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works-of-fanfiction · 8 months

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The Love of Another - Part Two || Cillian Murphy x actress!Reader

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Summary: After meeting on the set of Peaky Blinders, Cillian and Y/N struggle to keep their relationship professional.

Warnings: Swearing, cheating, angst. Some (pretty cringe) fluff at the end.

Word Count: 5.7k

a/n: thank you so much for the lovely feedback on the first part of this! I haven’t written anything multi-part in literal years, but this was fun. some chunky sections of dialogue here, hopefully easy to follow! enjoy x

(Paul is Paul Anderson and Sophie is Sophie Rundle (if that wasn’t obvious already). Y/N’s character in the show is not canon/replacing any of the actresses, just feel free to use your imagination and slot her in somewhere! it is yourself after all.)

“Would you rather have Tommy teach you to ride a horse, or Arthur teach you to box?” The interviewer asked, smiling at the actress in front of her. Y/N chewed the inside of her cheek, tapping her knee as she thought about her answer. “That’s a hard one, because both could end up with me on the floor!” She joked, looking past the camera at the crew who were essentially getting paid to laugh at anything she said. “I have to go with Tommy on this one. It’s probably the least dangerous! Plus, who doesn’t love watching Cillian ride those horses?” The two women laughed together before swiftly moving onto the more serious questions about Y/N’s debut in the series. “I’d have gone with Arthur.” Y/N’s husband sneered, lowering the volume on the TV. Behind him she was sat at the table, re-reading the new scripts she’d been sent and familiarising herself with the lines.

“They pay me to say stuff like that, you know.” She declared casually, not bothering to look up from the page. He turned around and watched as she scribbled down some notes, mouthing words to herself quietly.

“They pay you to brown-nose Cillian?” He scoffed, leaning on the back cushion. Dropping her pencil with a sigh, she finally looked up with raised brows.

“Yes. Just like I got paid to brown-nose every other man I’ve worked with.” She quipped sarcastically, rolling her eyes, and twirling the pencil between her fingers. She waited for him to respond, but the snarky comeback never came. A smart choice on his part.

Despite her only having met Cillian once, her husband still had this bizarre idea that they’d spent every waking moment together during filming. Y/N had become too exhausted to argue about it. Her career and her future in Peaky Blinders was a lot more important than her husband’s petty jealousy, and she certainly wasn’t going to throw away the role of a lifetime because of him.

“Y/N… Your line.” The prompter called, waving the script in the air and tapping the page with her pen.

“Oh, sorry. Can we go from the top?” Y/N asked nervously, looking around at the crew that were becoming increasingly impatient. What was supposed to be a quick and simple scene was turning into an hour of do-overs with Y/N forgetting small details on every take. “I’m really sorry everyone.” She addressed the room, some mumbling back, others just rolling their eyes and whispering among themselves.

Stepping forward off his mark, Cillian turned to the director. “I think we can pick this up next week. Don’t you?” He asked quietly, eyes flitting to Y/N and back again. “Long day…”

“Alright. We’ll set up for this scene first thing Monday morning, but I want it finished and perfect by lunchtime.” He spun in his chair, ordering everyone to go home and rest up on their rare weekend off.

Sighing, Y/N tugged at her hair, freeing it from the clips holding it tightly in place. Paul patted her shoulder sympathetically before leaving set, shaking Cillian’s hand on the way out. Cillian sat down beside her quietly, waiting for everyone else to filter out. Once the room was empty, he scooted closer, slipping his hand in hers beneath the table. “I had it, Cill, I had it.”

“I know.” He soothed, stroking her knuckles with his thumb. “I did it for my sake, not yours. This suit is itching.” He joked lightly, pulling at his collar. Looking up, she felt a smile creeping onto her face. There he was, being cheesy, always trying to cheer her up.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“I think the guest in your trailer might have something to do with it.”

Nodding, she looked down at their hands, at Cillian’s gentle fingers dancing along her veins. She thought about her husband; how he’d travelled all this way and spent the entire afternoon waiting for her. Yet here she was, comfortable in the arms of another man, betraying him for the thousandth time.

Cillian could see the cogs turning in her head. Forgetting to blink, she stared down at the tabletop, studying the cracks in the brown paint. He squeezed her hand softly, reminding her he was still there. “What are you thinking?” He whispered.

“I have to tell him, don’t I?” She asked, not really seeking an answer. For months she’d tried to plan a way to tell him, to come out with the truth and end her marriage for good, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. It wasn’t something she could do over the phone, but she also couldn’t bear to see him in person. She continued to pretend everything was OK, smiling through their FaceTime calls and sending love hearts whenever she couldn’t answer. ‘Couldn’t’ meaning when she was with Cillian.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do it, or when, or where, but I know I have to. I mean, it’s been a year already, and I think I just lost track of time but then – “

“Hey, hey.” Cillian grabbed her face gently, putting a pause to her rambling. “You don’t need to go making any grand declarations today.”

“If I leave it any longer, it’ll just make it worse.”

Y/N seemed to stare straight through him, her jaw tensing beneath his fingers. Part of him wished he could fix it for her, that he could go to her husband himself and tell him the truth to save her the burden. He feared how her husband could react, knowing he had a habit of getting jealous and suspicious whenever she got too friendly with a man. He knew he could handle it but wasn’t sure she’d be able to.

“Y/N!” A voice shouted from the entrance; it was Sophie, looking for her so she could drag her to her birthday night out. The pair separated, Cillian standing awkwardly. “There you are. Come with me, I’ve found the perfect dress for you to wear tonight!”

“I’ll leave you ladies to it.” He smiled, giving Y/N one last reassuring smile before leaving the building. The last thing Y/N wanted to do was go out, but she didn’t want the crew hating her even more after her earlier fiasco, so she dragged herself to the wardrobe department and let Sophie show her the dresses they were going to ‘borrow’ for the evening.

“A vision in red! Happy birthday, sweetheart.” Paul beamed, hugging Y/N tight as she joined the group, her husband in tow. Paul made the effort to greet him - the man lucky enough to steal Y/N’s heart - as he put it. She laughed along, the pang of guilt inside her chest doubling in size. He may’ve had occupancy of her heart once upon a time, but that space had since been filled by someone else, and that someone was currently sat in the corner looking as handsome as ever. Cillian raised his glass to her, smiling, his arm flexing in his t-shirt. She nodded back, the all-too-familiar rush of heat spreading up her neck and to her face.

It was the perfect night for it, considering the football match just a few miles down the road was keeping most of the city occupied for a couple of hours. Everyone chose to pack out the pubs, leaving the majority of the bars fairly empty and ideal for the star-studded crowd to hide out and enjoy their night. It wasn’t often they all stepped out together like this, but birthdays were an exception.

“Drink?” Y/N’s husband asked, throwing his arm over her shoulder. Leading her to the bar, he gushed about his conversation with the Arthur Shelby, and how much of a nice guy he was. She wondered if he’d speak so highly of Cillian, or if his strange vendetta would get the better of him. “Shots for the birthday girl?”

“Oh, not yet. Let me ease myself in.” She laughed weakly, drumming her fingers on the bar.

“Not even one?”

“Why? Are you trying to get me drunk?” She raised a brow, eliciting a chuckle from him.

“Well, you always were fun after a few drinks…” He purred, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. She grimaced at his words, but luckily he didn’t notice as he was too busy waving at the bartender.

He ordered, yelling obnoxiously over the music. Y/N’s eyes wandered across the back of the bar as she absentmindedly bobbed her head to the song playing, mouthing some of the words. “Oh, I’ll get these.” They both turned to see Cillian standing there with his hands tucked into his pockets, a friendly smile on his face.

“It’s alright, mate. I promised I’d get the birthday girl her first drink.” Her husband’s hold on her tightened as he spoke, his fake grin wide enough to blind a man.

Y/N stood there between the two men, her heart pounding as she felt Cillian’s stare on her face. He’d had good intentions coming over, wanting to keep an eye on her, but she wished he’d stayed put at his table. She already struggled to act normal around her husband, and her lover’s presence only made things ten times more difficult.

“Perhaps some shots then? My treat?” Cillian rested his arm on the bar, catching the attention of another bartender.

“She doesn’t want – “

“Shots sound great. Thanks, Cill – ian.” She stuttered, correcting the nickname before her husband noticed. He looked down at his wife, then back at the man beside her who calmly ordered, leaning over the bar so he didn’t have to shout. Funny how she suddenly agreed to shots when he was the one paying…

Cillian passed Y/N and her husband a shot each, and they downed the drinks together. She winced as it burned her throat, sticking out her tongue as she groaned. “Tequila! Are you trying to kill me?”

The Irishman laughed, nodding a last thank you across the bar. “Happy birthday, Y/N.” He smiled sincerely, giving her arm an affectionate squeeze. He left the bar, rejoining the cast and crew and instantly slotting himself into a conversation. She watched him fondly, almost forgetting about the man stood behind her. Stretching his arm over her shoulder, her husband placed the drink into her hand.

She turned and took a sip. “Thank you… Wait, you didn’t take your shot?” She asked, pointing at the full glass on the bar. He shook his head, taking a swig of his beer. “Why not?”

Swallowing with a loud ‘ah’, he shrugged, his expression blank. “I figured it was a moment to be shared between the two of you. Here. Why don’t you have mine?” He slid the shot towards her, tapping the rim of the glass twice. “Go on. It’s your birthday after all.”

“You’ve got some nerve. Can’t you go a day without starting this bloody argument?” She hissed, pushing the shot back to him. Some of it spilt over the edge, leaving a sticky sheen on the bar. “Drink it, and let’s go join my friends.”

“I wouldn’t drink it if you paid me to.” He leaned down to her level, trying to intimidate her, but it didn’t work. She wasn’t scared of him; she just saw him as a pathetic, jealous little boy. When he behaved like this, it made her wonder why she ever felt bad for cheating on him at all.

“Fine. You want to be a child? Then two can play that game, babe.” She spat, turning on her heels and heading towards Cillian. She slipped herself into the group between him and Sophie, linking arms with the woman on her left. “Which one of you is going to dance with me?”

“I thought you’d never ask!” Sophie squealed, taking Y/N’s drink. “Look after this, will you?” Thrusting it into Cillian’s free hand, she then dragged Y/N into the nearest space, throwing her arms in the air and whooping to the music. They joined hands and spun around like two girls in a playground, shouting the wrong lyrics to the song and giggling uncontrollably.

Y/N twirled around and set her sights on Cillian, beckoning him over with her finger. “I’m not dancing!” He laughed over the music, keeping a firm grip on their drinks. “I’m guarding your drink!”

“No, go on. It’s her birthday.” Her husband goaded, appearing behind Cillian. Y/N frowned as she watched the two men speak, unable to hear what they were saying. Sophie grabbed her and spun her around, putting her back to them.

“Shouldn’t it be you dancing with her?” Cillian asked innocently, gently placing the drinks on the table.

“Oh… I don’t think she’s my friend at the moment.”

Watching his wife dance, he got the sense he was losing her; that she was slipping away from him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He’d noticed how Cillian watched her, that lovesick puppy dog smile pasted on his face and eyes following her every move. He had attended many an event with her past co-stars, and none of them had ever looked at her like that. To him, Cillian was showing off, gloating that he’d lured his wife away from him. He wanted to wipe the shit-eating grin off his face if it was the last thing he ever did.

Y/N stumbled out of Sophie’s grasp, dizzily making her way back to the table. “Everything alright?” She asked, out of breath and reaching for her drink. “It’s a workout dancing with her.”

“Don’t you worry, love. Everything’s fine. I was just talking to Cillian here about you. About the two of you, I mean.” Sniggering behind his glass, he gulped down the remainder of his beer and wiped his mouth, clearing his throat. Cillian’s face contorted in confusion, his fingers gripping the edge of the table, toes curling inside his shoes out of frustration.

“What’s he said to you?” She asked, directing her question to Cillian. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be rudely interrupted.

“So quick to jump to his defence.”

“We’re not doing this here.” Y/N snapped, dropping her glass with a thud. “You are not showing me up in front of my colleagues, my friends.”

“Pick a place then, love. It won’t make a fucking difference.” Her husband could be nasty when need be, but she wasn’t about to stand and take it, especially not with an audience.

“Right - “ Cillian started, cut off by Y/N barging past them both and towards the doors. This caught the attention of her cast mates, which Cillian quickly fed a lie to before speeding after her.

He found her outside, stood against the wall and hunched over, hands clutching her knees. “Y/N, I’m so sor - “

“Cillian, don’t you dare apologise for his behaviour. Do you hear me?” Her voice shook as she spoke, the sudden rush of anger overwhelming her. She slid down the wall, sitting on the pavement, her exposed shoulders flat against the cold bricks. “Who does he think he is? Acting like that in front of everyone? I could lose my fucking job.”

“You wouldn’t lose - “

“Yes, Cillian. I would. If the studio… If the writers found out about this - “

“They won’t.” He asserted, kneeling down so they were on the same level. “They won’t.”

She took a few deep breaths, Cillian’s presence calming her down as he crouched opposite her, his fingers resting lightly on her knees. “You know, for months I have felt like the worst human being in the world. Looking at myself in the mirror and seeing the cheat staring back, the lousy fucking cheat.”

“So, you’re not perfect. You’ve done some, admittedly not great things, but I don’t think anyone in there would blame you.”

“Somehow I don’t think they’d praise me for fucking my co-star behind my husband’s back.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes and rubbing her temple with her fingertips. “God, I’m sorry, Cillian. I’m not trying to… You’re so much more than that, I – “

“It’s alright. You’re upset… And I can handle whatever you throw at me.” He joked, reaching out to pinch her chin.

Hearing the doors swing open, the two flinched, Cillian rising from the ground instinctively. “Well, isn’t this cosy?” Y/N’s husband drawled, sauntering towards them. “So… I was right, yeah? You and him?” He pointed between them, his words directed at Y/N.

“Please…”

“Just answer me. Put me out of my God damn misery.” He threw his arms in the air in defeat, letting them fall to his sides, hitting his thighs with a loud slap.

Pressing her palms against the ground, Y/N pushed herself up, adjusting her dress as she steadied her feet. She approached her husband, and Cillian put his arm out to try and hold her back. “It’s OK, Cill.” She stood looking up at the man she once loved, her hands balled into fists at her side, thumbs picking at the fabric clinging to her legs. “You’re right. You figured it out.”

He exhaled a laugh, kissing his teeth. “I knew it.” Turning away, he ran his hands through his hair, looking up to the sky and sighing deeply. “How long?” He looked back, hands on his hips and brows furrowed. “Y/N, how long?”

“Since my twenty-ninth birthday…” She said shyly, realising just how much worse that made everything look. It had been exactly a year, pretty much to the hour, that she’d shared the first kiss with Cillian that started it all.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Well, I am sorry for interrupting your little anniversary night…” Exasperated, he took a deep breath and exhaled the air with puffed cheeks. “You know what? You are not the woman I married.” He pointed his finger in her face, but she didn’t react. Folding her arms over her chest, she stepped back until she felt Cillian against her, his hands supporting her upper arms. He whispered comforting words into her ear and her eyes began to water as she continued to stare at her husband, distant and unblinking.

Silence fell upon them, and Y/N expected more to be said, but was surprised to witness her husband turn and walk away. Anything else he had left to say was muttered under his breath as he disappeared around the corner. She and Cillian waited a few seconds to see if he would come back, but the street stayed unusually empty and quiet. “It’s alright. He’s gone.” Cillian whispered, and she spun in his arms, clinging onto him desperately.

Her thoughts felt like they were drowning in a whirlpool, like she couldn’t take control of them no matter how hard she tried. The heaviness in her heart had dissipated, but the ache in her stomach and throbbing in her head persisted. “Can we get out of here, please?” She begged, her head buried in Cillian’s chest.

“Shall I tell the others we’re leaving?”

“Just leave it. Please, can we just go?” Her voice cracked as her hold on him tightened, pieces of his shirt screwed up between her fingers.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Lying on the bed, Y/N stared at the ceiling, her fingers ghosting over Cillian’s as he laid beside her. A strange mixture of relief and dread washed over her body, making her feel weak yet incredibly alive at the same time. She wanted to jump up and down, to declare her feelings for Cillian from the highest rooftop she could find. However, another part of her wanted to hide, to burrow under the covers like a scared child until it was safe to come out. She was too afraid to check her phone; it was probably already blowing up with messages from her family and friends.

How could you?

Who was there for you when you were starting out? Did the fame get to your head?

He’s heartbroken! You should be ashamed.

The mere thought of it all made her head spin, and it was far easier to leave her phone on do not disturb and pretend no one else existed for a moment. Her thoughts felt so loud, and she wondered if they both held their breaths for a moment, would Cillian be able to hear the gears twisting and turning inside her brain? Or the steam coming out of her ears?

“Some birthday this was.” She sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Am I supposed to feel bad? Like… Is this the point where I’m supposed to cry and scream about how terrible of a person I am?”

“You can if you want to.” Cillian turned his head to the left, and she looked over at the same time, their eyes meeting in the middle.

“No… I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to. I just can’t. I don’t feel bad, not anymore. Is that horrible?”

“How do you feel?”

This was a new feeling for Y/N, for the both of them in fact. Throughout their relationship they’d spoken about everything from their favourite albums to their very particular pet peeves. They’d even spent a whole night debating the existence of aliens, sitting out on the balcony of a hotel room and bickering with each other beneath the stars. The thing they hadn’t really spoken about were their feelings, including their feelings for each other. Those three fateful words were still dangling from the tip of Cillian’s tongue, and there was so much Y/N wanted to say in return.

“I feel… Relieved. I feel free.” Clasping her hands together, she tucked them under her head. “That’s awful to admit, isn’t it?”

“It’s better than pretending.” He rubbed her shoulder soothingly, his thumb slipping beneath the strap of her dress. “Paul was right, you are a vision in red.”

Y/N giggled, swatting his hand away and adjusting the strap. “You are such a flirt!”

They stayed looking at each other, studying each other’s faces as if there was something new to see. Y/N counted the little flecks in Cillian’s bright blue eyes, watching his pupils twitch and change sizes with every few blinks. He added up the freckles on her face, imagining how they’d look if they were connected like tiny constellations across her cheeks. He smiled to himself, his tongue poking out to swipe across his bottom lip. “What?” She asked, eyes squinting with playful suspicion.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” His voice was gentle and quiet, barely reaching above a whisper. It wasn’t necessary in the room they were in. Not a single sound could be heard around them, except for their breathing and bodies shuffling against the sheets. He swallowed his words, assuming that perhaps she wasn’t ready to hear them. It had only been an hour since she confessed to her husband in the street, and he didn’t want to overwhelm her with a big declaration of love. He’d know when the time was right, he was sure of it.

Rolling off the bed, Y/N pressed a kiss to Cillian’s forehead and went to take a shower. Whilst she was gone, he looked around the bedroom, spotting various bits of his belongings scattered from the many times he’d stayed over. Filming for the series was almost complete, and it would soon be time for them to pack up their rentals and head home, wherever that may be. He thought about how things might change now that they technically didn’t have to sneak around anymore. Would people start to notice? Would they be victims of some derogatory Daily Mail headline by morning?

Returning in a towel, Y/N sat on the edge of the bed, combing through her damp hair in the mirror. Cillian knelt behind her, balancing on the mattress as he ducked his head down to press a soft kiss to her shoulder. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the birthday you deserve.” He murmured against her skin. She closed her eyes and hummed, enjoying the feeling of his lips moving across her shoulder blade.

“I think it was exactly what I deserved.” She whispered, turning her head to catch a glimpse of him. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he gazed up at her through his lashes.

“There’s still just under two hours left of it. Do you think we can turn it around?”

“What do you suggest?”

Cillian scrambled to his feet, hitting the carpet with a clumsy thud. Clicking his fingers, he pointed to Y/N, a goofy smile on his face. “You still have that wine in the fridge?”

“You really trust me to drink wine after last time?” She raised a brow then mimed throwing up, clutching her stomach with her arm. “After last time…” She fake gagged, making him grimace.

“OK, OK! Bad idea!”

He stood with one hand on his hip, the other raking through his hair. Cocking her head to the side, Y/N admired the view in front of her, pinching her bottom lip with her teeth. There was something oddly appealing about Cillian in regular clothes with the signature Tommy Shelby haircut. He wore a crisp white t-shirt with dark jeans, which just happened to be one of her favourite looks on him. It was simple, yet he somehow made it the most attractive thing she’d ever laid eyes on. Her eyes followed the trail of his veins down his forearm, where they reached the hand that sat just above his waistband.

“I’m gonna be honest, that was my only idea.” He laughed, resting his cheek in his hand.

“Cillian…” She said softly, shuffling to the edge of the mattress. “Come here.”

As he approached, she parted her legs, giving him enough room to stand between them. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he looked down, his eyes meeting hers. She looked so beautiful like this; just wearing a towel with unruly wet strands of hair stuck to the sides of her face. Her cheeks blushed a light pink, decorated in a couple of stray droplets of water from the shower.

“Closer.” She whispered, reaching up to grab his shirt. He lifted his knee and rested it on the mattress beside her, using his hands as support as he hovered over her, lowering her until she was laid on her back.

“Is this close enough?” He breathed, his palms flat on either side of her head.

“Almost…”

He lowered himself further as if he was performing a press-up, using the strength in his wrists to steady himself above her. “This will do.” She smiled, bringing her lips to meet his.

Dropping to his elbows, Cillian weaved his hands into her hair, tugging gently at the root. She moaned softly into his mouth, arching her back to inch herself closer to him and press their chests together. He groaned, a shiver coursing through his body as the towel around her dampened his shirt.

Pulling away from the kiss, they each opened their eyes and gazed at the other, panting quietly with heat-flushed cheeks and swollen lips. Their faces were just close enough to still be able to see one another properly without their vision blurring. Y/N sighed, her forefinger tracing the curve of his cheekbone. “Are you OK?” Cillian asked, running the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip.

“Yeah, I just…” She couldn’t concentrate with his fingers under her chin, featherlight and careful across her skin. Blinking slowly, she relaxed into his touch, relishing in the feeling of the goosebumps that prickled her cheeks.

“We can stop if you want.”

“No, no. That’s not what I want. Quite the opposite, actually.” Her words weren’t exactly a lie, but they didn’t seem to match the look on her face.

Worried, he flipped onto his side and laid next to her, his right hand finding a loose piece of thread hanging from the towel and twisting it around his finger. “If you need a bit of space for a while – “

“No, Cillian. Please don’t say that.”

“Alright, I’m sorry…”

“I just don’t know what happens next. Am I supposed to announce it to everyone? Do I file for divorce on Monday? How does this all work?” She laughed slightly, mostly at herself for being so clueless. “I think telling everyone my marriage is over will be the easy part. How do I tell them about us?”

“Well, the divorce stuff can wait for a bit. You don’t need to rush into anything.” He patted the bed, searching for her hand. She turned her palm upwards, letting his slide over the top and their fingers entwine. “As for telling anyone…”

“What?” She rolled onto her side, mirroring his position. “Do you think we should tell people?”

“I was going to say, is there really any need in telling anyone yet? I mean, we’ve kept it between the two of us for this long already and – “

“Yes, but that was because we didn’t have a choice.”

“I know... but just think about it. I think it would be weirder if we charged into work next week and announced it to everyone.”

She stared at a crease in Cillian’s shirt, daydreaming about how things were going to be. He was right. They didn’t need to shout about it, and Y/N certainly didn’t want to draw any attention to herself just yet. She already knew what people were going to think of her and label her as, and she wanted to delay the backlash for as long as possible; whether her husband was going to allow that was another story…

Cillian opened his arms for her, scooting higher onto the bed so his feet were no longer dangling off the edge. She followed, snuggling into him and tangling her legs with his. The silence between them was heavy, like there were a million words going unsaid. Y/N knew that Cillian was everything she wanted, but a small part of her worried about what would happen to her husband. Being married to someone for four years was going to leave a stamp on her forever, but she sincerely hoped he’d be OK, and that he wouldn’t try to inflict a war on her and Cillian. She knew in time that things would smooth themselves out and feel normal, but for now, she was content to sit in her little confusing bubble, just as long as Cillian was in it with her.

“Cill?”

“Mhm?”

“When we met earlier in wardrobe, and I spotted that box, what was in it?” She smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

“You really wanna know?” She nodded. “OK… Well, that box wasn’t actually for you.”

“What?”

“I don’t know what was in it! It was already there.”

“Cillian!” She slapped his chest playfully and he huffed, feigning hurt. “Why did you say it was for me?”

“Technically, I didn’t! You just assumed.” He laughed, watching her cheeks redden and brows knit together. “Don’t look so disappointed! Listen, I’ll make it up to you tomorrow when I give, or rather take you to your real present.”

“Now I’m intrigued.”

“That’s all I’m saying! I’m not going to spoil it.”

“Fine…” He hugged her tightly, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. She listened to his heartbeat, counting the thumps in sets of eight. Looking up from his chest, she was surprised to see him already looking at her. “What about my other present?” She whispered.

“What do you – Oh, right. That.”

She sat up, kneeling beside him so she could see him better. He rotated onto his back, folding his arms across his chest, and tucking his hands under his arms. “Y/N – “

“No, wait!” She turned her head, fixing her messy hair and readjusting the towel around her body. Turning back with a flip of her hair and a dramatic flailing of her arms, she gestured for him to sit up.

“What are you doing?”

Awkwardly crawling closer on her knees, she ran the back of her hand over his cheek, leaving it to rest below his jaw. “Cillian.”

“Y/N.” He chuckled, and she immediately hushed him. She tried her best to be serious, but laughter threatened to burst out of her. “Whatever you’re doing, please get on with it because you’re freaking me ou – “

“Here it comes…” She spoke in her best attempt at an Irish accent, cringing at herself.

“Oh for Christ’s sake.” He threw his head back, belly laughing, and she grabbed him by his shirt to pull him back. Composing himself, he bit his cheeks to refrain from laughing any more. “Sorry… Go on.”

“I love you.”

He was silent, staring at her as he ran his fingers along his upper lip nervously. He knew it was coming, yet it still caught him by surprise, hearing those words come out of her mouth. He’d heard her say them plenty of times when they were in character, but this was different. They sounded so sweet when they finally meant something, and feeling her eyes on him made his heart pound in his chest. “Too cheesy?” Y/N asked, dropping the terrible accent.

“Cheesy, but I liked it.”

Sitting down cross-legged, she reached her hand out for him which he gladly took. He kissed her knuckles softly, keeping his lips there as he looked up at her. “I love you too.” He confessed. Both their bodies seemed to slump as if a weight they’d been carrying had been lifted, and despite everything that had happened, or rather gone wrong, that night, this moment felt right. He kissed her again, before slotting his fingers between hers and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “And we’re going to be OK.”

#cillian murphy x reader #cillian murphy oneshot #peaky blinders #cillian murphy

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sassy-ahsoka-tano · 2 years

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🍁 Autumn & Halloween Prompt List 🎃

It's about to get spoopy up in here. We wanted to do something special not only to celebrate everyone's favorite season but also to honor the amazing writers and creators on Tumblr.

Most of us are creators of some kind — whether that be writers, gifmakers, or artists — and this time of year is hard. We start running into fatigue + the scariest thing during the whole Halloween season: creator's block.

✨ Cue the prompt list ✨

This prompt list is split into three groups: dialogue, scenario, and NSFW prompts. Each section has 31 prompts which are sorted with more general autumn themes first and Halloween-specific prompts after that.

A HUGE HUGE thank you to Shawni (@austin-butlers-gf), Sage (@fangirlwithasweettooth), Kenzie (@fangirl-imagines), & Gabby (@dontbesussis) for helping to create this lovely list!

Feel free to reblog + use for whatever it is that you create and post here on Tumblr! Happy Halloween and enjoy 👻 ♥️

DIALOGUE

[ prompts with / indicate that both characters A + B have lines ]

“You have a leaf in your hair.”

“You’re shivering.”

“Why don’t you take off that mask? I’d like to see your face.”

“You’re scared of that, really?”

“That’s your favorite candy? You have shit taste.”

“Promise not to laugh at me if I scream.”

“My friend abandoned me at this Halloween party and I don’t know anyone. But you look as miserable as I feel.”

“If you can’t summon flames directly from hell, store-bought is fine.”

“It says take one, love.”

“Well…you grabbed my hand first.”

“Oh, I see. Is someone a little scared?”

“I spent so long in the darkness I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the moonlight is.”

“You’re the devil in disguise.”

“Nice try. You’ll have to work harder to scare me.”

“I know you’re trying to be scary, but you’re just way too cute.”

“I couldn’t find a costume, so I just decided to go as your [partner/bf/gf].”

“You’re a scaredy cat.” / “I am not!”

“Boo!” / “You were scarier with the mask off.”

“What are you supposed to be?” / “It isn’t obvious?”

“Ew candy corn?” / “What? This candy is hated for no reason. It’s good!”

“That kind of scared me.” / “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

“Kill me now and put me out of my sugar-fueled misery.” / “I told you to slow down.”

“Come on, it’s just a haunted house! It’ll be like a walk in the park.” / “More like a walk through hell.”

“There’s literally one candle flickering mysteriously. In what universe would I go over there?” / “Is that…a no, then?”

“Well, it is a seance.” / “Good thing the person I want to see is already here.”

“Oh no. You are not wearing the same costume as me! You can’t!” / “Well I did.”

“Ooh very scary!” / “That’s not part of the costume, dumbass.”

“You could have been a prince(ss).” / “Well, I wanted to be a(n) [insert costume] instead.”

“Who you gonna call?” / “Ghostbusters?”

“You look so stupid.” / “Well, that was the idea since I dressed as you.”

“What happened? Let me help you!” / “Relax, the blood is fake.”

SCENARIOS

Leaf hunting/raking leaves

Tailgaiting a football game

Getting drunk at Oktoberfest

Baking a pumpkin pie

Getting PSLs together

Visiting an apple orchard

Visiting a pumpkin patch

Carving a pumpkin

Making caramel apples

Bonfire

Corn Maze

Hayride (haunted or not)

Decorating for Halloween

Costume shopping

Buying couple costumes

Baking Halloween cookies

Haunted house

A doing B’s makeup for a costume

B doing A’s makeup for a costume

Watching a not scary Halloween movie (we recommend Hocus Pocus but take your pick lol)

Watching a scary movie

Halloween photoshoot

Setting up a haunted house

You’re actors in a haunted house

Masquerade ball

Going trick-or-treating

Handing out candy

Playing with an Ouija board

Telling scary stories

Bobbing for apples

Halloween/Murder Mystery Party

NSFW + AUs

[ most of the prompts can be adapted for NSFW or SFW themes but some are more suited to NSFW than others which is why we've separated them ]

“Love the costume but I’d rather see what’s under it.”

“Trick or treat.”

“I would light the candle but…I’m not a virgin.”

“I like your yabbos.”

“Don’t torture yourself ___. That’s my job.”

“Darling, you’re already in my veins.”

“I’ll be the demon to your angel.”

“I want to be what you are, see what you see, love what you love.”

“Just one bite…”

“You’ve been bad. Good thing my costume came with handcuffs.”

“He/She/They prefer(s) virgins.”

“I know what you should be for Halloween. Mine.”

“You’re not as scary as you think you are.” / “Maybe not. But I’ll still have you screaming tonight.”

“Everybody likes your costume better.” / “I could always take it off.”

"Forget the broom. Ride me instead."

“I may not be a vampire but I know how to suck.”

Rolling in the hay? Nah, rolling in the leaves

Sexy couple costumes

You’re stuck in the house of mirrors

7 minutes in heaven but make it Halloween (who can resist a good trope)

Painting each others’ faces/bodies

Mummy wrapping competition

A wears a sexy costume and teases B all night. B isn't happy.

A or B is under a love potion

Roleplay in costume

NSFW Halloween costume fashion show

Getting down and dirty in a corn maze and/or haunted house

Haunted bride/groom AU

Werewolf AU

Vampire AU

Succubus/Incubus AU

Bonus: “This is the skin of a killer, Bella.” 💀

─────

Disclaimer: Feel free to borrow prompts from this list to add to your own prompt lists but if you do, please reblog + credit the original creators of this list or link to this post for proper credit.

Halloween divider by gutterface on DeviantArt + retrieved from Tumblr.

#elvis #elvis 2022 #austin butler #prompt lists #writing prompt list #halloween writing prompts #autumn writing prompts #writing #stranger things #outer banks

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odxrilove · 1 year

Text

☆ 10:47PM

pairing: hoshi (kwon soonyoung) x reader

genre: fluff, comfort, established relationship

warnings: mentions about body, weight and losing weight, insecurities, insecure reader

wc: ~1k

a/n: wrote this at 1am 'cause i couldn't sleep! enjoy :D

the room was filled by screams and yells coming from the anime that was currently playing on the tv, a concentrated hoshi not diverting his eyes from the screen. he suddenly gasped in shock at a random scene, his breath hitting your bare skin as he was laying comfortably with his head in your lap, his cheek squished against your thigh.

while hoshi was still immersed in the show, you had long lost focus and instead had spent the last thirty minutes daydreaming, not paying attention to your boyfriend’s exaggerated reactions.

something had been bothering you for a while now and knowing hoshi, he was probably too invested in the story line to even realize hours had passed so you decided to attract his attention by passing your fingers through his hair, grazing his skin at the nape of his neck.

your boyfriend slowly leaned his head into your palm and wriggled on your shared bed until he was looking at you, his other cheek now being squished against your thigh. he looked up at you with stars in his eyes and a pout on his lips and you couldn’t help but shy away a bit.

when hoshi felt your hand leave his hair, he groaned slightly and slid further on the bed towards you, fully intending to force you to play with his hair. you could only blush and let out a short giggle, making hoshi smile in contentment in return.

a few more minutes passed by, comfortable silence filling the room beside the occasional dialogue of the still ongoing anime. your boyfriend soon turned around to continue watching the show, not without leaving a kiss on your clothed stomach to thank you for the attention.

biting your lip in frustration, you looked down at your lap. you didn’t know how to bring up what was bothering you without feeling like a complete loser. you knew hoshi would listen attentively but you were still quite scared of his reaction.

you hadn’t even realized the episode was over and that another one was starting, your boyfriend turning towards you with a big smile on his face at the first few notes of the catchy opening song, knowing you liked this specific opening. but his smile soon faded and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw you picking at your nails in a nervous manner, your eyes not leaving your lap.

a soft call of your name brought you back to earth and you came face to face with a worried hoshi. you reassured him quickly and pushed his head back down where it originally was. you knew your boyfriend wasn’t a hundred percent convinced so you just stroked his free cheek.

maybe it was the sudden boldness or the way hoshi’s eyes seemed to plead but you opened your mouth, the words leaving as fast as possible.

“do you think i could, maybe, accompany you and woozi to the gym next time?”

a smile took over his face and he immediately relaxed before nodding enthusiastically. “of course you can! it will be fun, you will see!” his body seemed to further bury itself into the covers as he closed his eyes peacefully.

your breath hitched in your throat. it was now or never.

“don’t you think i should lose a bit of weight?”

hoshi shot up from his comfortable position, eyes wide open. he muttered a small “what?” in disbelief. did he really just hear that?

“don’t you think i should lose some weight?” you repeated again, fingers trembling in nervousness.

hoshi was unable to even function correctly, his brain short-circuiting at your words. his mouth widened even more and he sat up straighter when your words started settling in. he inspected your face for any signs that might tell him you were currently joking but hoshi couldn’t find one, realizing you were indeed dead serious.

“what are you even talking about? “you look great!” he was at loss of words, he didn’t believe you just asked him that.

you nodded a bit, not convinced, “you're just saying that to make me happy.”

the look on hoshi’s face was comical, you surely would have laughed if your heart wasn’t threatening to run out of your chest right now. he rapidly turned his whole body towards you, sitting on his knees as a frown took over on his face. “how could you even think that?” he pouted, “i would never lie to you, especially not about this.”

you could feel his eyes burning holes into your skin and took a deep breath, lifting your head to look him in the eyes. hoshi was visibly upset. he thought he had made it very clear he loved the way looked.

when you didn’t reply, he placed a hand on your knee, his thumb running circles on your skin. “yn, baby, i think you look perfect. there’s nothing wrong with your weight, you’re healthy and that’s all that matters.”

he glared at you when a sigh left your mouth, “but i gained a bit of weight recently, doesn’t that bother you?”

you almost whimpered at his hard stare but his eyes soon softened. “it doesn’t matter if you gain or lose weight, i don’t care unless it affects your health. i just want you to feel and be okay, that’s all.” he tilted his head a bit, placing both his hands on your knees and leaning his chin on them. “plus, as long as you’re comfortable and huggable, i’m not complaining.”

the last sentence brought a smile to your face and you hit his arm lightly, hiding your blushing face, “phfff, dumbass.”

hoshi only leaned towards you, placing a wet kiss on your forehead before wrapping you in his arms and throwing a leg over yours, effectively trapping you against him and the covers.

“your dumbass.” he wiggled his eyebrows in a seductive manner and you snorted, hiding your face in his neck and rolling you both over until your head was on his chest.

you exhaled, gripping your boyfriend tighter.

but the calm didn’t last for long as he giggled under you, muttering a quick “attack of the tiger!” before his teeth were on your shoulder.

you could only fight back, screaming and yelling out pleas of help in between laughter as hoshi did his best to keep you trapped against him, wrapping his two legs around your waist and clinging onto you.

“we said no biting, babe!”

perm. taglist: @0x1lovebot @fairybinie @blaqpinksthetic @odetoyeonjun @pockyandme @soobin-chois @soobisms @junityy @kaimal @laylasbunbunny @jaeyunverse @bibinnieposts @raevyng @yoonzin0 @hoeforcheol @hykai

please do not copy, repost or steal any of my work. all content belongs to @odxrilove

#seventeen #seventeen x reader #seventeen hoshi #seventeen hoshi x reader #hoshi x reader #kwon soonyoung #kwon soonyoung x reader #svt x reader #svt hoshi x reader #hoshi #seventeen kwon soonyoung #hoshi imagines #hoshi fics #hoshi scenarios #svt kwon soonyoung #! music articles .. 💿

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ohbother2 · 2 months

Note

You don't have to answer I can understand since I'm asking such a big thing that could take time,

but how did you understand Luci's character traits and personality so well? Knowing what to write about how he'd react in some situations and just knowing him very well? It's really such an amazing skill I love writers so much they have such a way with words and all.

Sending you lots of love <3

Hello!! Honestly no worries I absolutely love when people ask about my writing!! <3

The fact that this was sent in immediately after the previous ask summarising my characterisation as 'power bottom with an oral fetish' is honestly hilarious lmfaoooo

but seriously tysm!! The fact you think I've characterised him so well is so flattering!

In all honestly I'm not entirely sure, and I'm not (personally) entirely convinced I have gotten his characterisation 100% correct! I think the fun about being a writer is you can take these... 'artistic liberties' and if you write them well enough and convincingly enough (within certain constraints of reality) people will just kinda accept it

I guess as someone who spent their childhood and teenage years far too involved in fanfic-writing and mindless daydreaming inside their own head you start to gain a taste for ensuring characters stay within their own 'box' of characterisation and don't just begin acting how you want them to - this was a very long mindset I had to teach myself out of (I dread to think about some of the horrendous ooc fics I wrote in my younger years)

Even today, as someone who hopes to write their own book one day and has been using fanfic-writing as practice, I STILL have to reign myself in and really look at my work and think 'would they actually act like this'. For example, you have no idea how many times I've had to re-write a line of dialogue or just simply scrap entire paragraphs altogether after deciding that Lucifer/Adam/etc wouldn't act like that

Actual advice time - the main thing I do when I decide I want to write for a character, is study the character. I watch the series again focussing on that specific character and their interactions, and then I come up with my own little 'characterisation' of them in my own head: little traits that I've picked up on throughout their screen time like their mode of speech (and tics or mannerisms, and common phrases or specific vocabulary, if they mumble, etc) or their body language. [For example, my summarisation of Lucifer is: desperate to please, abandonment issues, overcompensates his slights with showmanship and flair, ruled by his emotions, a genuinely caring person.]

I also think you can actually deduce a lot from a characters physical presence on screen - their confidence, their anxiety, their happiness, their frustrations - and you can really run with it. If you can pick up on those key characters traits, just amp them up in your writing and bam you've nailed the key components of the character and everything else will fall into place. E.g., Lucifer is constantly taking deep staggering breaths when confronted by something out of the norm (Charlie ringing him, having to talk to Heaven, etc). What can be deduced from this? He doesn't handle his emotions well, he doesn't hide them well, he's easily flustered, he's not as composed as he wants people to believe. Ergo, whenever something is overly shocking, I really play on that characteristic.

Embarrassingly, sometimes if I'm really struggling with deciding whether a character would do/say something, I look up compilations of that character on YouTube so I can really focus on just them. I've always had quite a good knack for getting in other peoples (and characters') heads and this little boost really helps me. Sometimes I even look at other fanfics!

Basically: I'm not entirely sure, thank you so much, this probably hasn't answered your question at all, practice makes perfect :)

#another writing advice post?#god who do I think I am #sorry about this #probably didn't help at all #and probably made myself look dumb #but that's me in a nutshell :)

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kerizaret · 22 days

Text

Since i am I am a person who impulsively saves a lot of pictures and screenshot and videos and art to my phone's photo gallery (only for me to look at, not spreading it anywhere else), there is one habit that I picked up from when I used to have a lot of worse days, but now is basically a daily ritual. And it's that, before going to sleep, I will enter that photo gallery and choose one picture (or video) from it

It can be anything, depending on how I'm feeling, but it's always some image that either makes me smile or motivates / inspires me. It can be a picture of me / my family / my friends, but it can also be a meme, a screenshot of my chat with someone or a nice comment under something I made. It can be an edit of a character I obsess over, a fanart I really really love, a screenshot of a fragment from a fanfic that was so iconic I had to keep it. I promise you one time it was a drawing that was just 3 stickmen characters with 2 dialogue lines that made me laugh so hard it is still my favourite fanart ever for that fandom

And what I do is I leave the picture in full display and then I turn off the phone and go to sleep. So that the next day, after I wake up and eventually reach for my phone to unlock it, the first thing I see is this exact picture

That way, I can remember something from the day before that made me happy, was funny, moved me, inspired something. And even if the day before was bad, I am reminded that at the end of it I can always find something that somehow can make me feel nice. That there's always things and people that make me happy out there. That even the bad times can end on a smile – maybe a strained, small one, maybe a tear-filled one, maybe a nostalgic one – but a smile nonetheless

And I don't know, somehow that used to keep me going when I felt tired and unmotivated. And now it's just a happy note to start the day with to get motivation and a reminder that at the end of the day there's always something nice waiting for me

Im sharing this rly just a thank you to all the people out there who make lovely and funny and interesting things and are kind and having fun and sharing it all with the world. Something you made or said just might've one time been a picture (or video) that I had displayed on my screen one of those days that made me happy. You might have just been my smile after a tiring day, and I love you. And I love you even if it wasn't you yet

My point is. Whether it's something simple and short and you spent 2 minutes on it, or something you worked on for so long and put so much effort and thought into – your passion and kindness don't go unnoticed. Keep doing your things and sharing what makes you happy because I promise you there's people out there who are happy because of it too. Even if it's one person

#im getting all sappy hshdh #but its true #im heading to sleep and was about to do it so i just thought about it #so just. thank you again #keri rambles

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oneatlatime · 9 months

Text

The Waterbending Master

Finally! Only took the whole season to find one.

This one apparently also has commentary. I'll leave it off for now.

After countless episodes without, we finally have another hybrid animal. Behold:

A koala Sea-otter? That makes noises like a Raven. Alright.

Sokka saying "I'm not one to complain" is a) pretty damning evidence of his amount of self-awareness b) self-deprecating sarcasm c) a funny line that I'm reading too deeply into

Why is Appa flying so low anyway?

Subtle signs that these guys are way too used to relying on bending: -no railings -no alternate propulsion source (seriously, not even an oar?) -no emergency supplies in case a trip runs long (I don't even see an emergency sandwich, and come on guys, it's not like waterbending controls the weather)

Random pinball bumper style ice stabbies does seem like a good defense though.

Not so subtle exposition dump from Zhao the asshole. Avatar writers are usually better at integrating catch-up dialogue. Looks like Aang will be arriving just in time to defend the Water tribe from the invasion that, ironically, he summoned. Talk about self-inflicted problems. Do you think if Aang had found a waterbending teacher somewhere else, the Fire Nation would have left the water tribe alone for another hundred years? Aang's been learning on the run; they could have picked up a single waterbender and hightailed it back to some cave in the earth kingdom to learn there. Or the water tribe could have sent a waterbender out to find the gaang as soon as rumours of the avatar reached them. See? This was avoidable.

Always love me some sea-bison.

They have bending doors like Omashu. Actually is this a door or a lock? I think the water level is changing.

Is this a hybrid animal? The yak thing, not the two legger.

Last time you got a hero's welcome, Suki's village burnt down. Foreshadowing?

How often does this lady see sea-bisons? She just passed by one and didn't even bat an eye. Is there a secret sea-bison colony that's spent the last 100 years hiding from the fire nation in the north pole?

Music Night! Need a better lyricist.

What's going on here? Did they roast a giant turtle thing and now they're cooling it to serve by dunking it in water? Did they feel the need for a steam effect for the guy's speech so they heated up a giant thingy and dunked it in water? Is it a weird boat thing? It looks like it has a face. I bet it's a ritual object.

Are these pot stacks the water tribe version of Totem Poles?

Oh nuh uh. Nope. 16 is way too young to marry.

This girl is so into him I can feel it through the screen, the dvd player, and the 15+ years since this aired.

Even the head guy's like "yeah, he's an asshole, What can you do?" Let's put this asshole and Zhao the asshole in a room together. They can out-asshole each other. Should be fun.

Remember back in episode three when I said that Zuko needed to learn how to lie? This is why.

Nevermind, we don't need to put Zhao and Paku in a room together to out-asshole each other. Paku wins. As far as I've seen, bending is not gender specific, either in who gets it or how it's taught/used. What kind of idiot would tell someone born with the ability to wield an incredible weapon that, actually, they aren't allowed to? How did this attitude get instilled in the first place? Why didn't the first guy who ever said this get slashed to death by ice stabbies thrown by the ten nearest female benders? Are these northern water tribe people so unbothered by the war that they can afford to sideline 50% of their forces? More than sideline, render incapable of defending themselves or others? Obviously this tribe is far too privileged if they can afford this attitude. And also far too bored. I guess hiding behind that giant ice wall for 100 years left them so understimulated that they turned on themselves.

Bad attitude? Fucking bad attitude!?! There's only one guy in this episode with a bad attitude and it isn't Katara. Zhao looks downright pleasant compared to this Paku guy.

Question for Paku: why would the Northern Water Tribe's rules apply to a Southern Water Tribe member?

My god these two are so cute. Sokka could propose they disembowel whale carcasses for their activity and the princess would say yes.

So the parrot lizard did survive the fall over the waterfall.

They're little tiny children. Katara, who has spent her whole life wanting to learn to bend to fight, has literally been shoved back into the igloo with a bunch of babies to learn lady-bending (no offence to the babies). How how HOW is she so calm right now? If I were in her situation, I think I'd be so angry I'd be ugly crying. And also plotting how to murder that Paku guy.

WHAT.

Paku the asshole is apparently a proponent of the tell don't show philosophy of teaching. The Tell-while-doing-unspeakable-things-to-my-lunch don't show philosophy.

Unexpected backstory. This lady must have been pretty close to Gran Gran if she recognises a carving she presumably wore for maybe a few months about 50 years ago or more. Also this lady is shockingly dumb if she can't see why Gran Gran left this misogynistic hellhole, but I guess it can be hard to see it while you're in it.

Nitpick time: How does the teacher recognise this? Isn't this just the water tribe symbol? Probably the most common symbol in the whole north pole?

Nosferatu Zuko. Nosferzuko. Zukoratu? Iroh's pause here was so long that I checked in case I had muted by accident. And how does your crew being taken by Zhao the asshole make your crew traitors Zuko? Orders are orders.

So we're adding asassinating royals to our list of reasons Zhao is an asshole. I think he's won the title back from Paku.

Fuck this port I guess.

Zuko's dead. Huh. Bye then. Gotta say I don't get why he's so big in the fandom.

This princess sure does send some mixed messages. At least she didn't ghost him.

"Master Poophead." My God. It's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?

Aang passing on what he learns to Katara. Why didn't I think of that either? My plan was to get Katara to launch unprovoked attacks on Paku's students and study how they defend themselves until she can copy / surpass them. Mostly so I could watch Katara beat the crap out of sexists.

Die mad about it you troglodyte. Disrespect? How nice it must be to have enough of your culture left that it can be disrespected. And you're going to deny the avatar training, thus dooming the whole world to death via fire nation, because you're butthurt? Freakin manbaby.

YES! YES! BEAT HIS ASS! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!

"I know. I don't care." + "I'm not doing it for you." = I'm officially in love with Katara. I took a while to warm up to her, I admit the first few episodes were a little rough, but this seals the deal.

This screenshot sparks joy. Last episode Aang bitchslapped a fire nation guy with air. This episode it's Katara's turn with water. The Firelord Uber-Bitchslapped Zuko with fire a few years ago. All I need is an earth bitchslap and my collection will be complete. Avatar: master of all four bitchslaps. Also this wouldn't have worked to goad Paku into fighting if he was half as mature as he thinks he is. Although he gets points for being harder to goad than Zhao in the Deserter.

In an episode where the A plot is Katara, the B plot is Aang, the C plot is Zuko, and the D plot is Sokka's love life, the writers still manage to fulfill the Beat up Sokka quota. Good job guys.

If only she'd aimed a couple of inches to the left. This show already includes a kid getting his face burned off. Surely a Poophead being separated from his nose is ok?

That's twice now she's lost her necklace. If the carving has lasted 50+ years, surely it's earned a metal chain rather than a hair ribbon?

Gran Gran! Bullet dodged! Excellent call!

That's a lot less beat up than I was expecting. And Iroh has never once given the impression that he isn't quietly ride or die for Zuko, so why would Zuko not expect Iroh to help him? Because Zuko isn't terribly perceptive? Because the writers needed a way to deliver yet more exposition?

I did notice that the healing lady specified that Gran gran was in an arranged marriage but Poophead was talking about love. Again, why was Gran Gran leaving a mystery?

Underrated moment of wisdom from Aang here. He gets why the princess is upset and he's twelve! But I'd bet good money that the idiot on the right has no clue what's going on.

Princess ran so far away that it's night time now. This episode is not subtle anywhere, so I figured that the princess being engaged was the cause of this whole blowing hot and cold thing. Despite being 16 and fictional, Sokka handles mixed signals and rejection with 10000% more maturity and kindness than many unfortunately non-fictional grown men I've met. Kudos to Sokka for being honest and respectful.

Even redeemed, Poophead is still an asshole.

Well that's a problem.

Fire Nation ships would be a lot more intimidating if they didn't look like shoes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot of exposition, a lot of set up, and even some catch up. And it was not done as gracefully as this show usually does it. More than once the dialogue between characters felt like two actors lecturing the audience rather than the characters we know.

This episode also had twice the concentration of assholes. A Zhao episode I can deal with. An episode with a one shot asshole where Zhao doesn't appear? I could also deal with. But TWO grade A assholes in ONE episode? No. Too much.

My whole-hearted congratulations to Gran Gran for seeing Poophead for what he was, and refusing to put up with it. Leaving his ass didn't make him get the message. 50+ years alone didn't make him get the message. The granddaughter that ought to have been his being so disgusted by his conduct that she attempts to cut his face off didn't make him get the message. There was no way that this idiot was going to change. So congrats to Gran Gran for making an excellent call, leaving his ass to freeze, and getting two most excellent grandchildren instead.

I also have to applaud Sokka and Katara for not being bitter about the Northern Water Tribe. I can't help but notice the spectacular architecture, complete with embellishments and unnecessary non-structural doodads. Let's do a quick comparison (ignore the ship):

Left has one waterbender. Right has all the waterbenders. We know that Northerners can travel south thanks to Gran Gran. The North couldn't have sent one sneaky waterbender to at least make the south a ship-proof wall? That chief guy has some audacity calling Katara and Sokka their brother and sister or whatever when they've evidently left the south to rot for a century. And I know the Fire Nation, the War, bla bla, but you guys are so bored behind your walls that you're cannibalising your own capabilities based on gender just for fun.

RANT INCOMING

Since I'm on the topic, can we talk about how STOOOPID it is to separate your combatants from your medics? Here's a secret about combat medics: they're both. They learn the basics of combat, and they learn the basics of emergency medicine (And a LOT of other stuff besides). Basic training includes basic first aid for EVERYONE.

Because here's the thing. People who get hurt beating the shit out of other people are usually hurt in an environment where beating the shit out of people occurs. If they are injured enough that they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then unless they can treat themselves on the spot or their fellow soldiers can administer first aid or get them out, they die.

Alternatively, if they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then medics have to be sent in. A medic who doesn't know how to fight who gets sent into the zone will - guess what? - get the shit beaten out of them. Now you're two men down at present, and who knows how many more you're going to lose over the next few days because you're down a medic. So unless every single waterbending fighter in the Northern water tribe is going to go into combat with a waterbending healer literally attached to them, there will be mountains of unnecessary losses and avoidable injuries.

Now let's look at this from the other angle. What happens if the enemy breaches your defences (because all your defenders are merrily bleeding out from wounds their bending could heal if only they'd learned how) and then makes their way to your combat hospitals? Which are full of soldiers who are too injured to fight and healers who don't know how to defend themselves? Apart from the whole living surrounded by their element thing, waterbenders' greatest advantage in a fight appears (to me) be to be their miraculous healing powers. Katara completely healed her burnt hands to the point where there wasn't even scar tissue and she had no training at all. A skill that can erase burns (the thing firebenders give you) negates the fire nation's greatest weapon - their fire. Any fire nation general who's not an idiot would therefore target waterbending healers, maybe even over waterbending fighters. So any fire nation commander would absolutely put 'capture field hospitals' as one of their top priorities. This is a kids' cartoon, so let's ignore historical precedent as to what happens to nurses caught in field hospitals behind enemy lines and say that the fire nation would defeat the waterbending healers.

Let's paint a quick picture here: in the background, a field full of waterbending fighters sidelined by treatable injury. In the middle ground, an inexorably advancing wall of firebenders. In the foreground, a field hospital full of defenseless waterbending healers. Just peachy isn't it?

How fucking UNSTOPPABLE would a bender able to shrug off a fireball to the face then turn around and take out a firebending platoon be? Get one hundred - no fifty - benders who can both heal and fight, have them advance in two rows: Front row fights, switches with back row when they're injured, gets healed up, rotates back up to front row as a replacement. Functionally unstoppable barring the need to eat and sleep (so long as they bring their own water). The Northern Water Tribe had decades to develop that. Unlike the south, they had the time, the resources, and apparently so little going on that they took up sexism to pass the time. The wasted opportunity here burns. See kids? Sexism hurts the sexists too.

This northern attitude is just dumb. It's illogical. It's stupid. I'd call it a ham-fisted unsubtle after school special of a plotline if it weren't a fictionalised version of something that's literally baked into to many cultures worldwide, past and present.

RANT CONCLUDED

What else can I say about this episode? Aang and Sokka had like three lines each, but they were very in character. Sokka and the princess are cute together. Zuko and Iroh had a good dynamic when they weren't acting in service to exposition. This whole episode really feels like part one of a two parter.

I think something might have been off with the narrative weighting of this episode. There was an honest to god assassination attempt and I forgot.

While the shot of Paku looking put out that the ice disk landed so close to his face was funny, I would have preferred it if Katara had gotten in one hit beyond her bitchslap. Just one. His ego needed the beating which it got via the necklace thing, but I would have liked to see actual beating too.

If I had seen this episode as a child I absolutely would have lost my mind over Katara getting to beat up a sexist. I'd bet good money that this episode did lots of good for the self-esteem of little girls who saw it.

Katara's plot line is like the plot of the Waterbending Scroll episode, but in a positive light. In that episode her selfishness regarding bending got them in trouble; in this one it helped. Seen in that light, the fact that it's the necklace rather than Katara's skill that gets through to Paku is a bit undermining, but if "magical girl has such impressive skills that the sexist dinosaur throws away decades of sexism for the chance to be her teacher" had been the plot instead, I'd probably be complaining about cliches instead.

All in all, a bit clunky, a lot of set up, and too many assholes and frustrating idiocy for it to go on my rewatch list. Feminist beat downs are good for the soul, but I'm not sure they outweigh Poopheads.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the waterbending master #avatar the last airbender

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chloecherrysip · 1 year

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Now that I've had a few hours of sleep and am marginally a human being again, let's talk about the mario movie some more! SPOILERS ALL THROUGHOUT THIS POST UNDER THE CUT (if you want to see my non-spoilery thoughts and the first part of my spoiler talk as well, here's that post from last night! Be warned that it's pretty all over the place because it was 4:30 in the morning and I was really tired lolol)

After thinking about it more, I truly do have some PROBLEMS with this movie (will talk more about some of that below and I covered a lot of the issues in my first post too) and I do wish it was better overall and not so painfully surface-level with all the character interactions - I can understand why some people REALLY don't like it while others love it! It's joyful and energetic and BEAUTIFUL but if you spent months and months theorizing and speculating about deep character interactions and a very emotional story, it does really sting to finally see how there is virtually NONE of that and the plot feels kinda empty as a result. :(

But! I'm definitely not upset or anything like that, and I'm still gonna see it two more times in theaters with a smile on my face! TRUTHFULLY (and if you've seen my blog before, you know this about me) what I cared about most in this movie was getting to see Mario and Luigi be adorable onscreen and have a good, healthy, loving relationship, and you do get that to some degree, even if it's nowhere near enough. I can make my peace (and write a lot of fanfic, LOL) regarding the rest. :)

Here is a list of moments between Mario & Luigi that made me happy:

FIRST OF ALL, SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE I LIKED BUT WAS CERTAINLY A CHOICE: Mario's nickname for Luigi is Lu????? He calls him that 3-4 times and at big moments, too. It started to be cute to me, even if I wish they'd gone with "Weegie" or something similar, but it's a little jarring at the beginning for sure.

In general, they are just very physically affectionate with each other! There are one or two quick hugs in the beginning scenes before we even get to the reunion. Also, I can't remember the specifics but the very last scene is them basically teasing/poking each other before running off into the day together and it's cute. :)

Mario is SO protective of Luigi in the Brooklyn scenes and let me tell you, as someone who cares DEEPLY about that, i was LIVING. He gets mad at Spike and tries to pick a fight only when he insults Luigi, and there is also a silly scene with an angry dog and Mario just instinctively puts his arm up in front of Luigi when things get a little scary/focuses on making sure he doesn't get hurt, and I was just having the BEST time. Honestly, I loved the Brooklyn stuff so much that I sincerely wanted the whole movie to just be about that, and things took a downhill turn for sure when the separation happened. :(

Someone definitely predicted this before the movie but Mario hates mushrooms as a food and Luigi likes them. During a dinner scene, Mario is slyly separating mushrooms from his food and putting them onto Luigi's plate in a way that suggests he's done that a LOT. Such a quick shot but I just liked the detail!

THE RUNNING THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND MARIO DOING RIDICULOUS PARKOUR BUT ALSO STOPPING TWICE TO MAKE SURE TO TURN BACK AND OPEN THE GATES SO LUIGI COULD COME THROUGH NORMALLY. There was just something SO funny and sweet about [crazy jumping and leaping] [quiet, thoughtful pause to open the gate] [MORE CRAZY JUMPING AND LEAPING, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, SIR] [another quiet, thoughtful pause to open the 2nd gate], I loveeeeee

Once again, just gotta be obnoxious about being right that the dialogue in the warp zone was "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!" I HEARD THE LINE AS THIS IN THAT PREVIEW FOOTAGE AND EVERYONE CONVINCED ME IT WAS DIFFERENT BUT LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING NOW (i'm sorry, just let me have this win haha)

There is a sad moment where Mario and Luigi's dad clearly doesn't believe in their business and he even says to Mario something like "the worst part is that you're dragging your brother down with you" which is clearly upsetting to Mario so he leaves the dinner table - but then Luigi leaves the table too to come and sit with him and reassures him that he's not dragging him down and it's just a sweet, comfortable moment between them that I very much wish went on a little longer (the theme of the whole movie lol)

(Also, Mario and Luigi still live with their parents and share a room, they're clearly pretty young and are treated like the "babies" of the family. I wish we had seen more of their room other than a very extremely brief shots!!)

Luigi DOES immediately sell out Mario when Bowser goes for the serious mustache damage, LOL, but the way it's done is honestly so cute and once again, just reemphasizes how much Luigi loves Mario XD He's basically like "YES, I know him, he's my brother Mario and he's the best guy ever!" (And then Bowser, who is preoccupied with Mario = romantic rival for Peach's affections, is like "would a princess find him attractive???" and Luigi is like "if she has any common sense, she should!" (lol, that line could be TOTALLY wrong, I don't remember, but that's the gist of it, I promise) or something like that - just hyping Mario up when he's not even there, LOL

in Mario and DK's "darkest moment" scene where things seem hopeless and they're arguing, Mario says something like "well, at least your brother's not going to die because of you!" and noooo, bb, it's not your fault ;; (this scene could have been done SO MUCH BETTER with a few tweaks, btw, but I will get into that)

Luigi bringing coffee for Mario at the end of the movie in their respective cups :) :) :) So simple but I am a very simple person who just wanted to see little moments like this :) :) :)

I have GRIPES with the final battle scene but seeing Mario and Luigi work together and take care of Bowser as a duo was still good!!! Nothing can hurt them when they're together!!!

Also, already talked about this at length in my first post, but one more time: Mario saving Luigi from falling into the lava and their reunion hug is just my favorite moment of the movie, no contest, it goes by so fast and I wish it was longer but I can be happy with that alone and I can't wait for the screenshots/gifsets where I can see all the details of it more clearly and don't have to rely on my awful memory. Literally just going to think about that split-second of Mario holding Luigi's face with both hands in an unbearably sweet, gentle way forever. These brothers love each other very much, your honor ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

ALSO ALMOST FORGOT: FLASHBACK TO THEM BEING BABIES (AND THEY LOOK SO FAITHFUL TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGNS TOO!) AND MARIO PROTECTING LUIGI FROM A BULLY (lol I very much wish it was a longer and/or more creative flashback, but STILL sweet)

AND NOW THAT I AM DONE WITH BEING POSITIVE ABOUT MY FAVORITE BOYS, LET'S ~*~COMPLAIN~*~

First of all, still CANNOT BELIEVE that "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother" didn't make it into the movie, are you SERIOUS, it would have been perfect in SO MANY PARTS, they recorded it and everything, why???? IS THERE A DELETED SCENE??? ARE THERE SEVERAL DELETED SCENES??? I DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THAT PERFECT LINE, I WILL MOURN IT FOREVER

The editing in general is a little odd sometimes and it really DOES feel like a lot of scenes should be there that are missing. Another VERY weird cut is in the scene where Peach, Toad, and Mario are crossing the bridge with the Cheep-Cheeps and they just immediately cut the scene when one latches onto Mario's face and don't even include the cute stuff from the trailer with Peach trying to help him??? Like, WHY???? WHY DID THOSE FEW SECONDS NEED TO BE CUT??? I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I think one of the most painful things about this movie is that, as a writer/creative person, I can see SO many small opportunities throughout the movie where a couple of extra minutes and some tweaks in the writing would have made SO much difference. An unbelievable amount of difference! The overall structure of the story and the plot is good! The story of Mario wanting to reunite with his brother and Peach wanting to protect her kingdom (that took her in and cared for her when she was all alone in the world) is solid! But they never give the EMOTIONS surrounding these things ANY space to breathe beyond one line here or there, and that is SUCH a mistake and I can't believe no one thought to do something differently here.

FOR INSTANCE: The "darkest moment" scene with DK and Mario! It goes by so fast, but there is some good stuff there that, if the movie took a MOMENT and really let their pain/fear for their loved ones and their shared complex of unsupportive fathers BREATHE, would work SO MUCH BETTER. Like, I can easily imagine a rewritten version of that scene with very similar dialogue but just MORE of it (more pauses, more emotion, more reactions to one another's problems, more recognition of their similarities, etc) would have made it like a DAGGER in the heart. SUCH a missed opportunity. I am itching to rewrite it, LOL. (I am itching to rewrite a LOT of scenes!)

ALSO: Luigi is my LOVE and he is adorable throughout this, but I'm gonna be the first to admit that his scrap of an arc in this movie (if you can even call it that) is so lackluster and his heroic moment at the end genuinely doesn't feel that earned! AND ONCE AGAIN, WITH A LITTLE EXTRA WRITING/ROOM IN THE RUNTIME, IT'S A VERY SOLVABLE PROBLEM

And the solution is: build out the prison scenes and have Luigi actually talking to someone else who is locked up!!!!! Other than a couple of lines and jokes, the prisoners don't TALK TO EACH OTHER and Luigi just spends a lot of time looking sad. We don't get ANYTHING about his thought processes while he's captured other than he is thinking of Mario and hoping his brother comes to save him like he's always done.

WHEN CRANKY KONG AND THE OTHER KONGS SHOW UP, HAVE THEM SHARE INFO ABOUT MARIO'S APPARENT DEMISE WITH LUIGI!!! HAVE LUIGI TALK TO HIM (OR THE PENGUIN KING, OR SOMEONE) ABOUT HOW HIS BROTHER'S ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR HIM BUT MAYBE SOMETIMES, HIS BROTHER MIGHT NEED SOME SUPPORT TOO AND HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG FOR HIM TOO

It doesn't have to be a long or especially deep conversation, but some lines of dialogue like this would make that moment where Luigi realizes that Mario is right, nothing CAN hurt them if they're together and he's gotta be strong for his older brother too and he jumps in to protect him from Bowser hit SO much harder. That's all it would take!!!

I HAVE ACTUAL WORK TO DO TODAY AND CANNOT GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE MARIO MOVIE FOREVER BUT LAST THOUGHT FOR NOW: the more I think about the final battle, the more I'm conflicted, haha. The twist of everyone from the Mushroom Kingdom ending up in Brooklyn is definitely SHOCKING in the moment and pretty creative but I don't know, I had my heart set on a more classic version of Mario VS Bowser. It just doesn't hit as hard as it could in the end because of how silly the setting is. :( (But the Mario and Luigi teamup with the power star is great, and the music IS fire) (Also LOL at myself for thinking "Luigi won't fight at the end, that wouldn't make sense since Mario had to train" - he just knows how to fight, the movie goes with what's cool over what's logical and that's fair XD)

Also, the end of the movie is a tad confusing and has some pretty huge repercussions for this version of canon? ARE THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM AND THE REAL WORLD PERMANENTLY MERGED TOGETHER BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED??? That's definitely what it seems to imply with Mario and Luigi waking up in their Brooklyn room and then walking out straight into the Mushroom Kingdom! It's pretty bizarre! (Honestly, what I was expecting was that the Bill would destroy the warp pipes and Mario and Luigi wouldn't be able to go home, which I might have preferred, as sad as that would be.)

That's all I got for now! I'm sure I will have more thoughts in the future, haha.

#mario movie #mario movie spoilers #super mario bros movie #super mario bros movie spoilers #would love to hear your thoughts if you agree/disagree with anything i said!#it really is wild to see such STRONG reactions on either side of the spectrum #seeing a LOT of positive feedback and then a LOT of people who are MAD and yeah. i honestly get both sides. i am both of you lol #cherrysip hc's & rambling

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silverstonesainz-archive · 1 year

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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐

MASTERLIST

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : everywhere she turned, a reminder of her past seemed to find her 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 4k words 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : explicit language, sexually suggestive dialogue & descriptions

Sophie is elbow deep in some baby blue tulle when Teddy is rushing, glasses slightly crooked on her face and earphones tangled on her arm. Sophie looks up from her project, eyebrow raised at the young girl’s disarray.

“Are you okay?”

Teddy nods, her cheeks flushing pink as she lets the door shut behind her. “Yeah, just in a rush. Where’s Ellie?”

Sophie follows the girl’s gaze all the way to the empty playpen. A pang of guilt hits her in the chest and she shakes her head. “With Mick and Corinna. I have this dress to get through and it’s being picked up later today so…”

“Soph, are you sure you don’t need me to come in today?” Teddy frowns.

“I’m sure Teds,” Sophie smiles reassuringly, “please go enjoy your day off. I’ll be fine. Why are you here anyways?”

The young girl doesn’t put up a fuss, simply walking over to her work station and messing with the contents on top. “I just needed some of my sketches. I wanted to show my mom some of the stuff I’ve been working on.”

Sophie nods, eyes returning back to the blue fabric under her fingers. It isn’t long until Teddy is bidding adieu and running out of the shop in the same manner she came stumbling in. She isn’t sure how long she spent working on the dress. It wasn’t normal work that the shop took in, but it was a little girl’s birthday dress and she couldn’t in her right mind say no. So here she was, working on the final pieces of the skirt, before she held it up. It’s poofy, very reminiscent of the photo the mother had shown her two weeks prior. Sophie can’t help but wonder if Elise would want the same dress when she’s older. She thinks of whether or not she’d want blue or pink, maybe even green.

Sophie hangs the skirt of the dress up before she types furiously on her phone, asking Mick to send her a photo of Elise at that moment. There were very few days that Sophie would willingly leave her daughter with the Schumachers. Truth be told, if the project she has today wasn’t so meticulous she would have Ellie in her playpen by her side all day.

Her phone chimes, and Sophie can’t pick it up fast enough. Mick outdid himself, sending a photo of Ellie and Angie snuggled on the couch. Sophie can feel her heart soften in her chest, zooming into the little girl in the photo. Her “mini-me.” A couple of days have passed since her first birthday, and Sophie still can’t wrap her head around how much her baby has grown. She can feel the tears beginning to blur her vision and she forces herself to exit from the photo on her screen. She sends Mick a quick thank you and gets back to work.

The top of the dress was nearly done, just needing a zipper and some beading. But the beading must’ve been the most tedious part of the whole dress, not to mention the fact she had yet to put it on the skirt as well. She got to work weaving bead after bead, pulling thread and needle until her fingers were red and raw. She must’ve sat in that spot for at least an hour before she allowed herself another break. She leans back in her chair, massaging her right hand as she looks up and around her shop.

It’s small, quiet, with reams of fabric lining the walls. Behind her are stacks and rolls of multicolored thread and zippers. Buttons and lace trimmings are in piles behind the counter, still needing to be sorted through. And on her workstation, a photo of her and Elise just a couple of months after she was born. Corinna had taken the photo, she took a bunch that day on the beach. But this was her favorite. Elise was smiling widely as Sophie made a face at her. She can still clearly hear the loud laugh her daughter let out, all too clearly amused by her mother.

It was just past noon, and the dress was due in about three hours. She didn’t doubt that she could get the skirt done in time, the beading was minimal anyhow. But it was hard to find the motivation to continue, her mind now occupied by her daughter and how much she misses her. Sophie opens up her text thread from Mick, disappointed to find no updates about Elise or any photos. She clicks on his contact and FaceTimes him. It rings twice before Mick answers. The expression on his face says enough: Are you fucking serious?

“Soph, she’s fine!”

“I know. I know she’s fine. But I miss her.”

“I don’t get why I can’t hang out at the shop while I watch Ellie.”

“Because,” Sophie mumbles, fingers twisting a bead between her index and thumb, “I’ll get too distracted and want to do everything myself and then this dress will never get done.”

Mick sighs without another word, walking over and turning his camera to show Elise, fast asleep on the couch. Sophie coos softly, taking screenshots of the call. Mick indulges her for a couple more seconds before flipping his camera back to his face.

“See, she’s fine. She just went down for a nap. Now go get your work done so we can come over to hang out.”

“Fine fine, only because I miss you both so dearly. Please keep sending photos, I need them.” Sophie grins widely and Mick rolls his eyes.

“Alright Mama bear, get back to work.”

They say goodbye and just like that, Sophie is back to threading on tiny beads to the top half of the dress. By the time she was done with the entire outfit, her eyes were burning and her hands were sore fingertip to wrist. She slips a bag over the completed dress, hanging it up before slumping down on her chair. She groans softly, eyes falling shut as she tries to find a way to get comfortable in her seat. She never imagined that working with a needle and thread would cause so much pain, but alas here she was. Sophie felt pain throughout her entire body, it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Her phone begins to ring and she answers the incoming facetime from her best friend. While she was fully expecting blonde hair and blue eyes, she was instead met with a mop of curls and the same baby blues that warms her heart. Elise is grinning widely, dimples indenting her cheeks, at the sight of her mother on the little screen. And just like that, all the pain she had been complaining about was gone.

“Hi baby,” Sophie greets softly. Elise babbles, as if trying to say hello back and it melts Sophie’s heart.

“We just wanted to call because Ellie wanted to show you that she’s eating her veggies.” Mick says, still out of view. The camera shakes and it isn’t much longer until there’s a loud thud and the screen goes black. There is a loud excitable shriek and quick footsteps that are heard on Sophie’s end, even Mick asking the baby why she would chuck his phone across the room, before she sees any form of movement on her screen.

She’s a giggling mess by the time Mick picks up his phone, relief washing over his face when he realizes that his screen isn’t cracked.

“You really are your mother’s daughter, both laughing at my expense,” Mick says to Elise as he bops her nose out of frame. He flips the camera, showing off Elise who is staring up at her Uncle, wide eyed and seemingly innocent, just a ghost of a smile on her face. “What I was gonna say is that she ate her veggies. Sweet potato and olives.”

“That’s good! I’m so proud of you Ellie,” Sophie coos, propping her phone up against her sewing machine. “I just finished the dress, I just have to go drop it off at the hotel in the city.”

“Want us to come with?” Mick asks, flipping the camera over for what feels like the hundredth time on the call.

“That’d be nice.” Sophie smiles, “Maybe you could drive too? Please”

Mick rolls his eyes at his best friend, who smiles and bats her lashes. “Since you asked so nicely.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

“Shut up.”

Sophie laughs and lets him know to drive safely. She had thirty minutes before Mick would be there, so she began to tidy up. She opts to change into something more comfortable. Just another pair of leggings but this time, a cuter t-shirt, free of any food stains and holes. Thirty minutes on the dot, Mick’s white sedan is pulling up in front of the store. He stands at the driver door, waiting for Sophie as she carries the dress and her travel kit out before she locks up the shop, making sure to leave a “be back soon” note on the door.

Mick takes the dress and the kit from her, laying it gently in the trunk as Sophie walks to the back seat. She slides in right next to her daughter’s car seat, pressing kisses all over her daughter’s face. Elise shrieks in glee, her tiny hands quick to grab onto just about any part of her mother she can grasp onto. Sophie holds her tiny wrists gently, pressing kisses onto her palms.

“Please don’t make me play uber,” Mick pouts from the front seat, looking at Sophie expectantly.

Sophie shakes her head without looking up, rubbing the soft skin of Ellie’s cheek with her index finger. “I won’t. I just missed my baby. I’m coming up to the front.” Sophie presses one more kiss onto her forehead, before slipping out and moving into the passenger seat.

The drive is mostly filled with baby talk, the two adults trying to appease the fussy baby in the back. Elise was not a huge fan of being alone in the back, and so in between bits of conversation, Sophie would turn back to shake a rattle or a toy above her. When they arrive at the hotel, Mick takes her out while she handles the dress and other necessities.

“I’ll do a lap around the hotel, hopefully it’ll calm her down.” Mick mumbles. He leans forward, dipping Elise enough that Sophie can give her a quick kiss.

“Okay. I’ll text you when I’m done?”

“Yeah. Say bye Ellie,” Mick holds up the girl’s hand, shaking it in the air as Sophie walks away. Sophie blows one more kiss before quickly walking towards the ballroom of the hotel.

She can’t help but think about how life would be different if Elise’s father was in the picture, whoever he may be. Would she still be working under her apartment, having to pass her daughter off to her best friend’s family while she tries to make ends meet? Would he drive her out to the city when she’s too tired? Would he even love her enough to do that, beyond the fact she is the mother of their daughter?

She shudders at the thought.

The dress was a perfect fit, and the newly turned six-year-old was ecstatic. She felt just like Cinderella, and Sophie could’ve sobbed right then and there. She stayed a little while, just in case she needed to make any adjustments. But it seemed to be going perfectly, and by the time Sophie was walking out of the ballroom, the mother was chasing the little girl around trying to take the dress off her.

The hotel was busy for a Thursday, people swarming the hotel, running in and out restaurants and shops. She was used to the busy atmosphere of the city as a whole, with Kamari being one of many tourist destinations in Santorini. But just twenty minutes ago before walking in to drop off the dress, the hotel was much quieter than it currently was.

Sophie sends Mick a text, saying that she was done and on the way to the car. In response, he sends a photo of Elise, standing on the beach looking at something in her hand. Meet you in the lobby. Ellie has a gift for you :) x.

The lobby is loud, an overflow of different conversations playing at once. She can hear businessmen on the phone, mothers scolding their children, and laughter of all ages. But even in the sea of people, the influx of noises, there is one laugh in particular that makes her head shoot up and eyes scan the crowd. It’s a deep belly laugh, clearly pronounced ha ha ha as it fades out. It’s loud, joyful, downright musical, and it takes Sophie back to fond memories of red wine and fresh pasta.

And that’s when she sees it. Beyond the swarms of tourists and workers, she spots a mess of curls. She sees beautifully tan skin and a smile that lights up the room. She sees how wide his grin is, the dimples on his face, and the way his Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he lets out another laugh. Sophie is frozen in place, feet stuck to the ground as stares at the man just forty feet away from her. He hadn’t seen her, probably didn’t even realize that there was a girl staring at him with her mouth agape, heart ready to jump out of her chest.

It was like a moment in the books, two people’s paths just on the verge of crossing. She could’ve walked up to him, called out his name, or done anything to get his attention. But fear filled her little fantasy bubble til it popped. She feels her hands begin to sweat, fingers trembling at the proximity. So close, yet still so far.

And just like in the books and movies, all things fiction, a glass breaks. The whole lobby comes to a standstill. Sophie’s head turns in the direction of the sound, seeing a little girl crying right next to a toppled over flower vase. Her father sweeps her off her feet, bouncing her to soothe her as he apologizes profusely to the hotel employee. She watches the interaction, her heart aching for the little girl as she cries.

Her phone chimes, signaling another text from Mick. Where are you?

Sophie turns away from the incident, eyes searching the crowd for a head of blonde hair and blue eyes. Instead, she looks directly into wide amber eyes. He’s looking at her. He’s fucking looking right at her.

Panic begins to boil in her gut as she frantically looks away. She can feel his eyes burning into the side of her head as she looks around for Mick. And in her peripheral, she sees him begin to take steps towards her, trying to weave through the moving crowd. Her feet move before her brain can process where she’s going. Sophie makes her way around the bustling crowd, ducking down and trying to escape his view.

“Soph!” Mick calls out for her at the other end of the lobby.

Relief floods her body as she walks towards her best friend, “Let’s go,” She mumbles as she nears him, whipping right past him and out the automatic doors.

Sophie is completely unaware of the Aussie behind her still trying to push past tourists and employees who all suddenly need his attention. He must’ve been stopped by at least three different people and by the time he reaches the edge of the crowd, he catches a glimpse of her long dark hair and a blonde man chasing after her.

Mick follows Sophie with Elise in his arms as he tries to keep up with her frantic pace. He watches as she pulls on the door handle of his locked car.

“Mick!”

“Christ okay, I still need to buckle Ellie in.” Mick pulls his keys out and unlock his car.

“No time. I’ll hold her, we need to leave.”

Sophie quickly takes Ellie from Mick’s hold, pressing her daughter firmly against her chest as she sits in the passenger seat. Mick stands at the passenger side, staring at her confused. He’d never seen her in such a panic, skin white as a ghost as she presses a kiss against the top of her daughter’s head. He notices the way her eyes watch the hotel entrance, fear laced in her stare.

“Sophie, what the fuck is going on? Is everything alright?”

“Mick please, we have to go. Now!” Sophie stares at him, but he doesn't move. “Mick!”

“Okay! Okay okay okay!” Mick shuts the passenger door, running over to the drivers side and quickly drives out of the lot.

Sophie squeezes her eyes shut, twisting Ellie’s curls around her index finger as her daughter rests her head against her chest. She wonders if the little girl can feel her heart racing underneath her chest, the way her mother is in a frenzy over seeing an ex… ex whatever he was. She wonders if Ellie thinks she’s insane.

Because Mick does.

“Pull over here,” Sophie finally says, “I’ll buckle Ellie in.”

The boy doesn't say anything, simply listening to the passenger’s instructions and pulling into an empty lot. Sophie gets out and puts Ellie back into her carseat, placing various toys in the girl’s lap before returning to her seat. Mick drives off in silence, unsure of what to say to ease the obvious tension in the car. He’d never seen Sophie act so erratically, never seen her in such a panic. Not even when he came rushing in when she thought she was having contractions once upon time, was she as panicked as she is at this very moment.

“Do you want to tell me what the fuck that was all about?” Mick finally asks as he pulls up to a red light.

“Don’t cuss around Ellie, she might pick it up,” Sophie scowls, looking back to see what her daughter is up to. She sees the top of the giraffe’s head swinging around before he turns back in her seat. “I saw someone… I don’t know, I just panicked.”

“Was it Pierre?”

“No, what? Why would you ask that?”

“Because Soph, I can’t think of anyone else that would elicit that kind of reaction for you. You basically sprinted out of that hotel lobby.”

Sophie can feel her cheeks heat up from embarrassment. She was finally on the come down from the moments prior, and now her mind is settled enough to comprehend that she might have overreacted in the slightest. But in fairness, the last person she thought she’d see was Daniel, especially after just seeing Pierre.

“I saw Daniel.” Sophie confesses, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand.

“Daniel?”

“The artist… The guy I met in Florence.”

“Oh baby daddy number two?”

Sophie cringes in her seat, swatting Mick’s arm gently. “Don’t call him that.”

Mick chuckles, making another turn. “I thought you liked Daniel. Why’d you run?”

Sophie did like Daniel. From the short time she spent with him, she would always remember him as someone she would always return to. Because with Daniel, everything felt east.

Her arms were sore. Five minutes of kneading pasta dough had Sophie’s arms on fire, but Daniel didn’t seem to falter.

“C’mon doll,” Daniel chuckled, folding the dough over itself. His muscles move as he does, and Sophie forces her jaw shut. “Five more minutes of kneading.”

She pouts, taking a bite out of her slice of bread. “My arms hurt.”

He smiles widely, shaking his head. “You got this, c’mon now.”

She sighs, pouting as she moves back to her spot by Daniel, hands massaging the dough while the man beside her tries to make small talk. He asked her about her dreams, her goals, he picked at her brain and Sophie let him. She was an open book, telling stories of past and future. It felt easy with him, easier than it was with anyone she’s ever met.

“So Sophie Rae–”

“I regret telling you that.” She interjects. Daniel laughs, taking their dough and putting it off to the side to rest. “What’s your middle name?”

“Mmmm, for me to know and for you to never find out.”

“I’ll find out somehow. I could ask Michael.”

“Michael is sworn to secrecy. He’ll never tell you.”

“I don’t know,” Sophie teased, sipping on her wine before setting her glass down and walking towards the kitchen, “I can be very persuasive.”

Before Sophie could call out for Michael, Daniel’s got his fingers around her wrists and is pulling her backwards. His hand goes to her waist, holding her flush against him while her hands rest on his chest.

“That’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair?” Sophie asks innocently. She didn’t mind the close proximity, the way his cologne seemed to suffocate her in the best way.

“Michael would fold immediately if you came waltzing in there looking like this.”

Sophie giggles, the kind that makes Daniel beam down at her like he’s accomplished the greatest feat in the world. There is a brief moment where everything seemed to stop. It was only a couple of seconds, from the outside looking in. But to them it didn’t feel that way. Time didn’t matter, not when they were so close to each other, drowning in the other’s aura.

“Come back to the kitchen!” Michael calls from the other room, bursting the little bubble that was around the pair. “Pasta is ready!”

Daniel releases Sophie from his hold, but neither of them move. But the air shifts, the chef in the next room’s expectations looming over them. Wait too long and he might come marching in and catch them so close to each other. It became awkward, but light. Just enough for the two to laugh. The laugh comes from deep in their gut, loud and obnoxious, with enunciated ha ha ha’s. So loud, Michael sticks his head into the main dining area in time to see them step back as they hold onto just about anything to avoid falling over.

Nothing could’ve even remotely been that funny. It must’ve been the wine or the awkward lull.

Or maybe it’s because being with Daniel made it easy.

But things aren’t as simple anymore.

“I panicked! I just…. I just saw Pierre a couple of days ago and now Daniel? What kind of sick twist of fate is that?” Sophie shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “And I don’t know if I want to ever speak to Daniel. I’d prefer to live off the memories we made in Florence.”

“Is it that, or do you not want him to eventually find out he could be Ellie’s dad?”

Sophie rolls her eyes. “He’s not Ellie’s dad.”

“You don’t know that.”

No, she doesn’t. She doesn’t know who Ellie’s dad is and that’s her problem. It’s been her problem for nearly two years, all thanks to her string of one night stands on her way to Kamari. Had she just kept her legs closed, then maybe she wouldn’t have run out in a panic. Maybe she would’ve walked up to Daniel today instead of running away with her tail between her legs.

“Are you going to avoid them forever?” Mick asks.

“It won’t be hard,” Sophie answers, “Pierre is only here for business, doubt he’d be here any longer than a month. Daniel is probably just traveling through. And lord only knows where Max is in the world. I’ll know some sort of peace eventually.”

“Just not now.”

Sophie looks at him like he’s crazy, with her brows furrowed and eyes wide. “Why would you say that?”

Mick’s car slows to a halt in front of Sophie’s Stitch as he flicks his chin towards his windshield. When Sophie looks up, she feels her heart drop into her stomach for the second time today.

The universe must be really out to get her.

NOTE : chapter 2 is here! i'm not gonna lie to you, this isn't my favorite chapter but its kind of necessary to set up the rest of the story. i hope you all enjoy this, and pls lmk what you think! i love reading all the comments/tags/asks from the new chapters hehe. u guys got any theories yet, even only with two chapters?

TAGLIST HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED if you want to be notified for updates, follow @carlosjpg and turn on notifications.

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katnissmellarkkk · 2 years

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Hit the wasps nest: Gale Hawthorne

This is just word vomit 😅

I honestly don’t dislike Gale at all but I have many a thoughts on the man and it’s difficult to explain the juxtaposition I’m in with him. He’s strong and sturdy and a good person at his core but he is very pushy and too stubborn and immature (which is fine!!! He’s like 18-19 throughout the story, he’s still a teenager, but like, accept the immaturity people!!!) and it’s not the greatest qualities in combination with Katniss’ personality. My hot takes are pretty much this.

He didn’t actually commit a crime with those bombs because he was tricked by Coin and used and abused but like, also welcome to the club, bro??? Leaders used and abused Kat Kat and Peeta and Haymitch and Finnick long before Gale so like, you’re finally at their level I guess? He spent a lot of Mockingjay acting like he understood what it was like to fight in a Hunger Games and he just didn’t, until he got to the end and you know what??? That’s called character arc and it wasn’t a bad one? So here’s my hot take: he wasn’t screwed over by Suzanne, he didn’t get a bad ending, he just didn’t get the girl? Like he ain’t a war criminal but it’s 1000000 valid that Katniss would never wanna see his face again???? I wouldn’t??? Association would be too strong for me, even if rational I’m aware it’s not his fault. So his ending isn’t bad, but if you read between the lines of all the books, Katniss very clearly loved Peeta in a way she never felt for Gale. Gale or no Gale, she was very confused about her feelings for Peeta, and she would have been even without any love triangle business. Gale got my on nerves more because he just like added to her confusion, but then also it’s understandable probably because I was a teen when I read the books initially and it definitely resonated with the boys I knew at school who made everything “what about me!!!” So anyways I have a juxtaposition with my feelings for him because like he’s got a good heart at his core but he’s also pretty irritating at other points and both antis and lovers of Mr. Haw Haw ignore that I feel???

My other hot takes for him : he doesn’t love Prim like his own sister???? That’s the weirdest headcanon-taken-as-canon I’ve ever heard? If that’s your headcanon, then okay great!!! But that’s not canon and I’ve seen several people say that like it’s totally there in the books and it’s not?? Gale protected Katniss’ family because they were hers, not because they were part of his. I mean I’m sure he cared to some degree for them, he’s a good person like I keep reiterating, but not like they were his own??? When he killed Prim, I’m sure he was sad because he cared for the kid, but his dialogue to Katniss makes it seem like his biggest thought process revolved around losing her because of his inadvertent involvement with the bombs. Okay and ummm another hot take, people should get to dislike him if they wanna. Too much politeness in terms of Gale, like if you like him then cool! But like the fear of saying you dislike him or you think he’s bad (as a character, not a war criminal) isn’t right, like I dislike 100000 characters and I ain’t afraid to say it. Anyways that’s all I can think of for now.

Oh wait one more : the book was written clearly with a bias towards Peeta, it was obvious that’s who she was gonna end up with so like??? Gale didn’t get a bad ending for the character he was, he was just never the one, he was never gonna get Katniss, even just looking at the plot layout this is clear. Peeta and Katniss go into the games together, fake a romance to survive, develop feelings and backtrack, go home winners and enemies of the Capitol, feelings are sore and complicated, Galers takes it into his own hands to add himself to the mix, Katniss feels caught between the two, Gale almost dies and she picks him in theory but never in practice I’m sorry, Katniss and Peeta are called back into the games where she decides to save Peeta and die for him, she gets closer and closer to Peeta, she realizes her feelings on the beach, they get separated and a rebellion starts, he’s in the Capitol, she’s in Thirteen with Gale, Gale and her spend a lot more time together but their friendship ain’t what it used to be, she frets about Peeta until she has to be sedated, Gale volunteers to rescue Peeta because he cares for Katniss’ wellbeing, Peeta though has been brainwashed and tries to murder Katniss (he really should have apologized, like is it that hard to make an “I’m sorry” card with all your free time between frosting cakes, Peeta?????), Katniss gives up Peeta and starts having more of a thing with Gale, then Peeta is brought along on her team and she’s stuck being in proximity to both of them but she focuses much heavier on Peeta’s presence (in negative ways mostly but still), she comes to a crossroads and instead of leaving Peeta to die she chooses to risk her life by kissing his wildin out self to save him, she then says bye bye to Peeta and goes with Gale into the Capitol Circle to kill Snow but gets separated from him and then watches her sister die, only to find out later on that Gale created the bombs that were used to kill Prim, then she has a nervous breakdown and a trial and then gets tossed off in Twelve like a garbage bag at the end of a McDonald’s shift, and then Peeta returns and sparks her back to life… in all of that plot summary, it was pretty obvious who had a bigger part in the overall story…. This shouldn’t be controversial to say.

#play with me 🥰

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highdefinitions · 11 months

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Rain being a prick (lovingly) is my new favorite thing ever I think and I really don’t think there’s a better way to sum up the bastard than that lmao

but oooo would love to hear your hcs!!

LMAOO I DIDN'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO EXPLAIN IT OKAY!!

also...apologies in advance but i have a GOOGLE DOC of my ghoul hcs and well...rain's section is like the second or third longest so don't say i didn't warn you... going to put them all under the cut for space reasons... it gets pretty long... apologies in advance for the fuckin essay i gave you to read but like YOU ASKED FOR IT YOU OPENED THIS DOOR..

like i said, prick (lovingly). he's a charmer, a sarcastic prick and sometimes breaches the level of being an outright dickhead, but nobody faults him for it. it's who he is, how he is. he's lovable almost, he turns it into something different that anyone else is able to (i'm way better at writing it than i am explaining it, i think... comes out better in dialogue)

so this was like the first thing i ever wrote about rain btw but... although he's super friendly and has never really given anybody issues about anything or picked a fight about something, something is...very off about him. like waaayyy off. he's super off-putting sometimes in a way that nobody can really describe but sometimes it's super duper jarring to everybody. because he's Nice!! but he's so fucking Weird!! and not even in like a super obvious way but in a way where if you spent too much time around him you really start to notice it.

and i have reasons for this!! drumroll please.... it's because rain's not from hell, but rather from limbo! yeahhh he's not all the way normal. and that's okay. everybody still loves him. sometimes he freaks the fuck out of dew and swiss but they Love him!! ALSO he's got the tiniest bit of quintessence in him that's he's not been able to control because he didn't entirely know he had it (aether figured that one out) ((copia's never been able to summon a Normal ghoul))

but despite all this weirdness and off-puttingness (? that's not a word), everybody loves him. he doesn't necessarily bother anybody, it's almost like he's not even different to anyone anymore, but sometimes, you notice his ways are a little unconventional. he's definitely different from everybody else, but it takes a lot more looking into now. when he was first summoned, he was a disaster. the only people that didn't seem at all bothered by him were aether, mountain, and copia. cumulus tried, she really did, and for the most part it worked but sometimes...

most definitely the scariest when he gets angry. doesn't happen often and it takes a lot to really break to that point, but holy fuck when he's angry it's terrifying. mostly because it doesn't happen often, but also mostly because he goes Cold (physically and figuratively)

he's just about as good of a troublemaker as dew or sunshine or swiss are. he's just better about keeping himself out of trouble. he's a sneaky bastard. and 9/10 he feigns innocence so well everybody just turns the other way because "rain would never." but he would. every time. he would. conniving prick. sometimes if he's good enough about it, feeling particularly like an instigator, he'll line it all up so dew gets into trouble for it.

now i guess some weird & random hcs i have about him... he likes to drink saltwater, mostly for headaches (don't ask him how it works, it just does)

he's very good at puzzles, like disgustingly good

loves apples, but not the peel. and he doesn't like to cut it up himself, but much rather prefers when somebody else does it for him. he'll just carry around an apple until somebody takes it from him and cuts it. it's usually mountain. he'll cut it up into slices too ...i definitely did make this hc into a fic

he's the best at pool. it drives dew and swiss up the wall that they can't beat him—even if they're on a team together against him. rain sometimes like to hustle the siblings that don't know about his skill. he thinks it's funny. he's definitely hustled copia a time or two about giving him a break from band practices.

really likes horror movies but he gets scared when he watches them alone so he always drags somebody into his room to watch them with him. but he's also always grabbing onto them and subconsciously squeezing a little too tight during tense parts. ALWAYS jumps at every jumpscare but pretends like they don't get him.

SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG IF YOU READ THIS ALL YOU DESERVE AN AWARD I THINK I AM SO SORRY I CANNOT SHUT UP ABOUT RAIN OHMYGOD

#percy’s asks #rain ghoul #do not leave me alone in a room with a computer that has access to google docs or else i will hc your rain water ghoul #sorry that this is actually longer than most crucial government documents

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findroleplay · 3 months

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Version 2 (skip to the character description)

- 21 y/o (please be over 18, preferably 20+. Have your age listed somewhere in your bio, either here or on Discord), NB.

- semi-literate, 3rd person narration+ dialogue, no ** (5-10 lines of text is alright. I can technically do literate but it's pretty tedious in that point)

- looking for a long term RP partner

- EET

- prefer roleplaying on Discord (I do love chatting about OCs and world-building elements so a server with different channels would be ideal)

-replies: whenever you're free, we have our own lives and I'll enter exam session soon enough. If we go one week without activity I'll reach out and feel free to do the same. If you don't respond then I'll consider ending the RP.

-triggers- anything that has to do with non consensual sexual activities and pregnancy (IF it applies). I'd like to stay as FAR away as possible from them.

You've probably seen me around before and I'm NOT replacing any of my current roleplays, just adding to them with a slightly different dynamic this time 👀

Looking for a fandomless OCxOC rp, this one includes romance, fantasy, action and adventure (any type of NSFW is welcomed, I do gore when needed and sexual stuff when needed, but that's exactly why you gotta be 18+). Pairing wise, of course I'm interested in OCxOC, this time I'm looking for MxNB or MxM (my main character is NB, but I have a guy in mind too). As for the character that I have in mind rn, they're a pretty strong deity, part of a fictional Pantheon, generally calm and isolated, but who also acts as a voice of reason for everyone else around them. They have pretty high standards when it comes to picking a possible partner and I'm more inclined towards an immortal x immortal type of pairing (immortal x mortal is just icky to me), they don't get attached extremely fast so a main plot and buildup to their relationship would be ideal. I have a Picrew, face claim and quick sketch of them if needed, so I'm open to all options. FIY, I am a little bit pickier with a possible partner for them because I spent a lot of time on their world and all (with my previous advertised OC I only built a magic system, not the entire world). I can offer a pretty detailed character sheet that also explains the world and a plot idea for the RP itself and you're more than welcome to come with your additions to the world/plot, so we can make it our world.

I took this year off of roleplaying after parting ways with my previous long term RP partner (after ~6 years), but I wouldn't say I'm THAT rusty. Or at least I'd hope. I have been roleplaying for about 10 years now.

Interact and I'll reach out or, if you'd prefer, drop a message anytime, if you feel like it. Keep in mind the timezones

#roleplay #rp #oc rp #original rp #fandomless rp

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n8jelly · 4 months

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A Court of Wings and Ruin, Starting a Year of Reading

I spent entirely too long on this book. I read this beast for 7 months taking numerous breaks to read, play, and watch other things. But starting 2024 I changed that. Sat down and blasted through it. SJM has a habit of leaving the most intriguing parts of the book to the last third and I always take a pause in act 2 to build motivation to keep going. It’s always worth it though, her middle sections exhaust me but now that I am done I look back and realize that the ending was lined up so expertly I can’t even be mad.

Image Source: SJM Website

This is a war book with characters at the center of the drama. This is the Return of the King of this series where our heroes struggle to find allies against a looming threat as they also find a hard time assembling themselves under a common goal. The events play out actually very similar to the Return of the King in a good way, lining up many major plot lines to converge on the battlefield. What it does excellently is make Prythian feel like a home in location and people, something to protect.

The drama tested my soft found family emotional boundaries, reminding me that through conflict stronger friendships are often forged. It’s pumped me up to finish the series, however this time I will have the mind set that the first two thirds of silver flames may have my patience tested.

“But this is war. We don’t have the luxury of good ideas—only picking between the bad ones.”

These books often get a lot of critique about its language and it’s all true. Your mileage on this series might wane depending on how often you can stand hearing the word “mate” be used. I didn’t find it all that grating, but I come from the fantasy side of this genre and I’ve heard much sillier sounding names for things be used than this. I realize there’s a lot more critique about the books content in general, but I don’t have the stomach for major discourse and I loved it so you’ll just have to trust me on that account.

My favorite parts of writing in this book came when Feyre gains determination to accomplish something. We don’t get that a lot in the last two books because of how some events affect her motivations. But in this book, many times we get these very good “I’ll make them pay” and “I’ll fight for my home” type of moments that lead up to great confrontations that we’ve been waiting 500 pages for. It’s incredible first person dialogue and while those moments shine, it’s consistently great throughout the novel.

The romance isn’t as adventurous or as earned as the last book. (It’s hard to beat that soup scene though). I think the most intimate scene in this book (imo) happens when they are lying together and Feyre thinks about their connection in that moment. Obviously this is that other type of intimacy that this book nails, different and fun in its own way. There’s still tons of steamy moments, just not in the detail we are spoiled from by previous encounters.

I haven’t read a book this thick since I was a kid. It was a massive undertaking that took me 7 months of wondering whether or not I was up to the task. It’s inspired me to keep going and read even more books this year. I really want to finish this series by the end of 2024 along with a lot of other books off of my backlog. It makes me wish that I was born a speed reader, or learned how to read faster, or however it is all of the 50+ books a year people do it. But slow or fast, my love of reading is back full force and I’m not stopping anytime soon.

#reading #bookblr #a court of wings and ruin #acowar #acotar #sjmaas #sjm books

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cyarskaren52 · 5 months

Text

It’s getting hot in here . These tv shows had scenes that had our hearts racing

https://tvline.com/lists/sexiest-tv-scenes-2023-outlander-riverdale/

2023 in Review: The 25 Sexiest Scenes

Team TVLineDecember 7, 2023 7:30 am

Grab a cold glass of water and a paper fan, because TVLine’s list of the sexiest TV moments of 2023 is likely to raise your body temperature.

Naturally, there are plenty of kisses and love scenes in the below roundup, including passionate smooches from Abbott Elementary, The Summer I Turned Pretty and Station 19. And of course, the hot hookups on Outlander, Superman & Lois and The Morning Show also got our pulses racing.

But sexy times in bed (or against a wall) are not required in order to fog up screens. Case in point: Magnum P.I.’s Baywatch-esque strut, Law & Order: Organized Crime’s oddly intimate shootout and a Daisy Jones & the Six serenade all turned up the heat without ever hitting the sheets. And more than one of our selections made the cut with simply a well-delivered sexy line of dialogue.

Fun fact: Making their second appearance in a row on this list are Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, Nancy Drew, Power Book IV: Force and Jonathan Bailey (but with a different series this year!).

So turn up the air conditioning and review TVLine’s picks for 2023’s sexiest scenes (complete with Safe For Work screenshots), then hit the comments to share your additions!

Photo : Courtesy of Paramount+

Alex and Spencer spent so much of the Paramount+ drama’s first season in extreme peril (the elephant, the capsized boat, etc.), we couldn’t blame them for wanting to take a pants-optional break by the seaside. And when we had a front-row seat to their, as she called it, “ravaging”? So much the better! (Season 1, Episode 4)

Photo : Hulu screenshot

Gregory and Janine’s long-awaited first kiss in a beautifully botanical living class room was worth the wait. And judging by the delicious way Janine tugged on Gregory’s neck badge, pulling him back in for another steamy lip-lock, we weren’t the only ones who didn’t want the moment to end. (Season 2, Episode 16)

Photo : The CW screenshot

We already figured Spencer and Olivia would get back together by season’s end, but the white-hot chemistry on display during this fashion show dance routine mercifully accelerated their reconciliation. No kisses were shared during the performance, but the looks on Spencer and Olivia’s faces as they pressed their bodies together told us everything we needed to know about their lingering feelings — and Spencer’s poor girlfriend, Alicia, could see it from the audience, too. (Season 5, Episode 18)

Photo : Peacock screenshot

It was a difficult season for Severide and Stella, what with him taking on an arson investigation training gig that took him away for months. And even before that, the couple experienced some tensions on the job that tested their marriage. Thankfully, they were able to work past their issues in sexy fashion, with Stella greeting her hubby dressed in the only thing she wants to bring home from work: his lucky coat. (Season 11, Episode 12)

Photo : YouTube screenshot

We’re a sucker for an Out of Sight-esque sex scene/montage (see: our 2019 Sexiest Scenes pick Good Trouble), so the seductive slices of Charlie and Emma’s first night together — their passionate kiss, the casual conversation in the bath and in bed, the late-night pool swim — had us all riled up. It’s a shame that ABC snuffed the sexy chemistry between the con man and the CIA agent. (Season 1, Episode 1)

Photo : Prime Video screenshot

Sure, sparks flew between Billy and Daisy when they recorded their first duet, “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb).” But it was the silent glances (particularly Sam Claflin’s smoldering stare) and gentle knee touch as Daisy sang an acoustic version of “It Was Always You” to the man who was no doubt the inspiration behind the song that had us holding our breath with anticipation. (Season 1, Episode 9)

Photo : Paramount+ screenshot

We’re gonna sound like poor, unstable Alex here, but what made her first tryst with married man Dan so damn titillating wasn’t the sex itself but the strong sense that there was more going on than two bodies mashing together. The two of them had connected, really connected, and couldn’t resist the temptation to see if their newfound understanding of one another translated to the bedroom. Spoiler alert: It did. (Season 1, Episode 2)

Photo : Paramount+ screenshot

For a series with plenty of sex, the hottest moment in the Showtime drama wasn’t about action, but a line of dialogue, suggestively delivered by Jonathan Bailey’s Tim as he tried to convince his lover Hawk (Matt Bomer) to take him to a political soirée: “I’m your boy, right? And your boy wants to go to the party.” (Season 1, Episode 1)

Photo : ABC screenshot

After a full season of Lucas pining for Simone, she finally ditched the fiancé who was more like an anchor around her neck than a stethoscope — and at the altar, no less — to use an on-call room for its intended purpose: tenderly surrendering to passion with the fellow resident who, unlike Trey, could say with all sincerity, “I see you, and I love every single thing I see.” (Season 19, Episode 19)

Photo : Courtesy of HBO

“Go take a shower, Bill.” And with just five words — and one unexpectedly romantic first kiss — the sweet, sad, post-apocalyptic and deeply intimate ballad of Frank and Bill began. (Season 1, Episode 3)

Law & Order: Organized Crime

Photo : Courtesy of NBC

Should it have been sexy when Capt. Benson and her former partner, Det. Stabler, came under fire in a suburban diner and he was rendered blind by their assailant’s teargas? Absolutely not. But was it sexy when, in the heat of the moment, an injured Liv grabbed El’s hand and guided it so he could shoot the bad guy, even though he couldn’t see him? Yep. Yep, it was. (Season 3, Episode 22)

Photo : Courtesy of NBC

The CBS castoff’s first season on NBC was touted as “sexier,” and that became quite apparent in the second episode, when a slow-motion sequence languorously surveyed the tanned and toned physiques of “Jane” and “Robbie,” Juliet and Thomas’ undercover lifeguard personae. File this under: “bae-watch.” (Season 5, Episode 2)

Photo : Apple TV+ screenshot

Alex’s flirty banter with her interview subject/future boss was so full of sparks, no one was shocked it turned into a beautifully shot, clothes-free party at his Hamptons estate. File this one under: So Wrong It’s… Still Pretty Horrible But Nonetheless Hot. (Season 3, Episode 6)

Photo : Max screenshot

The sexual tension between Nancy Drew’s titular sleuth and the star-crossed love of her life has always been off the charts (literally barometer-breaking!), but it was never hotter than when she painted his body with the sigil they hoped would break the curse keeping them apart. From the moment Nancy looks Ace in the eyes and tells him to take off his shirt, the heat is on. She explores him with her eyes before exploring him with her brush, knowing that the pleasure of her touch is the only thing getting him through the pain. This moment isn’t just hot, it’s also a damn good argument to fund the arts. (Season 4, Episode 3)

Photo : Netflix screenshot

Most of these moments involve the removal of clothes (and we’re not complaining), but Devi and Ben’s sexiest moment — by far — took place the morning after they made love, when he eagerly pulled up a YouTube tutorial to help her figure out how to get back into her sari. (Season 4, Episode 10)

Photo : Courtesy of Starz

Forget, for a moment, that the whole thrust (sorry) of this scene stems from Roger’s jealousy that Brianna is getting platonically friendly with a male co-worker. And pay no mind to the fact that Mr. and Mrs. MacKenzie go at it on an aggressively floral, focus-pulling upholstered fold-out couch. Despite both of those considerations, this interlude — set to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” — is still the most charged intimate moment in the Starz drama’s recent history. (Season 7, Episode 7)

Photo : Courtesy of Starz

Mireya invited Tommy to share a private dance with her with the sole intent of getting to their first kiss, a romantic moment that wound up getting interrupted when he was called away. But the way Tommy could barely peel himself away from her! That kiss after he grabbed his coat! Hot stuff, all of it. (Season 2, Episode 4)

Photo : Netflix screenshot

We’re surprised the room didn’t immediately engulf in flames given George and Charlotte’s heated gazes just before… you know. And as hot and heavy as their first official night together was, George’s guttural, “I’m very good with buttons,” already had our pulses racing. (Season 1, Episode 2)

Photo : The CW screenshots

Archie and Betty were stuck in the very chaste 1950s in the final season, but their teenage hormones were still raging, so the next-door neighbors decided to learn more about their bodies by taking off their clothes for each other in their bedroom windows. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife as Betty revealed a lacy black corset under her shirt and Archie eagerly stripped down to his underwear. They never even touched each other in the scene — and their parents rudely interrupted them just when it was getting good — but we could still feel the sizzling chemistry between them even seven decades later. (Season 7, Episode 6)

Photo : Paramount+ screenshots

A shopping spree ironically got besties Cruz and Aaliyah thinking about UNdressing one another, when, alone in a fitting room, Aaliyah told Cruz that the spontaneous kiss they’d shared the day before was “all I think about.” Then, with a shy, quiet, “Come here…,” Aaliyah invited Cruz over for a hint of what was to come, during their torrid first romp. (Season 1, Episode 7)

Photo : ABC screenshot

We’d almost begun to think we’d been imagining the simmering attraction between would-be mayor Travis and campaign manager Eli when, finally, after a particularly rousing day on the trail, they hurled themselves at one another, tore off their clothes and, um, secured the swing vote. Better luck next time, Andy. (Season 6, Episode 14)

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Photo : Prime Video screenshot

Look away, Conrad/Belly ‘shippers! For our money, it was Belly and Jeremiah who brought the best heat in Season 2, by way of their carside makeout session after confirming they still had real feelings for each other. The kissing, of course, was intense, but it was the breathless way Jeremiah said, “Yes, I still…” that made this scene endlessly rewatchable. (Season 2, Episode 7)

Photo : Max screenshot

John Henry and Lana’s heated, shirt-ripping romp definitely steamed up Smallville. Even better was the expert flirting that took place beforehand, especially Lana telling John Henry that she would just have to make him wish he wasn’t moving to Metropolis. After that, he’d have to be a fool to let her go! (Season 3, Episode 13)

Photo : Apple TV+ screenshot

It wasn’t just a canal into which Rebecca fell in the polarizing “Sunflower,” it was love. After some enchanted evening spent on a handsome Dutchman’s houseboat, she was assured by her rescuer that they hadn’t. The implication was that no, they hadn’t had sex. But had they done something far more magical? “Oh yes, we did,” he said to himself. In her heart of hearts, she knew it, too. (Season 3, Episode 6)

Photo : Paramount+ screenshot

Imagine for a moment that an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue comes to life, and all of the models start asking knowing questions about about one another’s sexual preferences while exchanging heated, jealous glances. Now imagine that one of them might be a werewolf! Does the entire scene feel a bit like the lead-in to a cheap porno? Of course it does. But let’s not pretend like that’s a bad thing.

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#love scene #tv shows #year in review

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