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a-libra-writes · 3 years

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Hey! Could you do these headcanons [💖,💐] for Jaime, or Tyrion? I've been in the GoT fandom “recently” (like a month or two ago?), and I don't see much of them; especially Tyrion (I don't know book-Tyrion yet 👀). I've been reading your blog for a while, and I really like your writings; I'm taking my time to read them again jsjsj. I understand if you don't want to, or doesn't catch your eye; I hope I'm not being rude or anything, but I wanted to try my luck. Please take care and be safe! <3

welcome to our cluuuub! welcome to our cluuuuuub!

im glad youre enjoying GoT so much, and my blog! You should def give the books a try if you ever have a chance! Book Tyrion is rlly diff in many cool ways, same with Jaime.

also i uh ... did the thing where i confused the emojis again, so I did “date” for both of them as well LOL oops

💘 Tyrion Date HC

Once Tyrion really starts liking you, he takes you to the loveliest places. We’re talking walks through gardens with little ponds and animals, a covered boat ride on a river, or walking through an exciting market full of Essosi traders. The thing is, he’d never call this “courting”. That makes it too official, too serious. He plays it off as simple visits two friends would make.

He’s excellent at finding out the things you’re interested in. You aren’t aware of it, but Tyrion really pays attention to what you respond to and what you like the most. I mean, he’s already watching you because he loves you, but if you aren’t vibing with an activity and location he’ll take that into consideration for next time.

He has lots of fun experiencing new things with you, period - after you’re together, after you’re married. If he finds out about something new, he’ll tell you so you both can do it together.

Tyrion prefers more private locations, since the court is exhausting and nearly all people he meets don’t like him anyway... but there’s something exciting about having such a pretty girl on his arm, someone who clearly adores him and wants to spend time with him.

Gifts! You tell him he doesn’t have to, but he likes presenting you with little things at the beginning or end of a date. First it’s practical things, so he can brush it off as “You seemed like you could use that”, before it’s just outright pretty jewels and dresses and he has no excuse. At that point it’s because he clearly loves you.

When it’s your name day, he has such a great evening planned out. If you’re married, make that a weekend or a week to travel and enjoy a little mini-vacation. Tyrion is excellent at planning an event in secret, so you have no idea what he has in store until the morning of your birthday.

In a modern AU, he’s not too different - he wants to explore new places and new things. He’d probably live in a city and would always find the strangest hole in the wall places to eat and shop at. If you like books, or records, or clothes, he’s gonna find something really out of the way and specific.

💖Tyrion Pregnancy HC

From the time you announced your pregnancy to the entire 9 months, it was like the worst emotional whiplash he’s ever had. There are SO many thoughts going through his head. Some of them are:

One, he’s delighted you want to have a family with him. Yes, you two are married, but it’s not out of duty to the Lannisters. It’s the ultimate proof you love him, he decides - because there’s a real chance your child could turn out like him, and you don’t care. And he knows you’ll love the child if that happens. He just knows you’ll be a wonderful mother. Second, you clearly express your joy to his family and the courtiers. You’re proud and you don’t care who knows. Third, he thinks about how horrid his own upbringing was, and he’s absolutely 100% determined to be an excellent father. Fourth ...

You get the point. He’s so torn between worry - what if the child is born with a problem, what if you die in childbed, what if he turns out to be a terrible father - and absolute, unbelievable devotion. You thought he was protective and doting before? Nothing is too good for you. You have to tell Tyrion to dial it back a bit, you don’t need new clothes every month and ten sets of silken bedsheets and all this jewelry....

He’s a bundle of nerves the closer the due date is. You two might actually get into spats because you’re exhausted and achey, and he’s just a mess. Jaime actually has to knock sense into him and get him to calm down.

But once your child is born... it all washes away, like a wave carrying him. He’s so happy. He can’t even function. He wants the hold the child all the time, he wants to see them, talk to them - and he asks so many questions to you and the maester. When will the child talk? When will they walk? Can they understand him? Do they know he’s their father? And so on.

Also, his protectiveness would go through the roof. He would never forbid you from going anywhere or doing anything, but.. he would be obviously nervous if you mentioned you were going travelling or something.

And it goes without saying he’s keeping extra tabs on Cersei, certain courtiers, maybe his own father. He doesn’t trust any of them for anything.

Bronn will probably get assigned to bodyguard duty for you. He’s clearly not pleased, and you just sigh and dismiss him for the day so you don’t have to listen to his smart mouth.

He likes to feel your stomach, especially when the babe kicks! It relieves his worries that the child might be born “wrong” somehow. The fact they’re kicking, wiggling and moving, seemingly in response to him, makes him feel much better.

💐 Tyrion Family & Kids HC

He’s an excellent father, even though he has his moments of emotional hang-ups. He wants to ensure his child is educated, empathetic and uses their damn head. While he’d be doting and affection, he wouldn’t be a total pushover and can reasonably discipline them. Tyrion is great at talking to children respectfully and treating them like people.

On that note, he has no patience for someone like Cersei or his father trying to butt in on his parenting. He’ll stand up to them and firmly insist he can raise his child on his own, thank you. He won’t take any “advice” or threats from them.

He’d be quite good at figuring out what his children are talented in, and encouraging them. He’s seen what it’s like when a child is forced into a single box and hinge all their worth on that (Jaime) and when they’re looked over and ignored (him and Cersei).

Yes, he basically decides to do the opposite of whatever his father did.

There would be times when he’d want to educate his children himself, but only on certain subjects - reading and writing, for example. He trusts the maester just fine, he just wants to have that bonding opportunity with them.

(He’s so proud of all of them no matter what though 😭)

If you’d be up for it, Tyrion would like several children. He’s not 100% on how many, since he’s never really given himself a chance to hope and daydream for a family. He knows he needs a son for the Lannister line to continue, but he’d never force you to continue risking your health for that. Ultimately, however many you want, that’s what he’ll be happy with. If it’s all girls, he’ll love them the same.

💘 Jaime Date HC

It’s actually amusing how bad he is at taking you somewhere interesting. It ends up being an accident - you run into him in a beautiful garden or some obscure part of the Red Keep, and he offers to show you something interesting he found. From there, you two get lost and take a while to find your way back.

... Or you take him somewhere you thought was interesting, and he goes along with it. When you point out that Jaime is pretty bad at this “courting” business, he just scoffs and says that’s definitely not what he’s doing. He’s just visiting with ... a friend ... .... just a friend. Yup.

Another aspect is the fact he’s a Whitecloak, and he might be having to avoid Cersei. That kind of makes things dicey.

However, when he returns from the Dreadfort and that absolute hell of a journey, he’s doesn’t care so much who sees you two. He wants to get away from the Red Keep, even if that’s his duty, so he starts wandering out with you. When Jaime is patrolling on his own and sees a place of interest, he makes a mental note to bring it up to you later. And when he does, and you offer to go with him ... Well, he won’t complain.

Since you two have been so many places, he starts to associate them with you. When he’ll pass by it on his own, he thinks about something you laughed at, or something you told him there. If you ever touched his hand or his face while you two visited a garden, he will remember that touch every single time he passes by.

After you’ve known each other for a while, and he’s feeling sentimental, he’ll ask, “Do you remember those docks a mile away from the Red Keep? There was a man pushing a cart that had these colorful glasses and wares. You were wearing a blue dress, and when you dirtied it, I carried you around down the street?”

You have no idea where he’s talking about, but that’s the sort of road his memory lane is.

In the modern AU, he’s still pretty terrible at dates. He’s more of the type who wants to wander around with you and just pop into a place that seems interesting - and then he’ll associate you with it. Anytime he sees that cafe chain again, even in a different city, he remembers the hot cocoa you ordered and the little marshmallow mustache you gave yourself.

And honestly, he prefers to stay home with you, cuddling and watching something. He can be as bad as a needy cat when he wants cuddles and attention; you aren’t escaping anytime soon.

💖Jaime Pregnancy HC

Oh no.

Back when Jaime was a boy and lectured endlessly on the duties of a Lannister heir, he didn’t truly understand what that meant. Especially after Cersei coerced him into taking the white cloak, he figured he’d never have children of his own.

... Well. Then there was three. but they never felt like his, which was Cersei’s intention. It was so strange, even if they looked like him, he couldn’t connect Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen to himself.

Also, look who his father is. That’s a lot to unpack.

It’s not until he’s completely left Cersei and lost his sword hand that he starts thinking and seeing things differently. It feels different when you play with the children, when you look longingly at mothers, when he’s intimate with you and you let him finish inside. He starts thinking what it’s like, and that’s scary, considering it never crossed his mind before.

And then he thinks about how his mother died, and what it did to his father. He never openly discusses it with you, but he has nightmares about it. Jaime doesn’t sleep well for a lot of your pregnancy, especially toward the last few months. He does a little better with each child. To distract himself, he takes care of you.

He likes the idea of having two children, a boy and girl, or two boys, but he’s fine with one or more than two. Anything more than four would probably overwhelm him.

Gods save the person who threatens you, even if it’s his sister. His protective instincts go into overdrive, to the point where someone being disrespectful to you on the street will make him want to fight.

💐 Jaime Family & Kids HC

When you tell him, honestly... his first thought is what an awful parent he’d be. He had one example for what a father is like, and he was hardly an influential part in the lives of the three children he sired. You’d have to reassure Jaime and give him confidence, because he has none where this is concerned. He’s positive he’ll screw it up somehow, he’ll be too distant, or too cruel. How do you even hold a baby? What do you say to little ones? He’s going to take care of you, there’s no question of that, but his nervousness is palpable.

Still, he has such a cute smile when he holds his child - what he considers his first real one - and he right away sees you in them. Their nose, and smile, and eyes. It’s amazing, he decides.

Jaime is a terribly indulgent father. He tries to scold where he can, but more often than not he’s amused by his kid being mischievous. When they pull pranks on guests or get into fights with other kids, he’ll let them off easy if he felt like it was justified. If you’re the more disciplinary parent, the kids totally learn to go to Jaime when they want something.

He’s not overly physically affectionate, but he often ruffles their hair (even if they’re a girl with hair you just braided), gives them rides on his shoulders and lets them sit on his lap and fall asleep. He also has a habit of patting their cheeks or shoulders when he’s pleased.

Jaime didn’t think he’d be excited to teach swordplay and horseback, but he’s so happy when one of his kiddos is interested in both or either. Even if they’re a girl, he can’t help but teach her everything he knows. It also makes him feel better that he has something to teach and pass on even if he lost his sword hand.

Also ... he’s a terrifying papa lion. Do not ever even slightly threaten his children or wife in front of him. His temper and pride will flare and he’ll start a fight right there.

Related to that, he can fight off Cersei’s cruelty and coldness to you and your children together because he knows how to deal with her. If Tywin disapproved of you in some way, or was trying to take control of how the children were reared, Jaime would genuinely struggle to stand up to him. He doesn’t want his kids to go through the childhood he had, but it’s difficult for him. He won’t go into full “fuck this” mode unless the children are seriously threatened.

#libra headcanons #jaime lannister x reader #tyrion lannister x reader #got x reader #game of thrones x reader #i swear ive dorked up that date and pregnancy emoji like three times

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ahundredtimesover · 2 years

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A Still Day or A Hurricane Feedback/Comments (03)

@ohmydarlin-g asked: I've been so disconnected from tumblr after I got a new job so I had no idea asdoah was coming but I just read the first chapter and OH MY GOD I am so in love already I love MCs independence and down to earth attitude while JK is a free spirit with a heart of gold. I feel like this pairing is gonna be so refreshing and sweet just like a strawberry tart 😋 I can't wait for more! (Also is it possible to be added to the tag list I don't remember if you do that???)

Hiii congrats on the new job! 🎉 I’m glad you’re loving the characters so far. They’re honestly so cute pls and ur right, refreshing. There’s just something about a playful, cheeky JK that’s so alluring. I’m excited for you learn more of how they are! And yes to adding you to the taglist. Thanks so much for reading! 🥰

@jeoncookie-bts asked: Authornim!!!! I love asdoah so much! OC is such an inspiration, a bad bitch (in a very VERY positive way)! She knows what shes doing and shes good at it, can easily be independent on her own. And jungkook being the persistent yet mature guy!!!!!! Give me him!!!!!!! I love love LOOOOVEEE this dynamic between the two of them so much, and im so excited to see progress in their so called friendship lol! Seeing that both of them agreed to this "friendship", i wonder what's actually in store for them 🤩 great work authornim! cant wait for the next chap! 🥰

This JK and this OC are so, so special to me and you’ll see more of their flaws and amazing sides. But yes, this JK is something else and I think you’re gonna like him a lot! We all want him, don’t we? 🥺 Every time I think of that VLive, I get a whiplash. 🥵 Pls think of him while reading haha. Thank you so much for this! ☺️

🍧Anonymous asked: Hi mimi!!! Excited for your new series even tho I'm not in a good mental space these days 😭 i dont usually read fics where the OC is older bc I'm... younger than jk heehhe but still!! I feel like I've made a lot of exceptions for your writings bc you're just that good🤍

Looking forward to see how their relationship progress and how the baby would come to be 🙈🙈🙈 i love how flirty JK is and even tho he said he's okay with friendship now, I kinda wish to see more of them flirty sides 👀 Do you have a schedule for this? Anyhow. Havw a good week!

I totally get you but I’m the opposite! Haha but thank you for giving this a shot, it means a lot. ☺️ The age thing won’t be as pronounced as the story goes on, as their other differences take the front seat. And flirty sides, you ask? There’ll be alotttt. I’ve never written so many flirty scenes but it’s a 130+k fic hehe 😂 so they’ll be popping out a lot. I hope you enjoy the rest of it. You can find the series masterlist here. 😊

Anonymous asked: I LOVE FLIRTY JK SO MUCHHH HE WAS SO ADORABLE AND FUNNY I JUST COULDNT STOP SMILING THE ENTIRE TIME THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THIS FIC

AHHHH I AGREE! This JK makes me smile soooo much bc he’s a flirt through and through and we love him for it. Thank you so much for reading! 🥰🥰

@jmnkooks asked: Hi mimi hope you’re doing well 🤍 I just wanted to say that I am already in love with the first chapter and can’t wait to read the rest of your new story!! Thank you for sharing your talent with us 😘 sending love from italy

Oh, thank you so much! I’m fine and I hope you’re doing well, too. ☺️ So many more things happen and I hope you like the rest of it. I appreciate your kind words and sending you love back from the Philippines! 💜💜

Anonymous asked: asdoah is the fic ive been looking for 😩 ive been looking for a single mom oc since i keep seeing dilf member fics hehe im glad u posted asdoah mimi!!! im excited to see where the story goesss 😆

Hiii I agree! That’s why this was pretty exciting to write because there’s so much to explore with a badass, single mom OC and a cheeky JK who just wants her attention. 😉 Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the rest of it! 🥰

#mimianswers #asdoah

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peridottea91 · 3 years

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Chapter 1

Summary: Everyone has secrets, some good and some bad. Bree Wildes, a witch and god-daughter to the late Bobby Singer, is keeping far too many for Dean’s liking, leaving Sam torn between giving her the benefit of the doubt and his brother’s suspicions. But what happens when the holidays cause Bree to come crashing down? Sometimes, we need someone to lean on, even if it breaks us.

Pairing: Sam x Witch!OFC

Word Count: 3,657

Warnings: angst, eventual fluff, eventual smut, mutual pining, mentions of depression, mentions of attempted sexual assault (nothing happens though), mentions of familial loss, asshole!Dean, mentions of past drug use, depictions of PTSD, mentions of past trauma, eventual holiday cheer

Beta’d by: @wingedcatninja

Divider by: @firefly-in-darkness / @firefly-graphics

A/N: Story takes place in s12, beginning just before “LOTUS”, and then diverging canon from there.

THIS WORK IS 18+ ONLY. DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ON ANY OTHER SITES.

MAIN MASTERLIST - SERIES MASTERLIST

Bree shuffled sleepily towards the bunker’s kitchen. The concrete floors felt cold beneath her feet despite her extra fuzzy socks, and she could really use a steaming hot cup of eggnog coffee. Aside from her groans at being awake and the soft padding of her feet down the corridor, the bunker was completely silent. Sam and Dean had taken off on some hunt gods-know-where and weren’t due to return for a few more days. The case was either in Colorado or Montana, but honestly Bree was still half-asleep when Sam had woken her up a few days prior and let her know they were leaving.

Unsurprisingly, Dean had been iffy about leaving Bree alone for the better part of a week, saying that he didn’t trust a witch not to blow up the place while they were away. Thankfully, Sam had placated his brother by offering to take full responsibility for her. He had also firmly reminded the distrustful hunter that Bobby had trusted Bree implicitly, and that that should be more than enough for them.

All things considered, Bree should have known that Dean would be cautious around her. Before Bobby died, the pair of them fought like cats and dogs; something about Bree’s very existence seemed to grind Dean’s gears. Sam, on the other hand, had been far more trusting, albeit a little hot-and-cold due to Dean’s constant complaining. It certainly didn’t help that ever since Bree had shown back up in the Winchester’s lives almost a year ago, it had been anything but smooth. She turned up one day at their motel room in Wisconsin, bloodied, bruised, and on the run. Naturally, trouble wasn’t too far behind her.

Without hesitation, Sam and Dean sprang into action, whisking Bree away to the safety of the bunker. It was ironic, really, a witch being hunted by other witches. But then again, apparently, they didn’t take too well to one of their own helping hunters. As much as she hated to admit it, Bree was a hunter herself, although she preferred to stay off the field. Didn’t matter to Bobby Singer, though; he trusted her regardless.

Things had come a long way since their early days back at Bobby’s junkyard. Back then, Bree and Dean would always bicker over trivial things, mostly because they were both far too sarcastic and mouthy for their own good. However, Bobby always made sure to keep things copacetic between them, and helped Dean get over his initial distrust, for the most part.

But now, just under a decade later, those trust issues only seemed to have worsened. Ever since Purgatory and the Mark, Dean was so much colder to anyone supernaturally inclined, with a few exceptions—Bree was not one of them. Dean swore up and down that she was hiding something from them, keeping secrets, and constantly berated Sam for playing referee. As a result, the younger Winchester often withdrew from Bree, affected by his brother’s comments.

It certainly didn’t help that the last time Bree had seen the Winchesters, before Bobby’s death, she had sworn to return in just two weeks. She had gotten a call from an old contact overseas who needed help with a potential case and didn’t know who to turn to. The contact wasn’t a hunter, but they were familiar with the things that went bump in the night. Unfortunately, two weeks snowballed into months, and then years, after Bree fell down a rabbit hole of conspiracy, witchcraft, and the British Men of Letters.

Bree tried to leave messages for the hunters she left behind, letting them know what was going on. It wasn’t until she received a call from Garth a few months later that Bree even knew that Bobby was dead. The news tore her apart and sent her spiraling into a depressive episode. After Garth filled her in on the Winchester’s going off-grid because of Leviathans and being on the FBI’s Most Wanted List (again), Bree decided to stay away. So, for the next few years, Bree bounced around Europe and Asia, actively working against a witch cult, demons, and ducking from the British Men of Letters. In all that time, she only managed to return to the States maybe twice.

When Bree finally did return for good and gave the Winchesters the run-down of her current situation, the hunters agreed to make her safety top priority. However, Dean was suspicious, especially after the growing realization that, despite how long they had known each other, he and Sam still knew next to nothing about Bree. As a result, her relationship with the Winchesters was now mixed, at best.

Dean, ever mercurial, would banter and seemingly joke with her one minute, only to eye her suspiciously while taking jabs at her the next. He was trying to keep Bree on her toes, both subtly and not-so-subtly reminding her that despite their history and her relationship to Bobby, he didn’t trust her. And, unfortunately, this meant that Sam was now stuck in the middle, playing devil’s advocate.

Staring blankly at the coffee pot before her, it took Bree a moment to comprehend where she was. She was so exhausted that she couldn’t even remember walking into the kitchen. It wasn’t until one of the fluorescent lights overhead began flickering that she snapped to attention. Under normal circumstances, flickering lights would have been cause for alarm, but in this case, it was merely a short in one of the ancient bulbs. Unamused by the momentary heart attack, Bree sighed in annoyance and flicked her finger as if flipping a switch, instantly steadying the light.

Setting about her mission for a morning pick-me-up, Bree was surprised to receive phone notifications from both Winchesters. Dean’s was the typical “you better not have gone in my room” and “so help me, the bunker better still be standing when we get home”. Nothing like a Dean Winchester morning message to make a girl feel welcome. Bree rolled her eyes with a huff and shot off a quick “shut up and hunt” before turning her attention to Sam’s message.

SAM: Morning Bree. Wrapped up the case early and are headed home. Should be back sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Bree stared blankly at her phone a moment. She had once developed strong feelings for the younger Winchester. But, after years of emotional whiplash at the hands of him and Dean, Bree had started to feel apathetic. Sure, they flirted a bit, but since the death of her godfather, the young witch’s walls built back up and her self-confidence faltered. The last time she let Sam in was when he was in a state-run mental hospital in Indiana almost six years prior. Since then, Bree kept both brothers at arms-length. Why should she trust them when they constantly made her feel like dirt? Like she had no one in her corner? Instead, Bree slowly succumbed to the numbness and put on a fake smile.

BREE: thanks for the warning LOL

SAM: How much of the bunker is still standing?

BREE: none of it. Your hubris has failed you!

BREE: I’ve burned the house down

Bree smirked to herself as she sent off a picture to him of a creepy little girl grinning in front of a burning house (yeah, you know the one). It always surprised her how well she could fake friendly conversation, even one over text. It was probably something to be concerned about, but at this time of morning, Bree couldn’t really be bothered to care.

SAM: Good to know that over 50yrs worth of dust bunnies have finally been exterminated

SAM: Dean’s allergies will be thrilled

BREE: Nah. I magicked them to life. Now they’re hiding under his bed and in his porn collection

SAM: Careful. He might just believe you

BREE: shit you’re right…

SAM: I’m Sam Fucking Winchester.

SAM: Of course, I’m right.

Bree couldn’t help but chuckle despite herself at Sam’s response. It was rare for him to act so cocky, but when he did it was always entertaining. Sam was in prime form today, which either meant that the case must’ve gone well or that Dean lost a bet. Personally, Bree hoped for the latter.

Shaking her head in mild amusement, Bree locked her phone and meandered down to the library, already on her second cup of coffee. If the boys were home, Dean would have made fun of her for how “girly” she took her coffee. Sam would have laughed but secretly snuck some of her flavored creamers when he thought nobody was looking. He may have been Mr. Health Nut and preached good eating every chance he got, but Sam Winchester was also a man with a secret sweet tooth.

Standing beneath one of the library’s archways, Bree thoughtfully sipped her coffee while she looked around the room. For as much stuff as the bunker held, it still felt barren at times—despite the numerous books and displays, the lamps, and warm, wooden tables, the stone-grey walls, pillars, and floors oftentimes made the bunker feel like a military base. Or, a more accurate description in Bree’s case, like a prison. So much for the most wonderful time of the year.

Bree paused at the thought, reminiscing on once forgotten childhood holiday memories and traditions she shared with her dad. When Bree was little, her dad would have begun decorating the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. Christmas had always been his favorite holiday, between the lights and trees and traditions. Every year, he would set up an antique, Lionel train set underneath the tree along with a Christmas village. It was a tradition Bree’s grandmother started, and that her father had continued. But that was what felt like a lifetime ago.

Now, it was already December 1st, and there were no holiday decorations in sight, not that the Winchesters were big on holidays anyways. It had been almost two decades since Bree celebrated any semblance of a holiday. A loving family, holiday cheer, comfort—just wasn’t really something Bree got to experience and hadn’t been for a long time. The longer she thought about it, the more Bree could feel a familiar pain and longing in her chest.

Perhaps that was what Bree really needed, the chance to pretend like everything was okay, even if just for a little while. She had felt a familiar emptiness growing for weeks, maybe even months. Depression had long been a struggle for Bree; unsurprising given her past, a past that she kept locked away and refused to let anyone near. Pushing away the stinging sensation in her eyes and the wave of stomach knots, Bree turned her attention back towards the bunker. Without color, plants, fresh air, or sunlight, the Winchester’s home could be a tad depressing at times. A little holiday cheer could be what everyone needed, not just Bree. Fishing her phone out of the pocket of her plum-colored, flannel, pajama pants, Bree quickly shot off another text to Sam.

BREE: December

SAM: Yes, it is

BREE: Christmas?

SAM: Is a holiday

Bree rolled her eyes and huffed. Sam was trying to mess with her again. Usually, when Sam got in a facetious mood, Bree was grateful for a moment of reprieve and reveled in it. Right now, however, she was on a mission.

BREE: Can we?

SAM: Can we what? Celebrate it?

BREE: YES!!!

SAM: You’re Wiccan though? You don’t celebrate Christmas.

BREE: ACTUALLY, Samuel I celebrate both Christmas AND Yule

BREE: And I’m not Wiccan. I’m an Agnostic Witch... Sorta...

BREE: It’s complicated

SAM: Ah. Right

SAM: And it’s Sam

BREE: Sammy

SAM: ...

Bree snickered at Sam’s obvious annoyance. She could just imagine the look on his face as he read her messages.

BREE: so, can we?

SAM: So, can we what?

BREE: CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS!!!

Bree waited anxiously for Sam to respond. She hoped that he would agree to celebrate the holidays, but at times Sam could be as much of a scrooge as his brother was. Eventually, his next text came through but, upon reading it, Bree felt herself begin to deflate.

SAM: Uhhh... Dean and I don’t really do the holidays

SAM: Last time we did was right before he went to hell

BREE: I know but that’s exactly why I think we should celebrate it!

BREE: You’re both here. I’m here. We’re alive. So, what’s stopping us?

SAM: Are you sure now is really the best time?

SAM: I’m assuming you forgot about the British MOL? And the witches hunting you?

BREE: No, I haven’t. But twisting our bones about it isn’t gonna help anyone

BREE: Everyone loves Christmas

BREE: Please Sam?

SAM: …

Bree held her breath, watching the three, lingering, little dots indicating Sam was typing his answer. In the pit of her stomach, Bree knew what it most likely would be, but she still hoped he would say otherwise.

SAM: Asked Dean. He says no.

Bree’s shoulders drooped, and she let herself slump into one of the stray armchairs in the library. Why was she even surprised? It’s not like she was particularly close with the Winchesters, despite them having known each other for so long. Dean never trusted her and with Sam things were… well Bree honestly didn’t know what the hell to think anymore. While they had offered her a safe place to stay, they constantly made Bree feel like the butt of every joke. Add being stuck in the militaristic bunker, unable to leave without a chaperone, Bree was left to feel simultaneously trapped and unwelcome. She hid it well, though… Almost too well. Getting shut down without seemingly so much as a second thought from Dean only made her feel worse.

What did she expect? The man made it a point to remind her that she was a witch, something they would hunt normally. She wasn’t useful like Rowena, Dean made that very clear. Hell, he even treated the King of Hell better than he did her. It just made her miss Bobby even more.

Bree wallowed for a few minutes before her phone lit up once more. This time, however, Sam was calling rather than texting. Slapping her hand heavily on the phone and tabletop next to her, Bree bleakly answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Oh, don’t fucking pout,” Dean’s gruff voice commanded, “You’ve got two minutes to make your case. So, go.”

Bree froze a moment in both surprise and confusion. For Dean to even consider letting her argue in favor of the holidays meant that Sam must have nagged his ear off and guilt-tripped him hard. The younger Winchester could honestly persuade his brother to do just about anything, within reason. Still, it came as a shock considering that Sam wasn’t exactly Mr. Holidays himself, either. Combine that with the whiplash he gave her on the daily, Bree honestly hadn’t expected to even be given a chance to try and change their minds.

“Hello?” Dean asked impatiently, waiting for the witch to make her pitch.

Snapped out of her shock, Bree didn’t hesitate, “Right! Sorry! I, uh, I was just thinking that doing something for the holidays would maybe do us all a bit of good. Y’all have been working just about non-stop. I’ve been cooped up in the bunker for months. Honestly, who couldn’t use a bit of holiday cheer?” she pitched, “I haven’t gotten to celebrate in, well, years because… reasons… but I think it’s really important that we do this year.”

Sam and Dean exchanged looks on the other end of the line. There was still a lot that the pair didn’t know about their witchy companion. So, the fact that she had her heart set on celebrating the holidays admittedly came as a bit of a shock. It also, however, provided them a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse behind the wall she kept between them. Both Winchesters would be lying if they said it hadn’t piqued their interests.

“Look, I’m not asking y’all to help, or clean, or do anything,” She continued with a soft sigh, “I’ll take care of everything myself. I’m just asking that you let me… spruce up the place a little for the holidays.”

“Who says that the bunker needs sprucing?” Dean asked indignantly.

“Nothing, if you like concrete man caves,” Bree retorted as she glanced around the library again.

“Pfft. Our secret base is just fine, thank you very- OW!”

Sam elbowed his brother in the ribs and gave him a stern look. Dean did, after all, promise to cooperate.

“Guys, I get it, okay? The bunker is your home and enough people have screwed with it already. But it’s the holiday season! I’m not asking to do anything permanent…”

Bree was getting increasingly disheartened with the conversation. Dean was stubborn as hell—once he made up his mind, good luck trying to convince him to change it. Sam was stubborn in his own right but could typically be swayed when appealed to logically or emotionally. Dean, not so much, especially if Bree was involved.

“Why is this really an issue with you? Why are you so dead set on celebrating?” Dean asked bluntly, earning another look from his brother, which he ignored.

Bree hesitated a moment, biting her lip as she warred internally over how to respond. Typically, she hated talking about herself and anything personal. She hated the stares and looks of pity and sympathy that usually followed, as if she was a pathetic, sad, little girl. That was, if they even believed her in the first place, which was a whole other issue. Not to mention, she had a strong sense of self-preservation after the events of the past few years. But, if Bree wanted any sort of Christmas, she knew she was going to have to concede a little.

“My dad,” she finally answered meekly, “What few memories I have of him, they’re mostly from Christmastime. It was his favorite, and he always made sure he was home. After he…” Bree swallowed hard, struggling with the words and feeling horribly exposed. She never told the boys about what happened, nor did she necessarily intend to, “Anyways, he always made sure the holidays were special. So full of life and color.”

“And you’re saying it’s not now?” Sam asked for clarification.

“Seriously? You have to ask?” Bree asked rhetorically, “C’mon guys, I know I came to y’all for help, and I appreciate you letting me stay here, but…”

“But?”

“It feels like I shouldn’t have bothered…” Bree’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the boys still heard it. The implication of her words hung heavy over them.

Since coming to stay at the bunker all those months ago, Bree had ventured out on maybe a handful of cases. And never without at least one of the Winchesters with her. It had been maybe a month or two into their living situation when they found out that the British Men of Letters were also interested in getting their hands on Bree. None of them had realized exactly how widespread their influence was around the globe. At least, not until the last case Bree accompanied the Winchesters on. After barely escaping the last attempt on her life, which almost cost Sam his, Bree was put on restriction. If she thought she had little freedom before, it was nothing compared to the way things were now. When Sam and Dean Winchester invested themselves in a protection detail, they certainly went all out.

That being said, the two hunters admittedly sometimes neglected to consider how Bree felt about the whole situation. True, she did come to them for help, but the witch-turned-hunter never expected to be placed on lock-down. At first, she had fought tooth and nail against being pent-up and left behind all the time. But over the past month or so, both Sam and Dean noticed that their companion seemed to lose interest in a lot of things she once was passionate about. Sam had attempted to get Bree to talk but was once again met with a familiar wall. It’s not like he could really blame her, with all the contention between them. This, in turn, had led to several arguments while he and Dean were out on the road, away from any eavesdroppers.

Bree couldn’t see it, being stuck in the bunker hundreds of miles away, but Sam and Dean were having one of their infamous, silent conversations. Dean may not entirely trust her, but never wanted the bunker to feel like a prison (unless they were in the dungeon, but that was a different story). Bree may be a witch, but she was also a hunter… and their friend, whether Dean wanted to admit it or not.

After what felt like an eternity, Dean finally spoke again, seemingly placated by her response, “If we’re gonna let you decorate, there’s gonna be a few ground rules.”

“What?”

“Nothing cheesy or cartoony. Keep it classy. Don’t choke us out with Hallmark Channel decorations and too much cinnamon and shit,” Dean continued, making sure to keep their house guest reigned in, “And I know your weird, hippie, witchy ass is gonna wanna do lots of shit with plants and whatever, but keep it to a minimum. Sammy gets hay fever.”

“You’re-you’re serious?”

“Oh, yeah. Dude’s like some sort of weird, pollen magnet. Doesn’t matter what season—if there’s even a little pollen, his face gets puffy and his eyes water and there’s all this snot-”

“OKAY DEAN!” Sam shouted, effectively interrupting him as his cheeks burned with embarrassment, “Yes, Bree, we’re serious. Just promise you won’t go too overboard, alright?”

“Yes! Yes! Of course!!” Bree stood up eagerly, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“And kid, if you break any of the rules, we’re taking it all down. Got it?” Dean added as a final warning.

“DEAL!”

And just like that, the line disconnected. Sam and Dean looked at each other and then the phone a moment before either of them spoke again.

“What the hell did we just unleash on the bunker?”

#sam x ofc #sam winchester x ofc #Sam Winchester #witch!ofc #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #spn fic #spn fanfic #yuletide memories #spn holiday fic

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meetmeatthecoda · 3 years

Note

Coda, how are you doing?

If you have time, can I ask about Director’s Cut on “Epsy”?

Hello, my dear friend!! 😄 I'm doing well, thank you so much for asking!! 😍 I hope you are doing fabulous!! 🥰 I certainly have time for this (at least now I do - I'm sorry for the delay on this 😂) & I am flattered you want to hear more about Espy - I had fun with it! - so I'll put my notes under a read more for convenience!! ❤️

So, I basically wrote this fic around the idea of Liz having second thoughts about her revenge mission on Red, him getting hurt in the crossfire, Liz panicking about it & rethinking things, & - ultimately - Liz observing Red when he can't see her, like in the end of the Borne Supremacy where Jason Borne is looking at Pam Lundy (unbeknownst to her) & tells her to "get some rest, you look tired". Weird inspiration, I know, but I just loved that twist at this point in season 8 for Red & Liz. (That's also why I chose the title "espy" 😁)

I had specific settings in mind for both scenes in this fic & I loved the idea of Liz, Skip, & Agnes at a fountain for the first scene with Agnes having fun looking at the ducks 😊🦆

I remember having a hard time writing Liz's mental state in the beginning of this but, at this point, I find it kind of necessary to always define the current mentality of either Red or Liz, given that writing Lizzington always comes with a certain amount of mental gymnastics & AU 😒😒😒 But I think I established what I wanted to, which was Liz feeling confident but - overall - that the physical distance is giving her some mental clarity & making her question her motivations which imo it definitely should have.

I also really enjoyed putting Skip firmly in the role of bad guy/T*m replacement in terms of sliminess. He rubbed me the wrong way from the start, so it was super satisfying to draw parallels from him to T*m & establish Liz's mistrust of him which imo she should have had.

I also got tons of petty satisfaction from writing him completely horrible with Agnes & having Liz make the parenthetical observation that Red would never treat Agnes that way, tee hee.

I wrote Liz's scheme falling through mostly bc this was on the heels of the ep where she endangered a whole plane full of innocent passengers for her own stupid goals, while the only chance of saving them rested in the completely uninformed Task Force's hands, so it could have easily been a disaster. That was appalling to me at the time (way to go TPTB) so this scenario was meant to be a bit of a reality check for Liz while keeping innocent people out of the way & only banging up Red a bit, something which would serve as a wake-up call for her in more ways than one.

I loved writing the ultimate confrontation between Liz & Skip, occurring over her feelings about Red, & for some reason I adored the line about Liz feeling a bland satisfaction at being able to push around Skip & parenthetically wishing that "Tom and all the damage he did would stay dead where they belong." I thought that line hit different & I liked it.

(I had fun making Agnes understanding & agreeable & excited about playing princesses on the plane, cause we barely got any decent mommy!Liz moments in canon & it's really sad 🥲)

And the "she has someone she needs to see." line before the break was meant to be a nod to the title, as well as foreshadowing.

I remember having a little trouble writing Red's opening paragraphs, establishing his perspective on what happened & more so on his injuries, which is something - along with action - I'm not very good at writing LOL

But I liked the mental image of Red booking it out of an empty building while Aram is counting down on the phone stuck in his pocket. Poor thing.

(I also needed Dembe strictly in the role of caretaker while not being technically in the fic & I got a chuckle out of writing that he dropped Red off to investigate the empty building & peace-d out to go get a cheeseburger, cause he has such a canon love for food 😂)

I also liked the idea of Liz's apparent betrayal hurting Red more than any injury he sustained cause I love angstttttt 🥲

I loved the idea of Red being too tired & sore to even get a drink when alcohol was surely something he relied on in that time when Liz was out to get him, meanwhile him collapsing in the chair instead of a bed was more of a necessity plot-wise so Liz could see him through the window wall - which I also remember was hard to describe. I kept fiddling with the description.

The attempted verbal sparring & Red's befuddlement over Liz's unexpected concern was very fun to write.

I couldn't help but include that whiplash line, it made me snort 😏

I liked the lighter, softer conversation of Red asking where Liz is, Liz calmly declining to answer but bringing up Agnes, & Red asking how she is.

I almost didn't include Liz saying that Agnes asks about Red, that was a last minute addition, but I once I thought of it & realized it fit in pretty well, I liked the added emotional depth & it being the climax of the conversation with Red's desperate "it doesn't have to be this way -" followed by Liz just not being ready for the next part of the conversation & Red accepting that & letting her go with a wish for her to be safe.

And of course the little twist of the Jason Bourne-esque ending - I remember tweaking and re-tweaking that paragraph & the subsequent ending bc it's the real center of the fic & I wanted it to be good.

And the last line is a reference to the title as well 😊

Well, there you go, my friend, I hope this was interesting/entertaining for you to read!! 😅 Thank you so much again for asking about this fic, I really appreciate!! 🥰 Much love to you, my friend!! ❤️

#The Blacklist #Lizzington #fanfic #espy #ask games #fanfic writers: director's cut #mine #ask #sweetangelpalacebagel #here you go my friend #:D #i hope you like this #:)#much love to you!!#<3

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outofthe-underwoods · 3 years

Note

100% anon here again^^

If anything this bs they’re trying to pull with Angela is making this more into a romcom/drama, whatever you would call that I’m not good with genres, then any genuine storyline they could do with Liv ever would.

Oh you remember the EO dinner scene that was in the promo and like 50% for promo pictures? But never aired. They know why people are watching. But creating unnecessary drama with a third person is easier then writing a compelling story of EO rebuilding their friendship while navigating his 10 abstinence and his wife’s yet unsolved murder?! Like what about Elliot Stabler so far made them think you know what this guy would do 20 days after his wife was murdered and the killer still on the lose? Right kiss a stranger and talk about exploring genuine feelings! Like WTH?

And just to clarify I wouldn’t even be happy if he went after Liv at this point and she let him, let alone a total stranger.

This is making me want to scream -.-

You and I are on the same page, anon lol. Oooohh, yeah. They 100% know what they’ve been doing ever since they announced his return. Everything—the promo for Return of the Prodigal Son, the diner scene....don’t even get me started on the diner scene.

Elliot is honestly giving me so much whiplash. I get that he’s waist deep in PTSD and not in a good headspace at all, but one second they have Liv and his kids treating him with kid gloves because they’re worried about his mental and physical health and the next he’s apparently lucid enough to be going into a new relationship less than 3 weeks after his wife’s death? Like not just kissing someone in the heat of the moment but an actual dinner date? And having genuine feelings about her? But simultaneously it’s clear that he's still in love with Liv (though obviously he’s not ready to let himself admit to that)? So....choose one, my guy. Please lol.

Right now it’s very much Elliot’s world and Liv’s just along for the ride ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#*slams head on desk*#bensler #e/o #Anonymous

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

Text

Welcome back, everyone!

A quick note before we begin: after the previous recap a couple of lovely friends and anons explained to me some discrepancies in my work, mainly about how Fox's semblance functions and how much info we’ve gotten on that previously. They're worth a read if (like me) you haven't read After the Fall and would like a more accurate picture of this whole project. However, I have to admit that sadly past!me didn’t think through the usefulness of those posts and tag them appropriately... so they’re just somewhere in the mess that is the “rwby” and “mymetas” tags. Still, I wanted to acknowledge their existence, both for your potential use and as another disclaimer along the lines of, “I’m reading what amounts to a sequel and recapping as I go. Prepare for a bumpy ride.”

We're on chapter five now (of twenty-two! Holy god I’m slow!!) and truth be told I actually enjoyed this opening. We're in Yatsuhashi's head this time around and he's likewise enjoying Vacuo's Meeting Spot, an "artificial oasis" that reminds him of his mother's healing gardens. I wonder what "healing" means in this particular context. A generalized benefit to your body, mind, and spirit in the form of meditation? Or a more literal, magic-based healing with its roots in aura use? In a world with RWBY's possibilities, a healing garden that someone like Ozpin might run—let's take time to settle ourselves and reflect—vs. one that someone like Jaune would create—let me use my semblance to literally heal your wounds—are rather different things. I'd be interested to know which category (or another) Yatsuhashi's mother falls under.

Regardless, it's a satisfyingly quiet scene. Yatsuhashi comments on both the beauty of the oasis as well as how that beauty, in turn, raises the desert in his eyes. Nothing like not having to deal with a hard landscape to make that landscape seem more bearable, alluring even, and this moment managed to capture that feeling rather well. The only downside is that, in a recurring theme, I once again got whiplash upon realizing that Yatsuhashi is not standing alone in the peace of the early morning, like the description had led me to believe. Apparently Velvet is there. As well as the whole freaking student body! Myers* has this strange habit of writing one kind of scene only to suddenly reveal that the scene is actually radically different from what his writing had encouraged you to imagine. Yatsuhashi is going on about healing, natural beauty, and the peace of an early morning. What's peaceful about dozens of students speculating beside him? Have you ever met a school of sleep deprived young adults dealing with a surprise announcement before breakfast? That’s as far from peaceful as humanly possible.

Mood, kid.

(*Also yes, we're working to write Myers' name correctly this chapter. If I'm going to drag his work so much the least I can do is not add an additional 'e' to his name lol.)

Along with the entirety of Shade Academy to break the peace, Yatsuhashi tells us about dromedons and mole crabs. The former, according to the wiki, is a "camel-like Grimm that can spit acidic venom" and also sports an armored hump. Fun! The latter, according to Yatsuhashi, is a "horrifying" creature that "slept just below the sand and could cut a person in two with their massive claws." And they're the normal, non-grimm animals! Screw Salem. Humanity needs huntsmen just to keep people safe from the everyday wildlife. Crabs cut people in two, Zwei is capable of being set on fire and launched at a mech... it's a miracle that anyone ever steps outside their home.

I do write this with full knowledge that Australia exists, but still.

As Yatsuhashi moves away from thoughts of killer crabs, we begin what is easily the strangest bit of repetition this chapter. Yatsuhashi's shoulder is sore from having tried to break down the hideout door and I'm going, "Wait no, you used your sword” and frantically flipping back through my PDF. To Myers' credit, there is a detail that suggests Yatsuhashi uh... rammed the door? I think? Last chapter he "Stepped forward and Fox heard him grunt with exertion." That's the only thing I can think of that would explain his shoulder unexpectedly being sore hours later: if he'd charged it instead of doing something insane like, oh, I don't know, trying the doorknob first. Odd choice of continuity, but okay. What's super weird though is that Myers repeats the detail again:

Yatsuhashi crossed his arms, then grimaced as a fresh pain shot through his shoulder. Come on, Aura, he thought. Do your thing.

I'm sorry, how badly did you hurt your shoulder? Why does a supposedly intelligent student immediately resort to what is apparently somewhat serious self-harm when faced with a closed door? Why is Myers choosing this of all things to tell us about? Is this incredibly random shoulder injury going to hinder Yatsuhashi during the test? Spoilers: I don't think it does considering that I searched for "shoulder" in my PDF and there's just a lot of hands on shoulders coming up, but nothing that, at first glance, seems to make this kind of set up necessary. So I say again: weird.

Meanwhile, weirdness doesn’t even acknowledge the continued inconsistencies with aura. Jaune heals a cut on his cheek instantaneously, but hours later Yatsuhashi needs to gripe at his aura to hop-to already? So either Jaune’s aura is far more powerful than the average person’s (never established outside of Pyrrha’s “You have a lot of it” comment), or Yatsuhashi really hurt his shoulder that badly. Hard enough that with the rest of the night and early morning to heal him, his aura is still working overtime.

Alrighty then.

So the whole student body is just kind of hanging out, striking up casual conversations. Velvet asks how Yatsuhashi is doing and he says he's fine, "Thanks to you." Wait... what did Velvet do? I mean yeah, she was there last night and she's here now, but so is the rest of the team. I don't really recall her helping Yatsuhashi in any specific way. As is the norm now, I remain mildly, endlessly confused by this novel.

But we don’t have time to delve into the gratitude attached to events I’m not actually sure happened. There’s more chit chat going on as everyone tries to figure out why they've been summoned so early in the morning. "It's not always about us," Velvet says and I nod along in agreement even though I know, as a reader, that it's absolutely about them. "As I'm often reminding Coco."

Coco fires back with how it "could be about us," noting that it would be pretty coincidental if something else was going on right now, plus Rumpole may have realized they were out last night. (Remember, Yatsuhashi wasn't subtle about trying to break down that door). This is one of those moments where I agree wholeheartedly with Coco's logic, but kind of hate to encourage the 'It's all about us' attitude. Velvet might be smiling, but as previously established this is an ongoing theme within RWBY's characterization that it could really stand to do without.

Yatsuhashi then offers some "unsolicited advice" about how Rumpole could afford to slow down some and "let things come at their own pace," to which I respond, "Huh?" Where in the world did this come from? Previously the whole group—including Yatsuhashi, considering he didn't speak out against it—was concerned that Rumpole wasn't doing enough to track down the Crown. That is, do more, move faster, get it done already. You haven’t gotten it done? Okay, we’ll do it instead. Now he's providing this subtle criticism in response to a meeting, as if that's an inherently odd or bad thing for a headmistress to do. You want the woman to do extra work faster but slow down when it comes to her actual job?

It reads to me like Myers is trying to put a lot of wise-sounding dialogue into Yatsuhashi's mouth—you know, the Asian character who keeps bringing up things like meditation and mindfulness—but hasn't bothered to think about whether that dialogue makes any sense. Of course, we then immediately backtrack to reveal that his comment was really about Coco not pushing the team too hard, but... that's not what he said? And Coco clearly didn't get the message. And the hidden meaning of the words didn't come across too well if your reader is squinting at what was said until the author has to straight up go, 'This is what Yatsuhashi actually meant.' Maybe just... have him say that? Give us some significant looks towards Coco, at the very least. Something to clue us in here that Yatsuhashi is (weirdly) blaming Rumpole for Coco's flaw.

Then he just ruins the whole scene further by mentally commenting that if all this extra work was hard on them, "what would it do to SSSN?" Ugh, look. I don't even like SSSN very much. I didn't shed a tear when they left the main series and would shrug if they ever came back, so you know the story is ragging on them too much when I'm standing up for the group at the bottom of my Character Adoration list. The duality of 'SSSN is so incompetent I don't even know how they're alive' and 'That, in comparison, makes us the best team ever' got old forty pages ago, yet I have the distinct feeling it won't be letting up any time soon.

Headmaster Theodore finally arrives to break up this thrilling conversation and the students erupt into thunderous applause. "It was what [he] expected. It was what he inspired whenever he appeared." That... is absolutely hilarious. This guy is so much of a showman, so insanely over the top, that he expects people to treat his everyday appearance as a spectacle worthy of praise and they agree. You know who he reminds me of?

The king himself, Alex Louis Armstrong. I'm digging this already. It's absurd and I will forever question RWBY's ability to balance comedy with its darker tones... but I'm counting this one as a win so far. There's got to be something to praise about this book.

Just as important, we get a description of Theodore's positively insane outfit. I immediately googled to see if someone had drawn him and the fandom did not disappoint. I'm not going to include the image here in case the artist, Edisu, doesn't want their work reposted like that, but I highly recommend you check out the link and get a visual.

The only thing left to say about this fashion monstrosity is that he has a "flowing gray-blue cape, the color of a stormy sky." I'll let our favorite textile engineer make my point for me:

Honestly, between Ruby's cape and Weiss' hair someone is going to end up in trouble one of these days.

In this world free of horrific cape tragedies, we've segued into a flashback which is, frankly, kind of boring compared to the others we’ve gotten. It's just the group meeting Theodore, information and characterization that could have easily been distributed to the audience in the present. It's starting to feel like the structure of including a flashback each chapter is hindering Myers somewhat, just because every chapter doesn’t necessarily need one, but that’s far from the biggest issue to tackle.

We learn that Theodore (really Rumpole) did a bunch of research on all the students involved in the Vytal Festival and they're very pleased that Team CFVY has joined them now, despite the horrific circumstances. We again hear about how judgmental Coco can be, that her judgements are rarely wrong... but if they are wrong she's the last to admit it. So really that's less of a 'This character has good instincts about other people' and more 'This character is just, as said, judgmental and then stubborn about it when she’s wrong.' Theodore, however, seems like a cool dude:

“Ah, she speaks!” Theodore strode toward Velvet. His voice softened. “You didn’t fail, my dear. You fought. You stayed, far longer than anyone would have asked or expected of a student. And now you’re here. Do you want to be here? Will you fight for Shade the way you did for Beacon, Velvet Scarlatina?”

This is great. This is the kind of reassurance I would expect from a headmaster who, thus far, has received a fair amount of praise. Unlike his students, Theodore understands the risks Beacon students took and when it was time for them to make a life-saving retreat. He's inspiring while also being empathetic and honestly? That's the most I've had that 'You're a good person' sense from RWBY in a very long time.

Now watch Theodore turn out to be evil lol.

He cuts the tension of the serious conversation by proclaiming that if any of them doubt whether they should be here, they should take it up with him via a fight. Theodore announces this while striking a pose. I say again:

We then get some more reflection on how Theodore compares to Ozpin:

Ozpin had believed in you before you did, almost like he knew your true potential, despite what your transcripts or fighting abilities looked like. Theodore believed you had potential, but you had to earn it and prove yourself to him first.

I agree with that and I'm pleased to see that this time the comparison didn't involve criticizing Ozpin in an effort to build Theodore up. It’s likewise a useful description and I think it provides us with at least one interpretation of why the RWBYJNR group has discarded Ozpin so thoroughly. The addition "despite what your transcripts or fighting abilities looked like" implies that Ozpin sees potential in everyone. It doesn't matter how presumably flawed you might be—in physical strength, like Jaune; in morals, like Lionheart— Ozpin will see the good in you and give that good a fighting chance. That's why he's the one tasked with doing something as crazy as uniting the whole world because he's the one person capable of seeing that potential in literally everyone. That much is true. But the flipside of this is that, unlike when in interacting with someone like Theodore, no one expects to have to work for Ozpin's faith, his praise... his trust. With Theodore you have to "earn" the respect he gives you right from the start. With Ozpin it's free! So surely that means such faith extends to every possible situation, right?

Which is when you run into trouble. When the situation is no longer "I'll give you a chance in my school" but something much more serious like "I'm risking the whole world on your character." Ozpin is an optimist, but he's also cautious as hell (with good reason), so though he sees the potential in everyone he knows he can't let his own hope for humanity blind him to reality. That person might betray you. They might turn on you. They might give up and hurt you in the process... even if you want to believe that people are simply better than that. Wanting doesn’t make it so.

If someone who had as little interaction with Ozpin as Team CFVY did nevertheless developed such a strong sense of, "Yeah, he believes in everyone!" then it seems likely that Team RWBY, already sporting a special connection with him, thought they were shoe-ins for every possible secret and task they might ask of him. Their time at Beacon was defined largely by both intentional favoritism and coincidences that could arguably be read as such. Ruby gets to go to Beacon two years early. She gets to be team leader. The sisters stay together despite teams supposedly being random. Team RWBY goes on missions not meant for first years. Team RWBY is given a nudge-nudge-wink-wink about The White Fang so that they can do what they’re able to help. Team RWBY was friends with Pyrrha, next in line for the Maiden powers. They got used to Ozpin simultaneously solving all the real problems that showed up and letting them play at being important, all while the rest of the school had to follow normal rules. They’re special. But then Beacon falls, the game is over, and they're blindsided by having to earn trust and privileges in the real world. Playing at huntresses in the safety of your headmaster’s school is over and Ruby in particular never got that there was a massive difference between that and a real war where the fate of the world hangs on your trustworthiness and ability to keep it together. It’s why she announces to the Argus guards that she is a huntress while attacking the people she’s meant to protect.

Which would be a fantastic arc to give them if the show ever had someone sit the group down and tell them how childish and selfish they're being. Instead, they're still being handed that trust and privilege—you can go into Atlas despite stealing from the military, you get your licenses years early, you get to carry an incalculably valuable relic around—while likewise still getting mad that the adults around them don't give them more. This comparison here, though realistically just a throwaway passage in a novel rather iffily connected to its original series, starts to highlight the excellent situation RT set up... and then didn't do anything with.

But I've gone on about this long enough. There are just two other things I'd like to point out about this flashback. The first is that it may help us get a handle on Ozpin's age (if we're willing to accept these books as canon, despite their other inconsistencies). Earlier we're told that "Headmaster Theodore’s whole style should have been ridiculous for a man likely in his forties, maybe older" and here, in describing their different approaches, we get "Headmaster Ozpin, who had been younger but seemed much older." So that could potentially put Ozpin his his late 30s if he's noticeably younger than Theodore in his 40s. Or, in his 40s if the "maybe older" part is right and Theodore is in his 50s. I can’t imagine that Theodore is in his 60s. Not much to go on, admittedly, but I'll take whatever I can get. The interesting thing is that if Ozpin really is that young and Qrow is now (presumably) in his early 40s, wouldn't that have made them basically the same age during his Beacon days? Perhaps even giving us an Ozpin who was younger than his oldest students? I don't know. It's really less of a definitive piece of information and more messy speculation to add to the pile—which is par the course for RWBY nowadays.

The second detail I wanted to point out was that despite all their supposed differences, Headmaster Theodore and Professor Rumpole have a very Ozpin-Glynda relationship going on. For all the cosmetic changes it boils down to the same dynamic. Both headmasters are powerful, quirky men who at first glance appear to be rather useless at their jobs, requiring the confident headmistress to swoop in and manage the daily running of a school. Those two do the heavy lifting while their bosses work wonders from behind the scenes (a la The Wizard). When I read Rumpole chastising Theodore for claiming he investigated the students, or when she reminds him that there isn't time to have an impromptu duel with his students, I couldn't help but think about Glynda reluctantly letting Ozpin invite Ruby to Beacon early, or cleaning up the cafeteria while he shrugs off the mess. To be clear, I don't necessarily mean this as a criticism, just an observation. In truth I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it adds to the overall sense that Shade is just Beacon with a slightly different coat of paint. As I've mentioned previously, for all the text's insistence that Shade isn't like the other schools, the story hasn't done a good job of demonstrating that cultural difference in any meaningful way and similarities like this only add to the feeling that this isn't really a unique Kingdom—or at least not one with a firm enough identity to be persuasively unique. Same rule breaking team sneaking out on their own mission. Same secondary team who’s talented, but not as special as the protagonists. Same strange man with his responsible woman running the school. The details differ, obviously, but the structure feels largely the same.

As mentioned above, once the flashback ends Theodore tries to spar with one of the students but is quickly shut down by Rumpole because, you know, they have a meeting to hold. Apparently there have been complaints lately from the local security about Shade students interfering with official huntsmen business.

“I told you it was about us,” Coco muttered.

Coco, when you hear that people are pissed that you, an unlicensed student, are disrupting the careers of professionals every night the takeaway should not be, 'Aha! I knew it was all about me.'

Yatsuhashi at least provides a more nuanced perspective. "This wasn’t right, though. If they hadn’t interfered, those Huntsmen would have kidnapped an innocent person." He's right. They did help someone, but what they've failed to learn is that an individual good deed does not excuse the unlawful steps they took in getting there. If Team CFVY had just been out on the town and happened to spot some shady characters pulling shit, then put a stop to their kidnapping, that's fine. That's heroic. What is not heroic is them going out with the express purpose of fixing a situation that trained professionals told them they should not be trying to fix—key word being “trying,” given that they all understand Rumpole’s worry that they’ll make things worse. It was enough to send them back home last night... after Yatsuhashi failed to break into the hideout. The problem is not the "I helped someone who needed it" part but rather the "I'm arrogant enough to think that my presence is necessary" bit.

If having students conducting investigations was wanted or necessary, it would be a part of the curriculum: acknowledged or otherwise. AKA yes, Ruby. It would be very helpful if you'd head on off to Mountain Glenn, under the observation of a seasoned huntsmen, and report back if there's any dubious activity going on over there. Ozpin said, 'Yes please' to the extra (highly controlled) help while these professionals are saying, 'No thanks.' The fact that Team CFVY acts is if they're justified in continuing this investigation—and worse, that the story keeps validating those feelings—undermines their otherwise heroic actions. RWBY really is a series that struggles with giving its protagonists compelling reasons for getting involved in the fight. ‘Because I want to help’ might be a noble motivation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. The Mountain Glenn mission was like a chef allowing a talented, aspiring teen to help them with a dish, all of it done under their tutelage. Team CFVY’s investigation is like the teen sneaking into the kitchen after dark to doctor all the prep for the next day’s cooking under the assumption that they’ll make it even better. Hell, maybe they will! But that’s not the point. Your help was not invited — explicitly denied, actually —and there’s a very good chance you’ll mess something up.

So because this group of eight continually insists that they know best, the whole school is required to stay on campus after nightfall. Huzzah!

It’s just too bad these consequences hurt others just as much as Team CFVY. The other students are pissed about this. I would be too! Team CFVY remains adamant though that they did the right thing, no guilt here, relying on the reader inaccurately comparing ‘saving lives’ with ‘losing free time off campus’ in order to come out on Team CFVY's side. They still fail to understand that helping people is not the reason they’re being punished.

Theodore and Rumpole reiterate that they are working on a solution and that no one else should be getting involved. Team CVFY is no more persuaded by this speech than they were the previous ones. The announcement then segues into discussion of the former Haven students which produces... boos from the audience?? My god, what is wrong with this school? I mean I get it, school is brutal—both in real life and fiction—especially when the social dynamics of your school are written much more like a high school than a college, but usually if characters are going to drag new students it's in the semi-privacy of a bathroom or an empty hall. Groaning over the existence of war survivors in front of your headmaster is a level of confident cruelty I didn't expect.

Then again, RWBY is the show that gave us Cardin pulling on Velvet's ears in the middle of the cafeteria, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.

Theodore quickly bypasses the whole 'A decent number of my students hate these other students' issue and instead acknowledges that it is "difficult to adjust to a new school, an entirely new group of classmates, and most of all to life in Vacuo. Yet some of you have been separated from your original training teams.” Which is a nice way of saying that a good number of these teammates are dead. So what's the solution here?

Reinitiation Ceremony!

I'm sarcastic, but in all honesty I don't hate this idea. Far from it. Partly because I have a strong love of competitions in shonen-esque stories. Tests, trials, the obligatory tournament arc... they've always been some of my favorite parts of a series, largely because they allow the author to develop whacky and creative challenges that show off important characterization. See: Killua using a skateboard during the tunnel run before deciding that if Gon can manage running it, he can too; or Izuku using the mines and a piece of scrap to blast himself ahead of Bakugo and Todoroki. The structure of such tests forces characters to demonstrate creativity and critical thinking skills alongside strength, and that in turn reminds us of why they're our heroes. RWBY managed this a little bit with the Vytal Festival, but overall I don’t think the teams did anything particularly impressive to win. Team RWBY worked together, Nora hit people really hard with her hammer, Weiss' injury pissed off Yang enough to tap into more power... it was all stuff we had seen before and very little of it required planning or creativity. The Vytal Festival functioned more to set up the plot developments of Volume 3, which is fine, though for a while I had hoped that we would get a huntsmen license exam to do this sort of work... which obviously didn’t happen. Disappointing, but we’re at least getting something like that here.

So I love the concept. I even love the general reasoning behind holding the ceremony at all. Anyone who had spent five minutes on this blog knows that I think the groups need to learn to play well with others. Yet I also can't deny that the team dynamics provide stability for these characters, even if they've come to rely on that stability to an unhealthy degree. We've got students whose teams were presented to them not just as a professional tool, but their primary support system. You live with these people, attend all the same classes, spend your free time together, and survive life-threatening situations on a fairly regular basis. It's work, family, and friendship all rolled into one, so if the headmaster suddenly says that you get a new team, that's a whole lot more devastating than just learning that you've got a new project group to deal with. It shouldn't have come to that—a school looking to teach a profession that requires working with a wide variety of individuals should never have told four students to rely one each other and each other alone—but now that we're here you can't just break them apart with no notice. Especially with a traumatic war going on. It's hard to come to a new school, meet new people, learn a new culture... so let me rip away the one piece of familiarity you have left.

Of course, I don't really think that the teams will be broken up irrevocably, if at all. Rather, I simply want to acknowledge that despite my appreciation for these kinds of stories and despite my desire that the teams get some distance... it shouldn't be done like this. Even more-so when it’s abundantly clear—to us if not the instructors—that this little stunt is causing their students to re-live a whole bucket load of trauma. Yatsuhashi thinks about how this feels like an “out of body experience” and “It reminded [him] uncomfortably of the evacuation of Beacon Academy… He felt his breath catch in his throat.” Coco’s order to stick together “[brought] him back to the moment,” re-emphasizing that he was lost in the past for a while there. He’s clearly struggling.

Now, to be fair, this could all fall under the category of flawed characters. Meaning, anytime something awful happens in fiction we can interpret that as a skill on the part of the author: they wanted to write a scenario where the teachers are screwing up and unintentionally hurting their students. Or they know they’re hurting their students and consider that to be an acceptable sacrifice under the justification of ‘They have to get over Beacon at some point!’ There are lots of ways to paint this as Myers/RT writing complex, human characters who make ambiguous choices—a testament to their ability to write “realistically.” But to be frank I don’t really buy it. Simply because I’ve had a lot of experience now with how RWBY handles subjects like trauma and it’s only rarely been written respectfully and engagingly. I could be proven wrong as the novel continues, but it seems more likely that Myers wrote the instructors coming up with this test, wrote Yatsuhashi panicking over it, and intends to continually imply that these two things are separate plot points. Bringing both together in a narratively useful way would require acknowledging the instructors’ motivations—Why this test? Why now? Do they realize the harm they’re causing? If so, do they think it’s worth it?—and then coming to some sort of resolution, either via some recovery on CFVY’s part due to the instructors’ choices (this test did help us move past Beacon), or the instructors learning something about empathy and trauma via CFVY’s reaction (we never should have done this). I highly doubt we’ll get either.

Thus, everyone is (justifiably) horrified. The teams are gone and either the shock of that made Team CFVY prioritize feelings of safety over strategy, or they're just not going to demonstrate any of the intelligence I look for in this kind of arc, because they immediately start obsessing over staying together.

He needed to keep his team close to him. Especially Velvet. If they weren’t separated, they couldn’t be assigned to different teams.

Yatsuhashi, that is not at all what Rumpole told you:

“It’s already begun,” Rumpole said. “Everything you do from this moment forward will factor into your evaluations for new teams.”

Where in the world did you get the idea that you wouldn't be assigned a new team so long as you stuck with your old one? If I were one of the instructors here that choice would make me more likely to separate them. "Everything you do from this moment," Rumpole says, meaning that how they respond to this information is a part of the test. The team that panics and refuses to separate is the team that either can't function without one another, or at the very least believes that they can't. They're not willing to work with others and thus they're precisely the type that needs to learn this skillset. You're the ones they'll want to give new teammates to.

Of course, fate has different ideas about how things should go down. And by "fate" I mean "A completely ridiculous plot device." Team CFVY is separated because... the crowd is large I guess? It’s ridiculous. Four fighters already standing beside one another and who are now hyper-focused on staying together are not going to get swept away by a Shade size crowd who probably also want to stick with their own teammates. There are far better, far more convincing ways to keep them apart. Ozpin shot students one-by-one into the forest! Literally anything other than what we got, really.

Still, that’s what we wound up with. Yatsuhashi and Coco both try to keep the team together only for the immense power of other people existing putting a stop to their plan. Alrighty then. Before they’re dramatically swept away on different ships, however, we do get two other noteworthy bits of information that I'd like to end on. The first is Rumpole’s announcement that “When you reach your destination, your goal will be to locate a gold figurine and bring it back to the school” to which Fox replies, “Great. Glad this is fair for everyone. Who can see.” And you know what? He's right. Maybe Fox and I will both be proven wrong (I feel like I'm writing that a lot this chapter...) but unless there's some miscommunication here or a surprise in store, a goal of "locat[ing] a gold figurine" is indeed a sight based challenge and, when placed in a test that is deliberately separating Fox from his team, puts him at a severe disadvantage.

The second is simply that the year levels of the students will not be a factor in the creation of new teams. “What year we are? Yatsu thought. This can’t be right. How could a first-year keep up with fourth-years?” to which I respond, "Um... that's the entire show?" The webseries RWBY is about how Team RWBY, starting out as first years, has surpassed everyone around them, to the point where they're now beating the best team in Atlas. Time-wise they're still second years—far as I can figure out, anyway—so if second years can beat elite military operations, a first year can stand toe-to-toe with second, third, and fourth years. More crucial to Yatsuhashi's thought process—because as an in-world character he doesn't necessarily know what Team RWBY has been up to post-Volume 3—he's still seen how well first years did at Beacon. Ruby was let in two years early. Pyrrha is such a phenomenally talented fighter her face is on their cereal boxes. A first year, Yang, went on to compete in the Vytal Tournament final (even if it was rigged. Yatsuhashi doesn't know that), and Team CFVY fought beside a number of first years at the Battle of Beacon. Now, you all know that I think education and experience are damn important. I'm not saying Yatsuhashi is flat-out wrong to question whether there would be any issues attached to slamming, say, a first year, two second years, and a fourth year into one team (especially when you consider practical questions like going to classes), but the general takeaway of "How could they keep up?" seems a tad strange. You know first years can keep up. You watched it happen, both in your former school's curriculum—first years get to go on an upper-level mission—and in real life battle. This knee-jerk response reads as even worse after five chapters of looking down on Team SSSN. Team CFVY really thinks highly of themselves, huh.

Honestly, it feels like our authors didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the implications of the dialogue/thoughts they’re giving to the characters which is, again, par for the course at this point. Like the questions attached to the test, this feels less like giving Yatsuhashi a flaw (he, as an in-world character, hasn't bothered to think through whether his knee-jerk assumption about first years is supported by his experiences) and more like a flaw of the creators. That sounds like a legitimate concern—in the same way that Yatsuhashi's advice to Rumpole sounds generically wise—but poke at it a bit and you start finding a number of cracks. An author who is well aware of the world they've built and strives to adhere to it might have had Yatsuhashi acknowledge some of the amazing things he's seen first years do and still conclude that there are problems with this decision. That's legit. As it stands, Yatsuhashi just sounds ignorant and (again) overly confident, which I don't trust to be a moment of character insight as opposed to an authorial blip.

Which is about where we end. The team is split on different airships, no one is happy about it, and we're left with this somewhat unsettling image:

Headmaster Theodore was waving and whooping, like it was all some terrific game, while Professor Rumpole watched silently, her hair whipping around in the wind and an unsettling grin on her face.

This gives me some hope that the story will treat the problems attached to this test respectfully. The description of Theodore acting "like it was all some terrific game" is a mark against his character and Rumpole straight up has an "unsettling grin on her face." Is she one of the baddies? Potentially. Will I ever again get adult characters who aren't depicted as inept, traitorous, or just so flawed that they unwittingly cause great damage to their students? Probably not. These two desires remain constantly at war with one another. RWBY introduces issues that the story should tackle, but the only issues it acknowledges are those attached to the adults. So we have everyone doing a range of iffy things, but only the elders are likely to be punished or (better yet) learn something over the course of the tale. The double standard remains so strong across the franchise that at this point I just want to raise a THE ADULTS DID NOTHING WRONG banner and call it a day. Not because they're actually free of mistakes or even, at times, downright cruelty, but because if our protagonists constantly get that free pass I'm not sure why everyone else can't too.

Anyone for a spot of denial?

But I've now written nearly twice as much as the actual chapter in question. It's time to stop! At this rate I’ll have written the equivalent of five Before the Dawns in my attempt to recap just one. #yikes

Until Chapter Six 💜

#rwby #BTD Recaps #Before the Dawn #mymetas

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kpopisthereasonihavenolife · 4 years

Text

hey, my alien \ 15. picture of you \ index

genre: drabble (series), alien au, alien!taehyung, human!reader, angst, hurt/comfort, taehyung is running from people, y/n is gullible and unwise, tae is kinda mean (at first), will graduate into fluff, yes there will be plot lol

warning(s): none to mention

rating: T

w.count: 1.4k

The next morning when you woke up, as soon as you left your room you heard Taehyung parading around up in the attic before the trapdoor was lifted and he was jumping down from his private sanctuary. He greeted you, for the first time, in the morning with a smile and a small wave. His shifted attitude from every day previous to now almost gave you whiplash.

He was still in his orange, flanneled pajamas you had bought yesterday- among a whole other selection of new clothes- and his hair was black just like the day you had first met him. The everyday silver he had put on for the rest of the room hidden from view first thing in the morning it seemed. You could ever see small peeks of the black marks on his neck if you looked hard enough.

“Good morning, Taehyung,” you greeted as you walked by him into the kitchen you get your coffee to which Taehyung shuddered at. You rolled your eyes at his display of drama over your choice of morning beverages. Getting the coffee ready and your mug out, you began to occupy yourself with a search for food in the wait for the coffee to brew. All the while, Taehyung’s eyes burned into your back as you stopped mid reach into a cabinet and turned to him with an awkward smile. “Do you… need something?”

“Not really,” he casually tossed.

“Then, is there a reason you’re watching me so intently?” You continued on your quest to breakfast as you pulled a box of almost empty cereal out of the cabinet and poured it into a bowl before running for the milk you knew you’d have to buy more of. Taehyung remained quiet all while and only answered you when you sat at the table with your bowl and a spoon and he slid it across from you.

“Not really,” he repeated, only pulling another eye roll from you as you ate. YOu felt awkward waiting as he didn’t and just sat in front of you, but he denied any food you offered this morning for some reason. When you went back to your room and then into the bathroom to shower before class and then get dressed, he had retreated back to the attic and only came down when you were almost ready to walk out the door. “Y/n,” he called as you looked over your shoulder and up at him as you sat on the ground pulling on your shoes.

“Yes?” You asked, still not used to him finally using his name.

“Can I still come with you to get your Kosmo?”

You stood up as you straightened out your bag on your shoulder and looped it through your other arm to rest properly against your back. “Of course you can. I told you so, remember?”

“I was just double checking,” he seemed to whisper. You reached out and pat his shoulder before playfully pushing on it with your fist.

“I’ll be back later. We can take your camera with us and take some pictures for practice while we’re out.” His head lifted at the mention of his new item you bought for him on your day out yesterday. “I’m going,” you finalized before you started leaving.

“Bye,” he almost pouted as you walked out the door.

The day was almost more boring than he remembered without you. When he was still a brat towards you, you weren’t on his mind and he didn’t have a reason to really wait around in your house. He’d sit in his room and occupy himself somehow. Today was different.

Now, today he had a purpose as to why he was in this house. He was waiting today- waiting specifically for you to come back just so he could go out with you again.

He lounged on the couch of yours in your living room, laying across it and his legs hanging off the arm rest as he stared at the blank television. You had told him he was free to use it- as with anything in the house because it was his house now too- but he just didn’t. He thought the tv would be a distraction from his mindset that was solely focused on you and when you’d come back.

He spent a good, long time just staring at the ceiling or through the trapdoor to his attic with small smiles on his face as he so patiently waited.

When you came back, he sprung off the couch to greet you and even took your bag from you as you heeled off your shoes. “Welcome back,” he chirped as he set your back on the table as you walked in, just like he had always seen you do through his trapdoor when he would peek down at you.

“Just give me a chance to get a snack and we can go. Go ahead and get your camera, okay?” You instructed him as you walked to the kitchen to grab a pouch of something quick to get you through until you actually ate again. Taehyung rushed to the attic, grabbed the camera out of the box and looped the strap around his wrist before he came back down to you.

You were already waiting at the door again. You looked him up and down. “Are you going out in your pajamas? I mean, I don’t mind if that’s what you want to do.” He looked down at himself, spreading his arms out in display of showing.

“Do I look weird in these clothes?”

“No, no. You don’t, it still looks very nice on you,” you complimented as he just nodded. He didn’t mind going out like this if you said it was okay. When you both left, you had taken the time to instruct him on how to take photos and the do’s and don'ts of what not to take a photo of.

Don’t take photos of strangers unless you ask was the big one you told him to always remember. He didn’t want to take photos of people anyways. He took pictures of flowers and trees and even his feet along the sidewalk. Pictures of playgrounds in parks you both passed and the front door of your mother’s apartment.

You knocked on your mom’s door before she opened it for you. “There you are. I was wondering when you’d get here,” the older woman chuckled before she looked and saw Taehyung. “Oh my,” he cooed, “I didn't know you were bringing company.”

“This is Taehyung,” you introduced as he bowed, remembering you telling him that that’s proper. “He’s staying with me as a roommate right now. He wanted to come over and get Kosmo with me.”

“He is quite handsome,” she swooned as you just nodded quickly in agreement before she let you both in. You heard the scampering of your dogs paws as soon as you walked in and called him. From around a corner, your small ball of fury came dashing towards you as you knelt to met his charge and pick him up.

“Kosmo!” You cheered, your voice pitched as you spoke to your little addition to the family. “I’ve missed you,” you pouted as you held him and he crawled to plant his chin on your shoulder. He seemed to look right at Taehyung before he let out a small little bark that almost made the alien jump.

You turned and adjusted the dog so he was resting in your arms and facing Taehyung. Taehyung stood as still as could be, not trying to startle the dog and not trying to give away that he hadn’t really seen Kosmo outside of the first brief interaction he had when you took him in.

“Now, Kosmo,” you started, “this is Taehyung. He lives with us now, so you have to get along.” You told him as if he was a child and not some four legged animal. You looked at Taehyung as you told him to pet him. When the little dog let Taehyung pet his small head and pushed into the palm of his hand, the alien felt his heart swell.

Perhaps dogs were cuter than he first thought.

When the two of you left your mother’s presence and started your walk home, Taehyung followed before you a step as he stopped to take pictures left and right- he was going to end up running out of film you had soon realized as you made a mental note to buy more soon.

What you didn’t know though, was the last few shots he took that used up the last bit of film he had with him was of you. One of you playing with Kosmo, walking down the pavement and one just as you had turned around to talk to him. He hadn’t seen it yet, but he was sure that the very last picture of you he took would end up being his favorite.

-x-x-x-

t.list: @queen-pharaoh-hatshepsut @forvever-ddaeng @eltrain80 @bitchynightmarepost @goodnightbug

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surrealsunday · 4 years

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Hey remember i said i was gonna re-read mood tattoo knowing the full story and see how it feels. Well surprise i am. 😄 i'm reading chapter 1 and need some writers notes. 🗒 so the club scene still confuses me; Eliott senses Lucas wasn't happy when he stormed off over Anna being all into Eliott. Eliott follows and catches Moreau with Lucas. Lucas runs after Eliott and begins "thank you" then crap hits the fan 💥 what the hell was going on? Lucas wipes his mouth so there was a kiss? 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ Moreau was at the club (stalking) Or did Lucas meet him? Was Lucas pretending to be into Moreau, hence the kiss? Or was Moreau molesting helpless Lucas? Did Eliott really see what we think he saw or is he an unreliable narrator? I'm gonna have more questions so i hope i don't annoy. I just love your insight 👉👈but that club scene fascinates me and not just Moreau. Be back.🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ hi 😊 ok 1 thing i love early on here (Ch1) is how self aware Eliott is. And i think that is very true to canon Eliott too. I mean POLARIS is full of self reflection considering it's about Eliott's deeply rooted fears/insecurities connected to his mental illness. Eliott is very aware of what he's doing (self sabotage/stagnancy). He may be flighty and run but he knows what he's running from.👏👑 And here Eliott acknowledges what's really bothering him. He's jealous.🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ and ouch "Everything i've achieved is my own, whatever step up you think you have, it won't matter, it won't make you better" and knowing that Lucas got that help in medical school. It's reminiscent of Lucas carelessly generalising mental illness in S3 to Eliott. And it hurts.🔪 because it came from Eliott's jealousy (he rejects me and yet doctor Moreau is ok) i'm torn here because Lucas is really hard to like the way he comes off as so defensive and insecure with Eliott but🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ Eliott is an absolute dumbass for how he acts here. Like i get it, we'd probably misconstrue the situation too but i wanna throttle them both at different times in the club. 😠 Lucas the most though as he takes everything Eliott says and twists it. Eliott wants him and is flirting = "oh so you think cause i'm gay you can have me?" I mean wtf Lucas. And then with the bartender "oh so you're offering your cast offs?" He's looking for a fight and fixated on Eliott's looks. Poor Eli 🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️ and at the same time it's obvious he's so damn jealous of Anna. What the hell is Eliott thinking? It's like whiplash with Lucas 😄 i did love the tension that you created when they were at the table before bas soaked Lucas's pants. 🍻 that heat and total awareness of being in each others periphery. I mean Lucas there as Eliott is blatantly staring giving zero f's 🤗 but that's true to canon with Elu too. 👏 i got shivers at Eliott's blantant desire for Lucas. You are damn good. 👑 🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️ and the way he was cataloguing him. And then Lucas locks eyes with him? I need to know what's going through Lucas's mind there? Also something i only picked up on re-reading; Eliott being playful with Idriss at the hospital desk and then realising Lucas was waiting for him further down leaning on the wall. Meaning Lucas saw all that and Lucas is having an Anna situation right? 😤 but Eliott thinks that Lucas is annoyed at having to be held up. Does Lucas think Eliott is a f boi? 🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️ onto supporting characters. Ok 1 of the things i love about your fics is how engaging everyone is. Sometimes it's like skim skim skim to get to Elu interacting but here the laughing, dumbassery and fun reading this world is 🙌 i loved them meeting at the club and bantering. Emma is goals and Idriss is 👑 the various relationships are entertaining and i love Eliott/Idriss broship. I love Mika and Lucas's vibe "f off Mika" "ok kitten" 😅 and i even love anna too. You = 🏆 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ ok last one. I'm sorry. This is what happens when i lurk. 😥 i spew my thoughts at you. 🗣 i have to talk about the unique immersion with the social media. Your choices are 👏 i mean Lucas and Bas looking like they're at the coat check of a club. Bas 🥵 for Eliott in the club with Maxence model eye f-king the camera. Sexy Anna. I laugh, have eye candy (surgeon Eliott hello 🥰) but it deepens the story. All fics should now have social media. It is law. ⚖ ok CH2 here i come 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

Heyyyyy!!! I’m sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I had to be in the right mind frame to talk Mood Tattoo and apparently my brain needed a bit of a break in the end lol.

You’ve read the full story right - like the final chapters? Just don’t want to spoil anything. But you said re-read, so I’m assuming you’ve read the final chapters! Spoilers ahead of course!

So as for the club scene and what exactly happened. Lucas explains this in chapter 10. Basically Moreau is there drinking with other surgeons, sees Lucas and follows him to the bathroom. Moreau is drunk and being super handsy and Lucas is just desperate for no one to see them together which is why he pulls him into the private room. Eliott is indeed a bit of an unreliable narrator - but not so much as him completely seeing something that didn’t happen. He sees Moreau having pressed Lucas up against the wall and kissing him. That happened - it just wasn’t quite as passionate and ‘lovers-esque’ as Eliott sees it. Lucas mentions at the end of the story that he doesn’t really know why he couldn’t push Moreau away. This was my way of acknowledging the complexity of being a victim in an ongoing situation like Moreau and Lucas’s (where Lucas had been groomed as a child). It’s not always going to be as simple as Lucas being able to say no and forcefully push Moreau away. At that point in the story especially, Lucas is very much still under a certain level of control by Moreau. He wants to break from it but he hasn’t totally been able to do so yet. Lucas says ‘thank you’ because Eliott provides the interruption and distraction that is enough for Lucas to have an excuse to get away - again because he struggles a lot with how to handle the situation and be assertive/ say no (none of that making him any less of a victim though).

I agree about Eliott too. He does react ‘from the gut’ quite a bit in canon too, but he always seemed to have those moments of self-actualization and reflection. I liked showing a bit of the back and forth between him acting one way, even as he’s very aware of why he’s doing so and that it’s not the best move.

I so agree with your feelings about Eliott and Lucas in the bar scenes. Eliott is absolutely horrible with he catches Lucas and Moreau, but I was committed to showing both of them not necessarily at their best that night. Lucas is angry - at himself - and desperately looking for reasons not to like Eliott (to make rejected him easier). Ironically you have Lucas doing so by verbally stating all sorts of unflattering assumptions about Eliott - when really Lucas doesn’t believe any of them for a moment. Then you have Eliott making a very big assumption about Lucas at the end - and Eliott does believe it. It’s messy messy messy.

When Eliott is just staring at Lucas at the table - that is definitely what Lucas refers to later in the final chapters when he says ‘the way you were looking at me, I don’t even think you realized’ and Eliott is like ‘oh I realized’. Lucas definitely gets that Eliott wants him, but the intensity that comes with Eliott just being... Eliott... is for sure something Lucas wasn’t prepared for. And no matter how hard he was telling himself ‘this isn’t happening, you’re not fucking things up by hooking up with this guy’ it was still very hard for him not to return the look when Eliott’s eyes were on him.

Lucas doesn’t so much think Eliott is a fuck boy (or actually messing around with Idriss). He just thinks Eliott sleeps with a lot of different people and doesn’t take any of it all that seriously. Lucas’s jealous little spasm over Idriss (lol) was really just a gut reaction he couldn’t control hehe.

And thank you so much! I honestly am thrilled when readers say they like all the little extra scenes and tidbits with other characters too. I never really know what those dynamics will be like until I write and it’s always a wonderful surprise for me too. And I’m such a visual person that adding in the social media is just as much fun for me! I love knowing what they look like in certain scenes and getting to share that with all of you!

Thank you so very much for sending your thoughts! This was too much fun to read and answer. 💕💕💕💕💕

#mood tattoo fic #mood tattoo chapter 1 #long post

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