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mieldreams · 1 month ago

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Payal

Summary: Anakin Skywalker is the roommate of your best friend's crush. That's all. Well, he's also a pain in the ass. But could one dance and a lucky pair of payal change things?

pairing: Anakin Skywalker x desi!reader (or just reader who's familiar/involved with that culture, no physical descriptions involved)

Warnings: None, except for 'i haven't proofread a single fucking thing' :) sorry for the mistakes in advance.

A/n: wrote something on a whim again (this is the first ever time I've written a proper fanfic tho *_*). Happy navratri y'all

Edit: Here's some payal playbacks aka any moodboard/refs if you want to know (songs, outfits, word meanings etc.)

It was Navratri, the festival in honour of the Goddess Durga. Nine nights of colours, prayers, and a whole lot of dancing. Oh, and the sweets! You couldn't wait to just rot your teeth on those festive delicacies.

It was the 5th night of festivities and today's celebrations were mainly the daily prayer and the dandiya dance. The special event for today however, was the ladies' dance competition. Your best friend had practically dragged your ass to get your name registered along with hers and your other friend Pari's, a half-assed promise of treating you to your favourite food at that fancy restaurant on the other side of the city to bribe you into the elaborate bollywood-esque romance scheme to seduce her crush. "There's no seducing!" she whisper-shouted, standing at the booth where you had to give your name, her cheeks immediately heating up at your insinuation. "I just want him to... see me, you know?" and you couldn't help but mentally scoff at that, why was she so blind? "Plus the price is money," she added, smirking as she picked up the pen to write down the names.

"Well shit, you should've said that first girl, I'm always looking to make me some moolah" your smirk matching hers even though your brain was already exhausted just *thinking* about the hours of practice she was gonna make you do to make sure everything was perfect to the T. That was over a week back, and after hours of choreographing and practising and picking out the costumes, the day was here, and despite all the whining you had done during practice, you couldn't deny that you actually hoped that her plan worked. Was it because you were tired of your oblivious best friend and her equally oblivious man playing dog and the bone with their feelings? Nooo, you could never be tired of your darling best friend's endless rants about how 'handsome he looked at the cafeteria today, in his lucky white cashmere sweater his ex-grandma gifted him in 2019' (how did she know that?) or how 'it's so sad his little sister's goldfish died because it jumped into the pot of boiling water for tea, and they've invited us to its funeral' (what?). And it most definitely wasn't because you were starting to get sick of having to watch them make those nauseating googly eyes at each other every time you hung out, for the past year. (though you wondered if it would only get worse when they finally got together.)

That's right, when, because if those two failed to get their ship sailing after tonight, you were 100% planning on just walking up to each of them, asking them what time they're free for dinner and setting them up on a date yourself. Your mental planning however, was disrupted by the creaking of the metal gate to the lawn space that had been rented for the festival. You turned around, a smile immediately pulling on your lips at the sight of the said man you were downright ready to shake like a maraca till your best friend got her deserved confession (though you expected the same on her end as well, of course). Though the smile immediately fell as well at the sight of another man walking in right behind him. Anakin. What the hell was he doing here? And truly, the scowl that pulled on your face was hardly your fault when his eyes met yours and his lips immediately turned up into that infuriating smirk as the two of them headed towards you. But before you yourself could march up to him and demand why he was here, your best friend ran up to you, gripping your arm to stop herself from crashing into you (you supposed the accidental intervention was for the better, since asking him such a thing might only give him more reason to mock you, it was obvious he was here with Krish, your best friend's crush who was also very unfortunately college roommates with Anakin, seriously how did someone as sweet as that guy get stuck with a moron like him?).

"C'mon it's time for the competition to start, ours is literally the second performance!" She started to drag you by the arm only to stop immediately at the sight of Krish causing you to crash into her. "Are we sure you can dance in the competition when you can hardly manage to walk without stumbling?" his voice immediately caused you to raise your head, glaring daggers as you squared up to throw your own taunt about how he just had to be oh so special and wear black even though tonight's theme was white. Unfortunately, you were beaten by Krish as he elbowed Anakin harshly in the rib, making you snicker at his grunt of pain, before walking even closer towards your best friend. "Aamani... hi," Krish breathed out, shifting his weight from one foot to another. And though you wanted to roll your eyes at how his eyes seemed to literally twinkle as he looked at your best friend, or how he always took time to call her by her full name despite all her friends calling her Manu, like he just had to say it every time to even begin to appreciate her entire being that he was so clearly besotted with, you couldn't help the small smirk that tugged on your lips as you gently pried your arm out of her death grip. (when the hell did she get so strong?) ‘Let's leave them to it, then.’ You thought to yourself.

And with that you walked away towards the small stage, knowing they'd most likely not see or hear anything besides the other person for at least the next half hour. "They're not gonna leave each other's side for the rest of the night, are they?" Ugh, Anakin. How had you forgotten? and now he was following you, great. "Well, they wouldn't normally, but we do have to perform our dance and we're up second, which means the lovebirds will have to sacrifice at least half an hour for final practice and the performance." Hold on, why were you entertaining him? You stopped suddenly and turned to him with a scowl, "and I'll have you know I can dance very well and I-" "Is that why you're wearing red? for the dance? I thought the theme was white today," the audacity this man had to interrupt you. "Oh did you? Is that why you instead wore black?" you popped a hip with a closed fist resting on your hipbone, raising a jeering eyebrow at him, his eyes immediately drawn to the movement and indirectly your exposed midriff and then the shiny white stud in your belly button. He gulped before quickly averting his eyes to the stage behind you. "I think they announced that they're gonna be starting the competition soon," he replied instead.

Oh shit.

"Good luck" was all he said before walking away towards the audience gathering up for the performances. Oh shit, you really had to find your best friend fast.

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Half an hour later with your costumes readjusted and makeup re-touched you were ready to get on stage. You weren't worried about messing up as much as you were about not keeping the same amount of energy for the next half an hour. That's right, your original plans of going mostly unnoticed as your best friend's supporting dancer for a mere 4-5 minutes went down the drain the minute she blabbered about you being a dancer as a kid to the aunty from down the block who was arranging her own group dance performance and immediately downright ordered you to join her group as well. At the time you didn't mind much but now, now you were wondering if you could pretend to sprain your ankle after your first performance to avoid the other one. I mean a whole half an hour of continuous dancing? and worse, the traitor that was your best friend wasn't in the second one and so you'd been entirely alone with a bunch of strangers during the first few practice sessions. (you knew it wasn't her fault the lady didn't ask her to join but you were sure she might have accommodated another person considering it was a big dance number) So here you were now, about 30 seconds away from getting on stage, sending a quick prayer that you don't throw up at any point considering they were pretty much back-to-back dances. As soon as you heard your group being announced the three of you walked onto the stage to get in your positions. You used the brief gap before the music started to scan the huge crowd, immediately spotting Krish almost at the very front of the audience, closest to where Manu was standing, but Anakin wasn't beside him like you expected. Your eyes continuing their scan to find him in the crowd before you even realised what you were doing. Wait, why the hell am I looking for him? I need to focus on the count before the music starts.

And as soon as the music started your body naturally moved to the rhythm and beat, a light laughter bubbling in your chest as you felt the stress melt away with each step. You had forgotten just how fun being on stage actually was, and with the atmosphere of such joy and celebration it was that much livelier. Before you know it, the performance was over, Krish walking quickly to the side of the stage as you got off, still high on the adrenaline and euphoria of performing after so long, and everything had gone smoothly too. It was hard to keep the smile off your face, even more so when you saw Manu and Krish talk animatedly at the bottom of the stairs to the stage, her head thrown back, laughing at something he said and then nodding enthusiastically with a toothy grin. Her expression changing to that of shock for a brief second as Krish immediately picks her up to twirl her around, her laughter dancing in the cold night air once again. It was only your obnoxiously loud teasing whistle that broke their bubble, though only temporarily. You had to go back on stage in five minutes and you wanted to make sure that Manu had company since you wouldn't be by her side for at least the next half an hour. Though realistically you knew it was her who wouldn't be by your side for the rest of the night. Ah, young love... or whatever.

"So now that the two of you have finally been cured of your obliviosis, have fun kiddos," you smirked, "and make sure to be safe." You winked at the pair, earning you a half-hearted angry call of your name from Manu as Krish let out an awkward nervous chuckle, burying his face into her shoulder. Aww, you had embarrassed them. "What? I'm just saying, have her back by 11." you gave a pointed look at him to which he immediately straightened up, enthusiastically nodding to your words while Manu continued to glare at you. "Back by 11? What am I in middle school?" "If you were in middle school I'd want you home by 9 Miss, just what the hell sorta parents did you have?" You looked down at your watch realising your 5-minute break was nearing its end. "Okay lovebirds, I gotta go, but seriously have her home safe if you guys decide to leave the ground," you said pointing a finger at Krish, "and you,"your finger pointing at Manu now, "don't forget to text me when you're leaving and when you get back home, alright?" She left his arms to quickly walk up the stairs to the top where you stood, pulling you into a bear hug as she rocked you side to side without even giving you a chance to hug her back as she held your arms at your sides, "I'll text you." She freed you from the hug to squeeze your palms in hers, "I had a lot of fun with the dance, thank you. And good luck with your next dance, sorry I won't be there to watch it, I mean we could stay till it gets over. we'll have the rest of the night anyway. Hey Krish, maybe we should stay for–"

But you immediately cut her off, "absolutely not, you've been looking forward to this day for almost a whole month now." You shook your head as you saw her open her mouth to argue, "plus I know you have that scarf you knitted for him in your bag." you smirked as her eyes went wide with surprise, not having expected you to know that. "Pulling that lovely 'oh it's a cold night, isn't it? Here, I just so happen to have this beautiful scarf that I definitely didn't knit just for you, here, let me wrap it around your beautiful neck. Oh no, you don't have to give it back to me at the end of the night, I have a matching one at home that I totally didn't plan as a couple’s thing, no seriously you can keep it' on him? There couldn't be a better opportunity." You laughed as her ears became bright red, "I hate you and your Nancy Drew observation skills." she mumbled out of puffed cheeks before immediately pulling you into another hug. "I love you. Good luck." "Thanks, I love you." In the end, you were about 2 minutes late to your dance and the aunty's scary face as she hurriedly signalled you to get into your position made you cringe on the inside, but oh well whatever, there were so many people you doubted that anyone had noticed there was supposed to be another dancer. You were here now anyway. You were halfway through the dance, your back turned to the audience when you felt a sharp gaze on you. Weird, there were about 100 people watching you, why did you feel this one particular stare stand out? It was only when you completed the circle to turn to face the audience again that you immediately connect gazes with the sharp eyes you had felt on you. Anakin. He was standing at the very back, close to the water coolers and refreshment tables, leaning on one of the empty tables with his arms crossed. His gaze never leaving yours. For a second your thoughts drifted and you were annoyed at how good he looked in the black shimmery kurta, though the top 3 buttons being left unbuttoned was so unnecessarily extra. The sleeves folded over his forearms that stretched the fabric, his collarbones standing out from the open collar. Such a slut. But damn did he look fine. Wait, what the hell? Focus, focus, focus. You couldn't lose count mid-step. And tripping right now would mess up everyone's steps since it was a circular movement. Why the hell would you trip over him anyway? Ugh. And so you focused back on your steps, continuing to feel that strange unwavering gaze on you for the rest of your dance.

Half an hour later, you were entirely done with the dance competition. Your feet hurt, your stomach was grumbling every few seconds and you were sure you'd be getting a headache from being so close to the speakers for so long. Thankfully, the emcee had announced a short break for refreshments and such, before the rest of the dances and then the final event to end the night — the dandiya dance. Were you positively exhausted and maybe even getting real tired of all the dancing and loud music? Most definitely. But Manu had texted you saying they'd be back for the final dandiya dance and you were really hoping to get to dance at least once with her, you know, outside the competition, just for funsies sort of stuff. So your irritation? Nothing some tasty snacks and maybe a cold drink couldn't solve. That was until an unfortunately familiar face came into your view as he plopped into the seat right next to yours at the circular table. Not the two other tables that were entirely empty (wasn't he supposed to be some emo loner who preferred to sulk in a corner?) or even the chair on the other side of the table (though you wondered if having him directly in your line of sight would make it worse). But no, he just had to sit right next to you with his stupid pretty eyes purposefully not meeting yours and his annoying plump lips innocently wrapping around the spoon with a piece of gulab jamun on it. He didn't even like sweets.

"Um— what the hell?" "What?" he looked at you with doe eyes rounded in innocence, and your eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Nothing, never mind," you were too tired and too hungry to start anything right now and what would you even ask, 'Why the hell are you sitting next to me?' 'didn't know there was some rule telling me where I can sit' is what he'd say, maybe roll his eyes at you, the usual stuff. So you continued eating your puff pastry in silence. Until you just had to ask, "I thought you didn't like sweets?" You tried to make your voice sound as non-judgemental as possible, you were only curious after all. "And who told you that?" he raised an eyebrow at you. Truthfully, nobody. But you had noticed the way he always avoided the dessert table at parties and functions, the way he only drank his coffee black; not even your best friend's infamous black forest cake that she had made for Krish's birthday a few months back had tempted him to even grab a Yolanda-approved bite. Yolanda would certainly be proud. Obviously, this had nothing to do with you observing him particularly, you just observed a lot of things around you, and he just very unfortunately happened to be around you a lot, being Krish's roommate and 'brotha from anotha motha' or whatever they said. And yet, here he was eating a freaking gulab jamun that was absolutely dripping with the sugary-est syrup. Did he hit his head on the way or something?

"Did you hit-" "I ran into Krish and Aamani, she told me to give this to you," he interrupted you yet again, turning to face you and pulling out a long silver chain-like thing, which upon a closer look you realised with an elated gasp, was the missing half of your lucky pair of payal, the one you'd been looking for everywhere earlier that evening. "I thought these came in pairs," it was a question from the tone with which he said it, but his eyes remained fixated on the jewellery in his hands, thumb running over the delicate silver with a gentleness you didn't know he possessed. You lifted the hem of your skirt a little, head tilting down to point at your left ankle, "they do. I just couldn't find the other one." You shook your head, going back to taking a sip of your drink, "I like the sound they make when you dance, it's fun, so I thought ek hai toh ek hi sahi," catching his questioning gaze you translated, "if there's only one then so be it, I hardly ever get to wear these anyway." You shrugged, "Manu must've found it later and forgotten to give it to me earlier. I think their dating honeymoon phase is gonna be worse than their not-dating honeymoon phase" You rolled your eyes affectionately, expecting him to make a teasing remark too or at least give you that amused smirk. Instead you saw him give an almost imperceptible yet decisive nod, quickly sliding off his chair to kneel in front of you. "What are you-" He gently lifted your right foot onto his folded knee, his nimble fingers making quick work of the clasp on your anklet. Your stomach fluttered as you felt the warmth of his hands on your cold bare ankle, and you were sure if you still had that sip of cold drink in your mouth, your lungs would be burning from snorting it down the wrong pipe, and definitely not because he might've stolen your breath. His fingers skimmed in a barely there touch down your foot. Till now, his gaze had been entirely focused on clasping the jewellery but now that he was done he lifted his head, looking directly into your eyes from his still kneeling position, your faces a few inches apart. This time you could feel your heart burn. Dang, maybe you should cut down on the greasy food and drinks. His gaze briefly shifted to your lips, but then he quickly got up, dusting off his pants, picking up his empty gulab jamun cup, throwing a quick, "I'mgonnagothrowthis" over his shoulder and then he was gone. He quickly disappeared into the crowds while you still sat there, entirely motionless. Your mind blank except for the phantom feeling from his feather touch on your skin.

It was finally time for the last round of dancing. You had run into Manu and Krish while carrying your trash to the bin, the emptiness of your thoughts completely overthrown by the excited shout of your name. You were surprised they had spotted you first, considering all the doped-up lovey smiles and heart-eyes you noticed when they walked to you. The brief hand squeeze and wide-eyed glance from her let you know you were in for an entire night of dramatic recalling of every detail of their evening and you could only shake your head with a fond smirk. As you all walked back towards the dance area, Manu spoke up, "Oh, did you get the payal I'd given Anakin to give to you?" she looked down at your feet though they were covered with your skirt. You supposed she heard them jingle, the sound louder and more noticeable now that you were wearing both of them. But her question brought back that unwanted memory from earlier in the evening instead, and you fought real hard to keep your face from heating up, inhaling a deep breath as inconspicuously as possible, "uh– yeah, he um.. he did." you nodded your head a little too aggressively, "I mean I got it, yeah." Lightly lifting your skirt to show your pair of anklets safely secured, by the most gentle hands you'd ever felt. This time you felt your ears undeniably heat up. 'What the hell? Why were you so fixated on that one thing? It was nothing. It's not like he was sliding a wedding ring on you or something.' Though for some reason, that thought only made your breath stutter as you felt the lava-like blood now rushing to your cheeks. Ugh, get a grip, get. a. grip. And since you were too busy trying to appear totally normal and shoot the butterflies in your stomach dead, you missed the mischievous look that Manu shot Krish as she gave a quick squeeze to his hand in hers. "Should we really have been spying on them like that? And worse, taking photos of them without them knowing?" and though his question was whispered through a sigh he squeezed her hand right back.

"Oh, hush. 10 years from now when they have cute little munchkins running around, I'll have proof to show that *I* was the one that set their ship sailing." she answered with a smirk. "You've thought about their kids? 10 years from now??" he raised his brows with an incredulous laugh. "Of course. I think about everything." Even the things that you were too practical to consider. Your words, not hers. 'Blind' is what she would call it. You may have the observation skills rivalling that of the most infamous detectives, but she had The Vision. And she knew in her guts that you two were just meant to end up together. "Oh yeah? Then what have you thought about our 10 years? We got 'cute little munchkins' in our cards too?" he tossed an arm around her shoulders, snuggling her close to him to teasingly tickle at her exposed waist. "Mmm, for now our cards hold a very very important mission." She answered and he sighed again, knowing exactly where this was heading. "Let me guess, mission 'get your best friend and my best friend together for the last dance to recreate another Bollywood-style romantic scene?" he raised a brow, coming to a stop as they reached the edge of the canopy of lights and fabrics. "It's only been a few hours and you've already gained the boyfriend-telepathy skills. Impressive." She wiggled her brows at him while turning around in his arms, "I need you to find Anakin and somehow get him to agree to dance." Sensing his hesitation she quickly continued, "I know it won't be easy, but you'll manage. Once we get them both here we need to make sure they're on opposite sides of the circle so that when the final song comes they'll be paired together" she finished. "You really have thought this through, huh? I can't guarantee that he'll agree to dance, I mean it's Anakin we're talking about," noticing her pleading pout he rolled his eyes in fond exasperation, "but I'll try."

With that, he left and she walked to where you were standing, finishing up talking to some old lady, no doubt held hostage to some good ol�� ‘I knew you since you were thisss little’ talk for the past few minutes that the two had spent whispering their plan, but she quickly patted your cheek and left. "So, tonight's the exclusive dandiya night," she wiggled her brows like it was supposed to mean something, it was. You laughed, not understanding her implication. "What about it?" She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "it's dandiya dumbass. As in, you know, pairs dancing," she continued when she realised your light bulb was still dim. "Oh," you hadn't thought about that, too caught up in the dance competition to care about the other stuff. "Yeah, ‘oh.’ So, who you gonna choose?" "Um...you?" though it came out unsure. "I appreciate the sentiment babe, I really do. I would choose you too–" You raised a brow at that, "but?" "But'" she made a show of dragging out the word then throwing her arms out to her sides, "look at the crowd around you, there's so many kids our age, there's quite a few guys our age too." And finally you caught onto her line of thoughts, narrowing your eyes you shook your head. "Absolutely not. We are not doing this tonight, well I mean you're settled, so I'm not doing this tonight." But the fates seemed to be on her side that night, as she noticed Krish and Anakin talking a few paces away towards the outskirts of the canopy while you both stood at the centre, you hadn't noticed them yet but she could see Anakin shaking his head in a firm no as well. Gosh why were the both of you so difficult? But she also noticed another opportunity walk towards you, and a hopeful scenario played out in her head, courtesy of The Vision. And so she immediately got to work.

"Hey AJ!" she called out to the guy just about to walk by you a few steps away, "didn't you mention that you don't have a partner for tonight's dandiya?" Your eyes widened and you subtly tried to pinch her to stop her from saying the next words but it was too late, "My best friend here also doesn't have a partner, would you mind pairing up with her if you haven't already found someone else?" In speaking to the guy, both of you had turned to fully face him, so she couldn't see Anakin’s reaction anymore. She hoped he had heard what she had just asked this guy. He had. While the two had been devising their plan off to the side, you had been standing at the centre of the canopy taking time to clear your mind and cool yourself. Your gaze was immediately drawn to the gorgeous lights and colourful fabrics that hung above you, mesmerised by how pretty they looked standing out against the dark nighht sky beyond. And though you may never know, Anakin had spotted you right then, standing there in your pretty red ghagra, face tilted to look above you, and it had looked like one of the most gorgeous things he had ever seen, you had looked so pretty with all the lights gleaming in your eyes. And though he was too far to see it, he knew your gaze held that golden twinkle that shone every time you were genuinely happy, though he had hardly been on the receiving end of it. So he had always observed from afar, just as he was doing tonight. His thoughts had been interrupted by the movement of someone approaching him in his periphery. It turned out to be Krish, who clapped him on the back as a greeting and then asked him if he had eaten anything to which Anakin's mind flashed to the almost nauseating sweetness of the tooth-rotting dessert he'd had, immediately followed by the image of the delicate jewellery around your ankle and he quickly shut the door on that thought, instead answering with a single nod.

"Good, good 'cause you're gonna need some energy for a while." Anakin only raised an inquisitive eyebrow in response, while Krish thought of the best, most convincing way to... well, to convince him. "Y/N needs a partner..." "Okay…?" "For the dance, I mean. she needs a partner for the dandiya, she doesn't have one..." he trailed off again, should he just be straightforward with it? "It's you." "What?" Anakin's head snapped to look at him like he was insane. "It's you. You're going to dance with her." "What the fuck? No, I'm not?" it came out as a question because he was baffled as to how his own best friend could say something as dumb as that. Dancing? him? That's fucking funny. "Yes, you are. She needs a partner. You need a partner. The solution is obvious." "Like hell it is. I don't need a partner, 'cause I'm not fucking dancing." He shook his head decisively. "You want to though. You know you want to dance with her." Krish said with a pointed look. "And just what the hell made you think that?" "I'm your best friend, Ani. Do you think I'm blind or—" "Hey AJ!" Aamani's voice had carried over to the two of them, halting their conversation as their attention was now on the two of you, though your backs were turned to them. Aamani's voice was somehow loud enough that they got the gist of it, she had asked this AJ to be your partner, and from the way he walked over to the two of you, your best friend introducing you to each other, him shaking your hand and the dazzling smile you gave him in return, Anakin felt an irrational sorts of a burning pit in his stomach. "Well, looks like the deal's done. She's got her fucking partner." He pushed off the pillar he’d been leaning on, walking away. "Wait! Dude! Where you go—" "Out." and with that he quickly walked towards the back exit of the ground, walking through the gates and out into the cold night. But he had been wrong. AJ hadn't yet agreed to dance with you, or rather Aamani hadn't given him the chance to, stalling him by telling you that he was studying the same thing as you, though he went to a different university. She had been buying time, hoping that any second now, Anakin and his impulsiveness would come barging and say that you've already got a partner. But time was running short as the conversation between the two of you came back to the topic of tonight's dance. "So, you don't have a partner for the dandiya either?" she heard him ask. Where the hell was Anakin? But her movie-like vision for his entrance onto the scene immediately shattered when she turned to see what was holding him, only to see Anakin nowhere in sight and her boyfriend standing alone with a small frown on his face. Catching his eyes she sent him a questioning look, to which he only shook his head dejectedly. And she knew her plan had failed. For her, at least. Because when she turned back around, she saw you agreeing with AJ to meet up under the canopy before the start of the dance before he excused himself, mentioning something about helping move the chairs or whatever. You too said something about meeting up with one of your older hometown friends you'd run into right before the dance competition. You'd promised to come find her when you were free to catch up on things. And so you left as well.

But at that point, Manu could only think about how wrong this was. She knew it was her who had asked AJ to dance with her best friend, so she couldn't blame him. But Anakin – Anakin she could blame. And she could also just about drag his ass back here to ask him what the hell was he doing? With the way the whole payal scene had gone, and knowing Anakin's possessive nature, she was almost 100% sure he'd metaphorically sweep you off your feet (before literally sweeping you off your feet during the dance). So why the hell was her best friend going to be dancing with a guy she was (frustratingly) getting along with instead?

Krish had walked his way back to stand behind her, but not even his warmth and the comforting palm he ran up and down her bare arm could stop the disappointed frown pulling on her lips. She turned to her boyfriend with a concerned expression, "Did I just accidentally push my best friend towards the wrong guy, with the right guy storming off to who knows where?"

Part 2: Jhumka

a/n: so.... there's 4 more nights left... do you think they'll ever get their dance? 👀

A/n: Thank you all so much if you spent your time on this trash wreckage fuelled by finals stress and unfulfilled dreams </3

Would love to hear feedback on this one! Don't hesitate to send me any ques or just anything that comes to mind relating to our dearest love-haters and the overzealous matchmakers ;)

#anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker #anakin x reader #star wars #hayden christensen x reader #slow burn #anakin imagine #anakin skywalker smut #anakin fluff #hayden christensen #fanfic #fanfiction #desi reader #miel works

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des8pudels8kern · 1 year ago

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If I were to write a Star Wars fic (which I won’t, as working full-time does not leave me with enough mental energy to be properly actively fannish), it’d be an epic AU where Obi-Wan also falls down the shaft at the climax of his fight with Maul, is presumed dead, and then pops up during the Clone Wars as a mysterious agent of chaos whose initial goal is just to rattle and provoke the Jedi into shedding at least a bit of their apathy disguised as serenity and their superiority complex (so, Obi-Wan choosing to help an entire planet of children caught in a horrific war was bad and aggressive, deserving of first repudiation and then probation, but when Knights and Masters order enslaved sentients into battle it’s duty and necessary to uphold the values of the Republic and thus Order?). He’s bitter, he’s angry, and he wants to destroy the Order. Well, the Order as it is. All talk, so little regard for actual decency, and no infrastructure in place to protect the children under their care.

There’d be a semi-humorous scene where Cody (who is... compromised, okay, he knows it, but this evil fallen force user is just different from the other evil fallen force users, okay) comes across Obi-Wan, bleeding from a fresh gash on his head (”What happened to you? - Oh, nothing, dear one; I just tripped.”) one eye clenched shut where the blood is dribbling down, yada yada, they do their usual song and dance about no, you question your allegiance and join my side, and then.

What’s that?

Cody bends down and picks up the thing that’s caught his attention. It’s round, and not quite flat, and ye--- yellow. He narrows his eyes at the infuriating pain in the ass in front of him.

“Tripped, huh? Deliberately, I assume?”

The man’s gaze flits down to the coloured lens balancing on Cody’s finger now, the exact same shade as his one open eye.

“When you arrived, the light of your presence overwhelmed me and caused me to falter. It can be quite challenging when one has delved as far into the dark as I have,” the fucker tries to lie to Cody’s face, voice as serene as the calmest of Jedi Generals fresh out of meditation, and maybe Cody needs to reconsider how trustworthy anything spoken in that tone really is.

Cody throws the lens at him, and the offending item manages to land on his chest, where blood has soaked into the shirt, and sticks to the fabric, staring at him accusingly.

“What kind of nerf-brained idiot fakes being a Sith? The entire Order is after you!”

The nerf-brain winces, then sighs and droops. He rubs a hand through his suddenly tired-looking face. The blood from his apparently actually self-inflicted head-wound that was meant to disguise the missing lens is smeared all over his cheek now, which looks ridiculous and is somewhat worrisome because Cody is used to bloodshed and knows that it’s usually not a good sign when people forget that they are bleeding. It does match the bone-deep exhaustion etched in the other man’s features, though, now that his mask of flirtatious nonchalance has dropped.

“In my defence, I honestly did not expect it to go this far.” He spreads his hands and pulls a somewhat forced-looking version of his usual boyish grin. “I assumed I would get in two, maybe three strikes before the Order went on alert and I got caught. When they didn’t, I decided to... provide further motivation.”

His right eye is grey-blue, as fathomlessly deep as the waters of Kamino, and Cody wonders what can drive a man to pretend to be evil incarnate to catch the attention of an organisation of essentially super-powered sentients in the middle of a war.

Another trickle of blood from the absolutely needless head wound snakes its way down the side of the man’s face, making it clear that, whatever his motivation might be it’s not a healthy sense of self-preservation.

Maybe Cody can get him to take out the other lens, too, so he can check his eyes for signs of a concussion.

And get a closer look at the colour.

...At least now he’s not compromised by a Sith anymore?

#not!fic #star wars #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #codywan #no i'm not one of those people who think the jedi were bad and deserved to be eradicated but they clearly needed some checks and balances #(the jedi were good but existed as flawed individuals in a very flawed society)#qui-gon was not ready to be responsible for another child and their early partnership was troubled #and the way it ended... with the master who didn't want obi-wan in the first place trying to discard him in favour of a do-over padawan?#there are more than enough highly worrying events in obi-wan's backstory #ah i miss writing #can't i just win the lottery?#fake sith obi wan

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tmntxthings · 1 year ago

Text

∑一 Gasoline・゜・。

author’s note: so I started this months ago and came back today and somehow finished it? it’s now 4 am and idk what I’ve written but we posting it babyyyyyyy

song: reckless driving by lizzy mcalpine, ben kessler

warnings: cursing, narcissism, over-dramatics, cringe, sarcasm, flirting, confessions, unedited

—————————————————————————

Okay, I’ll admit. I’m not the best when it comes to..following the rules? Heeding caution? Listening to anyone??? Yeah not the greatest in that department.

But! I’m practically flying high in all others. Better brother, better turtle, cooler weapon, and not to mention handsome as fuuuck. So handsome in fact, I know I’ve snagged your attention. Heh. Call it what you will, intuition or gut-feeling, I know I’ve been occupying your mind.

But the thing is, you won’t admit it. No matter how much I prod, tease, or blatantly ask. It’s always “Leo, no.” “Leo, stop!” “Leo, shut up!!” And never “Yes, I think about you endlessly Leo, you’re right, and super handsome, be my one and only turtle”

…

Yeah…

It’s never ever that. And maybe that’s the reason why I can’t let this go. Because I know I’m right. If I wasn’t why would you keep coming around? Why would you spare glances my way? Why would you wear blue? It was all so infuriating to see these little details only to be denied again and again.

Raph says I’m getting a little obsessed. Donnie doesn’t give two fucks. And Mikey says something even worse, that I’m in love. Barf. Gross. Me? Love? Hell no. I collect admirers. I flirt with everyone. Unabashedly. Why would I fall in love with someone who is so clearly in denial that they are in love with me??? All I’m doing is getting them to admit the truth, and then they’ll be another tally mark. Another addition to the ever growing list of admirers I have.

It comes with the title of being the Face Man and all of that. Perks of being me I guess!

And so I was up to my usual antics.

“Keys Y/n, keys babe!” You scoffed pushing my hands away. “Keep your grabby mitts away, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you drive.”

“I curbed one time Y/n. Once! Give a turtle some slack here!!” I’m practically begging at this point. Because I have a plan. A genius plan to get you to finally admit the truth. It’s going to be epic.

“I think you’re also forgetting the three times you purposely ran into trash cans. You almost backed into another vehicle. And don’t get me started on how many times you accidentally forgot the keys in the car!”

…Okay so maybe there are a few more reasons as to why I shouldn’t be driving. But no matter! I’m a master manipulator. I can sway those around me like a pro. Plus since ya have feelings for me, I’m sure you actually really do just wanna hand over those keys. You’re just like playing a little hard to get is all.

“Whaaaa?? Are you sure that wasn’t Angelo? Pretty sure that was totally him and not me.” A big cheesy smile lights up my face trying to turn that frown of yours upside down. “Plus in any case I’ve got super rad portal powers to snab the forgotten keys!”

“Leo. No.”

And the actual begging and groaning and bemoaning ensues. I don’t throw temper tantrums that often. Only when necessary. After many ‘pleases’ and promises to drive extra careful. I finally get my long awaited—

“Leo, I said noooooooooo!”

A hard flick resonates against the space right above the middle of my eyes. Dramatically I flinch backwards crying out in faux pain. My hands going up, one covering the space that has just been so grievously wounded. “Oh c’mon that didn’t hurt…”

“Did it?”

Peeking through my three fingers I see the wisps of concern on your features and it’s at this moment where my all-of-the-sudden-plan enacts. As you draw closer out of worry it’s just too easy to create a small portal with my other hand that is behind my back. Don’t ask how the dagger got in my palm. Sometimes being a ninja just has its perks.

And just like that the keys to your car are securely in my hand and I bolt before you can realize you’ve been…hand-pocketed? Pick-pocketed? Whatever the case!

As I gloat from the driver’s side window, with the locks safely on so you couldn’t just rip open the door and strangle me like you were threatening to do right now. I make a show of raising the volume in your car and celebrating more with a little dance in the drivers seat. It’s not until you shake your head and the flames extinguish from your eyes do I dare to unlock the passenger door for you to get in.

You do slam the door close though. “Dramatic much?”

I can’t help but tease. I love winning. I love rubbing it in everyone’s face. And it makes my bones sing to see you get so riled up all over little ol’ me. You glower, somehow holding your tongue, perhaps giving me the silent treatment as you take over the music.

Driver gets veto power though. So I skip a bunch of songs you choose until I feel the flames start to rise again and I worry we (or rather I) may never even make it out of your driveway before I turn into roasted turtle. And that can’t be tasty.

So I let this particular song play. Humming along since I don’t know the words as I start to pull out and drive on the road. You stay silent for the most part and that just won’t do so I may or may not get a little too close to a curb for comfort on your side of the vehicle.

“God damnit Leo if you curb!!” You hiss as you clutch the handle on the car door. “Whoopsie!” I laugh getting back to the middle of the lane easily enough. “Where did you want to go so badly anyways?” You grump. But at least you’re talking now! “It’s a surprise!” I sing-song.

Now initially, my plan to force your admission of feelings was to continue to drive really recklessly and maybe almost die in a car crash or something like in the movies. And while you think I’m about to die you just have to tell me that you are helplessly in love and like magic. Confession secured.

But now thinking about it more seriously there are plenty of unknown factors like, what if I do actually kill myself in the process. Or ya know, you get hurt? Or I just wreck the car and we both are totally fine?! I don’t see myself surviving much longer after that if that ends up being the case. So I have nothing. Zilch. Nada. No back up plan was really made.

So I just drive.

And as previously mentioned, I’m not the best driver…

So you are on edge the entire time and constantly telling me to “Watch out!” “Don’t curb!” “Don’t hit that dude crossing the street!” “Red means stop!” “Yellow means slooow!”

Thankfully I know what green means. Aka turtle. Aka go ninja go ninja go. I’m proud of that one. Anywho, the drive winds up and down the backstreets of New York until even I don’t know where the fuck we are.

I pull over, parallel parking. Miraculously it’s one of the few tricks I can do with a car and you breath out a very unnecessary sigh of relief. “So this is the surprise?” You are looking around the low rise buildings with slight curiosity but more confusion than anything.

Nothing here is really special. No shops. No bright sparkly lights. It’s actually pretty grim because a few of the streetlights are out making the dark night even darker. It’s probably the least romantic place in the world. Definitely holds no sentimental value for an awe-inspiring confession.

My head hits the steering wheel as I close my eyes and say “Yup!” As bright and false as possible. I feel like a jerk and even worse than that a failure. I’m greeted with silence and I don’t open my eyes to check your face. I’m sure it’s turning into disappointment right now.

“Leo, everything okay?”

My head turns slightly, if only because your voice sounds a little different. I mean you usually are quite serious, but it’s also one filled with… care? “Just thinking.” And that is not a lie, just a very vague statement.

“Wanna talk about it?”

I mull it over. What am I even thinking? Driving around in the middle of the night. Being chaotic. Being a nuisance. Being with you. Dragging you along. Trying to get you to say something you’ll never say in a million years. And turtles sadly don’t live that long.

“Y/n, do you like me?”

I don’t dare take my eyes off of you now. Truthfully I feel like spewing out nonsense to cover up my mistake. I just had to open my big fat mouth. To actually say shit I actually mean. Or in this case something I really want to know. Your eyes widen ever so slightly, and you tilt your head as if you hadn’t even considered that a possibility. Liking me.

I’m instantly filling up the silence. “Like better than Mikey right? Pretty sure I don’t have to sweat over Donnie. And Raph may be second place but I’m definitely number one right?”

This way it’s easy. This way it’s safe. This way no one gets hurt. This way I don’t get hurt. This way I can play it off.

“I do like you.”

My thoughts empty and I straighten up. Swallowing back the spit that’s suddenly filling up my entire mouth. “Right duh, of course you do. Everyone does!” I laugh, smiling big as if nothing you just said affected me. Like I totally won’t be thinking about this even later tonight back at the lair. Overthinking it. Surely you meant it as a friend… but a turtle can hope?

“Even though you are so annoying.” You tack on, but your smile is too much. It’s genuine. It’s not plastered on like mine. It doesn’t hide anything.

Oh shit.

I just continue on, blabbering complete and utter nonsense at this point. Because part of me can’t believe it. That you really said it. That you do like me. That this surely isn’t possible, that you’re about to laugh and say that this was all some funny joke.

“Do you like me?”

And where there was nonstop chatter, it turns to silence. I avoid your stare now. In fact I turn my whole face away because I can feel my red marks heating up. Which is never a good sign. Blushing will only end in embarrassment. More than I can handle.

“Whaaaat? Me? Like you?”

I leave it open ended. To be inferred that I couldn’t possibly. But I think I just continue shooting or maybe slicing myself in the foot. Over and over and over again. Because in the window I can see you’re still looking my way. And your lips are pursed together in a small know-it-all smile. I whip my head back around, forgetting all about the embarrassing heat that covers my face.

“Y-yeah. I do.”

And then you lean forward.

Time slows.

And I feel your lips on mine.

And my eyes are so wide. I don’t know what to do but just stare. I don’t move. I don’t breath. Your eyes are closed and your lips are soft if only a little chapped. You pull away slightly, and I can feel your breath fan over my face.

“Good.” Is all you say. And I nod like a dumb pile of rocks is all I have for brains. “Now how about I drive?” Again I’m nodding.

The only thing that breaks the trance is the warning beep from your display signaling that I’ve just wasted all of the gas left in your tank.

…

Whoops!

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victorianpining · 1 year ago

Text

The Game is Now

(Well The Game is over a year ago, if you want to be technical about it)

I finally took the time to write up my notes and reactions to the original BBC Sherlock Escape Room Experience! Sorry in advance if things are a little vague at points, we only played through the room once and am mostly running off of iphone notes I wrote 13 months ago. I hope to be able to go back to try out the new Mind of Moriarty room during its run, if this one was anything to go by, it should be a fun time!

My usual disclaimer that while this is a TJLC slanted writeup, I'm just playing The Game for fun at this point, I really am not expecting any of this to lead anywhere. Enjoy your television responsibly, don't idolize television writers, eat your veggies, etc. etc. etc. And spoilers for the room, obviously.

Oh, and huge thank you to @watermotif @betweendoctorsanddetectives and @647763 (and her girlfriend) for playing the room with me! I had a blast suffering with you all <3

The way I'm getting myself to finally actually write this up is by telling myself it's okay if my thoughts are a little informal, especially after this long, so this is going to be written the way I usually structure my outlines in the format of chaotic bullet points. Hopefully it's still readable!

I'm starting my recap of the experience outside of the escape room itself, which was located in what was, for all intents and purposes, a random, abandoned seeming mall in London (it wasn't actually abandoned malls are just like that now)

So imagine you are just walking through what looks exactly like your local, very dead, mall, when there's just this massive wall with dark damask wall paper and the most DFP Sherlock quotes you can conceive of plastered on it. Think "I may be on the side of the angels but don't think for a second I am one of them" "heroes don't exist and if they did I wouldn't be one of them" "I'm a high functioning sociopath" etc. It's already hilarious

You come around the corner from that and there's the gated off "Doyle's Optometrist" office, where you have to page in (I think we had to state our group name, I can't remember exactly how we got in)

Once you're inside the staff helping you are named Stamford. Yes like Mike Stamford. Yes all of them. If you didn't know you were in for psychological torment, you do now

[brief intermission here because some of us arrived early, so they actually let us through to the Mind Palace bar while we waited. It was pretty cool, apart from the guy working there being really pushy about ordering drinks. The bar is Victorian themed with framed pictures from TAB and the biggest one in the room, like by far, was a framed picture of Sherlock and Moriarty's little gun standoff, so you know, that was fun.]

[here we are trying to be normal about it]

[also I went to the bathroom at this point and there was a little sign in the stall which said that the Sherlock theme song was exactly the right length to wash you hands to which was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in my life]

Anyway back to the intended order of the experience, Stamford led us back to the optometrist waiting room where we sat calmly while John Watson's voice read out random advertisements. (The only one of these I wrote down was "the eyes are the legs of the face" because it was so random, but there was a set of them)

Also as you will see in the following picture, the posters in here were Bananas

(In case you can't see it since it's small in dash, the purple one behind Mia says "Doyle's Audiographs: for those who hear but don't listen" very evocative of the "I did tell you but did you listen" motif, 0/10 very infuriating)

Stamford came over at this point and brought us back and gave us the rules, which included no photography so photos end here unfortunately

So we were taken to a projector room where John Watson addressed the players, saying that while it says the office belongs to Doyle, this is actually a front for one of Mycroft's plans (ha ha ha (deadpan)) and that he's coopted John into helping. (hah. do you get it? the author and the narrator? hillarious)

It was so clear that Martin did not want to be there. Like yes John in character also doesn't want to be there but Martin literally looked like he was being held at gunpoint. His eyes were dead. Poor guy.

Stamford led us through another room into the 221B living room! Being in here was surreal. Because there are a few groups lumped together at this point, we had a bit of time to look around the room. Rachel found a book about fetishes on the mantle, which was something.

We took our group picture, they let you pick from a few props. I went for the white queen chess piece for Dracula reasons and got bullied into wearing the deerstalker, which was homophobic.

Also the skull was the Yorick version, and I took a moment to stare into ACD's eyes, out of respect, as one does.

At this point the game proper begins! Sherlock's voice comes on (Ben is not on camera other than one brief exception which we will be coming back to later) and starts prepping us for our mission.

I don't remember the context but I think while telling us to be careful in the flat he told us "don't scrape your knees, or do." which was funny considering "the state of her knees"

Mycroft then addresses the audience (hah) only to be interrupted by Moriarty (hah) hacking the TV (hah hah hah)

The mirror above the fireplace? Also turns into a TV that Moriarty hacks. Ha. Ha ha ha ha.

Moriarty informs us that he has kidnapped Mycroft so the point of the game is to save Mycroft from Moriarty (I was fighting the urge to bash my head against the walls of 221b at this point, like I was expecting M Theory but like Come On you're killing me here)

You may be wondering how exactly Moriarty has kidnapped Mycroft considering he is dead. Great question! You don't get an answer apart from Moriarty saying "remember I am definitely dead" in the most sarcastic voice I have ever heard come out of Andrew Scott's mouth. Full psychological warfare at this point. Having a great time. The usual.

Also at this point, while talking about Mycroft, Moriarty compares him to Sherlock, and he definitely listed off a bunch of things but the part that most stood out was he said verbatim "Mycroft is like Sherlock without the fangirls or sex appeal" so uh. Um. Yeah. M Theory Time!!! All Aboard!!! Choo Choo!!!!

We were taken to the first of our three puzzle rooms: the morgue at St. Bart's. Moriarty is introducing the room and jokingly refers to the brief time he spent dating Molly, lets us know that our goal is to break into the computer system (a development which had me thrilled, you know I love the Moriarty as a Virus angle)

Not one full minute after Moriarty joked about Molly being his cover, Molly voice over talks to John (who by the way has a beard at this point, that I had not mentioned) and goes "nice beard!" Hah. Hah.

To get into the computer we needed to put in a date, I don't remember the context for this puzzle but the answer was 2012, the year of Season 2.

The case in the middle of the room then lights up and you're able to see the corpse. On the computer, a database comes in, and in order to get into the server, we need to fill out a series of questions about the identity of the corpse.

One of the filters is the relationship status of the corpse with three options, single, married m/f, and married m/m. I let out the most exhausted sigh of my entire life and hit married m/m without even looking at the corpse. (we briefly removed it because the room was giving us clues out of order that made us think for a moment that this was wrong, it was not, the corpse is gay, you have to not assume he's straight. Do you get it?) (war and strife on the planet earth)

So the clue for that is that the corpse has the name Stephen tattooed on him (really? of all the names? Stephen????) and you're meant to figure out that he wouldn't get a tattoo of his own name. Or just be so mentally exhausted that you intrinsically know the corpse is going to be gay because of course he is.

If that wasn't enough, the corpse was also a member of the Royal Navy who was left handed. Hi John.

At this point my friends in the room with me pointed me up to the TV in the corner, which was showing random news feed but the ticker tap at the bottom was advertising BBC Dracula, which was fun.

When we were finally getting into the cage the server was in, Moriarty kept ominously chanting "let me in"

Again, don't remember the context, but one of the clues in this room was identifying the heart

We discovered the corpse died of a horrific virus (hah) just as Moriarty hacked into the server thanks to us (once again was genuinely enjoying the code stuff, this is a 10/10 from me, makes fadow better for everyone who has done this silly escape room sdhgakjdsg)

The second room was Mycroft's underground office and our task from Moriarty was to locate where his agents were stationed throughout the world and once again send off his virus. I was giggling.

Flipping around with switches on Mycroft's desk, we found that the mirrors on either side of the room were actually windows! Because of course they were!

Sherlock comes in with a clue at this point and lets us know something to the effect of "Mycroft likes to hide clues in photographs" which was uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... normal.

Those are my only notes for this room and I don't remember literally anything else about it so sorry about that on to....

The final room: The Victorian Operating Theater! Oh boy!!!

Moriarty has been using us to access the genetic code (hah) for a virus (hah) last scene in the Victorian Era (hahahahahahahaa). He literally phrases it as "an old treasure brought into the modern day." Hillarious.

Then the absolute highlight of the experience: there's this giant console thing in the middle of the room that comes to life with all these screens, and on them including Moriarty taunting us and, the absolute 12/10 winner, footage of Sherlock wandering around 221B. This is the only Ben footage you get and not only does it confirm the "Moriarty is always spying on Sherlock" part of M Theory, it's very similar to the wall of monitors I came up with for fadow. Fellow Moriarty fan Mia and I were dying at this as much as we were able to while still trying to solve the room.

Moriarty freed Mycroft but had infected us with the virus (this is why I joke that Moriarty gave me COVID, because I caught it this day and it might as well have been from him)

His plan was to unleash the virus on the world unless we could stop him

This room was more physical puzzles than mental, and we had to cure the brain, the heart, and the lungs respectively. The brain and the heart are obviously big Sherlock meta staples so since then I've been like "why the lungs tho?" My best guess is it has something to do with breathing new life into an old story, but that's just a guess

While we were solving it and making progress Moriarty came on to rant something like "the game was over! You should have known when to give up!" Flames, flames on the side of my face.

When we won, Sherlock insulted us, but Mycroft then came on to compliment our efforts and talents, which was a great way to leave off.

Apparently only 20% of people actually solve the room, and we were in the top 20% of that, all while trying to take in the meta of it all, go League of Furies!!!

Final thoughts: this really was like if watching the show was a thing you could live through in real time. If you've ever wanted to be tormented by Mofftiss in a more visceral way, this room is exactly what you're looking for. Also shoutout to Andrew, who acted his absolute heart out, 15/10 thanks for all the M Theory, it was delicious

Also once again to reiterate, I can't believe James Moriarty gave me COVID, after all I have done for him, rest in pieces except he isn't even dead all the way.

I guess 4 months of not being able to breathe fully was the real lungs meta all along.

Can't wait for the Mind of Moriarty game next though for real, that's gonna be Bonkers, if one of the scenes is a virtual version of the waterfall scene from TAB I think I would combust on the spot

Thanks for reading!!! Sorry this took me forever only to be such a casual writeup in the end, but hopefully this recreation of my mental breakdown in a mall was entertaining.

#rebs blogging #the game is now #tjlc

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unhetalia · 7 months ago

Note

well. I guess it depends on what relationship head canons you have for ukus if they ever truly got together?

I had to think about this (nap) because I realised just how LITTLE established relationship UKUS I've actually consumed. I think I've read a lot more established RusAme than established UKUS. Maybe because I'm incredibly picky about the latter dynamic? Anyway - because I haven't read a lot of it, I had to think really hard about what it would look like.

I personally don't think there would be obvious differences between Arthur-and-Alfred-as-friends and Arthur-and-Alfred-as-lovers, but that still means talking about how I see Arthur and Alfred as friends.

As friends, banter is a huge part of Alfred and Arthur's dynamic. A long time ago, there was probably real bitterness in their jabs. Over time, it becomes a softer thing. (One of the songs I associate with UKUS is "So American" by Olivia Rodrigo, because I absolutely believe that's one of the things Arthur always says to Alfred - "you're so American", smirking or laughing, no sharpness or rebuke in his words.)

Arthur grew up with a lot of siblings and he's quick witted - but Alfred has amazing memory and can bring up anything anyone has done that he's witnessed, and is really good at knowing exactly what someone finds embarrassing or infuriating. They have fun riling each other up - this is what leads to them trying to scare each other silly every Halloween.

As a couple, this doesn't change. (It works for them, especially since both of them have a hard time expressing themselves sincerely.) The importance of this aspect of their dynamic is the fact that Alfred doesn't get offended by any of Arthur's comments - not the stuff about himself, or his dry, unimpressed observations about everything around him. He finds it funny, and Arthur thrives on that. Arthur has suffered a lot from being tied to people who found him wanting in some way, but Alfred is one of the few people who actively enjoys and seeks out Arthur's company and doesn't seem to find him wanting in some way.

The second thing is they have a good balance of things they enjoy doing together, and things they're dragging each other to. Alfred enjoys a lot of British media and food (once again, something that's more important to Arthur than he can say). Arthur enjoys McDonald's, and doesn't mind eating there when Alfred gets a craving. But Arthur doesn't enjoy the wilderness in the way Alfred does - is a bit ... discomfited at how there's huge swathes of American land that are completely wild. Alfred drags him to these places, for hiking and camping, and Arthur re-discovers a part of himself that he'd lost in England's industrialisation. Meanwhile, Arthur really pushes Alfred to appreciate the depth of English and European history. It allows for both comfort and growth in their relationship.

The third thing - Alfred is high energy, and so curious about the world. I absolutely believe Alfred has a few doctorates under his belt and invents and fixes things in his spare time. While I don't see Alfred working for the government, I can sometimes see him working for NASA. He's constantly tinkering or jotting things down. He's actually incredibly cerebral.

Arthur is physical. He never stopped sword fighting, and practices martial arts. He runs, and goes to the gym, does boxing (I've mentioned these things in my headcanon about England's appearance before). But when he's not doing those things, he does things that quiet his mind. He crochets or knits. Something repetitive and soothing. Meditative.

They can sit for hours in the same room, Arthur knitting while Alfred has blueprints spread over their coffee table. And its peaceful, and you don't think it even matters if the other person is there or not, but Arthur has to go to London for a week to sort something out and Alfred can't get anything done at home and has to go to the office every day.

HAVE I EVEN SAID ANYTHING IN THIS ASK. Basically Alfred and Arthur after having sex is incredibly similar to them before having sex. The act of sex changes everything and nothing all at once. But their relationship is a lot of being able to feel appreciated where you never felt appreciated before, a lot of being able to do things together that you love, and doing things together that you hate but somehow still helps you grow as a person, and also being able to do nothing together.

#ukus #usuk #aph america #aph england #hetalia #theyre actually a boring relationship bc once they get there theyre married for ten years #like immediately they fuck and then settle into utter domesticity #their sex life is spicy as fuck tho #-#reply.#england/america.#england.#america.#file: canon b #file: defunct headcanon

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mcverse · 2 years ago

Note

Hi can i ask a scenario wherein how would the sakamaki brothers react to a guy asking yui for a date and she says yes *bcs a sakamaki × yui were having an arguement*.

Oh look, there’s one of my vitals organs on the floor… I guess I laughed too much???

Yui! Reader dead.

The person she dared to even accept is dead.

It’s not meant to be funny but I can’t help it !!! You know what they are and what they can do. 🙃🙃

Okay but maybe I’m being to quick to assume, it could be plausible it’s anything but death… for some! Let’s see how this plays out cuz idon even know yet

Reminder: The boys (+ Mukami bros) are cute ngl and have moments of genuine affection and adoration toward reader (not really Yui! Reader — same difference tho) but they are very deadly, and that’s what I based this post off. Actually, it’s what I base all my dialovers posts off.

Pairing: Yui! Reader x a Sakamaki Brother

Type: Scenario

Word count: 3.2K

Warning: Death, Jealousy, Possessive, Insecurities, Yandere-ish??, Yui! Reader being self sabotage maybe, torture, not spell checked

Side bar: If you can’t tell, I love dark humor. You’ve been warned. Also this is definitely a x reader blog only, so I made the post to represent that. I didn’t want to not do the post cause the ask was really good! Some are longer than others, I got way ahead of myself. Subaru is kinda shorter cuz it’s hard to write him :/

Like always, characters are aged up appropriately!

Yui! Reader dating anyone but a Sakamki brother

Shu Sakamaki

You were a nuisance. A tiny, insignificant spec inside his world all because of that man couldn’t stop scheming. The existence of you has caused so much trouble—so many anomalies—he lost count after a while.

A human girl who couldn’t leave well enough alone. One that couldn’t obey, know right from wrong despite knowing all the facts and yet still being clueless. You made his life very difficult. He proved it to you time and time again.

Yet here he was, very out of character as he stood over your broken body. The feeling from earlier upon hearing the rumor of you leaving for someone else only now left his body. He felt like he wasn’t in control of his body during what he was doing to you.

He felt every emotion under the sun screaming at him loudly, blocking the noise of his music through his headphone. It was infuriating; he just wanted to relax. Do nothing and relax… Not break your fucking legs.

But what’s done is done.

He no longer felt this unwelcome discomfort in his chest when he saw you standing near another. It wasn’t him then. He was someone else, someone mad, someone crazy infatuated.

Shu has never been one to like someone.

So where did he fuck up?

Why did he fuck up?

He was always calm, calculated. The man he was today was driven by pure rage. Your screams in agony were music to his ears, better than any of the songs he enjoyed. Your pain, your scrunched up face and screaming, it was because of him. All because of his touch.

That thought alone satisfied him as he came down from his high, expression back to its blank slate, unreadable. He scuffs as your sound turns to whimpers and at your weak attempts to crawl away. It was almost cute… almost.

Bending down, he grips one of you legs causing a whale to leave you. Your hand instantly goes to his arm to stop him. He shakes it off him effortlessly, starring intensely at your face as he yanks you to him, you are now face to face.

With a tilt of his head, he smirks, “This is your mistake. For meddling in my life… take responsibility as I drain you of everything.” He grabs your hair, yanking back your head, “The only thought in your head should be giving yourself to me.” he finishes with the sinking of his teeth in your throat.

Reiji Sakamaki

Honestly, he thought he kneeded you into the perfect pet. At this point you should know better. His teachings should have gotten you into shape, but here you are once again being disobedient. Oh, how he detested that part of you. This hurts you more than him.. perhaps you like it?

Without missing a beat, when you arrive home he calls you to his office. This insolence has to be put to rest. You have soiled his family name, much less his pride though he would never tell.

This rumor, even though it was just that, was disgraceful. And it spread, reaching his ears. As if you would be with the trash that litter these halls. Who did they think they were compared to him. They were nothing, that’s what. You knew this. So why would you think it was okay?

Yes, it brings him great satisfaction when he saw you close in on yourself under his gaze, body trembling in fear. At least your body knows his touch, your mind still seemed to show some resistance. No worries, Reiji considers himself a excellent teacher. He was never one to give up, no matter the challenge.

“I don’t wanna hear your excuses…” he starts, getting up from his seat. On his way over to you, he grabs a cup filled with liquid and stands in front of you, pushing it towards you, “Drink this.”

Scared, you shake your head already knowing it’s something bad. You remember the last time he gave you something, the nightmares are everlasting.

Reiji inhales deeply, frowning down at you, “Drink it or I’ll shove it down your throat. I’ll be anything but gentle.” Again he pushes it to you, this time settling it in your hands after his threat weighed heavy in the air.

Cautiously you take a sip, tasting a honey dew hibiscus blend before swallowing the rest. You hand him the empty cup after, noticing no effect. It confused you, was that simply tea?

You’re question was answered shortly after when your eyes felt heavy and your body light as air. You stumbled into Reiji’s arms loosely, looking at him through blurry vision. The last thing you see is him smiling.

…

When you came to, you found you were strapped to a chair, in what looked to be the dungeon. How could you forget? You had the worst happen to you here, a shiver travels down your spine when you think about it.

“You’re up.” Reiji, a voice you’ll never forget, spoke behind you. You tried to turn to see him, but it was difficult. He chuckles are you attempt, walking around you to face you. Your eyes immediately notice a cloth bag in his gloved hands, the bottom cut open.

“What’s that for?” You squeeze out, heartbeat picking up.

“A lesson.” was all he said when he forces it over your head till it hang around your neck. He pulls away to walk around you again, making noise behind you. Then you heard a squeak. Your breath stills.

Please tell me that’s not a—

Reiji comes back into view, holding a rat in front of your face. It was mid size, black and ugly. You were going to cry, already feel the tears pool at your eyes.

“Reiji, please!” You shake your head, thrashing around in the chair.

He clicks his tongue, “Bad girls get punished.” He holds the bag in one hand and the rat in the holder. Inch by inch the rat gets closer to your face, thrashing in Reiji hand not liking the harsh treatment just like you.

A scream rips from your throat when he drops it on your head and quickly ties the bag.

You had to learn your place one way or another.

Ayato Sakamaki

Ayato had to have heard wrong because there was no fucking way that you chose someone other then him. Especially knowing that you were his and his alone. This rumor had to be just that, false information spreading around the school.

He knew he didn’t have anything to worry about, it was him for crying out loud. No one can compete… but he still needed to hear how wrong everyone was from the source.

He found you easily in the girls bathroom, locking the door to avoid any interruptions. It was a miracle he was thinking clearly, usually it was so unlike him. And that’s why it was scary.

His stare was intense and focused, it made you squirm under the heat of it. He taunts you with slow forward steps, making you take steps back until your back was flush against one of the walls. He caged you in between his arms immediately, decreasing your chances to escape. As if you had any to begin with..

“Ore-sama’s been hearing some things he shouldn’t, Chichinashi.” He begin, his left hand sliding down to grip one of your shoulder, “It’s not true right? You wouldn’t dare go against Ore-sama?”

“A-Ayato.” Your mouth felt dry all of a sudden. You knew what he was talking about. After having a disagreement once again between you both, you foolishly accepted a date with another. You thought it would come to nothing, little did you know that the person would spread the news like a wild fire.

His grip tightens, nails digging through your uniform into your skin, drawing blood from you. The smell was intoxicating as always to Ayato, but he was to busy seething inside to notice completely.

“It was a mistake! I didn’t mean it, I was upset. Forgive me.” You plea body trembling in both pain and fear.

A scowl stretches onto his face, his hand long left your shoulder the minute those words left your lips. Instead, they wrap around your throat, tightening as he processes your words. It came to the point, you were clawing at his hand, letting out choked gasps.

Ayato couldn’t think straight. All he can think about is you being with someone that’s not him. How dare you? Ayato should be your whole world, your first thought when you wake up and your last thought when you sleep. You should feel suffocated by his presence, otherwise he wasn’t doing his job.

Slowly he loosens his hold on you, leaving you chugging down air desperately. A few minutes pass before you glance at him, body going still when you see the huge sinister grin on his face.

“Ore-sama’s just gonna have to remind you who you belong to,” he suddenly grabs your hair and throws you on top of the faucets counter, “No matter how long it takes, everyone will know you belong to Ore-sama.” He finishes before sinking his sharp teeth into your neck with purpose.

Kanato Sakamaki

If it was any normal person, they would be heart broken and move on. But Kanato was anything but normal.

First he lets you get away with talking back to him in your argument yesterday, chosen to forgive you after you reluctantly make him snacks and now.. you had the audacity to cheat on him.

You filthy, untrustworthy mortal.

He was aware all woman were the same. Hell, he constantly reminded him despite the kind attention you gave him. He always assumed your kindness had ulterior motives. Why else would someone be kind to him? He knew he was a handful. He just didn’t care.

Now it was clear how you felt about him, there was no hiding it. There was no hiding from him. This time, you actions are unforgivable. You thought you can toy with his feelings… You’ll pay in the worst way.

When he invited you to his room, you didn’t think much of it. Somehow you were completely oblivious to the news spread throughout the school. In fact, the situation with the date was so far in the back of your head, you have forgotten it had happened. You were just upset in the moment. It was never more than just a sway of words.

That’s why after entering his room to see the person who asked lying lifeless in a pool of blood a few feet away from Kanato, were you shocked. Just a few hours ago, he was alive. Guilt quickly creeped up on you but it was shortly lived when Kanato called for your attention.

“So glad you’re here. Good to know you’re still a little obedient,” he smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He points to the dead on his floor, “Remember them?” he laughs, “Of course they do! Right teddy?” he turns to the bear in his hand.

You remain still, time ticking like a bomb about to go off. Which in all honestly it could, Kanato was unpredictable and if he found out about that and this was the outcome, imagine what he would do to you.

How do you get out of this situation?

“Look at her, teddy. She’s planning something… whatever it is won’t work. No. I don’t like it.” he shakes his head, “I’d much rather your expression be twisted in pain than whatever this is…” he walks towards you, face twisting from one emotion to another before settling into a deep frown. He stops a feet away from you, your back against the door before she even realizes it.

“I do enjoy your terrified expression too, it’s adorable.” he mumbles. It felt like time froze with how long you both been staring at each other. Kanato hold on his bear tights as he stares numbly at you. It was too much, you had to say something.

“Kanato—“ your voice trails off because in a split second, a knife was lunged into your abdomen. It hurt so much, it pulsed with heat. Your mind couldn’t wrap around what was happening. Gripping the arm it was attached to, you looked the culprit in his crazed eyes, “Kan-ato..”

He sneered twisting it harshly, “Did you think you can get away with using me?! I told you I’d break you. Down to your last breath.” he yanks it out, watching your body drop to the floor, struggling to inhale.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty enough to be added to my collection,” he bends down to stab you again in your shoulder. He smiles when you haller out in pain, “To stay with me forever… you should be grateful.” he stabs your leg.

“That’s right.. look at me like that.” he repeatedly stabs you over and over until the life drifts from your eyes to nothing, “You’ll never leave me. Will you?”

Laito Sakamaki

What was this? Is his hearing finally going, has he finally reached that age? No, that can’t be it. So whst exactly was happening?

His little bitch going on a date with some that’s not him? How outrageous. Not possible. He’s the only one who can take you out on sexy rendezvous and risky trips. You liked it better when it was him. He knew that.

So why is it that hearing the rumor stirs something unsettling in him. It tugs at his undead heart and gnaws at his brilliant brain. Before he could do anything, it seeped through the cracks, drowning him.

Every memory with his mother, with every woman he encountered, every person who he thought he loved—who he thought showed him love and every betrayal he assumed or saw came full surface.

It hurt so much. He swore to never feel like this again. And it ate at his mind. If he had a breath to give, it would be ripped right out of him. He didn’t like this. He wasn’t the one in control, he wasn’t the one getting your love. He wasn’t the one playing the game. He felt like the game played… him.

When Laito found you, he all but dragged you to the roof top. A place where terrifying, haunting memories were held. The same ones that kept you on your toes, but failed you every time.

Laito was uncharacteristically quiet, his back turned to you as he stared out into the open planes. It could have been a pleasant sight if you didn’t know what kind of monster he really was.

“Y’know, little bitch.” he starts, taking his hat off to run his free hand through his hair, “There was only one other time I truly loved someone to the point of hate. All the others… they weren’t real.”

Hearing where this conversation was heading, you reach back to grip the handle when a gasp leaves you. No longer were you standing in front of the door, instead Laito has you dangling off the rails of the school on your toes. His right hand was twisted into your uniform shirt, the only thing keeping you from falling.

Quickly, you grab his arm, tears swelling in your eyes as you see the sad expression on his face. It squeezed at you heart, but maybe that was actually the fear of falling.

“Lait-o please!” You lean forward into his touch.

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head at your attempt to sway him. He knew this scene all too well. The first was hard on him, he drowned himself in body after body. No doubt this would be the same. It didn’t bring him the same joy as his usual actions did. This time he truly felt torn.

“Little bitch,” he draws in your attention and you lock eyes, “It doesn’t bring me joy from this. I would have rather spent the rest of our lives together… exploring each other but I can’t tolerate the betrayal.”

It only dawned on you what he was talking about. From the start of this interaction you thought he was being moody but you should have known; play your cards just a little better but it was too late. With a easy unraveling, he lets you go with a gentle push and watches as you descends to the floor.

So many emotions raved through him as he did. He wanted to grab you back and tell you it was a joke. But he stays in place when he hears a loud splat and a pierced scream.

He couldn’t even bring himself to peek before he left. You brought up to many bad memories, how could he forgive you?

Subaru Sakamaki

Subaru really couldn’t stand you. From the moment you entered their home and disrupted his peace. It was always something with you. Always needing saving from someone or something, always needing to be reminded that you were beneath him and everyone in this house.

Yet you seem to not understand it or that you do but you completely throw it to the wind, whatever the reason it pissed him off. All your stupid attempts to get close to him, to try and understand him… to get him to open up.

Then, despite his constant attacks on you, he actually grew some form of attachment. The thought of you sicken him, but the thought of you gone made him mad more. You disgusting, weak human did something to him.

So when he heard the rumor of you agreeing to date someone else. It was like… something broke in him. All his thoughts consumed him, he was a monster. Less than trash. His mother didn’t want him nor his father. Why would you?

He didn’t even like himself sometimes. It’s no surprise the time you have another argument, you agree to date someone else. If he was in your position, he’d run to. Run so far, the chances of anyone catching him was slim to none. But you weren’t that good at running… actually, you couldn’t really run after he caught you.

There was a permanent snarl on his face as he stares down at you. A chained collar secured tightly around your neck, identical to the ones around your wrist. If Subaru wasn’t so aggravated, he could have enjoyed seeing you ruined.

He grips the knife in his left hand, which drips of your blood, “Shut up!” he shouts, listening to your whimpers, “You brought this on yourself. Stupid.. You just don’t learn.”

He moves to crouch in front of you, lifting your head up by the chin, “I told you you’ll die if you stay here.” His left hand raises as he speaks and makes another slash across your skin.

You groan loudly with shut eyes, shaking as he does it again… and again, and again till more and the same wounds bleed profoundly. It was agonizing, with how many hours he’s been at it. It felt like he was never going to lighten up his assaults.

But a miracle shines on you when he pulls away and drops the knife. He stands over you for minutes, chest heaving up and down. You never understood why they pretended to breathe, but you weren’t in the position to question.

There you laid out like a doll. So broken, bruised and bloody. Almost beyond repair. Subaru smiles at that acknowledgment. As much as he was tempted to tear your throat out, the smell of your blood begging him to drain you dry till you were foaming at the mouth; this would have to do.

”I told you… you’ll die.” was the last thing he said before leaving the dungeon, locking it on the way out.

Fuck he hated you.

DL Masterlist

#✮⋆˙ 𝐈’𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 — 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐤 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 #Ruki Mukami #diabolik lovers #Yui Komori #Reiji Sakamaki #ayato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #Subaru sakamaki #shu sakamaki #reji sakamaki #Dialovers #sakamaki laito #sakamaki shu #sakamaki ayato #sakamaki kanato #sakamaki subaru #diabolik lovers x you

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allgirlsareprincesses · 1 year ago

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I'm so curious as to what your thoughts are on acomaf/Rhys. Personally, the reason the second book infuriated me was bc SJM completely shifted Tamlin's good traits onto Rhys, while erasing the fucked up things the latter did (like breaking Feyre's arm 😅), and thus clumsily erasing chances for interesting complex grey-morality characterizations for both characters. Also Feyre forgot about Tamlin so fast it almost made the first book seem useless lol. idk, I just liked Tamlin and feel he was done dirty with the weird lib-feminist makeover acomaf got. I did continue reading the series though. I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable speaking about this, so feel free to ignore this ask. Have a lovely day 💖

Phew! So my issues with the series are NUMEROUS and some day I will go into all the reasons I quit ACOMAF 3/4 of the way through, but for now, let me sum up my problem by comparing it to another modern phenomenon: Frozen.

Like ACOTAR, I have many specific dislikes about the Frozen series, but my main problem with it is the way it cynically uses fairy tale motifs against the audience, but then still wants to claim it is a fairy tale. Frozen's setup gives the audience absolutely zero reason to doubt or distrust Hans (other than the arrival of Kristoff). In fact, Hans and Anna have one of the best insta-love songs from the Disney collection, and it galls me TO NO END that it's a trick, a lie. And then the rest of the movie repeatedly mocks the audience for believing in fairy tale love ("You can't marry a man you just met!"), as if to say everyone who has enjoyed Disney fairy tales up to this point is a sucker. Yet then it expects us to invest in the Anna-Kristoff romance after punishing us for the Anna-Hans one. And meanwhile, Kristoff is about as interesting as stale bread (sorry not sorry, it's true. I love you Jonathan Groff, it's not your fault sweetie.).

So anyway, back to ACOTAR. Book 1 is a straightforward Search For The Lost Husband. Taken on its own, it honestly rules as an example of this Cupid & Psyche tale type. It has the hunter-huntress motif, the jealous sisters, passage into the otherworld, hidden/cursed prince, supernatural helpers, three trials in the underworld, and even resurrection from death. It's literally perfect, other than Rhys marking her and just generally being creepy.

And then the next book PUNISHES the reader for enjoying that. HAHA you fool, you sucker, you got taken in by an abuser! Actually that whole book was a f*cking waste of time and a lie, and what Feyre really needs is this dude who's secretly perfect and who has all the aesthetics of a tormented prince but none of the actual psychological damage (like, say, Tamlin had). And who pursued Feyre not because of any natural affinity but because he knew she was his predetermined MATE (ew ew ew and I repeat EW). And who dictates every f*cking plot point and then magnanimously gives Feyre the OPTION of participating and we're all supposed to cheer because he says "It's your choice" before repeatedly using her and endangering her.

And to the extent that this is another Search For The Lost Husband, why would I want the same story told again, especially when the narrative wasted my time and mocked me for investing in the last romance? I just... really resent the author using those motifs without signaling sooner that she's going to deliberately undermine them (which can be done, in fairness, but it takes more skill than SJM has displayed).

So yeah, that's my issue. It really seems to come from this faux feminism that has a lot of antipathy toward traditional fairy tales, but doesn't know how to critique them without mocking the protagonist and audience alike.

#acotar #acomaf negativity #acomaf #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #sjmaas #acotar negativity #critique #rant #frozen #prince hans #tamlin #feyre archeron #rhysand #tamlin x feyre #search for the lost husband

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sad-boys-book-club · 12 days ago

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"&" Ampersand - A Literary Companion: Eve & Paradise Lost

Hey everyone!

Let’s continue feeding my unhealthy obsession with Bastille by diving into the literary companion I created for “&”. Today, we’re talking about the second track: Eve & Paradise Lost. (Now that the album is out, I can finally follow the tracklist properly!)

In case you missed it, here’s my post about Intros & Narrators.

Before we jump into the book picks for this song, I want to apologize for the delay in writing this. I’ve had some family stuff going on, moved houses and also wanted to make sure I had read both books before recommending them.

Actually, I plan to take some time to go over the whole list of stories I’ve picked—I want to read them all thoroughly so I know exactly what I’m recommending to you all (some of them, I've already read, but I want to revisit them as well).

Now, let’s talk about the song. I find it fascinating to see a male songwriter like Dan taking on a woman’s perspective for a project that explores different stories. The official statement about the song stood out to me: “This song is about the burdens of loving women cruelly made to feel blame and shame from the dawn of time.” It’s clear Dan’s an artist who engages with feminist writings, and that’s something I truly appreciate—especially given how rare it is in the music industry, particularly for someone who presents as a straight, white male.

Cat Bohannon — Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution

The title character from the song. Probably the most cited figure from the Bible. A staple in paintings and literature for the past two thousand years. The first sinner. Eve remains a pillar of the Western collective imagination, her meaning changing a lot throughout the decades. From the representation of female sexual desire, scapegoating her for condemning the entire human race to death by eating the forbidden fruit (can you tell I went to Catholic school?), to being seen as the first example of female rage in the face of oppression. She embodies the complexities of womanhood—temptation, sin, and defiance—all wrapped into a single character.

Cat Bohannon’s book couldn’t be further from this. With a PhD from Columbia in the evolution of narrative, Bohannon explores why, in an age when we often see medical and science knowledge as some sort of truth, we still somehow have a very male-centric view of the human body.

By reexamining all the different potential Eves we have in the history of human evolution—that’s how she chooses to call all the ‘hypothetical female ancestors’ in our shared Homo sapiens lineage—, Bohannon urges us to reconsider and reshape our understanding of how our knowledge of the human body has often ignored half the world’s population.

As someone who enjoys reading non-fiction books (happy to share a few of my all-time favorites in the comments to whoever is interested), I found this book a really insightful, at times infuriating, eye-opening view into how sad it is that, for much of documented history, women have been seen as just men with breasts and wombs bolted on. The author is especially conscious of how sex (influenced by chromosomes, physiology, and hormones) and gender (how we identify, behave in our environment, and interact with one another) are not the same thing. She often adds notes to point out how science ignoring the female body and all its narratives has even worse consequences for trans and nonbinary folks, which I found really well-done and necessary in today’s age.

I picked this book as a companion to the song mainly because of the “rolled your eyes at pain you'll never comprehend” line, but I think it is a solid read on its own. I certainly learned a lot about my own body during the 15 hours I listened to the audiobook.

John Milton — Paradise Lost

So, Paradise Lost—the epic poem that pops up on pretty much every English Lit syllabus. Quick and snappy plot summary before we dive in: It’s a 12-part epic that covers Satan’s dramatic fall from Heaven, the creation of Adam and Eve, their blissful (but short-lived) days in Eden, the infamous temptation, and their ultimate eviction from paradise. Along the way, there’s a war in Heaven (didn’t exactly keep me on the edge of my seat), plus some deep philosophical chats between Raphael and Adam about creation, God, and, well, everything. It’s basically theological fanfiction (I mean it in the most neutral way possible).

Milton, being the good Puritan he was, used these stories to dig into free will, predestination, and conscience. It’s hard not to see Satan as a rebel leader and God as the authority figure, especially when you remember Milton was writing during the English Civil War.

The poem was widely known but highly controversial and criticized during Milton’s lifetime, however, during the Romantic period, poets like Shelley and Byron “reclaimed” Milton’s Satan as a tragic antihero figure.

Anyway, I had to dig out my old uni notes (and hit up some audiobooks) to brush up on Eve’s role in this whole mess. And let me tell you, there’s a lot to unpack. Mainly because: a) as is often the case with old poetry, there’s a lot to read between the lines; b) classics come with a million different interpretations, and c) there are a few different versions, depending on the edition you read, so it’s easy to get lost in the variations of text, footnotes, and commentaries. (And also d) I won’t lie, it’s a slow, heavy read. At times, I had to resort to the audiobook just to get through some of the passages!)

Here’s what stood out this time around: Eve’s role is seriously hard to pin down, as Milton's relation to gender politics has been scrutinized since, well, pretty much since it was published in the 17th century. (Yeah, I had to pull out good old Google Scholar, watch some lectures on YouTube, and, of course, dive into Muses: An Ampersand Podcast—thanks, Dan and, mostly, Emma.)

What I really enjoyed was reading some modern articles that analyze Eve’s character through the lens of feminism which ties into the song’s exploration of blame and shame—no Wild World pun intended.

First of all, when Eve is introduced to Adam in Paradise Lost, Milton has her momentarily distracted by her own reflection in a pool of water, a subtle but significant parallel to the myth of Narcissus (hint hint). It’s an early indication of how susceptible to being misled she will be later on. But it also plays into this idea that her curiosity and desire—whether for knowledge or just, you know, herself—are somehow “dangerous.”

Now, Eve gets the blame for the Fall because she’s tempted by Satan to snack on the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Sure, she’s tricked, but let’s not pretend it’s all the serpent’s fault—once the idea is planted, it’s Eve who talks herself (and Adam) into it. That shows some sense of agency on her part, right? She wasn’t just a passive, helpless victim; she wanted to prove herself, to be tested, and she took action.

Milton is giving her a bit of credit for having a mind of her own, even if it’s wrapped up in this narrative of downfall. Eve’s curiosity and independence—qualities we might admire today—become her so-called "fatal flaws" here. So, yes, the story punishes female agency, but it’s undeniably there. And in a world where women were (and still are) often written as powerless, it’s refreshing to see Eve at least take some control, even if the outcome is a bit... unfortunate.

Now, let’s be real, this whole negative portrayal of Eve isn’t shocking. Milton was writing in a time where misogyny was baked into pretty much everything (which, sadly, isn’t all that different from now). Eve’s agency and sexuality are framed as the ultimate cautionary tale: women’s sexuality and agency are seen as inherently dangerous and something that inevitably leads to moral fallings.

But despite it all, towards the later part of Paradise Lost, Eve does get a kind of redemption arc. I came across one scholar who referred to the concept of felix culpa, a phrase in Catholic tradition meaning "happy fault" or "blessed fall." Eve might be responsible for humanity’s downfall, but her actions also set the stage for the coming of Christ, making her "mistake" a necessary part of the larger divine plan. It’s a bit of a paradox—how can something so disastrous lead to something so positive?—but the idea is that certain misfortunes can eventually lead to greater good.

Milton leans into this in Book 12, where Adam says:

"O goodness infinite, Goodness immense! That all this good of evil shall produce, And evil turn to good; more wonderful Than that which creation first brought forth, Light out of Darkness!"

So, in a roundabout way, Eve’s fall isn’t all doom and gloom—she’s the necessary catalyst that sets God's plan into motion. In fact, scholars have started to reframe Eve’s role in Paradise Lost as something more empowering than it initially appears. Traditionally, Eve’s been seen as the ultimate cautionary tale, blamed for humanity’s fall and cast as a symbol of female weakness and danger. But if you look closely, there’s something subversive in the way she’s actually the mover of the entire plot.

Eve isn’t just sitting around passively following orders—she actively makes the decision to eat the fruit, which, yes, brings about the fall, but it’s also what triggers the eventual coming of Christ and the possibility of redemption. Without her action, we’d all be hanging out in Eden, stuck in a static, sheltered existence. In a way, this is Eve taking control of her fate, making a choice, even if it’s framed as "wrong."

Plus, while Milton definitely punishes Eve, her agency is undeniable. Adam is kind of an afterthought in the whole thing—Eve is the one who steps outside the box, embraces curiosity, and disrupts the status quo. To modern feminist readers, that kind of defiance (even if it’s punished) reflects the strength of a woman asserting her independence. Raphael even calls her "the mother of humankind," acknowledging her dual role. She is both chaos and creation—a symbol of disruption but also the source of life. So, in a way, Eve’s choice is what makes humanity... well, human.

I like how in the song, there’s also a sense of Eve having an agency and a mind of her own. The chorus highlights Eve’s struggle with the idea of being “made for” Adam—“When they say I was made for you... made from you”—and the frustration of biting her tongue, which relates to how her love for Adam intertwines with her need for independence.

That’s it for this post! I’ll be back soon with more book picks for the next track. Let me know if you’ve read these or if you have any thoughts!

Feel free to share your thoughts and any other book suggestions as well!

With love,

Cat

#mine #bastille #dan smith bastille #dan smith #dan bastille #ampersand #&#literature #paradise lost #eve #john milton

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drtanner · 7 months ago

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So I have a few favourite movies - Treasure Planet, Jurassic Park and To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar to name but a handful - but I'd never considered myself to have any movies that I actively despised until I watched La La Land with the FC last week.

I've never been more certain that The Cishets™ live on a different fucking planet than I was while watching La La Land. The whole story revolves around a woman who's trying to make it as an actress being told that she's wrong and essentially bullied by a pretentious wannabe jazz pianist, and somehow you as the audience are meant to interpret this as romantic. Their relationship is antagonistic from the start (that's how you can tell they're going to fall in love!) and it gets its proper, romantic beginning during a dance number in which the lady lead tells this prick that she's not interested in him, but he continues to pursue her anyway and Proves Her Wrong, which sets the tone for the whole relationship going forward. She'll tell him that she doesn't like something or doesn't want something and he'll tell her that she does, actually, and Proves Her Wrong, and then he'll turn out to have been right every time. This is an Oscar-worthy romance.

This Is What Hereosexuals Actually Believe.

They both get to achieve their aspirational dreams re: acting and jazz clubs, they don't wind up together at the end of the film, and maybe the point of the story is that the relationship was dogshit all the way down and not meant to be because how could it be, but christ, I've never wanted to reach through the screen and strangle a fictional character to death so intensely in my life. La La Land could be a deeply forgettable romance if it weren't for the fact that the male lead made me so fucking angry every time he said or did anything. Cishet women really do get bilked into shacking up with guys like him all the time, again because The Cishets™ live on a different fucking planet and all of this shit is considered "normal" there, so I can't even fault the lady lead of this film for putting up with it, but christ. I just know this shit got lauded as a Moving Story of Heartbreak™ or a Torrid Romance™ or whatever. This shit went up against Moonlight for Best Picture of the Year, can you believe it?

All of that and it was barely a musical, like it had a handful of musical numbers in it and none of them were compelling enough for me to remember them a week later, and certainly not compelling enough to eclipse the absolutely baffling and infuriating plot. La La Land was a musical that was afraid to be too much like a musical; knowing that real musicals are considered unpopular and cringe, it was too cowardly to commit too much to being one itself, only dropping in a handful of brief song and dance sequences so as not to embarrass itself. Incredibly disappointing.

I fucking hate La La Land. Fucking appalling film.

#Tanner talks

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neurotheascars · 5 months ago

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Maybe it's just me because I don't see anyone talking about it, but I think what makes everything aspen is doing and saying ten times worse is how fucking annoying that rainbow haired vtuber model she uses is to look at. The stupid bobblehead ponytail wagging, the flapping mouth animation, the chibi proportions, the way her eyes and mouth are squished together in the middle of her giant head, it just makes her grating voice and disgusting hypocrisy that much worse.

Like saying all this awful shit is just that much more infuriating when it's coming out of the mouth of such an obnoxious character design with such annoying mouth and face movements.

Aside from all that, I actually kind of pity her.

As a reformed prosecutor who has been super inflammatory in the past, like for real, I used to be as bad as aspen, just not publicly on the Internet- she really really needs to get her ass into therapy or tell her therapist about what she's doing. I used to lie to therapists, seek out negativity and my system would act like they had it together when I'd secretly split off to have rage negativity time.

I know this "taking a break" song and dance. "Saira is going away for a bit, he should not talk to people atm" meanwhile I'm back at it again at the Krispy cream, completely ignoring that I need to shut the fuck up and relax for a second.

I see the same patterns, I see the post about "mothra grounding" her from syscourse being totally ignored, I see Noelle just being like "I don't agree but oh well" to the tune of ignoring the wishes of a freshly split alter she "adopted". I see Aspen's forced apologies and I'm like bro... In a few years you're gonna regret all this.

What sucks is that you're having messy DID on tiktok, in front of thousands of people. You're letting your persecutor run wild on others. Your reputation is being destroyed and its gonna suck for you when the ragebait view money runs out.

#syscource #aspenfrosten

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thecorvidcurio-if · 1 year ago

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Thoughts On Love

"What do you think love is?"

These are their answers before their routes are played. Their answers afterwards will be under the cut.

Vicente

"Love is providing for those you care about. It’s attending their needs and ensuring their safety and happiness. Love is putting those you care for before yourself."

Abby

"Love is uhhhh... I dunno! All I really have t’go on is what everyone else says, ‘n they all say different things! It's in songs ‘n stuff, uhhh— Oh! Right, it causes LOTS of drama, which is always fun! Not sure what the point of it is, though!"

Marina

"Someone can say they love you all day every day and it’d still be empty. Words are fuckin’ worthless. We are what we do, not what we say. If there's no love in the way someone acts then there's no love at all. Period."

Thea

"Ah, love… I do appreciate a good romance. In fiction, that is. In reality, it rather loses its lustre. Romance is alluring, and few can resist the... siren song, if you will. The problem arises when people confuse desire for love. You can't have love without desire, but you can most certainly have desire without love. Most of the time, people don't actually love their person of interest but just the idea of them. It’s harder to love a whole, flawed person. It’s one thing to love the way someone shines. It’s quite another to love the rest of them as well."

Kaida

"Love is non-existent. Any amount of… ‘care’ someone claims to feel for you only stems from whatever you provide for them. Once you are no longer useful or they’ve otherwise taken all you have to give… It’s frankly impressive how quickly ‘love’ gives way to the resentment of being saddled with someone who has become a useless and disposable thing. I have no interest in subjecting someone to that, and I have even less interest in being reduced to such a state again."

Shiloh

".......Mm. My….. understanding… is that love…… comes from the heart... I…. don't think my physical anatomy… has any organs….. including a heart muscle…… but I… haven't been able to check... I….. don't have a pulse…… so it stands to reason I don't…Mm. …I don’t have a heart. So….. it follows that love…… is beyond me…. Right?"

????

"Love is not something that one such as I am at liberty to consider for myself, but in a general sense, my view of it is complicated. Rarely do I see a happy ending. Not because they do not exist but, well… By the time I come around, ‘happily ever after’ has typically run its course. Even so, the pain I see is but a clear sign that love is something truly precious."

Vicente

"Love is a house you’ve built with those you care for. It takes time and a team effort poured into a process that can be frustrating and exhausting. The quality of the result is decided by the materials used and the care taken in its construction. If you do it right, it can provide warmth and shelter even on the coldest night in the dead of winter, and there’s a comfort in knowing that those dearest to you are safe with you there."

Abby

"Love is when someone appreciates you for you, even when you're not— Even if you aren’t— Mmngh… I dunno. It’s— It’s being seen. Being really known by someone, ‘n they come closer instead of runnin’ away. ‘N you see them like they see you, even the not-fun bits, but even those bits are worth it 'cause it's them, y'know? They’re them, ‘n that's enough for you. You're enough for them, or— Or, at least, you’re not too much. They don’t, y’know— They don’t come at you with a list of all the ways you aren’t what they want you to be. They aren’t just— I dunno— Tolerating you, I guess.”

Marina

"Sometimes the people who're s'posed to love you suck absolute shit at it. So, you leave 'em behind, and you find people who put their money where their damn mouth is. People who actually give an actual, genuine fuck about your wellbeing and happiness. People who don’t have a million stupid, useless, infuriating conditions and expectations you need to meet for them to keep giving a fuck. People who don’t threaten to take their love away to keep you in line.”

Thea

"Attempting to describe what love is would be pointless. It isn’t something so easily put into words, which is perhaps why I have found it so elusive for so long. I can describe what it isn’t, though. It isn’t a role you play. It isn’t a costume you desperately try to fit into, carving away any parts of yourself that may be inconvenient. It isn't a transaction, and it isn't a competition. It isn’t something you should have to fight and beg for, and it isn’t something you can gain through expensive gifts and pretty lies. It isn’t something you can gain by twisting things to make yourself look good, because eventually things will untwist, and you’ll be seen for exactly what you are.”

Kaida

"I’m rarely ever wrong, and even more rarely ever happy to be wrong. In this, I’m… beyond pleased to be both. I… cannot say that most claims of love are honest and sincere. But... I can accept that sincere love exists, and when it does— ...I thought I understood, but I didn't, and I don't. Nothing is as I thought it was. Something I have been so sure of for thousands of years has been proven false and that's… That’s terrifying. I'm... okay with that, though. The terror of it all is far preferable to the loneliness of the alternative."

Shiloh

"Mmn. Love is…… scary…. It’s a feeling of…. flying and falling, at the same time… Everything is both hazy…. and unbearably vivid... Going too fast… while moving in slow motion…. Mm. It’s…. an ache… but it’s an ache to savour. It's… all too much… but never enough. Holding you together…. while tearing you apart….. And it's wonderful….. I’m still… fairly certain that I… don’t have an actual, physical heart, but… It sometimes… feels like I might…"

????

"I still do not know. Even having experienced it, I do not understand it. But I find that I do not want to, nor do I need to. I am simply glad to have it. That is all I need. All I ask. More than I ever thought I would receive. Just... just to have it. To be around it. That is all."

-------

Forever ago in the far off ancient time of 2017, one of the writers for Dragon Age made some tweets of the romance options he'd written responding to being asked about love. I really liked the idea so when I remembered it I thought it'd make a good warm-up, and once they were done I thought you all may enjoy them. So, here you go. I hope you all have a lovely day.

#cursed ambrosia #the gang's all here #cursed ambrosia extra

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aria-ashryver · 8 months ago

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Take marriage out of the equation .... but how would your blorbos survive two hours stuck together in traffic? :)

lmao i was actually thinking about something like this yesterday while I was on a flight!! how'd you know? 😆

Luca is extremely restless -- they usually channel their excess energy into flipping balisongs (or drumsticks). But he can hardly take a pair of knives through security screening, right? I think on a flight, he'd make do with flipping a pen, but he's also gonna feel self-conscious the entire time because its an enclosed space, and he doesn't want to be super noisy. What if he starts clicking it repeatedly and annoys the crap out of people? I think long flights would be Luca's personal idea of hell.

Traffic, though? That could go a number of ways.

Luca, Cas, and Gabriel all stuck in a car together would be totally fine at first! Their banter is great; all three of them are sharply intelligent and they love to make each other laugh, so I think they'd enjoy just spending time with each other!

After the first hour... it would depend what version of Luca we got.

Luca would have their knives, so thats something. If he's dissociating and staring out the window, he'll be okay for a while. If they are the one driving, they'd be drumming on the steering wheel and listening to music.

If we've got hungry Luca though? Oh god. They'd be SO freaking irritable. That would be two hours of Cas and Gabe being trapped in a vehicle with a pissed-off, feral raccoon.

Fortunately --since Gabriel is practically a suburban housewife in disguise and he never leaves the house without his bag-- I'm sure he'd have something in there to help. Water, snacks, a pen for Luca to flip if they didn't have their knives. If Gabriel was not the one driving, he'd be reading a book.

Gabe has the patience of a saint. Two hours stuck in traffic on his own? He'd probably enjoy the downtime. Two hours in traffic, just he and Luca? MUSIC TIME, baby! Those two would be sharing their favourite songs, and talking music theory, and singing harmonies with each other -- it would be exactly the kind of sappy, saccharine, heart-eyed bullshit that would make Cas vomit.

Now then. Add Cas into the mix.

The issue is not that Gabriel and Luca are stuck in traffic, oh no. They are stuck in a confined space with Cassius Harlow. I think Cas would find it a bit of a blessing! Gabe and Luca are Right There! Where he can annoy the crap out of them, and neither can escape! That's a dream come true.

Cas is that seven-year-old kid on a plane you want to throttle the crap out of because they won't stop kicking the back of your seat. Cas is whining at Gabe that its too hot, and he hates this song, and he's hungry, and are we there yet???? Only he's doing it with an infuriating little grin on his face, because all three of them damn well know he's only doing it to wind them up. Goading his boyfriends --especially Gabriel-- is one of Cas's favourite pastimes.

If Gabriel was in a mood to retaliate, he'd be reciting a bunch of random facts to try and bore Cas to death with, but its anyone's guess who gets sick of it all first -- its a case of "Immovable Patience meets Unstoppable Dickhead".

Hence, we circle back to "it depends on what version of Luca we get". Luca loves their bickering, but he's great at mediating when they get too close to actually arguing. If Luca is not hungry, the three of them are going to have a surprisingly great time stuck in that car. Cas won't admit it, but sitting there and listening to Gabriel and Luca singing makes him feel all kinds of peaceful, and grateful, and happy.

If Luca is hungry though. In all likelihood, someone's getting murdered.

(TYSM for the ask my love, this was way too much fun to think about haha 😊💖💖)

#asks answered #SICSIG #choices immortal desires #cas harlow #gabe adalhard #luca o'rinn

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beuhakkaka · 2 years ago

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🌊The Sirens Song🌊 (PT 4)

(TW for Blood mentions and injury!!)

Venti grumbled in frustration, his tail flicking beneath the waters in correspondence with his emotions.

Who did this puny human think she was? Did she think of herself as higher than him?

How dare she, and how dare she so blatantly ignore him. Him! The gem of the ocean, the terror of the land-!! He was a ferocious legend of the waters, capable of taking down the mightiest of ships and strongest of pirates with a single hand! A puny human like her had no right to ignore him!

What made it even worse was she even openly admitted to blatantly ignoring him as well-!!

If he could have, he would have snatched up that over confident human right then and there, capturing her in his clawed hand and shredding her to bits; he felt he may enjoy that more than just eating her at this point. But, no matter how far he stretched his long arm, he just couldn't reach the little infuriating insect.

He may have been able to reach her if he beached himself; but, he didn't want to pull his whole torso up on the cliff. Knowing that there was definitely no way he could fit his entire chest on the measly rock formation. Nor did he want to be vulnerable, if he beached himself, he would lose all mobility.

So he had to just wait there, chest pressed against a mountain side and chin rested atop that cliff, hoping that his words would convince her to just give up.

"Well, clearly you're not totally ignoring me, because you're still responding..."

He forced a smirk, his sharp teeth shining and his head tilting to the side.

"Anyways. I think its pretty obvious what you should be choosing here...I'm at least offering a quick death, that on the other hand...you'll die within minutes~"

He kept himself cool and collected depsite his frustrations; as long as he stayed calm, she would just spiral farther.

Though, against all odds, sense and reason, the woman responded with a shockingly calm voice.

"I'm not going to die. Not by your hand, or by this wounds doing..."

Venti watched with wide eyes as the woman stepped out from behind the tree.

She trembled as she stood there, Venti guessed that was due to a mixture of fear and pain.

Yet. She didnt back down, even with her leg surely being in agony. That fiery, piercing gaze of hers was something Venti had only seen twice in his long life; and Venti found himself shocked for the first time in centuries.

"I'm leaving."

She spat out, her teeth grit tightly.

Venti recovered quickly at that, tsking. This human had no right to be so stubborn.

But whatever. It didnt bother him, she was gonna die anyways.

His lip pulled up into a snarl.

"You're gonna die! You'll never make it!"

He shouted at her, finally letting his frustrations out.

The tiny human didn't respond. Limping away in silence

Venti growled. There goes his scrumptious little delicacy.

"Dammit..." he muttered to himself.

He had put so much effort into getting this girl, yet he somehow missed again.

Normally, Venti was quite the lazy siren when it came to hunting, this is why he liked to target boats. They were just slowly moving plates to Venti basically, the delicious little humans his favorite spread. So for him, having a hunting escapade go so terribly when he was actually putting effort into it was highly annoying.

But...he wouldn't let it get to him. She was just a snack, it wasn't like he was starving or anything. He'll just find an easier human to devour.

He let go of the cliffs edge, letting his body crash back into the waters.

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

Annora wouldnt cry in front of the dastardly creature, no matter how much she wanted to. She wouldn't give him even an inch.

So, as long as she remained in his sight, she was silent. Even as she heard the crash of waters and looked back to see he was gone, she remained quiet.

She hmphed, and continued to move.

About thirty minutes later, and she had made it a little more than half way down the path.

Normally it took her a much shorter time, but with a injured leg, everything was slower.

She trudged down the dark, beaten path, shoving aside stray branches and stumbling on strewn about pebbles.

She would have preferred to put no weight on her lacerated leg, but as of right now she did not have a cane, or even a walking stick, so she had to very delicately balance her weight distribution.

But even with her intricate intentions, walking had become one of the most agonizing things she had ever done.

The torn skin shifted and moved with every step, threatening to open up again and start pouring out warm blood; and the pain, oh gods the pain.

She felt she may faint, even if her wound didnt start to bleed out again just because of that.

Even while still in the state of shock, her leg could only be described as agonizing. Burning, hot, aching pain coursed up and down her muscles and flesh, making her wish she simply didnt have that leg anymore.

Annora did her best to not dwell on her darker thoughts, shoving aside another stray branch. But, as she did that, her lame leg caught on a hidden stump.

With her balance knocked off and an already exhausted state, she fell down immediately, crashing to the ground and tumbling down the incline.

Her body rolled off a practically steep step like a barrel, gravity dragging her to the ground and knocking her face right into the dirt.

The breathe was knocked out of her, leaving her gasping for air like a beached fish; nose shoved into the grimy ground. Slowly she started to gain her breathe again, trying to recollect her surroundings.

But she lay there, trying to gather herself...she just couldn't take it anymore; and she began to sob. Messy tears poured down her cheeks, plopping onto the ground and soaking into the soil.

She was an idiot. An utter incompetent fool. She was the reason this happened. Her stupid impulsive decision is now why she may be maimed for life. Or even worse, die out here in the wilderness; with not even a single friend to care for her disappearance.

Her vision began to darken, fading in and out as tears continued to flow.

She dug her fingers into the ground, her nails aching from the pressure.

No. Please. Stay awake. Stay...stay...

Her eyelids fluttered, and with one final tear, she fell unconscious. Drifting into a shock induced coma.

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

Something felt soft, and warm.

She clutched it a little tighter, tiny fist gripping the unknown warmth. What was this? Her mind was clouded, but she managed to pinpoint something.

A blanket.

This was a blanket.

The moment she identified this, Annora woke up.

Annora gasped loudly, eyes snapping open and darting around in a panic.

Oh no, she had fallen asleep out in the middle of the forest with a bloody wound-! Wolves could be upon her any moment-! And her wound, it could be festering with infection at this point-

She looked down, terrified of what state her leg may now be in.

But, instead of her bloodied leg, she saw a white blanket; and now she was identifying other things too.

The brown walls, the table beside her, the new clothes...

Where...where was she?

Was this the after life? She hadnt imagined it to be so normal-

The door suddenly opened, and Annora let out a terrfied yelp.

But to her suprise, it wasn't the grim reaper.

The captain...that old cook of a pirate she served the other night.

What was he doing here? Wherever here was?

"Oh, ye are awake! Good good,"

The pirate spoke joyfully, walking over to Annoras bedside.

"Ye gave me quite a fright there little lass...ye know it's not safe to go out all alone in the forest. There be wolves..."

He picked up a pitcher that had been rested on the table beside Annora, pouring the clear water out into a cup.

"Ye were mighty lucky I was taking a walk last night...Here, ye are probably mighty thirsty..."

The pirate offered it to Annora.

At first she considered not taking it.

The likelihood of this guy just happening to find her in the forest was astronomically low. There were no main roads near that area, no true walking paths, and no housing either. It was completely abandoned by humanity, and as such was not frequently visited. Nobody just "took" walks there.

He should not have found her.

Had he been stalking her? Although she didnt like thinking about the man in that light, she saw more sense in that than him just stumbling upon her.

The pirate chuckled softly.

"No need to be wary, it ain't poisoned. Ye at the clinic right now..."

So that's where she is...

Annora slowly reached out and grabbed the cup of water.

She pressed it to her lips, and the moment her tongue tasted the water, she chugged the whole thing almost desperately.

Once she was finished she wiped at her lips, speaking softly.

"Why did you help me...? And why are you here? How did you find me?"

The captain replied with a kind tone.

"Well, when ye see some poor soul collapsed in the dirt, ye ought to help em don't ya?"

He then smiled.

"And I'm here to check on ye. Wanted to make sure that the nurse been doing well by you...I wouldn't want me favorite bartender to get inferior care..."

He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"And to awnser ye last question, I was just in the area on a walk. Like I said."

"In the area..." Annora muttered back, sounding as unconvinced as she could be.

But, even if she didnt believe him...a part of her was glad he had found her.

Imagining what may have happened if she hadn't gotten help sent a shiver down her spine.

She glanced down back at her covered legs.

Right, she still didnt know how bad it looked...

Annora slowly pulled the covers off her leg, wincing at the sight.

Her left leg was fine. A few scrapes here and there, even a bruise, but that was nothing.

Her other leg though...even through the bandaging, she could tell it had been traumatized. It was swollen beyond imagination, and a bright red all over.

Imagining what may be under those bandages made her want to vomit.

The pirate spoke softly, doing his best to put the bad news in a gentle way.

"The nurse said the muscle was ripped off from the bone...ye were lucky the bone was left completley unharmed, otherwise ye may have been down a leg..."

Annora chewed her lower lip.

So that's why it felt like her flesh was being pulled off the bone, because it had been.

The captain had been waiting, but now that the girls questions were awnsered, he felt it was time.

"Say...lassie. What did this to ye? I hav'nt ever seen a critter capable of doing that to a leg, yet it looks like some type of scuffle had gone on..."

Annora bit her lip harder.

To tell. Or not to tell.

She could tell the truth. She could say she had seen a siren, and a huge one at that.

But then she would sound mad. No body would believe her.

Well, maybe the captain would...but that didnt comfort her much.

After much debate, she made up her mind.

Annora replied slowly, staring down at her leg.

"I tripped, and fell on this horrid tree branch. It pierced all the way through, and I ended up pulling on it accidentally Iand dragging the wound all the way down to my ankle..."

The captain was silent for a few beats, a range of thoughts passing in his eyes.

But then, just as quick as those thoughts began to flash, they stopped.

He smiled.

"My, that's quite the tale young lass. Ye should work on ye'r balance."

He chuckled lightly.

Annora bit her lip painfully hard, nodding her head in repsonse.

"Yeah..."

She muttered.

The captain stared at Annora for a few silent moments before slapping his hands together.

"Well! It be time I take me leave, I have a crew to boss around."

He laughed loudly, slapping his knee.

He turned around, walking towards the door.

But before he left, he paused.

"Ah, right, me name is Capatin Ace. A pleasure,"

He bowed, tipping his hat to Annora, and then taking his leave.

Annora was left in silence.

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

About a day later, she was sent home with crutches, her wound having been deduced unlikely to reopen.

As she sat on her dinky old mattress, she could only fester about that horrible creature, and what he had done to her; and others.

What horrors had that monster commited? How many lives had he taken?

She felt nauseous at just the thought.

Depsite how terrible that beast was, he went unpunished, allowed to roam the oceans as he pleased.

She groaned.

But even if people did decide to punish him, it's not like a tiny town like this could do much against him. They didn't even have a proper police force here, and he was utterly massive. The normal methods of handcuffs and jail cells were laughable.

But there had to be something that could be done. Something that could prevent any further injury or death.

Annora looked at her wall, staring at the star maps with an intense gaze.

If she had more information, like she had with the stars, maybe she could so something more.

Even if it was as simple as mapping out possible hunting grounds and territories.

Annora gasped, sitting up suddenly.

Of course-! It was so obvious she almost wanted to slap herself.

She hastily slid off the bed, grabbing her crutches and walking over to her wall.

She ripped off a piece a map, grinning to herself.

She would find out everything she could about him. His hunting habits, his hunting grounds, territory, day and night cycle, everything.

Then, she would use all that to prove hid existence, and keep people away from the danger.

Maybe with enough proof, she could even send in a letter to the capital, asking for help from the royal guard. She doubted Mondstats leaders wanted such a dreaded creature on their shores.

She lumbered over to her desk, ripping open her new note book and pulling out her quill.

She will take down that beast, even if it's the last thing she did.

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This one was more set up than anything, but it's set up for big stuff ok!!! So :)

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