, 'cause I'm taking you to see the fairies!"

She gasps loudly, nodding rapidly at her brother before dashing out of his room with hurried steps, and once the sound of her footsteps disappear in the distance, Touya lets out a relieved sigh, before bursting into a wholehearted laugh at her enthusiasm.

He stands up from his futon in a hurry, and begins preparing everything he'll need for their small trip.

......

"Are we there yet?"

In one hand, Touya holds on to his sister's tiny hand as they walk together. In the other hand, he's holding the strap of a messenger bag hanging over his shoulder, careful not to graze the bandages wrapped all the way up from the wrist to the shoulder.

"Patience y/n, we're almost there."

The sunset fills the surroundings in gorgeous hues of pinks and purples, and if it wasn't for his current motivation, Touya would have stopped in the middle of the bridge to stare at the bright, glimmering reflection in the water for hours.

"Give me a minute, y/n." Rummaging through his bag, Touya pulls out a camera. He starts taking pictures of the sunset reflecting in the water below the bridge, capturing the aesthetically pleasing scenario before him. He takes a look at the final result, and after humming in approval, he puts the camera back into his bag, before taking his sister’s hand to continue walking.

The closer they get to their destination, the sky begins to change colors again, until nothing but blue shades fill the sky.

"Here we are!" Touya stopped in front of a small, empty playground, and y/n quickly began looking around, waiting for the "fairies" to come out any moment now. This time, her brother couldn't hold back his laughter.

"This is only the gateway, come on. The fairies are waiting."

At the other side of the playground, there's a small trail leading into a forest. Touya takes her sister along with him along the rows of trees, and the deeper they go, the darker it seems to get around them.

Until Touya finds the place he was looking for, a small lake deep inside the forest, surrounded by bushes and lilies all around it.

"Isn't it pretty y/n?" he asks his little sister, who won't stop looking at her surroundings, admiring the scenario before her. Right as she's about to question her brother, the teenager crouches down in front of her, and points at a spot in front of them.

That's when she sees the small dots of light start to appear all around the forest, illuminating everything around them with their gentle light.

"Look, the fairies are here!"

But the little girl becomes awfully quiet, and for a minute Touya begins to worry. Until she turns to look at him with the most awestruck look he's ever seen on her tiny face, and starts pointing at the shining creatures flying cheerfully all around them.

"F-Fairies are real! Touya, they're real!"

She's already running off to look at a spot in the grass, where these fairies seem to be having a good time.

While y/n is distracted by the fairies, Touya sits down on the grass, watching the lake's surface where the lights seem to dance happily.

"Touya look!" She quickly approaches her brother, and in her tiny hands, there's a small light in her palm, without a single worry in their miniature soul.

"I guess the fairies like you. Do you know what that means?"

She tilts her head in curiosity, before shaking it softly.

"It means you're one of them now!" Touya yells excitedly, and that brings a bright smile to the face of the little girl standing in front of him.

"I'm a fairy?!" She bounces on her spot, careful not to hurt her little friend resting in the palms of her hands.

"Even better than a fairy." He ruffles her hair reassuringly, turning her hair into a wild mess of red locks. "You're a firefly!"

"Firefly?" She looks back at the little bug, sitting nonchalantly in its place, before looking back at her brother, smiling at him one more time. "I'm a firefly!"

She happily runs back to the bushes, where she releases her friend back in place. More lights begin surrounding the lake. And Touya smiles at the child's antics before he starts looking through his bag again, and pulls out his camera before taking pictures all over the place.

y/n is too distracted by another handful of fireflies, to notice her brother taking a picture of her. As he looks at the final result, the small screen displays the current hour, and Touya can't help wincing once he realizes they've been in the lake for a longer time than he thought.

A small, contagious yawn catches his attention, and he watches as y/n it's starting to doze off.

"Come on firefly, it's time to go back home." Touya puts the camera back in his bag, before helping his sister crawl on his back. Her tired eyes look back at the lake, and the small dots of light still dancing around eagerly.

"Hey, Touya?" She's struggling to fight back her drowsiness, and manages to ask her brother a question before her eyes begin to close, and she slowly falls asleep on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Can we...Can we bring Shouto along next time?"

Touya can't help but grimace, knowing that with their father around, it would be impossible to take their little brother along, but he doesn't have the courage to tell y/n the truth, and with a deep breath, he answers.

"...Of course we can."

As Touya passes by the same bridge from before, he can feel his sister's body go limp on his back, sleep overtaking her tiny body. But even with the slight pain coursing through his bandaged arm, he can't bring himself to move her from the place. At least, not until they're finally back home.

The house is dead silent once he comes inside, and with a careful pace, he takes y/n to her room. Tucking her into the futon before walking back to his own room, where he pulls the camera out of his bag and on top of a shelf, and lets himself faceplant on his own bed with a slight bounce.

..........

"Come on Shouto, this way!" Shouto tries to keep up with his sister, but she just keeps walking with an excited spring on her step as she guides him through the forest, eager to take him to this place she's been talking about for weeks now.

"Are you sure we should be out here this late?" He can't help being amused by her enthusiasm. This is the first time he's seen her this excited after they started spending more time with each other.

"It's fine, trust me!" She stops in her steps before turning to both sides of the forest, and with a triumphant "aha!" she starts walking to the right side of the forest.

"I used to come here with Touya, and I've always wanted to show you this place! You're going to love it, trust me!"

@bnha-ra @bnhabookclub @gallickingun @godtieruwu @hanniejji @mysticalite @savagetrickster @shoobirino @songsforbnha @sugacookiies @t-amajiki @unbreakableeiji @undead0relived @wesparklebitchu

#bnhabookclub #bnha imagine #mha imagine #bnha imagines #mha imagines #touya todoroki #bnha touya #fem reader #bnha bookclub bingo event 2020 #bnha bookclub #fluff #slight angst

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temporoom · 4 years ago

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Hi! I'm a big TPN fan who's dying to read A Letter from Norman. I read your spoiler post about it. As a big Ray fan, what you wrote about him having a crush on a older girl really got me curious. What kind of interest did he have in her? How did he show it? What's their story?! It's hard to imagine since he acts different with only Emma. I'm so itching to get all the juicy details. Maybe even my RayEmma ship will sink, but I don't care! I need to know!! Would you kindly enlighten me? Thanks! QuQ

Thank you so much for trusting me with this ! Sadly, i am far from being unbiased, and that post is kinda old, so I need to rectify something :

No, Ray doesn’t have a crush on Susan.

It’s just me and my own weird tastes in ships (I also like to see them as being actual siblings). But he indeed treated her differently from other children at the orphanage, mostly because SHE was treating him differentely as well. I’ll try to summarize, while giving as much detail as possible, the chapter.

(It’s a detailed summary of it, so very long)

The beginning of the chapter starts with Norman talking about Ray for 4 pages (without mentioning Emma individually, take it as you will), he explains that he has never seen Ray’s tears in his entire life, but thinks that he may have seen him cry once. And he then goes on to explain in which circumstances it was. (The flash-backs part aren’t from Norman’s point of view, but from an omniscient narrator.)

It starts some time after Emma’s 9th birthday and the shipment of one of their younger sibling (called Jimmy but this is irrelevant). Most children go on with their life, looked after by their eldest sibling, Susan, the only one of her age left at the house. After proposing a game of hide-and-seek, she convinces Ray (with the help of Emma) to come and play with them instead of sulking in his corner. She tells Ray that she knows he is sad, and wants him to get better, to Ray’s annoyance, since he expected Jimmy to be shipped anyway. (She ruffles his hair by the way, he probably took that habit from her).

During the game, they explain that Susan is their elder, and the smartest in the house, even giving Norman a hard time during tag, so if they want to win they have to do better than follow Ray’s laziness. She is extremely attentive, noticing any changes in her siblings. Even Ray, who thinks he has mastered his poker face, couldn’t tell if she noticed those within him, as each time a sibling leaves she comes to him and forces him to play with them to lift his spirit. Ray observed her enough to know she didn’t discover the truth, and finds her pity towards him annoying. (And we all know Ray is a tsundere)

When he is about to give up on finding a better hiding spot, Ray finds a wounded bird. Emma suggests they take care of it, but Norman and Ray explains that if they were to touch the bird, then its family would never come to get him back again. Since the birds’s mother don’t seem to come, and Emma starts to feel sorry for the bird (being an orphan herself). She wants to take him home.

Ray scolds her, asking if she really thinks it would be happy in a cage, and that maybe it was the bird’s destiny to die here. To which Emma replies that maybe it was Ray’s fate to meet that bird and he shouldn’t leave it here. Emma wins the argument thanks to Norman, and they catch the bird. Susan joins them, and after getting Isabella’s approval, their older sister tells that the three of them are the one who will take care of the bird, to Ray’s annoyance again.

Norman names it Ner, and they get a cage with a little sign with its name written on it. The bird is a robin. To feed Ner, Emma goes to search for worms, and brings back a ton, making Susan squeal in disgust and hides behind Ray, only trusting him to protect her from them.

As time pass, the robin gets better, and everyone got attached to it. Then, Isabella announces to Ray that she received a sudden call from the center, asking for an extra shipment this month, and this shipment is Susan. (it mentions that it was very sudden, and considering the time... it’s most likely for the Tifari). Isabella asks Ray if he expected her to live until her 12th birthday, he doesn’t reply to that, but it’s what he thought. She then asks him to look after Susan to make sure she doesn’t escape.

Ray suddenly realizes how much he would miss her if she leaves, how no one would speak to him like she does... No one would comfort him like she does. Of course he cares about Emma and Norman, but Susan was the only one capable of seeing those changes he couldn’t even notice himself. Her stubborness “saved him” (I quote). He considers finding a replacement to Susan, but knows it would mean sacrifying Emma or Norman. There is nothing to do about it, and he knows he can’t save everyone. He considers making his plan earlier, but it’s not ready to do so yet.

As he walks into the corridor, he wakes Ner up, who thinks the boy is here to bring him food. Ray mocks the bird for trusting him so much, and for being dependant of humans, comfortably locked in its cage. (You know what parralels he makes here, I hope I don’t have to explain) As Ray tries to free the bird and opens the cage’s door, Susan spots him and starts to scold him. Telling him that everyone takes good care of the bird, and he shouldn’t let it escape. (french translation here, idk about how it is in japanese)

It only reminds him of how she is going to die. Susan scolds him each time he is too harsh or refuses to play with the other kids, he thinks for a moment that a real sister, linked by blood to him, would have done that.

“I don’t think... It is happy to live in this cage...” He blurts out, almost revealing the truth. Did I just gave a link to my own art? Yes. And then ran away to his bedroom, leaving Susan confused.

The next day Isabella’s announces Susan’s “adoption”. While everyone congratulates her, Ray has been avoiding her during the whole day, even skipping his duties to the bird. Susan talked to Emma and Norman about what happened the night before, but they were as confused as her. She starts to doubt her own conviction and if keeping the bird is truly a good idea. She admits that she finds Ray always sad whenever one of their siblings leave, to which Emma replies what everyone had seen of him until now :

“But... Ray is never happy...”

No one had noticed Ray’s feelings. Everyone believed that he was just always like that, and even the idea of a Ray walking around smiling happily disturbs the red head. Susan dismisses it, and tells that Ray would be happier anyway without her, since she was annoying him so much. Emma and Norman reassures her, and tell her that she will be very missed. Susan thinks about those three’s friendship, envying it over her own loneliness as the last of their older siblings and without any news of how they are. But also happy they can count on each other, if one of them gets separated from the others, she was sure they would find each other again.

The day of her depart, a sudden wave of nostalgia hits her as she walks through the hallway of the house, she looks at the bird, its cardboard with the initial of her three favorite people written on it. When she bumps into Ray, while he looks at her sullen (making her even sadder), she asks him if she can take Ner with her. Saying that since Ray doesn’t seem to like the bird, it would be fine if she kept it. Before Ray could reply, Isabella agrees. But the boy knows that if she takes the bird with her, it’s most likely to end up just like she will.

While the kids are sad to see both their older sister and the bird leave, most are okay with it. But Ray raises his voice to refuse. And despite Isabella’s stare, he insists on keeping Ner. Susan snaps and yell at Ray, asking him why he is acting like this and what he wants. She continues by saying that if she lets the bird here, Ray would try to free it again, denouncing him in front of everyone.

Ray seems taken aback as the other children looks at him. But Susan doesn’t want to back down. She wants the bird with her, she had hoped it would solve everyone’s problem, and especially Ray’s one with the bird... Seeing him refuse was beyong her comprehension. Ray stops himself, before it’s too late, from telling her that if she takes the bird with her, they will both die. He yells back at her that in the end, she’ll just do whatever she wants to and take the bird with him, whether he wants it or not, and then finishs preparing the table for breakfast.

The other kids are angry at him for ruining their last breakfast with Susan, and trying to free Ner. But Emma and Norman notices that there’s something wrong with him, he seems to react too strongly when it comes to the robin. Emma proposes to Norman to prepare a gift for Susan, to leave a memento of them to her. The boy, immediately understanding her intention, agrees. Despite Susan being able to see the changes in Ray more easily, they were the ones who understood him the best after all.

Ray stays in the library during that time, thinking about solutions to save the bird, but Susan always stays near the cage, so Ray would not free it. No matter what possibilities come to his mind, Ray always come to same conclusion : it will be killed. He concludes that Isabella is testing his loyalty by checking how far he would go to save his sister and the bird, or if he would only save one of them. He doesn’t even know why he is so bothered by that bird, thinking that he just has to let it be killed like he had let all his other siblings die until now. Even if he can’t save Susan, he desesperately wants to save the bird... yet Susan doesn’t let him. (Do I really need to point out the metaphor again?)

As Susan is changing into her new uniform, Emma takes the cage, pretexting that she is going to clean it up one last time before she leaves. While Susan shows her clothes proudly to her mother, Ray comes and tells her that she can take the bird with her in the end, as well as to apologize for his behavior earlier. He looks like he is making amends for his actions, in the most natural way possible, and yet Susan sees that something is not going right. But she can’t ask what it is as she is overflowed by gifts from her younger siblings.

When she is about to get the cage back, Emma and Norman ran up to her, and apologize. They let the bird fly away. Everyone is shocked, and despite that Susan let a sad smile form on her lips.

“I see... But if it managed to fly, then it means that it got better.”

Then Emma gives to Susan a bracelet with one of Ner’s feathers attached to it. (The one that naturally falls don’t think they took it directly from the bird). She shows to her similar bracelets to the one she is giving on her wrist and Norman’s one, and pulls Ray closer to she can attach one last bracelet to his wrist. She tells Susan that like that, they are still together even if she leaves.

Susan bursts into tears, thankful for the gift. And apologize for yelling at Ray in front of everyone, recognizing that it was selfish of her to want to keep Ner to herself because she was sad of leaving Grace Field alone. She explains to him that because the bird was named after them, she wanted it to keep them close to her, just like how Ray perceived himself in the bird, she saw them in it as well.

Before leaving one last time, she pats Ray’s head (he definitely took this habit from her) and asks him to never stay alone again. She ruffles his hair, as he voice breaks when he nods. He apologizes to her one last time, so quietly that only her, Emma and Norman can hear him. Either for being angry at her... or for being unable to save her. (it’s left to interpretation) She leaves with a smile on her face.

When Ray is alone with Norman and Emma, he asks them what they did with the bird. Norman replies without any hesitation that it seemed to be important to Ray, so they deliberately freed it. Emma follows up by telling him that she thought thoroughly about what he told her about the bird being unhappy in its cage, and she concluded that she wouldn’t a life like that either, dying alone in a cage. Even if she was protected and feed, if she was a bird, she would still prefer flying in the sky.

Ray knew at that moment that whatever may happen, Emma and Norman would choose to fly free. He is glad that he has them. He thanks them for doing it, Norman replies that when he is ready, Ray can tell them why he wanted to free the bird. Emma smiles and asks him to, play with them tomorrow. Susan is not here to drag him into their games after all. Ray misses her, but thinks that with Emma and Norman by his side, everything will be alright.

Then we end the flash back and go back to Norman’s narration but I won’t extend myself on it, this ask was about Susan.

In conclusion: their relationship is the one of “blood-related” siblings, in the sense that they find each other annoying and yet stays close and attached to one another. But no matter how close Susan was of Ray, his closest friends are still Emma and Norman.

It’s a very beautiful chapter, and I love it. I hope you found some kind of answer in this very long post ! As for me, I prefer to leave it at that, so everyone can have their own interpretations of Ray’s and Susan’s relationship.

But to be honest there’s only like... two Noremma’s moment in this whole book, and the rest of the time it’s Norman thinking about Ray. And since you are a Rayemma shipper, there’s an entire chapter where Emma and Ray shares one braincell and are cute.

#the promised neverland #tpn #ynn #yakusoku no neverland #ray #emma #norman #susan #isabella #a letter from norman #novel #summary #detailed summary

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charrfie · 4 years ago

Text

Alright now that its officially Forzen Friday let's try this post again since it didn't show up in the tags last time-

I'M FINALLY MAKING A FORZEN HC DUMP (kinda AU-ish territory but not really idk exactly) AND NONE OF YOU CAN STOP ME

There are also a few other hcs sprinkled in here related to other characters (like Darnold and Sunkist for example) but Forzen is the main focus!! Despite him being a minor character I latched onto him and fleshed him out sm yall have no idea

Everything under the cut bc this shit is gonna be LONG (and there's also some more doodles that take up a bit of space!)

Also uhh if people like this I might take one for another hlvrai character later bc I have a lot to say about everyone!!

Forzen moved from France to the US with his parents when he was around 12 or 13 (yes, I'm aware that Scorpy and Holly are French Canadian and not France French but that doesn't mean Forzen can't be, I'm just being sure to say this now before someone says something to me about it)

He wanted to go to college and eventually become a game dev, but he didn't have the funds or the support for it (his family thought anything to do with games would amount to a career that would go nowhere).

Because of this, he instead was recruited in the US military. He originally had no intent to join, but after constantly being harrassed recommended to join and being entertained with the concept of being able to afford and pay for college, he caved (hence him telling the science team that his only goal is "to graduate").

He doesn't like his job very much if that wasn't clear.

And neither do most others that have the same job like him.

He was put on a "team" of his own, Team Nice, which was likely arranged as a guaranteed way to get Forzen in the way of danger, and with no one else fighting beside him, he would be easily dealt with- no one would have to worry about him bothering them again. However, he somehow manages to survive all of this, of course. Somehow. He likely knows the real reason he was assigned his own team (if you can even call it that), but refuses to fully acknowledge it for his own sanity, and instead pretends that he's some big, important person on a team that ranks so highly, he's the only one qualified to be in it. (I apologize ahead of time for giving one of the most shitposty and throwaway characters in hlvrai this much depth and angst, there was just potential there leave me alone)

Fast forward to the actual events of hlvrai though. This hc is a little outlandish but I really like the concept!!! So, at one point, Forzen is killed, presumably by some kind of creature that was out and about due to the RenCas. The science team + Benrey stumble across him (act 2 part 2 at around 13 min in for anyone curious), and Benrey decides to use the healing beam Sweet Voice on him. While Benrey and Forzen may not be on good terms anymore, Benrey still very begrudgingly cares about him and didn't want to see him get injured or die. Forzen wakes up a minute or so after the science team exits the room, assuming that he just passed out, nothing more, and goes along with things as normal.

He meets Darnold a while after his first (concious) run in with the science team. Darnold has recently dealt with the science team and helped them out, but is pretty bummed that he couldn't travel with them, as everything was far too scary and dangerous for him. Forzen, wanting to escape Black Mesa and the military altogether, ends up making a deal with him that he'll handle all the dangerous stuff if Darnold can show him a way out.

Now, meeting Darnold is a very new experience for him, since Darnold actually enjoys his company, and actually wants to befriend him! At first, Forzen openly tries to act as if Darnold is a huge deal to put up with- he goes along with with the whole "if you're escaping outta this hellhole with me, you better keep up" kinda deal (despite the fact that he kinda NEEDS Darnold to escape and show him the way out). His walls are still very much so raised, and he doesn't let his guard down as he's not used to others caring about him and his safety. But as time passes, he begins to realize that maybe Darnold DOES want to be his friend, and the tough guy act becomes less apparent.

To preface this next one- Sunkist sensed that something was up (he has a next-level sense of danger when it comes to Tommy's safety) and got to BM as fast as he could, searching every hallway for his boy. This is when Forzen finds him!! He figures that taking Sunkist as a hostage would be enough to get extra info out of the team that's been practically plaguing him lately.

Darnold doesn't know about Forzen's plans to take Sunkist hostage, so is completely fine with traveling alongside him. At one point though, Forzen and Darnold get separated (Forzen occupies him, makes sure hes safe and then runs off to deal with Sunkist). Darnold immediately uses his surroundings to model a quick little teleporter device to get Forzen back, because, you know, the man's a genius. Idc if its logical or not just go with it shhh I've gotta fill in the plotholes with something. That's why Forzen disappears all of a sudden after he's cornered by the science team. He just pops back in front of Darnold suddenly, all confused and loopy from the whole teleportation thing.

As things begin to wind down, Darnold and Forzen make it out of BM and start making a break for it, no idea how they'll get away from BM and to safety somewhere- they didnt really think things through.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for Forzen really), however, G-man picks both of them up. He means to drop Darnold off at Tommy's party, as he observed that Darnold helped his son to safety and is grateful for it. Forzen, though, he intends to "deal with" for messing things up so badly with Tommy, Sunkist, and all of Tommy's friends. This is where Darnold finds out about everything Forzen did and frankly gets really pissed with him since he thought he only had good intentions??? Luckily though, Darnold convinces G-man to give him a second chance, let him go to Tommy's party and apologize, and try things again. G-man, for some reasons agrees- probably bc hes in a good mood, as it IS his son's birthday.

The party is pretty uncomfortable to say the least. Tommy's extremely hesitant to talk to Forzen, but he does, and they end up on neutral terms by the end of it. Uneasy, but neutral. Tommy and Darnold hit it off though, and Tommy opens the invitation to Darnold that he can visit his place anytime now that everything at BM is over with.

As everyone's getting ready to leave, Forzen mentions to Darnold that he doesn't have a place to stay, seeing as the entire military was kinda. Yknow. Wiped out. Obviously wouldn't wanna go back to check anyways. And he has no interest in going home to his parents. So Darnold agrees to let him stay with him since they've become good pals over the course of everything.

Over time, Darnold visits Tommy more and more often. He starts bringing Forzen along, which Tommy is iffy of at first, but their dynamic starts to change and become more comfortable once Tommy sees that Forzen isnt interested in being enemies anymore.

Sunkist and Forzen still don't get along for a very long time. Or, well- it's moreso that Sunkist is very wary about Forzen, despite him not doing anything to harm either Sunkist or Tommy.

Oh yeah and almost forgot to mention one of my favorite hcs (that I PROMISE you started out as a joke but then I got attached) is Sunkist can talk!! So his first spoken interaction with Forzen after Forzen comes over to visit for the first time is literally just him being all threatening and laying down the ground rules bc he doesn't want Forzen to hurt Tommy at all in any way. And of course Forzen about has a heart attack bc "HUH??????? THERE'S A DOG THAT IS SPEAKING HUMAN WORDS TO ME"

UHH I HAVE MORE (I've written out so much shit about dynamics and what I'd think would happen even after all of this) BUT I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE TOO LONG like it already is SO I SUPPOSE I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR NOW!!!! I hope this isn't too ooc either, I just have Emotions about this series and write too much so why not share it yknow

#forzen #hlvrai forzen #hlvrai #hc time #PLEASE let this show up in the tags this time i will actually cry if not i spent so long on this

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giyuwu-san · 5 years ago

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All of the hashiras know that Obanai has a crush on Mitsuri. Tired of him not doing anything, they confront him and tell him to confess."No""Why not?! It's not as if she's dating anyone""...I'm not worthy of her"And so the hashiras team up to make him confess to the one and only love pillar!

I’m sosososososo sorry this took so long. please forgive me, I was trying to come up with creative ideas for this one since it’s my first kny fic so I really wanted to do it justice I hope you understand. and then chapter 200 hit me and I was done for. but!!!! it’s here now after all this time and it’s finally at a point where I’m happy with it, so hopefully the wait was worth it >.

the sound of fireworks.

pairing : iguro obanai x kanroji mitsuri

warnings : a little angst, fluff, one curse word (I’m pretty sure)

summary : the pillars are trying everything to get iguro obanai to confess to kanroji mitsuri in the name of love as a life-changing decision is made under fireworks and starlight.

word count : 2.2K

tags : @lordexplosionsextra @jojosmilktea

✎

Iguro Obanai had always been in love with Kanroji Mitsuri. This was a fact, a statement known by both him and all his fellow Pillars, except perhaps, Mitsuri herself.

It wasn’t fear of rejection that kept him from confessing, nor was it the complications that would plague their relationship once he did. The fear that tormented his mind wasn’t caused by the thought of rejection, rather by acceptance.

He didn’t want her to see him, even if he craved it. He didn’t want her to smile at him, even if he yearned for it. He didn’t want her to love him, even though he pleaded for it.

The smile he loved so much isn’t meant for him. That smile of hers that filled his conscience. That smile of hers that he could never mimic. That smile of hers that he could never have.

And no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts were the same. The love he held for her would always stay a secret. That’s what she deserved.

She didn’t deserve someone like him, whose blood was filthy. Someone like him, whose shine could never match hers.

When she could give him such a vibrant smile, what could he give her in return? How could a scarred mouth like his hold the same glow?

He would always give her what she deserved, even if it meant hurting himself.

It would always be like this, no matter what anyone said. This is how it’s supposed to be.

- - - *ﾟ‘ﾟ ☽ ☼ ☾ *.:｡ - - -

"Now this is just getting ridiculous.“ was what the Insect Pillar, Kocho Shinobu said. Her smile leaving her face with the facade she carried slowly slipping, annoyance seeping in, taking its place.

"Indeed, indeed!” was the chime of the Flame Pillar standing beside her, “Iguro-san must confess his true love! Let his most profound passions reach her from the deepest depths of his⁠—”

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Iguro’s in love with Kanroji, and it’s annoying, we get it.“ Shinazugawa interrupted Rengoku before he could ramble on further.

Each of the Pillars, minus Kanroji and Iguro, were all bundled together in an empty room located at the Butterfly Estate, with the common goal of finally getting their fellow Snake Pillar to confess his feelings. (Except for perhaps Muichiro, who had already forgotten how he ended up in this room, to begin with.)

All of the Hashiras knew about Iguro’s feelings toward the Love Pillar, but whenever they would approach him about it, he would always reply with the same words.

‘I don’t deserve her.’

However, things were about to change in the next week, for all of them had made plans to attend an upcoming summer festival in a nearby village. It was the perfect opportunity.

“Alright!” said the Sound Pillar, who had been surprisingly quiet until this moment. “Let us execute this plan flamboyantly!“

And so, each Pillar walked out of the room. Most of them hopeful that the plan would go smoothly.

- - - *ﾟ‘ﾟ ☽ ☼ ☾ *.:｡ - - -

Iguro was sitting next to Mitsuri, watching as she stuffed her face with more sakura mochi. Her cheeks puffing up cutely much to Iguro’s hidden delight, his eyes brightening slightly with his masked smile.

Although Iguro had no plans of confessing, he had to admit that these simple moments with her made his heart soar. Watching her eat to her heart’s content made him feel like a boy again. Young and in love with the girl next to him.

Kanroji enjoyed his presence equally as much. The warmth and affection flowing from his eyes that only looked at her made her feel giddy inside. Every meal with him always felt comfortable, and every meal without him always felt empty and incomplete.

And as she kept chewing, only her happy hums and remarks were heard in the otherwise relaxing silence.

Meals with him were always the best.

Mitsuri smiled to herself, her cheeks still full.

- - - *ﾟ‘ﾟ ☽ ☼ ☾ *.:｡ - - -

The festival had come sooner than expected, and all the Pillars had gathered at one spot. Eyes already scanning the festivities around them.

Iguro and Mitsuri (but mostly Mitsuri), were both excited to explore the festival together with all their fellow Pillars. Or so they thought, because when they looked around, the Pillars had already dispersed into their own groups.

Mitsuri however, had no time to be surprised as her eyes caught a glimpse of a food stall further ahead of them. Turning her head to the baffled Iguro, she quickly pointed forward excitedly.

"Iguro-san!” she said, her excitement barely containable. Her finger pointing in all directions at the food stalls around them. Her eyes glinting crazily to the point Iguro thought she was crying, and maybe she was.

“FOOD!” was all Obanai heard until he was forcefully dragged by a hunger-crazed Mitsuri.

- - - *ﾟ‘ﾟ ☽ ☼ ☾ *.:｡ - - -

It had been a good hour since they arrived at the festival, yet there had been no progress made in the field of love as Iguro merely followed Mitsuri around in her pursuit of culinary enlightenment.

The plan, however, was not in vain just yet, for the Pillars had more tricks up their sleeves.

The pair made their way about the various stalls until they catch sight of Shinazugawa, who seemed to be waiting for them in front of a game stall. The Wind Pillar points at Iguro, much to his confusion.

“Whoever scoops the most goldfish wins."

Iguro was not expecting the sudden challenge. To be fair, this was his first time playing kingyo-sukui, but after looking towards Mitsuri whose face held nothing but excitement, he was in no position to back down.

Iguro had surprisingly won against the competitive Sanemi. Who of which completely forgot that he was supposed to let Iguro win and played for real. Much to his dismay. Face scowling (and pride damaged), Sanemi turned on his heels and walked away.

The person manning the stall then gave Iguro more snacks as a prize, only for them to quickly disappear inside Mitsuri’s mouth.

The series of strange events and interferences kept occurring throughout the summer festival, such as Kocho running into them and momentarily stealing Mitsuri for ’girl talk’, allowing Muichiro to sneakily shove some flowers he found wandering in the field into Iguro’s hands, Rengoku coming over to the pair to give them an impromptu love poem recital, and Giyuu even tried his best by directing them towards a more intimate food stall that didn’t have many people.

As the night progressed Iguro felt himself becoming more and more flustered by the events that have taken place thus far. With Mitsuri holding the flowers Muichiro picked, they walked silently alongside each other, all the food that Mitsuri ate had finally caught up to her.

Noticing this from their respective hiding spots, the Pillars finally threw into action their last and final hope: advice from the man with three wives.

Gyomei approached the two, seemingly coming from the shadows as he asked to steal Mitsuri away for a moment to talk about cats. Mitsuri happily complied, but with less enthusiasm than usual as she could feel her impending food coma creeping closer.

Iguro then stood alone, even more confused than he already was.

That was until he saw the Sound Pillar jump out from the bushes, Obanai wasn’t even surprised anymore.

"You’re really taking your sweet time aren’t you?” was what he said as he crept closer towards the Snake Pillar, who only blinked at him. It wasn’t that Obanai hated the Sound Pillar, it was just he never really spent the time getting to know the man, or the other Pillars for that matter, minus Kanroji.

So he wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of the two of them being alone when he could have been basking in Mitsuri’s warm presence, but that was beside the point.

“What do you mean?” he tries feigning innocence, even if he knew exactly what Tengen was entailing. He noticed all the things that had been happening since the start of the festival. He may have been slightly dense, but he wasn’t completely oblivious either.

The two men started walking side by side, as their conversation continues.

“Don’t play dumb with me Iguro-san.” Iguro could only sigh and raise his eyebrow at the man.

“Your point?” he said, not wanting to have to repeat the same words he’s said to all the other Pillars again.

Tengen knew that the chances of him somehow convincing the Snake Pillar to change his mind were slim. Yes, he had three wives. He has experienced love and continues to experience it throughout his life, but he did admit that helping a man overcome his self-loathing was going to be challenging for anybody. Nonetheless, he put away his eccentric side, for now, focusing purely on the assignment he was tasked with.

“My point is that you should just tell her.” he said bluntly, he knew flowery words were no use with Obanai, instead opting to give it to him straight. “She deserves to know.”

“No, she does not.” was the Snake Pillar’s retort.

“And why is that?” Tengen was barely fighting off his sigh.

“She doesn’t deserve someone like me.” At this, the sigh that Tengen was holding back finally made itself known. He couldn’t tolerate this any longer.

“You can’t decide that for her.” he said, sighing once more. “She’s the one who decides that. That’s her choice to make, not your’s Iguro-san."

Tengen wanted to help him, and that’s a lot from someone who typically didn’t care much about the well-being of other people, only having a few people he genuinely treasures. But even with Tengen’s way with words, he knew that Obanai himself had to be the one to change. Tengen knew that his words alone couldn’t solve this, and frankly, he had nothing left to say.

Sighing, he walks away to leave Obanai to his own thoughts, as the man stopped walking along with him anyway.

Besides, the fireworks show was about to start.

- - - *ﾟ‘ﾟ ☽ ☼ ☾ *.:｡ - - -

Obanai sat idly next to Mitsuri, the two of them being left alone by the other Pillars, an act that, Obanai assumed was another one of their stunts. He sighed, lost in his thoughts as Tengen’s words started to settle in. It wasn’t as if he had never played with the idea before: that Mitsuri at least deserved to know. But he was still conflicted, even if he did say it, who would want someone with a scarred mouth? Someone with a bloodline so wicked and cruel.

He couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t.

His mind was made, and no one could change that.

"Iguro-san…”

Iguro turned his head around to the drowsy Mitsuri, her head starting to tilt forward as sleep was slowly sinking into her. He hummed lightly in reply, listening to her words carefully.

“You know, I’m really glad I got to spend the festival with you.” she smiled at him, much to his frustration as his cheeks fought off a blush. “I didn’t regret a single moment.” her smile grew wider.

“And that’s exactly how I want to live my life!” she suddenly pointed her finger upwards towards the sky in sudden triumph, her sudden burst of energy quickly subsiding, however, as her head started to tilt over again, but this time towards Obanai’s shoulder.

“I want to live my life with no regrets…” she yawned midsentence, still trying her best to not succumb to slumber. Her hands holding onto the flowers tightly.

Iguro however, pondered over her words, a sudden heat rushing towards his cheeks, feeling the adrenaline rush in.

He wanted to live his life with no regrets too.

And with the sudden adrenaline and correlation, his brain felt like it was taking a crash course. He adjusted slightly on the blanket, attention not leaving the girl beside him as his heart started ruling over his brain.

"Kanroji-san.“ he said.

Kanroji hummed slightly, her droopy eyes looking over at him. And for a moment, Iguro wondered what the hell he was doing, but he couldn’t stop now, he didn't want to.

"I want to spend all my meals with you."

Obanai wasn’t expecting the large smile to take over her features, nor was he expecting her to understand what he meant in the state she was currently in. Nevertheless, as he looked at her underneath the starlight, its ethereal glow highlighting her face in ways that knocked all the air out of his lungs, he couldn’t help but smile, his heart feeling lighter. He wanted to laugh at himself. He was so adamant about not confessing, but here he was, with her by his side.

He said he wouldn’t do it, but he did.

His mind was made, but only she could change that.

And as she finally let her head fall against his shoulder, Kaburamaru slithering from his neck to nestle on top of her head, and the fireworks finally dancing around in the sky above them in loud explosions and tremors, he couldn’t help but smile, his eyes glowing. The light from the fireworks only illuminated her serene features, painting it in all its colors, and at that moment, Obanai was at peace.

He couldn’t feel anything else, he didn't need anything else. As he sat on the blanket, he closed his eyes and sighed happily. He felt perfectly content.

Just the three of them, and the sound of fireworks.

✐

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lesbiansforboromir · 5 years ago

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Its been too long since I read the books and last time I saw the movies I was on denethor is a dick to my baby, let the man die. However, now I'm curious, since I remembered for instance that in the books he was devastated when he thought faramir died and your last reblog about that made me rethink my whole stance. Could you give me more positive denethor moments, or do I have to read the books again?

God I- I need so much for you all to understand how much I love asks like this, for PURELY selfish reasons, I just LOVE the idea of people like... doing what I do! Which is think about lotr and it’s characters and consider them in new angles and have fun with that! I feel connection and love in this chili’s tonight- ANYWAY.

To be clear, Denethor is one of my favourite characters, like JUST below Boromir in how much I love him and how furious I am with his portrayal in the films. I have a tag for him here that has a lot of good posts all about it. But positive moments for Denethor, yes ok! Lets start with my favourite quote from Denethor because it completely encompasses his- literally his ENTIRE book character;

In what is left, let all who fight the Enemy in their fashion be at one, and keep hope while they may, and after hope still the hardihood to die free.

Do you feel all the love and pride in his people and all the folk of middle earth who’re resisting this seemingly impossible threat? Even unto their inevitable end? Do you see the inherent belief that this is an unwinnable war, and yet how Denethor has remained Gondor’s greatest and most stalwart defender for all these years? GOD I do- ‘dying free’ is a VERY important sentiment that also puts a lot of his later, seemingly ‘mad’, actions into a much more understandable light. BUT I WILL TRY to not make this too much of a dissertation, god willing. SO! Onto Pippin’s swearing!

'Little service, no doubt, will so great a lord of Men think to find in a hobbit, a halfling from the northern Shire; yet such as it is, I will offer it, in payment of my debt.' Twitching aside his grey cloak, Pippin drew forth his small sword and laid it at Denethor's feet.

A pale smile, like a gleam of cold sun on a winter's evening, passed over the old man's face; but he bent his head and held out his hand, laying the shards of the horn aside. 'Give me the weapon!' he said. Pippin lifted it and presented the hilt to him. 'Whence came this?' said Denethor. 'Many, many years lie on it. Surely this is a blade wrought by our own kindred in the North in the deep past?'

'It came out of the mounds that lie on the borders of my country,' said Pippin. 'But only evil wights dwell there now, and I will not willingly tell more of them.'

'I see that strange tales are woven about you,' said Denethor, 'and once again it is shown that looks may belie the man – or the halfling. I accept your service. For you are not daunted by words; and you have courteous speech, strange though the sound of it may be to us in the South. And we shall have need of all folk of courtesy, be they great or small, in the days to come.’

The film really had no idea what to do with Pippin offering his service to Denethor as- well essentially an acknowledgement and an honouring of Boromir’s sacrifice for him. Because the Denethor in the film would have scorned it, but it’s an important plot point, so it’s just kinda in there awkwardly and uncomfortably. This is because Denethor genuinely appreciates Pippin’s gesture, his son died for this hobbit! But Pippin is fervent and honest and Denethor can tell! Denethor is grateful, he empathises! These are not traits film!denethor possessed, so we get the.... tomato... scene.... BUT ONWARDS, I consider this a positive scene, simply because Denethor and Gandalf’s rivalry in the books is just so much FUNNIER and interesting than in the films;

'And you, my Lord Mithrandir, shall come too, as and when you will. None shall hinder your coming to me at any time, save only in my brief hours of sleep. Let your wrath at an old man's folly run off and then return to my comfort!'

'Folly?' said Gandalf. 'Nay, my lord, when you are a dotard you will die. You can use even your grief as a cloak. Do you think that I do not understand your purpose in questioning for an hour one who knows the least, while I sit by?'

'If you understand it, then be content,' returned Denethor. 'Pride would be folly that disdained help and counsel at need; but you deal out such gifts according to your own designs. Yet the Lord of Gondor is not to be made the tool of other men's purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good of Gondor; and the rule of Gondor, my lord, is mine and no other man's, unless the king should come again.'

LIKE. IT’S FUNNY! Essentially Denethor’s like ‘oh ho I’m just an auld man dont be angry with me Gandy’ and Gandalf’s like ‘Denethor when you are ENFEEBLED by age you will DIE out of spite alone’ and Denethor’s like ‘OH FINE if you want to be that way, but you’re bloody annoying to deal with and I don’t TRUST you wholly so DEAL with it,’ And again we get Denethor’s like whole deal! Gondor is what he is here to defend! It’s his entire purpose in life! He doesn’t trust that Gandalf’s not going to use him for his own ends to the detriment of Gondor itself, which Gandalf LITERALLY admits he’d do in the next paragraph. Because he says ‘he’s the steward of everything, not just gondor’ which on the one hand is like, yeah, we get that, but you can understand Denethor’s perspective too. WHICH IS. GOOD CHARACTERISATION FOLKS!

'[Osgiliath] was 'It was a city,' said Beregond, 'the chief city of Gondor, of which this was only a fortress. For that is the ruin of Osgiliath on either side of Anduin, which our enemies took and burned long ago. Yet we won it back in the days of the youth of Denethor: not to dwell in, but to hold as an outpost, and to rebuild the bridge for the passage of our arms.a city,' said Beregond, 'the chief city of Gondor, of which this was only a fortress. For that is the ruin of Osgiliath on either side of Anduin, which our enemies took and burned long ago. Yet we won it back in the days of the youth of Denethor: not to dwell in, but to hold as an outpost, and to rebuild the bridge for the passage of our arms.’

This is just like a little thing but I think it’s just kinda important to emphasise that Denethor wasn’t just a politician, he bled heavily for Gondor’s safety too and the retaking of Osgiliath was an incredibly important victory that Denethor achieved for Gondor’s safety as a whole. Anyway SPEAKING of the tomato scene- god this really does entirely emphasise the difference between Film!Denethor and Book!Denethor;

‘Can you sing?'

Yes,' said Pippin. 'Well, yes, well enough for my own people. But we have no songs fit for great halls and evil times, lord. We seldom sing of anything more terrible than wind or rain. And most of my songs are about things that make us laugh; or about food and drink, of course.'

'And why should such songs be unfit for my halls, or for such hours as these? We who have lived long under the Shadow may surely listen to echoes from a land untroubled by it? Then we may feel that our vigil was not fruitless, though it may have been thankless.'

In the end Pipping doesn’t sing for him but like?? Look SEE LIKE. It’s not MEAN, Denethor is in general sardonic and kinda harsh and frustrating in tone but he’s not dismissive or uncharitable or heartless; he’s interested, he likes TALKING to Pippin, he likes to hear about the world! Songs about food and drink and weather are fine! Of course they have merit!

'Not – the Dark Lord?' cried Pippin, forgetting his place in his terror. Denethor laughed bitterly. 'Nay, not yet, Master Peregrin! He will not come save only to triumph over me when all is won. He uses others as his weapons. So do all great lords, if they are wise, Master Halfling. Or why should I sit here in my tower and think, and watch, and wait, spending even my sons? For I can still wield a brand.'

Do you hEAR the bitterness in these lines? How he has to SIT here and WAIT as he sends his loved ones to die- but he has too, he HAS to do this, it’s not new, he’s been sending his sons to their probably deaths for years, and god he wishes he could be a reckless man and just ride out himself again but there IS no one to step into his place if he should be lost and Gondor just can’t take that! IT’S cOMPELLING. And so... now we’ll end on the part you mentioned, which really is like... AGONISING, it’s heartbreaking, especially after Denethor’s manners and character up until this point, sharp, sardonic, dauntless, uncowed by ever new loss, every new defeat, Boromir’s death even did not crack him completely but now-

And as [Pippin] watched, it seemed to him that Denethor grew old before his eyes, as if something had snapped in his proud will, and his stern mind was overthrown. Grief maybe had wrought it, and remorse. He saw tears on that once tearless face, more unbearable than wrath.

'Do not weep, lord,' he stammered. 'Perhaps he will get well. Have you asked Gandalf?'

'Comfort me not with wizards!' said Denethor. 'The fool's hope has failed. The Enemy has found it, and now his power waxes; he sees our very thoughts, and all we do is ruinous.

'I sent my son forth, unthanked, unblessed, out into needless peril, and here he lies with poison in his veins. Nay, nay, whatever may now betide in war, my line too is ending, even the House of the Stewards has failed. Mean folk shall rule the last remnant of the Kings of Men, lurking in the hills until all are hounded out.'

Men came to the door crying for the Lord of the City. 'Nay, I will not come down,' he said. 'I must stay beside my son. He might still speak before the end. But that is near. Follow whom you will, even the Grey Fool, though his hope has failed. Here I stay.'

I’ll NEVER forgive the appropriation of the ‘my line is ending’ line, he doesn’t MEAN that he’s grieving the loss of his lineage, he’s grieving the loss of his WHOLE COUNTRY, of his people! As well as his son! And in this final moment with him his priorities of heart surface, where his people are banging desperately at his door, begging for their Lord to come to their aide, he refuses, because Faramir is far more important to him in this moment.

I said I wasn’t going to make this a dissertation but WHATEVER, there you are anon, hope it’s what you wanted than thANK YOU AGAIN for the ask :)

#denethor #tolkien #erran vs tolkien #chats #Anonymous

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