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mcskullmun · 11 days

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What's red valley about

*takes you gently by the shoulder and looks deep into your eyes somewhere vaguely near your face*

Buddy I am so glad you asked.

In the hopes of this essay answer convincing you to listen to Red valley it will be relatively spoiler free and ambiguous. Full disclosure I am incredibly bias towards this show because it currently has a death-grip on my brain, mind and soul.

Broadly, Red Valley is a fiction podcast, similar to tma, spanning two and a third seasons plus three fun little mini series. I say "a third" because season three is split into three parts, and we currently only have the first. The second is due to be released later this year I believe.

The premise behind Red Valley, in a sentence is, "In all the sci-fi shows you see, where people can go into pods and wake up 10,000 years later just fine, how did we get there?" It's about the messy stage of theoretical science being applied in unethical ways, in the hopes of changing the world. Its about the early development (and testing) of cryonic preservation tech.

It follows two main protagonists, Warren Godby and Gordon Porlock (who are widely shipped throughout the fandom, though nothing is canon yet) as they investigate, and eventually endure the Red Valley seed vault. Although, as it becomes rapidly apparent, "There aren't a lot of seeds in the Red Valley Seed Vault". The show deals with themes of isolation, memory loss, distrust and mental deterioration. But also friendship, endurance, and uh... weird cruises.

It's characters include:

Karen Godby. Ngl I hate this bitch. She is Warren's controlling, abusive wife and she deserves everything that's coming to her. She uses concern as a way to guilt Warren, and seems generally dismissive of his concerns and feelings.

Aubrey Wood. Initially presented solely through tapes, she fits the "mad scientist" archetype. After something goes horribly wrong with her work, we get to see more sides of her. By the end of season three part one, she is an incredibly well fleshed out character with uh... quite the name for herself. She's also in a canon lesbian relationship, which admittedly does not get enough love here on tumblr.

Bryony Halbech. Cunt/aff. She is the mad scientist. She is the driving force behind the Red Valley project and truly the antagonist of the podcast. In so far as this podcast has one, at least. One brilliant thing about her, is that while she presents as your typical, "heartless, mind over emotions, complete control villain" this is a front that she wears, to hide how excited she is about what she does. How much she cares about her work. She is a "truly evil" villain who still maintains layers and depth.

Clive Schill. Now, if your asking me about Red Valley it's more than likely because you've seen the truly embarrassing affect Mr. Schill has had on me. If you want an in depth character analysis feel free to scroll back on my blog or look for asks I have sent to other fans, there's a LOT. In short, he is an irritating embodiment of capitalism with a flair for creative insults. He's like if Elias Bouchard was a fortnight adult/pos. But his character has so much more to it than that! He loves his family, he is deathly afraid of being forgotten, ect. ect. I'll spare you the essay. He's a morally fucked, incredibly likeable man. He's also responsible for the piece of official Redval merch named "Piss Mug" and Red Valley's sugar daddy.

And for the main events,

Warren Godby: He's just a Guy. Real wet cat of a man. Bitter about his place in the world with no idea how he got there. Of course that's not uh entirely true but just... just listen to the podcast.

Gordon Porlock: Fucking insane/pos. I mean not insane insane, but he is a conspiracy theory, nerdy redditor who canonically has no friends. He's also gay for Warren. He is a very interesting character in that he is Obsessed with cryonic preservation, and seems entirely unfazed by the more gory aspects. He is on the "good team", but isn't vastly different to the Redval scientists.

The podcast itself mostly takes place within Red Valley, a remote and seemingly abandoned research facility in The Middle Of Nowhere, Scotland. This is where some of season 1 and almost all of season 2 takes place, and where isolation is a heavy theme. I personally love it, its got great Vibes and possesses the perfect spooky atmosphere.

Season three is all over the place and follows (Soft, slightly irritated sigh) Clive Schill. It's a wonderful dive into his character, and the attitudes of the common man and the rich towards cryonic preservation. 10/10, no notes. The frogs are great.

Overall the voice acting and writing is amazing. At no point did I feel it dragged, and while I was initially confused when Warren and Gordon were talking (similar accents) they got easier to distinguish real fast. It's funny and sad, perfect combo. There's also some... gnarly sound affects.

Pay Attention To The Content Warnings. For The Love Of Schill Pay Attention To The Content Warnings. Please. There are some pretty heavy moments that took me completely off guard, big mistake.

Final notes, you will see me shipping Clive Schill and Warren Godby a lot. THIS WILL NOT MAKE SENSE WHEN (if) YOU LISTEN TO RED VALLEY. They are, at first glance, the two least shippable characters. I don't mean like Lonelyeyes crackship where it kinda makes sense, I mean AWFUL. TRULY DISGUSTING. My fic, "And I think we're all glad it wasn't me" explains everything, but contains just so many major spoilers for season 1. Just trust me, I'm not mad. The fic explains everything. I promise.

Anyway uh feel free to ask more or talk about it if you decide to listen. I uh. am normal about this podcast. As you can probably tell.

~ Peter

#red valley #long post #cult imma be honest you do not want to know how excited i was when i saw this ask #answered asks

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marvelmcumania · 4 days

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You are my only love - Part 1

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Fem Reader Summary: This life's fate wasn't meant for both of you but the next did! WORD COUNT:1.4k Setting: Modern World and The 80s

A reincarnation au fic. Hello Everyone this is my first fic on Tumblr and there will be mistakes, so forgive Updates won't be frequent will be updated at any time English is not my first language Do not repost Feel free to reblog and let me know your thoughts

NO WARNING AS OF NOW

Navigation | Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist |Steve Rogers Masterlist

They say we somehow always meet in the next life and this was the same thing with Steve Rogers and Y/N L/N a tale of tragic love but a tale of love that becomes one of the best things ever happened to them.

Sweetheart, I will always be with you

You are my only love

Present

You woke up from your nightmarish dream again. And it has happened daily since you were 10 years old at first your parents consoled you but when it started increasing whenever you took a nap they decided to take you to therapy and yet still the therapist couldn't help. The scream of the deep blue eyes which felt familiar looking concerned at you and then blood pooling down from both of your bodies.

It made you feel real that the person's sinister eyes held a great obsession for you, whereas this blue-eyed man held a deep love for you. Sighing you got up from the bed rubbing your eyes.

"Why does this happen to me?"

You entered the kitchen taking a glass of water taking a sip of it.

"Are you okay there?" Natalie your roommate was sitting on the sofa watching her late-night show.

You whipped your head looking at her and shook it giving her a smile that didn't reach your eyes." Nah I am good" keeping the glass on the shelves "What are you watching?" you said taking a seat beside her.

"F.R.I.E.N.D.S" she nonchalantly said handing you the popcorn box

You took the popcorn "One of my favorite shows"

"Mine too" You both laughed when Joey wore all of Chandler's clothes. Forgetting the dream for the moment

The next you woke up on the sofa checking your phone it was 7:00 AM shrugging you set it aside looking straightforward and sighing weirdly you didn't get the nightmare again Looking sideways Natalie was sprawled on the other side of the couch TV sound dimmed.

"Hey Natalie" you whispered trying to wake her up she blinked her eyes looking at you. "Uhm it's 7:00 AM and you have your office timing at 11:00 AM it's better if you sleep some more in your room."

"Oh thanks" she yawns taking the remote and switching it off. She gets up stretches her body and reaches her bedroom stopping midway you were scrolling on your phone looking at the schedule. "Y/N?"

You looked up from your phone" Yeah?"

"At night time you were murmuring something about 'save me' 'please don't kill him' and 'I will never marry you' Like were you having a nightmare?" Your eyes widened at what Natalie said even though it wasn't in the visuals you still had it.

"Oh?" your eyebrows furrowed this was now going out of hands "I don't remember it"

"I think it's something more than that Y/N/N" You raised your eyebrow at her "Look I don't know how to say this but it's something related to your past lives"

"There is nothing like past lives Natalie" You went back to your phone heart beating radically. "These are some weird rumors and conspiracy theories"

"Y/N/N" she called you out making you look up once again "They aren't and it's a different thing also known as reincarnation. I read that on the internet"

"And is there scientific proof" You were now getting irritated was she now making fun of you she became quiet for a moment.

"I wish I could have proved but don't come running near me when your therapist thinks about it"

You scowled at her, looking back down to your phone and chewing your lips. Natalie sighed and went back to her bedroom. What if Natalie was right that this is something related to past life but you ignored her.

You get up from the sofa get ready for your office and resume your daily routine of brushing your teeth and having a good bath You come out and pick up your outfit of the day. Combing your hair making it into a messy bun. Well, you didn't have an appetite for breakfast and the only thing that would help her now was coffee. The best thing is to watch until the shop opens the park scenery.

You were never a fan of morning walks, but to clear your mind and reach your office straight away, you decided to take two rounds and sit on a bench and mull over Natalie's talk with you. Taking out your phone, you typed about it to clear your doubt, and as you thought, well, it's 50 50 to believe in reincarnation theories.

You were looking ahead, lost in your own thoughts. When you felt something down your leg looking down, you saw a cute dog sniffing around your leg and nudging his body around your legs.

"Oh hey, bub" you bought your hand to check whether he trusted you. The dog looked at you bringing his nose near your hand and sniffed you making sure you weren't any bad guy and showed you his head and scratched his head "Are you lost bub?" looking at his collar his owner must be here somewhere.

"DODGER" The dog turns to the source of sound his tail slightly wagging "DODGER WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I guess the screaming man is your owner huh?" The dog just huffed not getting too interested in their owner's voice "Don't tell me you had a fight" you chuckle seeing the dog growling meaning they indeed had some fight. "Okay how about we go near him and make him tell you sorry with huge treats"

You began to drag the dog who was hesitant at first but soon made up your speed and soon enough you came face to face with the yelling man who was out of breath

"Hey" you yelled at the man who turned to look at you before you could make a move you stood there seeing the man but the dog began dragging you breaking your concentration and almost making you fall "Hey bub calm down"

"Oh my God Thank you, "the man says squatting down to give some scratches to the dog "Never do that again Dodge you scared me you want the toy I will buy you but" he hugs him "Never leave" You are looking at their interaction when the man glances up at you "Thank You Again"

Your breath hitches looking at the man his blue eyes giving you a familiar face the man in your dreams. You just nod at him giving him a smile "A very active dog I see"

"Yeah" he chuckles "and when I decline something of his favorite he just runs away"

You give him a smile and look back at the dog giving him a small ear scratch you are scared to look at him what if he remembers you what if the dream you always had has been the same it's been more than 2 minutes and you can already feel the sparks and connection the attraction towards him.

Before he could say anything your phone started ringing disrupting your talk It was from your colleague Natasha "Uhm Sorry I need to pick this up"

"Yeah sure" he nods giving you a similar smile you always have seen in your dream.

You pick up the call "Hey Nat!" answering when a screeching sound comes behind the caller.

Where are you?

"Uhm at the park?" You turned back before giving an apologetic smile to Steve. Hearing a huff from her "What is it, Nat?"

Do you realize what the time is now? We will be late for the office

Taking a look at the watch it was indeed late for you and you needed to catch the bus how much time did you spend here maybe the thinking made you late "Okay I will be right there just wait for me Okay?"

Yeah, hurry up!

You cut the call turning to the man who had been standing, you were surprised to find him gone along with his dog. A shiver ran down your spine as you scanned the area, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Questions stirred in your mind as you tried to make sense of his sudden disappearance. Had he simply walked away while you were distracted?

But with that, you felt more connected with him the man from your dream who looked exactly the same with furrowed eyebrows you left the question lingering in your mind and then left the park to meet Natasha at bus stand.

NEXT...

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nightmarish-fae · 1 year

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fragile line - Alex Blake/Reader prompt fic

a/n: hello there! i come emerging from the depths of a writers block to offer an old prompt fic I wrote for @prentiss-theorem. the prompts were 'How did find out?' and 'Are you ashamed of me?'

as always, i am not a native speaker, all mistakes are mine.

pairing: Alex Blake/Reader

genre: angst

warnings: mentions of casual drinking/smoking if that puts anyone off.

lenght: one-shot

‐--------‐--------------------------

You should have known. You should have known, when you started this…whatever it was that you had going on with Alex that you were in too deep. How couldn’t you be. Alex Blake was everything you had ever dreamed of. And apparently, you weren’t.

At first, it was fun, just sneaking around, making hiding and staying unnoticed a competition. You were glad to be hers, to be allowed to touch her hand, kiss her, make her laugh in the safety of your apartments. Eventually, it became your normal. At first, you didn’t mind. Everything was so new, she was freshly divorced…it made sense. But then a month had turned into four, then eight and at last, a year. But nothing changed.

You loved the brilliant linguist with all of your heart and making her uncomfortable was the last thing on your mind, but this whole thing was starting to make you feel tired. Even when you were together, there was this bone deep weariness and unease settling into your body. Still, you never said anything. You couldn’t bear to lose Alex and at first, telling yourself that you would gladly take whatever she decided to give you worked. But of course you wanted more.

Not much, just…to be able to hold her hand while out and about, to hug her without having to maintain a friendly limit, to be able to moon over her to Penelope and JJ.

It appeared to be a stalemate. Progressively unhappy, yet too in love to do anything about it. But all fragile peace was destined to break at one point. And yours came on what was supposed to be a happy day.

It was your one year anniversary of sorts. While the two of you never outright said anything to each other, you were together anyways. And so you planned for a quiet night in with a good dinner, wine and movie. For a while, the underlying sadness didn’t exist, there was just happiness.

Somehow, you managed to be one of the last people in the bullpen, helping Garcia out. But finally, you were free. Enthusiastically packing your bag, you turned towards JJ, who was packing up as well.

“Alex already left?”

If you knew what JJ was going to answer you would probably never let the words leave your mouth.

“Ah yeah, I think she mentioned something about spending some time with her husband?”

It felt like someone pulled the rug from beneath your feet and you hit the ground in the most painful way possible. You didn’t remember much after that, only that you quickly made your excuses, all but running for your car.

Every single part of you was working on an overdrive, brain coming up with conspiracy theories, excuses and reasons to hate both yourself and her. Somehow, you got yourself home. You had no idea if she was even in there. Heavens knew you didn’t want to be angry, but there was no helping it.

It suddenly felt like you were the butt of a practical joke, reminding you of when you got asked to the prom as a prank.

A small part of you was dreading the confrontation, but there was no avoiding it. Your red rimmed eyes were a dead giveaway. That, any maybe the way the door slammed and your bag flew on to the table. There was no sign of Alex anywhere, which only drove your brain more confused.

Beelining for the fridge, you opened the wine and stalked to your balcony with a glass, which is precisely how the linguist found you when she arrived - leaning over the railing, glass in one hand, cigarette in the other.

“Hi, I brought the-you said you’ll quit.”

Her voice sounded faintly accusing and the gall of it made you whirl around, a sarcastic chuckle leaving your throat.

“Right. Like you told JJ you were…what was it…going to spend time with your husband? Which you don’t have anymore? Unless I’m wrong about that too?”

Alex looked absolutely floored. And guilty. Setting the bag on the table, she took a deep breath, opening and closing her mouth a few times, being speechless for once.

“How did you find out?”

Your eyes widened. Really, that’s what she was going to ask?

��JJ mentioned it. Honestly Alex, I just don’t understand why…”

Suddenly, your brain supplied a very clear reason, one that explained the past year perfectly. You wished you could be more like Hotch, perfectly stoic and calm in face of everything, but you knew there were tears gathering along your lash line and you were shaking.

“Are you…”

Your voice cracked in the middle and you had to restart.

“Are you ashamed of me?”

In the perfect world, Alex would start protesting immediately, explaining it was just a massive misunderstanding. But she was quiet. And when that quiet went on for longer than your brain liked, you’ve had enough.

“You know what? Forget it. Forget I asked. I don’t think I wanna know anyways.”

Storming past her, you grabbed your bag and headed out of the door, leaving her alone in your apartment.

The sound the door made must have sounded similar to what felt like your heart breaking.

#criminal minds #alex blake #ssa alex blake #alex blake x reader #dr alex blake #alex blake x yn #alex blake x you

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itchyeye · 2 months

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(Same anon asking for Podcast Recs)

I'm okay with non-fiction/non-fantasy stuff as well! I'm into a lot of things personally, and I also don't like true crime stuff for the same reasons as you do. I'd still be open to hearing any recs of casts you liked! ^^

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

yaaaaay ok here are some of my favorites. i listen to everything on spotify just for convenience but i do know that this sort of limits my options since plenty of podcasts aren't available on the platform

no such thing as a fish

[infomercial voice] if you're a fan of QI (which i am) you'll absolutely love this spin-off show run and written by the research elves

really great banter and really excellent mini deep-dives on a very wide variety of topics

super engaging and fun, funny and entertaining, excellent for long car rides

stuff you should know (sysky)

i don't normally like shows that are just banter-based, because it's really rare that i find the hosts interesting enough that their private/personal conversations matter to me, but i got used to josh and chuck and became really fond of them

my major qualm is that they sell themselves as a deep-dive podcast but they very barely scratch the surface of their topics, so if it's a topic i already know a lot about i get really annoyed at how surface-level they are

HOWEVER, this is one of my go-to podcasts for long drives because the sound mixing is great, the hosts are charming, and the topics are super varied!

heaven's gate

this is one of my favorite podcast projects ever. beautifully narrated, extensively and intensively researched. i had to pull over a few times because i was crying and couldn't drive safely.

the narrator/author is someone who himself grew up in a cult that his parents eventually left. he speaks with such deep compassion and understanding.

this is SO incredibly and thoroughly well researched.

the HBO docu series that was inspired by this podcast PALES in comparison. it sucks. it totally wastes the incredible access to survivors and archival footage to say like... nothing of value. but this podcast is absolutely incredible. a real journalistic feat.

bundyville part i & part ii

another of my all-time favorites, a meticulously researched deep-dive into the rise of a specific alt right movement in the american west. really gripping, with excellent research, fantastic writing, and great sound mixing.

winds of change

this series examines a conspiracy theory that the scoprions song winds of change was written by the cia as a psyop to encourage anti-communist pro-western movements behind the iron curtain

this one is fun, but if you have ties to russia, or even more broadly to eastern europe, the extremely american host's shallow perspective on the ussr and more broadly the post-cold war era is.... extremely irritating. to say the least.

9/12

a series about the immediate aftermath of 9/11 that i really enjoyed! includes an interesting mix of perspectives.

queer as fact

an episodic series created by a group of australian grad students about queer historic figures!!

really well researched and very informative! plus the hosts don't interrupt one another all the time trying to get the best joke in, they're really interested and engaged and want to learn about the things the others are saying

not the best sound engineering, something it's hard to hear, especially when driving

i genuinely want so badly for them to do an episode on sade and they never will, which pains me personally

the feminine art of radicalisation

really excellent series that talks about the alt right pipeline specifically for white women and what attracts them to the movement

#[💌] asks and replies #anonymous

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 3 months

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Uh oh😳

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò better sleep with BOTH eyes open after he links Hillary to Pizzagate... - Revolver News

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò better sleep with BOTH eyes open after he links Hillary to Pizzagate…

January 10, 2024

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 8 or so years and don’t know what Pizzagate is, here’s a brief explanation according to the left-wing site Wikipedia:

“Pizzagate” is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner’s emails.

The issue with the media and the left’s swift dismissal of the theory as a “conspiracy” is that there does seem to be a grain or two of truth to it. Without getting into too much “pizza,�� the truth of the matter is that an alarming number of elites are being apprehended for child pornography and trafficking. Jeffrey Epstein was operating a full-scale pedophile ring, and according to court records, Bill Clinton was allegedly knee-deep in it and preferred his girls “young.”

Now, this doesn’t prove Pizzagate by any means. However, it certainly lends credibility to certain aspects of the theory that suggest elites are involved in depraved activities concerning children.

The Independent:

Billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein once told one of his victims that Bill Clinton “likes them young”, according to dramatic testimony revealed in court documents unsealed for the very first time.

Dozens of Epstein associates were unmasked on Wednesday after a judge ordered the unsealing of court documents in a now-settled lawsuit brought by abuse victim Virginia Giuffre against Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Among the hundreds of pages of filings, another victim Johanna Sjoberg spoke about what she knew about Mr Clinton’s ties to Epstein as part of a 2016 deposition that also made allegations against Prince Andrew.

Under sworn testimony, she said that Epstein had told her the former president liked girls “young”.

“[Epstein] said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls,” she testified.

When asked if she knew Mr Clinton was a friend of Epstein, she said: “I knew he had dealings with Bill Clinton. I did not know they were friends until I read the Vanity Fair article about them going to Africa together.”

The Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell case has brought the “Pizzagate” narrative back into the spotlight, and now, with the release of the Epstein files, it has gained even more momentum.

That’s why it comes as no surprise that a video clip has been circulating online featuring Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who openly discusses Pizzagate and doesn’t shy away from naming people like Hillary Clinton and John Podesta.

Now, we always approach this type of thing with a healthy amount of skepticism, but we like to share it with you so you can draw your own conclusions.

The truth is, when it comes to Hillary and her husband, she has earned a notorious reputation for treating Bill’s accusers like second-class citizens and attempting to silence their voices. This is precisely what Juanita Broaddrick, one of Clinton’s rape accusers, says happened to her.

Needless to say, Hillary doesn’t have the most glowing “pro-woman” reputation. So, Archbishop Viganò held nothing back in his “revelations” about Pizzagate and his direct references to Hillary Clinton. Again, there’s no proof of this, but many people have very strong opinions.

And truth be told, it has us a bit worried. Perhaps the archbishop should sleep with both of his eyes open?

We may never fully uncover the truth about Pizzagate, or even the depths of the Epstein case and similar incidents, but it’s essential to encourage people to remain engaged in the conversation and seek out information for themselves. After all, that’s the American way.

They can't outrun hell.

#epstein didn't kill himself #Clinton Crime family #Anthony Weiner #Huma Abedin #ghislaine maxwell #The Pope #save the children #Hillary Clinton is evil #Wikileaks #john podesta #Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

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ilovewhiteroses · 1 year

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Play Pretend

Pairing: Actor!Ty Shaw x Female Agent Reader Genre: Fluff, humour, drama Warnings: Some smut and curse words Rating: 18+ Notes: - This time I wanted to write about another Boyd character, Ty Shaw from the 2022 movie 'Vengeance'. - The story is set in an alternative universe, where Ty is an actor who does romantic comedies - Thank you @jessamydreams for the main idea and Dax @ruflirtingwithme for the southern euphemisms 💕💕

Ty Shaw, the charming actor, has hired you as his agent and assistant. One day he was invited to a wedding. Since he was single and didn't want to go alone, he asked you to play his girlfriend

Despite becoming a popular actor, Tyler Clayton Shaw remained the nice guy he always was. Born and raised in Texas, Ty has always valued family and his mom taught him to always respect women. He liked hamburgers, especially when they came from a fast food restaurant called ’Whataburger’, and he also liked conspiracy theories. People told him that he had both the looks and the talent to be an actor. Ty himself toyed with the idea several times, and finally decided to move to New York to find an agent and go to auditions. The plan worked and soon after he became the new heartthrob of romantic comedies.

Unfortunately, however, poor Ty has had a hard time lately. His sister, Abilene died last year, and now his girlfriend broke up with him a few weeks ago. In addition to all this, his career began to decline and the good roles avoided him. Ty was so distraught by these that he decided to retire from filming for a while. He didn't leave his house and didn't answer the phone to anyone except his mother or grandmother. This went on for a few months until one day Ty decided: he would return to acting, but this time he wanted more dramatic roles. He fired his old agent and moved to Los Angeles.

You were sitting in front of your computer as you just uploaded your resume to a job search site. You worked as an agent and assistant in Hollywood and now you were looking for a new job. Your most recent client was a talented, young actress who was suddenly overtaken by popularity and unfortunately, that came at a price. She went to clubs to party more than to work on sets. At first you tried to help her, but even after several requests she refused to change so you quitted. You hoped that your new client would be a much more mature and responsible person.

You didn't have to wait long, a few days later your phone rang.

"Hello! Am I talking to Y/N?” asked a pleasant male voice with a southern accent.

"Yes, it's me."

"Great! My name is Ty Shaw.” the name was familiar to you. "I recently moved here from New York and I'm looking for a new agent. I read your resume and called to ask if you would work for me. You don't have to answer now, I'd like to meet in person before that." he said kindly. You agreed and decided on where the meeting should be.

The meeting took place in a fancy restaurant, which was popular among celebrities. Ty told you about his career and why he moved to Los Angeles, and you told him about your past clients. You found him likable. In fact, even a handsome guy. No wonder that fans were so into him. He was tall, blond, and blue-eyed - like the prince in the fairy tale, only in person. In addition, all this was accompanied by a deep, sexy voice... but stop it right there! Your job was to take care of his acting career, you weren't allowed to think about other things.

So you started working for him. You called several directors and producers to let you know if they know of any drama projects, because your client was looking for just such opportunities. Until there was nothing interesting, Ty started to workout again and paid more attention to his inner peace, because deep inside he still couldn't move on from the bad things that previously happened to him. Over time he opened up to you and told you what hurt his soul. You listened to him and gave him advice. You not only looked for good roles for him, but you paid attention to him as a person and he appreciated that.

When there was something that caught his interest, you called the director and went to the meeting with Ty. He was considered for one of the lead roles in a yet-untitled family drama, which would be a great opportunity for him to make a comeback. Filming will start in a few months, and Ty had time to immerse himself in the script and prepare for the role.

Lately, you've realized that you're not just co-workers anymore, but friends. Ty often told you about his childhood in Texas and his family, sometimes he was explaining you wild conspiracy theories. You liked it that he was so honest and sweet with you. Of course, just like all celebrities, Ty also went to parties, but with responsibility, because the paparazzi were everywhere and he didn't want to bring shame on himself and his family by being photographed in a drunken state. You were very happy about this.

One day when Ty got home after swimming in the ocean, he found an envelope in his mailbox. Official and film stuff was sent to your office, personal letters went to Ty. Inside the envelope was an invitation: it turned out that his childhood best friend, Gerry was getting married in the Bahamas. Ty whistled as he read the text with a tasteful font.

"Wedding on an island? Look at that! Gerry, things turned out well for ya!" he said approvingly as he ran a hand through his hair and entered his house. It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't seen Gerry for a long time, but Gerry must have read about him on some celeb gossip website and knew about his breakup. Shit! Everyone will go with their partner, and he didn't have anyone. Ty didn't want to be pitied for being single. He had to figure something out: who could he take with him? He looked at the names in his phone and caught his eyes on yours. It's true that you were his agent, but at the same time, you were also his good friend. He thought about what it would be like if he asked you to play his girlfriend.

In the late afternoon, you were in the kitchen putting the dirty dishes and cutlery into the dishwasher when the bell rang. You went outside and saw Ty.

"Hi! What's up?" you asked as you let him in and invited him into your apartment.

"Nothing special. I mean…the thing is…well…” Ty was visibly embarrassed, searching for words. "I was invited to my childhood friend's wedding."

"That’s great! And where will it be?” you asked as you went back to clean up. You didn't leave it there just because he was present.

"In the Bahamas." Ty replied, rocking himself back and forth slightly in confusion.

"Wow! Then it will be very nice! And who are you taking with you?” you asked. Only after a few seconds of pause Ty spoke.

"Well, that's why I came. I was thinking what if… well… if you pretended to be my girlfriend.” Hearing the request, the glass almost fell out of your hand.

"What?" you couldn't believe your ears. In your career, you have never been asked by a client to do something like this.

"You can say no, I would completely understand it. I could look for someone else."

"No, it's not that, it's just that I'm your agent and I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Look, let's just pretend that we're together and after that we can go back to the old ways." Ty said, somewhat relieved.

"Well, if you insist on it, then fine, I'll pretend I'm your girlfriend. But no funny business!” Ty put his hand over his heart.

"I promise I'll be a gentleman the entire time, ma'am."

"Okay then. Now that you're my “boyfriend”, in return, tomorrow, you have to come look at clothes with me for the wedding." you told him with a grin. Ty rolled his eyes and smiled.

So that's how you became Ty Shaw's new girlfriend and you hoped that you would give an authentic performance. And then, what trouble can come out of this? You go and have a good time, that's all.

To get used to each other, you arrived on the island a week before the wedding and stayed in an elegant hotel room. The furniture in the room and the bathroom were decorated in white and cream colors, and the balcony provided a magnificent view of the blue ocean. You unpacked and looked around.

"This is breathtakingly beautiful!" you said leaning back on the bed.

"It is. This is the most beautiful hotel room I have ever been in.” he said and sat next to you on the bed. You closed your eyes and rested for a few minutes, because you were exhausted from the flight. Ty looked at you in silence, admiring your beauty. For a moment, it was as if he felt something for you…

You opened your eyes and sat up.

"What shall we do?" you asked him.

"I think we should go and eat at a restaurant and then have a good night's sleep. We'll see Gerry and his family tomorrow.”

"Okay."

You went out for dinner then Ty signed autographs and took selfies with some fans. After returning to your room, you quickly brushed your teeth, had a shower and put on your oversized t-shirt and panties combo.

"I'm done, you can go now." you said to Ty who was sitting on the sofa waiting his turn.

"I’ll go then." he said while looking at your nice legs. For a moment, just for fun, he imagined what could be under your t-shirt...

"Where do you want to sleep?" you asked him, jolting him back to reality.

"Well, uh, the sofa will be fine for me, you just sleep in the bed." he replied scratching his head in confusion.

"Sure?"

"Sure."

You packed away your used clothes and were preparing for a new set for tomorrow, when Ty took off his shirt and flashed you his sexy, naked upper body. As much as you liked the sight, you tried to stare at him unobtrusively. He's your client! The sentence echoed in your head. Ty went into the bathroom and you got into bed and turned on the TV until you both fell asleep.

You woke up in the middle of the night and went to Ty. You woke him up softly. You took off your t-shirt and leaned in to kiss him. A little later you and him were rolling naked on the bed...

Your phone's alarm went off. You turned it off and went back to bed for a few more minutes. You buried your face in your hands. You had a very sexy dream last night that seemed quite real. You couldn't help it because Ty was a very attractive guy. But even then, you were already embarrassed by the thought of how you would be able to look him in the eye after this.

In the coming days, you met Gerry and his future wife, Vanessa, their relatives and the other guests. Fortunately, you played the boyfriend and girlfriend with convincing authenticity, and everyone believed that you were a couple in love. Meanwhile, you and Ty sometimes went for a walk on the beach, hand in hand, and to avoid the fans at the restaurant, you took dinner up to your room. After a few days, you both felt as if you had been in a relationship for a while. You laughed a lot and debated various interesting and less interesting theories. In addition to these, of course, sex was also discussed and you learned a few intimate things about each other.

When you went swimming in the ocean, you put on your sexiest bikini. "Lord have mercy!" Ty said to himself. While you were happily swimming, he started to fantasize...He imagined kissing your neck and untying your binding top and bottom, and then you would make love on the beach...You often hinted at naughty things and looked at each other's bodies when you had the chance. Although you were still sleeping in the bed and he was still sleeping on the sofa, the sexual tension between you was obvious.

Three days before the wedding, you went partying at one of the local clubs. You danced a lot and drank tequila. When you were no longer thirsty, you asked Ty to teach you some southern euphemisms.

” Good Golly Miss Molly! I’m bein' two sheets to the wind.”

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm fucking drunk! Hehe!” Ty said laughing so hard he almost fell off the bar stool.

"Say more of these!" you pleaded.

"What's that, sweetheart? You likin’ the southern style? Okay, listen: Bless yer heart. It can mean good, but it can also mean fuck you.”

"Oh. Then I'll pay attention when I say it."

"There is also: To be six ways from Sunday. It means my brain is so scattered it's thinking six ways from Sunday or I got so much to do, I'm just six ways from Sunday.”

"These are so good!" you told him biting your lip. As a result of the drink, his accent came out even more, which you found very sexy.

"Right?" Ty asked and looked into your eyes before grabbing your shoulder. "I think it's time..hehe..to go back to the ho..tel."

You somehow managed to get back to your room. You didn't turn on the light because it would have disturbed your eyes and then the moonlight illuminated the room just enough.

"I think... I'll go and take a shower." you said and were about to head to the bathroom when Ty grabbed your arm and pulled you close. You looked deeply into each other's eyes. Your heart started beating faster than it should. Emboldened by the alcohol, Ty kissed you as an experiment. You closed your eyes and felt his soft lips on yours. When Ty felt you weren't protesting, he held you closer to him and you tilted your head a little to the side so you could kiss each other more passionately. You stopped and pulled your clothes off each other. Not long after, you found yourself naked in bed. Ty started kissing your breasts, licking your nipples. This made you moan out loud and he took that as encouragement and went lower. He gently bit your thighs and then started to pleasure you with his tongue in your most intimate part. It was so good and he was doing it so well that you started to squirm under him and grip the sheets wildly. When you were wet enough, Ty stopped.

"I'll bring a condom, don't go anywhere!" he said enthusiactically.

"I won’t." you said and laughed.

Ty came back and tore the condom open with his teeth, put it on him and leaned over you. He kissed you and carefully placed himself inside you. You imagined him to be just like this... You scratched his back while he moved his hips with wild thrusting movements. You had such a crazy good time that you were surprised that the bed didn't break. You've wanted this ever since you met him and now your wish has finally come true...

The next day you woke up with a hangover and a headache. Before you got out of bed, you saw your crumpled clothes on the floor and you looked behind you to see Ty lying on his stomach and snoring loudly. This was already suspicious to you, then you looked under your covers and saw that you were naked...

Oh God, no.

The realization sobered you up almost immediately, although your head still hurt. What happened last night? You had a couple of drinks and laughed a lot, then you got back to your room and... well, exactly what you thought happened.

You felt terrible, you felt like you made a mistake.

You got out of bed and looked for painkillers, while Ty slowly regained consciousness. He turned on his back and opened his eyes.

"Hey! What are you doing?” he asked lazily. You didn't dare to answer him. You took the medicine and pretended to pack in your bag in your embarrassement. When you heard Ty swearing softly to himself, you felt nervous. As embarrassing as it was, you had to settle things. You walked over to him and sat on the edge of the bed.

"My head hurts like hell! Wait a minute? Why am I naked and what are my clothes doing on the floor...and yours?" he asked as he slowly scanned the room with his eyes before returning to you. "Did we…?"

"Yes. I'm afraid. Look, this shouldn't have happened.”

"Fuck no! Fuck!" Ty said angrily as he got out of bed. "No! This shouldn't have happened! Just because we pretend to be a couple, we shouldn't have done it!"

"We drank too much that night and we both lost control." you tried to explain the situation. Ty tried to say something but couldn't find the words. You just looked at each other in silence for a few minutes, then he spoke.

"You're right. We were both drunk and then... As embarrassing as it is, let's try to pretend like nothing happened."

"It won't be that easy." you told him between deep sighs.

Another few seconds of silence followed.

"You know what? I think it would be better if I went to another room until Saturday, so that I could clear my head and think about us. Will we still be able to maintain our working relationship and friendship after this?" he asked with sad eyes. You nodded, you also thought it would be better if you separated for a while. Ty also took painkillers, showered, and then called the reception to ask for another room. He gathered his belongings and left.

You didn't see him until the day of the wedding. You were trying to think about what to do next. It is certain that you can no longer regard each other as mere friends. You hoped Ty wouldn't think of firing you. The thought felt like a punch in the stomach.

Saturday has finally come. You wore a peach-colored dress with straps, because the invitation stipulated that the guests should wear brightly colored clothes. You went to the beach, almost everyone was already there. Until the ceremony started, you admired the wonderful decorations and flowers, while you chatted a little with the people you met during the week.

"Where is your boyfriend?" asked one of the bride's friends. You had to come up with something fast.

"Well, um. He still had a few phone calls to make, but he'll be here soon." you replied with a forced grin. Once everyone had arrived and taken their seats, the ceremony began, but Ty was still nowhere to be seen. You were just starting to worry when luckily he appeared and sat next to you.

"Am I late?" he asked, adjusting his cufflinks.

"No, it's just beginning." you answered You took a closer look at him. He looked so good in his elegant suit that it made your heart flutter. Feelings swirled inside you. You wanted Ty to be there with you and not. You wanted him, but at the same time you didn't. You enviously looked at Gerry and Vanessa, the happiness on their faces and sighed sadly.

You tried to have a good time at the wedding party, the delicious food and drinks made you forget your bad mood for a while. You talked to Gerry's mom and you saw Ty talking to several women. As you watched him cheerfully chatting with them, you didn't like the sight, in fact, you were almost jealous. To overcome this feeling, you quickly went to the bar to have a drink and then looked for a good guy to dance with. You found a dance partner in one of Gerry's colleagues. He was very nice and couldn't help but compliment you on how pretty you were. While you were dancing, you noticed Ty, who was also dancing with a woman he was talking to earlier. He was looking at you intensely, as if he wanted to annoy you.

A little later, you sat at one of the tables and looked at your phone. A slow song started playing and Ty walked over to you and held out his hand.

"May I ask you for a dance?" he asked you like a southern gentleman. You nodded, put down the phone and gave him your hand. He led you to the dance floor and gently put his arm around your waist. You started swaying to the slow tune.

"I forgot to say, but you look beautiful."

"Thanks, others have already said it." you replied somewhat sarcastically. Ty could feel that you were angry.

"Look. I would like to apologize for requesting another room and disappearing for a while. I thought about the two of us and what happened. The fact is that I've had a lot of fun with you for the past few days and well...I have to admit, the sex was amazing too. We took our role a little too seriously." he smiled in embarrassment and continued. "Despite what happened, I would like you to remain my agent, but after this we can only have a working relationship, nothing more. I hope you understand." he said in a more serious tone this time.

"Yes." you answered. His words nearly broke your heart...

Slowly everyone left, you also returned to the hotel. Ty wished you goodnight and gave you a kiss on the cheek before going to his own room. Tired and with a heavy heart, you washed off your make-up, showered and then tried to sleep a little. The next day you and him took the early evening flight back to Los Angeles.

Ty was about to start shooting the movie soon, which would hopefully bring him back to the top league of Hollywood. He kept his word and now really only saw you as his agent and assistant. You only spoke on the phone and only met in person when you gave him a script. You were bitter that your friendship turned into this, but you kept to your agreements.

Lying in your bed at night, you thought about Ty a lot. It true that he was an actor, but when you were on the island, you felt that his feelings for you were genuine. The way he looked at you, that look was everything. Then you remembered that night. His kiss on your lips, on your body, the smell of his skin, the weight of his body on you, your lustful moans... You had to admit, you missed him.

A couple of weeks later you got a text from Ty.

Can we talk? In person.

You wrote back yes, and then your doorbell rang. You were surprised, but you went outside and it turned out that he was standing at the gate. You let him in into your apartment.

"If you're wondering, there were more roles, but none of them were of interest to you..."

"That's not what I came for." he cut you off suddenly. "I want to talk to you, tell you something." he said seriously. You gulped.

"What would it be?"

"Um." Ty looked away for a moment, then continued. "You know that I'm already preparing for the role and I've been thinking about things, including us. When we were on the island and when I realized what we had done in the morning after the night, I panicked and was confused. I needed some time to clear my mind. We've been getting along so well so far and you know, I've been toying with the idea of what if..." he pointed to you and then to himself. "You and I...we'd try. Because let's face it, we're two adults who know each other pretty well and know what's under the other's clothes." Ty said half-jokingly.

"Are you serious?" you asked because you thought he wasn’t.

”If I wasn’t serious, I wouldn't be here now and I wouldn't have said these things."

Hearing his words calmed you, because you were convinced that he had come to tell you that he could no longer work with you and that you were fired.

"Well, you know, what you said, they crossed my mind too, but… if you're really serious about this, then I think we could try.” you said with a half smile.

You talked about that you will start dating and will take it slow and see how things will go later between the two of you.

💕

Tags: @harlekin6, @thecorilove86, @ruflirtingwithme,

@i-like-the-eyes, @suziejolie @drowningnikki

@slasherbaby, @jessamydreams @kingredking

@merryandrewsworld, @e-dubbc11, @destiny-rahl

#ty shaw #boyd holbrook #vengeance #ty shaw fanfic #ty shaw x reader fanfic

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valeriefauxnom · 5 months

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He Is the Messiah!

...Or prophet, whatever, but I found it funny the sheer amount of room intrusions Euden has to deal with that kick off events.

Like, there's Chronos, to which he's either too sleepy to care about or desperate or too used to random dragons of his invading that he isn't all that panicked after the initial 'who's there' at having a little dragon promising time travel to him in his room. You know, as one does.

In fact, he's rather quick to just kinda go 'okay, and?' at Chronos instantly pointing out all those deep regrets and how he keeps it separate from everyone, which might be kinda creepy in a 'how do you know that?' sort of way.

Fittingly, Rage of Chronos kicks off in a similar way, though Euden definitely seems to be a bit more shy to strange voices in his room spewing odd things at night, but still not quite the level of hostility I would expect.

Also, in retrospect, Grimnir was kinda speedrunning the main plot there in his opening monologue!

"Child borne of the rift 'twixt fates" could be a reference to his true true origins as a part of Xenos since Xenos likes floating about the rift between worlds and Euden was floating about there, too, since both Morsayati and Xenos were. "Inheritor of altered life"...yeah, that too, since he's a nice mixture of baby blood and still-living demon lord flesh plus whatever other things Finlorda might have decided to throw in the BuildaHeir pot.

"Blood-sworn yet bloodless", well, he's pactbound with the dragonblood he did inherit from baby!Nedrick, but has no true 'bloodline' as a standard human would. Lastly, "mutation in causality's design" might be a reference to the fact that this world's Euden is explicitly an anomaly how he's gotten so far for any number of reasons. Then, later, there's the 'transfigured prince', which either might just be Grimnir referencing his shapeshifting or the fact he's a hunk of demon flesh coaxed to look like Nedrick if he were a healthy normal human baby.

Darn, Grimnir, why couldn't you have spoke in plain English a bit sooner? Rage of Chronos came out in April 2021. At latest, that's the first part of chapter 19 that was out! I do not know if they were actually planning the entire monologue to be so relevant, since I think I recall the three writers for Dragalia largely worked separately on their own arcs, but that's uncanny. Very uncanny. All that in two sentences.

That aside, he's still a bit too nonchalant. Nothing like hearing that dramatic monologue and just rolling over and going back to sleep.

Neither of these times were the first, either.

Skyborne Spectacle, for example, starts with Euden having a dream vivid enough and concerning enough that he gets the gang to go to a presumably distant Peng Lai, likely more at the eastern shore of South Grastea since Taiwu is out east too and it's a former colony. Or as Notte puts it: "Heck, we actually came here in the first place because we were warned to do so in some spooky dream."

Imagine that conversation. "Hey guys, I had a dream that this one town on the other side of the continent is in trouble. Mind checking it out just to be sure? ...No, I don't think I'm paranoid. I know it sounds like I am, though."

Imagine the reputation all these kind of things spark, even just the one time, since goodness knows Notte was more than happy to parade around the fact that they were here because of a dream. Sure, sure, there may have been more 'mundane' magic at hand since Xu Fu was purposefully trying to reach him, but details tend to get caught up in the mix. All the average townsfolk probably hear is that this one band of New Alberians came to town because their leader 'had a dream of disaster' coincidentally around their New Year's celebrations and was right.

Perhaps there was some good old conspiracy theories popping up that the Prince was clairvoyant or a prophet like Verica or something and that's how New Alberia's been kicking against all odds for so long! Why settle with one prophet when you can have MORE?!

Honestly, I could almost see this bringing its own sort of trouble to Euden. He seems prone to nightmares, a tendency that even carried over to the comics (though they generally featured more...benign? nightmares of Celliera transforming Luca into TooBuff!Luca). What are the odds that this dream isn't indicative of a problem, provided that it isn't over something that was based in the past and already occurred? That's a fast track to needless anxiety and stress right there.

Even aside from that, having anyone honestly think you're able to predict the future is its own nuisance. The attention might be fawning at first or just desperate to hear more predictions, but it can just as easily turn to hatred for not 'sharing' the foresight he's obviously been having and thus letting x disaster occur.

So yeah. They probably should've invested more money into securing Euden's room from time-traveling dragons and strange men, even if it'd only likely weed out an assassin or two in reality since those two aren't...normal home invaders. Let Euden sleep in peace 2023

#Euden writing in his diary: Last night I dreamt that everyone turned into strawberries. I don't think that one is going to happen though.#“...I hope not”#Next day some random surprise villager: “What do you see for the future Your Highness?!”#Tired Euden blearily mutters: “Fruit?”#Lo and behold a miraculous harvest of fruit in New Alberia! What fortune! What foresight!#And Euden just becomes Alberian Nostradamus where people will twist his 'predictions' in impossible knots just to prove that he CAN #...see the future.#dragalia #dragalia lost

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mariacallous · 2 months

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Donald Trump’s supporters believe the “deep state” is out to get him – even though, if the USA had a deep state worthy of the name, the CIA would have sent a hitman to dispatch Trump years ago.

The Tory press, Liz Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and their pals on the Tory right blame an establishment plot for the failure of 14 years of Tory rule – rather than blaming – oh I don’t know, let’s pick an example at random – themselves.

Everywhere you see the new right of the 21st century embracing the conspiracy theory of the old left of the 20th century. Democracy is in danger because the unelected elite in business, the civil service and the media will never allow real change.

I am not making a case for moral or political equivalence. Indeed, I want to argue that the radical right matters more than the left for one simple reason: the radical right actually wins power.

Before going any further, here is how the sworn enemies can look like bosom buddies

To understand the mental universe of the rulers of the UK and, if our luck fails us, the future rulers of the US, come back with me 40 years to the left of the 1980s.

We, too, were raging against a world that seemed to have escaped our control. Voters, including working class voters, had put Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in power, and they kept them there, despite the right of the day presiding over extraordinary levels of unemployment. The Cold War was entering a terrifying phase. The Soviet Union and the USA were placing medium-range nuclear weapons in Europe and threatening to turn the continent into a battlefield.

If I could offer you one book that encapsulates the mood on the 1980s left, I would offer Chris Mullin’s A Very British Coup, published in 1982 and turned into a TV drama later in the decade. (See above).

It’s still worth reading and watching, if you have a few hours. I have nothing against it as drama. But the best way to view is as a map of what were then left-wing fears.

Mullin was a Labour MP and a follower of Tony Benn, the left-wing champion of the day. Benn failed to become Labour leader or even deputy leader. But inspired by the movement he represented, the party swung to the left in the 1980s. No good did it do Labour. It went down to landslide defeats in 1983 and 1987. I can still remember feeling scared and astonished as a young man as I watched Mrs Thatcher crush all opposition.

Mullin escaped from defeat into a kind of fantasy world. He imagined what the “elite” of the day would do to a radical Labour government. Mullin created Harry Perkins, a working-class Labour leader. He became prime minister, and was determined to put in place a Bennite programme.

Media monopolies would go, under Mullin’s fictional Labour government, so out with Rupert Murdoch. The UK would commit to unilateral nuclear disarmament, and withdraw from Europe (the old left hated Europe with a passion that matches that of today’s new Right). It would support a Palestinian state, nationalisation…and all the other courses on the left’s menu du jour.

“'Our ruling class have never been up for re-election before,” cries Perkins. “But I hereby serve notice on behalf of the people of Great Britain that their time has come.’ Such language had never been heard from a British Prime Minister before. Although received with rapture in Sheffield town hall, Harry Perkins’ words burst upon the Athenaeum as though the end of the world was at hand. Which, in a manner of speaking, it was.”

The Athenaeum for readers unfamiliar with the geography of the British class system is an establishment Pall Mall club, where in the imagination of Mullin and many, many thousands of others the privileged meet to plot their wicked schemes.

Which Mullins’ establishment duly does. It leaks details of Labour politicians’ affairs to the gutter press and drives their families to suicide. The CIA conspires to make the country ungovernable. The civil service and the military conspire against the elected government they are sworn to serve.

I could go on but you get the picture. The power elite will never allow the left to govern.

And now it is right-wing politicians who sound like the left of the 1980s. Here is Jacob Rees-Mogg, a faux aristocratic populist at this week’s launch of the satirically titled “Popular Conservatism” movement. He was a snob looking for a mob to raise

Rees-Mogg began with the language of the 1790s and quoted the anti-Jacobin Tory politician George Canning denouncing the cosmopolitan progressives of Georgian England.

“A steady patriot of the world alone, The friend of every country but his own”

Well, OK, and fair enough. Canning has been proved right down the generations. Liberals and leftists have often laid themselves open to charges of lacking patriotism. In Chris Mullin’s day we were demanding that the UK give up its nuclear weapons in return for nothing at all from the Soviet Union, to cite one of many examples.

And, yet after 14 years of Conservative rule, who is betraying whom? Who is the true friend of this country?

Wages have not increased, the public realm is derelict, the country is in decline.

Rees-Mogg refused to accept responsibility. Instead, he spent much of his speech laying into British judges. The reason this government had failed to stop asylum seekers reaching these shores was, he said, the fault of the judicial enemy within.

Speaking alongside him was Liz Truss, the Lady Jane Grey of the Conservative party. In her 49 days in power, she crashed the economy, sent interest rates hurtling upwards, and nearly destroyed the private pension industries.

Commentators covering the event focused on the admittedly absurd spectacle of the most unpopular prime minister ever appearing at a “popular conservatism” conference.

They missed the construction of a myth. Truss’s economic policy was as much a fantasy as any of the ideas of the defeated left of my youth.

When they were in power, Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced unfunded tax cuts for the rich. There were no reductions in public spending to pay for them, just the belief that tax cuts would magically pay for themselves – an idea as utopian in its way as the left’s belief in the 1980s that, if the UK unilaterally disarmed, the USSR would do the same.

Despite it burning in flames, the right cannot let go of the dream, as Truss proved with her speech

“The left don’t just compete with us at the ballot box now. They also work to take over our institutions. We see it in much of the media, we see it in the corporations, we see it in the quangos and much of the bureaucracy that emerged under Tony Blair.”

And which quangos did Ms Truss have in mind?

The Office of Budget Responsibility, home to a rather tame bunch of economists, the right wants to blame for the economic disaster Truss let loose on the British.

Notice the conspiracy theory. The crash in the British economy was brought about because generally rather right-wing men (and the occasional woman) working in the bond markets concluded that the government of the United Kingdom was in the hands of “morons”.

Rather than accept the judgement of her peers. Truss and those around her want to blame the Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Office for Budget Responsibility for the Conservative party’s mistakes

But note, too, how the right appropriated the conspiracy theory of the left.

One of the leftists in Mullins’ drama declares that

“They’ll never let a Labour government headed by Harry Perkins take power,” he told her.”

‘Who’re ‘they’?’ she had asked innocently.

‘Your friends in the City, the newspaper owners, the civil servants, all them sort of people’.”

Today he might be a Tory explaining why, to use Truss’s list, the media, the corporations and the quangos will never allow a truly Conservative government to enforce the “will of the people”.

Paranoia has its consolations. The left of the 1980s was destroyed in election after election. And yet it could think that it did not fail because leaving Europe and unilaterally disarming were terrible ideas. Rather we could believe a vast conspiracy had brainwashed the public into voting against its interests.

Conservatives think the same today, and the temptation is to make some glib remark about the “horseshoe theory” proving that the radical left and right aren’t so different after all and leave it there.

But there is one very striking difference: the radical left loses but the radical right wins.

The UK is so clearly moving towards electing a Labour government we can miss the wider picture that everywhere you look radical right parties are advancing.

Indeed, even out of power Donald Trump is controlling our lives. He is threatening to throw Ukraine to Putin and pull US forces from Europe, and can rely on his allies in the US Congress to make his malign dreams come true.

Despite calling themselves patriots, Rees Mogg and Truss are all for Trump. They prefer his America to NATO and the UK’s defence interest because Trump’s success and the successes of the European radical right allows them to believe that they are not out of the game yet.

And they may not be wrong. Unless we can find arguments to defeat them, they will be back.

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earth-93 · 3 months

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BRIGADE FILES: HULK (Part 1)

Stars & Stripes Hotline [Version 1.14]

C: \login\Nowhere_Man

C:\Users\mini\BrigadeFiles\Avengers

Directory of C: \BrigadeFiles\Avengers

04/27/2006 11: 43 AM Total Files Listed: 16 File(s) 538, 687 bytes

Directory of C:\BrigadeFiles\Avengers\BANNER_BRUCE.txt

[file data =

Main Alias/Moniker: Hulk

Legal Name: Dr. Bruce Robert Banner

Other Aliases: Doc, Big Guy, Hulkster, Greenfoot, Jade Jaws, Green Giant, Shrek

Date of Birth: May 19th, 1975 (Age: 30)

Status: Alive

Species: Human Mutate (Gamma Mutate)

Sex: Male

Gender: Cisgender

Height/Weight: [Bruce] 5'8'' (173cm) / 125 lbs (57kg); [Hulk] 7' - 8'5'' (2 - 2.5m) / 1,150 - 4,000 lbs (680 - 1,815kg)

Hair/Eye Color: [Bruce] Brown / Brown; [Hulk] Black / Green

Timeline (1975 - 1985): My past with Bruce aside, I don't think you need me to tell you that most of what's been written about the Hulk is bull. Nothing but conspiracy rags that make parsing the fact from the fiction even harder (If I were a more paranoid type, I'd say it's on purpose. I wouldn't put it past Ross or SHIELD to keep the public on their toes about Bruce, no matter how much good press he gets. I'm just as biased as any other guy, but I'm biased in the sense that I was just some kid that a so-called monster tried to help. Do with that what you will.

Bruce has said that his earliest memory was being pulled out from a car wreck by his dad during a rainy night. Brian Banner went back to get his wife, but by then the car had sunk so deep into the muddy earth that he couldn't find the strength to pull her out. That moment was totally where Old Man Banner's obsession with strength first came from. Once the media got a hold of the Hulk's identity, a lot of those write-ups loved to embellish Bruce's childhood. Don't get it twisted, Brian Banner wasn't the Devil, but he was a mean sonuvabitch. He would at least have his stepmom Rebecca in his life, once the Banners moved to New Mexico. To this day, Bruce still thinks of her fondly.

Brian himself was almost never home, instead toiling away at his gig at Desert State. See, Brian Banner was a physician with a specialty in glands. After he failed to pull his first wife out of that wreck, he became fixated on the theory of "hysterical strength." You know those stories you hear about moms being able to lift whole cars to save their babies? No scientist has ever been able to square away how and why that happens, but Old Man Banner was hellbent on being the one to crack it. When the higher-ups are Desert State shot down his research, he decided to keep going at home.

Timeline (1985 - 1991): To this day, Bruce has never said what really went down that night. As far as I know, his mind just blocked it out. I have my theories, but if I'm resorting to speculation I'm no better than one of those rag pieces. All I know for sure is what was put on the police report: The morning after a nasty storm, authorities swept through the Banner household smashed up, Rebecca beaten to death, and Bruce left in a shock in the same room as the body. A few days later, Brian was found in the middle of the desert, naked and hysterical. He was charged with murdering Rebecca and was given life.

Another misconception about Bruce is that his anger issues only came about once he went green. What he went through, that's where it all started, and you don't even have to trust me on that. His aunt and uncle would back me up, since they were the ones who took Bruce in. Back then, Bruce was unresponsive, quick to anger, and would throw a fit if he ever felt cornered or too agitated. He wasn't too responsive to treatment at first, either. What turned it all around for Bruce was his cousin, Jen. She was born a year before his aunt and uncle took him in, and even though they did their best with him, they had understandable worries about Bruce being around Jen. He says this is what first made him try to take treatment seriously. Earning that trust from his aunt and uncle. To this day, the two see each other more as siblings than cousins.

He put a lid on his anger issues, but Bruce's social skills never really picked up. His brains, though, they never seemed to stop growing. So when he got an in at the Tomorrow Academy across the country, his aunt and uncle couldn't see a downside. I have my theories Ross had his eye on Bruce all the way back then because of who his old man was, but I can't back that claim--yet. Even if I can't make a direct connection, Ross still definitely had his finger on the place. That meant having an extended stay in New York, and his kid popping in the Academy from time to time. That's how Bruce first met Betty. In spite of himself, Bruce managed to strike something up with Betty, and they kept in you well after the Academy's shutdown. Even when Bruce had any school in the world to nab his PhD, he went with NJIT so he would be closer to Betty. Neither of them could have imagined this would seal Bruce's fate.

Timeline (1991 - 1998): Betty was in Jersey because she was one of the first recruits for the newly-minted SHIELD Comm School. She wanted to keep up the family military tradition by getting into spy work, but even back then she was a sleuth at heart. Case in point, when she and Bruce got close enough he started opening up about his past, Betty couldn't just leave it be. I don't know if it was empathy to help Bruce get closure, or just a fixation on solving a mystery. Whatever it was, Betty put together an investigation on what Brian was researching before he killed Rebecca and showed it to Bruce.

In turn, a switch went off in Bruce when he poured over his old man's work in hysterical strength. Like father, like son, Bruce became obsessed with finishing his old man's work to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. SHIELD was either desperate, or Bruce made one heckuva pitch, because in no time at all a new Super-Solider project was in the works. The ink on Bruce's pHd wasn't even dry before a base in the desert was installed to further explore his theories.

Call it trauma, shame, fear, or even some lingering loyalty to the powers that victimized him, but Bruce has never come clean about what went down at Project Gamma. From what I personally know, their experiments went well past any ethical boundaries. A young man looking for some closer was quickly finding things spinning out of his control, that's a lot on your conscience. And that all came crashing down on that one fateful day, when an internal sabotage caused a radiation leak, then a breakout of its test subjects—helped by a big, green giant barrelling through the walls and security for them.

continue data? y/n]

#comics #fanfic #marvel #earth93 #comic books #the avengers #hulk #incredible hulk #bruce banner #betty ross #rick jones #thunderbolt ross

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gammaliminal · 10 months

Text

Who are we? What are we?

we are gammaliminal, or liminal creatives. we are an account run by two entities, with a shared interest in obscure & mainstream source games and source itself, theory-crafting fan work & concepts as a love-letter of sorts to the work that inspires us, and are indie enthusiasts.

our two members are close. this statement will not be elaborated on.

ΔΘ | she/it - a brief introduction.

i am ΔΘ. i am a therian, neurodivergent and disabled queer game enthusiast with interests in old competitive titles such as classic tetris & melee, casual titles like minecraft & animal crossing, and source titles, including team fortress 2, counter-strike, half life (the source versions), fistful of frags and others. For miscellaneous game interests, i enjoy games such as combat master, celeste, ultrakill, vrchat and any game produced by stress level zero.

i created this blog for me and Ξλ to have a shared space to post about our ideas, and also for us to just casually lurk through tumblr. partially due to account restrictions on post viewing.

notes

- i did not come up with the idea of associating ΔΘ with an indicator of being therian. I am simply using that tag as a self-indicator here due to how significant being therian is to me.

- contrary to Ξλ's notes, it did not bother me for this page. it just kept lightly asking for a lil while because i kept forgetting :3c

- i may accidentally ignore questions, responses or anything of the sort. i forget to respond to those things a lot due to recurring memory problems o-o

Ξλ | it/its - a brief introduction².

i am Ξλ! a self-described "mad artist" who's heavily neurodivergent and very queer with a from-birth enthusiasm with games. examples of favorites include anything source engine related*, rivals of aether, darkwood, most frictional games stuff, deep rock galactic, receiver 1 and receiver 2, world of horror, ftl and into the breach, gloomwood, and alien: isolation.

if you don't know some or any of those, then yeah that's expected >:3c

i bothered ΔΘ for us having a shared space to post and share our weiirrrddd ideas. also, to let us be able to browse tumblr without being accosted, by tumblr.

notes

- Ξλ is a tag i came up with by myself, i have no idea if it means anything beyond as my tag.

- *does not include the cautionary tale of Hunt Down the Freeman.

Current Projects

- Neon Troupe

- heavily inspired by OW and TF2, basically ripping off the feel of playing TF2 since no game has done it before, also will be built in source - we are heavily underqualified - project intro

- Project Theta

- potentially a half-life fangame? currently ironing out things like the campaign, different NPC's and weapons. - meant to be more so a scrappy survival-horror upward battle

- Unnamed TF2C Projects

- team fortress 2 classic mods that add various bits of content! including cut content that will be revived, our own regular custom content ideas, and absolutely outrageous, silly shit.

- Project Strangelove

- inspired by the tone of tf2, this is a spoof on spy thrillers set in an alternate 60s where you are assembling a conspiracy! also may be known later as How to Stop Worrying.

- Project Liminality (finally something relating to liminal spaces /lh)

- a 90s corporate cosmic horror roguelike job survival sim inspired by amnesia: the bunker and alien: isolation.

- Project Spite

- a strategy-horror game based around being a ragtag group of survivors, surviving a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-style zone of magical shit (TM). - main theme is surviving with your comrades no matter what, subsisting on spite alone if nothing else.

- A Catastrophe, In Hindsight

- a retrofuturistic coop class-based game about surviving the workday hopefully unscathed - Has a social-deduction-style gamemode layered on top of it with most traitors still wanting to get through the day - project intro

#introduction #blog intro #introducing us #project #games #source engine #team fortress 2 #tf2 #hl2 #half life 2 #neurodivergent #queer #duo #liminal #gaming #casual gameplay

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mitchietorrez · 4 months

Text

MTV'S YOU HAD TO BE THERE : with mitchie alcantara - torres.

ALL ABOUT SHANE GRAY.

MITCHIE : dame besitos (give me kisses) is an album filled with songs that i wrote at my last summer of camp rock. it’s really just love letters to shane that represented our youth and who we were and still are. so mi amor, you better love this album or else the dogs and i are going to sinaloa for the weekend!

INTERVIEWER : there’s this big conspiracy theory about you and shane and these cowboy hats. how the connect 3 fans think he’s leaving the band to form a duet with you instead. it’s trending all over!

MITCHIE : pinche cabrón! no okay so let me explain! what happens is that this man goes into our - my closet - and steals my hats before his shows. i don’t even realize until videos are posted!

INTERVIEWER : does your family approve of your relationship with the connect 3 singer, shane gray considering what his past is like?

MITCHIE : my mami is probably our biggest supporter in the family. i’m the first granddaughter, niece, my parents only child. the first of my generation. it’s not a matter of whether they like him or not. my family is just protective over me regardless of who i date.

TOURING, REPRESENTATION AND THE SINGLES.

MITCHIE : this tour has been an absolute dream come true. i have worked my ass off to get to this point and like it’s showing not only in me, but my friends, family and fans.

MITCHIE : i mean, it's crazy that i'm going to these latin countries to perform my music pero i'm just a girl from inglewood, california. now i'm also considered representation. like when did that happen?

MITCHIE : i love the feedback i’ve gotten about everywhere and my happy ending. i was conflicted about releasing my happy ending because it’s a sad vault song but shane agreed it needed to be added.

ADDRESSING RUMORS AND THE DOCUFILM.

INTERVIEWER : tess tyler was spotted leaving your concert the other night in new york city. care to address the rivalry?

MITCHIE : my abuelita always said: “si no vas a decir nada bueno, mejor no digas nada.” ( if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all ) i’m kidding. well, she did say that but, no - tess is great. you just have to … dig deep with her. that’s all i’m gonna say.

INTERVIEWER : you have a new documentary coming out on hbo max about the making of your album, your childhood and your summers at camp rock.

MITCHIE : no yeah! from the wood, with kisses. it talks about everything close to me. to me, it’s the most vulnerable i have ever been with the public about who i really am. where i really come from.

INTERVIEWER : thank you for being on mtvnews. stay tuned to see an exclusive sneak peek from mitchie torres new album documentary, from the wood, with kisses.

#re : interviews.#my edits.#i'd like 2 thx annie 4 teaching me abt transitions ur my rockstar bby <3 #re : shane gray.#re : tess tyler.#re : vis.

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psychicpanic · 18 days

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different anon but re: starseeds and the far right - ufo culture is tied to white supremacist and far right thinking because it hinges on the idea that there are 'others among us' who are not human in the same way and on the different spiritual 'values' of people. starseeds and the associated theories specifically have been used by white new age groups to separate themselves from others and be 'special' and a higher status of being like other rebirth or ufo-theosophical cult theory. it goes deep and i won't talk too much in one singular anon this i'm sure will be a long read anyway, but it originates in biological racism in the form of theoretical evolutionary subraces of people (lemurian, aryan, atlantean). that subrace talk leads into aryan theory which, bluntly, is the same 'aryan' as in the nazi rhetoric. nazism which then ties into the idea of ancient aliens/astronauts and more-less advanced 'subcategories' of humans; ancient astronauts was popularised as a theory by a man working with a former editor for a nazi newspaper (erich von däniken and utz utermann) to publish one of the first major books on the subject. ufo theosophy also speaks regularly about indigo children; adhd notoriously has been brushed off by parents as a child being 'indigo' as a way not to deal with it. indigo children and starseeds are the same, conceptually. they're sister theorums. all of the above are common features of a new age -> far right Qanon pipeline used to propagate white supremacist thinking. cults like ots, the seekers, and qanon are spirals branching from this kind of new age spirituality and rely on starseed/ufo theosophy. you can verify all of this. i hope none of this comes across patronising or belittling. i agree with the other anon in that you seem very well-meaning and sweet. i don't say any of this trying to make you feel any way. i don't know if the other anon has spoken more to you about it yet. i would be very careful about engaging with this kind of new age theosophy though. i'm sorry this got so incredibly long as well. tl;dr - starseeds are born from ufo theosophical occulture, which has many hands in white supremacist cults like qanon who engage with the other facets of the same theosophy, like ancient aliens and lizard people infiltrators.

hi anon thanks so much for this!! ik this is a lot and i appreciate you taking the time out of your day to inform me. it doesn’t feel patronizing or belittling at all 🫂

i was aware of the racist r*ptillian conspiracy (i wish i had better words to refer to it but yeah), the ableism of indigo / crystal / rainbow children, etc but was unaware of some information u told me. again, 95% of the information i receive and trust is from the trusted ladies at moondancemagik.com, from the book The Ra Material, and readings i receive (which i rarely get anyway).

since the only information i really consume is from the spirit workers, i was under the impression that the word ‘starseed’ was another word for ‘alien’. (i stay away from ‘you are an indigo / crystal child’ comments and ‘you are a x ‘starseed’’ comments (‘starseed’ referring to your current body)). i still believe aliens exist, but im not really keen on anything besides that. from now on when i refer to aliens (because i really do believe some exist) i will just refer to them as ‘aliens’. aliens to me j means life from a different star or planet. i hope there’s nothing wrong with that. there really are no strings attached to any conspiracies or anything. if there is a problem with it please rlly let me know.

i was unfortunately part of a cult for over a year that almost killed me, so now i am very careful of following or being any part of any other new age ideologies and stuff. i am sooo over them and think they are ridiculous.

i hope i covered everything, im really sorry for the trouble and i really didn’t mean any at all. i will keep this anon forever to look back on 🫂 thanks so much

#ask

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karuvapatta · 11 months

Text

More Jon/Elias nonsense. Enjoy!

Many, many thanks to everyone still reading this thing <3 I'd love to know your thoughts, if you care to share them!

***

“Statement ends.”

It takes a few seconds for Jon to come back to his senses. The tape recorder in his hand is still whirling, hungry for more words. But Jon is done for now. Sated.

He tells himself it isn’t relief he is feeling. It shouldn’t be. But he is tired of lying, so he lets the thought go with a deep sigh.

Elias is watching him. At some point he must have let go of Jon. There is space between them, on the couch; not enough space for propriety, with their thighs almost touching, and Elias sprawled back, his arm resting on the couch, behind Jon’s back. Certainly there is nothing innocent or proper about the way he watches Jon right now, intent and pleased and hungry.

“You had your fun, then?” Jon asks.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Elias says simply. “Am I not allowed to be?”

Jon is, in fact, feeling a lot better. So much so he is beginning to question his decision to invite Elias into his home. It’s supposed to be his space; he is meant to be safe here. And the man next to him is everything except safe.

Belatedly, Jon switches off the recorder. Habit has him retrieve the cassette and sign it with the case number. He will have to file it away on Monday, and he doesn’t want it to get lost or mixed up in the meantime.

“I’m going to make tea,” he says. Mostly he needs to be alone right now. “Would you like some?”

“Please,” Elias says.

It’s still raining. Jon pours water into the kettle and sets it down on the stove to boil. He prepares two cups. There’s a carton of milk in his fridge, long past its expiry date; he sniffs it and recoils at the smell, before pouring the whole lot of it down the kitchen sink. There isn’t much left in his fridge that’s actually edible, which is a shame. He’s hungry now, in a normal, human way. Maybe they can order take-out, if Elias decides to stay over.

The kettle whistles. Jon waits a bit – Martin claims you cannot pour boiling water on the tea leaves – before remembering that he hasn’t actually prepared them yet.

The tea needs to seep for three minutes. Jon grabs the ice-pack from the freezer and touches it to his face. Hopefully the heat and swelling will leech away before Monday rolls around.

He brings the mugs and a small jar of honey back to the living room.

“Sorry,” he says. “I don’t have any milk.”

“That’s fine,” Elias says mildly.

He is standing by the bookshelves, examining Jon’s collection. It’s—definitely odd, for him to be here. Jon watches, warily, as Elias pulls out Jon’s binder on the Magnus Institute. It’s mostly articles, newspaper clippings, some bits printed out from the official website and any other place he found it mentioned. There is a section on Jonah Magnus himself, as well, although the information there was sparse.

“This is quite thorough,” Elias says, with evident amusement.

“I wanted to be prepared before I started working there,” Jon says. “Sadly, my research omitted a few key details.”

Opinions on the Institute vary. It’s not like there aren’t any conspiracy theories floating around the web or within Oxford academic circles – it’s just that the truth is much worse than any of them. But, of course, younger Jonathan Sims dismissed them all as nonsensical and flung himself face-first into the Devil’s waiting embrace.

Elias doesn’t respond. He puts the binder away and checks the other titles. Some newer additions, like a book on Smirke’s architecture that Jon borrowed from Tim, or the one on basics of cybersecurity Jon’s been trying to figure out with Sasha’s help. There’s novels and historical non-fiction, some that Jon has already read, some that he plans on reading in the future. Elias pauses on the House of Leaves, considering it.

“Have you read it?” Jon asks.

Elias shakes his head. “No. It’s fairly new, isn’t it? I’m still working my way through the 1940s and 1950s.”

“You’re reading books according to the date of publication?” Jon asks.

“It’s a pretty efficient system,” Elias says, somewhat defensively. “I make occasional exceptions for contemporary literature, if it warrants it. And I keep up to date on anything overtly occult. But novels are just a hobby.”

Jon can’t help but smile at that. His own approach to book selection is less methodical and more haphazard, boiling down to whatever catches his attention in the moment. It’s always been that way.

“Well, you should read this one. You’ll like it.”

Elias looks at him, eyebrows raised. But he picks it up nonetheless, skimming his fingers over the cover.

“I made tea,” Jon reminds him.

“Mhmm.” Elias barely acknowledges him. He’s opened it now, and Jon recognizes the look of a man who’d be content to stand still for hours and devour the book in his hands until something managed to distract him. It’s—it’s actually quite endearing.

Luckily Jon’s phone rings, so he doesn’t have to stand there and watch his boss like a creep. It’s still on the kitchen table, ringing its generic little tune. Who on Earth would be calling him on a Saturday?

Martin Blackwood, the phone proclaims. Of course. The heavy, anxious feeling returns to Jon’s stomach.

“Hello?” he asks.

“Jon?” Martin says, surprised.

“Who did you expect?” Jon asks, perhaps a touch too aggressive.

“Oh. I, uh,” Martin stammers. “I just wasn’t sure if you were going to pick up.”

Jon can feel his cheeks flush with shame and anger. He isn’t quite sure if he’s angry at Martin or at himself, but it doesn’t stop him from snapping back: “Well, I did. Was there anything you needed?”

Martin is quiet for a moment. “I wanted to ask if you’re okay,” he says softly.

Soft, always so damn soft. Jon cannot deal with soft, not now. He knows what he is, Martin knows what he is, so why this entire charade?

“I’m fine,” he says.

“And—your face? Tim was really worried…”

“My face is also fine,” Jon says. Then, because it would nag at him otherwise: “How’s Tim’s hand?”

“It’s fine,” Martin says. “Apparently he took boxing classes at some point? He says it’s really easy to break your fingers when punching someone, but they taught him how to do it properly.”

“Yes, I can attest to his skill in the area,” Jon says. He touches his cheek and winces. “Was there anything else?”

“You said—well, you said you haven’t been sleeping, so I wanted to ask…”

“I’m fine, Martin,” Jon says, louder than he intended. “You don’t need to worry about me. I appreciate it, but it really isn’t necessary.” Just leave me alone, he doesn’t say. Leave me alone, because I’d rather it happen right now than in the future, after I forget how to live without you. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“Are you sure you want to go back to the Archives?” Martin asks, something like panic lacing his tone. “This place—it isn’t good for you, Jon. I’m sure Elias will give you a few days off…”

“No!” Jon says. The thought of leaving the Archives for an extended period of time is unpleasant and wrong; he shudders at the mere idea. “No,” he repeats. “I have to—I have to go back. You don’t understand…”

“I’m trying to,” Martin says. “I want to help you, but—”

“Well then stop pestering me about it,” Jon says sharply. “Goodbye Martin.”

There’s a beat of tense silence, before Martin sighs, defeated. “Bye, Jon.”

Jon jabs at the screen to end the call.

He was too harsh on Martin. He knows that. He’s always been too harsh on Martin. And yet Martin continues to worry about him, and bring him tea, and is so damn kind—

Jon draws in a shuddering breath. He cannot, will not think about Martin right now. Elias is here, and Jon needs to learn to keep his powers under control before he faces his assistants again. Or any other human being, for that matter.

Elias has sat down in the meantime, on the couch beneath the lamp, where the light is better. He’s sipping the tea Jon made for him, and reading the book Jon recommended. It is weirdly, shockingly domestic. He hasn’t often thought about Elias in this manner. First he was simply a rather eccentric boss, and an authority on the paranormal; then an actual murderer; finally an agent of an eldritch entity, capable of reading and influencing the minds of others. What else is there to Elias Bouchard that Jon has yet to learn? And why is the thought enticing?

He should be horrified. He knows that. So why isn’t he?

“Elias?” Jon asks.

“Hmm?”

Jon takes in a deep breath.

“Can you stop what’s happening to me?” he asks.

Elias doesn’t even look up from the page. “Do you honestly want me to?”

“I—” The answer is yes. It should be. He knows it should be.

He can’t bring himself to say it.

Finally, Elias looks up. His features soften a little once he sees the state Jon has worked himself into.

“No,” he says. “I cannot stop it. You’re the Archivist, Jon. You belong to the Beholding. And to me.”

“Fuck you,” Jon says, but there’s no bite to it.

Elias looks around for something – a bookmark, Jon assumes. He picks up a sticky note and carefully inserts it before closing the book and setting it down on the table.

“You wanted to learn more about your powers,” he says. He is in full business mode now, sitting straight in the chair, his fingers steepled together. “Use them. Ask me a question.”

Jon shivers. He tries to recall that buzzing sensation on his tongue, the need to know.

Except his head is mostly empty right now, so he just blurts out the first question that comes to mind.

“What’s between you and Peter Lukas?”

Elias, damn him, laughs. It’s a nice laugh, full of surprise and genuine amusement.

“Ask me a simpler question, Archivist,” he says. “There’s quite a long history there.” His eyes crinkle when he smiles, the crow’s feet becoming more pronounced. And there’s something about the way he watches Jon that makes Jon’s heartrate pick up; a certain weight, attentive and considering. He wonders if it’s the Eye or Elias himself.

“Who is he, then?” Jon asks.

“Captain of the Tundra. Prominent member of the Lukas family. A crucial benefactor of the Institute. Avatar of the Lonely.” Elias smiles. “My ex-husband.”

“What?”

Jon sits back, dumbfounded. He—well, he should have expected something like this. They did seem awfully close. And Peter was willing to kidnap Jon just to annoy Elias, which in retrospect might have been part of some sick power-play between the two of them. But the thought of Elias and that silent, cold, distant man? Married?

Elias looks entirely too satisfied with himself when he regards Jon through narrowed eyes. “Are you jealous, Archivist?”

“No!” Jon says quickly. Too quickly.

Well, this is what he gets for asking personal questions. And he isn’t even actually sure if Elias is answering them of his own volition, or if it’s because Jon compelled him to. He isn’t sure if Elias isn’t lying.

He isn’t.

The knowledge arrives in his head, unbidden. He shivers, feeling the weight of the Eye’s presence. Is it watching them, now?

“You feel it, then?” Elias asks.

“I—yes. I think so.” He doesn’t need to ask for clarification. Cold sweat is beading on his forehead, that persistent sensation of being observed prickling in the back of his neck. He thought it was just his paranoia, but, well.

God, he wishes it was just paranoia. Something he might treat with therapy and medication, not that persistent dread…

“When did you learn about the paranormal?” he asks. “When did you believe it was real?”

Again, Elias smiles.

“I cannot give you the exact date,” he says. “But I was seventeen years old.”

Jon shakes his head. His mind is still foggy, swirling with thoughts of Peter Lukas, of the Eye.

“If Peter managed to trap me, would you have saved me from the Lonely?”

This time, it takes a moment for Elias to answer. “No.”

Jon laughs, weakly.

“Great,” he says. “That’s just great.”

“I had every faith you’d manage to get out on your own,” Elias says coolly. “And, as a general rule: do not expect me to save you, Archivist. The point is for you to learn.”

“Yes, I can tell as much,” Jon says. Then, he asks: “I cannot compel you at all, can I? You’re just humouring me.”

Elias is watching, always watching. Assessing Jon from afar. And damn if Jon doesn’t want to bask in the feeling of his approval; if he doesn’t want to make Elias proud. It’s an absurd, toxic impulse, one that he wouldn’t admit to unless someone compelled him to answer. Except Elias doesn’t even need to do that; he can pick the knowledge from Jon’s brain, can look right through his feeble defences. No doubt he knows what he’s doing to Jon right now, when he smiles at him, when he nods his head, and says:

“Very good. You’re paying attention.”

Jon shivers. He can still taste static on his tongue, he can feel the Eye, looking through him. Jon is nothing but a vessel for the Powers, and the idea that he can control it is—laughable. He feels like a child on a playground, being given just enough freedom to swing on the swings or dig through the sandbox, but knowing that someone else brought him here, and someone else will take him home once they decide it’s time for Jon to go.

You can run, says a voice in his head. You can even try to hide. But you cannot hide forever, Archivist. Sooner or later, you’ll have to come back to me.

“I don’t have any choice at all, then?” Jon asks. He knows Elias is reading his thoughts right now; he can almost feel his presence. He closes his eyes and shivers, tries to commit this elusive feeling to memory. If he learns to recognize it, he may learn how to fight it.

“Did you have a choice when it came to attending school, or paying rent, or participating in society?” Elias asks. “When you’re hungry or tired, is it your own choice to eat or sleep? Are you choosing to breathe right now? Your freedom is limited by a number of outside forces. It always has been.” He pauses and considers Jon for a long moment. “You’re taking this relatively well, mind you. Better than I have.”

“Breathing is an involuntary reflex of my own nervous system,” Jon says. “I don’t think it qualifies as an “outside force”.”

Elias glares at him. “It was a figure of speech.”

Jon shrugs. It isn’t actually important. He just felt like saying something to fill in the silence. But Peter Lukas had a point, even if Jon wishes he hasn’t attempted a kidnapping to make it: it is fun to annoy Elias.

“Even so,” Elias says. “Like I told you before: your will is still your own.”

“For the most part.”

“For the most part,” Elias agrees. “There are boundaries, which you must learn to recognize. But within them, you’re free to do as you please.”

His tea’s gone cold. Jon sips it anyway, and tries to take some comfort from its bitter taste.

“This isn’t how I hoped this conversation would go,” he says.

“No, I can’t imagine that it is,” Elias says, infuriatingly calm. His phone chimes; Elias glances at the screen and then checks his watch. He sighs. “Regrettably, I have another meeting scheduled for today. If you’ll excuse me?”

“Yes, of course,” Jon says. Is it another employee having a mental breakdown? He doubts Elias often deals with those, even though, logically, it should be quite common in their line of work. A meeting with sponsors? A follow-up to yesterday’s gala? Some dangerous artifact to move into storage?

“May I?” Elias asks, picking up the House of Leaves from the table.

Jon just shrugs his assent. Let Elias borrow the book. It’s not like Jon has much left he hasn’t taken.

Elias is fussy with his appearance; that isn’t new. He complains about the lack of mirrors in Jon’s apartment. He takes an awfully long time to re-style his hair, even though it looked perfectly fine to Jon. He smooths each crease in his suit jacket and fiddles with his tie until it lies perfectly symmetrical. It makes Jon feel extra self-conscious about his own casual outfit, and the mess of his too-long hair. Worryingly, it also makes him smile.

Finally, Elias puts on his fancy coat, making sure it lies evenly across his shoulders. Jon follows him to the doorstep. He wants to say something, but the words can’t make it past his lips; not until Elias has his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave.

“Elias?”

“Yes?”

Jon drops his gaze, unable to look Elias in the eyes. He says, “I, uh. Thank you. For coming here today.”

He shouldn’t be doing this. Elias is the reason they are all in this mess. And here Jon stands, thanking him for the courtesy of making sure Jon doesn’t starve to death. He made Jon a monster; Jon shouldn’t be grateful that he’s now trying to ease the transition. Jon’s having many feelings he shouldn’t be feeling, and this is perhaps the worst of them.

Jesus. Martin would hate him right now. And he’d be right to do so. Jon desperately wants to hear his voice again; he’d like to be half the man Martin believes him to be.

“Jon.”

Elias is—Elias is so close. Jon forces himself to look up, to meet his gaze. He takes in a deep, unsteady breath.

He’ll talk to him. He will have to talk to Martin. Explain as best as he can. Maybe—maybe Martin can actually figure it out…

Elias is closer still, his hands cupping Jon’s face. He hesitates—Elias never hesitates. It isn’t in his character. And he is afraid—of what? Of Jon? What could Jon possibly do to him?

His mouth is dry. Jon wets his lips, breathing shakily. Elias’s cologne is all he can smell right now; his grey eyes are all he can see. And he’s being stupid, so fucking stupid, this isn’t right—

Elias kisses him.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise. It doesn’t, not really. What’s surprising is this: Elias’s lips, warm, and soft. Elias’s fingers on his face, gentle, handling him like something breakable. Elias’s unsteady exhale, his hesitation before he deepens the kiss. Jon’s own racing heartbeat, his hands on the lapels of Elias’s coat, pulling him closer, until he is trapped, caught between the wall at his back and Elias’s steady form.

It feels safe. It shouldn’t, but it does.

There’s a hand on his waist, on his hip. It slides upwards, beneath the fabric of his hoodie, his shirt. The touch of it on his bare skin is electric, sending shivers down his spine. Jon gasps; he can feel Elias tightening his hold, pushing deeper into his mouth, until there is no space between them at all.

They part, breathless. Jon is looking now, incapable of tearing his gaze away: Elias’s face is flushed, his lips red and swollen, his pupils widened, only a thin ring of silver framing them; it feels like they could swallow him whole. He thinks he may want them to.

His fingers are trembling, ever so slightly; he presses them to Elias’s cheek. He wants to feel the warmth of his skin, the texture of it. The soft flesh and solid bone underneath. That, too, he wants to commit to memory. He could fill in an entire room in his Archives with everything he’s learned about Elias.

“Your, uh,” he says. “Your meeting?”

Elias blinks, as if he had forgotten. As if Jon occupied all of his attention right now.

“Right,” he says. He makes no move to leave; he kisses Jon again, both his hands on Jon’s waist now, working their way under his shirt.

The damn phone chimes again. Elias pauses, ragged breaths hot and damp on Jon’s lips.

“Fuck,” he says, quietly.

He steps away. Jon makes no such attempts, content to hold onto the wall behind his back and just breathe.

“This was—” Elias begins.

“Highly inappropriate,” Jon says.

“And won’t happen again.”

“No. It won’t.”

“Right,” Elias says. “Goodbye, Jonathan.”

And then he’s gone.

#jonelias #jonathan sims #elias bouchard #the beholding ships it btw #its servants are having tasty new feelings and also look very cute together

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goodqueenaly · 1 year

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hi! love your analyses!

was tywin sleeping with/working with shae from the beginning? using her as a spy on tyrion or was the moment whrn tyrion kiled tywin the first time shae slept with him? the first time i read that section i was so confused as i didnt really get how deep/long the whole tywin/relationship was. ive seen posts that say he saw her for the first time at the trial snd decided to sleep with her then but what proof is there of that? can a longer shae/tywin conspiracy be really ruled out?

I don't see any evidence that Tywin was ever working with Shae (unless someone would consider Tywin demanding sex from Shae in the aftermath of Tyrion's trial as Tywin "working with" her, which I personally would not). After all, Cersei thinks of Shae doing this after Tyrion is condemned:

Shae, her name was Shae. They had last spoken the night before the dwarf's trial by combat, after that smiling Dornish snake offered to champion him. Shae had been asking about some jewels Tyrion had given her, and certain promises Cersei might have made, a manse in the city and a knight to marry her. The queen made it plain that the whore would have nothing of her until she told them where Sansa Stark had gone. "You were her maid. Do you expect me to believe that you knew nothing of her plans?" she had said. Shae left in tears.

If Shae had been working with Tywin for an extended period of time prior to Tyrion's downfall, why would Shae have gone to Cersei in the aftermath of that downfall - and indeed, why would Cersei remember herself promising Shae "a manse in the city and a knight to marry her"? Supposing Shae had been Tywin's agent for some time (by some reckonings of the theory, in fact, as far back as AGOT), wouldn't Shae have gone to Tywin directly to cash in, so to speak, on that agent relationship - "I did my part spying and testifying, now you give me what I want/you promised"? By contrast, the fact that Shae had "left in tears" following Cersei's refusal to make good on her own promises suggests quite clearly to me that Shae decided in that moment, and only in that moment, to approach Tywin - going above Cersei's head (and Tyrion's, in fact) to the lord of the family and all-powerful Hand, to see what he could offer when two other Lannisters in positions of royal power had failed her.

If I am going to believe a theory, then I need to see evidence for a theory; it is not enough for someone simply to say "you can't rule it out as a possibility". I see no evidence for any idea that Tywin engaged Shae as an agent at any point or that he had any direct involvement with Shae before demanding sex from her at the end of ASOS. Nothing about the stories Shae and Bronn tell suggest Tywin's involvement or indeed any great amount of mystery: Tyrion had dispatched Bronn to "find him a likely whore", and both Shae and Bronn report that she, Shae, was a camp follower engaged as a sex worker by a minor Lannister retainer before Bronn claimed her for Tyrion (with Shae even naming the man, a name that apparently provokes no comment or question from Tyrion). Further, Tywin had made clear repeatedly that he was not going to tolerate Tyrion having a "whore" at court with him: point blank saying as much during Tyrion's final AGOT chapter, violently whipping Alayaya and casting her out after the Blackwater under the belief that she was Tyrion's lover, and threatening to hang any more "whores" he caught in Tyrion's bed at the start of ASOS. If Tywin, who firmly believed he could command and control his children's lives, really wanted to use Shae as a spy (assuming there was even anything useful to glean from Shae, which I'm not , why would he continually threaten Tyrion against keeping a "whore" like Shae around - wouldn't he be taking an enormous risk that Tyrion would, you know, actually obey his father and not have the person Tywin allegedly was trying to make into his spy around to, well, be his spy?

No, I think the simplest answer here is best. Shae, out of options after Tyrion's arrest - as a young, lowborn, female sex worker who just saw her highborn benefactor condemned to death for treason and had been forced to testify against him as such - decided to go to Tywin Lannister to try to scrape together whatever she could out of this mess. Tywin, used to using sex workers to fulfill his own sexual desires, saw Tyrion's pretty mistress, presumably supplicating him to help her, knew that she had had a high level of discretion to never have given away or been given away during her time at court, and decided to use her in the same way. No long-term conspiracy, no great plot between the two - just a young woman with no one else to turn to and a man who decided she was convenient to use for sex.

#asoiaf meta #tywin lannister #shae

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