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galactic-pirates · 1 year

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Fandom Asks for 2022, presuming I can remember what actually was last year

You know what, I get no asks so I ask myself because why not? If I feel like doing something then just do it. Fun can be had. There are no limits. This is my tumblr and I can ramble as I please haha.

So there were 25 questions and I'm just going to see what I feel like rambling about because I do just feel like rambling this evening. I'm having thinky thoughts about fandom because I miss it. I'm in one of those "fuck it, there's no point" kind of moods. I made plans for the year and I am doubting myself. I don't think I can do it. I don't think I have the skills or the spoons. I wasn't good at fandom shit either but hey I had the excuse that it was just for fun, so it didn't matter. I mean it mattered, and it ate at me that I was never as good as I wanted, but it didn't mean doom.

Thinky thoughts!

1) Favourite characters this year

Breanna Casey - Leverage: Redemption. Now I love Leverage and I do love Redemption but the vibe is off. I can't put my finger on why but it's not quite right. I have speculated that it feels like the whole show is a bit exaggerated, like everything is cranked to eleven. However, Breanna is a delight. She is smart and sarcastic, a total nerd, I'm more Parker's generation than hers but I feel like she represents my viewpoint on the state of the world. Also she's gay and might be asexual (hello laptop sticker) and so that's even more like me.

Erica Ortegas - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The moment I saw this character I thought I would like them. I love their haircut and their humour and they are badass and there is just never enough of them. I thought my favourite character would be Number One but might be a tie. For all that Ortegas has a criminal lack of screentime, they steal every single scene with awesomeness. Also this show is the prettiest show in the world. It looks incredible on my TV.

2) Favorite ships this year

Like LOTS obviously because I am a multi-fandom obsessive but Trek and Seven and Raffi were a surprising addition. I wasn't expecting it and then bam, they have taken over my brain and hello I didn't need a new fixation but yes just think about nothing else ok? Fun fact! I actually made this gif ^^ because Saffi Prompts is something I helped organise (it's on hiatus atm) and I also put together the Saffi Bingo which didn't see really any traction at all (I sent out cards but I think I saw one fill and that's it). But hey I was all in with these guys.

What makes me so freaking sad is my list of projects for them is HUGE. Like so many drawings and I started writing fic. I have partly plotted a huge season long novel-length rewrite starting at the end of season one, and going beyond season two. I LOVE that idea so much and now I have quit fanfic it is never going to exist. It built on what season one gave us with Soji and the Romulans. Maaaaybe I might have drawn a little teeny tiny bit on Stargate but c'mon replicators and Ancients and it's too damn easy and too much fun.

Oh! Oh! And let's not forget my Raffi on Voyager. I had a crapton of notes and that was just for Seven's first season. To be fair the fic started life as just an image of them kissing in a Jeffries tube and then I gave it plot. I had thoughts and feelings and sometimes I think too deeply about certain episodes and get mad and this is how fanfic happens. Like I'm not even sorry.

I'm not sure how many thousands of words will never see the light of day. Maybe if my drawing skills improve enough I can do one of the dozen drawings I have on my list for them. At least I am still doing fandom art.

3) Favorite TV shows to watch this year

I really want to say Picard but honestly the version in my head is better. Probably shouldn't say that but honestly it was criminal what season two did to Elnor and Soji and just generally. It threw out amazing stuff from season one to focus on an "out of nowhere" storyline about Picard's mum which just ugh.

Honestly the show I have probably watched the most faithfully has been the original Leverage. It is my comfort show and I can rewatch it a bazillion times and don't care.

4) Favorite books read this year

Dragon Gate! Dragon Gate!

Ok I read 42 books last year. I made a real effort. Considering a couple of years ago I probably didn't even read 1 I have come a long way. Anyway, Lindsay Buroker is who I want to be when I grow up as a writer. Rarely ever before have I read something and just wished so hard that I wrote it. Usually I don't vibe with stories that way. I can love them to death but always with an element of "but I want to fix you" but her writing style is similar enough to my own but so much more skilled that I am inspired, and motivated (when I'm not having crisis of self-faith that is) because man I want to write like that.

Dragon Gate is what happens if dragons and magic and all the fun of airships meets Stargate. When I tried to do this writing thing back in 2016 I indie published 2 novels in a series that was basically magic meets Stargate as a general description. So if I do say so myself it's a great premise. My interpretation was very different of course, I mean it started out on Earth and there were aliens but I digress.

Anyway, I'm now reading through as many of Lindsay Buroker's books as I can. Perhaps I'll subconsciously learn to write better through eagerly absorbing the words with my eyes. I mean it's not likely but one can dream.

5) Favorite song, album, or artist to listen to this year

According to iTunes Replay it was Set It Off or Linkin Park or Simple Plan or Panic at the Disco. Although I think my stats got a little warped as I decorated my house this year and my hands got paint on them. So whatever album I set to play in the morning, was repeating all day because I couldn't touch my phone.

11) Biggest squee moments of the year

You mean people don't use squee anymore? Sorry I'm a little stuck on the fact that there was an explanation attached to the question. Anyway! I have to go with a late arrival of the announcement of Jedi: Survivor because OMG I want that game so badly.

After playing Fallen Order I must have googled daily for months hoping there would be some kind of confirmation of a sequel. Once that happened I think I stopped my daily googling but I kept waiting for news and now there's a date!!! (March 17th)

Honestly Fallen Order was the best Star Wars game I have played bar none because the lightsaber combat made sense. Lightsabers are one hit weapons - when they hit - and so having them whittle down a healthbar never felt good. The combat in this game is just epic. The story is great too and the characters (special shout out for BD-1). I can't wait to play more.

24) Fandom resolutions for next year

Last Question! Honestly I don't know because I don't know. Ok no that's not an answer but look I reblogged that "year of the OTP" thing and I want to do it. I have a Leverage bingo card and I have IDEAS and I want to do that. I have signed up for the Bering and Wells exchange (due February 14th) and the Bering and Wells Big Bang.

I want to do ALL THE THINGS!

But time, and spoons, and other commitments, and spoons (always with the spoons). I can't do everything and wanting to do things doesn't magically make them happen. Something has to give, something always does, and so I guess that's my resolution - to decide NOT to do things, because I actually can't do them. Which is super fucking sad by the way.

I'm not good enough. I can't do it all.

Buuuuut I really kinda want to.

It would be so freaking cool to make the projects that live rent free in my head a reality. Perhaps rephrase the resolution to something a little less miserable. Like a suggestion to pace myself, to not over-commit, to think before jumping in with both feet, to not let my single-one-track-obsessive-fixated-mind lead me down an unsustainable path.

And to stick with my resolution to quit fanfic, because burning down all my glorious plans, and opening up those documents again will not serve me longterm. However, much I wish my fanfic ideas could be made reality.

#sam rambles (a lot)#I don't know what this is #I'm not even sorry #I'm in a very weird headspace right now just ignore me

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feuqueerfire · 2 years

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21 Days Theory Live Blogging

seems cute and funny, there’s a queer adult uncle, it’s short which I think is fun, also 21 is my favourite number.

Episode 1 (Sep 8)

Part 1

Oh Q, so arrogant, could become irritating very quickly tbh

I hope this girl Mook is nice, BLs introducing a girl always makes me nervous

lmfao damn X is a dick. I remember seeing these scenes on social media when the episode came out but from Q’s confidence I thought he’d be the one antagonizing X but nah

oof poor Q getting antagonized by X and then having his friend Toy be like he’s so polite, you’re probably the one whole bullied him and won’t believe it’s the other way around lol

Part 2

omg I do hope Teacher Mind is gay and has a gf but I think they’re setting up her and Frank sigh

lol X now has Q’s number and address and he’s impressed his family as well

Episode 2 (Sep 10)

Part 1

I watched a bit of this yesterday but am mostly watching it today

I kinda don’t care about Q’s friends’ side stories. It’s a short series, focus on the main couple but I guess they want to introduce as many people to the audience as possible

Part 2

Watching on 1.25x because it’s a little slow/boring

loll pratfall but at least they didn’t kiss

lol? is the mom like my brother liking men is okay but I’m not okay with my son doing it? I mean I think Uncle Man is helping her and she’ll come around but still...

Q delegating the “woo Mook for me” tasks to his friends, what a silly guy

I want Q’s shirt

Linguistics/Pronouns: oh yeah, X uses pom/khun pronouns and -krap very often, it’s quite polite. I wish I paid attention to what Q used with X. I rewatched the scene of them at X’s condo earlier in this part and Q doesn’t seem to use I/you pronouns? and doesn’t use -krap endings either. Found what absoluteBL had to say about this (their Aug 2022 Wk 3 round-up post)

omg I want tutor Mind and Mook to be a lesbian couple so badly pretend I didn’t say that about sisters

Episode 3 (Sep 12)

Part 1

hair washing, i do love that. even though it’s not really the same, Q taking care of X bc of his injured hand reminds me of Khao taking care of First all throughout Safe House S4 last week

just in the bath with their jeans

Linguistics/Pronouns: okay now they’re talking about Q using Q as the I pronoun. And instead of “nai” as you pronoun, X says Q can call him X (not P’X?)

loll the mom talking so earnestly to Q, trying to signal to him she’s okay with him liking guys/X but not saying it outright

Toy and Mook are kinda cute lol but still not feeling Frank and Mild, mostly because I wanted her to be gay so bad but also bc they haven’t been showing them in a super romantic light

Part 2

Uncle Man so good for giving advice to Q’s mom to have her accept him

ik Uncle Man’s prlly just doting on X to push Q and X together quicker but it’s still so awkward

lol I think Toy and Mook are so cute like he’s soooo into her and he’s not like Awkward and Weird around her that makes it uncomfortable but nervous in an endearing way

Uncle Man also giving advice to Q

Episode 4 (Sep 13)

Part 1

Adorable cheek kiss from a misunderstanding is adorable

lol the mom and uncle thinking their gaming commentary was them having sex

Q and his friends are a cute friendgroup

naurrr X was doing some “21 Days Theory” with Q? and Mook knew about it too? flashbacks to every YA novel/movie

:0 Q threw a punch at X, damn

X will be done day after tomorrow?! girl the punches just keep coming

lmfao okay at least Frank is like “Mild be my older sister :)” and not “I wanna date you” bc I wasn’t feeling them in a romantic way and neither was either of them

Part 2

Coming out to family and being greeted with accepted scenes are always so good

yknow what X being cute about Q is so cute, he likes Q so much even though he was so annoying in the beginning

3 mins left are we really about to get the most rushed airport meeting as the ending? Why is this not just a little longer sigh

bruh not even an airport meeting, just skipping to 2 months later rip

very very rushed ending, feels like this could be the start of a Missed Chances or Ex-Friends/Crushes BL since it left so much open. idk if they have the budget for a sequel but I think it could be fun

This was cute! Although it did take me a long ass time to watch 4 40-minute episodes but I think that’s just my problem and me entering some sort of slump rather than the show not being cute or engaging.

I think the actors were cute, wonder what Rookie Thailand has in store for them next.

I loved having Uncle Man as a queer adult who was there to offer up his experience and advice, as well as reassure Q’s mom. So good! Also liked the tight-knit friend group even though Q was kinda taking advantage of them lol

Rating: 6/10

Tiktok

the misunderstanding over Toy blowing on Q’s wet pants

Q jealous of uncle + X confessing

Ep 4 cheek kiss

Mom and Uncle misunderstanding zombie game

#21 days theory #ep by ep commentary

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fkevin073 · 2 years

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let's do gilmore girls since i had it playing in the background the other day, so question 2, 6 and 7!

and number 4 for favorite book ♡

okay so for fandom asks, here we go. this will have spoilers for Gilmore girls, so be warned! :)

2. Favorite episode/ chapter/ etc from [IF]

oh wow my favourite episode... that's a tough one. I think one of my favourite ones was the 24 hour dance marathon episode where Rory and Lorelei participate. I just love all the angst and humour.

Another one would be the season finale of season 2! I think it set up things super well. Also Milo Ventimiglia looks so good in that episode holy shit. I definitely prefer the episodes from season 1-4 tbh.

4. Favorite show/ book/ fandom/ etc?

I'm assuming you mean in general and not just the books talked about on the show?

That's a tough one too! I really loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Daisy Jones & the Six. But one of my all time favourites is "All the Light We cannot See" by Anthony Doerr. For classic novels I'd probably say Persuasion by Jane Austen or Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

6. If you could be friends with one (1) character from [IF] who would it be?

ouuu probably Paris. She's an absolute boss and I think she'd encourage me to be the best possible version of myself. she's also just so funny and so unapologetically herself. I love her work ethic (also, I will die on this hill but Paris should have gotten into Harvard instead of Rory. I said what I said). Also Lane.

And Jess as well. He has a pretty crazy taste in books, so I love that. also I could probably borrow some and he wouldn't be able to notice.

7. Least favorite character from [IF]

okay this may be unpopular but right now I'd say Rory. I really loved her in seasons 1-4 but afterwards like... damn. Idk how to explain it because I sympathize her with a lot of ways - she was idealized way too much as a kid and pampered a lot. She also had a lot of pressure on her shoulders to be perfect all the time and the town was WAY too involved in her private life. And also academic burnout. I get that! I get not having your shit together.

But like she cheated on all of her boyfriends except Jess and engaged in at least two affairs. Don't get me wrong, in those situations I believe the blame majorly goes on the person in the relationship, especially with the whole Dean situation (that whole blame the other woman thing is super toxic and gross). but like!! she never learns. she cheats on people and doesn't even seem to feel guilty about it. She also treated her boyfriend horribly in the revival for no reason.

I also found that she became really entitled and blind to her own privilege in later seasons. Like I remember she had an argument with Logan about how they weren't the same because she wasn't a trust fund kid and I was like your grandparents pay for all your schooling and accommodation and they're super rich. like?? your mom paid for all her own stuff, not you. But yeah, Rory kind of went downhill for me...

thanks for the ask :)

#Gilmore girls #answered asks #asks

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transsexualism-archive · 2 years

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thoughts on sherlock holmes. talk about the first one that comes to mind

hi this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks now because i have a Lot of thoughts. so many. under cut because its really long

first of all sherlock holmes is absolutely a cultural touchstone that made such an impact on media. acd's sherlock holmes novels are in many ways a blueprint for 99% of the detective stories that came after. the books are clever, and they make you feel clever as you try to analyse the clues you were given, and the solution is always an unexpected reveal. the books are great love the books (and i might add that some of the non-acd holmes collections of stories are great as well, such as king & klinger's a study in sherlock, and the empty house, with the honourable mention of a study in emerald)

now when it comes to adaptations...

in terms of my favourite holmeses, in no particular order (this is by no means exhaustive, seeing as i haven't seen every single one adaptation there is in the world, and if i mentioned all of the ones i did see this would be entirely too long):

soviet holmes (1979) – do i even need to say anything. a classic. livanov and solomin's acting remains unparalleled, i can keep rewatching this show forever. they took out the grittier details (namely holmes' addiction) because it's a soviet show, but the characterisation is on point please do yourself a favour and watch it if you haven't already 9/10

russian sherlock holmes (2013) – my favourite adaptation of all time. the dynamic is just delightful, and it's one of the few holmes series that isn't afraid to make holmes ridiculous without putting him on a pedestal to redeem him. it's also quite funny. and the acting!!! andrey panin was such a talented actor, may he rest in peace. 11/10

detective L (2019) – technically not a holmes adaptation because they didn't have the budget to buy the rights to it, set in 1920s shanghai. jeremy strong voice it's very high camp. i absolutely adore miss watson in this – definitely not the series to watch if you don't already like sherlock holmes, but it's sweet and almost light-hearted in the same way soviet holmes is. yes the fake blood is pink, yes the cgi is bad, yes the lighting is either too yellow or too orange, but it's got the spirit and bai yu put his entire pussy into the performance 8/10. speaking of,

mr holmes (2015) – one of my favourite non-acd holmes books, and a beautiful movie. ian mckellen's acting is impeccable. there's not a lot of media exploring holmes' later days, and in general not a lot of media centered around old people, and mr holmes approaches the topic of aging and dementia and loss of independence gracefully. a very sad movie, but one i greatly enjoy watching. 9/10

bbc sherlock – hate and malice and contempt i hate this show so much. if you haven't seen the sherlock is garbage and here's why video, please go watch it, yes it's two hours long but it's integral to me as a person. tldr; it's a show that wants to seem clever without actually being clever, moffat is devil incarnate, they de-girlbossed irene adler for no reason; it's just Bad. -1/10

my tenderly loved detective (1986) – pure camp. both watson and holmes are genderbent (except they're not the actual holmes and watson but their descendants?), the plot is just one big hole but no one watches this for the plot. there are also musical numbers and they disguise as men at some point in the movie? weirdly very gender inducing, so-bad-its-good kind of adaptation. 5/10

elementary (2012) – everyone bashed on it back when it came out because it was presumably plagiarizing bbc sherlock, but honestly they've done it so much better than bbc sherlock did, and in the beginning of the show the plot was beautifully written. + lucy liu as watson changed me as a person she's so beautiful... unfortunately most of the episodes follow a very rigid Murder Mystery Plot structure and binge watching feels very repetitive after the first few seasons, but it's not a show that was made to be binge watched. the characters veer off the acd novels rather significantly, but the writing is rly great. elementary!holmes is genuinely such an interesting iteration. also watson's wardrobe.... 7/10

sherlock holmes and the case of the silk stocking (2004) – a very weird one, which is why it gets a mention. it stands out to me as the least holmes-like holmes movie i've ever seen. i quite enjoyed watching it the one and only time i did, but it's not a good one by any means. the plot twist is completely unexpected, and it is rather entertaining, but it's just... not holmes. he is played by rupert everett, who is a lovely actor, which redeems it a little bit. 4/10

guy ritchie holmes (2009) – everyone has An Opinion on the ritchie movies but i honestly don't care for them that much anymore. they're entertaining, and quite funny, but completely unfaithful to the novels. the watson/holmes dynamic is so so good tho, but the murder mysteries themselves suffer from the sherlock bbc syndrome where they're trying too hard to make it clever. love ritchie!moriarty tho. 6/10

honourable mentions: the private life of sherlock holmes, miss sherlock, granada holmes, mouse detective

so there you go :^) if i had to recommend one holmes show i would pick the 2013 russian holmes. it's really great

#help why is this so long....#asks #socialantleredrabbit #irina talks #sherlock holmes

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scapegrace74-blog · 4 years

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Don’t Call It Love

A/N With Saorsa done and dusted, it’s time to return to the Metric Universe. When we last left Jamie and Claire in October 2017, they were sharing comforting silence and attending a Depeche Mode concert together. Will things fall easily into place now that they have tripped over the line from being roommates to being friends? Oh, hell no. What would be the fun in that?

All other parts of the Metric Universe are available on my AO3 page.

The song by Zero 7 (another guest artist!) that inspired the title is here.

Winter, 2017 - London, England

It happened by accident. Happenstance. Serendipity. Fate. The words she used to explain the fact that she and Jamie started seeing each other outside of the flat in social circumstances that would typically be characterized as dates varied, but her opinion remained fixed. They weren’t dates. Jamie was her roommate, a good friend, a fellow enthusiast of the culturally obscure, and a brilliant pub trivia partner. They had both agreed that a romantic relationship between them would be disastrous; ergo, there was nothing romantic about their increasingly frequent outings. If she could memorize the names for the 206 bones in the human skeleton, she could certainly manage to keep her feelings for Jamie inside the tidy box she had built for them.

Non-Date #1

They crossed paths inside the massive Spittalfields Market, both of them with shoulders damp from the chilly November rain. Jamie was on his way to the fishmonger, while Claire carried a cloth bag filled with late-season vegetables, determined to eat something other than take-out on a rare day off from lectures and the hospital.

“Are ye on yer way back tae the flat, then?” Jamie asked, physically fighting the urge to offer to carry Claire’s wee sack.

“No, I’m off to the charnel house first.”

“The what, now?” Surely he’d misheard her.

“The charnel house. Don’t tell me you’ve been living over top of a medieval burial ground all this time without realizing it?” Claire teased.

Intrigued as much by her beguiling smirk as the opportunity to explore a bit of London’s history, Jamie followed Claire to a commercial highrise near the edge of the market. Descending a non-descript stairwell in Bishop’s Square, they came to a halt in front of a glass wall. On the other side was an excavated ruin, the crypt of the long-vanished chapel of St. Mary’s Spital hospital, a quick scan of a nearby information plaque informed him.

“They only discovered it was here when construction of the office tower began,” Claire said, a wistful look on her face. “For centuries, travelers and the victims of London’s many plagues were buried around the hospital, quite literally in the Spital fields. When the graves overflowed, they brought the excess bones here and stacked them for safe-keeping until the Apocalypse. Imagine, forgetting something so...fundamental.”

Jamie grunted in acknowledgement, seeing the reflection of Claire’s face superimposed on the glass. He couldn’t decide if this human tendency towards forgetfulness pleased or disappointed her.

“Tis rather...”

“Macabre?” she suggested with a grin, turning away from the display and climbing back into the cloud-roofed square.

“I was gonna say morbid, but as ye like.”

“We build our present on the bones of our past, my Uncle Lamb used to tell me. He was referring to archaeology, but I’ve found it to be true of life itself.”

They walked back to the flat, collars raised against the hastening rain. Jamie had bought enough hake for two, so they shared the narrow worktop, dicing fresh vegetables and letting their shoulders bump together occasionally.

Claire ate at the two-person dining table while scrolling social media on her phone. Jamie used the coffee table to hold his plate and the gaming magazine he was flipping through.

It wasn’t a date.

Non-Date #4

Her cellphone rang as she was leaving the bathroom, thoughts bouncing between her end-of-semester exams and her non-existent plans for the Christmas holidays. She accepted the call with one hand while starting the tedious job of separating her soaking curls with the other. At first there was only static. She glanced at the screen, recognizing the familiar number.

“Jamie?” she tried.

“...mac na ghalla, Hamish...” followed by muffled noises and masculine jeering. She switched hands and started to towel off, making certain first that the video call button wasn’t active.

“Hal-lo. Paging Mr. Fraser. You have a call on line one.”

“Ach, sorry Claire. I didna mean tae... That is, the lads were just... How are ye?”

She giggled at his discomposure. “I’m well, thank you. And you?” They had seen each other that morning, as he came off shift and she was leaving for her morning lectures, so she assumed there was more to this call than a polite inquiry into her state of well-being. She had learned over their months as roommates that sometimes you just needed to wait for Jamie to get to his point.

“Braw, thank ye. I was... weel, I’m at the park with some o’ the lads, tryin’ tae put t’gether a side, an’ we’re short a winger, an’ I was jus’ thinkin’, ye said ye wanted tae learn tae play an’...”

Another James Fraser quirk was that he rambled in broad Scots when he was nervous.

“Jamie, are you asking me to play rugby with you?”

“Aye. Aye, I am. If ye wish, o’ course.”

“I did just step out of the shower...” she mentioned, already peering outside at the threatening sky and mentally assessing her wardrobe for something suitable for a ruck and maul in the rain. “Hello?” when there was no sound from the other end in some time.

“Aye, I’m here. Nevermind, Claire. I dinna consider, ye must be gettin’ ready to study fer yer finals, an’...”

“Where are you?” she interrupted, opening a drawer and pulling out a pair of yoga pants.

“Victoria Park?” Jamie replied, sounding hesitant and hopeful.

“Give me twenty minutes.”

“Splendid!” She could hear his smile down the line.

“I better not get mud in my hair, Fraser,” she retorted before hanging up, her own smile lingering on her face.

There was nothing romantic about rugby.

Non-Date #7

The flat was strangely forlorn, even with Christmas lights twinkling merrily in the living room windows and a tiny fir tree precariously balancing its five ornaments standing in the corner.

They had exchanged their gifts on December 23rd, sipping on hot chocolate spiked with Kahlua and grinning shyly at each other. She’d bought Jamie the next Call of Duty game for his XBox. Nothing intimate, just something he’d mentioned in passing he was looking forward to trying. His boyish glee upon unwrapping the package warmed her more than her drink. Hands shaking slightly, she delicately opened the tastefully wrapped rectangle he presented to her. Inside was a cashmere scarf, luxuriously soft beneath her fingers as she stroked it.

“Is this?” she asked.

“Aye, tis the Fraser plaid. Ye ken there’s no’ a clan named Bee-cham, right?”

She was deeply touched, and thanked him was a kiss against his scruffy cheek.

Jamie had left for Scotland the next day, having somehow managed to secure a week’s worth of leave from his uncle over the holiday season. As was her wont, she’d put down for as many shifts as possible while medical school wasn’t in session, but by some fluke she wasn’t scheduled to work New Year’s Eve for the first time in recent memory.

Some of her classmates from nursing college had invited her along to a “raging party in Shoreditch”, but she’d made up some excuse. The truth was, she wasn’t in the mood for loud music and over-priced drinks with a group of virtual strangers. If Geillis had been in town, she would have allowed her friend to coerce her into whatever mayhem she had up her sleeve, but Geillis was still in Columbia and eight months’ pregnant with twins, to everyone’s collective shock. Especially the mother-to-be.

No, what she really wanted was a quiet evening at home, snuggled under her favourite fleece blanket on their couch, the latest Ferrante novel in her lap and a glass of Pinot Noir at the ready. Jamie had a turntable and a surprisingly well-curated selection of vinyl in his bedroom, but she didn’t like entering his domain without his permission.

Without giving it a second thought, she rang his cell. It was only upon hearing the raucous sounds of a party in full swing that it occurred to her that just because she was spending New Year’s Eve alone, it didn’t mean Jamie was as well.

“Claire?” he yelled over something that sounded a lot like live music. “Are ye all right, lass?”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Jamie. I just wanted to ask... never mind. It’s not important. Enjoy your party...”

“Wait!” the background noise mutated, sounding like a riot underwater, and then there was a wooden slam. Jamie huffed a sigh of relief.

“Mu dheireadh. Are ye still there, Sassenach?”

“Still here,” she confirmed, suddenly feeling sorry for herself. She might be the most pathetic thirty-year old in London.

“Did the hospital no’ call ye in for a shift, then?”

She tucked the blanket under her feet, warding off the chill that always seemed to creep in from the wall of windows. The Christmas lights she’d strung reflected against the glazing in alternating colours: blue, red, green, blue, red, green.

“No. By some miracle of the festive season, I have the night off,” she joked halfheartedly. “I’m sorry for interrupting your night out. I wanted to ask if I could borrow your turntable and a few of your albums?”

“O’ course. Ye didna need tae ask. An’ I’m no’ out. I’m at home, at Lallybroch.” He pronounced the word with a guttural flourish that made Claire think of an exotic kind of pastry or a rare tribal custom. Any time Jamie spoke of his family’s home in Scotland, he imbued it with an otherworldly quality, like a fortress in a fairy tale, a far away land of warriors and mist. It was strange to think of him there now, while she sat alone in their flat.

“It sounds like quite the party.”

“Aye. The Frasers take their Hogmanay celebrations verra seriously. Ye shoulda come wi’ me.” Then, as though realizing what he’d said, he added quickly, “We could use a doctor. Dougal sprained his ankle doin’ a sword dance, and Angus singed his arse somethin’ fierce jumpin’ o’er the bonfire.”

She laughed, her mood suddenly much lighter, and asked for more particulars as to how his cousin’s naked ass came to be in close proximity to open flame. Without either realizing it, the last minutes of 2017 crept by.

Fireworks erupted outside, followed by the tolling of bells and honking of horns. On the other end of the call, she could hear cheering and an off-key rendition of Auld Lang Syne. They were both silent, embarrassed to have been so caught up in their trivial conversation as to have missed the arrival of midnight.

“Happy Hogmanay, Sassenach,” Jamie’s voice came soft and sure over the line.

“Happy New Year, Jamie,” she replied. “I should really let you get back to your party. Your family must be wondering where you’ve disappeared to.”

He hummed noncommittally. It occurred to her that had they been in the same place, they would likely be kissing right now. It sent a shiver of want down her spine.

“Jamie?” Her voice sounded thready, like she had just woken from a deep sleep.

“Hmmm?” Shivers, again.

“What’s a Sassenach?”

He laughed softly, and she had to bite her lip. What was the matter with her? “Tis a Scottish word for a foreigner, particularly an English one,” he explained.

“You’ve never called me that before,” Claire remarked.

“I’ve ne’er spoken tae ye while on Scottish soil. T’wasn’t an accurate description ‘til now.”

There was a long silence. She could hear the sound of revelry through the door of whatever room at Lallybroch he’d hidden inside. Outside the flat there were firecrackers. They reminded her of mortar rounds heard from a distance in Afghanistan.

“You don’t like fireworks, do you?” she guessed. It didn’t take an advanced degree in psychology to know that bright flashes and sudden pops of sound would trigger his PTSD. They really were a mess, the pair of them.

“Nay. Jenny an’ Ian’s bairns love them, an’ I told them no’ tae hold off on my account, but they insisted on a bonfire instead. It reminds me o’ when I was a lad, a’fore ye could buy fireworks along wi’ yer ham at the local Tesco.”

Jamie launched into a long account of the significance of bonfires in Highland culture, and she let herself drift on the melody of his voice, the turntable long forgotten.

“Tell me about yer most memorable New Year’s,” he prompted after his cultural diatribe wound down.

“Oh, well, they all rather blur together, actually. Too much drink, too much spent on the cover charge. You know how it is.”

“Nah, I mean when ye were younger. Ye must ‘ave celebrated in some remarkable places.”

She thought back to her time spent following Uncle Lamb around the globe. Truth be told, traditional holidays weren’t something that stood out in her memory. They felt like a foreign custom, a series of drawings taken from a picture book that showed a mother, father and children crowded around a loaded table while snow piled up outside. They bore no relation to her reality. It was no wonder Christmas and New Year’s left her feeling ambivalent.

Still, she didn’t want Jamie to feel sorry for her, so she launched into one of her favourite tales.

“One year, I must have been eleven, Lamb was leading an excavation of a Berber oasis town in northern Mali. The site closed down for the Christian holidays, but Lamb decided to stay behind rather than travel back to England. We ended up riding camels through these enormous sand dunes, following a local guide on an ancient caravan route. On December 31st, just as the sun was setting and we had begun to make camp, the camel Lamb had been riding let out this infernal noise, leapt to its feet, and started to gallop away. Lamb and the guide set off after it on foot, hollering and waving their keffiyeh in the air. It was the funniest thing.”

“They left ye all alone in the desert?” Jamie asked, horrified.

“Oh, well, they came back eventually. The camel had been stung by a scorpion, you see. Once it got over the fright, they were able to catch it and bring it back to camp.”

“Were ye no’ scared, tae be out there in the dark by yerself?”

“No. Not as I remember it. The sunset was glorious, and little by little the sky came alive with a million stars.”

“Ye brave wee thing.” Jamie sighed. “I wish I was there wi’ ye.”

She didn’t know if he meant with her on that sand dune, or with her at their flat. Either way, her answer was the same.

“I wish you were too.”

They finally hung up well past two o’clock. It didn’t count as a date if the other person was five hundred miles away as you whispered goodnight.

Non-Date #12

The Royal London was expanding its pediatrics wing, and Claire was invited to a fundraising gala held, fittingly, in the Museum of Childhood. The invitation included a plus one, and she’d been putting off asking Jamie if he could join her all week. It wasn’t that she doubted his suitability as an escort. Far from it. But the gala was taking place on February 14th, of all nights, and the symbolism made her nervous. Still, the alternative was spending the night being hit on by a drunken internist or hedge fund investor, and that was a headache she could do without.

“So,” she began casually a few nights before the event, “any plans for Valentine’s Day?” If he said he was working or had, god forbid, a date, she would just have to go stag.

Jamie set down his gaming controller and turned to face her desk. The pulsing colours from the screen lit his curls like a neon nimbus in the dim room.

“Nah, nothin’ definite. An’ ye, Sassenach?” he asked tentatively, as though easing himself out onto a frozen lake, unsure of the depth of the ice. The nickname he had assigned to her during his holidays in Scotland had stuck. She didn’t correct the inaccuracy, as she rather liked the idea of having a name that was only his.

“Well, I’ve been summoned to a fundraising gala for the hospital, and I was wondering... not that you need feel obliged... it’s black tie, which is really the height of pretension, if you ask me... anyway, there’s no way to decline gracefully short of an aneurysm, so...”

“Out wi’ it, Sassenach,” he prodded.

“Mightyouconsiderbeingmydate?” she blurted, before taking a large gulp of tepid tea.

“Yer date?” he asked as though he had never heard of such a thing.

She sighed, resigned to the fact he was going to make this difficult. “Yes. My date. My plus one. My social companion. And hopefully, my defence against spending the evening being pitied and set up with someone’s second cousin, Nigel, the chartered accountant.”

“Do ye have somethin’ against accountants, then?” The corner of his lip was twitching with the birth of a grin.

“Oh, very funny, you bloody Scot. Look, I need a date on Valentine’s Day and you are the only man in the Greater London Area who won’t interpret that as an opportunity for a pity shag. The offer is on the table. Take it or leave it.”

Something flashed behind his eyes that she couldn’t interpret. Then it was gone.

“Ne’er fear, Sassenach. I’ll protect ye from all the wee Nigels.”

***

She’d forgotten to ask whether Jamie had suitable attire for a black tie event. It was too late now, regardless. They were meeting at the museum, since she was on shift until eight. Using the nurses on-call room to get changed, she slinked into her burgundy chiffon gown, its gauzy layers wrapping around her like millefeuille. Her hair was a lost cause, so she slicked it back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and hoped for the best. Silver chandelier earrings and a dab of cologne below her jaw, and she was ready to go. She carried a small beaded clutch and her dress shoes - there was no way she was navigating the Tube in stilettos.

The museum was a single massive space, conversation and the tympani of glassware echoing against its high-arched ceiling. She stood in the entryway after checking her coat, spinning in circles and trying to get her bearings. More than one lascivious glance was directed her way, but she studiously ignored them in favour of looking for Jamie. With his height and red hair, he shouldn’t be hard to pick out of the crowd.

There was an appreciative murmur from behind her, a gust of fresh air, and then a soft tap against her bare shoulder. She turned around.

No. Not hard to pick out from a crowd at all. Standing before her was James Fraser in full Highland regalia. He wore his family tartan, a black velvet waistcoat, brilliant white dress shirt and a black bow tie. When her gaze fell to the floor, she noticed his polished brogues and white socks pulled up to his knees. She’d never before considered how a man’s knees might be alluring, but there it was. Jamie had very sexy knees.

“G’d evening, Sassenach. Ye look... weel, ye look bonnie.” Jamie’s normally deep voice was gruffer than usual, perhaps on account of the cold night air. Or maybe his bowtie was tied too tight.

“Good evening, Jamie,” she replied once she found her voice. “You look, well, if you were a Jacobite, I’d say you looked regal.”

The tops of Jamie’s ears went red, and he ducked his chin, his tamed curls falling briefly forward. It gave him the look of a bashful child receiving unexpected praise, completely at odds with the strikingly masculine figure he cut.

“No’ a Nigel, then?” he teased.

“No. Definitely not a Nigel. Come, let’s get something to drink before all the top-shelf liquor runs out. You wouldn’t believe how much some of these doctors can put away!”

Jamie was a perfect date. He stood by her elbow as she mingled and greeted various colleagues and professors, nodding at their tales of medical misfortune and smiling at their awkward jokes. He spoke confidently about his work and current affairs, and patiently tolerated endless jibes about what a true Scotsman wore beneath his kilt.

When she politely excused them from one such conversation, he leaned over to whisper in her ear as they walked away to fortify themselves with more alcohol.

“I’ve a mind tae lift my plaid an’ moon the entire assembly the next time one o’ yer wee doctor friends asks about my underthings. Are ye sure they arena raising funds for a new proctology department, Sassenach?”

She snorted in a truly unladylike fashion and turned to meet his unrepentant smirk. Just then, a figure approaching from the bar caught her eye.

Oh no. It couldn’t be. After five years, she’d finally relaxed her vigilance, had ceased anticipating his presence at every turn, and now, here he was.

“Sassenach?” Jamie was watching her with concern. The blush had drained from her cheeks, leaving her wine-stained lips and sintering eyes the only colour on her face.

“Claire! Fancy meeting you here!” Had his voice always been so nasal? His eyes so glassy and vacant, like portals into nothingness. He’d obviously been drinking heavily. A blond woman half his age had her arm linked through his.

“Frank,” she uttered his name. Jamie stepped into her side, his posture erect, somehow sensing that she needed his protection from this unheralded threat.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise. I’d heard you’d gone into the army, or some such thing. Afghanistan, was it? Well, with your penchant for violence, I suppose that’s fitting.”

She breathed deeply through her nose. She would not let him get the better of her. She wasn’t that person anymore. With a clammy hand, she grabbed onto Jamie’s fingers where they rested around her hip. He squeezed back. He was here. She wasn’t alone. It was all the strength she needed.

“Yes, that’s right. I served overseas for a time, but I’m back in London now. In medical school. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we were just leaving.”

Focusing on each step, she turned towards the exit, Jamie’s hand now warm upon the small of her back. Her chin wobbled, but she bit down hard to stave off tears.

“A doctor?” Frank taunted from behind her. “Wouldn’t a demolition expert be more apropos, darling?”

She froze, spine trembling with anger. Jamie made a questioning noise, asking without words if she wanted him to intervene. She didn’t.

Glancing over her shoulder, she dealt her parting blow.

“Give my best to Amelia and the children.” Without waiting to witness the aftermath of her pronouncement, she made her way out into the chilly night air, Jamie’s bulk a silent sentinel at her side.

It wasn’t a date if it ended on the floor of your bathroom, crying ugly sobs as mascara stained your cheeks, while your partner held your shoulders and made soothing noises with his throat.

That wasn’t dating, that was survival.

***

mac na ghalla = son of a bitch

Mu dheireadh = finally

#my writing #outlander

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felsenbluete · 3 years

Text

Mass textpost with things I was tagged in over the years (and I mean years, I think some of them might be three or more I’m so sorry lmao)

@undead-letsrebellamy

Indoor plants or gardens // cloud-watching or star-gazing // water or fire // paperback or hardcover // running or hiking // sleeping with socks or without socks // fruit or vegetables (10 yo me would shoot me on sight) // hanging plants or succulents // dark wood or light wood // handwritten or typed // instagram or pinterest // braids or pigtails // dc or marvel // books or movies // oceans or meadows // forests or fields // sweet or salty // ice cream or chocolate // hoodies or sweaters // long hair or short hair (vokuhila) // piercings or tattoos // summer or winter // boots or sneakers // cars or motorcycles // curls or straight hair // castles or cottages // sunny days or storms // reptiles or birds // disney or nickelodeon // strawberries or watermelon // essays or posters // phones or laptops // glass or stone // dark or light // photos or paintings // circuses or theatres // reading or writing // dogs or cats // poetry or novels // monsters or ghosts // thrift shops or libraries // fiction or non-fiction

@northernmoments Name/Nickname: Kira Jennifer, the only nick name I’ve ever had was Jenjen and that’s just a shame Pronouns: She/Her, but honestly brave of you to speak about me Star Sign: Aries Height: 178 cm Time Currently: 13:05 When is Your Birthday: 15.04. Favourite Band/Groups: die ärzte, Guns ‘n Roses, Linkin Park, Kaizers Orchestra, Fiddler’s Green Favorite Solo Artists: Howard Shore should count!, also P!nk Stuck in Your Head: Caledonia by Celtic Thunder, but that’s because I’m listening to it right now Last Movie You Watched: I Am Legend Last Show You Binged: tried Superstore, but watchseries is down rn Last Book You Read: the last one I actually finished was Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. When You Created Your Blog: 2013? Last Thing You Googled: How to spell Sir Terry Pratchett’s last name Other Blogs: about three for just different #vibes, a ski jumping side blog that has so many followers and where I’m the saltiest person on earth, also one for Naruto (don’t look at me), one “studyblr”/”langblr”/resource mine Why I Chose My Url: Wanted a Tolkien one and in the audiobooks by Bluefax the way Smaug says this “title” is one of my personal highlights Do You Get Asks: almost never How Many People Are You Following: about 20 actually active blogs How Many Followers Do You Have: looking at my activity: 8 Average Hours of Sleep: ~8 hours Instruments: viola/violin What I’m Currently Wearing: grey sweatpants, grey socks, grey sweater, my Gollum-tshirt Dream Job: Rentner (in all honesty I would enjoy being a housewife) Dream Trip: I want to go to Iran just to eat fruit and meet potential in-laws, why is that so hard Favorite food: pannekoeken or Palatschinken, I hate American pancakes, it’s important to me to state how much I disrespect thick pancakes Top Three Fictional Universes You’d Like To Live In: 1, 2 & 3 are all Lummerland

@curuvari

spell or curse ∙ abandoned mansion or haunted cementery ∙ vampire slayer or ghost hunter ∙ phoenix or griffin ∙ wrist bite or neck bite ∙ fairy godmother or evil stepmother ∙ herbs or potion ∙ ghost or wraith ∙ dragon scales or werewolf claws ∙ druid or mage ∙ elf or hobbit ∙ divination or necromancy ∙ wand magic or hand magic ∙ centaur or unicorn ∙ dark fairytale or disney-style fairytale ∙ sword or bow & arrow ∙ siren or water nymph ∙ garlic or silver ∙ talking animal or walking tree (but in a Huorn, not in a Ent way) ∙ demon trap or crossroads pact ∙ enchanted fairy forest or mermaid lagoon

@mattikitku

first 10 songs on shuffle - note: my itunes library is very very old, but on the other hand I haven’t really listened to music in years, so here we go

1. Massachusetts - Ylvis 2. Treebeard - Howard Shore 3. Your Mother Should Know - The Beatles 4. Pushing Me Away - Linkin Park 5. Pfingsten - Christoph & Lollo 6. Out Ta Get Me - Guns ‘n Roses 7. Rage of Poseidon - Apocalyptica 8. Monster Monster - Lordi 9. Wie es geht - die ärzte 10. Forth Eorlingas - Howard Short

@mona-liar only the answers that weren’t already included above

Sexuality: very deep into aspec territory and we’ll leave it at that Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw Favorite Animal: cats Number of Blankets: one, I’m German Where I’m from: Westfalen Dream Trip: oh, also Singapoor Why I created this account: I was really into ski jumping and Ylvis

uhh, so anyone who is tagged already choose one you wanna do? also @margalotta and @take-hell-with-a-smile

#I love everyone that has ever tagged me in anything #and esp mona-liar and mattikitku: I've felt bad about this at least thrice a week #the first two @s don't work because Tumblr truly is a website #EDIT: now they do!!

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imnotwolverine · 4 years

Text

The marriage pact - Reality strikes

Henry Cavill x OC Alice - multi-chapter

< Part 20 | Part 21 Reality strikes | Part 22 >

Disclaimer: Some angst

Author’s note: No idea what to write here today other than it’s 7.52 AM, so: good morning!

Word count: 2.723

(Link to my Masterlist)

Dear readers,

Another year reaches its end and I’m sitting here with mixed emotions. Tonight I’ll be celebrating with friends. Meaning a house filled with a whole horde of kids and a few slightly boozed up adults.

I’ll be the only childless adult. I’ll be the only unmarried adult. And with my dear chocolate cake right now working abroad, I’ll also be the only adult that will show up alone.

It is what it is. Life’s reality. But I must admit that it sets a tiny sad note to an otherwise quite lovely year. I lost one love, but gained a far better one in return. I now know my parents better than I probably ever have - and what joy it has been to share my life with them again. Also, I am writing my first novel and that is truly a dream come true.

Looking at this from the bright side; it does give me some new goals for the next year and I can’t wait to smash next year out of the park. Do you have any new years resolutions, dear readers?

Ali

‘9..8..7…’

*BBZZZZTT-BZZZZTTTT*

With hasty fingers I grasped for my phone, hearing the count down quickly proceed. Henry bear. It was silly to feel relieved to see his name.

He didn’t forget.

‘5..4..3..’

Putting him on speakers I laughed as my friends had bottles of champagne in hand, thumbs on the ready-to-pop corks. Around us excited, albeit slightly sleepy, children were watching with expectant eyes, their arms hugging their favourite stuffies. It was special for them to be allowed to stay up so late, which only added onto the magic of New Years eve.

‘2..1!!!’

PffffPOP - ’Oh fuck..!!’

A cork shot out in a wild direction and near hit Gisele in the face, everyone gasping as the poor woman blinked in silent terror. Ooph..that could have gone wrong.

‘HANKK..come on!’ She laughed after recapitulating a bit, her shocked lips turning up in amused smile. And just like that the mood was good again, everyone starting to give each other kisses and hugs. After clinking my glass with a few friends I quickly walked off to the quiet of the hallway, bringing my ear back to my phone, Henry expectantly waiting for my voice.

‘Hen..’ My voice was cracking.

‘ALI, YOU OKAY? DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?’

‘Haha..’ I sniffled back a little tear. ‘No no. Just Hendrik being a fool..*sniff* with the champagne. Nobody’s hurt though.’

‘Hey baby.’ He said, still mildly concerned, hearing me sniffling back tears. ‘Hi.’ I mumbled, looking over my shoulder to see the party getting in full swing, glasses refilled and kids jumping with excitement, everyone dancing on the music that was playing on the tv.

‘Happy new year.’ I whispered, hiding another quiet sob.

‘Happy new year baby.’ He sighed. ‘Gosh I wish I could be there. I miss you terribly.’

‘Same..*sniff* sorry about this. It’s just the wine I think.’

‘Hmm..it’s okay baby. I’m going to kiss allll those tears away when I get back, okay?’ His promise sounded extra bitter, because that would take another three weeks. Three long weeks before he’d get back here for two days, only to fly back again immediately after. But then again, trying to see it on a more positive note; that gave me three weeks to put some pressure on getting that hiatus approved. And that was do-able, right?

—

‘Hi Ali.’ Mrs. Mulligan smiled, lighting up another cigarette, the office building quiet as most employees were out running reports. It was mid January and though I hoped there would be good news, I never could be quite so sure with Mrs. Mulligan. The bad ass Chief editor was hard for me to read. Was she happy? Enthused? Taking the piss? Or being for real? Sinking down in the seat opposite of her desk I gave her a pensive look.

‘Hi Mrs. Mulligan.’ I said, trying my best at returning the smile she offered me. She chuckled. ‘You worry too much Ali. Really.’ She sucked on her cigarette, the tip burning bright orange. Licking her lips she shifted forward a bit. ‘So how is Henry?’

Of course, small talk. I sighed and shrugged. ‘Bit difficult to tell with his busy schedule and the time zone issue, but, I think he’s doing alright. At least they haven’t gotten any delays thus far.’

Mrs. Mulligan turned in her chair, nodding. ‘Well let’s hope that you won’t distract him, when you join him.’ She quickly took another inhale, smiling as the realisation of her words hit me. ‘Really?!’ I sat up a bit in my chair, looking at her with widened eyes. ‘Really really. Though of course we still want to get plenty of updates. You’re one of our best reporters and..as you know..we islanders are close-knit. Even Superman can’t steal you away from us for good.’ She winked, blowing the smoke out high above her head.

I gasped quietly and I couldn’t help but laugh, the relief this news brought being just what I needed.

‘Thank you so much Mrs. Mulligan.’ I smiled.

‘You’re welcome Ali.’ She winked, then pressed her burned up cigarette down in her ash tray. Her way of saying; this meeting is over. Quickly I got up and fumbled through my jean pocket to retrieve my phone; I had to tell him! I had to tell him!

—

But I couldn’t tell him. He didn’t have reception, again. And when I tried once more later that night all I got was a quick message from him, sent from an unknown number, telling me they had some technical difficulties now they were out in the wilderness. He’d try to get a moment to call later that week, but he couldn’t promise anything. And that he missed me. Terribly.

I hated it. This. The distance. The time zones. The difficulty to reach him. The fact I couldn’t share the happy news with him. At least the good thing was that it was just one more week till I’d see him. And we’d better find a way to tackle this problem once and for all..and quickly..because with every lonely night in my bed the unease in my mind grew; like this, it simply couldn’t work. No matter how hard we both tried. If we couldn’t be together, then this relationship was doomed.

—

Once more I was standing here at the airport, looking through the arriving crowd, their suitcases rolling over the grey tiles of the hall as the cold draft made me huddle closer in my thick wool jacket. I couldn’t wait to be back in Henry’s warm embrace again, especially after being almost a month apart. It had been simply too long.

More and more people flooded the airport, loved ones embracing one another, business men back on their phones, their faces stuck in expressions of true importance. But no Henry.

*BZZZ BZZZZ*

Henry bear: Sweetheart, running a little late. Issue with my baggage.

Seeing the message on my phone, made me all the more frustrated. He was here! In this darn building! And what was up with this baggage? He really didn’t need to bring any hold luggage for just the few days he was going to be here right? Groaning in silent frustration I saw an old lady in the corner of my eye, her small blue eyes also looking over the crowd with a sense of worry. As if she couldn’t find the person she was waiting for.

Using some passersby as an excuse to move in her direction, I smiled at her, attracting her attention. ‘Picking someone up?’ I asked, finding her worried look melt in a friendly smile. ‘Hello dear. Eh..yes..my son..he was supposed to be on this flight, but I don’t see him..’ She furrowed her thin eyebrows and looked back at the sliding door, the flood of passengers slowly becoming thinner and thinner.

‘Well that makes two of us. Though I am not waiting for my son, but my boyfriend. He just texted me there’s some issues with the baggage, so maybe your son has similar problems.’ I also looked back at the sliding door, the door now sliding fully closed.

No more people coming through.

It shouldn’t have hurt so. But it did all the same. After weeks of hoping, wishing, waiting, it was all the more frustrating to have to wait even more because of something silly like an issue with the luggage. And it was especially frustrating to think that I only had so few hours with him before he had to head back again to continue shooting.

The woman turned back towards me and looked me up and down. ‘Aren’t you…’ She squinted her eyes slightly, then beamed up as recognition hit. ‘..Henry’s girl?’ I looked at her, seeing those small but warm blue eyes peering at me, her wrinkly face lined with years of many smiles and few frowns. I laughed. ‘Correct. I’m Alice. From the west side of town, work for the local newspaper.’

The woman nodded, then near jumped on her feet when the door opened and two men came strolling in. First a man who probably was her son. And then Henry. A very tired to the bone Henry, his day old beard unshaven and hair slightly disheveled. It was a silver lining that most people had long left the hall, making the odds of someone snapping a picture of him in this state just that bit smaller.

As the two men strode over towards us it became apparent that there was some mutual recognition.

‘Mrs. Penny?’ Henry blinked at the woman who was giving her son a quick but big hug. Pulling back she tilted her head slightly, taking in his disheveled look. ‘Little Henry. Look at you dear boy! All grown up! And you need a shave!’ She winked then directed at me: ‘I was his drama teacher.’

I wished to smile at her, but before I could I felt two large arms wrap around me, a head dipping down in the crook of my neck.

Henry.

Home at last.

Running my hands over his back I looked through the confines of his big embrace at the lady called Mrs. Penny, her son checking his watch as if he wasn’t quite willing to wait a moment longer. I felt Henry pull back and for the briefest of moments his lips brushed over mine.

‘Hi.’ He breathed, smiling at me warmly, albeit with great tiredness.

‘Hi bear.’ I smiled, stroking a thumb over his cheek.

Turning back towards his drama teacher Henry reached out his arms, wishing to receive a hug from her as well. She gladly accepted, snickering a bit as Henry was near twice her height and triple her weight. The tiny lady and the huge bear of a man.

‘Mom, it’s time to go. We need to get eh…’ The son licked his lip as he looked at Henry, a glint of jealousy or distaste lingering in his eyes. Thankfully his mom was quick to agree. ‘Yes yes. Time is fleeting! It is good to see you Henry and I love your work. Though gotta practise that smile talking a little.’ She tutted, pinching his cheek with some motherly affection. Henry laughed and shook his head. ‘It’s good to see you Mrs. Penny and..please..let us not hold you up.’ Henry nodded at the other man, who was practically sneering at him.

—

‘Something happened with that guy?’ I asked, driving us home in his dad’s car - anything better than my mom’s car. Henry sighed. ‘Got our bags mixed up and he just kept saying my bag was his, refusing to open it and compare the contents.’

He sounded so done with it all, voice low and dry, eyes peering out over the icy cold waves hitting the frosty shoreline. ‘Sounds like a pain in the ass.’ I frowned, looking at him a bit better. ‘How are you Hen?’ A question that I could easily answer myself; awful. Because he sure as hell looked awful, his whole aura dark and gloomy, perfectly fitting the weather outside.

‘Could use a nap.’ He yawned, looking back over at me and trying his best to offer me a smile, the joy not reaching his eyes.

Oh my poor bear.

‘Then let’s nap and talk later.’

‘Yea..’ He reached out a hand and squeezed the hand I kept at the gear stick. ‘I’m terribly glad to be with you again. I am. Just..tired..’s all. Sorry if I..-’

‘Hen..it’s okay. Relax. Close your eyes for a bit and I’ll tell you when we’ve arrived.’

‘Okay.’ He slowly nodded, immediately closing his eyes, settling more comfortably in his seat.

‘Okay.’ I whispered.

—

Running my hand through his curls, his head resting on my lap, I folded over another page of the book I was reading. We were sitting / sleeping on his parents couch, his father upstairs going about his business, his mom out for tea with a friend. The house was nice and quiet, all sound reaching my ears being Henry’s slow breathing and the buzz of the dishwasher running in the kitchen.

He looked tired even while sleeping.

Oh poor, poor bear.

It was then he shifted a little, heavy eyelids slowly blinking open and his lip curling up in a tiny smile. ‘MMmmmm…’ He hummed, nuzzling his nose in my thighs, making me giggle. ‘Hennn! Cheeky!’ He chuckled in turn, his voice deep with sleep. ‘Am I still dreaming?’ ‘No, you’re not. I’m here. And you’re home. And it’s 11.30, in case you wonder.’

He sighed deeply and nodded, shifting so he was laying flat on his back, his ocean blue eyes looking up at me. ‘Hi.’ He rumbled. ‘Hi.’ I sniffled, tracing my fingers through his curls again, massaging his scalp ever so slightly. ‘Mmm..I missed you. Your hands..’ He slowly sat up, moving his nose into my chest, sniffing a long line up into my neck. ‘..your smell.’

I giggled again. ‘Okay then Geralt.’ He smiled and sat back a little, cupping my cheek. ‘It was worth every delay, every sleepless hour, every luggage swap annoyance.’ And then he placed the first proper kiss on my lips. Soft and loving, as if testing again how I feel like. How our lips can slot together perfectly.

And what a good kisser he was. Hmm.

Humming gladly I didn’t wish the kiss to end, but he eventually did break it, chuckling softly when I leaned into him a little more. ’How are you sweet one?’ He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, looking studiously at my face. As if relearning what I looked like.

Gosh we had really been apart for too long. If anything this had to be prevented from here on at any cost. At any..

‘OH! I have news actually.’ I smiled at him, my worried face turning up with pure joy. He also started to smile. ‘Does this mean that..?’ - ‘Yes. Or well. I don’t know what you’re assuming here. But eh..yea..I received green light for my hiatus. So..’

‘AAAHH YES!’ He let out an excited cheer and quickly pulled me in for another kiss. Deeper this time. And longer. Until both of us had to pull apart for the simple fact of requiring fresh air in our lungs. He was properly beaming. ‘Oh baby..oh…so..when and..?’ He babbled, keeping my face close to his. ‘Now, right now.’ I laughed, feeling his aura lighten up, the dark storm clouds pulling away, his eyes finally starting to shine with happiness.

—

The next morning we had our usual morning walk and it almost felt like it had for all those months before he left. Albeit that there was no happy Akita trodding ahead of us - Kal was still in Canada. With gloved hands interlinked we stepped in steady rhythm, small clouds coming from our mouths as we talked and laughed into the cold morning air.

‘You better pack real warm. It’s really, really cold over there.’ He smiled, pulling me closer and kissing my cold red nose. ‘Mmpff can’t wait.’ I grumbled - hating the cold, but accepting it if that meant I could finally be with Henry. ‘Hahaha. Oh sweetheart. Now...’ He halted us before a large blue slatted house. ‘Are you ready to move in with me?’ He raised a teasing eyebrow and I poked him playfully in the ribs.

‘I thought you’d never ask.’

General tagsquad: @harrysthiccthighss @tumblnewby @magdelen69 @thereisa8ella @mary-ann84 @darkbooksarwin @summersong69 @madbaddic7ed

Fluff lovers squad: @star017 @perhaps2remember @pterodactylterrace @witchersqueen @desperate-and-broken @toomanyfandomsshreya @deliciouslysassyarcade @pamacs-macs @cavilladdict @scorpionchild81 @lebguardians @sofiebstar @amberbabem @mis-lil-red @aestheticqueenb @misslalaland-blog-blog @ilieherecharmed-fics2readnrec @michelehansel @henryfanfics101

Want to be added to or removed from the tag list? Shoot me a message!

#henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fluff #long distance #romcom #the marriage pact #henry cavill x oc #henry cavill x author #henry bear #jersey #winter #fluff

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prodigal-sons · 3 years

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Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to get to know better.

Tagged by @incorrectprodigalsonquotes thanks for the tag, friend!! 🖤🖤

Tagging: @prodigalleverage @atomrealm @malcolmwhumply @merryandmalcolmbright @prodigalsonfanblog @malcolmbrighteyes @procrastinatingsab @give-me-malcolm-and-whump @lostinthespeedforce and anyone else who sees this and wants to join in!!

Name/Nickname: Mati

Gender: She/her

Star Sign: Pisces

Height: 5′1

Time: 10:49

Birthday: March 18th

Favourite Bands: Young the Giant, Cage the Elephant, AJR, iDKHOW, Electric Light Orchestra, and so so many more

Favourite Solo Artists: idk Harry Styles, Sophia Anne Caruso, Jeremy Jordan

Last Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life- I watch it every year around this time, absolutely my favorite, quite possible in my top favorite movies of all time

Last Show: The Magicians, rewatching from season 1 and debating if I want to watch season 5 or not 😭

When Did I Create This Blog: oooh it was like the very same week I saw the first episode (which was like 3 weeks after it premiered) so sometime October of '19??

What I Post: Oh I don’t even know, I’ve posted original art and fanfic here for pson, as well as contributed to some memes, but I feel like mostly it’s just me posting nonsense lmaooo

Last Thing I Googled: "suffocating synonyms” HA, what my search history looks like as a writer

Other Blogs: way too many... but my main is @whump-my-dear-watson if you’re wondering why I’m following you from that one lol

Do I Get Asks: definitely got more when I was posting more, hiatus is a bitch, but yeah I love asks! Love people’s hot takes!

Why I Chose My URL: idk i was typing in pson related ones and this was the first one available, I’ve grown to love it so much now, I mean we're all just prodigal sons in our own right, are we not?

Following: geesh over 1k think! I follow so many people, probably too many..

Followers: 1.8k on this blog! love y;all 🖤

Average Hours Of Sleep: since I got my new job, 8! finally the better improvement I needed from the 5-6 I was getting before :/

Instruments: I play electric and acoustic guitar, used to play piano, love to sing more than anything though

What Am I Wearing: christmas sweater and sweatpants babeyy

Dream Job(s): fiction author or painter

Dream Trip: seeing all the Broadway shows that I could ever dream of!

Favourite Food: me and food have a long history, but I’m honestly really not picky at all, but one delicacy that I love (and sadly haven’t had in years..) chocolate covered oranges, so good!

Nationality: American.

Favourite Song: the 3 songs I have on repeat are “Saint Bernard” by Lincoln, “Achilles Come Down” by Gang of Youths, and “Wiser” by Madilyn

Last Book I Read: just finished “Misery” by Stephen King yesterday, first one of his novels I read- I really enjoyed it! So much suspense..

Top 3 Fictional Universes I’d Like To Live In: this is 100% just because I have been binging it the past week and a half, but The Magicians. Depending if I got the gift or not, I could just be normal, but gahh the way they show magic and how it’s done and how you can learn it and preform it in such a way- literally makes me wish for a world more fantastical than our own.

Second choice, Marvel? Feel likes there’s a good chance that I could end up collateral damage, but... hey superhero’s are cool. Living in the same world as Daredevil and Spiderman, that’s the dream!

For number three- I think Community. Not the dark timeline, mind you. But honestly, as bad as they make Greendale out to be, it looks like so much fun and heck yeah I would love to get my degree there!

#tag game #get to know me #mati speaks #this was fun!

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tealin · 4 years

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Scene 1: Int. Cape Evans, Men's Quarters

Hi Tumblr! If you want to see this post with all the photos properly embedded, please visit the original. Reformatting on this site has made it difficult to get the images to show up.

It’s time to step into the Terra Nova hut. Look, the door is already open.

It’s open because the Antarctic Heritage Trust is here doing their annual check-up. Just because they’re here, though, doesn’t mean you don’t have to do the same boot-brush-and-sign-in routine that you do at Hut Point, so you do that. Here’s the guestbook. Have a go.

Since we’ve got a moment here, allow me to draw your attention to the cloth hanging above the wood plaque. It’s a plankton net, probably one of the ones Nelson used as he studied the biology of the sea over which we’ve parked our snowmobiles. At our feet is an enormous bright red fire extinguisher, which is very important – ironically, on this continent of ice, the greatest threat to the historic sites is fire. We do not want this hut to burn down. No, no.

Between the sign-in table and the fire extinguisher is a stack of skis, and I’d like to draw your attention to one in particular.

This ski (and its partner, not pictured) belonged to Edward Leicester Atkinson, expedition surgeon and commander during the second winter, after Scott had died. They were returned to the Antarctic Heritage Trust 100 years after Atkinson left Cape Evans and are now back home. It’s good to see them here.

Now we can step inside, through the small vestibule which had been the original entrance to the hut, before the porch was built. The cylindrical device for generating acetylene gas from calcium carbide should be here, but the AHT is conserving or photographing it or something, so it’s in pieces somewhere else. That’s fine, because what we really want to see is this:

We are standing in the mens’ quarters – the hut is arranged like a Naval ship, with the officers at one end and the ‘men’ – the ordinary sailors – at the other. As the men’s quarters on a ship tend to be at the front end, we can call this area ‘forward’ and the officers’ area (which you can see down the passageway) ‘aft’, and therefore the sides of the hut are ‘port’ and ‘starboard.’ I will use these terms to describe where we are because they don’t change relative to which direction you’re facing, as left and right do. In this picture, port is to the right and starboard to the left. To orient yourself with the outdoor photos, the sea, from this viewpoint, is to starboard (left), where the sun is coming in, and Wind Vane Hill is a little forward (behind us) to port (right).

Everything is easier with some visuals!

This post, I’m just going to be showing you around the forward part. Future ones will cover the officers’ quarters, in sections, because there’s a lot to see and I have so many stories to tell you.

Right, clear as mud? Let’s continue!

I have walked around this hut many, many times in my mind, aided by historical photos and some modern ones, so actually stepping through that door and seeing it for myself was a very emotional experience. The wash of feelings was cut short, though, by noticing this object on the mens’ table:

It was so exciting I put aside my feelings entirely, because I didn’t know this thing still existed! It doesn’t look like much, but it was a tabletop game that might possibly have saved the mental health of the expedition, their second winter. Silas Wright can explain:

I do not think any chess games or indeed card games were at all common, but someone in the party had received a toy which proved to be most popular with all. I think it may have been called bagatelle; at any rate there was a wooden board about 4 feet by 5 feet, with a number of wooden balls, approximately spherical, a miniature billiard cue and a bridge across one end of the board with a number of arches which were wide enough to permit the passage of the balls. Of course all the balls did not long retain their original spherical shape and there was one which had early lost an appreciable amount of wood to which Demetri (I think it was) gave the name "British Pluck." Its movements when struck by the cue were extremely erratic. I mention this childish game we all played. It may surprise my readers (if any), but it does give me a chance to say that the reversion to childish games was of real value in holding the party together. So firmly do I believe this that I would suggest that no small party such as ours should be without the wherewithal to play "darts" and "shove ha’penny" which do not really demand the surroundings of a bar as in the old English village "pub.” (Silas, pp.281-2)

They set up weekly bagatelle tournaments, where the winner would get a ‘medal’ and the lowest scorer would be ‘the Jonah’ for a week. That this vital piece of equipment should have survived to the modern day, and be displayed so prominently, was a tremendous joy. It may have lost its broad base board, but it’s far better than not existing at all.

Anyway. The wall behind the table, continuing the nautical tradition, was known as the ‘bulkhead’, and was made of packing crates full of food, stacked on their sides so they could be opened and their contents removed as necessary, then the empty crates used as shelving. In the most recent photograph I had seen of the restored hut, the bulkhead was largely missing, so I was glad to see it back. It looked like it had been largely reconstructed out of crates from outside, as the paint had prevented some weathering before finally weathering away itself.

Here is a historical photo of Tom Crean and Taff Evans mending sleeping bags against the bulkhead. You can see the shelving unit behind them, though back then it stood in front of the bulkhead rather than forming a part of it.

This bulkhead is the source of much criticism of Scott’s leadership style in modern times, dividing the officers and men into two units. I am not here to pass judgement, but I do invite you to consider the following question for yourself: If you were at a work retreat that was going to last for two years, would you want to sleep in the same room as your boss? Call me ‘not a team player’ but that wall would have been my favourite thing in the hut.

OK, to get your bearings, turn around, and here is the door we came in:

If you keep turning, you will be facing the galley, which is to port of the door. Nearest the door is the cook’s table, strewn with things useful to the preparation of food.

Turn slightly further, and you can see the cook’s bunk. For the first winter, Thomas Clissold (pictured above) slept here. He was first and foremost an artificer – like a machinist – and found novel ways to advance his culinary arts through metalwork, including, quite possibly, that tray on the table, which might have been used to make sausage rolls. His most cunning invention was a rising bread alarm: he would wake up early, get the dough going for the morning bread, then put it under his device. Once the dough rose to the desired height, it would trigger a bell and a flashing red light, which would wake him from the couple hours’ extra sleep which his ingenuity had earned.

Our tour will continue next week with the starboard side of the officers’ quarters, the section historically known as ‘The Tenements.’

#antarctica #cape evans #cape evans hut #terra nova expedition #scott expedition #terra nova hut #edwardians #antarctic exploration #history

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notjonahclemence · 4 years

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This post is long and I do not apologize.

Okay y’all quiz time! I’m curious, pay attention to me. Bored? Me? Never. IkeSen, IkeRev, IkeVamp or all three (max out the word limit, do it!). Feel free to answer all of these questions or whichever ones you like.

I’ll go first and subject myself to the mortifying ordeal of being known so I hope you will do the same!

I’m gonna answer about IkeSen!

1. When did you start playing?

I have absolutely no concept of time and cannot remember dates but it was between Kenshin and Mitsunari’s routes.

2. Who’s route did you play first/why?

Nobunaga’s route. I knew enough about the game to know his was one of the original routes and I wanted to start the game from ‘the beginning.’

He interested me and I could tell he was just enough of a 'bad boy’ for me to fall for. I am, unfortunately, cripplingly attracted to bastards.

That’s why I play otome games instead of dating real men.

3. Before you started playing/towards the beginning who was your favourite guy and why? Do you have one ultimate guy or absolutely cannot choose between multiple. Kinda ties in with questions 2, 4 & 5 I guess.

Though I liked Sasuke, I’ve never been hugely romantically interested in him, I guess my favourite guy (romantically) has always been Nobunaga. And that’s terrible.

4. If their route had been out when you first started playing would you have picked somebody else? Who? Why?

*Naruto voice* SASUKE!!!! He seemed interesting, handsome, funny(ish), KIND, and was the only one who wanted to help me.

He was also the only character in the prologue who wasn’t a jerk or Mitsunari (never been attracted to the ‘gentle angel’ type character) so he really seemed like the only option... but his route wasn’t out and thus I was forced to pick Nobunaga like I’d originally been planning anyway.

5. If that guy’s route is out now did it live up to your expectations? Why/why not?

Sasuke? Yes in both a good and bad way. The route was more interesting and entertaining than I’d expected it to be but I was not particularly into him before, I did not expect his route to change that and it didn’t.

6. Your favourite guy NOW. Is it the same person as it was at the beginning? If not, who is it? Why? How many favourite guys have you had? Do you keep changing your mind or are you irrationally devoted to one guy? And I mean romantically, not guys you like for other reasons.

Still. Nobunaga. Send. Help.

7. Did a guy you expected to like disappoint you? Who? Why?

Masamune. I never thought he would be my all time favourite but I expected him to be one of my more liked guys both romantically and just as an interesting character. He isn’t. But it’s not like I hate the guy or anything he’s just not a fave.

8. Did a guy you never thought you’d fall for blow you away? Who? Why? Even if he didn’t ‘sweep you off your feet’ was there someone/a route you liked a lot that you didn’t expect to?

Route: Mitsunari. His route just kept me entertained, there weren’t bits where I lost interest or anything.

Person: Yukimura. I actually really liked him a lot in his route. Sweet, cute, romantic, interesting. Which is weird because I used to (and still do!!!) see him as one of the more boring characters.

Me, before *reading a different guy’s route, sees Yukimura*: Boring.

Me *reading Yukimura’s route: AAAAAAHHHHH! OMG! DJBQWHFIVIF!!!! *heart eyes*

Me, after *reading a different guy’s route, sees Yukimura*: Boring.

9. Does one of your favourite guys not fit your ‘type?’ (Eg; your fave guys are Kenshin, Shakespeare and also Fenrir). Even if you’re only answering for one game, feel free to include guys from other games for this question.

Favourite IkeVamp guy: Shakespeare, fave IkeSen guy: Nobunaga, fave IkeRev guy: Lancelot... and Fenrir. Jerk, jerk, jerk... Fenrir.

10. Are you a romantic person or a dramatic person?

Dramatic. Even when I don’t want to be.

11. If you’ve read both a romantic ending and a dramatic ending for the same character is there any where you noticed one being significantly better than the other?

Kenshin’s dramatic ending is so much better than his romantic one it’s not even funny.

12. Do you feel any character is significantly less loved than they deserve? Why do you think that?

Stop sleeping on Hideyoshi! Cowards!

13. Do you feel any character is significantly MORE loved than they deserve? Why do you think that?

Kennyo. Mostly because I don’t much care for him at all so any love is Too Much.

Also Masamune, but again, it’s not like I HATE Masamune. I just don’t get the hype. Everyone’s different I guess.

14. What routes have you read?

Nobunaga: Dramatic, romantic, eternal. Kenshin, Ieyasu, Mitsunari, Yukimura: Dramatic, romantic. Hideyoshi, Sasuke: Romantic. Shingen, Masamune: dramatic.

15. WHO’S ROUTE ARE YOU ON RIGHT NOW?! What do you think of it? Have you read it before? Etc.

Mitsuhide’s. Predictably I have not read it before. I’m enjoying it but not as much as I thought I would. Mitsuhide’s was the route I was looking forward to most so anything less than complete perfection would be a letdown. And while it’s good, it’s not complete perfection.

The main character is my real issue. She seems more childlike than I ever remember her being. Is it just me?

Also tying into that, this is the only route I can remember her being consistently referred to as a ‘girl.’ Never a ‘woman’ always a girl. I know it happens SOMETIMES in other routes, Masamune calls you ‘lass,’ etc. But this time both the narrative and the characters seem allergic to the word ‘woman’ or something. That with her personality infantilize her a bit too much for me.

16. Fave route? Is it your favorite guy’s route or is there just a plot that you REALLY F*CKING LOVE even if the guy is not your favorite?

I actually really enjoyed Mitsunari’s route but I’m not romantically interested in him at all. Hideyoshi’s route was also a favourite.

17. Who’s route are you most looking forward to? Why? Again, you can answer for any game.

Shakespeare from IkeVamp. As for IkeSen... I’m not. Mitsuhide was the one I wanted. Don’t really like Kennyo, pretty neutral about the new guys.

18. Which guy are you most like? Why?

Jonah Clemence from IkeRev. But from IkeSen, Ieyasu. Because I’m salty. Though he’s really smart and I’m a complete dumbass.

19. Three guys/routes you love the most, why?

1. Nobunaga: bastard man, love of my life. The main character in his route does almost exactly what I’d do in her situation so it was a believable romance for me and he’s someone I could actually see myself falling for if I was magically transported into IkeSen rather than some of the others who I like but only because its a game and if I met them in real life we’d probably hate each other.

2. Shingen, another character I never expected to love, not big on flirts either, but he won me over. Still not sure why.

3. Hideyoshi. Just a damn good guy and a good route.

19. Three guys you like the most if they’re not the ones above, not necessarily the guys you fell in love with, just characters you like.

Number 1 guy is still Nobunaga both romantically and platonically.

2. Ieyasu. We’re too similar for a relationship between us to work but I adore him. That’s probably why

3. Kenshin. Funny 50% of the time, heartbreaking 50% of the time, interesting 100% of the time also just pretty to look at. An incredibly complex character with an interesting personality/relationships. But if you were to put a gun to my head and say “date Kenshin or die” I would say “pull the trigger.” Not romantically into him (or Mitsunari, or Kennyo) at all.

19. LEAST favourite three guys. Why?

1. Kennyo

2. Kennyo

3. also Kennyo

No, I don’t take constructive criticism.

20. Any other romantic visual novels, books, games, songs, movies, tv shows or other media you would recommend?

The psy-changeling series by Nalini Singh. A paranormal romance series. There are like, 20 books and still going with it’s own worldbuilding so it’s not light reading but I thoroughly enjoyed the books and I hope others will too. It’s written in English but you can also get it in at least a handful of other languages, Spanish and German at least.

Also the song Fire meets Gasoline by Sia is Nobunaga x MC’s song.

21. MEEEE!!!!! Is there anything I’ve said that you totally agree with/blatantly disagree with? What/Why?

Well I can’t really answer this but please go ahead!

22. If you do read IkeSen, how do YOU feel about Nobunaga?

I’ve made my opinion pretty clear. If you actually answer any of these questions please feel free to put in your answer what guy/route YOU would like other people’s opinion on, that way we can get a bunch of different opinions on different guys.

Okay! That’s everything guys! If you’ve got any other questions you want to ask people add them to your answers. Other than that, I hope to see your replies *HINT HINT*

#ikemen series #ikemen sengoku #Ikemen Vampire #ikemen revolution #ikesen #ikerev #IkeVamp #ikesen nobunaga

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dlkardenal · 4 years

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Tooth and claw - Aspects and execution of werewolf myths

Hey there, travelers!

As we promised last week, today I shall take over the post to come to the defense of the whole werewolf thing. If we go back to last weeks debate about the Underworld factions, I always sided with the werewolves (and only partially because the vampires were jerks in comparison). Why? Well, I think the myth has a large selection of really cool qualities that could serve as the backbone of a story, be it as an overall theme or a specific crux.

1. The savagery

Okay, I think we can all agree wolves are scary as shit. The earliest appearances in fiction were almost entirely horror stories and the iconic werewolf adversary in any spooky medium still gives us the creeps. In my understanding, this is because their savage and predatory nature. They have an instinct to hunt, to claim territory and devour anything that sets foot inside. Although modern zoology tends to show these noble beasts in a much friendlier light, older horror fiction kept to the juicy bits. They were portrayed as soulless beasts with no regrets, no thought and no emotions, only an unquenchable thirst for blood. You can spot these werewolves nowadays in titles such as The Witcher, Skyrim, Harry Potter or a number of indie horror novels and I love it.

The whole concept of an uncontrollable monster living under the skin of a regular old human being is really fascinating. There are several ways the character’s human side can relate to their occasional disemboweling of innocent creatures. If they shun it, like for example Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter series, it breeds conflict within the character itself, giving way to a whole armada of possible reactions. A werewolf can be suicidal, introverted, melancholic because of the heavy burden—or the exact opposite. Sometimes loosing control and thus being unaccountable for ones deeds means freedom, a refreshing escape from mundanity and that could behave like the most severe drugs (like in the case of Aela from Skyrim’s Companions’ Guild).

2. The power

Oh, yes, muscles larger than a greek god and claws shredding titanium, who wouldn’t want that feeling of invincibility? In some cases, the characters stricken with lycanthropy (especially when they’re largely in control of it) view it as a tool, a power one should utilize to achieve their ends. If you think about the Underworld movies, the second generation of lycans used their powers to defend against the vampires’ crusade and free themselves from servitude. My favourite installation of this trope is the case of Vincent Meis, a minor character in The Witcher 1 Chapter III. This guard captain in Vizima is a lycanthrope who acts as a kind of vigilante superhero. When it’s time for his transformation, he uses the feral beast’s agility and tracking skills to hunt down the city’s most wanted criminals, saving the lives of ordinary folk.

If you ask me how could one further this aspect, I’d say account for weaknesses as well. As with every power, it can make a character overly confident or even bold, and when a stray silver bullet comes their way and shatters their ego, it can really hurt. And hurt means character development, something every author tries to integrate into their stories. Let your werewolves run wild and shred people to pieces, then shoot them chock full with silver and see them grow as a person ~

3. The pack

Sailing onto more recent topics, we all now there’s no such thing as a lone wolf. No matter how much Geralt insinst on being one, wolves are pack animals, and so are werewolves—in some cases. You needn’t look further than Twilight to figure out the appeal of a pack, a gathering of like-minded people who will fight and die for each other. If you’re unsure why a society is important, we’ve already talked about it here, but to sum it up: from the times for our ancestors, being alone meant being destined to die, so our human psyche favors groups to lonesomeness. Werewolf packs are like the Lamborghini of groups, because they have more common traits then any other. First, they all experienced something nobody else has (turning into a wolf or wolf-man). Second, since most titles still establishes lycanthropy as socially unacceptable, they have a common secret. Something they should keep among themselves, something they can refer to and that differentiates them from common folk, pushing them even closer together. The third, and here’s the kicker—they can’t choose else. Many of these stories include that werewolves have a pack instinct, an inner calling that makes them crave each other’s company and thus they know they’ll stick together no matter what. This last aspect is ripe for abuse and I’ve read (reviews of) horrible paranormal romances that did just that. Please, for the love of Romulus, don’t use this instinctual belonging as a reason to keep a verbally, mentally and physically abused character coming back to the pact, because that’s not relatable, that’s just sad.

4. (Now we’re getting weird) The mates

Okay, now we arrive at Imprinting and similar things. The idea of having a pre-destined, fated mate is an exciting topic (at first): the alpha werewolf having an omega nobody as his fated mate, the one he HAS to choose no matter what. This simple position breeds (no pun intended) conflict, and that is the driving force of stories. BUT! You can so easily mock this up. Nowadays market is flooded with these alpha werewolf stories, partially because of the alpha’s character (another throwback about why that’s alluring is around here), partially because the fated mates trope. How can this be bad? Like with so many other tropes, by sticking to the tried and tired formula and not changing a thing. The best in show prize of a male falling in love with a grey, insignificant nobody snuck its way through every possible genre, from YA school romances, crime stories, historical fiction, and now paranormal romances. Mix it up! You can’t really change the alpha (although you can play with genders a bit), but the mate doesn’t have to be nearly incompetent. What if he/she is a total badass, just not in a way that befits an alpha’s mate? What if they are already taken and the conflict tears apart the pack? What if it’s not love that bonds them but an everlasting rivalry? This could be a really good enemies to lovers trope if executed well.

I’ll be honest, I’m not one for paranormal romances, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, there is no correct way of writing a story, these are just the two cents of a story junkie. Howl away, friend! May Hircine take you.

Dar

#dissecting literature #paranormal #werewolves #werewolf #writing #writeblr #writersblr #bookblr

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