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sourwormsaresour · 3 years

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Headcanons on the type of pets La Squadra would own?

Holy shit this was too fun to make, especially with giving the pets names.

Sorbet and Gelato have their own Crusty-White-Dog™ that's a Maltese Terrier named Armani. The dog hates and barks nonstop at everything deemed threatening (aka, everyone and particularly the rest of La Squadra) and yet those two will claim she's the sweetest thing in the world. True to her name, they deck her with Armani branded clothes, either specially made dog fashion or they had a DIY done to make it look like an Armani outfit- down to the bright pink leash she wears dripping in the Armani logo. She eats the finest dry kibble and only drinks Ferrarelle Sparkling water; she will know the difference if you switch it up. She's the epitome of "I demand pets but only do so with your eyes" to everyone. Despite loving Sorbet and Gelato the most, she demands all their attention on her and she will cockblock those two if she catches them being affectionate to each other instead. Despite having a nice bed, she always sleeps between the two of them and will whimper if they kick her out of the bedroom so they can get intimate. Those tear-stained eyes always look like they've seen everything, despite being constantly babied by her owners. If Armani could, she would kill everyone.

Risotto, the biggest man in Vento Aureo, has a little Syrian hamster he called Ace. He thought that a pet with a shorter lifespan would allow him the perfect balance of having a pet but not being very attached to it compared to pets that live longer- he was wrong. If you ever come into Risotto's office as he worked, either you are greeted with Ace running around in his green hamster ball, walking around Risotto's desk as he worked, or running in the hamster wheel behind the desk. Ace's tank is an old Aquarium tank Pesci gave to Risotto that is now full of soft bedding, toys, and Risotto frequently cleans it. There are days where Risotto just spends hours watching his hamster walk around the room, eating little treats, and staring at Risotto with its beady eyes. It's gotten to the point where you can't walk into Risotto's office without noticing a lone sunflower seed or piece of bedding on the ground that Risotto didn't notice until you pointed it out. Every time Ace passes from old age, Risotto buys a new Syrian hamster and calls that one Ace. He hasn't kept track of how many hamsters that came and went so far, but treated every one of them as if they were the first Ace. He takes pictures of Ace doing the most relatively boring things and will share them with his members.

Illuso got a Sulphur-crested cockatoo named Scapino as a joke. He thought they didn’t require much attention but later felt bad when he found out that they need specific proper care. He proceeds to care for it as if it was his child. Illuso taught his bird how to speak and swear at people, specifically swearing at Formaggio and occasionally at Ghiaccio. This man will shower his bird with the best treats (expensive nuts, dried fruit, chicken bones) and has a special bar for it to perch on when they're in the shower together. This bird has free reign all over Illuso's place and wears a little anklet thing to verify that it has an owner should it escape. The two of them have spa days together and it’s one of the most wholesome things in the world to witness. Scapino will actually join Illuso on missions too, staying in the mirror world the whole time, and it provides him some comfort from his social anxiety. Sometimes Scapino sits on his shoulder as he walks. Illuso trained it to stay and hide in the mirror world so that it wouldn’t fly away or blow his cover when he’s working. But the bird will fly around in there and will watch anyone that’s getting murked in front of him with no remorse and commenting on it too. Imagine you’re dying in the mirror world and your last moment is this fucking bird looming over you going “night night, motherfucker”. JESUS CHRIST.

Prosciutto used to be on the whole “pets are unnecessary” train but he had considered looking at breeders for the best quality dog. And then one rainy day he found an abandoned Portuguese Water Dog puppy in an alleyway and at Pesci’s insistence took it in. Turns out the puppy was bought by a rich family for their kid but then abandoned when the kid wasn't interested in it anymore. Prosciutto insisted that the dog was going to stay for one night and then sent to the pound first thing in the morning. It's been years now and the little dog is now a big fluffy good boy named Pon Pon. The second biggest chunk of Prosciutto's paycheck is for this dog; I'm talking grooming services with paw-ticures, an all-organic raw diet, the nicest beds that even a human would wish they can sleep on. Pon Pon is properly trained with all the basics and tricks, because Prosciutto doesn't want to deal with a misbehaving dog, but it will use puppy eyes against the old man now and then. He give you the best smiles if you call him a good boy and if you glance at the right time you can see Prosciutto smile for a brief moment. Had he lived longer, he would have made Pon Pon famous on Facebook like Boo the Dog. Prosciutto will also not admit that this dog has helped him get laid a few times, because every person he did bring home always got a kick out of Pon Pon.

Ghiaccio has a pet snake- an albino ball python named Bianco. Ghiaccio was also on the “pets are unnecessary” train too but mainly because he can't stand loud pets (i.e. Illuso and Sorbet and Gelato’s pets). When Risotto suggested he get a snake, Ghiaccio looked into it, researching and meticulously setting up the proper enclosure and found himself going to a local reptile expo to find Bianco for sale. He’s fascinated by his snake to say the least, and would use leftover containers or Tupperware for Bianco to spend more money on proper equipment or food. Ghiaccio is really involved in online reptile forums and frequently debates with people on topics such as the best substrates to use, whether live rodents are better than frozen, ethics of breeding certain species, etc. He often gets worried when Bianco becomes picky and Ghiaccio would spend sleepless nights trying to get his baby to eat. Ghiaccio would walk around with his ball python wrapped around his neck or lets him slither around in his room under supervision but he mostly leaves him alone in the enclosure. There are times where he would claim he has the best, smartest pet and everyone just rolls their eyes like “yes the white fettuccine that got stuck in a toilet paper roll an hour ago is so smart”. But they let him rant about it. It’s kind of cute to say the least.

Pesci is the definition of people whose entire LIVELIHOOD is making his room into an aquarium. His room is full of strictly maintained, cleaned, and decorated tanks full of various types of aquatic animals. I’m talking Dwarf Puffers (Antonio, Portia, Jessica, Bassiano, and Solanio), Albino Gold Axolotls (Moe, Larry, and Curly), Red Ear Sliders (Franco and Ciccio), Clown Fishes (Browser, Mario, Toadstool, and Koopa), Brazilian Sea Horses (Tom and Jerry), a Blue Betta Fish named Valentina in a 30+ gallon aquaponics tank that grows a variety of plants each season- to name a few. He rebuilt his entire room to keep everything running and even had Melone help him set up timers for lighting and temperature control. Pesci will cry if you somehow made the pH level off by 1 or did not care for his animals properly when he’s away. He’ll even lecture you about bad tank setup. He's a prominent member of the aquarium community in Italy and will regularly redecorate each tank to suit the year and mood. This is where he’s spending his cut on the 20 million lira job: caring for his mini aquarium room. He occasionally gives away his pets’ offsprings for extra money (he doesn’t breed but sometimes he ends up having a ton of baby animals he can’t take care of) and would have been a YouTuber for his fish content. Now that I think about it, Pesci reminds me of my mutual @nexter2nd. Please go follow them.

Melone has a Holland Lop bunny and you cannot change my mind. He actually had a pet bunny growing up, another Holland Lop named Echo and Grep, and his current one is named Sudo; all three are named after UNIX commands. He has a large dog crate he diy-ed to be a roomy enclosure in his room for her that he cleans frequently but also allows Sudo free reign of the room when she wants to go out. Because of his job, he makes sure all his wires are covered so his bunny isn't tempted to chew them and watches his bunny diligently whenever she roams around. Easter time is when the denim jacket, pastel bows, and flower crowns come out and Melone makes sure to take a lot of photos. He also housetrained his bunny and taught her a few tricks, similar to how he trained Echo and Grep years ago. Sudo is spoiled in terms of getting a lot of pets, new toys, and feasts on the finest veggies and delicious hay. Melone also makes sure the first thing he teaches his Juniors is to not harm the bunny. Surprisingly, he's against breeding Sudo and has her neutered. This is mainly because he doesn't have the time to breed and raise more bunnies but also he hates the idea of selling the grown bunnies off afterward.

You know that Formaggio has a cat: the little Russian Blue cat named Sweetie Baby. Sweetie Baby was a kitten that he found outside his home. The little thing was the sole survivor of its litter and nearly starving to death, so he took her in thinking he will bring her to the shelter when she recovers; that cat now lets him live in HER apartment rent-free. Despite feeding her cheap dry food and constantly shoving her into bottles, he treats her like a queen otherwise. He will dress her up in little outfits (much to her annoyance) and often would be too aggressively affectionate towards her. Still, there are moments where she would cuddle with him during the later nights and allow him to put on one iced-out bow he just spent a quarter of his paycheck on. Walking to his apartment and even the backdoor of La Squadra’s HQ means carefully walking through the stray cats mewling at your feet, because Formaggio will feed any cat he sees. Initially, Risotto wanted the cats gone, but then he finds out the cats doubled as security when he watched some robber attempting to break in but getting their eyes scratched off instead.

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penwieldingdreamer · 3 years

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Dante's Prayer - Chapter 1

Thank you all for your likes and reblogs. I'm really happy you liked it. Now on with the next part. Let me know what you think about it and if you want to be tagged. As always thank you @fortheloveoffanfic for being my beta.

Warnings: Mentions of war, mentions of sex, period-typical sexism, canon-typical violence

Words: 1304

Chapter 1

Arrow House, Warwickshire, 1924

"Tommy, you need to consider remarrying." Aunt Polly told him, bouncing Charlie on her knee as she watched her nephew pace behind his desk. "There have been rumors goin' round."

Taking a deep breath, the leader of the Peaky Blinders turned to the older woman. "What would you have me do, Poll, ey? Take the next best woman that's out on the streets?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Tommy. You need someone with good connections and money." she told him, hoisting the boy into her arms and coming to stand next to Tommy. “She has to accept that you’ve been married before, that there’s a child. Even though we’re rich now, doesn’t mean that all women of the world will fall over for Thomas Shelby.”

Snorting, the second eldest Shelby grinned at his aunt, although the smile wouldn’t reach his eyes. Not since Grace had been shot because of him. “As you just so nicely reminded us, we don’ need the fuckin’ money, the Shelby’s are already fuckin’ rich. What are you gonna do? Arrange a marriage, just like John and Esme?”

“Stop the cursin’, will you. There’s a small child here.” Shrugging her shoulders, Polly regarded him with a stern look he just knew all too well. “I talked to Johnny Dogs, he knows a family in Ireland. Lots of connections, loads of old money.”

“No, Poll.” he shook his head, opening the silver case to grab another cigarette, hoping to calm his nerves from the nagging of his aunt. “I’m not goin’ ta bring anyone new into this family. There’s enough people to take care of as it is. Who’s to say that family doesn’t have ties to our enemies?”

Smoothing out Charlie’s dark blond hair, Polly Grace shook her head. “Stubborn as a mule, that one.” she muttered to the boy, the corners of her lips moving up into a smile as she heard the two-year old laugh at her. “Even John wasn’t bitchin’ so much. I know why you won’t do it, Thomas, but you need to see reason. Your boy needs a mother and you, you need someone to warm that heart of yours, even if ye don’ believe me. Be ready in a week, Johnny will take you to see your future wife.”

Grunting, Thomas Shelby watched his aunt leave the study, his son perched on her hip. Grace had only been gone a few weeks - or had it really been months? - and yet his family was forcing him to marry some spoiled high society girl, whose only problem would be the perfect temperature of her tea. Letting out a defeated sigh, the leader of the Peaky Blinders sank into the plush sofa Polly had occupied minutes before and looked at the portrait of his late wife. “What am I goin’ to do without you, eh? You shouldna have been involved in my fuckin’ mess, Grace."

Of course there was no answer from her, the smile on her lips stayed forever frozen. Dropping his head into his hands, he breathed in the air filled with tobacco and whiskey, trying to keep every detail of his love in his heart, never to forget her.

Dublin, Ireland 1924

"Edward, when will you tell our daughter that it's not ladylike to run around with a horse like that?" Helene McCann, Duchess of Leinster and Baroness of Kildare, admonished her husband entering the large sunroom of their country home Castletown House.

Sitting at the table with his other two daughters Amalie and Louise, he read the newspaper and only hummed. "What would you have me do, hm? Send her to her rooms and lock the doors?" Andrew, Duke of Leinster folded the papers and leaned back to watch his wife with an amused smile on his lips. "She is just as free spirited as you, my darling."

"Oh no, I'm definitely blaming you on that one. Saoirse has done everything to avoid being a proper lady, no thanks to you, love." she countered, sipping her tea and giving her husband an angry look. “You know that Mr. Shelby will arrive today and I want her to be presentable.”

Shaking his head, Andrew grabbed his pipe and lit the tobacco. "Saoirse is just like your mother's cousin has been. She was a free spirit, too, a friend of nature and I know you often went to visit her. I do believe Mister Shelby will be very lucky to marry her and you know that as well."

Sighing, the mother of three leaned back in her seat and turned her gaze on the gardens, hoping that her youngest daughter would at least be fine while out there riding through the forest behind their home.

Hooves beat against the cold ground, harsh pants of the horse sounded in the silence of the woods as it raced through the trees, nostrils flared and kept its attention on the sounds around him.

“Socair.” Saoirse spoke softly, guiding her stallion through the thick undergrowth. “Calm, my love.”

Since her mother had told her about the arranged marriage, the youngest of three daughters left to find solace with her animals. Her dappled grey White Knight brought her to the flower field she had found a few months earlier. “Good boy, we’re going to stay here and enjoy the sun before those men come.”

With a snort, the stallion stopped and Saoirse jumped from the saddle, taking the bridle off of him. She took a deep breath and brushed her hand over the speckled coat of the horse. “I can’t believe father agreed to that marriage mother arranged.”

There had never been time in her life that she wished more than ever to not be a descendant from royalty than now. Arrangements had been made with Thomas Shelby, leader of a gang in Birmingham. Her mother had told Saoirse that in a few months she'd be his wife and make sure that their connections would help him further his business and standing in politics.

Leaning against his neck, the young woman closed her eyes. "What should I do, huh? I don't want to be a wife being kept in a house as a broodmare. I just, I want freedom."

Both, rider and horse snapped to attention when a twig broke behind them in the woods. "Who's there?" she called, her eyes flitting through the green leaves of the trees.

"It's just I, princess." the man reasoned, his accent thick as he spoke. Moving through the underbrush, Saoirse could see the kind eyes of Johnny Dogs he only reserved for her. "I knew I might find ye out 'ere."

Smiling, she moved in for a tight hug. "Oh, how I missed you, Johnny. It has been boring ever since you left."

"Oh I know," the Irish mused with a smile. "I bet yer mum has had you reciting poetry and embroidery."

Rolling her eyes, Saoirse lightly hit his shoulder. "Don't remind me. I'm not as much the lady she wants me to be. But now, why are you here? Don't tell me he's here already."

"I'm afraid he's 'ere." Johnny sighed, seeing the defeated look darken her eyes. He had known her since she was a little girl, having worked for the Duke in his stables and taught her everything about horses and riding that he knew. "Please Saoirse, it's not as bad as ye make it out to be."

Exasperated, she turned away from her friend, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm losing my freedom to be a gangster's wife so he can further his business while I'll have to sit in his manor and play the lady of the house, greeting guests and giving him children to make him seem good."

"Just give Thomas a chance, once in a while people will surprise you." Johnny tried to reason with her.

tagging:

@fortheloveoffanfic @fics-not-tragedies

#tommy shelby x oc #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby fanfic #tommy shelby #arthur shelby x oc #arthur shelby imagine #arthur shelby fanfiction #arthur shelby #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders #shelby family

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redinkofshame · 3 years

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Arranged Marriage

Hipster AU did not spark joy, so I used the Arranged Marriage joker for day 3 of the @augustwritingchallenge. This is probably the last one I’ll do, unless I also do an arranged marriage for Cedric/Cassandra. It’s also my favorite one :D

The evanuris have survived to the dragon age, Fen'Harel included amongst them. In order to make peace with the free clans of elves a marriage is arranged between the Trickster and one of their own. Like all of Solas' plans, it goes awry.

1882 words, mature for smexiness but no actual hanky panky. Read on AO3

Wedding Night

“You still intend to go through with this, then?” Mythal asked.

Fen’Harel sighed, eyeing her reflection from where he stood surrounded by attendants. They made last minute adjustments to his wedding vestiments, buffed his nails, applied cosmetics. “I gave my word, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but even you must admit you have a proclivity for… last minute ‘tricks’. We must make peace with the free clans—”

“Easiest done with a marriage, and I am the only one amongst us who is yet unmarried, yes, I know,” he said, biting his tongue. He knew better than the rest of them how important this was; they continued to underestimated the power of the free clans.

“It’s merely surprising that you haven’t proposed some other crazy solution to avoid being tamed. You’ve been the lone wolf, all alone all these ages…”

He shooed away his attendants and sunk into the nearest chair. His hair dresser immediately made her move, beginning the bothersome process of brushing, curling, and braiding. An annoyance. A necessity. Long hair; the status symbol of a spoiled man who, supposedly, knew nothing of hard work, nor manual labor. No more a threat than a bunch of unaligned clans who could scarcely produce mages.

That is, of course, until he used this marriage to forge an alliance with his spouse’s people. The final key to in his plot to take down the Evanuris once and for all.

“All good things must come to an end,” he said with feigned disinterest. “Remind me the name of who I’m to wed again? That man from the garden with the curly hair?”

Mythal gave him a scathingly admonishing look. “Really, Fen, the least you could do is remember your intended’s name.” She kept up the look for another moment but when he gave no response she simply sighed. “You’re thinking of the ambassador they sent to announce that your bride was chosen by vote of the free clans at Arlathven.”

“She is important to them, then? A powerful mage?” he asked hopefully.

Mythal snorted. “Hardly. They say she has some skill with the arcane, but she’s better known for her sewing— no, embroidery.” He grunted in disappointment and she continued, almost to herself. “She’s no particular beauty, either. I can’t image she’s the best they’ve got to offer. Frankly, I’m tempted to take offense at the offering, but we already granted them permission to choose for themselves…”

He waved his hand dismissively. “It hardly matters what she looks like, so long as they care for her enough to lay down their arms.”

“I suppose. Her name is Keria, by the way, of Lavellan’s clan. Do try to remember it during the ceremony.” He felt her eyes on him, but kept his head bowed as his hair was adorned with golden toggles. “You know that you will have to gift her with her vallaslin during the ceremony as well.”

“Of course.”

Mythal stepped closer and lowered her voice. “A true vallaslin, Fen’Harel.”

The girl working his hair froze. He didn’t have to look at her to know that she, as all his servants, his “slaves”, wore a convincing imitation of his vallaslin on her face. He’d marked each of them with enough magic to keep them safe from the others, but it held none of the controlling or manipulation that a true vallaslin held.

He saw to it that his people followed him voluntarily, not due to fear or power. Many of them were agents of his grand plan playing a role until it was time to strike at the heart of their oppressors.

None of which Mythal was supposed to know, of course.

He met her eyes. “I understand.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, a silent threat, gauging his sincerity. At last, she nodded.

~~~~~

He remembered the name, of course, the ceremony lines, and the spell to apply a proper vallaslin to her pale face in front of everyone. Mythal’s assessment had been harsh — she was pretty enough. Her unruly black hair was short, of course, as was her place. He supposed she would grow it out, now. Her eyes were a shockingly bright blue, when he could get a good look at them, but she largely kept them averted. Her gown was a work of art. The cut of it was common enough, classic, but every inch of it was covered in painstaking embroidery. Her doing?

Not that her beauty mattered; he cared only whether or not she would become his willing ally in their fight, or if he’d have to use her new position as leverage. He’d expected her to fear him as the clans always did — with good reason. He was Mythal’s general, the attack dog she released whenever they stepped out of line or needed to be taught a lesson. At first he thought her unwillingness to meet his eyes was because she was afraid, or worse, because she loathed him. He would not hold it against her.

Surprisingly it was shy glances and flustered smiles he was met with. A blushing bride indeed.

The day was filled with much pomp and posturing, dancing and music and feasting and well-wishers and veiled insults and vague threats. Elgar’nan and the others were jumpy, so certain he was going to ruin this for them that they never considered it had been his idea to begin with. It was many hours before he and his new wife were able to retreat to his suite.

Or ‘their’ suite, he supposed, though he’d happily grant her separate chambers if she requested it. His rooms were plenty large enough for the two of them, but he didn’t relish the loss of this ability to move freely.

He left her for a moment upon entering to get familiar with the space as he stepped into the dressing chamber. He sighed in the relative privacy.

It was fortunate that Keria seemed to be a willing — perhaps eager — partner in this charade, but thus far she seemed too timid of a girl to bring honestly into his machinations. It would take some time to discern best how to proceed from here. In the mean time it was his wedding night…

He was certainly willing to bed her, but he would not press the issue. They needed to discuss rules and freedoms, what would be asked of her and what would not. What she could ask of him. He striped out of his vestiments and pulled on a pair of simple sleep pants. He did not bother with a shirt. He stepped back into the room.

“I think we should discuss our expectations…” He tailed off, not seeing her immediately. He found her in the dimly lit bedchamber, sitting on her heels at the end of the oversized bed, sheets pooling around her hips. She was naked except for the sash from her wedding gown tied loosely about her waist. When she saw him enter she raised to her knees, spread wide, and the blanket fell from her lap, exposing her fully. Her teasing smile beckoned him closer.

Well, then.

All thoughts of planning left him as his blood spiked, and he went to her. He stopped when he stood at the edge of the bed, inches from her, and pointedly looked her offering up and down. He reevaluated his own underestimation of her beauty.

“Lovely…” he murmured. His hand dropped and she arched her back in anticipation, her nipples tight, but it was the tail of the embroidered sash he took. “Did you make it yourself?”

To his surprise he laughed and shoved him playfully, illiciting a snort from him. “I did, in fact.” He ran his thumb over the intricate stitches and she shifted her weight nervously. “Do you, um, know a lot about embroidery?”

“I don’t know much of the textile arts, I’m afraid,” he admitted, letting the silk slip through his fingers. “Perhaps you could teach me.”

She smiled coquettishly. “Oh, there’s a great deal I could teach you, Fen’Harel.” She sensually unknotted the sash.

He forced his eyes up to hers, determined to seem unaffected. “And here I thought I was wed to someone sweet and innocent.”

“Sweet? Sometimes. But innocent?” Keria flipped the sash up and over his head, where it settled like a scarf. “Certainly not.”

She tugged the ends of the sash and pulled him in for a kiss and he went easily, intrigued by this woman. He felt the brush of her lips but didn’t realize in time that she whispered an incantation, though his eyes flickered open just in time to see the hidden runes among the embroidered flowers light up, paralyzing him instantly. Her hand dashed beneath the covers and came up with a dagger that she plunged towards his chest.

The vallaslin on her face lit up as he activated it and staggered back, spell broken. She was frozen in place, mid-strike. His heart hammered in his chest in a way it hadn’t in decades, a mortal danger he rarely faced unwittingly.

No mortal blade could hurt him, but she would know that. Still shaken, he wrenched the dagger from her hand, careful not to nick either of them as she grunted, struggling to break free. He appraised the weapon, recognizing it easily even without the ravens in the hilt. It indeed would have been able to kill him, and was undoubtedly coated in enough poison to finish the job even if her aim ad been off. Smart.

“Dirthamen sent you, then?”

She still fought her bindings. He released her just enough that she could answer his question. “Yes.”

He tilted his head. She’d answered too quickly. He could see her tells, now that he knew what she really was. “A lie. Interesting. I’m only supposed to believe it was him.”

“You’re supposed to be dead,” snarled his darling wife.

“Ah, a fair point. Me, murdered on my wedding night, and Dirthamen to blame. To what end?” She answered by spitting at him and he paced as he thought it over, able to see how it would have played out — Mythal would exact justice before Elgar’nan could stop her, and Dirthamen’s twin would retaliate. The rest of the evanuris would choose sides. War, distrust, ample opportunity for more little assassinations.

A simple enough plan. One that damn near worked.

He lifted the dagger and it hovered in the air between them. With a twist of his hand he rendered the shining, poisonous thing inert, watching as it turned dull and clattered uselessly to the floor.

Keria looked like she was ready to tear him apart with her teeth instead. “It doesn’t matter what you do with me,” she growled. “Others will succeed where I have failed. You cannot stop us all! Your days are numbered, Dread Wolf — you and every other evil, murderous, slaving evanuris!”

Wordlessly he walked to a wardrobe, feeling her eyes following him as she waited for him to strike her down. How much of her shaking was from anger, he wondered, and how much from fear?

He pulled out a dressing robe and turned back to his bride, every inch of her radiating defiance despite the hold he still had on her.

He tossed her the robe. “Get dressed, vhenan. We need to talk.”

#solavellan #AU_gust #AU_gust_2021 #Solas #Keria Lavellan #I had a great time with this one ngl #:D

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glitterytidalwavedragon · 3 years

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Expanding into my other Fandoms (I’m gonna have to take a stance) Read the whole thing please.

One of my oldest and most beloved anime is Inuyasha. As of late I have been binged watching the hell out of it as I am getting my BFF into different anime shows. We are really close to entering the Yashahime part of the series, and she asked if I planned to write fanfiction involving the one character which made me even watch the show as a 10-year-old.

Sesshomaru

The first episode I ever watched involved this aloof, entitled dog fighting his brother over the sword in their father’s grave. Specifically, it was part 3 of that whole episode series were Kagome pulled out the sword. I at the time had 3 dogs of German Sheppard/wolf hybrid, they were MASSIVE dogs, fell in love with the big white fluff that was Sesshomaru’s demon form. I use to sneak staying up and watch the show faithfully to see the goodest boy as it was only on at 11pm EST on adult swim. Which meant it was bad and I was breaking the rules, I felt like a rebel.

Now I hesitated answering that question. She has no idea of what is in Yashahime, she is being careful not to spoil it so I told her I didn��t know. Recently, to find out what the feel is for Sesshomaru content, I looked into the tag on tumblr…

OH MY GOD.

Sesshomaru’s tag is FLOODED with hate. Like every four post, there is hate, distain, and attacking happening. As someone who watches Yashahime, I quickly knew why.

Sessrin.

Even now I sigh. And I sigh HARD. I am not for, nor am I against the Sessrin train. Same for the Sesskagu train. I think both sides need to look at things on a logical prospective. I plan to do just that. I know I will get hate from the either side and maybe some support as well. But if I am going to do anything in this fandom (as I like doing ships and reader inserts) it will come up.

So, like my Kaiba post, and my Sebastian Heel post, I will use my research skills as well as my COLLEGE DEGREE WHICH HAS BOTH ART AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY labelled on it to explain why this progression in the story is normal to anti-Sessrin fans and why this isn’t a crime by story standards nor should we look at it as a crime.

AS WELL

Explain to Sessrin fans why it is so weird for non-shippers to see it play out and why so much hate formed.

As I let out another sigh, we shall begin. Let’s start at an historical prospective. (Links at the bottom).

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING! I’LL BE ABLE TO TELL!

I will start with the information I can access right away.

While finding charts on the life-span of common folk in 1590’s Feudal Japan is rather difficult, Ancient.edu states that the average lifespan was about 50. To put this in perspective, the average lifespan of Europeans at the time was somewhere between 40-45 with the latter being rare. Since most of us reading are not from Japanese descent, I will through Europe in this first.

If we look at the same time frame of 1590, we are looking at most of Western Europe had now entered the age of Renaissance. According to sources from Learning Resources in association with the National Gallery of Art, marriage was not what TV drama’s from HBO or Hulu depicted. By today standards they would be a crime, as the average age for marriage of an adult female was age 14…

The reasoning behind the young marriage age had multiple factors. First being, females were considered an adult once they were menstruating. Birthing also proved to be fatal, and since the lifespan was at best 40 and 45 if they were lucky, there was really no room to wait. Also Europe at the time had became hugely focused on making sure blood lines were legitimate, meaning to ensure the girl was a virgin, the moment she was able to reproduced she was married off. Those they married were not young teenagers either. Most marriages, a man would be in their thirties, and had probably multiple wives as women died more than men when not counting the battle field.

To make matters worse for the Renaissance Lady, these marriages would leave many young males unable to marry and if their husband died in battle, well, unfortunately they were not seen as desirable. This was due to the idea of a ‘free woman’. Should the girl not have a father, brother or uncle to return to as they too died, a widow had her freedom. But that freedom came at a cost. She would be assumed to have slept around, and in many writings, such as the Canterbury Tales, where Geoffrey Chaucer writes about a Window on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land survived her five husbands and the men in her family. In short, she was made to be a slut and to be looked down upon as no man controlled her.

The point of talking about Europe is because that is something most of us Non-Asian or Japanese people consume and like to paint in large romantic brush strokes of knights and magic. Honestly, reading G.R.R.Martin Song of Ice and Fire, he uses this model as we see the Queen of Dragons, Danny start off at age thirteen shortly after she had her first menstruation.

Now let’s look at Feudal Japan.

As stated before, the lifespan was around 50 years. In some populations, this was even shorter. Nagaoka, Hirata, Yokota and Matsu’ura’s on demographic data at the Yuigahama-minami area in Kamakura, Japan and found both male and female remains that suggested life expectancy to have ended around age 24-25. This was largely due to living conditions and public health. In areas like these, it would make the most sense to marry and repopulate quickly as the expectancy of life was half the national average at the time.

To my frustration, I could not find a clear marriage age for Japanese women at the time of the edo period. HOWEVER, where there is a will there is a way. I took a look at famous Lords or Daimyo’s of the time. The average age of marriage of their wives was between 12-14. Much younger than I expected, but it made sense considering this is a time where war ran the show and marriage was strictly about political gain. One of these Daimyo’s was Masamune Date, who was also 13, but then as he got older took concubines who became considerably younger than him as he became older. The goal was to have as many children as possible for hires and for political marriages to gain power.

Now lets look at Inuyasha the MANGA

Lets get the manga timeline proper here. The whole adventure took place in 11 months, a month shy of Kagome’s 16th birthday. Doing a few estimations, Rin would have travelled with Sesshomaru about 8-9 of those months. But before we get into the relationship, lets look at something the ANIME made a huge mistake with in the beginning and tried to fix as the story went on.

For some reason I could only fine gifs for the Early appearances of Sesshomaru so bear with me.

Early appearances in the manga

^ He was so fickle and a trickster then...

Now early apperances in the anime.

Later appearance in the manga

Laster appearance in the anime

Notice the issue here?

Sesshomaru was CONSIDERABLY younger looking in the start of the manga. In the anime, he started off looking like an fully adult male. But as the anime went on, they tried to make Sesshomaru look younger with subtle changes to his jaw line, eye size, and his height. Yeah, his height had changed. They made him shorter.

While in the manga, we see this young-teen looking demon, slowly mature over 11 months to look like he is in his later teens and by series end, closer to being in his late teens or twenty. Yes, art changes over time, but the anime went a reverse route. I can only guess they spoke to the author of Inuyasha about her ships, as they did Drama CDs, and realized the mistake that was made in making him more mature than he was.

You can’t tell me he doesn’t look closer to his manga self in the final act, because he does.

Since we are on the topic of the anime, lets be clear. The anime timeline and manga timeline are very different. The story in the anime (in the English) suggests that OVER a year has past since Kagome started her journey. They try to fix this in the final act, but it was still so muddled as previous seasons are to be taken as cannon. This could have been due to an translation error in the early production when the anime no longer had anymore manga material to reference. But whatever the case, for English viewers the time the group spent together felt much longer.

So now we come to the heart of the issue.

Because of the mistakes of the anime, a lot of anti-sessrin see the relationship as father daughter. I’ll be honest, watching the anime and solely the anime as a teenager and as an adult (as the manga was on hold for a very long time due to author’s health. I was in college when it finished.), I too thought it was just a father-daughter relationship and Jaken the nanny who got punched all the time. In fact, the English took hard liberties with Kagura, as the English dubs often do with characters, and made it very clear her feelings for the demon lord and Sesshomaru very much recognized them (though he never responded). Even in her death scene, it felt as if he was saying good bye to a friend more than love interest. But who really knows, as there are things that point otherwise. When another demon mock’s Kagura’s death, Sesshomaru gets super pissy.

The manga did also play with this fact when it came out in English, idk if the wording or message is different in the Japanese. Translation errors happen a lot even in todays releases, look at Kuroshitsuji. So of course most anti-sessrin’s did not see this coming in Yashahime when Rin was named mother. In fact it felt like a betrayal as we were sure Sesshomaru had no romantic feelings.

Then there was the Kohaku/Rin mashup that was hinted left and right. The English anime, with its overly dramatic and blunt emotions made it appear one way. That in the end the two kids would probably be married. Then the anime as a whole made Sesshomaru older than intended. I can see why and understand how this became a problem.

On the other side of that coin.

If you followed the dub, seen ‘Swords of an Honorable Ruler’ and read the manga… Sesshomaru was not fatherly to Rin at all. In fact, Jaken picked up all of that leg work. Rin worried for Kohaku, but clearly loved Lord Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru cared about Kagura but he almost CRIED when he lost Rin.

We have to remember that Sesshomaru and Rin’s relationship must have been very hard for the demon. While we never see his mental process expect for a few rare times, we have to remember he hated humans. In the movie, he blamed a human for the early death of his father, Sesshomaru killed without mercy. It made sense that he wouldn’t be fatherly to Rin as her just being there should have caused countless inner conflicts. Hell, he even says his father’s weakness was humans, and look who picked up that trait.

Sesshomaru was designed to, someday, walk in his father’s footsteps. So sess/rin, not a surprise. Also when you see it in a historical perspective, Rin having kids around age 15-16, makes sense. In fact you could argue he waited too long for the time period.

We also need to look more at the manga when concerned with Yashahime. 8-9 months is all Rin travelled with him and he was like hold up, and left her at the village because he KNEW she needed to come to her own conclusion. That no matter what she picked he would live with and protect her. Unconditional love on his end. She cannon wise spent YEARS living with humans and MONTHS with Sesshomaru. Again, by manga standards of cannon.

Now I can already hear the screaming about age and what not. Some sources say Sesshomaru is over 900, by the rule of thumb, if we look at anime and movie releases, we have Sesshomaru being over 500 with no define age and Inuyasha around 270 years old being more pinpointed due to the movie. Just by going by ANIME CANNON. Kagome and Inuyasha, you have a 15 year old with a 270 year old man. If you say being pinned to the tree doesn’t count, then you have 220.

Also, here is something very interesting. In the episode where Inuyasha meets the unmother, he tells her, thinking it was his mom, she died when he was very small and we have flash backs later in the series of him being small running from demons. Demons clearly age much slower than humans, even half-demons. Inuyasha can be 270 but mentally and physically be 15, the same logic works for Sesshomaru, who in the manga is not much older than Inuyasha.

In the manga, there wasn’t any grooming, in the anime, there was a ton of mess-ups but no grooming.

Would this fly in todays world? HELL NO! NO, its gross, she’s a kid. Stop.

I know any fanfic I write will lean heavily on the side of father/daughter because that is what I grew up seeing on the screen. I can’t think of Rin as an adult because years of seeing her as a cheerful little girl. It’s like seeing G.O.T Arya about to have sex for the first time in season 8… I remember when she was a kid on the show. It was way to weird and I had to look away until it ended. But that’s my 2021 mentality.

But Inuyasha is not taking place in 2021. Feudal Japan is a whole other era with its own beliefs, morals and way of life. Those who understand this have nothing wrong with them. They just understand history.

Also, just to bang some nails in…

Anyone remember Bleach? Remember the MOST accepted couple was Ichigo and Rukia…. Rukia who was hundreds of years old and Ichigo who was 15… or Ichigo’s mom who was a teenager and his dad also hundreds of years old.

Most of this also boils down to Sesshomaru being a dude. As in reverse roles in animes its accepted and they don’t have the same historical context. Inuyasha is based off of historical context of Feudal Japan.

We need to stop spreading hate. We can’t accept some forms of literature because its European fantasy but bash other fantasy based literature for doing the same thing.

Sure, its weird for those who were use to seeing the father/daughter dynamic. Yes, there are extreme sessrin fans who post really questionable illegal content when they decide to leave Rin as an 8-year-old…

But this wasn’t ever meant to be perverted. The story was meant to make sense on a logical and historical base.

I hope everyone takes the time to read this. I love Inuyasha, I love Sesshomaru. I am just sick of seeing so many people fighting over what should be the revival of a beloved series. While yes, there is still room for sess/rin not being a thing, until it is stated otherwise, why hate each other? This fandom will only lose people by doing this. Calling people names or accusing them of illegal endorsement can hurt someone these days over social media.

Tumblr allows you to block tags. You don’t have to read anything or watch anything you don’t like. We gain nothing from attacking each other but can lose so much by doing so. Fanart, really good fan fiction, friends, ideas, sharing fond memories. Both sides have the right to feel as they feel, but no right in hurting each other.

A fandom is meant to bring people together. Not start a war…

Thank you.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.20402

http://www.italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-2/essays/husbands-and-wives/#:~:text=Marriage%20not%20only%20reflected%20order,to%20ensure%20the%20bride's%20virginity.

https://www.ancient.eu/Canterbury_Tales/

https://www.ancient.eu/article/1424/daily-life-in-medieval-japan/#:~:text=Just%20as%20Japanese%20people%20today,in%20Western%20Europe%2C%20for%20example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_Masamune

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megohime

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foxghost · 3 years

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Joyful Reunion, Chapter 65

Translator: foxghost @foxghost tumblr/ko-fi1 Beta: meet-me-in-oblivion @meet-me-in-oblivion tumblr Original by 非天夜翔 Fei Tian Ye Xiang Masterpost | Characters, Maps & Other Reference Index

Book 2, Chapter 15 (Part 3)

Yet as soon as they turn the corner in the covered gallery, they find a man standing there — Helan Jie. Duan Ling is startled, and Wu Du puts a hand on his shoulder; with a turn of his wrist he moves Duan Ling around so he can hide behind him.

“You want to fight here?” Wu Du says, “If we end up taking your client’s house apart I’m not going to pay for it.”

Standing beneath the moon, Helan Jie’s scar-ridden face seems especially frightening.

“Wu Du. You keep this in mind. I won’t kill you.”

Then with that arm with a hook for a hand, he points at the Duan Ling behind Wu Du.

“I will peel off his skin,” in awkward Han, Helan Jie says, “and make a lantern out of it.”

Duan Ling can’t even speak.

“One day, you notice he’s gone.” Helan Jie gives him a chilling smile. “Just you wait. Bring back his corpse.”

Wu Du raises a hand and places it on the hilt of his sword. A strong aura of murderous intent rolls out from his entire body, but Duan Ling reaches out to restrain him.

No matter what action they choose to take, now is definitely not the best time for it. They look on as Helan Jie leaves the area; Duan Ling cannot help but feel a terrifying chill radiate from the bottom of his heart.

“While we’re here you must stay at my side. Don’t get out of my sight,” Wu Du says.

Weren’t we doing that in the first place? Duan Ling thinks to himself.

“Why is he so persistent about wanting to kill me?” What Duan Ling fears is something else entirely — if his father has met Helan Jie face to face, Helan Jie couldn’t have recognised Duan Ling for his father’s son, could he? But that can’t be it. Bian Lingbai’s met him, Mu Kuangda’s met him, even Wu Du has met his father, and none of them managed to recognise Duan Ling. It may be because there’s already a crown prince, or quite possibly because he really doesn’t resemble his father at all.

He would much rather believe that Helan Jie didn’t recognise him, but what great grudge could he ever have against Duan Ling to make him think he must kill him?

“He just wants to take revenge,” Wu Du says.

Hearing this gives Duan Ling’s heart a start. “What revenge?”

“Revenge for the time I spoiled a single move in his plans. You cannot guess at what a man like Helan Jie would do as you would a normal person. Someone who’d even kill the master of the sect he belongs to is a mad dog.”

“But why doesn’t he go to you directly to seek revenge instead of coming to kill me?”

Wu Du throws Duan Ling a look without saying anything.

Duan Ling is thoroughly lost.

Wu Du says, “Oh forget it, let’s stop talking about this and go practice martial arts already.”

Duan Ling is speechless.

It’s their first night of proper sleep in a while. Wu Du pushes Duan Ling to the inside of the bed, taking the outside half for himself so he can protect him better. After all, Helan Jie is a real threat, not the same as Duan Ling’s persecutory delusions of “Wuluohou Mu will kill me”. This time, Wu Du has taken the threat to heart.

Halfway through the night:

“Stop hugging me,” Wu Du groans, “how old are you already? Why do you hold on constantly the moment you go to sleep?”

“What?” Duan Ling is in the middle of a dream where he’s grabbed hold of a fish and they’re swimming through the water. It’s still a bit hot and stuffy even though it’s already autumn, and he’s been holding on so tightly that they’re now both covered in sweat. He crawls into a sitting position drowsily and asks Wu Du, “Who’s here? What is it?”

Wu Du is lost for words; he immediately makes Duan Ling lie back down again, and gets a folding fan. Duan Ling sleeps unexpectedly well for the rest of the night, and doesn’t wake again until dawn.

The next morning, Bian Lingbai summons the two of them over to have breakfast with him. His attitude towards Duan Ling has completely turned around, and everything he brings up revolves around things that once happened in Zhao Kui’s estate. The role of Zhao Rong that Duan Ling is playing isn’t all that close to Zhao Kui either so all he can do is go with the flow of the conversation.

Fei Hongde comes in after breakfast. “I feel like heading outside Tongguan for a walk today. Why don’t I take Mister Zhao along?”

Bian Lingbai leaves Duan Ling with some more customary advice to be careful while he’s out, then he tells the servants to get the horses ready so that Duan Ling and Wu Du can leave the city with Fei Hongde.

The sun is warm and bright today, and Duan Ling comes down the mountain with Fei Hongde in a carriage. Wu Du trails them from behind at a respectable distance, knowing that with Fei Hongde around, that mad dog assassin wouldn’t dare try anything.

Duan Ling sees Fei Hongde produce a geomantic compass,2 and realises right away that this man is familiar with the art of Feng Shui; he must really have brought Duan Ling out of the city on this walk in order to find Zhao Kui’s buried treasure.

“I paid a visit to the Yao family’s young lady when I got up this morning,” Fei Honde says gently as he adjusts his compass.

Duan Ling nods. “Is she doing well?”

“She had to leave home to marry all the way to Xiliang, so I’m sure she’s not feeling all that well about it. Her husband will be the Xiliang Cavalier Attendant-in-ordinary’s son, Shang Leguan.”3

“Why did the Yaos want to marry her off so far from home?”

"Xiliang has had a lukewarm relationship with Liao ever since the battle of Shangjing; a violent storm is imminent. If all goes as planned, Chen and Xiliang will renew their alliance after Bian Lingbai’s death.”

In that split second, Duan Ling’s hand jolts so badly that he nearly flips the compass over. A crafty smile has appeared in Fei Hongde’s eyes though, and he nods as though he’s quite satisfied with Duan Ling’s performance.

“You’re still too inexperienced.” Fei Hongde says to Duan Ling with a smile.

Duan Ling watches Fei Hongde with distrust. “Whatever do you mean, Master Fei?”

A dangerous idea occurs to Duan Ling. Fei Hongde seems to know a lot of things — he’s seen through their intentions for coming to Tongguan! What should he do? Should he kill him right now?

“Put the knife in your sleeve away,” Fei Hongde says, and turns from him to get his counting rods.4 “This isn’t time to pull a knife, not yet. If you kill me in the carriage, how are you going to explain yourself?”

Duan Ling stares at him, speechless.

Fei Hongde continues, “Chang Pin’s mentor and I studied under the same teacher, and I’m the one who passed the secret letter to Xichuan and exposed Bian Lingbai’s private arms procurement. I never expected that Chancellor Mu would send a young man like you to accompany Wu Du, though.”

Duan Ling feels a great weight roll off his chest, and he heaves a long sigh; he knows that for now his life isn’t in danger.

But still, he doesn’t dare let his guard down. “Why would you …”

“All my life I have only ever pledged my allegiance to righteousness and the world at large. After the late emperor’s death, Bian Lingbai sent someone to recruit me to his cause, and if the northwest barrier cannot be held, I’m afraid Xichuan and the central plain will only collapse again. That’s why I waited by General Bian’s side and awaited my chance.”

Duan Ling considers Fei Hongde. “You’ve met the late emperor?”

“All those years ago, Zhao Kui, Bian Lingbai and those on their side were already plotting to betray him. I once offered the late emperor a way to counter this, but before we were able to put our plans into motion Zhao Kui decided to take his chances and he made his move. That’s the only reason the three armies were able to seize power and stage the siege of Mount Jiangjun.”

Duan Ling doesn’t say anything, as he’s still skeptical and suspect Fei Hongde may be trying to set him up to get information out of him. But soon, Fei Hongde continues, “Before the armies took his authority from him, I’d already given the late emperor a reminder, and thereupon he dispatched Wuluohou Mu to Shangzi to track down the Princess-consort. Come to think of it, that was already many years ago.”

Duan Ling sits quietly without a word, Fei Hongde tells him, “Just continue carrying out the chancellor’s plans for now. Even though I’m not sure what he intends, this old man will think of some way to cover you.”

Seeing that Fei Hongde isn’t going to ask him any more questions, Duan Ling nods at him.

The carriage comes to a stop, and Fei Hongde seems as if he’s just thought of something. “Oh, that reminds me — when I saw you last night I actually thought you resembled an old friend.”

Duan Ling stares at him blankly, and before he’s managed to react Fei Hongde has already exited the carriage.

What did he mean by that? What Fei Hongde just told him has shaken Duan Ling to the core; too much information is contained in those words. When Wu Du opens the carriage’s curtain, what meets his eyes is Duan LIng’s pale face, as white as ash.

“What’s the matter?” Wu Du says, surprised.

“He knows …” Duan Ling’s voice is trembling. “How come he knows everything?”

Wu Du turns his head with a start to stare in Fei Hongde’s direction, but Duan Ling stops him. The two look at each other, and that gaze is filled with fear.

Leaving the carriage behind, Fei Hongde continues to walk into a ravine without saying anything more, his geomancy compass in hand. So as not to alert too many people, Bian Lingbai has sent them out with only two guard units of five each.

“Take it easy.” Wu Du says to Duan Ling, “Before we left, Chancellor Mu did tell me that someone will be here to meet us. It must be him.”

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“It was real early in the morning and you were sleeping, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me afterwards?”

“I forgot.”

Duan Ling is entirely speechless.

“Fei Hongde is amazing,” Wu Du tells Duan Ling. “Lots of scholars in the central plain once called him their mentor. You don’t have to worry about him too much. Last night, if he wanted to sell you out, we’d have been exposed by now. He could also have chosen to say nothing, and there’s no need for him to take the initiative to open up to you about this. But since he did tell you it means he trusts you.”

“But what if he actually wants to use us and turn this plan around to ascertain Chancellor Mu’s plans?” Duan Ling asks.

Wu Du’s brows furrow, seemingly a bit frustrated. “Why do you think so much?”

Alright, fine. Duan Ling admits he’s overthinking it. “He says he worked for the late emperor.”

“Yeah,” Wu Du nods. “There’s probably nothing wrong with his integrity.”

“When was this?”

“I don’t know,” Wu Du replies, “I wasn’t on their side at the time. He may know Wuluohou Mu.”

But what makes Duan Ling worry is the last thing Fei Hongde said. He doesn’t dare tell Wu Du about his misgivings; perhaps Fei Hongde has been able to tell that as well, and that’s why he went out of his way to find a time when Wu Du wouldn’t be around before testing him in a roundabout way.

All’s quiet in the ravine. Fei Hongde beckons at Duan Ling. “Zhao Rong, look at this mountain here. A single stream runs beneath the foothills like a dragon — it’s a great place.”

Duan Ling is still a bit distracted. Fei Hongde reaches out, gives the back of Duan Ling’s hand a pat, and with a look lets him know there’s nothing to worry about.

“Where do you think your uncle would bury what he’s given you?”

Duan Ling gives this some thought. “Well it wasn’t exactly for me … Hmm, but if I were him, I wouldn’t go out of my way to dig a hole. It’s too conspicuous.”

“Precisely. The Qinling is quite a steep mountain range so digging here would be an enormously troublesome task, but there are quite a few tombs here from previous dynasties. I’m guessing that your uncle hid the treasure in some of these tombs. Geomancy is part of our Han lore, and the dead need to ride the energy of life. This vitality is carried through the wind and stops at the boundaries of water, and the art of accumulating such energy in a given location is what’s called ‘Feng Shui’.”

Just by hearing those words, Duan Ling can feel that there’s a lot to learn about in geomancy; his thirst for knowledge at once wins over his apprehension towards Fei Hongde. He observes his surroundings and sees a mountain with water flowing by. “You’re right. It may be right in this mountain.”

"I’ll go down there and have a look.”

“Please watch your step,” Duan Ling says immediately.

I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also e that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎

Chinese geomancy is Feng Shui, and a geomantic compass has 24 directions. ↩︎

This was actually Sima Shi’s title during the Three Kingdoms period, in the state of Wei. It’s been used in later dynasties, but not as an official title. It’s an honorary title that’s given to close advisers of the ruler. ↩︎

Counting rods have been around for > 2000 years. In this case, Fei Hongde is using for Feng Shui, but in history they’ve been used for high level math. It was slowly replaced by the abacus. ↩︎

#相見歡 #fei tian ye xiang #joyful reunion #xiang jian huan #fox translates things

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punz4lyfe · 3 years

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Pokemon Journeys’ Bea.... Kinda Sucks

Hello again! After a weekend of contemplating, I’ve decided to write a little blog review of Pokemon Journeys’ version of Bea from SwSh. Originally, I was planning to do after we get a bit more episodes of Bea, but with all the leaked episode titles we’ve been getting, I’ve got a feeling we won’t see this lady until sometime at late-February, or even March, so let’s just get this outta the way now.

Also, please note that since Bea has only made two actual appearances in the anime, many of the points I will talk about will be subject to change depending on how the writers will handle her in the future, but with all that said, let’s get right to it.

Before we begin, let me just say this: in the games, I find Bea okay. And in Twilight Wings, I love her character and I feel she had a great amount of focus and depth. However, in the anime, I find her.... a little lame. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate her or anything and I feel she has a ton of great potential. So much so, that she could honestly surpass her Twilight Wings variation, but as of now, I’ve got some problems with her.

Problem #1: Her Goal/Motivation

So my first major problem with her character is her goal. Like almost every other trainer we’ve seen in Journeys, Bea wants to rise her rank in the World Coronation Series so that she can battle Leon and take his place as the world’s strongest trainer. But here’s my question for though: Why? Why do you want to be seen as the world’s strongest trainer?

In many past regions, almost all of Ash’s past rivals had the “what” to their goals: Conquering a regional league. However, many of them also had different “why’s” that added to their own motivation. Paul had a brother to prove himself stronger than, Alain had his whole thing with solving the secrets of Mega Evolution for Lysandre as well as finding a way to cure Chespie’s coma, and Gladion wanted to find his dad. From Bea, I’m literally getting nothing from her. Does she have a master she wants to prove herself to? Well, we later find out she trained under Johto’s Chuck, but that’s all really. Does she have some kind of troubling childhood where she was initially seen as weak by her peers, and now with the chance in hand, she can prove everyone wrong by becoming the world’s strongest trainer? As interesting as that sounds, that doesn’t seem to be the case, either.

Without any proper motivation, I have no reason to care for her goals. Please, writers, in her next appearance, please give us the “why” to her actions and not the “what”. Bea has a really cool design, so this is your chance in giving her a cool backstory to boot.

Problem #2: Her Team Sucks

As I’ve mentioned, Bea wants to conquer her way through the World Coronation Series and take Leon’s place. And how is she gonna do that? With a team of all-fighting types? That’s not good enough!

Fighting types are awesome undoubtedly, but like all types, they have their weaknesses. Imagine if Bea faced off against a trainer who, in turn, had a team of all fairy, flying, psychic, or ghost types. She would be completely screwed and she must’ve been pretty lucky to reach her current World Coronation status with a team like hers. There’s honestly a huge list of trainers I can think of who could completely screw Bea over, like Agatha, Skyla, or Sabrina. Heck, if you really think about it, if she were to face Leon, who we know possesses a Dragapult and Charizard, she honestly wouldn’t get far due to Dragapult’s half ghost typing and Gigantamax Charizard crushing her team like ants because it’s a flippin’ half flying giant. And if she were to take Leon’s place, it probably wouldn’t last long since someone can easily identify her preferred type and screw her over with the typings I’ve previously mentioned.

As a matter in fact, let’s imagine a what-if scenario: Ash using Gengar against her Grapploct, who the anime seems to be emphasizing as one of her strongest Pokemon. Looking up her Grapploct’s moveset in the anime, Detect would only delay the inevitable and Close Combat and Octolock wouldn’t do anything due to Gengar’s ghost typing, leaving Liquidation as the only option Grapploct would have to hurt Gengar. Meanwhile, all of Gengar’s own moves can easily affect Grapploct, especially Psychic. And before you bring up the time Gengar lost to Korrina’s Mienshao, keep in mind this, he was taken down by a Beat Up attack, a dark type move that’s honestly pretty broken if you think about it. Does Grapploct know any dark type moves? Nope. Would any of her other Pokemon know some? Most likely, but my point still stands that, with the right mon, you can easily screw up her own team.

That’s why many Champions and Elite Trainers have well-diversed teams. Because if they just stuck to one type, then someone could easily take advantage of that. Many of Ash’s past rivals also had well-diversed teams to keep the stakes high whenever Ash battled them, just look at Gary, Paul, Trip, Sawyer, and Alain. Speaking of stakes...

Problem #3: The Stakes Are Kinda Small

As I just mentioned, because of how straightforward her team is, the stakes of her and Ash’s rivalry are honestly kind of small in that regard. But that’s not all. I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but in all of her battles against Ash so far, I still don’t feel the reason to take her seriously.

Going back in her debut appearance, before her battle against Ash starts, she states that she previously beaten Korrina and called her ‘weak’. And to that, all I have to say, so? Ash has already beaten her a while back, and then he became a champion, and then he beaten her again. I have no idea what you’re exactly trying to prove with that, Bea. Not to mention, we didn’t even get to see who she used against Korrina and her Mega Lucario. Was it someone in her current roster or perhaps a secret weapon? Why would you hide this from us, writers?

Anywayz, going into the battle itself, Ash lost without defeating a single Pokemon. ...Yeah, I’m still not seeing the reason why I should take her seriously, considering the only mons Ash used were little baby Riolu and newcomer Farfetch’d. If it were a three-on-three with Ash using Dragonite, but he still lost, then I would see Bea as a big threat to his goals, but no. And while the lost did lower Ash’s own rank, be quickly raised it back up off-screen by her next appearance, so I guess that wasn’t much of a big deal overall.

In their next battle, Ash used Pikachu and Riolu again and it ended up in a draw, affecting neither of their ranks. Even with a draw, I don’t see any reason to take Bea seriously. While she managed to take down Pikachu, it should be noted that it took two of her Pokemon to do the job, plus Pikachu’s one of the most inconsistent characters in history, so him losing to Grapploct doesn’t really bring in a lot of stakes. And since Riolu and Grapploct tied, that pretty much spoils the fact that Ash’s aura dog will most likely take the W in one of their next battles, especially since Riolu has now evolved into Lucario.

Most rivals in the past usually consistently beat Ash a few times in a row to really set up the stakes for their rivalry. It would add interesting conflict and dynamic in their final confrontation, but considering the recent tie and that Ash only used his two newest mons in their first battle, I don’t really care about Bea as a rival. Not to mention, it took two mons to take down Pikachu, Dragonite and Gengar’s typings royally screw her over, Lucario’s evolution and Farfetch’d’s future one might set them up to be equal or even stronger than her mons, and Dracovish has the potential to be an absolute tank.

Final Points

Overall, with what we’re given so far, Bea kind of sucks as a rival. We don’t have any motivation or depth, her team sucks, and there aren’t really many stakes. She’s pretty much the generic mean boss lady we will have to defeat by the end of the journey. I honestly get a lot more stakes from FF7′s Turks.

But is she the worst rival that Ash has ever gotten? Not by a long shot, especially since the likes of Nando and Cameron exist omg Cameron why do you exist? And like I said, since she’s only made two appearances, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, so many of my issues with her could change over time. I just wanted to get this off of my chest and hopefully provide some insight to my fellow fans on how Bea could become a better character in the anime.

Though, I kind of feel there could be some better directions with her. Even if we get more development, her team will suck by the end of the day, so why not make her a rival for Korrina? They’re both fighting type specialists who aim to be the strongest, plus you could pull off a super cool rivalry over which is stronger; Mega Evolution or Gigantamaxing, with Lucario and Machamp respectively. I honestly feel Hop would be a better rival for Ash due to similar personalities, goals, and diversity in teams. Assuming Hop exists in the anime verse, of course.

If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading my thoughts over Journeys’ Bea! Please feel free to follow for more anipoke content! (am i cool already)

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songofclarity · 3 years

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Hi cat anon back again I absolutely loved your response to my ask though I doubt WRH sleeps 16 hours a day lol. On the contrary I think he's more likely a workaholic who rarely if ever gets a full night of sleep. even if he delegates a part of his workload, leading a sect as large as qishan wen is still a very hard and demanding job and there are things that just can't be delegated and there's also his cultivation that he must put a lot of work in to be that powerful I would be surprised if he ever gets time to rest. If I were to compare WRH as a leader to anyone it would be Miranda Priestley from "the devil wears Prada", all those working under him are terrified of him not because he's needlessly cruel but because he's extremely strict, demanding, and has very high expectations of everyone starting with himself and the higher you go in the hierarchy of the sect the higher his expectations of you will be and if you can't meet his expectations you will be kicked to the curb without mercy (srsly if you haven't watched that movie you absolutely should especially if you're looking for inspiration for WRH because Meryl Streep slays the role of the demanding and tyrannical leader in it).

Also I'm curious what kind of parent you think WRH is. We never get to meet WX in the novel so there's no way to know what he's really like but WC strikes me as a sort of spoiled kid who was used to getting all his demands met without question and was never disciplined for anything ever in his life but also there are WQ and WN whose upbringing WRH had more or less involvement in depending on the adaptation and who seem to be far better adjusted people than WC even if WN seems to suffer from near crippling social anxiety and stage fright. I personally think he has no idea how to parent because he was mostly raised by nannies and tutors and barely had any relation with his own parents if he had any so his idea of being a father is buying his children anything they ask for no matter how extravagant and having dinner with them once in a while.

Sorry for the rant but you're my favorite writer who writes WRH I just love the way you write him ❤️

Ahaha, 16 hours is indeed much too much, he needs to have time to work on his cultivation! I'm so happy you love the way I write him and I love hearing you talk about him, so thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!

I will confess I, too, have a soft spot for workaholic/insomniac Wen RuoHan. It’s a big sect and there is a lot to do! At the same time, I also have a soft spot for well-rested and idling Wen RuoHan who is purposefully kept oblivious to most things happening in his sect, either because other people are doing a good job taking care of it all, because they just don't want to look bad in front of the boss and so don't tell him, or both lol

To be honest, I don't see Wen RuoHan as someone who is that critical of people! I just don't see him dropping people simply because they make a mistake. The way he lightly jokes with Meng Yao after Meng Yao nearly gets himself killed is kind of something I can see Miranda Priestly doing though lol But she knows she's top brass and has the attitude for it. There is an arrogance about her that when she says something disparaging, it's really not a joke even if she might smile and laugh. By comparison, I don't think Wen RuoHan is nearly that arrogant or, if I may, that rude. I think politeness and proper manners are actually very important to him (and there is a whole essay in me about that lol). Wen RuoHan says "you good-for-nothing" only after Meng Yao was being self-deprecating, and then they laughed and carried on with Wen RuoHan going along with Meng Yao's ideas. Meng Yao's status doesn't falter in the slightest.

(So yes, The Devil Wears Prada is a great movie and I have definitely seen it!)

Instead of Wen RuoHan creating a toxic environment where he plays an active hand in making people fight for privileges and status, I can better see people around Wen RuoHan vying for his attention that it becomes a dog-eat-dog situation. It's like with the guest cultivator who threw Nie Dad under the bus. Wen RuoHan did not pose a question that needed to cause a sect-sect incident, but the guest cultivator made it into one. No one is quite sure why he would say such a thing, although one of the assumptions is that he said it simply to stand out and gain attention.

Although I may just have some rose-colored glasses on lol Wen RuoHan just kind of has that personality, to me, that draws people in. They see Wen RuoHan, recognize his power, and are like, "If I can have 5 minutes of his time, my whole life will change for the better." I do think Wen RuoHan thought he was making things better with his policies. The problem is that some bad people are taking advantage of this offer, and it in turn reflects badly on Wen RuoHan. I will say this though: I think there is some room to argue that Wen RuoHan does follow the teachings of Wen Mao.

For the record, I like to completely ignore what CQL did to the Wens, tbh LOL Wen RuoHan is Yikes, Wen Chao is more just evil asshole rather than pompous asshole, and Wen Qing and Wen Ning are like desolate orphans for some reason. I love the younger actors, acting, and the aesthetics (although white and red will always be Wen colors to me!) but the changes to their story line and their relationships with each other made a complete mess and I don't like to see it ;;

But man, I wish we knew, like, anything about Wen Xu! Wen Chao is absolutely spoiled though. Although one thing I like is how he's being given opportunities to practice leadership, management, and organization skills. He's the one arranging the Wen Sect team for the archery competition and he's put in charge of indoctrinating all the juniors when he himself is the same age as them. We see evidence that he's getting the right education and opportunities to maybe even become Sect Leader one day (Wen Xu, who are you!?), but we also know he's a rather rotten, arrogant person who seems to enjoy his power and privilege more than anything. Wen Chao is also the second son and we get a nice comparison with Nie HuaiSang, who also enjoys all the wealth and the pretty things of his station but doesn't want the responsibilities that come with it.

My headcanon is that Wen RuoHan adores children and is very good with them. I want to believe he was very good to Wen Xu, Wen Chao, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning. This is in part because every other parent in MDZS is awful so statistics says at least one of them needs to be good, so let's give it to Wen RuoHan LMAO

But for the actual teaching of said children, I can definitely see them being given tutors and Shifu and all that good stuff. Then when they have learned something, they show it off to Wen RuoHan, who I think is someone who likes seeing others learn and improve. I don't think utilizing nannies and tutors would make him a bad parent though! It might make him somewhat distant, however, which might explain why Wen Chao lies about killing the Tortoise of Slaughter. That would be a great way to get his father's attention! But it might not be because his father is distant. That lack of attention could also be because he's competing, as I mentioned before, with all the other people vying for Wen RuoHan's attention.

Considering Wen RuoHan gave Wen Chao his strongest bodyguard, a whole ton of disciples to lead, and opportunities to prove himself, I think Wen RuoHan is arguably a decent father. That Wen Chao was desperate to get back to him when it all went south shows that his father is someone he knows will protect him, which no other kid in the series (except Lan SiZhui who has the benefit of being from the next generation lol) ever displays. Considering how Wen RuoHan protected Meng Yao in the Sun Palace with Extreme Force, I like to think Wen RuoHan really doesn't mess around with the safety of his kids (with Meng Yao as honorary kid). Even Wen Qing and Wen Ning had ZERO fear running around as they did right after the massacre of Lotus Pier. No one and nothing is going to harm them--not with Wen RuoHan around.

(As a side note, Wen Qing said she wouldn’t be able to protect Wen Ning from Wen Chao if Wen Chao really wanted to kill him, but there is no mention of harm coming from Wen RuoHan. It really does sound like a sibling spat of “He’s going to fucking kill you when he finds out you ate his pudding and there is NOTHING I can do to stop him.”)

With all that said!! I really like your headcanon that Wen RuoHan wasn't close with his own parents and thus having no idea how to parent. It makes me sad, but in a good way lol So I'm definitely willing to run with you on it! Although I love the idea that Wen RuoHan is trying to be different than the generation before him. His parents weren't close to him, so he is close to his own children. He cultivated to a high level because no one was around to protect him, so he makes sure he's around to protect them. Wen ZhuLiu is an extension of Wen RuoHan and it shows when he protects Wen Chao, despite not liking the kid in the slightest.

So Wen Chao grows up spoiled and Wen Ning grows up fearless and Wen Qing grows up prideful because Wen RuoHan is just one letter away and no one wants to mess with Wen RuoHan.

#ty for waiting and for sharing wrh thoughts with me!! i love them!#asked from above #anon #wen ruohan #wen fam #mdzs thoughts #the problem with my headcanons and opinions is that #they change depending on what i want and where i am #especially for someone like wrh where we can tweak him depending on what we want out of him

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a-libra-writes · 4 years

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🌸⛅🥊💋💖🏥 for Ramsay boy 😏 (sorry if it's too much, lol, I don't know if I can send several at the same time, you can just choose one, I just really liked these 😅😅)

(oh my, this is a lot! tho tbf I didn’t give a limit! 😂 okay, putting this under a cut bc its a long boi)

🌸 Kissing

Ramsay kisses you like he wants to steal your breath. It’s always so sudden, so rough, and he brings you close to him like you might run away. It’s crushing, really, so you have to push him back and breathlessly tell him to slow down.

... Does he listen? Not really.

You usually end up pressed against his firm chest and the cold wall, holding onto him as he bites at your lips and eagerly takes your lips. He’s just as breathless as you as he bites and kisses down your neck, and you wonder what’s gotten into him this time.

In bed, it’s just as desperate, but he’ll leave hickeys and rough kisses across your neck, breasts and thighs. He’ll bite where he pleases, even drawing blood if that makes you cry out and gasp louder.

If you sleepily give him a chaste kiss in the morning, or a sudden one on his cheek in the day, he isn’t sure what to make of it. He’ll try to initiate something deeper sometimes, but other days, he looks at you with those intense eyes, trying to puzzle you out.

⛅ Sunset

Dreary as the Dreadfort was, it was still a proper castle, and you could climb to the top of the ramparts to watch the sunset, like you used to do at your old home. When you first married Ramsay, it was one of your many escapes. You hid in one of the older parts that was crumbling and wasn’t guarded well. You could disappear for hours up here.

Ramsay ended up finding your little hiding spot, though by that point, you had learned to handle him and live with him. He didn’t understand the appeal of just sitting still and watching a sunset. He was more interested in watching you.

He used to say and do things just to upset you, to annoy you, to make you cry or scream, but you never rewarded his behavior with a response. He hated when you would ignore him, and when your attention was taken away by a sunset, he became agitated and impatient.

“Just go back to the hall, Ramsay. I’ll be there shortly for dinner.” Gods, he was so stubborn, but you wouldn’t let him take this from you.

Finally, you lost your patience and took his hand. You command him to sit and put his head in your lap. He was confused, but finally obeyed. Like a spoiled child - maybe dog was a more accurate word - he was content to sit there while you pet his hair and freely watched the sky again. You can’t believe it worked.

Sometimes that didn’t work, and he brought his bow up to shoot targets he set up below. You weren’t sure when he did that. It was hard not to be impressed with his skill, especially considering how far away they were, and he was always pleased when you paid attention to his abilities.

🥊 Exercise/Workout

You already know the sort of things he gets up to in the forest, and you’ll have no part of it. As a result of his wild upbringing and those “hunting trips”, he’s very fit and athletic. Ramsay has a lot of energy, you learned. Not even the rain and snow will keep him cooped up.

He would be so insistent on teaching you how to use a bow. If you already knew, he’d be delighted, demanding you show him and hunt with him. But if you didn’t ... You’d find yourself in the middle of several private lessons that were almost impossible to squirrel away from. Ramsay would stand behind you, giving you surprisingly clear instructions as you learned to notch arrows and aim just right. He’d even have a bow made for your size and strength.

A good way to keep Ramsay in good spirits was to endure the lessons and shoot with him. He preferred you to kill something, like a rabbit, but shooting targets was fine enough, especially as you began to improve.

Roose didn’t think a lady should learn such things, but you were keeping his bastard out of his hair, so he didn’t complain.

💋 Intimacy

He is rough and there’s rarely a reprieve from that. He always holds you a little too tight, kisses a little too hard, leaves one too many marks along your neck and collarbone. It doesn’t help that he has the energy level of a terrier, so he wants to keep going well after your legs are jelly.

It surprised you how close he wanted you, how he wanted your hands on him - he’d put them there himself if he had to. He’d want you to kiss him back, to bite him, drag your nails down his back until he bleeds. Almost like with the kissing, it was like he worried you’d just disappear into the air if he let you go for a moment.

His favorite is when you’re facing him or in his lap, so he can trap you and keep you from squirming away. He doesn’t care about children or heirs, so if you don’t want him finishing inside you, he’ll listen and do it elsewhere which is fine because he likes to lick it off you.

When you try to slow him down, try to be a little more tender, it confuses him. He gets an uncomfortable knot in his stomach, and he wonders what to do. When you hold his face gently, or brush his hair away from his sweaty brow, or gently apologize for the bright red scratches you left on him... He doesn’t know what to do. It isn’t familiar... It isn’t bad, but ...

The nights you’re most in control is when he’s utterly exhausted, totally physically spent, but still insists on being intimate with you. That’s when you can push him on his back and tell him what you want, and he’ll go along, too intrigued and tired to argue with you.

💖 Pregnancy

No surprise, Ramsay doesn’t heed his father at all when Roose goes on about producing an heir. Seven hells, he’s only a lord in title, it’s you and Roose who are doing a majority of running the Dreadfort. Roose often directed his frustrations at you - should you fail to do your duty as a proper wife, he’d find a way for you to be ... replaced.

It’s not like it was difficult to end up with child, given how often Ramsay wanted you. It happened, and when you told him, he was confused for only a moment. Ramsay simply shrugged, saying his father would finally stop bothering the two of you about it. So that was that.

He continued to not think much about it, but then you became tired. You were so tired, so fatigued, and often forgetful. You had even less patience for his shenanigans, and when he went looking for you, a handmaiden would inform him that you retired early. As you began to show, and your fatigue increased, Ramsay finally began to accept the reality. He still didn’t think much of what it meant, he thought of it more as “Y/N will be back to her regular self once that damn pup is out of her.”

(Honestly, he had so little parental love growing up, the entire idea of parenthood and children was just ... foreign. Something he couldn’t imagine.)

Ramsay hates seeing you in distress and pain. He doesn’t understand it, and it angers him that he has these feelings, but it’s true. So when you begin to really get along in the third trimester, he frightens the servants and handmaidens into making you completely comfortable, not upsetting you, walking and talking quietly, getting you whatever you need. He’d busy himself with even more hunting, getting food you especially liked, making sure it was totally cooked so the smell wouldn’t make you sick.

Roose was surprised, but pleased. At one point he made a cold, off-hand comment about how you could die in childbirth - but as long as you had a son, it didn’t matter. Ramsay turned on him so quickly, a guard almost stepped between them. Roose blinked, unaffected, but made a mental note to ensure the maester had all the tools and supplies he needed.

🏥 Taking Care of Injuries

As stated before, Ramsay hates you being hurt. He hates that he hates this. Sometimes it makes him so angry, he has to walk away. He doesn’t understand the sick feeling he gets when you’re hurt.

The first time you cried, he was startled. For all the times he tried to do it himself, it happened when you took a bad fall from your horse. The maester was tying your ankle, worried it was broken, and you were quietly crying as he wrapped it. Ramsay was so upset, he barked at the maester to move and did it himself.

Ramsay is very adept at first aid, actually. He has steady hands to sew up injuries, he knows how to disinfect and change out bandages or stitches. It helped keep his victims alive, after all.

When your hands were blistered from all the archery lessons, he took them in his rough, totally calloused hands and carefully popped the blisters. You flinched and tears sprang to your eyes, and he fought back the angry bile in his throat as he patiently cleaned them and bandaged them.

Now that you thought about it, tending to your wounds was the only time Ramsay sat still and quiet.

When you pricked your finger badly from a sewing needle or a small knife, he’d hear your quiet curse and instantly go to your side. Ramsay just had to take your finger in his mouth. He always did, looking at you with those mischievous blue eyes the whole time.

Whenever you have a bruise from something silly, like hitting a piece of furniture, he likes to press on it. He likes the discoloration on your skin, but he doesn’t like the frown you give him. So he kisses it, playing at being sweet, only to kiss up the rest of your body and take you in a needy kiss.

#ramsay snow x reader #ramsay bolton x reader #libra headcanons #whew! That was a long boy

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paperprinc3 · 3 years

Text

Kylux omegle chat

You: I heard you declined another bride. H I will do better next time. H [royalty au king Kylo advisor Hux]

Stranger: Your choices would be fine for anyone else. -KR

You: Perhaps if you were more specific I could find you the perfect spouse. H

Stranger: Male. Around my height. Intelligent. Red hair. - KR

You: Oh. H

Stranger: Have I not been obvious? - KR

You: I assumed you only wanted me to warm your bed. H

Stranger: I enjoy when you warm my bed, but I also want you at my side as my husband. - KR

You: I didn't realise you were that fond of me. H

You: I'm not saying no. H

Stranger: Hux, surely you've realize how smitten I am for you. - KR

Stranger: I'd give you anything. The world, if possible. - KR

You: I assumed you were out of reach. H

Stranger: My mother married my father, who was a legitimate criminal. You're far above that, dear. - KR

You: Well yes technically. But he did rescue her. H I'm just a servant boy who looked after you. H

Stranger: You rescued me, too. And you're not a little servant boy anymore. You're my top adviser. - KR

You: I've lost count of the amount of times I rescued you. H If you seriously want to marry me, I want a fancy ring and title. H

Stranger: Hundreds of /thousands/. You've been good to me. - KR Oh, of course. I have just the ring. A jewel to match the blue of your eyes. - KR You can't exactly be a queen, but how does prince consort sound? - KR

You: It was my job. And you were a sad little cry baby. H It sounds like you're talking about your grandmother's ring. H It'll do. H What about having an heir? H

Stranger: I was /not/ a cry baby. - KR It's the prettiest ring in the collection. Unless you'd like your own? - KR It'll do, huh? You prefer something else, my dear? - KR Hmm. Surrogacy is an option, so is adoption. - KR

You: I disagree. I enjoyed making you cry. You're cute that way. H I think I deserve the prettiest ring. H I want to be the only one in your bed. I know that's selfish. H

Stranger: You're so mean to me. Remember how infatuated I was with you and you'd tease me for hours? - KR You deserve the prettiest ring plus some. A lovely crown to set on your head, too. - KR No, darling, it's not selfish at all. Adoption is a feasible option. - KR

Stranger: My mother is adopted, you know. - KR

You: I remember I made you work hard to woo me. H You are too good to me. H Good. You're mine. H We can adopt all you want. Have a dozen kids. H

Stranger: You make me work hard now, too. Every time I want a break, you're the one coming into my office complaining about proposals. - KR And you're mine. - KR Yeah? You want to adopt a dozen kids? Probably not at the same time. That might get hectic. - KR

You: Yes well I am your smartest advisor. H I like you being possessive. H I must admit, I chose ugly brides because I was jealous. H We'd have servants to look after them. H

Stranger: The only one I trust. - KR Let me mark you up a bit later, then? To celebrate our engagement. - KR Uh-huh. I knew something was up. - KR We would, but I want to be hands-on with our kids. Cuddle them and love them. - KR

You: The others are idiots, I agree. H You can kiss me everywhere. I'll clear my schedule. H Of course you did. Like I'd let you be stolen from me. H I want to have you to myself for a bit too. H

Stranger: They hate how much sway you have over me. It's funny when they get mad. - KR Oh good. I was afraid you'd make me wait. - KR Never. I'm yours. - KR Of course. We'll have set times for ourselves. I'm not going to forget about you just because we have children. - KR

You: Yes well if they'd given you sweets and sung you to sleep they might have a strong sway over you too. H For my beloved King? No one is more important to me than you. H And I'm yours. H We've not even married yet. We don't need to rush this. H

Stranger: You spoiled me more than anyone. - KR You continue to spoil me with such sweet words. - KR I know. We're just going to enjoy being married for a while. - KR

You: Mmmh. I was told you were mine when we met. I wanted to make you smile. H I love you. H

Stranger: You knew even when I was a gross child. - KR Did you ever imagine it would grow to love between us? - KR

Stranger: I love you, even more. - KR

You: You were cute and small. I don't know what happened. H I knew I would always serve you and look after you. You need me. H I'll write a proper announcement for the public. H They'll go crazy. They've been waiting for your wedding for ages. H

Stranger: Now I'm taller than you and still cute. -KR I know they have. I think the people will be thrilled to know it's you. - KR

You: You're rugged and handsome now. H Still very kissable. H Most I think will be. I'm not certain of your mother. H

Stranger: Thank you, darling. - KR I much prefer the kisses you give me now, of course. - KR She will be hesitant of anyone, you know that. - KR

You: Mmmh. I'm aware. You're quitet the hound dog sometimes. Following me about for a kiss or two. H Your mother hates me. H

Stranger: Your kisses are my favorite thing. - KR She thinks you're strong-willed. - KR

You: I am. H Does that mean I don't need to get you a present? H

Stranger: You are. There's no denying how strong you are and how much you mean to me. She'll get over it. - KR Hmm. You can be my present. - KR

You: She did chose me to be your servant. H It was fated. You and I. H As if you can keep me from sneaking into your chambers. H

Stranger: Does she know you've moved beyond servant to lover? - KR I know. I feel as if I've known you for lifetimes. - KR Good. I didn't think you'd stop. - KR

You: She's your mother not mine. I'm just someone she asks to bring tea now and again. H Since you were five so pretty much a life time. H Soon they'll be mine too. H

Stranger: She hasn't said anything to you, then. Excellent. Good. - KR A whole lifetime. You were much older than me, though. They should have expected me to be completely smitten with you. - KR They will be. We'll never have to do anything apart again. - KR

You: It might be best if you tell her before making an announcement. H I'm not that old! You make me sound like an old man. I'm five years older than you! H You were smitten? I thought you were clingy because no one else spent much time taking care of you. H

Stranger: Yes, of course. I wouldn't dare let her find out with everyone else. She'd never forgive me. -KR Such an old man. That's literally a lifetime. Cradle robbing Hux. - KR Shush. No, I was smitten. I wanted to be near you constantly. - KR

You: You'd be in big trouble yeah. H That hurts! I didn't steal anything. H I remember you made me sleep on the floor by your bed. H

Stranger: We do want her to come to the wedding and give her blessing. - KR I'm teasing, baby! I promise. Five years is nothing. There's ten between my parents. - KR And then I made you sleep in my bed. I needed you close. - KR

You: Of course. H Yes well, I've heard similar things from your other advisors.. I guess I'm sensitive. H You were scared of the dark. H

Stranger: Oh, Hux. No. Don't listen to them. - KR I'm still scared of the dark so you'll share my bed. - KR

You: I try not to. H You're such a liar. But I love you. H

Stranger: I love you, too. - KR Do you want a proper engagement? - KR

You: What exactly is a proprer engagement? H My father doesn't deserve any goats for my hand. I've been working in the castle for so long. H

Stranger: I meant do you want me to ask in court. In a ceremony? - KR

Stranger: Fuck your father and his goats. He can waste away in that withering estate for the things he has done. - KR

You: Oh. Yes. I'd like a ceremony. H Yes I agree. He's not invited to the wedding. H

Stranger: Being my husband means you get your own pension. You get to decide what it's spent on. - KR Good. He can hear about it from the news. - KR

You: A pension? I think you mean an allowance? I'm not old. H I'll spend it on sweets. H

Stranger: Oh, I forget you're not an old man. - KR Sweets, huh? - KR I can buy you sweets. - KR

You: I'll remind you tonight. H You give me everything I need. I wanted to get sweets for you. H

Stranger: You always had a pocket full of sweets for me. - KR

You: Of course. And I will for our children as well. H

Stranger: They'll get as fat as I did. - KR

You: Mmmh. I remember that. I used to roll you around. H

Stranger: I was not /that/ fat.- KR

You: I'm teasing. H

Stranger: Uh-huh. - KR

Stranger: I lost all that puppy weight, though. - KR

You: I'm remembering how cute you were. H A mini you would be so sweet. H

Stranger: I think a mini you would be nice, too. My own little Hux to cart around. - KR

You: A mini me would still boss you around. H

Stranger: And look adorable doing it. In my arms the entire time they bossed me around. - KR

You: I will consider it. H

Stranger: That almost always means 'no'. - KR

You: I might have been a little hasty in saying no to a surrogate.. H

Stranger: You know we don't have to actually sleep with them. There are tools that can be used. - KR

Stranger: We could both provide a sample and just see who takes. - KR

You: .....I didn't know that. H You're the only person I've slept with. H

Stranger: Yes, we can have her, well, inseminated. Like you would a horse. - KR Same. You're the only one for me.- KR

You: I'm sure the lucky lady would love that comparison. H I know. I don't let anyone else get that close. H

Stranger: Well, obviously, we're not going to tell her that I compared her to a horse. - KR Oh, I know. You've been sending me terrible suitors for a while now. - KR

You: Good. H We should sort the wedding first I suppose. Thought we both know your mother will plan it all. H

Stranger: Of course she will. The marriage of the King is the biggest event in the history of the kingdom. - KR It has to be perfect, which, it will be with you as my spouse. - KR

You: I forget you're king sometimes. You're always my Kylo. H

Stranger: I loved that about you. You never saw me as the prince. - KR

You: I spoilt you like one. H

Stranger: There's no denying that. You kept me never wanting. - KR

You: Hush now. H

Stranger: You hate when I praise you. - KR

#kylux #Kylux au

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warrioreowynofrohan · 3 years

Text

Rhythm of War Review

PART 1

It feels a little separate from the rest of the book to me at the moment because I read it pre-release, but I think it did a good job setting up the rest of the plot. I greatly enjoyed Navani’s perspective and ideas throughout the book, and the first section established her much more firmly as a character than any of the previous books; her couple of chapters in Oathbringer were more focused on politics and her relationship with Dalinar, so it was great yo see much more of her scientific side.

When I first read Part 1 it felt very Kaladin-heavy, but after completing the book I see how it was necessary to establish his burnout in order to set up the rest of the plot. And Chapter 12 (A Way to Help), in addition to being our only chance in the book to see our trio together, did a great job setting up Kaladin’s later work with mentally ill people, both by establishing the need and showing what kind of help was needed. I was nonetheless quite frustrated by Kaladin reacting to Shallan’s DID with “that would be nice...”. She’s having serious problems, Kal! She’s your friend and could use support, not you regarding her issues as a neat way to take a holiday from one’s own brain! Kaladin’s very kind and caring with those he chooses to protect, as we see with Bridge 4 in TWOK and the mentally ill people in Chapter 25, but sometimes I think he’s not a very good friend. I know he was not in a good place, but in Oathbringer when they were in Shadesmar Shallan had just had a complete breakdown and she still went out of her way to emotionally support Kal, so it would be nice to see his friendships become a bit more two-way. (For similar reasons, I liked seeing the moments of Shallan-to-Adolin emotional support in Shadesmar in ROW, because a lot of their relationship in OB was her relying on him; it felt balanced in ROW as both supported each other.)

PART 2

I loved the Shadesmar arc! The emotional arcs for both main characters were very strong - I had been looking forward to seeing Adolin’s reaction to (in-universe) Oathbringer, and it did not disappoint; the conflict between genuinely loving Dalinar and being unable to forgive what he’d done was well-drawn. I was so pissed off at Dalinar in that last conversation! You burned his mom to death, you do not get to take the moral high ground and lecture him. And I do see a difference between killing innocents, as Taravangian does, and killing someone who’s effectively declared war on you and has a history of treason.

I also liked Adolin’s sense of being generally at sea with his purpose in the world. He’s been trained primarily as a warrior and general, and his combat skills have been made virtually obsolete by the Radiants. And at the same time, the reader can see what makes Adolin special, and it’s not combat skills - though those do give him a big heroic moment in a pinch - it’s his care and compassion for others. The way he interacts with Maya and slowly brings her life is absolutely beautiful. Chapter 35 was such a wonderful Shadolin moment (and starspren are amazing!); he really gets her and understands what she needs. Chapter 24 was sweet too, though super cheesy.

I spent the entire Shadesmar arc side-eying Veil and Radiant, especially with Veil’s takeover stunt at the start, but in the end they genuinely were supporting and helping Shallan. So in retrospect I do like scenes like the one with Veil trying to draw Shallan out by drawing Adolin badly.

Spoeking of drawing, I love the spren art, it’s some of the best art so far, and fascianting to see how they all look!

Kaladin finding non-violent ways to protect, culminating in pioneering Rosharan therapy - and Teft insisting on staying to support him - was everything I wanted for him. His arc could have just been that, and I’d have been perfectly happy. Chapter 25 (Devotary of Mercy) is still my favourite in the entire book.

Unfortunately, then Odium’s forces had to show up and SPOIL EVERYTHING. I’m rather appalled by how quickly Urithiru fell - the enemy forces were literally in the pillar room by the time anyone noticed them.

PART 3

Part 3 was a real slog for me, partly because it is a slog and partly because I hit it at the height of my sleep deptivation. (It’s really...not a good thing to be reading on zero sleep at the literal darkest-hour-before-dawn.) Kaladin’s arc in Urithiru is just so exhausting; he’s so clearly worn to the boneand everything feels so hopeless. Kaladin’s had bad times before - Bridge 4 in TWOK, for example - but then the reader could see progress even if Kaladin couldn’t. (Kaladin: I’m getting nowhere and failing at everything! Everyone else: Kaladin, you were literally just miraculously resurrected.) Here, though - well, I genuinely spent the whole book from Part 3 through to the climax thinking that they would lose Urithiru.

Navani’s arc, and Venli’s, I did enjoy.

The other section of Part 3, in Emul, just felt rather disjointed. It had some interesting moments, but it didn’t have a sense of cohesion or of where it was going. I was entertained by Dalinar’s musings on the merits of despositism and the need to free Queen Fen from having - horrors! - a parliament. (I wonder if the Fourth Ideal will be something like “I will recognize that it can sometimes be beneficial to have people oppose my decisions.”)

PART 4

Again, adored the Shadesmar arc. Really strong character arcs for both Adolin and Shallan, combined with excellent plots and a strong sense of momentum. I was pretty sure Maya would be crucial in the trial, but that didn’t make the moment any less powerful (though Sanders probably shouldn’t have tried quite as hard to replicate his “You. Cannot. Have. My. Pain.” moment from Oathbringer). I need to put together a proper post on the theme of choice in Oathbringer, because that moment - combined with Kaladin’s fourth ideal and the conflict with Lirin over the way he’s inspiring the resistance - really crystallized it for me. To treat a person’s choice and sacrifices as something done to them is to devalue their volition, their agency. Maya is put in the horrifying situation of being used as a prop and treated as evidence of a point that she is diametrically opposed to and turned into a weapon against someone she loves, and it’s enough to drive her to regain her voice and speak for herself. I am very curious to know what specifically led the spren to agree to the Recreance!

I did not remotely guess what Shallan’s secret was, even though in retrospect the Cryptic deadeye should have made it incredibly obvious. I think her fear that she’d lose Adolin if it came out was overblown - he already knows she killed both her parents, he’s not going to be fazed by “I was so distraught over having to kill my own mother in self-defence at age ten that I broke my Radiant oaths”. But obviously it’s not something Shalkan would be able to consider duspassionately. Her arc was rather terrifying once I realized that Formless was, well, basically her, but more specifically, Shallan’s idea of the monster that she was, and her breakdown was driving her to “accept who she was” as being that monster. I like Shallan and was never that into Veil - though she was fairly good in this book and went out well - so I’m not sad to see the back of her.

I haven’t managed to work through all the espionage/mole elements. Yes, Pattern used the box to talk to Wit, and Radiant killed Ialai so Shallan wouldn’t, but who’s Mraize’s spy close to Dalinar?

This arc ended too abruptly. I think Sanderson could easily have traded a Kaladin chapter in Part 3 for an extra chapter wrapping up events in Shadesmar; maybe one where Shallan first goes to see Testament.

I enjoyed the Urithiru arc in Part 4 as well. Switching to Bridge 4 points of view other than Kaladin was a good move - we already know he’s worn to ribbons, so we don’t need to be inside his head to see it. “The Dog and the Dragon” was amazing, and the most appropriate story ever for Kaladin. (I get how Wit’s schtick of telling incredibly topical stories and then saying “no, I don’t have a point, what point?” would be really aggravating in person.) It was nice to see him be gentle with Kaladin for a change, the way he is with Shallan - his two previous encounters with Kaladin read as rather baiting, which annoyed me.

Dabbid was - I don’t know quite how to say this, but his inclusion struck an amazing balance in this book. Navani’s arc is all about two amazingly smart people doing science and making incredible breakthroughs, and that is sincerely valued and given importance by the narrative, and then you get chapters like Dabbid’s and one of Taravangian’s emphasizing that a person’s value and ability to contribute is not determined by their intelligence.

Navani’s arc continued to be excellent. All of her research, and the way the story took you through the process, and her complex relationship with Raboniel, was great.

I loved Venli’s character development, and growing willingness to take risks for the sake of others. To me, her arc parallels Dalinar’s in the last book in some ways. If we can love the story of a bloodthirsty conqueror growing to become a good person, why can’t we equally love the story of a coward coming to become a good person? There seems to be a tendency to be more drawn to strength, even in its most terrible forms, than to weakness. To me, Venli’s confession to Rlain and acceptance of his disgust at her was one of the book’s great moments. (And I can’t understand people saying her arc took up two much space. She had 5 chapters in Part 3, and 4 in Part 4. That’s not very many! I’ll grant that the flasbacks packed less punch than some earlier flashback sequences because we already knew the main events - Brandon acknowledged that even before the book came out - but I still liked them well enough, and Venli’s present-day arc was excellent.)

Anyway, the amount of space I’ve spent on this section relative to Part 3 is another strong inducation of the differences in how I feel about them!

PART 5

I should probably start this section with a discussion of Moash. I’ll try to keep it summarized. here - I could, and may, write a short essay on his development through The Stormlight Archive. The first thing that jumps out about Moash’s arc in this book is his reaction to Renarin’s vision in Part 1. I think that vision is showing Moash who he could still be, in a similar way to Shallan’s inspirational drawings of people - both use the Surge of Illumination. So it’s not that Moash is irredeemable; Renarin is specifucally holding out to him the possibility of redemption.

And Moash’s reaction is to run away in terror. Because he desperately wants his decision to be irrevocable. He desperately wants there to only be one possible path forward for him. Because if there are alternative paths, it means he can choose them, and that would mean facing guilt, facing the fact that his past choices were wrong, and his current choices are wrong. And that is exactly what Moash sought to avoid by giving up his pain and sense of guilt to Odium.

Moash is, nonetheless, very much Moash and not Vyre, as evidenced by his continuing obsession with Kaladin. As with his above need to not be wrong, here he needs to feel that he’s right, and the only way he can feel that he’s right is if Kaladin - whom he still deeply admires - makes the same decision as him, and if Moash can convince himself that he’s doing Kaladin a favour in driving him to that point. It’s ironic that he’s given up almost all feeling abd become almost enturely detached, but his worst actions are driven by his attitude towards the one person in the world who he still does have very strong feelings about. By the end of the book, he’s comprehensively broken, to the point that even when his ability to feel is restored he’s unable to even feel genuine remose over the cold-blooded murder of a friend. I don’t know where he’ll go from here - it would be ironic if he was only ever really appealing to Rayse-Odium, and Taravangian-Odium found Moash too much of a flat villain for his purposes and cast him off.

As the plot climaxes go, I thought the ones for Navani and Venli were excellent and very satisfying. I enjoyed Kaladin’s as well and found it cathartic, but it a was moment we all knew had to come, so it didn’t have quite the kick of some of Kaladin’s other big moments. I did love his reconciliation with Lirin. One of the themes of the book was finding common ground despite deeply felt disagreements - with Navani and Raboniel, with Navani and the Sibling, and with humans and singers/Fused more generally - and Kaladin and Lirin’s reconciliation fit well with that. I am far more favourable to Lirin than most people - if you’ve lived as a pacifist in storming Alethkar, which values the lives of its people slightly more than it does crem, you’re going to have been right a solid 95% of the time, where everyone else was wrong. I can make allowances for the other five percent, especially when Lirin’s life lesson from the last five or so years has been “resisting oppression and standing up for what you believe in will destroy everyone you love”.

And on the topic of finding common ground, Leshwi’s reaction to the revelation that Venli was a Radiant was one of the single most beautiful moments of the book, and one of my absolute favourites. It’s gorgeous and moving, and at the same time rather tragic, because - what might have bern different if Venli had revealed herself to Leshwi at the start of the book? How much of the conflict could have been avoided. Singers don’t appear to attract spren as strongly as humans do, which makes Leshwi drawing joyspren particularly powerful. And then the bittersweet note from “My soul is too long owned by someone else”. (Come to think of it, this is another inverted paralell to Moash. This is someone realizing “I was wrong about everything and I’m so glad about that because it means I have a chance to be someone better than I was.”) Oh my goodness, I would love a Leshwi chapter in a later book, just to check in on her and see how she’s doing in her new life with the Singers.

I also loved the climax of Navani’s arc, and was so relieved, because up until that very moment I wasn’t sure if the Sibling would survuve uncorrupted. I know that some people weren’t pleased because the Sibling didn’t even like her, but to me that became a core part of the story, like I said above - people who deeply disagree finding common ground and common cause. That is a key element of being a Bondsmith - the process of bringing people together in spite of their differences - and something that fits Navani so well given the rapport she found with Raboniel. (Though I was conflicted about the latter. On the one hand, she made amazing discoveries that enabled her to save Urithiru. One the other hand, she...kind of collaborated with the enemy and gave them terrible weapons out of intellectual curiosity and a desire to prove herself?) I will grant that it makes the series, and the characters with the most crucial importance to Roshar, rather Kholin-heavy.

For Taravodium, all I can say is - YIPES. I have no idea how to process the implications of that, but I feel like it will be bad. Really really bad. (Taravangian is probably my least favourite character in the entire Stormlight Archive. The attitude of “I am so brave and selfless for doing evil things and look at how wonderful I am for sacrificing my own morality for the benefit of all, you petty selfish people wanting to be good could never make such a grand sacrifice” drives me absolutely nuts. It’s a complete inversion and twisting of morality, and intensely arrogant.)

Dalinar’s encounter with Ishar was fascinating, and I’m very curious to see where this goes. The spren experiments were deeply creepy! And the way Radiant Oaths can temporarily restore a Herald’s sanity was fascinating - I’m very eager to see where this goes in the next book. I suspect that Dalinar may have made a very serious mistake with regards to this trial my combat, and I have no idea how/if they’re going to fit Szeth’s whole arc into the ten days before the duel. I’ve been eagerly anticipating Szeth’s arc ever since The Way of Kings!

#brandon sanderson #the stormlight archive #rhythm of war #row spoilers #kaladin #shallan #adolin #dalinar kholin #navani kholin #leshwi #moash

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3pirouette · 3 years

Text

Fic: Nobody’s Baby (22/25)

Title: Nobody’s Baby

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Rating: MATURE

Spoilers: Through the Middle of CA:TFA, but characters from Agent Carter do show up.

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 / FF.net. Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: She’s the only woman in camp, so she must be qualified to take care of a baby, right?

Chapter 22 Summary: Anxiety is high as the time for action nears, but the choice to stay or leave is taken out of Steve and Peggy’s hands.

Chapter 22 A/N: For reference, since it pops up twice, current date is April 8, 1945. For those of you who are sticklers for canon, I have found conflicting information for when the Valkyrie was supposed to have gone down, so I’m making my own time line up.

Also, this is it. Parts of this chapter have been written FOREVER. Three more chapters to go. Thank you all for being on this journey with me. You’re amazing.

And, not to spoil anything, but I PROMISE THERE IS NO DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER despite the name. Chapter title makes sense once you’ve read the chapter :)

Chapter 22: The Hill You Die On

She could still smell the brown hair dye, but she hadn’t had time to give her hair another rinse, so it would have to do. She’d managed to hide the pieces she hadn’t been able to curl and set properly under her hat, and she looked presentable enough. She fidgeted her hands in her lap on purpose, biting her lip like she’d practiced so often.

Sore ankle or not, failed mission or not, she needed to move on. Her contact had told her to stay low and quiet, Hydra was falling and so was Masters. If she wanted any hope of having a future in the company, of being a part of taking the SSR down, she needed to blend in for now.

She could have picked any one of a dozen identities she had in her head, but young, lost girl was an easy role to play for these savior types.

“Miss Underwood, what makes you think The Griffith is the right place for you?”

Ida, now Dottie Underwood, smiled shyly at the elderly woman, playing with the hem on her dress. “Oh, why, I just know a woman like yourself runs a safe place, I can tell. You remind me of my mama.”

Mrs. Fry smiled at her, taking the bait hook, line, and sinker. “Well, in a city filled with filth and debauchery at every turn, a young and proper woman needs a haven.”

“And I can just tell that’s what The Griffith is,” Dottie flattered. “I know I have a lot to learn, but I’m hoping that this can be a place to start.”

Mrs. Fry enjoyed having her ego stroked, and it showed. The woman hardened for a moment, looking Dottie up and down. “I’m sure you understand that the rent, and being on time with it, is non-negotiable, as are the rules of this establishment.”

“Oh, of course!” Dottie reached down, flipping open the purse she’d stollen and pulling out a stack of bills she’d acquired by less than legal means. “I can pay in cash right now if that helps.”

Mrs. Fry smiled at her. Money, as they said, talked.

And it bought Dottie a wonderful cover right out in the open.

~*~

Being on her stomach calmed Mandy somewhat, and Steve spent the majority of the morning on the quilt on the floor with her, telling Winnie the Pooh stories with the knit animals (though he did explain that Eeyore was a donkey and not a dog far too many times considering that Mandy would never, ever remember or even understand what he said) and generally tried to keep her entertained.

Steve was explaining how the game Pooh Sticks worked when Howard finally tore his eyes away from the spectacle that was the world’s strongest and potentially most dangerous man, laying on the floor, playing with knit animals, and turned to Peggy. “You should pack.”

Peggy, who had been passing time by folding and re-folding Mandy’s dresses, looked up at him. “Why? According to anyone but us, we’re staying here indefinitely.”

Howard pulled his chair closer. He was doing a horrible job at being a lookout and had given up hours ago, knowing he was here more for moral support at this point with Sousa outside than anything. “If you two have to skedaddle quick, or if you have to fight your way out of here, you aren’t going to have time to grab anything. And I mean,” he looked significantly towards the bottles and then down to the little knit animals that seemed to be dancing in a parade, “anything.”

Peggy nodded, “True, but I shouldn’t think some clothes and a few baby items will be hard to find.”

“They won’t be, but they’ll damn well be looking for you anywhere you can buy that stuff for miles.” Howard sighed. “I’m telling you, I should have listened to you guys the first time. If you’re going to have to run, you’re going to have to go far and fast, and you won’t be able to stop for things like formula and diapers, and I’m sure Steve’s got only so many undershirts left.”

“Two,” Steve said from the floor, turning his attention to them. Though they’d been talking quietly, it wasn’t hard for Steve to overhear. “I literally have only two left.”

Mandy’s giggle seemed well timed, as if she could tell what they were talking about and found it hilarious that he’d sacrificed so many shirts to the cause of her diapers. She pushed up on to her arms and smiled for the first time all day as Steve turned back to her. They spent long minutes making faces at one another, Mandy trying to copy his faces but failing miserably, happy to giggle at Steve’s antics.

Peggy sighed. “You’re right.”

Howard chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “When am I not?”

Peggy looked sharply at him as she stood, moving toward the metal table that had become their all-purpose area. She pulled both suitcases they had up and started sorting through their things.

Most of their clothes needed to be washed, and badly. She’d worn the couple of dresses she had to the point where the only one that was still wearable was the one she had on. Baby drool didn’t so much stain as crust over, and baby vomit absolutely did stain when not washed out quick enough. There was also a ripe smell starting to waft from the clothes; they were perspiring more from stress than heat, and it was starting to become noticeable.

It had been seventeen days since she’d first laid eyes on the girl that changed her life. It gave her an odd feeling inside to think her life had changed so profoundly in such a short period of time, and yet she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

She shuddered to think where Steve might be right now had he gone with the Commandos on their mission to find Schmidt, where she might be. For all the danger around them, they were much safer here than they could have been nearly anywhere on the front.

Peggy started to pull clothes out and sort them. She tried to make even piles, tried to pull the clean things to the top and stuff the things that were starting to smell musty to the bottom. Steve’s socks, she discovered quite by accident, were the perpetrator of nearly all the worst odors she was finding. Considering it had been seventeen days and she only found three well-worn pairs, she could see why.

She moved on to Mandy’s pile, small a neat, sorting dresses out by size and only packing the largest of them. Howard was right: they’d be easy to spot buying clothes and formula, but there was only so far the supply they had would take them.

She looked over at the neat but small collection of bottles and jars of formula and wondered how far they could stretch what they had if it came down to it.

~*~

Peggy felt pangs of anxiety slowly tendril through her all morning. It lasted well after Howard left with one of their suitcases and all through lunch. It kept creeping up her spine as she played with Mandy on the quilt on the floor and while she made her way through her daily workout routine.

It didn’t retreat as she set Mandy down for her nap, the hairs on her arms raising not from any chill in the air, but from the fear that coiled in the base of her spine as she watched the girl sleep. Peggy fussed with the blanket in the bassinet, tucking it around her, thinking maybe she should tuck her in tight so they could grab the whole bassinet if they had to leave at a moment’s notice. Then she pulled the blanket out, thinking that maybe it would better if they could scoop her up and run without the encumbrance of the bassinet.

Before she could tuck the blanket back in again, Steve’s arms wrapped around her from behind, gently pulling the blanket from her hands and backing her away. He didn’t stop them until he was sitting in the room’s only chair with her on his knee, wrapped in his arms. “Peg?”

She licked her lips. She wasn’t afraid to tell him, wasn’t worried about voicing her fears and anxiety to him, but was rather afraid of saying them out loud, while Sousa was just outside the door and could hear, while anything could happen and it felt like saying it might just somehow make it a little closer to being true. She held his gaze, swallowed heavily, and just wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Slowly she laid her head under his chin, snuggling into his embrace.

Steve held her, his slow and even heartbeat under her ear calming her racing mind. She let her breath slow as his hand would itself in her hair, slowly stroking through the strands and over her neck.

“How long, Steve?” She asked suddenly, the worlds barely audible.

“Last day,” he murmured, kissing her forehead and squeezing her close. “If we don’t hear anything by tonight, we’re gone tomorrow.”

Her hands clutched at the fabric of his shirt, tightening and loosening like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to hold him close or push him away. “We should start planning…”

“I have plans.” He leaned back, lifting her chin and looking in her eyes. “You do, too.”

She could only smile. He knew her so well.

“What if they come in through the front door right now?” He asked softly. He didn’t need to explain who ‘they’ were, the omnipresent threat didn’t exactly need a face. He didn’t let her answer, just pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled softly at her. “You’re ready. We both are. We can figure out the specifics later. Just… just relax for a minute while she’s sleeping, ok?” He threaded his hand in her hair and gently guided her back under his chin, wrapping himself around her. “Just for a minute.”

~*~

When 5:30 came and went and Jarvis didn’t show up for the night shift, they knew something was wrong. Jarvis was never late.

Peggy lifted Mandy from where she was on the bed at 5:35 and began pacing, the scenarios rolling through her head. It didn’t pass her notice that Steve filled one of the glass bottles with dry formula and capped it tight, shoving it into one of his pockets. He filled the other with an empty bottle wrapped in an extra diaper cloth.

She shoved one of Mandy’s knit toys into the side of her bra, cursing her lack of pockets, and slipped a burp cloth over her shoulder, even though she didn’t need it.

Silently, the two worked to pack their pockets, to fit anything on them they could as the minutes ticked by without Jarvis coming in like an apologetic tornado and setting a table for their dinner. Peggy stopped, heart pounding when Steve knelt in front of her, sliding his hands under her skirt to fasten her thigh holster. She nodded at him solemnly as he did the fastenings, slipping her pistol in and securing it tight.

Having the gun on her made her feel a little more centered, a little more capable, even with the squirming girl in her arms. Amanda did not want to be held, and in fact would have preferred to be fed and sleeping. Peggy could feel the change of her weight in her arms- the girl was having another growth spurt, and the handful of dressing gowns in the bag she’d given to Howard might only last a week if they were lucky and if she grew like she did the last time.

They both jumped when Sousa poked his head in. The man smiled and held his hands up. “Just wanted to let you know I’m stepping away for a few minutes.”

He was human, so of course he had to go to the bathroom, stretch his leg, change positions. They’d gotten used to him moving about through-out the day, but they’d always had someone else with them, and they’d never felt so on edge.

Steve let out a heavy breath and tried his best to smile at the man. “Of course.”

“I’m sure Mr. Jarvis is just late. Stuck in traffic.” Sousa wasn’t stupid, and knew they were wound up. “I can, I can wait a few more minutes, if you like?”

“No, go. We’ll be fine.” Steve nodded, his words more confident than he felt.

Sousa was reluctant to go, “Want me to bring you guys back anything from the machine in the lobby? Coffee?”

“A coffee would be great,” Steve responded quickly.

Sousa looked over at Peggy, but she shook her head. He turned back to the door, his face dour. “I’ll be fast.”

They both watched as he left. Peggy sighed as she switched Mandy to her other hip. “We’re that transparent, are we?”

“He’s a smart guy, Peg. He knows us well enough and he knows the situation.” Steve turned, moving back to the table and rolling up his pant leg, fastening all the diaper pins they had to the edge of his sock.

“Picked a hell of a time to use the loo.” Peggy shoved the last of Amanda’s knit animals into her bra. While it was the easiest solution to carrying them, it also left Mandy groping her to try to get them out. Peggy flipped the girl around, cradling her back to her chest so the girl couldn’t try grabbing down her shirt anymore to toss the toys on the floor. “If Jarvis is compromised, so are Howard and Ana.”

Steve looked up at her and rolled his pant leg down, hiding their stash of pins. He stood and held his hands out, smiling at his little girl, taking her from Peggy and lifting her high in the air. “When you gotta go, Peg, you gotta go.”

Peggy laughed without humor as she grabbed a handful of items from the bathroom and sat with them on the bed, straightening her bra and adjusting it to fit the bounty it now held. “But where does that leave us? On foot we’re fast, but only as fast as I am in these heels. I’m sure they’ll be watching bus and train stations, and we have no money to pay for a cab.”

“We do, if we need it.” Steve spun in a circle, swinging Mandy gently up and down as he went. “Howard handed me a billfold on his way out this morning.” He shifted Mandy to his shoulder and walked over to Peggy, his voice quiet. “There’s enough for us to charter our own private jet, if we need to. But I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

Peggy lifted her skirt and started slipping bobby pins along the edge of her garter. She rolled her eyes at Steve’s hungry look. “There’ll be time for that later.”

“Wish there was time for it now.”

She pushed her skirt down and moved on to securing burp cloths over her shoulders and under the straps of her bra. “You’re insatiable.”

He raised his eyebrows and made a show of looking down the front of her dress as she rearranged the straps. “You’re not wrong.”

She pressed her mouth in a grim line and he set the flirting aside as she slipped her gun from her holster and checked it over for herself. “So where are we going with Howard’s money?”

“Brooklyn.” Steve pulled one of his folded handkerchiefs out of his pocket and covered Mandy’s face, waiting for her giggle before he pulled it off in an impromptu game of peek-a-boo. “I know a place.”

Peggy stared at him as he continued the game, giving her no further explanation. Exasperated, she plucked the handkerchief from his fingers and covered his face with it, trying to hide her own laugher as Mandy giggled riotously and clapped her hands on his covered cheeks. “Care to elaborate?” She asked, trying to keep the amused notes out of her tone. “What’s in Brooklyn?”

Steve made a silly, surprised expression at Mandy once the handkerchief fell from his face and she giggled again, splattering drool on them both. Peggy did chuckle this time, and used the hankey to clean them both up. “Bucky’s Mom.”

“Barnes’ mother?” Peggy asked, letting Mandy grab the handkerchief from her hands.

“Yeah. She was like a second mother to me growing up. She still writes me now that…” Steve trailed off, swallowed thickly, and smiled at Mandy before continuing. “She’d take us in, let us get settled and figure out who we could trust, even just for the night. I know it.”

“I suppose there’s not much chance of her being Hydra,” Peggy mused, running her hand over his arm.

He shook his head, about to speak, when he froze.

Peggy’s heart thumped in her chest as she watched him morph from Steve, the silly and loveable father with diaper pins on his socks and bottles in his pockets, to Captain America, deadly soldier: his spine straightened, his muscles tensed, his jaw clenched, and his eyes glazed over and cleared with a new purpose. He shifted, handing her the baby and turned, pushing her behind him. Mandy reached out for the handkerchief that fell from her grasp, chin wavering and eyes watering at the drastic change in the mood of her environment.

Before Peggy could ask Steve what it was that had put him on edge, she could hear the voices and footfalls right outside the door. She couldn’t hear the words, but she knew Steve’s sharp hearing could. Mandy whined in her arms, obscuring Peggy’s ability to hear even further. Peggy bounced, leaning out to Steve’s side, eyes on the doors.

She could hear Sousa’s voice calling from farther down, and a male voice challenging him. She heard the shuffle of feet and the sound of his crutch hitting the floor.

“Steve…” She whispered, her breaths coming faster, her heart rate ramping up, the anxiety coiling in her stomach as she moved to stand next to him, Mandy between them so either could take her and run. He held his hand up for her to be steady, looking as focused and calm as she ever saw him going into battle. She shifted Mandy even more to her left arm, freeing her right hand and sliding it under her dress to make sure her gun was ready to pull from its holster.

They listened to the scuffle outside for long moments, tears falling from Mandy’s eyes as she whimpered. Peggy was forced to let go of her gun and leave it in the holster to hold the girl tightly, shushing gently to calm her. The footfalls coming towards them didn’t stop, but rather they burst through the doors, a tall, wide man in a suit preceding Vernon Masters, another agent flanking him from behind. Masters looked at them, and without any preamble demanded his prize. “I’m here for the girl.”

“You’re not getting her,” Steve answered, his voice booming. Steve watched the two men take up positions on either side of Masters, hands free and ready to fight or to draw the weapons he could see outlined under their jackets.

Masters turned, waving his hand and dismissing the men to take up guard just outside the door. “We don’t need the muscle to make this a big deal,” he smiled like a shark, his tone patronizing and sickly sweet. Masters was insistent and moved toward Peggy. “Just give me the child.”

Peggy instinctively took a step back. Normally she’d stand up to this type of man, but with Mandy in her arms she couldn’t fight.

He laughed at her modest retreat and held out his hands to reach for Mandy as he closed the gap between them to a few feet. “You will give her to me.”

Steve, without hesitation, put his entire body between them. “I don’t think you heard me.”

Vernon pursed his lips. “And you’re not thinking straight, son.”

Steve lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m thinking just fine.” The man tried to move forward, but Steve put a hand on his chest, stopping him from going anywhere. “I’ll be very clear: if you try to take her, I will hurt you.”

He pressed his lips together, pushing his chest against Steve’s hand even though he knew he couldn’t match Steve’s strength. “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with, son.”

Steve took a step forward, pushing the man away from Peggy until his back hit the door. “And I don’t think you do, either.” Steve leaned down. “We’ve been cooperative. Until now.”

Masters wasn’t backing down, from hubris or stupidity it wasn’t clear. “She’s the property of the United States Army.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, his voice low and even. “Supposedly so am I.”

Masters smirked, his eyes sparkling. “Is this the hill you want to die on?”

Steve sounded more menacing than Peggy had ever heard as he spoke. “Do you?”

The door started to shake with the sounds of someone trying to get in, the sounds of the agents fighting outside. Steve slammed a hand over the Vernon’s head, holding the door shut. Vernon, to his credit, stood his ground with only the slightest hint of fear flitting through his eyes. “You’re making the wrong decision.”

“And you’re an unethical monster.” Steve didn’t flinch.

The scuffle quieted, the heavy footfalls of boots, several of them, being marched away from the door filled the air. The voice they heard from the other side of the door was decidedly not one they’d expected to hear. Colonel Phillips’ voice rang out loud like it did on the battlefield. “Rogers! You open this door this instant!”

Without hesitation Steve pulled Masters away from the door by the neck of his shirt and swung the door open wide. Phillips sauntered in, flanked by two MPs. Phillips looked around, his mouth a flat line of disapproval. He pointed at Masters then to the MPs. “You can let Mr. Masters here go with these men. He’s got a long night ahead of him.”

Steve walked Masters to the MPs, not trusting that he wouldn’t take a lunge for the baby. Once they had him and were walking down the hall he turned back. “Sir?”

Phillips sauntered through the room, leaving the silence filling the space just long enough to make them both nervous. He took in the rag tag way they’d turned the sparse room into something more comfortable. “So, you’re both Rogers now?”

Peggy and Steve looked at one another, unsure of what to say. Peggy stuttered a bit before finally speaking. “I’ll continue to go by Carter for missions.”

“Won’t be any of those for a while,” he said flatly, turning to look at them. “Close the door.”

Steve did as he was asked and fell in next to Peggy at a comfortable parade rest like he was used to when standing in front of his CO. He tried not to react to Mandy as she reached out for him, tears falling and her chin wobbling with fear and uncertainty after the last few minutes.

Phillips shook his head. “Oh, pick her up, Rogers. She wants her daddy.”

Peggy and Steve looked at Phillips, aghast, even as Peggy handed the fussy baby over who quieted immediately in his arms.

“Don’t look so shocked.” Phillips paced, picking up a half full bottle and looking at it with almost a fondness in his eyes. “That little coded message was sure a surprise, I’ll tell you that. I hopped the first transport to London, then straight back out here after a few enlightening conversations. Howard filled me in this morning on what you have… and haven’t… been telling the people here. And your suspicions.”

Peggy finally started to feel like she was on solid ground again. “Sir, Masters—”

“Masters is our number one suspect for a Hydra mole. He knew far too much, even Dooley conceded that, and Dooley was so far up his ass he could see out that man’s mouth.” He put the bottle down, crossing his arms. “That little lady has caused quite the uproar.” He moved back to pacing. “It gives me no pleasure to do this, but as of 0600 this morning, Captain America was pronounced MIA, likely KIA.”

Steve started to talk but Phillips held up his hand to stop him. “I have sworn statements from Dugan and Pinkerton that Captain America was on the Valkyrie when it went down two days ago. No survivors have been found yet.”

“Why?” Peggy asked, turning away, reaching a hand down her shirt, and pulling the knit pig out for Mandy.

Phillips furrowed his brow at the hiding place as Peggy turned back and handed it to the girl, but continued on without addressing it. “Because we need to stop whatever is going on here at the SSR. Because we need to protect that little girl from Hydra and keep them from doing it again.” He sighed. “Because if we’re right, the war’s almost over, and if anyone deserves to have a little happiness after that hell, then you all do.”

Steve looked at Peggy, his chin set tight. “Sir, with all due respect, we’ve thought this through. It’s the only reason we’ve stayed here so long. If we go into hiding without the resources of the SSR…”

“Didn’t say you were going into hiding.” Phillips reached into his jacket and pulled out a folio filled with documents, handing them to Peggy. “Captain America has been pronounced dead. Private Steven Grant Rogers has been honorably discharged and his wife, Peggy Rogers… Carter…” He shook his head and continued pacing, “Whatever, we can fix that later… has been granted an undisclosed period of maternity leave.”

“People will know his face,” Peggy started as she unwrapped the documents and read them, parroting the very arguments she’d shot down way back when they were on the boat and first trying to figure this out.

Phillips shrugged. “Grow a beard, get some glasses.” He looked Steve in the eyes. “The public knew you with a mask and shield. The majority of the men you fought with think you’re dead. The only men who know the truth, the Commandos, are smart enough to keep their mouths shut.”

Steve was unconvinced. “Masters?” he asked, rocking side to side as Mandy chewed on her pig, tears slowing as she calmed down.

“That man’s going straight to prison for suspected treason.” Phillips stood tall, a hint of a smile on his face. “Anyone else here will be debriefed that you’re a look-alike used for security purposes to hide your- his- death from the country until we couldn’t hold it off any longer.”

“Rose?” Peggy asked. “Sousa?”

Phillips shook his head. “Howard’s already approached her to work with us. We’ll be setting you up in a safe house for the time being, Rose will be your liaison. I’m assuming Sousa was the guy they had knocked out at the end of the hall. We’ll get him patched up and offer him a spot, as well.” He pointed at the baby in Steve’s arms. “First priority is keeping her safe until we find out more about Leviathan and why Masters wanted her so badly.”

Phillips stopped talking, watching as Peggy got to the last page in the docket, a smile slowly blooming on her face as she held the paper up for Steve to see.

“We can change the date, if you want. We still haven’t found a single word about her or what they were doing, but Dugan’s on it. Figured you’d need a birth certificate for when you enrolled her in school.” Peggy looked at him, warmth radiating from her eyes. He just shook his head. “I’m getting soft, Carter. Good thing the war’s over or next thing you know I’d have brought you a dog.”

“I mean…” Steve started, a small smile on his face.

Phillips frowned at him. “Watch it, Rogers. I’m not buying you a dog.”

Steve begrudgingly brought them back to the task at hand. “What’s the game plan?”

“Take what you need, I’m driving you to the safe house myself. Once Emke’s caught or we have more information, we’ll reassess.”

~*~

The safehouse was an apartment in New Jersey on the second floor of an old building that was sparsely populated. It had charm, and more room than either the observation room they’d just been in or their room on the ship, and for that Peggy was at least somewhat grateful.

Peggy walked through the apartment with Mandy asleep in her bassinet, following Steve as he checked over every room with the little black box Phillips had handed him courtesy of Stark. No bugs and no two-way mirrors.

With Emke out there they’d still need to be vigilant. With an empire like Hydra falling, it made people desperate.

But now the door wasn’t locked to keep them in, it was locked, and there were two armed guards in an apartment below them, to keep her out.

There were windows. Big, wide windows in every room that let in the orange of the sunset and the cool breeze when she cracked them open. She hadn’t realized how claustrophobic that observation room had felt until she was rid of it, how much she missed the sunlight until they were sitting in the car, the warmth of the sunset on her cheeks.

She looked at the one large bed in the bedroom and the standalone bassinet in the corner. She felt both excitement at this new turn and fear that it was going to be easy to forget just quite how much trouble they were still in.

Steve pulled their bags in from the living room; they still didn’t have much, but it was enough. Peggy and Steve had hastily pulled off all the items they’d stashed on themselves and packed the remaining suitcase with everything they had. On their way out they’d spotted Mr. Jarvis’s car in the parking lot, with Mr. Jarvis and their other suitcase both stashed in the trunk.

Mr. Jarvis had followed them to the safe house and was currently on his way to a grocery, insisting they have enough food in the house for several days once he saw that their icebox was bare.

Peggy lifted one of the bags onto the bed and started to sort their things out. Most clothes still desperately needed to be laundered, and she was sure Mr. Jarvis would be a great help in that, as well. There were a handful of things, like her satin nightgown, that were still good.

The thought of putting on that satin nightgown that been untouched for weeks was thrilling.

Even more thrilling was the thought of Steve pealing it off of her.

She set the nightgown aside and continued sorting the clothes, then stood over the bassinet, running her hand over the soft, clean linens. It felt like a dream, and she was loathe to lose herself to it and find in a few hours, or in the morning, that it couldn’t be hers.

But it was. The threat was still there, but this wasn’t their prison, wasn’t their cover, it was their haven where they could be themselves without being watched, without being afraid. She smiled, walking out of the quiet room and towards their small living room, listening to Steve as he pointed out everything in the tiny kitchen as he ran through the contents of the cupboards with Mandy in his arms.

Peggy sat on the couch in the small living room and let her head fall back. “It’s so soft.”

“When was the last time you sat on one?” Steve asked, setting Mandy back in the bassinet they’d brought with them and putting it on the coffee table in front of Peggy.

She smiled as Steve sat next to her, gathering her into his side. “1943.”

He held her close, enjoying the softness of the couch and the warmth of her body. “We’re almost there.”

#SteggyWeek20 #Steggy Fic #3P's Fic #Nobody's Baby #OMG ITS HERE YOU GUYS I NEED TO KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS

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jackoshadows · 4 years

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I read something rather hilarious today and it made me realize that the fundamental issue for a lot of A Song of Ice and Fire fans is that they are not sure what they want Sansa to be.

Sansa stans proclaim her as being the most intelligent character in the series but then get angry when readers criticize her actions because she is just a naïve, innocent little girl who does not know any better. Any criticism of Sansa in the first book is mainly because Arya and Jon are biased against her due to jealousy and is not in anyway indicative of who Sansa really is. She has no flaws and is perfect as is at the start but also she is a great character because she has tremendous character growth over 5 books and learns and changes so much.

I recall an Arya post I made once about Arya’s traditionally feminine characteristics and mentioned a book canon fact that Arya was better than Sansa at managing a household. This immediately got me a triggered Sansa stan in the comments who claimed that I – and Arya - was wrong about this and that Sansa was the expert in household management since that was her forte. Despite me and several others pointing out that Arya’s extroverted nature and friendliness with the Winterfell working staff meant that she could manage them better, we were accused of ‘demonizing’ Sansa for implying that Sansa did not enjoy interacting with the smallfolk.

This is how the Sansa stan metas about how Arya would have never survived KL came about – from a need for Sansa to excel in an area where Arya could not. So despite Arya having survived Harrenhal by keeping silent and enduring abuse and despite Sansa impulsively trying to push Joffrey off a bridge (only prevented by the Hound), we were constantly told that Arya would have been killed off in KL while Sansa survived using her wits and ladylike demeanor. This school of thought was so widespread that it actually made it’s way into the TV show – a prime example of how Sophie Turner and D&D were basing Sansa off Sansa stan metas on the internet instead of the actual books that GRRM wrote.

Let’s take the most prominent example of this clash of viewpoints regarding Sansa – her being the smartest character in the books. Something that the TV show audience was hit over the head with using a huge hammer and we got basically any character introduced on the show literally looking at the camera and telling us – ‘Sansa is the smartest’

Right at the start of book one Robb, Jon and Arya view Joffrey as a vain, pretentious ‘little shit’ from observing his behavior. Sansa is the lone exception who thinks highly of him. Even after watching Joffrey sadistically mutilate Mycah and attempt to injure/kill Arya, Sansa sides with him over her family. We are told by Sansa stans that a) she is just a naïve, innocent girl and b) she is cleverly siding with her future in laws and also trying to protect Arya from her stupidity of sticking up for a low class butcher’s boy.

Sansa tattling all of Ned’s plans to Cersei is also blamed on Ned rather than the person who actively made the decision to betray her father just so she could marry Joffrey and become queen. Let’s see what Sansa knows at this point - Cersei Lannister ordered that Sansa’s pet direwolf Lady be put to death for something that she played no part in. Jaime Lannister has killed Stark men and run off. Ned tells her the following:

Father’s mouth twitched strangely. “Sansa, I’m not sending you away for fighting, though the gods know I’m sick of you two squabbling. I want you back in Winterfell for your own safety. Three of my men were cut down like dogs not a league from where we sit, and what does Robert do? He goes hunting.”

“Sweet one,” her father said gently, “listen to me. When you’re old enough, I will make you a match with a high lord who’s worthy of you, someone brave and gentle and strong. This match with Joffrey was a terrible mistake. That boy is no Prince Aemon, you must believe me.”

To the girls he said, “I am looking for a fast trading galley to take you home. These days, the sea is safer than the kingsroad. You will sail as soon as I can find a proper ship, with Septa Mordane and a complement of guards... and yes, with Syrio Forel, if he agrees to enter my service. But say nothing of this. It’s better if no one knows of our plans. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

Ned let’s Sansa know that it’s dangerous in KL for both girls, that he was sending them home for their safety and to not let anyone know about their plans. What more should Ned explain to his 11 year old daughter to get her to comply? Should he explain to her the complicated politics of KL before she deigns to obey him? Should she have the basic intelligence to acknowledge that her older, wiser father knows better than her about these things and follow his orders? Or should she go tattle to Cersei despite knowing what the Lannisters have already done against her family?

Oh, but Sansa is just a naïve, innocent little girl. But Sansa is also so intelligent.

When Ned loses his head at the end of book one, Sansa finally realizes that the Lannisters are not the good guys – something that the rest of her siblings figured out in like the second chapter of the books. And Sansa stans are like – wow, Sansa is so smart now! She’s like the smartest Stark. Sansa then proceeds to trust the Tyrells - because they are good looking and charming and charismatic - while they play her to get power over the Lannisters. But she’s so smart! Sansa then trusts Dontos who is LF’s tool. But she’s so smart! Dany and Jon are so stupid as leaders – look at all their mistakes. But Sansa - she thought that one time about how she was going to make the people love her when she becomes queen – surely the best ruler/queen in the books!!

But this is all in the previous 3 books. Let’s look at the most recent Sansa in the Vale. Any growth? Which brings me to the hilarious post I read today and Sansa’s conversation with Maester Coleman.

Maester Coleman clearly tells Sansa that these high doses of Sweetsleep is dangerous for SweetRobin in the long term . No ifs, buts or maybes about it. And it’s clear that Sansa knows this considering it’s right there in the text – “Maester Coleman cares only for the boy though. Father and I have larger concerns” . While Coleman is talking to her about his worry for SR’s health, Sansa is pondering over how much she likes to dance and whether she should give it a try as Alayne. And when Coleman, once again hesitates at the end, Sansa basically threatens him with LF – take it up with the scary boss man. Nowhere in the text does she herself evince any concern for SR’s health or express doubts about the effects of sweetsleep on SR.

But we are once again informed by asoiaf experts/Sansa stans that Sansa is just a naïve, innocent 13 year old and like they did with Ned, blame Maester Coleman for not explaining it to her in more detail. Sansa does not have google or Wikipedia you guys! – how can she know that Maester Coleman is right? It’s not like his qualifications as Maester is relevant or anything.

I mean, Jon Snow at the wall – the character who is often mocked for being stupid and knowing nothing in contrast to smart Sansa by tumblr – should not have taken any of Maester Aemon’s advice without looking up what ‘kill the boy and let the man be born’ on Wikipedia and only then follow that advice. It’s not like Maesters have trained and learned about these things at the Citadel or anything.

So we are back to excusing Sansa’s actions because she is the innocent, naïve, little 13 year old who is not aware of sweetsleep being dangerous for SweetRobin and it is all the Maester’s fault because he did not explain it to her properly and Sansa should not just take a physician’s word at face value without checking up on it with Wikipedia first and that’s not available to her.

Oh, but also Sansa is super smart now. Smartest Stark, best ruler, most compassionate and maternal etc.

This is basically the dichotomy that we are going to continue to see from Sansa stans as Sansa starts to become more LF like in the books – she is after all currently learning from him, following his orders and thinking that he knows best about all things – even where SweetRobin is concerned.

And Sansa fans want her to be the expert player of the games – from pawn to player – is how they see her endgame. But the expert players of the game – Littlefinger, Varys – are not good people. They betray, backstab, employ treachery, destroy families. If Sansa wants to join their ranks and play the game, then she is going to have to get her hands dirty and do some not so nice things.

And that is not going match up with the Sansa stan viewpoint that Sansa is essentially a very good person who only does bad things because older, wiser people don’t explain things properly enough to nice, innocent naïve little Sansa. It’s going to be fun seeing all the mental gymnastics they do as they try to justify Sansa’s actions as being both super smart and also because she is naïve and innocent. Sansa does not know, she does not have Wikipedia is already one of the most hilarious excuses I have read today.

And this is why show Sansa was such a mess and there was such a huge dissonance between what we are told by the cast/crew about the character and what is shown on the screen. We are told that she is a compassionate, non-ambitious, non-power hungry character – and yet she is written as LF 2.0. We are told that she is the smartest ever while all the time she is written as being an utter moron deliberately sabotaging her brother when he is trying to save the North from an apocalyptic threat. We are told that she is a super politician/diplomat while she is written as a spoiled child brat needlessly antagonizing a much needed ally. We are told that she loves her family (Lone wolf dies etc.) but she is written as betraying them for power.

Sansa fans – like D&D and Sophie Turner for ex. – have an image of her which is contradicted by the writing but they are unable to reconcile these halves and so we end up with nonsensical, garbage characters like show Sansa and hilarious justifications of her actions on the internet from her fans.

#I read something funny today that I seriously thought was a joke post #But then I realized they were being serious #anti Sansa stark #anti Sansa #anti sansa stans #anti GOT #anti D&D #This is about book Sansa but has to be tagged anti Sansa because Sansa fans think that book Sansa is anti Sansa

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ursa-mediocre · 3 years

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My dog died today, and it fucking sucks.

She’d had symptoms of a collapsing trachea for a while, mainly a weird cough when she got excited or if pressure was put on her neck. Around March she was due for a dental cleaning where they intubated her and I asked the vet if that’d be an issue but they didn’t seem worried about it so I went ahead with it. Afterwards she had a different sort of cough for a long enough time that I contacted the vet again and they said it was most likely irritation from being intubated that should clear up. I did make her an appointment when I called but it was for a couple weeks out and in between then the cough did get better to the point I considered cancelling it.

A week before her appointment she had what turned out to be an arthritis flair up and I took her to the Emergency Vet and so decided to keep the appointment at her vet. At the appointment the vet was more worried about the cough while I was more worried about the arthritis since the cough was sorta back to pre-intubation frequency. He prescribed a tapering course of prednisone which seemed to help both issues a lot but there wasn’t any discussion of follow up after the course was over. But during and a couple weeks after she was fine so I wasn’t too worried about it.

Then a few weeks ago she started coughing again, and it was sort of up and down. I wanted to wait and see if it’d improve when the weather did, because at this point I was feeling like every time I went to the vet freaked out about something I left feeling silly. Tuesday I finally made her an appointment, but they were booking out a month so it wasn’t until August 17th.

Today my family is having a memorial service for my uncle who died a few months ago, because his family wanted to bury him here but lived on the west coast. After the service the plan was to have people over our house, so we’ve also been preparing for that and have had people over the last two nights (she got lots of affection from my cousin’s kids which was nice).

Last night she was coughing really bad. I could hear her pacing in the hall, going back and forth between my parents’ room and my room. I’ve been giving her honey to try and help sooth her throat, and tried to get her to calm down, but it seemed like she couldn’t lay down without immediately having to stand up and cough.

Around 4 AM I took her to the emergency vet. I thought they’d just have to give her some sedatives or cough suppressants and maybe a prescription for steroids or anti-inflammatories. They put her on supplemental oxygen and said she’d probably have to stay the day to stabilize and then they’d take chest X-rays to see what was up and let me know.

So I got home around 5:30 and tried to sleep, and they called me around 2 hours later to tell me that she was still having trouble breathing, and they weren’t able to take X-rays yet but had done an ultrasound and found fluid in her lungs and asked me for permission to intubate and do CPR if necessary, which I’ve been asked about for other procedures so I consented not thinking they’d actually have to.

Then they called again an hour later and said that they had intubated her, lost her heartbeat, were performing CPR, and asked how quickly I could get there.

My mom drove me and when I got there they had gotten her heartbeat back but she wasn’t aware of anything. They took me to see her, and said that they weren’t sure if the fluid was from congestive heart failure, a blood clot, pneumonia, or irritation from the collapsing trachea, but that she’d probably need to go on a ventilator for any further treatment. We opted to try to get chest X-rays before deciding because she said that heart failure could possibly be treated. But when they went to do that they lost her heartbeat again so I had make the decision to let her go.

It was kind of funny when we got back to the room she was in because this tiny dog was surrounded by like a dozen women (one was standing on a chair?) and they had just gotten her heartbeat back again. But the vet had them unhook her from everything and took us to a room to sit with her. I held her wrapped up in a blanket like a baby. I couldn’t help but think that my own mother there with me had lost an actual baby and how unbearable that seems when my heart’s this broken over a dog.

I don’t know how long she was actually still alive while we sat there. There were a couple tiny coughs and noises when they first handed her to me but I don’t remember feeling her try to breath at all (she had had to be intubated after all, so she probably couldn’t). I told her I was sorry, because I was. I wish I had been a better medical advocate for her with her own vet, because not being able to go into the room with her through covid during appointments made it really difficult to know if they were seeing what I was seeing with her. I wish I had taken her in sooner. I wish I had known at 4:30, when she climbed into my lap as we pulled into the parking lot, that I should have said a proper goodbye then rather than immediately hand her over to the vet tech that came for her. I wish I had spent every moment I could have with her, giving her non stop attention. I told her that I loved her. I told her she was the best dog. The best Lola she could be.

I had to remember to call her previous owner, a girl that’s a few years younger than me. We had had visits every so often after I got Lola, but hadn’t in over a year because of covid. She texted me a few months ago saying that if it were possible she wanted to be with Lola when her time came. Part of the reason I wanted the X-rays was to get even a day or two so we could do proper goodbyes. But I had her talk on the phone with her instead, even though I knew she wasn’t really with us anymore.

I told her my plan was to have her cremated so she could have some of the ashes. We went over that with one of the vet techs, who helped set it up with a facility they partner with. She offered to take a paw print and I had had her make it with her paw that was missing a toe because that was uniquely Lola.

Lola hated people touching her paws. She never would’ve sat still in my lap for so long. She hated getting wet, she wouldn’t go for walks in the rain, and the top of her head was soaked in snot and tears. In her younger days if she caught me crying she’d try to lick up all my snot and get up my nose because she loved the taste of boogers. Her tongue was sticking out the whole time and turning blue before I finally stuck it back in her mouth.

I didn’t want to stop petting her. Her fur was so soft. Her little ears were so perfect and round from her last haircut. I don’t want to pet my dad’s dog because it feels like a betrayal. They walked her to the door with us, but wrapped her back up kind of clumsily so her back legs and tail flopped out and up like how she used to sleep when she was younger and it was hot. I used to grab them and call them her ‘lil chicken legs’.

I don’t want to think about where she is right now. Everyone there was very kind and respectful, I know the practicalities of body storage. I don’t actually want her to be cremated, but I also don’t want to bury her. I just want her to be here, I want to touch her fur and see her dumb foxy face. But I’m not about to fucking taxidermy my dog.

So now it’s about 2:30. My dog has been dead at least 5 hours. I hate it so far.

My dad and older brother were waiting outside when we got home. I put her paw print in the fridge until we can bake it. I went into the living room and saw her bed on the floor and had to go back outside for a minute. I poured out the water bowl I kept in my room for her. My family left for the memorial service, I tried to sleep more. Around 1:30 I got up and ate something for the first time today. There are people coming to the house soon to mourn an actual human.

I have to cancel her vet appointment. I have to cancel her CareClub and flea & tick medicine subscription. I have to clean her dishes, beds, toys, etc and figure out what to do with them. There are still treats in ‘her’ backpack, the one I would take with us hiking so she could ride in it when she got tired.

My family is very supportive, I have savings to cover whatever the final medical expenses will be. Lola was 14 (and 1/2!) and spoiled rotten. I hope she knows I loved her and did my best to take care of her. I hope she knows that’s why I took her to the hospital and wasn’t too scared there.

I’m not good at talking about my feelings. I just end up crying and I don’t like crying so I try to avoid it. I don’t really want or need anything other than for this not to have happened, which isn’t something anyone can provide. I think writing this all out has helped. But this happened today, and it fucking sucks.

#weeb problems #animal death #tw animal death #Lola girl

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youwerenevermeanttofeelalone · 4 years

Photo

Somebody Sweet to Talk To ❁︎ 𝐓𝐖𝐎

Pairing: Harry Osborn x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: the ending of the chapter might be abrupt/clunky but I promise it’s intentional and will completely make sense very soon.

Gif credit: @lovingpostit

Summary & Warnings || Series Masterlist

𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝

❁︎ ・・・・・❁︎ ・・・・・ ❁︎ ・・・・・❁︎

The morning was too relaxed to be real. It was like Tony and Bruce knew you had a supposed date— which they probably did because Peter must’ve been still annoyed— and they were waiting for you to either say something or show a sign of nervousness.

You weren’t sure if you should be nervous when the date wasn’t real. The prospect of being around people threatened to make you feel uncomfortable, but you were perfectly capable of handling crowds for small amounts of time. Besides, how long could you and Harry take to eat?

At 1:30 you were ready, comfortable with how your makeup looked and happy with the way your outfit didn’t accentuate the parts of your body you liked the less.

At 1:45 Tony paced in front of your bedroom door, thinking you wouldn’t hear him. He was probably worried due to it being your supposed first date and all— you couldn’t blame him, the closest you had been to have a proper relationship had gone so bad the guy had turned into a supervillain and was now dead.

At 1:55 F.R.I.D.A.Y let you know Harry was at the door asking for you. You picked your purse up from the bed and left your bedroom, smiling at Tony without showing your teeth. Tony smiled back, opened his mouth to say something he seemed to regret even thinking, and wished for you to have fun with a kiss on your forehead.

Peter caught up with you as you passed the lab, where he had been talking to Bruce, and walked with you toward the door. Harry was waiting with his hands in his pockets, smiling in the same way you had done to Tony when he saw you.

“Take care of her.”

You squinted, frowning at the same time. Did your crush think you didn’t know how to take care of yourself? It wasn’t the first time Peter insinuated you needed to be watched or taken care of as if you were a child.

Harry nodded sharply before focusing solely on you. “Ready?”

You nodded too, prompting him to open the entrance door for you. The thought of insisting for him to walk out first was tempting, but you needed to look at least mildly comfortable around him so you sucked it up and strut past both men.

Harry didn’t take more than five seconds to get out of the building, letting the door open for Peter to close. You almost laughed at the gesture but were able to keep it to yourself.

Thoughtfully so, he chose a table on the terrace of the restaurant. The table was close to the handrail, giving you a perfect view of the water fountain surrounded by flowers and bushes. The sight was pretty, and under the umbrella covering you from that time around the sun, you saw him fix his attention on it.

The order was placed in mere minutes, the drinks served immediately. He took a sip first, now watching you. You looked deep in thought, eyes vacant and the muscles in your forehead twitching.

Taking yourself out of your self-absorption, you took a sip of your drink too while blinking rapidly. The reminder of your father not having called in two weeks you bestowed upon your own self needed to be cut short— it wasn’t really unusual for him to not keep contact, but you had expected him to try harder since you started living with The Avengers.

“Gwen said Peter was angry last night.” It was a shitty thing to break the silence with, he realized once the words left his mouth.

“Yeah. I thought you wouldn’t tell him anything until today, to be honest.”

“It’s always better to tell him things when he’s with Gwen because that’s what I always do, that way she calms him down. It would be suspicious if I stop doing it, don’t you think?”

“Can’t argue with that.” You hoped you were masking your surprise by how assertively thoughtful he was.

The meal was silent, not dreadfully but silent nonetheless. He tried to come up with something to say and yet nothing was worthy. That had to change quickly, you would see each other daily now and needed to be comfortable around the other— at least enough to pass as a couple.

“Tell me something about yourself.”

You considered the request. “Oranges are my favorite fruit.”

“Why? It’s hard to get them to taste the same.”

“They’re endearingly vexing.”

He chuckled, taking his wallet out to pay the bill. You did the same, but he shook his head and dropped the money onto the table. “I asked you out, that means I pay.” You stared at him, trying to remind him you weren’t really going out. He seemed to get the hint because he sighed heavily and added: “next time you’ll pay, happy?”

Humming, you made a motion with your hand for him to lead the way.

As you followed him, he spoke, knowing you’d hear him just fine. “It’s too early to get you home.”

“I’m not fond of big crowds and it’s a Saturday, they’ll understand.”

Harry repeated the gesture of opening a door for you many times that afternoon. You supposed he was trying to get used to acting chivalrous for the sake of the fake relationship because you had never seen him do that with his conquests.

Buckling yourself in, you placed your purse on your lap while he introduced the key in the clutch and turned the engine on— he didn’t pull from the parking lot, though. He turned to look at you, wordlessly, and then sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because we were only getting lunch.”

Humming, he turned his attention past the steering wheel to make sure everything was alright with the car and actually pulled toward the road.

You looked out of the window while he drove. The silence didn’t bother you as much as the fact you had to get used to him or tell him this was a bad idea. Peter’s reaction to a simple date made you harbor some hope, and Harry was his best friend so he could be right by thinking something else was going on...

Gwen’s car was parked in the same parking spot as always. The blonde was probably over to do the homework she and Peter skipped the day before. Harry didn’t simply drop you off, he walked you to the door and brushed your fingers with his to gain your attention.

Blinking rapidly, you turned your head back to look at him, keys in hand. He nodded upward so you’d open the door, fingers now intertwining with yours. Both tensed when he did it so you noisily fiddled with the lock to gain some time. He gave your hand a squeeze as reassurance that it was okay and you hesitated for a few seconds before pushing the door open.

He faked a chuckle once you were inside. “How come you walked so slowly last night and now you’re dragging me around the building?”

“I didn’t walk slowly, your strides are wider than mine.” You tugged on his hand as you passed Gwen’s and Peter’s field of vision.

The blonde winked at them with a smile, happy that the date had gone well. The same couldn’t be said about Peter who was staring at your hands hoping the intensity of his gaze would be enough to make them part.

Overwhelmed, you guided him to the backyard where you could breathe enough air. Both sat on the patio steps, looking at Buttercup, the family dog as Bucky called her, who happily nibbled on a bone on the grass just past the concrete. You were close, he had to throw an arm around your neck so both could be comfortable— it was a good position for what you were doing in public so you didn’t say anything about it but for a moment wondered how weird it looked from behind.

It was a bad day for getting insecure. Bucky was an expert at spotting when you were in a bad mood or feeling less because of your weight, you didn’t want to worry him.

The dog caught a glimpse of you and jumped to a standing position to walk toward you. Harry watched every move with his entire attention; the way the dog nuzzled against your knee, how your hand instinctively flew to the dog’s head to pet it slowly. Harry also felt the tension leaving the shoulder against his as the dog kept being spoiled.

“What do you usually do on Sunday?” he asked when the dog went back to her bone.

“Finishing pending things related to work, find something to read or watch, wait for the day to end.”

“You work on Sunday?”

“I’m not able to finish throughout the week sometimes.”

The ring of his cellphone made him jump, interrupting what he was about to say and prompting you to stand up so he could withdraw it comfortably. He did so, paling a little bit when reading the caller ID. He let it ring, scared of his father being loud enough for you to hear.

“I gotta go.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

Peter and Gwen were still doing homework when Harry told them goodbye followed by you who held the door open for him once in front of the main entrance. Loudly enough for the couple to hear, he told you he had an amazing time and promised to text you later.

You closed the door and wished for a millisecond that he didn’t have had to go. Shaking your head, knowing you were acting and thinking like a fool when you didn’t know the guy, you turned around and to not seem too suspicious entered the kitchen. The couple’s eyes were on you, probably waiting for a comment about the date, your first date.

Filling a glass with water, you hummed the first love song that crossed your mind. People did that in movies while in love and you had to act like you were falling in love— maybe you were going a bit too far by humming Can’t Help Falling in Love, and maybe now that you were halfway through your glass you could’ve stopped but the song was catchy.

A giggle behind you let you know you had done something right. “I’ve never heard you in such a good mood,” Gwen said from the table, no malice in her tone whatsoever.

You looked down in feigned bashfulness, placing the glass on the counter. “I’ve never heard ME in such a good mood.”

That was convincing to them, and it would probably convince most people around you too. What worried you was lying to Tony or Bucky.

Preferring to get into your pajamas to watch something on Netflix instead of worrying over your fake relationship or watching your crush playing with his girlfriend’s hair, you left the main floor in quite a hurry.

Not pleased with anything in the catalog, you put your headphones on, laying on your back as you stared up at the ceiling and playing your most mixed playlist for a change— a change of nothing because you would skip any song that wasn’t by your favorite artist.

A notification cut through the music. You lifted the cellphone from your belly, groaning when you saw the interruption was due to a text message from Harry.

When should we go out again?

Probably on a free day.

Friday night? Or sooner?

I don’t know. I’ve never done this, remember?

I hang out with Pete almost every day at your house, why don’t you join a day or two and then we go out on Friday?

Because I’m usually working when you hang out here, I do homework at school.

At what time do you finish?

When I’m done. Sometimes there’s nothing to do, but it’s not likely this week.

And start?

As soon as I get home from school.

I’ll see you at school and then we’ll see, but on Friday it would be natural to go out.

I could ask Tony if I can finish earlier if you want.

Perfect.

Unsure if that meant the conversation was over, you still locked the phone and tried to focus again on the music still playing through your headphones.

Dating sounded hard before, but fake dating took the cake. You supposed the fact that Harry was someone you were merely acquainted with could be making it harder than it should have— or not, maybe you weren’t suited for romance in general.

Sunday went by in the blink of an eye. There wasn’t much to do that day, and when dinner time arrived you were desperate for the week to end already. It was something that happened often because you dreaded having to attend school when you were more than well prepared already.

❁︎ ・・・・・❁︎ ・・・・・ ❁︎ ・・・・・❁︎

“Hey.”

You lifted your head at the sound of Harry’s hushed voice. The people around you did the same, giving you both all the attention in the entire library by craning their necks, putting their pens down, and ceasing the flipping.

“Hey. You done for the day?”

“I am.” Watching him go around the table, you shifted in your seat to look at him as he sat down beside you. He pointed at your notebook, “how long?”

Technically, not much. You were only losing time by doing homework slowly to wait for Peter to be done. “An hour, maybe one and a half.”

He squinted, then pulled the notebook closer to read what you had been doing. He flipped through a few pages as people still stared at the two of you, huffing. Harry leaned closer to you so only you’d hear him whisper, “do you always finish homework when Peter finishes his classes?”

Fighting the shivers his whispers had sparked down your spine as hard as you could, you swallowed before whispering back. “It’s a coincidence.”

He hummed, moving his arm to open his backpack and take a few supplies out. You went back to your homework when he did that, interpreting it as his way of finishing the conversation.

Harry being there meant not being able to write as slowly as you had been doing before. It also meant people staring at every one of your movements to know what was he doing there.

Sadly, you were done in less than thirty minutes. When you closed the notebook he smirked, huffing it so you would know he had caught you. It unnerved you a little bit, having misjudged him so badly— you had always thought him to be a little dumb and extremely distracted, yet he hadn’t shown to be anything but assertive, observant, and intuitive.

To make things worse, when you got to the compound Tony told you the lab would be renovated so you had the entire week off unless a medical emergency occurred. You weren’t a workaholic by any means— or so you wanted to believe— but you liked your job, and it was the only thing that really distracted you from missing your parents and not feeling enough.

You sat in the living room with Peter, Gwen, and Harry; each ‘’couple’’ taking a couch. The three had homework to do so you kept yourself busy reading the latest updates on medical research. You could’ve been comfortable in your bedroom, but leaving your supposed... boyfriend... in the living room with his friends instead of spending time with him would look bad.

Letting your sight rest by looking around the room, your eyes landed on Harry. His hunched over form as he wrote made him look way smaller than he was. His concentration face entranced you, his left eye would twitch when he found an answer to whatever it was he was solving and his lips puckered out when he was deep in thought.

Catching the lift of his head, you quickly deviated your gaze toward the other people accompanying you. What the couple across the living room was doing didn’t really register in your brain, feeling eyes on you.

A backpack being zippered prompted Gwen to look at Harry. “Are you done already?!”

“Yeah, I started homework at school.”

At that, you turned to look at him again. You had thought he was just losing time back in the library. Shutting your laptop down, you stood up with it in your grasp, unsure if you should invite Harry to your room or something.

“Wanna watch a movie while they finish?” You asked, more smoothly than you thought you were capable of speaking.

He nodded, making a hand movement for you to lead the way.

You did so nervously, hearing him trail behind you as you walked through the hallway toward the stairs. The elevator would free you from the stress of him looking at your body for more time than socially needed, but it would also entail running into someone and you weren’t in the mood for anyone’s teasing.

Both of you trotted up in silence, Harry wondered why he felt torn between running away from there and follow your every step like a lost puppy. Maybe it was that he didn’t know you well, he knew the things that Peter would say but Peter was a little exaggerated sometimes.

He ran his eyes around your bedroom, analyzing it. Light-colored walls, two doors and a pair of the French kind neatly closed, a very comfortable looking couch... it was a normal room that you seemed to treasure as a sanctuary. There were few paintings hung on the walls, a television, and against one of the said walls a bookshelf that covered every centimeter of it filled to the brim with books and movies.

You placed the laptop on the bureau. “Make yourself comfortable.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed, still looking around. It didn’t look like his room at all, nor like Peter’s, and it made him feel like he was entering a bedroom for the first time.

“What are you going to do the entire week?”

You shrugged, moving a pillow around the couch to sit down comfortably. “I don’t have a lot of hobbies... and getting into a new one would be pointless.”

“Are you going to tell me now why you waste your time around school until Pete’s classes are over?” Both his eyebrows were lifted as he shifted to rest his elbows on his knees, watching you intently.

“I—“ should you tell him the truth? What if he said something to Peter? A middle ground would be good... “I want to make sure he’s alright. Seeing him disappear in The Snap was hard.”

He hummed, “tell me more about you? Something that doesn’t have to do with Peter?”

You stuttered for a moment. Harry was making it sound like your life revolved around Peter— some things did because he was your closest friend, but not every single one of them.

The afternoon went by telling each other about themselves. You learned, between many more things, that he liked almost every food, had decided to become an environmental attorney because he admired his mom and wanted to continue with what he called her legacy, his favorite color was blue, wasn’t a morning person, preferred winter over summer— you had that in common,— was a fan of the Yankees, didn’t like American football, enjoyed mixing salty and sweet foods, and had always wanted to learn how to play chess.

He learned interesting facts about you too, you were definitely more peculiar than Peter had ever let anyone know. For example, you never went to the bathroom between 2:59 and 3:59 AM, your favorite color was black because it didn’t give you migraines, driving made you nervous, if you could be an animal you would be a tabby cat, you felt bad for being scared of snakes and considered them interesting animals you wished to treasure due to how misunderstood they were, liked sports but had never been good at any of them, and there wasn’t anything that relaxed you more than the sight and sound of the rain.

The door opened, Peter blinking rapidly at the sight of both of his best friends sat on the floor, your knees touching as you explained to Harry the names of each chess piece. Both snapped your heads toward the entrance of the room, waiting for whatever Peter was going to say or do.

“Gwen and I are going for ice cream and she wants you two to come.”

“We’ll be there in a moment,” Harry assured his best friend. Peter nodded and stood there for a couple of seconds before closing the door once again.

You inhaled sharply. Did Harry understand that he had just accepted going on a double date or were you hallucinating and it was a casual thing? The date would be fake for you, but a date nonetheless.

He elbowed you on the side. “Come on, it’s a good chance to see how he acts.”

Nodding, you slowly started storing the chess pieces. He helped so you would hurry up, almost teasingly.

“What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” he asked, fixing his hair while hunched over in front of your vanity’s mirror.

You grunted, closing the door of the closet where you stored the chessboard. “Chocolate but I avoid it unless I’m really craving it because it can trigger migraines— I usually order vanilla with some type of nuts or try a new flavor. What’s yours?”

“Something with cherries, or mocha-chocolate. Ready?”

You just nodded as an answer. Harry offered his hand to you as you walked down the stairs, reminding you the show was about to begin. Sliding your palm into his from under his arm, you bit the inside of your bottom lip, briefly trying to focus on anything other than the warmth he radiated while scolding yourself again for misjudging him so damn much.

Sam pushed the front door open before Peter could pull it. The older man smiled at him and Gwen, then lifted an eyebrow upon seeing you hold hands with someone. “Going out?”

“For ice cream,” the blonde said in that nice tone she always spoke that you had never been able to muster.

“Have fun, and don’t let Peter eat too much sugar because he gets annoying.” Sam’s tease came with a look into your eyes.

Asserting Sam was only trying to make sure you were comfortable, you hummed and intertwined your fingers between Harry’s. “We will just make him take a few laps until he gets tired.”

“Or until he throws up like when we were in high school and Flash spun him around in the trip to six flags.”

Harry and you tilted your heads toward the same direction at Gwen’s words. You had never attended school trips so you didn’t even know about that. Sam giggled while seeing the synchronization of the gesture and strut past you. At least the confusion was useful.

You allowed Pete and Gwen to lead the way, mostly so the couple wouldn’t realize you were still getting used to public displays of affection— or each other’s presence and touch for that matter.

The walk wasn’t long, five blocks tops. Peter had once told you that was Gwen’s favorite ice cream place while passing in front of it so you weren’t surprised by them getting into the cornered shop.

Harry leaned to whisper in your ear, “don’t even dare to say you’ll pay.”

You sent him a glare. He glared back, trying to make you understand the situation you were in and how it would look. A defeated hum left your lips and he hummed back in answer for some reason.

He let go of your hand slowly, as if it was painful for him to do it, and told you to go find a table with Gwen. The blonde was already picking one as he said it, but you still did what he said because he knew his best friends better than you in social and public situations.

Peter stayed with Harry as he placed the order, opening his mouth to tell him which flavor to ask for you. He clamped his mouth shut when his best friend asked for vanilla ice cream with hazelnuts. Stuttering, he whisper-shouted, “how did you know?!”

Harry huffed a laugh, handing the money to pay for his and your dessert. “I pay attention.”

Gwen told you so happy that she was glad you were finally spending time together that you almost felt bad. The blonde couldn’t be blamed for having been chosen by Peter, you knew it, and at that moment you again cursed Tony but this time for making you spend so much time watching the couple. Maybe if you didn’t know so little about Gwen or if you hadn’t had to watch her kiss Peter on a daily basis, you would be able to look past the fact she was dating your crush.

You were closely sat around the circled table, waiting for Peter and Harry to sit down somewhat in front of you although with the size of the furniture it would be more beside you. Pete got there first because he had ordered before Harry, smiling at both of you. The musical ambiance wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Taylor Swift was playing, something usual in a commercial place, and Gwen beside you started humming.

Peter made a comment about not knowing that song, probably trying to spark small talk. You hated small talk, and even more when people you were acquainted with tried to force it when there was no need.

Harry slid your dessert toward you lightly and smoothly as he sat down. “I didn’t order chocolate because we have school tomorrow and don’t want you having migraines.”

Gwen stopped humming, blinking cartoonishly while staring at her best friend before sharing a look with Peter. You saw it and ignored it, thanking Harry with a tight-lipped smile.

The blonde also was the one to spark real conversation, telling you all about the possibilities of getting a job just after graduating. You heard her between spoonfuls, she was more talkative than you had asserted but the topic was interesting enough— Gwen wanted to use her journalistic work to bring important issues to the general readers and open their eyes, you couldn’t really be against anyone with those ideas.

Harry took a spoonful of your ice cream, making you swallow a laugh. There was nothing funny about it, but he did it so spontaneously it was new to you. “That’s better than I thought it would be.”

“How did you think it would be?”

“I had never tasted hazelnuts,” he clarified, moving his cup closer so you’d taste his favorite flavor of ice cream.

Taking a spoonful of his cup, you allowed it to melt in your mouth to taste it properly. It wasn’t bitter like you thought it would be, but the sweetness didn’t overpower the natural acid of the cherry.

“The chopped black cherries balance out the sweetness from the red cherry ice cream perfectly,” you conceded. He nodded, a thin smile appearing on his face.

The couple accompanying you couldn’t do what Harry and you had done, both had ordered funfetti ice cream and were only watching the interaction with curious eyes before Gwen had the idea of feeding Peter. Harry and you tried not to cringe at the sight, not out of jealousy but because of how corny it was— or a little bit of both.

#ssttt #harry osborn x reader #harry osborn x plus size reader #plus size reader #plus size fanfiction #plus size series #harry osborn series #fake dating au #harry osborn #marvel x reader #marvel x plus size reader #marvel series

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