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calltomuster · 3 years

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Star Wars Fic Recs Part the Fourth

[first fic rec list] [second fic rec list] [third fic rec list]

Been a few weeks since I've done one of these and I've read/reread some great fics recently so let me share them with you now!

And I Fear Nothing by @maiseey (Obi-Wan/Cody, WIP, 11/? chapters, 43.4k words) Picture this: I am sitting in the parking lot of my local grocery store, having just bought a load of perishables. I get the email that And I Fear Nothing has just been updated. What do I do: run home to preserve the food I just paid for, or sit in my car and read the new chapter right away? The answer is obvious, of course! That is exactly the situation I found myself in last week when chapter 11 dropped and I did in fact choose to read it in spite of my groceries, that's how much I love this fic. In this fic, Obi-Wan and Cody are raising Luke and Leia together on Tatooine, and they've got so much trauma, and new + old wounds, and love for each other and the children they're raising that it both warms your heart and tears it apart. But that's not all, this fic expands beyond just the small home in the middle of the Jundland Wastes and explores Ahsoka and Rex and their journey to de-chip as many clones as possible. I love this fic because it doesn't shy away from hard conversations, but it does it in a way that makes you want to cry and give everyone involved a hug. Plus, there are some fantastic minor clone characters that you will 100% want to die for by the time you finish reading. Cannot recommend this fic enough.

Obligate by @communistkenobi (gen, one-shot, 23.9k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin & Ahsoka) Just when you thought the Deception arc didn't have enough pain, this AU sees Anakin fake his death instead of Obi-Wan! My heart is physically ripped out of my chest just thinking about this fic, so imagine what it'd do to you actually reading it. Anything @communistkenobi writes is so well-done and I've gone through his works list on AO3 multiple times, but somehow I missed this when it was first posted and it was like a wonderfully delightful surprise when I ran into it the other day. So, so good. Highly recommend!

Moirai by damonkey (gen, WIP, 4/? chapters, 9.2k words, Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon) All I can really say about this fic without giving anything away is that it's a Phantom Menace AU and it's so intriguing. The author is very deliberate in having a vague summary and only tagging as the story progresses, so I truly have no idea what's ahead of me but it's so -- as I said -- intriguing that I'm happy to strap into the ride. Ahhhh I'm skimming through the fic and there are so many things I want to mention but I don't want to give anything away!

Almost Home by @frunbuns (gen, one-shot, 5.2k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) You know, every time I recc a Modern AU I'm like "I don't usually like Modern AUs but..." and then proceed to gush over the fic. I went and checked and I've recced a Modern AU on almost every fic rec list I've made! Maybe I do like Modern AUs?? Or maybe the fics are just that good -- and this fic is definitely that good. In this fic, the first of a planned series of fics set in a modern Star Wars universe, Obi-Wan is reeling from the loss of his adoptive father Qui-Gon and has to care for a young Anakin. Ooooooof. Definitely hits you right in the feels, this one. Love the non-chronological storytelling too!

Naked and Not Paid by biscuitlevitation (Obi-Wan/212th Attack Battalion, WIP, 6/? chapters, 14.9k words) This fic is essentially ~15k words of the clones thirsting over Obi-Wan and it is the funniest thing I have read all year. I'm not kidding, I just read the last chapter which features space-church-lady!Anakin and I laughed so hard I cried. I'm cracking up just thinking about it. I promise you will have a good time reading this fic. And if the tag "Obi-Wan Kenobi/212th Attack Battalion" puts you off, let me just say there's no sex in this at all, it's just thirst. And it's hilarious.

Full Disclosure by @trixree (Obi-Wan/Cody, WIP, 2/3 chapters, 7.4k words) ROTS AU in which the Force bonds Obi-Wan has formed with a few members of the 212th save them from the chip and Order 66, but it doesn't stop the devastation from happening on a mass scale and they all have to try and deal with Mustafar and Luke and Leia. This fic manages to be both extremely soft and extremely gut-wrenching at the same time, and I wish I could leave more kudos. Full disclosure (get it, little pun there for ya), I will be dying until the final chapter comes out. Time to go listen to Olivia Rodrigo and reread this fic and just live in my feels.

Thirteen Days by @ewanmcgregorismyhomeboy12 (gen, one-shot, 4.1k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) Post-Zygerria arc, Anakin dresses an unconscious Obi-Wan's injuries and struggles. Ahhhh this fic is one of my favorite Zygerria arc fics, and given that that's my favorite arc, that's saying a lot! Obi-Wan doesn't say a word in this fic, but his presence is very much there, if you know what I mean. And the descriptions of injuries here are pretty graphic at times, but it's so good that you'll want to keep reading even if you have to do it through the fingers covering your eyes.

brother, let me be your shelter by @kenobilovebot (gen, one-shot, 1.6k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) This fic packs so much tenderness in a short amount of words. It covers an AU in which Obi-Wan's issues from Zigoola never really resolve, and Anakin finds out when -- well, you'll just have to read for yourself. I love Zigoola because it is such an excellent whumpfest for poor Obi-Wan and this fic is great for that, but also highlights Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship.

A Padawan At War (Again) series by @itstimeforstarwars (gen, 3 parts, 100k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) In this series, Obi-Wan and Anakin are transported from The Phantom Menace into the Clone Wars and have to deal with all that comes with it: fighting wars, discovering a Padawan you never knew you had, dueling your grandmaster who apparently is a Sith Lord now(?!) and all the rest. This series is a great ride, and I look forward to every update. Note: the first fic in this series is a one-shot that was expanded upon, and it drops you in media res. The second fic is a prequel that shows how they got to that point, and the third fic is the sequel that shows what comes after.

The Desert Storm series by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning (complete, 24 parts, 1.144 million words) There has never been a better time to start reading this series. If you read Star Wars fics on AO3, then you've definitely seen the Desert Storm series before, but maybe you were daunted by the high word count, or felt like it would be too much effort to go all the way to the beginning of a series but couldn't just jump in halfway. Let me tell you, it's 100% worth it, and now is the perfect time to read this series if you haven't already. This series is complete, but it turns out it's all just Act 1 of the larger story, which will continue in the Rise and Fall series. @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning is taking a break right now before starting the next series, so you have ample time to get caught up, and YOU REALLY SHOULD. Let me tell you, this series had me on the edge of my seat more than any other piece of media I can remember. With the most recent chapters, where everything that has been building for a million words came to a head, I would get so worked up after each chapter that beforehand I would have to queue up calming things to watch afterwards, and it still wouldn't be enough and I'd be too full of feelings to get anything done the rest of the day. Seriously, this series is amazing. And if you HAVE read it before but haven't reread, now is the perfect time for that as well. I've reread this series multiple times and it's so rewarding because the author sprinkled in so many hints as to what will come that you only understand the second (or third) time around. I know I've written a lot for this rec but this is a long series and it deserves it. Go read! Now!

If you like any of these fics, please consider reblogging so they can get more exposure! And if you noticed I missed someone’s Tumblr account, or linked the wrong one, please let me know!

#star wars #fic recs #obi-wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #commander cody #qui-gon jinn #commander rex #jedi order #sw tcw

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sfb123 · 3 years

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Stealing Moments

Book: The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir

Pairing: Liam x Riley

Summary: The Royal family spends the afternoon taking part in some pre-Easter (or preaster, if you will) activities.

Rating: G - I’m not going to sugar coat it (sugar is the last thing this story needs), this is some majorly fluffy stuff here. Even for me, and I’ve produced some pretty fluffy work.

Word Count: 1,947

A/N: So this story is a triple threat:

I am participating in @wackydrabbles prompt #88 “I meant every word.” Which will appear in bold.

I am also participating in the @choicesaprilchallenge2021, day 3 teal. That prompt will appear in italics.

I am also participating in @trraw, day 2 Liam. That prompt will appear in the form of a handsome and charming King.

A/N 2: This is an idea that I thought of while I was writing my upcoming Uncle Drake fic (you’ll see that one on Sunday), so I decided to write it up as a little prequel to that. Thank you to @jessiembruno for encouraging me to take my crazy throw away ideas and make them into something, and also by contributing this adorable moodboard. You are a Canva master. To think, not too long ago you hated it and cursed it out on the regs!

Tags: You know the drill, they’re down below. I hope you get it! If you want to be added or removed, let me know!

Liam sat in his study, wrapping up some paperwork before his next meeting when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Bastien entered the room and shut the door behind him. “Sir, Lord Neville is demanding an audience with you. Immediately.”

“Of course he is. Tell him I am unavailable, and to make an appointment with my assistant before he leaves.”

“I did. I explained to him that you have an important afternoon meeting that could not be rescheduled. He didn’t appear to care.” Bastien chuckled to himself. This wasn’t the first time Neville had tried to weasel his way into an urgent meeting with the King.

Liam let out a deep breath as he stood, scrubbing his hand over his face. “Of course he didn’t. That’s fine, I need to get to my meeting anyway. I will tell him myself.”

Almost immediately upon exiting his study, Neville was in his face. “Your Majesty, I have an urgent matter that requires your immediate attention-”

Liam held up a hand, silencing him. “I’m sure you do, Lord Neville. Unfortunately, I am on my way to a very important meeting, so I am unable to sit with you right now. Please see my assistant on your way out, and she will be happy to book you for my next available appointment.”

“With all due respect Your Majesty, that simply won’t do. It won’t take long, perhaps I could walk with you to your next meeting?”

Liam internally rolled his eyes at the suggestion. He knew just how to stroke his ego to get him to back down. “Lord Neville, as one of our most valued members of court, I couldn’t possibly do you the disservice of giving you anything but my full attention on what I’m sure is a crucial matter. That is all I would be doing if I allowed you to continue at this time. I will make sure that my staff adjust the schedule to provide us enough time to examine the issue thoroughly. Please send me any documentation as soon as possible so that I may review it before our meeting. That way, we can hit the ground running when we do meet.”

Neville stood tall, a smug expression quickly spreading across his face. “Very well, Your Majesty. I appreciate your assistance in the matter. I will leave the documentation with your assistant.” He bowed, and Liam nodded in response before exiting the area and moving on to his next meeting.

“If I may say sir, the way you handled that situation was truly masterful.” Bastien commented as they walked through the palace.

Liam chuckled and patted his security guard on the back. “All in a day's work, my friend. Everything is in place for this afternoon, I trust? I will have no disruptions for the remainder of the day?”

“Yes Your Majesty, the staff has been fully alerted that you will be unavailable. I will be at the door to ensure that you are not bothered.” Bastien replied.

Once they arrived at their destination, Liam crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him. He was the last to arrive, so the sound of the door caught the attention of those that had already gathered.

“Daddy!” Eleanor jumped out of her chair and ran straight for Liam, leaping into his arms.

“Hello Princess.” He chuckled as he held her close, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Are you ready to decorate some Easter eggs?” He carried her through the livingroom area of the royal quarters, returning her to her seat at the kitchen table.

“Yep! I helped mommy mix all the colors together. It was so fun!” She gestured to the cups of coloring spread out across the table.

Liam couldn't help but laugh at his daughter’s enthusiasm as he approached his wife, who was standing at the table making the final preparations for their afternoon project. “Hello, beautiful.” He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on Riley’s lips.

“Hey handsome. You made it right on time. I’m impressed.” She teased.

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world. No matter how hard Neville tried.”

“Neville, yuck!” Eleanor chimed in, causing both of her parents to burst out laughing.

Riley turned her attention back to her husband. “Alright, you go get changed. I don’t want you ruining your fancy king clothes with egg dye.”

Liam kissed his wife and daughter before going into the bedroom to put on some more casual clothes. He returned unnoticed as Riley explained the egg dying process to Eleanor. He stood for a moment and watched them, his girls, his world. He couldn’t help the smile that quickly spread across his face at the sight.

“Daddy, come on, we can’t start without you!” Eleanor called out to him from the other side of the room, breaking him from his thoughts.

He returned to the table and stood between his girls. “Alright, I’m here. Where do we begin?”

Not only was this Eleanor’s first time decorating Easter eggs, but Liam’s too. He was told that as a Prince, there were more productive ways for him to spend his time. It was just one of the many childhood experiences being royalty simply didn’t allow for. He was so happy, not just to have this experience for himself, but to share it with his daughter. Another way to give her the childhood he never had, but always wanted.

Once Riley explained the process, they got to work; since she was the seasoned professional, she let Eleanor and Liam take the lead and do most of the work. She marveled in the similarities in their gestures, the concentration on their faces as they placed their white eggs in the dye, and the excitement when it would come out dyed a bright color. At one point, Riley couldn’t help but laugh when they pulled out their eggs at the same time, and looked up at her with identical expressions of joy, showing off their creations.

They had gotten down to the last egg, Liam turned to Eleanor, “Ok Princess, we’ve got one left. You get to pick the color.”

A thoughtful expression overtook Eleanor’s face as she surveyed the colors that surrounded her before turning to her parents and confidently announcing her decision. “Teal.”

Riley and Liam locked eyes and shared a confused expression. There was no teal, they had only prepared basic colors, blue, green, yellow, pink, and purple. “Baby girl, we don’t have teal. These are the only colors we have.” Riley explained.

Eleanor’s lip started to quiver as her arms went across her chest. “I want teal. Please.” Her parents had been teaching her the importance of manners, so she figured if she said please, they had to give her what she wanted.

They both knew what that lip quiver meant, they were going to need to move quickly to avoid a total meltdown. Liam approached the princess and started rubbing her back to keep her calm. “It’s alright Eleanor. Why don’t you tell me why you want a teal egg so badly?”

“It’s my favorite color.” She looked up at her father, a pleading expression etched in her face. Her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

There was no question that Eleanor had the King wrapped around her finger, and when she looked at him like that, there was absolutely no way he could deny her. “Alright, let me go talk to mommy and see what we can do for you.” He kissed her on her cheek and returned to his wife. “Riley, there must be something we can do. I can send someone to get teal coloring. We have unlimited resources at our disposal, there must be some way we can make this happen for her.”

Riley shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Man, you really are a sucker when it comes to her. Aren’t you.”

“For both of my girls, actually.” He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed them gently across her knuckles, while giving her a hopeful expression.

She sighed deeply, as much as she tried to fight it, she was also a sucker for her family. “Alright, I guess I can try to mix the blue and green together. Maybe I can get the right ratio to make a teal dye.”

Liam turned to Eleanor and gave her a thumbs up, she clapped her hands and cheered in response. Riley got to work carefully mixing the two dyes into a third cup, occasionally dipping a piece of paper in to test the color. She smiled to herself when the fourth test paper emerged from the cup. Mission accomplished. “Did somebody want to make a teal egg?”

“Me me me!” Eleanor raised her hand and jumped up and down in her seat.

Riley placed the cup in front of Eleanor and handed her the egg. The pair worked together to color the final egg to the princess’s exact specifications.

Liam watched as the two of them completed their family project. His heart was so full at that moment that he felt weak in the knees. He reached behind him and laid his palms against the kitchen island to steady himself. He stood there as his wife, the love of his life, sat with his daughter creating memories in their home. In that moment, he wasn’t a King, he was the luckiest man in the world.

With the help of her mother, Eleanor pulled the egg from the dye, her smile growing exponentially as she proudly looked up at her father to show off her work. “Daddy, we did it! It’s teal!”

Liam chuckled at the sight in front of him. “I think it’s the most beautiful egg I have ever seen, Princess.”

Riley looked up and noticed Liam’s expression before leaning down to Eleanor. “Hey sweets, why don’t you go wash up for dinner while I put all of this away.” Her daughter looked up and nodded before rushing down the hall. Riley approached Liam and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Love, I can honestly tell you I have never been better.” He placed a hand on her cheek. “Do you remember our first date? During the social season?” She nodded. “You asked me what my dream was, and I told you I wanted a real family, one that was close and listened to each other.” He paused, staring deeply into her eyes. “I have that, because of you Riley. You’ve made my dream, my heart’s desire, come true. Going into my social season, I had all but given up on falling in love, and assumed I would simply marry for duty. Then you uprooted your whole life to give me a chance at happiness. I will never be able to tell you how truly grateful I am for all that you have given me.” He placed a lingering kiss on her lips.

“Liam, I did it for me too. That night in New York, I had never felt like that before. I was not that girl, the one that drops everything to fly around the world for a boy I just met, but I knew there was something there that was worth exploring.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Really?”

Riley laughed gently. “I meant every word.” She leaned in to kiss him, and he pulled her close.

They pulled apart just as Eleanor bounded back into the room. She ran straight for her parents and jumped into Liam’s arms. He held her against one side, and pulled Riley into the other. He was sure that life couldn’t get better than that very moment.

Tags:

Permatag- @anjanettexcordonia @athena-penrose @cordonia-gothqueen @cordoniaqueensworld @gabesmommie1130 @gkittylove99 @hopelessromanticmonie @iaminlovewithtrr @jessiembruno @kat-tia801 @khoicesbyk @kingliam2019 @lucy-268 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @mile9213 @mom2000aggie @pixie88 @queenrileyrose @secretaryunpaid @sweatyrysconnoisseur @theroyalheirshadowhunter @twinkleallnight @txemrn

One Shots- @darley1101

Liam x Riley- @jared2612

@choicesficwriterscreations @wackydrabbles @choicesaprilchallenge2021 @trraw

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a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives · 3 years

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How Luke Arnold went from pirate to author to Home and Away

Mediaweek Original by Trent Thomas

“2020 wasn’t the ideal year to be a debuting author let alone putting two books out”

Actor Luke Arnold first became known to Australians on a main stream scale when he portrayed Michael Hutchence in the mini-series INXS: Never Tear Us Apart. Arnold then went on to gain international recognition as a lead on the US drama Black Sails.

2020 was a busy year for Arnold who released his first novel titled The Last Smile in Sunder City followed by his second novel Dead Man In A Ditch later in the same year.

Mediaweek spoke to Arnold about life as an author as well as his career as an actor including his return to Aussie screens through Home and Away.

When we spoke with the actor, he was in the middle of a tour with the pop culture expo Supanova, which has since been delayed. Arnold said that he had relished the opportunity to connect with fans of his work, especially considering he hadn’t done many expos like this before.

“I never did any of these before. There was one time that Zach McGowan, who played Vane on Back Sails, and I did a little signing in San Diego [for Comic-Con] one year, but that was just an excuse to be there for the party.

“But now doing Supanova in the Gold Coast and Melbourne I am really loving it, it’s such a great community with the guests, the fans and all the other creative people there. And I am straddling the two worlds now being there as both an actor and as a writer.

It is the first time I can really hang out with other authors because my books came out last year and I didn’t get to do the events I had planned. This was my first time getting to go out with my books and meet some fans of the acting and some fans of the writing.”

Luke Arnold: Author

The year 2020 saw Arnold release not one but two fiction novels and Arnold said that he is enjoying juggling being an emerging author and continuing his acting career.

“2020 wasn’t the ideal year to be a debut author let alone putting two books out in the one year, but going back and forth between acting and writing I have been enjoying it a lot. I am lucky enough that jobs are coming in and I work steadily but there is always a gap between things. I finished a job in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, and my next one is not for a couple of months so it’s the perfect time to get some writing done.”

Arnold said that it is hard to know how the books are going because it’s a world that he does not have much experience in, but he is optimistic about the process so far.

“People seem to be buying them, liking them, and we are editing the third book in the series now and there are plans to keep doing more so fingers crossed it turns out all right.”

Two books in one year are rare from a writer and Arnold said not to expect that level of volume from him again, but one book a year may be possible.

“From the point I finished the first one to when we got it out, that took quite a while so that’s why I was able to follow up the first one so quickly.

“While we were working out the release of the first one, the different countries and how that was being handled I had time to really run ahead with the second. I definitely won’t be putting out two books every year as an ongoing routine! Maybe one book a year is probably doable, and I think that routine I can keep up depending on how I balance that with the acting.”

Luke Arnold on Black Sails

Arnold is best known to American audiences for his work on Black Sails, Arnold described the role as a dream job.

“It was the perfect job in so many ways. When you sign on for anything you never know what it is going to be.

You might get the pilot script or maybe a couple of scripts but even if that is good you don’t know what the actors will be like, or the directors will be like or where you will be living. There is this gamble that happens every time especially when you sign a multiyear contract, and with Black Sails I couldn’t have hoped for anything better.”

Arnold said that the show continued to improve each season because there was a clear idea of what they were trying to achieve.

“No one quite knows what type of show you’re going to be in at the start, and they have different ideas, as actors you are looking to your directors and show runners and producers trying to work out what it is meant to be according to them.

We came back for season two knowing what the show was now, when you start a show there is sometimes that feeling of too many cooks in the kitchen, but by then we knew.”

The series was filmed in South Africa which Arnold also credited with helping improve the quality of the performances.

“Over time our cast really galvanised. One of the blessings, when you work on the other side of the world, is that all you can do is focus on the job and really commit to it. It was like we were developing a play for four years with that level of rehearsal.”

Arnold said that another reason the show continued to improve after season one was that they were able to have more sets to play with.

“At that point we had one and a half ships and the town and it was like ‘okay you pretty much have to do all your story on these sets because it cost us a lot of money and that’s what it is’.

Then at the beginning of season two the world starts opening up and we begin to see different places and characters start to go off on their own adventures and that really helped shaped where the show was going.

By the time we were in season four we were spread all across the world, building sets just to see them once before we blow them up, setting ships on fire and hunting sharks, the scope of the show became quite mammoth by the end.”

Treasure Island?

With Black Sails being a prequel to the famed Treasure Island story, Arnold said that he wouldn’t rule out reprising the character of John Silver in the original tale.

“I reckon we need to let John Steinberg, Dan Shotz and Robert Levine do another couple of projects and then maybe we all come back and do that next adventure.”

Home and Away

Most actors do a show like Home and Away before going to Hollywood but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Arnold did it the other way around with a turn as Dr. Lewis Hayes on the Aussie soap.

“2020 for me was meant to be a bit of a world-wide book tour. I was in LA doing some stuff there and preparing for the book tour and that got scuppered and I found myself back in Australia.

“I think Home and Away and Neighbours were the only things shooting in Australia. They called me up, and I guess that I have an existing relationship with Seven because I played Michael Hutchence in Never Tears Us Apart. When it came up, I was like that is something that I have never done before and is an Australian staple.

“It is the type of show where you make so much TV every week and everyone is working really hard, and it was in the back of my head a good way to let people know that I am back in town and might be around for things.”

source: Mediaweek

#luke arnold #interview #home and away #black sails #treasure island #the last smile in sunder city #inxs never tear us apart #i'm back because this is so good not to share

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snarktheater · 3 years

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Hey, d'you have any French book recs? I'm trying to work on my French, and rn I have downloaded one of my favourite book series' French translations, but I figured maybe books already written in French might work better? Also have you read the Ranger's Apprentice series? 1/2

RA's def flawed - the books' narration does like to point bright arrows at the protagonists' intelligence, and the last few books def have the tone of 'old white man trying to write feminism', although at least he's trying? - and it's aimed more to the younger side of YA, but it is still a very fun series, and I can ignore the flaws fairly easily, at least partly due to nostalgia? This rather long lol but I'm wordy.

I'll start with the second question: no, although every time the series is brought up I have to check the French title and go "oh, right, I've seen these books in stores". But I've never purchased or read them. It sounds like something I probably would have enjoyed as a teen but I just missed the mark, and these days I'm trying to drown myself in queer books, so that probably isn't happening.

As for your first question, geez, I haven’t read a French book in years, so this is gonna skew middle grade/YA, though that may not be so bad if the point is to learn the language. I will also say that as a result, these may read a little outdated.

I'll put it under a cut, even if Tumblr has become really bad with correctly displaying read mores. Sorry, mobile crowd.

It's also likely that old readers of the blog will have seen me talk about most of these. I don't feel like going through old posts.

One last thing: while I was curating this list I took the time to make a Goodreads shelf to keep track of those.

The Ewilan books by Pierre Bottero

(It's a testament to how long ago I read these books that these are not the covers of the edition I own, and I can't even find those on Google. I'm settling for a more recent cover anyway since it'll make it easier to find them, presumably)

There are at least three trilogies (that I know of) set in the same world.

The first trilogy is essentially an isekai (so, French girl lands in parallel fantasy world by accident) with elements of chosen one trope, though I find the execution makes it worth the while anyway.

The second trilogy is a direct sequel, so same protagonist but new threat, and the world gets expanded.

The third one is centered around a supporting characters from the previous books, and the first couple of books in it are more her backstory than a continuation, though the third one concludes both that trilogy and advances the story of the other books as well.

Notably these books have a really fun magic system where the characters "draw" things into existence. It's just stuck with me for some reason.

A bunch of stuff by Erik L'Homme

I have read a lot of this man's books, starting with Le Livre des Etoiles.

They also skew towards the young end of YA, arguably middle grade, I never bothered to figure out where to draw the line. They're coincidentally also using the premise of a parallel world to our own (and yes, connected to France again, the French are just as susceptible of writing about their homeland), but interestingly are set from the point of view of characters native to the parallel world.

It also has a very unique magic system, this one based on a mix of a runic alphabet and sort-of poetry. I'll also say specifically for these books that the characters stuck with me way more than others on this list, which is worth mentioning.

This trilogy is my favorite by Erik L'Homme, but I'll also mention Les Maîtres des brisants, which is a fantasy space opera with a pirate steampunk(?) vibe. I think it's steampunk. I could be mistaken. But it's in that vein. It's also middle grade, in my opinion not as good, but it could just be that it came out when I was older.

Another one is Phaenomen, which was a deliberate attempt at skewing older (though still YA). This one is set in our (then-)modern world and centers a group of teens who happen to have supernatural powers. I guess the best way to describe it is a superhero thriller? If you take "superhero" in the sense of "people with individualized powers", since they don't really do a lot of heroing.

...I really need to brush up on genre terminology, don't I.

The Ji series by Pierre Grimbert

This one is actually adult fantasy, though it definitely falls under "probably outdated". It is very straight, for starters, and I'd have to give it another read to give a more critical reading of how it handles race (it attempts to do it, and is well meaning, but I'm not sure it survives the test of time & scrutiny, basically).

If I haven't lost you already, the premise is this: a few generations ago, a weird man named Nol gathered emissaries from each nation of the world and took them to a trip to the titular Ji island. Nobody knows what went down here, but now in the present day, someone is trying to kill off all descendants from those emissaries, who are as a result forced to team up and figure out what's going on.

I'm not going to spoil past that, though I will say it has (surprise) a really unique magic system! I guess you can start to piece together what my younger self was interested in. Which, admittedly, I still am.

Once again, this one also has a strong cast of characters, helped by rich world building and the premise forcing the characters to come from many different cultures (though, again, I can't vouch for the handling of race because it's been too long).

The first series is complete by itself, though it has two sequel series as well, each focusing on the next generation in these families. Because yes, of course they all pair up and have kids. Like I said: very straight.

A whole lot of books by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

OFetjaine is a historian, and I guess he's really interested in Arthurian mythos especially, because he loves it so much he's written two separate high fantasy retellings of them! I'm not criticizing, mind you, we all need a hobby.

The former, the Elves trilogy (pictures above) is very traditional high fantasy. Elves, dwarves, orcs, a world which is definitely fictionalized with a pan-Celtic vibe to it. The holy grail and excalibur are around, but they're relics possessed by the elves and dwarves with very different powers than usual. Et cetera.

Fetjaine also really loves his elves (as the titles might imply), and while they're not exactly Tolkien elves, there's a similar vibe to them. If you like Tolkien and his elf boner, you'll probably like this too. And conversely, if that turns you off, these books probably also won't work for you.

This series also has a prequel trilogy, centered around the backstory of one of the main characters. I...honestly don't remember too much about it, but I liked it, so, there you go, I guess.

I said Fetjaine did it twice. The other series is the Merlin duology, which, as the title implies, is a retelling of Merlin's story. Note that Merlin is also in the other trilogy, but it's a different Merlin; like I said, completely different continuities and stories.

This one is historical fantasy, so it's set in actual Great Britain, and Fetjaine attempts to connect Arthur to a "real" historical figure...but, you know, Merlin is also half-elf and elves totally exist in Brocéliande, so, you know. History.

Okay, that's probably enough fantasy, let me give some classics too.

L'Arbre des possibles et autres histoires - Bernard Werber

Bernard Werber is a pretty seminal author of French sci-fi and I should probably be embarrassed that the only book of his that I read was for school, but, it is a really good one, so I'll include it anyway.

It's a novella collection, and when I say "sci-fi" I want to make it clear that it's very old school science fiction. It's more Frankenstein or Black Mirror than Star Trek, what we in French call the anticipation genre of science fiction: you take one piece of technology or cultural norm and project it into the future.

It has a pretty wide range of topics and tones, so it's bound to have some better than others. My personal faves were Du pain et des jeux, where football (non-American) has evolved into basically a wargame, and Tel maître, tel lion, where any animal is considered acceptable as a pet, no matter how absurd it is to keep as a pet. They're both on a comedic end, but there's more heartfelt stuff too.

L'Ecume des Jours - Boris Vian

(no cover because I can't find the one I have, and the ones I find are ugly)

This book is surrealist. Like, literally a part of the surrealist movement. It features things such as a lilypad growing inside a woman's lungs (and, as you well know, lilypads double in size every day, wink wink), the protagonist's apartment becoming larger and smaller to go with his mood and current financial situation, and more that I can't even recall at the moment because remembering this book is like trying to remember having an aneurysm.

It is also really, really fun and touching. Oh, and it has a pretty solid movie adaptation, starring Audrey Tautou, who I think an international audience would probably recognize from Amelie or the Da Vinci Code movie.

I don't really know what else to say. It's a really cool read!

Le Roi se meurt - Eugène Ionesco

Ionesco is somewhat famous worldwide so I wasn't even sure to include him here. He's a playwright who wrote in the "Theater of the Absurd" movement, and this play is part of that.

The premise of this play is that the King (of an unnamed land) is dying, and the land is dying with him. I don't really know what else to say. It's theater of the absurd. It kind of has to be experienced (the published version works fine, btw, no need to track down an actual performance, in my humble opinion).

The Plague - Albert Camus

You've probably heard of this one, and if you haven't, let me tell you about a guy called Carlos Maza

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I'm honestly more including this book out of a sense of duty. The other three are books I genuinely liked and happen to be classics. This book was an awful read. But, um. It's kind of relevant now in a way it wasn't (or didn't feel, anyway) back in 2008 or 2009, when I read it. And I don't just mean because of our own plague, since Camus's plague is pretty famously an allegory for fascism, which my teenage self sneered at, and my adult self really regrets every feeling that way.

Okay, finally, some more lighthearted stuff, we gotta talk about the Belgian and French art of bande dessinée. How is it different from comic books or manga? Functionally, it isn't. It really comes down more to what gets published in the Belgian-French industry compared to the American comics industry, which is dominated by superheroes, or the Japanese manga industry, which, while I'm less familiar with it, I know has some big genre trends as well that are completely separate.

The Lanfeust series - Arleston and Tarquin

This is a YA mega-series, and I can't recommend all of it because I've lost track of the franchise's growth. Also note that I say "YA", but in this case it means something very different from an American understanding of YA. These books are pretty full of sex.

No, when I say YA I mean it has that level of maturity, for better or worse. The original series (Lanfeust de Troy) is high fantasy in a world where everyone has an individual magical ability but two characters find out they're gifted with an absolute power to make anything happen, and while it gets dark at times, it's still very lighthearted throughout, and the humor is...well, I think it's best described as teen boy humor. And it has a tendency to objectify its female characters, as you'll quickly parse out from the one cover I used here or if you browse more covers.

But still, it holds a special place in my heart, I guess. And on my shelves.

The sequel series, Lanfeust des Etoiles, turns it into a space opera, and goes a little overboard with the pop culture reference at times, though overall still maintains that balance of serious/at times dark story and lighthearted comedy.

After that the franchise is utter chaos to me, and I've lost track. I know there was another sequel series, which I dropped partway through, and a spinoff that retold part of the original series from the PoV of the main love interest (in the period of time she spent away from the main group). There was a comedy spin-off about the troll species unique to this world, a prequel series, probably more I don't even know exist.

Les Démons d'Alexia

Something I can probably be a little less ashamed of including here.

Some backstory here. The Editions Dupuis are a giant of the Belgian bande dessinée industry, and for many, many years I was subscribed to their weekly magazine. That magazine was (mostly) made up of excerpts from the various books that the éditions were publishing at the time; those that were made of comic strips would usually get a couple pages of individual scripts, while the ongoing narratives got cut into episodes that were a few pages long (out of a typical 48 page count for a single BD album). Among those were this series.

For the first few volumes, I wasn't super into this series, probably because I was a little too young and smack dab in the middle of my "trying to be one of the boys" phase. But around book 3 I got really invested, to the point where I own the second half of the series because I had canceled by subscription by then but still wanted to know more.

Alexia is an exorcist with unusual talents, but little control, who's introduced to a group that specializes in researching paranormal phenomena, solving cases that involve the paranormal, that kinda stuff.

As a result of the premise, the series has a pretty slow start since it has to build up mystery around the source of Alexia's powers, but once it gets going and we get to what is essentially the series' main conflict, it gets really interesting.

Plus, witches. I'm a simple gay who likes strong protagonists and witches.

Murena

There was a point where my mtyhology nerdery led me to look for more stuff about the historical cultures that created them, and so I'd be super into stuff set in ancient Rome (I'd say "or Greece or Egypt" but let's face it, it was almost always Rome).

Murena is a series set just before the start of Emperor Nero's rule. You know, the one who was emperor when Rome burned, and according to urban legend either caused the fire or played the fiddle while it did (note: "fiddle" is a very English saying, it's usually the lyre in other languages). He probably didn't, it probably was propaganda, but he was a) a Roman Emperor, none of whom were particularly stellar guys and b) mean to Christians, who eventually got to rewrite history. So he's got a bad rep.

The series goes for a very historical take on events, albeit fictionalized (the protagonist and main PoV, the titular Lucius Murena, is himself fictional) and attempts to humanize the people involved in those events. Each book also includes some of the sources used to justify how events and characters are depicted, which is a nice touch.

It's also divided in subseries called "cycles" (books 1-4, 5-8 and the ongoing one starts at 9). I stopped after 9, though I think it's mostly a case of not going to bookstores often anymore. Plus it took four years between 9 and 10, and again between 10 and 11. But the first eight books made for a pretty solid story that honestly felt somewhat concluded as is, so it's a good place to start.

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yumeka36 · 4 years

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The Frozen 2 prequel novel, “Dangerous Secrets: The Story of Iduna and Agnarr,” is scheduled to release on November 3rd. A preview excerpt was just released via this article from Insider.com. I pasted it below, with my thoughts following:

---

THE STORM IS GETTING WORSE.

Lightning slashes across an angry black sky, soon followed by the crash of thunder. Waves pound against the ship's hull as I grip the wooden rail with white knuckles. Fierce gusts of wind tug my hair free from its braid, and damp brown strands whip at my face. I don't dare let go to brush them away.

Instead, I keep my eyes on the sea. Looking for her.

In some ways, I've spent my entire life looking for her. And tonight, my journey may finally come to an end. Unfinished. Unfound.

Ahtohallan. Please! I need you!

Perhaps she never existed at all. Perhaps she was simply a myth. A silly song to lull children to sleep. To make them feel safe and secure in a world that's anything but. Perhaps I was a fool to think we could simply go and seek her out. Learn the mother's secrets.

I do know something about a mother's secrets.

Another wave sweeps in, bashing against the ship's hull, sending a spray of icy seawater splashing at my face. I stumble backward, momentarily blinded by the salt stinging my eyes. A strong pair of hands clamps down on my hips; a solid chest at my back keeps me upright.

I turn, already knowing whom I'll find standing tall behind me. The man who has been with me almost my entire life. The man who has made me laugh—and cry—more than anyone else in the world. My husband. The father of my daughters. My enemy. My friend.

My love.

Agnarr, king of Arendelle.

"Come, Iduna," he says, pulling me around to face him. He reaches out, clasping my hands in his. They are as warm and strong as mine are cold and trembling.

I look up, taking in the sharp line of his jaw. The fierceness in his leaf-green eyes. If he's frightened, he's not showing it. "We need to go below deck," he says, shouting to be heard over the furious wind. "Captain's orders. It's not safe up here. One rogue wave could knock you overboard."

I feel a sob rise to my throat. I want to lash out, protest the orders. I'm fine. I can take care of myself. I'm not some silly girl frightened by the elements.

But what I really want to say is, I can't leave. I haven't found her yet.

If I go below, I may never find her.

And if I don't . . .

Elsa. My sweet Elsa . . . My dear Anna . . .

Agnarr gives me a pointed look. I sigh, untangling my hands from his, and begin stumbling toward the stairs that lead to our cabin below, on legs unaccustomed to rough seas. I'm almost there when the ship suddenly pitches hard to the left and I lose my footing, grabbing on to the railing to save myself. I can feel a few of the crew watching me with concern, but I push forward, keeping my head held high. I am a queen, after all. There are certain expectations.

Once below, I push open our cabin door and move inside, letting it bang shut behind me. The captain has given us his cabin for the journey, which I insisted wasn't necessary, but I was overruled. It's the only cabin suited for a fine lady, he protested. Because that's how he sees me.

That's how they all see me now. A fine lady. A perfectly poised Arendellian queen.

But now, at last, Agnarr knows the truth.

I ease myself down on the bed, reaching to grab my knitting needles and my half-finished project. An inappropriate task under the circumstances, but perhaps the only thing that might steady my hands—my pounding heart. I can hear Agnarr push open the door, his strong, solid presence filling the room. But I don't look up. Instead, I start to knit as the ship rocks beneath my

feet. It's dark down below, too dark to really see the delicate yarn, but my hands are sure and true, the repetitive motions as natural and familiar to me as taking in air. Yelana would be proud.

Yelana. Is she still out there, in the Enchanted Forest, still locked in the mist?

Only Ahtohallan knows.

Suddenly, I want to throw my needles across the room. Or collapse on the bed in tears. But I do neither, keeping my attention on the unfinished shawl. Forcing myself to let each stitch lull me into something resembling comfort.

Agnarr pulls out a wooden stool from the captain's desk, sitting down across from me. He picks up a corner of the unfinished shawl, running his large fingers across the tiny stitches. I dare to sneak a peek at him, realizing his eyes have become soft and faraway.

"This is the same pattern," he says slowly. And I know what he means without asking. Because of course it is. I hadn't even realized it when I started, but of course it is.

The same pattern as the shawl my mother knitted me when I was a baby.

The shawl that saved his life.

"It's an old Northuldra pattern," I explain, surprised how easily the words leave my mouth now that the truth is known. "Belonging to my family." I pick up his hand and place it on each symbol in turn. "Earth, fire, water, wind." I pause on the wind symbol, thinking back to

Gale. "It was the Wind Spirit who helped me save your life that day in the forest."

He gives a low whistle. "A wind spirit! If only I'd known," he says, reaching up to brush his thumb gently across my cheek. Even after all these years, his touch still sparks a longing ache deep inside, and it's an imperative, not an option, to drop my needles to return the gesture. To run my fingers against the light stubble of his jaw. "It would have made my stories to the girls so much more interesting."

I smile at this. I can't help it. He has always found a way to help me find sunshine amidst the gloomiest of days. It's strange, though, to realize he knows everything now. After a lifetime overshadowed with secrets, it should feel freeing.

But in truth, it still scares me a little, and I find myself glancing at him when he doesn't know I'm looking. Trying to see, trying to know whether the truth has changed his feelings toward me. Does he resent me for keeping so much from him for so long? Or does he truly understand why I did it? If we survive this night, how will things change between us? Will the truth bring us closer together? Or tear us apart?

Only Ahtohallan knows. . . .

I reach out and take Agnarr's hands in mine, meeting his deep green eyes with my blue ones. I swallow down the lump in my throat that threatens to choke me, and force another smile.

"I will never forget that day," I start with a whisper, not sure he can even hear me over the tempest outside. "That horrible, wonderful day."

"Tell me," he whispers back, leaning in close. I can feel his breath on my lips. Our faces are inches away. "Tell me everything."

I swallow all the words that threaten to jump out of my throat in a hurried rush, throwing myself back on the bed, staring up at the wooden-beamed ceiling. After I breathe calmly, I say, "That might take all night."

He crawls onto the bed, lying down next to me. He reaches out and curls his hand into mine. "For you, I've got forever."

I swallow hard, tears welling in my eyes. I want to protest: we don't have forever. Or even all night. We may not have an hour, judging from the way the wooden beams of the ship are creaking and cracking. But at the same time, it doesn't matter. It's time. It's long past time. He deserves to know everything.

I swipe the tears away, rolling to my side and propping my head up with my elbow. "You have to tell your part, too," I say. "This story isn't only mine, you know."

His arm curls around my waist, his hand settling at the small of my back as he tugs me closer to him. He's so warm. How is it possible that he's still so warm? "I think I can manage that," he says with a small smile. "But you must start. It all began with you, after all."

"All right," I say, resting my head on his chest, his steady heartbeat against my ear. I close my eyes, trying to decide where to begin. So much has happened over the years. But there is that one day. One fateful day that changed the course of both our lives forever.

I open my eyes. "It all starts with the wind," I say. "My dear friend Gale."

As I speak, the words begin to course through me like the forbidding waters roiling outside. And like the waters, I will finally make myself heard.

Agnarr will listen.

He's always been the storyteller in our family. But not this time. Now it's my turn to tell the tale.

---

What stood out to me:

- It seems like Iduna revealed her past to Agnarr around the time they set sail for Ahtohallan, not the night of the accident with Elsa’s magic as Jennifer Lee, and I believe other sources, have implied. Of course, with “spin-off” content like this where the original creators aren’t involved, there’s bound to be inconsistencies. But Jen never stated that the time of Iduna’s reveal was definitely the night of the accident, only that she believes it’s that night though it could have been another night (I think this was part of the podcast interview she did several months ago). So yeah, the exact night it happened isn’t terribly relevant.

- This excerpt also reveals that Iduna revealed some of the truth to Agnarr early on, but then reveals everything in detail during their last moments before the ship goes down. So maybe she did reveal some of it the night of the accident but not all? We’ll see.

- Iduna knew Yelena. That makes sense considering Yelena’s age and the importance she seems to have in the Northuldra tribe.

- Iduna uses feminine pronouns for Ahtohallan, reinforcing the theory in my Frozen 2 book that Ahtohallan was viewed as a goddess of sorts in Northuldra culture

- Iduna also calls the wind spirit “Gale.” Obviously we all thought that was the name Olaf gave her but apparently Iduna did as well. Coincidence?

- The book is written in first-person perspective from Iduna’s point of view, unlike the previous adult-aimed Frozen books “A Frozen Heart” and “Forest of Shadows” which are written in second/third-person.

- Iduna was in the process of knitting another scarf while on the ship. I wonder why.

- The cover art for the book changed slightly from the original version, with the main image in the center being of Iduna and Agnarr when they’re younger instead of when they’re king and queen.

- I’m curious as to what kind of order the book will present the events of the timeline. Obviously this excerpt is from the end of Iduna and Agnarr’s lives, so will it start here and show everything else via flashbacks? Seems weird they’d choose the end of the book for this preview so my guess is that things will be revealed out of order.

#frozen 2 #frozen #disney frozen #frozen2 #queen iduna #agnarr

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amanda-glassen · 3 years

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The Love of Her Life

Some Serena and baby Liv fluff for day 1 of @dailysvu Olivia Benson Week: The moment you fell in love with Olivia Benson. Prequel to The Wonder Years.

February 2009

From the moment she found out she was pregnant, Serena began reading pregnancy websites and parenting magazines, but the most sound parenting advice came from her own mother who told her that no book, magazine, or website could ever fully prepare her for what it’d be like when she actually held her baby for the first time. After Olivia had been dried off, she was placed tummy-down on Serena’s chest so the skin-to-skin contact could help Serena bond with Olivia during her first moments on this earth. She was wearing a little pink knit hat, but underneath it Serena could see Olivia’s soft dark hair. She’s a brunette like me. Feeling her baby against her skin as she held her for the first time was even more overwhelming than she thought it would be and Serena couldn’t help crying.

“You did good, baby,” her mom said as she kissed Serena’s temple. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Serena responded. “Mom, how is it possible to love someone so much? I thought I couldn’t love her more than I already did when she was in my womb, but that love doesn’t even compare to what I feel for her right now.”

The Bensons had a beach house in Malibu along Pacific Coast Highway and the sound of the waves at night had always been therapeutic for Serena. When her thoughts and the memories got to be too much for her after she had been raped, she’d sit outside on her balcony and listen to the waves while writing in her pregnancy journal. She filled page after page about what she was feeling and what her hopes were for Olivia. On more than one occasion, she wrote about how－if she closed her eyes really tight and just listened to her surroundings－she could be twelve-years-old again and riding boogie boards with her brother and sister or even six-years-old and making sandcastles with them. Some of her best memories were at the beach, but the one she knew she’d never be able to top was that first night she brought Olivia home.

Serena stood on the balcony in her Columbia University hoodie and a pair of pajama pants. Although February in Malibu was nowhere near as cold as February in New York, she made sure to dress Olivia in her warmest pajamas and wrap her in a blanket.

“Sorry this isn’t skin-to-skin contact, but Mommy can’t be topless on the balcony,” she said as she held Olivia to her chest. “How about to make up for it, I let you drool all you want on my Columbia hoodie? We’ll be going back there in August. Columbia is Mommy’s school and she has to finish up her senior year.” Why am I talking about myself in the third person? I can’t believe I’ve become one of those moms already. “Everyone thinks it's going to be hard for me to be a full time student at an Ivy League school and be a mom living on my own, but I think we'll be okay. Your grandma is going to stay there from time to time and we have a great support system. It’s a lot colder in New York but it’s beautiful in autumn when the leaves change colors. In a couple of years, I’m going to take you trick-or-treating. I can’t wait. There’s a lot of things I can’t wait to do with you, but at the same time I want you to stay this small and cuddly.”

“The semester before I got pregnant with you, I was in a Shakespearean seminar and I got your name from Twelfth Night. My professor was really strict though. He started teaching in the early ‘80s and won’t even let us bring our laptops to class. We’re only allowed handwritten notes. After a three hour class, my right hand was so numb and I thought it was going to fall off. I want to be an English lit professor someday, but I promise I won’t be like him. I’ll actually acknowledge that it’s the 21st century. I’m sorry for rambling. I know it’s important to talk, read, and sing to your baby and trust me when I say you don’t want me singing so you’re stuck with me talking and reading to you. I have so many stories to tell you. There’s this cookie place that your aunt Lexie and uncle Kyle and I love. When you can start eating solids, you and I will share a cookie there. They’re open until 3 a.m. Can you believe it? I bet 3 a.m. is nothing for you, though. You’re a little party animal. You like to sleep all day and stay up all night, have a drink at midnight and 2 a.m.”

“Can you hear the waves?” Serena asked her daughter. “The sound is relaxing, isn’t it? My doctor told me that the most soothing sound for a baby when he or she is in the womb is their mother’s heartbeat. Now that you’re not in the womb anymore, you’re going to hear all types of sounds, some more soothing than others. I hope the ocean is one of them. Can you believe all the way across this big body of water, there’s other countries and people just like us? Maybe there’s a mommy and a baby listening to the waves on the baby’s first day at home just like we are.”

Although Olivia couldn’t understand a word she was saying, she felt as if she still had to get this next bit of information off of her chest. “I’m new to this, Olivia. Just nine months ago, I was a sorority girl who went to parties every Friday and Saturday night and then something really bad happened to me and my life took a turn I didn’t expect it to. Being a mom wasn’t what I had planned, but here you are and I never imagined loving someone so much. I’m probably going to get things wrong four out of five times, but I’m still learning and I promise you I’ll get better. I’m going to love you every single moment of every single day, Olivia, and nothing you do will ever make me stop loving you.”

Serena heard the sound of her sliding glass door opening. “Sweetheart, come inside,” her mom told her. “It’s getting cold out there for my grandbaby. Don’t you think you should put her in her crib now?”

“I was hoping I could sleep with her,” Serena responded as she gently rocked Olivia. “I’m not ready to let go.”

“My big baby,” Mrs. Benson shook her head. “I love how excited you are to spend time with Olivia, but it’s not safe for a newborn to sleep in a bed. She needs to be in her crib. Trust me, you won’t go long without holding her. Newborns don’t sleep through the night. She’ll wake up in around two hours and want you to feed her. Do you remember everything the lactation consultant told you? Or do you need me to help you? If you need me, just call, okay?”

It was supposed to be one of the most natural things a mother can do, but Serena still worried about Olivia not drinking enough of her milk, or too much, or not latching on properly. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll call you if I need help with anything.”

“You’re not ready to let go of her, are you?”

“I’ll never be ready to let go of her.”

“Come in,” Mrs. Benson insisted. “I promised I’d never tell another mom how to raise her child, but you’re my baby and she’s my grandbaby, so I’ll let you hold her longer but only if you come inside.”

There were three generations of Benson women on Serena’s bed, Serena and her mom sitting up, leaning against the headboard, and baby Olivia resting her head on her mommy’s chest. “Mom, what do you think she’ll be like when she gets older?”

Mrs. Benson put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Let’s see. She’s being raised by you so she’ll be stubborn for sure, but she’ll also be kind, intelligent, and brave just like you.”

Ten minutes of holding Olivia turned into half an hour and eventually an hour until Mrs. Benson broke down and decided to make a baby nest so Serena could safely cuddle her daughter in bed. Serena didn't get more than a couple of hours of sleep that night, partly because Olivia kept waking her up, but mostly because she just wanted to admire her. There were so many mixed emotions for Serena. Her baby may have been conceived in an act of violence, but Olivia was so innocent. “You have nothing to do with him,” she said as she placed delicate kisses on her baby’s forehead. “I know I have a long road ahead of me and my healing can’t be dependent on you. It wouldn’t be fair to you, but just know that you’ve already helped me in so many ways and I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving you.”

#benson week #alex and liv: the wonder years #olivia benson #law and order svu #serena benson

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101flavoursofweird · 4 years

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Brenda deserves better.

I’ve talked about some of the other under-appreciated PL ladies like Katia, Janice/Melina and Marina. Now here’s Brenda.

In PL4, Brenda appears in a grand total of two cutscenes (with 0 voiced speaking lines), in a bonus episode and a few credit pictures. At first glance, her character profile doesn’t give us much insight into her personality either. She doesn’t get her own description in the PL4 character section of The World of Professor Layton, just a quick summary in Luke’s Family section. It’s easy to see why people don’t get immediately attached to her.

There are plenty of other female characters in PL4, even those who aren’t ‘reoccurring characters’, who leave a much bigger impression— Rosa, Emmy, Arianna, Loosha, Marylin, Wren (A lot of my personal favourites!)... Listing them all now, I’m just realising that it’s no wonder Brenda doesn’t stand out!

We first hear about Brenda when Layton asks Clark how she’s doing. Clark replies dismissively, ‘My wife is fine. She’s away. Family matters.’ Liam O'Brien doesn’t get enough credit for how well he plays Clark. Seriously, as much as he snaps at Luke, if you replay PL4 you can hear the anxiety hidden in Clark’s voice. He then quickly moves on to Luke. Layton says that he hasn’t seen Luke since he was a baby, which would suggest he hasn’t seen Brenda since then either.

Brenda enjoys travelling, as her character profile indicates, so her absence wouldn’t seem too suspicious at first for Layton. However, it’s the manner in which she left that’s odd. If you talk to Brenda’s NPC friend, Thomas, he’ll discuss Brenda’s departure with Luke. Brenda would usually chat about her travel plans with Thomas, but this time, she left without a word. Thomas wonders if there’s a reason for this. He notes that Brenda always loved family vacations, unless she and Clark were fighting... He could be referring to fights Brenda and Clark have had in the past, or to more recent fights during the spectre attacks. Brenda noticed how Clark was acting like a different person after Evan Barde’s death (something Luke also picks up on), so that might have led to some misunderstandings.

Luke thinks his mum left because she couldn’t deal with his dad anymore. (Or that Clark had even hidden Brenda away!) But she would never just leave without telling Luke.

Beth the maid notes that Clark has changed since Brenda left and she’s been hearing noises from the Tritons’ cellar.

As awful as it would be for anyone to be trapped in a dank cellar for months on end, it must have been especially awful for someone who loves travelling. And in their own house too! Sure, Angela got locked in a hotel room. Yeah, Flora was trapped in a barn. Bill Hawks got taken to Future London for like a week—no one cares. But at least they all got rescued fairly quickly. Much like Angela, Brenda had a hunch about the villain in her town... and she ended up getting imprisoned by Descole.

When Brenda and Doland escape from the cellar, Brenda’s first concern is Luke and Clark’s safety. Emmy asks if she’s OK, but Brenda doesn’t answer. She’s just shocked to hear that Luke is with the professor. Professor Who? Hershel Layton?! Again, this suggests Layton hasn’t seen Brenda for many years— since Luke was a baby.

In Layton’s bonus episode with Clark, Layton mentions how Clark and Brenda have always been close. Layton is the one to suggest that the Tritons should come back to London.

Sadly, we don’t get a conversation between Luke and Brenda, or Clark and Brenda, during PL4.

We do learn that Luke is protective of the bear his mum got him for his birthday. There’s also the heartbreaking bit about Luke calling out to his mum in his sleep while she was missing. But then, we get THIS precious picture from the PL4 credits:

Thankfully, we get more interactions with Brenda during Azran Legacy, and we get more of a feel for her personality. Luke spots his mum in Kensington High Street and wants to say hello to her with Aurora. Brenda is surprised to see Luke, as she thought he was off on a trip with Professor Layton. (She actually calls Layton ‘Hershel’ when she speaks to him!) Brenda is quite happy to let Luke tag along with Layton. Though, she does tell Luke to be on his best behaviour— no reckless rushing around.

Luke mentions in a dialogue box that he got his blue cap from the fancy hat shop in Misthallery. @laytonerd came up with the idea that Brenda may have bought Luke his classic hat. (In the Layton universe, giving someone a hat is a sign of love*.) And from what we see of Brenda during Azran Legacy... yeah, that sounds about right.

I love how something so simple like the Dress Up Minigame can reveal so much about a character. Brenda is elevated from Loving Mother to Hippie Angel Lady. That quirky part of her personality was already alluded to in her character profile. But now we see that Brenda doesn’t just collect odd souvenirs... She has a very unique style as well. (Her top hat appears to be inspired by Hershel’s top hat—again, adding some weight to their friendship!) Luke thinks her whole outfit is just too much, but Clark thinks she looks stunning and it suits her to a T. This is probably just one outfit amidst a huge wardrobe of wacky outfits. Perfect for Brenda and Clark’s wedding anniversary! Clark states that Brenda’s angel outfit reminds him of when they first started seeing each other... and he doesn’t know what he did to deserve her, making Brenda blush. Luke wants no part in this.

Brenda’s favourite colour is yellow. A colour associated with the sun, flowers, hope, cheerfulness and energy. (Like Emmy!) But it’s also associated with sickness, cowardice and deceit. (Again, relating to Emmy!) I wouldn’t call Brenda a coward, but she was a pawn in Descole’s plan and it probably took some time for her to recover from that. But, from her demeanour, she seems cheerful when she’s in London!

Brenda’s obviously quite close to Doland too. He worries about her when they escape from the cellar. It’s not like he does all the chores around the house! Brenda is the one to cook Luke’s favourite meal (roast lamb) when their family is reunited. Brenda knew when something wasn’t right with Doland while Descole was in disguise. She even refers to him as ‘Our Doland’. Awww!

We get several conversations between Clark and Layton in PL4, along with a bonus episode, demonstrating their friendship. But I really wish we could’ve seen more of Layton and Brendas’ friendship. Brenda is very relaxed about Luke going with the professor on his trips. (This isn’t surprising as she is a fan of travelling herself.) Brenda is very similar to Layton in how she picks up on other people’s behaviour. Brenda noticed that Doland was acting out of character, and she noticed Clark was being manipulated. She tried to go to the authorities (though, Third Eye Jakes wouldn’t have been much help...) and so, Descole had to take her out of the picture. She, like Layton, posed a real threat to Descole’s plans. Brenda describes Hershel as being very dedicated and hardworking when he was a student, but he’d also disappear for days on random adventures. With Brenda being a traveller herself, that’s another thing she and Hershel have in common!

To this day, I’m still not 100% sure what Brenda does for a living. In Luke’s Family section in The World of Professor Layton, it’s mentioned that Brenda was ‘also Professor Layton’s classmate’. I’m assuming this means she studied archaeology as well? During AL, she talks about how she’s going to Gressenheller’s Library to do some research for a paper on plate tectonics... I thought that had more to do with geography than archaeology, but who knows? Maybe she does both! So, she might either teach at Gressenheller like Clark and Layton, or she has returned to university to do some studies of her own. She doesn’t seem to work in the same department as Clark, at least. She ‘drops by’ to see how Clark is doing, and to get a look at his department’s cutting-edge technology.

Brenda, like Professor Sycamore, is partial to the odd pun! She then proceeds to give them a puzzle— ‘Mutual Meeting Place’.

It’s about four friends going to the theatre! ...Four friends. Could that possibly be a reference to Layton, Clark, Brenda and Claire? The girl in the puzzle picture also just happens to have red hair and she’s wearing green! (I just made myself sad.) Unfortunately, Claire doesn’t get so much as unnamed reference when Clark, Brenda and Layton talk at Gressenheller, but it’s easy to imagine Claire was close with them back when they were students.

I’d like to think Brenda was particularly good friends with Claire. (They may even be a rare ship of mine...) *Who else was obsessed with quirky styles, and bought a hat for someone she loved? Brenda’s top hat in her Dress Up costume looks just like the hat Claire chose for Hershel. Brenda has an interest in new technology— imagine how many hours she spent discussing science with Claire! “You want to be the world’s first time traveller? Sure, go for it!” I find it quite significant that Claire’s death— and the institute explosion— were referenced in PL4. (Chelmey’s bonus episode is so hard to watch!) Had the Tritons already lost touch with Hershel (and Claire) before Claire’s death...? I wish Level 5 had given us more content for the Gressenheller gang.

I can’t really say Brenda went through any under-appreciated character arcs, like Katia or Janice/Melina. She starts out as Luke’s-loving-mother... and by the end of the prequel games, she’s still Luke’s loving mother, which is fine! By AL, I guess you could say her relationship with Clark is much happier, if they were fighting before? And in the AL bonus episode, she admits she was initially worried about Luke when he wanted to go on adventures with the professor, but she can see has Luke grown up since then. She even helps Luke choose the blue sweater that he wears during the original trilogy games. Brenda and Clark don’t appear during the original trilogy- obviously, as their characters weren’t invented yet. But we could take this as a sign that they’ve accepted Luke’s growing independence and they still trust Hershel immensely!

There is a picture of the Triton family meeting up with Layton, Flora and the Barde siblings. Luke, Arianna and Tony are looking at a photo, remembering the time they spent together in Misthallery. Brenda is smiling at Flora in the background. Brenda’s clearly happy and, like the Barde siblings, she was able to move on from what happened with the spectre.

@the-triton-family-blog was also a great help for this post!

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hemmingslftv · 4 years

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wildflower 🌸 calum hood (chapter 1)

Words: 4k

Warning: smut, oral sex, unprotected sex, drinking

Author’s Note: I wrote this a while ago as a prequel to a fanfic but I don’t know if I will ever write the actual thing so here it is. I will write mostly in the second person (using y/n) but this was already written this way. This is my first time posting so please let me know what you think! Feedback is appreciated. Also, my requests are open. Enjoy!

It was almost midnight already. Lesley and Julia were supposed to meet their friends at the club about 15 minutes ago.

- I can't believe we're late again - Lesley said getting out of the uber after thanking the driver. - Me neither! I hope they don't get mad. I don't wanna start the night with an argument. - No, they won't. - How do you know that? - Julia asked while they walked quickly trying to get there as soon as possible. - Karen just texted saying she'll be here in ten, so we're not the only ones late. And they can't get mad to all three of us - Lesley placed her phone on the front pocket of her leather skirt and adjusted the white top she was wearing. - I know I already told you, but you look stunning tonight Lesy. - Thanks, Jules. - Promise me you're gonna try to have fun and please promise you're gonna stop overthinking. Just for tonight. - Okay, okay, I promise - They arrived at the club, their friends already standing by the front door. After waiting for Karen, they got in. - Are you all drinking tonight? - Lesley asked, raising her voice as they came closer to the bar - cause I definitely am - All of the girls nodded in response. - Okay then, I'll be the one controlling all of you tonight - Julia said receiving a few "thanks" from her friends.

Two weeks ago, Brandon had broken up with Lesley, after a 2 years relationship, by phone call. He hadn't even bothered to give her an explanation, arguing he didn't owe her anything. She had spent the last fifteen days crying and not wanting to get out of the house. After a lot of fighting, Julia, her flatmate, had convinced her to go out with all their friends, just a girls' night, without worrying about boys at all. Lesley had agreed just so she would stop listening to Julia begging day after day. About three hours later, all the girls were on the dance floor, enjoying themselves and having a good time, Julia included. She had started drinking an hour before, giving up to the girls asking her to do so. That meant that now there wasn't anyone to control the situation, but it felt right to all of them.

Lesley was feeling great for the first time in a while, and she decided she hadn't drunk enough, although anyone else could disagree on that. She walked back to the bar and waited for the bartender to notice her while she checked her phone. - Hello, what would you like? - a girl asked a moment later behind the counter. - A tequila please - she answered and reached for her purse realizing she hadn't actually brought one and her wallet was in Julia's - fuck - she muttered to herself and turned trying to find her friends, but they were nowhere to be found. She sighed trying to decide what to do but she couldn't really think straight at that moment. - Do you mind if I pay for it? - she heard a deep voice asking right behind her. When she turned, she couldn't believe who was talking to her. She just stared at him, getting lost in his brown eyes. - Um, I guess I don't - she answered, trying to clear her head. He smiled and paid for her tequila. - Someone has had a lot to drink tonight? - He asked taking the drink from the counter and handing it to her. - Maybe, but I don't think I've had enough - she took the glass from his hand drinking it all in one gulp. - Take it easy babe, are you here by yourself? - he asked placing one hand on her back just to make sure she didn't fall. Listening to the pet name gave Lesley goosebumps but she decided not to think too much about it. - No, I'm with some friends. I just don't know where they went - she tried to find them again but failed and returned her look to the handsome guy in front of her - I'm Lesley by the way. - Calum - he said with a smirk on his face - but by how you're looking at me I guess you already knew that - Lesley nodded, not knowing what to say next. - Are you gonna keep your hand there for much longer? I think I can stand by myself - she finally spoke. - Oh, well, I thought you didn't mind - Calum said putting his hand back on his pocket. - I actually liked it - Lesley wasn't always so honest but the drinks she had had were the ones speaking for her. She grabbed his hand and put in on its previous position - I was just wondering what your plan was. - I think it depends on what your plan is, honey - he said getting a little bit closer to her. - You're gonna have to stop with the pet names or else I'm gonna have to kiss you - the alcohol was speaking for Lesley once again but she didn't mind. Calum laughed softly while he came even closer to whisper on her ear. - Why don't we get out of here first? - he suggested and pulled away. Lesley weighed her options before deciding that there wasn't any reason why she couldn't have a bit of fun and leave with Calum. - Sure, let me just text my friends - she picked her phone and informed her friends she wasn't going to stay any longer. - I should go tell mine too, but I don't want to lose you in the crowd. Come with me? - he asked taking her hand. She smiled and they started walking to where his friends were - okay wait here, it'll be just a second.

Calum made his way to the couch where the rest of the band and their partners were. He knew they weren't going to like the idea of him going to a random girl's apartment, but he didn't really care, he was mature enough to decide for himself. - Where are the drinks? - Michael asked as he saw Calum returning empty-handed. - You're gonna have to get them yourselves. I'm leaving - he said while taking his coat. - What? Where? - Luke asked confused. - I met a girl, I'm leaving with her - he answered quickly, not wanting to give them too many details. - Well, that's new from you. But you know there's a reason why we don't do that - Ashton said. - Yes, because y'all have girlfriends you can spend your night with. - Cal, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying that it's not really smart to go hooking up with strangers nowadays. - Yeah, I know Ash. It's just, I need this tonight. You know me, it's just once, I promise. Plus, she seems nice, nothing is gonna happen. Trust me. - Well, okay, have fun, just don't let it get too crazy, and remember we have that interview tomorrow evening - Ashton gave in. Calum said his goodbyes and walked back to Lesley, who was standing in the same position. - Ready to go? - she asked as he approached her. He nodded and held her hand again, leading her out of the club.

- God, it's freezing - Lesley complained once they were on the street. - Here - Calum placed his coat over her shoulders and she smiled in return - do you live nearby? - Well, it's a fifteen minutes walk. But if you don't mind I'd prefer to go by foot just so I can sober up a little bit - Calum chuckled and agreed while he placed his arm around her shoulders. - Lead the way - he said. They started walking down the street in silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence, in fact, they both felt really comfortable with each other. - So, do you usually drink this much? - Calum asked breaking the silence. - Not really. I was just in the mood, but I don't even go out that often. At least I didn't. I had a lot of fun tonight, I could get used to this. - So not much of a partier? I thought I hadn't seen you around before. - Do you go to that club often? - Yeah, almost every weekend, I do like to party. So, what was the occasion? - Oh, uhm, my boyfriend broke up with me a couple of weeks ago and my friends forced me to go out and try to forget about him. And it worked out, to be honest - she said looking up at him and biting her lower lip. - I'm sorry to hear that - he said. They continued their way to her apartment, arriving not much later. - Here we are - Lesley took her keys out of her top to open the door. - Oh, that's a great place to hide your keys - Calum said making Lesley blush. - It's the only place where I know I'm not going to lose them - she answered. They both got in and took their shoes off - I'm gonna go drink a glass of water, do you want some? - No, thanks, I'm fine - Calum answered. - Okay, you can wait in the living room if you want to.

Lesley got to the kitchen, drank a bit of water, and tried to get sober. She could still feel the alcohol running through her system and she wanted to remember what could happen next. After taking a few deep breaths she returned to the living room. - You said you knew who I was, are you a fan of the band? - Calum asked as Lesley got into the room and sat on the couch next to him. - Not really. I mean, I like a few of your songs but I haven't listened to your albums like properly, just what sounds on the radio. But my flatmate is, that's why I knew you. - Oh, cool - Calum said turning to face her and put his left hand on her right thigh - is that okay? - he asked. She nodded, afraid that any sound of pleasure would come out of her mouth if she spoke. His touch was so warm it made Lesley feel butterflies all over her body, but she didn't want to make it so obvious - you told me you just broke up with your boyfriend, I assume you aren't looking for anything serious right now? - Definitely not - Lesley answered. - That's great because I couldn't offer you that. But I think I can help you forget your ex, at least for tonight. - Can you? - Lesley asked biting her lower lip and giving him an innocent look. - Just if you want me to. - I do - she said, biting her lip a third time. Calum groaned. - I love it when you do that, it makes your lips so kissable. - Kiss them then - Lesley got closer but stopped as she started to feel his breath waiting for Calum to close the gap between them, which he did shortly after. It was a sweet kiss, and Calum started to rub circles with his thumb on her thigh. She put her hands on the back of his head and passed her right leg over his so she was sitting on top of him. She could already feel his length growing behind her and she started to get that wet feeling as she moved her hips trying to get some friction.

Her tongue left her mouth asking for permission and Calum opened his lips letting her in. The kiss deepened as he placed his hands on her waist. - You're already making me feel so damn good - Calum said pushing Lesley down gently as he moved his hips up making her moan quietly. He started kissing her neck and she tilted her head giving him more space to work with. He sucked in harder and Lesley knew it was gonna be visible the next day but she couldn't care less. His hands went from her waist to the back pockets of her skirt making her jump a little. - Where's your bedroom honey? - Lesley whimpered as she heard the raspy voice now coming from Calum's mouth. - On your left - she said. He stood up holding her on his waist as she wrapped her legs around him. She played with the curls at the back of his head while he took her to the bedroom and placed her softly on the bed. He kissed her deeply and continued to give her wet kisses on her neck quickly going down to her breasts. She leaned forward a little bit just so he could remove her top. He widened his eyes when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra underneath and Lesley giggled. Calum put one of her breasts on his mouth while he played with her other nipple, making her back arch. Once he was done with one, he switched to the other. Her hands reached for the hem of his shirt and she started to unbutton it slowly while she placed her hands under the shirt tracing her fingers all over his abs and a bit under his jeans. - I see you're a teaser - he said smiling. - No, I just enjoy doing things nice and slow - she replied.

Once she had unbuttoned the whole shirt, he leaned back and took it off. She stared at his tattoos, analyzing them one by one, she loved them. In fact, she had been wanting to get a tattoo for a while but she didn't because she knew Brandon hated them. - Do you like what you see? - Calum asked ripping Lesley out of her thoughts. - Quite a lot - she answered honestly and bit her lip once again. - God stop doing that, it drives me crazy - Calum said pulling her up to kiss her. He took her skirt off and groaned when he saw she wasn't wearing panties either. - You just hate underwear, don't you? - he asked, making Lesley laugh. - I actually don't. But it is uncomfortable under tight clothing, you know? - She leaned down on her back again while he took his pants off. Lesley could clearly see his boner under his boxers and it made her wetter than she already was if it was even possible. She closed her eyes for a second and felt Calum's lips on her abdomen, making her sight. He started to lick her thighs softly and Lesley tensed as she realized what was about to happen. - Is everything alright, love? - Calum asked as he felt her body tense under him, raising his head to look at her. - Y-yes - Lesley whispered. - You don't sound too confident. We don't have to do anything you don't want to - he was going to sit up but she placed her hands on his shoulders to stop him. - No, no. I'm fine. It's just that I've never, uhm, n-no one has ever - Oh, is it your first time? It's okay. I just thought since you had a boyfriend you'd - No, it's not - Lesley cut him - I've had sex but no one has given me oral or touched me before, that's what I was trying to say - Lesley blushed and covered her face with her hands. - So he was a real asshole - he said taking her hands off her face and kissing her - there's no need to be ashamed of that, he's the only one who should be. Now, I'm going to make you feel really good if you let me - she moaned in agreement. Calum looked back down and started to kiss her thighs once again while he traced his fingers all over her body - I'm gonna make you scream my name doll, I'm gonna make you come so hard - Lesley couldn't stop a louder moan getting out of her mouth. Listening to Calum's dirty talk was driving her crazy. - It will be okay if you can just make me come - she said. - Oh, so he didn't even make you come? - He didn't even ask, he didn't care - she explained, having a difficult time breathing due to Calum's fingers going up and down her thighs. - Don't worry, I know how to treat a girl right. And you're already so wet for me - Calum said while he traced his fingers softly over her entrance. He started to rub circles with his thumb over her clit and she moaned his name softly. Then, he changed his thumb for his mouth and started licking her clit, at the beginning carefully but going quicker once she placed her hands on his head, pulling him closer. - Fuck - she said moving her hips up trying to get as much friction as possible - shit Cal - she screamed when she felt his finger slowly getting inside of her. - Do you like it? - Fuck yes Calum - she screamed pulling him by his curls. - Cute little girl, tell me what you want. Talk to me. - I want more please, I want all of you - he groaned and added a second finger making her clench around them. He started going faster making her whimper with every thrust. His pace was not too fast but it was more than enough to make Lesley forget everything else, feeling a pleasure she never had before. She started to feel a knot forming on her lower stomach and she was surprised she didn't even remember how it felt like - Oh god Cal, I think I'm going to come. - Oh, are you? Are you going to cum all over my fingers? All over my mouth? - he said getting closer to her heat - C'mon, let it go, Lesley, let it go - he licked her clit roughly sending her over the edge. She cursed as she felt the adrenaline all over her body. Calum sucked every drop of her cum softly since he knew she was probably still very sensitive.

- That was amazing - she whispered once she was finally able to speak again. - Do you think you can take more tonight? - he asked, his eyes filled with lust as he looked at her blushed face. - I do - Lesley answered sitting up and realizing Calum had already taken his boxers off. He was on his knees at the end of the bed so she did the same thing and leaned in to kiss him. She put one hand on the back of his neck and started pumping his cock with the other. She bent intending to put it on her mouth but he stopped her. - It's all about your pleasure tonight, baby girl. - But I want to repay you - she complained. - You already are repaying me, wildflower, don't worry about that - he lay down grabbing Lesley by her waist and sitting her on his lap. She moaned at the warmth of his length. - Babe, are you already wet again? - she nodded frantically and he giggled - you can't get enough, can you? - Not from you - she said leaning in to kiss him. He seized the opportunity to bring his hand down to her heat and started rubbing her clit again, making her groan while they kissed. - You're being such a good girl tonight, do you think you can ride me? - Lesley pulled away from the kiss and bit her lower lip, this time on purpose, knowing the impact it had on Calum. Instead of answering, she grabbed his length and placed it at her entrance, lining them up. She teased a little bit moving his tip around her entrance. - Lesley - he moaned giving her goosebumps - please - he begged. She started taking him in slowly until all of him was inside. They both moaned loudly in response and she stopped moving to try to adjust to the fullness she was feeling. Once she felt strong enough, she started riding him slowly, whimpering every time his pubic bone touched her clit. - You are so freaking tight god - he said leaning in to kiss her shoulder. She arched her back and tilted her head back grabbing his blonde curls. - I'm gonna move faster if that's okay - she whispered on Calum's ear making him shiver. He grabbed her waist and quickly switched their position so that he was on top of her. - You've had enough control for the night, babe. Now I'm going to make you all mine, I wanna see your face when you come screaming my name, okay? So don't look away, please. - Okay - she said almost breathless as he put one of her legs on his shoulder and pushed himself in as deep as he could. He picked up a steady pace hitting her G spot on every thrust. After a few minutes, she didn't think she could take it any longer. - I'm so close Calum - she said rolling her eyes back. - Me too, honey, me too - he grabbed her by her waist pulling her up just so he could get in even deeper. She started to moan loudly and he could feel her clenching around his length every time he got in - Lesley, fuck! - he screamed - I'm gonna - It's okay Cal, come for me, let go - her words were enough to make him reach his peak and after a few thrusts, she reached her second orgasm screaming his name on repeat. He collapsed on top of her, their chests together as they both came down from their highs.

A few moments later he moved so he was next to her and she looked at him. She couldn't help but smile and she found herself imagining what it'd be like to have him around so they could relive what had just happened. - Baby girl, you are incredible - Calum finally spoke looking at her. He kissed her forehead and stood up. She whimpered at the feeling of emptiness when he left the bed. He noticed and smiled at her - I'm just gonna go get cleaned and bring you a towel. - The bathroom is next to the kitchen - she explained, speaking for the first time as she regained her normal breathing. Calum came back with her towel a minute later and she tried to grab it but he insisted on cleaning her up, so she opened her legs letting him take care of her. She would have felt embarrassed to let any other person do that, but she felt different with Calum, she felt even more comfortable than she had ever felt with Brandon. Once Calum had finished, Lesley grabbed the towel and threw it on the laundry basket. She was confused about what to do next since he was her first one-night stand. She didn't want him to leave but she didn't feel confident enough to ask him to stay. They laid on her bed for a couple of minutes checking their phones until Calum spoke. - Do you mind if I stay the night? I'm kinda tired but I totally get it if you think it's weird. - Oh, no, not at all, maybe we could cuddle - Lesley smiled at him and Calum wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer, her back facing his chest. - I like the idea. Goodnight Lesley. - Goodnight Calum - she said closing her eyes and making herself comfortable. Calum placed a soft kiss on her cheek and closed his eyes too, falling asleep shortly after.

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bookowldawn · 3 years

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My best books of 2020

Well, here we are again. I don’t know if anyone will even read this, but time for my yearly recap of the top 5 best books I read the previous year. I think we can all agree that 2020 was certainly an eventful year, and escaping into a good book was definitely nice at times. Due to avoiding going to the library for periods of time, I read a lot of the books I own at home and thus quite a few of the books I read last year were re-reads. Out of the 50 books I managed to read, 13 were re-reads and will not be included in this list of my favourite books that I read in 2020, only the books that I read for the first time were considered. Since I can’t be bothered to rank them, I will simply present them in the order in which I read them. So, without further ado, here are my top 5 books read in 2020.

1. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Well, at least one book of Cassandra Clare is bound to make it’s way onto this list each year so this is certainly no surprise. I read Chain of Gold as soon as I could get my hands on it and I was certianly not disappointed. This book did a wonderful job at intruducing the new characters, I love them all so much already. I really feel like Cassandra Clare gets better for every new book she puts out and I felt that Chain of Gold was a very good first book in this series. I’m really excited to see where it goes. I really loved it and I can almost guarantee that the second installment in the series, Chain of Iron, will be on this list for 2021.

2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive of this book when I first heard about it. I thought it would certainly be interesting and something I at some point would want to read, but I wasn’t really sure how much a prequel would add to the story. I didn’t even realize it was about President Snow until shortly before I decided to read it, and that made me even more uncertain. Snow wasn’t exactly my favourite character in the Hunger Games trilogy, and I thought it would be hard to relate to him and care about him in this book, but also interesting to see what set him down the path to be the person we see in the series. To my surprise I actually liked it a lot and found it very interesting to see how the Hunger Games came to be the way they are in the series and how Snow got the be the person he is. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it if you liked the Hunger Games trilogy!

3. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

The largest thing I took on reading-wise in 2020 was probably finally starting the Throne of Glass series. Sadly it was hard getting my hands on them from the library, so I couldn’t finish the series (I did that now in the first weeks of 2021), but I managed to read the first five books. Since I couldn’t let this list be full of the Throne of Glass books, I limited myself to picking only one for this list. It was hard, but I chose Empire of Storms since it was the last book I read and the tension is certainly high after that book. But really it symbolizes the entire series, because it’s just sooo good. I’m partly asking myself why I didn’t read it sooner and partly thanking myself for deciding all those years ago to wait with reading them until all the books were, because I don’t know how I’d survive needing to wait a year for each book. This series is truly great and I’m so glad I finally decided to read it!

4. The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu

Well look at that, another Cassandra Clare book made it onto my list, who would have thought? No but in all seriousness, this book was great! Certainly not the best book in the Shadowhunter universe, but definitely good. Alec might be my all time favourite character and Malec is one of my all time favourite ships, so a book with them as the main characters can’t be anything other than good. It was also really nice seeing the old TMI gang back together again, I’ve missed them. This book did however kind of feel like a weird fever dream and thinking back on it now it almost feels like it can’t have been real. I guess the reason I didn’t like it more than I did was because it was almost too funny and weird for me to take it seriously. I did still love it though, and it was definitely hilarious from beginning to end!

5. The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan

This is probably the book that took me most by surprise last year. I truly didn’t expect it to be amongst my top books of the year before I read it, and I was absolutely shocked by how much I loved it. I mean, I absolutely love Rick Riordan, PJO, HOO and MCGA are amongst my all time favourite series, Riordan is one of my favourite authors, but for some reason I never really liked the Trials of Apollo series that much. The first book was pretty good, but towards the end of it I kind of stopped liking it and I don’t quite know why. I didn’t like the second book much and the third I didn’t read until it had been out for almost six months (I usually read his books as soon as I possibly can). The fourth book was quite good and I therefore had hope the last book would be alright as well, but considering that I’d almost given up on the series in the middle, I did not expect the last book to be more than “quite good”. Boy, was I wrong. I read most of the book in just one day, I just couldn’t put it down, and the ending left me feeling soooo satisfied! This book just emotionally wrecked me, and it was all the more powerful because I had not expected it at all. It was such a good ending to the series, I’m not sure if I’ll ever get over it. This book made powering through the previous ones totally worth it for me, it was such a good pay-off. Also, absolutely hilarious in true Rick Riordan fashion, and with the hints in it for upcoming stand-alone novels I am now so extremely excited for him come out with more books. That Solangelo novel that he heavily hinted at? I need it now please! Truly a great ending to the series, it exceeded all my expectations.

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geekgirles · 4 years

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Goodbye & Broppy

After the song was released, I felt the need of doing something I haven't done in a while for the Trolls fandom: an in-depth analysis.

The lyrics of the song were a real tearjerker; the separation, the longing, the sadness, the impression of giving up as the only option... And, considering it said Justin Timberlake was supposed to sing it, and the mentions of "My queen", "My love"; it totally sounds like a Broppy song.

Now, I know @georgebeard mentioned they'd talked to an animator who confirmed the scene was indeed deleted from the film. However, as a loyal and experienced member of the Miraculous fandom, I know better than to cross out the possibility of being misled in order to avoid spoilers (I'm looking at you guys, Chloé redemption, Félix , and Chat Blanc). So, there's that.

And even if the song did not make it in the end, we must not forget the first movie and its extra content.

If you purchased a DVD copy (like myself), or were obsessed enough to search for every possible Trolls-related video on YouTube (like myself), you must have surely found the deleted scenes from the film.

Poppy's dresses.

Poppy's storytelling.

"Bringing Back Happy."

And that's what I wanna talk about!

Bringing Back Happy was a, rather early (considering its storyboard stage), villain song that Chef was supposed to sing. So, even if Goodbye doesn't make it into Trolls World Tour, the chances of it appearing as extra content are pretty high, considering it was even mentioned before the release of the movie.

If that weren't enough for ya, there's more. Don't worry.

As I mentioned earlier, if you're familiar with the deleted scenes, you'll know 2/3 were in a very advanced stage of animation before being scrapped. Not to mention, the one major change we got no info about: turning Poppy's coronation party to the 20 year anniversary since they escaped the bergens. Again, a scene so advanced in its animation stage that even made it to the trailer!

Moreover, there's this detail in the very first trailer of Trolls World Tour that stuck with me: Branch's quote "This is a terrible idea that will blow up in your face!"

Which, if we compare it to his supportive attitude in the latest trailer ("I'm coming with you"), is completely different and even unexpected.

And that leads me to this: there are many reasons why a scene would be deleted; it gives a character a quality they didn't want, Chef didn't get to sing because it made her too funny, while Poppy didn't wear her dresses because it made her look spoiled; it becomes longer than they expected, another reason for the dresses and, I think, for the storytelling; or it changes the vibe of the movie greatly (if you guys knew the original script for How to train your dragon 2...).

On a side note, I remember a post from long ago that explained that one of the reasons its OP liked trolls so much was because, unlike the vast majority of films, Poppy and Branch never really had a fall out. They were always together.

What do I mean with this?

What if their fall out happens in this movie? What if Branch says that line out of frustration and Poppy and him, both devastated, are forced to go their separate ways?

That would be the perfect cue for a song as romantic and heartbreaking as Goodbye.

Not to mention, it would also explain how on Earth Poppy could be captured by Barb, alone. Because there's no way Branch wouldn't go down with her otherwise, and you know it.

Now that the song analysis and theorizing is out of the way, let's move on to the deeper part of the analysis: Broppy itself.

As someone who's been a hardcore Broppy shipper even before watching the movie, you can believe me when I say that it'll devastate me if they killed Broppy.

Even so, I also consider myself as someone both highly emotional and analytical, hence, why I create such analysis on the things I love. Trolls being no exception.

Something I want to talk about to make you all understand my point of view is the way Dreamworks works (as I see it). And for that, I'd like to compare Trolls, HTTYD, their tv shows, and their main ships, Broppy and Hiccstrid; respectively.

If there's something I've noticed about Dreamworks and Disney, that's that Disney movies have a much greater stand-alone value than Dreamworks'. That's why 95% of its films end with an extra-official couple or why their sequels are either shitty compared to the original (Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mulan...) or a fucking masterpiece. I mean, take Frozen, for instance. The film made a major point on criticising Disney's "I get together with someone I barely know and we live happily ever after" trope. And yet, even if it was much subtler and less intense than usual, that's exactly what happened with Anna and Kristoff. Maybe they weren't married, but they got officially together. And as for Frozen II... I haven't seen it, but I've been told it's very, very different than the first one, and very, very good.

So, yeah. Stand-alone value.

But Dreamworks... Dreamworks manages to reach beautiful conclusions that, at the same time, let the plot perfectly open for more stories to be told.

Seriously, just watch How to Train your Dragon!

Every film had its ending, but it also made you wonder what was gonna happen next. It made you understand that the saga wasn't over, just a part of it. And I think that's what they're trying to achieve with Trolls.

I mean, sure. The plot of the sequel wasn't what we expected at all and made many of us think about the astounding amount of fanfics that delved in the possible existence of different kinds of trolls... But it left us all with one question in our minds, "what now?" And, at the same time, the film had reached a beautiful conclusion.

See what I mean?

I wholeheartedly believe this is something Dreamworks aim to achieve with its pairings. They don't want them to be rushed, they want to develop them. Sure, they want us to see there are ships, but they strive to form deep, strong relationships with much more meaning behind than just sharing an adventure together.

And that, that is something I can clearly see with Hiccstrid and Broppy.

If we take HTTYD, the hints on the romantic relationship between Hiccup and Astrid were even greater than Poppy and Branch's. Heck, they even kissed. And you know what was their official description for Riders of Berk to half of Race to the Edge? Not-so-platonic best friends.

But that's because they took the time to naturally develop and strengthen their bond!

Which is what I think is supposed to happen to Poppy and Branch.

Sure, they are close. Sure, they were on a life-changing adventure together. Sure, they are countless hints on their romantic feelings.

But they still spent 20 years being practically strangers.

They still need to learn how to be a team together. They still need to learn how the other works. They still need some basic ground.

If we keep on comparing the two films, we must not forget that HTTYD 2, despite having Hiccup and Astrid as betrothed, wasn't as heavy on their romance as the first and third movie were.

Because the focus of the film was Hiccup becoming a leader. Not becoming Astrid's husband.

And, considering the plot of Trolls World Tour, it's still very possible that it won't be as heavy on Broppy as it was the prequel. After all, TWT is more about diversity and harmony than happiness, which is what made the contrast between the optimistic princess and the cynical survivalist so important for Trolls.

But, please, fear not. This does not necessarily mean that Broppy is dead. It just means we might have to be careful about letting our hopes up and, more importantly, in case nothing is conclusive about these two in Trolls World Tour, that we just have to be a little more patient.

After all, a good written ship never disappoints.

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writers-hes · 4 years

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falling -- sequel to cherry

based on a request by anon ! i decided to make a sequel / prequel thing for cherry and this fic will definitely be confusing with the time jumps and etc ! the story takes place in harry’s point of view, three months after you broke up. the dashes will help as guide.

please don’t forget to leave a feedback!

if you haven’t read cherry yet, you can read it here. if you want to be a part of my taglist, like/reblog this post.

don’t forget that requests are open! this may be the final instalment to the cherry universe but i can make a third instalment if i get enough requests.

thank you so much and enjoy !

WARNING: unedited + cussing + mentions of alcohol

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it’s been three months since Harry decided to break things off with you. It was a mutual decision but it still hurt knowing that you could be out there, with a new man. That was always you—trying to use the remainder of the love that you had for someone on someone else. He regretted it and he wanted you back. He wanted nothing more but for you to call him, telling him you wanted he back and if you did—if the universe permitted it, if you called, he would go to you, in france and knock on your door with his knees on the floor.

he never believed in signs but he was asking for one now—he was so fucking desperate. he missed you and loved you. if it was possible, his love grew more and more each day even if you were gone. it was impossible to think that you would love him more. the thought of you with someone else under the sheets, you kissing somebody else that wasn’t him, sent him into overdrive. he’s been writing songs about you since you called things off and it’s too much—he would always go to the studio in tears and leave in tears. he was so hurt, so fucking hurt. he ruffled his hair. he was currently in his london home, a place where you once were. his living room was reeking of alcohol and his back hurt from staying idle on his sofa the whole day. he just got back from shang ri-la malibu. jeff and mitch told him to take a break and he agreed.

he opened his phone and opened his messages app. he scrolled until he found your name, clicking on it and reading the unsent text message he’s been dying to send you. he can’t, though. you seemed to be looking at your best, your friends posting photos of you. your smile was still beautiful, it will always be.

hello. i thought of you today but i’ve been think about you everyday and will probably do so till i die.

i just got back home here in london and i noticed that your things are here anymore. it seems like it’s just me, harry all alone again. the room is barren of you ever being here. i tried to smell the bedsheets in hopes to smell you but there wasn’t any. i also rummaged through my closet, wanting to find one of your old shirts that i could put over your favourite pillow just to feel you here but i didn’t find any. the only proof that you were here was your letter to me and i’m still hurt. still hung up over you, still drowning my senses in alcohol.

i love how you made sure i wasn’t home when you packed your bags. anyway, the keys to my house will still be where you know it was, under the welcome mat, so you know that you’re always welcome here.

tears cascaded from his eyes and he couldn’t stop sobbing. should he press send and wait for you to call back? was it worth the risk? was it worth the humiliation if you decided not to call? he had to take a breather first. he’s drunk and all he wanted was for you to scold him about the dangers of alcohol poisoning. all he wanted in that moment was for you to give him a glass of water and light up your favourite lavender candle so he could slowly drift off to sleep but he couldn’t even fucking find the candle. you took it with him and he wishes to be sober so he could remember that particular lavender scent that you loved dearly.

he hated you, suddenly. how dare you compare him to adrien? how could he ever compare? you told him you loved him but still managed to tell him you loved adrien too? was this all a joke to you? he drifted to sleep, embraced by the brown liquor on the coffee table. he just wanted you back, was that too much to ask?

he wasn’t thinking clearly the next day. the sunlight that streamed through his window was too bright. there was a pounding in his head and he knows that if you were here with him, you’d fix him your favourite hangover breakfast. his shoulders slumped, if there was a way for it to be even more slumped. your favourites became his favourites and his favourites became yours. why couldn’t you be where he was? all he wanted that morning was your açai bowl but he couldn’t have that because you weren’t there to freeze the bananas. he was so dependent on you and it was killing him knowing that you would never be in his arms again. tears running down his face he decided he wanted to go to versailles and ask for your forgiveness. do you still love him even after three months?

———

it was the day after and he was in versailles, staying at a hotel near your apartment. he could still remember your floor and your room number. he just had to make sure that you were home. he was tired and dull from the flight but knowing that you’d be with him in a few hours was enough for him. the excitement and the anxiety that courses through his veins was more powerful than coffee. how have you been? did you cut your hair? did you change your hair colour? did you change the way you dress or do you still dress the way harry does? do you still like your coffee sweet and milky? what about your tea? do you still like it with a slice of lemon and a teaspoon full of honey?

as he was unlocking his phone, he noticed a huge amount of notifications that bombarded his phone. it was usually like this but he had more than usual and he didn’t post anything for three months. so what was this? he decided to check it out, only to see pictures of you with another man. your lips was touching his lips and for a moment, harry was dumbfounded? did you really move on that fast?

HARRY STYLES’S EX-GIRLFRIEND HAS MOVED ON!

words that made him see red. words that he didn’t know was coming so quickly. did you even love him? he opened his imessage app and erased the draft that he was about to send you last night? god, he couldn’t believe he was about to profess his love for you last night while you were probably out and about fucking another man.

mon bébé: Hey, y/n. Where are you love?

lovie: hi im at my apartment right now.. why?

mon bébé: Do you think I could come over? I need someone to talk to.

lovie: what??

mon bébé: I’m here in Versailles. Please.

lovie: okay sure…i’ll wait for you.

mon bébé: Okay. I love you.

his heart ached when you didn’t reply to his message. he immediately dressed himself in your favourite shirt of his—a shirt that you got him while you were studying abroad for an exchange student program. he was hoping that maybe, by seeing a shirt that you got him, you’d break up with your beau and have him back instead. he was hurt, angry, and perhaps, it was pride that was making him get out of the hotel and go to you. he wanted to hurt you the way you hurt him and as he arrived at your door in less than an hour later, hurting you was his only goal.

he knocked on your door three times and lo and behold, there was you. you smiled at him and opened the door wider. he went inside, removing his shoes before entering your apartment. he observed that there were no changes around the place but he did feel out of place.

“heard you moved on, huh?” he asked. you were shocked. “wha—“

“i saw the pictures, y/n,” “harry, if you’re here to shit on my decisions…stop it, please,” you whispered. you didn’t want to let him know this way.

“no, no…it’s only been three months! who is he? how did you two meet?” he asked you. he was fuming. how could you move on so quickly?

“harry, stop—“

“i. want. to. know.” he breathed. there was finality in his voice and you couldn’t help but mutter his name. “vincent? shit name, yeah?” he asked.

“harry, please. stop it,” you begged. he wasn’t listening and perhaps you deserved this. perhaps he was right but you needed someone and vincent just managed to be there for you.

“remember when…remember when you told me you loved me, y/n? was that even true? how can you move on so quickly? please…please tell me. tell me how you did it because i’d love to do it, too,” he was crumbling in front of you and you reached out to him. he scoffed and your attempt and backed away.

“it was true, harry. i still love you—always have, always will but…” “but what? can’t we fix what we had? i miss it, lovie. i miss you. do you call him bébé too? please, don’t do this to me, please.” he cried. “there’s no stopping us now. i’m not on tour anymore and i’m willing to be better for you…” “i’m with him, harry. he…asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday and i said yes,” you whispered. he looked at you so fast you were afraid he was about to get a whiplash. tears were coming out from both of your eyes and you were so close to opening that stupid fucking phone and breaking things off with vincent but it was unfair for him.

“break up with him.” he said. you looked at him with a gaping mouth. how could he just ask that of you? the break was a mutual decision but he was the one who insisted it.

“harry—“

“break up with him, y/n or i’ll—“

“what, harry? what will you do?”

“i’ll hate you,” he looked down at his hands, ashamed of what he even said. he was hurt and he could tell that you were torn and that you were hurting. a sadistic part of him loved it. he wanted to hug you and say that he was sorry and that he didn’t mean it but peeking through his long hair, seeing that you were closing and opening your mouth like that, he loved it. he liked it.

“you—you don’t mean that, harry. please tell me you don’t hate me, please.” you begged. harry heard it and you heard it too. it was obvious that you were choosing vincent over him.

“i’ll see myself out, then,” he smiled sadly. he got up from where he was sitting and you immediately stood up.

“harry, please. don’t leave like this. please, don’t hate me…i still love you,” you begged. you loved him but you couldn’t be with him right now.

“that’s the fucking thing, y/n!” he fumed. “you tell me you love me and that you’ll be there for me whenever i needed you but where were you? i was drunk in london last night trying to figure out the brand of your candles just so i could feel closer to you. i booked a flight here in versailles just to see you and beg for you to come back but you left me with that fucking letter. that’s all there is. you didn’t leave anything for me to remember you by. i wanted to have your shirt last night so i can put it over your pillow so i could pretend that you were still there, with me, under the sheets. you—let go of us so easily,” he sobbed. he was tugging on his hair and you reached for it. touching his hands ever so slightly but he pushed you away. “don’t.” he warned. “i hate you so much…so, so much,” he cried. he loved you but he had to convince himself otherwise. it would make all of this easier.

“we can still be friends, harry.” you offered. tears were running down on your face and you wiped them.

“i can’t…hurt myself like that, y/n. i’m leaving the hotel tomorrow at 9 a.m. you can come by our place before that if you still want to be with me. until then, i will be waiting.” he mumbled. he walked until he was right in front of you. he cradled your face with his right hand, rings cold against your hot skin. “i love you,” he reminded as he pecked your lips softly for one last time before leaving your room.

———

harry said that he would be leaving his hotel at 9:00 am to be at your place—a little nook in the busy streets of versailles that served his favourite macarons. he was lying, though. he got up at 6 am and left the hotel at around 7:30 am. it was currently 8 and he was anxiously waiting for you. until what time should he stay? he wouldn’t be leaving france in another two days. he was hoping you’d come back and spend more time with hime but that plan’s down the drain now. he got you your favourite box of macarons and looking at it, he remembered the first time you took him here so vividly.

———

“ah! i can’t believe you’re here, harry!” you gushed. he had a short break before touring again and he decided to surprise you with some of the souvenirs he got you from his touring. it’s only been two months since you both started dating but you both knew that whatever the feeling was was real.

“where are you taking me?” he chuckled. you were currently dragging him onto the streets of versailles. he was wearing a mickey mouse sweater and some jeans paired with some old skool sneakers. you loved seeing him off-duty and he knew that.

“i’m taking you to my favourite place in all of france!” you exclaimed. he smiled at you and he knew in that moment that he loved you. you walked around for a few minutes until you arrived at a lesser-populated area in versailles. you went inside one of the buildings and was immediately greeted by the smell of the concoction made from almond flour, fruits, cream, and chocolate.

“sit over there, baby. i’ll go get us some food,” you told harry. he nodded and let go of your hand. you watched as he sat somewhere secluded. you went over to the counter and immediately and smiled at the old lady. “bonjour! i would love to get…ah, two cafe au lait and then one tea macaron, cherry macaron, lemon meringue macaron, chocolate macaron, and rose macaron,” the lady nodded and you smiled, taking out some loose cash from your messy purse. a few minutes after and the lady gives you your order. you smiled at her and mumbled a “merci” after paying for the bill. you immediately made a beeline towards harry and set down the food and coffee you got him.

“what’s all this?” he asked, looking at the assortment of deliciousness in front of him. “macarons! when my mother and my father first moved here in versailles from their hometown, she said that my father took her here on their first date. when she found out she was pregnant with my older brother, oliver, my dad got her some macarons here, same when she was pregnant with me. buying macarons here became a family tradition and it’s really special to me and i want to show it to you,” you smiled softly. you watched him smile even wider. “i bought my favourite flavours for you to try! i like dipping it in coffee but it’s just a personal preference,” you told him.

harry was really happy that time. he remembered how you spent the afternoon just talking about your plans for the future as he ate macarons.

“harry?” you called. “hm?” he mumbled through his second lemon meringue macaron. “i took you here because i wanted to tell you something,” you blushed. harry was confused. were you about to break up with him? it’s been wonderful between the both of you so he doesn’t get it. why would you break up with him? “w-what is it?” he asked, clearly anxious to hear what you were about to say. “well, you see, the thing is my mother always told me to bring those who are special to me in this place, bébé. and well, uh—i guess what i want to say is that…i love you.”

“look, y/n, please don’t break up with—what? what did you say?” he started to ramble, realising what you just told him so late. “i said, i love you,” you shyly admitted. you looked at his face to find a big smile creeping up on his face. “really? i was thinking about it on my way here and i—i love you too, y/n.” he declared. it was a nice day after that—a day you won’t forget.

———

“harry!” you panted. you ran from your apartment to the macaron shop. you hair was sticking on your face. when you arrived, you observed harry—it was a natural thing to do and he looked like he was about to cry. you knew why. this was the place where you first declared your love for each other. harry already ordered your favourite lemon meringue macarons and your usual cafe au lait. you smiled sadly. harry looked up to you and offered you a little wave. you walked slowly to him, scared that he would tell you that he hated you again.

“y/n,” he breathed as you approached him. you sat in front of him and he hated how much he loved you in that moment. he will love you always. “harry—please, please don’t hate me,” you cried. it was obvious that you were crying since he left you last night. you looked like a mess, dark circles were under your eyes, and your eyes were swollen from crying yourself to sleep. before you got to harry, you cried a little bit more.

“baby, i could never hate you. i’m sorry if i told you those things last night. but…i just wanted another chance. i want another chance, please.” he told you. the sweetness of the macarons wafting in the air was a stark contrast to how the both of you were feeling. he was torn—he didn’t want to be a selfish prick but he wanted you all to himself. “harry, you know i can’t. not right now,” you told him. it was unfair to vincent and it was unfair to you.

“why not? i know you have vincent right now…but do you really love him more than you love me? i’ve been with you for more than a year….you just met him,” he reasoned. “it was you who wanted things to be over between us, remember?” you reminded him. he was sat in his chair, mouth agape. “i said i was okay with it because it seemed to be the right thing for you, harry. you were so set on it because we were just hurting each other and i get that—i really do but i just started to pick myself up…” you cried. “well, i take it all back! you can move in with me in london so you wouldn’t have to worry about me cheating on you and…and i forgive you, please just—i don’t know how to fix this, y/n. just tell me what to do, please…” he begged. he was crying, too. how could he do this to you? how could he put you in such an unfair situation? you only told him about adrien because he cheated on you. after that night, the both of you were just trying to mince your words, walking on eggshells.

“we weren’t being honest after that night, harry. when you cheated on me and i said things, i was hurt and so were you. you were guilty and so was i but we tried to make it work because we loved each other,” you told him. you reached out for his hand on the table and he allowed you to caress it, just like how you did. “you still love me right?” he asked. you nodded. “i still love you…that’s enough, isn’t it? i love you and you love me…right? love, please…” “harry, you can’t do this to me. not right now, not like this,” you backed. “love isn’t enough sometimes, harry…”

“fuck, y/n! then what the fuck am i supposed to do? tell me? i miss you everyday and love you always. i’m always missing you and there’s nothing i could do about it. every time i go somewhere to forget you, i see someone who looks just like you and then, i miss you again,” he sobbed, clinging on to your hand—clinging on to you in hopes for you to come back. “i hate you, i hate you so much…” he repeated over and over again. “y—you don’t mean that, harry. take it back,” you begged. you were crumbling in front of him. you knew it wasn’t true but it still hurt. the possibility of harry hating you was too much pain. “i don’t want to be your friend, y/n. i don’t want to hear you talk about how great that fucking prick is. if you can’t be with me then don’t be with me at all,” he scoffed.

“please, don’t tell me you hate me,” you begged. “you know what, y/n? actually, i do. i hate you so much…” he said, the four letter-word leaving a bad taste in his mouth. he was trying to convince himself that he did, even though he thought of you as the only thing binding his world together. he was so hurt because you were getting better and he was selfish. he wanted you to be as miserable as him. he wanted you to cry over him the way he cried over you. he watched as you fall apart, rubbing your eyes furiously, as you tried your best to stop the tears from falling. he wanted nothing more than to kiss your pain away but he couldn’t. you had vincent and he had no one. he used to have you but how could he have you if you have somebody else now? you stood up from the chair trying your best to run away from harry. how could he be so cruel to you?

you were making your way through the door hastily without acknowledging the prying eyes around you. you were so set on leaving, not caring if harry ran after you or not. perhaps he wouldn’t, perhaps he would.

harry was at your usual table, wiping his tears away, covering his eyes with the sunglasses you bought him. did you even notice that he was wearing what you gave him? did you notice that he was wearing your sunglasses? or were you too preoccupied with how he hurt you? he decided to stay in his seat until you were out of sight.

only then, did he decide not you. he immediately followed after you until he saw you, cradling your phone in your hands. you were sitting at a bus stop, waiting for whatever, probably to get as far away as possible from your ex-boyfriend. he wanted to approach you but he didn’t when he heard you say his name.

“vincent, please pick me up…i’m at the bus stop near le fatalité macaron, please. nothing big, i’m just upset, something came up and no, no, i want to get away here as soon as possible, mon cherie. please.”

perhaps you were better off without him.

———

the album finally dropped. did you listen to it? what do you think of it? as he lay down in the hotel where he stayed in versailles, he wanted nothing more than to call you and ask for your opinion. yours was the only opinion that mattered. he reached over the table until he took a hold of his phone. he looked at your name longingly before he decided to press ‘call’. he was staring into space when he heard your voice.

“cou cou! harry?”

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

sorry for the french, i asked my friend to translate it,,,, don’t forget, a christmas-themed fluff fic will come out next week!

taglist:

@giitterysuits @bree082 @dezzym17 @bouncebackbyers @lolapuffs @belleamoree @demolition-lovers-blog

#harry #Harry Styles #harrystyles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles angst #fan #fiction #fanfic #fan fiction #falling #fine line #styles #one direction #harry styles fanfic

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xxsealitwithakissxx · 4 years

Text

“We’re more ghosts than people.”

After around 5 months (I know that’s basically ages these days, but I wanted to take my time... then quarantine happened) and a lot of patience, boah that’s an understatement, I can say it was worth it.

I figured it was fitting to end on the character we started with.

“Vengeance is an idiot's game.”

I know most post stuff like this on reddit, but honestly I rarely feel comfortable posting there. I’m not exactly a prolific ‘cowgirl’, what long history I’ve accumulated over the course of many months can possibly be said that hasn’t already resulting in hundreds of upvotes? I mean, I’m happy for those people, it simply makes me all the more nervous. Also, ignore the Compendium. Just.... jesus, I can not. 360 is close enough, imo. Anyway, knowing it’s over feels equally like having a weight lifted and leaving a close friend behind knowing you might not see them again. I was literally a day from getting this on my birthday, lol.

Does that sound exaggerated? Probably. Yes, the game managed to hit me in the feels more than once on certain occasions. Ngl, I imagine my day one horse Sauron was probably in horse-y heaven looking down like ‘fuck all you had to do was leave me in the stables but naw fam, you had to be a hero’. That scene had me pissed more than anything. The fact that we left him there, without a grave or anything just... pffft. That actually made me turn off the game for a bit. That and the Lenny plus Hosea bit. And the Molly bit. And Susan bit. And I may have gone back and burned a rat. But you know what? Let’s move on.

It didn’t help that my dear mother had taken to alternating between watching and helping me make decisions throughout the story (*cough*novel*cough*) and became attached to some of the characters, notably Orthor. I spelled that correctly, I swear. She was on the verge of tears more than once, just don’t tell her I said that. :p

What baffled yet continued to draw me in most is watching the downfall of the charismatic, prideful (c’mon look at that gif), and arguably hypocritical leader Dutch and his loyal fanbase gang. By the third chapter’s ending, shit hit the fan so much I wondered how everyone still alive managed to stay within the group, or be relatively sane enough by the 6th chapter. I had never seen such loyalty in a video game before. Seriously. Mind you, I hadn’t played the first game (I will eventually once my recovery period is over, lol) and still knew some of what happened to the ‘Miltons’, so the ending didn’t hit too hard.

Perhaps it’s just my personal rl issue with the ‘blind leading the blind’, but I had a little gripe with a bunch of... mostly capable adults following this one man by word alone from camp to camp while running from the law and not once questioning if they should wake up tomorrow and go, hey, maybe I’ll try to think for myself today. Granted, they were a makeshift family of sorts, I can understand how they all came to trust Dutch after hearing each individual backstory. It’s teetering on the very edge of CULT LEADER I AM A CULT LEADER, but I can still understand the why’s and how’s that came to be the Van Der Linde gang, jokes aside. He is above all, human, and coupled with his inability to ‘fight nature’ I think that is what makes him so intriguing to watch (Not to mention Benjamin‘s phenomenal voice acting...and the whole cast for that matter). I notice a certain theme that people rarely, if ever seem to speak of in old westerns that is sometimes present. One man strolls into some obscure town and threatens to take over, be it with violence or by other means, with or without a gang of dunderheads trailing his wake, and the townsfolk willingly surrender. Until of course one unsung hero snatches said villain’s glory of badassary from under him and all is right again.

RDR2 isn’t like that. Not entirely. My point is it has elements of this sprinkled inside its storyline. At least, for the first and second half. It both confused and irritated me that most people were so easily brought back then, maybe it’s still like that now at times with Social Media so present in our lives, but I digress. I’m not writing this to step on toes or tell you what to believe, I just wanted to share this experience. A 120hr (hello fellow completionists) or so journey into a redemption story, a remarkably immense detailed landscape, and its colorful yet very complex characters. Despite some plot holes here and there, which I’d expect for a prequel of this size, I think I identify with John the most. Charles as well. Not trying to downplay his shortcomings, but he never really brought into Dutch’s bullshit plans, not truly anyway. As they say hindsight is 20/20. When listening those early camp dialogues and later ones you can tell just how in depth the writing goes, I’d argue that half the specific lines at camp and reading Arthur’s journal are better than what the cutscenes have to spell out for you.

I won’t linger on what’s been said a hundred times, how much a lot of us love Orthor (I’m sorry I’ll leave) and most of the other members, along with the immersive gameplay. It certainly didn’t become boring as I initially thought. I’m not too big on westerns... Roy Rogers, Bat Masterson, Maverick, and of course the Fist Full of Dollars trilogy suffice really. I actually wonder if R* will be able to top it. Two years later and some people are still in their feelings about it like it came out yesterday. With that type of impact, it will definitely be a challenge.

Now what’s left? Oh, a few stranger missions and some places I haven’t explored fully... Hmm. Or maybe I’ll try out 100% on pc...

Ha. The epitome of my humor ends there because I’d rather be hit by that train. How my hands aren’t broken or severely bruised is anyone’s guess. But really, thanks for reading if you made this far. Stay safe, guys. <3

#rdr2 #rdr2 100%#rdr2 100 #arthur morgan #spoilers obviously #john martson #60% of that time was probably spent taking pictures #I see no shame in that #text post #what is my life #gifs #rt I didn't know how to put this into comprehensible words #so sorry if it's cringe

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perspective-series · 5 years

Text

Exposed Perspective (7)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Guilt, fear, panic, being trapped, people being used/treated like test subjects and injury.

THIS IS THE THIRD STORY IN A TRILOGY. READ “A Third Perspective” AND “Switched Perspectives” FOR THIS TO MAKE SENSE!

(Check the reblog for the links to the previous chapters and the TWO prequels!)

———————————————————————————————

“Fascinating.” Dee breathed, staring down through the lens as he turned the knobs this way and that. “Oh, simply marvelous!” It was in this tedious fashion he continued, inspecting every inch of Virgil’s hair first. As he moved onto the blood slide, a pounding at the door startled the professor so much that he nearly dropped it entirely.

Virgil jumped, startled at the sudden sound. Patton, too, jumped awake and both looked at each other as they recognized the sound. They grinned, it had to be their humans!

“Be careful!” Dee yelled to the other side of the door, quite irritated by the interruption that had nearly destroyed his progress. Of course, he was sure it was just those meddling kids again.

“Dr. Dee?” A voice that was most certainly not one of the previous students made the dean pale. “May we come in?”

The borrowers’ smiles fell. That wasn’t Logan, Roman, or Thomas’ voice. They looked at each other with panic.

“Oh, ah, not right now!” Dee hurried to explain, already attempting to push the table closer to the door. “I am quite preoccupied at the moment and unable to open the door-” Before he was able to succeed, the door creaked open, revealing four figures on the other side.

“Well, it’s a good thing I have a key myself, then.” Dr. Picani noted, flanked by three friendly faces who looked ready to murder the dean. Dee gulped.

The borrowers’ panic left as soon as they saw their three friends. “Guys!” They both shouted at the same time, though Patton’s shout came out a little quieter as he was still a bit dizzy. The fourth human with them threw them off but if he was willing to help them out then they couldn’t complain.

“Virgil!” “Patton!” All three students rushed over to the cage, relief flooding their features as they completely ignored Picani’s startled looks. Dee tried to step in front of them briefly, only for Roman to promptly punch him in the nose. The dean groaned, falling to the ground and clutching his face.

“Roman!” Picani gasped, shocked at his behavior.

“Sorry professor,” Roman said, not at all sounding sorry as he didn’t even look over his shoulder before joining the others.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked worriedly, practiced hands unlocking the cage.

“We are now,” Virgil said as he grinned up at Logan and helped Patton up, Patton swayed on his feet and Virgil winced. “But Patton might need some help. Dee took a lot of blood from him.” Patton just nodded.

Logan only nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he carefully scooped up Patton.

Roman stepped forwards next, putting a hand out for Virgil.

Virgil climbed on readily and happily, settling down in the center of Roman’s palm. “I am so glad you guys are here.” Virgil felt as though he could cry.

Patton just barely registered he was being held now and looked up at Logan with a tired smile. “Hi, Logan.” Patton greeted, his words slightly slurred.

“Hi Patton,” Logan said softly, holding Patton close to his chest.

“...what happened to your hair?” Roman raised an eyebrow as he pulled Virgil out.

“Ugh, he happened.” Virgil pointed to Dee, who was still on the floor, with one hand as the other went to where his hair was cut. Virgil grinned though. “Nice punch by the way.”

“Thank you,” Roman said, looking pleased with himself despite the fact his knuckles were bruised.

“How dare you.” Dee snarled, getting to his feet by clutching the edge of the table. “You come in here, defile my work, invade my sacred zone-!”

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Thomas commented, ducking around Dee towards the door. The other two followed, both clutching their borrowers possessively.

“Hold on a moment.” Picani put out an arm, stopping them all in their tracks. His eyes lingered on the tiny people. “I think you all still have a lot of explaining to do.”

Virgil flinched, suddenly remembering the fourth human that had come in with all of them. He grit his teeth. He was tired of all these humans stopping him from leaving. He just wanted to go home. “Alright, fine.” Virgil surprised himself by speaking. “He kidnapped us and tried to run experiments on us while completely ignoring the fact that we are sentient beings with feelings. End of story, now let us go home already!”

“How could you do such a thing?” Thomas turned to Dee, looking distraught. He still couldn’t believe a human was capable of such malice.

“Thieves!” Dee protested. “Liars, hooligans, the lot of them.”

“Ah...perhaps this would be a good time for a more...civil discussion.” Picani took a moment to look sternly at Roman, who didn’t even look sheepish.

“It’s not my fault his face appeared so punchable, professor.” Roman shrugged. As Picani’s gaze grew harsher, Roman had the good sense to duck his head and at least attempt to look repentant.

“Upstairs, my office, all of you.” Picani paused, looking at Logan. “It seems your claims were well-founded after all.”

The students began to follow Picani upstairs, as did a begrudging Dee. Both Logan and Roman kept him at a safe distance, keeping an eye on their respective borrowers.

As the borrowers were brought along, Patton looked up at Logan. Things were getting a little clearer which was nice. “Who’s that? Patton asked Logan, motioning towards the new human.

Virgil, hearing Pat’s question, couldn’t help but wonder the same thing.

“Doctor Picani,” Logan explained in a hushed tone. “He’s the true head of the natural sciences department, which makes him Dee’s superior.”

“Sorry about him.” Roman looked down at Virgil apologetically. “We didn’t want to get any other humans involved, but… we really didn’t have any other options.”

“It’s...okay. He got you to us and us away from Dee. That’s all that matters.” Though Virgil glared at Picani’s head. “As long as he stays on our side...we should be fine.” Virgil wasn’t too keen to trust another person of science though, not so soon anyway.

The group reached Picani’s office, a large room with a wooden oval desk. On one side Dee sat down, and on the other, the students sat. Picani went into an adjacent room, pulling out an ice pack and offering it to Dee before taking a seat next to his fellow professor.

“Thank you, Picani,” Dee said in an almost sickeningly sweet tone, clearly trying to get on his colleague’s good side.

“Dee, do you know why you’re here?” Picani asked, looking concerned.

“You took pity on a few students who wanted to sabotage my work.” Dee shrugged, glaring across the table.

“It’s for a far more serious reason, actually,” Picani explained. “Logan here believes you are guilty of illegal experimentation.”

“Oh, is that so?” Dee leaned over the table towards Logan. “I think he’s just mad because I took his pet away.”

“They’re not. Pets.” Logan growled, his fingers curling protectively around Patton. “How dare you accuse them of such a title when they each possess more humanity than you could ever hope to achieve.”

“Yeah!” Patton exclaimed.

“Also, he literally just admitted to kidnapping us, which I believe is illegal, right?” Virgil said, directing his words at Picani.

“Ah, yes that would be correct.” Picani nodded, still looking a bit thrown off. “I’m sorry, who are you, exactly?”

Virgil sighed. “I’m Virgil and that’s Patton.”

“Hi!” Patton waved.

“Like I said before, we’re the sentient beings Dee kidnapped and planned to experiment on.” Virgil crossed his arms.

“I see.” Picani’s eyebrows furrowed.

“This is all just a big misunderstanding!” Dee protested, leaning back to look over at Picani pleadingly. “Surely you can understand a single mistake in my long history of beneficial research to this institution.”

“One mistake, huh?” Roman scoffed.

“I have in my possession files indicating over two decades’ worth of ‘mistakes’,” Logan explained, adjusting his glasses. “Countless violations of the human code of ethics throughout your means of research that you so tactfully hide in your papers yet fail to hide in the video evidence you’ve accumulated of every interaction.”

Dee paled. “How did you…?”

“I have a certain interest in computer hacking,” Logan smirked. “Consider this payback for all your cruel grading these last few weeks. Which, coincidentally, is biased and also illegal.”

Indeed, ever since Dee had turned on Logan the biology student had set to work digging up dirt on his foul professor in the hopes of having the faculty member removed from the institution. It seemed his hard work was finally paying off.

“Logan sent me the files and the evidence speaks for itself.” Picani shook his head sadly. “I wanted to give you the chance to share your side of the story before I take this case to the board of trustees.”

Dee looked across the table, eyeing the group with a certain amount of scrutiny. “So it seems I’ve finally met my match…” He chuckled softly.

“Heck yeah, you did! You won’t be bothering us anymore!” Virgil yelled at Dee and smirked smugly.

Patton, who was slowly but surely getting less dizzy, grinned. That was definitely a nice thought. Not having to deal with Dee anymore.

“Dee, this is no laughing matter,” Picani explained sternly. “It’s very possible that you will go to jail for this.”

“Oh, most certainly.” Dee looked almost bored, pulling out his phone with his free hand.

“...what are you doing?” Thomas asked, confused. The professor didn’t answer.

“Hold this, boy.” Dee tossed the ice pack at Thomas who caught it with a startled yelp. Now free to use both hands, Dee typed twice as quickly.

“What tricks are you playing, villain?” Roman sneered, leaning over the table to try and view Dee’s phone.

“All scientists are entitled to their secrets.” Dee looked meaningfully at Logan. “Of course, given the fact you’ve ruined me, I have no need for secret-keeping anymore.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” Logan frowned. He didn’t like being unsure.

“Aaaand send.” Dee hit one final button, repocketing his phone with a smirk. There was a quiet ping, and Picani pulled out his own phone.

Virgil’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked between Dee and then at Picani’s phone before his head snapped to Dee once more in sudden realization. “...You didn’t.” Virgil said, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to believe it had actually happened.

Patton was still confused. “Did what?” Why was Virgil looking so pale?

“One mass email sent out to every faculty member of the college of natural sciences.” Dee held up a single finger, looking pleased with himself.

“Dee, why...why would you send this?” Picani frowned at the email’s contents. “This is just your laboratory recording from earlier today. All it does is prove your guilt.”

“Oh, it does far more than that.” Dee chuckled darkly.

“...oh no.” Logan paled, catching on as well.

“Oh yes.” Dee grinned, leaning over and addressing the borrowers directly. “Guess who’s not a secret anymore.”

#gt #Giant/tiny #thomas sanders #sanders sides #infinitesimal!sides #au #borrowers #borrower!patton #borrower!virgil #human!deceit #human!roman #human!logan #human!picani #character!thomas #platonic #lamp #exposed perspective #part 7

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hardnoctlife · 4 years

Text

Author Asks

Decided to go ahead and answer these for anyone who might be interested.

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical “you” fic.

Domestic fluff, modern or school AU, with a sprinkling of angst. I’m really trying to work outside of my comfort zone, but I don’t really like too many crazy AUs.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

I really want to do enemies-to-lovers, but it’s so hard to pull off convincingly and I’m afraid I’m going to mess it up.

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole?

MPREG…just…no. Also, most dub-con.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

I’m currently working on a rewrite of one of my first fics “The Insomnian Academy for the Elite.” It’s called “Stand by You” in the new version! That’s it right now other than brainstorming for the Promptis Big Bang and trying to finish WDES Verse 2.

5. Share one of your strengths.

In writing? I think I do fun and convincing dialogue.

6. Share one of your weaknesses.

I’d say I spend more time writing dialogue than descriptions. I also sometimes have issues with pacing.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Chapter 10 of “Write Drunk, Email Sober.” I feel like I nailed everything about that chapter, from the emotion, to the dialogue...it’s my favorite thing I’ve written.

In that moment, something clicks into place for Prompto, like being shifted from the shallow to the deep end of a pool. He realizes there is much more to Ignis Scientia than just his ease on the eyes, and Prompto knows that he wants to dive even further into his depths.

Prompto’s smile comes naturally, full and delighted. Ignis mirrors it with his own.

“Boyfriend to Professor Scientia has a nice ring to it,” Prompto agrees. Ignis touches their noses, rubbing them together briefly before bestowing a kiss on the blond’s lips. They sink back into the bed and downwards, and Prompto is amazed to discover you can be lost and simultaneously found.

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Most of “Rain or Shine and Everything In-Between,” because I felt like the dialogue was natural and fun, but also very true to life. My favorite scene is what I think is the most hard hitting of the entire fic:

“Tell me what’s the matter,” Ignis said as soon as the man had left the room, and Noctis made a show of studying the tips of his naga-skin boots, putting more weight on his good ankle. “Noctis?”

“I can’t do this, Ignis.”

“It’s only a tie, Noct—”

“No, this.” Noctis waved his hands at the whole room, and although it wouldn’t have been clear to anyone else, Ignis knew what he meant.

The prince’s advisor felt his heart skip a beat as he studied Noctis in the mirror, their eyes finally meeting as the prince’s chin jutted forward, stubborn, yet beautiful.

“What are you saying?” Ignis asked, pragmatic and cautious.

“I can’t do this, Iggy!” Noctis’s voice rose, skipping off the marble floors. “I won’t! I’m going to tell my father everything. I’m fucking gay for Bahamut’s sake, how I am supposed to make an heir, let alone have sex with my wife—”

“Shh,” Ignis implored, coming forward to squeeze Noctis’s shoulders in warning. “Shh,” he said a little more quietly, bringing his head to rest against Noctis’s cheek.

“I can’t—I can’t. Please, don’t make me do this!” Noctis’s heart was breaking, and Ignis’s was breaking along with it, and all this was so much more than choosing a stupid tie.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

I’d say, “Daemons that Live in the Dark.” It was the heaviest content-wise. I had to take a lot of breaks to mentally and emotionally recharge between chapters, and the ending gave me the most trouble.

10. Which fic has bee the easiest to write?

“Write Drunk, Email Sober.” It was so fun to write, and I didn’t stop writing it from start to finish. It felt easy!

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

I’d say a bit of both. I wanted to be a writer since I was in middle school, and even aspired to be an author at one point. I didn’t rediscover it until last year when surgery made me unable to be active and I needed something to do to manage my mental health.

12. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

When you get stuck, don’t be afraid to skip ahead and write scenes out of order. For me, this is especially helpful because I get certain scenes in my head that I want to jot down, but sometimes have trouble leading up to them.

13. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Not advice, exactly, but the idea that more kudos/hits/comments on a certain fic on AO3 = good/better. There have been popular fics that I have hated, and other ones with fewer kudos, etc. that I have absolutely loved. Everything is going to hit different from person to person, so you need to be true to you and what you like and not compare yourself to everyone else.

14. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

“Write Drunk, Email Sober” for sure. It would be hilarious to watch.

15. If you only could write on pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Does OT4 count as a pairing? Because I vote that.

16. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

Typically from start to finish unless I’m have a particular scene in mind that I need to get out, or if I’m having trouble writing a scene I might skip ahead and go back later.

17. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

No…I probably should. I use prompts a lot though, and music for inspiration.

18. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in a basement. Do you have a muse?

Yes—my wife.

19. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Rainy day in a coffee shop, big latte, and spotify playlist on in the background.

20. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting.

I read through it once myself, let my wife read it and make edits, and then read it again. After posting I’ll read it a third time and usually still catch any errors I missed.

21. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style.

I’m currently doing this with my fic, “Stand by You.”

22. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

“Stand by You” and “Dawn of the Godslinger,” mostly because I loved the concepts, but I feel like my writing has improved dramatically since I first wrote them and they’re in desperate need of updating.

23. Have you ever deleted on of your published fics?

Yes, a few of my earlier ones. The writing and characterization was cringey.

24. What do you look for in a beta?

My wife has an MFA and is an editor so I’m lucky to have her as my beta.

25. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

Yes! You have to edit your own work…I look for typos/grammar errors and characterization mostly.

26. How do you feel about collaborations?

With the right people they are a ton of fun! But if you have a bad partner they can be miserable. Overall, I really enjoy them.

27. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Crazyloststar – mostly because she and I have very similar writing styles and she has GREAT characterization and very fun ideas. Definitely look up to her!

Carolyncaves – because they wrote one of my favorite fanfics ever, “Something Just Like This,” which is a great example of an ace person in a relationship and makes me think of my wife.

HigharollaKockamamie – because they wrote one of my other favorite fanfics, “The Temptation of Saint Anthony, but with This Guy,” which is the only fic that has ever made me like Ardyn.

28. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Oh man...probably something by @crazyloststar

29. Do you accept prompts?

Yes! I love them 😊

30. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I like to keep character’s personalities as canon as possible, but other than that it’s fair game. My number one pet peeve when reading fanfic is when authors don’t get the characterization right.

31. How do you feel about smut?

I enjoy it if I’m in the mood to read it, but I’m not a huge fan of writing it. I’d rather focus on the emotions behind character relationships rather than the physical aspects.

32. How do you feel about crack?

I’m not a huge fan of crack fics, reading or writing them.

33. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

IF and only if it is woven into a story artfully, I can tolerate it. I do not like fics that focus specifically on non-con or dub-con as being sexy or attractive, and I refuse to write those kinds of fics. With that said, one of my fics does revolve around the idea that the antagonist rapes the main character, but it is not glorified in any way.

34. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

If it furthered the plot and I was going for angst, sure.

35. Which is your favorite site to post fic?

Ao3

36. Talk about your current wips.

Currently I’m working on “Stand by You,” my Promptis HS AU rewrite, and gearing up for the Promptis Big Bang. I also still have to finish WDES Verse 2.

37. Talk about a review that made your day.

Pretty much any of the comments on WDES…any comment, really.

38. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I’ve gotten a handful. I typically delete them and move on. Otherwise, I respond to all comments.

#author asks #writing asks #asks and answers #hardnoctlife #fanfiction

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danwhobrowses · 4 years

Text

Why Star Wars: The Last Jedi Deserves More Respect

So after a handful of posts I think it’s time to bring back this one, the conflict was that I was considering reviews for Pokémon Sword and Shield as well as a review for Rise of Skywalker, but the latter made me think that this is an opportune moment to talk about the previous entry. Like The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker has had divisive opinions, frankly I liked the film but I think TLJ was the best of the sequel trilogy, and I am going to explain why

Fair Warning, within this there’s gonna be spoilers for Rise of Skywalker, possibly Mandalorian, maybe Solo and definitely The Last Jedi...this will also be very long

So I know straight away that this is gonna get heat, there has been constant times where me saying that I liked TLJ has been considered trolling or ‘bait’, honestly I find myself baffled that people can hate it so vehemently, believing that the story is and I quote ‘the worst sequel ever’. While it is clear that Johnson had a different vision to Abrams, that was not a bad thing, a lot of the criticism the film gets are quite hypocritical in contrast to the Original Trilogy which is held to so much esteem, so to start I’m going to break that down. Small Disclaimer before I do: People are allowed to dislike things, not saying that if you do dislike it you are doing something wrong, just pointing out that it’s not wrong to like the film either. Disowning before Watching The first thing I think turned people off of TLJ was the interview Mark Hamill had before the film came out, people misconceiving his comments that it’s not the journey he expected seeing of Luke to mean that this is not a film he would approve of. The same almost happened with RoS with Abrams comment which was abridged to imply that Abrams disowned TLJ as well - he did not - but in a society where we want to home in on flaws and criticize before even seeing that was too wide a door left open. So without fault, TLJ already had a group of people set on disliking the film because it would be different to how they and Hamill wanted it to be and because it’s not exactly like the decanonized ‘Legends’ continuity - despite people being fine that Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker had been merged to make Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. It’s easy to point out that if you go into something adamant to dislike you’re going to get your wish, so the first point of order is to give something a chance to impress you, you can’t criticize something because an actor didn’t think it’d go that creative direction, Hamill did not hate this movie and people disliking their content does not automatically make it bad, Stannis from GoT hated the show, Alan Moore hates everything but that doesn’t mean Watchmen was bad, the actors for C3PO and R2-D2 hated each other but that doesn’t mean that when they acted their bond wasn’t great.

The ‘Luke is not Luke’ Criticism Hamill’s comments ease nicely into one of the main critiques that fans felt that Luke was not the same character he was in Return of the Jedi. People criticized his disconnection from the force which included tossing his lightsaber away in the opening scene, the Rashomon sequence where Luke considered striking down his own nephew - a move that ultimately turned Ben to the Dark, drinking green milk and that his last stand was a projection rather than a solid encounter. You know what I say to those criticisms?

They are bollocks, absolute nonsensical criticisms made to try and dismantle the best character of the movie. Hamill delivers his best for Luke in TLJ and his character arc is brilliant. I watched Blind Wave (a great youtube reactor channel) react to TLJ and the members noted how it was great that Luke had a character arc, something I wholly agree with. Luke was around 23 in Return of the Jedi (since the galaxy uses the standardized dating of Coruscant which has the most earth-like cycle), if you expect a 23 year old to have no room left to grow in the next 30 years of his life then I don’t think anything’s gonna get through to you, Luke is meant to be different, because since Jedi a lot of shit has happened. Luke’s discarding of the lightsaber shows his disconnect with the Force, something that had allowed the First Order to paint him as a myth and rendered everyone near-unable to find him, only tracked by the galactic map to Ahch-To from his past days of discovering remnants of Jedi past. Next let’s bring down the Rashomon sequence, the 3 tales of Ben’s turning. Initially, Luke painted a picture that he sensed that the darkness was too late, Ben woke and attacked him. Later Ben paints that Luke is lying, and that when Ben awoke Luke was there with his Lightsaber drawn with intent to kill him. The third story admits that both are correct, Luke drew his lightsaber in sensing the darkness, and Ben awoke to see it and retaliated.

This story peeves people mainly because they say that in Jedi ‘Luke was willing to fight for a single hope of light in his Father but was willing to kill his nephew for a bad dream’. A ridiculous comment that waters down and ignores the bigger picture though. For one, while Luke wanted to save his father and sensed good in him, he still ended up cutting his dad’s hand off, the indication that much like his father Luke - as he had always been in the Original Trilogy - was still susceptible to his emotions, including the negative ones. The other reason this statement is foolhardy is because they don’t listen to Luke’s narration, where he explains that it was a fleeting moment of panic and arrogance, his ego as ‘Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master’ took over when he sensed that Ben was already turned by Snoke, and it was only for a split second which he immediately regrets. It’s this moment that snowballs into why Luke disconnects himself from the force, his ego as a saviour to Jedi led to the downfall of his nephew - which led to his best friend and sister separating, the rise of the First Order being like a second Empire and the massacre of most of his other jedi students, he realised that this was the same ego that led to the previous Jedi’s downfall to Vader and Sidious and thus came to the conclusion that maybe the Jedi way is not the right way. Not only is this a brilliantly done tragedy for the character but it’s a progression that identifies with public opinion of jedi ways and the pompousness that led to Anakin’s turn to the dark side as depicted in the prequels. The use of Rashomon also connects to the Jedi/Sith connections to Samurai which was a great touch by Johnson. The green milk scene was a weird one I’ve seen being criticized, like people are fine with Calamarian fishmen but a Tatooine/Naboo humanoid can’t drink green milk? I think I need to remind you that Luke drinks blue milk on Tatooine, he is a moisture farmer as well, the ‘green milk’ scene was a depiction of how Luke survived on Ahch-To as Rey followed him, his lifestyle disconnected from the force as he lived as basically a farm boy. I don’t know why people got so mad about the colour of milk but you can’t expect those nuns to have fed him roast porgs every day The final criticism is his last stand, something I will touch on a bit later as well. In terms of Luke, people were disappointed that it wasn’t Luke actually there and while yes it would’ve been great to watch Luke tear down AT-ATs luke the EU, but he literally says that he won’t do that

it’s not a matter of can’t, it’s a matter of him strutting up to the army of the First Order will not end the war, most people don’t even know if he exists. Showing up will have inspired the resistance yes but if Luke was shown killed or captured that hope would then be instantly diminished, and Snoke and Ren would definitely be going for Luke’s head to make that so. This is why Luke goes via projection, instead of his ragged hermit self where he’d likely die similarly to how Kenobi did, he demonstrates a highly advanced force power to display himself as a clean-cut warrior who shrugs off the full might of the First Order’s arsenal and humiliates its brand new Supreme Leader, while disappearing. That stand does the Resistance far better than him showing up in person, because now the legend of Luke Skywalker lives longer than he does, he inspires a new wave of Jedi who understand his sacrifice and rebels who have just seen how one man can expose the weakness of the First Order. Luke’s last living gesture is one that inspires hope, before he becomes one with the Force at peace. If anything that is as beautiful as it is tragic of an end for Luke, but by no means is that bad. The Rose Tico ‘Issue’ Luke wasn’t the only character to get on the wrong side of criticism, undoubtedly Kelly Marie Tran got it the worst. Despicable people flocked to harass her over her character, throwing about racism just for that added content of being a horrid human being. Her character, Rose Tico, was a newly introduced character from the Resistance who joins Finn and Poe’s arcs, her main non-racist criticism is her act of saving Finn from the Laser Battering Ram ‘She has this stupid speech about saving people with love while a laser battering ram breaks down the door to kill a bunch of people’ A common theme seems to be that people are taking things the absolute wrong way. Rose’s journey with Finn is an interesting arc where she seeks to make sure her sister’s sacrifice - caused by Poe’s rash personality - is not in vain while accompanying a ‘hero of the resistance’, what she is unaware of is how her assistance relates to Finn’s journey as he tries to live up to the esteem she sees him in, he had always considered himself a defector rather than a rebel. Rose (and DJ) open his eyes to a reality that not everything is black and white, he left the First Order in TFA because he believed that they were ‘wrong’ and so by default the resistance had to be ‘right’ but TLJ challenged Finn to see both sides and make a choice for himself, a choice that is made thanks to Rose. However, his embrace of being a rebel is why he is adamant to try and sacrifice himself for the laser battering ram. I have to point out that until Rose stepped in I thought Finn was gonna die, I thought it really ballsy and a little disappointing that they were gonna kill him off, I also knew that the ship would not stop the battering ram so it was actually a relief that Rose did save him.

I think people dislike it for that reason though, they felt that Finn dying would’ve been a more shocking narrative turn and because Rose saved him she is to ‘blame’, I also believe that people didn’t like the relationship because Finn was clearly still on Rey and not everyone was on the Reylo boat or it got in the way of FinnPoe being more than just a bromance (side note, at the start of RoS I thought they were sailing on the ReyPoe for a moment, though I’m not mad about how they went), but again, that shouldn’t be the fault of Rose’s character. Rose clearly was inspired by Finn’s reputation and grew fond of his personality the more time she spent with him, likewise Finn found himself wanting to earn her esteem and taking care of her, it’s actually a shame that Rose’s role gets heavily reduced in RoS, because I do feel like Rose could’ve filled Jannah’s role (nothing against Jannah or Naomi Ackie of course) with the Canto Bight horse-things instead of the Kef Bir horse-things. So to conclude this section, Rose was good in this film, she served a purpose to grow Finn as a character and most constructive criticisms against her revolve around things either out of her control as a character or without would diminish her character role completely. The Communication Issue between Holdo and Poe Alright, let’s throw some hands up before I rub them together. I agree that Holdo should’ve told people the plan, I do dislike it when a movie creates conflict made by a lack of communication. But, he will say rubbing his hands together, this does not ruin the film. It’s worth reminding that Poe is recently demoted for reckless behaviour, the Resistance’s entire offensive fleet was destroyed due to Poe wanting to destroy one Dreadnought Ship. A reasonable punishment for Poe on his arc to realise that being a leader is more than just winning a battle, but more on that later. So Holdo comes in, new squadron she barely knows because she’s taking over for Leia, she has a plan that she and Leia know but are the only living members who know now. So why doesn’t she tell Poe? It’s quite simple, not only does the novel imply that she’s figuring out if there’s a mole - which is understandable because the First Order must’ve watched Star Trek: Into Darkness and thought ‘hey we could track ships in hyperspeed too!’ - but she’s also trying to enforce Leia’s punishment to Poe. Poe is in this shit because he refused to listen to orders, so Holdo is basically telling Poe to listen to orders, something he refuses to do and starts a mutiny. It is frustrating yes and we side with Poe because he’s the more familiar character, but had Poe just proved himself a trustworthy person who is learning from Leia’s last decree before she went into a coma she would’ve told him. This also transitions nicely into the next criticism people have Canto Bight and the Cryptographer Goose-Chase Poe’s plans of mutiny starts with sending Rose and Finn to Canto Bight, at the behest of the massively underused Maz Kanata, to find a Cryptographer so that they could disable the hyperspace tracker. People hate this scene mainly because it segue’s from the plot, it’s high on CGI and reminds them of the Prequel Trilogy

Now I can’t really contest the CGI but it was nothing bad, CGI still gets used well and the visit to the Casino aided in time for Rose and Finn to establish a relationship, have some lightheated BB-8 moments, introduce DJ the speech impediment ‘wrong hacker’ and continue to drive the shades of grey theme Finn is about to learn about. People never seem to criticize that they put their faith in the wrong guy because it leads to a more interesting conflict, so it’s strange that they hate this transition so much. The Brevity of Snoke and Phasma Two characters introduced that promised to be big deals were killed off in The Last Jedi, the nature of them both was a brave scene that many felt dropped the ball on these characters. And while I am inclined to agree on Phasma at least, Snoke’s death was actually a great turn. Before RoS we were none the wiser on who Snoke was, now we’ve seen it we know that he was basically a mass-produced puppet by the emperor...not the best of closures I’d admit but the anger towards Snoke being killed off is actually hypocritical ‘All Snoke does is sit in his chair and die’ You know who else sat in his chair and ‘died’, ol’ Sheev Palpatine. People are quick to criticize that Snoke was hyped up but barely got to show anything when Palpatine only really demonstrated the force twice in the Original trilogy before being thrown into a pit of apparent death, we allowed the Emperor a pass because we learned more about him through novels and future movies, and that’s something we eventually find out from Snoke as well.

Captain Phasma on the other hand was a sad disappointment, after one brush with death already she returned to basically be killed off again as a symbol of Finn shedding his ties as an ex-stormtrooper and embracing the role of a rebel. This is not really the fault of Johnson though, everyone seems to be more content with the alternate scene where Finn exposes Phasma’s actions for TFA, but that was a choice from the cutting room. While we can be disappointed that Phasma didn’t leave enough of a mark on the trilogy, we can always hope for prequel stuff as we had with Boba Fett, an equally wasted character in his main trilogy who could theoretically be in The Mandalorian (only a theory, nothing is concrete), but if we are willing to love the Original Trilogy despite similar issues we hate on TLJ for then aren’t we being hypocrites? tHaT’s nOt HoW tHe FoRcE wOrKs If you try to pick on Rian Johnson for ‘not getting Star Wars’ directly you would be in for a world of punishment. Two major force powers that get used in The Last Jedi is the ‘Force Skype’ and Force Projection, however both are basically using the same techniques, one is connecting minds while the other is connecting one mind to an individual place. It’s immediately told to us that this is an advanced technique but this is not something Johnson has made up. In the EU this ability is called Simifuturus or just Doppelganger, practiced by Luke, Dooku and Yarael Poof. Rey and Ben’s Force Skype is also used in the EU called Force Bond, Chain or Jedi Kinship, the ability had been fine in beloved Star Wars games Knights of the Old Republic I & II, the Clone Wars and Rebels series and aplenty of novels. For the legitimacy of these abilities cannot be contested. The fact that the ability kills Luke shouldn’t be criticized either, Luke is projecting himself light years away on Crait, with a copy of Han’s dice in a much more polished form, he physically interacts with Leia and takes on a barrage of AT-M6 blasters - turbolasers that can destroy speeders and ships with one hit - and two lightsaber slices, remember Ben felt the impact from Rey’s blaster on their first Force Skype, so Luke carried the feeling of all that damage and strain on his body and maintained his projection. So not only did Luke’s dying moments lead to an incredible display of using the Force but also one that forced him to sustain an immeasurable amount of damage and still manage to bide the resistance time to escape. Leia Poppins Ah yes, the Mary Poppins moment. I dunno how I can explain this one so easily but how about this. Leia is force sensitive, we have known this since Jedi, so to see Leia use the force was a massive moment, but she’s floating in the vacuum of space so there is no ‘up’ she is basically pulling a heavier object than herself in a vacuum, using it as an anchor so she can get to a blast door. As to why she survives in space, you can survive up to 2 minutes in space without a helmet, it is horribly painful though, it’s also worth reminding that Leia is not a human like you or me and if the Force can heal (as shown in The Mandalorian and RoS) then why can’t it keep Leia alive a bit longer in Space? She ends up in a coma anyway so I don’t see why complaints are rife here, she survives barely and it’s not like they knew Carrie was going to die sometime after the film was completed, they obviously had more plans for her so it would’ve been wrong to kill her off there when we were already killing Luke off. Did Disney Ruin Star Wars? This is a statement I’ve heard a lot in regards to TLJ, Solo and RoS, which is weird though, people were fine with Disney doing TFA, Rogue One and The Mandalorian, Mando’s journey with Baby Yoda proving that the utility of fanservice - something the trio get loathed for - can be enjoyable and it bodes well that the director of some episodes is doing an Obi Wan film. The phrase ‘Star Wars Fatigue’ also came about from post-Solo reviews, which I have expressed is dumb because MCU do 3 marvel movies minimum a year. But the reason Solo got low box office figures wasn’t because it was bad, it’s because it was released around the same time as Deadpool 2, it was left to the sharks without a chance to succeed. So no, Disney have not ruined Star Wars, if anything fan perception has damaged the franchise with people hating it because it’s not the Original Trilogy or it’s too much like the Original Trilogy, the same can be said for the EU. RoS is quite similar to Dark Empire but because Disney retconned most of the EU it’s the enemy, but let’s be honest, does anyone want the continuity to be that Chewie gets blown up? I doubt that. So WHY does The Last Jedi deserve more respect I think the mixed reviews of Rise of Skywalker has proved that maybe TLJ got a harsh end of a stick, even with Abrams’ vision back at the helm the film proved to be divisive and personally quite safe. This is probably why I liked TLJ the most, Johnson went to challenge things and build off of the previous movies as a whole, nothing really was safe, it took narrative risks that opened the door to a lot more things.

We explored Rey’s connection to the force and her desires for answers being unable to be sated by it because she’s expecting more from her level of learning, we also have Snoke’s gambit to bond Ben and Rey together to strengthen both, Ben strengthens into a more mature state but continues to conflict in a less whiny way, even relenting from trying to kill his mother. We also got some ‘reverse Jedi’ stuff with both Ben and Rey adamant that the other will turn but instead of turning one another, Ben’s hatred however proves too great for Rey to accompany him which leads to Ben getting a villain promotion to Supreme Leader. We have a solid arc for Finn, Luke and Poe as he finally learns to take care of others, because as Rose was saying, sacrificing yourself is not going to beat the First Order, heroes are great but dead heroes win nothing, protecting others is the essence of the Resistance and that’s what a leader is meant to do. Hell, we even get a little Hux stuff, the way he slowly considers shooting Kylo Ren while he’s down and his constant abuse culminating in the rather obvious RoS reveal that he’s the spy. Unlike RoS, TLJ thrived on giving every major character worthwhile arcs like these which all ended up entwining in the climactic showdown, while tertiary characters did end up getting underused there were still windows for them to do more in the next episode which was taken out of Johnson’s hands, but he laid a lot of groundwork for the story to be taken multiple directions, which is actually quite difficult when you’re midway through a trilogy and on the 8th outing of a saga. In addition, the film provided Hamill’s best performance as Luke Skywalker, giving him a fitting end to his journey which explored almost every dimension of a Jedi’s character; training, temptation, losing faith and redemption.

I also loved how Johnson described the Force in TLJ, it wasn’t about Dark or Light, the Force was the Force, an energy that flows through all that is harnessed by the force sensitive, even Force Ghosts. And using the Puppet Yoda was a great and fun addition, and it makes sense that he can fire lightning, because Force Ghosts are one with the Force, they flow with the flow of nature. We got lore and demonstration of great powers that made the ‘holy shit’ moment of Kylo Ren stopping a blaster shot mid-flow look like novice work. And while we’re talking about ‘holy shit’ moments

You cannot deny that TLJ had some absolutely breathtaking visuals, moments in this film are some of the best moments in Star Wars, a combination of intensity and hype from Luke’s standoff with the First Order to Holdo’s hyperspace ram, Ahch-To’s real-life setting was also beautiful as were the design of Crait from its Icicle foxes to its salt speeders leaving a red path of smoke

This film looks beautiful and the story is multilayered with character development, worldbuilding, good action and gutsy plot twists, you know everything people (rightfully) praise The Mandalorian for. It’s definitely not a film where you’d find yourself bored and when you set aside your fan theories and the illusion that the Original Trilogy was Flawless save for the Death Star plot hole you will find this movie a lot more enjoyable. Now I don’t want people saying it’s a ‘Don’t Question, Consume’ sorta thing, it’s a matter of accepting that there are flaws but not allowing it to ruin the experience, because The Last Jedi embodies a lot of the essence of Star Wars old and new, it is probably the best that the New Trilogy has provided and it is certainly worthy of respect.

#star wars #star wars spoilers #star wars the last jedi #the last jedi #luke skywalker #princess leia #rey #kylo ren #ben solo #snoke #supreme leader snoke #poe #poe dameron #rose tico #rian johnson

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