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queen-of-elves · 10 months

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Armitage Hux x reader - Modern Office AU + some background Reylo

Summary: You have been working for First Order for years now slowly giving up on the idea of your dream project ever gracing your presence until it finally happened, however, there is a slightly cold and rude problem, other team leader Armitage Hux.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN (And I'm begging you to send me some)

A/N: There is not enough classic fanfics for Armitage and almost zero AUs so I am here to satisfy the bitches, it’s me, I am the bitches

+not betaread so be kind

Words: 5.8K

Warnings: some swearing probably, there is always swearing in my fics, talking about f themself cause corporate life is annoying, some inappropriate thoughts

Tags:@l0stinth3nightsky @this-harl0t-shant-be-unalive

Everyone in the company knew how mean and bossy Armitage Hux was, even if you were from a completely different department, but this project was going to pull you in his inner work team and it terrified you to get first hand experience with him. You heard plenty of times how he made new interns cry and the older ones want to commit a suicide. So you weren’t exactly thrilled at working with him even on a project you have literally dreamed of since being accepted to work for the First Order company, the most prestigious company among prestigious companies. The project required two different departments that almost never interacted which also didn’t help.

You were ready for the first meeting between two departments, each under the supervision of completely different people and personalities, to be just a horrendous trainwreck. But Armitage Hux being the team leader of the other one? You didn’t have to be some kind of prophet to know this was going to be painful just to watch. Even though you were anxiously expecting disaster to occur in the first meeting, the sunshine side in you just had to shine through. So you had an exceptionally good morning, you were on time, had a delicious bagel and the sky was sunny, therefore there was no chance of Hux fucking up your day.

The office building was huge but not exceptional among the other skyscrapers littering the city, molding it into cement block maze. The windows provide enough clearance for you to see the busy people already moving around in the offices above, you even noticed some of your own team members anxiously waiting for your arrival while preparing the rest of the documentation for today's team meeting.

You knew you were ready, your team also knew but that didn’t put to rest the anxious little monster growing inside your stomach. Still, you put on your best brave smile and entered the lobby, greeted the receptionist Clara and continued down the hall to wait for the elevator. Beeping your employee card on the scanner, to let you proceed to the elevator, put you right back into your morning routine, well, just for your coworker and a sort of subordinate, Rey bombard you with questions in the waiting line.

“Did you hear it?” Her voice sounded an octave higher than usual or maybe it was just your tired brain not used to loud sounds yet, nothing a good old coffee couldn’t fix in minutes.

“Hm?” Your brain was still too tired to properly answer and so you only mumbled an acknowledgement to her question. Slow sips of your latté seemed to clear your mind a bit, thank god for sales like bagel plus free coffee at the local cafe otherwise you would be unusable these days.

“You know what I mean.” You were sure if you were to meet eyes with Rey, she would pierce you with that intense gaze.

“The merge.” There was no merge, so far you weren’t even aware of any cuts in finances for this year or the one to follow. Whatever Rey was talking about was most likely just a bunch of bored employees gossiping and conspiring together, nothing major, nothing serious. This realization calmed you down even though The Merge sounded quite apocalyptic.

“I can assure you there is no merge, especially not between our two departments, Miss-” A voice interrupted but it did not intend to finish that sentence as if the owner was too busy to learn Rey’s name at all. He turned his attention to you, measuring you over, his calculating glare went over the ink stained hands to your low set black heels with that tiny cut on the left side you were so desperate to hide with black marker.

Armitage Hux waiting in front of the elevator for your arrival was definitely not on your list for today. He looked like a pristine image out of some magazine with men’s suits, his deep blue shaded suit with silver cufflinks perfectly paired with an expensive looking watch he was now checking printing itself in the back of your brain forever. Quite a nightmarish image of a handsome man with such a cold and cruel demeanor.

“You are both late. Meeting room 3 in 5 minutes.” And with that he was gone again, like a ghost, maybe he is a ghost of this building, stackup nitpicking cold monster that was stabbed by his tired employee centuries ago and now has to haunt the rest of you. He didn’t even turn around making you puzzle if he was truly addressing you.

“What’s going on?” Whisperyelled Rey, her wide eyes scanning the surrounding as if Armitage was going to pop up from the corner to remind her she has now 4 minutes left to be present in the meeting room.

“Trouble.” You simply answered your bewildered friend, there was no better answer to it after all. The morning you dreamed of was slowly fading into a nightmarish mess but at least you had now caffeined your brain enough to proceed to normal functions. Plus your team had your back, there was nothing to be afraid of except Armitage Hux and he was simply a man in a suit. Just an ordinary man in a tailored suit with a stoic expression.

And you were right, the team really had your back but Armitage definitely didn’t, he was mean and bossy and nitpicking and just so fucking insufferable. However, the meeting ended with both departments and their leaders arriving at a consensus, not a happy one. It almost reminded you of those messy divorce screaming matches in tv shows, except this was veiled in professionalism and formal language.

Of course your suffering didn’t end just as did the meeting, he was probably a sadist, prolonging your pain with his “Word?”. You were sure it wasn’t even a question, it was just an order for you to follow him straight to his office.

Armitage Hux’s office was neat as it can be, if it weren’t for the few scattered papers on the desk you would guess this was one of those exhibitions of furniture in Ikea. Well, even the Ikea display has more personality, some fakeass photos of happy couple/family. His office is neat until it’s bare, devoid of indicating anything about the owner’s personality.

That’s kinda sad.

“Listen, I know that the project is not top notch of the quality it could be but I think we have a solid plan we can now expand upon.” You had to win this argument, you wouldn’t let him defeat you over a project you so desperately wanted for years. So, if he wanted to fight you were ready to bare teeth at this twig in a suit.

“Oh, and before you say it’s-,” you couldn’t even finish before he interrupted you, “acceptable.”

“What?” You blurted out, completely stunned by his remark. Did Armitage Hux, after all that tousling about in the meeting room, admit the plan your team created is acceptable. Yes, there were few changes happening after the “discussion” of both teams but nothing you have not foreseen already that also didn’t mean you were happy with said changes. But consensus between two completely different departments is everything the leadership asked for.

“The proposal is acceptable, I don’t understand why I should be doubtful, so far you have only proven to be a valuable asset for the company.” Armitage was always the epitome of professional and now he was complimenting you. He was complimenting you, right? Maybe you had too much coffee, maybe you had not enough coffee and maybe God was spinning on his chair and laughing at you up in the sky.

“Oh, thanks. I will take it as a compliment, even though you sound like a formal email impersonator.” Gosh, did you really just say that to him? There was a cold sweat pooling down your back, anxiety ranking up. Was he going to yell at you for such a statement, what you have heard so far it wouldn’t be unusual for him to yell at people over smaller things.

“I don’t.” His expression could be only described as a deadpan expression. It’s actually kinda funny, not entirely scary. He doesn’t laugh, noted, but you do and you also make people laugh and so you set your new target.You almost look around to see a hidden camera or an entire camera crew as if in The office. And while you amused yourself in your mind Armitage sported back his expression to emotionless stare before turning his attention back to the documents on the desk.

“You do.” A small laugh escaped your lips at that moment and with his attention divided elsewhere you took it as an ideal time to run away exit the situation and also the office.

But before you could escape this storm of a man, he had to add. “Until the next meeting I expect you and your team to finish said plans.” And with that the conversation and mess of a morning comes to an end. However, there is still a lot of time for unexpected surprises before the day ends.

And so it began, the little you running circles in your brain over the thoughts of your new co-leader, the cold redhead slowly sneaking in your head again and again. It helped the clock to tick faster which was a good thing but the constant train of thoughts disassembling every part of your interaction with him over the time was like a cold shower every single time.

The last time you checked the clock read 5 minutes after 8pm and with that you started to pack your things ready to head home, have little dinner and continue with the paperwork over a random kdrama playing as a background noise. And as you bid everyone goodbye you noticed Armitage’s crouched figure in his office, going over some even more boring paperwork than was the one waiting on you at home. It was probably true, the first one to be in the office and the last one to leave that was Armitage’s schedule.

Sad.

And so you set your mind on a new plan, a horrible and cruel plan to ruin your late morning and exchange it for an early cold shower wake up and speed walk to a cafe not only for your favorite bagel but also a special delivery of coffee.

God, what am I even doing this early?

When the alarm buzzed you were around 100% sure you were making a mistake. Waking this early should be a crime. No, It is a crime. Especially when you were a busy little bee like you always are and spent the whole night until 3am working. But part of you knew it was going to be worthy, today was the day you were going to crack that tough ice cold exterior of Armitage’s facade.

If waking up this early wasn’t a mistake the cold shower definitely was but in all honesty you were just afraid you would fall asleep on the bus, so cold shower it was. In the end it was kinda worthy, you got your favorite bagel without having to wait in long line; got another free coffee, you had no idea if the sale was still on or if you just looked so terrible they felt sad for you and just had to give it to you; you also got Armitage his coffee and as a big finale you were on time, actually very early overall.

The office was ruefully empty. And there was no Rey to talk to, you knew she wasn’t going to be in the office until 9am but you still hoped even she would find the idea of early start amusing. In reality you expected to get laughed at when she finally decides to grace the office with her presence.

You might have felt alone in the empty corridors of the building but it was not so empty after all. The curtain might have been drawn but you could see a slim light escaping in between them from his office, the artificial light was definitely not sunshine.

He must have stayed up all night.

Mustering courage you knocked on his door before waiting on an invitation to let yourself in. It was useless, there was no sound coming from the office and so you knocked again and then again. Realizing he was not going to answer you decided to open the door and check up on him anyway.

He was sleeping on his desk with his suit jacket over the chair behind him and loose tie around his neck. The dress shirt slightly crumpled at the edges, his red hair tousled around and neck craned in such an uncomfortable position you were sure of his incoming back pain.

“Knock, knock.” You tried to say softly, just lightly waking him up but instead you groaned, your voice still not comfortable from no use this morning, startling him awake.

“I-” His form jolted, eyes flying open and searching the room for the culprit of his rough awakening. Blue eyes finally gazing upon you, Armitage looked boyishly handsome that morning, it was not just the wide expression but the state of disarray you found him in.

You decided against speaking, part of you afraid your blushing form would say something stupid, the stupid thoughts of the redhead not leaving you alone. The, almost like a cardboard, coffee cup made an uncomfortable noise once you pushed it on the table toward its owner, making the moment even more awkward.

He took a slow sip, still not fixing his hair or attire and part of you wished he never would, it suited him and you probably liked it even more than it actually suited him.

“How did you know what coffee I drink?” His voice still hoarse and laced with sleepiness painted your cheeks even more crimson red. God it made you imagine things, you didn’t even know from where the thoughts were coming but there was somehow no way to stopping them. Your view of Armitage Hux completely shattering and rearranging itself into a different image.

“It's just black coffee, Hux, I assumed you would like black coffee, you are like the embodiment of black coffee.”

“Thank you, that's very considerate of you.” His lips touched the cup in a cautious move before he took a sip, trying to hide his small smile but you noticed it, you definitely noticed it and you knew you won. You won Armitage Hux over with a simple gesture of kindness.

”Was it a compliment or?” You wanted to laugh and you wanted to see more of a happier Armitage from now on. You felt like you got closer to Hux at that moment, a possible friendship started to blossom between the two of you.

“Who knows.” Shrugging, he moved on to finally fix himself a little, smirk still apparent on his lips complimenting his tired stare. In that moment you wanted to experience more moments like this and you sure were going to try.

********

Finally it was the day the board would either accept the project or deny it. You couldn’t sleep for two days prior and even before that you slept only around 15 hours in a week, you felt almost dead. Both of you, Armitage and you, were now staring at your notebooks, ready to receive the final answer to your now weeks long struggle.

Armitage's notebook beeped, a notification sounding off, sending you flying across the desk almost into his lap, not even considering it could be a completely different email or even personal thing.

You and Armitage got closer, just as the both of your teams, over the weeks you spent on this project, countless nights together in the office seemed to harden your relationship even more. You had fun, Armitage was not only a hardworking perfectionist and handsome man, he was also very funny, like ridiculously funny in your opinion.

The email was long, like unnecessarily when it comes to formal corporal emails but the end of it was just so promising. Both of you skimmed over the words, searching for the phrases denied. There was none, the only thing in the end it contained was so sweet and wanted approval for your project, relieving you both of disappointment.

You were not sure who was the first, if you or Armitage, but now the both of you were jumping as high as you could while clinging to each other, a victorious hug. It could take only seconds or minutes, you squealing and Armitage yelling, hugging each other and jumping once again, but when it was over, the embarrassment in both parties was apparent.

Anyone could come into this office at any time, it was not uncommon for most of the higher ranking employees to just not knock and barge in and if they saw the team leaders of the current biggest project in the company disheveled and out of breath, who knows what they would think.

There was a common understanding of this premise and so the following actions were understandable, while you tried to smooth your skirt down, Armitage did the same to his hair and also his tie. He was still out of breath and a bit flushed, his look of happiness making you warm again.

“You should trust your guts more.” And again with his disheveled appearance, this man was going to be the death of you for sure. And while he was busy sporting himself back into his usual calm and perfect form you had to admire how far the both of you have come.

“Trust my guts? Armitage, I have a crippling anxiety.” Wholehearted laugh clawed its way out of your throat, making him smile. “That’s like the worst advice ever.” You continued still giggling like a little girl with your cheeks starting to hurt from all the happiness flowing inside you.

“I tried.”

“I appreciate it.” You gave him a small shy smile, your cheeks were still too warm for you to completely concentrate. “Thank you.” You whispered in the end.

“You are welcome.” Nodding fondly over this conversation, Hux gave you a smug expression, which you have completely missed because you turned your attention back to the documents you had to prepare for the next meeting.

“Even though you should be the one thanking me for my amazing advice.” Armitage chimes in, relaxed expression kept in place while he slightly nudged you in the ribs.

“Was it a joke?” Your face morphing into a shocked amused grin, you turned to him, observing the man momentarily. “Did Armitage Hux just make a joke?” You were not aware that Armitage Hux, the cold hearted redhead, could joke but you liked it and hoped it would stay like this for a while.

“I regret ever interacting with you.” You could see the slight smirk forming on Armitage's face when he spoke, unable to contain it. Since starting working on this project you and Armitage really got close, you would even call him your friend now. Yeah, he was still sometimes a cold prick but you could see the appeal of him. Handsome, smart and very passionate for his work with a decent sense of humor, Armitage Hux was definitely a catch. This project really opened your eyes when it came to him.

“You don’t.” Your elbow met what you firstly assumed would be a bony mass but in reality was well defined muscles under what you deemed was branded suit.

“I do.” He couldn’t fight the smirk off now. It was awfully obvious. The past you would probably be slightly horrified over the thought of Armitage Hux smirking. The picture of it being painted under the impression that he is obviously an evil corporate man. However, seeing him smirk now sparked something completely different in you. The silly picture of an evil man from a cartoon you used to hold in your mind when someone said his name was replaced with a charming looking redhead man in a suit with a warm aura around him.

“Nah.” You felt silly, stupid and giddy over this man and how warm he made you feel even though everyone viewed him as a cold and mean man he never was. “You love it.”

“Yeah, I do.” The stare he gave you made something carnal turn in you, it was not an alien feeling but with Armitage there was a new intensity to it. Red liquid heat pooled inside your belly under his loving gaze.

Oh.

“I-I have to go and- inform the team, you know- so they like- know and- stuff.” You titered a bit, unsure how to continue such a conversation. Did Armitage Hux really make your heart skip a beat now? First he jokes and now he makes your heart flutter, the world truly is full of wonders

“Yeah, totally. I-” He seemed absentminded for a second, something you could hardly ever see on the young team leader’s face. Everyone might talk about his cold attitude but no one could deny how dedicated Armitage was to his work. Even though you weren’t from the same department you knew long before this project presented itself in front of you, that he was the first in the office and also the last one to leave. His workaholism seemed even more prominent with his quick responses to your emails regarding the shared project no matter at which hour you would send them. It was something worth admiring and fearing at the same time. And now you were the one stuck in their mind and still staring at him.

“Hey, would you like- to go for a coffee or something?” His voice cracked in the middle, maybe it was trying to stop him from continuing but he still pushed through, the final bits of courage sending him past the finish line, finally asking.

OH.

“Your proposal is acceptable.” You tried to imitate his voice, those words as a reminder to the conversation you had with him after the first meeting.

“Thank god.” The relief on his face was comforting to see. Armitage was really keen to go out with you and it made you happy beyond anything.

Bonus little bits with Armitage’s POV:

He really hoped he could avoid Ben this morning but luck seemed not to be on his side this time. Armitage and Ben have been friend-workers since they both started in the company. They actually knew each other even before since they both went to the same college. At first they were not awfully close, Ben liked to annoy the fuck out of Armitage while he was trying to enjoy his morning coffee, lunch or evening run. Basically destroying nice things he liked but somehow the two of them stuck together and formed a sort of friendship over some time. That of course didn’t change anything on Ben annoying him with every single ounce he had in himself, which was the exact reason he really wanted to escape him this morning. This perfect late morning, he decided to enjoy himself and to read in bed until it was completely necessary to go to work. He never did that but recent sunshine in his office seemed to brighten his life and mood all the time so why not to enjoy a slow morning, he was after all always on time for 5 years straight now.

Armitage could see Ben towering over the cubicles scattered over the big room on the second floor of the company building. Ben was currently laughing over something some brown haired woman said, Armitage recently learnt her name was Rey and Ben was incredibly fond of her. This information was obviously carefully and pragmatically locked down inside his brain to be used later if the time called for it.

And so Armitage hoped he could silently walk down to his office without Ben annoying him so early in the morning, leaving him to reminisce about what today could bring him, especially if it was in the form of a cute co-leader he recently had the chance to meet. He was wrong, obviously, well not really, but yes, he was wrong.

The young redhead was correct when his thoughts browsed back to you and if you would be as cheerful in his presence as you were yesterday. What he however didn’t mean to summon was not only your attention but also Ben’s.

“Armitage!” And there you were, a sunshine smile and loud voice directing everyone's attention, including Ben’s, to yourself before they turned to see him.

He simply nods in acknowledgement without realizing his face was graced with a slowly spreading smile. Ignoring his previous distaste in morning conversation, giving her a small wave didn’t seem so annoying as greeting Ben.

“Well, well, well, who is trying to sneak by.” God, just his voice could irritate Armitage to death on most days but today it was exceptionally nightmare inducing.

“I wasn’t sneaking by. I was simply walking to my office.” He answers curly, not giving even a glance to Ben, his expression still souring into deadpan one.

“You should take your coffee with some milk, you are awfully bitter in the morning.” Ben sniggers, amused at his joke.

“You're the one who is quite giddy today. Did the board meeting yesterday go that well?” But Armitage is ready to fire back right at him.

“Nah, not really.” This finally got Ben to shut up and Armitage to go about his morning in silence.

******************

“I didn’t think you were the type to go crazy over a woman.” Ben’s laugh is loud and childish, echoing on the open walls of the main hall between offices.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” The look he gave to Ben was one of his favorites, offended and beyond believe irritated. It was a perfect illusion for him to uphold, ‘cause in reality Hux’s mind was in a midst of complete panic but still he kept on his killer pace to his office, maybe to lose Ben in the big space where the rest of the desk of their subordinates was located.

How much does he know?

This thought however, stopped Armitage in his walk, contemplating if he should address it more. And finally where he was sure his tongue wouldn’t twist itself in his mouth when he spoke of you, he turned around.

“You talk like a cartoon villain, you know that, right?.” Ben’s tall form was not leaning on the side of one of the tables , his gaze partly fixed at his phone before it’s lifted to assess the redhead’s reaction. It was deliberate, it was all planned out, a humiliating and uncomfortable situation Ben could trap him in easily, to get all the answers he wanted.

Now he knew he couldn’t win against that ridiculous giant, this was always a losing game. If he took it too seriously Ben would admit to only be joking, trying to get a rise out of him, if he continued to ridicule or ignore his questions Ben would only tease him more, a truly lost game in Armitage’s eyes. “God, please go and do your job.” But still he could try to collect any advantage he could get his hands on, the advantage being taking everything and shutting himself in his office until the end of the day.

-collects all his things and gets up to leave

“I am working.” Ben’s cheerful voice still followed him, digging into his back in a teasing manner. “No, You are not!” Armitage was aware how his voice boomed through the office making some employees turn their heads over the ruckus but Ben was quite oblivious to his friend’s voice’s effect. He actually couldn’t help but laugh at his friend for moments still unaware of the attention he was given by his colleagues hidden among the various desks in that room. However, even Ben was deemed to notice the confused look he was given by one of the younger secretaries over the small cubicle wall.

“Sorry.” His hands flew up in an apology or a manner that reminded most of them of surrender, before he decided to lift himself up from the desk and proceed to an elevator. Ben of course caught a glimpse of her, so familiar brown haired woman who was already entering one of the elevators. Feeling his chance, Ben's quick walking, caused by his slight embarrassment from the situation prior, turned into jogging when he thought he was already out of sight for the rest of his colleagues.

“Hi.” The elevator was empty except for the said brown haired woman, she looked pretty, exceptionally pretty. Well, she always looked beautiful and so to level the playing field, Ben put on one of his charming smiles before he glanced her way.

**************************

“You should ask her out.” This was coldly stated in the midst of conversation about going for a drink since both of the men’s projects were going to finish soon. The sentence positively stunning Armitage into a statue with a cold sweat pooling slowly down his back while his dark haired counterpart continued to munch on his sandwich.

“Ask her out or I will.” This time those words were slurred between Ben finishing the prelast bite and attempting to stuff the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. Ben’s tall form was stashed between the seating area and one of the tables, he was crunched over but no one of it helped to not make him stand out in the crowd of eating people with his broad shoulders. Ben always towered over everyone, except over Phasma from accounting actually, but everyone else was a victim to his high stature. It was almost comical just as his words. Still, Armitage fumbled with his hands, dropping from one the document he was reading while not being able to control the other, his grip on the sandwich slipping until it unceremoniously slammed in his lap and into the napkin he thankfully unfolded on it.

“What?“

“Ask her out or I-”“I heard you the first time.” Ben was used to Armitage’s cruel remarks or even interruptions but this was the first time he did so with such a vigor.

“Why did you ask then?” There was a knowing smirk painted on his lips, the redhead falling into his trap one more time.

“I know you won’t ask her out.” This confused Ben greatly. What did he mean? The dark haired man adored teasing his pale friend on a daily basis but it was almost unheard of Armitage opposing him. He did attempt to oppose several times and it was not exactly as playful as Ben wished for, usually it consisted of Hux reminding him to get back to work and where is the fun in that? But this time, this time Armitage had something on Ben and he absolutely didn’t like it.

“Rey wouldn’t like that, would she now?” What was left of the knowing smirk on Ben’s face disappeared seconds after those words were muttered into the air between the two men. This time it was Ben who was left with red cheeks and ears, absolutely flabbergasted and fumbling hands with the wrappers of his now gone lunch.

************************

Armitage didn’t even realize how organized you were but now that he had the chance to see inside your office he was lost for words. Who would have thought someone like you would have neatly organized folders with color marked projects and spreadsheets for time management not only for your team but your work.

“You are awfully organized.” He truly was in awe at how your space looked.

“Thanks?”

“I expected to find a battlefield in your office but it’s- surprisingly tiddy?” He didn’t mean tiddy, he meant a perfect, absolutely and adoringly perfect environment for him to exist, something that almost seems to be made just for him.

“That’s kinda rude, Armitage.” He was not known for making a lot of people laugh, maybe Ben but it was more of a laugh at his own account, with you it was somehow ridiculously easy, apparently.

“I was complimenting you.” He objects, trying to defend his honor, it was not in his intentions to come off as rude as it might have seemed.

“Sure.”

Again with the laugh.

“You should take it as a compliment. Organized people are h-,” he paused, gulping down his words until it weighed heavy in his stomach,”good.”

“Good?” There was a suspicious smirk playing on your lips as if you knew what he wanted to say but Armitage almost sure you had no clue, you simply wanted to tease him a bit more.

But God, what if you did catch his misstep? No, surely you didn’t. He gave you one more questioning look to make sure you were none the wiser.

“Yes.” He had to clear his throat, to compose himself a bit by bit but there was an unbearable weight at his chest, almost too consuming. “For business. Organized people are known to be very reliable and hardworking employees.”

Yes, good. They are good. I totally didn’t mean hot. Because organized women are totally not absolutely hot. And I totally just didn’t realize it’s a thing for me. Ha ha. Please, act normal.

Armitage’s brain must have looked like a scrambled egg now, trying to unravel all his thoughts into a coherent solid state so he could function properly while unsuccessfully avoiding all his thoughts involving you and this office.

“Found it.” You held up a blue folder with a little yellow sticky note poking out of the main pages.

Oh, yes, the scripts for the main document, that’s what brought the two of you inside your office. That’s why he was now stuck between walls adored with shelves upon which sat dozens of cute plants. A complete opposite of his office but very cozy, it was obvious you decorated the room with a clear idea of making it a positive and comfortable environment. The purple sofa in the corner ideal for-

Yep, Armitage was fully aware he was fucked.

#armitage hux x reader #armitage hux x reader au #office au #star wars x reader #star wars fanfiction #domhnall gleeson x reader #general hux x reader #isa writes #reylo #ben solo #rey and ben solo

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infamous-if · 1 year

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Wait wait hear me out I saw that ask about inputing custom lyrics and how you might include pre-set lyrics and idk your thoughts on AI but I personally have never written lyrics before in my life so when I got to that part of the demo I panicked and used ChatGPT for the first time ever and typed in something random like "give me a four line poem about..." and after a couple tries it turned out surprisingly well. I used "chainsmoking" and "sensual" as the prompt bc i'm an edgy bitxh and there were several good results but the one I picked for my playthrough just as an example was: "The way you inhale, with a practiced ease / Sucking down your cigarettes, such a tease. / The tendrils of smoke, they swirl and rise / My senses reel, your addiction my demise." and idk maybe I'm crazy but in my mind that goes kinda hard and fit exactly that edgy bitch vibe I was going for so maybe ChatGPT could be helpful in coming up with pre-set lyrics?

P.S. Oh also No One asked but my MC's band is called King July and the fan base is known as The Summer Court and I'm just really proud of myself for coming up with both names without using 50 million name generators (or even, like, one tehe) like I normally would with that kinda thing anyway hope this was yeah thanks byeeee :))))))

P.P.S. Wait sorry i realized i had a question so will we maybe have the chance to customize a "ship name" for our MC and RO kinda like how we could customize the fan base name or whatever like some Destiel Reylo shit bc I may be an edgy bitch but i'm also a cringe farmer so ya know yeehaw keep me in your thoughts and prayers

This is such a super awesome ideas and the lyrics are fucking sick.

BUT i do wonder the ethics behind doing that ahssdjs obviously it's okay for you guys to do it since it's your personal playthroughs but would that be alright using ChatGPT for a game I'm publishing publicly? Maybe I'm overthinking it but that's such a great idea hdshsdh

so far my lyrics have been pretty basic, but i do have plans to have the story maybe have full on songs which means...i need to get my songwriting chops up.

and your band name and fandom name are awesome!! everyone has been so creative!

as for a ship name, maybe! Shipping and fans pairing people together does come up so I would say most likely.

#inbox

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casgirl · 1 year

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Why the dislike of the (retellings) persephone/hades myth?

Isn’t it so girlboss empowered badass woman that Persephone was kidnapped and raped isn’t hades such a powerful daddy dom/secret soft boy. It’s so empowered and awesome that Persephone clearly ran away from her overbearing abusive BITCH mom which is of course never implied anywhere in the source material. Like. Whatever if there were only like one or two of these but this exact same misinterpretation of the myth is EVERYWHERE and it’s rotting peoples brains. Like please just write reylo fanfiction since you so clearly want to.

DISCLAIMER: I love hadestown hadestown is exempt because hades and Persephone’s dynamic in it isn’t about sexy power dynamics or whatever it’s a metaphor for climate change which is actually interesting and has something to say.

#rape cw

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lily-orchard · 1 year

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What do you think of the idea that people will never find leftist jesus? Regarding the cancelling of people like natalie and lindsay? Seems like a lot of people just strike down creators the moment they step out of line

You could not be more wrong.

Regarding the two mediocre liberals, this idea that they were 'cancelled' for a stepping a toe out of line is a narrative invented by their fans. Fans who have always massively outnumbered their detractors and were able to shift that narrative because of that.

What actually happened was a pattern set over years of them constantly running their mouths on the same damn topics over and over again, always dismissing their critics as 'radicals' and 'crazies' and then whining about being made the victim.

Natalie literally COULD NOT STOP mouthing off about other trans people, nonbinary people, ace people, etc. She was always doing it. Always debating nonbinary people's right to exist for sport. Always sneering at trans people who didn't want to go stealth and hang out in sports bars. Half her appeal was practically "What's this dumb rich asshole gonna say this time?"

And that comes from her roots in 'New Atheism.' A group of content creators whose entire thing was "everyone is stupid except me."

That was the same thing with Ellis. Ellis was so accustomed to being the smartest person in the room when she was working at Channel Awesome, and got really comfortable just rattling off boneheaded hot takes.

It wasn't just "Raya is an Avatar ripoff lol." It was also "moana doesn't count as representation because something something corpo." It was "the backlash to black Ariel is all bots controlled by Disney because woke brands." It was "Stephanie Meyer did nothing wrong. Quileute tribe? What Quileute tribe?" It was "What if someone made Reylo style fanfiction between Harriet Tubman and the monster who enslaved her?" It was "Hey, why are you soft-blocking someone who makes you uncomfortable? Wouldn't normal blocking get the message acro- Oh right, you're a teenager and that's your lolcow."

As time goes on people get less and less patient with you. Which is why Raya was the point where people just said "You know what? Just fuck off, Nostalgia Chick!" Hell not even that, it was calling the people who asked her to stop "crazies."

The thing is, "you will never find Leftist Jesus" does not mean "You should just take what you're given." You'll never find a perfect content creator, but you can at least find content creators who are not so aggressively resistant to personal growth. You can at least find content creators who don't have their heads jammed that far up their own ass. You can at least find content creators who aren't unhealthily addicted to Twitter.

Speaking of which, despite leaving Twitter permanently for realzies, guess who's back on Twitter mouthing off again?

Assuming you're asking sincerely, anon, riddle me this: How many chances should someone get? How many fuckups should you give someone before you just stop? This is actually the thesis of tomorrow's video: Sometimes you just have to accept that someone doesn't want to be the person you expect them to be, just flag them on Shinigami Eyes and move the fuck off.

There's this weird cross section of parasocial ideation and parasocial hatred. The people who are still blood-pissing enraged every time Natalie has a dumb conservative rich bitch moment are people who desperately want her to fix herself. But she won't. She doesn't want to. She likes where she is. She wants to be the "old school transsexual" complaining about the nonbinary kids to get off her lawn.

If she were moving forward as a person, growing and learning from her faceplants, that'd be different. But she's not. People make mistakes, but if they refuse to learn from them you can't keep hanging around hoping they will.

She's not coming back with the milk, and you have to accept that.

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rimouskis · 8 months

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once The Horrible Uncertainties are over and I have some modicum of stability in my life again, I plan on actively befriending an old coworker of mine.

we only worked together for less than a year before she moved on but she is snappily smart, incredibly gracious, humorous, and a lovely conversationalist. we've only hung out in group settings since, and while I love those booze-n-bitch sessions, we're still surface level friends and I think I want something more.

I'll admit I had an underdeveloped crush on her haha BUT I really like her husband! he's so nice! and they had that super-lovely wedding last year that I was so kindly invited to. really nice people who I definitely want to keep in my life + strengthen my bonds with.

I keep thinking about this smaller gathering we had where it was me, her, and a third woman we'd both worked with. it was nice and intimate because there were just fewer people and we all knew each other decently, but I KEEP THINKING ABOUT how we got onto the topic of fic (we'd been talking about books, and then those reylo fics that've been turned into books), and lo, this woman said she read fic!

and I even ended up recommended a few fics to her haha but there was this moment where I had the chance to be vulnerable and tell her what fandom I was involved in and what I read—this, hockey fic—and I chickened out.

I actually told her I'd sooner die than admit to it, lol, which is overly dramatic, but... man, in hindsight I think I regret that? like... I don't know. I've really felt like, after high school, where I lost my structured friend-making apparatuses (sports and theater, where you could bond with people over doing the same stuff alongside them), I've really struggled to make friends OUTSIDE of online spaces. because I'm so involved online, you know?

like, I have TONS of acquaintances. I can get dinners and drinks with people, sure, whatever, but I often feel like I hold some stuff back because I do dedicate a lot of time to fandom and while I can invite people to games with me (and I have), I've been very intentional about separating my fandom life from my real life because RPF, y'know, crosses some social boundaries! it's hard to admit to! especially when you live in the same county as the subjects of the RPF lol.

and like... the woman I'm talking about? she even admitted later in that conversation that RPF squicked her out! so, again, I don't think I made the WRONG decision but it feels like a choice wherein two paths were laid out for me and I once again chose the "safe" route because I was afraid. and I think about, okay, maybe you wouldn't have sold her on sid/geno, but that was a chance to be vulnerable and to maybe deepen a connection, and you backed away from it.

anyways, I'm not gonna show up on this woman's doorstep with the top 10 sidgeno fics printed out for her, but I think when my life SORTS ITSELF OUT I am going to invite her to go kayaking with me or to do some kind of activity because I like her a lot and want to build a friendship that can also do things solo instead of only within a group. yes.

also I need more local friends. I love all my friends in my phone but I want friends within a driving distance of me 😭

#life babblingggggggg

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goblins-riddles-or-frocks · 1 year

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since apparently there is a darklina Secret History AU in the world i had a fun ask idea. what would the general premise before these various darklina aus: - vampire story, - Heathers (1988), - POTO adaptation, - The Devil Wears Prada (2006), - Star Wars. Almost said Victorian era but i think it IS the Victorian era lol

AGDJFHDGGFF see the trouble is, most of these don’t need much adjusting!

Vampire AU

This would be really funny bc the Darkling is basically a vampire anyway. And him as like a centuries old melodramatic bitch and Alina as the disgruntled fledgling from the modern era with no sense of glamor whatsoever trying to figure out how to get rid of the fang lisp and being most bummed out bc she can’t buy a fucking mcmuffin in the morning anymore would be so funny.

As for the actual premise, I could see like really leaning into the age old reincarnated wife trope, but maybe going in the OG Dark Shadows take on it, where it’s more about trying to *make her* into the old GF and kind of brainwash her into it. But she actually turns into a vampire very early on and you get the above incompatibilities in full force.

(That being said. A typical Dracula AU of the TGT gang would also be VERY FUN)

Heathers

OH MY GOD I mean frankly I don’t think this needs any changing whatsoever, the Darkling is simply JD. Alina as Veronica is a mildly harder fit but she has that same kind of sarcastic grit. I feel like the biggest hurdle is getting his characterization to a point where he’d want to suicide bomb the whole school— I do not think he’s at all typically prone to self destruction over having the chance to at all control anything. But if LB managed to make Dark Academia Darklina *cute* and actually compatible then I think Heathers!Darkling can be a messier more destructive flavor.

If we’re going way off script though. I think Darklina as the very very fucked up teacher/student serial killer duo could be INTERESTING.

Phantom of the Opera

Not going to lie, the funniest part of this is making the Darkling ugly because he’s SO vain. I think if his face ever got fucked up he’d be so wretched about it. I would like to see it!!

I think it’s actually really simple to just swap out his grand plans with the obsession over music. And there’s a fairly 1:1 similarity there of Erik’s belief that he is owed Christine’s love because he’s suffered so much in his life and the Darkling thinking Alina is like the cosmic answer to his loneliness and his rightful soulmate whether she wants to be or not goddammit! And of course there’s the mentor/protégée aspect and inherent manipulation. I think the end result of such an AU would probably just be Kay!Phantom if Christine was an angry wet cat.

Anyway literally like 75% of the reason I like TGT as a fandom source material is because it allows me to play dolls with characters that can be slotted into a POTO meets Elisabeth das Musical type dynamic with a) actual magic, b) no real history to feel weird about c) a phantom type character that is not ugly agshdf I’m shallow okay

Devil Wears Prada

I’m kind of going insane over the thought of the Darkling in the fashion world. He would kill at it tbh. I think pretty much everything would be the same as the movie except we just have Alina and him as Andy and Miranda Priestly analogues, and they shack up together lmfao. 10/10 no notes, I don’t think anything else needs changing.

Star Wars

So on principal I refuse to Star Wars AU anything but also I mean wouldn’t that basically be if Palpatine and Padme were fucking? People want to make Darklina and Reylo comparisons all the time but come on he’s 100% a Palpatine

#for context I’m reading ninth house and you can’t convince me darlingstern isn’t just darklina in a different font #idek how to tag this #darklina #alarkling #grishaverse #all the bendy punctuations #i ramble sometimes #AU corner #AU hour #whichever is my AU tag lol

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mermaidsirennikita · 11 months

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ARC Review: Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

4.25/5. Releases 7/11/2023.

For when you're vibing with... a Julia Roberts-era romcom, wedding planner romance, gruff but swoonworthy, lovely heroes, and messy bitches who can't do emotion right.

Workaholic Ama has booked a celebrity wedding that will skyrocket her notoriety as a planner. The only problem? The florist is her ex, quiet, grumpy Elliot Bloom...who is none too happy to see her after she broke his heart. Determined to make the situation work, Ama and Elliot try to avoid one another as much as possible--but there's unfinished business between them, and it could push Ama to question everything she believed about herself.

Oh, this is a good one. Emotional and reminiscent of the 90s/early 2000s romcoms I love, this book wears it heart on its sleeve. The Reylos know how to do a romance novel, dude.

Quick Takes:

--I love a wedding backdrop for romantic stories, and this book milks it. It gave me My Best Friend's Wedding and The Wedding Planner energy; there's the high emotion that comes with wedding planning, plus the drama and the inherent wistfulness that occurs when you're not the bride but maybe, just maybe, you really want to be a bride. Forget Me Not nails that energy, and it's also just a lot of fun in that sense. Plus, I really believed that Ama loved her job, and that's kind of a lynchpin of the plot.

--Our leads were a great match. Like I said, Ama is all about work; whereas Elliot is very good at his job, but it's more about family legacy. She lives to work, whereas he works to live. It's a good conflict. But at the same time, they give each other something. She pushes him out of his shell, he gives her a safe place to land. They fuck like rabbits and hold each other sweetly. There's a real sense of "oh they are in looooove" in this book, and it made my heart warm.

--I mentioned this author is a Reylo. For me, that's not something I actively seek (I have nothing against the ship, I've read really good Reylo fic, I disagree with some interpretations of the ship and agree with other, darker takes, I love Adam Driver as an actor and Daisy Ridley does nothing for me--I'm very "middle of the road" on it) but I'm also happy to see it. And let me tell you, I could seeeee the "things we project onto Adam Driver as a man who wishes to not be perceived on the internet" vibe to Elliot, in the best way. He's shy in a way that comes off as stern, he's struck by Ama but doesn't know what the fuck to say, he'll put her on her hands and knees in his car and then, when he realizes she's been knowingly driving a car about to fall apart for months, glare at her and competently take care of it. God... he really does it. He does it. The competency, the suppressed emotion, the floral tattoos! Damn.

--I feel like Ama might be a heroine some don't respond well to, because she is unabashedly forthright about her wants and needs--or at least, what she thinks she wants and needs. At the same time, she clearly pushes for things with Elliot without being willing to follow through, sending him mixed signals. To me, she was extremely relatable and human. I love a commitment-phobic heroine, and I sure would love to see more of them. To me, both Ama and Elliot make mistakes in this novel, but never because they want to hurt each other. They're just... people.

--We have a classic romcom-type villain in this book, and that is something I personally love.

--I will say, the format is unusual--sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Ama's POV is largely in the present, nearly three years after she and Elliot broke up. Elliot's POV is largely in the past, during their relationship. The timeline for both eras is relatively short-ish, and you see a lot more of Elliot and Ama interacting romantically in the past than you do the present, because the present is about like... working towards a reunion. It's realistic, in a sense, because these two really just should be together and their conflicts are internal. But I did wish that we could've seen them interact a bit earlier in the novel, and it did take some getting used to. It's interesting, I just think there could've been a bit more flexibility in the structure. I will say, it did add to the MAX ANGST of the present in Ama's POV.

The Sex Stuff:

Oh, it's hot. We bemoan the state of sex in many traditionally published contemporaries at the moment, but this one is really sexy. I was pleasantly surprised by how their sexual relationship began--you don't see that vibe in a lot of contemporary trad romances. And Elliot is, again, kind of the ideal man: he's a lovely sweet baby who will fuck the absolute shit out of a woman. Also... they talk flowers during. Like, "recite these flowers until you come" kind of talk.

I'm excited to see what Julie Soto releases next, and honestly? I could totally see this as a movie. It's a really solid, truly romantic debut, and it did in fact... give me the feels.

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #arc reviews #netgalley #book recs #book reviews #books

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thottybrucewayne · 1 year

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A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO HELL: 2023 EDITION, LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!

Anybody that's still dick gobblin JK Rowling. At this point yall can't be saved. Perish. Yall be going two hand twist Teanna Trump full throttle on her shit 24/7 365 and for what? A children's book series that really should have stopped being relevant the second yall heard the bitch was bumping coochies with terfs on Twitter dot com? Be serious

Anybody that defended Tory Lanez. But especially the niggas that were 10 toes down and nipple deep in conspiracy theories because they were too pussy to admit they just wanted to participate in the harassment of a Black woman. You going to the hottest part of hell if you really believe that "roc nation got him!" Or any other bullshit

White leftists who hold zero community with Black people either online or irl but wanna act like world renowned Doctors of Niggalogy the second they hear about anything a Black leftist is doing. I'm fitting yall for some gasoline draws as we speak

White tiktokkers. Yall showed yall ass so bad last year that you all gotta go at this point. Yall getting packed like sardines and will be down there within 2 to 3 business minutes

Like 99.999999999999999% of anime/manga fans. You niggas are so deeply unserious about everything to the point where a prominent figure in the anime news community was exposed for being a literal "ex" neo nazi and yall tried to sneak forgive him 2 months later because "everyone makes mistakes" you're spineless and weak and I'm spitting in your eye before I pull the lever to the flaming depths below

Speaking of anime, anyone who was involved with anime abridged series but especially in the 2010s. Yall are going to the front of the line. I ain't forget what yall was doing with Canary from hxh

Anybody who is ridiculously overly critical of the "state of female rap" but refuse to speak on these mid tier male rappers that be stinking up the girls records with they features

Paula Abdul and Jlo. They both know why.

Anyone who makes Ike and Tina/Whitney and Bobby jokes

Anyone who thinks up north and Cali aren't racist. 9 times outta 10 you are the embodiment of northerner/cali racists we be talkin about

Anyone who argues that slur reclamation makes a word not a slur anymore. A. That's not how that works B. Now I know why yall wanna say nigga so bad

Anybody who still listens to them nsfw anime boyfriend audios on the public library computers. You and the dude on xvideos a seat over from you are 2 sides of the same coin

Batman "fans" who say shit like "why doesn't he just kill the joker?" Yall add nothing new to the conversation like ever and its literally painful to talk to you

Anyone who takes hoteps, Dr. Umar, or DJ akademiks seriously. You was born a fool and you'll die a fool

Niggas with podcasts. Enough

Whoever keeps coming up with them twitter hypotheticals that rule every conversation within the Black community for a solid week. I'm convinced you are a psyop tasked with sowing chaos within the Black community. You must be terminated.

Anybody who recommends me corny ass cornball corn on the cob ass media then expect me to like it. Cause like....what you trying to say?

VAUSH

Yall nbs who keep jumping up to defend raceplay/slaveplay in any kink based controversy on here even though nobody was fuckin talkin about raceplay/slaveplay

Reylos. Self explanatory.

Booktokkers and Booktok authors

Niggas who eat chitlins but are picky about other food. Slurp them doodoo noodles in hell, babes.

People who think "blackwashing" is real. Self explanatory.

Men who look like they smell like cold spit and earring backs who talk cash shit about fat women. Yall gonna be roasted on a spit and I'll be turning it.

Pickmes. You've finally been picked! To burn in the lake of fire for all eternity.

And finally, anybody and I mean ANYONE who is still doing stupid shit like licking subway poles for attention. I hope all 8 million diseases of the naked city on that damn pole attack your immune system and breaks you down on a molecular level till theres nothing left.

#thotty speaks #thotty rants #going to hell list 2023 #feel free to add some in the reblogs

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trickstarbrave · 10 months

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what do you mean by ""reylo dynamic""??

okay. first thing to understand is when i say "reylo dynamic" in a ship or pairing or style of writing romance it isnt unique to reylo. a lot of popular fandoms have some variation of "the reylo dynamic" its just reylo has popularized and kind of mass marketed what used to be a niche fandom ship dynamic so its what i call it as shorthand

The Reylo Dynamic™ usually has specific traits (note: it does not need to have all of these, just a significant amount). canon characterization does not matter either, all it comes down to is the fandom portrayal of the ship by and large (think dramoine and kacchako). the only hardline one is this:

>spunky female character (usually protag of the story) who is at least a little combative with the male lead, and a male lead who is otherwise grumpy/brooding/mysterious

for the common traits:

>female lead is usually brown haired, shorter, with emphasis on being petite and small. idk why even reylo stories they do this even tho daisy ridley isnt that short???

>male lead is usually dark haired and typically described as "unconventionally attractive" exactly

>female lead usually has to prove herself or feels like she has to prove herself. like. as a big thing. it can be one big moment or her constantly feeling like shes being condescended to for some perceived weakness (like: being a woman, being small, not knowing how to control magic powers, whatever). important thing to note is she will often not get over this until like the very end of the story if ever

>usually bc this dynamic can be hard to accommodate for and write around (bc the two romantic leads DONT WANT TO BE AROUND EACH OTHER) there is usually some kind of plot contrivance keeping them together. fated lovers, soul mates, class project, you name it. i feel this is usually a cop out bc i spend most of the plots feeling like they should just fuck and get it over with

>there is almost always miscommunication. and the annoying kind. every time i have tried to suffer thru a story with The Reylo Dynamic™ in novel format i find myself annoyed. bc i dont believe most of the time this is a real, normal, very human break down of communication. i constantly feel like one of them is being an unreasonable or frankly stupid brat in the situation purely for the sake of plot convenience. do you know how dumb it is to see a woman who has lost her job, her only friend, her boyfriend, and her mom get told by some hot guy "hey due to circumstances outside of ur control that i dont blame u for we have to get married also im rich and will take care of ur every need and im not asking for romance i just need magic powers back of mine that u technically have and if u dont marry me they'll also go out of control and kill you" and the woman. is mad and pissy abt it and deliberately makes problems for him. bitch u were at rock bottom and this guy is offering u free rent and food and answers to all the questions you had since chapter 1. and ur mad abt it. theres no moral objections she has to him she's just annoyed bc????????????? i guess she is being asked to do something????????? bc she doesnt wanna look weak?????????? bc shes cranky??????????????? i dont know. id cut her some slack to start with but she just keeps deliberately antagonizing him until they fuck. i gave up reading it was a slog

>lots of bickering and jabs at the other. depending on the rating of the story this will only be resolved with hatefucking. even then it usually wont fully be resolved. while i am a fan of hatefucking there is smth abt how much of a slog it is to watch it in the reylo dynamic bc of the next point:

>usually the author never commits to them having a real, genuine, non-imagined reason to being combative with each other or hating each other, NOR having a real, genuine, non-imagined reason to be together and make it work and be happy. they live in this limbo between dislike. a constant "will they wont they" but instead of the will they or wont they in question being hooking up its instead if they will break up or not. it's like watching a very incompatible couple refuse to work things out by talking and sorting through their own issues AND refusing to just break up and see other ppl more compatible. id rather there be genuine dislike or even hatred they have to sort thru and actually make progress in. dont half ass making a guy horrible. give me a reason why the mc hates him. or if it is imagined by the mc, show the mc processing it properly and working thru it and having proper character growth. but they dont bc the bickering is part of the appeal and making one or both of them genuinely bad ppl breaks the fantasy. or smth.

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night-unfurls-its-splendour · 1 year

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When the Longing Returns (Phantom of the Opera 2004 Fanfiction) || Erik x Christine

Ch. 2 Author's Notes

Read the Fic here on tumblr or read a spicier version on AO3

◇ I specifically refer to the carriage here as a barouche, because I was tired of using the word carriage. I couldn't call it a coach because a coach is fully enclosed so I went and did my research and it's definitely a barouche. Which is to say a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a collapsible roof. They may have one or two rows of seating. The one used in the movie has only one.

Fun fact, a barouche is specifically mentioned in Leroux's novel, though it's not the carriage that Erik actually takes Christine out in, which is a Brougham.

◇ Let's talk about Gerik and the gloves. Has anyone else noticed the fact that movie!Erik has gloves and stage!Erik does not? So the whole first part of the First Lair he's touching her sexily WITH LEATHER GLOVES, and not actually making any skin contact. Of course there are the BDSM tones there, but more importantly this could be read as him keeping a barrier between them, either out of fear or respect for her or both?

The skin on skin occurring for the first time in the graveyard when he holds her hand to give her his ring is pretty significant, but it was overshadowed by the even more significant fact that he's just put his ring on her finger. So a bare-hand face touch registers even more for the both of them because he's touched her face before, but only with gloves on.

My Reylo bitches out there will understand my love of a gloves-on-gloves-off runner, I'm sure. Once again, Joel Schumacher and Alexandra Byrne doing me a solid.

◇ I did say we'd be getting more of the ring, and you know what there's even more details forthcoming. The ring is my favorite character, I guess.

It's very, very important to me (as I said in the notes for chapter 1) that this ring be one of his own rings. I really wanted it to be personal to him, something that is part of his every day attire. This way, when he gives it to Christine, while it does stand in the conventional role of the wedding ring in 19th century France as a visible claim of ownership (bride bought and paid for--it was not uncommon for only brides to have wedding rings, so there was no indication of mutual belonging, either), but also subverts and transcends it.

This ring is not one he bought and paid for solely to stake his claim on her, but something he owned already, something that is his own posession, and symbolizes not just that she belongs to him, but that he is entrusting to her and giving her possession of himself and everything that is his, both emotionally and in terms of his worldly goods. In a time when good men of society (like Raoul) for all intents and purposes legally owned their wives, this extra-legal promise of spiritual marriage being sealed by the man giving his property to the woman to keep for her own seems particularly impactful and very stirring to me. It also seems like exactly the type of thing Erik would do, since everything about him exists outside of convention and the rules of society.

This all likely stems from my obsession with old fashioned Anglican wedding vows--which were ironic because in England, too, men legally absorbed all their wives' possessions and were capable of cutting off the wife's access to her own money if he chose to, but read:

"With this ring, I thee wed. This gold and silver I give to thee.

With my body, I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods, I thee endow."

And while I can slide that right into my Twilight OC fic where the OC in question was the daughter of an Anglican vicar, I can't do the same with my PotO fic, so I have to sneak in little homages wherever I can.

Also I just cannot get over the idea of Christine wearing what is obviously a man's ring as her wedding band. Every time she looks at it she's going to think first and foremost, not "Ooo, sparkly" but "Mm...dark sexy man..."

◇ "Christine hid the surge of indignation she felt at his use of the epithet, fighting to keep it from breaking into her face, but she couldn't prevent her grip from tightening, harder than she even thought possible of herself."

This is very reminiscent of the moment in the novel when Christine, in a moment of confrontation with Raoul, grips his arm with a strength "no one could have suspected in a creature so frail". This is demonstrative of the power and independence Erik has instilled in Christine by awakening her sexuality and maturity. Interestingly though, I did not write this as an homage to that moment, because I hadn't even read the book yet.

◇ I don't know about you guys, but I love historical fashion. So when I'm reading historical romances written in the modern day, it really gets up my nose when clothing descriptions are fumbled with or glossed over using terminology that sorta sounds old-timey. You might think you're being vague enough to get away with it, but not with me you're not.

It really takes me out of the mood in historically set smut when it talks about the man just undoing the buttons on her dress and she's not wearing anything underneath. No corset, no stays--no chemise. Hate that shit. Unsexy. (Glares at Julia Quinn)

And on the off chance that she is wearing some foundation garments, they're usually handled all wrong.

So I'm gonna take a self-congratulatory moment to talk about the little clothing things here that I did to make sure we're feeling fully authentic.

Christine undresses in the dormitory and she's described as "loosening" her corset laces, not "unlacing" her corset because corsets of this period didn't need to be fully unlaced to get them off. Really, few corsets after the romantic era did.

Emmy Rossum's corset in the movie is *fine*, as Hollywood corsets go,

but if you want a good idea of what a real, functional corset from the early 1870's would look like this is it.

Note how the shape is slightly different.

Also worth noting is the fact that i have Christine crawling into bed in her chemise after undressing. The chemise, for anyone who doesn't know, is the basic undergarment throughout basically the whole of modern history, from the medieval period right up to the edwardians. They were a bit like a slip and were essential for keeping your nasty sweat and body oils OFF your good outer clothes and also your first line of defense against corset chafing. Madame Giry is seen in an excellent example of period correct corset and chemise. (And the corset even looks like it kind of fits her) They also doubled as your nightgown unless you were rich. Christine obviously has a proper nightgown, but I figured that she would probably not bother to put that back on for a morning snooze.

Now as an aside, the movie (which is my primary basis for this fic, though I'm bending some things and taking some liberties) begins in 1870. Christine's silhouettes are straight up mid- 1860's. About 1865, if we wanna get specific. Her gala dress is DIRECTLY inspired by this portrait of Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, which was painted in 1865. So that's a problem in Canon.

◇ Writing this chapter from Erik's POV for the first time was basically me with the Big Book of Insults for Young Men open beside me and it was so much fun. I loved letting him revel in Christine playing Raoul like

And frankly that was me as well, and I hope all of you.

#when the longing returns #poto fanfiction #authors note #erik x christine #the phantom of the opera #poto 2004

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alligatorjesie · 2 years

Text

Oh look a open mouth which is soon to become my toilet

Have you ever just been strolling along in your own fucking tag minding your own shit? You know, enjoying the borderline smut and fanfiction postings. Doing a little weeding by removing some porn bot posts because a tumblr is a little like a garden and sometimes you got to tend to it when all of a sudden BAM You ‘ve stepped in a pile of shit shaped like @somethingscarlet13, the living example of tightly coiled dog crap, because some thoughtless owner couldn’t pick up this bitch’s shit.

I can see why you practically disabled your post to any kind of replying because this is a fucking dog shit take and you know it. Any reylo is going to come in from on high to tell you just fucking so because you’re also dog shit at tagging. Which; I hate to be the one to fucking inform this to you but censoring the word reylo in your post but then not fucking doing that in your tags don’t censor a single fucking thing. I just can’t- I can’t figure out your fucking thought process. Do you even fucking have one?

I get it, you don’t fucking like Ben Solo, what the fuck ever. You know something? I really fucking hate.. let’s see here, The rapper Eminem. He’s just not my fucking jam but if you take a moment and look through my tumblr you can see I’ve never mentioned him once because I don’t fucking care and I don’t make hating something a fucking keystone of my fucking personality. I don’t fucking need to either way, cunts like you are fucking everywhere in the places I never fucking want to see you. Just springing forth from the ground, fully formed and spraying shit every which way.

Don’t like Reylo? Well that one’s real fuckin’ easy just stay the fuck out of the fucking tag mate. I stay out of the Eminem tag and look at fucking that! Never a single fucking issue! It’s like getting angry at sharks for being in the ocean. That’s were they fucking live. Besides twitter there is really nowhere else for reylos to go so IDK brah, just avoid this fucking tag if you hate it so fucking much.

Guess it ain’t much of a surprise that you feel this way since you can’t gather enough common fucking sense to figure out how the fucking tags work that you couldn’t do 3 fucking minutes of research on the history of the character you’re complaining about instead of, you know, researching it. There are 2 books pre-sequel trilogy that, while Ben is very young in both of them do a very good job illustrating that Han and Leia never really even tried to give up their busy lives to raise a incredibly powerful force user child who might have more needs than your average child. Bloodline by Claudia Gray which is about Leia doing politics shit and basically rebuilding the Resistance. And Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, which is... actually about quite a few things but mostly about various Resistance members. It’s a good read not that I suspect you’ll ever fucking bother. Reading comprehension is hard for you, I understand. Either way the point of both of these story is Han never once stopped going on smuggling trips and Leia never stopped being very entrenched in galaxy politics. Fuck, I don’t think she ever even stopped being a leader of the Resistance or if she did it was only for a few years since she starts right back up when Ben is still a fucking baby. All of this shit was always going on in the background radiation of this family’s life. Now it’s not fucking crazy to assume that Leia probably never let Ben go on adventures with Han because... well we’ve seen some of Han’s adventures and they rarely go fucking well. Han looks like the kind of guy who would lose his kid in a gambling bet. So Han’s probably not in this picture a lot to start with. The stabbing in EP7 didn’t come out of left fucking field mate, this shit grew from issues in the relationship since Childhood. Abandonment probably chief among them if Ben’s dialog is any fucking indicator. “And Han Solo... You feel like he's the father you never had. He would have disappointed you. ” ~Ben Solo, talking about his father. Well boy fuckin’ howdy is that don’t feel like some fucking resentment there. Fuck me up the fucking ass, Leia and Han even have this fucking conversation about it in the same fucking movie: Han Solo: Listen to me, will you? I know every time you... Every time you look at me you're reminded of him. Leia: You think I want to forget him? I want him back. Han Solo: There's nothing more we could have done. There's too much Vader in him. Leia: That's why I wanted him to train with Luke. I just never should have sent him away. That's when I lost him. That's when I lost you both. Han Solo: We both had to deal with it in our own way. I went back to the only thing I was ever any good at. Leia: We both did. Han Solo: We lost our son. Forever. Leia: No. It was Snoke. He seduced our son to the dark side. But we can still save him. Me. You. Han Solo: If Luke couldn't reach him, how could I? Leia: Luke is a Jedi. You're his father. There is still light in him, I know it. An entire fucking scene where they both openly admit they probably weren't great fucking parents and this might be the reason Ben fell to the dark side and then there’s this fucking asshole trying to tell us fucking otherwise. As if, to them, Ben Solo was always evil from the start and this was just bound to happen regardless of how good or bad his parents were at parenting. As if it wasn’t a tremendous moment of broken trust from a member of his family he trusted the most that forced him to turn away from the light. Ben was at Luke’s academy for how many years? Around 10? Because that’s something else they never really mention in the movies but Ben Solo was sent off to his uncle at the tender fucking age of 10. That’s very early to be removed from your parents to go live with your monk uncle because we can assume through very basic Blues Clues level context clues that Ben was getting hard to handle. Almost like we never learned a single fucking lesson from Anakin, a young child who was also taken away from this mother at too young an age to be raised in a emotionless warrior cult where surprise fuckin’ surprise he didn’t learn how to control his emotions and became a fucking monster. It’s not a fucking subtle analogy. They didn’t do fucking anything to help Ben once he went to Snoke and instead just turned right around and went right back to the fucking shit they knew. Ain’t that some shit? Oh but yes the reylos are wrong because there is actual proof that Han, walking human fucking disaster, and Leia, queen Bitch, were bad parents actually. Sweet Cheesus Crust, you must just be completely starving for oxygen from having your head rammed so far up your ass.

#Reylo #i woke up and chose violence #And I'm going to say fuck a lot while I do it

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