#and 'ive been the archer ive been the prey. who could ever leave me darling? but who could stay'

[enbysiriusblack]

marlene mckinnon and regulus black are the archer.

[akkpipitphattana]

almost crying thinking about how the archer is an akk song, but like i swear i’m normal about him guys

[rowaelinsdaughter]

just me rumbling, you dont have to read this

if i think correctly, i only have one real friend (we had a fight and we didnt talk for years but now we are in contact again) and i just keep thinking of how easily people forgets about me or just talk to me for a brief time and then its like nothing happened... i want more friends and the only way im comfortable is via internet because people wont jugde my body...

[teyamsatan]

Summary: Your traumatic human life ended, making room for a new one amongst the Na'vi. You were a stone-cold areal hunter, death from above, but when your dad comes back from the dead with a mission that will endanger your life, what lengths would you go to to protect Neteyam and your new family?

Pairings: Neteyam x Avatar!Reader

Word Count: 102k words (finished April 3rd '23)

Warnings/notes: angst; mentions of death, violence, disease, mental illness, injury, blood; established relationship, swearing, smut (18+ , minors DNI)

A/N: The sequel to Illicit Affairs is here, and it will follow (all) the events of The Way of Water, so massive spoilers will be mentioned all throughout. I am so excited for this series, and I can't wait to share it with you. I love hearing your thoughts and comments and replies and asks, so please don't be shy, the serotonin fix it gives me is real, and I'm a phd student, i need that shit ok thank you enjoyyy xx

Read Illicit Affairs here (x)

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible smoke And all of my heroes die all alone, help me hold onto you I've been the archer, I've been the prey Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

CHAPTER I: Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince

CHAPTER II: Out of the Woods

CHAPTER III: I Know Places

CHAPTER IV: Peace

CHAPTER V: This Is Me Trying

CHAPTER VI: The Great War

CHAPTER VII: Epiphany

CHAPTER VIII: Bigger Than The Whole Sky

CHAPTER IX: Safe and Sound (All is Found)

CHAPTER X: Daylight (the end)

[heystephen]

i don’t think you guys UNDERSTAND. ive been THE ARCHER… ive been THE PREY…. who could ever leave me, darling? but who could stay?

[the-1ast-time]

ive been the archer, ive been the prey

Who could ever leave me darling, but who could slay?

[catasthrophicblues]

ive been the archer ive been the prey

who could ever leave me darling?

[firefurious]

—» MINI CHARACTER PLAYLIST

share at least five songs that remind you of your muse, or that you associate with your muse's character arc. including lyrics is optional.

i. he ain't heavy, he's my brother, the hollies

So on we go His welfare is my concern No burden is he to bear We'll get there For I know He would not encumber me He ain't heavy, he's my brother

i had to start with the twins because, well, vax is so utterly important to vex. no matter what they face or where their paths take them, vex is content to have her brother by her side. no matter what burdens he may have to carry, she'll always lend her support. she'll always care for him, and that's never a burden because her twin is everything to her.

ii. little brother, ella vos

Stay close, little brother I know your true colors When the world don't listen, you can call my name Stay close, little brother Stay close

this is pretty self-explanatory, still on the topic of vax. the twins know each other like no one else, and they learned from a young age to only rely on one another — that the only ones they could trust to have their backs were each other. it's a recurring theme for them to not want the world to get between them or to end up separated; stay close, little brother just feels extra fitting in that sense.

iii. diamonds are a girl's best friend, marilyn monroe

A kiss on the hand May be quite continental But diamonds are a girl's best friend A kiss may be grand But it won't pay the rental On your humble flat Or help you at the automat

listen... vex's relationship with money is definitely an important trait of her character and out of all the songs about it i could've picked, i just think this one is the one that fits the best. with her, it's not about money just for the sake of greed, i feel. there's a practical element to it too; money pays the bills, it provides you comfort. other things can be wonderful and meaningful but at the end of the day you still need money and the support it gives.

iv. big man, little dignity, paramore

I memorized all your lines I can't look away, you're like a movie that I love to hate I fantasize your demise I should look away because I know you're never gonna change I keep thinkin' this time, the end'll be different But it isn't I keep thinkin' (Keep thinkin') the end is gonna be different But you keep on winning

if her relationship with her brother is a fundamental (positive) part of her character, her relationship with her father is just as important (negative). syldor is, quite frankly, emotionally abusive, and for a long time vex is stuck on a cycle of resenting her father and wanting nothing to do with him while still wanting to prove herself and have his recognition.

this song is about powerful men being shitty and getting away with it, which fits, but i think the "i should look away because i know you're never gonna change / i keep thinking this time, the end'll be different but it isn't" could just relate to vex on a personal level in the sense of this bond she can't quite cut off entirely because deep down, no matter how terrible her father might be, she still hopes it'll be different. it never is.

v. kingdom come, the civil wars

Run, run, run and hide Somewhere no one else can find Tall trees bend and lean, pointing where to go Where you will still be all alone

facing prejudice and mistreatment from those around her since she was a child, vex sought solace in the woods. she was at peace among the trees and nature, where she had to deal with no one's judgment — but it was also isolating, keeping a distance from everyone. it was running and hiding from the things that hurt her when dealing with people. there's solace to be found in the peace of the woods; there is also loneliness.

vi. the archer, taylor swift

I've been the archer, I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling But who could stay?

the chorus of the song plays with the idea of presenting yourself as someone no one would want to leave, while contrasting it with no one being able to stay. i feel it relates to vex and how she feels in how she presents herself vs her real feelings. vex is very charming and composed, she seems very confident and bold and ready to face anything while breaking hearts left and right; but when it comes to how she really feels, a lot of that is just a front, an armor in a way. who could stay, knowing how she really is?

there are other lines throughout the song that feel very fitting. "'cause cruelty wins in the movies" echos her "there is always a cost or a cruelty", "i jump from the train, i ride off alone" relates particularly to pre vox machina when she and vax would leave any complicated situation and just cut their losses, "all the king's horses, all the king's men / couldn't put me together again" is an easy parallel to the broken pieces she carries inside and how they're not easy to mend.

vii. dog days are over, florence + the machine

Happiness hit her like a train on a track Coming towards her, stuck still, no turning back She hid around corners and she hid under beds She killed it with kisses and from it she fled

given her past, i believe vex wouldn't have an easy time just... accepting happiness. even if she takes somewhat quickly to keyleth and the others, starved for kindness as she is, the comfort of her found family would also be frightening. it's always been just her and vax. to have all that change, even if positive, would make her want to run.

not that i think she would actually try; but there's a reason she points out to vax they could leave. they don't, but the thought occurs to her because these bonds, this sense of familiarity, the joy that comes with it... they're foreign, and they're frightening, at least at first. she gets over it — i just think it's part of the journey.

viii. rather be, clean bandit

We're a thousand miles from comfort We have traveled land and sea But as long as you are with me There's no place I'd rather be

this one is usually read as a love song, but i'd apply it more to the group as a whole. hesitant as she might have been at first, they become her family and her home, more than any place she's ever lived in. the journey isn't always easy and it isn't always comfortable and they wander to many places, but the "as long as you are with me / there's no place i'd rather be" just feels like it applies to her little found family generally speaking. vox machina means a lot to her, each and all of them; it may not always seem like it with how she'll bicker with scanlan or be a little harsh with keyleth but despite her edges vex loves them all wholeheartedly.

TAGGED BY: @xbadnews thank you 💖 TAGGING: @hallowedhem @roteden @dolls-runeterran-dollhouse for whichever muses you guys want ✨

[screeny200]

the archer by taylor swift is the most malcom tucker coded song ever.

"ive been the archer, ive been the prey"

"all of my enemies started out friends"

"who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay?"

"I wake in the night, i pace like a ghost"

[pretty-ichor]

ALL the king's horses, ALL the king's men couldn't put me together again. cause all of my enemies started out friends. help me hold onto you. ive been the archer. ive been the prey. who could ever leave me, darling? but who could stay?

[not-elia]

the archer by taylor swift

Combat, I'm ready for combat

I say I don't want that, but what if I do?

'Cause cruelty wins in the movies

I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

in this verse we start with the feeling of mentally preparing yourlself for somehting, a fight, and not knowing if its what we really want. we have spent all our lives watching as the bad people get away with things, so why not us. then there is the over thinking aspect of a fight, planning what youre going to say, then hating it, and then repeatign the cycle.

Easy they come, easy they go

I jump from the train, I ride off alone

I never grew up, it's getting so old

Help me hold onto you

people come and go into your life all the time, and its easier to jump off and leave on your own accord than to be left alone. never growing up feels like everybody moved on, everybody knew what to do, everybody exept myself. i want to stay and not feel like i have to leave, help me do that.

I've been the archer

I've been the prey

Who could ever leave me, darling?

But who could stay?

i have hurt people all my life whether i want that or not, but ive also been hurt more times thatn i can count by the people ive trusted the most. theres this aspect of just fake ego, who could ever leave me if im so good, if im this grand person who ive imagined myself to be to protect myself, but then again its just a facade to so get hurt, buecase nobody ever stays.

Dark side, I search for your dark side

But what if I'm alright, right, right, right here?

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face

Then I hate my reflection for years and years

i search for oyur flaws, somehting that might make me hate you, but what if thats not really the problem. ive self sabotaged all my life because i dont want people to leave me and i hate that about myself.

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost

The room is on fire, invisible smoke

And all of my heroes die all alone

Help me hold onto you

i cant sleep, i stay awake overthinking everything, even stuff that isnt there. because thats all ive ever seen, people end up alone, and although  i think i am doomed to the same fate it sacres me so much.

I've been the archer

I've been the prey

Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling?

But who could stay?

(I see right through me, I see right through me)

on this chorus we start to hear background voices and heartbeats that intenify. growing with every second, the same words over and over again haunting my thoughts.

'Cause they see right through me

They see right through me

They see right through

Can you see right through me?

They see right through

They see right through me

I see right through me

I see right through me

because everyone can see that im not who i pretend to be, who i thought i wnated to be, who i became to try to protect myslef. can you see who i really am too? i thought that i could fake until i made it, that if i pretended to be all that i would become it, but i was wrong.

All the king's horses, all the king's men

Couldn't put me together again

'Cause all of my enemies started out friends

Help me hold onto you

all of the good things that happened to me cant overcome all of the bad things, because the only people who can really hurt you is the ones that you trust the most. help me unlearn that. 

I've been the archer

I've been the prey

Who could ever leave me, darling?

But who could stay?

(I see right through me, I see right through me)

Who could stay?

Who could stay?

Who could stay?

You could stay

You could stay

we have this moment of just overwhelmingness, the backgtoud voices, the heartbeat, the growing hamonies, the feeling of trying to find out how you are feeling.

Combat, I'm ready for combat

the song ends the same way it started except that its has a totally opposite meaning, this time it means that im ready to fight for what we have and not give up.

[kitc0nn0r]

ALL THE KING’S HORSES

ALL THE KING’S MEN

COULDNT PUT ME TOGETHER AGAIN

CAUSE ALL OF MY ENEMIES STARTED OUT FRIENDS

HELP ME HOLD ON TO YOU

IVE BEEN THE ARCHER

IVE BEEN THE PREY

WHO COULD EVER LEAVE ME DARLING

BUT WHO COULD STAY

[elleloquently]

IVE BEEN THE ARCHER IVE BEEN THE PREY WHO COULD EVER LEAVE ME DARLING ☹️ BUT WHO COULD STAY ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

how will we ever listen to lover again 😭

- 🏹

self insert bby

[loveisbraveandwild]

IVE BEEN THE ARCHER IVE BEEN THE PREY WHO COULD EVER LEAVE ME DARLING BUT WHO COULD STAY

[venusianhippie]

i wake in the night

i pace like a ghost

the room is on fire

invisible smoke

and all of my heroes die all alone

help me hold on to you

[kateisinlove13]

OMG IM LAUGHING SO HARD HAHAH

okay so the other day i was playing my mom lover in the car and when the archer ended she thought her phone was broken because it ended so suddenly and she thought it was becsuse the song just turned off bahahahhahahahahahaha