#WHAT about this show was historically accurate my guy??? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

devnmon · 2 months

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dating sadie adler, kisser of women hcs ♡

obviously i had to do this for my bbg sadie. she deserves MORE appreciation and if nobody will write for her I WILL!!!! i gladly will. i love her, so enjoy these! luv u all!

[also just pretend this is historically accurate bye!]

Sadie is a very intelligent woman... she knows how to hunt, how to use a gun, who knows what else is in that brain of hers. She must have so many hidden talents and skills, and you intend to find out what.

Though her addition to the group was somewhat abrupt, you and Abigail do your best to make her feel welcome. You aren't sure if Sadie feels the comfort that you hope your words provide to her at first. Once the group moves to Clemens Point, you find she's coming out of her shell little by little. You see it in her pristine new outfit when she returns from a run with Arthur, and the way she holds herself is much different than before.

This new version of Sadie Adler was fiery, confident and stickin' it to the man– you quickly found out not to get on her bad side. Though you think you'd let her do anything to you if it were the right situation.

The minute Sadie realizes what she's feeling for you is more than platonic... it takes her back a step. She never thought she'd find someone other than Jake to want in that way– but here you are. You're always at her side, perfect to her, and she will protect you like her life depends on it. When she silently swallows her feelings and pretends she doesn't care, you notice.

You all but have to drag her out of camp in the middle of the night to get a minute alone with her; otherwise there's prying eyes and others whose attention you really didn't wish to grab.

Once the two of you are alone you'll go off on how she's been avoiding you at every turn, rambling on and on like you'd done something wrong. "What happened to you?" you'd ask. She sighs and goes "You happened to me."

"I've been a fool. Do you hate me? What have I done?" statements flow from her when she notices you're silent, staring while she stutters over confessing her feelings. It's at that point you shut her up by kissing her and you can almost hear the sparks flying from the two of you. There's a big ass smile on her face afterwards and she kisses you in between her smiles. Sadie Adler is a smitten fool for you.

She's observant, patient and good with her hands. That is: she teaches you how to shoot a rifle, since you're more comfortable to ask her. She gladly shows you, and when you think you've got it, her arms surround you from behind to adjust your aim– and you're blushing. After she takes her hands away, you're flustered by the loss and silently begging for her to put them back.

Will match outfits with you nonchalantly as a statement to your relationship with her. Like say you're wearing an outfit with blue or white, she'll wear a blue scarf and her white shirt to match you. She'll even give you a piece of her jewelry to wear in that instance, or get you a piece of your own to match hers. Sadie's sentimental & cute like that!!!

Sadie will also leave you notes secretly, to which you fawn over every time. She also definitely gushes over the ones you leave her, when you compare her to the sweet flowers you pick for her. [Arthur noticed how hard she was blushing one time and got curious, she's had to read your notes in private ever since!]

Definitely gets veryyy touchy and affectionate when she's had a few drinks. She's slurring out "Heyyy pretty girlll I know where you can find a nice place to stay for the night..." in your ear and you have to excuse yourselves in *attempt* to get her to sleep.

Sadie is definitely the type to say "i owe you a hundred kisses" if you had a bet with her about something. Usually it was silly, harmless contests that either of you could compete against each other in playfully.

Sadie also introduced you to pranks, which she loves to pull on the other guys. One time the two of you messed with Arthur, sending him silly letters from someone named "Hugh Janus". The two of you tried to hold in your laughs when he got frustrated and yelled out "WHO THE HELL IS HUGH JANUS??" in camp unprompted.

Sadie is a huge cuddler at night, intertwining her whole body with yours to keep warm, especially when it gets chilly at night. There's not a smidge of space to have for yourself, it's shared with her always. Other examples of this are her linking her pinkie finger with yours when you're standing around the group. She loves physical touch so much that she'll do anything to have her skin on yours no matter what; if it's riding on the back of the same horse, or pouring her a drink, she's making some sort of contact. It's her way to say "I'm here & I love you". She's such a sweetheart to you.

NSFW

Yeah Sadie is a top this Sadie is a top that... may I suggest... she's a switch. On rare occasions, Sadie Loves being on her knees for you. She's a real freak like that. She'll beg and beg and beg until you cave and give her what she wants: you.

“Please, stop teasin’ me, just give me what I want. You know I’ll return the favor, sweet girl.” Her raspy voice, her gentle commands, her pretty thighs spread for you..

But when she's in control? Oh it's absoluuutely over for you. She'll praise you constantly cause she knows it's what you want to hear. “Doin’ so good for me, pretty girl. C’mon, let me hear you, use your words. I know you can.. Such a good girl.”

Her soft little whimpers & pleas as she climbs higher & higher. she’s so desperate for release & your touch, she’s basically sobbing for it. her eyes never leave you once she hears the same needy whine come from your side of the room, wanting to watch you come undone from the sight of her spread out for you.

You can't tell me she doesn't get off on you pulling her hair when it's in a messy braid. You love to run your fingers through it and grip, but it's too hot out for that. Plus she thinks it's easier for her braid to be pulled, and fucking loves it.

Her skilled hands could make you a whimpering mess, easily. She knows her way around, and boy if she isn't good at what she does.

"There you go, you got it, takin me so well..." in that accent of hers.. You'll fold every time. “Oh, look at you, pretty girl. Fallin’ apart for me so easily. D'ya know how whipped you got me?" Yeah, she's a lady who knows how to rive you crazy.

Then again... she's a goddamn tease. Especially if you've been bratty? Oh it's over for you. She feels your body up and down, making you work for any other sensual touches by begging. It's music to her ears. She lovesss to make you work for it.

She'll take her time for however long edging you with her fingers, then her tongue, and once you've had about two orgasms from just that, she sticks her strap inside you and gets another.

For aftercare, she'll ask you if you're feeling alright and lay with you after she cleans you up. Usually the both of you fall asleep afterwards, or take a bath or a shower before you do. Her brown eyes shine in the light while she tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and kisses your cheeks while you lie together.

#signed rye #sadie adler #sadie adler x afab reader #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 #devnmonwrites #ryesff #red dead redemption 2 #dividers by cafekitsune #dividers by plutism

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bitch-butter · 8 months

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i've had it: a Web-focused analysis of episode 8

my babes, my babes, what can I say?

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of people saying that in “The Patrol” aka “The Last Patrol” Web is depicted as “trying to get himself taken off the patrol ”. Many long years I have rested, but now i have, in all essences, Had It with that take in light of my recent brush with death (not really, but it adds some gravitas right?).

It's Everybody's right to their own opinion, but I am here to host a Formal Rebuttal of this pervasive interpretation, because I never (even in my pre-webgott days) read That Scene as such, and I feel that this reading makes even Less sense within the full portrait of the episode. I will defend my stance with appropriate screengrabs, but unfortunately due to Max being made singularly of butts and capitalist dupes I am not able to screengrab anything that isn’t already grabbed or put on Youtube. I have much, but not Everything, so bear with me.

(This will not be a litigation of why the episode chooses to detract in myriad ways from the historical record, but suffice it to say that this episode makes a lot of choices re: who was on the patrol, why they were on the patrol, and who showed up when that are not Exactly accurate but does suit the story that they were endeavoring to tell. I’ll leave it at That.)

So, let’s get into it.

I. What is this episode about?

I spoke “briefly” but not that articulately about why episode 8 is my favorite episode on my good friend Sarah’s podcast last year, and I still stand by many of my reasons for doing so, but I’d like to highlight one element in particular.

This episode is coming hot off of the heels of one of the most harrowing episodes we’ve seen up to this point, “The Breaking Point”, and in that episode we see not only exactly what it has cost our guys to be in the Bois Jacques for so long, but we also see how this has in many ways made their bonds with each other even closer. They leave that conflict feeling tired, overworked and underfed, and incredibly protective of one another, and because we the audience got to see that we in turn feel protective of them as well.

Which is why I find the choice for Web being the main protagonist of the episode so inspired.

We are thrust immediately from this harrowing experience, as well as the lived-in dynamic with our main guys, into following a guy who disappeared from the show entirely in episode 5, which not only makes us suspicious of him but it runs up against our instincts to bond with our protagonist. We know immediately, even if we’re on a first or second watch, that Web was not in the Bois Jacques because of the visual language used to characterize him as well as his own opening narration, and as such we immediately don’t want anything to do with him because we too feel protective over our guys who were in the actual fight and we don’t want to waste our time with guys who don’t get it.

Trust and belonging. Those are the core themes of the episode in my opinion, and we see it with several characters (Lt. Jones and Web are in much the same boat because they have no trust and they don’t belong and so they have to earn them both back; Vest is trusted but he doesn’t belong not only because he’s not a guy the audience is that familiar with but because his job in the context of the show removes him from being that close to our core group). The episode is as much about those things as it is also about combat weariness, how our main guys are acclimating to the idea of the end being near, as well as the ultimate brutality and inhumanity of war on a micro level (Web’s ending monologue is a great example of this, and read in conjunction with Sink’s decision to try and send the patrol out again is a pretty good indictment of the depersonalized and mechanic way war works for a lot of people).

So, in essence, this episode is about getting the other guys, as well as the audience, to trust Web.

II. Web is a Good Character (you guys are just Mean)

How do you get the audience to trust your character (even if they don’t like him)?

They manage to accomplish this at least in part by trying to show us that even if his plans are lackluster his intentions are good, such as his initial - albeit inappropriate - happiness at greeting everyone, his reveal of who was being initially selected for the patrol, and his successful attempt to get Malarkey taken off the patrol. We see a few times that his actions have consequences, but for the most part we are able to Understand the train of thought that informs the choice. He sees that the other guys are distrustful of him and no longer want him around due to his absence from the previous episodes, something that clearly throws him off balance, and so we can progress through episode 8 with his primary motivation being to get the core group to trust him again and as such regain his sense of belonging.

We see it right away in the episode, where he greets the other guys only to be quickly dismissed and chastised for assuming a familiarity that is no longer there, and again we can infer from Eion Bailey’s performance that he not only understands that he’s made a mistake but is already internalizing that his decision to remain at the hospital was most likely the incorrect decision.

This goes directly into the motivation for telling his fellow platoon members that some of them have been selected for a patrol that most likely will be disastrous, which we can clearly see he doesn’t want to do but does in order to attempt to gain his footing back within their ranks.

This isn’t entirely successful, as the other guys seem to read it more as Web being first annoying at not wanting to tell them and then secondly unreliable because he told them in the first place. And again, we can read in Bailey’s performance that he quickly realizes that regaining his standing is not going to be as simple as he thought that it would be.

His next attempt at ingratiating himself is tied inextricably to the issue at hand. To reiterate, we the audience as well as our characters of interest have become protective over one another in the wake of the previous episode, and one of the characters who comes out of “The Breaking Point” particularly fragile is Malarkey. We have context for his emotional placement that bleeds out from the previous episode, and a lot of visual weight is given to the fact that Malarkey in particular is exhausted, depressed, and would benefit heavily from a brief respite from being on the front lines. Other characters express this sentiment In Webster’s Direction, and in search of another way to endear himself to the rest of the platoon he sets out to kill two birds with one stone by i. Getting Malarkey off the patrol ii. Getting Lt. Jones the experience he needs to hop up the ranks and go away.

This attempt is successful, but backfires again when Martin is placed in charge of the patrol instead of Jones. It is possible Web should have anticipated that due to the other man’s inexperience they wouldn’t have let him lead it to begin with, but we the audience should ideally still be interpreting at least the initial intention of the decision to be a good one. He sees that the other guys want Malarkey off the patrol, so he gets Malarkey off the patrol.

This brings us to the moment in question.

III. Let’s Break it Down: Part Un

INTERIOR - A ROOM IN lol i’m joking but what if i did do it like that

It is quickly revealed that Web’s plan has failed, at least in part. Martin has been appointed to lead the patrol, and is clearly no more eager to do it than anybody else is (except Lt. Jones), and Web clearly looks remorseful towards putting him in Malarkey’s place.

In an act of revenge he appoints Web to be translator, and Web is also not that jazzed about it but appears to accept it with a Tiny Little joke.

The scene progresses to planning the attack, and we get a few visual cues to indicate that this is a no good very bad idea and everybody hates it before the meeting ends and we hear Liebgott make a jab at Web’s attempt at a joke re: his German capabilities, to which Web gives my favorite reaction in the whole episode where he clearly wants to look directly at the camera like he’s on The Office and clowns his way out of the room.

Hard cut to everybody leaving the building, with a few of our guys in the background as Web moves into the foreground away from them (he wants to be with the cool kids but he’s Not one of the cool kids). We hear but don’t entirely see Grant saying the line “Webster. Tries to get out of everything”, but it’s loud enough that we can assume Web himself also hears this, and he has a small moment of looking back at them in response before he advances to address the officers.

He points out that both he and Liebgott speak German, and we the audience infer that having the two guys who speak German on the same patrol would be a bad idea because both of them could get taken out and then the company would be shit out of luck. Speirs is quick on his feet, and as Liebgott, Grant, and Jackson pass by he stops them and tells Liebgott he can sit this one out. Liebgott accepts, winks at Web, and gives him a joking thanks.

Web gives him a tiny half-smile, thanks the officers, and walks away, clearly not loving the fact that he’s going but not appearing resentful.

FINIS

That’s the scene of the crime. So, with this narrative context, let’s get to our second suspect.

IV. The Liebgott of it All

In black and white terms, the principal Antagonist to our Protagonist in this episode is Liebgott, even if we can all agree he’s a king and Web is Himself.

In Web’s intro to the episode he’s the character we see giving him the hardest time about being away from the company, when Web is gearing up to spill the beans about the patrol Liebgott is the one stirring the pot, and in the patrol meeting he’s the one making fun of Web for downplaying his German. Liebgott gets more weight in this episode than he has in any previous episode, and we are meant to extract from their numerous interactions that even if Liebgott is a guy that has been mostly on the fringes throughout the show up to this point he is going to be the one that makes the ultimate decision about whether or not Web will be accepted back into the group.

We have an automatic trust for Liebgott because we’ve seen and known him from the very first episode, he’s had individual moments sprinkled throughout the show, and narratively we’ve mostly seen him displaying his competency, humor, and principles. These are all things that the audience is missing in a relationship with Web, so like the other guys we’ll trust Liebgott’s assessment of Web more than we’ll likely trust Web’s intentions at face value. This gets tricky, because Liebgott is not immune to his own pettiness, and even if he Was capable of reading Web’s actions in good faith he is still going to have reservations because up to this point we have no reason not to think that Web stayed out of the fight On Purpose.

So, Liebgott gives Web a ton of shit throughout the episode, and the audience can take that as an indication that Web is not worthy of regaining his place in the group. Web also seems to realize this. If he wants to be back in the mix the person he’s really going to need to impress is Liebgott. As it goes on Liebgott’s exact intentions with Web are a little dubious, because at some points he does seem to internalize that he may be being too harsh or too resistant on Web. After Web gets outed as having told the other guys about the patrol Liebgott appears reserved, not taking pleasure in his embarrassment.

And after hearing Chuck’s pivotal line we can hear Liebgott brush it off with a “whatever” as he clearly looks towards Web in the foreground.

There are things at play in regards to how Liebgott is feeling about his own pettiness towards Web, but whatever reservations he has are not powerful enough up to this point that we take too much notice.

This, Web’s knowledge of it, as well as the throwaway line from Chuck, all inform the decision to approach the officers after the patrol meeting.

V. Let’s Break it Down: Part Deux (boogaloo électrique)

What We Know: Web is ostracized from the group and is trying to get back in, Liebgott in particular doesn’t want Web back in the group because he’s missed a formative event for the company and feels he doesn’t deserve it, and there’s a patrol that nobody wants to go on because They’re Tired looming in the distance.

With what we know (above), what we know happens in the scene (see part III), who these characters are plus their narrative intentionality (parts II and IV), and what the episode is presumably supposed to be about (part I), gives us a pretty clear indication of what Web’s intentions are when he approaches the officers. Web wants to be back in the group, Liebgott is the one he has to convince, and to put a cherry on top he clearly hears Chuck talking smack by saying he tries to get out of everything.

He prompts the officers by pointing out that Liebgott speaks German as well, and we Must assume he does this with the understanding that there’s no way they would take him off of the patrol over Liebgott.

Though we’ve seen Web make plans and have them backfire we can’t infer that he’s that stupid just based on what the show has told us about Web thus far. Socially awkward? Yes. Stupid? Not really.

There would be no way he’d think they would take him off and keep Liebgott on, and he already approaches with the knowledge that if he does earnestly try to remove himself from the patrol that would forever damage his standing in the company and he would never, ever be able to get back in with the core group. You know, that thing that’s motivating everything he does in the episode.

It wouldn’t make sense in any measure for Web to be going up to them trying to get himself removed. It wouldn’t flow with his actions in the episode, his motivations, Liebgott’s mini-arc of excluding him, and it certainly would not serve the overarching themes of the episode which are Trust and Belonging.

The perfect button to this conflict is the wink that Liebgott gives Web after being told he can stay behind. There’s a brief moment where he Just looks at Web, and there’s a definite understanding that moves between them that this isn’t the end of the road for Web’s attempts to get back in but that an Important Step has just been taken.

Web gives him that half-smile, accepts that his work is not done, and they move to their separate corners.

The culmination of these sort of swirling themes comes during the patrol, when we get a few different moments of Liebgott waiting across the river displaying clear alarm at what he’s seeing.

Given our context for Liebgott in this episode, and his primary relationship within it being with Web, we can assume this is the moment his feelings about letting Web back into the fold turn. He sees Web took him off the patrol, is now in a precarious position, and as we’ve had a few flashes of his backtracking his own pettiness towards Web we can assume this is the final straw.

He was fine holding out on Web up to this point, but he doesn’t actually want anything bad to happen to him just because he indirectly influenced Web into proving himself (even if Web was always going to be trying to prove himself).

So with the completion of the patrol two big things have occurred: Web has weathered a harrowing experience that cost the life of a beloved member of the company and as such got a small, small taste of what the rest of the company experienced in the Bois Jacques, and Liebgott has come to accept that Web’s intentions are good and he can be trusted again.

After this occurrence we see that at least as far as the other guys in the group Web is - for the most part - accepted back. Martin defends him against Cobb, and in that we can assume that the heavy lifting portion of Web's attempts to rejoin Easy have been successful. But the main character that Web, as well as the audience, is interested in is Liebgott. He's presented the greatest barrier to acceptance, and a lot of weight has been placed on he and Web's dynamic in the episode, so we have to wait and see how he will react to Web's newfound acceptance.

That leads them both perfectly to the end of the episode, where our visual cue to this is given: Web approaches the transport, Liebgott offers him his hand, Web takes it.

Poetic Cinema.

Web has regained trust, and once again he belongs.

VI. I've Had It

I own the fact that I’m feral about this episode and for the most part people don’t seem to like it that much, which is fine and I’m not here to convert anybody. Additionally, I own the fact that Web is my son and I think he’s hilarious and everybody else thinks he’s The Worst. However, I just don’t think that This particular criticism holds much water when we give it the actual reading that we’re meant to be giving it with the weight of the narrative, what we’re being told about individual characters, and the overall themes of the episode.

The truth is the truth, and we can’t All be champs.

Lol jk bc truly if you feel as strongly about this as i do (which seems doubtful lol) I am not anti-debate and I would welcome hearing why people seem so Deeply convinced of Web doing all of this just to try and get himself taken off the patrol.

(Answers I will Not accept are the kind that use Web being annoying as a basis for a read on his character motivations because girls that’s Not It.)

And so it is ~

#media analysis? on MY blog? it's more likely than you think #i think i was so haunted by the idea that i could die and people would still have this take that it propelled that i defeated my fever #band of brothers #david webster #listen lets clown on web for the Actual stuff he does that's not great aight bc This Ain't One #and i have been silent too long lol #now i'm going to dinner and i'mma get myself a Big glass of wine

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dominomars · 9 months

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Let’s address this issue…

Hey wassup I’m back, after deleting two posts because apparently my account is only used for “helluva boss shitting” I guess…

But I want to say something that really makes me a little concerned… about Viviziepop’s character designs.

Ok, lemme just say this… I don’t think Viviziepop is a good character designer AT ALL. Her main problem for me is not the colors, not the pencil thin bodies, but the fashion the character was born in, that’s right the FUCKING fashion.

Vivzie pop has a problem with designing characters that don’t look like exactly how she describes them, for example. Beelzebub, Beelzebub looks NOTHING like the actual Beelzebub, but I’m not talking about her today..

I’m going to be talking about Mimzy, a background character/non-speaking cameo that was shown in Hazbin Hotel.

(Just in case nobody knows her, here)

So, you’re probably saying, “Domino what are you saying? What are you tying to prove here?” So imma get straight to the point.

Listen, I don’t want to be a historical nerd here but this needs to be said, Mimzy is not an accurate flapper, instead, she is very stereotypical.

Don’t get me wrong, her design is very beautiful, and I’m so glad that we have a plus sized character from Viv. But her fashion is absolutely bullshit.

And it literally says in the wiki that she’s born in the 1920s, like I’m sorry but nothing about her will be real in the 1920s??? She’s literally a stereotype, she looks like those girls that have no fucking idea what they’re doing and buys a “flapper girl 1920s by spirit Halloween” costume, and then puts it on and calls it a day, like VIV PLEASE.

Alright, let’s get to the part where I critique her, as a vintage fan or 1920s fan, this is what I’m going to say nicely to her, and to educate other people who might be interested on what REAL flappers look like back in the day.

Flappers wouldn’t usually show much skin, the rule was that the shirt had to go down to where you can’t see the knees, shoulders were not shown that much and flappers didn’t wear as much accessories as Mimzy is wearing (necklace, feather hat, long gloves).

Flappers had very saggy loosely dresses, THAT was there fashion style, they liked to look like a potato bag, but what I usually see is that the stereotypical ones are very tight? Going along with Mimzy? Like girl, they did not wear those things they would not accept you if you wore that.

I also notice that Mimzy’s boobs are shown due to the tight inaccurate dress she is wearing, typically flappers didn’t show their boobs like that, since their dresses were very loose, nuh uh honey, flappers would use these bras to lower their breast size, kinda like a binder!

And tbh, I’ve never seen an irl flapper picture that had a feather hat thingy on their head, I can’t exactly explain if that’s accurate or not but hey! If ya know, tell me.

So my conclusion comes here…

Vivzie, if you want to make a character look like the period they were born/died in, please do it correctly, please look up references or talk to a vintage lover DO. SOMETHING. But please, don’t just look at one pic on google and say “oh uuuuhhh that’s so accurate! So imma uhhh add it on!” Because that’s not exactly how it works.

Hazbin Hotel fans, Mimzy is not an accurate description of what a flapper woman is, please check yourself before you go make a flapper Hazbin oc.

Still confused? Here are some amazing photos that I found!

Yes!!! ✅

Hell nah!! ❌

If guys have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask! And if you’re interested in a Mimzy redesign, I’ll be gladly to do it XD

This was just a critique to Vivzie! No hate to her of course! I really hope we see her get a redesign that she deserves.

(I do have a problem with Alastor’s design too LOL)

#helluva boss critical #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel mimzy #mimzy #hazbin hotel #critique #hazbin hotel critique #flapper #1920s fashion #1920s aesthetic

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lifewillalwaysbe-lavieenrose · 17 days

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GUYS!! I saw Les Mis! In Munich!!!

Let's recap!

The Cast:

Daniel Gutmann as Javert. He was incredible. Definitely my personal highlight. Everytime he sang his voice just ROARED. And he was menacing holy shit. Aggggggh I'm normal about him

Barbara Obermeier as Eponine. When I first heard her sing in Act 1, I knew she was gonna kill it in Act 2. And she did.

Merlin Farcel aka Enjolras. His voice was so perfect I LOVED all the high notes, BUT:

The beard. Sorry, but in my world Enjolras doesn't have a beard. Plus, it makes him look like Peter Maffay

Madame Thenardier was PERFECT (I don't remember who played her that night😭) She was so funny and the audience really loved her.

The Music:

At first, I felt a bit underwhelmed by the orchestra. To be fair, I listened to the 10th anniversary recording SO much, that I really got used to that grand orchestra sound.

There was an electric guitar and at one point an electric bass when Javert sang, which I really loved.

During Master of the House/ Beggars at the Feast you could really see the orchestra bopping their heads and having fun and that made me very happy

I really loved the brass section, they really stood out (That French Hurn during On My Own????!)

The Costumes:

I don't know why, but the Les Amis were wearing these caps all the time. I have never seen a production with them in it. Is this a historically accurate thing?? I didn't really like them, they looked very plastic/shiny and fell out of place

I cannot find a picture but in the beginning of Act 1 Valjean wore a pink vest and then a purple coat which both looked very cheap and which I both didn't like (maybe it was because of the light? The colors felt very unnatural)

Eponine's outfit. At first I thought it didn't look shabby enough. But it looks so badass I'll let it pass

Why don't you let Enjolras wear his red vest??

What is Marius wearing? Goofy boy

Big Mad Hatter vibes from Thenardier. I loved his and the Patron Minettes outifits, they looked very edgy

This is perfect. Perfect. I only wished he had undone his hair for Javert's Suicide (he did, but only for the last 10 seconds)

The Stage:

The stage had a turning middle and stairs that could be moved around, similar like in Hamilton.

They did a cool transition with young Cosette walking up the stairs and old Cosette walking down

Also, they had some cool staging with buildings moving around for Stars. But I feel like there was almost a bit too much happening in the background for this song.

I don't know why they didn't have the Barricades turn and show Enjolras hang upside down. It's such a cool/tragic moment!

During the Barricade scenes, the stage sometimes felt a bit empty. I mean, there were always like 15 people standing around. Maybe the Barricades were to small/not high enough

Empty chairs at empty tables. Where were the empty chairs and empty tables??

In Everyday/A Heart Full of Love Reprise single leaves started falling down on the stage (Like Valjean entering the Fall/Winter of his life) I loved that.

Also, the parallel of Marius learning to walk again using a cane, and Valjean loosing his ability to walk using a cane. I never noticed this before!

There are SO many cool things about the staging I could talk about here. But I want to mention some other topics as well:

The "Spirit" of the Show:

There wasn't a single French flag to be seen. Some red ones, but no French flags.

In the trailer, the director said he wanted to create a more universal setting, speaking to everyone in the audience

I think that's a great sentiment but like. Everyone has French names. There were titles above the stage telling us the year and locations (Places in France) of the events. The title of the show is French.

So I think adding the flags (aka a bit more French nationalism?) would have seemed a lot more convincing for the cause of the students and the whole spirit of the show

But maybe this also has to do with the show being in German? I don't know and I'd really like to discuss it. Maybe someone here made a similar experience seeing it in another language

And last, but MOST importantly:

What about Valvert and Enjoltaire?

In the Confrontation, Javert and Valjean got really close to each other. And I mean fighting each other and then stopping just to sing directly into each other's faces.

Instead of running infront of the court in Who Am I, Valjean just goes to Javert and rips his shirt open? Okay, go off I guess

In Drink with Me, we have a platonic forehead touch between Enjolras and Grantaire. Sadly, that's all I noticed between them 😔

Also, the fact that Grantaire is supposed to be ugly/shabby/a drinker/a sceptic got totally lost, which really takes away from his character.

Conclusion:

All the actors were good, some of them were FANTASTIC. I'd watch it again just for the guy playing Javert, if I could. God, he was SO GOOD

The music was all it should be, maybe a bit too reserved (but again, this might be because I am so used to the 10th anniversary concert)

I really loved some costumes and I also really disliked some

The staging was great, some choices confused me (flags, barricades etc.)

Would I watch it again?

Absolutely!

To be clear, some of the things here might sound more negative than I actually mean. It's just that I have watched SO many different productions online, that I fixated on all the great performances and how I think they should be done. Of course everyone has different opinions here.

Okay thanks for reading if you made it here. Have a great day!

#les mis #les misérables #les mis munich #münchen #valvert #enjoltaire

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respectthepetty · 2 months

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Hi! First off all, brain praise: I LOVE THE WAY YOU SEE I LOVE THE WAY YOU ANALYZE I LOVE THE WAY YOU THINK

*clears throat and shifts feet *

How much do you think the colors apply to people in real life? How far are someone's true colors (hah) identifiable through the colors and accessories they wear? And does your brain highlight those for you in real life too? (If yes please elaborate please)

Do people choose the colors they like consciously and then over time the qualities/traits get magnified/infused (?) or do the qualities make you subconsciously choose those colors as silent representation of the inner self?

Like if a red rascal consistently and consciously is trying to be a green guy or blue boy, will wearing those colors change his red rascal-ness over time?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through this

Anon, go look at your closet. What does it say about you? Is it an accurate representation of who you are as a person.

Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But I KNOW colors apply to people in real life, and I've written about this in other posts:

Why the colors?

Color-coding groups

Cultural color coding

Real-life color coding

Real-life color coding Part 2

Visual Rhetoric

But I'm going to be more scientific in my answer here since you want specifics.

TLWR: The colors mean things in real life, but we cannot color code the same as in visual media.

Most of these research studies are hidden behind a paywall, but the links will show you the abstracts.

A 2013 study found that people who were ovulating wore more red and pink clothing. It was a subconscious decision to highlight they were fertile [x]. However, when the study was conducted again in 2021, the results were not significant. The researchers suggested this change was due to a shift in unwanted attention (e.g. MeToo Movement). [x]

But women who wear red in the service industry receive more tips from men. [x]

Sports psychologist have long noted that players who wear red are deemed more aggressive than those who wear blue. Players who wear green are judged more fairly. [x] [x]

Several studies have found that people who wear black are seen as more attractive, specifically men [x]. There is an entire book about the historical context of Men in Black. [x]

During times of global competitions (World Cup, Olympics, etc.) color association is the strongest for national identities. For example, this study showed that orange was consistently associated with The Netherlands regardless if the person wearing it was Dutch. [x]

Research in educational design, interior design, and architecture concludes that colors affect the space in terms of emotions and production. [x]

Plants react differently depending on the color of the lighting they receive [x]. Animals as well. [x]

Colors mean things.

However, when you ask how colors affect people in "real life" I always have to give a tiny lecture because the term "real life" is broad. I know what you are asking, but art is real life. What colors we see on our screens have a real-world connection; therefore, they have real life implications. Barbie being pink is real life because pink in Eurocentric ideals is a feminine color, and Barbie is the epitome of femininity. We see this carry over into other pieces of visual media like Power Rangers where for thirty years, the Pink Ranger has been a woman.

The Japanese equivalent of Power Rangers finally had a male Pink Ranger in 2022, but culturally, Japan isn't tied to feminine pink the way the United States is. We use these colors in media because they mean something in real life.

But most people do not consciously go around choosing colors. People have favored colors, and they gravitate towards them more. People also have favored prints and styles such as florals or hoodies. So trying to categorize people based on the colors they wear in their everyday lives could quickly fall into dangerous territory, especially because a lot more goes into “real life” choices.

Neutral colors are more accessible in clothing – black and white. Blue can be found in nature; therefore, it has been easier to duplicate in dyes using natural resources. The red dye we typically use today comes from squishing a bug. When inventing new colors that weren’t seen in nature or that could not be duplicated through natural means, we used dangerous ingredients that could not and should not have been produced on a large scale.

All of this is to say that it is difficult for us to color code in real life because we do not have unlimited closets to pick items from like production teams. Most of us are not rich, so we must purchase what is available on the public market, and we must wear what we have available on the public market. Looking briefly at any clothing store, we can see how limiting those options can be:

This man cannot be a Red Rascal nor a Pink Person because the options do not exist for him at this store, and this is true of most men’s clothing. Because we live in a binary society, we get binary options. Men can’t be colorful unless it's blue (standard boy color), but women can. Prime example - The Met Gala.

And yet science tells me that we will find the man in the clothing ad more attractive in black. We will find him more approachable in white. We will deem him nonthreatening in blue-ish grey. We will see him as more of a worker in the tan/brown.

So, yes, I notice colors . . . because we assign meaning to colors.

If I see someone in a red suit in a crowd of black, I’m going to think that person is bold and wants to stand out, but that might not be true of his everyday nature.

People make subconscious decisions based on the society they live in, so if someone is feeling down or wants to appear more attractive, they might wear more black, but if someone wants to stand out or appear Dutch, they could wear orange.

But because it’s real life, we can’t always pick colors to match our emotions or personality. But we CAN do that in visual media, which is why we do. We can be more intentional about everything in visual media, so we are. Visual media is a more extravagant version of real life. So we can get the boy in the blue and the girl in the pink and when they come together, it makes purple.

I could write about this all day, but I have to work for a living and actually get to teach about this ALL SEMESTER because there is a lot to unpack. This is art, biology, psychology, anthropology, sociology, marketing, and so much more because this is life.

Colors are real life.

And they mean things.

#the colors mean things #color coding in real life #color coding is real life #color association #color symbolism #color psychology #color theory #it's everything #because colors are everything!

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sicklyseraphnsuch · 4 months

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RotG and HiJack Recs

Alright, I'm building this list because some of these fics are just a tad dusty, and they could use more love. (A lot more love, I am literally dying from how much I adored these.) But note that a good few are incomplete.

Let's start with:

INCOMPLETE FICS

The Long Road:

Presently Gen, but Hiccup very much falls for Jack. He does however retain his feelings for Astrid, so bear that in mind. There's the classic Viking mindset when it comes to homosexual relationships that's pretty much giving Hiccup like a lot of anxiety.

But beyond that! I cannot shower this fic with enough praises! It gives me the same sort of excitement that the RotG movie does. Jack's characterization is Spot On. He's friendly and outgoing and also incredibly secretive and flighty. It balances out Jack's blunt mannerisms with a joyous charm and just that hint of vulnerability (which he keeps so well hidden lol).

The plots take place after HttyD, during the Riders of Berk TV series. Jack is folded into the Dragon Rider group who considers him some kind of Elf. Yes, this is Jack Frost in all his frosty glory. The way the story builds on a solid foundation of camaraderie and friendship, giving plenty of scenes to show how Hiccup and Jack became great friends, lends well to the Hiccup's realization of: "Oh I'm into him". Without giving too many spoilers, that "oh" moment is forever ingrained into my memory because of how PERFECTLY timed it is.

This blends Guardians of Childhood book verse with HttyD book verse, mostly via cameos over lore. Overall, a beautiful, fun, and simply enchanting read. I cannot recommend this enough.

A Story about Ice, Dragon Fire, and Belief:

Another gen fic. Mostly, it's about North looking at Jack and going, "he's my son now", and Jack having absolutely none of it. When placed together with Stoik and Hiccup's relationship, it becomes an almost interesting study of contrasts. North is the guy who's trying to prove something to a boy that he disappointed. Hiccup is the guy who's trying to prove something to a man that he disappointed. But ultimately, it ends up the same with a schism forming between the two pairs the harder one of them tries to breach it.

Also, it talks about how Jack is a force of fucking nature? And his blizzards can kill and have killed in the past? There's a little bit of trying to reconcile that with his new ID as a guardian. North is not doing a great job helping here.

But really the Crown Jewel of this fic is North and Berk's reactions to North (and by proxy his relationship to Jack). We go a little into the historical Viking side of things (like the pillaging et al), and apply that lens to this jolly old man. Let's just say some troubling (hilarious) assumptions are drawn. Also...

Everyone loves the sleigh.

I think this is one of the few RotG and HttyD crossovers that really do a good job of merging the two movies. Primarily because it's not just Jack in Berk. And this just made me hungry for more fics where more of the RotG cast arrive as Berk, and be just 100% fantastical and strange as the bedtime stories they are. Put some respect on the Guardians name, if you know what I'm saying.

In the Shadows of My Mind:

This one is an RotG only fic. No pairings except for whatever's going on between Pitch and Nightlight (and by proxy Jack). It's not a for real pairing. That said, it's such a complex and intricate relationship that doesn't resemble a romance but remains markedly intimate. Basically, this fic takes advantage of Pitch and Nightlight's ridiculously long history then throws Jack into the mix. Alive, human Jack in an early 18th century colonial town wherein he very recently did not drown (and boy, isn't that suspicious?)

My favorite thing about this fic is how spot on the dialogue feels? The lexicon, the syntax feels true to the time its set in. Although, I can't say that it is accurate as I'm not an expert of this time period in this region. Regardless, it certainly appears that a good stack of research went into this.

All that said, this fic has captured Bill Joyce's writing style the best, but with a deeper, more complex, more mature layer underpining that bedtime like vibe. There's a good host of OCs but genuinely, I didn't notice them as OCs. I could really believe they were characters of Joyce's books. Not to mention, they feel like fully fleshed out individuals even if they have like maybe two paragraphs of screentime.

The entire premise hinges on the idea of "what if Jack survived the skating accident" and everyone's reactions to that, as well as... the hidden secret thing that involves Nightlight. GoC spoilers are hinted so beware. But the little interplay between Nightlight and Jack is such a delicious little mystery, and also makes me so sad. These two boys deserved better.

Then we throw in Pitch for fun, because Pitch is always fun, and he just makes the whole thing even more complicated or as Jack calls it, "unnatural". But he's not even the main villain. It's Christianity. JK. That said, the fic does explore the idea of well, how would a fairly backwater colony be able to explain how Jack survived or... the powers that's slowly revealing itself from within him. There's a particularly nasty boy (around Jack's age), who is an OC and I believe an exceptionally well placed one. The OC understood his role to play and he plays it fantastically. Everytime he shows up, I too feel scared and indignant and excited all at once.

Speaking of great OCs, shoutout to Jack's Da. His appearances are brief but the impact is maximized with each appearance. He has that sense of realism and whimsy baked into him that I could gush endlessly about.

Overall, just a pure delight to read. Will re-read again and again.

Zastruga:

Total Gen fic. And a classic in my opinion.

I started reading this when I was in college - note the publish date. Nevermind the update date. Because even after all these years, this story? Still good. Still very very good.

This takes the original RotG plot and makes it more epic, and also more sad. RotG was very joyful at its core, which this fic somehow manages to retain. But it's just under a layer of sad. It's not overwhelming angst though, just enough to really pinch your heart.

Also whereas the movie has a few epic battles before things go really wrong, this fic stretches that out into a proper war against Pitch (and Jack). That's right. Jack is with Pitch ala Mother Gothel/Judge Frollo style. Jack isn't locked up entirely. He's given just enough rope to hang himself with. Mind the Jack whump is what I'm saying. But also do note that Jack's character remains as steadfast and loyal as he ever was in RotG, so the whump just hits nicer since this Jack isn't so irrevocably changed.

I have re-read this before. I will re-read this again. Nevermind the incomplete status. There's plenty of chapters that simply give me great joy.

COMPLETE FICS

It's the Great Spirit Sleigh, Hiccup Haddock:

Gen fic, in that there's no pairing actively getting together. But remains faithful to the original canon's hinted love interests. So Hiccup has a big crush on Astrid and Jack leans towards Tooth. That said, the relationship between Hiccup and Jack is just plain adorable and also heart-wrenching. They care about each other. So Much.

Now this is just a good holiday cheer. It literally has the Hallmark movie template, which is the point really. You know, the whole "oh no, a holiday is ruined" followed by "clever and charming ways to fix the holiday". With Hiccup and Jack taking the starring roles.

If you know your Hallmark movies, then you know that the leads get together in the end. And they don't in this fic. But the amount of "Gosh do I care about you" is so good. It's a lot of hurt and a lot of comfort. And I am here for it.

Also, this fic was completed way before the HttyD 3 movie so it doesn't have a canon compliant ending. That may be a bonus for some of you.

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps:

Pre JackRabbit (Bunny/Jack). But honestly the pairing isn't the main focus, mostly that Jack and Bunny admit to liking each other (but not to each other). So their dynamic remains in the best bros category. The pairing mostly shows through the plot machinations.

So long story short, Pitch opens the Guardian-Verse and recruits the other versions of the Guardians - the corrupt versions. And it's good, action/adventure fun. There's some gore, so mind that. Because the corrupt versions are nasty little things that fight dirty. Which makes the action feel like there's legit stakes. Also makes for a quick read because you must know what happens next? Did they get out of this sticky situation? Are they going to be okay? That sort of thing.

#rise of the guardians #how to train your dragon #hijack #frostcup

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bobparkhurst · 1 month

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Hi! I come to you for advice, as I trust your opinion in matters like this. Me being just a casual viewer of war shows, not interested in it just for the genre, should I watch Masters of the Air or not? Thank you in advance! 💖

Augh, I answered this, then my browser crashed not helpful. Anyway, the gist of this is, I am not a casual war shows enjoyer, but I am going to do my best on this front given I know the one war show I know that we both enjoy.

tl;dr: I think MotA has good characters, doesn't sacrifice telling a good story for historical accuracy and I've watched it like, three or four times now already.

So actually yeah, I'd suggest giving MotA a shot. I will not be offended if you don't like it, but I do think it's worth it.

Longer answer under the cut (and sorry, I did get rambly):

While MotA looks from the outside as more of an ensemble piece, it's really about four guys, and two of those guys are a Set. It is also very historically accurate, but it doesn't feel like they got super hung up on that, they get the balance that this is still a historical fiction show.

They do change things up in places for the sake of the narrative. This doesn't always work, a couple of plot threads get dropped in what I feel are clunky ways. Honestly, I think they just tried to do too much and it meant some things didn't get the weight they needed. Still, I found it a mostly cohesive story and strong enough to follow each of our main guys.

Be warned though: there are timeskips a lot in the second half of the series. These are telegraphed quite well but can be a little jarring. This does cause some minor characters to appear to randomly disappear.

They also do not shy away from injury or other horrors of war, so be prepared for that. If you want fuller content warnings, up for that.

So really, it comes down to if you think you're gonna enjoy these four guys:

Gale "Buck" Cleven and John "Bucky" Egan

The very quick way to describe these two are the classic quiet guy/wild child pair, but I think that does them a bit of a disservice because there's depth to both characters that really gets borne out over the course of the nine episodes. Bucky gets a lot more to work with outwardly, but I think they're both gorgeous characters. Their love for each other and how it is tested and reinforced and drives them is a huge part of this show. Austin Butler and Callum Turner have great chemistry, and in both cases, there is a real solid presence of the other when they're in scenes alone. Loved their dynamic with each other and with the men they lead.

2. Harry Crosby

Understated protagonist. He also gets a great character arc over nine episodes. Anthony Boyle is incredible in the role and makes him one of the most likeable and engaging characters I've ever seen. IRL Croz wrote a memoir A Wing and a Prayer which is refreshingly frank and quite funny in parts too, and I think that really serves here.

3. Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal

We don't get to meet him till a few episodes in, so he doesn't get as grand an arc as the others, but I think that works because we get to really hit the story of a guy who just wants to serve justice being flung immediately into an ongoing horror. We get to immediately contrast him with the guys who have been around longer. Also he's really beautiful and SO GOOD AT HIS JOB my God.

Also, while there are supporting characters, none of them really get the focus these ones do, so expectations should be managed on that front. That said, the actors are all great so I personally feel you do get a hold on who they are. Nobody expects you to know everyone's names. I am still only 70% sure I know who Murphy is.

(as usual, my favourite guy is a supporting guy but at least he gets some narrative explicitly discussing him and his job and also he's Raff Law so like, his face is distinctive).

Also Corin is in it for a couple of scenes so you should watch those if nothing else.

apologies for that getting long i love my boys but i also tried to be conscious of my war media nerd hat

#mota #answermywearyquery

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theygotlost · 11 months

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ok. here is my attempt to make a coherent post about the watch bbc.

my main reaction, over and over again watching the first episode, is: CHOICES WERE MADE. truly inscrutable choices for which I cannot possibly understand the rationale or thought process. If I was adapting discworld for the screen, it would ever in a million years occur to me to make these choices. some of these choices include, in no particular order:

cut-me-own-throat dibbler is a white woman with dreadlocs who uses a wheelchair. I can NOT make this up.

vetinari is also a woman. .....I have nothing else to say about this.

instead of a dragon sanctuary, sybil runs some kind of femdom petplay sex dungeon for bedraggled old men. including vimes. and this is how they meet. she traps him in her sex dungeon.

she's also skinny and average height. I repeat: sybil ramkin is SHORTER THAN VIMES.

the actor playing vimes does have a very vimey look about him I won't lie, I even like his little fauxhawk hair situation, but his performance is completely baffling. he's always making an over-the-top jim carrey face but doesn't sell it nearly as well as jim carrey so it's just awkward and not funny.

vimes' accent is also completely unplaceable. I swear it's different in every single scene. sometimes american, sometimes irish, sometimes an american doing a bad impression of an irish accent or vice versa. watching @fealtyfaggot (irish)'s face in real time as he tried to calculate this man's accent was entertaining to say the least.

honestly, every actor sounds like the director instructed them to do an irish accent except they're all bad at irish accents so they all sound weird in their own unique way.

goodboy bindle featherstone is a normal-sized, horrible cgi lizard and sybil uses him like a handheld flamethrower.

the series is attempting (and FAILING) to adapt the events of guards! guards! and night watch simultaneously. carcer is killmongerfied into a black man (not raceblind casting as ciarán pointed out to me, they specifically put out a casting call for a black actor) who is justifiably angry at the police system. and he's carcer. so he's still the main antagonist and a crazed serial killer. he's the bad guy.

john keel was also black and vimes is white, so while it doesn't actually happen in the first episode it seems apparent that CARCER will end up being the one to impersonate keel?!

AND carcer was best friends with vimes and they had some kind of ~history~ together where there was some kind of dramatic betrayal and vimes attempted suicide(?). what

I guess dwarves are.... not short? cheery is normal human height.

carrot's tragic backstory where he was thrown down a mineshaft as a baby (I laughed out loud when he said this) and his adoptive dwarf parents sent him to join the watch cause they hate him and are trying to get rid of him.

just...... why the cyberpunk angle? discworld isn't the most traditional, historically accurate medieval fantasy out there and it's not supposed to be, but.... WHY CYBERPUNK?

I almost forgot: colon and nobby are completely absent.

my only question after watching this is WHY. WHY WHY WHY WHY. why is this a discworld adaptation? why did they decide to adapt discworld in this way? there is absolutely no respect or appreciation for the source material or understanding of what makes it good. whoever came up with this does not seem to like discworld very much at all. every single second of these 42 minutes was a slap in the face.

If this was just its own show, not related to discworld in any way, it would still be pretty bad. But I could still see it having a cult following you know? there would for sure be a niche tumblr fandom for it. the best thing I can say about this show is that it would have been good if literally everthing about it was different.

#the watch watch

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simtleman · 5 months

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WIP of my most ambitious lot to date: a whole damn street lol. Welcome to Doylesworth St.!

The one thing that bothers me the most when I'm playing an historical save file (and I play nothing but historical haha) is having random townies popping up NOT wearing proper attire from whichever decade I'm playing on (it's always the '20s, who am I kidding). It just ruins the immersion for me so badly!

So with the release of the For Rent expansion and since the new lot type it's technically a residential/private lot, I thought I'd create a small world within a residential-rental lot and populate it with accurately dressed tenants. That way they'll be living in their own apartments and use the shared spaces (cafés, stores, a train station, etc) as if it was a town, so my sim will always see a friendly/accurately dressed neighbor out and about :)

So far, the lot includes two NY styled townhouses (I'm obsessively watching The Gilded Age, hence the inspiration), a café/patisserie, a church, two parks/squares, a store (kinda like Bloomingdale's) and a train station (and yes, the wagons are functional for gameplay).

I've been working on it non-stop for like three days lol, but I still have a loooong way to go till it's finished. Just wanted to show my progress to you guys because I am way too excited with this and needed to share it with someone who cares hahaha.

Also, I've been thinking of releasing it for everyone to download and play with once it's finished, but it is SO heavily CC based (I basically use nothing but CC) I'm worried most people won't wanna use it/bother having to download all the items required for it to look like the screenshots. What do you guys think?

And may I just say, I love how the historical TS4 community is thriving. You guys inspire me so much to go in game and continue creating, especially @aheathen-conceivably, @antiquatedplumbobs, @gilded-ghosts, @javitrulovesims and @simadelics (whose amazing new hairstyles set I cannot wait to try)... your work amazes me everytime <3

#ts4 screenshots #ts4 retro #ts4 vintage #sims 4 cc #ts4 1920s #roaring twenties #ts4 save file #ts4 simblr #ts4 legacy #ts4 decades challenge

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stellar-constellations · 8 months

Text

An Alliance (Part 4)

Fem! Spy! (Y/N) x Yuri Briar

Parts: One, two, three, current part, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten (to be continued when Spy x Family has more Yuri content!)

(Y/N) is given her own backstory that is important for the story!

The setting for this story is based off West and East Germany's (because Spy x Family is heavily based off Germany in the 1940-1950) laws (or at least replicated to the best of my abilities since it's unknown what time period Spy x Family is exactly in, we'll go with 1950 for the sake of this story).

Historically-accurate women misogyny and mistreatment! Only small comments and historically-accurate laws (replicated to the best of my ability).

The story, plot, and settings might not match up to the Spy x Family manga as it's not completed and the manga is still being crafted.

This series contains spoilers for the manga and anime!

I followed the first and second-lieutenant down the city hall hallway, holding our heads up high and walking with purpose. I tried to appear confident but I wasn't quite sure if I was as convincing as Briar and lieutenant—I look like a joke compared to them and it's all cause of my height (I'm sorry if you're not under 5'10").

I mentally glared at Briar and lieutenant.

If I was taller, people would take me more seriously. Maybe if I was 6'6", Briar would stop being a jerk.

I ignored the thought we entered an open-door room. Immediately, Jim was nervous.

"D-do you people need something?!" he spoke, nervous in his seat.

Tsk-tsk. You're already acting like you know why we're here.

The lieutenant showed Jim his SSS badge, then spoke: "We're from the State Security Service. Jim Hayward, correct? You're under arrest for suspicion of espionage."

Me and Briar both walked behind him and grabbed his arms.

"Y-you think I'm a spy?! Hey, wait!" he exclaimed as we dragged him as he tried sliding his feet on the floor.

People gathered around, shocked and scared at the scene they're witnessing

Wussies. And why the hell is everyone here? Does nobody know how to mind their damn business? I thought, my anger starting to raise as we were being gawked at by noisy bystanders.

"Stop this! Let me go!" Jim protested.

"Shut up. You can give your story back at HQ." Lieutenant spoke.

Thank you. I was about to tell him off in a much more unprofessional way.

We dragged him to an armored van, throwing him in the back as me and Briar closed the door and opened the backseat doors, hopping in as first-lieutenant jumped in the passenger-seat.

"Drive to HQ." Lieutenant ordered the driver.

The driver nodded as he sped off. I softly sighed and leaned my head on Briar's shoulder.

"Get. Off..." he harshly muttered, nudging me away from him.

I glared at him, sticking out my tongue before leaning back on his shoulder.

"I don't wanna..." I muttered back.

"I don't care what you want..." he quickly retorted.

I mentally whined, leaning off of Briar and huffing as I crossed my arms and legs to show I was angry.

"Thank you for your assistance today, you two." The lieutenant spoke, causing me and Briar to both jump slightly, forgetting that he was here.

I looked up and saw him staring at us from the driver mirror.

"T-thank you, sir!" Briar quickly spoke, nodding his head in respect.

"Y-yes! Thank you for allowing me to accompany you both on this mission." I smiled, nodding my head too.

I didn't really want him to assume I was being disrespectful or naive; this guy kind of scares me.

The Director waited outside of the interrogation room with me and Briar, waiting for any word from the lieutenant.

"Second-lieutenant Briar and female-lieutenant Mrs. Briar." The Director acknowledged, then looked at Briar. "Show your wife how it's done." The Director spoke, placing a cigar in his mouth.

Briar smiled, his eye twitching as I mentally gagged. We didn't say nothing since other officers were around us.

"Yes, sir!" he saluted as I quickly copied his actions, "I'll give this my best shot!" he smiled, his eyes darkening as I mentally eyed him, confused with his sudden confidence in this.

Is there something up his sleeve?

We both walked into the dark room, seeing Jim facing the wall and at Lieutenant. A man sat in a nearby desk, documenting everything on paper as he wrote.

"Good work, Lieutenant. The boss asked me to switch in." Briar spoke.

"Okay. I'll leave him to you two." Lieutenant spoke, a cigarette in his mouth as he stood up and patted Briar's shoulder.

He walked over to me and patted me on the head. I watched him leave the room, visibly shocked and glaring holes into the back of his head.

What'd he do that for?! Why didn't he pat me on the shoulder like Briar? Was that his way of saying he doesn't respect me as he does to Briar? Did he do that cause I'm a woman? Was it because of the height difference? I know Briar's more his height but the audacity of that man!

Briar took a seat in front of Jim as I decided to watch a few steps away, watching closely to see how different he decided to take the approach as he did to me the first time we met.

"Hello there, Mr. Hayward." Briar spoke, taking off his hat and taking a seat, just as he did when we met yesterday.

"...I have nothing to say." Jim sighed.

I took a good look at his face and did my best not to cackle.

I guess being a woman isn't that bad if I don't get tortured like him. I thought to myself.

Mr. Hayward had a completely bruised and swollen left eye, his face bruised and bloody as blood trickled from his nose and mouth (he was also missing a tooth). His arms and hands were burnt with cigarettes; I was able to tell from the specific blisters swelling up a pale red and the container containing smushed cigarettes (also because lieutenant walked out with a cigarette in his mouth).

"Listen to this!" Briar spoke excitedly, leaning on the table. "After this, I'll be going to congratulate my sister on her wedding!"

Now that caught me off guard.

We're going to visit Briar's sister? I thought, before immediately shaking my head. Of course I'm not. Briar would never trust me around his dear sister, he doesn't even trust me to make coffee without running! Not to mention he gags just at the thought of us being legally married, so there's no way he's making me see his sister. He'll probably just drop me off in the Director's office.

That thought made me angry. I wanna meet her! I want to know if she's a jerk like Briar or if she's nice!

"I haven't even seen her for so long! I can't wait!" Briar cheered.

"Uh...okay..." Jim spoke, confused.

"She's so kind and beautiful! I've always been so proud of my sister." Briar continued on.

I silently-huffed, crossing my arms as I showed my distaste.

Why he is so excited? It's just family? If my family was still alive, I'd be visiting them every weekend! It feels like I have competition for Briar, and I hate it.

Competition? For Briar? I mentally gagged. No, no. I just don't want him to get distracted. Maybe if he realizes his sister knows about me, he'll kill me because he's so ashamed of his sister finding out about me! I'm not worried about fighting for his attention! That would be childish of me.

Yeah...childish...

Just the thought of imagining this kind, beautiful, older sister of Briar's just left a disgusting, bitter taste in my mouth that not even plain black coffee or aloe could compete too.

I'm not jealous! I thought, tapping my boot on the ground to cope as I bit my cheek harder.

"Um, but...I..." Jim was utterly confused, just like me.

"Oh! And she even works at the same office as you!" Briar beamed.

The financial department in city hall? Is that why Briar wanted to know who I met when I was at city hall for a recent mission? Wow! He must really hate me if he doesn't want his sister to even know of my presence!

I bit my cheek even harder, my foot tapping more rapidly as I started to dig my nails into my arms.

"That reminds me, I really need to call her office soon! Actually, I still haven't told her I'm coming..." Briar spoke, looking at the watch on his wrist. "Anyways, I'd like to finish this up and clock out. So how about you just tell me everything real quick?" Briar smiled.

"T-there's nothing to tell! This whole accusation is bullcrap!" Jim shouted.

I watched as Briar pulled that yellow envelope out of his pocket that he collected from his office earlier. He emptied out the contents of it, showing pictures of Jim Hayward giving a man with a trench coat, suitcase, and hat a folder.

Ooo. Red-handed! I thought, resisting the urge to gasp. Wait, where did he get those if he didn't know about Jim yesterday?

"These are photos of you handing over the documents. That is you, right, Mr. Hayward?" Briar smiled contently.

"Hold on! You! Why weren't these photos in evidence until now!?" the man documenting this shouted, hastily writing with one hand as he looked at Briar, holding a photo of Jim Hayward committing treason in his other hand.

"Sorry, I forgot to turn them over. Ha ha." Briar smiled.

I eyed him suspiciously but decided not to say anything until later.

Hayward looked down and scoffed in defeat. He stayed quiet for a minute before speaking.

"...All I did was make copies of the documents they asked for and leave them at the designated location in exchange for cash." He admitted. "It's true that I don't know anything about the other man. Not even his name. Just that he's from the West."

Briar immediately looked at me, causing me to mentally scoff and shake my head: "He said a man; not a woman." I said with my eyes. "Wasn't me."

Briar looked back at Jim. "Did you notice anything unusual about him? The way he speaks? Body language? Maybe just an uncomfortable feeling? For example, did anything about him not match his apparent age?" Briar questioned.

"I'm not sure... I don't remember anything like that..." Jim spoke.

"Alright then." Briar sighed, leaning his head on his hands. "Have you ever heard the name...Twilight?" he questioned.

Twilight again? Really? He should really change his codename or something since all of SSS knows that name. He must've slipped up and had a witness if his codename got in the hands of SSS. I wasn't even a known spy until that mole screwed me over. I thought, mentally scoffing. If I ever meet the bastard that got me in this situation, I'll do WISE a favor and execute the mole.

"Huh? Whose that?" Jim questioned.

"A spy from the West. A master of disguise. And a villain who would throw this country into chaos. You could call him a natural enemy of an organization like ours." Briar explained.

I mentally rolled my eyes. And here he goes again with his caveman talk of "West bad! East good!"

"S-so you'd let me off the hook if I help you catch him...?" Jim questioned, a hope in his eyes and tone.

"Well, do you know anything?" Briar questioned, serious as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"H-hold on, I'm remembering something..." Jim spoke, making me cock an eyebrow at his obvious lie.

"Do keep in mind that feeding us nonsense will only add to your crimes." Briar pointed out.

"...C'mon! I wasn't trying to hurt anyone! I just wanted some pocket change to mess around with girls! Honest!" Jim cracked.

"Don't you have a wife though...?" Briar questioned, judgment in his voice.

I resisted the powerful urge to slap Jim in the back of the head and scream my head off about his behavior and motivations.

"You're a man, you know how it is! Don't you want to sow your oats?" Jim spoke, trying to defend himself very poorly. “All I did was lose some scraps of paper, right? That’s not treason, right? You’ll let me go, right?” Jim spoke, smiling nervously as his eyes widened.

“You know, Mr. Hayward. I’m keeping my job at the SSS a secret from my sister. After all, you can never be too careful in this line of work. But more importantly…” Briar reached into his pocket and grabbed black gloves as I leaned closer to see what he was about to do.

“I don’t want her to know how much dirty work I have to do.” He spoke, quickly grabbing Jim’s head and slamming it down on the desk.

I jumped, gawking as the transcriber looked back to make sure I was alright, to which I nodded to as I observed closely from a different distance as I took a step back.

“What you’ve done, Mr. Hayward, is absolutely treason.” Briar spoke, keeping Jim’s head down. “Maybe to you it was just a scrap of paper. But do you realize how many of our civilian’s lives you put in danger? Unlike you, I love my family. I love my sister. And I’ll do anything to protect the country she lives in.” Briar spat out harshly.

Aw. That’s kind of cute but definitely not the time right now. I thought to myself.

“Anything.” He spoke sinisterly, leaning forward and darkening his voice.

Yeah, not so cute anymore. I thought to myself.

Briar sighed and looked back to the documenter. “Was that enough of a confession?”

The transcriber nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

“Good work, sir.” He spoke.

Briar stood up, removing his hand from Jim. Jim shot up immediately and stared at him, shocked and shitless out of his mind.

“W-what happens to me?” Jim questioned.

“Oh. You’ll be going away for a very, very long time.” Briar smiled, removing his gloves. “But that doesn’t bother you, right? You won’t see your wife ever again, so what’s the problem?”

“H-hey! Wait! You can’t just leave me!” Jim spoke as Briar walked towards me.

“You got him, right?” Briar questioned towards the transcriber.

“Yep. Have a good day, sir.” He answered.

Briar walked out, closing the door as I followed behind him, keeping a slight distance in case he was still mad.

“Did I scare you?” he questioned.

“Yeah.” I admitted. “But your strength was kind of hot.” I spoke, causing Briar to whip his head around so damn quickly.

“I—! You! You can’t just say that out of nowhere, especially at work!” he shouted, causing me to laugh. “My strength is to provoke fear, not…that!” he spoke.

“I was just being honest?” I spoke, tilting my head and acting like I did nothing wrong.

“Yeah? Well, keep those thoughts to yourself.” He huffed, his face red as we continued walking down the hallway to the Director’s office.

We knocked, which was answered by an “enter.”

“Here you two are! My favorite workers!” he smiled.

I ignored the slight pride in my chest as the praise as Briar and I saluted.

“We got the confession from Jim Hayward.” Briar said.

“Wonderful! I knew you could it, Mr. Briar. And how was the lesson, Mrs. Briar?” The Director asked me as me and Briar cringed.

“Eh. It was…amusing and something I’m glad I didn’t miss.” I smiled, eyeing Briar as he huffed, his face going red.

“I got a question for you, sir.” I spoke up.

“It better not be something stupid.” Briar mumbled to me.

“Why do I got the hat? I mean, it’s cute and all, but isn’t it for lieutenants? That, and it has roses.” I questioned, pointing at the hat.

“It’s cute. And you’re our first female lieutenant. Who knows, we could have a female branch in the SSS and you’ll be in charge!” The Director spoke, fantasizing.

“Segregation.” I pointed out.

“But it’s not discriminatory.” The Director smiled.

“Not in your book...” I grumbled, crossing my arms.

“It’s a cute look. At least I didn’t give you the pink uniform, I was really contemplating it too.” The Director sighed, causing me look at him disgusted.

“Yeah. Thanks for not ordering that pink uniform.” I sighed.

“Actually, I’d think it’d suit you.” Briar chuckled.

“You think?” The Director questioned, excited as he smiled.

“No!” I retorted.

“Yes. Especially because it’ll match your stuffed bun—“ I elbowed Briar hard in the stomach, causing him to double over and groan as the Director immediately decided to not laugh.

“That wasn’t cute…” Briar wheezed out as I smiled.

“Sorry, honey.” I chuckled as Briar groaned, rolling his eyes as he stood up straight.

“Well, we should get going and clock out.” Briar spoke, a smile on his face (probably from thinking of his sister).

“Oh, you’re not going to ditch me here?” I questioned.

“No? I mean, it’s a good idea.” Briar spoke. "Do you want that?"

“Don’t leave me!” I immediately shut down the idea. “I just thought since you’re going to visit your sister you’d hide me.” I spoke.

“Your visiting your sister?” The Director spoke. “That’s cute. Meeting your in-laws already.”

“Yeah. Couple goals.” I spoke sarcastically.

“Who said I was going to leave you? I have to make sure you don’t do something stupid. But there will be rules.” Briar stated.

“Yes, sir.” I spoke, saluting, then looked at the Director. “Bye, Director, sir.” I spoke, bowing as Briar said his own goodbye.

We walked out of the office and down the many hallways, getting to the outside of the locker rooms. He told me to"wait here", then grabbed our bags from his locker since I don't have my own locker yet.

“Alright. I’m going to go change in the locker rooms, you go change in the fitting rooms there. We will meet right here. If you are not here in five minutes, I’ll pull this alarm right here and the whole building will go in lockdown.” Briar explained, pointing to a red button with a glass case surrounding it.

“Okay.” I nodded.

I grabbed my bag that Briar handed to me and I walked to the changing room, quickly changing into my black long-sleeved shirt, black tights, dark gray shorts, and my black shoes. I stuffed my uniform into my bag and walked out of the room, stopping at the spot me and Briar agreed to meet at and waiting for him.

“Took you long enough.” I spoke playfully as he walked to me.

I grabbed his hand and held it, then made our way to the parking lot.

“We’re going to go stop by a bouquet before we get there.” Briar spoke, and I nodded.

We entered the car (with no tomfoolery from Briar) and shoved our bags in the backseat. We had a quiet and peaceful moment of silence, Briar drumming this fingers on the steering finger as I looked out the window. The sun was setting already.

Has it really been that long? Today felt so short and…strangely fun? I thought. That’s weird. I’m not supposed to be enjoying my time with the enemy. I should be finding a way back to WISE's HQ before they realize I’m alive and working with the enemy.

“Yuri.” Briar suddenly spoke.

I looked at him, confused.

“What?” I questioned.

“My first name is Yuri, my last name is Briar.” He sighed.

I looked at him, surprised as I blinked.

“Don’t think you earned it—because you didn’t. But my sister doesn’t know about us at all; I just told her today that you’re my wife and that you’re coming with me for our visit.” Briar, no, Yuri, spoke.

I smiled, my heart swelling at how he didn’t say “wife” with any sort of disgust or regret, simply stating it as if it was second nature.

“My sister also doesn’t know about our jobs as the SSS, and she’s not allowed to know either. If you tell her, it’ll be a breach of the contract and I’ll execute you—with or without permission from the Director. My sister means more to me than my job or your life because of all she’s done for me. I won’t allow you to disrespect or take her kindness to your advantage. You will follow my lead.” Yuri spoke.

I hummed, nodding to show I understood as I looked out the window, the sky darkening.

“Yuri, Yuri…” I muttered. “I really love your name, Yuri. I think it suits you.” I admitted, turning my head so he could see my honesty as I smiled.

He huffed, grumbling out a "thanks" as he hid his face.

Parts: One, two, three, current part, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten (to be continued when Spy x Family has more Yuri content!)

Want more Yuri content? Check out these headcannons and one shots!

Yuri Briar x Sick! Fem! Reader

Slightly mean! Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader

Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader headcannons + other fandoms!

Have any requests? Check my masterlist to see the characters I write for: Masterlist (Please request, I have too much free time and too little fics).

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monstersinthecosmos · 4 months

Note

Okay so like your fics about Armand pegging Daniel are my Roman Empire and Armand just shows up with the strap right. But I GOTTA KNOW what was Armand’s experience like shopping for that item, how many stores did he go to, did he do research, did he ask the clerks weirdo questions??? How did he settle on the item, did he deliberate over realistic veiny dildos vs simple colorful silicone???

Inquiring minds need your headcanons!!! 🥸

fdfjhsDGA what an honor omg

So!!!!!!! Pardon this obnoxious little break down of where this shows up in my fics but I have some behind the scenes knowledge I can share that I carried between stories LOL. Okay so there are 4 fics that revolve around the first time they used a strap on, and the idea is planted in my FIRST FIC ON AO3 Moon Above, Sun Below where it’s literally just the last paragraph of the fic, they’re taking a walk, Armand sees a sex shop, and he’s like OMG!!!!! :D

Down Below is the DIRECT sequel to that moment, it picks up with Daniel’s POV immediately knowing that Armand IS going to be asking weirdo questions! And he’s like, oh my christ I can’t do this lol, and he goes to wait outside.

The cashier asked me if I knew what to do with them. He told me to be ‘Safe, Sane, & Consensual.’ It was on a sign at the register.” Daniel chuckled a little. “Why did he say this to me?”

LIKE WHO KNOWS WHAT ALL HE FUCKIN TALKED ABOUT IN THERE, I just always imagined him doing his Armand thing, wanting to catalog everything and learn everything and see and touch everything. The answer is yes, he did ask a million questions, yes, the cashier was a little freaked out, because even when we all like to say that no one can be weird in NYC, I think Armand was very fucking weird and uncanny in a way that actually did stick out to people.

And then the MAIN EVENT if you will is The Lotus Eater/Dust of the Saturn which contain the alternate POVs of the same scene. In The Lotus Eater, I tried to create a timeline and imply that this is one of Armand’s Things for a while that he’s interested in, like he wants to go to different shops and see things and buy things. They play with cuffs and restraints earlier in the fic because Armand wanted to play with them, and then later on Armand wants to WATCH ALL THE PORN, and he gets the strap on idea from seeing how Daniel reacts to it when they watch a video, so he goes out to find one.

I don’t think I said so in the fics but I imagined that Armand wanted to find one that was like the one in the video, so there was possibly a very odd Armand-eseque interrogation of the retail worker. LOL. Probably him describing it in an Armand way and the guy is like “……. Uh????????????? You mean a dildo? Like a black dildo? Okay?”

I wish I still had my notes and stuff because I know I had a few photos I had used for reference to describe it and I can’t find them now. I do know that I searched like 1980s sex toys/dildos/strap-ons pretty extensively because I wanted to make it historically accurate. I looked up pictures of sex shops to get an idea of how different they are from today and what the selection was like. I also had been looking up vintage lesbian porn to see strap ons because I was curious how the harness technology was different, like if they looked different, if they were sturdy, if they seemed weird and floppy, etc. So if I recall, the one I described in the fic was just like one I’d seen in an actual porno LOL, and so I want to submit that idea forward to say that Armand was trying to find one like the one int he video.

It says this in The Lotus Eater, too:

The man at the register wanted to see Armand’s ID to make sure he was old enough before engaging in conversation. He explained how to affix the implement to the harness, and told Armand how he should “start with something smaller” and tell his “girlfriend” to be “careful” the first few times. But no, no, the size is fine, don’t worry, we’re experienced, it isn’t a problem, thank you, no thank you we don’t need condoms, yes I’m sure.

Cause like does ARMAND KNOW THAT HE ASKS WEIRDO QUESTIONS?? Did that guy think Armand was the weirdest customer he had all week and Armand didn’t even register it? Lol. This is, after all!!!, a story about Armand re-entering human society and learning how to People.

So yeah I like to think he was picky, but he was looking for the one in the video, which is the one I saw in a video LOL and also that like, from my research at the time I don’t think sex shops were like the glittery COCK EMPORIUMS of today, so like some of these decisions like what color it was or how veiny it was might have not really been a huge decision because there might not have been a huge selection. And I think like, in this situation in particular, even though Armand has been trolling Daniel for a while and fucking with him, I think this is one of the big moments for them (in the Usherverse anyway lol) when he starts like being a little more serious about his feelings and seeing Daniel in a new way, and curious about how this will feel for himself as well, so I don’t think it was appropriate to go with like a monster dong or ones with bumps or anything wild like that, I think he went simple. They got into all the other weird ones later! :D

Here's some photos from the early 80s I found that helped me make all these decisions and sculpt my mental images, for your Devil's Minion needs!

Also these links have some really cool photos of SEEDY RAUNCHY 80S NYC that I think about constantly and tbh maybe I've exposed a plot hole that HOW DID ARMAND HANGOUT IN NEW YORK AT ALL WITHOUT SEEING THIS BECAUSE THEY WERE EVERYWHERE but we'll pretend he was so hyperfocused on Daniel & his own lil hobbies that he had tunnel vision lol don't @ me

#!!!!! :D #stuff i wrote #the usher #armand/daniel

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heartofgoldimagines · 1 year

Text

Distant Memories -(John Shelby x Reader) Pt. 1

DISCLAIMER: I don’t not own any GIFs, picture or dividers that I use!

IMPORTANT: This is my first Peaky Blinders imagine, please be kind and provide feedback if you would like. I am from the US and the language may not be correct or historically accurate. If I make more parts the story will not be not be the same as the shows, changes will be made. Please let me know I what you think and if you want more parts. Thank you!

Link for Distant Memories Part Two

Taking a sip of coffee you look through the London paper as soft music plays in the background. You’ve become quite comfortable at your older half sister Evelyn’s home. You’ve been living here for about a year trying to make up for years of missed time. You smile at Evelyn and her husband Albert play fighting as they cook breakfast.

Your smile fades a bit as you think back to the time you spent with the Shelby’s in the kitchen. Well Aunt Pol and Ada, the boys were only there to taste test or steal food. Although, there were many times you and John would have long conversations late at night or while you cooked.

“Y/N are you sure about returning to Birmingham?” Evelyn asks breaking you from your thoughts.

“Yes I am.”

“But there is so much more opportunity here for you here in London.” Evelyn places a stack of pancakes and eggs in the middle of the table.

“I know there is, but I miss Birmingham.”

She smiles at you, “You mean you miss John Shelby.”

You roll your eyes, “I miss ALL the Shelby’s.”

Albert laughs at you two, “Well either way you know you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it, but I plan on leaving next week.”

Your 7 year old niece and 5 year old nephew come rushing downstairs, “We don’t want you to leave!”

Your nephew Lawrence takes a seat on your lap, “Aunt Y/N I’m going to miss you.”

Planting a kiss on his forehead you say, “I’m going to miss you guys too, but you can come visit me.

Abigail’s lights up and smiles, “That would be great!”

“Abby be a dear and got fetch the mail, before we eat.” Evelyn says.

“Yes mother.”

Abigail races out the door as you get up to help set the table. Everyone is at the dining table waiting to eat when Abigail returns. She waves a letter in front of your face, “ Aunt Y/N you got a letter.”

You look at the envelope to see that it’s from Tommy; which worries you because Aunt Pol and Ada are the only ones that write. Quickly opening the letter you feel your heart sink the more you read. A tear trickles down your face and Lawrence asks, “What’s wrong?”

You don’t answer him and Evelyn glances over at her husband. Albert says, “Children why don’t we eat outside in the garden.”

Neither child object and hastily take their plates to the garden. Evelyn takes a seat closer to you and gestures to the letter still in your hand. She takes the letter and she verbally gasps, “John is getting married? He can’t be getting married!”

You stay silent, frozen in complete shock trying to not burst into tears. She looks at you for a few seconds in disbelief that you haven’t said anything. She grabs your hand, “Are you okay?”

Silence.

“Will you say something!” She raises her voice.

You rapidly blink as if you were broken from a trance and stand up from the table. You say in a lower voice, “Well it looks like I’ll be leaving for Birmingham tonight.”

You swiftly walk upstairs and she follows asking, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get the first train to Birmingham,” You grab your luggage sitting it on the bed, “I’ll have to stop at the shop for a wedding gift on the way.”

Evelyn grabs ahold of the blouse you’re about to pack, “Get a wedding gift?! You’re not actually going to just sit by and let this happen?”

You jerk the blouse from her hand and place it in your luggage, “I have no other choice, you read Tommy’s letter, this wedding needs to happen.”

“So Tommy’s word is law!” She yells at you.

“Evie you don’t understand, things are different in Birmingham than London! This marriage, this alliance needs to happen or it will be war!” You yell back.

All the sudden you see your niece and nephew in the doorway, you must’ve not heard their footsteps over the yelling. Abbigail asks scared, “Why are you guys yelling?”

Albert appears behind them, “Sorry they ran inside before I could stop them.”

You kneel down grabbing each of their hands, “It’s nothing sweethearts, your mother and I are just a little upset because it appears that I have to leave tonight for Birmingham.”

“No!” They say in unison as they hug you.

“It’s okay, like I said you can always come visit me” You give their hands a tiny squeeze, before beginning to pack once more.

Stepping off the train you’re overwhelmed with memories that come flooding back with familiar sights and smells of Birmingham. You start walking towards Watery Lane as your hands begin to burn from carrying your heavy luggage. Luckily you make it rather quickly to the Shelby home before your hands give out. You lightly knock and wait a few seconds, but there is no answer.

You slowly turn the doorknob to enter and be met with silence; which is odd for the Shelby home. Sitting your luggage down you slowly walk around the house and betting shop with a smile. You really have missed this place as crazy as it is you’re happy to back home. Quickly you realize that everyone is at the wedding and you’re going to be late.

As you suspected you missed the wedding ceremony, but a part of you was thankful for this. It would be too difficult for you to see John once again get married, it was hard enough the first time. Your hand tightly grasps your wedding gift bag as you swiftly walk onto the Lee’s family property. Your heart rate races as you hear the commotion of the wedding reception. The closer you get you see people singing, dancing, and drinking. You try to find the Shelby family and Polly is the first one to spot you.

Your heart soars as she smiles and brings you in for a huge embrace, “Oh there’s my lovely Y/N.”

You hug her tightly back, realizing how much you’ve missed her. You see her as a mother figure; she has raised you since you were six years old, “It’s so good to see you Aunt Pol.”

She pulls away keeping a grasp on your shoulders, “How are you?”

Forcing a weak excuse for a smile as you say reluctantly, “I’m fine.”

She raises her eyebrows seeing through your facade as she wraps an arm around you, pulling you closer to the party. “Will talk about it later sweetheart, I know the others will want to see you.”

You smile as you step closer and see Ada dancing in the crowd of people. Although you come to a halt as you feel your heart sinks, smile fades, and tears begin to form as you see John sitting at a table with his new wife, Esme. Polly gently squeezes your shoulder trying to provide comfort. She whispers, “Fix your smile honey.”

Quickly you smile once more and blink your eyes several times to keep from crying. You continue to look at John with a huge smile on his face; he hasn’t noticed you yet. You whisper, “Aunt Pol I can’t do this.”

She pulls you along towards a table with Arthur and Tommy, “Yes you can, be strong.”

Your attention is drawn from Polly once you hear Arthur’s deep booming voice, “Fucking hell, is that Y/N!”

Several people stop what they’re doing and look at Arthur, including John. He is so shocked to see you, especially today of all days that it brings him to his feet. Although, you don’t notice this due to your attention now being focused on his brother. Your smile becomes genuine as Arthur approaches, bringing you into an extremely tight hug, “When did you get here?”

You say through struggled breaths, “Just. Now.”

Tommy walks up behind him, “Arthur you’re squeezing the life out of her.”

You take a deep breath in as he lets go, but before you can take a second breath Ada hugs you. “It’s so good to see you Y/N.”

John makes his way over to you with Esme’s arm wrapped around his. You take a deep breath preparing yourself for an awkward encounter. John is the first to speak, “Hello Y/N.”

“Hello John.” Silence.

Esme nudges him, “Oh Y/N this is Esme…my wife, Esme this Y/N she is uh..a family friend.”

Esme says slurring her words, “I-i-I-it’s very n-n-nice to meet you.”

You force a smile back handing her the gift, “It nice two meet you too, congratulations.” You bite the side of you lip as everyone is quiet once more.

Tommy breaks the silence, “Well we have plenty of time to catch up, this is a party after all. ”

Ada’s smile grows larger as she grabs your hand swinging you towards the dance floor. For the majority of the night you were on the dance floor trying to focus on something else. You didn’t get a chance to relax much because every time you sat down someone would ask you to dance. At times you would look towards John to see him with his arms crossed and jaw clenched. You could tell that he was seething with jealousy every time a man would get too close to you.

Esme is unaware of the glances exchanged throughout the night due to continuing to drink and becoming intoxicated. By the end of the night, John had to carry a passed out Esme to the car. The more you thought about it the you became envious of Esme’s current state. It would have been a lot easier to get through the night drunk, but unfortunately you don’t drink.

You walk into the Shelby home followed by Polly, Tommy, and Arthur. Polly takes off her coat and hat, “Y/N you can take Ada’s old room.”

You take a seat on the living room couch, “Thanks Aunt Pol.”

Polly helps a wobbly Arthur up the stairs, as Tommy sits down in the chair across from you. “You know Y/N it is good to have you home.”

You slightly laugh, “Tommy we both know you were never fond of small talk, what is it really that you wanting to talk about?”

“I just want to make sure that you understood from my letter how important this alliance is to this family.”

His statement causes your brows to furrow, “Of course I do, for gods sakes Finn was almost killed. Why wouldn’t I understand?”

He leans towards you, “Well it’s no secret how you and John feel about each other. Now if there was another way-.”

“Feelings shouldn’t get in the way of matters such as this, you and John are just trying to protect your family I understand. We don’t have to talk about this.” You turn away from Tommy feeling tears start to form and a sniffle slip out.

You hear Tommy stand up and walk towards the stairs, “You’re apart of this family.”

You look at him with a smile as tears continue to fall, “Thanks Tommy.”

Tommy makes his way upstairs and you hear the front door open to see John walk in. You stand up to face away from him trying wipe your tears away the best you can. Although it’s no use because your eyes, nose and cheeks already have a pink hue to them. You say through sniffles, “What are you doing here John?”

His takes his hat and coat off, “I’ve come to talk to you.”

You turn and cross your arms trying to calm your nerves, “Shouldn’t you be with Esme, I mean……it’s your wedding night.” You feel a lump in your throat as you struggle to say the last part.

“Uh she drank a little too much and passed out as soon as I got her home.” He moves closer to you.

Both of you just look at each other for a few seconds, before he breaks the silence by turning on the phonograph. “You know I never did get a chance to dance with you at the party.”

He steps closer to you holding out his left hand. You bite the corner of your lip, “I don’t know if thats a good idea.”

He smiles, “Just one dance?”

You reluctantly take his hand and move closer to wrap your left hand around his neck. He puts his right hand on your side as he says, “I didn’t realize that you were going to be there today.

“For a second I didn’t think I would be.”

Your heart continues to race as you feel his thumb tracing circles on your side. He doesn’t brake eye contact with you, “How are you doing?”

You look down, “It doesn’t matter how I feel, what’s done is done.”

He tilts his head trying to regain eye contact with you, “It matters to me. I need you to know that I didn’t have a choice, I had to go through with the marriage.”

You lift your head up, and his face is inches away from yours. “I know John.”

You’re taken back by the closeness, but he doesn’t seem fazed. “I wish I could change this.”

You shake your head, “There no use in wishing for something that we can’t have.”

John and you dance in silence for about a minute, just enjoying each other’s company. He twirls you away from him and back as he says, “Do you remember when we would dance like this when we were kids?”

Your smile widens, “How could I forget? You always stepped on my toes.”

He laughs, “That didn’t keep you from always following me around though, it use to annoy the hell out of me. You and Ada would be close behind me wherever I went.”

“You would always yelled at us, but every time you would give in and bring us along. Eventually I got older and stopped.”

He leans his forehead against yours, “Yeah but then I started chasing after you.”

You stay silent as he lets out a deep sigh, “I’ve missed this……I’ve missed you.”

His nose brushes up against yours as his lips get closer and closer. You two stop dancing as he lets go of your hand to loop it around your waist as you lock yours around his neck. You close your eyes struggling to keep your breathe steady. His lips gently graze against yours making your heart ache to kiss him. “John don’t……don’t do this. You shouldn’t…..even be here.”

He lightly squeezes your side, “I want to be here, I know you want me here.”

You open your eyes as you slide your hands to his chest and move your head away from him, “Just because we want something doesn’t mean it will happen”

He takes a deep breath, his cheeks and eyes become light pink. You whisper, “John go home and be with your wife.”

He doesn’t budge and continues to stare at you intensely. You grab his hands and release yourself from his grasp. Closing your eyes you mutter, “Please just go.”

Your eyes stay closed to feel his lips press against your forehead. His lip lingers there as you fight the feeling of wanting to reciprocate his affection. “Goodnight Y/N.”

You refuse to open your eyes as he backs away, not wanting to see him walk out the door. You hear the door open and shut, but even then your eyes stay closed. A few seconds pass before you open your eyes to see your all alone.

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