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magerightsmagefights · 3 months

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I know people tend to forget Wyll a lot in this fandom (I wonder why. What Could Possibly Be Different. Can you spot the difference?/s) but I'm genuinely surprised at the lack of Durge x Wyll content. Especially if you're going Redeemed, there's that inherent flavor of "My lover cannot know the truth, I am horrible and they would hate me, they would be correct to hate me." And with Wyll it's just... so juicy, he's so pure and shining, and Durge is so filled with filth and misery that there's barely a person left underneath.

Idk, as a femme romance reader I've spent so many years reading the "love redeems" arc where a FMC plays beauty to an MMC beast, in every genre, medium, budget, etc. I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum, but beauty and the beast as a story structure has never done it for me.

until it's reversed, apparently, because Wyll as the beauty to Durge's beast needs to be injected directly into my veins like yesterday. All the other companions are good and sweet, don't get me wrong, but their reactions are coded like 'i accept you,' where Wyll to me comes off much more as 'we will heal you.' He doesn't have any funny little quips about you trying to bite him, no innuendos, no "I Will Put You Down" a la Laezel, he's just... so good, and he believes in your inherent goodness, he so easily sees "you" and "your urges" as wholly seperate entities he would step between if he could.

Speaking of which!! The coronation scene, when everyone finds out you're Bhaalspawn? I never see anyone talking about Wyll's reaction compared to other companions getting angry (even Dark Shadowheart will yell at you) because Wyll seems to be the ONLY PERSON who immediately separates you(the person he knows) from you(the person you used to be). Astarion isn't angry, he even appreciates your scheme freeing him from Cazador, but he also kinda falls into the whole "I will talk to you as if you are the exact same person who did these things, this is Your True Nature and I feel positive about it."

Wyll's reaction feels like the only one saying "You WERE that," instead of "You ARE that." It also feels like the only one that kinda-sorta acknowledges Durge's actual amnesia, because he doesn't treat this revelation like a betrayal the way the other "good" companions do. They be saying "The real evil was hiding within our ranks all along" like wym hiding? Durge didn't know either, how tf they supposed to tell you?

Wyll doesn't even blink. Once he knows what you are, his No.1 priority is reassuring YOU about it. The fact you're Bhaalspawn isn't a betrayal; it's a Horrible Burden and he's sorry you have to bear it, but there have been others like you who were good, who overcame, and your blood isn't who you are. His first instinct is to offer hope, to reassure you that there's a way out, he believes so hard that your urges are a defeatable enemy and he's ready to fight them with you.

(I also fall into the Durge And Gortash Fucked camp, and I cannot overstate the tastiness of Durge waltzing into the coronation of their ex, the Worst Man Alive, while bringing along their new boyfriend, the Best Man Alive)

Idk, I've just never engaged in a romance where I played the part of the Beast. As much as people rag on pure, princely archetypes, I don't actually see them that often. I genuinely don't remember the last time I read/saw a male lead behave like Wyll, but I've seen plenty of Astarions, Fenrises, Rhysands, etc. Romance loves a fixable MMC, but so rarely an MMC who wants to do the fixing.

Anyway. Justice for Wyll or whatever. I can only cross my fingers that future DLC will include more romance content, because we all deserve to have a Beauty for our Beast sometimes.

#bg3 spoilers #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #baldurs gate spoilers #the dark urge #bg3 durge #durge bg3 #wyll ravengard #wyll x durge #bg3 wyll #baldurs gate wyll #durgewyll

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thranduel · 8 months

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i need people to actually stop and think logically when it comes to fictional characters. more specifically, when it comes to astarion.

it’s frustrating when people only talk about him in a sexual way and reduce him to “the hot sexy flirty vampire” or “the bear guy” (he was used as an EXAMPLE in a livestream, it’s not even canon in his lore) and view him as someone who “loves flirting and sleeping with people” when he does NOT. he canonically has sexual trauma, was forced to use his body to seduce people, got punished whenever he didn’t listen and is STILL suffering from ptsd after years of abuse and torture (already kinda spoke about this here).

it’s also frustrating when people hate on him and reduce him to “horrible evil heartless cruel annoying bastard” and act like you’re a shitty person if you like his character and must automatically agree with everything he’s done when you absolutely don’t?? he’s a FICTIONAL CHARACTER IN A FANTASY GAME, you can enjoy the complexity of his character and appreciate his character development while also acknowledging his flaws and not approve of every single thing he has ever done.

but before i continue, everyone should watch this scene. many people haven’t seen it because you have to pick very specific dialogue choices when astarion’s siblings approach you at camp. it’s brutal and heartbreaking but this is where he talks about what cazador did to him when he punished him for not listening to his orders. and yes, it’s bad. like really bad. this is just the first part, but the rest of it is more intense and it’s in the video:

“once - in the first decade of my slavery - i found a darling boy who i couldn’t bare to bring back to him. so i ran, instead of hurting that sweet man. after cazador caught me, the bastard sealed me, starving, inside a dusty tomb, all on my own, for an entire year”.

i wish people could actually just try to understand him and his backstory before reducing him to something he’s not. he’s not this one-dimensional “chaotic evil villain”. he’s not this “flirty sexy vampire red flag bad boy” he is SO much more than that. he is so complex and well-written and it’s so weird how people ignore it.

instead of constantly focusing on how he acts at the beginning of the game and saying “astarion is so mean and cruel what a horrible guy who doesn’t care about anyone but himself”, why can’t we talk about how he was forced into doing so many horrible things that he never wanted to do and how his master punished him every time he didn’t follow orders to the point where it utterly broke and destroyed him? he lost his freedom and bodily autonomy. he was forced to sleep with people and then lure them to tragic fates. imagine how sick, disgusted, guilty and horrible he felt all at once. it made him numb, empty, angry and scared even when he was far away from cazador, because that type of pain and trauma never leaves you. he was surrounded by cruelty for so many years that he responded with cruelty in many situations. he hated when people tried to be the hero or make false promises to save someone because no one ever saved him. no one even tried. he had no one and nothing. he was used to constant disappointment and loneliness. he was treated like an object rather than a person. of course he’s going to be bitter because of that. how can you seriously expect someone who only knew a world of cruelty to see sunshine and rainbows and be the sweetest person you’ve ever met? he’s upset, he’s angry, he’s hurt, he’s bitter. does that make every action of his okay? is it an excuse? absolutely not. and no one said that it is. his own life was being destroyed and he also destroyed others at the same time. it’s horrible. but everything cazador did to him explains why he became like that.

but the moment you actually start to treat him like a person, you can immediately see things start to change. that is literally the only thing he ever wanted. that’s why the scene you get after the drow interaction at moonrise is one of my absolute favourites. i know there’s a different version of that scene (if you don’t talk to the drow) where he instead admits he had a plan to seduce you but then fell for you, but the reason i prefer the drow one is because it feels really meaningful and important for his character in regards to consent and treating him like a person. like it’s just such an important conversation to have with him. obviously the other version is still really sweet when you think about the romantic aspect of your relationship and it’s nice to hear that he’s fallen in love and tells you that you deserve something real, because he’s never had those sort of feelings for anyone. it’s really beautiful. but i love how the drow version of the scene could actually work for both platonic and romantic relationships with him if that makes sense? it’s important to him because you made the decision to actually treat him like a person, defend him and allow him to make his OWN decisions (something he never had with cazador). he appreciated it so much that he decided to come up to you in the middle of the night and thank you, and then he felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable and open up to you.

at the start of act 3, you already start to see how much he’s changed. if you give an orphan child some food, he approves. when you first met him, he wouldn’t have. he probably would’ve felt bitter; angry to see someone stop for someone else when no one ever did for him. but because you showed him basic respect and kindness, he started to realise that there is good in this world and people do care. it’s not just evil and coldness and cruelty. he only believed there was because of how long he suffered with cazador. there is literally a scene where he tells you that no one has ever cared about him or been kind to him and that no one else has a heart like you. he starts to find safety and comfort in you. this is why it’s so beautiful to see how much he grows and changes and it also shows that he genuinely loves and cares for you too because he’s trying. he’s really trying. you are able to convince him that he can be better than cazador and he believes you after everything you’ve done to help him. it’s going to take a very long time for him to heal after everything he’s suffered, but the fact he has already started to try and be a better person is such a massive thing. obviously it doesn’t erase what he’s done in the past and it doesn’t automatically “fix” him, but the fact that he’s trying and he wants to be better tells you more than enough about him. i am so proud of his character development and growth and i really hope people start to understand him and appreciate him more.

#astarion #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 #meta #character analysis #i am once again going to cry #sorry some of this is a little repetitive because i’ve spoken about it before but i just can’t stress it enough #the amount of people that don’t even bother trying to understand him is aggrevating #not everyone has to like him but don’t make stupid comments when you don’t even put the effort in to get to know his character and backstory #bg3 spoilers #my posts

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mins-fins · 2 months

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dal segno.

&&. you're in a car with a beautiful boy, but he's unfortunately not yours anymore.

pairing: xiao dejun x m!reader

genre: angst

warnings: implied sexual content, kind of toxic relationship, they are both so incredibly pathetic

word count: 1.2k

notes: hello this is a voiceless isa reporting, i am suffering with the most horrible sickness to ever be bestowed upon me (the common cold) and i was originally supposed to post this yesterday but i fell asleep in the middle of my writing process so yeah 👍 also i have a class in like an hour so i just wanna publish this now and be done with it 😿

you're asleep for a while.

sleeping in a car has never truly been your thing, ever since you were a kid, you could never ever fall asleep in a car even after how tired you were. the fact that you were able to doze off, even with the clear tiredness you exhibited, was odd.

you wonder what kind of change was in the air caused for you to finally doze off in the car..

when you wake up, it is not morning, which you honestly expect because you had only fallen asleep for a few minutes, you can tell because guanheng is still inside, chatting up with his friends or whatever.

if guanheng is still inside, that means the one person you do not want to see right now is still right beside you in the drivers seat.

dejun doesn't seem to register that you're now awake, his eyes closed as he rubs his temples, clearly stressed about something. it isn't until you shuffle in your seat, rubbing your eyes that he finally seems to acknowledge your presence, almost startled by how quiet you'd been.

"holy shit you scared me".

he places a hand on his chest, and you can tell he was genuinely surprised by your sudden awakening because he glances at you then glances away, very interested in the window it seems.

"sorry" you whisper. you feel as if you could cut the air in the car with a knife considering how thick it seems. "hi".

why do you say hi? why do you choose to greet him? you two know each other, you know each other very well, much more than you ever thought you'd know each other.

dejun also registers the awkwardness in the air, the two of you itch to escape the situation, but you both also don't want to be the first to leave. he gives a polite smile, finally staring directly at you. "hi" he greets back.

you have the urge to itch your hand, feeling insanely uncomfortable. a small sigh escapes your lips, and you make an effort to look down at the floor of the car instead. "heng still in there?"

dejun is clearly upset at how you changed the topic, but what else were you two supposed to do? greet each other a couple more times? it's all basically come to shit now. "yeah.. he practically knows everybody in that household, it's crazy".

he talks like he doesn't care much, you chalk it up to him being tired, forced to drive home his friend who has a million acquaintances, not to mention he's sitting right beside his ex boyfriend, the same ex boyfriend whose heart he broke in the same car no more than a few weeks ago.

he did it in an almost heartless way as well, he seemed to have no regard for you, the tears streaming down your cheeks must've seemed pathetic to him, the way you tried to get him to change his mind must've completely altered his opinion on you by then.

it's understandable why the two of you are so awkward, why there are no jokes between you, why instead of feeling grateful to be sitting beside such a pretty boy, your stomach curls in an uncomfortable way.

you glance over at him for a moment, watching as he picks his nails, even with the heartbreak he put you through, you can't deny how absolutely striking he is. dejun possesses a kind of beauty you don't think another person could ever display as well as he does.

you hate that he's so beautiful, a literal work of art, but was still the very one responsible for the days you spent feeling as if you weren't enough. he didn't even try to give you a good explanation for breaking off your seemingly bulletproof relationship, just said some bullshit like "we weren't working together y/n".

and yeah, your mad, you have every right to be mad.

it was never supposed to be more than a friday night hookup, nothing more than a stupid meetup orchestrated by a mutual friend of yours, you two should've never crossed over into having an actual relationship, because your demise was very expected.

"i don't know what you want from me".

"i don't want anything from you.." anymore, is what you want to add, but in fear of sounding even more pathetic than you look, you shut your mouth, crossing your arms. "there's nothing more to say, we're over and that's fine, i've gotten over it".

"y/n—"

"dejun" you don't want to hear him speak any more, because the longer he does the more you'll want to break down and cry. "you made your choice and i respect it, i don't want anything from you".

dejun looks hurt by your words, as if he's not the one who decided to break up with you. he's such an idiot, a beautiful, pathetic idiot. he slumps in his seat, as if you just delivered a punch straight to his gut.

you stop looking at him at this point, because you aren't going to be able to resist the urge to kiss him if you continue staring at his face. another wave of silence spreads between you two, and you want to leave so bad, but you can't, because then you'd have to deal with guanheng's fucking interrogations.

you hear dejun unbuckling his seatbelt beside you, at least he's leaving, it'll make everything just a little more bearable. you clear your throat, pretending the prior conversation didn't happen. "could you tell guanheng to make sure he gets back my copy of dracula from yangyang?"

dejun hums, but sighs. "y/n".

you wish you listened to your heart, but your mind was screaming at you to fucking look at him!

so you did, and you almost collapse right onto the floor. he's staring at you with such bewitched, lovestruck eyes, it's as if nothing bad ever happened between you two, as if you were still happy and in love with no issues whatsoever.

"stop doubting yourself.." he whispers, then he presses his lips to yours, it's as impulsive as it is stupid, because dejun is going to regret this the next day, you know he will.

you hate that you kiss him back, you hate how even though he broke your heart in this very place and left you crying in your bed. you should be ashamed of how easily you fall into his hands, you're constantly thinking optimistically, as if he won't just up and abandon you again.

when he separates from you, you almost want to pull him back, your hand fiddling with his shirt collar.

but for once, you listen to your head.

"i love you" he gives a sad smile, letting go of you and exiting the car.

you just sit there, face warm as you try to register what just happened. you watch dejun walk away, as you've done thousands of times before, you still don't feel any better, but the uncomfortable curl in your stomach has subsided for now.

if you just pretend that everything is all going to he okay, maybe it will!

oh xiao dejun, always breaking your heart and leaving you to pick up the pieces afterward.

#xiao dejun #xiaojun #wayv #nct #nct imagines #nct drabbles #nct scenarios #wayv imagines #wayv scenarios #wayv drabbles #nct x reader #nct x male reader #wayv x reader #wayv x male reader #xiaojun imagines #xiaojun x reader #xiaojun x male reader #𑁍 ࣪˖ 𓂃 isa's works!

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myfeetrcolddd · 9 months

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A big place with many people and yet all I can see is you...

Theo has trouble expressing his feelings for his longtime crush after years of longing glances and secret smiles.

In a school as big as theirs was it should have been easy to ignore and avoid someone, to not notice a specific person while the hall was filled with a few hundred students. But still, Theo couldn't help but notice when she was around. It was like a sixth sense. Even when she was across the room and he was in the middle of something he was always so very aware of the girl standing in the same room as him.

It was always like this, he's never even talked to the girl before, the most he knew about her was her name, status, and house (and the fact that she was utterly beautiful and wonderfully smart).

And as if she felt the same pull Theo did her eyes always met his, and then a small smile would grace her lips and she'd nod her head and turn back to what she was doing. A faint blush coating her cheeks and the tips of her ears afterwards.

It's been years of this crap, and it was driving Theo insane. He needed to talk to you, and he would even if it meant awkward pauses and more blushing than he was comfortable with.

Mornings are horrible, a mantra y/n would have on replay in her head as she woke up and got ready and only having it stop as she stepped into the great hall for breakfast, where she was greeted with the mouthwatering sight that was Hogwarts meals.

Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table, in one of the seats the faced the Slytherins, she began to pile a plate a food that could rival that of Ron Weasleys. It was when she was halfway through her plate that she finally acknowledged a certain Slytherin staring at her.

Her sitting facing the Slytherins was no coincidence, just like how every time she was in the same room as him her eyes would meet his own. This had been going on for the better part of her Hogwarts career. Glances towards him only to find his eyes already on her, shy smiles and small waves but no words exchanged. It was odd and she didn't understand it.

Theodore Nott was known for being very forward and blunt. For not beating around the bush and for not being scared to speak up or approach someone. She had seen him do such many times before. Watched him approach a group of girls who had been talking to loud in the library and told them to be quiet, he had shut down conversations by simply saying he didn't want to talk to them. So why hadn't he done anything in all these years of longing glances and openly staring at her.

So, sick of it, instead of smiling at him in way of greeting, she nodded her head and went back to eating. Doing her best to ignore the laser like stare burning holes in her head.

She did this for the rest of the day, except she wouldn't even look at him. It was excruciating for them both. And neither knew why.

One thing y/n didn't account for was how long this would go on, she knew she wouldn't acknowledge him until he talked to her, but what if he didn't then what. Would she have to go on ignoring and avoiding him until they graduated. Which in theory seemed easy in this castle for a school but no matter where she went to escape him it was like he already knew she would be there.

A week passed and still nothing had happened. "Y/n!" Hermione called from down the hall, "Wait up!"

"Hey 'Mione." y/n greets once her curly haired friend is beside her, "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you're going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"I don't know... I might, I am in dire need of some more books."

"Is there anything wrong with the library?" Hermione jokes with a grin,

"Only that they have no good fiction book." y/n rolls her eyes with a grin.

"well then, I'll see you there then?"

"Yes. I'll be going to Hogsmeade."

"Good! We can go together then!" Chuckling at her friend, y/n links arms with her as they make their way to potions.

"y/l/n. I found this on the floor, it had your name on it." Harry says handing her the folded parchment.

"Thanks, Harry." She mutters, taking the paper and opening it. It had been a confession, an anonymous one, proclaiming their love for her and asking her out this weekend. Startled by the information she raises her head and looks around for whoever might've sent it. And then her eyes caught a pair of eyes that weren't a deep green, but an odd shade of blue. Cormac Mclaggen.

He stood not to far away from her, a grin on his face as he stared intently at her. "Well?" He mouthed and her eyes went wide and she quickly looked away, a blush creeping up her neck in an uncomfortable way. She hadn't been expecting it to be Cormac to confess, she had been hoping for it to be Theodore actually, but she should have known better. It seemed Theodore was too much of a wimp to do anything other than stare holes into her.

Sighing she decided to deal with Mclaggen later, after class, after she's had enough time to think it through.

Theo hadn't missed when Mclaggen placed the note onto her desk while she was in the restroom, he hadn't missed when Potter had given to her after Theo had brushed past her desk and purposely knocked it off the desk, he didn't miss when she looked to Mclaggen and then looked away blushing.

She had been ignoring him for well over a week now and it was driving him insane. She had been actively avoiding and ignoring him and it didn't go unnoticed. By him or his friends. No longer could he look forward to anything about his days, the morning smiles where she looks tired but still smiled shyly to him where gone. And his plans to talk to her diminished by the fact that he was feeling cowardly at the thought of her turning him down.

But this was the last straw. Rage flowed through him as Mclaggen smiled triumphantly as he turned back to his friends. If he thought he would be getting this girl, he was sorely mistaken. This girl was Theos and Theos alone.

And so the plan was in motion. Theo would talk to her and he would confess and they would go on a date together.

The plan was easier said than done.

After potions had ended Theo had planned on pulling y/n away to talk to her but she was already talking with Mclaggen. So then he had planned to do it after their next class, but Mclaggen was in his way once more, it was like this until dinner.

"Theo. Are you alright? You're being extra gloomy and sulky today?" Pansy questions with a grin and he only turns to glare at her, eliciting a laugh from the dark haired girl. "What's y/n done now-" She cuts herself off and he already knew why. Y/n had just walked into the hall, Cormac Mclaggen trailing behind her as she laughed at a joke he made. "Oh." Pansy says, flabbergasted.

Grumbling to himself Theo rises from his seat and storms out of the quickly, making sure to bump shoulder with Mclaggen on his way out and ignoring the faint 'hey!' that had been frustratedly yelled after.

She had stared at him, confused, as he stomped away from the great hall. Oblivious to the whining Cormac next her, going on about how his shoulder was probably broken thanks to Theodore. "Are you not going to ask me how I am?!" Cormac insists, snapping y/n out of her daze.

"Well, you've been whining about how you think your shoulder is broken so I assumed it's not well." She replies not missing a beat and he gasps dramatically.

"I-" He stumbles over his words, "I- you- how- I thought you were supposed to be nice!"

"Supposed to be?" Her brows furrowed at his words and Cormac made a face as if to say 'uh oh'. "What do you mean by 'supposed to be'?!"

"Well, I thought you'd be nice! Hence why I picked you to send that letter to." He said quickly, his face turning red.

"So you meant nothing in that letter?!"

He didn't reply and she scoffed. "You're and ass, Mclaggen." She spat before storming out of the hall herself.

She was furious. But she should have seen it coming, Cormac was not known for being so heartfelt. Quite the opposite actually. Furious and too stubborn to walk back into the great hall after storming out she made her way to the kitchens. Where she found a certain Slytherin.

She froze in place when she saw him, he hadn't noticed her yet but knowing him he would soon, and as if reading her thoughts Theodores gaze lifted from the small plate of food in front of him and to her. His eyes wide with recognition he opened his mouth to talk but she turned back around and started to walk away. She was not ready to face him. Not yet. Not after what had just happened with Cormac.

"Y/n. Wait!" Theo called, catching up to the girl quickly and grasping her elbow to stop her.

"What is it you want Nott." She asks in a small voice, not even turning around to look at him.

The word flew out of his mouth before he could think about it, "You." He said simply and she spun around, her eyes wide as she stared up at him. "I want you and-" He held up his hand, silencing her before she could interrupt him, "And I was a coward for not talking to. For going so long without talking to you, for letting you ignore me for so long." His breathing became heavy as he slowly closed the space between them. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah?" She asks, "Well- I don't accept." She turns her head to the side and Theo chuckles as he corners against the wall in the small hallway, caging her in by resting his hands on either side of her head.

"Is that so?" He smirks. Her cheeks were flushed and she turns her head back to face his, except he had moved his face so close to her own that their noses touched.

Looking into his eyes it was like she was hypnotized, she got lost in them and her lips parted as she stared at him. The movement had caught his attention and his eyes looked down at her lips, and she cursed herself when her eyes did the same and looked down at his oh so soft looking lips. "y/n" His voice is breathy and distracted and they both have to drag their eyes up to look in the others. "y/n." He says again, his hands moving from the walls only to hold onto her, one arm going around her waist and the other cupping her jaw. "y/n" he whispered like he was saying a prayer his nose nuzzling against hers and then her cheek, and before either of them knew it his face was in crook of her neck, nuzzling and kissing the skin there all while chanting her name like it was the only thing he could say.

At some point her hands had made their way up his back and into his hair, running her fingers through the curls and eliciting groans from him.

Abruptly she cupped Theos face, dragging it out of her neck and bringing his head to face her. They were both blushing like madmen and before y/n could think any better of it she kissed Theo.

#theodore nott #theo nott #hp fanfic #theodore nott imagine #theodore nott x you #fanfic #theodore nott x y/n

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hellsfirekeepsyouwarm · 1 year

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All Hell Breaks Loose Pt. 2

Oh hello there! I'm finally done with the second part, the last few day i constantly fell asleep while rereading and editing, so there will bee errors. For sure. Happy reading! Also I have no idea where I'm going with this so bear with me.

Simon "Ghost" Riley x F!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood-injuries-torture, weapons, Graves being annoying. I guess spoiler for MW2, absolutely inaccurate plotline, it's impossible for Graves to be with us in this fic, but here we are 😁

Summary: Ghost gathered the whole team for a rescue mission that's the most important job he's ever done. A mission he can't fail.

Weapons. Check. Flash and frag. Check. Knives. Check. Rage. Check. Bloodthirst. Double check.

"Lieutenant!....Ghost?" Johnny's thick annoying Scottish accent seeps into his thoughts. When Simon looks at him he seeing the usual determination laced with a mouthful of concern. "What's the plan?"

Simon steals a glance at the nearby table, the blueprint of a makeshift mercenary base taunting him with it's lines, providing endless possibilities of a place to hold you hostage. If you are even behind those walls. He has no plan, at least a sane one. His plan is to march in there killing every man he's up against until he finds you.

He's a soldier damnit, he should communicate, but he has nothing to say. He can't fucking lead this mission, if he does, it'll fail miserably, and they'll all die while doing so.

Simon looks at Price, his face hiding behind the smoke of his cigar. A silent plead, the one Price never witnessed before. Not from Simon anyway.

Simon needs to give the lead away, to someone else, someone who he can rely on. He would trust Price with his own life, so yours is in perfect hands. His only goal is to reach you, and he can't do that while making sure everyone is in their place, following orders.

Price gestures for everyone to gather around him when Gaz finally steps in the room, completing 141 with all members. Except you.

Price shifts his eyes around the table, acknowledging all the eyes locked at him before starting the briefing. "This is our only lead, i don't have to emphasize how important this operation is. Approximately 67 hours have passed since the kidnapping, we get proof of life every 24 hours, that means we get a new update in 5 hours. In that time period our move is to infiltrate the building, find her, and exfil. This has to be done in complete stealth, in and out. With our last member."

Simon zones out, his mind flowing with Price's words. He can't think about anything but what horrible things you might go through at the moment. He remembers too well of his own terrors of captivity, the mere idea of the same brutality happening to you twisting his insides. He feels psychically sick, the required food and liquid that gives him energy turns upside down in his stomach.

He sees blood red, injuries, tears and dirt, body in agony, spirit broken constantly behind his lids when he closes his eyes. The faint breath when the camera was close enough to your bruised face.

Gaz is asking about Laswell, Soap is demanding action and in that moment Simon can't find comfort even in Price's confident voice.

He's gonna go insane.

In this line of work, this isn't knew. Held captive, being a prisoner of war, torture, interrogation. He's gone through all of them and more, and he's fucking frightened that it's happening to you as he stands there amongts his friends and brothers. Free, feeling the soothing heaviness of his weapon, gear strapped around his body, full with adrenalin in a healty and unharmed vessel. At this moment, you don't have any of that. And he knows how much you must hate it. He has seen you going through that while healing from that nasty chest wound months back.

That faithful bullet near your heart was everything for him. A breaking point, the end of the world, an invisible force pushing him towards you. That bullet made him sit beside your hospital bed, saying silent prayers to whatever higher power that can help you breath life back into you. That bullet made him confess his feelings, openly, withouts distractions and detours. He said you mean everything to him, and he was happy that you lived to hear him say those words. He never ever will regret anything he said, more like regretting not saying more.

He needs air. He needs to get it together before he lunges into a possible suicide mission. He leaves the room without a second look, or a word to his teammates.

Breath Simon, just fucking breath, the mantra repeating itself in his brain.

The air is fresh, but it's stained with the scent of iron. He feels the smell of blood in his nose non-stop, he's certain it's just him, just his head taunting, laughing. You couldn't simply protect her, you swore to keep her safe, and how that turned out? At this point, he can't trust his own mind, everything in his head is altered from agony and wrath.

Mind switching from shame of feeling bad for himself to the guilt of his part in this shitshow. In one moment he's gnawing himself for ever letting his guard down, letting himself to be comfortable enough to be able to be found by Graves, in the other his whole head is filled with your shallow breath in that video. He's eating his own mind up, running in circles, consuming his good parts, leaving nothing but a white skull behind. A ghost with nothing and everything to lose.

"Do you remember that day?" You scoff. It's ridiculous to have this conversation with Graves. So light, so casual. Everything feels surreal.

You aren't tied to a chair, your limbs are free to move, in fact, you could simply run for fucking freedom. But you know better, the room is already crowded with Graves's men, the hallway was full of them, to be honest you saw at least 20-30 men since the blindfold was lifted from your face. And after mentally noting your minor but painful injuries, you are certain you have no chance to just run for if, most likely that's why you aren't restrained in the first place.

"i was occupied with a bullet in my chest you know." You can't help but sound bitter.

He smiles, a smile you saw millions of times back in the day, when you considered him a partner, an important person in your life. This body is just the vessel that is familiar, the man you knew is gone for a long time now. You aren't hurt anymore, you passed that months ago, but you see on his face he's not done with whatever he harboured from your shared past.

"Yeah, sorry I forgot." Fucking piece of shit.

"So what now Graves? You are hurt 'cuz the blast did not kill you at the end, and you have to live looking like fucking Quasimodo? What are you gonna do about it, huh?"

You are fed up. Fuming. What's his point? Revenge? Maybe, he was never the vengeance kind of guy. Soldier's aren't like that. But he's not a soldier anymore, is he?

"When I stepped on your front porch, I knew I'll find someone inside. Someone who isn't Riley. Fuck, i was prepared for any other 141 member despite i deemed Riley way smarter than that. But shit, finding you snuggled up in his bed." He smiles with venom, enjoying and hating his words at the same time. "When did that happen Darling?"

"Urghhhh. Holy shit Graves, that's what you really care about?" You bury your face in your hands, not feeling the need to watch his every move. He is still cocky and arrogant. You giggle with a wince when you graze a deep cut on your jawline. "Shit, are you jealous?"

His face breaks into a grimace. He stands up from his spot, after hours of not moving from the chair in front of you, talking your ear off with threats and pointless words. He stops in front of you, so close it sends a chill down on your back. His breaths fans over your ear when bends down next to your face. "Don't worry, he seen everything that happened to you." He suddenly halts in his words, for a dramatic pause, or something else you don't know, but it's way more unnerving than anything he has done so far. "In fact, he's already here to save your ass. Let's find out how prepared he is."

No way. It does sound possible and completely impossible altogether. If Simon is here, he's here for you, bit he might not be prepared for a trap they lured him in. And he will be march through the door with Soap on his side, undoubtedly. And if they do, this asshole will have everything he wants in one place.

Graves backs away, eyeing you up and down, looking at his work proudly, eyes glinting with anticipation.What can you possibly do to help Ghost and stay alive while doing so?

"Oh I know that look. Don't think too much darling, your head will hurt. You can't do shit." You feel dizzy, head throbbing, pain raging inside your skull. You feel more and more disoriented. You lose focus for a moment, and that's enough to lose him from your sight. The next thing you know, you almost fall over with the chair, Graves's arms the only support you have, his body pressed harshly against you without shame, invading your senses with his presence. You hear his voice close, too close.

"Everything you feel now is just the start. Get yourself comfortable on this chair, memorize every tiny detail of this room, count the steps you hear outside of the door." He grabs a fistful of your hair, yanking your scalp in an attempt to get your full attention on him in between you losing and regaining consciousness. "I'll wait for your precious lieutenant to make an appearance, so I can lead him to this very same chair your pretty ass is sitting on, show him the wood drenched with your blood before I serve your head on a golden plate."

He lets you fall back in place, only your lucky landing of your legs keeping you upright on the chair. Your body is exhausted, battling with the pain and adrenaline. You are going to pass out at some point, and you are oh so fucked if you do.

"When he arrives, he'll bring your precious team, right to my front door. Every one you is going to die here. You'll be the first one."

"What do you think will happen if you kill me Philip? Hm?" He stops midway to the door, his back stiff, muscles twitching underneath the vest. The burn scars apparent on the back of his neck, probably snaking down to his torso. "Are you even capable to murder me Phil?"

He stays rooted, just standing there, waiting for you to go on. Or to be silent. His next move is depending on what you are about to say, how far you are willing to go. "I have known you for years. I worked, lived with you, i watched you take down enemies from distances that no one ever thought about doing. You trying to make me believe you couldn't do the same from a neighboring building with clear sight? Aimed at chest when you had a perfectly fine vision on my head? I bet you didn't relized i don't have a vest on, am i right? You can't feed me this bullshit Philip. I know you too much to believe it."

Maybe his men believes this tale, hell he might forced this truth on himself too, but you are no fool. And his quick steps out of the room proves you hit the nail on the head.

Taglist: @galagcica @briefwinnerpersonaturtle @afro-hispwriter @cabreezer0117 @5seastar @v-v-x-x @multitargaryen

#simon ghost riley imagine #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley imagine #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #ghost imagine

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jvstheworld · 9 months

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The Buffy Re-watch: S1E7 (part 3)

Angel

Okay, last part of this episode. Hurray.

Buffy is now on the war path after believing that it was Angel who bit her mum. Which means we get to see the crossbow in action.

Darla talks about Buffy not wanting to see Angel's 'true' face, and while Buffy minds in this episode that he is a vampire, In 'What's my Line, part 1' Buffy will eventually not mind kissing him while in vamp mode.

Question for the audience: are vampires naturally kinky? Or do you get vanilla vampires?

Giles and Joyce together is sweet, they make a good pair, either as platonic co-parents to Buffy (and later Dawn) or as a one-off romantic couple.

How much leather did they use for the clothing of this show? Like every other episode has someone in leather. And then Spike comes in and it's every episode, but at least it's the same coat. We do get some iconic outfits from all the leather, but there's just so much.

Romani curse explanation time. I won't use the G-word because I know it is viewed as a slur. Even though it is used in the show, I will be respectful and not use it.

There are many philosophical debates about what a soul is. Despite my D in A-Level Religious Studies, I am not capable of talking about it. Essentially, the soul is supposed to be responsible for the conscience that a person has. It's Jiminy Cricket. When a person is sired they lose that, and have the capability to become a killing machine. Angel's curse restored his soul to him and now feels infinite remorse over all the carnage he caused as punishment for killing a Romani girl. That bit is clear. However, is the soul responsible for other emotions too? One of the big debates is could Spike love Buffy without a soul? And this is a question I will explore when I get there, I just want to pose it now out of interest. Because Darla, without a soul, loves Angel. Or is the love that Darla and Spike have a tainted type of love? But when Spike does get a soul it becomes a purer type of love? And what does that mean for humans who are capable of some truly horrible things and can have a twisted view of love? Or am I just digging too deep with this?

Angel hasn't had his full history written yet, because as we later learn in his own show, he has bitten people while ensouled. In retrospect he is kind of lying to Buffy.

We get the first use of guns in the show, by a duel wielding Darla, who should really learn to count her bullets. And aim better.

Willow coming in with the distraction and telling Buffy the truth.

Angel gets the kill. Sort of poetic. @girl4music reblogged one of my other posts talking about the early world building that happened during this season and how it doesn't match up with later ones and the spin-off. And I have to agree. This is probably due to the show being a mid-season replacement with a short season, so larger world/character building is not going to a major thing until the show gets another season and looks like it might have some longevity to it. Would Angel/Angelus have killed Darla? In retrospect, no. He would cause her harm, sure. He does later set fire to her and Drusilla. But within the context of this season without any meta info, it was done for shock value and to set Darla up as just a disposable villain. I am glad she gets brought back in the spin off and we get more info into her 400 year old life, because a character like her would have really been wasted if she never appeared again.

We are nearing the end. Xander is definitely threatened by Angel.

They acknowledge the age difference, I'm glad they do.

They kiss again, and he gets burned by the cross that Buffy wears, that was a gift from him. Also, the parallel that when Buffy finds out Angel has a soul, he gets burned by a cross at the end of the episode. Then when she finds out that Spike has a soul he burns himself on a cross at the end too.

That's the end of the my possibly coherent thoughts episode 7. This actually took more work that I thought it would. Tomorrow we talk about Willow's dating life. No guesses for how that fairs.

#buffy the vampire slayer #buffy summers #rupert giles #willow rosenberg #xander harris #angel #bangel #darla btvs #buffy rewatch #tv show thoughts

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council-of-beetroot · 4 months

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Ask game: skin and monster for Felix & Ivan :)

skin: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

Feliks

Feliks struggles with himself despite the self assured façade he keeps going. Feliks is never sure as everything that he attains can be lost in a heartbeat, the is no assurance.

He struggles with his gender and sexuality because while he knows it doesn't mean much to him how he dresses or who he loves those around him don't have that same mindset

Ivan

Ivan wishes to wash away the memory of the small and weak child that he once was. He tries to delude himself into believing the outcomes of becoming the man he is, is true and genuine. He wants to maintain the control he has. He refuses to return to the child he once was. With the power he wields he will ensure that but it comes at the cost at becoming a part of the same force that broke your innocence.

Yet deep down he still retains the same desires as he did as a child. Love. Approval. warmth. Companionship. He wants to believe that his leaders have him and his people in their best interest and he wants to believe this time it will all go well. Few see his vulnerability though as vulnerability makes one weak.

I think both Ivan and Feliks hit the same mark in that they don't fully fit the ideals their nations want them to be.

monster: Is your OC monstrous in any way? Is there something that makes them monstrous? Are they aware of their own monstrosity? Do they accept it or reject it?

I don't see them either as monstrous per sé but both have their dark aspects that they grapple with

Feliks

Feliks knows deep down he's not the martyr, free of sin his country wants to believe he is. He has done the very things done against him to his closest friends. He has hurt those such as Tolys, Katya, Natalija and others in his own drive for power and control. He knows the one thing that makes him different isn't that he is a martyr and a hero, it's that he rose to the top before everyone else and the rise cometh before the fall.

Feliks hates to accept it but he has no choice but what can he do except pray to God for forgiveness and endure whatever suffering is fit to free him from sin.

Ivan

Ivan has never known true autonomy. He will always be at the will of the the rulers of his country who promise greatness yet fail or deliver at the expense of suffering. He will always be at the will of winter who protects him but harms at the same time.

The path he's on is one that's never known peace. He knows he can't delude himself but as he pours himself a glass, he tells himself that the path he is on is the right one, the others need to be shown that it is the right way as well.

Ivan doesn't reject the monstrous aspects of himself rather he justifies it as being rational.

#hetalia #hws poland #hws russia #asks and replies #legianasnow

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epickiya722 · 1 year

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I always hear ppl say stuff abt how horrible Ms Kacchan was, how Izuku was tormented by him.

But the thing is that we never really saw it happen, or does the little that we saw really indicate that. And i kinda want to explain why

So, as of the two times that Katsuki himself admited the reason why he has bullied Izuku, one of the major things that drove him to do it, was so Izuku would leave him alone. Acting alongside his fear, and his inferiority complex.

His plan was for Izuku to fade away from his life, to stop affecting him the way he did, ever since he saw what "Deku" started to represent in young Katsuki's head. He wanted his bullying to push him away as far as possible.

But Izuku, ever the mr. "Never give up" guy, continued to chase after him, bc it has never been in his interest to stop being Katsuki's friend. Being close to his symbol of victory. So he had to continue to act like that, until Izuku got the message that he didn't want him close anymore, that he didn't want him standing in his way.

By the pieces of dialogue from the two guys that hung about with Katsuki, that was a time he reacted badly, and more outlandishly than he normally would. And if we even look back at that time, when the class was making fun of Izuku, he didn't laugh.

He didn't find it funny that he had to be presented with anything that would bring out his fear again. That was an actual serious matter for him, specially bc Izuku was planning to apply to the same school he wanted to go, to the same course no less.

If you want to consider that one manga for the HR movie to be canon too, their day to day lives in MS seemed to be basically Katsuki ignoring him, though occasionaly acting like a jerk.

He wanted to push Izuku away, not around. Bc he wanted most of all, for those feelings to not be a problem for him anymore.

Honestly, yeah, I agree with all this.

Katsuki, although a jerk, I have major doubts he actually enjoys being one.

This is why I pay attention to details because as you said, running back to season one, you can see Katsuki not laugh at Izuku. You would think he would, but he doesn't. If anything, he looks guilty and sad.

I think that was a point of Katsuki's life when he's trying to figure out why he acts the way he does around Izuku, why he doesn't want him around. Of course, he figures it's because "I hate him and he looks down on me". At that time, he probably subconsciously (?) was wondering there had to be more to it. Then, UA happened. His environment and people changed.

While I'm sure his middle school class found him unpleasant, no one ever really told him as such.

The most they have done was say "Hey, Katsuki, that was too far" about the swan dive comment.

At most, all Katsuki ever did was when he did see Izuku, he pushed him and called him names. But I don't think he actively seek him out to bother him. Katsuki was a bully, but I don't think he was a bully to search for someone to bother them all the time.

The only time in middle Katsuki did seek him out was after he found out Izuku was applying to UA. Again, as you said, he wanted to push Izuku away.

By that point, Izuku while he still cared about Katsuki, still idolized him, doesn't follow him. Let alone talks to him. He left Katsuki alone. I don't think he followed him around in middle school. Elementary school years, yeah. But middle school? Doubt it.

If he did, Katsuki would have known Izuku was applying to UA. Izuku would have told him if he wanted to. But, as I said in another post, he doesn't push Katsuki to acknowledge him or be nicer to him. He distanced himself.

Overall, yeah, Katsuki bullied Izuku to push him away. Said so himself. He was afraid of losing him. Izuku sometimes thinks before he acts, he's too selfless and careless. So he took the choice to drive him away before he can lose him.

#kiya answers #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bakudeku #bkdk

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blueberry-macaron · 1 year

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"he just feels like an entirely dofferent person who just happens to look like him"

Was he really that bad before?

I mean, let's review some stuff he's done (specifically about his relationship with Maribug, feel free to add things I forgot)

Copycat: lied about his and LB's relationship causing an akuma

Glaciator: gets mad at LB for not coming to a date she said she wouldn't come to, making it her problem and only apologizing after she did first (which she really didn't have to btw)

Frozer: basically same thing

Maledictator: tells Mari it's horrible to be happy that her bully aka his friend is leaving

Chameleon: No Marinette don't do anything against Lila even though she's in the wrong (this one's not outright mean it was just bad advice)

Ladybug: chooses the fake Ladybug over the real one bc the fake one would smooch him

Lies: sacrifices himself because "I live that look on your face when you're angry with me lol"

Glaciator 2: "they all think we're a couple lol even though we're not and you've made that clear a million times we shall kiss:) I just love you too much I can't help myself" (I cringed so hard during that episode)

Kuro Neko: gaslighting LB into thinking he's someone else because she has other superhero friends as well

Risk: gives LB shit for not wanting to so a reveal and not wanting to take risks even though it's reasonable for her tl not want those things

Generally flirting, touching or leaning in for a kiss when the time isn't right and LB is either trying to focus on the akuma or she's just uncomfortable

Just from the top of my head some things that didn't sit right with me. Take these as you will.

I'm not saying he had evil intent or that he was only bad, but those times where he acted shitty were never acknowledged by the narrative or any characters. Instead Marinette was blamed for everything because that's the show's number one rule, along with "Adrien is literally perfect like it's actually the world that should adjust to him bc it's so bad and he's so perfect". Peak girl power lol

So therefore Adrien never learned any lessons because he was never called out for anything, so he never had a moment where he self reflected on his behavior and realizing it was wrong and thinking about how to change and maybe having a hard time to change bc of trauma but he tries anyway......

And yet now suddenly all the jealously issues and the codependency and his sometimes shitty attitude just... don't exist anymore. And that's the problem. The writers and the stans act like there's so much character developement that has happened when there literally wasn't. When developing a character, you need to not just show before and after, but also when he started to change, how long it took, how exactly did he change and why did he change. Specifically when thinking about the relationship, what were the steps and reasons that lead him from sometimes not being a good partner to now being a loving boyfriend that would never pressure Marinette etc. The show delivers answers to none of these questions, they just present this new Adrichat as if he's been there the entire time. And while I like this version of Adrien, it just doesn't feel deserves that he's here bc of how he has been before.

#ask #anon #ml salt #adrien salt

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annislittleshopofhorrors · 1 year

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I’m sorry for how long this is, I’m usually a lurker so have held it in. It may be spiteful, but I really feel like he deserves a question about her. He went public with that horrible pap walk we all endured, he publicly acknowledged his deep love of scaring her and then publicly threw her in our faces with a montage on Valentines Day without even writing Happy Valentines Day on the post. Even if he didn’t personally handle the crap being put on his social media, he knew it was going on there. I don’t care if it’s real or PR or if they had something on him and conned him into doing this. If he wasn’t acting a fool, they wouldn’t have something on him in the first place. If this is indeed PR, he signed up for it or did something stupid like IG Tinder and got caught being a gross old (I’m a few years older than him so I can say that) man after young booty. Whatever the case, he is doing this to himself. He knows the distaste or he wouldn’t have been so timid on Friday at the convention. Personal opinion, he would have backed out, but his team pressured him to try to make any amends with his fans that he could. They know what is being said about him and how many fans turned away. The fact that he let the trio bait and taunt his fans, and continued to entertain them, in whatever capacity it did, that says enough for me. I don’t care if it is how CAA works. I’m a Seb girl, I lived thru what CAA has done for his image, and I want Pre-CAA Seb back. They are doing the same with Chris. Whether it is real or PR, I feel like they have used it for PR if it’s real and it has made him look nasty and conceited and truly needing help. His fans that have always defended him to rumors, he spit in their faces by still allowing the baits before awkwardly walking thru Central Park the day after SMA dropped. That was when he showed his true colors to me. He said, ‘thanks for defending me but let me show you what I really think.” No, he owes me nothing. I chose to be a fan and he is a grown man and loves his own life and makes his own choices. But I will never defend his actions again and that’s my choice. I don’t see him in the same way, and that’s my choice because of my likes and dislikes and morals. I can choose whether or not to spend my money on his work or meet and greets because it’s my choice. He is a public figure though and he chose that. He chose to call the paps and to post the two montages and that’s his choice (kind of). Celebrities post what they want you to see and usually are only photographed when they want to be seen for a reason. So, yeah, I choose to see this whole thing like Chris spitting in his fans faces repeatedly after seeing this trio called out for their actions and still being in their circle. So, I hope they ask about his very public, in love, relationship with his 25 year old love who makes a living portraying children while she hangs with her racist, nazi loving, fatphobic Neanderthal friends. Ask him the question. How is your love, ALBA freaking Baptista?

Sorry, it took me a while to read it. Most of the time I have something to say, but this time I just can't because you just expressed your feelings about him. So I won't argue or agree or disagree with you. This is a safe space, so I hear you and I understand how you feel. 😊

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eleemosynecdoche · 9 months

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Nah. ASOIAF is just reveling in the brutality of the imagined past. You can look at the Dothraki, or the way that child molestation and violent rape are more socially condoned than they were in high medieval Western Europe, to see that. It's all of a piece. Apologists talk about how this is because of the Romantic overtones- lower lows to get higher highs. That doesn't really scan for me, but regardless, it's not really about accurately depicting retinue-of-retinue armies.

And one way you can tell this is the case is looking at who does engage in looting, foraging, and pillaging. It's sadistic monsters like Amory Loach, Gregor Clegane, and the Bloody Mummers (the latter two conspicuously dehumanized) who engage in this raiding, with some truisms about "war is hell" to assure us the Starks have done the same. Robb Stark the Young Wolf never gives orders to go and rob peasants of their food, we never get any kind of close-up on the results of his jolly heroic raid into Lannister lands, and the Night's Watch aims for a series of good stand-up fights to defeat Mance's army in detail, rather than attacking their stomach in this precarious northern land.

In other words, the depredations of armies in ASOIAF are done by inhuman villains or faceless nobodies. It's very much a post-Vietnam series of books, but one of the ways in which it is that is that it acknowledges the horrors of the Vietnam War while trying to deflect responsibility for or involvement with them. My Lai was the product of William Calley and his platoon, rather than an exceptionally bad instance of what American troops did to Vietnamese civilians many times, driven by a complex assembly of policies including Taylorizing warfare, making bodycount a KPI, fostering alienation from the Vietnamese general population, etc. etc. And which were done by otherwise ordinary people.

I want to contrast this with Glen Cook's Black Company novels, especially the first three. In the first book, there's an episode where the titular group have defeated several enemy military units, one of which is all women, and the narrator/POV character stops to have a metatextual comment that yes, he's aware he's censored out the morally hideous things this mercenary group does, such as raping adult women, and that he can only offer pitiful excuses for doing so, because he feels a need to defend his fellow soldiers. And that one of the other characters has threatened to take the book away and write the "real story".

And then there are other episodes, which make it clear that these characters do have lines that they won't cross, and that women are quite capable of sexually victimizing other women. We even get a recurring minor character attempting to sexually harass a major character in disguise, and after she beats him up, he's then chewed out by his superior. He has not been presented as a slavering creep before this point.

And at the same time, at this point the characters are all in the service of a teenage/early 20s disabled woman, and no indication is made that they see her as a potential target for sexual violence, because she's seen as one of them.

Cook understands sexual violence as driven by structural factors and the desire to express dominance most of all, and as something which is done not just by slavering monsters (which there are quite a few of in these books) but also by ordinary human beings with interiority and charm and the qualities of being a decent person otherwise. These are not, I would say, works of explicit feminist fantasy, but they have a feminist outlook in their worldview that's somehow aged well through the intervening decades, though we understand YesAllMen's problems now. And this feminist outlook is transmitted in part through thinking through, "How could good American boys who played baseball and had teenage sweethearts and listened to Howlin' Wolf on the radio late at night and noodled around with a guitar go over to Vietnam and do all those horrible things?"

Black Company is in its own way more traditional high fantasy fiction- it has evil sorcerers and sorceresses, reincarnated heroines, cosmological signifiers of heroic deeds- than ASOIAF. Where it does things more interestingly is not in "subverting the tropes" or whatever, but in using fantasy as a vehicle to think about these concepts.

#black company #fantasy fiction #a song of ice and fire #criticism #tw rape discussion

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windalchemist001 · 8 months

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I doubt I'll ever write them so here are my ideas for twisted wonderland fanfics.

1) both malleus and yuu/mc are relaxing outside the ramshackle dorm. Just enjoying each other company after having a long talk. Malleus is thinking about how he wants this to last while yuu/mc is doing a hobby (drawing, writing, or sowing )

after a moment yuu/mc asks malleus if the faries of this world have the power to control someone, if they knew their full name. Which malleus would confirm (or not but I'm thinking yes) in which yuu/mc sighs and says she's glad she doesn't have to worry to much than, but she feels sorry for everyone else. Mind you this confuses malleus before yuu/mc explains that the reason their not worried is because they explain, they've never given out their full name while here in twisted wonderland.

Which makes malleus really want to know which yuu/mc tells him she'll only tell the person she marries. Which makes malleus huffs and laughing at how cut he is pouting yuu/mc gives a hint or rather sends him on a scavenger hunt to figure it out. And after he finds all the clues rather than solve it he meets yuu/mc who looks at him having expected for him to solve it.

Only to see malleus burn the clues. And when yuu/mc is confused says he'll find out one day, but today isn't that day. (Aka hinting he'll marry yuu/mc)

2) now this second idea is a soulmate au but I've thought quite about it like everyone has symbolic marks(almost tattoos) of their other half somewhere one their body.

Now here the thing it is rather common for people not to find their soulmates and still be in love. Or even decided that they don't want a romantic relationship with said soulmate. Because they don't feel that was about them.

Though with one you might feel pulled to them and when you touch both soulmate mark glows. Than their is also the fact that they are in fact each others strength. And i mean literally way, since when one is at their weakest point (they other half can take the burden and fill them with power even if across the world and have never meet.) Basically helping with what ever burden the other has.

Now despite this their is also ways to "lose" a soulmate. And by this one or more parties (twins are said to be the same soil split in two) have done something so horrible that it shaters the others soul link.

The usual causes are cheating, abuse, murder, and acts that are reprehensible to society you guys can guess on what that is. Also even attempting to do the above could also cause the brake, since it would still hurt someone.

If something form above happens in the current life the person who was hurt will no longer have a glow when in contact with the other. The person who did the hurting will still have the mark glow though. But it is said if they are reborn and the issue wasn't fixed than the person who had been hurt will no longer have the soulmate mark. Though the other person might or will still have their mark.

Now their is also another thing is that their use to a rumor so old that it was only spoken in whispers back in Lilia youth, so now it isn't even known forgeten to time. That being the reason why a soulmate mark would be faded, but it doesn't stay that way since it seems to change as if someone was moving the transparency up and down. Though it was said (in lillia time) that their was someone so desperat to find the mean as to why that was spent years looking for the reason. And ended up coming up with the conclusion that their soulmate was unattainable. And he was trying to change that. But that was again only rumors whipsered about in his time.

Now to get the characters that don't known who their soulmate or are not featured in the story are trey, duece, Carter, Jack, rook, epel, idia , ortho, lillia.

Ace and riddle are soulmate though they had felt a ping when ace had punched riddle neither had acknowledged it till they had some time alone and quietly discussed it with each other. Neither believed in the whole soulmate thing ace because it didn't seem important since his parents love each other and aren't soulmates. His brother found his and is happy and he's seen all sort of relationships so he didn't put to much stock into it. Riddle didn't belive because his mom always insult it when bought up and was more set in other thing. Now while ace and riddle were going to ingore it they still felt the pull and while they don't talk about it in the light of day they do share moments in riddles room where skin meets and muffled voice and shared kisses are swapped. But again that isn't spoken about outside riddles room and everyone else is asleep.

The next ship is Leona and ruggie. Lions beastmen are known to have more than one mate (mostly royal families) and ruggie is one of two that Leona has. And while they are mostly fuck buddies after the event of book 2, ruggie is the first to notice that contact with Leona doesn't make his mark glow anymore (Leona did try to kill him after all) so ruggie does everything like normal and tries to hide that little fact, but Leona isn't stupid and quickly finds out that ruggie's mark isn't glowing. And he could only blame himself, but he promises to work to make it glow again. And while they still tend to be rough their are days were Leona is gentle in a more loving way this being a shift in their relationship from just fuck buddies to something more.

Now with azul and the twins. They are soul mates but azul tries to keep it all business and the twins are mostly ok with that but they do like messing with azul. Since they enjoy being beside him, after all azul happens to entertain them. But they both have molested azul but they only gotten so far as getting azul off but nothing past that because azul normally snaps out of the feel good feeling that their bonds gives him. But the twins do enjoy azul flustered and huffy face so their ok with taking a while.

Also Kailim and Jamil are mates Jamil doesn't like it and kailim doesn't want to push him also kailim knows he will have a few wifes. So he is ok with waiting for Jamil. And hopes Jamil will be his first lover.

Next we are.dealing with vil who has no soulmark and he's perfectly fine with that. Problem is that the person who has his mark is not who they appear to be and in the past life and current isn't the best in fact a curse/spell was put on the past so now the current person can see flashes of what vil sees. And thus why they decided to be an actor. Just so they can be close to vil (they didn't know who at first but once they found out they try to always be near aka their yandare and honestly vil would be 100% justified killing him. Aka were talking about neige

And while I don't really know if idia will be ship with anyone so while that's going on we deal with the ship that would be the over arcing ship for the story malleus and yuu/mc since there is attraction between them out.main character has been dealing with a lot of stuff and malleus is unsure if he is doing the human court right, since all he wants to do is spend time with yuu/mc but he can tell while enjoying it seems frighten to admit it.so he doesn't want to push bit its not like he's admitted to so Lilia tells malleus to take the plung and thus after book 6 he decides he's going to do

Unfortunately before he does yuu/oc admits to him that she's going home, and while I haven't seen chapter 7 i do know spoilers so maybe let that play before I write the last bit or something I don't know.

But what I do know is I want a scene where yuu/mc gets put in a position that they have to borrow the strength of their soulmate which than puts them straight into an overblot situation, after all they been dealing with a lot and let's be honest there is a reason people "mad with power" and what better power than that of the most powerful being in all of twisted wonderland?

Either way they defeat yuu/mc and everyone one learns that one their malleus soulmate, and two to try to maybe behave as not to stress a already stressed and should be on medication for depression perfect

3) so this somewhat goes along with me playing hp hogwarts legacy for my YouTube channel (the videos are going to up in October) but none the less so the story goes mallus and yuu/mc/self insert (not hiding it here) ate together and they do the deed and their just oh so happy, but with happiness comes suffering and thus yuu/mc is kidnapped malleus finds out to late and though he tried to save yuu/mc the last thing he would hear was his name being yelled out and busting though the door a portal closing with the knife he gave her to protect herself (if by some chance no one else was around) and in his rage he destroy everything even the way to re open the portal thus beginning his years of trying to figure out how to open it (they used a mix of magic and technology so that second part is the problem.)

On the flip side yuu/mc finds themselves in what they know as the past but also in Britain for some reason. So rather than go home and mess with any time lines decided to try and make it work here in England only to find out their pregnant. Which is worry some but they some how mange. And while they do struggle the do there best to raise their daughter while also trying to figure out a way back to twisted wonderland.

One day both mother and daughter find out that this world does in fact have magic (besides minnia) and that there is a school that wants her. So much to yuu/mc worry minna decides to go in hopes to learn a way to reunite her mother and father and meet the dad she never meet.

And while minna is off doing that. A portal opens up and for a moment malleus and yuu/mc see each other and while malleus is asking yuu to hurry and jump though (he's holding it open but it would collapse if he wasn't using his magic to do so) or maybe it could simple just be a thing that only allows them to talk either way malleus finds out he has a daughter before it closes again and he is more determined to get his beloved and his child to his side.

Now I haven't finished the hogwarts legacy game yet and depending on how it ends decided a bit how the ending of the fic goes but I would like for yuu/mc and minna to return to twisted wonderland also maybe take Sebastián with them because I have decided he would be my son in law

4) its omegaverse mostly focusing on sebek x silver with some protective dad Lilia (because sebek gets lost in instinct one time... ok a bit more than once but still) oh and some malleus x yuu/mc in the background.

5) Basically everyone knows yuu/mc has a crush on trey what no one knew before the trip to kailim and Jamil home town was that was nothing compared to their crush on malleus and its just them watching it all in all. Not to say trey was ingored but more attention was give to malleus. And trey didn't know how to feel about all this.

6) assuming phone games still work in a different world yuu/mc is hiding and playing colorfulstage (vocloid rather game) and ortho finds them and thus drags yuu/mc to idia so he can play the game and maybe see if they can at least get more games from yuu/mc's world. But because they are having out a lot people think idia and yuu/mc are dating and malleus is grumpy about it.

7) yuu/mc is about to introduce valentines day to twisted wonderland because they wanted to give trey and malleus presents for said days. Que a few days before running about trying to get everything ready for the gifts.

8) just your basic what if I was in twisted wonderland and what would change due to my own personality vs how the game goes

#wind talks #wind's idea #ze mun thought bubbles #twisted wonderland #au ideas

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livelovecaliforniadreams · 9 months

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Hi! This isn't meant to be hate, and while I do very much disagree on the chemistry conversation, I understand that must be something that's subjective. I don't understand however, how R*na is supposed to be considered unhealthy, when there's even been friendships on the show that were less healthy than they ever were. I'm just not sure where that came from and I want to know what I missed.

Hey. First off I find it a little odd that your tumblr has no action on it. Makes me think maybe you created it so that whatever your main one is people don't see you asking stuff like this. But it's okay whatever let's ignore that it's not that important. Next whenever anyone says they don't mean it to be hate they actually mean that it's hate. But okay i'll indulge you. I shouldn't because it's always a bad idea but let's go for it.

The chemistry thing is obvious. Just compare Josh's scenes with Olivia and his scenes with Sofia. Compare Matts scenes with Sofia and his scenes with Olivia. Olivia/Josh & Matt/Sofia have natural chemistry & when they kiss or touch or look at each other it feels natural it's not forced.

All the Rina stuff feels super forced and over the top acted. Never said Rina was unhealthy as far as I remember. But they had a terrible buildup. Okay yes they had moments in the early seasons but they were not exciting enough for me to care or remember them.

If they had a gradual buildup that made sense then I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. But all Ricky did was ignore Gina for 3 seasons and then suddenly catch feelings last season. He had no interest in her until Nini left. And even this season he was a terrible boyfriend. He never communicated and he just ran away all the time. And he had to go to EJ to get help on how to interact with his girlfriend instead of just talking to her like a normal person. EJ told him to go to her in the rain and EJ told him to sing her a song at the end. If he didn't have EJ would he have done it himself? Probably not. The kid needs therapy and to grow up. He is not mature enough to keep a relationship or stay in one. Maybe if he worked on himself then that's another story.

Now lets talk about EJ & Gina. I mean they had the best buildup. Enemies to Lovers. They built each other up. They saw the best in each other. He went to the freaking airport for her. He showed up for her. And the whole camp thing was obviously just written to make him look like an idiot and horrible boyfriend so the Ricky/Gina thing would seem like it somewhat made sense but it still didn't and for a growth arc. Because you can't go from giving your 100% to nothing that quick. Come on it's just not realistic. But then this season he grew as a person/matured as a person. He learned from his mistakes and apologized for them. He communicated with Gina. He was there for her and he didn't need to have someone tell him what to do. He was just there as a friend for her after all the shit she put him through. He had her back. He showed up for her when she needed him. All Ricky did was run and run and run.

I'd respect Rina if Ricky made more of an effort the first 3 seasons. If he acknowledged stuff but he just was always making an effort with Nini. And I still will forever believe they were the endgame but Olivia left and Tim was like well we have no other choice now but to put him with Gina. Cause there is no reason for a beautiful enemies to lovers buildup just for a plot device. I'm sorry there just isn't.

Ej & Gina just have so many of the same things that Pacey/Joey & Jess/Rory have and they are the gold standard. So obviously if Tim were not writing this show and Olivia had not left we would have had EJ/GINA thriving this last season.

But you know what it's okay because this show takes place in high school. So 10-15 years down the line Ricky/Nini will be back together and so will EJ/Gina. They are the one that got away ship that ends up together a long time down the road.

I'll leave you with one last thing. They model themselves after Troy/Gabriella supposedly. Well Troy/Gabriella are in therapy. HAHA sorry to break it to you but your endgame is toast.

This is my opinion don't agree or agree with it I don't care. But you asked me so this is what you get.

AND I WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANY OTHER RESPONSES TO THIS OR ANY OTHER ASKS THAT COME AFTER THIS. THIS WAS A ONE TIME RESPONSE. CAUSE I KNOW THIS WILL BE A THING AND I'M NOT GOING DOWN THIS RABBIT HOLE.

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lonelier-version-of-you · 2 months

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Well, I can't promise this will be the most coherent recap of Casualty thoughts, because I've got a headache today. But I thought it was mostly very, very good!

The Stevie storyline has got so much better over these past couple of weeks. I hated it for a while, tbh. I'm still not entirely sure what to think of it now narratively, but I think it's being handled a lot better. And of course, brilliantly acted as anything to do with Stevie is.

The introductory sequence was upsetting but very well done, I thought. And the show seems to have remembered a one-off scene from the flashbacks in Stevie's first ep: Emma saying that Stevie was once going out with three guys named Dan at the same time (whether this means Stevie is polyam or she was cheating on three different boyfriends is unclear), and Stevie pointing out "one of them was a Danny". Perhaps the very same Danny from tonight. That would be fantastic continuity. Or if it's a coincidence, then what a coincidence it is.

This backstory for Stevie is one that, if it were for any other character, I'd say was a blatant retcon and had never been implied before. But Stevie is so incredibly emotionally repressed, that I can believe her having trauma like this in her past the whole time and it never coming up.

As for the current situation... well, Stevie was definitely out of line, but Harry clearly doesn't have innocent intentions in any of this. I think he just wants her out of the way because she figured out that he's very blatantly controlling Mel.

I appreciate how that story has been handled, as well. Because of Holby's dreadful "Madge is in an abusive marriage! No wait, her husband's a nice guy, it's her horrible burdensome disabled daughter that's causing problems!" storyline back in the day, I feared this Harry and Mel story was just going to be a repetition of that - but no, it's clearly a subversion. I'm not totally forgiving Casualty's recent handling of disability issues, but this is an improvement narratively over what I thought it was.

Also, it's interesting that we now have Faith literally taking the side of an abuser while trying to gaslight Stevie into thinking she's being ridiculous and doesn't know what she's doing. (Very, very far from the first time Faith has gaslit Stevie.) I don't think we'll ever get followup on that because that would mean the show acknowledging what a monster Faith is and I don't think that will ever happen, but... that scene spoke a thousand words.

Meanwhile, Stevie of course knows what she's looking for - because of her experiences with Marcus' coercive control of her. Jacob was one of the first characters to express scepticism of Harry's presence, too. Considering his relationship with Tina and where Harry's story is going now, I wonder if that was intentional?

The Rash storyline is still very, very well done IMO. It almost made me cry again. Neet Mohan is such a fantastic actor.

And I'm very intrigued by Tariq! So far, he seems quite likeable, and I think his dynamic with Rash is interesting. They're cousins, but their dynamic seems almost sibling-like, which is neat. Tariq seems to be something of a "cool older brother" type of character, and I like that.

I like Siobhan a lot so far, too. Not to bring up Madge again, but Siobhan does feel a lot like her, but that's not necessarily something I mind. I didn't much like Cathy (I think that was her name) from Corrie, so I was worried about what I'd think of Siobhan. Thankfully, my problem with Cathy seems to have just been the character, as I consider Siobhan quite enjoyably watchable.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the Paige and Jodie stuff. Both characters deserve much more interesting stories than this.

I hope beyond hope that Paige doesn't leave. I wouldn't want her to have such a lackluster last story, for one thing. And she has so much potential.

As for Jodie, again, why is the Max story falling to the wayside? It's ridiculous.

It was nice to get some more Jan and Teddy scenes tonight. I appreciated that a lot.

I don't know for sure, but I think next week is Max's last ep. I'm not expecting it to be satisfactory, but I hope it will be good.

#BBC Casualty #Casualty spoilers #tw;abuse mention

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cornfieldsrambles · 11 months

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so apparently it's the first ever aromantic visibility day today, so here's a little thing I wrote a while back!

it's written as a transcript of an audio recording of a conversation between two characters. under the cut.

CONTEXT: Both characters are 14. Jay (he/him) has had a crush on Rika (she/her) for a while now, and he's finally confessed. Unfortunately she didn't react well, almost having a panic attack before walking out. After a brief heart-to-heart with a mutual friend and the discovery of the word 'aromantic', Rika decides she owes Jay a proper explanation, writing out a script of everything she wants to say to him.

Title: Rika's Love Letter

*static*

…okay, it’s on. Great. Here goes, I guess.

Um. As you can see, I’m reading this from a script. I’m doing this because I kind of, I have, I have a lot to say, and I want to make sure I get it all out, nothing gets left out. No room for any Hollywood-style misunderstandings here. Alright?

‘Kay. So. Point number one, get this out of the way… um, yeah, I don’t- I don’t feel the same way. I’m guessing you probably already guessed, but I wanted to just make that clear, first of all.

Sorry.

Just- just stay with me, though! I’m not done.

Point number two… uh… wow, this is. This is harder to say than I thought. So. Do you… are you… are you familiar with the word ‘aromantic’?

…Just like, nod or shake your head or something.

You are? You know what it means?

*sigh* Great. Cool. There was like, an entire section of the script dedicated to explaining it. So that’s good to know.

*sound of paper scrunching*

Okay, well, yeah. It still feels weird - I only just learned what it was like half an hour ago, so I’m still kind of… processing everything, but… Yeah. That’s me. Um. Surprise?

So that kind of leads me to point number three… um… oh, this is. Mm. This is even harder to say, it’s- I kind of feel like a jerk saying it, but like…

I knew. About- about how you felt about me. I’ve known for almost a year now. And I’ve been avoiding it this whole time.

*deep inhale*

I’ve been really dumb about it. I used to think that everything would be fine, and we could just continue as normal, as long as neither of us made any kind of move. Like, as long as I didn’t acknowledge it, and you didn’t confess, we could just stay friends and nothing would have to change. My worst fear, this whole time, has been you confessing your feelings, because… I wouldn’t know what to do.

I could do two things and in my mind, neither of them were good. I could pretend to feel the same way, and like, string you along. Which I was NEVER going to do. You deserve way better than that! I wasn’t going to just lie to make you feel better for a while before it inevitably came crashing down.

Or… I could do basically what I just did. I could be honest, and say that I don’t feel the same. I played out that potential interaction like a hundred times in my head. And every time, any attempt I might have made to make you feel better, like tacking on a very pathetic-sounding “But it’s okay, we can still be friends, right?” just made it feel worse.

I don’t know. In like, TV and movies and stuff, they always always act like a guy getting ‘friendzoned’ by a girl is the worst fate that can possibly befall him. And I felt like… if I did it to you, even if it was just me being honest, I’d be doing you this, this horrible disservice that you didn’t deserve. So I thought the best thing to do would be to just pretend it wasn’t happening, and hope you magically stopped liking me like that, or met someone else who actually reciprocated your feelings, and then everything could go back to normal.

It was stupid. It’s stupid! It is. You can say it because it is. I guess…

I guess it was because…

I thought if I rejected you, it’d mean you’d start to feel awkward around me, and then we… couldn’t be friends anymore.

And that was the scariest thing of all. Because. Point number four. I didn’t want to lose you as a friend, because believe it or not I value our friendship so, so, so much! No - I’m serious! You - Jay, you’re such an amazing person, and even if it’s not in the way you want, I really do like you. You’re my absolute best friend, and… I hope… Look, I don’t want you to fake your feelings or pretend everything’s fine when it’s not, but I hope… at least eventually, we could - we could still be friends?

I don’t want to lose you.

You mean so much to me. And… You know what? SCREW all those movies and stuff that act like romance is the most meaningful connection two people can have. They can go… go… because… that’s it. I’m your best friend! And you’re my best friend! And that’s how it is, and yes, maybe in another world we might be something else, but…

Genuinely. No exaggerations whatsoever. You are one of the best people I know. You’re literally the complete package! You’re… you’re fun, and interesting, and you have a great sense of humour, and you’re kind, and you’ve told me so many facts about birds that I’m pretty sure you’ve got ME interested in them. Because yeah, birds are cool! And so are you! And… and…

…and I had no idea how to express all this like a normal human being, so I felt the need to write out this whole FLIPPING script…

*sounds of paper rustling*

…to explain everything because otherwise I’d stumble over myself a million times and we’d get nowhere.

It… Huh. It just occurred to me. This whole thing -

*more sounds of paper rustling*

- this is kind of like a love letter, isn’t it? ‘Cause, you know, I do. Love you, I mean. Platonically. But you know: writing down all your feelings on paper, to deliver to someone you love, that’s - that’s a love letter, right?

Uh. Anyway, that’s everything. You can speak now.

…Wow.

Sorry. I went on a bit, didn’t I?

I mean, wow. You, I mean, it’s, you, you really, I…

I’m very articulate right now, as you can tell.

I just, I really had no idea.

Sorry.

No-no-no-you-don’t-need-to-apologise! Seriously, you…

Give me a second.

*pause*

Right. You do not, in any universe, need to feel any kind of regret for what you just said. It’s just. A lot to process. I’m guessing it’s about ten times more for you, though.

You have no idea.

So - oh yeah, congrats on coming out! You’re aromantic! That’s really cool!

*laughter* Thanks.

Look, I’ll be honest. When you… walked out like that, I did kind of panic. I thought - I kind of thought the same thing you did, that I made you uncomfortable and now you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore.

No, no, it wasn’t you at all! If anything bad had happened it would have been my f-

AND I’ll stop you right there. It isn’t your fault! In fact… as weird as it seems, this right here is probably the best it could have gone.

I’m glad I confessed. Because even though it made both of us feel sucky for a bit, this whole conversation came out of it. I was having a hard time keeping all of this in, and from the sounds of it, so were you. So I don’t regret a thing.

And if there was no chance you’d feel the same, I’m glad this came of it, at least. Because - this might be a bit of an unconventional thing for someone who technically just got rejected to say, but…

I’ve never felt more loved. In my whole life. You… you really meant all that? All the stuff you said about me?

Every word.

Really? No exaggeration at all?

None. I was one hundred percent honest.

Like… me? That was directed at me? Are you sure-

Jay, can you just take the compliment?

Okay. Okay. Um. Wow.

…I guess sometimes you underestimate how much you mean to someone.

But. Look. Maybe it stung for a bit, sure. But I’m glad you were honest. Really. Because you mean a lot to me too! Like, you’re a fantastic person and if you don’t want our friendship to change, then… I don’t want it to change either. Because, you know. You wouldn’t be happy.

Not really? I mean. I guess. It’s kind of hard to explain. Theoretically, I always thought I liked the idea of dating and romance and whatever, but if it ever- Like, as soon as it became a question of a real-life person, and being in that sort of relationship with them in real life, it always felt… wrong.

See? So this actually probably went better than I could have hoped for! Because we’re still here, and we both got something huge off our chests, and we’re both a little more honest with each other.

Yeah. Yeah, I guess we are.

#aromantic visibility day #aromantic #fic #writing #my work #oc writing

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