#I have one scene in particular that I have written and I won't get to share for ages

[ghouljams]

I have more thoughts about Viking Soap but I just needed to let you know that your story is making me GNAW ON THE BARS OF MY CAGE, FOAMING AT THE MOUTH, HOWLING AT THE MOON.

I can’t get over how gentle he is, how he would do anything but god the angst potential, stolen away from a place you’ve always known to a whole different group of people, pretty much forced to join them and continue practicing your skills to help people you consider evil, an enemy even. The emotional turmoil of becoming friends with some and GOD even falling in love with one? Especially the one who whisked you away!

I can’t wait to read more!!!!!

Sincerely,

🥛 Mayo anon

I love viking!Soap, love the juxtaposition of his gentleness with the fact that he is y'know a viking. I love that he isn't who the reader thinks he is, and yet he's exactly who they know him to be. He's big and strong, he's made for violence and will enact if given the chance, but he's also kind and understanding.

I have so much planned for their story. Finding your place in a strange new world, realizing you have a choice in who you want to be and the fear of making the wrong choice. Learning to live with grief, and learning to forgive yourself for leaving. Falling in love with the man that you blame for the path your life has taken, realizing he never had a choice either... y'know normal fic stuff

[brunnerasposts]

"She"

S.H. x Female Reader

Summary: All while you're getting ready for a surprise date, Steve is preparing to tell you for the first time that he loves you.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: mentions of st2-4, bit of a clumsy reader, fluff, dating, mentions of nudity, swearing, Steve just admiring you honestly

Additional Note: Once again, it has been a hot minute since I've written any fanfiction of any kind so please excuse my poor writing 🥲

If there was anything that Steve Harrington had a soft spot for, it was watching you get ready.

From the way you delicately dragged the mascara wand up your eyelashes to the way you always seemed to hum the same melody while spritzing your neck with perfume, it captured his heart every damn time.

This time, in particular, he was antsier. His leg bounced as he sat on your bed, keeping his hands busy by holding onto one of the stuffed animals you kept on your bed. This was a big day for him. For the both of you, though you didn't know it yet.

While you were showering, Steve spent the time rehearsing the scene in his head. He'd take you home after an incredible day, give you a kiss goodnight after walking you to your door like any gentleman would, and just say it. The three words he'd been itching to say anytime he looks at you.

He loved you.

How could he not? You were, in so many ways, perfect for him. Whenever you entered the room, his eyes were always on you. Because of this, he could read you like an open book. He knew that when your eyes would continuously shift around that you were overwhelmed or that when you would chip your nail polish, you were lost in thought. He knew that if he kissed right behind your ear you'd shriek and laugh as you were most sensitive there.

He knew your passions and your hobbies, and you both had already discussed the possible future together. He remembered the way you flushed at the idea of having children together, six no less. To his surprise, you weren't against it and he felt himself falling for you all over again.

"Stevie," You whined as you entered the room, a towel wrapped up on your head and another wrapped around your body. The sight made his breath hitch and his cheeks warm at the sudden sight of you.

God, he wanted to say it so badly.

Swallowing harshly, he found his words. "Yes?" His eyes shifted downward as you raised your leg slightly. A streak of blood was prominent on your calf, causing him to stand from the bed instantly.

"Oh, honey, you've got to be careful with your legs," He frowned, leading you over to your vanity so you could sit and let him take care of you. He kneeled in front of you, his fingers grazing the back of your calf as he raised your leg ever so slightly. You flushed from the position he was in.

"You still have those band-aids I gave you?" He asked as you removed the towel from your damp head of hair before passing it to him.

"Mhm," You turned towards your vanity, opening the middle drawer to pull out the cardboard box. "How many are in there?" He asked as you pulled a sealed band-aid out from the carton. Eyes scanning the contents of the box, you counted around fourteen.

"I'm good on band-aids," You confirmed, handing him the band-aid before returning the box to your drawer.

"Promise?" He asked, using the wet end of the towel to gently wipe away the drying blood on your leg. "Promise." You repeated as he unwrapped the band-aid.

With a soft grin, Steve dried your leg before carefully placing the bandage over the cut. "Does this happen often?" He asked, smoothing out the creases from the band-aid. Really he just wanted an excuse to be close to you, but he wasn't going to tell you that.

You shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess so. I don't mean for it to happen. I just get distracted, I guess." Steve arched an eyebrow. "What distracted you in the shower?" He asked, noting the pout that was forming.

"My boyfriend won't tell me where we're going!" Steve couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, honey, but it's a secret. Just know it's a date." He said as he placed a gentle kiss on your knee before standing. "A surprise date." You reminded him.

"And you know I'm not good with surprises!" You whined and watched Steve as he sat back down on your bed before picking up the teddy bear again.

"I know, but you love them." He teased, causing you to huff before picking up a hair brush.

"Can I guess?"

"You can try," He grinned, now laying on his stomach so he could watch you.

Your eyebrows began to scrunch as you thought about the possibilities. "Rollerskating?" You asked as you started to detangle the ends of your hair. Steve gently shook his head, gazing at you with nothing but adoration.

Picking up the small juice box you had opened earlier, you took the straw between your lips and began to drink what was left of it. "Hm, oh! A picnic?" You guess again, Steve once again shaking his head. "Two strikes. You get one final guess before we get to the car. Are you sure you want to use it now?" He asked, seeing the panic enter your eyes.

"No, I need to think for a while." You admitted, picking up your hair brush again before continuing to contain your already drying hair. "I used my new soap that you got me," your voice carried easily across the room. "Oh, yeah?" Steve asked, standing from the bed. "Mhm, the lemongrass scented one." You stood from the vanity, making your way over to sit beside Steve. He sat up quickly, leaning in to place a gentle kiss to your neck and bare shoulder.

A soft hum escaped your lips, followed by a yawn. "You smell like lemongrass and sleep." He admitted, making you laugh. "Sleep? I dont think that's a scent, Steve." You told him, leaning your head against his as he rested his chin on you. "Of course it is. I just made it up." He grinned, causing you to shake your head at his playful manner.

"Gotta finish getting ready." You whispered, causing him to whine and wrap you up in his arms. "Steve—!" You yelped as he pulled you down onto the bed, making you squeal as he began to smother your face with kisses. "No, no, Steve!" You laughed, him finding your most sensitive places. He knew just where you were ticklish.

"I'm not doing anything, hon." He said with a cheesy grin. "Yes you are! Steve," You continued to laugh, your breathing becoming rapid as you couldnt catch your breath. "Whats the password?" He asked, fingers delicately moving up and down your rib cage. You writhed underneath him, eyes teary from laughing so hard. "Stevie," You gasped out, his fingers coming to a slow halt.

"Not fair. You know I can't resist that nickname." He hummed, gazing down at you with nothing but adoration in his eyes. Your laugh had to be his favorite sound. There was never a day he didn't make you laugh. Anytime you were happy, he found himself suddenly in a better mood. Your smile had that effect on him. Your laugh had it too. But most importantly, you had that effect.

Once you had caught your breath, you simply laid with him. "Gonna let me get dressed now?" You whispered, looking up at him as your own fingers began to trace him. You focused on each mole, practically playing connect the dots on his arms. Steve chuckled a little. "I can't tell if you actually want to get ready," He joked, noticing that you weren't even budging. Though the moment he said that, you moved.

"I do! You keep distracting me," You pouted a little, though it was a playful one. You made your way over to your dresser, opening a drawer. "Does it matter what kind of undergarments I wear?" You asked with an arched brow, causing Steve to chuckle. "Whatever you're most comfortable in, baby." He hummed before grabbing the teddy bear again.

It was from your second date together. Hawkins was hosting its very own carnival in the town square and Steve thought it would be a great date opportunity for you both. He promised he'd win you a prize and ended up with a backseat covered in stuffed animals. Steve wasn't sure what you'd do with them all, so you decided to donate them. However, this teddy bear was your favorite of them all so you kept it. Steve wasn't sure why, so he decided it was time to ask.

"Hon?"

"Hm?" You asked as you put them on. It wasn't anything Steve hadn't seen before so you went back to your vanity to begin drying your hair.

"You never told me why you kept beary." He said, returning his attention to you. You were already looking at him, a soft smile growing.

"He was the first prize you won for me. Thought he deserved to be kept to cherish the memory." You explained, plugging the hairdryer in. Steve's heart practically melted from your words. "Really? I didn't think he meant that much."

"Are you kidding? Stevie, I could tell just how much you wanted to prove to me that you would win him. And it wasn't to try and look cool or something either. I knew you were just trying to make sure I had a good time. But what you didn't understand was that I always have fun when I'm with you. No matter what it is we're doing."

Steve held the plush to his chest now, suddenly overcome with your words.

"I love you."

The room was overcome with immediate silence, quickly followed by the blow dryer slipping from your grasp and landing on your toe. You gasped and instantly shot up from the chair you sat in. "Fuck!" You couldn't help but swear. Steve sprang up from the bed in a sudden panic.

"I'm sorry! God, I'm so so sorry! This is my fault, I shouldn't have—" He huffed a bit before lifting you bridal style and gently sitting you down on your bed. "I'm fine, Steve, I'm fine!" You promised, biting your lip to ease the pain in your foot.

Steve quickly kneeled to inspect your foot, noticing that your toe had really only turned a few shades darker. Hopefully, it wouldn't bruise. "Scale of one to ten?"

"A six." You answered, watching as he further set into panic.

Steve sprinted downstairs, ignoring the questioning looks your parents gave him as he stumbled into the kitchen to grab an ice pack. He then flew back up the stairs, panting as he reached you again. "Here," He said, hands fumbling as he put the ice bag on your foot. "Better?"

"Better." You said, watching him with concern. Noticing that you were staring, Steve asked, "What?" while trying to catch his breath. That is until he saw your lip begin to quiver. "Oh no, no, honey. Please don't cry. I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have startled you like that." He apologized, wiping the tears as they began to fall. Steve cupped your cheeks gently, gazing at you.

"Steve-"

"Oh, princess, look!" He exclaimed, seeing your toe was still no longer the color that it was before. "Let me keep holding the ice here to make sure it doesn't swell, yeah?" He gently pressed, making you wince a little, but your foot was the least of your worries.

"Steve..." You trailed off, hoping to capture his attention this time. "I know, I know, but sometimes you say you're fine when you're not. So, it is my job as your boyfriend to make sure that you are taken care of." He smiled, gently rubbing the back of your calf.

"Steve." You finally said in a tone that was stern enough for him to look up. His eyes were laced with concern, searching yours for any signs of what he did wrong. You smiled softly before shakily cupping his cheeks in your hands and leaning forward.

Liking where this was going, Steve met you halfway, lips sealing with yours.

He shifted, cradling your head as the kiss turned more passionate, your arms wrapping around his neck to pull him closer. You hummed against his lips, fingers finding their way into his hair which you tugged gently. Steve groaned, his hands beginning to travel...that is until you gently held his wrists.

He parted from the kiss, confused as to why you stopped him. Oh, but he was met with that adorable smile and flushed face he couldn't resist. "Sweetie?" He asked, wondering why you wouldn't let him continue.

You parted your lips, almost hesitant to say what you wanted, but you took a deep breath and held Steve's hands. "I love you too, Steve." You admitted, blinking a little quickly to rid of the tears that were beginning to form.

He stared at you, unsure if he believed what he was hearing. The girl he loved more than anything, the girl he'd die for, the girl he'd kill for...loved him too. Steve began to realize that it didn't matter what he said or where he said it. The only thing that mattered was that you made him happier than he ever thought he could be.

"Steve, please say something."

He wasn't exactly sure what to do. His heart was racing, his palms were a little sweaty, and all he could think about was ways he could say thank you.

Your eyebrows furrowed, confused. "Why-?" But before you could finish your question, you were being tackled onto the bed in a warm embrace. You squealed in surprise, laughing as you held each other. He kissed all over your face, speaking between kisses. "How did I get so lucky?"

His fingers, once again, found their way to your ribcage, making your legs kick. "Noooo! Steve Harrington, you let me go this instant!" You begged, laughing between words. Steve couldn't help but laugh as well. "Not until I hear those words leave your pretty little mouth again." He grinned mischievously.

"Okay, okay! I love you! I love you! I love you!" You exclaimed, getting louder each time you said it. He finally stopped tickling you, allowing you to catch your breath. "I love you, Steve Harrington." You said more seriously this time, making him grin from ear to ear.

"I love you too, dollface. Now...let's get you ready for our date, yeah?"

The End.

[homunculus-argument]

Hey i have a question

I see that you are Finnish probably? One of my mutuals has a question about a Finnish phrase that translated literally as "i will read you into a lake" or something similar, but I could not find mentions of this phrase online (they are looking for a particular post). Can you please tell me what it would be in Finnish? Google translate isnt of much help...

Could it perhaps have been "I will sing you into a swamp"? Laulan sinut suohon. Because that is a reference to old finnish folklore. Many old finnish spells, curses and blessings were written down as poetry, but were recited by singing instead of just speaking, in a handful of very specific song forms. Epic poetry and stories were usually also sung, making the tales easier to remember and recite.

While the collection process and end result of the epic poem Kalevala is Problematic™ in ways that I won't bother to go into (I will just get my ass chewed if I don't go out of my way to aknowledge that), the tale features a scene early on in the beginning, where the great wizard demigod Väinämöinen meets a youth named Joukahainen on a narrow road, and neither of them is willing to move out of the way so the other could go first.

It turns out that Joukahainen had been looking for Väinämöinen for some time in order to challenge him in a battle of powers, but he was already down to fight this old man before figuring out that this is actually the demigod he was looking for to begin with. They begin a battle through song-magic, in which Väinämöinen sings Joukahainen's horse into stone, and Joukahainen himself into a swamp.

While the story itself gets pretty grim pretty soon after that, I want to point out how comical this whole scene is, though it's never depicted that way. Imagine walking in on an epic wizard rap battle between an ancient demigod wizard who is literally older than the universe as we know it, and a 15-year-old boy. Ancient powers are commanded through song to reshape the foundations of the Earth over a traffic issue that could have been resolved in 5 seconds, but neither of them is willing to be the bigger person about this.

This conflict escalates to the point where people die over it.

[crow-stars]

❝ONCE UPON A DREAM❞

❦summary; dreams are wonderful things, the thing we escape to when the waking world gets to burdensome. some dreams, however, give us hints in the future ♪the characters in this story; prefect!gn!reader, malleus draconia ✎word count; 809 ❀what do the ghosts say?; ambiguous, lots of dream talk, very short i won't lie, kind of rushed, reader appears at the end ☛the author's notes; i haven't written in a bit and then suddenly decide to do inktober i am the perfect writer ever /hj ☪look at the catalogue?

Malleus didn’t often have the time to engage in things other than what he was told to do. Stuck in a castle all the time left him with little to do, and what he was able to find interest in would sometimes become a bore soon enough. 

So, when the fae prince fell asleep, dreams tended to be his only escape. Of course, most of these dreams were either nonsensical or unable to be deciphered once he woke up. But it didn’t matter when many of the feelings from said dreams carried on after Malleus woke up. 

One of the types of dreams that would stick out to him were the familiar ones. Not ones that retold the events of the day, but the ones that he barely remembers when he wakes up. It’s the ones that he only remembers when in the waking world, the ones that make him pause and feel like he’s lived through these events before. At first, it was weird for Malleus, and he wanted to find an explanation for this weird occurrence. 

Though there was only so much Malleus could do before he would be pulled back into the duties of studying and learning. With those obstacles in the way, Malleus eventually relented with just allowing his dreams to be. Whenever he got that familiar sense of deja vu, Malleus would pocket the event away in his mind and carry on with what he was doing. 

However, there was this one dream that Malleus could never forget and always left him yearning for more, even when he was younger. A dream with someone that he could barely remember, but could make his heart feel both heavy and full once he woke up. It was the type of dream that made Malleus yearn for something that he couldn’t reach for, or maybe haven’t experienced yet.

The dream would always start somewhere warm, filled with sun, somewhere that was beautiful and made Malleus feel so at peace. Then he would wander around for a bit before meeting with someone and wandering around with that person. Sometimes they would talk about things he doesn’t remember, sometimes they would sit together and do activities. The dream would end with a scene where he was standing somewhere cold, yet could only feel happy. Then Malleus would wake up and the images his head had built would fade away. 

Malleus would only continue to have dreams such as this until he slowly stopped having dreams. Lilia had told him it was a consequence of growing up, slowly not being able to have dreams anymore. It made Malleus aghast at such a thing and he hated it, oh he hated it. But he had to accept it eventually, as the dreams that he loved having so much slowly began to disappear from Malleus’ nights, especially that warm dream that Malleus held so close to his heart. That too soon faded away like dust and left Malleus only with the emotions he could cling to. 

After that, dreams would be a rare occurrence for the fae, if any happened at all. They were fleeting and barely able to grasp. The dreams that felt familiar to Malleus were also rare as well and only the ones of the past stayed to be fulfilled. Except that one dream. 

It wasn’t until Malleus became a junior at Night Raven College that the last dream could come to fruition. 

On a particular night, when Malleus was out wandering during the night and aiming to explore his favorite abandoned building, instead of serene silence and the feeling of solitude, there was a human there, standing outside of the building that once was a dorm, looking up at the stars with an almost solemn expression. 

At first, they didn’t notice him, just staring up into the starry sky. When they did, however, they jumped in surprise with a shocked cry leaving past their lips. It almost gave Malleus a chuckle. He inquired about why a human was at the abandoned building and getting the answer that they were living there. Pity. It was one of his favorite spots to explore. The human then asked about Malleus’ identity, a light smile on their lips as they awaited his answer. 

It gave Malleus pause, seeing the sight before him. 

It was cold, yet... there was a sense of warmth that bloomed in his chest. He had to pause for a moment, think for a bit, before he responded. He told the human to call him what they wish, and lamenting just a bit about how the dorm they lived in could no longer be called abandoned before disappearing in a flurry of fireflies. 

It was a night cut short for Malleus, unfortunately. But, that sense of deja vu washed over him. And that night, for once, Malleus dreamed again.

[o-uncle-newt]

We don't talk enough about the Petherbridge/Walter adaptations of the Wimsey/Vane novels.

(Well, we probably talk EXACTLY enough about Gaudy Night, which is really pretty bad, but besides for that...)

(Sorry, just a warning, Richard Morant as Bunter is fine but I won't have much to say about him here. I just really like this picture.)

The casting is basically perfect, especially Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. I no longer see the book character in any other way- the only notable difference is that in the book she's noted as having a deep voice, but Walter's has a distinctive enough tone that I think it works regardless. She is just so, so, so good- captures the character beautifully, sells everything she does whether mundane or ridiculous (probably the best/most realistic reaction of someone finding a body I have EVER seen in Have His Carcase), makes the most of every limited minute she's on screen in Strong Poison and leaves her mark every minute that she isn't... and she looks AMAZING doing all of it. Just perfect, could not imagine better casting.

Edward Petherbridge I don't hold up to that level of perfection- I think that, try as he might, he's not really able to capture Wimsey's dynamism (possibly because he's a bit too old for the role) and is a bit overly caricatured in many of his mannerisms. But overall he does a pretty good job, in addition to looking quite a lot like how I'd imagined Wimsey- but in particular, I think he does a really lovely job of selling a lot of the emotion that he has to convey in some scenes that feel like they SHOULDN'T be adaptable from the book- specifically the scenes of him and Harriet. Him proposing to Harriet, him being disappointed when she (completely reasonably) turns him down... those shouldn't work on screen with real humans rather than in Sayers's calculated prose, but it DOES work and in no small part because he's great at selling Wimsey's feelings as being genuine even when his actions seem over the top. And, of course, Harriet Walter sells her end of the scenes right back. All in all, I think I have mixed feelings about Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey the detective, but I'm a fan of him as Peter, the man who has feelings for Harriet.

Overall, though, both are, I think, very successful in capturing these characters- the fact that they take these people who even in the book can sometimes push the boundaries of likeability (which to be clear, is part of what I love about reading them) and make them eminently watchable is a great achievement. And also, in addition to their really looking like their characters individually, they're very well matched as a pair in the way that one pictures them from the book. They're even of very similar height and build, which we know is canonically true from Gaudy Night, and thus at least a somewhat relevant element of their dynamic.

Now, the adaptations are very uneven, and that's even without talking about Gaudy Night because, while it has about as good a rendition of the punting scene as I think we were ever going to get, most of the rest of it is crap and massively expands on what I think are serious problems to Peter and Harriet's relationship that the series as a whole had (not to mention cutting the character of St George, which is a travesty). None of the adaptations are perfect, and mess with aspects of their relationship in negative ways- for example, the ending of Strong Poison is exactly backward in a really awful way. I'll get back to this.

But when the show gets the two of them right, it gets them RIGHT, even when it's adapting Sayers's text/creating new dialogue. There are scenes in this one that I love almost as much as the canon text, like this one:

I don't think any of this is in the book, and there are things that happen here that I don't think Sayers would have ever written. But at the same time, a combination of the dialogue and the actors makes it COMPLETELY believable as these two people, and it captures a moment that is just really key for Peter as he faces his limitations and his feelings- something that in the book is conveyed through a lot of internal narrative on Peter's part that would be impossible to adapt as is, but that in the world of the show needed to happen in a much more visual and narrative way. Not all of the dialogue that this series chooses to fill in those gaps works, but even when it doesn't the actors do their best to sell the heck out of it, and when the dialogue DOES work it is seriously brilliant.

Probably my favorite of the adaptations is Have His Carcase, and scenes like this one are a big part of the reason why:

They change the location, but otherwise it's EXTRAORDINARILY faithful to the equivalent scene in the book, and honestly it shouldn't have worked with real people doing it and yet it does. It's just acted perfectly, given just enough arch and silly humor (particularly with the spinning door) that we don't attempt to take it too seriously, while also conveying the relevant emotions so well. The actors in the scene through only their faces and ways of speaking convey subtext that Sayers, in the book, conveyed a lot later on as actual text in the characters' thoughts, and there's something pretty great about that.

Other Have His Carcase scenes are less good (the dance scene is mediocre at best, I think), but if there's another Have His Carcase scene that I think illustrates how great Walter and Petherbridge are at selling the human sides of their characters, it's That Argument- seen here:

The Argument is a pale imitation of that in the book- the one in the book is, in fact, probably unadaptable as is- but it is still just so good because the actors are so good at selling it. Walter is just brilliant in the role and utterly inhabits it while also imbuing it with her own spin, and makes us feel Harriet's pain- and Petherbridge, through some relatively subtle facial expressions and reactions, is able just as well to make US understand what all of this means to him and how he feels. It's actually really remarkable that, just like how Sayers writes a relationship dynamic that only feels like it works because she's the one who wrote it that very specific way, this scene feels like it only works because these two actors play it in this specific way. Could two other actors do it? Very possibly, but it would feel super different and I wonder if it would feel this authentic. (I do want to note though that this scene made me really wish that we'd seen a Frasier-era David Hyde Pierce in the role of a younger and spryer, but equally posh, witty, and vulnerable, Wimsey. It just gave me vibes of something that he'd do beautifully.)

Now, as I said above, this doesn't get EVERYTHING right. In fact, quite a lot of their relationship ends up going pretty wrong- as I think a major mistake is their throughline which emphasizes Peter's continued pursuit of Harriet as not just reiterating his interest to make it clear that he hasn't changed his mind, but actively taking advantage of moments and situations in a romantic sense, taking a much more specific role in engaging with her physically, commenting on her appearance, saying how difficult it is for him to NOT pursue her more, etc. It makes the whole thing feel a lot more cat-and-mouse rather than a budding relationship of equals, and one where Peter acknowledges the whole time that they HAVE to be equals for a) Harriet to feel comfortable with him and b) them to be good together. In fact, however good the Argument above is, it's kind of undercut by this very pattern- he makes the book's point about him treating his feelings like something out of a comic opera, but he also at that point in the story has had a few much more oppressively serious scenes with her that clearly make her uncomfortable- nothing like anything in a comic opera. It's like the show misses the point a little.

I think the place where this really starts is at the end of Strong Poison. (I could see an argument to be made that it starts earlier, in a few smaller nuances of their jailhouse scenes, but I like those enough that I choose not to read into them too much lol.) After what I think is a great addition to the final jailhouse scene (one that I loved so much I repurposed it for a fic)- "it's supposed to be about love, isn't it" and some excellent reactions from Petherbridge- Harriet goes to court, her charges are dismissed, and unlike in the book, when it's Wimsey who leaves first (which Eiluned and Sylvia point out is a sign of his decency in not waiting for Harriet to thank him), here Wimsey is the one who watches as Harriet rejects him and walks away from him- the beginning of the chase. But nothing about their relationship is meant to be a chase! It's so frustrating to watch as that proceeds to be a continuing issue to a limited degree in Have His Carcase (where it's at least balanced by enough good moments that it doesn't matter so much) and to a MASSIVE, genuinely uncomfortable degree in Gaudy Night.

The only praise I will give it is that while the punt scene in the book is unfilmable, I think this adaptation did its best here and it's pretty good.

I'm not going to spend much time talking about Gaudy Night otherwise, because I'd need all day for it and also I'd probably need to rewatch it to make sure I get the details right and I have zero interest in doing that, but the way that it has Wimsey imposing himself and his feelings/hopes on Harriet to a really ridiculous degree, in a way that he never, ever does in the book, is just so so discomfiting and makes me feel terrible for Harriet. She doesn't deserve that. If I recall correctly, in that scene at the dance at the beginning, she's so happy just being with him and then he's all "oh so this means you want to marry me" and she just droops. He's so aggressive!

And that's what makes the worst part so bad, because not only does this miniseries not depict Wimsey's apology as the book does- one of the best scenes in a book full of brilliant scenes- it would actually be weird if it did, because this show doesn't imply that there's ANYTHING for Wimsey to be apologizing for! In fact, unlike in the books where we see Wimsey growing and deconstructing the parts of himself that had been demanding of Harriet, in the series we only see him get more demanding- until finally he wins. It's honestly infuriating and I hate it- the actors do their best to sell it (and apparently they were given bad enough material that they actually had to rewrite some of it themselves, though I have mixed feelings about the results) but it is just massively disappointing. Basically the whole emotional journey between the two of them is not just neutered but twisted.

For all of my criticisms of the adaptations' all around approach to their relationship, I do have to reiterate- Walter and Petherbridge do a wonderful, wonderful job. (Especially Walter.) When they're given good material to work with, and even often when they aren't, they are able to sell it so well- and particularly in the case of Walter, I genuinely can't think of the character as anyone but her rendition now. She IS Harriet Vane for me. And, for all the flaws that the series has, that's something pretty dang special.

Anyway, for anyone who read through this whole thing and hasn't seen these adaptations, I DO recommend Strong Poison and Have His Carcase- but not Gaudy Night unless you're either really curious or a glutton for punishment. The first two, though, have very good supporting casts, are quite faithful plot wise (sometimes to a fault- another flaw is that they are really devoted to conveying the whole mystery with all its clues sometimes to the point of dragginess, but will drop sideplots like, for example, Parker and Mary- which is totally reasonable, but still vaguely disappointing as those sideplots tend to add some levity/characterization), and just generally are an overall good time. (Some standout characters for me are Miss Climpson in Strong Poison and Mrs Lefranc in Have His Carcase.) And, of course, the best part is seeing the little snippets of Peter and Harriet that come through- less so their journey, vs in the book where that's central, but so many scenes where we just see the two of them together as they are in that moment and it's so satisfying.

[happyely]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love. 🥀🖤

(Thank you for the tag @dynamars) 🪷

Although at the moment there are only two to be published here are my stories

My Hogwarts Accademia {DabixFem!ReaderxShigaraki}

Set in the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry, the story follows the protagonist as she begins to navigate the dangerous world of magic in which her parents have disappeared, but she won't be alone: ​​Dabi and Shigaraki will become two very important people to her...

A Song of Love and Blue Fire - [work in progress] - {DabixFem!Reader}

You are Princess Fuyumi's lady-in-waiting. Even though she is two years younger than you, you have a very close relationship with her and her family. Only Prince Touya keeps his distance from you, but you can't blame him, he likes another kind of women and he is the heir to the throne, you are just his sister's lady-in-waiting. Life in the palace goes by quietly, Princess Fuyumi's birthday is upon us, it promises to be a very important celebration for the royal family and for the nobility. But something doesn't go as planned and suddenly you find yourself having to pass out a conspiracy against the royal family and working closely with Prince Touya and his attendants.

Egyptian Tales - [work in progress]

Four very spicy one-shots with an ancient Egyptian background🌅

My Hero Accademia Crossover/ Jujutsu kaisen - Sorcery Fight - The Curse of the Blue Pearls [ DabixOc]

Dabi is a curse that was awakened when Erena broke a blue pearl necklace. Erena has always seen paranormal things since she was a child, she is not afraid of the curse she has released, but she is attracted to it and wants to help her. In a difficult situation they are forced to make an agreement, but this is not seen well by sorcerers.

ProHeroTouya x FemVillainreader! [Work in progress]

A very particular Au, I'm undecided on how many chapters to do, I estimate between 15/20 just to do things right and I don't know, I would like to have your opinion🥺, I would also like to put some nuicge, I already have a couple in my head🥰 obviously there will be hot scenes and smut 🥵 🌶️🔞, but there will also be a lot of angst and a lot of introspection.

Bonus:

Dabi

10 short essays on Dabi

Tag: @airanke @dabislittlemouse @dabislittlebeaniebaby @dabislilbaby @dabisqueen

[notmaplemable]

Mable's RWBY Redo: Volume 1 + Trailers

Hello hello, and welcome to my own version of FRWBY, but hopefully without the controversy. But I wouldn't really call this a "fix it" fic or anything. More just a writing exercise where RWBY was more planned out than it actually was/is.

Since it does seem to me that RWBY was written quite a bit by the seat of CRWBY's pants, at least in the earlier volumes. How much that changed, I don't claim to know. But there are a few things in RWBY that probably would've more impactful if they were setup earlier. So, I'm going to try to do that.

I will be keeping most of the major concepts of RWBY the same. Dust, Grimm, impractical but flashy weaponry, the White Fang and that whole thing, Salem, etc. But just because I'm keeping the concept, doesn't mean there won't be changes in execution.

There are also a few things that where the plan seems to have shifted at some point. Like the Raven plotline for example, it seems like Monty was the only one who really knew what he planned to do with that. So I might be willing to go a bit more "off the rails" with that specifically and a few other things.

I'm also going to try to keep in mind the resources RT would've had at the time of each volume. So I won't be immediately changing things to 22 minute episodes with 16 episodes a season or something like that.

I am, mostly, going to be taking an episode by episode approach to this. Though I don't really have any experience with screen writing or what you can fit into a certain amount of runtime. So I'm not going to write out all the dialogue and things for most scenes. Just giving summaries and a few scenes of particular importance.

Though I think here would be a good time to respond to a few comments something like this might get.

No, I don't think I could've done better than CRWBY. No, I don't hate RWBY, I rather love it. No, I'm not going to sideline RWBY for a bunch of "straight white male" characters. No, I'm not going to erase all the LGBT representation. Yada yada yada. If you don't want to read something like this, you are more than welcome to block me or whitelist the tag. This is more or less just a fun writing exercise for me.

I'm doing the ships I want though.

So with that said, let's hop right in.

------

Trailers

The red and yellow trailers will be completely unchanged.

The white and black trailers will be unchanged as far as what happens in each trailer.

For the white trailer, the change won't really be to the trailer itself, but more so something that changes things post fall of beacon. The arma gigas fight didn't actually happen and that's not how Weiss got her scar. Why? One fan fic had her get the scar a different way and I like it more than the canon way.

That's really it.

For the black trailer, Blake's design is the only thing that's changing. Now, it's not going to be a complete redesign. Mostly because introducing the rest of RWBY but Blake with their canon outfits would kind of be weird and require a good bit of extra work. I'd imagine at least.

So I'm just going to have her not wear the bow, and with shorter hair. Not quite what she had in Atlas though, probably something closer to Kali's actually. And add some white fluff to her inner cat ears to make them a bit less... flat.

Now, that does remove the dramatic reveal that she's a faunus for the audience. But I think the dramatic irony of only the audience knowing that can make up for it. And the hair can be a bit of a rough signifier of how long between the black trailer and her appearance in V1 was.

And just for the in universe logic of Blake not looking exactly the same if she thinks Adam is going to be coming after her. It's not much of a change, but it is a change.

------

Volume 1

I'm not going episode by episode in V1, since there really isn't that much I want to change. But I will be shortening to the volume to 10 episodes instead of 16. With the volume ending after "Players and Pieces" with 2 more episodes added to initiation. Which I imagine will mostly just be added action and maybe some conversation.

The first major change is going to be that Jaune still doesn't have his aura unlocked, but he knows what aura is. Or, at least the 5 minutes of research on Remnant's version of google's version of what aura is. He's gonna be looking for a way to have it unlocked. Maybe add in a throwaway like where he wonders to himself if he should ask Ruby to do it.

The second major change is actually something we aren't going to see. The reason why Blake decided to make Yang her partner, since she does seem to purposely seek Yang out in canon but we never really hear the reason. But honestly I can't think of a good enough reason at the moment besides Yang knowing Blake's secret. So we'll just save that for a flashback later and have it implied there was a deeper reason for now.

Everything else pre-initiation should be the same.

Once we get to the cliffs before everything starts, CRDL will not be there. Since we aren't doing jaunedice yet there's no reason to have them yet. We'll also have it stated that there are multiple launch sites and have Ozpin say something along the lines of "of the 200 of you that will go into the forest today, only 50 of you will pass," to give us more of an idea of the size of the class. Though the numbers can be changed to whatever.

Then things get started, everyone partners up, Ren doesnt kill a king taijitu because power scaling. We see Ruby and maybe a few others cutting through the unarmored beowolves, adolescent beowolves to be precise, with relative ease and start to struggle once the armored ones start showing up. To help with the power scaling a bit.

Jaune convinces Pyrrha to help "boost" his aura so he can heal faster. Pyrrha knows that's not how that works but goes along with it anyways. With her having some suspicions of Jaune, but not confronting him about it since... you know.

Everything else in initiation should be pretty much the same. Maybe with an extra fight scene or two. Ruby and Jaune are still named leaders. But we do get a small scene afterwards with both teams heading to their dorms which are of course, right across the hall from each other.

So, a bit after sundown the two teams go into their dorms, with Ruby and Jaune deciding to stay out for a second for a quick chat.

------

The two new leaders stand in front of their dorms, neither of them saying a word for a moment before Jaune decided to speak.

Jaune: You running up that that cliffside to kill that giant bird grimm was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Ruby: You mean the Evermore? *Jaune nods* Well, it was nothing really... I just saw an opportunity and took it. You know?

Jaune: I guess.

Ruby: But your team took down the Deathstalker, right? I bet that was super cool too.

Jaune: Everyone else did all the work. I kind of just stood there hiding behind my shield.

Ruby: But Pyrrha said you were the one who figured out how to take it down.

Jaune: Yeah, but-

Ruby: No buts! Besides, a good plan can be the difference between life and death sometimes. At least that's what my Uncle Qrow says.

Ruby: That's probably why Professor Ozpin made you a leader.

Jaune: *Rub the back of his head* Yeah... Heh, maybe he made you a leader since you're so good a pep talks.

Ruby: I guess...

JR: ...

Ruby: ...We've been training most of our lives to fight Grimm and bad guys. Maybe learning how to be leaders won't be so hard, right?

Jaune: ...Right.

*RWBY's dorm door opens*

Yang: Hey, Rubes, what are you still doing out here?

Ruby: Just talking to Jaune.

Yang: *Looks at Jaune* Vomit Boy.

Jaune: Can you please not call me that?

Yang: Not until you unruin my boots. *Turns back to Ruby* Now come on, we need our leader, and my favorite little sister, to pick who gets the bed closest to the bathroom.

Ruby: Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow Jaune.

Jaune: *smiles* Have a good night, Ruby.

Ruby: *Goes into her dorm with Yang*

Jaune: *Soon after Ruby shuts her dorm door Jaune's smile turns into a look of pure guilt as he stands silent in the dimly lit hallway*

Roll credits

------

And that's the end of volume 1. Not sure when I'll get to the next volume, but it'll be sometime soon. V2 should be more detailed, and will probably end up being longer than one post.

So yeah, tell me what you think and I'll see you next time.

[blindbatalex]

bruins hrpf recs from the server #1

What's that you ask? Why, it's a weekly fic rec list for bruins hrpf, brought to you by our humble server! We start with the theme of✨ self-recs ✨ to kick things off:

And In Flu Enza by @confusion-is-wonderful || various, team ensemble || 12,655 words

(and we no longer need to run) let’s not fight what’s in our blood by @fvcking-damage || marcheron || 94,775 words || author's note: longest thing i’ve ever written (so far!) and i had a lot of fun writing it. i wrote it with so much love and it’s a bit personal to me, how i reflected some of the things i’ve gone through into this story and through magic, it’s one close to my heart

BAM-BAM by @gaybroons || cambrick || 1,103 words || author's note: it is a very silly “stuck in wall” trope, and I feel like I had fun with it! :)

finally i feel like i have a home here by fvcking-damage || marcheron || 21,257 words || author's note: i like this one because even though it’s one of the first things i wrote, i love it so much! it was a trip rescuing this wip and reworking it for a completely different fandom— and making it work! i love taking things slow and making these two fall in love

I'm Losing the Feeling by @thebluejayawe || marcheron & team ensemble || 4,301 words || author's notes: ~,,,,I go back and reread this. This is a self promo of truth, I reread my own work and enjoy it sm. This whole fic was written for my exact interests. I’m vaguely happy more than me enjoys it

Love and Marriage by @blindbatalex || willypasta || 11,749 words || author's note: this fic is dear to me not only bc it pushed the boundaries of my abilities at the time but also bc i allowed myself to be as silly and self-indulgent as i wanted for once - and who doesn't want to see willy get adopted by the bruins vets ;)

Sweet by anonymous || marcheron || 15,559 words || author's note: i like it because it is about how everything is about sex except sex which is about being hungry.

take my hand by blindbatalex || marcheron || 7,670 words || author's note: person who thinks they are doomed only to underestimate just how much they are loved is like catnip to me!! besides i had a blast with the worldbuilding and the magic here.

They'd find us in a week (I’d be home with you) by @gaybroons || swaymark || 1,686 words || author's note: it was the very first fic I wrote!!! Opened the flood gates. Will always be special to me <3 there’s this one scene where sway is being hand fed berries that I really like, personally.

(we won't break, we won't die) it's just a moment of change by @munch4march || marcheron || 12,531 words || author's note: i love this one bc it's a 5+1 which is one of my favorite formats, but the 5 and the 1 are lowkey just little individual fics in themselves of brad contemplating the captaincy and the weight that comes with it while patrice is there for him. i think it's sweet

Wild Horses by @thebluejayawe || marcheron || 13,331 words || author's notes: ~I’m absurdly proud of this particular part of the series. Like. I feel like it’s some of my best writing and it was so long ago 😭I want back what I haddd

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

So I want to talk about Ed's anger. A lot of people seem to catagorize the Kraken as angry. And a lot of meta has been written about how actually it's a defense mechanism not anger. But I am having a lot of feelings about how fucking scared he is.

Like I've made visual references. We see Ed angry four times that I can identify and one of these times he's also feeling other things.

Like he's a screamer. I've said it ever since the beginning, he's an intense guy and he feels his emotions pretty intensely. He's a screamer, is what I'm saying. He doesn't hold back his emotional response.

But all of the Kraken scenes whatever emotions he's having in that top video are certainly not the same emotions he's having in the Kraken scenes.

(I hate the fact that it won't let me upload more than one video I had videos)

But the scene I want to zero in specifically on is this one.

I'll just describe the scene for you. Izzy says his little "this is Blackbeard, not some namby pamby in a silk gown pining for his boyfriend," line and then Ed slams him against the wall and says in a very low, quiet tone "Choose your next word's wisely dog" and his face looks like this

And then Izzy brushes his hand against Ed's face and makes it incredibly weird.

To me that doesn't seem like anger. That's not how Ed expresses his anger under normal circumstances. Under normal circumstances he gets loud, maybe he breaks something. I think this particular choking thing is a performance. Because to me this voice sounds closest to the voice Ed is using at Story Time when he's specifically trying to be menacing to the crew. (specifically while he's telling the story of how his dad dies and then again when he says "She just might answer") It doesn't sound exactly like that because he's directing it at someone in an aggressive manner, but that's what it sounds the most like to me.

Basically he's preforming Blackbeard for Izzy right now, not having an angry outburst. I would like to posit that this is because the emotion he's experiencing right now is fear, not anger. This is akin to a fawn threat response (i.e. immediately trying to please or pacify the threat in order to avoid conflict.) It just looks different because pleasing and pacifying Izzy looks different than pleasing and pacifying other people.

And Izzy gives him some....

Positive(?) feedback. Feedback that means it's working.

Then then next time he does anything violent it's after he's had time to think. He throws Lucius overboard. He's not angry in this scene either

He fucking smiles at Lucius, does a full on Kubric stare, and acts pretty numb about it after he does it. He's laying it on thick with the "I'm Evil" bit in that scene. And then during the toe scene, that fucking voice shows up again whatever he says right after he says "open up" is in that Blackbeard TM voice.

Ed hasn't once in the show before this bothered to hide or temper his emotions, he's an incredibly expressive man (or a highly emotional person as David Jenkins has described him), but in every scene in between when he lets go of the fabric and when he's alone in his room crying motherfucker is going for the Oscar, he's got a full mask over his emotions. Izzy showed him in the scene where he touched his face that this would work in terms of satisfying him that blackbeard's back so he performs and performs and performs. Why? Because he's afraid, not angry. Blackbeard is and always has been a suit of armor for him.

And this is supported by him saying "I am the Kraken." The emotion we're coaxed to associate the Kraken with is fear. Ed introduces us to the concept of the Kraken by telling a story about the scariest thing he's ever seen. Then the first time we see Ed truly afraid and he has a PTSD flashback to killing his father, it's followed up by him crawling into a bathtub and confessing that he's the Kraken. When the Kraken originated we see Ed's face morph from a face of terror to a face of determination, he kills his dad, and then Ed's own capacity for violence becomes his worst fear, and the reason he doesn't kill people directly.

Anyway. He's not mad (in either sense of the word), he's terrified.

[2af-afterdark]

The One True King

Fandom: What in Hell is Bad? Content: Bael x Reader, Reader is clearly in a (currently) one-sided admiration,technically this is based on what 💛 told me so it’s not a general reader but… I am trying, Reader is a devil, not smut A/N: 💛 anon gave me a really good prompt and I kind of wanted to wrote this for them. Uhhh… ngl, I have only written for a specific person one other time before. I usually say to give me a handful of personality traits and I will whip something up. So, you know, this was an exercise. May need more practice using other people's MC’s and self-inserts… Sorry if it’s a little… messy… There were many personality traits I couldn’t include in full because of the setting and length of this fic, but I hope that a few of them are noticeable at the very least. Word Count: 1854

Bael was trying to finish the work that Beelzebub had left behind in his latest rush to escape responsibility. Trying. It was hard to concentrate with all the unusually noisy hustle and bustle happening not only outside his office door, but traveling down the hall. The heavy footsteps were more frantic than usual, with one particular set noticeably pacing back and forth right outside.

He held his breath as he waited for when the person inevitably finally knocked for him; a knock he was slowly getting anxious over given how hesitant that devil seemed to me to call for him. But, call for him they did as they peaked their head through the narrowly open door and said, “There's someone at the front gate asking for Lord Beelzebub.”

Bael cocked a single eyebrow only slightly. It was a well known fact that Beelzebub was rarely in Avisos, let alone the castle. Whoever had come to the visit was looking in the wrong place and causing a ruckus at the same time.

“They won't leave,” the devil in the doorway added when it became clear that Bael wasn't moving.

“The others haven't chased them away yet?” Not to be rude, but now was not a good time to visit.

“Stolas and Naberius still haven't returned from the mission you sent them on,” that would be attempting – and likely failing – to track and follow Beelzebub.

“What about Amon?”

The devil hesitated and Bael knew immediately that he wouldn't like the answer.

“Amon has been… subdued,” they said with no further explanation.

At least, as the devil in the doorway clarified, the person at the gate was a normal devil. It seemed they were another of Beelzebub’s many fans – like the rest of Avisos – and could be convinced to leave once they were assured that the king was not present. If Bael, the current acting king in Beelzebub’s absence were to come outside, then perhaps the visitor would leave willingly.

Bael was exhausted. He couldn’t recall the last time he had slept properly and it was starting to impair his judgment. Having an unexpected and unwelcome guest causing a scene at the palace gates was not helping his current state.

He stood from his desk. “I’ll see them away quickly.” If only so he could return to his work undisturbed. 

He marched out of his office with his head held high and a confident swagger that attempted to hide how completely and utterly tired he really was. A few devils who had clearly decided to stick to their own tasks rather than deal with the unexpected guest stopped only long enough to watch Bael walk by before busying themselves again. In his current state, he was their acting king and that made him someone to admire as he passed by.

But they didn't dare stop him to admire him in full. Even if they tried to, they wouldn't be able to. He was, after all, too used to focusing on the kingdom's operations to be distracted by how devils stared at their substitute king, and that was why he could arrive at the palace gates without delay. That’s how he made it in time to see the unfamiliar devil at the gate speaking through the bars to Amon who seemed to be doing nothing to move them along.

“Are you the one who asked to see Lord Beelzebub?” Bael asked as he approached the two. “You came at a bad time.”

You stared in awe as Bael came closer, the loose strands of his blonde hair dancing lightly in the wind, his skin-tight black uniform hugging his muscles and thin waist, and his uneven eyes staring back.

You were not one of the grand and illustrious 72 like he was. It was rare to be one of the 72 considering that there were, after all, only seventy-two of them in total compared to the entirety of Hell’s population. Still, even those who weren’t part of the 72 had a place serving their kingdom and their kings. What was Hell without its devils, after all?

Nothing. The answer was that Hell would be nothing without the myriad of devils that brought it to life. From the madness of Abaddon to the luxury of Tartaros to the efficiency of Hades, Hell was made by the kings and the devils that swore loyalty to them; each kingdom a reflection of its king and people. 

The only kingdom that could be argued was not a reflection of its king was Avisos, which was want to run rampant without its should-be-leader at the helm. Or, perhaps it was exactly the kind of thing the wandering ruler Beelzebub would want. A kingdom full of mindless pleasures in which frequent coming and going was the name of the game. Establishments in which he wasn’t expected to stay any longer than it took him to grow bored of whatever mindless indulgences they offered. It made for a wonderful economy, but a complete headache for any devil unfortunate enough to have to deal with the actual business and politics of the kingdom rather than simply enjoying all the treasures hidden around every corner.

You were one of those regular devils who called Avisos and its many different entertainment establishments home. The proof of your citizenship was pierced into your skin. You were not ashamed of your status as just another devil in the crowd. If anything, it made it easier for you to accomplish your goal. After all, it was in the nature of the 72 to care about their king, kingdom, and people. Amon already seemed to be on your side after a well placed bribe.

The next goal was Bael himself.

“No,” you corrected, “I asked to see the king.” You held out a wrapped, three-tiered bento box filled to the brim with food. “Have you eaten yet?”

Bael blinked at you a few times before glancing at Amon, who seemed entirely indifferent to the conversation between Bael and the unexpected guest. In fact, he seemed more taken with a piece of paper in his hand rather than anything happening around him.

You continued to speak without hearing an answer from Bael. “You seem like you’re always overworking yourself and it’s important to eat. I have a feeling you won’t take a break to cook for yourself so I cooked for you.”

Bael inhaled in a way that seemed more like an exasperated sigh. “Beelzebub really isn’t here. Attempting to bribe me will not get you an audience.”

“Who cares about Beelzebub?” you said bluntly, seeming to finally get a reaction from Amon who looked at you only long enough to glare judgmentally. You didn’t bother to even look at him before pulling a small envelope out of your pocket with your free hand and holding it out to him. He took it without a word, seemingly content once again. “I came to see you, Lord Bael.” You could feel your face heating up as you spoke. “Haven’t I made that clear by now?”

Bael looked at Amon once more, who was looking inside the envelope with approval. It seemed he really would receive no backup from his cohort.

He tried to put on his most convincing inflection as he began to speak, attempting to send this stray devil away without further delay or incident. “While I appreciate your intentions-”

“Amon, will you make sure King Bael eats something?” You were already waving another piece of paper in front of him; your last bribe of the day.

Amon took the paper and bento without question. 

“Thank you, Sir Amon.” You smiled at Bael who hadn't had a chance to finish his attempted rejection of your efforts. “I'll come by again tomorrow to pick up the dirty dishes, so make sure you eat everything. Wasting food is unforgivable in Avisos.”

You turned away with a pep in your step and tried to hide the absolute glee on your face. Not only had you managed to give King Bael the meal you had made for him, but you also managed to promise him that you would be returning tomorrow. Knowing that had you practically giggling as the distance between you and the gate where Bael still stood grew.

Once you were out of sight, Bael looked to Amon with a sense of defeat in his eyes. “Who was that?”

Amon shrugged. “I don't know.” He held out the bento to Bael so he wouldn't have to be the one to carry it. “Take this.”

Between the strange devil's antics and Amon's lackadaisical attitude toward them, Bael could feel a headache coming on. “If you don't know them, then why were you so amicable to them? Especially when you should have been escorting them away from the palace?”

He titled his head slightly, indicating he was too tired to have this conversation. “They gave me photos of King Beelzebub.” That was all the reason he needed. It's not like they were doing anything bad, so he didn't see a reason to waste his energy on changing them away, especially when he was getting rewarded for looking the other way.

“Is that all it takes to convince you?”

Amon ignored the question. “My arm is getting tired,” he said as he motioned again for Bael to take the bento.

Begrudgingly, Bael took the bento with both hands. It felt heavier than it should have.

“Are you sure all they came for was to deliver food?” 

It felt odd to have a citizen of Avisos storm the palace gates just to give him something to eat; something that, in all honesty, he could not see himself sitting down to indulge in given all the work he still had to do. Perhaps if he tossed out the food or gave it away? It wasn’t as if the other devil would know what had happened to the contents of the bento once it was empty.

“You’ll eat it,” Amon interrupted his thoughts.

“I won’t eat something given to me from someone unfamiliar.”

“Lord Beelzebub would.”

Bael winced, but in a way where only those who knew him well could tell that Amon’s words had cut him deeply.

“Lord Beelzebub accepts what his subjects give him. Sometimes he takes it without being offered…”

Did that mean Bael had to accept everything too? The same way he accepted all of Bell’s work and duties and even his face, did he have to take every gift as well? Because he was simply a substitute for Beelzebub?

“That devil called the fake king a king,” Amon said absentmindedly. “Do you think they know that you're just keeping the throne warm?”

“I’m sure they’re aware.” After all, there wasn’t a soul in all of Hell, let alone Avisos, that wasn’t aware that Beelzebub was the wandering king.

He looked at the bento in his hands.

He turned back toward the palace and began to walk.

“I have work to do.”

“Are you going to eat it?” Amon asked. “They already bribed me to make sure you do.”

“If I have a free moment, I’ll consider it.”

[racfoam]

What are your top 5 favorites ff in the whole Harry Potter Fandom?

Oh boy, anon, this is a much broader answer. I'll try to sort them out. Ranked in no particular way. Most of these are M-rated.

Harrymort (M/M)

Entwined by @purplewitch156

AN: Voldemort tries to find Harry who went missing during the Hogwarts battle, and a beautiful ending paired with a wonderful sequel. I love it with all my heart. Voldemort crossed space to find Harry. Literally. Those snowflakes at the end of Entwined are forever in my mind, like a moving photograph.

Retreat Series by Lomonaaeren

Such wonderful characterization and story, of how they grow closer in their marriage. Voldemort is fantastically written.

Two Words in Green Ink by @riddleandpottersittinginatree

Soulmate AU. Harry has Avada Kedavra on his wrist. Voldemort finds out.

Speechless. Please go read this. It’s beautiful.

Love in the Dark by @shouldertallabyss

This is the Voldemort Wins that I need, starring snake-face Voldy. This is where it's at. Beautifully written slow-burn. It sucks you in and doesn't let go, just like Voldemort doesn't let go of Harry. I want to give Harry a big hug and wrap him in a blanket.

I Can't Carry This Anymore by lemonchase

Voldemort's Soup Delivery Service by @duplicitywrites

In Due Thyme by @rudehellion

Voldemort and Harry are married but Voldemort avoids Harry because he’s bad at feelings. Harry decorates for the holidays hoping to give a message across and there is wonderful symbolism. Such a heart-warming one shot. My heart melted.

Run Boy Run by @youknowmevj

A full 5k words of a hide and seek and chase scene, predator/prey of Harry trying to escape his snakey husband (they're married, your honour, Voldemort put a ring on it!) who enjoys the chase. The strategies Harry uses are so well-done and well thought of. The hiding and running are so well done and so wonderfully described in detail, I was holding my breath the entire time. How Harry hides and how intense it all is, and when Voldemort finds him it gets deliciously steamy. It ends with the married couple going back to bed with Vee holding Harry’s hand. There are even details about the current wizarding world sprinkled in how it is under Voldemort's rule. The best hide and seek Harrymort fic ever written. Wonderful one-shot.

Mirrored by brainstorm1001

This fic is the Harrymort treasure trove. The first chapter starts in the Malfoy Manor Scene and Voldemort manages to make it before Harry escapes. And Harry, the courageous, feral, favourite Gryffindor... punches the Dark Lord in the family jewels. The Heir of Slytherin sure won't be making any more Heirs of Slytherin now. xD If that doesn’t get you reading the fic, I don't know what will. It's a classic.

- recommended by @leafiloaf

Thank you, @leafiloaf for reminding me of it. ❤️

The Cave Incident by brainstorm1001

Another classic in the Harrymort fic treasure trove. Harry & Voldemort get trapped in a cave and have to work together to get out.

Tomarrymort (M/M)

draw me after you (let us run) by @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger

Harry runs. Voldemort chases. They fall in love in-between.

A wonderful trip around the world while a Dark Lord chases Harry and ends up vying for his hand? Beautiful. It has lore, it has great plot, side characters are interesting, it has magic, it has tension, Voldemort is a flirt, Harry is adorable when he blushes and his ears go all red, and my heart skips ten beats when I see an update e-mail on this fic because I am being fed very well.

Haunted and Hunted by @obsidianpen

Canon Divergence from 6th Year. Voldemort finds out Harry is his Horcrux after 5th Year and tells Harry he will come for him. Harry, bless his impulsive brain, leaves the safety of the wards and is captured and put into enchanted sleep. This is a Tomarrymort treasure trove.

Bring tissues for the sequel. You’ll need them.

Heir Apparent by @monsieurclavier

Harry time travels and crashed into Voldemort’s home. He speaks Parseltongue so Voldemort assumes that Harry is his son. After all, only his heir could speak Parseltongue. Harry goes along with it. Daddymort is very touchy with his son and is also a big sugar daddy to him, and a SIMP to boot. Also, Abraxas is lucky to have Morgane as his wife. Morgane Malfoy, ladies and gentlemen, slays in this fic. Absolutely. Slays. Queen. Also, Bellatrix vying for Harry (I think she'll jump him at some point, actually physically jump on the poor lad) and Vee being jealous and possessive is hilarious. A detail I love in the fic are the wizarding clothes, I love their descriptions.

(the world) and its quiet turning by @tommarvoloriddlesdiary

A cease of conflict is reached. Voldemort makes sure Harry is okay. They gravitate toward each other after that. It is such a sweet, lovely, heart-warming series and each fic is just wonderful. I love it very much.

Tomarry (M/M)

Terrible But Great by @isalisewrites

My boooys. Isa's Harry has me in a chokehold, I would do anything for him, I would brush his hair, I would cook for him, I would give him shoulder massages, I would wrap him up in a blanket and I would fight Voldemort for him. Nobody hurts him. They have to go through me. Tom is an oblivious baby Dark Lord and keeps underestimating Harry. I love them, your honour.

like a parasite (kill my butterflies) by @tommarvoloriddlesdiary

Tom finds himself dangling off the ledge. Literally. Harry offers a helping hand.

Female Harry (Tomarry, Harrymort, Tomarrymort)

she walks in beauty by @mayfriend

The Soulmate AU fic with soul marks that has me in a deadlock. My favourite Female Harry and the one that I re-read to this day.

I have three words for you all: Avada Kedavra and LIAR.

“Give me the stone, Harriet, and I will make you a queen. Give me the stone, Harriet. You were meant to be mine.”

I am in shambles. This line will haunt me to my grave. Do you know what it means, that a sentence is so in-character and that I can hear Voldemort say it to Harry, that it will follow me to the grave? Do you know how brilliant that is, that it will stick with me to the grave? I love you, mayfriend. Thank you.

Precious Horcrux by @loneamaryllis (Harrymort)

Me to Precious Horcrux: “I have crossed oceans of AO3 to find you.”

Voldemort Wins AU, Female Harry with snake-face Voldy (finally, finally, finally) hot smut, wonderful plot, everyone is in-character, Voldemort is horny for Harrie and Harrie only.I cried of joy when I found this fic. I'm not kidding. I cried with JOY. I needed this fic since the beginning of the Female Harry cave I fell into. I have been searching for this fic since forever. Thank you, author. Thank you.

for love is always with you by @cordeliawrites (Tomarry)

Another Soulmate & Soul Marks fic. I think most of the fandom knows of this one.

Voldemort finishing the words to Harri left me sobbing at 11pm. I need an AU with them ruling together, screw morals. Voldemort deserved to have his chance, too. Brb, I need to cry. My Tomarry heart was happy, but my Harrymort heart was shattered into pieces, and I'm still trying to find them.

(dishes out my credit card) Do you accept bribery? I will pay. I'm not kidding. I will pay.

Appetence by @elysian-drops (Tomarrymort)

Voldemort finds out Harri is his Horcrux on the graveyard. He wants her back to his side.

I've been following this one since the first chapter! It's amazing!

the one where she is head over heels for him by @latteloves (Tomarry)

🎶A little bit of fluffy Tomarry in my life, a little bit of Harry being absolutely in love with Tom by my side, a little bit of James & Lily alive is all I need, a jealous Tom is all I see, a little bit of Tomarry in the sun, a little bit of blushing Harry all night long, a cute kiss makes me a happy Tomarry shipper. 🎶

When Harry Met Tom by The_Carnivorous_Muffin (Tomarry)

This fic. This fic. This fic! I LOVE IT SO. Harry time travels and meets Tom. They spend a year at Hogwarts together. The fic is on-going.

To Become A Dark Lord by Blood_Stained_Fingers (Harrymort)

Boss ass bitch Harry wants to become the next Dark Lord, and all the schemes she schemes and the friends/allies she makes. A bit of dark Harry, I love it very much. At the end, Voldemort is very interested in helping Harry along. A wonderful, enchanting one shot.

To Be One by wynnebat (Tomarrymort)

Female Voldemort with Canon Harry

Closer the Better by @youknowmevj

Lady Voldemort takes her handsome, human Horcrux Harry Potter into her care after finding out he is her Horcrux. Harrymort shenanigans ensues, including Harry carrying other Horcruxes. What do they all have in common? Wanting to be atop Harry, of course!

I need Voldemort atop Harry. Vish! (rattling the bars of my cage) Vish, when is Voldemort gonna top Harry? I need it, Vish! Pleaaaase!

Voldemort Adopts Harry

Methods of Humanity by local_doom_void

DADA Professor Harry

Invisible Man by RenderedReversed (Harrymort)

Hogwarts, to welcome you home by gedsparrowhawk (FaceChanger)

“You understand, Professor,” Harry began, after a moment, “that I don’t have my N.E.W.T.s. I never even finished seventh year. Between everything, I never had a chance the first time around, and then afterwards there didn’t seem to be much point. Hermione argued for it, of course, but I was so tired of Britain. So technically, I am completely unqualified for the position.”

“Quite a way to begin an interview, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said, dryly.

Or, three years after the war, Harry Potter becomes Hogwarts' newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Princeps by Lomonaaeren

Harry makes a plan. He time-travels to the 1970s and becomes the DADA Professor, keeping an eye on the Slytherins and trying to keep them out of trouble. The trouble being joining Voldemort’s ranks.

There are other ships, but for now this is for the Tomarry/Harrymort/Tomarrymort since they are my OTP. If you want, send me an ask for other ships.

[dailyjasontodd]

i was looking at the latest gotham war stuff and i was wondering, when did jason and rose become besties/lovers all of a sudden??

All of sudden isn't quite right, sorry to say. Maybe it's more like they had more moments in elseworlds.

They've been "exes" (more likely just hooked up) since what, 2015? Here's a panel from Red Hood and the Outlaws #39. They're already stated as allies in this comic (despite the panel i'll use to show their relationship there lol)

And then it was picked up in the Titans show, for whatever reason, I won't put the scenes here but you get the idea. They also have a dynamic in the tie-in (?) comics, Titans Together but not together but in good-ish terms

They were together in the DCeased elseworld as well in 2020 (please dont say daaamn when you see the art)

Then it was hinted in Dark Nights, late 2020, early 2021. Williamson might have been the one to bring them into focus in main continuity but dont @ me if i'm wrong

They were also exes on the Future State elseworld in 2021, both Dark Detective and Gotham (both written by Williamson)

They were hinted at in the Robin solo too (Williamson, yes, you guessed it)

and to what you were talking about, Rosenberg in particular seems to be a big fan because she's been featured in The Joker who Stopped Laughing and Gotham War: Red Hood

and that's it I believe.

tl; dr: thank titans tv

[violentvaleska]

𝑨𝒃𝒚𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔

ғᴏᴜʀ ᶜᵃᵈᵉᵗ ᶜᵒʳᵖˢ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴀᴄᴋᴇʀᴍᴀɴ x ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴛɪᴄ ɴɪɢʜᴛᴍᴀʀᴇ, ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴄᴏᴍғᴏʀᴛs ʏᴏᴜ ʜɪs ᴡᴀʏ; ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ғɪsᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴄᴇ. ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴀɴᴅᴇʀ sᴇᴇᴍs ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ʙɪᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ sᴏғᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴀɴᴅ.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: suggestive, blood, violence

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs: ↫ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜs ɴᴇxᴛ ↬

ғᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴏɴ ᴀᴏ3

ᴛᴀɢɢɪɴɢ: @xiernia @ajmiila02

Dreams swallow you whole the moment you experience them. They can be quite sweet, showing you happy moments, foolish desires and moments you might have cherished from your past. But sometimes your dreams become twisted. Sometimes scenarios flash before your eyes, shameful moments you can't control. One in particular has you screaming. The dream itself began intensely, the Section Commander had you pinned against a wall, hands eagerly holding you, while his lips sucked on your neck. You can't really remember how that scene turned into a bloody and disgusting one. You've dreamed of Mike being caught between titans, his screams still haunting you and vivid images of him being torn apart and eaten won't let you go. Right now you are shivering, breathless with panic, tears streaming down your pale cheeks. The whole women's barracks has been frightened to death by your agonized cries, and it's not long before Captain Levi bursts into the barracks, closely followed by Hange.

His usually spotless shirt is half unbuttoned and hangs loosely around his heaving chest. He fell asleep on his desk an hour ago, papers under his head and nightmares haunting him. The moment he heard blood curdling screams, he knew it wasn't his demons. He was awake in seconds, grabbed his beloved knife and ran after the unbearable screams. Levi thought at first that someone had broken into the sleeping quarters of his female subordinates, but there was no stranger or fellow soldier disturbing the young women. There is only you, screaming and kicking, your back arched up, your chest rounded. Your eyes are rolled into the back of your head and there is a thin line of blood running down your face, coming from your nose. Emma gently tries to shake you awake, but it takes more than that. It's a disturbing image and Levi rushes to your side, his knife hidden in his trouser pocket.

"What happened?" He kneels at your side, the question directed at Emma, who has small tears in her eyes.

"I don't know, she just started screaming." She cries, her fists clenching your nightgown. When Levi was a child, he saw one of his mother's colleagues have a similar episode. His mother never gave it a name, but mentioned that it was a sleeping disorder. Unable to calm her down, or even wake her up, the Captain lets out a frustrated breath and pulls his arm back. With a quick movement, he swings it back and strikes your cheekbone with such force that you are instantly jolted awake.

No one seems to understand why you are crying or screaming so bitterly. Hange even suggests that you are possessed by a demon, but Levi is simply frightened by the sight of you. The plague of your lost memories must have really screwed with your head, and he still doesn't know what happened to you. Your eyes are wide open and full of pain as you stare at him with your mouth open. Confusion, shock and fear are written all over your features. Then it hits you.

You can't stop crying, muttering about Mike being torn to pieces, trying to convince Captain Levi and Section Commander Hange that Mike is dead.

"We should take her to the nurse." Levi mumbles and carefully urges you to stand up and leads you out of the barracks. Your skin is cold, but your whole body is covered in sweat, as if you've been drenched in freezing water.

"Can you hear me, Faye?" He asks, but doesn't get an answer. "This is new." He thinks bitterly and shakes his head in frustration. He has seen soldiers plagued by nightmares, after all, he himself is haunted by them. Some comrades even suffer from night terrors, their cries similar to yours, but they run around the headquarters disoriented and can't remember it the next day. Your incident is different. Eyes rolled back, stiff with fear, almost suffocating. Did you experience sleep paralysis?

Deep in thought, he barely notices that you've stopped crying and started to speak in a raspy voice that almost crushes him.

"Mike is dead." Levi lets out a sigh and grips your shoulder tighter.

"No, he's not. He's sleeping." He promises, desperately hoping to avoid an argument, but it only seems to confuse you more.

"I heard his screams, his bones breaking and saw his flesh being torn. I smelled his blood." You swallow hard and walk weakly with him, not questioning where he is leading you.

"It was a nightmare. The nurse will give you something to calm you down." He promises and, to your surprise, gently strokes the tangled hair behind your ear. He can't help but to think that you look beautiful like this, weak and in desperate need of help. Levi gulps, giving himself mentally a slap. He certainly must be experiencing sleeplessness.

"It felt too real." He doesn't know how to answer, it wouldn't do to reassure you of the delusional night attack you've suffered. So he silently leads you through the corridors, the many possible scenarios making him anxious, and after explaining the situation to your nurse, he leaves you in her care, sitting silently by your side to watch over you. He will not let this happen again.

After hearing about your incident, Mike had to go and collect you in the hospital wing. You were still asleep, due to the medication you had been given, and at your side sat Levi, fast asleep in a chair, much to his surprise. As he entered, the black-haired soldier opened his eyes and let out a deep groan as he realized where he was.

"I didn't expect to find you here." He whispers and slowly walks over to your recumbent body, a small smile on his lips at the sight and smell of you.

"I was waiting for her to have another attack." He explains simply, not bothering to speak in a hushed voice.

"What exactly happened?" The Section Commander wants to know, Hange wasn't really specific, only spoke of 'demonic possession' and Mike doubts that an angel like you would have such tendencies.

"Fuck, if I know." Levi scoffs and stretches his arms, walking past Mike to leave the hospital wing immediately.

"Make sure she doesn't fall off her horse. She's an incompetent rider."

You wake up, rub your eyes and briefly notice someone leaving as you turn your attention to the other man in your room. At the sight of him, something in your chest tightens, making you sit up immediately.

"I overslept, didn't I?" You squeak, your voice hoarse and your cheek painful. Did someone hit you? As you touch your cheek, Mike gently takes your chin between his fingers and moves your head up so he can see the bruised skin.

"Levi got you good, Hugh? You must be a fast sleeper." Confused, you lock eyes with him and then the memories of last night hit you. Stiffening at his touch, your eyes widen and your lips part.

"I- Section Commander, you..." unable to form a sentence without stuttering, Mike slowly steps back, giving you some space.

"Relax. You can tell me everything when we get to the Southern Division. Get dressed. We'll leave in ten minutes."

━━━━━━━༺ - ༻━━━━━━━

The journey has been tiring, and after what seems like a whole day, you can finally see the headquarters of the Cadet Corps from afar. You told him about the dream, obviously leaving out the first, more pleasant part. That would have been inappropriate, after all, he is a high-ranking Section Commander and you are just a cadet. However, he had been a bit flirtatious with you in the last few days, which even the Commander had noticed.

"Write down everything you can remember. Leave out no details. If you don't send a report, Erwin will probably send Levi to motivate you." He explains, smiling at the conflicted face you make at the mention of the Captain's name.

"And if I experience something similar to yesterday?" The thought of experiencing something similar, especially in front of strangers, frightens you. You're actually glad that the nightmare you experienced was the last night with the scouts, they'll surely forget about it in the next three years, right?

"Personally, I don't think it's that important, but Erwin would want to know. He's infatuated with everything you do, it seems." Mike explains, shuddering slightly at his own observation. It's true, you think, Erwin has been strangely interested in your mere existence ever since Eld found you. He is obsessed with you. Not in a romantic or sexual way, no, he rather likes the feeling of having found a mysterious thing like you. It pushes him, urges him to find out all your hidden memories, just like Levi, although the little man is not as fascinated by you as his Commander. At least you hope that's the case, as the Captain seems to have a sick fascination with making you suffer. You don't answer Section Commander Mike, instead you sink into your thoughts and let them consume you.

Would it be a stupid idea to choose a division other than the Survey Corps? It would definitely hurt the Commander's ego, pride and hostility. Besides, it would be in your own interest to find out more about your past, and you feel that the Scouts are the only ones who can help you. You don't seem to have any chance of getting into the Military Police Regiment anyway, and the garrison is your only other alternative. To be honest, you are not even sure what they do, you have only heard about them a few times from Commander Erwin. The closer you got to the southern training corps, the more nervous you became. Eren Yeager could be the key to your mind, and you really hope he can unlock that stupid dark hole in your head.

You are greeted by a bald man with an expression that challenges Levi's. He looks from you to Mike, a deep glare in his almost angry face.

"Erwin better have a good reason." He spits and watches you, making you wonder how much he has been told about you.

"What's your name, cadet?" He asks and you instantly freeze at his tone and salute him as Levi taught you. Your right hand, clenched into a fist, moves to your chest while your left automatically rests behind your back.

"Faye, sir." He looks at you suspiciously, glancing at Mike.

"What, no last name? Don't tell me she's like Levi, I don't need two of that bloody midgets." You wonder what he means by that and furrow your brow, noticing that the Captain is only referred to by his first name. Strange indeed, has he lost his memory too?

"Engel. Her name is Faye Engel." Mike makes up his mind in seconds and puts a hand on your shoulder, patting it lightly.

"Forgive her, Commander. Levi hit her pretty hard in training. You won't regret taking her on." He promises and begins to list your skills, or lack thereof.

"She showed promising talent in the ODM, is patient and obedient. Also willing to learn, you won't have much trouble with her." Shadis nods his head in silence, finally letting you relax.

"Alright. Follow me, Cadet Engel. You'll be introduced to your new comrades." Turning to Mike, you smile at him and wave goodbye.

"Thanks for everything, Section Commander! I won't let you down, I promise." His thin lips form a smile and he hums in agreement.

"Don't be afraid to write to me sometime, little angel." With that, the two of you say goodbye and you follow your new commander to a wooden building, a blush on your cheeks and your heart beating against your chest. A simple crush can't hurt, can it?"

Following Shadis into the building, you are greeted by a raucous group of teenagers who make you instantly regret your decision.

"Get down!" The Commander's voice is loud and aggressive, and it's impressive to see all the young soldiers in training stiffen under the demand, their voices shut and their eyes wide open, staring at the Commander and at you.

"This is Cadet Engel. From now on she will be part of your training. Ackerman, show her around." A girl with beautiful black hair and pale skin stands up, her face emotionless, and walks in your direction. A red scarf adorns her neck, and as you get closer you notice that her eyes and nose are slightly different. You believe that her ancestors came from the eastern world, and you look at her beautiful hair with fascination.

"I am Mikasa." Stoic, cold and rather shy, she introduces herself to you, hiding her face in her scarf.

"Faye." You introduce yourself, feeling like a liar for using the made-up name.

"You can join us for lunch." She offers quietly, turning quickly to one of the tables. You follow her without a word, feeling like a puppy on a list with all eyes on you. At first you thought you were the oldest here, but as you approach the row of tables where Mikasa sat just seconds ago, you notice two young men who seem to be closer to your age. The black-haired man introduces them to you as Reiner and Bertolt. Across from them are Jean and Connie. A girl with a great appetite for potatoes waves to you. "This is Sasha." Mikasa adds with a roll of the eyes. At the same table, but at a considerable distance from the others, are two girls; one with a rude expression, the other with a warm smile. Her name is Krista, while the brown-haired older girl's name, to your surprise, is Ymir.

“Armin.” She points at a young, blonde haired boy with blue eyes and rosy cheeks. He appears too innocent to be enlisted in the military, much like the Krista girl. You then turn your head, meeting a pair of green eyes. Breath hitching in your throat, the boy's eyes widen at you. You recognize him from your dreams, though that joyful youthfulness in his face is gone.

"Eren?" You ask in awe as he nods his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't remember your name, but I know you." He says, seemingly deep in thought.

"I'm from Shiganshina." You speak, a sinking feeling in your stomach.

"Maybe we lived in the same neighborhood?" He offers, looking at Armin and Mikasa.

"Right guys?" The blonde just shakes his head in confusion, wondering if he might have seen you before. Mikasa on the other hand just shrugs.

"Your- ugh father. He was my mothers doctor." You explain and take the seat Reiner offers you. It feels so easy for you to spread these beliefs, and yet you don't even know how many of the scenarios you've dreamed are actually true. You figured now would be the best idea to challenge them. He eagerly nods his head, agreeing that he might have met you that way before. If they were not to be true, Eren would ask whatever you ment. While dreams are the door to your memories, they can also inundate you with twisted images of your past. After the hour-long journey, Eren offers you a roll, insisting that you need something to eat. Finally agreeing, you reach your hand across the table, ready to gratefully take it from him. As your fingers touch, something strange happens, something that makes electricity shoot through your body and for a moment you see a strange image before your eyes. Eren, a little older than he is now, is standing on a wall, looking into the distance. Directly behind him a monstrous titan, glowing with heat, flesh burned from his body, leaving nothing but muscles. The colossal titan.

Eren lets go of the roll and gulps at you, as if he had been struck by lightning. At that moment you realise that he must have seen and felt that too, whatever it was.

"Sorry." He breathes and picks up the bread as an awkward silence consumes both of you.

"It slipped." The boy tries to rush an apology and quickly puts it in your hand, grinning uncomfortably. While Connie jokes about Eren being stupidly in love, you feel someone's eyes on you, but the moment you turn your head, that feeling is gone. You had that strange feeling twice before, once with Captain Levi, the other time for a brief moment when Section Commander Hange ruffled your hair. Both times you saw images flash past your mind's eye, but the strange images you saw with Levi have stayed with you the most. It was the day he checked your legs for marks, and whatever he did to you, you didn't like it at all. Intimidating scenarios, situations over which you had no control. It was shameful, unspeakable things you saw, much worse than what you had dreamed about Mike.

You used to think it was the way he dared to touch you, but now you are sure it was something else. And it certainly wasn't lost memories.

[helloalycia]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 [𝐎𝐍𝐄] // 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤

summary: as tensions rise between your tribe at Black Hat and the Ottos at the ranch, you're certain the killing won't end. Of course, things start to change when the Clarks join the ranch, and one Clark in particular seems to be after the same thing as you: peace.

warning/s: mentions of discrimination, violence, death and injury.

author's note: hey all! so this was a request on here about a month ago and i've been trying very hard to get it written up, but between work and being ill lol, it's been hard. Finally though, it's here! this first chapter is a lil quick-paced to get through the scenes in the show, but it slows down after this and there’s much more alicia x you scenes too. four parts to expect, so stay tuned :)

(also peep the new layout 👀)

two / three / four / masterlist / wattpad

I was finishing eating lunch when my dad returned from his outing with a small party from our tribe. He didn't look hurt in any way thankfully, but when he spotted me, he dismissed those around him so he could speak to me privately.

"Hey, Y/N," he sighed, pulling me in for a side hug. "How are you?"

I returned the hug, curious to what he wanted to share. "I'm good. What happened? Did you get into another confrontation with the ranchers?"

The ranchers were those inhabiting Broke Jaw Ranch, owned by the Otto family, and whom had problems with us at Black Hat Reservation ever since they stole our land. Prior to the dead rising, my father and ancestors had been trying to win back the land the legal way, but legalities never worked in our favour. Now, no more laws meant resorting to the old fashioned method – violence. And that was exactly what the ranchers practiced, which made me fear every time my father left our home.

"We came across Troy and some others," my dad explained. Troy was one of Jeremiah Otto's sons – the other being Jake – who also headed up the ranch, and he was an absolute dickhead, but a dangerous one. "We warned them to stay away from us."

"You think they'll listen?" I asked.

He tried not to smile as he suddenly threw a bag on the ground from his back, and out tumbled several pairs of boots. Presumably Troy and his party's.

"They should get the hint," he answered. "And if not, they know the helicopter was us. They know what we're capable of."

I sighed inwardly, knowing he was referring to the helicopter our people had shot out of the sky the other night. It wasn't something I was particularly proud of, even if I wasn't directly involved, but it did serve to send a message. I understood why we did it, but sometimes I only wanted peace and not more violence.

"What is it?" he asked, sensing something was wrong.

I looked up at him, expression softening. "Can't we try to negotiate with them? I'm sure if we agreed to speak with Jake–"

"You know what this land means to our people," he said sternly. "The Ottos don't negotiate. Never have. Why would we try to meet them halfway?"

I nodded slowly, having heard this many times before. And to an extent, he was right. The ranchers and the Ottos were all the same, as experience had shown us. They didn't like us one bit, solely because we were different to them.

But if there was a chance at negotiation, Jake would be the one to go to. The most levelheaded of the Ottos, he wanted a peaceful solution, too. But my father didn't trust him, nor see it that way. And maybe I should've started to think like him, too.

"Sorry, I know you're right," I admitted. "I'm just tired of trying to survive, even now. I thought it would be over."

My dad frowned apologetically before pulling me in for a hug. "We're going to get our land back. And they aren't going to hurt us anymore. We've got the upper hand now, Y/N, you just wait."

I nodded, returning his hug, and tried to stop being so soft. His methods weren't always agreeable, but maybe they were necessary to winning this war.

"I'm gonna double check our security on the perimeter," he said once he pulled away. "Take care of yourself."

I offered him a small smile as I watched him walk away, before it faded and I felt shitty all over again. Deciding to get my mind off it, I went to the well to get some water, only for Ofelia to join my side and earn my attention.

"Hey, you look down," she noticed, glancing at me as she filled her bottle up. "What's up?"

Ofelia was one of our newest members of the Black Hat Reservation, someone my father saved from dying out in the desert. As I'd gotten to know her more and more, we became quite good friends and I was grateful to have her around, not really opening up to many people like I did her.

"Just thinking about all this stuff with the ranch," I admitted. "It's tiring is all."

"They should give back what they stole," Ofelia said with a sigh. "They can't get away with it, even now."

"I know," I agreed. "I just– sometimes I feel like the violence is a never ending cycle. They steal from us. We fight them. They fight us. We blow up their helicopter. When does it end?"

"When they surrender," Ofelia said confidently, and I envied it because why couldn't I think that way? Why did I have to be so soft?

I nodded, spacing out a little as I looked back to the well. She squeezed my shoulders slightly, comforting me.

"It won't always be like this," she promised. "We're getting close. They'll give it up eventually. And the cycle will end."

"I hope so," I muttered, before nudging her in the side. "Thanks, Ofelia."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

Barely a few days later, there was a commotion out front, and by the time I'd left the diner to see what was happening, my father was stood before Jake Otto himself and a stranger he'd brought along with him, probably another rancher. All guns were pointed their way and I grew curious to why Jake had shown up. Did he want to negotiate? Maybe there was a chance after all?

"Take them inside whilst I get cleaned up," my dad ordered, flicking his hand.

Some guards ushered Jake and the girl inside the diner as I exchanged glances with my dad, ignoring the bloody apron he wore, a consequence of him beheading a pig moments before.

"You're hearing him out?" I asked, trying to hide any hopefulness, but he knew me too well.

"Doesn't mean anything," he told me, giving me a knowing look. "But we shall hear what he has to say."

I tried to contain my curiosity and eagerness as I nodded. After waiting for him to clean himself up, we both went to the diner and took a seat at the booth opposite Jake and the mystery girl. It was quiet at first, Jake and my father eyeing each other up. Then his eyes met mine and he nodded slightly in acknowledgement, to which I returned. We'd spoken a few times on occasion, but that was in the old world.

The mystery girl beside him also looked between my father and I, though with a hardened stare as if she'd already made her mind up about us. It could have been laughable considering she didn't know us, but I was too eager to hear what their proposal was to care.

"My father will never abandon the ranch," Jake started calmly, meeting my dad's eyes. "You know that."

Without faltering, my dad answered, "Then we'll feed him to the crows like Phil McCarthy." I tried not to cringe as I recalled said rancher being left to be pecked away by crows when he trespassed on our land. "Then Russell Brown and Vernon Trimbol."

Those named were all shared founders of Broke Jaw Ranch, and the number one reason we could never have our land returned to us. My father harboured enough hatred for them for all of us, and I didn't blame him, even if he sometimes let it dictate his actions.

"Russell's dead," Jake informed us. "The adobe burned."

A little pleased, my dad said, "That karma's overdue, but welcomed."

"Vernon Trimbol's dead, too," the mystery girl spoke, eyeing my father curiously.

"I hope it was a long and... painful illness," my dad said without any remorse.

"He died with his family," the girl continued, almost challengingly. "His wife, his daughter. You killed them."

I furrowed my brows, eyes studying the brunette and her absurd accusation. But before I could even think to defend my father, he spoke calmly to Jake.

"Is this girl speaking for you?"

The girl and Jake exchanged glances before Jake ignored my father's question and instead pleaded, "We need the violence to stop."

"Soon will, Jake," my dad answered nonchalantly, before raising three fingers in the air. "Three down, one to go."

"My father never did anything to you or your people–" Jake began, but this seemed to irritate my dad.

"Tell me, junior," he interrupted, "do the lies turn your stomach? Do you taste the bile in the back of your throat?"

"State police investigated this," Jake explained, "they found no correlation between–"

"Stop–" my father banged his hand on the table with frustration, "–talking. You're boring me, like you did in court. Those days are dead."

"I thought we had an understanding, even outside of court," Jake tried again, and I could see why my father was growing more angry, despite holding it in.

"I understood," my father reminded him. "When you came here with your drunk friends, I was to serve them their food with a smile on my face. Tolerate their slurs. Clean up their vomit in the toilet, and thank them for their pocket change tips."

I swallowed hard, the memories of those days returning to mind as he mentioned them. Nobody wanted to see their family belittled, but that's exactly what we had to endure from Jake's family. The peace we wanted was looking farther and farther out of reach.

"The days of the white man's courts are over," my dad told him. "Land grabs, desecrations... over. Now you have our verdict. The first humans' verdict. You must vacate our lands."

It fell quiet as Jake stared at my father, trying to read his expression. Would he finally give in? Could this be it?

"I was hoping for a parley," Jake said instead, and I should have known it was too good to be true. "A chance to negotiate and to avoid more loss."

I glanced at my dad, seeing him stuck in thought as he digested Jake's words. But this was exactly what I was after this whole time and we couldn't just let it slip by.

"Let's do it," I spoke up for the first time, earning everyone's attention.

"Y/N–"

"No, I'm serious," I cut my dad off as he tried to make me reconsider, no doubt. "A parley is good. It's what we all need. To stop the killing. To stop the cycle."

"Exactly," the mystery girl agreed, and I glanced at her with both gratitude and curiosity.

My dad paused, studying my expression, and I communicated my hope for this all I could with just my eyes. Thankfully, he seemed to understand.

"Maybe you're right," he finally gave in, responding to Jake's offer. "If a parley can spare blood... we can talk about it. After we eat."

Just on cue, Ofelia approached our booth with a tray of freshly prepared food, setting it down before us.

After sharing an awkwardly quiet meal with Jake and his newly introduced rancher friend, Alicia, the latter excused herself to chat with Ofelia outside. I watched them leave, wondering who exactly Alicia was and how she knew Ofelia, but my attention was returned to Jake and my dad as they discussed the terms of the parley.

One of our people were to be exchanged with one of theirs as a hostage – in this case, Jake – to earn each other's trust and respect the temporary ceasefire. I was familiar with this method and even ready to offer myself up, but as soon as I brought it up to my dad once Jake left the room, I was immediately shut down.

"I'm not sending you," he said in that annoyingly calm but stern voice he pulled out on his subordinates. "I've already decided it's Ofelia."

I raised my eyebrows with disbelief. "Dad, c'mon. I'm the right person for this! You know peace is all I've been preaching! I can do this, just let me! Let me be useful!"

"You are useful," he told me. "Here."

"Dad–!"

"End of discussion!" he silenced me, before closing his eyes with annoyance. "You're not going over there. Ofelia knows what she's doing. She's older."

"So, what? I'm a kid all of a sudden?" I asked rhetorically. "We both know I stopped being a kid a long time ago. Back when–"

"Don't say it," he warned me, and the hurt returned to his eyes momentarily. "Please, Y/N. Just respect my decision."

I clenched my jaw, frowning. I couldn't argue this with him, I knew it. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't hurt him, so I nodded reluctantly and left it at that.

"Good," he said with relief. "C'mon."

We joined the others outside, where Ofelia and Alicia seemed to finish up their conversation. My dad nodded to Ofelia, who approached us, seeming to know what was going to happen. After discussing the parley with her, we waited for Jake to be ready, but he seemed to be bickering quietly with Alicia on the sidelines.

"Do we have a parley or not?" my father asked impatiently, interrupting their fight.

Jake gave Alicia a disapproving stare, but nodded. "It appears we do. Alicia will be staying."

My father nodded and motioned for Jake to follow him for a moment. This was the perfect chance for me to speak to Ofelia.

"You know them?" I asked her quietly, away from prying ears.

"Only Alicia," she answered truthfully. "Remember when I told you about that family who helped me? The Clarks?" I nodded and she continued, "That's Alicia, the daughter."

I was surprised to say the least, glancing over at the brunette in question. "Small world."

"Uh-huh..."

"From what you told me about them, about her, it doesn't sound like they're like the Ottos," I said with confusion. "Why is she helping them?"

Ofelia frowned, looking down at her shoes. "We killed Travis, her family. He was in the helicopter when we shot it down."

I sighed, glancing out at the Clark girl who was standing with her arms crossed, looking like she was holding in a restrained anger. It made sense now, why she was so frustrated back there.

"It wasn't right," I said quietly, looking back to Ofelia, "but dad's stubborn. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone but the Ottos."

"Well, Alicia won't let that go," Ofelia said knowingly. "Not right now."

"But she's staying for the parley, so that's gotta be a good thing, right?" I asked somewhat hopefully.

Ofelia nodded. "She's levelheaded. Smart. She wants the same as you, Y/N. Peace. She won't wreck this, if that's what you're worried about."

I hummed in acknowledgment, studying Alicia once more, wondering if she was all of these things Ofelia was saying and more. If this was the same girl who took Ofelia and her family in when they needed help, the same girl who cared for strangers as if they were her own, then maybe all wasn't doomed.

"I have to go," Ofelia suddenly said, eyes glancing behind me at Jake and my father.

I nodded, pulling her in for a quick hug. "Be careful over there. They aren't all like your friend."

Ofelia snickered quietly. "I know." Then she met my eyes one last time, nodding in Alicia's direction. "Look out for her, yeah? She's good."

I nodded, if not for the stranger, then for Ofelia. "I promise."

Shortly after Ofelia left with Jake and a scout, I found myself washing up some dishes in the diner kitchen as usual. My dad was showing Alicia around the place, but I didn't expect him to turn up in the kitchen with her in tow, leaving her to me.

"Y/N," he called, and I shut off the tap, turning around and surprised to see to them. "Alicia is going to be sticking with you during her time here, helping around as much as she can. Is that alright?"

I raised my eyebrows slightly, glancing at the deadpan expression of the girl in question before meeting my father's eyes questioningly. Why me? There were so many other people he could have left her with. And besides, I thought he didn't trust my instincts when it came to stuff like this.

Obviously, I couldn't argue that with him in front of her, so I simply nodded.

"Sure," I said awkwardly, before meeting the green eyes already fixed on me. "You can help me finish the washing up, I guess."

"Thank you," my dad said gratefully, before leaving the two of us alone.

"Nice to meet you," I greeted her. "I'm Y/N."

"Walker's daughter, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, before turning to face the sink as she joined my side. Swallowing uncomfortably, I felt the need to glance at her and say, "I'm sorry. About your– about Travis."

She furrowed her brows. "How do you know that? How– how can you even say that? It was your father's orders that killed him."

She wasn't shouting, but the anger in her voice was still present, only making me feel guilty because she wasn't wrong.

"Ofelia told me," I answered. "And I didn't want that to happen. I told my dad not to shoot the heli down, but his hatred for the Ottos runs deeper than anything else. Even me, sometimes."

She clenched her jaw, looking down at the sink, and I almost regretted bringing it up in the first place.

"What do you want me to do?" she changed the subject.

Knowing I couldn't do much about her dismissiveness, I nodded to the sink. "Start washing, I guess."

Between the two of us, we finished washing all the dishes and pans in no time, an uncomfortable silence filling the air, then I wiped my hands and spoke.

"I'm gonna go pick some vegetables from the field, if you wanna join."

"Do I have a choice?" she asked, neither bitter nor indifferent, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.

"Look, you might not like this, but this exchange is the only way to ensure peace. If this works, maybe things can finally be okay."

She quirked a brow curiously. "And you want that?"

"What?"

"Peace?"

I looked to her with confusion. "Why wouldn't I?" She rose an eyebrow judgementally, so I asked, "Do you?"

Her eyes flickered between mine, giving nothing away. "Of course. I want to be safe. I want to keep my family safe."

"So do I," I said gently.

"Then we're in agreement," she noticed.

I sighed quietly, already leading her out the kitchen. "If only it were that easy."

She mumbled in agreement as she followed me to the vegetable patch, the both of us holding a basket to collect our pickings in. Again, it was quiet between us, something I presumed would remain considering we were still 'enemies', but it didn't last long as she spoke up.

"Will this really work?" she asked from beside me.

I paused, glancing at her as she worked. "Well, if we leave them out any longer, the sun's gonna fry them and then they won't be very edible any–"

"Not this," she stopped me, giving me a disapproving look. "The parley."

"Oh." I cleared my throat, continuing to pick the chillies from the plant. "Hopefully, yeah. If your people treat Ofelia with respect–"

"They aren't my people," she interrupted firmly.

As if she wasn't a mystery already.

"Okay...," I said slowly. "Well, if the ranchers treat Ofelia with respect, a relationship of sorts can form between us and them, opening everything up to negotiation."

"And if they don't?" Alicia asked.

I gave her a questioning look. "Won't they?" When she didn't answer, I grew worried. "Alicia, is Ofelia in danger there?"

"No, no she's not," she assured me when she saw my expression. "Not with Jake. He'll keep her safe."

Feeling warm under the sun, I used my sleeve to wipe at my face and sighed. "Jake is patient, much easier to talk to than his family, but it's not enough."

"Your father isn't very patient," Alicia commented.

I smiled dryly. "My people have been patient for centuries. More than you could know, Alicia."

"I'm not going to pretend to understand what the history of the ranch means to you and your people," she said earnestly, "but I'm hoping we can find a peaceful resolution. That's why I'm here, Y/N."

I nodded, meeting her gaze. For some stupid reason, I wanted to believe her. I think I might have. She seemed different to the others, maybe because of everything Ofelia had told me of her. I wasn't sure, but I truly hoped she wouldn't disappoint.

Unfortunately for everyone, the parley didn't last long and I still wasn't sure if it was slightly my fault. Maybe if I'd kept a closer eye on Alicia, they wouldn't have smuggled her out of there? Or maybe it was inevitable.

I wasn't sure. All I knew was one second I was telling her to get some water from the well and the next there was the sound of shooting coming from outside, along with a mini ambush of ranchers. By the time I'd grabbed a gun and made it outside, they were already driving away, a glimpse of Alicia in the backseat of their truck. And to make things worse, a few of our people were either injured or shot dead.

It angered me, but mostly I felt disappointment at the fact that we'd come full circle yet again. Alicia had seemed different earlier today, like she actually wanted this to work. So, why had she broken out of here, hurting my people in the process?

My fault for believing her, I suppose.

Of course, this didn't bode well with my dad, and understandably so. However, I certainly didn't expect him to send Ofelia undercover there, under the guise that she'd been thrown out, when in fact she was there solely to poison their militia with anthrax. As soon as she returned, that was when I found out. I worried about what was going on with her, since I didn't even know she'd left, but she was distracted.

"Ofelia, what the hell happened?" I asked worriedly, upon seeing her battered and bruised face. "Where have you been?!"

"The ranch," she answered angrily, though it wasn't directed at me. "I was supposed to make them sick. But he didn't tell me– it was fucking anthrax!"

"What are you talking about?" I said with confusion, trying to meet her flickering gaze. "Why were you at the ranch? What anthrax?"

And that's when she explained the plan, conducted by none other than my father. Except the catch was that it wasn't a little something to just weaken their militia, it was anthrax poisoning to kill as many of them as possible, and Ofelia didn't know until it was too late.

"Alicia didn't want to mess up this parley," she continued to explain. "Her mother used Troy to get her back because she was scared for her. It wasn't her fault. She still wants peace."

At this newfound information, I was surprised and also a little relieved because, stupidly enough, I still believed there was hope.

"And now her brother, Nick, is sick because of the anthrax," Ofelia finished guiltily. "And it's my fault."

I frowned, shaking my head. "It's not. You didn't know. He should've told you."

Not in the mood for my sympathy, Ofelia shrugged me off and walked away to be alone. And I only grew more frustrated at my father, ashamed at his manipulating tactics amongst his own people, all because of a vendetta.

Storming over to him in the greenhouse, I tried to keep myself calm, but it only irked me more when he tried to pretend everything was okay.

"Hey, Y/N, you okay?"

Squeezing my fists together, I stared at him with disbelief. "Seriously? Am I okay?!"

Confused, he blinked. "Is that a no?"

"You lied to Ofelia about the anthrax!"

He sighed, like this was all a mild inconvenience. "I didn't want to. But it needed to be done. Someone had to weaken their militia."

"You don't get it, do you?" I asked with a glare. "This will never end. They killed our people. You poisoned theirs. They'll just keep coming back. It's a never ending cycle!"

"And I'll keep it going if it means getting justice for our people!" he finally snapped. "If it means protecting our home, taking back our land, then yes, I will keep going!"

I unclenched my jaw, exhausted already. "Wow. I hate to say it, dad, but maybe this just isn't worth it anymore. Maybe the ranch isn't worth it."

He frowned with frustration, about to retaliate and berate me no doubt, but our argument was conveniently interrupted by the sound of shouting in the distance. The two of us ran out to see what the commotion was, only to see some of our tipis on fire, along with ranchers driving around and shooting around.

"Defence, now!" my father ordered, and I immediately ran to grab the nearest gun before taking cover.

It wouldn't have made a difference though, as soon enough, a pickup truck belonging to the ranchers began to drive away with our reliquary in tow, one that contained many of our ancestor's belongings in one place. The only rancher who knew of its existence was Alicia, considering my father had shown it to her when she was here. Which only meant one thing.

She'd told them to steal it.

As predicted, this war was a constant back and forth and my dad was only seeking revenge, as usual. Once the ranchers had stolen our reliquary, they used it to try and negotiate peace with my father. But he was so angry that he declined and threatened them, giving them until nightfall to vacate the ranch. Instead, Alicia's mother, Madison Clark, did one even better. She offered us up Jeremiah Otto's head.

And that was how we negotiated a peace deal, where we could finally move back onto our own land, though sharing it with the ranchers.

It wasn't ideal, but if it meant no more bloodshed, and also no more Jeremiah, then my father was more than happy to accept. So, a handful of us began moving in.

Most of the ranchers seemed to accept it, but I couldn't personally be sure. I tried not to focus on that though, nor the clear divide between our people. Instead, I did what I did best. Gardening.

I was taking stock in the vegetable patches to see what was growing and what else could be planted when I heard someone approaching behind me. To my surprise, it was Alicia.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

I nodded awkwardly before returning my attention to the clipboard in hand. We hadn't properly spoken since the parley was broken, so I wasn't so sure where we stood with one another.

"So, it worked," she tried to make conversation, referring to the peace deal.

"Barely," I mumbled.

It went quiet, and if it weren't for the fact that her footsteps weren't heard, I could have believed she'd left.

"I didn't know they were going to come for me," she suddenly said, a hint of guilt in her voice. "My mother was worried."

I shrugged halfheartedly, but she felt the need to justify it, as if she cared what I thought.

"I didn't want more people to die."

Finally, I lifted my eyes to meet hers. "Nobody ever does. But when it's my people, it's just collateral, right?"

Her lips curved into a slight frown as she shook her head, and I really wanted to believe her. Desperately. Because she seemed genuine, and if she was, then this wouldn't be for nothing.

"Jeremiah is gone now," she reminded me. "This can be a fresh start."

I pressed my lips together, lowering my clipboard. "I know that. You know that. But what about the ranchers? His followers?"

"Most of them only want peace," she tried to reassure me. "They'll follow anyone who gives them a sense of safety."

I suppressed the urge to scoff. "I hope so."

"The only way to show them that is to be unified," she added.

I quirked a brow. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Work with me, not against me. Side by side. If our people see us working together, maybe they'll realise it's not a bad thing."

I exhaled quietly, impressed at her thinking. "That's a good idea." She nodded gratefully, and I continued, "But why? Why would you care? And why us?"

She ran a hand through her hair as she explained patiently, "I've already told you that I only want to keep my family safe, same as you. So, why not work together in that? You're the daughter of the leader of those the ranchers are learning to trust. They see you working with us, they'll ease up. I just know it."

It made sense what she was saying, and she'd never done anything to give me reason to distrust her. Best case scenario, we could truly establish peace. Worst case scenario, we didn't become friends. I couldn't see much to lose, so I gave in with a nod.

"Okay. I guess you're right, Alicia."

She began to smile, both hopeful and relieved. "Great. Maybe we can start with me giving you a rundown on what we're growing?"

I sighed, returning her smile, and it felt good to have a reason to smile again. "I– yeah. That would be super helpful actually."

[theflyindutchwoman]

Do you have any Chenford fic recommendations?

I wasn't sure what kind of fics you liked, dear Anon, so I tried to include a little bit of everything. You can already search my tag Chenford fanfic to get you started. And here are some more suggestions (in no particular order) : I tried to only pick one fic by author to keep this list short and sweet, but really, I recommend checking all their stories

Every High And Every Low (M), by @onlymylovesurvive - Inspired by, “A dead kid is different. A dead kid changes you forever.” (3.09)

All The Bright Places (M), by Ellitheria - AU from 1.11 : Lucy is diagnosed with cancer

Who could stay (you could stay), by @queseraone - The fear has always been there—always. (About Tim's fear of being like his father)

A great honor to hold you up, by @fromiftowhen - Missing scenes and post-ep for Day of Death

Beneath Your Beautiful (E), by @cfr749 - AU where Tim and Lucy gets married at first sight for a TV show

Streetlamp to Streetlamp, by amaradangeli - Lucy is told she can get Caleb's tattoo removed once it's fully healed. A lot can happen in six weeks

Empty bed's and Broken memories, by AllMyTomorrows - Waking up to find Lucy not in his bed or house triggers deep fears inside him that even he didn't realise he had.

Roots Won't Keep Me Warm, by @silverskull - AU 4.22 : Tim and Lucy go undercover to take down Mid-Wilshire's greasiest drug baron (written during the summer hiatus)

Where we gonna go? (i think he knows), by @fromiftowhen - Tim and Lucy go on a first date. It doesn’t go exactly as planned (written before s5)

Tell me you love me (without any words), by @dmarx - AU 5.13 : Tim struggles to put his feelings into words after Lucy finds him a new job.

Little bit of Love, by @chenfordspiral - A look into what the future may hold for Tim and Lucy

Baby, it's halloween (there’s a first time for everything), by @americorys - AU from 5.05/5.06 : Tim and Lucy spend Halloween (not) giving out candy in costume and (definitely not) skirting around their feelings for each other

You Taste Like Whiskey When You Kiss Me, (E) by universallongings - Tim and Lucy go to Las Vegas (for Angela's bachelorette party)

Oh and you can also check out @centralperkchenford who's doing an amazing job at keeping us fed every day with new stories.

[puffmais]

I Feel You Linger In The Air (Rant)

I really needed to make this because I've finally discovered why so many bls fans (not everyone) keep ignoring this story in particular, which, in my opinion, holds the place for #1 bl of the year.

People are really not ready to watch great acting, great plot, great cinematography, great ost, great everything. You really have a period bl drama right in front of your eyes, but apparently one of the main excuses is that the relationship "goes really slow", and some people on Twitter and Reddit even said that Jom never shows his feelings just like in the novel, and that is always Khun Yai the one who gives affection. Let's go for the first one: first of all, are we watching the same show? Because we, as an audience, are fully aware that Jom was cheated on by his boyfriend in the present time, then he travels to the past and encounters this man (whom he has previously seen) and of course, he's shocked (both of them are since Khun Yai dreamed about Jom). You just can't expect a relationship to happen in the very first episode, that's not realistic, that never happens. This actually reminded me when Step By Step was airing and everyone kept complaining that "nothing" happened between the two mains, and the plot was slow, and people just stopped watching it. You really need to understand how relationships work: it takes time, and we need to follow the development, we need to feel those moments between the characters. The problem here is those really cringy, bad bl series with zero plot, terrible acting, and obviously having explicit s*x scenes in every episode, that made people forget about enjoying a great story and just consume any garbage content just for the sake of it, and I'm not going to make a list about those bad bls or those terrible actors because you all know who they are. The second one, do you really think Jom never showed his feelings towards Khun Yai? Once again, this is a character that has just been cheated on and got his heart broken by his long-time boyfriend. And let's not forget that this is an adaptation from a novel (yes, I read it), and every time a written work gets adapted into a series (or film) there are always going to be changes and situations in which all the production team has to work to make it as close as possible to the novel, but not the same in its entirety. Someone on Reddit said that they were happy because even though some scenes were changed from the novel, the dialogues were all the exact same and they were faithful in that sense, and I completely agree. Now, if you are saying that Jom doesn't show any emotion, you are coming for Nonkul's acting and I won't tolerate that. This drama has cast two of the best Thai actors in the industry. Both actors even said that they read the novel, and did plenty of research and preparation for their characters. So, no... you are not going to come for these two boys, because they are the best you will ever see.

And now, let's see some examples in which we can see Jom (slowly) growing feelings for Khun Yai: This already happens in EP2. Khun Yai looking so worried, asks Jom if he's feeling unwell and touches him so gently. Just look at Jom's face... I bet his heart made a jump because I know my heart would stop at that moment.

And what about the very next moment? Khun Yai: "It's like you've lost your blessing. Please, let me bring it back for you." (The softness in his voice...)

And Jom looks dazzled the whole time because he has this gorgeous gentleman talking to him like this, caring for him... Anyways, let's go to EP3. The scene in which Khun Yai tells Jom that he's buying clothes for him and Jom is surprised by this. And then, Khun Yai goes: "Do you like it?" (referring to the shirt)

And I bet Jom's brain was like: "Are we talking about the shirt... or you?". He just stares at Khun Yai like he's hypnotized (like more than 5 seconds, I'm not kidding). And what about this whole scene? Khun Yai: "If remembering makes you sad, just forget about it completely."

Here we have Khun Yai once again talking in his ever-soft voice (Bright's voice is just beautiful) and comforting Jom, knowing that he's suffering and having hard times, and Jom just takes and absorbs all this care and affection coming from the other.

When they come back, Jom thanks Khun Yai, he's grateful for everything, you can see it in his smile, and his eyes, and he exudes gratefulness. And then we see him looking at the bracelet that Khun Yai gave to him, and thinking about him... like come on, at this point we all know that Khun Yai is blooming in Jom's heart.

Right, let's jump to EP4. Jom becomes Khun Yai's majordomo and we have the scene in which Khun Yai shows Jom his new room. Khun Yai: "So now we're living under the same roof, Jom."

Look at him! He looks nervous and shy, taking in the fact that he's going to live with his crush and be with him 24/7, like imagine being as lucky as Jom... the boy is internally screaming.

The next scene, when Khun Yai is helping Jom with the typewriter, and Jom makes a mistake.

Khun Yai stops him by touching him and Jom's brain just stops working. My boy is gone, he just stares and stares.

And then, we have the scene in which Jom is helping dress Khun Yai. Jom: "So, why did you have to help me that much?" Khun Yai: "As I said earlier, I just want to choose what I want, and go by my wish sometimes."

LOOK AT HIM! HE'S GONE! WE LOST HIM! And besides he understands what Khun Yai is trying to say, Jom is no fool.

Khun Yai leaves and we see Jom like this: he's touching his face (an indicator that his face is probably burning) and he's internally screaming, please at this point we can feel Jom's sincere feelings.

Let's go to EP5. In the beginning scene, Jom sees things from the present time, and he starts screaming. Khun Yai makes his appearance, he's worried and he knows Jom is having a hard time once again. I want to emphasize how Khun Yai is in a drunk state in this scene, but that doesn't stop him from being the same gentleman, and comfort Jom in every possible way.

Khun Yai: "Jom, you're here with me. Just think of this as another home." (I screamed)

The entire scene is chef's kiss. Khun Yai's soft and caring voice, massaging Jom's forehead in an attempt to make Jom feel better and get rid of any negative feelings and thoughts. Caressing his face and then hugging him ever so softly, patting his head, every single gesture is just perfection, so full of affection. The silence in the scene, no need of dialogues, just them loving each other, and Jom being completely gone. He's completely aware that he likes Khun Yai.

Okay, EP6. We have a (very) jealous Khun Yai avoiding Jom and treating him kind of indifferently. In this scene, Jom looks hurt and worried that Khun Yai may be angry at him, and he basically makes Khun Yai explode.

Khun Yai: "Don't you know how I feel about you? Did my actions not reach your heart at all? Or should I write you a long poem? Or in what way should I tell you so that you can understand how I feel about you?".

Imagine your crush advancing to you like this... saying all those words... Jom was speechless, breathless.

Moving forward, Khun Yai finally directly confesses to Jom and asks him if he wants to be with him, and Jom agrees. I loved how Jom didn't reject him but explained to him that he was scared and worried about them becoming lovers and making Khun Yai's life difficult because of his family and society in general. Let's not forget that Jom comes from the present time in which until today LGBTQ people are still chased and k*lled, rejected, and seen as abnormal (I personally felt his speech because I'm bisexual and I know it's hard). And Thailand is still a conservative country in which gay marriage is not allowed, so like I said before: Jom is no fool and he's aware of the whole situation. But... love is stronger and our boys become a couple, and if after all this people still think that Jom has zero emotions or doesn't express himself... just go watch your empty bls in which the characters "fall in love" in the first five minutes like the most unrealistic thing ever.

I want to say that Khun Yai is the greenest flag ever, and Bright & Nonkul's chemistry is out of this world. I hope they work together again in the future because they are the perfect duo. Anyways, to all IFYLITA fans keep spreading the love and enjoying the best bl of the year, we can't wait to see these boys taking all the awards.