smugglingpuppies

[piracytheorist]

Twilight Eyes Project: "The Friendship Scheme" (part 2)

Part 1 here

Previous episodes analyses

First day of school! After some hard work and a lot of planning, he's finally beginning phase two of the mission. Thus, Twilight eyes as the school welcomes its new students.

Anya grows curious about her new environment, and Twilight is still too tense to bother with more than a few words in response.

Investigative eyes as the manga offers a quick flashback to remind the readers what was told in the previous chapter, and it carries on to the anime to connect to his thought immediately after...

... that he holds little hope of Anya earning eight Stellas quickly enough to get him access to the Imperial Scholars mixer.

One of the school board members starts dividing the students into classes, Yor wonders which one Anya will be put it, and it's on to Loid eyes as he casually joins in with an innocent "Who knows?"

Well, he does. Investigative eyes.

He made sure to make all changes necessary so that he'll have a plan B; thus, putting Anya in the same class as Desmond's son.

Some intense looks with Twilight eyes as he goes through the details of the plan in his mind.

And then some very intense looks. He's planning on Anya and Damian becoming friends, so he'll get a chance to meet Desmond that way.

Not that he needed a reminder, but as the Handler said, peace between the two nations and possibly the world depends on the success of this mission. Things have to work out.

It appears that he's quite focused that day, and only reverts to Loid eyes when he has no choice but to address someone directly. When Anya commented about the uniform, he looked too impatient to focus on her. When Yor wondered about Anya's class, he could afford making small talk. Now that Anya is being called for her class, he turns to her, encouraging to go. It's likely some eyes are on them at that point, so he puts the act on, and also this is Anya's first step towards plan B. He needs to be as encouraging as he can.

Once Anya walks down to join her classmates, it's investigative/Twilight eyes as he probably hopes too high on Anya's abilities. Good thing she's more motivated than he can imagine!

A bit more intense, as his surprise seeps through his eyes as he realizes how many kids of important people are in Anya's class.

Homeboy is near damn excited to see how many chances are presented right in front of him.

He loses control for a bit. What would someone think if he saw him react like that?

Thankfully, the only one who seemed to notice was Yor, who, being Yor, thought he was simply excited for Anya to do well.

However, Anya proves she'd rather give him an ulcer or two.

Reminder that this is all through "Twilight eyes". He's still very much focused on his mission (it's why, after all, he has that last reaction, because he sees his chance to approach the Blackbell CEO slip right through his fingers), it's just that so much has happened that he couldn't predict, that he simply lost some of his control on his expressionless mask.

Henderson is charged with Anya's class, and Twilight regains his composure as he's got stuff to analyze; after Henderson punched Swan, he would have to face some consequences, which ended up being him having to tutor first-year students. Twilight considers it the best Henderson could have hoped for.

The first-years are off to be shown around the school, and Twilight keeps a peculiarly tense posture; he's the only one not clapping along with the other parents.

Being serious and collected here actually makes him stand out. But it seems to be from his anxiety, being so tight-up is the only way for him to not crumble down.

Which he ends up doing a little, after Anya leaves the room.

By the end of the parents meet-and-greet, he has of course noticed that Damian's parents haven't attended. Twilight eyes.

Then, back to Loid eyes as he turns his attention to another parent, broadening his connections at the school. Just a casual talk between school parents! Definitely no ulterior motives here!

The children start coming back to their parents, and Anya is nowhere to be seen. Henderson calls at them, and at first he keeps his Loid eyes on. It can't be that bad, can it?

It can.

His anxiety comes crashing down on him, and he loses all the composure he was so tightly holding onto the entire day. He sees his plans crumble right before his eyes and he has no strength left to try and keep up a mask. He doesn't scold Anya (even for appearances' sake) nor Yor for training her, he doesn't tell Henderson a thing, he can't even keep a straight face for the class photo. All he can think is how things took the worst turn they could have taken for Anya's first day.

And yet, he doesn't actually seem to blame any of them. He just feels hopeless because at this moment he has no idea how to even start making the plans proceed. To him, that's still his responsibility.

In general, I think that his reaction at the end was definitely influenced by how he was trying to keep himself together the entire day. This day would be the official start of him leaving a huge part of the mission on Anya's hands, something that would bring any spy a lot of anxiety. Being surrounded by other parents who would also have their kids aim to become Imperial Scholars would also put some pressure on him, for him to appear well-standing and worthy of a place in the school's community. Add to that the everyday stress of his spy life... yeah, that was quite the day for him.

(no manga spoilers please)

[teecupangel]

Got another idea. XD Sorry! 💜

Do you know about Yuri on Ice? I loved the animation of the ice skating in the show and just imagine Desmond doing those graceful jumps is making me swoon like a maiden. XD

Could do a light AU where Desmond is scouted by a proffesional because he is so nimble shortly after running away from the farm or a full blown AU with Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton as professional ice skaters.

The light AU would be a bit difficult to pull off unless we make the trainer ex criminal or something, so that Abstergo couldn't try to grab Desmond immidiently when he starts competing. The trainer would assure him that whatever threat is out there he would protect him and it works until 2012. Abstergo probably got desperate enough to kidnapp Desmond, damn the publicity of a famous athlete going missing. The image of Desmond wielding the ice skates as knives is also both funny and badass. XD

Full blown AU could have Bill getting injured early on in his career and pushing(abusing) Desmond into becoming the star Bill was meant to be. Because athletes in general retire around their 30s, we can muck about with the ages so that Al Mualim, Haytham and Bill where skating around the same time and after Bill was forced to retire early, he decided to date and have a kid with another famous skater in the hopes that Desmond would be a prodigy(he is, but that is not enough for Bill).

Al Mualim, when he lost his eye in a duel skating rutine gone horrificly wrong(imagine a few years after Bill), decided to take on his old friend Umar's son as his personal trainee to live vicariously through.

Haytham is the only one of the 3 who retires of his own free will. He could discover that an intense, but short relationship he had with the skater Ziio resulted in a child and she saw how fiercly competetive and single minded Haytham was about the sport, so she decided to not tell Haytham about Ratonhnhaké:ton or more commonly known as Connor. Once Haytham discovers he has a son after Ziio dies(i imagine disease), he takes him in and tries to bond with him, to mixed results. Connor decides to follow in both his parents footsteps, to honor his mother and because it seems to be the best way to bond with his father. I imagine some light angst about Haytham pushing Connor because that was how he was raised after his father died early on, but eventually Haytham learns to just be proud of his son. 🥰

Ezio is the fan favorite with his devilish charms and outrages antics with his older brother, gossip magazines love them because Ezio loves to tease and indulge the photographers in exchange for most of them leaving his family alone. The Auditores are not an ice skating family, Ezio is just really talented and does it for the love of the sport, so he is pretty chill about competing. He is feared for his jumps though. VERY feared. XD

This could be Altdes or Ezides(because i'm traaaash! XD) where Desmond growing closer to the love interest lets him discover what true love and family is meant to be. Tbh think Ezio is the most fitting if we do that route, because let's face it: out if every goddamned assassin i know of, he is the only one with a good family/upbringing until the hanging. Fucking Disney mom syndrom over here. XD

Btw, i have no idea about ice skating and it's been years since i watched Yuri on Ice, so i am sorry if any details here is wildy inaccurate or impossible. ^^ And sorry for the text wall, got carried away. Again. XD Love ya! 💜

I love Yuri on Ice and I’m still waiting for that movie lol.

If you don’t want to choose between AltDes and EziDes, go with both? XD

But in all seriousness, EziDes would be more on the side of fluff and Desmond slowly becoming part of the Auditore family and learning what it means to have an actual loving family. Ezio would be the kind of person who would show Desmond the world beyond the small confines of being William Miles’ successor and he’ll learn to be interested in other things.

AltDes, though, considering the setup we have here, would focus heavily on the distorted mirror image they both share. Altaïr would be the son William Miles wanted to raise in Desmond’s eyes and Desmond would be the type of person he would have become had he not rose to all of Al Mualim’s expectation in Altaïr’s eyes. This is less of a found family kind of thing but more on the side of “I am jealous of you but I also can’t help but worry about you” kind of thing because they both have an idea of the loneliness and suffering they are hiding.

So yeah, it really depends on what kind of story you want to go for. Fluff for EziDes, angst for AltDes XD

Also… maybe in some ways, EziDes is about Ezio saving Desmond while AltDes is about the two of them saving each other.

Regardless of which path we take, Ezio’s relationship with Desmond would be about ‘learning of the outside world’ kind of deal and having an actual healthy support system who cares and love him. Desmond’s relationship with Altaïr would be more on the side of finding someone so similar to one’s self that caring and loving them (either platonically or romantically) is a way for one to care and love themselves.

Ratonhnhaké:ton, on the other hand, is that kind friend who serves as Desmond’s own foil thanks to his relationship with his own father. But, unlike Altaïr, their friendship is less burdened because Ratonhnhaké:ton actually knows what he wants and Haytham is trying. Their father-son relationship is actually what makes Desmond realize that, shit, his own relationship with his father is fucked up.

Ezio told him that too but Desmond can’t really wrap his head around it because Giovanni act really different from Bill that he can’t really compare them but Haytham? Haytham definitely acts a lot like Bill. And then he meets Al Mualim who acts a lot like Bill as well (it’s the other way around, Bill is trying to copy Al Mualim since he was more successful than Bill). So yeah, Haytham shows Desmond (and Altaïr) that a father can fuck up but make up for it as well.

Also, regardless of the pairing, the four of them would have a close bond with one another with the not-love interest and Ratonhnhaké:ton having front row seat to whatever shenanigans are happening between Desmond and his love interest.

(Sidebar: Kadar is absolutely Altaïr’s Number One Fan. Malik is absolutely embarrassed because he’s actually competing in the same competition and everyone who knows Kadar is his brother pities him because his own brother is cheering a different contestant. Kadar also skates and he can actually copy Altaïr’s performances. Ask him to perform his own and he blanks out though)

Love you too💜 and never apologize for text walls. I love reading them hahahaha

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 18

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

----------

In hopes of finding a way to meet Desmond at the Imperial Scholar's mixer, Twilight sneaks around Eden in disguise. But unbeknownst to him, Anya reads his mind and realizes what he's trying to do. She urges Damian to meet with his father in spite of the second thoughts he has. Twilight hides behind a building, listening as she says she's not even sure if her papa likes her or not, but she's still going to tell him that she failed her test because she loves and believes in him. We don't get to hear any of Twilight's thoughts during her speech, and his expression remains neutral. Even when the kids leave, his first reaction is confusion about why Anya would suddenly say such things, but happy nonetheless that she did indeed persuade Damian to meet his father.

However, when he does finally meet with Desmond later on, it seems that Anya's words may have struck a chord in him. He puts on his most extreme Loid Forger performance during his encounter with Damian while looking for the "lost" keychain, trying his best to find any opening to invite himself to meet Damian's father. And of course, as is typical for him, beneath all the pretending, he does genuinely feel bad about what he has to do. He internally apologizes to Damian for having to cut in on his reunion with his father, but for the sake of his mission (a.k.a. the happiness of many over the happiness of few) it must be done.

Once Desmond finally appears, the pressure ramps up as Twilight has to choose every word carefully so as not to arouse even an ounce of suspicion. He does all he can to find a way for Desmond to agree to talk with him more, but eventually Desmond halts the conversation. However, when Damian expresses his disdain for his father's nonchalant attitude about Anya punching him, Twilight voices his agreement with Damian.

This is probably the most major example thus far of Twilight doing something he personally feels is right even though it could potentially be detrimental to his mission. I say this is the most major example because having a favorable relationship with Desmond is literally all he's been striving for since starting Operation Strix, so he shouldn't take any risk no matter how slight, like showing support for Damian's disagreement with Desmond. Yet, he chooses to take Damian's side over that of Desmond's, similar to how he chose to stick up for Anya and Yor at the Eden interview even though it went against what was best for the mission. While it is true that it's better for "plan B" if Damian has a good relationship with his father, it's also a very delicate subject for Twilight to pursue at that moment, when Desmond had only just met him. Regardless, he's able to steer the conversation in a way that gets his points across but doesn't come off as hostile to Desmond.

He first tries to evoke some kindred feelings with Desmond by talking about the struggles he has dealing with Anya's irrational behavior and how challenging it is to raise a child (perhaps his confusion about Anya's behavior from earlier encouraged him to bring this up).

When Desmond flatly responds that people can never truly understand each other, even their own children, Twilight is taken aback. His darkened expression betrays a hint of resentment towards the other man's pessimistic ideals, but he manages to keep up the Loid Forger act regardless. In typical Twilight fashion, he's able to express his true ideals under the guise of his fake identity – in this case, he uses his cover-up job as a psychiatrist to explain why he thinks it's best for people to keep trying to understand others even if they can only meet them "in the middle" so to speak. He also mentions that even though much of what Anya says doesn't make sense to him, acknowledging her nonetheless creates an opportunity for understanding. And as he's saying these things to Desmond, we can hear what he's really thinking at the time – that he'll never stop trying to understand others.

He cleverly ends his spiel by proposing that Desmond had in fact done what he had described – decided to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with his son. That would have been a good spot to end the conversation and not push his luck, but instead, in his shrewd Twilight way, he decides to help bring father and son closer by mentioning the speech Damian gave about Desmond for the class project. He even made an attempt to score Anya points with Damian by saying that she was the one who told him about it because she was so moved. From there, he's able to smoothly steer the conversation to Desmond's job as political chairman, from which he then creates an opening for himself to express his admiration for Desmond and an interest in his political party.

Once Desmond confirms that he knows Loid Forger's name and has formed a favorable opinion of him, Twilight wraps up the whole encounter by making sure "plan B" is still an option; he tells Damian that Anya doesn't hate him and asks if he'd try to get along with her.

This whole scene really showcases how exceptional Twilight is at being a spy – his masterful command of deceitful words that he uses to steer people into feeling what he wants them to feel and view things in a way that benefits his mission, but aren't completely against his moral principles either. As I mentioned before, attempting to reconcile father and son's relationship, even going so far as to pat Damian on the shoulder and ramble on about how great his speech was, may have been pushing it a bit for his very first meeting with Desmond. But as we've seen many times before, Twilight is an empathetic person. Even while in the midst of making major progress with one of his missions, like finally meeting Desmond, he decides to say and do what he feels is right no matter how risky. I'm sure he felt bad for Damian after realizing what kind of a person Desmond is. And perhaps he can also relate to Damian due to his estranged relationship with his own father.

Continue to Part 19 ->

<- Return to Part 17

[howtotrainabraincell]

May I request a blurb of Desmond’s teammates insisting he has a rest for once? (Pre or post Lucy whichever)

Of course! Hope I do it justice.

Desmond was exhausted. Utterly exhausted.

He had just experienced everything Ezio felt when he lost Cristina and the overwhelming pain and guilt and anger coursing through him was too much. Everything hurt. His head, his heart, his eyes from the forceful tears shed by the sole Auditore man, his muscles. Everything.

He knew what he had to do. The recovery of his ancestor's memories was important, and it needed to be done. But that didn't mean that it wasn't hard to go through.

Experiencing Ratonhnhaké:ton's pain when he had to watch his mother die and then watch his village get destroyed. Then having to fight his own father who refused to seek peace between the Brotherhood and the Order. Altaïr's anguish when he lost his youngest son Sef and then his wife Maria. It only went further when Altaïr was consumed by guilt for not being able to save his love, and then again when his daughter in law and granddaughters left for Egypt.

Desmond's head and heart began to hurt again just thinking about everything his ancestors had suffered through. They may have had the lives of Assassin's...but it didn't mean that they deserved to suffer.

He could hear two people in the kitchen. Rebecca and Shaun by the voices and the fact that they were the only other two people in the place. They seemed to be arguing, but Desmond's head hurt too much to try and focus on what it was they were saying.

Rebecca pointed at him her eyes narrowed. "I swear to the Isu's if you say one mean or snarky thing to him, I will slap the British out of you."

Shaun quaffed and rolled his eyes. "Am I really that bad to him?"

She looked at him pointedly without saying a word and Shaun sighed relenting. "Alright. I'll be as nice as I can.

"And don't tell him to rest up for the purpose of getting him fit to get back in the Animus. Actually, try to get him to rest. You keep pushing him the way you do, and he'll actually die, instead of just dying on the inside by being emotionally and psychologically traumatized."

The man in glasses watched as Rebecca grabbed the mug of tea she had just made for Desmond.

"Take this to him." She handed the mug off to him carefully. "Without snark."

He spoke sarcastically. "Yes mum."

Rebecca swatted at him aiming to smack his head, and Shaun barely dodged, hissing when a drop of hot water splashed on his hand.

Desmond was hunched over, his elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands. His hair was disheveled, and his skin was pale and covered in a sheen of sweat. He had bags under his eyes and dried rings of blood around his nose, from hastily wiped away nosebleeds. It seemed as though he could barely hold himself up, and if he attempted to stand, he would fall over without assistance.

Shaun could see that the man was clearly bone tired from his interactions in the Animus.

He was going to try and be nice. He really was. Lest he be smacked by Rebecca and continue to be a complete arse to the guy who was literally the only reason why they could continue their research.

Shaun's voice was gentle. It didn't sound like him, but he was trying. Far too gentle for the snappy and grouchy man Desmond had gotten to know. "Desmond?"

Desmond looked up slowly squinting as the light hit his sensitive eyes and he was met by the scent of ginger and the sight of a coffee cup.

It was Shaun offering him a cup of tea. He reached up hesitantly wincing as his muscles protested against the action and inhaled the scent. It smelled good. Certainly, better than gunpowder, stale blood, and dirt.

The assassin didn't want to assume anything, but he thought for a moment that the British man had a look of concern on his face. He was probably seeing things. Which wouldn't be a surprise in the least.

He spoke again, once more sounding strange compared to how he normally did. "You need to rest for a while. Recover for the sake of yourself. You've been going too long without proper rest."

Desmond wanted to rebuff his statement and say that he just needed a moment before continuing. But he realized that he did need to rest. He felt like death warmed over itself and something within him told him that if he didn't...he would thoroughly regret it.

Rebecca stood a bit of a ways behind him with her arms crossed observing the both of them. "You need to Des. Seriously. We're not going anywhere. We'll be right here if you need anything."

Shaun nodded in agreement. "It's time to rest mate."

[greatwyrmgold]

So, one bit about Damian and Anya's relationship that gets lost in the kid-shipping is that, at the moment, half of the relationship is as fake as Yor and Twilight think theirs is.

Anya doesn't really care about Damian, and thinks he's dumb; some people have interpreted this as a little girl not understanding how she feels about a boy and rationalizing them into hate, like Damian's feelings are, but there's not much textual support for it. Anya's interest in Damian begins and ends at "Papa needs to get close to Second Son's papa for world peas".

Some people have pointed out that this could be good for drama. We know Damian has been burned by at least one person faking affection for him (his dad), and it seems likely that he's either had other people fake being his friend to get close to the Desmond family or been warned about such people by his parents. Finding out that the cute ugly and stupid girl in class has only been faking interest to get close to his dad would hurt. And that's drama—especially if Damian finds out about the spy stuff after Anya starts to care about him!

But it would also be an obvious source of drama. What if, instead, Damian went along with the plan?

Yes, Damian is the son of Donovan Desmond, the most prominent pro-war politician in Ostania. But the son is not the father; in fact, the son resents the father for being so distant. Damian doesn't want what Donovan wants.

Moreover, the same mind that birthed "If I make a really cool griffin out of construction paper, my dad will praise me!" could easily come up with "If my dad's plans fail, he'll have more time to spend with his family!" Or at the very least, "If my dad's plans succeed, he'll have even less time to spend with his family..."

So if Damian somehow finds out that Anya is secretly trying to help her spy father avert a war, maybe Damian would be into that. And that would be interesting. The two of them would enter a "friendship" (to Becky's delight and Ewen & Emile's confusion), with hopes of arranging some excuse for Mr. Forger to come over to Mr. Desmond's house.

This seems like a junior version of Loid and Yor's relationship, but there are some important differences. The two most important are that Damian isn't Yor and Anya isn't Twilight. Close behind is the fact that Damian and Anya would be more or less on the same page regarding the secrecy of their relationship; both know they're in it to protect peace, they're just hiding that from everyone else. And there are smaller details, but this would be plenty for Endo to work with.

There would also be second-order effects, of course. For instance:

Anya has a chance to see what makes Damian tick—why he's an arrogant junior douchebag, why he's rude to people like her, why he gets so touchy about his family. She'd stop seeing him as an annoying brat she has to get along with For The Mission and start seeing him as a boy she might want to actually be friends with.

Damian has a chance to see Anya when she's not at school, not trying/failing to act dignified and proper around the bougie kids. This could lead to him developing more nuanced feelings for Anya, but I think it would make more sense and be funnier if he instead found Anya more annoying, his positive impression of Anya fading with her facade. (Don't flip out, Damianya shippers; it could always return later as both mature.)

I have several competing ideas for how Yuri would react to finding out Loid and his stupid daughter were going over to Donovan Desmond's house, ranging from anger to jealousy to deciding that Loid must not be as bad as he'd assumed if the National Unity Party accepts him. They all seem pretty entertaining, though.

Damian is eventually going to wonder why Anya knows about her papa's mission, but neither of them can discuss it with him. Plus, being her "friend" means spending a lot of time around her, noticing when the things she says don't quite add up. Even if Damian doesn't find out about Anya's telepathic powers alongside her dad's mission, he's going to find out eventually. Angry shippers, wouldn't it be neat if Damian was he first person to find out Anya's tragic backstory? Go write about that.

We might finally see Demetrius.

And so on.

I'm not saying this is definitely gonna happen...but it could, and it would be pretty neat!

[marimosalad]

8 TV shows can say a lot about a person!

Certainly for me, I think! I’m listing here many of my personal recs which (as this is a Haladriel blog) I will be talking about them in relation to Haladriel, if applicable.

Thanks for the tag @pursuitseternal 🌟

Without further ado:

———

1. Needless to say, The Rings of Power.

I’m a total sucker for Hot Bad Men™️ so I never stood a chance against Saubrand.

Blorbo aside, my attachment to this show far preceded my Saurondriel obsession — I was completely enamored with it since Episode 1, the first big scenic shot of Valinor; the Two Trees; the epic soundtrack; stunning costumes. I had tears in my eyes during the boat sailing into the light of Valinor. The scale of storytelling far exceeded my admittedly meager expectations.

Let me be clear: I did not want to like this show and was set on dismissing it as an inferior fan service following The Hobbit franchise. Next thing I knew my inner child had been awakened and my love for Tolkien universe rekindled. Add to this concoction my weakness for complex villains and the epic reveal of Hot Sauron — boom, I was done. I’ll never recover from this.

2. FRINGE.

This show has such a special place in my heart. It’s sci-fi, mystery, time travel, alternate timelines, quantum physics mumbo jumbo, love story, and a father/son story all rolled into one amazing series that ended abruptly and went under the radar for so long.

In this universe, Denethor II has reincarnated into a much more gentle, sweeter Dr. Walter Bishop who actually loves his son and will put his life at risk for his son over, and over, and over again.

I also have an undying admiration for Anna Torv’s Olivia Dunham (I’m planning a separate post of all my fictional female crushes over the years). I was so giddy to see her in The Last of Us — she’s an underrated actress who deserves to be in the spotlight.

3. LOST.

Probably the first TV show that I actually got seriously invested in as a young adult and since then I’ve watched it so many times in every phase of my life. I’ve named our new puppy after Penelope Widmore. My computer name is Not-Pennys-Boat. I’ve been thirsting after stranded-at-sea disheveled ruffians since Sawyer, who is my favorite character who was the antagonist at the beginning (I’ve been saying that Halbrand is the perfect mix of Sawyer and Aragorn).

Sawyer/Juliet is my absolute favorite onscreen couple, pre-Haladriel. Their chemistry is fire. They just work. (Hated him with Kate.) Just tell me this doesn’t scream Haladriel (aesthetically):

Bonus: scene look familiar? Desmond did it first 🔥

4. Outlander.

Ok, believe it or not, I wasn’t quite watching this for the copious amount of steamy sex just because I was watching with my husband AND my mom over the pandemic when we lived together, and needless to say it was quite awkward 😂 I have a particular inexplicable love for Scotland (despite having only gone there twice), so when I discovered the series I went head over heels in love with the landscape, costumes, historic details, music (Bear McCreary), mythology, etc. Oh, and the hot Scotsman too 🫠

Jamie and Claire are the epitome of cosmically connected soulmates, their love transcending across lifetimes. Their early sex scenes are 🔥🔥🔥.

Bonus fact: Sam Heughan was named after Samwise Gamgee by his Tolkien hippie parents. He’s been casually broadcasting that he wants a role in TROP. Could we help him? If enough of us use the tag #SamHeughanForCeleborn, will they give Galadriel the husband she deserves?

5. DARK.

Did I mention I’m a big fan of quantum physics, philosophy, time travel, and parallel universes? No? Well, this brooding German show just about represents everything I love. The perfectly planned 3-season show is everything you could ever hope for in a good TV series. It’s moody, intelligent, mind-bending, and heart-wrenching. Watch the first episode, and by the end of it, you’ll be hooked, I promise you. Oh and for the love of god, do not watch it dubbed.

6. Norsemen.

Ok, I don’t typically watch too much comedy. But I do like The Office. I also like medieval movies/shows. What if I said Norsemen was basically a medieval version of The Office? Oh, it’s so dumb. It’s so dumb I almost didn’t finish the first episode. But once you get in the groove, it’s hilarious as fuck. On Netflix.

7. True Detective.

I don’t know how many times I’ve rewatched this show — it’s my comfort show I watch by myself on my laptop on rainy evenings. I don’t know what that says about me, and I don’t want to know 😂

Aside from the intrigue of the creepy Southern Gothic and unsettling cult themes, I mainly attribute my obsession with the show to Matthew McConaughey’s brooding Rust Cohle. He’s tall and lanky, a total weirdo, a lone wolf, has commitment issues, single-minded about his job, and (a bit more than) slightly unhinged. Also known as my kind of dude.

8. Better Call Saul.

Greatest of all spin-offs, who knew that the show about the sleazy lawyer who represented the world’s greatest meth kingpin was actually a love story in disguise?

Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn as Jimmy and Kim are the perfect embodiment of a modern couple who are equals and opposites, bring out each other’s best and worst, and have an undying respect for one another which serves as the backbone for their relationship. They even take turns towing on opposite sides of the law, pushing and pulling each other’s inclinations towards Good & Bad, only to find each other drowning in the dense grey area that is all too real. They are the *could have beens* for Galadriel and Sauron in the best case scenario (I could go on with the similarities but I don’t want to spoil the show).

Bonus fact: Gennifer Hutchison was the writer for both BCS and TROP. This fact should speak volumes about the kinds of discussions that would have occurred in the writer’s room regarding the nature of Galadriel and Sauron’s relationship. Watch the show and you’ll understand.

I’ve got many more recommended shows, but I think these 8 have been my primary emotional support shows over the past few years. I debated including Raised By Wolves, but as it was prematurely canceled there isn’t a whole lot I could say about it, despite having a fantastic premise (and which I still recommend people watch).

No pressure tags (but also curious to know): @starlady66 @maironiiel @demonscantgothere @scriberated @wyrd-syster @formerlyir @nenyabusiness @thegreatzombieartisan and any others who want to join.

[boldstarks]

When Jasper Met Rhaenyra (Part 2): Jasper Dayne Blurb #3

112 AC 

At the age of seven and ten, Jasper Dayne became the Sword of the Morning. Dawn had sat in its place of honor until House Dayne decided that Jasper was worthy of the sword and its accompanying title. And now that he had achieved his goal, Jasper had a new one: to reunite with his beloved Princess Rhaenyra. 

With the tournament to celebrate the birth of King Viserys and Queen Aemma’s first son coming up soon, Jasper had the perfect excuse to return to Kingslanding. And now the newly made Sword of the Morning was preparing to leave for the Red Keep. 

The maid who was packing Jasper’s clothes walked into the study that Jasper had begun using in the year since returning to Starfall. “Your father is requesting your presence in his study, Lord Jasper.” 

"Thank you, Becca," Jasper replied, rising from his desk and putting down the novel he was reading.

Jasper makes his way to his father’s apartments, where he has spent most of his time these days since falling ill a few months prior. He quickly reaches Samwell’s door and comes face to face with his father’s sworn shield, Ser Desmond the Silver. He was a former hedge knight who was known for his odd silver hair and who had protected Samwell since before Jasper and Ardyn were born. 

“Is your father cross with you again?” Desmond asked, his usual good-natured smirk gracing his face. 

Jasper shrugs. “Who knows?”

Desmond opens the door, and Jasper steps inside. Samwell is sitting on a couch, hunched and pale. In the past few months, Jasper had noticed his father had lost a sustainable amount of weight. Whenever anyone mentioned it to Samwell, he would raise hell about how he was fine, but everyone knew differently. He had taken to walking with a cane on Rhea’s instruction after falling about a month ago. Samwell Dayne was on his last leg; it was only a matter of time until Ardyn would become Lord of Starfall. 

“Father, what did you need to see me for?” Jasper asks, sitting on the couch next to his father. 

"Even though I know your mind's made up, I'm asking you to postpone your trip to Kingslanding once more," Samwell said, letting out a short wheeze. “I would hate to see you hurt.” 

“I know winning the princess’s hand is a long shot, but I at least have to try,” Jasper said. “I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t try.” 

Images of the princess’s lovely face swam in his head. He wondered how much she had changed in their year apart; Jasper sure had. He had grown into his awkwardly long limbs, and his shoulders had become broad, and his skin had browned from his many hours in the sun. He had a full beard now that his mother hated, and his curly brown hair was nearly long enough to touch his shoulders. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the white streak in the back of his hair and his distinctive purple eyes.

The older Dayne chuckles and pats his son on the shoulder. “I know, my son. I hope you win the girl’s heart.”

With his father's reassurance, Jasper set off for the Red Keep. Little did he know that by the time he reached the city, Queen Aemma would already be gone.

_________________

“Rhaenyra,” Jasper said softly after searching for the Red Keep for the princess. 

She's sitting in the godswood, wearing a black gown and her long silver hair loose down her back, with an open book in her lap. The princess doesn’t respond to Jasper’s call; she just continues to look at the sky. He calls her again. She still doesn’t talk, but she looks at him this time. 

“They’re ready for you,” Jasper said quietly. 

Since King Viserys no longer had a dragon, it was up to Rhaenyra to give Queen Aemma a proper Targaryen funeral. Rhaenyra rises from her place at the foot of the tree, letting her book fall to the ground, and walks to Jasper. She halts in front of him. With her so close now, Jasper can see her nose and eyes are red from crying. 

“I don’t know if I can,” she whispers to him. 

To Jasper’s surprise, Rhaenyra wraps her arms around him and presses her cheek against his chest. Despite his shock, he returns her hug in a bid to comfort the princess.

“I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, but your mother deserves a proper funeral for someone of her standing,” Jasper tells her. “And you’re the only one who can give it to her.” 

“I know,” Rhaenyra said in reply. 

She loosens her grip on the knight and looks up at him. Her Arryn blue eyes are filled with tears once again, and they begin slipping down her cheeks. Jasper uses the sleeve of his black doublet to wipe them away gently. Rhaenyra lets Jasper lead her through the castle and to the waiting parade of carriages in the courtyard. Rhaenyra climbs into her carriage that usually takes her to the dragon pit, and Jasper goes in after her. Jasper frowns when he sees Lady Alicent already inside of it. The young man did not have any personal quarrel with Alicent, but Jasper would be wary around anyone with a father like Otto Hightower.

“How are you feeling, Rhaenyra?” Alicent asked. 

Rhaenyra doesn’t answer; she only plops down on the carriage bench across from her friend. Her blue eyes focus on the floor. While watching Alicent, Jasper relaxes on the bench next to his princess. She doesn’t acknowledge his presence; maybe her concern for Rhaenyra is too great, but Alicent had never been thrilled with the presence of Dornish people in the Red Keep. 

When Alicent finally seems to notice Jasper. She looks up and down, unimpressed. “Hello, Lord Dayne. You must forgive my impudent conduct; this has been such a strange day.” 

“The Queen is dead. I would say this day is more than strange,” Jasper replies with a raised eyebrow. “I guess some may see this as an opportunity.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Alicent said, her anger rising. 

“I think you know,” Jasper said, tilting his head.

“Enough, both of you,” Rhaenyra groaned with a deep sigh.

The carriage lurched and began to roll out of the courtyard.

Masterlist

[beezonia]

Tangled up

A little skyward symphony drabble.

—————

“When will it be done? I do need this finished in time for the full moon.”

In return it’s an annoyed sigh.

“I told you it’ll be done by then you impatient git. I’m doing this in my own spare time, and it’ll take as long as it takes.”

For some reason it’s a smirk that graces his face after her remark. The woman in front of him scowls before continuing to tinker with the machinery of the clock tower.

Descole watches with some sort of interest as Mayor Erica twists one of the cogs to test it’s strength, groaning when it doesn’t look like it’ll budge.

“Could you pass me the wrench, I need to get this cog to loosen.”

The man turns to her work desk, it’s covered in wrenches and spanner’s. A true mechanic is what she was.

The only sound that is shared between them is a mumble of thanks and then the persistent ticking of the small hand.

“How’d you end up here? Surely there’s gotta be a reason you decided to comeback.”

The redhead is facing him now, a few loose strands framing her face. Descole really just wants to push them back, so he could see her beauty in full.

“How could you tell I had been here before?”

Erica shrugs as she pushes herself up, slowly advancing towards him.

“I dunno, it’s just when we first met you had this look of longing and pain when you saw the tower.”

Shit, this woman really knew how to read people.

Well of course she did not only was Erica one of the most skeptic people, she was one of the most empathetic people he had known.

“Let’s just say, I lost someone very important to me here.”

The two of them are stood face to face. Erica’s eyes are soft but they betray her, he knows she’s potentially thinking about him and how he left her in the dust.

She hesitates to speak, and just puts the wrench on the table before grabbing her jacket from where it was hanging.

His resolve nearly breaks, oh how he wants to tell her everything, that he’s her Desmond. How he’s back for her and that they have all the time in the world.

But of course he couldn’t, not now when he was so extremely close to getting everything he wanted.

Oh what a tangled web he had weaved.

“Right I better get going, I’ll be back in an hour, unless the meeting with Layton takes longer. Think you can keep yourself occupied until then?”

She laughs and so does he. Erica waves a small goodbye, pained smile on her face.

It’s then Jean Descole allows himself to be Desmond Sycamore again and breaks. The tears don’t last long though, of course not.

That would be weakness and weakness to him was a bump in the road to victory.

————

An: I hope you guys like this and please note I know nothing about being a mechanic soo yeah this will be inaccurate (my expertise is in geography)

Anyway hoped you enjoyed reading this little drabble.

[shortdalee]

2024 WIP List

A list of wip that I hope to finish in 2024, and I am desperately trying not to think about how unrealistic it is that I can finish even half the wip on this list in the… three-ish months that we have left in the year (jesus fucking christ, there’s only three months left in 2024).

✅ PokéPod Fills

Assigned pokémon: Seadra and Tauros

turn this up on the radio #Duck Duck Moose Verse | AO3

At twenty-six, Dean thought he was done raising his dad’s kids. Turns out, no, he’s not done because turns out, he’s got a half-brother.

The Hand That Feeds #AI!Bucky’s Arm AU

In 1991, Hydra recovered one of their past experiments, and though it’d lost an arm during the recovery, through SHIELD, they had access to Howard Stark. With his genius, their experiment could still be made into a useful asset. As it turned out, it wasn’t his genius they got.

if ever I held this word #Cordelia Movie Poster Verse

The human world has never held any interest to Artemis, but she has to admit, if only to herself and Akila, that there’s something appealing about seeing the little one on his knees.

bring me to life #Built-In Dom Verse

After Juno, Desmond and Clay fall into a Dom/sub relationship.

OJTW2023 Fill

Day 1: Courting

Jason wasn’t surprised when people starting chumming up to him after Bruce adopted him. He was surprised, however, when Bruce asked when he’d planned on telling him about his boyfriend.

Day 2: Unplanned/triggered heat/rut

Ma Gunn ran one of the best, cleanest omega group homes in the East End, so it made sense that Batman would drop him off here. Too bad the group home was a front for a heat auction.

Day 3: Collars

The day Batman—Bruce Wayne—brought him home as his foster kid, he offered him a collar.

Day 4: Free Day

With Jason showing no signs of regaining his consciousness, Talia assigned him a caretaker-bodyguard.

Day 5: Nesting

Unfortunately, while suppressants had come a long way, people still needed to cycle the hormones out of their systems at least once a year. Which meant having their ruts or heats. Which… was perhaps not the most ideal of situations to be happening when living with a child with multiple bitemarks on the back of his neck.

Day 6: Late presentation

After years of chronic stress and starvation, Jason had yet to have a real heat at fifteen. Trust his fucking luck that it’d finally happen in school.

Day 7: Paparazzi get photos of the Wayne omega that go viral

Jason had dealt with bullying fine on his own in the past, but none of them had tried taking his collar before. None of them had taken pictures before.

Day 7+1: First heat

Jason was eleven years old and living on the streets when he had his first heat.

#Death(less) Verse

Death and the deathless.

#Human Monsters Verse

While preparing to take on the newborn army, a new variable enters the fray. And of course, of course, she’s an imprint.

#PokéResearcher Verse

Haru was just a pokémon researcher, traveling the Kanto region for field research. Yet somehow, she ended up the companion of an ambitious pokémon trainer and an aspiring pokémon breeder.

[theallenshorefangirl]

Savior Of Lost Hope chapter 3

((It's a mixed chapter!!!!! BTW Agent Rainbow's Daycare Chapter 9 is gonna be chaotic and wholesome!!!))

As the days go by and still waiting for there angel of hope to arrive.The pure white marble floor in Desmond's room shined in the moonlight.On the bed cage the four winged angel slept he was halfway falling out of it.The other one was gonna scare the feathers off of him.Allen quietly grabbed the air horn can and pressed the button causing Desmond to fall to the floor.

"ALLEN DUDE!" Desmond was now fully awake thanks to him."What it's quiet,boring and that dude is asleep we can communicate to you know Rosemary and the others." Allen pulls the pin from his vest pocket."Right,now we have a window of time to communicate." Desmond nodded.The pen started blinking blue."Hello? This is Rosemary, are you both alright!?" Both smiled "Thank goodness you're ok Rose,how are the others?" Desmond broke the silence.the pen swapped colors depending on who was talking,it was green for Lucas,purple for Virginia,Red was Max and light blue for Rosemary.on there end the radio frequency would change from white for Desmond and yellow for Allen."We are holding in,we just hope we can get in and get you both out.We have been running our own test to see if we can mimic the world and well it works only we figured out how to bypass any bullshit." Lucas nodded as he paced the floor."But it works,so hold on to whatever boys,we.are coming to rescue you soon." Max replied."We hope so,it sucks in here.We even have wings and such it's hard to learn to fly." Allen chuckled."Yeah and it's hard to keep the place clean without finding feathers everywhere! It's like a Pillowfights went on!" They all laughed ."Well I see you still have your humor still,that's good.Laugh at the problem and find the solution that's what I find helpful." Virginia shrugged while sipping her tea."And please be careful in there please we would like you both to be in one piece."

Desmond and Allen spoke for hours to them in the hours of the night each night for 5 days around 10pm to 3am and soon the plan will be set in stone to free them from the trapped mind.But something odd was happening to the both of them

Desmond felt an odd feeling.A feeling of emotional rage…..Anger and bitterness,and Allen too, he would swear the floor was sinking,swallowing him into the floorboards.He noticed his wings was dripping asphalt like liquid that sent chills down his spine,but it had tints of the rainbow chemical and Desmonds wings was covered in the chemical.At one point they both fought each other with claw and fang,blood dripping from there faces.And that entertained Rainbow and the inkblots.So Rainbow decided to use the flat skyroof for a fighting ring.He would create inkblot ambushes of all types of different and new inkblots.Some was fast shooting inkblots and others was shielded tank inkblots.But the outcome was all the same,they all failed but Rainbow knows this will work for any intruder that enters now.Rainbow even had to keep both of them separated and chained so they didn't bust down the door and kill each other for how violet they was.Rainbow knew why because he set off a chemical gas leak that caused both to become ever so violent he thinks he wins the battle.

But that was going to change.As a violent rainstorm was created.Out at the beginning of the maze they arrived.A camouflage suited male with radio equipment,hunters camo,and his sniper on his back landed on the gravel path."Coast is clear for now, alright drop on down one at a time." Lucas sounded bold and determined.The next to arrive was Max,the sleeves on his red suit were torn.and he had horns with gold cuffs,along with his trust shotgun and lure pills on him along with some experimental fire shotgun shells."and boom goes the bull!" Max laughed.Virgina took some time arriving as she got a ghostly beautiful Victorian style dress that almost looked like her shadow form only more elegant,and she had a mirror blade sword sheathed on her hip."woah I'm dressed so elegantly and I have a dangerous weapon! Awesome!" Lucas looked around and called for Rosemary.

Rosemary was wrapping up a few things before she handed a vile to someone."Make sure to listen for return cues alright I trust you will be ok watching over the place." The figure in the dark nodded and sat at the desk as she drifted into an unconscious state.As Rosemary arrived she had a light blue dress,a pistol loaded with special bullets that looked pure white like it was an antidote to the chemical.And she was the third to have a set of wings,hers was dark blue and hued with light blue feathers.Everyone was in awe."Come on, we have two friends in serious danger."

…To Be Continued

[loudmound]

the ezio trilogy that lives in my head would not be good in a video game format. it would be better as a graphic novel.

[lemonprick]

guys wait（spoilers for the new sxf chapter! go read it）

chapter 66 is unreal they really just dropped a chekov’s firing squad on us. but also there’s a panel i don’t see enough people talking about.

it’s this one.

i don’t think the translation does it justice. i usually read the manga’s chinese version, which is why i picked up on the discrepancy. the chinese text reads 「以後就拜託你了」 and loosely translates to “I trust you'll take responsibility (for him)” if the context of them talking about damian and anya is considered

just to make sure i wasn’t being fooled by some rando subber on the internet i double checked the original on the jump+ web. 「これからも，お願ね」，or “from now on, please/I’m begging you” (something along the lines of this). a far cry from “i hope they can stay friends”.

see the english translation keeps the foreboding vibe, like foreshadowing something bad is going to happen to damian that prevents him from going to eden (ergo not seeing anya anymore). or it can lend to the “melinda being a part of project apple” theory and mean the scientists have found anya and plan to use her for the upcoming war, resultign in her being taken away from eden.

but i think the english loses a bit of its implications.

asking a friend (friend-adjacent in this case) to take care of their children is a pretty obvious foreshadowing of them dying or at least leaving them for an indefinite amount of time. so my brain instantly jumps to, “oh no melinda knows she’s gonna get killed some way or another in this political warfare.”

but we’re theorising that melinda has a wayy larger role in this mess than we’re being shown, right? “oh no melinda’s trying to remove herself from the picture.” (by death? by disapearing? who knows)

but so what if she’s gone? she’s not the sole caretaker of damian. (well, neither parent is doing a good job at parenting.) donovan desmond is still gonna be there with his wealth and influence to make sure damian is taken care of. no, donovan’s going to be out of the picture too. “oh NO melinda’s trying to assasinate desmond."

and we’re getting suspicious that yor is the only one melinda invited into her upper crust mom circle without being an old friend of hers, right? aren’t we all a lil worried that melinda is getting onto yor’s true identity as an assassin?

CONSIDER: the responsibility/favour that melinda is asking of yor foreshadows her hiring yor to eliminate her husband and take good care of damian after the desmond fortune is lost.

[lovelyrita1967]

Geralt/Regis, Modern AU, requited love, 1.3K, T

“We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.” ~ Desmond Tutu

“Regis?” Geralt poked his head into the conservatory, the room a mad explosion of foliage . “Hello?” 

“I’m here!” came the reply from somewhere amidst the greenery. 

Geralt frowned. He liked plants as much as the next guy —well, no, probably quite a lot more than the next guy, actually— but this was getting ridiculous. The conservatory had crossed the line into ‘greenhouse’ right around the time Regis disposed of the sofa. Not to mention, the man worked in a massive actual greenhouse at the university. 

Geralt shuffled down the remaining narrow walkway and stuck his head around a rather large abutilon, thick with drooping red blooms. There was Regis' familiar form bent over an assortment of pots, soil, and gardening tools. His usual faded red apron did not prevent him from getting smeared in dirt from head to toe. Geralt smiled affectionately. “Hi, Regis.” 

The professor looked up, mouth stretching into a wide grin when he saw his friend. “Hello, Geralt.” His hair somehow looked even more wild than usual, swept dramatically back off his face, counterbalanced with long, heavy sideburns. He had black hair, though Geralt had noticed streaks of silver appearing over the last year. He thought it made Regis look terribly dashing. 

Geralt cleared his throat. “Marla let me in, I hope that was alright. She was just leaving for the day.”

“Of course, of course,” Regis waved a hand. “She made lemon-glazed blueberry scones earlier, you must stay for tea.”

“Sure.”  

“I’m glad you’re here.” Regis turned his attention back to his workbench. “I could use another pair of hands repotting all the bougainvilleas.” 

“Hmm.” Geralt examined the long row of purple and red flowers with an arched eyebrow. “All of them?” 

Regis sliced open a new bag of potting soil with relish. “Indeed.” He gave Geralt a mischievous grin. “You know where the spare gloves are.”

With a good-natured grumble, Geralt retrieved a pair of gardening gloves and apron out of the cupboard under the table and pulled on his gear. “Alright. Hand me that pot.” 

The time flew by as they worked, as it always did with Regis. Between visits, Geralt made sure to save up anecdotes he knew Regis would like. Making Regis laugh with a dry quip was his favourite thing. It was like being bathed in sunshine, tendrils of warmth creeping over his skin.

When they had finished with the bougainvilleas, Regis brushed his hands with a satisfied sigh. “Brilliant. Now the clianthus.” 

Geralt’s eyes bugged out until Regis began to snicker. “Only kidding, my friend. I’m done for today.” 

Geralt narrowed his eyes at him, trying not to smile. “Oh, you think you’re funny.” 

“I know I’m funny.” But then his face grew serious. “I... er… had something I wished to speak to you about.” 

“Alright.” Geralt pulled his gloves off. 

“Please, have a seat.” 

Geralt looked around. “There’s nowhere to sit, Regis.” The rest of the furniture hadn’t lasted much longer than the sofa.

“Really?” Regis turned to scan the room. “Oh my. I thought I left some chairs... Well, then…” He waved a hand in the direction of the rest of the house. “After you. Let’s have tea.” 

Geralt smiled. “Need some help?” 

“Oh, no. You can wash up in the powder room, I’ll just go…” He waggled his dirty hands and wandered off to the kitchen. “Meet me in the library!” he called back before the kitchen door swung shut behind him.

If he had to pick, the library was Geralt’s favourite room in Regis’ house. Three of the walls were covered in books, shelves two storeys tall with a winding ladder leading up to a narrow walkway. The other wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, currently bathing the room in the golden late-afternoon light. Geralt meandered over to the coffee table to see what books Regis had pulled out lately. He was settled into the buttery leather soda, already lost in the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, when Regis clattered in with a heavy tray. 

Geralt hopped up to help but Regis scoffed at him. “Sit down, I’ve got it.” 

He placed the tray on the table and busied himself pouring tea into two fine china cups. “You must have a scone, Marla would be horrified if you didn’t, but I also made some cucumber sandwiches if you’re hungry…” He waved a hand at the plate covered in tidy bite-sized squares. 

“You didn’t need to go to all the trouble…” Geralt protested as his stomach growled. 

Regis smiled. “Please… eat.” 

Once their plates were empty and cups refilled, they sat back on the couch, a comfortable silence descending. 

But then Regis put his teacup down and turned to face Geralt. “The university is hosting an awards evening in three weeks’ time and I was wondering… if you’d like to accompany me.” 

Geralt had attended the odd university function with Regis over the years, but it was usually at the last minute to help fill seats. “Okay. I’ll double check, but I should be free.” Let’s be honest, I’m definitely free. 

“Very good.” Regis nodded once, pleased with himself. 

Geralt took another swallow of tea. “What’s the award?” 

“It’s the Glenn-Mercer Grant.”

“Oh, wow, did someone at the university win it this year? Who?” 

“Well, it’s… ah… me.” 

“You?” Geralt nearly choked on his tea. He put his cup down, coughing. “Regis! That’s incredible!” 

He could swear Regis was blushing, which he had never seen before. “I didn’t want a fuss. But they said I should bring someone.”

“Congratulations! This is a huge honour!” Geralt shook his head, stunned by the news. “Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?” 

Regis shifted and tugged at the pleat in his pants. Even when he was gardening, his clothes were sharp and elegant. “Yes. But I’m afraid I’m not being completely clear.” He took a breath. “This is a date. I’m asking you on a date, Geralt.” 

“Oh.” Oh. 

Oh. 

His stomach shriveled into a point, then exploded, sending a shockwave through his body. Date. Date? Date! 

Then he realized Regis was still talking. 

“...apologize if I've overstepped, Geralt. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and I thought perhaps you would be amenable... But if you’re uncomfortable in any way—”

“Regis,” Geralt interrupted, hardly able to hear his own voice over the pounding of his heart. “I would love to go with you. As your date.” 

“Oh.” Regis’ shoulders relaxed. “Lovely.” 

Geralt watched the relief washing over Regis’ face. He… he doesn’t know. 

Heat crept up Geralt’s cheeks. “Regis… we’ve been friends for, how long now, five years?” 

“Well, yes, at least that long.” He frowned. “Or is it six? What year did they remodel the main library, because I distinctly remember—” 

“Regis.” Geralt had to interrupt him again, smiling. He shifted closer, and carefully placed his hand over Regis’ long, graceful fingers.  His mind was spinning, whirling around this new reality. “Do you… do you not know how I feel about you?” It came out in a low rumble. 

Now it was Regis’ turn to look confused. “Feel about me?”

Geralt moved even closer, tilted his head. “I....” I love you, he wanted to say. I’ve been in love with you for five years. But the words stuck in his throat. He squeezed Regis’ hand, eyes flicking to his lips.

Regis swallowed hard. “Geralt…” 

“Yes?” 

“You—” he reached a hand up to Geralt’s cheek “—have some dirt on your face.” 

A laugh burst out of Geralt as Regis’ thumb swept across his cheekbone, his fingers slipping along Geralt’s jaw. “Got it,” Regis whispered. 

“Thanks.” 

“May I kiss you?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” 

*  *  *  * 

For @fangirleaconmigo 🌿🌺💗 Thank you for the prompt, Bex! 

@oxbridge-quality-fanfiction-co @ro-the-bard-writer

[friday-iam-in-love]

Casper as a dark mystery TV show. 

After her mother's passing, Kat Harvey (Rachel Hilson) moves with her father, parapsychologist Dr. James Harvey (Idris Elba), to a quiet town in southern Maine. James' fascination with the supernatural - and the frustrated and desperate attempt to contact with his late wife, Amelia (Kerry Washington) - takes father and daughter to their new home: the Whipstaff Manor. The site was built nearly two centuries ago by the Whipstaff family and passed from generation to generation until it reached scientist Dr. John Thomas McFadden (Jude Law). For many years, the McFadden family found a home in that huge mansion, but after a terrible snowstorm, the scientist's son, the young prodigy Casper (Thimothée Chalamet), disappeared never to be found again. The boy was presumed dead. Citizens are surprised and furious when Dr. McFadden is accused of killing his own son. Although there was no evidence of the crime, the city never believed in John Thomas McFadden's innocence.

In the present day, Kat is impressed by the richness of her home: the very old and dusty furniture of gold-plated wood, crystal chandeliers and oil paintings that must be worth a fortune. One of the paintings shows a handsome young man who, at the time he was portrayed, must have been about the same age as Kat. The real estate agent then tells them the sad story of the McFadden family and shows Kat and her father where the young Casper would be buried at the Whipstaff Graveyard.

Life in the mansion becomes hell when doors start to lock themselves, objects change places, lights start to flash and a chilling laughter echoes through the long corridors.

Murder, magic, curses, love, revange and friendship come together in this electrifying retelling of classic Harvey Comics story.

Starring:

Thimothée Chalamet as Casper McFadden, son of scientist Dr. J. T. McFadden who died mysteriously after a snowstorm. One hundred years after the event, his tormented soul still inhabits his old home. Seeking information about what would have happened to him, Casper joins Kat to finally discover the truth: who killed Casper McFadden?

Rachel Hilson as Kathleen “Kat” Harvey, a young woman who has just lost her mother and moves to the Whipstaff Manor with her father. Her skepticism about the supernatural disappears when she finds out that her new home is haunted. Seeking justice for her new friend, Casper, and trying not to be plagued by vengeful spirits, Kat will do anything to help those she loves.

Steve Carell as Shepherd “Stretch” McFadden, John Thomas McFadden's older brother and Casper's uncle. In life, Shepherd was obsessed with the family's power and fortune. After his violent death, little has changed.

Jack Black as Forsythe “Fatso” McFadden, the second brother, Forsythe was a prominent businessman who was engaged. On his wedding night, in one of the rooms at Whipstaff Manor, Forsythe wakes up to find that he is dead and his wife ran away with a large amount of gold coins that he kept under his mattress.

Sacha Baron Cohen as Sergei “Stinky” McFadden, the third brother, Sergei only loved two things: playing tricks and his younger brother, John Thomas. After an argument between John and Sergei over a practical joke that went wrong, John leaves home to meet with his fiancé. Claiming that John forgot about his family because of a woman, Sergei turns his beloved brother into his main enemy.

Idris Elba as James Harvey, a scholar of the supernatural, James found several signs that he should move to Whipstaff Manor after his wife's death. Years of study came in handy when he found out that his new home was indeed haunted. Hopeful, James tries everything to communicate with his love and wonders why Amelia has not returned as a ghost yet. 

Elle Fanning as Wendelyn “Wendy” Bradshaw, the young witch moved in with her aunts when her parents were killed. During her studies, she receives a magical call, almost like a beacon, emanating from a mansion in Maine. Sensing that someone needs help, Wendy sets out to find out what kind of curse engulfs Whipstaff Manor and how to break it.

Cate Blanchett as Gertrude “Gert” Bradshaw, Wendy's older aunt, Gert is the leader of her coven. Extremely smart and demanding, Gert begins to worry when her magic begins to falter. When she finds out that her niece has fled to visit the Whipstaff Manor, Gert worries that an old secret surrounding the mansion's curse will surface.

Angela Bassett as Gabrielle “Gabby” Bradshaw, Gert’s middle sister and Wendy’s aunt, Gabby knows the history of the Whipstaff Manor and how dangerous the place is, after all, she was there when the curse was casted.

Sandra Oh as Fenicia “Fanny” Bradshaw, Gert's younger sister and Wendy’s aunt, Fanny keeps a big secret: a purse of gold coins that she stole from her former husband almost a hundred years ago. She remembers that night very well. While her husband slept, she felt something moving under the mattress. Crouching down to see what it was, she found something much more disturbing than gold coins.

Jimmy Smits as Desmond Spellman, the most powerful wizard in the world knows an age-old prophecy: when a human, a ghost and a witch come together, they’ll cause the end of the world.

Eva Green as Carrigan Crittenden, a greedy businesswoman is willing to die to get her hands on the McFadden family's long-lost fortune. When a widowed man is the new owner of the infamous Whipstaff Manor, Carrigan uses her charm to get closer to that place and be able to discover secrets from it.

Cameron Monaghan as Nathan “Hot Stuff” Apollyon, a charming newcomer approaches Kat Harvey with his devilish good-looks and quick-witted humor. Kat knows that Nathan keeps some secret that he doesn't want to reveal and Casper doesn't like it at all when that acquaintance returns to the city after a hundred years. Someone sold their soul to the devil and he came to collect it.

Kerry Washington as Amelia Harvey, Dr. James Harvey's late wife and Kat's mother can still be of great help to her daughter and her friends, almost like a guardian angel.

Jude Law as John Thomas McFadden, scientist and father of Casper McFadden. The youngest son of renowned tycoon Isiah McFadden is in for a big surprise when his father dies and leaves the entire family fortune - including Whipstaff Manor - only for him and his son, Casper. His older brothers Shepherd, Forsythe and Sergei would like to understand why.

Joaquin Phoenix as Kibosh, the evil spirit, an ancient entity as old as the universe, that feeds on violence and gains strength from death. The mighty Kibosh will be released when an ancient prophecy is fulfilled and it will bring the end of all things.

[therealjammy]

Privileges Preview

AN: I’m beyond thrilled that this story is chugging along, and I thought you all deserved a little treat for having to wait 8 months for an update. This is the only one I’ll give before chapter 11 is published, but I hope you enjoy it regardless xx 

------------------------

The weather being pleasant, Alcina walks to Mother Miranda’s manor. The road there winds through the heart of thick woods, parallels the beginnings of the village that worships her so devoutly, and leads straight to her wrought iron gates, where her own crest is sculpted on one side, and the Cadou on the other. Alcina pushes one side open and closes it behind her, and makes her way to the front doors. They are made from two slabs of dark ebony, polished to a gloss. In their centres are two gold knockers, matching the crest and Cadou on the gates. Each time she comes here, she is reminded of the first moment she stepped through these doors—still human, the new and sole Countess whose castle was now her own, uncertain of what to do with her newfound life.

           One of Mother Miranda’s many Silent Servants answers the door, a pretty, young woman with dark hair and olive skin, her silver bird’s beak mask glistening in the light from within the manor. She stands aside, gesturing for Alcina to enter.

           “There is no need to show me to tea,” Alcina tells the girl, who curtsies and exits to wherever she’s next needed.

           Every space in Miranda’s extravagant mansion is tidy, though her laboratory is one exception. It is almost always in disarray, but organised enough that Miranda knows just where everything is kept. Alcina often mused that glimpsing into the laboratory was like glimpsing into Miranda’s brain, forever scattered with thoughts and scientific inquiries, haunted by the ghost of a dead daughter. The haunting shows itself in various ways, and today, when Miranda emerges from her laboratory, it is written across her face, etched into the bruises beneath her eyes and the tighter line of her lush mouth.

           Alcina takes Miranda’s hand and lightly kisses her naked knuckles.

           “I beg you forgive the inconvenient timing,” says Miranda, tiredness colouring her tone. “I’ve had the servants lay tea outside.”

           “Fresh air does one good,” Alcina says. “Dare I ask how long you’ve sequestered yourself away?”

           “Long enough to decipher whispers.”

           A tea table and everything that accompanies it waits for them on the second floor terrace, where the view of the mountain is uninterrupted. It’s kissed by a sweet breeze, and as they settle into their respective chairs, Alcina admires the strategic position of Miranda’s manor. She’s fond of views, not only because she likes to gaze at them, but because it allows her to see the reaches of her domain. And the fact that the manor is fronted by an immense peak and flanked by Castle Dimitrescu, House Beneviento, and the empty Factory House makes it a task to get to—if one is an outsider trying to get in.

           “So,” begins Miranda, pouring Alcina’s tea, “what is this I hear about a ball?”

           Alcina sighs, taking the cup when it’s full and raising it to her lips. “A concoction brewed by Daniela. I’m afraid she’s adamant.”

           “And you do not approve?”

           Alcina takes a sip of tea; it is flavoured with blackberries, and the perfect dollop of Sanguis Virginis. Its calmness spreads immediately. “Is such a grand event necessary for what is only a passing day?” Alcina replies, and adds, “But I can deny my daughters nothing.”

           A hum from Miranda, who has hardly touched her own tea. Her bare hands are wrapped around the cup. “What of Miss Eckford?”

           “What of her?”  

           “Does she dance?”

           Alcina smiles, not entirely out of amusement. “You ask to flatter me, I know,” she says, “but no, Miss Eckford does not dance.”

           “I suppose being woman-born does not guarantee one will ever grasp the art,” Miranda says, and graces Alcina with a rare grin. They get lost in the past for a moment, reminiscing on a particular ball hosted by the old Lady Beneviento on New Year’s Eve, 1843, where a Lady Catherine Desmond waltzed into the punch bowl and disgraced a potential suitor when the sweet, pink liquid stained the perfect white of his shirt. She’d apologised profusely, nearly brought to tears, but the poor creature could not convince him to stay; the suitor called for his carriage and left in a storm.

           But the mood returns to seriousness, and as Miranda stirs sugar into her cup, she says, “The curious thing I wanted to discuss, Alcina…” She pauses, takes a sip of tea. “Well, there is no simple way to put this…” She trails off; Alcina has not seen her at a loss for words in a long while.

           “Go on,” Alcina encourages.

           “I believe I’ve found a way to return Eva to this world.” There is delight in her voice, and hope. “It is an idea in infancy, and taking it further would require my going away—for how long, I know not—but the moment I’ve waited for, laboured for, is closer to being within my grasp.”

[the-enamorando-deity]

Thats great! 😍 Could I request a oneshot where Ziva David and Reader are in Gibbs team, are best friends and Ziva is really protective of her? Something very angsty with a happy ending with the sentence 'I always wondered how I'd die. Not once did I think it was by your hand'? Maybe Reader gets attacked and is hurt but still fighting until the point she has no energy left and Ziva comes right before the attacker can murder her? ❄

ok wow this got very angsty i’m sorry but i think got all the stuff <3

Ziva David x Reader, platonic 

warnings for violence and injury

Close

You always knew when Ziva was close by. Maybe it was just that you were so used to her sneaking up on Tony and McGee and yourself, but you had begun to sense her presence before she was even on the same floor. You glanced up to see Tony hovering over the wall between Gibbs’ desk and yours, watching you type.

‘You’re up to something,’ he smirked, but you gave no reply. ‘Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, probe, and it wasn’t me.’

‘No, it was me,’ Ziva hissed in his ear, making Tony absolutely shit himself. ‘Leave her alone, Tony.’

He quickly stepped back as Ziva sat on your desk, extending a black box toward you and grinning. You were a little suspicious, but realised quickly it was about the same size as the donuts you got from a little town on the coast. You had been there months ago on a little side mission, luckily with Ziva in tow.

It made everything run a lot smoother, Tony running point in the office as the pair of you hunted a very peculiar lead. It made you grow close with her, and it had been your first real case after being temporarily placed on Gibbs’ team. McGee had been requested for reassignment on a three month trial, where it would then be up to him if he would stay or return.

He’d since returned, but Gibbs had grown fond of you in the short time, whether he would be willing to admit it or not. You didn’t mind your desk not being in the main bullpen, it meant you got more work done when Tony was doing his class clown routine.

Ziva seemed to bounce with excitement as you opened the box, watching your expression quickly turn, your face lighting up. You had both tried a large selection of flavours after the case ended, since your flight back was still hours from departing. 

‘Share it with me,’ you requested, watching her quickly hold her hands up to refuse. ‘I either share it with you or Tony.’

She relented rather quickly, both of you reaching for the small knives you kept in hidden compartments in your clothes, laughing at each other. ‘I taught you well.’

‘You did.’

Your heart raced as you thought back to that innocent moment, it felt so long ago when it was only mere hours. You had split the donut with her, ignoring Tony’s request to join in, and fumbling to finish it when Gibbs appeared with a more stoic expression than usual.

‘Do we have a case?’ you had asked, the forlorn look showing you there was something far worse in store.

‘No. Last night a prisoner transport van disappeared, with three prisoners inside. It was returned this morning with two.’

Silence filled the bullpen as your heart started racing, knowing that the first offender you had caught on the team was being moved for an appeal hearing. He was not only a killer, but that was the only crime he could be charged with at the time. Even that was thin, and you had been keeping an eye on his hearings if only to ensure he stayed in prison.

But he was loose now, and he knew that it was you who was the reason he was behind bars. He’d tried contacting you many times, through his lawyer and other nefarious ways, but you wouldn’t let him know how many had reached you. You hadn’t told the team either, and the look on Ziva’s face when she realised there was more to it broke your heart.

‘Y/N, are you alright?’

He had you now, and you had no escape, apart from your mind. It had been three, maybe four hours since Gibbs sent you home. You were overworking yourself to try and find the bastard, when Ziva found you hiding in Abby’s lab, shaking. You sat in your car for a good few minutes before going to turn it on, when you felt something watching you.

Before you could move, something pinched your neck, and the next thing you knew, you awoke in a blacked out room. Your head was pounding, and you swore you could hear someone calling your name. Your hearing was very fuzzy, until it wasn’t, and you realised you weren’t imaging it. 

Desmond Forster looked innocent enough as he stood before you, if it wasn’t for the way he sat, prim and proper on the chair before you, cooing your name with no expression. You jumped, almost knocking over the chair you were tied to. There was a painting rag stuffed in your mouth, and it tasted worse than it smelt.

‘I could have killed you while you were out,’ he informs you, ignoring the warm tears that spilled over, running down your cheeks. ‘You look scared, Agent Y/L/N, and here I thought you were the no fear type.’

He stood and moved over to you, brushing hair from your face. 

‘Are you going to be good for me, Agent?’ he enquired, taking the gag from your mouth.

Everything inside of you said to not make him mad, to do what he said, but you’d studied him, you’d caught him. You instead mustered everything inside of yourself, and spat at him.

A harsh blow landed across your face, knocking the chair over and sending you hard into the ground. The rope that had tied your arms behind you broke, but not before the back of the chair crushed your arm beneath it, almost breaking it. You cried out, and were left there.

Forster walked around and squatted beside you, his expressionless face now revealing how pissed you had made him. Reaching out to wipe the blood from your lip, he flicked it onto the floor. 

‘I was hoping to get to at least fifteen, and it looks like you just volunteered to be my lucky last.’

You did everything in your power to ignore him as he spoke, lifting the chair and setting you back down. He opened his hand and held it against your face, making a single fast move and backhanding you across the cheek. You tried not to make a sound, but he wasn’t going to stop either way.

You held out hope that someone would notice you were gone, would realise something was wrong. But with every strike, the ropes held true, and you fell further into the notion that this was going to be your end. You thought about the team, and your heart started racing.

‘I always wondered how I’d die,’ you muttered, ‘not once did I think it was by your hand.’

He laughed. It was unsettling, and it made your spine tingle with fear. He had lost the last of his marbles, and he would do anything to finalise his revenge.

‘You were wrong.’

It wasn’t until then you snapped, breaking the ropes around your arms and taking a dive at him. You fought against him with everything you had, making a break for the door when you thought you could reach it. He grabbed your ankle before you could reach it, dragging you back and pulling you beneath him. 

The fury you could feel steaming off him grew worse by the minute, and each strike came harder, and every miss made him want to hurt you more. You kept fighting, even when it felt like your body needed you to stop, until you had nothing left, and you dropped to the floor and reached weakly for escape.

A strange feeling came over you, similar to the one you’d had that morning. Something was different, and you heard a thud down the hall. The door broke open as Ziva burst in, the air silent as you wained in and out of consciousness. You couldn’t hear what she yelled at him, or what he yelled back. 

You did see the thuds of bullets striking his chest, his own gun in his hand, but barely raised before Ziva got him. The whole time, he could have just shot you, and the thought sunk in as Ziva ran to your side. She checked he was dead before kneeling beside you, pulling off her jacket and covering you.

‘You are freezing, Y/N,’ she noted, rubbing your arms softly. ‘There’s an ambulance on the way, hold on for me.’

Nodding with what strength you could find, she sat there, holding you until they came. You were glad it was Ziva who found you, who saved you from a horrid fate. She was there for the ride to the hospital, holding your hand the whole time. When you could talk properly again, your only thought was to thank her over and over.

‘What are best friends for?’ she asked later, grinning as she signed the cast on your arm. ‘McGee said he will split your paperwork until you’re healed, and Gibbs is working on a pair of crutches for you.’

‘That’s too much, Ziva, I don’t need special treatment,’ you insisted.

She laughed as Tony entered, a pile of boxes in his arms. ‘Yes, you do,’ he argued, ‘otherwise who’s gonna to help us eat all of these?’

‘No, those are for me and Y/N, you can find your own thing,’ Ziva remarked, grabbing a box from him and opening it for you.

They argued as you drifted off, and there was no better sound.

taglist: @marvelfansince08love @mymarvelwomen @imnotasuperhero @natasha-danvers @veteranwerewolf95 @monihaswritersblock @natasharomanoffswife @xxxtwilightaxelxxx