I think one of my favourite things about Jessica x Leto in the Dune book is the fact that they are so secure in their love for each other:
You have Jessica; who is a very well trained Bene Gesserit, who can control every cell in her body, that when it comes to Leto instinctually let's herself feel and emote naturally. (Conceives Alia out of "instinct", cries/breaks down when Leto is in danger/dies, visibly gets upset when people ask her about them getting married etc.)
But Jessica is also very secure in her knowledge that Leto loves her and only her, she says to Hawat that "he'll not marry anyone else, not as long as I live." And she is very confident in that which suggests through words/actions that Leto has assured her of this before.
Similarly with Leto, he's very secure in knowing Jessica loves him and he doesn't consider even for a minute that she is the actual traitor. He says "she's opened/showed her heart to me" and that he "knows her", he also tells Paul himself that he'd sooner distrust himself than Jessica.
And so I think that while we didn't get a lot of them speaking directly to each other in the book, the conversations they have with other characters about their relationship is very telling. There is a sense of communication and deep understanding between them, whether it's verbal/non verbal/physical, that they love each other very much and that they are it for each other.
Then there's an aspect of their relationship that is a bit more tragic to me;
From the start of the book through to the end, even after Leto has died, there is this sense of defence that is constantly surrounding their relationship.
It starts with the Reverend Mother accusing Jessica of having a son purely because of Leto and Jessica has to defend that decision.
Then it's everyone thinking Jessica is the traitor and Leto has to defend her (obvi he gives into the plan for his own schemes but anyway).
Jessica has to defend her love for Leto to Yueh, Hawat, and eventually Gurney later on in the novel. She has to fight off all these accusations and questions about why she hasn't married him or why he didn't marry her.
Paul has to defend his parents' love as well to Gurney when Jessica can't convince him she's not the traitor. (Gurney was a real one for wanting to die for doing that lol.)
And it's really sad that that was something that consistently happened, like after 15/16/17 years they were still having to defend what they had. They were probably very private people and while they did have their own love and understanding of each other, other people just didn't get to see that and so there's this constant sense of protection for both of them for who they love and their family.
And especially for Jessica, who at that point had betrayed the Bene Gesserit more than once, being accused and having to defend her loyalty when everything she had done was out of love for Leto.
There's something so visceral about their story and the way they love each other that really resonates with me idk
Just wondering, did anyone else think that this is what the psychic meant when she said that Rebecca was going to be a mother?
@keuhkopussirotta / fleabag / jamie anderson / holly warburton / richard siken / mitski / aracelis girmay by @heavensghost / philip pullman
The fact that Roy canonically goes to gay bars and hangs out with drag queens is criminally under-utilised in fanon.
Where are my stories about the boys trying to support Colin by going to a gay bar and then being gobsmacked when Roy knows everybody there? Where are the stories where Roy gets caught at G-A-Y by the paparazzi and outed, only for him to insist that he’s straight to the team, who think he’s trying to save face and keep making grandiose gestures to prove their support to an increasingly infuriated Roy. Where are the stories about Roy and Keeley going to a gay bar together (with the yoga milfs) and running into one of Keeley’s ex-girlfriends?
What about Jamie thinking he’s doing super subtle bisexual signalling (cuffed jeans, layers, iced coffee, etc) only for Roy to clock him immediately and start trying to signal his support to Jamie à la Trent’s gay mug, only for it to backfire as Jamie assumes Roy is trying to come out.
Where’s my Roy who’s known he’s queer all his life getting invited to a gay club by his yoga friends for the first time and panicking, (because he’s never acknowledged this part of himself and how can they see it?), only to go to the bar and have it feel like he’s coming home. Where’s my Roy who’s absolutely certain he’s straight (after all, he’s being going to gay bars for years and he would know by now if he wasn’t) having a fucking heart attack as he falls for Jamie and has to reconceptualize his identity at 40. Where are the comedies about Keeley and Roy knowing the same person, but Roy only knows the drag queen and Keeley only knows the man out of drag and so they don’t realise they have the same friend?
What about a post-finale story where Roy, Keeley, and Jamie all show up at the same gay bar without planning it and have a series of bewildering conversations as they try to figure out if they’ve followed each other there (Keeley is like “how many times can I tell these boys I won’t pick between them?”) or if the other person is gay (you obviously can’t just ask).
These are all off the top of my head, so I am sure there are more. But please, please, somebody write this. We can’t let Roy get away with mentioning this once and then never talking about it again.
"Buck, wake up."
Gale whines softly and buries his face deeper into the pillow that he hugs with his arms.
"No, I don't want to."
It's such a perfect morning.
The sun gently warms his ankle, sticking out from the cocoon of the blanket, with its gentle morning rays and Gale is already on the verge of waking up, his feelings are gradually starting to return him to reality, but the veil of sleep has not yet fallen, his breathing is even and calm, as is his heartbeat, and he does not want to open his eyes and completely destroy the sleepy serenity.
He feels John's hand gently stroking his back. It is so big and warm, not heavy, but just a little bit weighty, giving a feeling of anchor, it gives him a feeling of calm, safety and home.
John's touches in the morning are usually not like this. They are persistent and greedy, he pokes his morning hard-on into his buttocks, and his hands shamelessly slip either into his underwear or under his T-shirt, persistently caressing his nipples, his lips kissing everything that gets in their way, be it Gale's face, his neck, hair, at the same time hotly whispering all sorts of lustful nonsense in his ears, just to quickly warm up sleepy Gale to a state where he will be ready to have sex.
But this morning John is not horny, he is gentle. "Well," Gale thinks, "and such mornings are supposed to be too." He feels so good now, he likes the way John's hand slowly strokes his shoulder blades, moves up and down his spine and gently rubs his ribs through his T-shirt.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty," John presses himself closer to him.
"Nooo, it's too early for sex, I need another hour of sleep," Gale grumbles into the pillow and his words can hardly be heard. For some reason, he wiggles his butt from side to side like a big NO, as if he thinks that words are not enough and it needs to be clearly shown to John, that he does not want to leave the embrace of sleep.
He feels more than hears how John quietly laughs next to him, "You'll be late for work."
Gale growls in annoyance, "Then I will certainly not get up if it is for work and not for sex!"
He hugs the pillow even tighter and thinks how did they manage to achieve all this - a house, a shared bed and gentle caresses awakening you from sleep on a perfect morning? How did they overcome all the taboos and barriers on their way to be here and now? It was hellish work, almost harder than both returning alive from the war. From the realization of how much they overcame to have their tiny piece of happiness, his chest begins to hurt and as if feeling it, John hugs him and presses him to himself.
"Baby, you have to get up."
"No."
"You have so much work to do."
"That's not the right motivation at all, Bucky!" Gale chuckles.
"You have a lot of things to do," John's tone becomes more insistent.
Gale groans.
"Buck!" There's a strange, tense ringing in John's voice and Gale doesn't like it.
"Oh, God, dear, why are you yelling like that, I'm getting up..."
Gale opens his eyes and looks out the window. It's gloomy and cloudy outside and it's probably going to rain soon. He looks at the gray, heavy sky for a moment and blinks in confusion. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. How is this possible when just a few minutes ago he felt the warm rays of the sun on his skin?
Gale raises himself on his elbow, frowning. He no longer feels John's warm touch and he doesn't need to turn around to know that he is completely alone in this bed, like in this whole house.
John died many years ago.
===================
The ghosts of the past haunt Gale.
Inspired by these words
Ted Lasso 3×09
I smiled the whole time while watching it, needed to meme the whole thing
Yeah I'd say ghost hunting for seven years even though you don't believe in ghosts so that your pal will give it his all fighting a puppet is equal exchange
but “thank you for saving my life” maverick has spent more than three decades believing that the world would be better if he had been the one to die in that crash. has tried to do everything he can to atone for that moment. including fulfilling the dying request of the boy’s mother (whom he loved like a sister) aided by his own fear of his surrogate son dying so so young like his father and estranging his son from him. maverick goes on that mission knowing he’ll die saving his son as his final act of atonement. and he almost gets his wish. until the son he pushed away saves him in return and he realizes. his death is not required for atonement. sacrifice doesn’t have to be the end but can allow him to live. to let the grief and the guilt go. to thank his son for saving his life. because he wants to live. and “it’s what my dad would have done” bradley doesn’t remember much of his father but he knows goose loved him. he knows goose would have done anything for maverick. but goose wasn’t the man who raised rooster. his dad raised him. his dad taught him of the love required to sacrifice yourself for others. his dad taught him to never leave your wingman. his dad taught him to not think, just do. and through all the pain and grief and time lost he finally understands. because dammit he is his fathers’ son.
Top 5 Beatdown Spoilers Out of Context @wearewatcher
Ice: I can't fix Mav, but I can fuck him, see if maybe that calms him down.
ruth ○ she/her ○ 20s ○ peace sign bisexual ○ never really knows what's happening ○ will probably figure it out someday ○ maybe ○ hopefully
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