#and that seemed like a good stopping point for plotty stuff

[ugly-anastasia]

Not Ready to Make Nice | Sinnie + Tonee

Annie takes Simba up on an invitation that he really didn’t offer her, and some other guests overhear...

@simba-bonfamille-lyons @inperfection-ashlee @foreverydinger

Date: 19 July 2021 TW: A brief (not graphic) mention of murder

ANNIE:

So... there had been a lot more behind that "Wow! Yum!" on Twitter. Honestly, Annie wasn't sure she was even supposed to be engaging with Simba. For, like, legal reasons or whatever. But she was kind of pissed at Mummy anyway for getting herself in enough trouble that she couldn't give Annie more financial help, and she also didn't really care about whatever shit had gone down between Mummy and Simba. Simba was popular and well-liked in town. Annie needed to be on his good side.

So she called the babysitter to look after the kids for an hour (their cuteness could be useful, but the risk factor of them completely trashing Simba's house was too high), stopped by the Moon Market and picked up a prepackaged steak and kidney pie, transferred it to a cute little ceramic dish, and drove over to the address she had managed to wrestle out of an old classmate. Easy.

"Hiya!" Annie said in a chipper, and very American, voice. "I was in the neighborhood and I just couldn't resist. That food on Twitter looked so yummy."

SIMBA

Simba had been cooking all day. Well, most of the day. He'd taken a trip this morning to the local mosque in NTO to deliver meat that he'd bought from the butcher's and to attend prayer with his mum. But, after that, it had been an all day cooking affair. It was holidays like these that he missed Nala most, but he was grateful for all the friends and family he did have.

He was looking forward to seeing everyone later. It was always nice how many people showed up to his Eid gatherings. The show of support from the community was always bolstering. Especially right now, with the Blackwells hanging over his head.

At first, Simba didn't recognize the voice. Or the face. (Was there something off about it? Or had it just been too long?) He had a smile on his face as he turned from chatting with Ashlee, reaching out to take the dish so that he could put it with the rest of the food, but then he recognized who it was and he stopped dead.

"What are you doing here Anastasia?"

TONY

Did Tony celebrate Eid? No. Did Tony like food, especially free food? Yes. Plus maybe he could get in Ashlee's good graces again if he just made himself available to her. It was hard seeing the lack of recognition there in her eyes but there was little he could do about it aside from just... replace it with new memories.

So he sat in Simba's house with a plate of food, on his way to make conversation with Ashlee and Simba, when he heard the voice ring out into the room.

It couldn't be...? Anastasia fucking Tremaine?! What was she doing her?!

"Uh-oh," he mumbled, glancing Ashlee's way.

ASHLEE

Ashlee both kind of hated the open invitation to the house and enjoyed it? She didn't like to seem like she enjoyed it. A lot of the time if people did come it was people she didn't know or didn't like and after socializing and eating for a bit she'd escape either to her room or out with the girls.

She was getting used to it more and more though.

At least until Simba froze in his tracks and the half smile she had on dropped as well. Bristling quickly. She didn't know who this person was but there was very few people that made Simba react like that. Infact she wasn't that sure if she had even since him not interact with a smile for someone that showed up.

And she didn't like being confused.

"Uh-oh what?" Ashlee questioned hearing the kid that walked up to them. What did he know that she didn't?

ANNIE

Great. She had an audience. One thing never changed about Swynlake: nobody could mind their own business. Ever.

But having an audience meant that everyone could see how goddamn gracefully she would handle this. Including the random-ass teenagers watching from the sidelines. Anastasia glanced at them uneasily before she put on her biggest, sweetest smile for Simba.

"Aww, you don't have to be so formal! I actually go by Annie now. Way easier to say." She winked. "But to answer your question, I had a bit of a disaster in my personal life, dunno if you've heard, and I thought I really ought to come back to my roots. Leave the big city, come back to this cute little town and reconnect with the people who made me who I am, you know? I'm so glad you threw this little party. I'd love to catch up."

Maybe those random kids could help her. "Hey there!" she said, waving. "Y'all know Simba?"

SIMBA

Simba's nostrils flared slightly and he had the horrible, irrational instinct to step in front of Ashlee and keep her away from "Annie."

It wasn't, necessarily, fair to Annie. After all, she hadn't even been in town. Already left for college by the time her mother helped cover up his father's death, but her proximity to Rodmilla Tremaine made him uneasy. He had trouble trusting lawyers these days, but he was pretty sure everything that he'd done with InterPride was wrapped up in a neat little bow.

His arrangement with Rodmilla was much less official. He would not be surprised if she'd sent her daughter to try and make amends. To soften him for her own return.

Honestly, he had no idea how much Annie even knew. That didn't make him feel any more hospitable.

"It's not a 'little party', it's Eid. A religious holiday and celebration," Simba bit out. "And this is Ashlee Tomassian, my--" Simba actually wasn't sure what to call her, considering everyone in town already knew her situation "--daughter. And her friend."

TONY

Eesh, the whole room was starting to feel tense. Tony remembered Annie from secondary and, if his memory served, she was not exactly the best companion to most of the school. It had made for some good stories but Tony wasn't sure those were the types of stories that belonged in Simba's adult home.

Now her little American lilt and smile was... unnerving. He glanced at Simba's face and then Ashlee's. Yeah, definitely not a good situation in front of them.

"She's actually a--" Tony stopped his explanation that she was a native to Swynlake both because she answered that herself and then when she turned her sights on the pair of teens.

Y'all know Simba?

Tony grimaced at the question. "Uh... Yeah.. He, uh, taught at the secondary school for a little bit and he's... um... Simba? How do you not--"

Just shut up, Tony.

ASHLEE

There were so many things Ashlee wanted to comment on.

A little party - she didn't celebrate Eid but she knew better than to call it a little party. Especially when she knew how important this was to Simba. That's after all why she was here and why she tried to learn about it.

The causality of 'y'all know Simba' Of course Ashlee knew Simba, she was insulted for a moment this woman didn't even know who she was.  How did anyone in this town not know Simba.

Her lackadaisical mannerism. For someone who put Simba on guard, that was what bothered her the most.

And not that Ashlee ever slouched but she stood taller, a cat ready to hiss. That familiar defensiveness that caused her to lash out, to fight (with words at least).

But just for a moment Ashlee's defenses fell glancing up at Simba's introduction of her. It wasn't a word they ever used but she wasn't mad at it. She softened just for a moment. But then it was back up again because who was she truly? To walk in like this.

"I don't think there's anyone in this house that doesn't know Simba." Ashlee agreed glancing at the guy trying to place his name. He was her friend as per Simba and she would keep face and go with it better to not disagree with the person you were fighting with.

ANNIE

Anastasia could sense the hostility. She wasn't oblivious. Even the more subtle callout coming from the kids. Well, fine, she thought. she would just have to kill them with kindness. After all, what did a couple of uni kids know about her?

Unless Simba talked about her. Jeez, could that be possible?

High road, Annie, she told herself.

"Riiiight, my b! Who doesn't know Simba?" she laughed, maybe a little too loudly. "Good to know you run this town just as much as ever. A regular Mr. Mayor, aren't you?" Anastasia looked around at the rest of the crew. "Allllrighty then, are we gonna hover in doorways like vampires at a cookout or should we get this party started?"

SIMBA

Simba had glanced at Ashlee, feeling weird because they'd never really discussed that and it was kind of a big thing and he didn't want her to think he was trying to replace or erase anyone in her life. It was just--he cared about her as more than a ward or a responsibility. It wasn't as easy as it was with Kiara, who was and always would be his cousin. Though their relationship was obviously more complicated that.

Yallah, this was not what he needed to be thinking about right now.

Instead, he watched this Tremaine try to take a step further into his house and he felt himself bristle.

"I think it's best if you left, Annie," Simba told her firmly, though he kept his voice low. He didn't want to make a scene, but he also did not want a Tremaine in his house. Simba had spent the last four years trying to learn forgiveness and finding it almost impossible. Not that he blamed Annie, but he had no idea what her motivations were and he would not take any risks.

TONY

Tony wondered if Anastasia had ever learned how to read a room because her current behavior pointed to no, not really.

Simba was clearly tense, a sight that wasn't common here in Swynlake, and Tony couldn't help the messy teen energy inside him that was a little intrigued by that.

What? No one ever said Tony was mature!

"Hey, Ashlee, isn't this holiday about community? I, uh, don't know if bringing bad energy in here is a good idea, do you?"

ASHLEE

Okay maybe this kid was okay, she really did need to figure out who the hell he was? Maybe in Nemo's grade? Maybe a new transfer? That was something to worry about later.

Smirking Ashlee grinned at him and then up at Annie "I wouldn't think so. I'm already feeling the mood drop in general. Instead of coming in it might be better to head out and get fresh air. Plus if *My Dad *doesn't think it's a good idea for you to stay I imagine a lot of people in here might think the same. Don't you?" She really wished she had his name at the moment that would be helpful.

Ashlee also probably didn't need to throw that title in there but it worked.  And Ashlee knew the power of words and there was nothing that this woman could say that would change her mind as long as Simba wanted her out of the house.

ANNIE

Anastasia looked from Simba to his two little minions and back to Simba. Well. She had at least expected him to be polite, maybe a little passive-aggressive. So the comments caught her off guard, and for a moment, Anastasia's jaw dropped.

But just as quickly, she put on that same sugary smile as ever.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm mighty hurt. I guess I got a little too used to southern hospitality," she said, then giggled in that tinkling tone of hers. "Y'all enjoy the pie, alright?"

SIMBA

Simba, honestly, wished that Ashlee and her friend weren't here. If they weren't, he could've handled this a lot more firmly. Told Annie exactly why she wasn't welcome. Made it clear that if she approached his husband or Ashlee or any one else in his family, or went snooping around InterPride, he would make it his business that she left Swynlake as soon as possible.

Also, he didn't need kids sticking up for him and getting caught in the crossfire. He remembered how cruel and cutting all the Tremaines could be with their sharp tongues. Simba had underestimated them for petty once before. He wasn't going to do it again.

This also meant that her smile caught him off guard, some of his anger deflating. He hated when people messed around with people like this. It made him feel like he'd overreacted, or was making things up.

Also, he was pissed that he couldn't enjoy the fact someone had called him Dad and meant it. (Kiara used to do it, but mostly as a joke.)

His eyes stayed hard. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he said, his voice betraying that he didn't feel that sorry at all. "Ashlee, go put the pie on the table, please. I'll escort Annie out."

TONY

Tony couldn't stop his own grin from spreading at Ashlee's quick and sharp tongue coming out. It felt like forever since something like this had happened.

This wasn't to take away from the clearly strong familial moment that was happening with the pressure of this situation but Tony felt like it was probably better not to focus on that given... not his circus not his monkeys, you know?

"Someone was real quick to forget how Swynlake works," Tony chuckled at Annie's confession of feeling slighted. "I can help you with that, Ashlee."

ASHLEE

Poor thing. Not.

"Someone was real quick to forget they are not entitled to someone's forgiveness or hospitality." Ashlee agreed daring Annie to say something about it for just the second Ashlee had left in this conversation while she took the dish from Simba. If only they could just toss the food but that wasn't what Eid was about. So fine she would put it on the table.  "Bye bye Annie."

Nodding her head for the guy to follow with her.

With just enough distance. "Sorry what's your name again?

ANNIE

This was going to be a lot harder than Anastasia had thought. Maybe she had jumped in too quickly. Maybe she should have started out small, rather than chasing down the lion's den (heh) from the start. Anastasia didn't get it. Should she not have made the vampire joke? These Gen Z kids were so particular about that stuff nowadays...

Or maybe it was just that they trusted Simba.

She waited for the kids to leave before narrowing her eyes at Simba. "Simba Lyons, I have been nothing but pleasant and kind to you," she said simply. She wasn't going to beg for him to let him stay. Anastasia had a little bit of pride left. But she felt the need to point that out. "I'll be going soon, I promise, but we really can't let bygones be bygones?"

TONY

Tony snickered as he stood from his seat. Honestly, he'd missed being a petty teen sometimes. Stretching his Mean Kid Energy for just this moment felt refreshing.

When was the last time he'd gotten in a fight? Had it been Phineas? Damn, that had been awhile.

"Later, Annie!" He called over his shoulder as he fell into step behind Ashlee. His heart gave a pang at the question despite knowing it was coming.

"Tony, Tony Rydinger. I'm an upper sixth form."

ASHLEE

That made sense and why Ashlee didn't really recognize him. She wouldn't if she was about two years ahead of him.

"Ashlee Tommassian. Though it sounds like you already knew that. Thanks for jumping in and helping there. I don't really know the story but if she pissed off Simba, she deserves whatever she's getting." Ashlee mused setting the dish on the table among the many many other dishes. "Did you want to grab something or maybe try to listen in some more?"

SIMBA

"It's Bonfamille-Lyons now," Simba corrected her swiftly.

He kept his body blocking her from being able to walk off the dias. Simba didn't often use his larger frame to intimidate. He knew that he was tall and broad and that he could easily look threatening to others. (Not to mention how some people might just assume it based on the color of his skin.) He always walked tall and proud, but his movements were always loose and easy.

They weren't now. He was drawn up to his full height, shoulders straight and lowered. His arms were crossed over his chest.

"And no, we can't. I would prefer if we just stayed out of each other's way, if you are planning on being in town for an extended period of time. And stay away from Ashlee and my husband. And especially my mother. She doesn't need any reminders about what your mother did." He kept his voice low, away from prying ears.

He didn't do this for Anastasia either, but because he didn't want everything that had happened dragged back up. His failures, how blind he had been, how easily manipulated.

TONY

"Right, uh, you're friends with Nemo and Ian. Ian's my roommate." He explained swiftly. It was the easiest way to wave away the odd fact he knew about her. He had connections.

"It's nice to actually meet you, though. They both have a lot of nice things to say about you." He glanced at the food on the table then shook his head. "I mean, I definitely wanna find out what Simba and Annie are doing out there. She's gonna be a menace I'm sure!"

ASHLEE

Ashlee nodded at the names, for a moment she actually felt bad she didn't know him or even of him, after all if he knew Nemo and Ian, the latter enough to live with him. Then again Ian was friends with Eilonwy and Ashlee was still struggling on her insistence of being friends. It made her bristle feeling like Eilonwy wanted something more. That her kindness was fake.

At least Tony had a little mean streak in him.

"They better or they would get an earful from me for spreading lies." Ashlee grinned. "If we want to be sneaky it's best to head around the back and just listen from the side of the house."

ANNIE

Anastasia couldn't keep this up much longer. It was so much easier to fight with people online like this, where they couldn't see your face, or to fight with the other moms at playgroup back in Nashville. At least everyone had the sense to pretend like they were being nice while, underneath, they wanted to rip you apart.

But there was only so much of Simba's direct approach that Anastasia could take.

Her voice dropped a few octaves, and her old accent crept in slightly as the facade dropped. "You leave my mother out of this. You and your little company already succeeded in ruining her life, so you don't need to go ruining mine, too by turning this town against me." Anastasia stuck her chin in the air stubbornly, her expression shifting to an ugly scowl. "Fine, though, I'll stay out of your way. But I would appreciate if you would have the decency not to humiliate me in front of the children. Seeing as I'm not going anywhere. I live here now, and I'm going to get my life back. You're not getting in the way of that.”

TONY

Tony nodded, glad to follow Ashlee's lead. It was nice not to be the one in charge of a situation. He'd been befriending way too many introverts as of late. Spending time with Ashlee and her friends was a whole different experience to what he was dealing with here.

"Oh Ian's anything but untruthful," Tony chuckled. "Perfect. You show me the way and I'll keep quiet. I feel like this town is so boring sometimes for drama."

ASHLEE

It had been a long time since Ashlee had snuck around. Unlike her old home Simba and Berlioz gave her the freedom she needed as long as she was vocal with them and she was, never feeling the need to not be. Anything she asked or brought up they listened. Even if it was far inbetween. And she was still nervous to do so.

"You're not making the right type of friends if you're looking for drama. Secondary has probably gotten much duller as of late."

But that didn't mean she wasn't good at it. Quick and light on her feet and everyone was busy talking to really pay attention to two kids slipping out the back.

TONY

"You're telling me!" Tony sighed wistfully. "Honestly might need to stir some shit myself if I want to stay awake in school this year," Tony complained.

This was something he couldn't really complain to Ian about because his more soft-around-the-edges friend was not the type to understand this feeling.

He leaned close to the wall as they both headed to where they could snoop on the feuding adults in peace. He winked over at Ashlee conspiratorially.

SIMBA

Ah, there it was.

Simba didn't feel even a little bad, In fact, he was relieved that she was showing her true colors. It made all this so much easier for the both of them.

"I won't get in the way of it as long as I don't have any reason to," Simba told her. After all, he could recognize that Annie might have had nothing to do with everything. She had been young when Mufasa had died. Hardly even an adult. And it wasn't like Rodmilla to involve her precious daughters in her criminal dealings.

"But let me make one thing extremely clear: your mother ruined her own life when she knowingly covered up a murder, so don't blame me for her moral failure."

ASHLEE

Ashlee settled herself against the corner of the house, she didn't need to turn around to know Simba's voice though for a moment she did think she needed to double check he was the one talking.

She knowingly covered up a murder? Ashlee mouthed to Tony. What the fuck had actually happened, who covered up what and were they in jail was the important piece.

TONY

Tony's eyes widened at the words. Honestly he had some... guesses... but also this was Swynlake and shit happened all the time so trying to guess who was murdered seemed like rushing to conclusions.

He shrugged at Ashlee, just as confused and concerned about what could be happening.

ANNIE

Jeez. Well. If Simba was going to just put it out there like that, Anastasia wasn’t going to hold back either.

She didn’t like the word “murder.” It was so dramatic.

“She did what she had to do,” Anastasia said vaguely, because she wasn’t sure if people might overhear and wouldn’t that be the final disappointment, for Anastasia to land Mummy in jail. How fitting. And... Anastasia didn’t really know the details anyway. But corruption and scandal was part of the Tremaine family history, like any other core value. “You don’t know what it’s like to be her. Or me, for that matter. Life isn’t all sunshine and roses, and sometimes when an opportunity presents itself, you gotta take it. And I’m sorry people got hurt, but that’s... life.”

Not exactly the idealistic, cheery image Anastasia put forth online. But cynicism didn’t rake in the money or influence the way her optimistic go-getter attitude did.

ASHLEE

Ashlee actually felt like she was going to be sick. To speak so casually of murder, to chalk it up to that's life it reminded her too much of her own Dad. Who cared about who was hurt if it meant the end result was what you wanted.

And maybe that was hypocritical of her considering her own past and her part in what she had done with the girls but this was just frightening. But there was a difference, Ashlee at least liked to think there was a difference, she wasn't as bad at this woman. (Who sounded different? Was that in her head?)

SIMBA

Simba's hand clenched into a fist by his side. He felt his anger spike--a wild thing inside of him, so loud it was almost frightening. It made him want to reach for a drink. Thankfully, there wasn't any inside and he couldn't disappear from his own party.

Besides, he wasn't going to break his sobriety streak for a Tremaine.

Nor was he about to get in a physical altercation on his door step. Though, he wanted to. No doubt.

How could she--

That's life? People got hurt? His father had been murdered. Taken away from him and he had blamed himself for years because of Annie's mother. She had ruined his life just as much as Taka had.

"Get off my property," he snapped at her, his voice rising up enough that he was sure people through the open door behind them could hear it. He refused to shout, but it wasn't far off.

He had plenty of more choice words for Anastasia Tremaine, but it was a holy day and he had a family and friends and community to celebrate. Even if this conversation had put him in a black mood and he just wanted to go upstairs and lock himself in his room.

TONY

Tony felt anger flare in his own chest at Anastasia's words. He couldn't imagine anyone saying that that was just life. Excusing literal murder! He thought back on anything he knew of Anastasia or her family. In truth he had paid little attention to the girl in secondary and now he was seriously regretting it if he was missing this information.

This can't be happening, right? He mouthed to Ashlee. Tony couldn't help but feel a little frightened. If they were dealing with someone that unhinged was it wise to leave Simba alone with her? Was it wise to be eavesdropping on her?!

ANNIE

Anastasia knew Simba hated her family’s guts. But she only knew it in a vague sense. All the shit with Taka had gone down while she was back in Nashville, and it had only affected Anastasia in the sense that now Mummy couldn’t take the whole family on vacations to Nice and Aruba and Switzerland anymore because of her stupid new nonprofit job. The way Anastasia saw it, the details didn’t really matter, but the reality was that Simba had taken something from her that she believed she was entitled to.

But Anastasia wasn’t good in confrontations the way Drizella was. Anastasia’s style of fighting was subtler, quieter. If Drizella were here, maybe she would have a cutting line or a scary threat. All Anastasia had was her practiced ability to shut down her feelings.

She took a step back and stared at Simba, nodded, and then smiled. “Enjoy the party,” she said, the twang returning to her voice. “I’ll see y’all around.”

And with that, Anastasia turned on her heel and returned to her car, hoping Simba didn’t notice the slight tremble in her gait.

ASHLEE

Ashlee wished she didn't know, she wished she could have gone on believing this was some stupid petty drama, it was as simple as a 'my fam doesn't like this person so i don't like this person'. But this ran so much deeper than she could have thought.

Shaking her head Ashlee struggled to form words. I don't know but we should go. it was just go where? Simba would come in soon, Where was Berlioz, hopefully he could help Simba cause that was heavy and Ashlee was not the one with the ability to help. They could escape to her room? Yeah that was probably best. Grabbing Tony's hand she pulled him back toward the back door and swiveled up the stairs quickly. "What the hell was that????"

TONY

Oh his head was reeling at this whole experience. He blinked when Ashlee grabbed him but allowed the tug to lead him inside once again. He hadn't been to her room in Simba's before so it was somewhat of a jarring moment of him realizing this was a big deal.

"I don't know! I knew she was from Swynlake and her family had some beef with people but not that!" He admitted. "She was known as kind of a bitch but not a murder-excusing bitch!"

ASHLEE

Ashlee didn't even know what to say, she really wished they hadn't done that. It kind of gave her the creeps and it was way too close of a comparison to her Baba for her.

"We can't say anything. We don't know what the hell any of that meant or how it effects Simba." Tony better not open his mouth and spill unless they knew more.

TONY

Tony took a deep breath to try to steady himself. When he had said this year was going to be boring he hadn't considered finding out about literal murder. And now Ashlee was expecting him to keep this between them?!

"Jesus, yeah, I get it. What are we gonna do, though? Are we just, what, waiting to find out what's going on?" He shook his head. "You okay?"

ASHLEE

"Nothing, Whatever that was is old and dark and does not need to be touched by us." Maybe not even that old considering she was maybe Simba's age. But she knew they knew too much. Maybe she would find out from Simba at some point, or maybe not but she wasn't letting Tony in much. What she knew was that Simba was good and she trusted his judgement on whatever the hell that was. 

TONY

Tony frowned at Ashlee's words. It seemed like the sort of response that was, well, responsible and adult... and Tony, despite all of his efforts, wasn't really either of those things. He wanted to investigate, wanted to do something to get to the bottom of.

"I... guess so... I mean.. I s'ppose we're still... young." Don't think about how long you've been on Earth, Tony. "Jesus.."

ASHLEE

"It's not about being young, it's about getting involved in whoever covered a murder. I'm a performance major, you're a secondary kid. We're not equipped to handle that. And I already went through one shit storm involving the courts. I sure as hell don't want another. Not to mention Heresay, the fact we don't have the whole story and its not like we can just walk up and ask someone." Maybe she could, but she didn't think she had a right. "It's not like I believe Simba is part of a massive cover up." (Hopefully) "So it might already be dealt with, you know." 

TONY

Tony didn't like the response, didn't like the way he knew Ashlee was right. He took another steadying breath because, really, she was entirely correct. They were kids despite... every complicating part of Tony's life and curse.

"Yeah, right, of-of course.. Yeah, um, Simba's resourceful and-and powerful... If he had any way of settling this he would. We just gotta... trust the adults." Sure, that wasn't Tony's strong suit but he could try. "Are you okay, though? Like, is there.. anything I can... do for you?"

ASHLEE

Ashlee really hoped it was as simple as it was already taken care of. She really really did. Flopping down on her bed Ashlee sighed covering her eyes. No more spying for her. It wasn't worth it, if this was the outcome. Especially considering she didn't know if she could hid it on her face when she eventually faced Simba.

"It's fine I'm fine. we should just wait a few and head back down. Worse comes to worse they think we're making out or something up here." Which no but it was the lessor of a few evils right now.

TONY

"Gotcha..."

Tony sat down on the floor beside the bed so he wouldn't crowd her. This was ridiculous. Swynlake constantly churned out so much drama! He supposed he shouldn't be freaked out but it was.. jarring.. to see people he'd gone to school with involved in such heinous things.

"Well I would hope Simba has more faith in you than that," Tony laughed softly, a little forced. "But I can see where the concern comes."

ASHLEE

"Probably if only cause I've had a few dates with Michael since prom." And Ashlee was not the cheating kind or even had enough people she was interested in anyway.

Ashlee sighed looking up at her ceiling. Did she ask Simba or not was the question now.

[peppersonironi]

DUKE THOMAS ISN’T THE SANE ONE! A guide by Pepper

So, I have seen so many people writing Duke incorrectly, and I wanted to do something about it. In fanon, he is described as the sane bat, who would rather stay home and safe, and absolutely never join in shenanigans. Now, I know there are a lot of things wrong with canon, but Duke is one of the better parts! He is an interesting character who is actually just as chaotic as the rest of the gotham vigilantes. And so it it is quite unfair to his character to say he is the 'Arnold from the Magic Schoolbus' of the group. He's really not.

So I decided to make a list of ten instances in the comics where he disobeys Bruce, acts reckless, or is just a bat! (also for a Batfam Group Chat I’m a part of, someone asked for these) I hope this helps people understand his character better, and maybe even inspire them to write more about him? Seriously, Tag me if you do. I'm starved for good Duke content!

Feel free to add more in the comments, these are just what I could think of off the top of my head! (Hence the kinda weird order, sry)

1. He's a vigilante

Okay, so this is a bit obvious, but I still think it needs saying. You think that a guy who dresses in bright yellow and patrols the most crime-ridden city in the world during the day is 100% sane?

2. We Are Robin

Also obvious, but still. This guy joins a group of untrained teenage robins who just want to make a difference. And they do! It's still pretty reckless, though. 

3. He tried to take on the Riddler

In case you didn't know, in the beginning of New 52 (Zero year, specifically) the Riddler essentially held Gotham Hostage. He had some spiel about someone giving him a riddle he couldn't solve, and letting the city go. You know who decided he would be that person? Duke Thomas! He trained in brain-teasers, and puzzles, tirelessly worked. He became quite the adept riddler (not the villain). The kick? He was a child! (Look at the above panels, isn't he cute?) Duke was young, yet determined. And if that's not a bat quality, I don't know what is.

4. He escaped the cops by jumping off a bridge.

Oh no! Duke is in a police car! Oh no! He's on a bridge! What's he going to do?! Why, jump out and off the bridge while proclaiming "I am Robin" of course! Seriously, look at that panel and try to argue that he is the responsible goody-two-shoes of the family.

5. He talked down an enraged Damian

Basically, Damian was manipulated into joining the court of owls. Duke, who refused to believe that Robin genuinely joined them, fought him and talked him down. Now, this is Damian we're talking about. Sure, the kid is absolutely adorable and can be incredibly caring (Fight me on this, I dare you. Also, frick you DC), but when he's on a rampage, there is little that can stop him. So of course Duke decides to take care of it!

6. He actively tries to have a relationship with Damian.

Okay, so this one is a little weak, but I wanted an excuse to share those panels. Aren't those two great?! But seriously, Duke ignores that this tiny child could kill him in more ways than he could count, and even invites him to a movie! He also isn't afraid to tease the kid, unlike other members of the family. Knowing Damian can honestly be hard sometimes.

7. Comes back to the city when Bruce told him to get out.

During the I Am Bane arc of Tom King's Batman (I'm shuddering. So sorry for invoking his name!) Bruce tells the batboys to get out of Gotham and STAY out. the others are like 'we're not gonna listen, right?' and Duke is all 'you can't ignore BATMAN!' and walks off saying he's gonna listen to Bruce. This seems like pretty damning evidence, right? He's actually sane? The others got attacked by Bane and hung, but Duke didn't. Well, then you look at the next panel! (it takes place later in the volume) There he is, disobeying Bruce, and hanging out in Gotham. Not just that, he's out in costume! No, Duke couldn't just hunker down in an apartment, he had to go out and take down crooks, and warn Jim Gordon. I think that's pretty self-explanatory

8. Goes out while Injured

Those two panels are back-to-back in The Cursed Wheel (originally printed in All-Star Batman, later put into Batman and the Signal). As you can see, Bruce tells Duke to get rest. Duke was just attacked by Zsasz, and suffered multiple injuries. He wakes up, and the thing that would make the most sense would be for him to go to sleep, right? Well, he instead gets suited up and goes out to work on a case. Pretty much every bat has done this at some point. Not quite the smartest move, right? A touch reckless, wouldn’t you say?

9. That whole thing with Green Lantern

(sry for the weird sizing, I don’t have the comic to take screenshots) 

So there are two parts to this. First of, you have Green Lantern flying into the batcave, looking around, and there’s no Batman present. So what does Duke Do? Well, he certainly doesn’t stay back and contact Bruce! Nope, instead he attacks a member of the Justice League, a member of the Green Lantern Corp. Later on, you know what he says? He thought he would be fine because his suit is bright yellow. That’s it. A bit crazy, right?

Secondly, he gets roped into exploring the cave with Hal (I thinks it’s Hal, been a bit since I read this though). The Lantern has some thing going on about stuff in the cave, but that’s not important. What’s important is that Duke went along with it. He was curious enough to ignore what Bruce would say (Call him, yet anything remotely green out of the cave), and joins in! He does’t say “this is a bad idea” or “we shouldn’t be doing this” nope!

9. When he ran off with Cass to test his powers

Oh no, Duke got shadow powers! What’s he gonna go? Why, go off and have fun experiment of course! Duke and Cass head out to test and work on Duke’s newly presented abilities, and specifically don’t tell Bruce! This is information he would like to know, of course. It’s important to know if your newest protege gets more powers. But no, they go out of their way to sneakily test the extent of his powers. They get caught, of course, and then get chewed out (They get caught in costume, but the next panel they’re in civvies. I find that outrageously funny!). And here’s the kicker: they don’t really apologize! Sure, Duke gives a half-heart apology, but he doesn’t really mean it. Not even under the full extent of the Batglare™.

10. Rescuing Bruce with practically no training

I’ll skip all the plotty stuff, so just know that Bruce was out alone and in some deep doo-doo. Duke was back at the cave, working stuff out with Alfred. He realizes that what Bruce is doing is a trap. Now, just so you know, this is back when Duke was JUST taken in by Bruce. He doesn’t even have a codename yet! Barely any training. So you know what he does? He heads out anyway, and rescues Bruce. Now, check out that music he’s playing. Later on, it’s revealed to be Duke’s fave band. You know the name of that band? “Batman’s @^$&@” I’m not even joking. (I’m not sure what bleeped out, though later on it’s referred to as “Batman’s #$%” So I assume it’s ass?). So on top of being reckless, he plays a heavy metal band with a name that’s ��� special to say the least. He has guts, you gotta admit (Oh, and he seemed so gleeful when he told Bruce the name of the band!).

And there you have it! This list is far from complete, but I think it’s a good start. Feel free to reblog with your own, or any questions/comments! I absolutely love to talk about Duke, so don’’t be afraid to message me! Also, correct me if I wrote anything incorrect here. It’s been a while since I’ve read some of these, so I may have gotten some stuff wrong.

[princesssarcastia]

2021 Harry Potter Fanfic Primer

im here to point fingers at the incredible authors that have enabled my new interest in HP content.  im still conflicted and upset about it, tbh, but for now we’re leaning into the curve.  we’re getting out our shovel and finding out just how deep we can make the hole we’re in.  hand in unlovable hand my beloved <3.  anyway, these fics are wonderful, their authors are wonderful, and you should go read their stuff. if there’s a star next to it that means im losing my mind over it and always will be.

Creatively Maladjusted, by elumish on AO3, 101k  (they also have a wonderful writing advice blog on tumblr, @elumish, which I recommend following if you are a writer) 

A very excellent re-telling of harry’s first year at hogwarts if he were sorted into Slytherin, plus some more not!fic or piecemeal re-tellings of his second and part of his third year.  Harry, in this, has a slightly different trauma response to growing up with the Dursley’s.  He’s a bit quieter, and the signs are a bit more obvious to the people around him, and I enjoyed that immensely. 

Honestly, if you’re going to get sucked into something you have absolutely no business getting sucked into, elumish is the way to go, their fic is incredible. their teen wolf fic is also immaculate, if you’re so inclined. 

Dissonance, by ImpishTubist on AO3, 2.5k (@impishtubist on tumblr)

Set during fifth year.  Oblivious!Harry has always been a delightful trope when well executed, and this is well executed.  Plus, some angst between Remus and Harry over what Umbridge has been doing to him.

I would certainly recommend a lot of ImpishTubist’s other hp work on AO3, like Lacuna.

blow us all away, by rexcorvidae on AO3, 23k (@rexcorvidae on tumblr)

In progress (like, updated last week in progress).  Currently in the beginning of Harry’s first year.  Fem!Harry, Indian!Harry.  Hagrid puts Harry in touch with Remus when she has questions about her parents, and they become reluctant, traumatized, angst-ridden pen pals who keep missing each other’s true intentions like ships in the night.  hot DAMN do I love this fic.  there’s hints of the way the dursley’s treat Harry peaking through in her letters, and I appreciated the attention to “hmm, her experience as a girl of indian descent in britain under the thumb of a bunch of white people who like being Normal may not have been gucci”

Definitely comb through the rest of their HP fic, too, I may or may not have gone feral over it.

Where the Heart is, by silver_fish on AO3, 15k (@kohakhearts on tumblr)

Woof.  This one said, “hey, harry was probably SUPER depressed in the summer after fifth year.  like, clinically.  maybe someone should do something about that.”  Fuck yeah.  Then this one said, “that someone was Snape.”  You all know my opinions on Snape; generally, Bad.  But damn if this fic didn’t wholly convince me by the end of it.  I thought it was a very realistic way for Snape to start seeing Harry as a person all on his own, and not a proxy for Snape’s angst over James and Lily, respectively.  The angst is wonderful, the ending is even more so.

*bernie sanders voice* I am once again asking you to read through the rest of the author’s HP fic.  a lot of them have similar themes; there’s actually a great one with Molly that i’m not reccing here, Wonder.

☆Bindings, Bindings, by Quietlemonhush on AO3, 60k (@quietlemonhush on tumblr)

WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS TO YOU HOW MUCH I ENJOYED/AM ENJOYING THIS.  If I had to pick a single fic and say “you, it’s your fault I’m stuck here,” it would be this one.  Anyway Lily in the afterlife is So Very Angry about how Petunia is treating Harry, and how Sirius is rotting in Azkaban, and how Remus is alone, that she literally brings herself back to life and drags James and Regulus with her.  All three of them are there to chew bubblegum and fix everything that went wrong after they died—and would you look at that, they’re all out of bubblegum!  There’s only Fury left.  That inciting premise is very crack, but every moment after that is very much not crack.  Lily and James love harry more than anything, the way a child should be loved; James and Sirius have the epic friendship of a lifetime; Sirius and Remus have staggering amounts of resolved sexual tension and take turns keeping each other in check; Regulus, though he realized that Voldemort and his family were shit before he died, is still unlearning all his racist bullshit and, also, years of trauma.  Actually, they’re all traumatized, but hey: now they have one another again and not a damn one of them seems inclined to let go anytime soon.  Quietlemonhush went, “hey, HP has a lot of Awful people in it, and a lot of Righteous people in it, and many of them are Very, Very Powerful; also, love is the most powerful force in the universe” and i said “hell yes tell me more right now.”  And then they did!

Quietlemonhush writes Sirius/Remus in a way that makes it sooo much fun to devour, so the rest of their HP fic is most certainly worth a look, if that’s your thing.

Rebuilding, by Colubrina on AO3, 113k (@colubrina on tumblr)

Hermione/Draco (*shrug emojis into the abyss* yeah, yeah, like none of us have ever been there before).  Takes place during Hogwarts 8th year, and while the beginning is, IMO, a little unfair to Ron, it gets much better.  Tells the story of Hermione and Draco clearing the air, learning to like each other, having some hormones over each other, and then falling in love.  Also tells the story of Hermione and Theo Nott becoming friends; the story of how every single 7th and 8th year student is fucked to hell by the war and the Carrows; the story of how they start an emotional support group about it and all become friends; and the story of, what the hell do you do with yourself after that kind of trauma?

I’ve been dipping in and out of Colubrina’s HP since before I was even on tumblr; I actually found them in those dark yesteryears when the only fandom interactions I had were on fanfiction.net.  Of such fame as Green Girl, which is an HP fic staple, and has also written a lot of wackier, crackier, and darker things than that.  If you don’t take yourself too seriously, I highly recommend many of their big HP works, though I imagine it’ll press some people’s buttons.  Colubrina’s work really does take up a corner of my mind whenever I’m in an HP mood, and will take up yours if you let it.

☆ all waiting is long, by shuofthewind on AO3, 149k ( @shu-of-the-wind on tumblr)

This is so well written that I can’t stop thinking about it.  It is occupying my mind when I lie awake at night, you know?  It’s one of those.  Hermione messes with something she probably shouldn’t have in Grimmauld Place, so when Sirius is sent through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, she gets thrust into an alternate universe...in 1975.  Instead of handwaving it away, shuofthewind actually gets into the mechanics of it in a way that makes sense, to emphasize that hermione is never going home.  ever. The world she finds herself is shifted slightly to the left, quite a bit darker, but in a “the author is treating the idea of a society-wide conflict over blood purity much more seriously than JKR ever did” way, not a sensationalist way.  Now, Hermione has to grapple with all her grief at losing everyone she’s ever loved or known, the moral/ethical/magical implications of sharing what she knows about her future in an alternate world, and, you know, a goddamn war with people who want to murder her for being who she is.  This Hermione is smart, and she’s kind, and she’s powerful, and she’s making real friends.  If you hate JKR’s guts I’d go read this right now, because it delivers in all the ways she failed us.  It’s plotty, its got great world-building, and it pulls back the white curtain on the wizarding world to show you that, like real life, it’s multicultural and full of queer people...and the discrimination that comes with both.

shuofthewind write epics, mainly for the MCU, and I’ve read some of them a looooong time ago, so this fic kinda seemed out of left field for me but im SOOOO GLAD it exists.  If you want MCU fic you can sink your teeth into, go for it, but alas, they do not have any more HP fic (.......yet?)

Speak Now [+] Listen Now, by mrsfrizzle on AO3, 33k altogether

Harry reaches out to Remus for support because Umbridge is getting to him with her literal torture.  Remus, being a former professor, former mandatory reporter, person who loves Harry and has since he was born, and all around good man, tells Harry he has to tell someone, or Remus will.  It’s everything any adult looking back on that time in HP canon ever wanted, which is for an actual adult to say “what the fuck, those are literal chidlren” and then do something about it.  Then, a far more dangerous task: Harry trusts Remus enough to go to him about the Dursleys.  Harry and Remus’ relationship develops SO WELL, and there’s a bit of exploration about how Sirius may not exactly be guardian material, because he did in fact spend 12 years of his life getting tortured instead of growing up.  I think I’m actually going to go reread this right now, because it speaks to my id.

they do have some other HP fic which did not appeal to my hyperspecific wants, but may appeal to some of yours.  I think they’re also a published author, there should be a link on their profile page.

chase the stars, by Duskglass on AO3, 101k (@felix-duskglass on tumblr)

When Harry is five years old, a picture of him ends up in the Daily Prophet, and Sirius Black, Terror of Ministry Officials Touring Azkaban everywhere, gets a hold of that issue.  He then, in order: breaks out of Azkaban; crosses the countryside to Surrey; Finds Harry: Kidnaps Harry; Breaks Into Remus’ Apartment; starts processing (or maybe just acknowledging) his trauma from Azkaban, the war, and his childhood; and pines after Remus.  It’s a little plotty, and deals a lot (sometimes through flashbacks) with the specific awful things that happened to Sirius—largely because, after years in the constant presence of Dementors, those are nearly literally the only memories he has left.  It’s a wonder he’s got the strength to love Harry and Remus at all.  But then, maybe it isn’t.

This is a Very Serious Fic, but the rest of Duskglass’s HP work is actually just cracky enough to tickle your funny-bone, while still making you think “okay but why couldn’t we have done that in the first place.”

So!  That’s it for recs, for now.  These are all things I’ve found and read in the last month; if any of y’all are interested in my old HP recs, let me know and I can make a post for that, too.  While I’m still very conflicted about my choice of current fandom, I am not in ANY way conflicted about my taste in fic and authors.  Send these guys some love, read their fic if you’re so inclined, and leave some nice comments at the end of it.

[writeforfandoms]

Merry Go Round of Life 5

Find my masterlist 

Part five y’all! Getting a bit more plotty. Things are happening. 

This will be Din Djarin x f!reader eventually. Don’t hold your breath folks, this one’s a slow burn. Sort of. 

Warnings: The kid being cute and trouble. Minor swearing. That’s it. 

Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!): @tibbietibbs @fandom-blackhole @shoopidly @pedrocentric @Beskarprincessjenny @sarahjkl82-blog @cannedsoupsucks​ 

 Chapter five: In which there are interruptions

Over the course of the rest of the day, you learned a few things.

First and foremost: Djarin didn’t talk much, but he wasn’t harsh. He was gentle with the kid, and when he did have to speak he was polite. 

Second: the kid was cute but he was trouble. He would attempt to get into everything if you didn’t keep a very close eye on him. Fortunately he didn’t try to climb into the fireplace, but everything else was fair game. Under your cot? Up the bookcase? Under the workbench? Attempting to climb the pantry shelves? All things the little one had done just that day. 

Third: while Peli was not forthcoming with information, she was at least talkative. Which is how you learned that the kid had joined Djarin months previous under mysterious circumstances. You also learned where the door opened.

The blue blob led to Kamino, a seaside city you’d never been to. This door seemed attached to a storefront, and didn’t move. The green blob led to the hills around Kalevala, where the castle was in fact roaming. The red blob led to the capitol, Mandalore. This door was also attached to a storefront, far enough from the center of the city to not be in the thick of things but still busy enough when you cautiously cracked open the door. 

But the black blob Peli would tell you nothing about. She clammed up and hid under her logs when you tried to get more information out of her. Huffing, you gave up on that avenue, for now. 

There were multiple other knocks at the door throughout the day, and every single time, Djarin got there before you could. Which did not stop you from snooping, not at all. You hovered behind him, out of sight of whoever was on the other side of the door, and listened. Which is how you learned that he was polite, at least. People came to him for all sorts of things - a charm for safe travels, something to help the garden, something to keep track of children. That last one caused the wizard to scoff. 

But still you found no clues, no hints, nothing useful. Peli would give you looks every so often but you had no idea what that meant. 

After Djarin had taken the kid upstairs for the night, you found yourself in the armchair, soaking in the warmth from the fire. That was one (of many) downside to being old - you got cold more easily. Fortunately, Peli didn’t seem to mind you sitting there, so long as you left a couple logs in easy reach for her. 

“How did you end up here?” you asked her, unable to contain your curiosity. Not that you tried all that hard. 

Peli paused at that, watching you. “Wizard stuff,” she answered at length. 

“Wizard stuff,” you repeated slowly, very dryly. 

“Yes.” 

You stared at Peli as you might Winta after you’d caught her sneaking cookies before lunch. (It had been very effective on your niece.) You needed information. You were not a mind reader, or a witch, or anything helpful. You were just a seamstress. 

Peli cracked first. "I can't just tell you," she grumbled, hunkering down into her logs. "It's wizard stuff. I can't say."

It dawned on you then that she really might not be able to say. It was like your curse - you couldn't talk about it. So you nodded slowly to show you'd heard her.

"What can you tell me?" You asked her, leaning forward in your chair. 

Peli crackled and grumbled, pushing her logs around to rearrange them. You could see ash under them, of course, and the base of the fire. It almost looked like there was something in the middle, there, something from which the fire started. 

“I can’t tell you much,” she finally said, logs sufficiently rearranged. “But I can’t leave this hearth. I run all the magic keeping the castle moving, and I maintain the doorway.”

“Maintain.” You latched onto that word, eyes narrowing a little. “But you didn’t create it?”

“No,” Peli said, sounding offended. “Not my job. Not my area of expertise, either. I’m best at maintaining things, keeping things going.”

So the wizard had likely done all the spellwork, and Peli maintained it. Interesting. Why, you weren’t quite sure yet, but at least you had a little more information now. 

“So basically you keep up the castle,” you said, watching her. 

“I’m a powerful fire demon,” Peli grumbled, hunkering down a bit and very clearly sulking. “I’m older than all of you combined. I didn’t used to be chained to this fireplace, you know. I used to be--” She stopped abruptly, and after a few moments of silence there was a series of hissing sounds. Cursing in fire demon, you presumed, based on the tone. “Well, let’s just say I used to be a lot more free than this.” Her tone had shifted to something wistful and aching. You felt an answering tug in your heart. 

“Is that why you want me to break your curse?” you asked, voice lowered a little, gentled. “So you can be free of this place?”

Peli managed a shrug, which was an interesting thing for a fire to do. “One reason, yeah,” she agreed in a mumble. 

You hummed, caught between sympathy and deep curiosity, and stood carefully. “I’m going to bed,” you told the fire.

“Before you go,” Peli started, shrinking down a bit. “Stack a couple more logs for me?”

You sighed but did as she asked, setting them in easy reach. Then you flapped a hand at her and went to lay down on the cot. It was more comfortable than the chair, and you groaned quietly as something (or several somethings) in your back popped. 

So you had a curse, a fire demon, and a wizard. Peli had implied that the curse on her had something to do with the wizard, but she never outright said the wizard had placed the curse on her.

But wouldn’t he have? A witch placed the curse on you, so the logic followed. Probably. Then again, what did you know about magic? Almost nothing. You groaned quietly again at that, well aware that you could go in circles for ages.

Okay, okay. Curse. Peli had promised you would get hints, but so far you hadn’t found any, or heard any. Unless you’d missed something? That was possible. But it wasn’t like you could just ask Peli to clarify for you, either. 

You sighed. How were you supposed to break the curse on Peli if you didn’t even know what the curse was? Surely there must be a way to figure this out. It would probably take more time, that was all. You just hadn’t given yourself enough time yet. 

You woke to two little hands patting your face. You blinked yourself awake carefully, peering blearily up at the child, who was on the cot with you and beaming at you as he tapped his little hands against your cheeks again.

“Good morning,” you muttered, cradling the child as you sat up. 

“Kid,” Djarin said gruffly from somewhere over by Peli. “I told you to let her sleep.” 

The kid just grinned at you and cooed.

“He’s fine,” you told the wizard, carefully twisting enough to crack your back. You stood carefully and made your way to the table with the child, looking at the simple breakfast already set out. The kid wasted no time, diving on the food as soon as he was set down. Choosing to pick your battles for the moment, you ignored the complete lack of table manners and instead watched as Djarin carried the kettle over to the tea pot, pouring the hot water in carefully. 

“Thank you,” you murmured to the wizard, spotting three plates and three mugs. He dipped his helmet to you wordlessly. Apparently in your new old age, your verbal filters had decayed, as you asked him, “Do you ever remove the helmet? It looks uncomfortable.”

The wizard froze for several long moments. Then he shrugged a bit. “I’m used to it,” he answered, carefully, almost testing the words for himself. “I don’t usually remove it around other people.”

“Why do you wear it?” you asked, giving him a quick once-over. You remembered seeing a helmet like his before, on the Witch, but she hadn’t been wearing hers. 

“Protects the face from spells gone wrong,” he answered. You couldn’t tell if he was being entirely serious or not. But you ceased questioning him, instead pouring out tea for the three of you. 

“Sugar?” you asked.

“You don’t have to--” the wizard started. 

You snorted and interrupted him. “Neither did you,” you pointed out, looking meaningfully at the table. 

His shoulders slumped and he seemed to accept your logic. “Two,” he told you, sounding vaguely grumpy under that helmet.

You hummed, pleased, and put two sugars in his tea. “I’d take the child off so you can eat in peace but I’m afraid he’ll make a mess,” you admitted.

“It’s fine,” Djarin assured you, picking up his plate and his tea. He took both upstairs with him. 

Breakfast and cleanup didn’t take long, and then you played with the child. Again. Djarin thumped his way back down the stairs at some point, looking at the two of you before heading for the door. Then he stopped and turned to look at you again. 

“I’ll be out the rest of the day,” he warned. “Don’t wait up for me.” He paused again, considering something. “Do you… need anything?”

“Thank you but no,” you told him. “The child could use a few toys, however. It would help keep him out of mischief.”

The wizard straightened at that and nodded. He looked rather like a man on a quest, or at least you presumed so from his body language seeing as you couldn’t see his expression. He turned with a flap of his cloak and left, the door clicking shut behind him.

[maryellencarter]

anyway so I've been rewatching sg-1 again, picking up where i left off a few years back. neither of us had a hammond voice ready to hand for that stargate fusion we've been posting, so i rewatched "message in a bottle" (figuring that since it was a bottle show it would have a good modicum of hammond, which it did), and then i was like "i forgot how much i love this show" and started going again. so i have some brief notes / thoughts.

* serpent's song: s2 ep18, the one where apophis dies (mostly). the big plotty goa'uld-y episodes usually bore me, but this one was pretty well done. the apophis actor is really good. (i cannot seem to remember his name, because it's something like peter williams and my brain autofills peter wingfield, whom he is definitely not.)

* one false step: that one with the naked androgynous humanoids in white body paint, with the infrasound stuff and the yodeling. this was one of the very early ones i saw by chance, so i don't actually have much of an opinion on it, other than that sure was an episode of sg-1 that exists.

* show and tell: the one with the reetou, the invisible insectoid race. there are a lot of episodes where some kid bonds with jack, because rda is one of those rare actors who are absolutely delighted to be handed a scene with a kid or a dog in it. these eps usually live or die by the quality of the child actor. this one was no great shakes.

* 1969: a classic episode for a reason and a motherfucking delight. launched a thousand time-travel stories. the actor who plays baby hammond, except for his eyes being brown and him being a little taller i would still swear they actually went back in time and got a young don s davis to play himself. also teal'c in disguise and just everything. except possibly daniel's german accent. i'm not sure if it was specifically regional (my own german accent is heavily austrian, my portugese accent is from sao paulo, it's a thing) or just very bad. but everything else.

* out of mind: sg-1 was commissioned for four seasons at once, so they had the luxury of doing those cliffhanger season endings without getting cancelled on them. this one is mostly a clip show. and it brings back hathor, whom nobody really missed. good cliffhanger though.

* into the fire: s3 opener. much badass, very wow. jack gets goa'ulded, hammond gets to be teal'c's gunner, everything is epic.

* seth: in which sg-1 infiltrates a cult led by stargate's version of set. lots of uncomfortable (for me) thematic stuff about You Should Reconnect With Family. didn't enjoy it.

* fair game: the one where those three goa'uld system lords come to earth for treaty talks with the asgard, and there was that one promo photo that definitely looked like a pitch for a wacky sitcom.

* legacy: fucking ma'chello. even dead, he can't stop causing trouble. this is the one where daniel is Temporarily Schizophrenic Because Of Reasons and we have the evergreen trope of the Psychiatrist You Want To Punch. :P

* learning curve: another one where jack makes friends with an alien kid. felt like it ran way too long and nobody actually asked questions to understand the situation, but the heartwarming ending did stick the landing.

* point of view: the quantum mirror one where we establish that you can't have two of the same person alive in the same parallel reality or the secondary one will start to die of extremely '90s cgi. also one of the ones that really started to push the sam/jack. (i have complicated feelings about sam/jack. some other time.)

* dead man switch: the one where an annoying alien bounty hunter captures sg-1 and tries to make them do things. notable mainly for establishing the phrase "pain in the mik'ta". (Jack: "Neck?" Teal'c: "No.")

* demons: really fucking obnoxious episode that tried to have villagers whose culture came from medieval england believe the sg-1 team were demons. like, i can understand having an axe to grind against christianity, but this was just fucking stage christianity tropes, the fat corrupt churchman with the ring and the skinny good friar in a ratty robe, and a lot of blithering about demons and not even getting the damn St Michael prayer remotely right. Also the writer seemed to think trepanning would always kill the subject, and had *Daniel* of all fucking people be the mouthpiece for that one, when Daniel should know better than anyone that trepanning has been a valid medical procedure for millennia! (Also who the hell tries to treat chicken pox with trepanning I swear to god. This was a bad episode and it should feel bad.)

* rules of engagement: didn't remember this one at all. in which apophis had set up a mock sg team boot camp for his soldiers to practice infiltrating the sgc. no strong feelings.

* forever in a day: the one where sha're dies. actually very well done, but i'm glad i checked the summary or all the out of order stuff would have confused me a lot. sets up the search for the harcesis child, or however you spell that, the captions are not reliable because they appear to believe in the word "asguard" as opposed to "asgard".

* past and present: you know, i wouldn't have said the return of linnea would interest me at all, but it was actually very well done. wrapped up nicely.

* jolinar's memories / the devil you know: a two-parter i definitely didn't remember, in which everybody is good under torture, we seem to have taken care of sokar for the moment, and apophis returns, now with a phantom of the opera mask.

* foothold: never got to see this one before. wanted to. it's good. the sgc gets taken over by aliens impersonating all their people except sam and teal'c. badassery ensues. also maybourne gets to be a halfway decent guy for a flickering second.

and that is as far as i have gotten! season three is being kind of boring. seasons four and five have many more of the episodes I'm looking forward to.

[dewitty1]

Eclipse

Mijan

Chapters: 20/20 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy, Peter Pettigrew, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Adventure, Slow Build, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Dark Magic, Slash, Plotty, Male Bonding

Summary:

"You're dead, Potter... I'm going to make you pay..."

 Draco swore his revenge on Harry for Lucius's imprisonment, and Harry all but laughed at him. But Draco is planning more than schoolyard pranks this time. The old rivalry turns deadly when Draco abducts Harry for Voldemort. It's the perfect plan, guaranteeing revenge, power, and prestige, all in one blow. But when Draco's world turns upside down, the fight to save himself and Harry begins, and the battle will take them both through hell and back. If they come back.

Excerpt:

Harry had flown by means of magic many times. Whether by broomstick, or illegal flying Ford Anglia, the air had been his domain. This, however, was totally different. He wasn't relying on something physically present to carry him aloft from beneath him. Instead, he felt an odd lightness wash over his body, and with a lurch, his feet left the ground.

The earth retreated from his feet. Draco was looking up at him, wand held steady, jaw set with the concentration of a man walking a tightrope. Without a net. Harry tried not to shudder at the thought, and quickly looked up. The branch was approaching him rapidly. Just a couple more feet...

Harry reached out and grasped the branch. Through his body, he felt the levitation charm falter, but it held steady. Trying to work within the charm, Harry carefully maneuvered himself onto the branch and straddled it. Once he had his balance, he swallowed, and finally let out the breath he'd been holding. "Okay, Draco. I'm all set."

An instant later, he felt the charm disappear, and he turned his attention to the peculiar parasitic plant on the branch in front of him. "Draco, how much of this stuff do we need?"

"Well," came the response from below, "the potion calls for seven large leaves, and seven berries, but I'd say it's always good to have extra. It looks like there's a lot of it up there, so we might as well get at least twice as much, you know, in case something happens."

"Okay," Harry said, not taking his eyes from the branch in front of him. He reached into the tuft of plant matter, found a stem, and quickly drew it across the blade. He repeated the action two more times, which gave him a large pile of loose foliage. "Okay, I'm going to drop it down." He glanced over the edge of the branch, where he could see Draco looking up at him intently from below. "You ready to catch it?"

Draco nodded, then shook his head. He reached into the travel sack, pulled out the cloak, quickly enlarged it, and spread it on the ground below Harry. "Now, drop it. That way, we won't loose any of the berries."

"Good idea." Gently, so as not to damage the plant any more than necessary, Harry untangled his stems from the rest of the mistletoe, held it out over Draco's cloak, and dropped it. It was pushed a bit by the breeze as it fell, but it landed softly amongst the blue folds of cloth. Harry smiled, and looked from the mistletoe to Draco's face.

Draco was smiling just as broadly. "Ready to come down, you funny looking squirrel, you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Actually, I was thinking of taking permanent residence in this tree. You know, begin gathering nuts for the winter. YES, I'm ready to come down!"

Draco laughed, but quickly set his face in a look of strict concentration. Seconds later, Harry felt the levitation charm permeate his body again. He released his grip on the branch, and the branch fell away beneath him. Draco lifted him up, to the side, and then slowly, he began to descend. It seemed to take forever for his feet to touch the earth, but it was such a relief to feel solid ground beneath him again as he set down in front of Draco. Again, he felt the charm rapidly fade away.

The stern set of Draco's jaw relaxed, and he breathed a visible sigh of relief.

Harry smiled at him. "And who says your levitation charms aren't the best?"

"Well, the ministry man who graded my Charms OWL, for one," Draco grumbled, "but I had a reason for that."

"Oh?"

Draco actually looked rather chagrined. "I believe I told you... just not in so many words. I was too busy paying attention to you. I... er... had a bad habit of doing that."

"Really, now?" Harry asked, taking a step closer.

Draco was rapidly going red in the face. "Come on, Harry... I haven't been able to ignore you since the first day of school, five years ago."

"Why's that?"

"Because," Draco said deliberately, "you were an annoying prat who made my life miserable at every turn. Everywhere I looked, there you were, doing some new amazing thing to charm the professors, impress the other students, and make me look like a fool. I couldn't avoid you even if I tried. And then, you walked into the middle of my Charms OWL, where I had actually been performing the best levitation charm I ever had – I'd had that wineglass dancing only seconds before you came in – and I turned to smirk at you, and bam! There goes my Charms OWL."

Although Draco's tone was serious, Harry had come to know him well enough to tell by the look in his eyes that he was being sarcastic. Quickly adopting the same frame of mind, Harry cocked his head and pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Don't you mean 'crash! There goes my Charms OWL'?"

Draco scowled.

Harry laughed. "Well, I haven't really been able to avoid you either, you know. You challenged me to duels and never showed up –"

"Only one duel," Draco mumbled.

"– you became the Slytherin Seeker, and sometimes, I swear you did it just so you could best me –"

"Yeah, worked like a charm, that did." Draco seemed even less impressed.

"– and best of all, you went to all the trouble of arranging this lovely camping trip for the both of us."

For a moment, it seemed that Draco wasn't sure whether or not Harry was serious. He must have decided quickly, because his grin suddenly matched Harry's. He sent a deliberate glance up at the tree branch where Harry had been perched just a minute before. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?"

Harry's gaze followed Draco's. The branch didn't seem any closer than it had when he'd first looked up, even though he'd already been up there. If Draco's charm had failed... well... he really didn't care to think about that. The point was that the charm had worked. "Yeah," Harry said. He looked back down and met Draco's eyes. "Yeah, we do. It's kinda funny, but we couldn't have done it without each other. Actually, I don't think either of us could have made it this far alone."

Draco's mouth suddenly fell open, as if he'd just realized something. "Merlin, that's what –" His mouth snapped shut again.

"That's what... what?"

Draco shook his head. "Just something I was thinking about last night."

"Oh?" Harry folded his arms across his stomach. "Care to enlighten me?"

"I... well... I just noticed how much we rely on each other. You've done things I can't do, I've done things you can't do. And we've each saved each other's lives. It's a weird sort of thing." Draco hesitated for a moment. "I'm... not used to relying on someone like that... but we really do make a good team."

Harry couldn't stop himself from smiling. "I've got to admit, I'm surprised, but yeah, we really do." He took a small step closer to Draco. "And you know what?"

"What?" Draco's reply was barely above a whisper.

"No matter how tonight turns out... these last two weeks have been... something really special." Harry's smile wavered, and he started to feel a bit depressed. It felt like he was saying things now, just in case he didn't have a chance later. He was also feeling just a bit warm under his woolen jumper, and wished that he'd taken it off earlier. Still, he had to say this, and now seemed like the right time. "I want you to know... I'm glad I finally got to know Draco. Not just 'Malfoy'. And I'm grateful for that."

Draco must have sensed the note of finality, because he frowned, despite his own words of reply. "I'm glad I got to know you, too, Harry. And we'll have plenty more time to get to know each other better, of course."

This time Harry's smile faded. "We will," he said, just as a new fear hit him.

In that moment, he realized that he really did want to get to know Draco better. The sum of the past two weeks swirled through his mind, and he realized that in that time, he'd come to know Draco in a way he'd never known anyone else. Sure, he'd gone through life-threatening situations with Ron and Hermione, but this was different. Very different. Their two weeks of isolation, traveling together, sharing secrets, sleeping back-to-back, and even rescuing each other had created a sort of friendship that he knew could never be duplicated; it was something rare and precious, and he needed to keep it. They'd come to the point where they could anticipate each other's words and actions, they knew how to push each other's buttons, and how to read each other's senses of humour. Like adjacent puzzle pieces, something just fit. If he didn't make it through tonight, he'd lose so much – his fight with Voldemort, his chance to protect the wizarding world from the fate of his parents, and his new friendship with Draco. It seemed that now, one of the things driving his will to live was his need not to leave Draco behind. He couldn't.

"We got through everything else together," Harry said, "and we'll get through this."

Draco took a tiny step closer. They were barely a foot apart now, and from there, Harry could almost feel Draco's shaking. Nerves, emotions, fear, worry... whatever it was that was causing such a reaction from Draco, it was starting to affect Harry too.

"We will," Draco said. Even his voice was shaking. "You-Know- er... V-Voldemort isn't so tough. The two of us against him... easy stuff, right?"

The false bravado felt good, and Harry gave a tight laugh. "Easy. Hell, he lost to a baby, right?" he joked, although he didn't actually believe a word he was saying.

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched in something resembling a smile. "Must have been one hell of a baby."

Harry shrugged. "The kid wasn't anything special," he said, feeling a bit more honest this time. "He just... he just was lucky enough to have someone there who... who... cared about him. A lot."

Draco shivered, but he looked into Harry's eyes with blazing sincerity. Although he was just a foot away, he didn't back up. "I care."

There were no qualifiers to follow; just a heartfelt statement, and Harry felt it to the pit of his stomach. "I know you do. That's why this is going to work." He forced a half-smile back onto his face. "But for now... we found the mistletoe..." He pointedly eyed the branch above him. "I think I'd suggested that you show me what to do with mistletoe, once we found it."

In a heartbeat, Draco's face went from pure sincerity to a look of utter incredulity. He blinked twice. "Wha-what?"

₍՞◌′ᵕ‵ू◌₎♡*✲ﾟ*｡⋆♡ོ

[galvanizedfriend]

Klaroline Fic Rec

Wanderlust by @bellemorte180​

Summary:  FBI Special Agent, Niklaus Mikaelson is sent to the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia to investigate a series of murders. When a serial killer’s most recent victim, Caroline Forbes, saves herself from a horrible fate, Klaus cannot help but begin to feel drawn to her. However, it seems that he is not the only one.

________________________

Why you should read it: Wanderlust is not just one thing.

It has a lot of Kc goodness, which is obviously what we're all mainly here for.

It's plot-driven, which is something I love so much about a good AU. Not that other types of stories aren't just as great, but it's not everyday we come across fics that have this kind of intricate plot. @bellemorte180‘s research and clever crafting of this idea just shines through. The way she leaves breadcrumbs and little foreshadowing all over the story to climax with the big reveal is so, so incredibly well thought. And because it's also a KC story, we can't help but feel invested in the characters and their journeys.

It has a lot of character-focused development. Caroline's story, in particular, is so good. It's mostly told through Klaus' POV, but the whirlwind of emotions Caroline goes through throughout the story is so compelling, and I really enjoyed how @bellemorte180 handled the whole thing with such care and thoughtfulness. It's not easy, seeing as Caroline's very much a victim of a violent crime. It was very delicate, and I loved her choices towards the end of the story and the way she decided to wrap it up. It showed a lot of touch!

It's a thriller, and like all best thrillers, it has an AMAZING build-up. The whole investigation has all these ups and downs that mislead you from the real killer, takes you towards different suspects. There are moments when you think the story is safe and then STUFF happens and you're held in suspense all over again! Even after the big reveal, stuff just don't stop happening! 

It has an amazing ensemble cast. Yes, I'm here for KC. HOWEVER. I am such a sucker for stories that bring other characters into the mix, and especially the ones that does so with such smart writing! Everyone has a part to play, everyone has motivations and they all relate to one another in different ways. I loved Bonnie in particular! And also Marcel. (I'm gonna talk about Vincent further down lol) Also, there are a number of glorious nods to canon, and that's so awesome. I love it when writers manage to transport canon into AU universes, it just makes the story feel loyal and the AU to be more believable. AUs, though amazing, can always just be disrupted in order to fit basically anything you want. But if you twist the characters too much, then what's the point, you know what I mean? You're just writing a random story with characters that have the same names. They're often not even similar to canon, which, again, IS THE WHOLE POINT. We fell in love with them because they had certain aspects to them, personalities, etc. And @bellemorte180 managed to keep all that, while also adding other awesome nods to stuff we know from other characters and things that happen to them in TVD. So KUDOS!!!

It has a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BRILLIANT CLIMAX. I'm not going to go into details about the killer because the whole fun is trying to piece the clues together, but I've already left a big comment to @bellemorte180 with all my thoughts on why I thought what she did was BRILLIANT and all the bits of it I thought I worked so well.

It has a really heartwarming epilogue that lets us see where the future takes our main characters and I thought it was SO sweet! Again, you were SO careful with how you worked these characters and their traumas and losses and all the things they had to work around after the main plot was done with, and this last little epilogue was super sweet. Personally, your ending would've been satisfying to me either way because I don't mind the whole classic walking off into the sunset type of story (not that I don't like those lol I just think there's more to great writing than classic happy endings and some stories just don't fit the bill), BUT. The fact you added this little snippet into their future was very generous of you to our KC hearts! 😂 I really loved it!

Last but not least, this story has VINCENT GRIFFITH as an amazing side character! He's like the VOICE OF REASON and a character that, despite playing not such a huge part, was SO important for me. I also already wrote a huge comment to @bellemorte180 to explain why I felt this way. Personally, I think it made ALL the difference and I was so, so, SO happy that she added Vincent and his parts. Not least because it showed, again, great sensibility on her part as a writer. Not to mention, Vincent, as the character that he is in TO, was the PERFECT guy for the job. And I love Vincent, so there's that.

Wanderlust is a super plotty, smartly-written thriller  that also happens to have amazing KC goodness to delight every aspect of our shipping hearts. It is no wonder this was SUCH a super success, probably the most popular story around fandom lately, and had so many people on betting pools trying to connect the dots and uncover the mystery! On top of everything that I already mentioned, it was also FUN AS HELL to follow this! And I think it's the PERFECT story for a good binge, especially if you, like me, don't really know how to wait for updates on stories with AWESOME BUT HEART-WRENCHING CLIFFHANGERS, O K A Y????

Thank you SO much for writing! I can't wait to see what else you'll come up with!

[llendrinall]

(1) Draco, Harry, Hermione & Ron (aged 23) all are working on a case. Harry & Ron are Aurors. Draco & Hermione are both Healers & Unspeakables. The case is something like a bunch of Death Eater wannabes trying to resurrect the dark lord. So while busting in on their ritual all 4 are transported to their younger bodies at different times. Draco (5), Ron (7), Hermione (9), Harry (11) (The day before Hagrid comes to fetches him.)

(2) Harry and Draco were married so they use a phrase to each other so the other knows that they're the other and then plan a meet in the Room of Requirements. After confirming that Ron and Hermione (Married) are who they are too they go to the meet too. While each playing the roles they had the first time around. They then work out a plan for the war (Since Draco hasn't found a way back they plan to change things).

(3) Draco needs to play the bully/death eater and work to save the lives of the war victims. While Harry, Ron and Hermione work out the horcrux ect. Befor and during the war they secretly work to make preperations and stuff to minimize the damage while also playing their parts as school rivals. And they manage to minimize the deaths and they manage to save a lot of familiar faces. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, George ect.

(4) So after Harry kills Voldemort (He had an argument with Draco cuz Draco was worried he wouldn't come back this time) they're in the grand hall and everyone just sees the golden trio going to Draco with smiles. Ron gives him a handshake, Hermione a Hug, and shockingly Harry kisses him infront of everyone (Draco's parents are like "WTF?") And says "Told you i wouldn't die." "Shut up you bloody git". (In my head its a long fic with a LOT of stuff added. I just wanna know how you'd write this)

 Mmh, yes this would be a long plotty fic, so I won’t detail the structure, just some of the elements I would use to build it.

First, I would have them go back to exactly one month before they turn 11. There is a very nice symmetry there and we avoid having Draco too long in his child’s body. An adult Draco in a 5-year-old body would be terrifying. Lucius would just flee the country.

So they go back to 11 minus one month. Harry and Draco have 1-2 summer months to get settled and start figuring things out, Ron gets around 7 months to think about family dynamics and draft a plan to contact his friends. Hermione has a whole year plus change to rage, study and come up with a definite plan to Get Things Right.

There is a beautiful tense scene as they board the train, because Harry and Ron don’t know if their friend is their old self or their young self. They are both very cautious around each other until Harry notices the way Ron looks at Scabbers and he knows. It just takes a couple of loaded comments afterwards to recognize each other.  

Hermione barges in their compartment in her usual way and they have to drop some very heavy hints to remind her they are not alone. They can’t spook Pettigrew.  Draco comes by, stares at Harry in silence for a whole minute and then passes him a note saying he can’t find the diary and also he ordered Dobby to go serve Harry, he should be waiting in Hogwarts. It is unclear whether Draco knows this Harry is the old Harry because Draco is, and has always been, kind of odd. It took them a while to discover it, but Draco is just a bunch or random powerful ideas held together with anxiety and fire. Harry loves him so much.

They go to Hogwarts. You would think that in this timeline Harry would be the most belligerent/hostile of them, but it is actually Hermione. Hermione is a nightmare student. She has a list of one hundred and fifty names and she is going to save all of them (except maybe Dumbledore and Snape). She has no time nor attention to waste in silly classes telling her what she already knows. She only comes to class sporadically, aces all her tests and hands out beautiful neat homework that barely took ten minutes out of her day to complete. Teachers hate her (or heavily dislike her), but they can’t expel her. It’s beautiful. The twins develop a crush on her.  

Harry waits patiently until Christmas so Dumbledore can gift him the Invisibility Cloak and then announces that he is not going back to the Dursleys. Dumbledore insists. Harry says softly “by Jove, I will not” and Dumbledore thinks about that exchange for a week. He forgets about it when ten days later there is an incident in Transfiguration class and McGonagall discovers that Ron’s pet rat Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew.

(They were going to wait until Quirrell tried to steal the philosopher’s. Hermione insisted they couldn’t deviate too much of the original timeline or they would lose their advantage of knowing what was going to happen. If something was going to change, it was better to attach it to some other important event.

But Harry pointed out that it would be much easier to keep Sirius alive if he had some extra months of freedom and he didn’t have to live as a fugitive and Ron was certain that they would be fine even if they changed everything. It wasn’t just their knowledge of the events to come, it was their knowledge, period, their experience.

Ron is a man now, and adult, and he is kind of freaked out at the shenanigans they did when they were merely children. What were they thinking? Was there no competent adult to point out that were kids? It shouldn’t be up to them to rescue Sirius or Buckbeak, what in the seven hells.)

Anyway, Sirius is freed and Dumbledore is forced to explain everything about prophecies and love magic and blood protection early, because Harry insists he is going to live with Sirius. Harry agrees to go back to the Dursleys for two weeks, but Sirius has to come with him and no, he will not come as a dog, that’s demeaning. He will spend his time at the Dursleys as a human, thank you very much.

Sirius is the first adult to realize that there is something not quite right about Harry. The others had noticed that Harry was… special. But Sirius is the first one to see through, although he doesn’t know what he is seeing exactly.

Lucius still uses the Diary against the Weasleys, but this time Ron picks it up. Their first week back in Hogwarts, they all go for a nice excursion down to the Basilisk lair. They bring the Diadem, too. Harry speaks to the Basilisk and both horcruxes are destroyed.

The rest of the year is spent plotting. Draco takes on the role of the bully and plays it up to hilarious heights. He picks on everyone, and that’s everyone, except Neville and Luna. Funnily, Cedric Diggory is a big fan of him and always answers to Draco’s banter.

Draco suggests having a Duel Club to Lockhart. There has been no student attacks, of course, but Lockhart loves the idea and Draco wants the opportunity to fight Harry and make ridiculously sexually charged comments. They have five very nice duelling sessions until the curse of the DADA post acts up and professor Lockhart is unavailable the rest of the year.

(Harry tutors everyone in his year so this time people will actually now how to cast a protego. Ginny comes to the classes too and is by far his best student).

That summer, Ron has a very long chat with Percy explaining everything. Ron is now eight years older than Percy and understand why his brother fell to the Ministry and rejected his family. The Weasleys had pushed him that way, hadn’t they? Ron also understands that suddenly being nice to Percy and giving him recognition won’t work. It’s too late. But telling Percy they come from another timeline in which Fred died gets Percy’s attention immediately. Percy spends a whole weekend freaking out in silence (nobody notices, of course, and boy is Ron appalled at his family dynamics). Come Monday, Percy emerges relatively calm, all things considered. He has given himself a haircut and is resolved to infiltrate the Ministry.  

The locket is destroyed that summer. They let Sirius and Kreacher do it.

They were hoping to have all horcruxes down before Voldemort rose back, but Pettigrew escapes Azkaban and Voldemort comes back a year ahead of schedule. (Early 4th year).

Dumbledore locates the ring. Despite warnings from all of them (and Snape) he still puts the ring on and gets a curse for it. Hermione says if he is going to be like that, she will take him from her To-Save list.

Barely eight months after Voldemort comes back to power, the Ministry is full of his followers. For now, Voldemort is happy with acting from the shadows, but soon he will want more and the four of them want to avoid open war as much as possible.

Percy sends Ron Helga’s cup, broken. Ron asks how he did it in case they ever find themselves in a similar situation (new timeline and all), but Percy only says that he asked politely. That means there are only two (two? Or is it one?) horcruxes remaining. Draco decides to speed things up, before Voldemort stars his terror campaign. He tells his father than Dumbledore has a mysterious ring with an interesting crest and that’s enough to have Voldemort attack Hogwarts with all his might.

It may not seem like a good idea, but if you think about it it’s much better to have dark wizards try to take over a castle than over a cottage where a half-blood family lives. Plus, now they don’t have to sweep Britain looking for Nagini. They can see her perfectly well down in the grounds trying and failing to eat Hagrid.

The battle draws on and almost becomes a siege. The Ministry comes to help, only they help Voldemort’s side, what with being infiltrated and all.

It’s still preferable to the years of the war.

Sirius has been put under a careful and insistent treatment of “Sirius, no”, so he actually stops when he is told to, he doesn’t follow Pettigrew to a trap and he isn’t killed by Bellatrix. Well done, Sirius! Another advantage of Sirius surviving, beyond the fact that he survived, yay, is that he gets to save Snape when Voldemort decides he might not be a good double spy after all. Snape hates the idea of owing his life to Sirius. It is very entertaining.

Neville kills Bellatrix Lestrange. Luna kills Nagini (and feels bad for it, and cries, sweet Luna, may she always have a soft heart). Peter Pettigrew dies in a freak accident in which both the giant squid and the twins are involved. Cedric Diggory bullies seven Ministry wizards into switching sides.

Things are going good. There are many wounded, more than the last time, but no dead, not on their side.

Harry knows he will have to die, again. And it will have to be Voldemort. He can’t risk having anyone else cast the curse (would they even meant it?). They have changed so many things… They can’t be sure that all those changes won’t coalesce in this one instant in time. They can’t be sure that Harry will make it back.

But Harry still goes, because that’s what he has to do. He tries to make things as similar as possible, act the same way, say the same things. Maybe having Sirius and Moody and Tonks and Lupin alive and well and fighting won’t matter if Harry just follows the script on this.

But just in case it will matter, just in case Harry doesn’t come back this time, he throws some ad lib.

“Hey, Tom,” Harry says, holding his thumb between his index and middle finger. “I’ve got your nose.”

Well, at least he can be sure that Voldemort means it when he cast the curse.

 The honour of killing Voldemort falls on Hagrid this time. It isn’t pretty.

And Harry comes back. Draco forgives him just for having said that line.

[7team7]

Choosing Fate: Chapter 6

A spark is lit — but where? // Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

A/N: wow did not expect people to read the long ass authors note in the previous chapter let alone get so many reviews about it, thank you to everyone for your kind words and reassurance!! It means a lot and im very glad people are enjoying this story so far!! I read a tweet describing writing as often lonely and it’s very comforting to have people along for the ride :)

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Sakura quickly grew fond of Itachi and Izumi and made it a priority to visit them when she had a spare moment. At first, Sasuke let her go on her own if he was busy, but lately he had also been making it a point to accompany her. She just couldn’t figure that boy out, but she let him be. It was nice to have someone to walk with.

At first, she tiptoed around the subject of children and stuck with an exaggerated concern for their general health. She was the younger brother’s wife, what place did she have to speak of such things anyway?

But Izumi quickly soothed her nerves and made it clear that she valued Sakura’s opinion. She was open with her desire for children, as well as their struggle to conceive. Despite all this, Sakura still felt a little uncomfortable addressing the topic. She also thought the desire for children ran deeply through the Uchiha clan, like an indoctrination. Family seemed to be reduced to bloodline and it gave her chills.

She chose to speak in metaphors, using her background as a farmer’s daughter to carefully conceal the true weight of her words, “If you care for the soil, it will be generous in return. Fertility is…a fickle thing. You can’t force it. You must feed it properly, allow it to breathe. The earth is splendid, but the circumstances matter greatly. Patience is key, not everyone understands how long it takes to bear fruit. But all your hard work will make the reward so much sweeter.”

Izumi nodded slowly at this. “And you’ll help us with this?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Sakura beamed. Anything to feel like she knew her role in this strange clan, to feel needed, to feel useful.

She felt Sasuke’s gaze rest heavily on her while he sipped from his cup of tea.

.

Like any other morning, Sasuke was packing to go to the market when Sakura hesitantly approached him. “Ah, Sasuke?”

“Hm?”

“So..how about the market?”

“What about it?”

She wrung her hands, “Have you considered what I said before? Perhaps I could go to the market with you today? You know, to sell herbs. I’ve gathered quite a few bottles of dried stuff, I think it could fetch a fair price.”

Her husband grunted. He turned away from his bags to face her and pinch his nose, as if at war with his own thoughts. Was it so hard to tell her yes or no? she wondered.

Why did she challenge him so? he wondered.

He finally let out a sigh, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Put your things in here, I can carry it for you.” He opened his bag wider and gestured towards it.

“It’s fine, I can do it myself.”

“They’re not heavy, just add it to my bag.”

“But your bag is full of big, heavy, sharp things that could break my things. I’ll carry my things, you carry yours,” she said with a distinct air of finality.

He shook his head at her satisfied expression; why was she always right?

Even if his father objected to Sakura coming along, she could surely argue (or charm) her way through.

.

Sasuke instantly regretted bringing Sakura with them. There was something in the air that day, something he didn’t like. He couldn’t help but swing his head around in paranoia as they walked through the rows to find a spot.

Sakura didn’t seem to pick up on it, more excited about being back there than anything else. She had never bought from the Uchihas herself even if her parents probably had, so she was interested to see them in action. She greeted some of the regular vendors, it had really been a while and it was nice to see that even if her life had changed drastically, some things were always the same. She even stopped to ask a familiar fisherman how his family was doing when Sasuke came up behind her and lightly placed his hand on her back, “Sakura.”

“Oh, Sasuke. What is it?” The warmth of his hand felt like it was going to burn a hole through her clothing as he applied more pressure to guide her forward.

“Stay close to me.”

His tone was often serious, but the concern laced in his voice easily convinced her to bid goodbye to the fisherman and continue walking with Sasuke.

“Is something wrong?”

He didn’t answer and only spoke again when they reached an open space to set up. “Here is good, right?” When Fugaku gave a nod of approval they started unpacking. Sakura noticed there were only a few pottery pieces in their selection that day, everything else was a weapon of some sort. Sakura shivered when some of the blades glinted in the sunlight; they really did look well-made — meaning they must be deadly.

Their first customer bought several things at once and the surprise must’ve been evident on their faces because he said gruffly, “Reports of bandits on the roads, crime and the like. Not taking any chances.” He nodded towards Sakura’s herbal offerings, “What’s this?” After hearing her explain some of their uses, he purchased a jar too. “Seriously, not taking any chances.”

What a strange interaction, Sakura thought as the man walked off. Sasuke caught her eye as if to say I told you so. If there really were bandits or something similar, then his intuition was correct. The atmosphere just didn’t seem right.

Several others seemed to have the same idea because more knives were bought up quickly. Just as Fugaku was about to comment on their luck that day, they heard shouting from the other side of the marketplace. It seemed like everyone in the area noticed at the same time, a swell of people looking up and quieting down.

“Don’t think you can get away with stealing!” a shrill voice, presumably a merchant, cried.

“Stealing? This shit belongs to me, everyone in Konoha is a thief. Look around, you can’t think you all just earned this? ” the other man taunted.

“Don’t you dare speak of Konoha like that! You need us far more than we would ever need you!” the merchant spat with distaste.

“Come over here and fight me if you’re so mad!” the man all but roared.

The sound of glass shattering, a scream.

Then all hell broke loose as multiple men started tussling with each other, almost at the same exact time.

Almost as if it was planned that way.

Their crude shouts and pained grunts could be heard all around as they kicked up dust in the melee. They were stationed far enough from the commotion that they weren’t in danger, but Sasuke���s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Looking back on it, Sasuke realized there were clearly a high number of outsiders at the market, as noted by the differences in their clothing. Konoha was no stranger to visitors, but these agitators clearly weren’t there for a vacation.

Before the fight was even broken up, people came around and purchased more of their wares. The largest knives went first. As their selection thinned out, Sasuke decided it would be best to return home. “We’re leaving,” he said tersely, causing Sakura to tear her eyes away from the violence. For once, she decided to listen to him. “Yes,” she said breathily, helping to pack up as well. Fugaku nodded silently, but he was also distracted, uneasy.

The word on the street was that someone who had left Konoha after living there for many years was the one arguing with a merchant. No matter the situation, Sasuke didn’t like the feeling in the air, the feeling gathering in the pit of his stomach, one bit.

.

“Maybe I can go by myself sometime in the future. I doubt something like that will happen again now that everyone has been alerted.” Sakura tried to pretend like everything was normal, if not to soothe her own nerves, then to soothe Sasuke’s.

“I told you before, it’s not safe.” He couldn’t count on “something like that” not happening again. If anything, it put him on high alert.

“If you’re so worried about me, why don’t you teach me how to fend people off?” She was growing weary of this same argument.

“I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“Sasuke.”

“There’s no reason why I can’t accompany you for your own safety.”

“I really can take care of myself, you know.”

“I have no doubts about that. This is for my own peace of mind.” He went a little red at the admission, but it was true. Wasn’t that the role of the husband? To protect the wife? If he failed at that, he would never be able to forgive himself.

But he knew how much she valued her freedom by the way she didn’t give up on this. “Fine, you go everywhere with me. Still, shouldn’t I know something? Maybe I should carry one of those knives we sell?” Being completely reliant on her husband and father-in-law didn’t sit well with her.

“We need to be realistic,” he said as a way of evading the real issue.

“And we can’t live in fear forever. Believe me, I don’t want to think about it, but what if you aren’t there? We should prepare for anything and everything.” Rather than fighting him on this, she spoke softly in an attempt to appeal to the heart that he was revealing to her day by day. He truly seemed worried for her safety.

He contemplated for a while, a troubled look flashing across his fine features. “Sakura…” he finally started slowly, “what about using what you already know?” She wanted to roll her eyes, “I don’t know anything because you haven’t taught me anything.”  

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. If you can heal with all your herbs...wouldn’t you also be able to hurt someone just as easily?”

Fire danced in her eyes; it wasn’t pure Uchiha, it was distinctly Sakura, but it still burned bright.

.

.

A/N: Rather plotty sorry but I’m not planning to introduce a lot of the characters who make naruto such a complicated story LOL mostly just ideas and consequences of war and colonization. And even the characters already included will take a back seat as ss start falling in love :P Konoha is the true evil of naruto fr fr and it pisses me off that sss fam has to go through so much for that shit hole so here we are. There will be tension bc think of it as Konoha Sucks but a village like the hidden sound is the one attacking. Again I’m a lazy writer/researcher lmfao so I won’t be getting into the specifics of fertility and real health stuff so reader’s choice, imagine what you please, haha I am no expert

[solarcitymelodies]

Long af post warning oops 😐✌️

You know what? I'm gonna say it. Ventriloquism community (or lack thereof) hot takes.

This art is dying for so many reasons, and it's not just because the people in the community are so old that we are literally dying off-- it's how dated this art is in general. Like, people aren't willing to try new things, and it's very bothersome. The thing is, we've been doing random comedic banter for decades, and that worked for a really long time! But that was before streaming was a thing. It's easier now to follow a more in depth plot because you're not worried about people missing certain things. That's why so many characters in ventriloquist acts are pretty much always the same: so you don't miss anything. And the puppets, as characters, tend to be just a few steps shy of seeming organic, because they're really only there to propel the comedic effect.

Mostly, this art has been boiled down to not moving your lips, but here's my big huge hot take: the heart of ventriloquism isn't how well you can appear as if you're not talking, it's how well you can make convincing, realistic characters that get people invested. That's where the REAL core of it is, because if people are invested in the character, they aren't paying attention to how much your lips are moving, and we have proof of that.

Peter Brough was a massively famous ventriloquist way back when, but here's the thing-- he didn't do live shows very often at all. Most of his work was over the radio, where nobody could actually see whether or not he was doing ventriloquism, and people just had to trust that he was. And he was, they saw that when he did the few live shows he did, but apparently he wasn't very good at it. Did people care? Nah. They were in it for Archie Andrews, the little puppet gremlin that everyone just adored.

And so I find it interesting that our community celebrates his work, which was highly story-driven and relied on that rather than how much his lips were moving to create the effect of ventriloquism, but they also don't want to give any other story-driven shows a chance?? Especially seeing as the way we're doing things now clearly isn't working. I think we could learn a think or two from Peter here.

I mean... Honestly? With fandom culture and all that... That's how you get people interested in things, is having a community based around characters people like. So, like, as weird as it sounds, yeah, I'm saying that we need to make ventriloquism acts more accessible to fandom culture, because that will help build the community. The only way to really do that is to make the shows more dynamic, more fleshed out, more plotty, I guess. We gotta give people something to care about. This is why I really like what Trillo and Suede does, because even though it is yet another old white guy playing with some puppets, it's so different, and that's a good thing! There's characters you can actually connect with and relate to and get super invested in, and it gives us all that without sacrificing the comedy, which is of course a HUGE part of our roots. I don't think we'll ever drop the comedy out of our acts. That's what we're built on. But it wouldn't hurt to take ourselves just a bit more seriously.

Creating characters that are just undeniably human no matter how nonhuman they actually are is the whole point, and we forget that there's SO many ways to do that. Like, David Strassman does a really good job finding other ways to bring the show to life, but I think the most iconic way he does this (and debatably the most iconic thing he does ever lmao) is with robotics.

it's cool as fuck, lemme show you. (The cool stuff starts at 2:08) also I should warn you this man swears a LOT and has very vulgar humor so I apologise in advance for that

https://youtu.be/RdaDUIJayC0

This is literally so cool?? AND NOBODY IS ACKNOWLEDGING IT???? There are so many cool things we can do with modern technology that can make this art, like, infinitely cooler so that the new generation can actually take an interest in it, and it's disappointing that we're not taking advantage of it.

We've been using the same routines and the same formats for way too long. It is not 1833 anymore, unfortunately, and even though it's not entirely our fault that people have less interest in ventriloquism nowadays, it... Partially is, because we're not making any attempt to invite them in. We're losing our chance and it really sucks to see.

So like basically what I'm saying here/TLDR ventriloquist humor is outdated and I think we'd gain a greater audience if we had more substance to the characters we create :)) also stop making termite jokes for the love of god if I hear one more termite joke I will scream

[trensu]

Episode 9: the One where They ~FROLIC IN THE FOREST~

We’re back at the dancing fairy cave.

Stuff happens here that’s, you know, plotty

We’re gonna ignore all that

OUR FIRST WANGXIAN MOMENT OF THE EPISODE is when wwx defends lwj from jc’s ire (oh yeah, one of the plotty things is that jc suddenly is here. Not important why).

Jc is all pissy (bc when isn’t he, honestly?) at wwx for having to chase after him (which he didn’t technically have to but bros don’t abandon their bros to unknown circumstances, okay?) and is complaining angrily about it

Wwx: hey, I’M the one who wanted to follow lwj around because i love him, so don’t get mad at him!

And then wwx looks over at lwj with a little smile on his face, so sweet so sweet!

Plot plot exposition plot

We have to chase down the Smoky Owl of Evil and kill it now for Plot Reasons!

Lol, wwx traps jc, nhs, AND wen qing (oh she’s here now too, btw) in his Golden Glowy Net of Protection so he and lwj can go track down the Smoky Owl of Evil together

Wwx, probably: “STOP INTERRUPTING MY DATE WITH LWJ, GUYS, JEEZ”

And now our beautiful boys are in the middle of the woods when suddenly SPOOKY FOG ROLLS IN WITH OMINOUS MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND

SHIT’S ABOUT TO GET SERIOUS

Oh nooo, the fog separates them!! Wwx is worriedly calling out “lan zhan, lan zhan!”

Luckily they bump into each other pretty quick so they’re together again

Except, oops, JUST KIDDING

Wwx takes like, two steps to one side and loses lwj again. Even tho lwj is literally right there next to him

But he doesn’t know that so he’s worried and being all cute about it. He bites his knuckle and is thinking “oh noooo, what if the Smoky Owl of Evil got him?!?” So he’s calling out for him, again

EVEN THO HE’S ONLY LIKE, TWO FEET AWAY, LET ME REITERATE

LWJ seems to be able to see wwx just fine bc the look he gives him is all “r u srs, i’m right here”

Thankfully lwj is clever and makes bichen light up all blue and pretty like an epic glow stick. It matches his outfit!! (i’ve decided he did this on purpose. He definitely can control what color his sword lights up as and coordinates it accordingly with his clothes. No, i will not be taking criticisms, because I am Right)

LWJ: I’m right next to you

WWX: *surprised gasp* You should’ve said something!

Uh, he just did wwx, keep up now.

LWJ: the fog is creating hallucinations

WWX: that’s alright! I’ll just get rid of it using my ~glitter talisman~

EXCUSE ME, WHAT??

WHAT IS A GLITTER TALISMAN?

OF COURSE YOU INVENTED A GLITTER TALISMAN, YOU CHAOTIC BI

Too bad it doesn’t work! i wanted to see it in action :( :( :(

Lwj: the fog is also disorienting the mind so you can’t focus

Don’t worry wwx, your talisman didn’t fail because you were having performance issues

It failed because the fog is Evil

WWX: Wait!! Why isn’t your mind being disturbed?

Lwj: it mostly disturbs minds that have lots of thoughts in them

Wwx: *cheeky grin* ah, it’s making use of my infinite wisdom~

Lwj: *looks away in exasperation*

I guess lans are Above rolling their eyes at someone (tho I'm pretty sure he's rolled his eyes at him before) but the way lwj did that gave off intense eye-rolling vibes, let me tell ya

OMG A SENTIENT CHAIN OF EVIL ATTACKS THEM OUT OF NOWHERE

Thankfully lwj is a Skilled Fighter and was able to block it with his sword while doing a SUPER DRAMATIC TWIRL OF DODGING

Ooooh, and when he lands, wwx appears right beside him and they go back to back without even pausing to think

BC THEY’RE SOULMATES AND CAN FIGHT IN SYNC AHHHHHH

WWX: lan zhan, are you okay?

He sound so serious here, and with his determined expression, wwx is ready to get down to business on this evil chain that attacked his lwj

LWJ: I’m fine *still super alert to his surroundings bc he’s an awesome cultivator and that’s what they do*

Okay, pause for a moment to point out how funny the camera shots from above are. The fog almost completely obscures wwx in his dark clothes, but lwj sticks out like a sore thumb. So every time we get one of these shots, it just looks like lwj is chilling by his lonesome in this mega foggy forest lol

Oh, dude, this next part is SO FREAKING COOL

So they’re back to back still, and surrounded by Evil Fog

Lwj: wei ying, focus your senses!

The both of them close their eyes to focus intensely

the the camera is down below, angled up so that LWJ and WWX look tall and slightly elongated but in a badass way!

And then the camera circles around them slowly to really show you just how badass and good looking they are before doing a quick spin around them with DRAMATIC MUSIC in the background

Okay, i’m done geeking out about the camera shot (idk why, guys, but i love those kinds of shots. They’re so thrilling every time!!)

Also LOOK AT MY BOYS BEING ALL FOCUSED AND SERIOUS. GO GET EM SWEETIES, I BELIEVE IN YOU

At this point they haven’t even looked at each other or their surroundings but lwj starts a plan

Lwj: Split fire talisman

That’s it. That’s all he says to wwx.

Without hesitation, wwx sheathes suibian and pulls out that talisman

THEY TRUST EACH OTHER IMPLICITLY

I MEAN, COME ON

THEY’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST SURROUNDED BY EVIL MIND-ALTERING FOG

AND WWX SHEATHES HIS SWORD LIKE NBD JUST WITH A WORD FROM LWJ??

AAAAHHHHHHH

SOULMATES ON THE BATTLEFIELD

I LOVE IT

I LOVE IT SO MUCH

AND NOW THEY’RE MOVING ALL SYNCHRONIZED,  LWJ BLOCKING EVIL CHAINS WITH BICHEN AND WWX DETERRING OTHER EVIL CHAINS USING THE TALISMANS

AND THEY’RE STILL BACK TO BACK, CIRCLING AROUND TO KEEP EACH OTHER SAFE!!!!!

THEY’RE SUCH A GREAT TEAM 

Then we cut for a moment to see how nhs, jc, and wq are doing in their Golden Glowy Net of Protection (it looks kind of like a birdcage actually...glowy golden birdcage of protection?? hmm)

And we’re back at the epic forest fight scene!!

OMG THAT WAS SUCH A COOL MOVE RIGHT HERE

THERE WAS A CHAIN COMING AT WWX AND HE STRAIGHT UP BACKFLIPS OVER LWJ WHILE LWJ SWOOPS TO TAKE HIS PLACE AND HIT THE CHAIN WITH BICHEN

AHHHHH

THIS IS WHAT ROMANCE LOOKS LIKE, GUYS, DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE

IF YOU CAN’T DO EPIC BATTLE MOVES WITH YOUR S.O. ARE YOU REALLY MEANT TO BE??

But oh no!! One of the evil chains catches wwx by the neck and drags him away!!

It made him drop his sword!!

IT TIED HIM TO A TREE!!

don't think kinky thoughts don't think kinky thoughts dontthinkkinkythoughts

Oh, now wwx is playing dead lol

Suddenly the Smoky Owl of Evil swoops in to attack his “dead” body (because that bird is a coward that lacks honor)

AND WWX CATCHES IT WITH HIS BARE HANDS

WWX: did you think you could outsmart me?? *proceeds to choke the poor bird to death, yikes*

Lwj finally catches up to wwx but sees that the bird’s been sufficiently murdered so he sheathes bichen

Wwx: did you see who was controlling the Smoky Owl of Evil?

LWJ: Nope.

(God, LWJ, you had ONE JOB)

LWJ: he or she was mind-controlling it from somewhere Not Here.

(Oh, nevermind then. You're forgiven)

LOL WWX’S FACE

LIKE, YOU MEAN I NEARLY GOT CHOKED TO DEATH WITH AN EVIL CHAIN FOR NOTHING???

Wwx: *kicks dead bird petulantly*

Side note: A-yuan makes a brief appearance here! Wwx and LWJ go check on their pals who are with the Wens and A-yuan is there!! 

It doesn’t really make sense bc i’m pretty sure between now and the end of the sunshot campaign, a few years have passed?? so a-yuan should be much older later, but you know what? I DON’T EVEN CARE.

WHATEVER! I’M NOT HERE FOR THE PLOT. 

OR SENSIBLE TIMELINES. 

TIME IS MEANINGLESS. 

TRUE LOVE IS FOREVER. 

ALSO A-YUAN IS FREAKING ADORABLE SO I’M NOT GONNA COMPLAIN!

And now we’re getting more plot exposition about the dancing fairy

It’s less painful this time bc wen qing is the one doing it and she’s gorgeous (take a moment to drown in her big brown bambi eyes! please marry me, wen qing)

More plot stuff happens.

Wwx tricks nhs and jc into chasing after a chicken so he can have ~alone time~ with lwj

Except not really bc they’re there to interrogate wq about the yin iron, aka the main plot device in this story arc

Wwx: the fairy started snatching souls bc the Plot Device was taken from it, right? That’s why it only went after lan zhan when we were fighting it!

Detective!WWX is so cute and clever!!

But god forbid wwx stays serious for more than a minute straight heh straight when not in immediate danger bc then he’s all

Wwx: the only other possible explanation is...IT HAD A CRUSH ON LAN ZHAN LOLOL

(Which, i mean, who wouldn’t, right?)

THE LOOK ON LWJ’S FACE AT THIS! LOL

LWJ: Shut UP

they’re talking serious plot stuff again, boring.

Oh, JC and WQ have a moment and the only reason i’m mentioning it is bc WWX goes and interrupts it, THAT’S KARMA BABY LOL

Now they’re in a town! Not the flower-petal town from before. A different one. Idk.

A hawker stops wwx and gives him a sample of alcohol and lwj gives wwx a disdainful look like ‘r u srs?’ before walking off

The NANOSECOND wwx sees lwj walking away from him, he ditches Mr. Let-me-give-you-free-alcohol and chases after him

Yes, the budding alcoholic ditches the Free Alcohol Man

THAT’S TRUE LOVE BABY

Lol he grabs lwj by the ribbon thing hanging off his shoulder (not the Marriage Ribbon, unfortunately)

Lwj glares at him but it’s like, a mild one

WWX: wait, where are you going??

Lwj: looking for the gentry. For info. *tries to walk away*

Wwx: WAIT *grabs lwj by the forearm*

Lwj: *stares at where wwx is touching him until wwx lets go*

WWX TAKE IT EASY ON POOR LAN ZHAN

HE’S ONLY JUST REALIZED HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU

HE CAN’T HANDLE YOU TOUCHING HIM YET

Wwx: don’t go without me! You’ll info-gather wrong!!

Lwj: how should i do it then?

Wwx: *cute little grin that shows off his beauty mark*

(gaaahhh, i can’t handle it when he smiles like this, it kills me every time!! that beauty mark is deadly)

Wwx: you should go to the wine house for info instead!!

JC: you just want to get drunk (oh yeah, he’s still here guys, fyi)

Wwx: HOW DARE! I can separate business from pleasure! Ppl gossip at wine houses! We’ll definitely get info there!

and now nhs is joining them

Nhs: lets go find a place to rest

Wow, lwj is staring pretty hard at nhs

It’s a stare that’s like “y r u talking to my soulm8, stop that”

AND THEN WWX GRABS BOTH JC AND LWJ BY THE ARMS AND RUNS, DRAGGING THEM BOTH BEHIND HIM

IT’S SO CUTE

HE’S SO HAPPY!! HE’S GOT THE TWO BOYS HE LOVES MOST IN THE WORLD WITH HIM!!

Also, lol lwj is so stiff even as wwx forces him to run

We’re at the wine house

Wwx slams down an obscene amount of money on the table (at least i think it’s obscene going off of jc’s expression and subsequent scolding about how wwx is gonna be broke BUT JOKE’S ON HIM BC WWX IS GETTING HIMSELF A SUGAR DADDY IN THE FUTURE)

Now he’s chatting up the waiter for info and we get Plot Details and an ooky-spooky story about the now deceased Chang clan

I only specify this bc the Plot Device tucked in lwj’s robes starts acting up aND CAUSING LWJ PAIN!! 

NOT COOL, PLOT DEVICE, VERY NOT COOL!

Wwx is hovering all worriedly at his shoulder and mother-henning him.

The Plot Device gives LWJ a vision(!!) that sends them to the Chang clan’s residence

And we get surprise dead bodies accompanied by unholy screeching when we get there!!

Like. SO MANY dead bodies!

LWJ and WWX are Concerned!!

And that’s the end of episode 9.

This episode imo has is the best fight scene of the show. There’s more dramatic ones later on, but in terms of seeing wwx and lwj battle together in a not-ridiculously-over-the-top fashion? This one wins hands down! Gold Star to my boys!!

Return to Masterpost

[captain-aralias]

8, 15, 17, 28 for the writer meme, if you didn’t already get any of those

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

i just answered this, but since it’s you, i’ll go for some blake ;) hm.... 

i must say, i think i have written some pretty great dialogue for blake’s 7 in my time. here’s one of my favourite bits - 

“It’s a quality operation,” Vila said. “They wouldn’t skimp on a thing like that. You want a boyfriend, Blake – and I want to go to Del Ten. Give me your promise that we can spend a week there once we find Docholli and I’m your man.”

“Vila, once we’ve found Docholli, we will have the key to finding Star One,” Blake pointed out.

“Are there any dancing girls on Star One?”

“I very much doubt it.”

“Then I’d still rather go to Del Ten,” Vila said.

“Couldn’t you wait?” Blake suggested. “Until after we blow up Star One?”

“After you blow up the Federation’s weather control systems, you mean?” Vila said. “And throw the civilised world into chaos? Right, I’m sure that would be a lovely time to take a holiday. Got any more suggestions like that, Blake? Perhaps I should invest in the stock market at the same time.”

“Two days,” Blake said. “I could give you two days on Del Ten.”

“A week!” Vila repeated.

Blake shut his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He willed himself to find the strength to complete this conversation and make the right choices.

“Oh, Blake,” Vila said kindly. “You really need this, don’t you?”

Blake felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up into Vila’s sympathetic eyes. “Yes,” he said with relief. “I’m sorry, Vila. I don’t want to put you in this position. But I really do need this.”

“You’re going to have to give in then,” Vila told him in the same kindly tone as before. “Unless,” he said, a twinkle in his eye, “that is, you want to ask Avon to be your boyfriend...”

i could have quoted this entire scene - even this is a lot. i love writing blake and avon, i love writing avon and vila, but i really really love writing blake and vila together because there are some lovely moments in canon to draw on. they’re two characters who have very little in common except that they’re both smart. this conversation is about how blake - who almost always gets his own way - now needs something he can’t just demand that vila does, and that gives vila the upper hand repeatedly throughout this conversation. blake, even though he knows this is an awkward conversation and really should be better prepared. 

i also like the different lengths of the dialogue - it has a good patter. 

it’s also funny, and funny because it’s cruel to someone (in this case blake, not usually), which is very blake’s 7. also also - it ends with vila insinuating what is essentially the plot - i.e. that avon will have to pretend to be blake’s boyfriend by the end of the story - and this is a trick that i always enjoy for a section end. the audience is like - oh ho, wouldn’t that be simply TERRIBLE? ;) ;) 

good times.

--

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

hm - not sure. maybe right now ... ‘Hang the Moon’? it’s got a lot of good action that would translate well to film, and i have a very clear idea of how most of the scenes look.

it would be kind of weird, though, right to have a film of a ‘carry on’ fanfic before we have a ‘carry on’ film. so i’m finding it quite hard to visualise. 

i would have loved to have written some dialogue for blake’s 7 people to actually say (assuming they remembered how to do the voices properly, paul darrow). i would be so embarrassed to present paul darrow with my porn, though (although ‘An Apple Cleft in Two’ would be so great, though, as it’s practically a bodyswap - i love the idea of seeing the real stephen pacey pretending to be blake, and paul darrow just being so angry), so it would have to be some sort of gen. 

ok - i think i choose ‘Showdown’ because it basically is ‘Duel’, so I know the Beeb could have staged it. it’s got some mega emotion that gareth would have done beautifully, too - 

Blake extracted his hand slowly from Avon’s. He pressed his fingers against Avon’s wrist and waited, but there was no pulse. He let the hand drop and tried the artery in Avon’s neck, but he knew he was just prolonging the inevitable. Avon was dead.

He forced himself to look back at the man who had been his friend.

Avon looked peaceful. The blood spattered on his face was not his – it was Travis’s and had fallen from Blake’s cheeks like tears. Blake screwed his eyes shut again in an attempt to stop it, and in the darkness Sinofar’s voice said,

“So – the battle is over.”

--

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

i almost always write in order. when i think of a scene that is in the future, i will usually write some notes about it, but try not to write it because i very much build on (in my head? i dont know how much comes through in what gets written) what i wrote before in terms of how people think and feel/i do a lot of dialogue call-backs. 

there are a few occasions where i go ahead and write something that happens later, but then i feel like i really screw myself when i try and go back and write the missing piece. i have to re-write everything i wrote previously to make it make sense... ‘Greener Grass’ actually is an example where i didn’t write out of order on purpose, but i thought i’d start with simon’s section which introduces all the bodyswap stuff fine, but it was too heavy with the bodyswap plot AND the introduction of the agatha-isn’t-here/get simon’s magic back stuff. there was just too much going on.

so then i had to write an intro section for baz, which i thin is good - it frames the story as baz’s story, which i know is what rainbow would want, and gives us calm before the storm ... as well as giving me an opportunity to write the exposition i needed. 

but i had to go back an edit the next section a LOT to make room for it. which i hated. 

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

i’ll do two batches. 

blake’s 7: 

x_los is my girlfriend, but i knew her first as an amazing writer. i wouldn’t have written half the things i did for b7 if she hadn’t started writing these epic, involved political stories, and she writes great porn. i really am not interested in david copperfield/uriah heep, but she thinks baz is a cat killer who does not deserve the time of day, so there you go. we’re in different fandoms now. 

elviaprose is not only a great writer (the foot fettish fic is incredible, given that neither she nor i have a foot fettish as far as i know), she’s also really engaged with other people’s writing and i love that. it’s really good fun. 

judith proctor  - i wanted to put in a second generation fan, and i was tempted to go for willa shakespeare (so good, so plotty, so porny) or nova (such pain!), but i have to go for judith. judith taught us all how incredible blake is. her love for this character, and the way that she always writes him as smart but flawed, and attractive to avon because he is smart and principled, rather than for any other reason, is fundamental to any of us reclaiming him for the future. (it’s probably not a surprise that the authors i like really influence me as a writer, but worth calling it out - i am very much saying that as well). Touching Life! so good.

carry on:

we have some amazing writers, thank you fandom <3 three of my very very predictable favourites (the same three, i think, who wrote my favourite fics of last year) are: 

@basic-banshee - what can i say? (insert long pause while i think of what to say.) i mean, we all know Ban is a great writer. it’s a pleasure when the most popular writer in the fandom is also a genius. i love all her secondary characters and that she spends so much time with them. she writes the way i want to - lots of good tropey stuff, great fun AUs, and plotty plotty good plot stuff. also - she always writes the most perfect endings that just make you feel GOOD. 

@sharkmartini - i think we share a lot of the same ideas about what we like in fics i.e. we like the same tropes, we like that baz is a vampire, we think the same things are hot and romantic. i love the way sharkmartini plots this and she always writes great dialogue. also, i do think we owe snowbaz smut to her - maybe it wasn’t the first-first, but ‘Monster Under the Bed’ (which is SO good, honestly still one of my absolute favourite things) seems to have influenced so much of what came after it. 

@krisrix - also an amazing artist, but for me an even better writer. the smut is amazing and sexy while also at the same time being really tender. kris also writes beautiful, long amazing kisses - and again, endings that are so beautiful and tender. also - let us talk about the plotty things! i love writers who mix plot and romance (or even dare i say - smut) because i love to have all the things in one fic. What Stays and What Fades Away is so smart and interesting. and, of course, kris has written my all time most favourite trope - fake relationship.

[aviewfromtheclouds25]

Why do you like the lodge scenes so much?

Because it was compelling, romantic, high-risk drama fuelled by so much emotion and which actually served character as well as the plot… But I’m guessing you were expecting a longer answer than that? Haha. 

There are various reasons… Partly from a Robert perspective, partly from a Robron perspective… Both were equally amazing… (And also a lot from a because Ryan and Danny were just out of this world and the whole world (of Emmerdale viewers) were on the edge of their seats for two whole days perspective, naturally.)

Robert

What it did for Robert’s character is probably the main reason for me personally. I’ve mentioned in the past that I had some issues with the way his character was written during some of the affair era, particularly around the whole Katie saga. For me, it felt like Robert’s character had been watered down a lot and reduced to somewhat of a superficial caricature of his “bad” traits in order to fit the role of “villain”. Which wasn’t the character I’d watched and loved for years. Robert was a character with a long-standing history onscreen and established fans. We’d watched what he’d been through as a child; how that had affected him growing up; his relationship with Jack; we knew who Robert was even though the scripted version didn’t resemble him at times. Because it wasn’t continuous throughout the whole affair but there were definite phases. Kind of like a lot of the characters nowadays being written out-of-character to fit the plot. But with the plotty writing, I also didn’t feel like we got enough of his point of view to address his emotional reaction around the silly farcical stunts they were making him pull. A lot of the narrative basically neglected the fact that he really had any personal feelings about it at all, which obviously was absolutely not the case. To this day, Robert still hasn’t forgiven himself for anything he did back then. And the show just didn’t explore that enough for me back then because they needed him to be the big panto villain up at Home Farm, and it was just kind of frustrating that they chose to do that with a deeply complex character who already had such a rich legacy in the show which they chose to neglect or negate at times.

There were two standout moments to me where I felt like we actually got a real insight into how everything with Katie had affected him; the first was the scene where Robert told Diane about Andy going to the quarry and there was that shot which just focused on his reflection and you could see the conflict in his face (and I will always be so grateful to Ryan for his understanding of Robert’s character and for keeping that substance in his portrayal of Robert throughout, regardless of the scripts, because Robert is such a complex and three-dimensional character and Ryan’s acting ensured those layers were always there), and the second was the fight with Aaron in the lay-by when he goaded Aaron into hitting him. (Another amazing couple of episodes, just saying.) Those were the times when it felt like we got a true glimpse into the pain and the guilt that Robert was actually feeling. I just feel like it’s something which should have been explored more during that time, but it didn’t fit the narrative which was focused on the affair (which obviously as a shipper I loved so I can’t really complain about that haha) and how Aaron was coping. So you know, it’s what we call #plot. It was just disappointing that the integrity of such a big character with that rich heritage kept being sacrificed for it.

But it was the lodge where we finally got the breakdown. The lodge, for me, was the pivotal moment where everything which had frustrated me about the writing and the treatment of Robert began to change. I’ve always felt like when they were storylining this era, it was always with the mind to limit the cardboard / two-dimensional villain act and build that redemption arc. And the lodge to me absolutely represented the start of that…

So then the epicness of the lodge comes down to how this development of the writing for Robert’s character combines with the tragic messed up love story of Robron at that stage and the insanely powerful performances of Ryan and Danny…

Because love or hate the lodge (I get the sense it’s like Marmite? Haha. Although I’m not sure why anyone who hates it would be reading this post!), no one can deny the incredible acting… The tears, the angry flushing, popping veins, shaking… It’s all so intense, how could we not feel like we’re right there in the moment with them? And like I always say, the reason I admire Ryan and Danny so much as actors is because of just how real they make it all feel. I try to imagine other duos pulling off the lodge scenes and I just…can’t? And it was these scenes which really made me believe in the potential longevity that their partnership could have, whatever direction the show took the characters’ relationship in. Which brings me to how the lodge played into that longevity of Robron itself…

The Lodge

So I’m mostly going to focus on all the drama from when the proverbial hit the fan haha.

The Proverbial: Then what happened? Throw her through the floor and make it look like an accident? WHAT DID YOU DO, ROBERT?

The Fan: I PUSHED HER, THAT’S ALL… I pushed her.

The thing with the lodge scenes is that it’s all about the layers in them… There is so so much more going on than the plotty chaos on the surface. And what’s interesting (maybe haha) is that when Aaron loses control initially, it’s because of Paddy and the love there is between them. When Robert finally loses control, it once again boils down to Jack and the love he wished there’d been between them. It is utterly fascinating and captivating to watch because so much of the drama actually stems from the pain of their respective childhoods, but the drama becomes so intense because of how those similarities between the two of them and those very obvious differences actually clash…

Because, bearing in mind that notion of this being a pivotal moment for the direction of Robert’s character, so much of the action (actually what action there is doesn’t require much focus, it’s soapy drama, because all the poignant and key moments are in the dialogue when Robert sits on the floor with Aaron) actually stems from the fact that this is one of those crucial moments in which Robert’s worlds collide again. The life he had before with the family who always expected the worst of him; the life he’d built to show Jack that he was worth something and that he could have made him proud; and the life with Aaron in which he could truly be happy and himself but had never imagined could be a reality. But he’d risked losing everything he’d worked for by having an affair. By doing reckless things. By falling in love with Aaron. None of which Jack would have approved of. And then he’d risked losing Aaron by doing whatever he could to salvage that life that he’d built for himself. And so we get this line, which is what this whole thing ultimately is all about;

“If this comes out… I lose everything. All I’ve worked for…”

But Aaron actually doesn’t know what Robert means. He thinks Robert’s just talking about money and status, and he tells Robert that’s all he cares about. And this is perhaps the point of no return for Robert losing his control altogether. Because up until that point, Robert’s control began to waiver initially as soon as Aaron made his accusations about Katie. That moment (right before the proverbial hit the fan) was when we finally started to see a glimmer of that guilt that he’d been trying to ignore, to “bury”. He starts to lose his resolve the moment he visibly recoils from Aaron’s anger. Because he’d remained calm and composed up until that moment. Even when Aaron threw that line at him, “I thought I knew you.” (Which just makes the far more recent “I know you” of reunion 2.0 even more poignant and precious, to be honest.) But the moment Aaron turns it onto Katie, you can see the switch in Robert’s face.

But when the proverbial does hit the fan, it’s Aaron’s turn to recoil. Because it goes back to what he said a few moments prior; he thought he knew Robert. And he loved him. Remember what he later said the night that Robert was shot? “What sort of a person does that make me? That I can’t stop loving someone like him?” This is when that thought process began. And it’s absolutely key to how Robert unravels from this moment on. Because the fact is, he didn’t mean for Katie to die but he does carry far more guilt than Aaron realises. The difference is he’s shut it down, he’s refused to acknowledge it. But everything Aaron says in this moment brings it all to the surface and he can’t bear it. And he can’t bear that it’s all coming from Aaron.

Which brings us back to that line, about Robert losing everything if the truth comes out. (I mean, some other stuff happened in between and we had to wait 23.5 hours to find out what would happen next..! :O) And Aaron assuming he means material things because they’re all that matter to Robert, they’re “everything”. (Note that when Robert first arrived at the lodge, his comments were along the lines of "You know what, I like it. Good shout." and then there's that moment when he's looking outside and there's this childlike wonder on his face as he says, "I love that car. It's the best thing I've ever owned." So we are very much reminded that Robert is from far more modest beginnings than his current lifestyle, and he recognises that fact and how hard he's worked over the years to get there.) And the reason I suggest that this comment is the point of no return to the complete unravelling of Robert is because like Aaron now sees Robert in a new light, Robert’s also seeing Aaron differently too. Because like Aaron said he thought he knew Robert, Robert believed Aaron did as well. And suddenly he now sees that the man he risked “everything” for doesn’t actually seem to understand him at all. That the one person he let in, who he thought knew him, truly knew the real him - not the enigma he created to mask his insecurities or the black sheep of his family, but himself - and could see the good in him, didn’t after all. So at this stage he’s barely containing his emotions and is very much on the edge when he tells Aaron, “I wish that was all I cared about… I mean, don’t you see? It’s you. You’re the worst mistake I’ve ever made. Falling in love with you ruined everything.” Cue “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” “I met you and you changed everything.” Because the fact is Robert is terrified, everything he’s done has been acting out of fear. Because it does all come down to Aaron, and how deeply Robert fell in love with him (“at first sight” *not emotional*). But Robert isn't only scared of admitting his sexuality, he’s scared of losing that life he’d fought for to make himself worthy in Jack’s eyes, and he’s scared that he’s risked it all for a man who doesn’t even know him or want him anymore. He’s petrified by his depth of feelings, so he lashes out at Aaron and a lot of it is projecting because he hates himself for screwing it all up.

Which, of course, only provokes Aaron into lashing out in return. Because he’s disgusted at this man he’d fallen in love with and disgusted with himself for falling in love with him. So he challenges Robert to see if he really is capable of intentionally ending someone’s life, to test exactly what “sort of a person” he’d fallen for… And, to me, Robert’s intentions are pretty damn clear by the way he instantly puts the gun on the table and sits on the floor like that lost, anxious little boy again. The one he always returns to when he feels vulnerable and exposed.

And that is the moment we start to get into what’s really happening here, and a proper insight into Robert’s psyche when they start talking about Katie. And we truly start to see him crumble before our eyes. Because when it comes down to it, Robert has been carrying so much guilt over Katie. But he has buried it. Obviously because he’s scared and wants to protect himself. But it runs so much deeper than that. Because he ruined Andy’s life, and “That’s when I promised myself I would devote my life to supporting him. Stop him suffering any more pain.” Andy truly did need Robert to help him through his grief, so Robert had to stay strong for Andy as well as himself. And you know what? He never stopped carrying that promise with him. Fast forward a year and it was Robert getting Andy safely out of the country. And he didn’t stop there, he waged a war on the Whites so he could clear Andy’s name and bring his brother home. He risked the new life he’d built for himself to try to help Andy have the best one he could. It really is heartbreaking.

But the other thing with Robert’s guilt is it’s intricately linked to his own grief. He even says it to Aaron here, that he loved Katie once. And this is again where those striking differences between them come into play. Because Robert had always had a tendency to suppress his emotions and, in a way, it’s almost like Robert doesn’t actually know how to process his grief. He was obviously a baby when Pat died; when Sarah died, it was such a unique situation and Jack didn’t really support him through his grief as he was first suspected to be responsible for her death and then his focus was on helping Andy when he found out he was - and Robert later found out for himself that his brother was responsible and his father had hid it from him; when Max died, all the blame was put on Robert and he was sent away; and when Jack died, Robert stood at the sidelines of his funeral, an outcast to his own family. So every time Robert has had to grieve someone he loved, he’s never truly been able to. And to me, that grief he feels for Katie and for Andy has firmly attached itself to the guilt he feels, and he doesn’t know how to process either. So he’s just been trying to ignore them, to bury things the way he always does.

But what always strikes me when he’s talking about Andy and Katie is the way that as Robert is gradually falling apart, Aaron is watching him and crying. Because as much as he doesn’t want to, he does still care about (and love) Robert. (Because he “never stopped.”) And he genuinely doesn’t believe he’s “a monster”. But then Aaron’s own defences go back up, because what sort of a person does it make him if he can’t stop loving someone like Robert? So he pushes and goads Robert some more, all the while Robert gets more and more on edge because he is well and truly losing that control. He doesn’t want to go to prison *sob*, he doesn’t want to lose everything he’s fought for, but he loves Aaron and doesn’t want to lose him either. And that’s when we reach another turning point.

When Aaron tells Robert to “Do it.” Which fundamentally is about Aaron’s guilt and his need to punish himself far more than it’s about Robert. And that is the turning point, the moment the last thread of control Robert was holding onto is wrenched from him. Because Robert asks Aaron if he’d lied when he told him he loved him and Aaron’s response? “Of course I don’t love you. How could I? Just look at you. You disgust me. I wish I’d never met you.” And you can pretty much pinpoint the exact moment Robert’s heart breaks. His face is absolutely crestfallen. And stunned. Because the last bit of hope he’d been clinging on to was that Aaron had seen the real him and loved him. So maybe he hadn’t actually lost everything. (Because “He’s everything.” :’) ) But in this moment, Aaron convinces him otherwise and basically tells him he is just as unworthy of love as everyone else had always made him believe. And that is the moment Robert fully loses control because just like Aaron, all he ever really wanted was someone to love him for himself, unconditionally. And the one person he believed did is now telling him it was all a lie. That it wasn’t real. It wasn’t a love story. That he’d risked everything for nothing.

Now, what really gets me about this particular moment is how quick Robert is to believe Aaron. To believe that he’s worthless and unlovable. And this is all the more fascinating in retrospect. Because think back to Christmas 2014 and those scenes outside The Woolie, where Robert says “Yeah, I listened to you. You make a lot of sense.” So at this stage of their relationship, Robert very much listens to Aaron’s words. Now consider the juxtaposition of that when Aaron told Robert not to come to Gordon’s hearing early 2016 but of course he went anyway and said that line, “Since when did I ever listen to anything you say?” Since when did he stop? Because in that scene, we can see the progress in Robert and their relationship, because Robert now listens to everything Aaron doesn’t say. That was also the time that the whole “You know…” / “I know.” began. And we saw throughout that storyline and the way Robert supported Aaron, that he was very much listening to everything that Aaron wasn’t saying. So when did it change? When did Robert start recognising all the things Aaron wasn’t being forthcoming with? Definitely Robert’s shooting storyline played a big role, but I’d argue that the journey began earlier and a pivotal moment was these lodge episodes. How? I’m getting there…

So then we get Robert taking Aaron at his word again, pointing the gun at Aaron while they’re both crying and he’s just violently shaking because he has absolutely no control over his emotions right then, hence the words “I MEANT IT… I LOVE YOU.” (in which his voice absolutely breaks my heart) were literally wrenched from his very soul because he absolutely has no control over himself - because this is Robert; shrewd, calculating, manipulative, 100% in control, but in this moment he is completely exposed, his feelings laid bare in his absolute vulnerability, reducing him to his most authentic and raw self which is why we see that lost little boy who is just desperate to feel loved and to finally prove to his father that he isn’t the disappointment he wrote him off as. That he doesn’t “ruin everything [he touches]”. And that’s the crux of this moment, that’s what drove Robert to this, that’s why he’s in this state. Because there are two options: lose the person he’d believed until only a few moments before was the one person who could genuinely see the good in him and love him for who he is, or lose everything he’d worked for and the life he had created to try to be the son Jack wished he could have been. Because if Aaron told the truth about Katie, how could Jack ever be proud of his son if he went to prison for “murder”? Which is all the more poignant when you consider how it was Jack’s forgiving and helping Andy for his own accidental murder which instigated so many of Robert’s issues… *Trying not to think about Rob’s current predicament… Holding back the tears as Simply Red would say… Actually, check out those lyrics: “Strangled by the wishes of pater / Hoping for the arms of mater” - some random on the I.O.W. needs to go find him and give him a hug please.* And that’s what it boils down to in this moment; his unexpected but all-consuming love for Aaron, or the love he fought for and so desperately craved from Jack. And you know what? His decision is right there in his words, when he can’t stop himself from telling Aaron that his love for him was real. That everything they had was real. That the Robert he was when he was with Aaron was real. (“I just want to be myself now. With you.” *help*) Because in this moment, whether consciously or not, he knew that all of that meant more to him than the life plan Jack would never be able to give his blessing to anyway.

And all of this is why this may possibly have been one of the most heartfelt ILY’s in the history of soap. The circumstances may not be typically romantic, granted haha, but the sentiment…

But then pesky Paddy walks in of course. And Robert loses control of the gun and Paddy gets shot. Now, if we want to read into the fact that this all began with Aaron’s relationship with Paddy and Robert’s attempts to desperately cling on to the life he’d created to prove his own father wrong, then there is an argument in the significance and symbolism of it being Paddy who hunted them down and got shot. We could read it almost as though in shooting Paddy, it was like Robert shot his own memory of Jack. Because Paddy walked in on that crucial moment - when Robert told Aaron he loved him. Because even putting aside the SSW retconning of Jack finding Robert with a lad when he was younger because that obviously happened later, the fact is that Jack always disapproved of Robert’s actions and choices. He made him believe that he wasn’t good enough, that he was a disappointment, that he ruined everything he touched. That he wasn’t worthy of love. So Paddy walking in on that key moment in which, consciously or not, Robert’s only focus is that he loves Aaron is effectively like Jack trying to shut it down once more. That brutal reminder that he doesn’t deserve love or happiness.

Because remember, this is all about Robert’s worlds colliding. And this is how Robert totally falls apart and goes into meltdown. Because Aaron’s goading him, Paddy’s bleeding in front of him, and Robert just keeps asking himself “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” But it isn’t just that he doesn’t know what to do next, it’s that he doesn’t even know how he got here, how he messed everything up so badly, how he came to do any of these things. Because he isn’t “a bad person”. And as he finally falls to pieces against those kitchen cabinets, it is himself more than anyone else that he’s trying to convince of this. Because for so much of his life, people made him believe he was. And as per that self-fulfilling prophecy of his, when people expected the worst, that’s what he gave them. (You know who didn’t always expect the worst? Aaron. That’s why he got to fall in love with the man underneath all those layers.) So in this moment, he’s questioning if maybe they were right all along. He’s not only having a breakdown, he’s having a full-on identity crisis. He hasn’t a clue what his life - or what he - has become. Which is why he crumbles again the moment Paddy starts reassuring him that it “doesn’t have to get any worse”. Because Robert can’t handle hearing that reassurance, because in this moment he knows he doesn’t deserve it.

So after all of that, Paddy states he and Aaron won’t say anything. But it is only when Aaron speaks, his words again - “I’ve got nothing on you.” - that he believes it. And when it’s all over, Robert returns to Home Farm and seeks comfort and reassurance in Chrissie - there’s that hug where it’s almost like a child hugging his mother. Because that’s what it comes down to; Robert is still that scared little boy and he’s seeking comfort from the one person who still loves him.

And then Aaron decides to take that from Robert and blow the affair… - And this is actually perhaps when Robert stopped listening to Aaron’s words alone…

“All that you’ve worked for…IS GONE.”

And that’s what all of this really does come down to… Not only the deconstruction of Robert’s character, but also his life… Because with Aaron no longer loving him, in this moment, Robert really has lost everything for nothing…

He doesn’t have Aaron.

He doesn’t have the life he’d built.

He is right back to square one. The screw up. The black sheep. The disappointment.

But by breaking down Robert’s character, to get to the core and the heart of this long-standing character, and his relationship with Aaron, it marked the start of the very long journey to rebuilding them. And all of that, and the extraordinary acting from Danny and Ryan, is why I enjoyed the lodge so much.

The layers...

I MEAN IT… I LOVED IT!

(And this was one heck of a ramble, I’m sorry!)

[nellie-elizabeth]

Supernatural: The Trap (15x09)

Whaaaat did I just watch though? That made me... so happy? In the sad way? You know. You get it.

Cons:

I understand that the actress playing Eileen can't be in all the rest of the episodes, but I'm still sad to see her leave. It reminds me of Mary leaving, after her resurrection - just a plotty excuse to get a certain actor out of the show for a while. I wish it wasn't necessary. Eileen had better be in several more episodes, and she had better f**king live. That's all I'm sayin'.

Jared and Jensen were clearly having fun playing vampires, which is good for them, but it was a little too cheesy for my taste. Especially when Vamp!Sam got shot and Vamp!Dean attacked Jody. That should have been actually moving - this idea that even as a monster, Dean would go berserk watching Sam die. But instead I was too distracted by Dean's silly monster attack face. It's a small thing, but still.

Pros:

So let's start with the Purgatory stuff. This whole subplot was really just an excuse for Dean to emotionally apologize to Cas, and you know what? I am not mad about it. Really, it's a simple quest - get in, find magic flower, get out, create weapon to trap Chuck. So instead of watching two people hunt monsters, grab a flower, and get the hell out of dodge, we focus on the emotional aspect of this relationship.

First off, I love that Dean and Cas have to go into Purgatory knowing that Chuck has Eileen and Sam. You can see how torn Dean is, how every instinct is telling him to run to his brother immediately. But Cas is done caving to whatever Dean wants. He's scared for Sam too, but he knows that the only way to defeat Chuck is to follow through on Michael's plan. Once they're there, Dean is continually pissy, and Cas just doesn't have time for it. He scoffs at Dean's suggestion that they split up, and then later, as they are following their captive Leviathan to the flower they need, we get the exchange that everyone is already talking about: "You left." "I left, but you didn't stop me." Like... excuse me? That's the most... that's just... how is that not two exes being angry and bitter and heartbroken with each other? It was so much!

And then they get separated, and Dean searches for him. When there's only thirty minutes left until the rift closes, he realizes that he might have to leave Cas behind in Purgatory. For the second time. I love everything that goes unspoken here, because I truly believe that Dean would stay in Purgatory, and miss his chance to go home, to keep looking for Cas. But he can't do that, because Chuck has Sam. The prayer was... it was a lot. I know some people were disappointed and wanted some big declaration of love, but my expectations have always been pretty low when it comes to Destiel content.

So... to see Dean pray to Cas, literally fall to his knees part way through that prayer, to see him apologize, to see him say "of course I forgive you" and "you're my best friend," to see him acknowledging his own anger and how he takes it out on Cas, and how that isn't fair... I was overwhelmed. And Jensen really didn't pull any punches with the emotional nature of his reaction. We've seen a lot of dramatic angst speeches from Dean over the years - it's one of the show's trademarks. This isn't even the first time we've seen one of these speeches that's mostly about Cas. But this one isn't the typical "single man tear" type. Dean is openly weeping, his voice cracking as he repeats "I hope you can hear me." He thinks he might be saying goodbye to Cas forever, and it's so fucking powerful.

And that hug! Cas waiting by the rift for the last possible second, Dean planning to do the same, and then - they're reunited, and Cas got what they came for in the first place! I loved the hug, I loved Cas telling Dean: "I heard your prayer." It's just so - intimate. Dean praying to Cas is intimate, and it always has been, and it kind of drives me bonkers that it even exists.

Benny being dead was an interesting choice... they got the actor to come back for at least one scene, so it's odd not to see him here. That said, I appreciated that the writers didn't forget about him. Of course Dean would ask. And we also see Cas offering his sympathies, which leads in to their snippy exchange.

Let's go ahead and turn to the main plot of the night... Chuck systematically breaking Sammy's heart and fortitude. I am eMOTIONAL right now. I love that Chuck uses Eileen to cut Sam, that is just so dark and twisted and awful, and I felt so bad for both of them. But this isn't enough to break Sam Winchester, of course.

So Chuck tries a different tack, showing Sam what will happen if Dean and Cas swoop in and save the day, and defeat Chuck. The grim reality of the future is this: without God in place to keep balance, the monsters will start to take over the world, and Sam and Dean will not be able to stem the tide. That's the big picture, and it's what Chuck eventually explains to Sam... but in the immediate reality of it, Sam can only focus on the fact that their allies will slowly die around them - Donna and the girls, leaving Jody bereft, Eileen, leaving Sam bereft... even Cas gets buried in the box because the Mark turned him dark-side. And that at the end of all of this, Sam wants to go out swinging, while Dean wants to give up. It ends with Sam and Dean becoming vampires, and Jody and Bobby coming along to take them out once and for all. That's the reality waiting at the end of the line, if Chuck is defeated.

I hate to talk more about Destiel (haha no I don't), but I just have to point out that Dean identifies the moment when he lost all hope as the moment when he had to bury Cas. That's true love, baby! And Sam's increasingly frantic energy was really tough to watch, especially when we know that in this imagined future, Sam and Eileen formed a real relationship, and then he lost her. We start off this whole future by seeing Sam, Eileen, Dean, and Cas all apparently living together in the bunker, researching for cases, having movie nights... and then Jody calls to tell them that Claire is dead, and that's what starts the nightmare spiral.

And it gets worse than that - if Chuck is defeated, this is the apparent outcome. If Chuck isn't defeated, we go back to the whole "Cain and Abel" thing, where Sam and Dean are destined to kill each other. Chuck informs Dean, after Dean and Cas show up to save the day, that these weren't Chuck's planned endings. They were other versions of Sam and Dean, other ways that their story ended over the many different versions of Earth that Chuck has created.

Well, that's grim. I really enjoyed tracking the idea of "hope" as it's presented in this episode. Sam refuses to let Chuck get to him for a really long time, but one of the reasons that he loses hope, ultimately, and doesn't trap Chuck, is because he sees this future where Dean loses hope. Where instead of going out like Butch and Sundance, you have Sam basically forcing Dean to continue hunting, by threatening to go into reckless fights by himself. Of course Dean would never let Sam do that, even though he's lost his heart for hunting because his husband is gone. But then in our current reality, we see that Sam has lost hope, but Dean has not. Even as Chuck says that the dark ending is inevitable, Dean says no. Not this Sam. Not this Dean.

It's so fascinating, because it was Dean earlier this season who said that he couldn't even tell what was real anymore, but now, with his relationship with Cas newly repaired, he seems to have hit his second wind. He'll hold the torch of optimism while Sam cannot.

Eileen and Sam finally kissed, and of course they had to make it bittersweet! She needs some time away, she can't stay when she's so uncertain about what's real anymore. Chuck has manipulated their relationship, bringing them back together in order to prove a point. And that sucks, and it feeds in to Sam and Dean's fears about their free will... but it doesn't mean that Eileen and Sam's feelings for each other aren't real. I have hopes that Eileen will grapple with that off screen, and come back to help kick some ass by the time the finale roles around. Also the kiss was really sweet and soft and I want Sam to be happy SO BAD.

One final note: Sam didn't crush the magic orb thingy that was supposed to trap Chuck, making Dean and Cas' harrowing trip to Purgatory pointless. I was worried that this would cause a rift between the brothers, but instead, when Sam says that he believes Chuck's vision of the future, and how bad things will get without him around, Dean just says: "that's good enough for me." I love the fact that they are on the same page, and that here going into the endgame, we can have a united front.

One final final note: It looks like Jack is making a return! Place your bets now - will Jack replace Chuck as God, restoring balance and allowing our heroes the chance to defeat our ultimate Big Bad? I gotta say, I don't hate that as an ending to the show!

9.5/10

[scioscribe]

have you got any Star Trek fic recommendations? I love what you’ve written and I’m super into the fandom atm

Oh, boy, do I.  I’ll try to keep this reasonably compact, but there’s a ton of excellent fic.  My to-read folder for this fandom currently has 262 items, and I’m also way behind on leaving comments on the stories I’ve loved because I’ve been glomming them so enthusiastically.  Hopefully this will shame me into appreciating the authors as they deserve.

My definition of “reasonably compact” apparently means “twenty-two separate recs,” so have a cut, everyone.

Kirk/Spock

Communication: One of my all-time favorites.  It’s a beautiful, incredibly romantic epistolary romance where Kirk and Spock wind up captaining separate ships during a war with the Tholians.  They write each other letters where they slowly feel out a resolution to their mutual pining, and the characterization is exquisite.

To Sing the Sun in Flight: I will happily read a million “Amok Time” AUs, but this might be my favorite.  It’s simple, hot, beautifully written, and perfectly characterized.

Our Bodies Safe to Shore: Excellent, plotty, and emotionally complex fic where Spock’s body is taken over by a hostile alien intelligence, one that can read his thoughts and imitate him, and he’s locked helplessly inside.  And the alien has noticed his feelings for Jim.

Joyboy: Post-Tarsus IV story where Kirk and Spock meet as teenagers, when Spock is with his father on a diplomatic mission where the Tarsus survivors are brought for temporary shelter.  Great characterization, maybe especially of Kirk, who gets to be both the woobie (he’s being shunned by a lot of people for doing sex work on Tarsus to stay alive) and the controlled, honorable budding leader.  Little bit of underage, but not particularly explicit.

Fulfilling the Needs of the One (Or the Both): Sweet Old Married Spirk story that blends slice-of-life with a nuanced emotional plot where Spock suddenly fears that he hasn’t been giving Jim the emotional support and romance Jim needs.  (Jim begs to differ.)

Sunlight: Kirk, Spock, and McCoy start filling out one of those “getting to know you” questionnaires together for a crew newsletter, and of course Spock and Kirk have ridiculously detailed opinions about things as simple as the other one’s hair color and eye color and what kind of animal they would be.  Also some cute McCoy characterization and appreciation for shortish Jim, which I always appreciate.

Freely Given: The last by this author, I promise!  This is the best “McCoy subtly plays matchmaker” fic I’ve read, where his prods and a trip to a planet where on-the-mouth kisses are a common form of greeting make Spock start thinking about what he wants from his relationship with Kirk.  Delightful, sharp Bones, a Kirk who wants to make sure his authority as captain isn’t coming into play here, and a beautifully analytical Spock who is slowly realizing the depths of his pining.

Great Expectations: My favorite bit of xeno!  Kirk and Spock are about to have their first time together, but Spock shies away from getting completely naked, and when he finally does, Kirk has an unfortunate reflexive reaction to his unfamiliar genitals.  Before sweetly and humorously consoling Spock about it and boldly and sexily going where no man has gone before.  This is hot and romantic and perfectly characterized, and I just want to give Spock a hug.

Centennial: More Old Married Spirk!  Kirk is turning one hundred, and he’s feeling his age a little.  But Spock has the perfect gift for him.  Absolutely heartwarming, and written with grace and restraint.

A Private Obsession: Outsider-POV narrated by a man from a rigid, sexually conservative planet.  He owns a factory where Kirk and Spock (clearly stranded and/or forced undercover for purposes the narrator doesn’t know) wind up working.  He becomes sexually and romantically obsessed with Kirk and painfully jealous of Spock–and the ease with which the two men love each other–and, of course, leveraging Spock’s failing health to get Kirk into his bed doesn’t, and can’t, solve his problems.

Famous Last Words: Super adorable fic where there’s a shipboard poll of everyone’s favorite quotes of famous people’s last words, and all of Kirk’s have, um, a certain subtext about seconds-in-command, love, and sex.  Contains flirting and foreplay and love confessions via quotes.  Which is fitting, because Kirk and Spock are enormous nerds.

The Game: Funny, insightful story with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty playing a game–come up with something another person at the table would never, ever say–that then takes a sharp turn into devastating pining.  This ends as UST, but I can’t believe they don’t get together.  I mean, come on.

Warm Thoughts: Lovely, aching post-”Amok Time” story where Kirk wants to talk about what happened on Vulcan, Spock really doesn’t, and everything is brought to a head by an absolute hurt/comfort gift of a situation where Kirk comes back from a planet with an inability to get warm.  Spock can ostensibly use mind melds to help him a little–but things keep slipping through that he’d rather not deal with.  Excellent hurt/comfort and pining.

…And a Bottle of Rum: Adorable, hilarious, sexy established relationship fic where Kirk tries to use the “Shore Leave” planet for a bit of fun pirate role-play and Spock tries to be a good sport about it.  Hilarity ensues: “Help, help,” Spock called dutifully, and was set down again with a thump as Jim collapsed in a paroxysm of laughter.

Not So Last Words: Heartbreaking post-Wrath of Khan soulmate AU.  Your soulmate’s last words are supposed to be written on your wrist, but Kirk can’t understand how Spock could have died without saying what’s on his.  There is beautifully layered tearjerker stuff here.

Round is a Shape: There are a bunch of “older Kirk is self-conscious about his weight, Spock loves him just the way he is,” and I will read them all, because I am a chubby sap.  But this is my favorite.  Utterly adorable.

And the Truth Shall Set You Free: Smug telepathic aliens force Kirk to publicly declare his feelings to a shocked, unresponsive Spock who has been avoiding him lately.  The aliens feel like they could come straight out of an episode–there’s lots of debating about morality!  I love debating about morality!–and the romance is lovely and the crew is 1000% in Kirk and Spock’s corner.  And it’s delightful.

Cut Point: Spock gets an exceptionally flattering haircut, one that would probably make me moan, “I want to touch his hair,” even more than I already do.  Suddenly, everyone on the ship can’t stop talking about how good he looks, while Kirk loses his mind due to what he thinks is unrequited love.

Gen

Way, Hey, An’ Up She Rises: Nuanced and exquisitely written first meeting story about Kirk coming onto the Enterprise and Spock evaluating him.  Really well-characterized and great at the tentative feeling of the two of them feeling each other out.  And has “pretty shitty but not actually an indiscriminate villain” Gary Mitchell, which is a take I’m especially fond of.

Second Decent Destiny: Very shippy and technically pre-slash, but reads comfortably enough as gen.  “Amok Time” AU where T’Pau doesn’t alibi them to Starfleet and Kirk winds up with an honorable discharge for diverting the ship.  Spock joins him in extremely early retirement and the two of them try to figure out where they’re going from here.  Lovely, and a very good idea for a second-chance life.

Fortune’s Favoured Child: The formatting on this is kind of terrible, but it’s extremely well-worth it if you love Kirk hurt/comfort as much as I do.  In the aftermath of the deaths of Edith Keeler and his brother, Kirk is foundering a little, and seems to snap under the impact of yet another crisis–and in the process, reveals layers of suppressed pain that even his friends didn’t know about.

Lost and Found: Again, superb Kirk hurt/comfort–well-plotted, tense, angsty, and perfectly executed.  Kirk has been kidnapped and brutally tortured by Romulans, and as the story opens, he’s been brought back to the Federation in disgrace, having made a televised confession to all manner of crimes and (presumably) spilled Federation secrets to stay alive.  His crew is supposed to keep him in the brig and bring him to justice, but of course their loyalty is such that their immediate response is basically, “Fuck no.”  (I am bowled over by the sweetness of a particular gesture here.)  And Kirk gets to be both extremely damaged and extremely resourceful and inventive.

Other Ships

Matchmaker of Mars: I initially left this off by mistake because I was going through my bookmarks, and I always just get to this one through my gift page!  It’s Uhura/T’Pring 1930s Science Fiction Writer AU, which should be enough to make you want to read it--it has lovely characterization, note-perfect pastiche, and the two of them struggling to deal with John W. Campbell.

Oh, okay, so this was the short version.  It could have been longer, I promise.  This was relative restraint!

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Jenny’s Belated Live Blogging - 4th June 2019

- I feel like I didn’t get to properly hate Sharon Marshall enough during the episode because I watched it so disnointedly because I kept getting interrupted by work things. Still, I see everyone’s complaints and I’m sure they are all valid.

- still thoroughly bored by Jaime and his family food tour of the village. But I still enjoy Kim and Rhona’s friendship. That was one of the show’s better decisions regarding Kim.

- Megan is still around and I can’t wait till she goes.

- still enjoying the Jai and Laurel awkwardness and I was all for Harriet getting in on the teasing until she had to go and mess it up by telling Dawn she slept with him. Sigh. Leave them to it. This is going to get complicated. But I guess it will at least provide good obstacles for them. Well...’good’ may be too strong of a word.

- David needs to shut up and stop thinking Jacob is a lost cause and stop focusing on his own humiliation and focus on getting Jacob some proper help. I do wonder how Jacob will come around and see that Maya took advantage of him though. I just know it will be sad when he does. Until then, I will continue to be frustrated. Also...go away Maya. Then again, maybe she will do something to help him see. Who knows.

- Bear can die now. I know that they were using him in a super plotty way but it kind of felt too late to do that plot point in a way. Plus Bear continues just to be gross in general and I really don’t like having that kind of character around. It’s not funny. It’s just irritating and terrible.

- with the Robron stuff...yes...Robert is an idiot who doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. I still think it’s all pretty in character so I’m not overly bothered by the general gist of what he said. I expected it to be rough and it was.

- still, I’m glad Aaron is there to keep him from being a total idiot and guiding him in what to say when Vic is there even if you can tell Robert isn’t totally there yet. At least he’s sort of trying. Makes me dread next week a bit more but then, I expect him to be an idiot then too so it’s not like it will be surprising. Robert is the chosen one to do dumb things to move the plot along. I accept that. And again, it’s not like it’s totally out of character. Although from a repetition perspective, I’m not crazy about the idea that Aaron is once again going along to chaperone rather than actually being invested. Or at least that’s what I gathered from the spoilers. I just want them to be on the same page in their idiocy for once. Although the world wouldn’t survive so I guess it’s better. I also wish the show wasn’t having them essentially do what Chas did because Robert was the voice of reason there. You’d think that both he and Aaron would know better. We shall see I guess.

- I am happy we are getting references to Aaron’s abuse story though. I was waiting for it to get mentioned before so I’m glad they finally did tonight. Not that I want that dredged up for Aaron but it would be in reality and it drives me crazy when that character history is right there for the taking and they ignore it. Which is why I was also glad Charity was the first to get what Vic was trying to say and that she brought up Bails and that trial.

- with Vic, I’m glad she got to tell people on her own terms (mostly). And I’m glad they were all there for her. And I’m glad we no longer have to hear people being annoyed that she’s not at work.

- as far as the baby stuff is concerned, everyone has talked about the pro life discourse better than me so I’m not really going to try much. I agree that they really should watch the language they use and that finding a way to bring up Tracy’s abortion in these episodes, which is the only halfway decent abortion story they’ve done in recent years, and call it ‘killing a baby’ was not a good look. I just wish that they would find a way to portray abortion as a viable option in these kinds of stories. I think it’s hard with a character like Vic, who historically has always wanted a baby and who has never seemed like the kind of person who would get an abortion even if she’d support someone else making that choice. So she was never really going to consider it. I just wish they didn’t position it as Robert trying to take control of the situation, thereby making it bad. If someone like Moira or Charity or Amy when she finds out, had sat down with her and they had an open chat about her options and presented them equally and then Vic made her inevitable choice, it would probably be a lot better.

- aside from that, some of the Gazebo chat was nice. The little lollypop detail was cute and I always love a Sarah mention.

- also...shallowly...they did look especially pretty tonight.

- I don’t know. I expected it to be this so I wasn’t shocked. At least Robert didn’t grab and shake a pregnant woman. You know...low bar and all. Haha. Moving on!

ETA: The Sam and Lydia content continues to be heartbreaking and lovely and I hope Sam finally gets to grieve the way he needs to.