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indigovigilance · 6 months

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The Final Fifteen is about Terry Pratchett's Death

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The final fifteen is obviously a major plot point, and serves a role in a story that was written long before Terry Pratchett was ever diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But the scene itself wasn’t written until just a few years ago, during the writing of Season 2. In fact, the scene came about during a park bench conversation between Neil Gaiman and John Finnemore.

Others have noted that the non-romantic kiss that signals the story moving into the third act is a Neil Gaiman staple. The function of such a kiss, from Gaiman’s perspective, is to communicate.

In 2023 we are seeing a lot of stories written by men, for men, about men who are best friends and discover that their friendship can go deeper than the norms of society would usually allow; that platonic and romantic love are not so far apart, and perhaps the better word for a relationship that can be described this way is intimacy.

Neil Gaiman has made it clear in interviews that his friendship with Terry Pratchett was deeply intimate. They began collaborating on what would become Good Omens in the 1980’s, endured a tumultuous experience together through the first publication, wherein Neil offered to martyr himself on behalf of Terry if the book failed, and then spent the better part of two decades touring the world, meeting the people who loved their work. Neil would even off-handedly remark that Terry’s fans were so cheerful, and Neil’s seemed like they were ready to kill themselves; wouldn’t it be nice if they got married? From the outside, it looks very much as if Terry was Aziraphale-coded, and Neil was Crowley-coded, working together in an unexpected partnership to make the world a little bit more tolerable for the humans inhabiting it. I am not conjecturing that Neil and Terry had romantic inclinations the way their fictional characters do, but I think it is fair to say that their opposites-attract intimacy became an important part of who each of them were.

In 2007 Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, a rare form of Alzheimer’s. As the disease progressed, he began to lose himself, and knew that the person he used to be was slipping away. He wanted to end his life on his own terms, and die as himself, but England did not and still does not allow for voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide. He advocated for the right to die but never achieved it, and ultimately succumbed to the disease in 2015. Neil Gaiman has spoken a lot on the topic of death, and one answer of his that resonated with me reads:

Mostly it feels terrible. It even feels terrible when it’s someone who has been in a lot of pain for a long time or has not really been there for a long time and you know that Death has in some ways been a blessing: suddenly you are mourning the whole person.

It doesn’t get easier as you age. It gets stranger. The point where you realise how many people you used to know and like who aren’t there any longer, and you cannot talk to them or see them or laugh with them is painful in a way that I had never expected. The first time that someone you had a romantic relationship with dies and you realise that there had been moments both of you shared and now you are the sole custodian of those moments and one day you will be gone and they will be lost forever is peculiarly strange and hard.

~~~

The entire show is seeded with references to Terry Pratchett, but the most important one is the one that’s missing. Neil Gaiman cameoed as a sleeping moviegoer in S1E4, but a long time ago, he and Terry had discussed cameoing as sushi restaurant-goers, because sushi was weirdly prominent in the book. That cameo would have been in S1E1. But when it came time to do it, Neil couldn’t. Not without Terry.

Neil: I was gonna say our location is a Chinese restaurant we’d had turned into a sushi restaurant. So Terry and I, Terry Pratchett and I, had a standing… not even a standing joke, just a standing plan, that we were going to have sushi - there was going to be a scene in Good Omens where sushi was eaten and we were gonna be extras, we were gonna sit in the background, eating sushi while it was done. And I was so looking forward to this and, so I wrote this scene with it being sushi, even though Terry was gone, with that in mind and I thought: Oh, I’ll sit and I’ll eat lots of sushi as an extra, this will be my scene as an extra, I’ll just be in the background. And then, on the day, or a couple of days before, I realized that I couldn’t do it.

Douglas: You never told me this before either. I might have pushed you into doing it, had I known. I think you were right not to tell me.

Neil: I was keeping it to me self ‘cause I was always like: Oh, maybe I’ll be… this will be my cameo. And then I couldn’t. I was just so sad, ‘cause Terry wasn’t there. And it was probably the day that I missed Terry the most of all of the filming - it was just this one scene ‘cause it was written for Terry and all of the sushi meals we’d ever had and all of the strange way that sushi ran through Good Omens.

~~~

In the Final Fifteen, it is clear that Crowley and Aziraphale want to stay together. They love each other. They each know that the other loves them. There’s nothing that needs to be said, no convincing that their bond is true and real and precious.

But Aziraphale has to go to Heaven, and Crowley cannot follow him there.

I cannot speculate what it must have been like for Neil to endure losing a friend who, though I’m sure he desperately wanted to still be in his life, he also knew that life had become a burden to him, and grieved that Terry was not able to choose the time and manner of his departure from this Earth. This sort of complex grief, we fan-ficcers know, is the kind that is often best processed through story-telling.

I think that what we see Crowley going through in the Final Fifteen, alongside its importance to the story arc of Good Omens overall, is Neil processing his grief at losing his friend Terry Pratchett, and even the kiss, that violent, terrible, awful kiss, was the symbolic representation of Neil saying goodbye.

#neil gaiman #terry pratchett #aziraphale #crowley #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #ivoc #this meta ended up being only about 2/3 the length of my usual metas and somehow that feels appropriate because Terry's life ended too soon #and the jarring brevity of this piece parallels that feeling of sudden unexpected loss #for me anyways I don't know about you guys #if this made your eyes even slightly moist you are obligated to reblog to help someone else feel their feels #I don’t make the rules #but them is the rules #blessed by Beelzebub

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barren-heart · 5 months

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The Hidden Love Story of What We Do in the Shadows: How The Internet Fell in Love with Harvey Guillen’s Guillermo de la Cruz

I think it’s fair to call this show what it is: a comedy.

The actors have said it’s themselves: the show is 50% improv, 50% script. A lot of what we see is a brilliant collaboration of talent, writing, and the actors saying the funniest thing they can say about something in that moment.

According to Harvey Guillen, some scenes would last 30 minutes each if they didn’t cut it down. That improv is what makes the show what is it: the funniest show on television.

What’s interesting about this little Shit and Fart show (affectionate), is the heart of it all: Guillermo.

Originally the show was looking for an older man to play Nandor’s familiar. The character had worked for his master for 20 years, not 10 as we see in the pilot episode.

Harvey got an audition randomly. At a wine and cheese night of a friend’s, he was invited to audition for the part. It was random, but also, it was fate.

Let me explain.

Harvey Guillen auditioning for the role of Guillermo

(I actually have the full audition tape of Harvey’s if anyone’s interested.) Link below!

Harvey didn’t “fit the part” (Harvey’s words) whatsoever of this character and decided to dress himself to look older, putting on what he calls his Harry Potter glasses and parted his hair down the middle.

The Guillermo we see in the pilot was all Harvey’s idea of what that character should be and the costuming department just ran with it. It’s also fun to point out that to those who don’t know, Harvey created Guillermo’s last name even before he knew he’d play the show’s Vampire Slayer.

I mention this because I don’t think they (showrunner, producers,etc) expected Guillermo to become such a fan favorite. Which kinda explains why his character is the punching bag of season one and why it somewhat changes as seasons go by.

I mean, we don’t even see Guillermo in this season one poster (we don’t see Colin Robinson, either. But I feel like I could write an entirely other post about that character and why I think he’s genuinely the best and most consistently written character on the show. But I won’t right now).

I think they expected Guillermo to be a one-note side kick, which is fine. Many of Harvey’s previous roles were nearly background characters (think Benedict Pickwick in The Magicians).

But, Harvey’s take on the character coupled with his talent at being both comedic and dramatic really shined through. And I think that’s where you start to see that maybe they could do more with him than just being the funny guy in the background.

I also think that’s why you start to see some threading of a more serious plot when it comes to Guillermo’s storyline because of Harvey’s range.

Who would’ve known a funny bit like being a Van Helsing descent in a house full of vampires would get you compelling scenes like the familiar fight The Night Market, Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires, and the Nandor and Guillermo fight in The Portrait?

Harvey mentioned having to train for these and wanted to do his own stunts! And he does them well!

Did they imagine Guillermo being such a badass in the pilot? Probably not. But he is and people took to it. The serious fight scenes (even with bits of comedy filtered in) really stand out in their own as excellent action scenes.

Along with badass scenes, Harvey delivered compelling emotional scenes like Guillermo’s coming out (which Harvey actually cried in as well as other cast and crew, and they had to edit it to not make it too serious), the scene he left Nandor for Celeste, and many scenes in S5’s Exit Interview.

I also think they didn’t anticipate his chemistry with Kayvan Novak. It’s brought up a lot in interviews with them and everyone can tell that they genuinely are really good friends in real life, which makes acting together on screen that much better.

(Funny enough, he was supposed to do a chemistry read with Kayvan before shooting and wasn’t able to meet him until they were on set for the pilot. )

I think in some ways, even though the show wanted it to be a funny Gaston and Lefou type relationship, Kayvan and Harvey had undeniable chemistry you couldn’t deny.

And I think that began to grow with their character’s evolving relationship. From master and servant to friends to sometimes the show and network alluding to them being in a romance (Guillermo’s drunk love confession, Marwa liking what Nandor likes, the Network making videos about shipping Nandermo).

And even Paul Simms (the one who is being grilled for That’s His Boss quote), also said “Guillermo and Nandor is the greatest love story in modern television.”

So yeah, I think originally they started the show with the intention that it was supposed to be similar to the movie that shares its name. The Nandor/Guillermo drama of Shadows the TV show would be so out of place in the movie. The whole Guillermo vampire arc, if it was movie inspired, would not be as dramatic as they have made it in the show.

Looking back to the pilot, I can see that they really tried to make it as close to the source material as possible. But I think it took off in a direction that even the creators didn’t imagine it would go. Just a silly little comedy show about silly little vampires. And don’t get me wrong, it still definitely is.

But the show has evolved. And for better or worse, Nandor and Guillermo’s relationship will be one of the most compelling things about the show and I’m curious where they are going to take it now.

I guess this turned into a bit of an Harvey Guillen appreciation post and honestly, why not? Look at that adorable face.

#what we do in the shadows #WWDITS #guilermo de la cruz #harvey guillen #nandor the relentless #nandermo #the greatest love story in modern television #shadows fx #fx #wwdits fx

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firethekitty · 5 months

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Ranking Every Wolfwood!!

happy wolfwood wednesday! i've ranked every wolfwood and it very quickly got out of hand and turned into more of a character analysis/meta. it was really fun and helped me better understand why i love this guy so much!

yes, really!

i hope you guys enjoy and that my autistic rambling makes sense!

1. trimax wolfwood. yeah he’s perfect. nothing else to say. god bless

while i can’t fit everything i love about him into one post, just know that i’ve written almost 30,000 words in wolfwood (and vash) character studies. so when i say “i like trimax wolfwood” that really means “i am fucking obsessed with trimax wolfwood”.

he’s the perfect mix of silly and heartbreaking, funny and serious, annoying like an older brother, deeply kind, so so painfully human; and a PERFECT foil to vash. simply phenomenal writing.

my only complaint would be that his tits are not on display like they are in the 1998 anime. but i can appreciate the subtly, so this doesn’t detract from his otherwise flawless score.

2. 98 wolfwood. omg hiiiii hehe twirling my hair ohh he’s so handsome what an absolutely beautiful design for him. his nose, his spider-esque shape, his TITS…… they even kept his little whiskers!

on top of an amazing design, he’s a very good balance of silly, irritable, playfully annoying, and serious! he fits pre-trimax wolfwood to a T!

but, as trimax progressed…

he’s cool. too cool. he has too much pull. wolfwood should NOT have swag. genuinely it is imperative to his character that he is, and i say this as lovingly as possible, a fucking loser with no friends.

wolfwood is a deeply traumatized man. he isn’t nearly as charming as we, the audience, thinks he is. no one laughs at his jokes, his insults are crude and immature, he embarrasses himself in front of literal children…

god, he is so painfully awkward. and who wouldn’t be in his situation? to have your childhood stolen and forced to grow up as a weapon? not allowed to interact casually with anyone else during the most important developmental stage of your life?

he's just not suave like tri98 wolfwood is. so, while 98 wolfwood is an excellent character, he doesn’t entirely read “wolfwood” to me. similar to how 98 vash is good on his own, but he’s just not “vash”. this is, of course, the result of making an anime out of a manga that wasn’t even 30% finished at the time. while i don’t understand the reasoning behind this, i know that nightow desperately needed the funds the anime brought in, as well as the motivation to keep making trimax, so i have to simply make peace with the dated characterizations tri98 has.

but don’t get me started on the milly situation. really a godawful writing decision, idk who approved that mess.

3. tristamp wolfwood. he is so bullyable. he’s like a sopping wet cat. absolute fucking dweeb.

i debated this for a long time—whether i should rank tristamp wolfwood above tri98 wolfwood. and i asked myself, do i love tri98 wolfwood because he’s a good character and is similar to trimax wolfwood? does he even remind me of trimax wolfwood at all? well, not really, he’s very clearly based on pre-trimax, just like tri98 vash is.

ultimately i decided i do genuinely just prefer tri98 wolfwood, but i felt the need to defend tristamp wolfwood because i see a lot of fair criticisms but also really dumb discourse throughout the fandom about him. so here’s my attempt at trying to address these:

so, there are some things i really enjoy about him and some things i really dislike; and, unlike vash, most of these criticisms are not a result of time/pacing issues. they’re easily fixable.

like, for the love of god he NEEDS to get sillier. they got the loser part down, but he’s a bit too overtly sad in tristamp. i think he will be more like his trimax self in season 2, but wolfwood’s humor is in-part a coping mechanism and important to his character. he’s an older brother! he’s fucking annoying! he thinks he's funny when he isn't! we do get a little bit of this with him and meryl, when he's tormenting her at the campfire, and that’s what i want to see more of. even if he’s playing it up, he should be working on getting their guards down, convincing them he isn't going to betray them.

since tristamp takes place in a weird prequel sort of canon, i get that he would look/act younger than he is in trimax. i think he was modeled after the teenage wolfwood we see in the flashback scenes of him training for the eye of michael, where he’s noticeably less outgoing and more reserved.

however, this doesn’t change the fact that he WAS silly as a kid in trimax, before his “teenage angst phase” (hate to call it that when it’s more like a “realizing he’s going to die by the gun and not being able to do anything about it” phase). but he’s still a lot quieter and reserved in tristamp as a kid, so i think we really need to find a good balance here in the trigun adaptations.

another example of an easily fixable issue—i really hate how they did the “vash sees how kind wolfwood is” scene, in which wolfwood gives money/snacks to children. in tristamp, wolfwood already knows the kid is zazie, which tells us absolutely nothing about his character. this scene is almost entirely worthless, only good for reminding vash that he should eat, which gives tristamp its own not-as-good hospital yuri scene.

and, so, about the elephant in the room… i don’t think he was whitewashed. let me try to explain my thought process.

tristamp, as far as i can tell, doesn’t seem to be taking any inspiration from tri98, whose wolfwood is very explicitly a brown man. trimax wolfwood i feel is a bit more ambiguous in his skin tone, which alternates between dark screentones and completely uncolored pretty much at solid 50/50 odds. just fairly inconsistent overall, even on the official manga covers.

but this doesn’t mean wolfwood is white in tristamp, and it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his aquiline nose. the notorious scenes of him in the suns, looking white as a fucking sheet, shows us how a 3D environment can diminish a character’s silhouette and distinctive features.

compare this to scenes of wolfwood in a dim environment, or to the 2D scenes of child wolfwood and livio that i can't include bc i'm only allowed 10 pics. he looks MUCH better, much darker than vash, and as they both should appear in such lighting. it just doesn't add up—he should be much darker in strong light if they followed the same color values:

SO, even though i feel like all of this is more of a technical issue rather than malicious whitewashing, that doesn’t mean i think it’s acceptable. it looks fucking awful, and the lighting system needs major improvement to work with darker skin tones.

and, like, at the end of the day, wolfwood isn’t canonically latino, and he doesn't really have a consistent skin tone either. it’s a great headcanon, one i partially share, but it’s not canon. the only ethnicity that could technically be considered somewhat canon is japanese, as wolfwood was based off a japanese singer named tortoise matsumoto. you can see this resemblance best in early trigun!

and i really need to defend his nose!!! a lot of people say he lost his nose but he didn’t!! i promise it’s there!!! another victim of his 3D model, you can only see his nose from the side or in the 2D frame after he gets his shit wrecked. see how clearly he has a very well-defined nose when he’s hand-drawn? this is what i mean when i say a 3D environment can drastically alter a character’s important features, as much as i otherwise adore the animation for this show.

also, if you think nightow would let studio orange get away with not including his nose, you got another thing coming.

in conclusion, while i think tristamp wolfwood is a great start, he’s just not quite there yet. but i have immense faith that the next time we see him, he’ll look and act a lot more like he does in trimax!

i know this is true, because there are already some shots in tristamp where i’m just like. oh yeah. there he is. that’s wolfwood. there's the guy i love so much

...

well, that was long! this was really fun to write and i

oh jesus christ what the hell is that thing

4. badlands rumble wolfwood. ah, now here’s a great example of overt whitewashing. no lighting excuses this time, just blatant colorism.

even if he wasn’t ghostly white, there's just something about his design that makes me viscerally uncomfortable and i can’t pinpoint what it is exactly. he’s just so… angular. he has no scruff, no kitty cat mouth, his eyes are very oddly shaped, almost no eyebrows... i just really hate looking at him!

his ONLY saving grace is how mentally ill he acts in this movie. and his tits. otherwise i don’t really have much to say about him!

ok, now we’re done! and here’s a handy wolfwood chart i made to summarize everything.

really hope this was fun to read and if people liked this i'd be glad to write a vash version or other characters!! happy woowoo wednesday :)

#trigun #trimax #tristamp #tri98 #wolfwood #vashwood #a little bit. enough for me to tag hehe #meta #trigun meta #character analysis #also i don't mean to imply ethnicity = skin color but latino wolfwood is by far the most common headcanon i've seen. which i really like!#but it can very quickly diverge into the latino lover trope and i've seen that A Lot in this fandom #and i don't really want to get into fanon wolfwood here bc that's an entire other can of worms

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yiangchen · 7 months

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it's so tragic funny that while i was watching t100, jroth was so adamant that there was nothing romantic there with bellarke, that it literally made me doubt what was very clearly being written as romantic (and it actually was. like, we know this now. it has been confirmed).

looking back, bellarke could have kissed at so many different points in the show, without changing anything else but having them kiss, and it would have made perfect sense. it would have flowed. it would have aligned with their relationship development.

just think about it. 1x09. unity day. is this a bit early? yes. but do they have the chemistry? yes. and have they had sufficient build up for two characters to have their first kiss? yes. honestly more than a lot of ships that happen in the first season of their show. especially since day trip just happened! plus, the flirting during unity day was...not subtle.

listen...she wanted to kiss him here so bad. seriously though. clarke could have and that would have been a very natural progression of this scene. it would have especially fit the early drop ship days vibe.

(or you could add in a scene where clarke finds him later, now sufficiently buzzed, they flirt some more, then she kisses him, and bellamy's like, "woah, woah, princess, what are you doing?" but he's smiling and she just shrugs with a smile and goes in to kiss him again, saying "having fun", and bellamy says, "you're drunk" and clarke is exasperated saying, "well you told me to!" and bellamy laughs, very amused, and from the look in his eyes, you can tell that he is also very very VERY smitten.)

if you still think that's too soon, yeah, i tend to agree. i love the idea of s1 bellarke in fanfic, but for the show, i prefer a bit more of slowburn. so let's push it to season 2. no, that's not a true slowburn, but still, you had to wait a little for it, and a lot of shows do this successfully. so anyway. 2x05. post iconic reunion hug, shot in a very romantic way i might add.

bellamy is watching clarke sleep by the fire, she wakes, we have some platonic gazing with firelight flickering across their faces...

we all know how the scene goes. he reassures her. he confides in her. she reassures him back.

i'm sorry, but the way they are looking at each other here? dude, if they had been sitting any closer, they could have kissed. i tend to think it would be more in character for clarke to initiate a first kiss with bellamy in s1-4, but in this scene, i 100% could see bellamy going in to kiss her after this.

(and yes, i'm aware that octavia was pretending to be asleep this whole time, but honestly, her reaction to them would have added some much needed levity to the situation. octavia is a bellarke shipper, after all. also, some people might say that this would make clarke's "i love you" to finn less believable, but i disagree. you can have feelings for two people at the same time. i mean, she literally kisses lxa very quickly after finn's death sooo yeah...plus, it would have made the bellarke angst of s2b/3 even better.)

maybe you still want more of a slowburn though, and that is perfectly fair, which brings me to s3, which in my opinion would have been one of the best seasons for canon bellarke. alright. 3x05. hakeldama yup! it was prime time for a first kiss. i mean, all the build up of s1/2 obviously, but also...this had just happened:

but anyway...back to hakeldama. this is the peak of their angst. nothing tops it.

but then, after the heat of the moment, the softness comes in. as it always does with these two. they wind up sharing the softest, most romantic scene in this entire show (fight me).

that last gif, man...at this point, i think they would both go in for the kiss. mutually initiated. god, it would have fit the scene so well!

(some people might say that this would invalidate clarke's love for lxa, considering everything that happens two eps later, but again, i disagree. like i said before, you can have feelings for two people at the same time. people might also say that this would undermine bellamy's relationship with gina, but you know what? the whole fucking narrative undermined that relationship, so i really don't care. i loved gina, but if clarke can kiss lxa right after finn's death, then bellamy can kiss clarke right after gina's death. this show is messy, okay? and bellarke are messy as fuckkkk.)

still think it would be too early? okay. season 4 then. very recently, i realized how easy making bellarke canon in s4 would have been, holyyyy. starting off in 4x03. bellamy is sleeping on the couch and clarke watches him sleep with the softest smile on her face (i'm still crying about this btw). i can't find the right gif, but you all know the smile! then clarke is struggling so bellamy wakes up and is there to support her, making a declaration that has romantic undertones, it just does!

and then clarke lowkey makes a move on him lmao. for real though?? what was this???

i would only change one thing here. he takes a seat beside her first and then puts his hand on her shoulder. so that way they are eye level (aka kissing level).

when she lifts her head off their hands, their faces would be so close. maybe bellamy would tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, not realizing how intimate that kind of thing is until he does it. i could see them kissing here. clarke would initiate. although, i think it would be so much better if it was just an almost kiss. bellamy tells her she should get some sleep right before it happens.

and then in 4x06...

it's actually so funny how she says that and then she's like 'oh no. that sounded like it implied something. i did not mean to imply.'

and bellamy's over here like 'omg she's implying.'

which leads to him literally about to confess. i'm sorry, but there is no other way to interpret....

and of course clarke interrupts, but this is the moment, you guys! this could have been the moment.

right after this, before roan's interruption, there's a pause, and then clarke kisses him. it's a quick one. the kind of kiss where she has both of her hands on his face and he's so stunned by it that his eyebrows raise in surprise and before he can even process that it's happened, she's pulled back and they're looking at each other, a bit in awe, both surprised that she just did that.

then in 4x09, we actually get to see the reunion!! and it's the running kind. just like 2x05. only this time, after they run to each other and hug, bellamy pulls back and takes her face in his hands to examine her for injuries, and once he realizes she's okay, probably after she reassures him and puts a hand on his face, then he kisses her, but they both go in for it (and i cry).

in 4x13, i would change the location of the head and heart scene. somewhere more private...a bedroom (!). so, after this moment:

and bellamy turns away, upset, clarke pulls him back to face her and takes his face in her hands. his eyes are watery. so are hers. she kisses him. one thing leads to another and we get the sex scene we deserved!! then they're lying in bed, cuddling. bellamy's head is on her chest and clarke's playing with his hair. that's when she decides to ruin the moment lmao and continues the head and heart convo with "we've been through a lot together, you and i." i can just see it so well. they would shift so that they're laying on their sides, facing one another. maybe clarke's fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck now. when she says he has a big heart, her palm rests on his bare chest. when she says he has to use his head too, her fingers of her other hand shift from his neck to his temple. when bellamy says, "i've got you for that," clarke kisses him. their foreheads stay touching for a few breathes, then she pulls back to look at him and says that raven's premonition came true. like...am i crazy or would this have worked so well?? literally the same dialogue but...they're together.

(plus, this could have led to clarke raising bellamy's kid--august--along with madi over those six years they are separated, i'm just saying!)

maybe you still think that season 5 was the ultimate time for bellarke to go canon, and you know what? i honestly might just agree. the set up was there with clarke calling bellamy every day for 2,199 days. the potential was there. madi was the biggest bellarke shipper i swear. she wanted them to be together even more than all of us combined i think. for a bellarke kiss though, you would almost have to drastically change the course of events...unless you go with 5x13 and blecho have broken up earlier in the season. after clarke wakes bellamy from cryo (still crying about this moment, yeah!), i could see them having a moment.

before jordan walks in, maybe clarke helps bellamy out of the pod, and once they're both standing, bellamy would finally make his move. instead of bellamy asking why they're the only ones there, clarke does. bellamy tells her, "we'll figure it out, clarke, but first, i have something i wanna say." maybe he does something soft, like take her hand or brush her hair behind her ear. clarke is staring at him, not quite believing what is happening right now, but deep down, she knows. he tells her, "those six years without you were the worst of my life and i don't wanna waste any more time." clarke is wearing a watery smile, still not quite sure she believes what she's hearing. she tells him, "i radioed you every day you were gone." bellamy's whole face lights up and he tells her, "i know." their foreheads touch. both of his hands are cradling her cheeks, her hands are cradling his wrists. she whispers his name. it's the kind of kiss where the time before the kiss is excruciatingly long, but once they kiss, it becomes much more urgent as they finally give in to all of the feelings. god. would have been ICONIC.

plus, they both looked absolutely gorgeous in this scene. hello???

would have been one hell of an aesthetically pleasing first kiss holyyyy. then jordan interrupts and makes some comment about how his mom and dad were right all along :)

if not season 5 though...moving onto season 6. 6x10 to be exact. i know i've said that other times were the ultimate time for canon bellarke, but this episode is too! or right after it in 6x11. there are two scenarios that i see playing out here. (in both, blecho have broken up previously.)

in the first scenario, it's 6x10. as soon as bellamy saves clarke and she wakes up, instead of going in to hug him, i swear when i was watching it that i really thought she was going in for the kiss. that was the one and only time where i legitimately thought they were about to kiss while watching. it had never made more sense than in that moment. even with all of jroth's attempted brainwashing, my mind was stronger in that moment. it saw it coming. or at least i thought i did lmao. i know they didn't actually kiss.

but listen.

they really should have.

clarke is literally looking at him like this:

come on, man.

i usually say that bellamy should be the one initiating post s4, but in this moment, it would have been clarke.

and if not then, the other scenario is that they hug as usual. clarke gets some rest as usual. but when she wakes up in 6x11 and bellamy is at her side, they are in a separate private tent. they have that same conversation that they do. they argue about clarke risking her life again. but then...

he tells her, "hey, i just got you back." he says it firm but soft. i see bellamy initiating the kiss here, especially since he's almost lost her twice now, but once clarke realizes that this is really happening, that after all this time he wants her just as much as she wants him, she would for sure be the one initiating everything else. she would be sitting in his lap making out with him so fast jfsldkjfaslk and you know what? good for her!! they either just kiss a lot here, laying down on the bed, all tangled up together, and then they're interrupted, or maybe, just for once, they're allowed to be happy, uninterrupted, and they sleep together. either way. natural progression.

that's really the point of this longwinded post. so many times it could have happened. all of them a nature progression of the story that was being told.

then comes season 7...

there are no words.

6x13 left them off in a perfect place...

the set up was literally right there! they should have kissed in 7x01!! they should have lived happily ever after with madi in a seaside cabin situated in a field of gold!!

#so many wasted opportunites for an iconic first kiss i am TELLING YOU #absolutely TRAGIC #bellarke #t100 #this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks #just reread it and oof.......#so many feelings #so so many

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mickstart · 4 months

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Hi! I don’t know if you still take Formula 1 asks but I was wondering after watching the Senna documentary, WHY ON EARTH everyone deems Senna better than Schumacher?!

Everyone always talks about Senna as the greatest, but he can’t be better than Michael Schumacher right? Or better than Fangio or Vettel, and definitely Hamilton.

Which I know Verstappen always says you can’t compare different eras but I can’t understand the hype around Senna,

I mean, personally, I prefer Prost because of how Jenson Button describes his driving style.

But I would like to understand though. I always like your input, so that’s why I’m asking. Thank you!

Have a lovely week!

Hey! yeah F1 will always be a part of my life so I'm always down for F1 asks. Fdfsjfdsghjds as for this it's a... complicated question. There's a lot of stuff going on.

So fair warning, this is going to be a long fucking answer.

For me personally, I totally agree with the argument that you really cannot compare different eras. Like, Max for example having more wins per season means Nothing when there are statistically more races per season. But then does this mean Fangio's statistic of winning the highest percentage of races per season is the real meaningful record, and it means he's better? Well, not in a way you can meaningfully prove, because fewer races per season means fewer chances to lose, or to have a mechanical problem, or a freak accident.

So you see really quickly how comparing different eras is like. Almost meaningless, because the skills needed in each era varied so much. It's not like a lot of other sports where the rules and structure were already consistent more than a hundred years ago and so it's easier to compare across a few decades. The physical demand an F1 race places on the body today would have been absolutely unthinkable to those drivers in the mid 20th century, even in the late 80s. They'd think it was a different sport entirely.

Like to me, The Greatest in F1 is about how they impact you personally. Michael is The Greatest and I don't feel any need to justify that by comparing his stats to others. It's about what he makes me feel in my chest, not his numbers.

And I think that's the crux of the issue w/ Senna. LOTS has been written about his driving style, his accomplishments, his determination. When Michael was peaking people were doing NASA level calculations to explain why Senna would actually always be better than Michael in numbers still. But I think some of that is people's personal attachment to both of them. Michael is a godlike figure to the tifosi and in German motorsport, and Senna is arguably an even more religious figure to Brazilians. Like I don't even feel right explaining here how much Senna means to some Brazilians because I know it is that deep of an emotion he brings out. He was a big donator to charities, he was a public figure representing Brazil on a global stage at a time the country was recovering from various crises. His funeral was enormous because he was arguably the biggest celebrity in the country.

And that mythical status spreads into motorsport as a whole. First of all because of his success, then because of how he himself weaved his religion into his racing - allegedly talking to god during the race and claiming God chose him to be a racer - then because of his rivalry with Prost, and then, finally, because of the impact a champion dying in an F1 race had on safety in F1 and across motorsport as a whole. Today we don't really appreciate how insane it was that F1 went from the death toll it had before Senna's death, to immediately going 20 years without a grand prix race killing a driver.

(Sidenote but I wish Ratzenberger's death didn't go ignored so often in this legacy and I can't talk about it without mentioning him for the sake of not letting his name go unsaid. Imola as a whole sparked change, not just Senna. It was too much tragedy in too short a timeframe for them to ignore it.)

Senna being "the last death" for such a long time only made his mythical status bigger. The religious wording he'd used about his own career, the way F1 (Brundle) tends to 'valorize' risk and danger, his popularity in Brazil, the mourning his death produced, it all pulled together to create something that's more legend than man. It became less a historical record of a real racer with numbers to his name and more a story about a doomed hero who died too young. When I was watching F1 as a kid - before Jules' death - Senna to me had this image of a martyr now guarding the racers in death and protecting them. That was sort of the 'vibe', I guess, that F1 liked to push.

(There's really something to be said about how Ferrari and Brazil and Italy and Catholicism shaped F1 into a religion with saints of its own I guess.)

Like, I wasn't alive when Senna was racing. I don't consider myself a spiritual person. I don't really even care about Senna, and frankly I know his personal life includes essentially an arranged marriage to an underage girl. But still, I hate it when we go racing at Imola. The whole track feels eerie to me, like it should be left alone, like we're disturbing something. I know that IS superstitious and I never let that feeling out, but it's in the back of my head. That's how strongly F1 has pushed Senna on the fans as a legend beyond questioning, and how it effects even someone who doesn't consider him the greatest and never has.

This ties back into people comparing him to Michael, I promise. I think a lot of the reason people do that, is actually that they're mourning that they never got a definitive answer to the question "Which one is better?" because Senna was killed before the championship could be settled. They try to find other ways to give an answer, to prove it, so they can feel satisfied, so they feel there WAS some sort of resolution to the question and it was just hidden.

But death isn't neat and tidy like hypothetical answers. It just happens. That's natural, and so is resisting the truth of it and the questions it leaves unanswered, or the gaps it leaves in our lives. Senna is framed like a story - F1 is framed like a story - and human nature is to give a story a conclusion with meaning that answers all of our questions - Senna was the best, Michael was the best, Lewis is the best, Fangio is the best, etc - not... nothingness. Not a sudden and abrupt ending to a young life that had nothing to do with the story he was carving out. So Senna's death becomes the turning point for safety in F1, the answer to the question of 'the greatest' becomes something that has already been given, and we create whatever proof we needed to simplify these things down.

In reality, F1 went 20 years without a death from a grand prix because of luck, swift action, and the tireless work of many, many individuals. Stewart, Watkins, Lauda, the drivers who reformed the GPDA after Senna's death and had it up and running by the next race, the people who redesigned Imola to be safer, the FIA circuit grading system, the track marshalls, the medical staff, and hundreds more.

In reality, there is no definitive greatest, and if there is, if we can somehow prove it via mathematics, very few statistics are on Senna's side.

But like. For all that we live in reality, that doesn't inform how we perceive it. When Michael equalled one of Senna's records he broke down crying, and for the rest of his career he always said Senna was the greatest without pause. I'm pretty sure Lewis himself still holds Senna up as the greatest. Because at the end of the day that title isn't something that can be 'proven' to some people, me included. It's not actually about records or statistics or proof. It's about who makes you feel like an awed little kid watching a very brave man in a very fast car.

People don't like to admit that though. People like to be right, and they like it even more when the thing they're right about makes them part of a group. (Senna Fans, Schumi Fans, Hamilton Fans.)

For me personally though, I never like to argue or debate about who is the 'best'. I know nobody will ever change my mind about Schumi, and frankly I don't want to change anyone else's mind about who the 'best' is, and as soon as the conversation starts it always ends up becoming about doing one of those things. I don't see the appeal of it. If someone out there is convinced Maldonado would be a 10 time WDC if he had been in a good car then fine, fuck, sure. You keep believing that.

Sorry. I've rambled a lot and this became more a general treatise on What It Means To Be The Greatest and How Sport Becomes Folklore than an answer to your question. I just didn't feel I could answer without Getting Into It. I hope I've kept this respectful to the drivers of the sport, and it hasn't felt like me lecturing you when I just got super carried away with my theories sfdghfsdhg

TL;DR - I don't think Senna is the greatest, but I think it's purely because of his legacy and myth.

#long post #I'm literally praying read mores still work on mobile

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kaciidubs · 1 year

Text

Hoodie Season | Maknae Line

❣ Summary: What it would be like stealing and wearing their hoodie ❣ ❣ Warnings: None - just fluff and implied relationships. ❣ ❣ Gender Neutral! Reader [No use of Y/N]❣ ❣ Additional Tags: Reader is referred to as babe, angel, love, and pretty, Han is referred to as Jisung, I.N is referred to as Jeongin, mention of food for Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin ❣ Hyung Line ❣ Stray Kids Masterlist ❣ General Masterlist ❣ AO3

Jisung

To be fair, this sweet quokka wouldn’t even know he’s missing a hoodie unless you told him out right. That’s not to say he doesn’t care for the sentimental act - it’s quite the opposite actually! What’s his is yours, and you can raid his hoodies whenever you’d like, he’s just so all over the place that he can’t even be bothered with keeping track of where his clothes go.

“Babe, let’s go! We’re gonna miss out on all the good snacks!”

You laughed at his adamant bounces as he stood near the front door, cheeks puffed out into a pout while he patiently waited for you to get a move on.

“You act like the convenience store is going out of business, Sung, relax!” Unfolding the hoodie currently slung around your arm, you quickly slipped it over your arms and head, pulling it down your torso for its final fit. “I thought you said we had enough snacks for tonight anyways?”

“Yeah, but then I remembered this hack I wanted to try, and what better time than to do it with my baby?” His antsy shifting paused for a moment as he took you in, round eyes studying you with intrigue. “Did you always have that hoodie from our tour?”

Raising an eyebrow, you looked down at the black hoodie - ‘Stray Kids Maniac Tour 2023’ plastered across the right side while a flame design and smiley face decorated the left half - before glancing up at him with an incredulous grin. “This?”

He nodded, walking closer to tug at the fabric, “Yeah! Did you manage to get one from the staff or something? I’ve never seen you wear this before, it looks good on you!” Adjusting the strings of the hood, he gazed at you with bright eyes, “You could definitely model our merch, you know.”

Your heart swelled at his genuine compliment, though you couldn’t help the laughter bubbling past your lips as you squeezed his cheek, “My sweet, this is your hoodie! I told you I was borrowing it last week, remember?”

It was almost as if you could see the gears turning in his head before his entire face lit up, “Oh! I knew I was missing something - you still look amazing though! But, seriously, let’s go now so I can show you the best snack to ever exist!”

You complied as he dragged you toward your shoes, graciously giving you the opportunity to slide them on before ushering you out the door with excited chants of ‘Snack date’ and ‘Let’s go’.

In Jisung’s eyes, you looked good in anything, and seeing you in one of his hoodies just further proved to him how perfect you were.

Felix

Stealing hoodies is a two way street for dear Yongbok - in fact, he’d be the first to take from you before you could even decide which of his hoodies would be your first victim; waking up one morning with a hastily written note on your on your nightstand: “Running late for practice, borrowed your hoodie! <;3”

And of course, in true Felix fashion, he somehow made it seem like the hoodie was his to begin with from the way it seemed to naturally fit against his body - almost to the point of you considering giving him the article. Though, he’d never accept it fully since he only liked wearing it because it smelled of you, and if he took it from you permanently it would “ruin the purpose” - it was a part of you, after all.

Sure, you’d have your fill of taking a hoodie or two of his whenever you could, but in this instance he was the bigger offender when it came to hoodie thievery - not that you were complaining, of course, there was something utterly endearing seeing his slim frame dressed in your clothes.

“I’m gonna miss you so much.”

You cooed at his adorable pout over the phone, balancing the device against a paper towel rack, “You’ll only be gone for four days, Lix, we’ve been separated way longer than that before!”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it easier!” His whines echoed through the speaker, only making you smile harder at his antics. “Are you trying to say you won’t miss me, angel? Is that it, huh?!”

“Sheesh, someone’s been hanging around Hyunjin a bit too long, haven’t they?” Looking at his image on the small screen, your grin softened, “But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll miss you too, sunshine - you know I will.”

Felix groaned, freckles on full display as he held the phone closer to his face, “It doesn’t because I’m gonna miss you more now!” He couldn’t help the smile that grew from your giggles, pulling his phone away so his face could fill the screen properly, “It’s even worse that your hoodie doesn’t smell like you anymore - I had to wash it after accidentally getting sauce on it.”

You hummed, leaning against the counter and resting your chin on your hands, “If you want, I can bring you another one before you guys leave? Like a little send off gift?”

“Would you really?”

It was hard to miss the sparkle in his eyes as he stared at you through the lens, lips pulled into an open mouthed smile.

“I’m starting to think you’re only dating me for my clothes, Felix.” Playfully rolling your eyes, you pushed yourself away from the counter, “But yes, I’ll do it - but I expect one back in return!”

“Which one do you want?”

“You know the one.”

He laughed and there was a second of delay before the camera switched to the back lens, the screen now showing his closet door and a familiar pink hoodie hanging on the outside - the same one he wore from their Kingdom appearance. “You could come over now to get it early.”

“Does that mean I could also get Lix cuddles and possibly takeout?”

“If I throw in a round of Mario Kart would that make you come faster?”

You stifled a laugh, snatching your phone up and heading toward your bedroom, “You’ve got a deal, sunshine - make sure my controller’s charged!”

Wearing each other’s clothing was more than a relationship trope with Felix, it was about having a part of each other even when you were apart - no matter how long, or how worn they’ve been.

Seungmin

If there had to be a tier list for who had the most hoodies in Stray Kids, then Seungmin took the silver by a very close call with their leader - yet, despite this, he was the hardest to steal from amongst the members.

It’s almost like he had a sixth sense whenever you came even close to walking out the door with one of his hoodies on, and an even worse sense when you managed to sneak your way into his closet to simply look at your options.

“Min, come on, you have like, a thousand of them! Let me just borrow one!”

In all honesty, his collection was a sight to behold - a hoodie of almost every color, each one oversized with varying logos and designs that would be more than enough for a different outfit every day of the month.

“And never see it again? Yeah, no thanks, I’ll just buy you your own.”

You huffed, looking over your shoulder at his lax form reclined on his bed, expression unreadable while his thumb scrolled across his phone’s screen. “It’s not like you’d even notice it’s missing with how often you guys wear styles the staff picked out.”

“I would, because I can see you trying to take it right now,” side eyeing you, a smug smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, “I don’t have the memory of a goldfish like Changbin - I know where all my stuff is.”

A lightbulb went off in your head and you crossed your arms, cocking your head to the side with your tongue in your cheek. “Oh, yeah? Then where’s your face cream, Mr. Know-It-All?”

His eyebrows furrowed, brown eyes narrowing in your direction, “In the bathroom behind the mirror, right next to my moisturizer?”

“What about the Pompompurin headband I got you for your birthday?”

This time he sat up, dropping his phone on his lap and crossing his arms to mirror you, “In the drawer of my nightstand because Felix always begs to see me in it whenever he sees it laying out!”

Scoffing, you nodded your head with an air of condescension, “Alright, then what about your gray hoodie?”

He echoed your scoff, “Which gray hoodie? You can’t try to trick me in a game where I actually need to know what you’re specifically talking about.”

“The one with the wifi heart, puppy.”

“Right side of my closet, behind my red Mahagrid hoodie, love.” Realization washed over his face as he finally recognized your game, eyes going wide when you spun on your heel and b-lined it toward his unopened closet. “Hey! You little-”

Throwing the door open, you quickly pushed hangers and unidentified clothing aside - the sound of his sheets rustling only making your pulse skyrocket as you searched for your prize.

Your name fell from his lips in a shout as he somehow managed to get off of his bed without slipping on the hardwood floor in his rush, though his efforts were futile when you laughed in foul-played victory.

“You obviously don’t know where everything is because it was actually behind your Dodgers hoodie!” Your hands tugged the clothing from its hanger, but not before a pair of arms wrapped around you and pulled you back - hoodie still in hand.

“You are not taking it from me! This game proves nothing!”

“That sounds like something a sore loser would say!”

Laughter filled his room, broken up with demands and empty threats that only meant for more taunting. Sure, you couldn’t steal a hoodie without him knowing, but who says taking one right in front of his eyes wasn’t part of the memo?

Jeongin

You never had to steal anything when it came to Jeongin - even if you had the chance to swipe one without him realizing, why would you when he’d turn bashful and blush whenever you simply asked to wear one of his hoodies?

From the first, to the fifth, to even the tenth time you asked, his reaction would always warm your heart; fox-like eyes turning to crescents, bread cheeks rising with dimples, and that oh-so-lovable laugh rising with the red that turned his ears.

“Pretty, you ready to go to the gaming cafe?”

You jumped up from your spot on the couch, abandoning the random drama you both decided to watch without a second thought, “Ready? I thought you’d never ask - this episode was getting way too predictable.”

“Hey! I thought it was gonna get better - it’s not my fault you wanted to stick around ever since the last episode ended!” Jeongin turned off the tv, tossing the remote to the side before pushing himself off of the cushions.

“Yeah, well…” You drifted off, easily losing any idea for a comeback at his - sadly - true statement. “Whatever! Maybe the next episode is better, but for now it’s time to kick some ass and take some names - oh, and try that new mango drink!”

He hummed in agreement, heading toward the front door to slide his shoes on, “Their fries were really good last time, maybe we should get two orders of them this time, then get something light before dinner.”

“Hey, lover boy, do you mind if I wear one of your hoodies? My jacket is a little thin and it’s supposed to be cold later.”

Pausing mid-foot-in-shoe, he looked up to see you holding your hoodie of choice - a green one he’d worn in a live while teaching thousands of people how to tie a bow in three easy steps It was simple, soft and warm without any pompous branding or design, and the thought of seeing you in it made his heart race.

“I- um, yeah! You can wear it if you want, I don’t mind!”

He hated how easily he was flustered with this, and the worst part was that he knew you knew the effect you had on him, but it never stopped you from asking the same thing and smiling at him when he gave the same response every time.

In the same breath, it never stopped him from not answering the question, either - as much as you loved his reactions, he loved the sight of you wearing his clothes, even if it was just for a night out.

You could ask him that same question for the rest of his life and he would feel like it was the first time; looking at you with dimpled cheeks and red ears while you tugged on whatever hoodie you decided to model for the world that day.

❣ This one was definitely a long time coming - Seungmin's was the hardest for me to put into words and yet he's the longest because of it! As always, feedback is appreciated! Whether it be a simple like, reblog, or keyboard smash and the most essay-like comment, feel free to share your thoughts. ❣

#stray kids x reader #kacii's masterlist #skz fanfic #han jisung x reader #lee felix x reader #seungmin x reader #jeongin x reader #skz imagines #stray kids scenarios #gender neutral reader #han jisung x y/n #lee know x y/n #seungmin x y/n #jeongin x y/n #stray kids x gender neutral reader

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abridgerton · 1 year

Text

Ballroom Banter (Anthony X Reader) {WIP}

Prompt: “I believe we met last spring”

Characters: Anthony Bridgerton X Reader

Triggers: romance, kissing, suggestive content, drinking

Perfection. Everything must be perfection.

This ball is to be like none other this season - it is hosted by the highly esteemed Lady Danbury herself. With her as hostess, Her Majesty the Queen is sure to be in attendance. Another layer of stress for you to resolve.

As you walk into and close the door to your room, you notice a smooth, powder blue silk dress with silver embellishments is hung on your wall - ready to be worn to the ball tonight.

Your prospects this season have been very few, and your mother, Mrs. Westing, is beginning to think you are going to die a spinster. It is not because you are undesirable or unattractive, but you want to marry for love and passion - the things you so often read about in epic romances. That is the end goal - that is what you want. Though, if your mother had the choice, she would marry you off to the richest mans she could. Lord Berbrooke would be your next husband, no doubt.

Three shrill knocks pull you back to earth, as someone is waiting on the other side of your door. You clear your throat and say, "Come in!" Annalise, your ladys maid, quietly opens and shuts the door, and reveals a pile of linens for you. "It is time to get ready for the ball ma'am," she says, "I have your skirts and busts." You nod, and begin undressing. The white nightgown you had on moments before was now laying on your bed, and stays were being laced around your chest.

You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. Such a pretty round face, delicate nose, and exceptional bone structure; your deep green eyes match your fair complexion and light hair - a sight for sore eyes, indeed.

After your ladys maid is done fussing about the way your dress fits, you go downstairs. She spends so much time primping and preening over you that it gets on your nerves sometimes.

As you walk down the stairs and into the dining room, you notice something of about the air of the room. No one at the table is talking - not even your three little siblings. The entire family is gathered in their respective seats, intently staring at your mother holding a long, thin pamphlet.

The lettering was hard to make out from afar, but you notice the distinct font on the front - Lady Whistledown. The gossip column was widely known, and often the subject of scandal, but why is my family acting so tense?

Your questions are soon answered as your mother rises to her feet and says, "did you know about this?" your breath begins to shallow, as a wave of confusion clouds around you. "Know about what?" you ask.

She slides the paper up over to you, looks at it intently, and says bluntly, "Read it." Not wanting to upset her any further, you read the first paragraph on the front fold:

"Dear reader, how busy we have all been with the festivities of the season! With all the fuss from the mamas this courting season, you would think they would be monitored at all times. But some of them, namingly Countess Westing have been letting their daughters slip through the cracks. I have it on good authority that Miss Courtney Westing and Viscount Bridgerton had a hasty hallway rendezvous upstairs at the Hearts and Feathers Ball while the rest of us were exchanging pleasantries. Dear reader, I should dare to say there is a wedding in our near future!"

The shock of the writing was to much to withstand, and you began apologizing profusely, "Mother you do not understand - it is not what they have written - it is not the truth-"

But the issue is: that is the truth. You did have a hasty bedroom rendezvous with Viscount Bridgerton. When you think about it, you can feel his touch lingering on your skin - burning hot. God, you have never seen such a sight in your life; the image of the Viscount hastily tearing off his collar and peeling your dress down the side of your body. It was forbidden - it was wrong - it was everything. His touch was the remedy to your fiendish cravings.

None of that can matter right now. Your mother is staring at you - horrified. You begin to speak again, to say something convincing, but she storms off down the hallway and into her room. You take a deep sigh, and begin to leave the dining hall. On your way out you spot your father, who had not once looked up from his newspaper the entire exchange. He continued to look intently at the paper, and you pass by him into the hallway and into your room.

You sit there - trussed up like a cow - waiting for your ladys maid to escort you to the carriage. There is to be a ball in London tonight. Of course, after this Lady Whistledown fiasco your reputation is going to be positively soiled. Anthony will be forced to make a decision: marry you, or leave you jilted. Both thoughts unsettle you. At any rate, you have to see him; you have to know what he wants to do about it. If he were to propose, you would cheerfully accept. You've always had a little bit of a thing for him anyways.

The three knocks on the door come again, and your ladys maid is on the other side. You say, "Come in." and the ladys maid opens the door and says, "your carriage, ma'am, is ready." You nod your head, and begin the journey with her down to the carriage. The walk is not long, so you do not exchange much banter. Once you arrive at the carriages, your mother is sat inside - glaring at you. This carriage ride is no doubt going to be a battle zone. Nonetheless, you trudge on into your seat in the carriage. You cannot help but wish you were staying home this night. But you comfort yourself with the knowing that the ride into London is rather long, perhaps two hours - plenty of time to sort out your story.

During this two hour ride, nobody speaks. The discomfort is felt by every member, but nobody is brave enough to break the silence. You spend these quiet moments plotting and planning how you will get out of this. Perhaps you will call Whistledown a liar, and try and deny the grievances. As the carriage slowly approaches the docking area, your father finally breaks the silence by saying, "alright, lets go," and leads the family into the magnificent home. Lady Danburys house is one of taste and refinery; covered with ancient artifacts and wonderful art pieces. The sight is truly something to behold.

Your moments in raptures are quickly ended, as you spot a group of prissy girls giggling and muttering in your direction. They are talking about your so called, "scandal," no doubt. Instead of confronting them, you choose to break from your family and take a turn about the room to examine your prospects.

You scan the ballroom floor and, after a few paces, decide to venture over to your mother - who seems to be talking to a man over a bowl of lemonade. She looks at you with her great , big eyes, and shoots you a stern, cold gaze.

As you walk over to your mother, you recognize the mysterious man - Anthony Bridgerton. The man - standing tall in black riding boots, with chestnut hair and deep brown eyes - was turned towards you. Your breath halts, and for a moment, you are entirely breathless.

Your moment is interrupted by your mother, who begins your introduction, "Viscount Bridgerton, this is my daughter, Cathrine; I believe you've met before - perhaps at the last ball?"

You did not need the reminder. You had indeed met the Viscount last spring at Mrs. Bridgerton's annual Hearts and Flowers ball. The thought of that night sent rippling chills throughout your body. His warm touch was all over your body once again - as you relived his every move from memory.

The viscount paused for a moment, but promptly responded, "Yes, I believe we have met. She is a most accomplished on the pianoforte, if I recall."

The compliment makes you blush, as your mother continues, "Yes! You remember quite well. She is also proficient in her needlework and dancing!"

Anthony gives a slight uncomfortable smile, and takes his leave, "That is wonderful to hear Mrs. Westing, do send your husband my regards. I think I see my mother ..."

And with that, he walked out into the back garden. Your mother watched him leave - almost disappointed he did not drop to one knee and propose right there. Desperate to get some answers, you turn to your mother and say, "I think I'll go freshen up." and walk in the direction of the retiring rooms. Once you are down the hallway, you turn around and leave out of the back exit - leading you into the back gardens. The walk is muddy, and your shoes are being ruined, but you know hes out here somewhere.

After a five minute search, out of nowhere, you hear his hard, raspy voice, "Catherine, is that you?" Your body tenses up, reacting to hearing his voice so close. He steps closer to you, and puts his hand on your shoulder. "You shouldn't be out here without a chaperone, it isn't proper. " Your words are caught in your throat, and you can give no response. The memories of him are poisoning your mind, and causing you to act so scandalously. Just as you are about to consider turning back, he lightly grabs you by the arm and pulls you in, "Unless .. you wanted to stay .."

His warm breath grazes the back of your smooth neck and gives you chills all over. Anthonys hands move up the back of your legs, grabbing at your thighs. His breathing becomes shallow, and heavier. "God," he panted, "I've missed you." Before you can think to stop him, he pins you against a large wall of vines, and begins his journey with his hands. He moves them around your face at first, swirling around your cheeks and holding your face - then down to your collarbones, wrapping his hands around your neck and squeezing gently. The touch is so welcomed, and you cant keep your hands off him either.

Through quickened breath you say, "What are - we going to - do?" Anthony paused from kissing your neck and said, "Nothing." His reply sends fear through your body. Nothing? I will be ruined! Your body tenses up, and you begin to protest, "How can you leave me after defling me so? I will be left a jilted, lonely spinster." Anthony rose up to meet you at face level, and met your eyes with a dead gaze. "I cannot marry you. I am sorry. I can pay your dowry, but we cannot be married." These words felt like being ambushed by a million tiny thorns. "What is so awful about me that he refuses to marry me? "I do not understand," you think, "why you will not marry me. Am I so horrible? Would I not make a suitable wife?" He takes a deep breath in, leans away from you, and begins, "I will ruin you."

You step back so you may take a better look at him. Anthony is dressed in a stunning royal blue suit, with a creme colored neck tie and a pair pants that fit wonderfully. The sight is much to behold - and his confident aura makes him downright irresistible.

#anthony bridgerton x reader #anthony bridgerton #bridgerton #regency era #period drama rp

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sssardonian-ssserpent · 2 months

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((Mild hot take in the read below (nothing to do with drama just my own opinion on an aspect of Hazbin):

The CherriSnake in this show was not written very well. It was written poorly. Very poorly. Extremely poorly. Which sucks to me because, I’ll admit, I was not a CherriSnake shipper going into the show. I disliked it because of how it was everywhere and I just didn’t vibe with anything about it from what I saw or various fanworks, but I tried to go into it with an open mind because I knew it was coming thanks to the episode 6 trailer featuring Cherri that came out on Twitter. I wanted to see if I could like it, see if the show could win me over because it was doing a fantastic job with Husk and Angel. And not only did it NOT do a great job, it honestly made me hate the ship even MORE because of how sloppy, slap-dashed, in credibly rushed and utterly lacking of any chemistry, bonding, or character depth it had.

First off. I’m not a fan of how suddenly and without warning Pentious’s absolute and total crush on Cherri was. Like, we’re talking about a man who literally called Cherri and Angel both “whores with no class” in the pilot during their fight (which is confirmed to be canon to the show’s timeline by the by so HE DID call her that, at some point), and seemed to completely disregard her as nothing but an enemy to try and destroy, so forgive my skepticism when in episode 6 he’s suddenly sheepishly trying to buy drinks for her/asking to have sex with her and nervously trying to declare his love for her on the evening before the finale battle. And that’s another thing that I’m not a fan of, him trying to proclaim that he loves her. Sure, you could make the argument that he did it in a spur of the moment thing because he thought there was a chance he may die, and that’s fair, but I feel like that is way, WAY too strong of a declaration for one character to make when he’s only realistically talked to her, maybe four times in the whole season, 3 of those times being the result of a three gag punchline.

Like. Proclaiming your love for someone is a very, very, very different thing from just expressing your interest or your liking someone. It’s much more heavy and it has a shit ton more emotional weight behind it. Weight that Pentious doesn’t even nearly begin to have to try and approach her and declare it right there in the lobby. And even then, what does he say he loves her for? The fact that he thinks she’s beautiful and she makes explosive weaponry that he finds amazing.

That’s it. Nothing else. Just the two most bare bones and basic shit about her character. Nothing about her personality, nothing about anything deeper in her heart that he may see, nothing about any connections he personally feels with her, NOTHING. It feels almost completely soulless and just lacking in the most basic of romantic chemistries, because we never see even a single scene of just these two talking to each other. It’s just Pentious trying to confess/awkwardly trying to flirt with her and then dipping immediately, until he doesn’t when they kiss shortly before he dies and drops the love confession from her, which, COULD HAVE been an emotional moment, if they had gotten more than, at best, three whole fucking scenes in the entire season with each other.

A romantic kiss scene should not be making me roll my eyes in annoyance and sighing. A love confession should not be making me sit there and shouting at my screen “what do you LOVE about her??? You BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER!” And yet here we are.

And that’s not even beginning to get into Cherri’s characterization because boy do I have some words for that.

First off, the actively dismissing Pentious when it’s clear he’s trying to flirt with her/leading him on when he’s clearly confused and struggling.

Now I’m not saying Cherri Bomb should’ve been immediately crushing right back on Pentious or that she should’ve been just as spellbound with him as he was for her or anything, god no. But it really doesn’t help with the “the ship has no chemistry” thing going on in the ship when it feels like the other active participant in said ship just does not have any interest at all/is purposefully trying to lead the other on with no actual intentions to follow through.

I’ve seen so many people talk about the club scenes with Cherri Bomb and how she was actively always giving Pentious so many openings to actually flirt with her, and I’m sitting like “…WHERE?” The first time Pentious tries to engage in anything close to flirting in the hotel, reaching to touch her shoulder while asking her questions, she roughly grabs his hand, and declares “don’t touch me.” That is already super fucking clearly NOT an opening. That is her shutting his ass down super fast.

Then we have the scenes where he is trying to buy her drinks. He asks her politely if she’d want to have him buy her a drink, and she snidely responds with “Why? Didn’t you say we were arch rivals?” while smirking at him in this very almost snooty way. Pentious, panicking because of having to eat his own words, backs off immediately and makes the excuse he’s buying drinks for everyone there.

And then it happens again when he does actually buy her a drink, and she just silently glares at him with an annoyed grimace on her face. Which makes Pentious back off again and immediately declare how he’s buying drinks for everyone again. (“Giving him an opening” my ass.)

She is CONSTANTLY brushing him off the entire night and not showing any interest in him in the slightest, with the ultimate blow being when, clearly drunk, Pentious asks her if she wants to have sex with him, and she responds like this.

It’s the specific wording of “I’m sorry, why would we have sex” for me. Combined with her laughing in his face and looking completely and totally unfazed by it. I’ve seen some people say that “oh she wasn’t saying no, that wasn’t a no” and I’d like to heartily disagree with that notion. People sometimes say “I’m sorry” at the beginning of their sentence either as a means of asking them to repeat themselves or as a means of softening the blow for a rejection, and the wording of “why would we” is a very EXPLICIT rejection in my mind.

It doesn’t read to me like a legit question, it comes off as rhetorical and mean, a firm and amused “no, why the fuck would we do that/no, why the fuck would you think I’d want to have sex with you?” And Pentious’s rejected expression that doesn’t change throughout that brief scene speaks to me that is exactly what was trying to be said here.

And then Pentious bails for the third time and the punchline comes when he’s dragged into that orgy by the rest of the club patrons, she happily goes on her merry way fucking some other club patron for the night and doesn’t even look at Pentious once. There is explicitly NO interest being shown with Cherri here, and it utterly kills any potential ways their characters could mesh in a way that’s fun to watch or talk about.

And we don’t even get the chance to see her again until episode 8, which is where the most infuriating aspect of Cherri’s character in this ship comes into play for me. The part where she learns that Pentious has two dicks.

This is just after Pentious runs away after nervously trying to confess his love for her (again, when they barely know each other and he spent the entire night he saw her last getting constantly rejected by her) and Angel approaches her talking about how she could totally bang/hook up with him and she responds by scoffing and saying “don’t be gross.” And then, when Angel lets slip that he heard Pentious has two dicks…

THEN she becomes interested.

THEN. ONLY THEN.

No thinking he’s cute, no thinking his mannerisms or awkward attempts at talking to her are endearing, no secretly thinking his tech and machines are cool or that the Eggbois are cute, none of that makes her interested in him. It’s the fact that he’s potentially hung in the bedroom that makes her even remotely interested in fucking him. NOT LOVING HIM. FUCKING HIM.

She barely even reacts to his death. It’s just a look of shock on her part. Her brow doesn’t even furrow.

So…Just to recap.

Angel Dust and Husk got multiple scenes together throughout the entire season where they’re constantly interacting, talking, fighting with each other, until it finally culminates in a beautiful and heart wrenching scene of understanding that then glides perfectly into a captivating and catchy song about understanding each other’s struggles and learning that they don’t have to be alone with their shitty situations and can rely on each other.

Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb got, at best, 6 scenes with each other across two and only fucking two episodes, and it consists of nothing but a random and sudden crush that is fueled by no chemistry, no bonding, no understanding, and only consists of the most bare bones physical attraction that raises to a fever pitch of a love confession way, WAY TOO QUICKLY on one side, and total and utter disinterest that only barely reaches the desire to fuck the other just because they heard how they had a second dick on the other side, all culminating in no song, no character growth between the two, and a sacrificial kiss and love confession that feels hollow and empty because there is absolutely nothing there behind it.

Can you see why I’m so mad about how this was written now?

#mun post #ooc post #sir pentious #cherri bomb #cherrisnake

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thranduel · 2 years

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something i find really weird and invalidating is when a gay ship like byler starts becoming popular or there’s a possibility of it being canon, people start arguing and saying things like “mike has shown no sign that he’s gay/bi throughout the entire show, this ship wouldn’t make sense”

like… what?

why do queer people always need to “prove” that they’re queer or “make it obvious” for you to think their sexuality is valid but straight people can just exist and you automatically assume everyone is straight by default? why do you need mike to show signs of being gay/bi in order to “believe” his sexuality? are you kidding me?

even will, who was literally written as gay and is the most gay coded character in the show that has shown NO interest in girls, is being called “straight” by some people, because they can’t believe he’s gay unless he “proves” to them that he’s gay and it’s canon. do they realise how weird they sound? why does he have to prove he’s gay but you can automatically assume he’s straight even though he’s shown NO signs of being straight? why do gay people always have to prove their sexuality but straight people don’t?

do people also realise that many queer kids take a very long time to discover themselves and it’s not going to be “obvious” from the start and some people may identity with one label at one point but then change it later on as they discover themselves, but that does NOT make them any less valid. they’re valid no matter what. these things aren’t easy for everyone and it can take a very long time to fully discover and understand who you are and that’s okay!!

mike has clearly been struggling with his own identity and forced conforming; you can literally see the way he changes whenever el is around and how he acts like someone he’s not. HIS OWN FRIENDS have called him out for it so many times!! true love and getting into a relationship doesn’t make you change THAT much. mike is forcing himself to be someone he’s not and it’s not fair for him, el and everyone around them. it’s not healthy. i don’t know how people don’t understand this. also just look at the way he acted around will in season 4. there’s no other explanation for that except for the fact he has repressed feelings for him

anyways like i said, mike shouldn’t need to “prove” anything to anyone. he’s been in ONE relationship with a girl, the only girl that’s shown attraction to him in fact, and he’s never shown attraction to any other girls either. ted even said “our son with a girl?” and was so surprised about it. he obviously wasn’t specifically talking about mike’s preferences or anything but it just shows that none of the boys interacted with girls at all so it’s a shock to them. they probably wouldn’t have even approached girls at all but then they met el and she gave mike attention and we know the rest. being in one relationship doesn’t mean mike is straight and it’s very weird to say “byler makes no sense because mike hasn’t shown signs of being gay” like are you stupid

#byler

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with-love-from-hell · 11 months

Text

Melancholia

{part Ten}

Fandom: Obey me!

Genre: Angst

Written for F!Mc

WC: 3k

CW: Kidnapping!, Michael is a heavy antagonist and angels are fucked up, slut shaming/victim blaming, mention of suicide vaguely, fear-based content and lots of tension, angst, depression, mentions to past sexual violence in Vermillion Skies, Torture, anxiety, descriptions of deceit, season 2 spoilers

A/n: Michael is quite the wad in this chapter, just as a fair warning! I will be discussing his character in my brain more in the q&a post later on, so send in your questions about the series to my inbox! Also I apologize if the formatting seems wonky or out of order...tumblr is deciding to test my patience this morning.

Music Accompaniment (Point of No Return thru No Love)

>> Though I have a Masters Degree in Psychology and clinical training in treatment for mental health, I am not your therapist. If you have experienced any form of depression or suicidal thoughts, and are in need of help, please utilize the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, NIMH helpline, or the SAMHSA helpline. <<

Series Masterlist

You can find more of this series by searching the tag #Vermillion Skies or #Melancholia on my blog!

“Are you sure that’s what you saw?” Diavolo’s eyes darted between Simeon and Belphie. He wanted desperately for their concerns to just be baseless anxiety, but the grim look on Luke’s face made his heart sink deeper into his stomach. The phone call he had received from Lucifer hours prior was alarming, but he figured the sounds of shuffling and distant grunts meant he had just pocket dialed him. He never would have expected mc and Lucifer to end up missing, and in the brutish hands of the Archangels, no less. After what he had seen Simeon go through, he only hoped that they could get to them before its too late.

“I’m almost 100% certain that Michael has taken both of them.” Simeon clenched his fists, fighting back his demon form. “I don’t know what he’s planning, but it will surely be nothing good.”

Diavolo’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I see...”

Luke squeezed his eyes shut to prevent himself from crying. His grip on Simeon’s sleeve tightened as he tried to make himself calm down. How could this be happening? Michael was a good angel; a merciful angel. This had to have been some sort of mistake!

There was a moment of silence as the brothers looked amongst eachother with uncertainty.

“Well...ain’t we gonna do somethin’ ‘bout this?!” Mammon finally asked, giving a pointed look to Diavolo and Barbatos. "We should be stormin' that fuckin' palace and destroying everythin' in sight!"

A tense sigh passed through Diavolo’s lips as he massaged the slight headache developing at his brow line. “Mammon, it’s not that simple. We have no idea where they’re being held, or why. We have no idea what their next move will be, and we dont know what they'll do when they hear of our rescue efforts.”

“And we certainly don’t have the manpower amongst us to fight the entire celestial army, even with our combined strength.” Satan paced while rubbing his chin, trying hard to think of how they could get both Lucifer and Mc back with the least amount of bloodshed.

“I just...I d-don’t understand...” Luke shook his head, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. “W-why would Michael do something like this?!”

The demons looked amongst each other, unsure of how to respond to the small angel’s query. They felt so much pity for him. He was really having his worldview tested more over the past 4 months than than he had in his entire life.

“Michael is obsessive.” Solomon chimed in as he entered the room, a bag of tinking glassware slung over his shoulder. “He sees Mc as a threat, and it appears as though his desire to renew the exchange program was a ploy to get our guard down so he can neutralize that threat. I only wish i would have picked up on the signs sooner.”

The remaining color left in Luke’s face drained, and he stared at Solomon, wide-eyed. “W-what..? Do...do you mean they’ll...”

Solomon locked eyes with him for a second, a glint of sadness passing through his expression. “They’re going to try to kill her, yes.”

Simeon shook his head, finding himself feeling strangely numb in this moment. "They wont just do that. They've risked too much in even kidnapping Mc.”

Everyone in the room turned to him, looks of pure terror on their faces. The fact that the situation would likely provide Mc with more trauma was enough to try to stomach already, but to run the risk of losing her again made their blood run cold. Each waited with baited breath for what Simeon had to add to suggest that it could get worse than you’re death.

Simeon sighed, avoiding their desperate eyes. “Michael had said over and over that their worst mistake he made during your fall was not ensuring Lilith had been unable to be reincarnated. To ensure that Lilith’s bloodline won’t ever be able to cause a disturbance in the celestial realm again, they are going to attempt to wipe her from existence, along with the one person who could and would stop at nothing to ensure they would never see another day of peace. The one person who, without him, would leave the Devildom vulnerable in the event of an all-out war.”

The brothers each dropped their eyes to the floor, slowly understanding what Simeon was getting at.

Not only would they kill Mc- but they were going to kill Lucifer too.

“But...But...” Luke stuttered, looking amongst the brothers. "Michael's a good angel! He couldn’t...H-he wouldn’t...”

Tears burst from Luke’s eyes, now fully unable to hold back any more. Simeon kneeled, wrapping his arms around him gently, and allowed the small angel to sob into his shoulder. Simeon glanced to Diavolo, who’s expression had become a mixture of grim anticipation, and deep anger.

“My lord, what would you suggest our next move be?” Barbatos did his best to bite his tongue, but was holding onto his sanity by a mere thread. It was bad enough that you had to be taken and threatened with death, but to have a close friend and necessary ally suffer the same punishment made the situation all the more dire. He himself wanted to charge in and swiftly decapitate any angel that crossed his path, but he knew that running in without a plan would be foolish. "If what Simeon says is true, we are already at a major disadvantage given they have been in their grasp for nearly 5 hours. We don’t have much more time left to lose.”

Before Diavolo could even respond, Beelzebub stepped forward, catching his attention. His normal flat expression was turned into an furious scowl, his muscles bulging under his shirt with all the tension he held in his body. The prince didn’t think he’d ever seen the avatar of Gluttony so angry before.

“Our next move should be getting our family back, no matter what it takes.” He stated matter-of-factly, but there was a lust for blood behind his tone that neither of the royals, nor his brothers, had ever heard from the 6th born. “I’ll annihilate their entire army by myself if I have to.”

“While I agree we should prioritize their safety before politics, we mustn’t forget that charging in without a plan only gives them the advantage.” Diavolo sighed. “Though right now, I am frankly at a loss for how to develop one that won’t just be a suicide mission.”

Beel closed his eyes, trying to refrain from snapping on the prince. He was terrified for your wellbeing, and didn't think he could handle the uncertainty of your fate for much longer. He needed you- all of his brothers did. And they needed Lucifer too. Without both of you, his family would fall apart. No one would ever be able to recover from such a loss.

Luke stared between Beelzebub and Diavolo, almost as if he couldn’t understand what they were both saying.

“First we should decide who will be doing what.” Simeon stated, now rising from his knees. He gestured toward Solomon to take Luke from him, who quickly scrambled to replace Simeon’s place as Luke’s support.

Barbatos nodded. “We should establish a rendezvous point as well, in case we get separated.”

Simeon looked to Barbatos, nodding in agreement. “I think it goes without saying that Diavolo and Luke will be staying behind.”

“What?!” Luke and Diavolo both yelled at the same time, seemingly insulted by the assertion that they would not be helping.

“Yeah, What?” Mammon added, crossing his arms. “I understand leavin’ the Chihuahua behind, but Diavolo’s got some mad strength. He could take down 10 seraphim at once without even tryin'!"

“Really, Mammon!? You’re going to call me a Chihuahua now?!” Luke wiped his tears, shooting Mammon a glare.

Barbatos interjected, ignoring Luke’s annoyance at the teasing name. “But if he is injured- or worse, killed- during battle, the Devildom will be without a leader. That’s not something we can afford. We would be susceptible to both external invasion and violent anarchy amongst the lower demons.”

“Besides, it might be helpful to have someone here to prepare a space for injuries.” Satan added, tilting his chin toward Simeon. “If his vision is right...Mc and Lucifer could be in pretty awful shape...”

Mammon winced at the idea of Mc being hurt again, not wanting to accept it as a possible reality.

Diavolo sighed. “Fine, we’ll stay back for now. But if things go south...” He gave Barbatos a deathly serious look, “...I will not hesitate to charge in there- full force.”

Luke shook his head, now pulling out of Solomon’s arms and nearly groveling to Simeon. “No! Wait, I...I could talk to Michael! I could get him to s-see reason!”

Simeon closed his eyes and sighed. “Luke, I know this is hard for you to understand, which is why it’s best if you don’t get involved.”

“But...Mc...” Luke swallowed back more tears, looking at the floor. “I...I want to help...t-to do something...”

“I know...I know.” Simeon took a deep breath to maintain the softness in his voice. He pressed both hands to Luke’s shoulder. “But the way that you can help is holding down a place for when we come back. Please Luke...this is what I need from you.”

Luke sniffled, hanging his head and nodding. “O-okay.”

Simeon gave him a firm hug, solidifying that things were going to be okay. He had experienced a loss of optimism for anything for so long. He hadn't felt the ability to cling to any sort of hope to allow him to move forward. Whether it be denial, fear, anger, or just wanting to see Mc smile one last time, the feeling allowed him to be strong enough to stand as an anchor for everyone else, and to make a plan to get them both back. He needed to be a rock for everyone else, who were near the edge of panic because the two who would normally take the lead were now indisposed.

Mc and Lucifer will be brought back alive...they had to be.

Simeon stood, resting a firm hand on Luke’s shoulder. He pointed toward the brothers, giving fervent direction of what he wanted them to do. “Beel, you will be our tank. Belphie and Satan, you’re his backup. Your job is to neutralize anyone in our way of getting to Lucifer and Mc.”

The three looked at each other and gave a single nod to signify that they understood.

“Levi, and Mammon- you two will help me and Barbatos get into the Celestial prison cells to search for Mc and Lucifer. We will need help getting past guards, and the more people we have searching rooms, the better. You'll take the east wing, and Barbatos and I will be on the west wing.”

“Got it.” Mammon nodded to Levi, winding up his shoulders to stretch the muscles. "I'll wipe the floor with any crumby angel that dares to do harm to the family of the Great Mammon!"

“Solomon- You and Asmo will take up the rear. Do what you can to ensure our portal home isn’t infiltrated and that the others have first aid in the event of an emergency. You will also be our center point of contact.”

Asmo nervously glanced to Solomon, who pressed a reaffirming hand to his shoulder. “Not a problem.”

“For the rest of us outside of Asmo and Solomon, our meet up point should be at the treeline just south of the prison.” Barbatos added, giving a nod to Simeon for thinking through the division of the groups. “If we need to change it, Solomon and Asmo will spread the message. No one should break off from their pairs. There's safety in numbers, after all.”

The group nodded amongst each other, now preparing for what they assumed was going to be an absolutely bloodbath, and the beginning of the end of peace between the realms.

“Get up.”

Lucifer groaned as the words echoed through his throbbing head. He tried to bring his awareness back- to figure out who the voice was, and where it was coming from. A swift kick to the stomach caused him to sputter, the pain pulling his consciousness back to the surface.

How long had he even been out?!

He forced his eyes open, trying to adjust to the dimly lit room he found himself in. As he tried to move his weak muscles, he found his arms restrained tightly behind his back. He looked up, trying to push his vision to convert the blurred outline into the image of the individual standing before him.

“I said: Get. UP.”

Lucifer snarled as the individual grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him up to his knees. He gritted his teeth as his vision adjusted to the shape of the blonde angel, who’s nose was only a few inches away from his own.

“Stand, Demon.” Michael commanded, pulling on Lucifer’s hair again to make him stand.

His knees buckled beneath his weight as he tried to remain standing. Eventually he was able to keep his balance, albeit barely. He hadn’t felt this groggy since Diavolo had spiked his tea with tranquilizer a few months prior. His mind wandered briefly to you, and he was desperate to know where they were holding you. He hoped that you were safe, but given the aggressive handling that Michael and the guards were treating him with, he concluded they were probably weren’t treating you much better. Regardless, he knew he had to figure out a way out of his binds- to make sure you were safe again in his arms.

Michael snapped his fingers, signaling for two armored guards came to Lucifer’s side. They hooked their arms under his armpits and followed Michael out of the room. Lucifer swallowed hard, taking note of his surroundings. Clearly, he was in the celestial palace, but he was unsure of his specific whereabouts- that is, until he was brought before the familiar, intimidating council doors.

He narrowed his eyes, staring daggers into the back of Michael’s head. The last time he was here was when he was begging on his knees for Michael to help him to convince father to let Lilith live. An odd sense of familiarity washed over him as Michael grasped the handles on the doors. He swallowed hard, trying to bring back his cold and confident demeanor...but the fear about whether you both would make it out of this situation alive continued to sit like a rock in his stomach, making it hard to turn away from the anxiety.

Lucifer was thrown down to his knees roughly before the council. He gritted his teeth through the pain, trying to wiggle his arms our of their binds enough to where his shoulder wasn't threatening to dislocate. He took a deep breath before looking to the judging eyes of the council, but was surprised to see only two council members other than Michael who were looking at him with glares of hatred. The rest harbored a look of shock and uncertainty.

"Lucifer. It's been too long." Michael mused sarcastically with a wicked smile as he took his place amongst the council members. “I would love to say it’s good to see you, but unfortunately the mere sight of you is very unpleasant.”

Lucifer tightened his jaw, but said nothing.

Michael cocked his head at him, the smile turning into a teasing smirk. "Come now, you're not going to even give us a proper greeting?"

Lucifer hissed his retort. "Fuck you."

Raphael winced as Michael let out a sickening chuckle. He looked to the other council members, noticing Uriel and Saraquael with similar grotesque smiles. Gabriel, Raguel, and Remiel, however, shared in his discomfort, and tossed nervous glances amongst each other.

"Uh, Michael..." Gabriel nervously chimed in after a pause, trying his best to keep a smile on his face, though it was clearly weathered from nerves. "We...we shouldn't delay in discussing why you've brought Lucifer before us so suddenly, especially considering you didn't not get all of our approval before doing so."

Lucifer lifted an eyebrow as Michael's eyelid twitched. The archangel slowly tilted his head back to look at Gabriel, his intense eyes boring holes into the second in command. "Approval was not necessary. I made an executive decision for the safety of the Celestial realm."

Lucifer furrowed his brow. Safety? What was he talking about??

"When you discussed the revamping of the exchange program, I did not expect this to be your ulterior motive." Raguel shook his head in disapproval as he scratched his long, grey beard. "This isn't right, Michael. Send him home."

"And the human too." Remiel added, a furious look on her face. "I know many angels- including yourself- are wary of deceit from humans after what happened with Simeon, but we have no right to-"

"Silence!" Michael slammed his fists on the podium in front of him, breathing hard. The other council members snapped their mouths shut, not wanting to evoke Michael's fury. "Humans as a race are not the problem here. I've explained this to you thick headed fools 5 times already!"

Remiel gasped quietly, looking to Raguel and Gabriel for support. They said noting, only looked on in shock at Michael’s behavior.

Michael continued. "The problem is this particular human, and those who enable her. She should be exterminated for her sins... and Lucifer..."

He glanced to his former brother over the rim of his glasses, seeing his eyes go wide with panic at the acknowledgement that he wanted to have you killed.

He shook his head. "Lucifer is our second biggest threat if we are to get rid of her, and as such he should be imprisoned indefinitely at the very least- if not sentenced to suffer the same fate."

"Agreed." Uriel stated, without hesitation. "It took 5 injections of the strongest sedative we had to bring him down."

"Who knows what destruction he could cause with those brothers of his if we didn't include him in this." Saraqael glared at him, seemingly disgusted by his actions. "We should have executed all of them after their betrayal instead of letting them fall. The blood of their sister still runs through their veins, and the veins of that wretch of a human."

Michael nodded as Lucifer's lips upturned into a snarl. "His brothers will come for him, and prove just how much destruction they're capable of- but they're no match for our army." He turned back to Gabriel, shaking his head once more. "Mercy for blasphemous actions are what lead Simeon to fall in the first place. Are you suggesting you're fine with every angel turning a blind eye to grace and becoming demons themselves? That simply will not do!"

Gabriel gulped, glancing toward Lucifer and then back to Michael. "Demons are allowed to make their own decisions for how they run their realm. Lucifer having the freedom to love a human doesn't concern us at all, Michael. We have already agreed not to become politically invested in the Devildom beyond maintaining peace."

Raguel stood, mirroring Michael's intensity with his hands firmly on his podium. He had enough of Michael's dictator like order over the council, and unfairness in making such extreme decisions without their input. As the oldest member of the council and a man of tradition, he was insulted by Michael's apparent insolence and side-stepping of the parliament rules. "What you've done is akin to a declaration of war! We're you not able to set aside your petty jealousy of father's favoritism for one moment to think of the consequences of your bull-headed actions!?"

"Tch!" He stood and rounded the podium to the front of the room where Lucifer knelt. He paced in front of him, dark brown irises glaring down intensely at the eldest brother, completely ignoring Raguel's words. "Tell me: What would we have done if this human wasn't given the ring of light?"

“I hardly see what this has to do with anything.” Remiel muttered, sharing a nervous glance with Raguel.

“Just answer the question.” Michael demanded, glancing amongst the council. “Tell me what would have happened.”

Gabriel sighed, crossing his arms. "It was told to us by the sorcerer that her pacts with the brothers would have been revoked."

Michael let out a sickening laugh. "And you believed him?"

Gabriel was taken aback by his words. "I beg your pardon?"

"Lucifer needed to die in order to go with that route. Do you really think the demon prince, had he known, would have allowed that?"

There was a pause, before the hesitant council members slowly shook their heads.

Michael nodded, lips turning upwards into a smile. "Precisely. Now, wouldn't there be an easier option that would produce the same results? And it didn't even cross any of their minds."

The room wad quiet for a moment before Michael let out a 'tsk.'

"What they should have done was dispose of the threat. She not only holds pacts with 7 of the strongest demons at their disposal and could be considered a danger to both the Celestial Realm and the Devildom in that right, but weilding that power has made the entire fabric of the universe unstable."

Michael turned to Lucifer, crossing his arms. "Now, wouldn't such a danger to the 3 world's go directly against your precious Diavolo's plans?"

Lucifer swallowed, but remained silent.

"It would." He answered for him, turning back to the council. "And yet, his love for the human resulted in them risking the stability of not just the Devildom, but the Celestial Realm and the human world as well!"

"The solution that was arrived at was a suitable one." Raguel argued. "Providing the human with the ring of light was more than a reasonable solution, And I remember that you had hidden it from the council. Even after Simeon approached us with the option, you were still vehemently against it because of your own pride."

Michael glared at the older archangel. "And what if she were to take the ring off?"

Remiel sighed. "You saw it with your own eyes, Michael. She was terrified. Why in heavens name would she do that?"

"It doesn't matter how or why." Uriel nodded toward Michael. "His point still stands that it's a possibility, and made the option a mediocre one at best."

Raphael gripped his pants tightly in his fist. He wasn't sure who to side with at this point, and kept finding himself thinking back to Luke and the interactions he witnessed between the two of you. Raphael was still indifferent toward you, considering the bias he initially came into the Devildom with, but even a week with you was enough to sway his opinion slightly in the opposite direction.

Perhaps Michael was obsessed and blinded by anger and power, like Raguel had said to him before the meeting.

"Michael...y-you've gone mad..." Gabriel shook his head in a panic. "This isn't the way father would-"

"And how are you to know what father wants!" Michael snapped back. "I am the leader of this council, and I am the direct executor of his will!"

"Enough, Michael!" Remiel shouted, now standing. "The council was elected as a whole to execute father’s will. Cease this absurdity at once, and release these two back to Devildom! They are innocent!"

"Innocent!? Hah!" Michael laughed sarcastically at her. "Even meeting Mc in real life was enough to convince me she is anything but!"

Lucifer growled in warning, wanting desperately to tell Michael to keep your name off his lips.

Michael shook his head, feeling a shiver run through his spine as he remembered his encounter with the human. The way he felt such an unnatural pull toward her made him feel so disgraceful, and only re-affirmed his mindset on how dangerous she was. "Just the way in which she was dressed told me everything about her intentions. She’s clearly well able to use manipulation and seduction to her advantage. No wonder demons and angels alike have a difficult time controlling themselves around her- clearly she's inviting them to defile her!"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Lucifer finally spat at him, finding himself enraged at the suggestion that your state of dress they had captured you in- that was supposed to be for his eyes only- was somehow an excuse for the trauma you suffered. His eyes bore holes into Michael's as they stared each other down. Lucifer panted, snarling at him as he wrestled with his binds, wanting to beat Michael to death right there.

"Tch." Michael narrowed his eyes. "How pitiful."

"Look, Michael..." Gabriel sighed, "despite your personal feelings on the matter, this entire situation needs further discussion, both amongst the council and with father directly. Until that is done, these two are not to be harmed, and should be returned home."

"We are not doing anything to either of them as long as there is disagreement among the council." Remiel reiterated Gabriel’s words, glaring at Michael with her emerald eyes filled with fire. "That is final."

Michael let out another sickening laugh, making the opposing council members' blood run cold. Even the two who were on his side lost the smirks they displayed through the meeting at the unsettling sound of it.

"This was not a request for any stupid debate, or a vote." He smirked toward Lucifer, who continued to glare at him. "This was just a warning to you that the wheels of retribution are already moving. Her punishment was started well before this meeting, and I saw to it personally."

"Wait...what?" Raphael finally spoke, unsure of what to make of Michael’s words. He glanced uneasily toward Uriel and Saraqael, who shared in his confusion. "Y-you said you would get the councils permission before...before-"

The color drained from Lucifer's face as Michael's smile grew. He felt his stomach churn as Michael folded his arms over his chest, staring Raguel down as the realization of what he had done sunk in to everyone in attendance.

"M-Michael... what did you do to that human?" Gabriel stuttered out, completely blindsided by Michael's descent into madness. He glanced to Lucifer, seeing the Avatar of Pride barely holding on to his emotions.

Michael stayed silent, watching the horror on their faces grow with each passing second. His wicked smile told them everything they needed to know.

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