#Alec is such a great role model

[saucy-mesothelioma]

October 9th: Creature Feature | Tremors

Tremors was released in 1990 and was directed by Ron Underwood. Two repairmen, Val McKee (played by Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward), are ready to move on to bigger things than what can be found in their small town of Perfection, Nevada. But when mysterious deaths start occurring and a local seismologist named Rhonda (Finn Carter) begins to get strange readings, their trip gets put on hold. With the help of other locals such as cattle rancher Miguel Sanchez (Tony Genaro) and the libertarian doomsday-survivalist couple Heather (Reba McEntire) and Burt Gummer (Michael Gross), they must not only figure out what is killing of their neighbors but also figure out how to put a stop to it.

Tremors doesn't get as much love as it should, which is an absolute shame. In my opinion, it is probably one of if not the best B horror flicks of all time. The reason I picked Tremors out of all of the Creature Features is not just from the creatures themselves (called graboids), but for the fact that it's a smart movie pretending to be a dumb one. The characters are smart: they come up with plans and if one fails, they quickly brainstorm to think of another. The audience is allowed to speculate alongside the heroes as they learn more about the graboids and how they work, and the fact that the characters make pretty rational decisions gives such a sense of justification. It's funny, well-shot, and the creatures are entirely practical, and that makes Tremors an absolute gem of a movie.

It can be watched for free on Internet Archive.

Content Warnings for the Film (may contain spoilers): slight objectification of women (really only in the first part of the movie), violence, monster gore (it's orange though, just looks like pumpkins because it was), humans being eaten (not really graphic), dead animals (only aftermath shown)

Once more, get ready for some behind the scenes info because the practical effects in this movie are STUNNING.

The graboids were designed by Tom Woodruff Jr and Alec Gillis and this film was actually the first one their company Amalgamated Dynamics worked on (you might recognize them from Death Becomes Her, Sam Rami's Spider-Man films, the original Jumanji, IT, Alien 3, and Smile). The design was based off of snapping turtles, slugs, and rhinos, and were completely done with practical effects in the first film (although CGI with some practical effects would be used to varying levels in the later films). For their movement underground, boat buoys in a dirt trench covered by a layer of latex rubber was used, and the graboid guts were made of cotton batting stuffed in pantyhose that was then covered in slime and pumpkin pie filling. Since the graboids were so large, quarter scale models were seamlessly blended with full scale ones in order to get all of the shots they wanted, as well as a mixture of animatronics and puppets (both cable and hand). Tom Woodruff Jr actually puppeteered the full sized graboid named Stumpy from underground, with only an oxygen tank and flashlight down there with him. What a fucking king. Also fun fact, Arianna Richards plays the pogo-stick girl named Mindy, who is best known for her role as Lex Murphy in Jurassic Park.

If you want to see some of the Behind the Scenes footage, here's some great videos talking and showing the process behind it.

Y'all it's so beautiful I can't

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

"¹You'll never be Gwyneth Paltrow — sorry Meghan Markle... & ²Meghan Markle’s participation trophy case is starting to fill up."

Goopsie Daisy🤭

"Unlike many celebrities — ahem, the Kardashians — who are full of fillers, Ozempic and  bulls – – t, Paltrow is transparent about the ridiculous measures required to look like her. Her gaunt cheekbones are earned, not excavated by a plastic surgeon.

She’s also no Meghan Markle with her Tig — a pre-Prince Harry lifestyle blog 🤭🤭🤭🤭— which reportedly will be reincarnated to be a Goop knockoff.

Markle cries victim from her Montecito manse and has a “strange relationship to objective reality,”🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 according to a reporter, while other accounts have debunked her rags-to-riches story"

²Lying Meghan Markle shouldn’t be celebrated — sorry, Gloria Steinem

Kirsten Fleming April 4, 2023

Meghan Markle’s participation trophy case is starting to fill up.

It was announced Monday that she’ll receive the 2023 Women of Vision award from famed feminist Gloria Steinem next month.

Perhaps the committee behind the Women of Vision could benefit from a trip to the optometrist.

According to a new tax filing made public last week, Markle and her trauma-loving husband each put in only one documented hour of work a week for their Archewell Foundation in 2021.

That’s 52 hours a year on the books — the equivalent of one episode of “General Hospital” per week.

No, “She Works Hard for the Money” will not be the duchess’s walk-up anthem.

And for her all grit and toil, she’s getting a gala full of self-important, self-congratulatory virtue signalers to throw roses at her feet.

Markle — who never misses an opportunity to share her victimhood bona fides — is living the dream in Montecito, Calif. But the only work the “privacy”-obsessed Sussexes are doing is peddling family secrets to streaming services.

Great country, this America.The award comes courtesy of the Ms. Foundation, a Brooklyn-based organization which called Markle a “feminist, champion of human rights and gender equity and global role model.”

Well, she did write inspirational messages on bananas for sex workers.

And she used her 2019 trip to Africa to bemoan her VIP lot in life: She was “existing, not living,” she said, adding, “not many people have asked if I’m OK.”

As a working royal, she made sartorial sacrifices: wearing neutral colors lest she overshadow those higher on the Windsor food chain.

She can put the newest trophy between her Gracie Award for her Archetypes podcast and the Ripple of Hope honors she and Harry received in December for exposing structural racism within the royal family, according to Kerry Kennedy.emember that brave Oprah interview where she accused an unnamed family member of commenting on how dark Archie’s skin would be?

During his media tour for “Spare,” Harry denied calling his family racist, saying: “No, I didn’t. The British press said that. Did Meghan ever mention that they’re racist?”

Maybe she didn’t use the r-word, but her comments virtually set the palace afire — and secured the couple a spot on the red carpet to be fêted by emcee Alec Baldwin, whose Massachusetts-born wife still insists she’s Spanish.

Meghan is, however, well deserving of a Whopper Award for her numerous royal tall tales, including gushing to the Cut that a South African cast member of “The Lion King” compared her to Nelson Mandela.He said, ‘I just need you to know: When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison,'” she told the mag.

Of course, the only South African male in the show called the claims “baffling.”

Then there’s the bizarre story she told Oprah about marrying Harry in secret before her fairy tale wedding, which the Archbishop of Canterbury categorically denied.

And she has no competition for this year’s Wah Award bestowed upon the whiniest in the land. The Wah Academy couldn’t ignore her inspiring whingefest about the indignity of being a suitcase girl on “Deal or No Deal” on her podcast.

We all know these honors are empty accolades meant to sell tickets to pricey dinners, raise funds and profiles.But in a time that has been so consequential for females — the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the inability of officials to actually define a woman and biological men invading women’s sports — perhaps there’s another lady who is more deserving.

Maybe one who punched in more than an hour’s work. But the schlubs who do the real heavy lifting in life never get the credit.

[moneymakedblog]

Kim Basinger Net Worth, Biography, Career, Family & more

Kim Basinger became well-known after having a successful job in New York in the 1970s. She was an actress, model, and singer in the United States. In 1976, she moved to Los Angeles, where she had a great acting career. She acted in a number of TV movies, such as "From Here to Eternity" (1976) and "Hard Country" (1981).

Kim Basinger’s Net Worth

Kim Basinger's net worth is thought to be about $45 million as of December 2021. Her job as an actor and model has brought her tens of millions of dollars. It was thought that she made around $1,000 a day as a model, while her pay for the L.A. Confidential movie was around $3 million. But we don't know how much she makes right now. On the other hand, her net worth has gone up over the past few years and is likely to keep going up in the years to come.

Kim Basinger net worth of $45 million.

Even though she has moved from one job to another, Kim Basinger has had a lot of success in her work. She started out in her job doing something she didn't really like, but she stuck with it.

Kim Basinger Biography

Kim Basinger was born in Athens, Georgia, on December 8, 1953. Ann Lee, her mother, was a model, actress, and swimmer who was in a couple of movies with Esther Williams. Her father, Donald Wade Basinger, was a well-known band leader and score head who died in 2016. He was an officer in the US Armed Forces and was in Normandy on D-Day.

She is the third of five children and has two brothers, James Michael "Mick" and Skip, and two sisters, Ashley and Barbara. Basinger has English, German, Swedish, and Ulster-Scottish ancestry. She was raised in a Methodist family. Basinger has shown herself to be quite shy, which had a big effect on her when she was young and in her teens. She said that she was so shy that she would pass out whenever her teacher asked her to talk in class.

Basinger thought about ballet dance from the time she was three until she was in her mid-teens. By the time she was in her mid-teens, she was more confident and was able to try out for the school cheering team. She was 17 years old when she entered America's Junior Miss Scholarship Pageant. She made it to the local level and was named Athens Junior Miss.

Even though Sue Whitted, who was "Georgia's Junior Miss," beat her in the state competition, her achievements were featured in the national show. She had participated at the state level for the Breck Scholarship, and she and her mother were both in an ad for Breck.

Kim Basinger Career

According to Moneymaked.com, Kim Basinger worked for the Ford Modeling Agency, even though she was turned down at first because of her schoolwork. After posing for Ford, she was in a number of magazines, which is where the name "Breck Shampoo Girl" came from. She did say, however, that she didn't like modeling. She used to put on shows in Greenwich Village in New York City.

She went to Los Angeles to start her acting career after she had done well as a model. She started out by making a few guest roles on the TV show. Her first major part, in the drama "Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold," was a centerfold. "Hard Country" was also a well-known movie.

The 1988 movie "Batman," on which Kim Basinger worked, was also a big hit. "Even Money," "The Sentinel," and "Cellular" are some of the more current movies she has been in.

Kim Basinger Family

Basinger married Alec Baldwin in 1993, but they split up in 2002. In 1995, they had a girl together who they named Ireland Baldwin. Between 1980 and 1989, she was married to Ron Snyder for nine years. Ron Snyder-Britton was the person who did her make-up. In 1981, he was in a movie called "Hard Country." They broke up in 1988, but they didn't get a divorce until 1989.

She is also said to have dated and lived with Dale Robinette in the 1970s, but their relationship didn't work out. Kim also went out with the singer-songwriter Prince and had an affair with the human rights activist Richard Gere. Kim's sisters are Ashley and Barbara Basinger, and her brothers are Skip and Mick Basinger.

After she won a few events, people started to notice how beautiful she was. She went to the University of Georgia and also studied for a short time at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. Kim's boyfriend right now is a barber named Mitchell Stone.

[alecxkincade]

Alec Kincade (40) was born in Kismet Harbor, Oregon. he works as a neurosurgeon at kismet harbor hospital. They have been in kismet harbor since March 2022.

Basic Information

Full Name: Alec " Alexander" Riven Kincade

Nickname(s): Al, Kincade, Riv (siblings)

Age: 40

Date of Birth: July 10th 1983

Hometown:  Kismet Harbor

Gender: Cis Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Marital status: Single. (Divorced)

Children: Cyrus Jasper Kincade (Child)

Orientation: Pansexual

Occupation: Head of Neuro Surgery (Neuro Surgeron)

Neighborhood: CRESTHILL MEADOWS

Language(s) Spoken: English, Latin

Lenght in Kismet Harbor: Since March 2022

Face Claim: Michiel Huisman

Personality

Positive Traits: protective, loyal, open-minded, free-spirited, patient

Negative Traits: stubborn, unserious, impulsive

Goals/Desires: Being a good dad and brother

Fears: Not being a good dad, being hurt and betrayed again

Favorite scent/flavor : Honey, watermelon, lavender, cinder wood

Hobbies: Photography and playing the violin

About

Alec was born and raised in Kismet Harbor. He is the second born of the Kincade and older brother to Waverly. Growing up Alec had always been fun, charming, and outgoing. Love making people smile and he hated being serious and was never serious. It was a surprise to most because he was great at school and people often thought that he was not serious. His family is one that is filled with love, always there for each other and often going on vacation together.

   Alec charming and flirty attitude did often get him into trouble a few times ended up breaking people heart because of his flirting but not realizing nor meaning to do so. Alec was involved in many different activities and sports at school which he was good at.

   Alec discovered his love for science and medicine in high school. He found a passion for science and knew he wanted to do something with science. One summer, Alec had a volunteer opportunity in the hospital, and it was there he watched doctors in action and decided he wanted to be a doctor.

   Alec graduated from high school with some of the top grades and his activities in high school did end up landing him a scholarship to Harvard university. During his schooling he modeled and took some roles during his summer. Alec never really did anything more with acting and modeling, but he did develop a relationship with many of his fellow models and even some actors that he is still friends with.

   Alec moved back to Kismet Harbor with his child after his ex-wife signed the divorce papers and their marriage ended due to her cheating on him. Alec has been divorced for a year and half and is a single dad with a year and a half son. He accepted a job as the head of neuro. He is adjusting to being a single dad and figure out being a dad too.

[x-ceirios-x]

sixteen.

jensen turns sixteen and tries his best to accept the fact he's growing older without most of the people he wishes were there to see it. the new york institute, among other friends and family, tries to make his day a little better.

cw: mentions of past character death, discussion of depression/anxiety, generally jensen trying to cope

February 14, 2011

Jensen had weird feelings surrounding the month of February. It was cold and rainy in New York, rarely snowing. If it did, it didn’t stay long. Things constantly changed in the city—every time he adjusted to the new situation, something else happened. 

And now he was sixteen. He didn’t hear anything about a happy birthday all day—not that he minded. Birthdays used to be full of sleepovers with Max and having whatever he wanted for dinner and staying up to read comic books. It had been a tradition for years, until three years ago. Because Max wasn’t there anymore. He struggled to accept it for a long time, but he had to learn to face the fact that his best friend was never going to see ten years old, let alone all the plans they had together. They were going to go out somewhere—travel, bounce around institutes in a travel year, and see the world. Have their parabatai ceremony as soon as they could, show up Alec and Jace, and show them they could kick their asses once they got tall enough to stand a fighting chance. He wanted to see him again—hug him, tell him he was okay, tell him that things had gotten better in the last three years, ask if he was proud of him for how far he’d come from the scared little boy he was when he got taken to hell. None of that could happen now.

He wanted to talk to his mom, too. Maryse tried her best, as did Jocelyn—he appreciated the women in his life who stepped up, especially in the last few years. It meant the world to him that people wanted to be around him, and make sure he grew up well and strong. He didn’t know if he’d ever be strong. Not like his parents—not like the stories he heard from the Silent Brother who had been his dad’s friend and not the ones from Magnus. His parents were a different kind of perfect that he knew he’d never have. Not the parabatai, not the love they had for each other, not the years to spend happy and unbothered by the world around them. To a degree, he was envious. He wished he could be like Jace and Rowan: strong and fierce, unwavering in their devotion to whatever it is they set their mind to. He wanted to be like Isabelle and Magnus: graceful and electric in the way they lit up a room. He wanted to be like Clary and Tony: artists who saw the world through rose-colored glasses and watercolors and music that would make even the most stubborn of them tear up. He had such amazing role models, but with that, he knew he would never live up to their definitions of the word shadowhunter. It had been instilled in him for years that Maryse, Robert, Hodge, and everyone else had high hopes for him—he was going to be a great shadowhunter when he grew up. Now, he couldn’t hold a blade without shaking. 

His mind reeled as he walked through the chilly streets of Manhattan, towards the bridge to get to Brooklyn. He liked taking the walk—he thought about getting a cab, but it wasn’t terribly cold. It wouldn’t hurt him as long as he kept his ears covered—Maryse was always on him about that as a kid. He refused to wear hats and always complained that his face and ears were cold. He took the beanie off his head when he turned the corner from the Institute and shoved it in his pocket—old habits die hard, he guessed. 

The walk to Luke’s house was a nice one. He liked skimming through the bookstore whenever he had time and was in the area—even though he didn’t keep up with it as much as he used to, he liked seeing all the old books. He’d read every comic book in there, preferring to chill in the back office and go through his stash of them than bother with mundanes that might come in. He wasn’t comfortable talking to people he didn’t know well. He texted Ty earlier to see if he’d read the latest Spiderman comic, but he hadn’t answered him yet. He was probably busy—it wasn’t a big deal. 

He took the walk because Clary asked him to run an errand for her while she was busy. He didn’t mind because he liked visiting Luke and Jocelyn, who, like his parents (from what he understood), had this kind of insanely-in-love look in their eyes all the time. After spending more than twenty years together, he understood. It was just another thing he felt weird about because he’d resigned himself to knowing that wouldn’t be his reality. He was supposed to pick up some sketchbook she’d ordered and got free shipping when she ordered it with the rest of Luke’s shipment. She said it should be there by four, but doubted it would be there earlier so there was no point in him coming before that. She was oddly specific about it, but he checked his watch as he came in—3:57. Good timing. 

The bell rang as he walked inside, a quiet jingle as the door swung open. There weren’t any packages out front, so Luke might have brought it in already. He browsed the shelves full of books and piles of junk around, looking for anything that resembled a sketchbook on top—nothing came up. 

“Welcome in,” said a warm voice, coming from the back corner by the office. 

He poked his head around the shelf and noticed it was Luke, who looked surprised to see him. He gave a little wave. “Hey—Clary sent me to pick something up. You get any packages today?”

“Not…yet,” he said, looking past him at the clock on the wall. He seemed nervous, which made Jensen nervous too. 

“Bad time?” he asked, keeping his voice steady. The way he looked around created a slight sinking feeling in his stomach—like it was really a bad time, or it was just inconvenient that he was there.  “I can come back later.”

He shook his head, finally looking straight at him while they were talking. “No! No, no, you’re fine. I think Clary already grabbed it, though. It was, uh…that pen set she wanted, right?”

“The sketchbook?”

“Yeah! Yes. That.” 

Jensen sighed. Something was really off with him, but he didn’t feel like getting into it with the mood he was in. “Alright, I’ll head out then. See ya.”

He turned on his heel, shoving his hands back in his pockets and preparing to make the trek back to the Institute. He was certainly bored—making a trip all the way out here for nothing wasn’t a great pastime, but it got him out of the house. That was something. The Institute had been weirdly empty today, though, with people busily in and out all day long. He sat in his room for the most part, and that was where he was planning on returning to. 

Luke’s voice stopped him once again. “Hey—actually, favor to ask,” he said, catching up to him. He fumbled through his pocket and handed him a balled-up, wrinkled $10. “Head down to Taki’s and grab me a bagel if they have them. Feel free to get something for you, too.”

He looked at him strangely for a moment, trying to figure out why the hell he was all but kicking him out and now was sending him on errands. Whatever, he thought, but agreed. He took the $10 and waved goodbye, and headed down the road to Taki’s. 

The wait for the bagel wasn’t long. He didn’t get anything for himself, but he left an extra $2 tip in the jar to come back with less change. It was a good fifteen minutes later when he walked back into the library, but this time he was met with Jace in the entryway, looking like he was leaving. Jensen walked up to him and held up the bagel. “Seen Luke?” he asked, shaking the bag.

Jace looked around for a second, then shook his head. “He stepped out, I think.”

Jensen sighed and pushed past him, putting the bagel just inside the door before returning to where he was originally. Luke was acting sketchy, Jace was lying to him—as much as he liked to pretend he was such a great liar, Jensen could read most people like a picture book. Call it hypervigilance, sure, but it came in handy. “Alright, I’m tired of this. What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on. He was overwhelmed already today—this was the last thing he needed. “Fine,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. He spoke a little louder and said, “fine. I’m going home.”

He turned to leave, though he quickly felt a hand on his shoulder. Without thinking, he spun and grabbed the wrist, pulling it off of his arm and nails digging in, in a white-knuckled grip. When he came face to face with Jace, he realized what he’d done and let go immediately, muttering a quick apology. 

Jace looked somewhere between shocked, impressed, and maybe a bit panicked, but recovered quickly. “Come with me, I wanna show you something,” he said, nodding towards the street ahead of him. He walked past him, not bothering to look back to see if he was coming, too. He stared for a moment, watching him walk away—the older he got, the worse the divide between himself and Jace became. He understood that he and Clary were the reason he recovered the way he did (and so quickly) and he loved them both deeply. That divide was only in the way that he could never be Jace. He could never walk with such confidence, head high, and not a care in the world of what other people thought of him. He was charming, self-assured, and considered pretty attractive to girls—on the other hand, he was concerned he’d never grow out of his “cute and adorable” phase. He was sixteen, now, and looked twelve.  

He jogged to catch up to Jace, then fell into stride with him. He watched him as they walked—he was all broad shoulders and pretty hair and leather jackets and he hated it sometimes. Or there was Alec, Robert, Luke, or any of the other guys that just looked like your very typical version of a masculine guy. Magnus didn’t count because Magnus was his own genre of person entirely. Growing up, he wanted to be these people he looked up to, and now he couldn’t have someone tap his shoulder from behind him without freaking out; he hated that, too. 

They walked for a while. He recognized the roads and had a feeling he knew where they were going, but his suspicions were confirmed when he found himself walking into the park nearby. He’d been here a few times with Clary and Jocelyn and Luke in the past few years—usually, Clary used it as an excuse to get him out of the Institute for a while when it had been a few days.

It was too cold out for many people to be out, but a few joggers or couples with their kids or dogs were out. Sometimes he forgot that his birthday fell on a mundane holiday—Valentine’s Day, which was ironic in and of itself. No one talked about the Mortal War anymore. Not because they couldn’t or it was some big secret, but in the Institute, it seemed like everyone had moved past it. No one could even think about those events when the Dark War happened only a few months later. That was the one everyone still got nightmares from, including himself. 

The two of them found an empty, mostly dry bench and sat. Jensen curled his knees up to his chest, leaning on the arm of the bench. Jace didn’t say anything for a while, looking out at the people and enjoying the quiet. After a moment, he reached into the pocket on the inside of his jacket and pulled out a bundle of two pencils and an eraser with a rubber band around them, and a pocket sketchbook with little trees and leaves carved into the leather cover. 

Jensen looked at him strangely. “What’s that?”

“Something for you,” he said, gesturing for him to take them. He did and began to flip through the book, seeing empty pages with frayed edges—this was homemade and leatherbound, and good paper, too. Jensen didn’t know if this was a just-because gift, or if he hadn’t forgotten his birthday. He chose to believe the latter, not wanting to upset himself any further today.

“I don’t know how your brain works, kid,” he said after a while. “Clary’s, either. You guys see things in a different way than the rest of us. Honestly, I think it’s pretty cool. But you’ve got that look you get when I can tell your head’s off in another world, so I figured a walk and some time to do what you do best might help.”

Jensen glanced over at him, already unraveling the rubber band from the pencils. “What’s that?” he asked, wondering what he specifically meant by what he does best. 

“Art. Drawing. Thinking in pictures. All that stuff,” he said, standing up. “You hang here, get your feelings out with some pencils, and I’ll be back, alright?”

Jensen barely acknowledged him, already plugging his headphones in and turning his music on. By the time Jace got back, he already had two small pages of the book full of doodles of runes, flowers, the dogs in the part, half-assed drawings of people he thought were interesting, and anything else he could think of. It looked like a mess, but maybe that’s how he felt. 

Jace sat next to him again and handed him a paper cup. He didn’t realize how cold his fingers were until he touched the warmth of it, quickly grabbing it with both hands. 

“Someone’s selling cocoa down the street. Thought you’d like some,” he said, holding his cup up in a mock cheers. Any other time, he would have joined him, but his hands were very cold. 

He nodded in acknowledgment and took a sip. “Thanks. It’s good, actually.”

“Eh, the street vendors around here are hit or miss. I didn’t feel like going all the way back to Taki’s.”

Jensen scoffed in response. There was another silence, though this one was more comfortable. Jensen felt a little better after the drink—now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten anything in a couple of hours, and that might have been why he was so pissed off about everything earlier. Things were complicated, sure, but he turned into a “semi-hormonal raging monster” according to Magnus when he was hungry. Usually, that was followed by some muttering about how he couldn’t wait for the teenage years with their kid. 

Jace spoke up after a while. “I don’t know how to do all the…feelings stuff,” he said, visibly uncomfortable as he got the words out. “But you know I’m around if you want to talk, right?”

He nodded and took a sip of his drink. “I figured out early on that Clary was the ‘talk about your feelings’ person and you were more of a ‘stab your feelings until they don't bother you anymore’ type of person.”

He laughed at his comment—he smiled into his drink, a little proud of himself for that. “Hey, I never said I was perfect.”

“I think you have. Like, many times.”

“Sarcastically.”

“Are you sure?”

Jace hesitated. “Maybe eighty percent sure.” 

Both broke out laughing—as frustrated as he was with the world around him, this was the part of hanging out with Jace he enjoyed. When he was a kid, he was a god in his eyes, unable to do anything wrong. The older he got, he understood that he was just as human as the rest of them, but he could appreciate being friends with him rather than putting him on such a high pedestal. 

Jace’s phone buzzed and he glanced at it—he did a double take and pulled it out, shooting a quick text to someone. He couldn’t see who. 

“Will you please just tell me what’s going on today?” he asked with a sigh. “Everyone’s sketching me out, man.”

He shook his head, a wide smile growing on his face. “You’re about to find out.” He stood up, a surprising jump in his step, and stuck his hand out for him. It reminded him of all the months training they’d spend, where he ended up flat on his back, knocked to the floor, and Jace picked him up for another round. He always had this encouraging smile that made him fight through the lack of stamina and exhaustion, proving he could hold his own. He took his hand and stood, shoving the pencil and sketchbook in his pocket. 

The trip back to Luke’s wasn’t a long one, thankfully. Jace seemed more excited the closer they got but he hid it well. Not quite well enough, but it was whatever. He was waiting to get it over with. 

When he walked inside, the house looked entirely normal. The bookshelf just inside the door was covered with old books, weapons, sticky notes with reminders to do things that probably never got done, action figures—it reminded him of his own bookshelves in his room, minus the sticky notes. He kept his reminders on his phone now. He heard chatter from the living room, though, and turned back to Jace with an eyebrow raised. He shook his head with a smile and grabbed his shoulders, spinning him and pushing him forward. 

In the living room, there were probably fifteen people scattered about—he didn’t think you could fit fifteen people in Luke’s house, but they certainly managed. Alec, Magnus and Clary all sat on the couch, Clary playing with baby Max and one of his stuffed animals he brought along. On the loveseat next to them, Tony and Andy were chatting, Isabelle sitting on the arm of the chair next to them. That made him search for Aline, who was talking to Rowan who was leaning on the banister to go up the stairs. Closer to the kitchen stood his uncle and aunt, Patrick and Jia, and Robert. Maryse, Luke, and Jocelyn stood in the back corner, around the table that was decked out with table decorations and a lot of food. On the wall was a very large, dollar-tree-esque HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign, decorated with balloons on the walls and floor. There was cray paper and streamers everywhere, and at second glance, he noticed Max was wearing a party hat. 

He stood, shell-shocked at all the effort everyone had put in, tears welling up in his eyes. The conversation died off as they realized he came in, and baby Max giggled and waved. Jace threw his arm around his shoulders, hugging him from the side. “You didn’t think we forgot, did you?” he asked.

Jensen turned and hugged him properly, squeezing him tight. It was short—he pulled away quickly and looked him dead in the eye. “You’re an asshole for not telling me.”

“Language!” Clary said, covering Max’s ears with her hands. He looked around, confused. 

Jensen laughed hard, wiping his eyes. All this was such a relief after the day he’d spend, wallowing in self pity and missing his best friend. “You guys are all…” He let out a quick breath, sitting up a little straighter. “Wow. Thank you.”

Rowan sat up, standing off of the wall and put their hand in the air. “I say we do food first and then we do all the sentimental stuff.”

Maryse shot them a glare, warning them not to be rude. It didn’t offend him, though—now that he thought about it, he was hungry, too. “I’m down. Let’s eat.”

There wasn’t enough room for everyone to sit at the six-person-maximum table (not that there was enough room with all the food), so everyone sat around the living room. He wondered why they didn’t do this at the Institute because there would have been more room to hold everyone, but this felt cozier. The lives of shadowhunters were never easy, but this felt…mundane, for once. 

Jensen curled up on the couch, knees pulled into his chest as far as he could. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he opened it—a text from Ty. 

TYder-man

Hey sorry, i havent gotten a chance. 

[Image]

Happy birthday from LA!

The picture was of the entire Blackthorn family, including Helen, Mark, Julian, Livvy, Ty, Dru and Tavvy, as well as Emma in the corner, her arm out straight to fit everyone in the picture. Everyone smiled and was waving at him—it made him smile, too. 

Aline poked her head over his shoulder, looking at the picture. He tilted his phone towards her. “Isn’t she adorable?” she asked. 

He made a fake gagging noise, teasing her for her comment about Helen. “Yeah, yeah, you two are adorable. Rub it in.”

She laughed ruffled his hair, going to find somewhere to sit. Isabelle joined him not long after, sitting next to him. “Sorry to leave you alone all day, by the way,” she said, taking a bite of her dinner roll. “This was all Rowan’s idea. They were really stubborn about making sure you didn’t find out.”

Jensen almost shot the Sprite he was drinking out of his nose. He could feel the bubbles in the back of his throat as he reached for his napkin, worried that some might have come out. He cleared his throat as she giggled at him, despite the pain of having carbonated, citrusy soda in his nose. In a slightly breathless tone, he asked, “they did what?”

She covered her mouth with her hand, very clearly hiding a smile. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. They said if anyone asks, it was all Maryse or Clary.” She chuckled, giving him a look that told him she knew she wasn’t supposed to, but did tell him very intentionally. “We’ve got gifts, too, they’re just all in Clary’s room cause there’s not enough room out here.”

“How many gifts did you guys get me?” he asked incredulously, eyes wide. 

She shrugged. “Some. Apparently sixteen is a big deal in the mundane world, and someone—” she glanced over at Rowan– “wanted to go all out.”

He didn’t have much time because Max waddled up to him, sticking his arms in the air. Jensen believed he wasn’t good with children, but he seemed to attach himself to him—now, he wasn’t allowed to let go. He stuck his arms in the air, baby-wailing about “uppies” and giggling. He put his plate to the side and pulled him into his lap. Alec, from across the room, looked at him a little worried, and Jensen gave him a thumbs up, hugging the kid with one arm. Magnus was still blissfully unaware how uncomfortable he was with the kid, but it wasn’t the kid’s fault. He just didn’t know how to act with young kids, so he did his best. A little bit of it was his namesake, he had to admit, but that wasn’t Max’s fault; he didn’t resent either Magnus or Alec for it, either. It just took some time to adjust. Alec, knew, though, and always kept an eye out when Max got away from him and decided to crawl into his lap. 

“Whatcha doing, dude?” he asked, maneuvering his fork with one hand and holding the toddler with the other. “Other than getting comfortable, apparently.”

Isabelle chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair, making him laugh too. “Auntie Izzy!” he exclaimed, then went on some ramble about his unicorn plushie that Magnus was holding for safe keeping, wanting to avoid it getting covered in condiments somehow. Magnus swore the longer you were around it, the better you could understand toddler-talk, but he didn’t believe it. Nod and agree—that was his motto. 

Dinner was fine—most people talked amongst themselves, but everyone made a point to some over and say hi. He gave out a lot of hugs, especially to Jocelyn who insisted he needed to stop growing because he was almost as tall as her. He couldn’t tell if she was being serious or trying to make him feel better—he wasn’t that close to her height, she looked normal to him. Then again, he could see over Clary’s head lately, so maybe he did get taller. He wanted to be super tall like his dad. 

Eventually, someone turned on a playlist that sounded like Tony had made it—he was, in his very correct opinion, the one with the best music taste among them all. Magnus dragged Rowan into dancing with him, making Alec laugh at how ridiculous they looked—for someone so graceful (and insanely flexible—he’d seen some of the stretches they did to warm up) they were very stiff. And blushing like a strawberry. 

He went back to the table for a cupcake at the same time his uncle did. “How’re things back in Idris?” he asked, making light small talk but also a bit curious.

He shrugged. “Oh, same as usual. Jia’s busy, Aline’s out of the house…overall, not too bad, but boring as all hell.”

“Trophy husband,” Jensen said teasingly, making Patrick elbow him. Whenever he visited his dad in Idris, he stayed with the Lightwoods most of the time but spent a bit of time in Penhallow Manor with him and Aline’s family. Uncle Patrick was more like a fun, older friend than he was any kind of authority ever. Maybe it was because he was young and not his kid, but he appreciated it all the same. Even as he got older, it didn’t really stop. The jokes got a little more mature, though, which warranted some disgusted laughter and getting hit with the nearest soft things, sometimes. 

He did laugh at his comment, but didn’t retort. Instead, he asked, “are you gonna get mad at me if I get a little sentimental on you?”

He let out an exaggerated sigh, then looked at him and rolled his eyes. “I’m a big kid now, I can handle it.”

Patrick smiled slightly at him, but he could tell there was something about his comment that made him a little uncomfortable. Everyone knew he could handle a lot—he’d proven that much in the last three years. They all chose not to talk about it, though, and he appreciated that. “The older you get, the more you look like your mom. It’s a little unnerving,” he said, trying to lighten the mood with his joke. “I know you’ve said you don’t really remember her. You look a lot like her, though, and you’ve got that indestructible patience she had, too.”

“Really?” 

“Oh, the only time I ever saw her really angry was the day she found out Maryse was top of their class and vowed to never let that Trueblood bitch get ahead of her in anything. Her words, not mine.”

Jensen spluttered, trying to process what the hell he just heard. “You’re joking. I didn’t know she didn’t like her—what?”

“Oh, that rivalry went back years. Did you know—“

“That we got over it because we weren’t children, and we got to be very good friends when she came to New York periodically,” Maryse said, appearing from out of nowhere and sending a harsh, very mom glare to Patrick, who chuckled and walked off, leaving him to speak with her. “Honestly. He does like to cause trouble.”

“He’s funny.”

“That’s because you’re fifteen and think it’s amusing.”

“Ah, sixteen now, remember?”

She sighed deeply and pinched her nose, shaking her head. “Don’t remind me. You’re growing up, I can’t stand it.”

He smiled at her, stuffing the last of his cupcake in his mouth and hugged her tightly, swinging side to side with her. “You love me,” he said, speaking in a sing-song-y voice drawing out the final word. 

She groaned, gently pushing him off. “Don’t make fun of me, I can still ground you.”

He put his hands up in surrender, though he knew she was joking. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks mom.”

Really, he was being sarcastic, but he chose his words carefully. On a regular basis, he referred to her by her first name (the same with Robert, when he came to visit), but on occasion (and sometimes by accident) he’d call her mom. Because she was—he loved learning about his mom, but the Lightwoods raised him and they were as much his parents as his mom and dad were. And Luke and Jocelyn were the fun aunt and uncle he went to visit when mom and dad were fighting (which was much less now that Robert wasn’t there most of the time). Maryse took their separation pretty hard, but he made a point to spend more time with her around that time. He didn’t want to see her sad—that was how he thought about it when he was that age, anyway. Now, they were pretty civil. Enough that he got an invite to the party.

Maryse hugged him this time, pulling him into a bone-crushing, mama-bear hug that she only did when she was a little upset about something. “My baby’s all grown up, I hate it,” she said to him, giving him an extra squeeze for good measure. 

“Love you too,” he said with a smile, letting her kiss his forehead when she pulled away. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clary give him a meek wave. She clearly didn’t want to interrupt but wanted his attention for something. Maryse must have noticed too because she let him go, giving him a gentle push in her direction. 

“What’s up?” he asked, leaning against the wall across the threshold to the hallway with her. 

She smiled at him. “Sorry to pull you away from Maryse. I’ve got a gift I want you to open.”

“I was gonna do that later—“

“Most of us are either going to be tipsy or in a food coma later. This one’s important. Come on.”

She led him back the hall to her bedroom (that she didn’t stay in often, but Luke kept it for her); he didn’t have much of a choice based on how excited she was. 

When they got in the door, he saw the rather large stack of gifts on the floor in the corner and facepalmed. “How all out is all out, because I don’t know if I can even store all that in my room.”

“Actually?” she said, doing a quick count of the gifts. “Most of those are Rowan. They said they individually wrapped a lot of stuff though.”

That was the second time that night he heard about Rowan doing something nice for him. It was great—he appreciated the gesture, of course, but he wondered why they wouldn’t just talk to him and tell him they did those things. He always had to hear about their life from other people, but they wanted him to tell them about his. There was nothing going on in his life other than panic attacks and training, but they were traveling all over the world and defending Downworlders, and lately wrongly accused Seelies, of crimes the Clave accused them of. They, with the help of Jia and sometimes Alec, were making amazing strides in the shadow world and he always heard about it from someone else. 

He sighed and sat down, trying to pay attention to whatever Clary wanted to show him. She handed him a gift—wrapped in green and covered in stickers from various books and anime he enjoyed. “That’s adorable,” he said, looking at one of the One Piece stickers. It had one of the main characters sitting on the figurehead of his ship, arms in the air, and beaming like an idiot (because he was). The freedom of a pirate sounded really good, these days. 

“I know. Simon helped me pick those out.”

Jensen’s eyes lit up a little. “Did he?”

She nodded. “He picked his favorites and I knew you’d like them. And he sends his love.”

He smiled at that, then began pulling at the tape to undo the wrapping paper. The stickers were adorable and he didn’t want to rip them, so he was gentle. Clary looked incredibly impatient, especially when she let out a little huff, so he eventually broke it open. He laid it out flat in his lap and noticed it was a picture frame with a canvas inside. Knowing Clary, it was probably some important manga panel from a series he liked. 

When he flipped it over, he almost dropped the thing (which would have upset the both of them). Instead, staring back at him was a portrait of himself and Max—but he didn’t look the way he knew him. He looked a little older, like he grew into his glasses and grew out his hair a little. 

He felt her hands on his shoulders, half-hugging him from beside him. “I did some digging and got my hands on pictures of Alec, Izzy, Maryse, and even Robert in their early teens,” she explained. “I did my best. Tried to make you both look how you would now.”

He barely heard the words she said, too busy staring at the portrait of the two of them. They looked happy—Max looked happy. Both unbothered by the world, freckles and crinkles in the eyes, beaming from ear to ear. He placed the canvas on the bed and turned into her, hugging her tightly. He felt tears well up in his eyes and though he tried to stop himself from crying, it didn’t turn out well. 

He felt ridiculous. It had been three and a half years since Max died, but he still felt so many things, mostly things he couldn’t describe. He was angry; he wanted to get back at the people who hurt him, but that was impossible. Jonathan was dead, too. He never really cried over it, which made him feel guiltier than he’d ever felt in his life. How can you not cry over your best friend? When he found out, he was in such shock; the world around him froze and he stopped moving. He stared at the ceiling, not eating, wishing he could cry to just get the feelings out, but he had no energy for it. Then the Dark War happened and he didn’t have the energy to move for months afterward. When he started spending time with Clary and her family, Jocelyn and Luke tried their best to coax him out of his shell and go out to do things, but it barely worked. 

People finally stopped treating him like he was a ticking time bomb of anger ready to go off. Edom left him jaded, more so than he let on to most of the people around him. Enough time passed that he learned how to play things off and sit with his feelings rather than stewing in them—he didn’t feel much better, but he didn’t feel as angry anymore. 

It was a couple minutes until he finally let go. “Sorry,” he said, wiping his eyes with the collar of his shirt. “It’s, uh…it’s amazing. Thank you.”

Clary looked at him, sympathetic and kind, how she usually looked with him. In the beginning, it irritated him because he thought it was pity. However, the longer he spent with her, he realized she did really care, she wasn’t just pretending. “It’s alright,” she said, brushing a bit of hair out of his face. He needed it cut, he just didn’t like people touching him like that for a long time. “Actually, if it makes you feel any better, I was hoping it was gonna be a bit of a tear jerker. That means it’s a good gift.”

He laughed, shaking his head in slight disbelief. “Well, you certainly succeeded.” He added sarcastically, “thanks.”

He picked it back up again, looking for each of the little details. The background was simple swirls, all shades of blue and probably watercolor. There was a small, white parabatai rune in each top corner, outlining the words entreat me not to leave thee or return from following after thee. He still had it memorized—they said it back and forth to each other all the time, planning for the day they finally had their ceremony. 

“It’s kinda dark, y’know?” he asked. “The whole oath thing. Where thou diest, I shall die, and there I will be buried. Kinda sad for a bunch of kids to be thinking about.” He paused for a moment, looking over the portrait. “It sure as hell feels like it, though. I don’t know if I’ve really been alive since he died. Not in the way I should be.”

“I know,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. It was comforting—Max used to do that to him a lot, too. He laid his head on top of hers. “You’re trying, though. Everyone sees it. Everyone sees all the progress you’ve made.”

He thought for a moment. If everyone else was noticing things too, maybe he was getting better. He certainly hoped so, but he had his doubts. “I try. I try so hard, every day…” His voice cracked, so he stopped speaking. 

Clary squeezed his hand in acknowledgement. “I know you do. And I know it’s hard. It’s a different kind of heartbreak, knowing you can’t see your best friend—not even best friend, but someone that’s closer than family to you.”

He knew she was talking about Simon. He gave up his powers as a vampire, as well as his memories of the shadow world in order to get them out of Edom and send them all to Idris. He didn’t remember most of it, just Jace carrying him through the halls once they found him. He remembered Raphael dying, Magnus’s power draining, the sticky feeling of blood under his shirt every day and the burn of the harsh iratze Johnathan put on him every day to keep him alive. He wished he could have swapped places with Simon, some days. Now, he was at the Academy—there was talk of sending him there, too, but Maryse refused. He wouldn’t have done well there and he knew that. 

The only difference between himself and Clary was that Clary got her best friend back. Simon was well on his way to being a shadowhunter and he’d be back in their lives full-time. He never got Max back, he got no second chance. He wouldn’t mention that, though. She was trying to relate and he knew that, too—there was no real pain like losing a parabatai, rune or not. 

The party went on. He waited for his eyes to quit being so puffy from crying and rejoined the festivities, watching his nephew for a little while and entertaining him, chatting with everyone, opening gifts—a surprising amount of gifts, all things considered. He left the portrait in Clary’s room and promised to bring it along when he left—it wasn’t something everyone else needed to see at the moment, this was supposed to be a celebration, not another funeral. 

Eventually, they all made it back to the Institute—Luke gave everyone grocery bags to help carry his gifts home and they took the train so it wasn’t such a long walk. The energy of the group faded as midnight grew closer—everyone was tired after a long day of preparation for this and while it was a great payoff, he could tell people were tired. He said goodnight to everyone, gave a couple more hugs, and returned to his room. 

He was in his pajamas, flipping through an old comic series he was rereading when he realized he’d barely seen Rowan the whole evening. They weren’t avoiding him—he’d made eye contact with them across the room several times and they always smiled, even if it was an awkward, thin-mouthed one. Even when he was saying goodnight, they managed to slip away from the group. They’d organized the party and, at least, deserved a thank you. He put the book down, pulled on his slippers, and headed downstairs. 

The library doors creaked as he opened it—he didn’t want to draw attention to himself, but he guessed he didn’t have a choice. He walked down the stairs and towards the window seat in the back right corner, where he expected to see his older sibling. Surprisingly, they weren’t there—he looked around for a moment, but they didn’t appear to be in there. It was strange for them because they were always in the library. 

He got back in the elevator and headed to the topmost floor, taking the staircase up to the greenhouse. Just outside was the small balcony, where he saw the silhouette of someone—spiky hair and a baggy hoodie. Bingo. 

He walked through the greenhouse and stepped onto the balcony, closing the door behind him. Rowan looked over at him for a moment, gave him a little nod to acknowledge him, and turned back out to the city. 

“This isn’t the library,” he said, moving to stand next to them. He joined them in leaning against the railing and noticed the pen-looking thing in their hand, as well as the distinct smell of fake watermelon in the air. “You wanna tell me what that is?”

“Not particularly,” they said, stuffing it in their pocket. “Not the day to talk about my issues. You alright?”

He shrugged, looking out at the city with them. So much had happened all day—he was struggling to process it all, even though it was all good things. He didn’t think he felt that happy in a long time, not even the last time he visited LA. “I heard the party was your idea.”

“Isabelle’s a little snitch.”

“Who said it was Izzy?”

“Because Clary listens to me when I talk and everyone else can keep a secret,” they muttered, then sighed. He could tell they were mostly joking, but there was something else on their mind. “You had a good birthday, though?”

“I did.” He nodded, looking over at them. He took a moment, trying to read into their expression—out of all the people he’d met, Rowan was the hardest to figure out. Maybe they were just good at putting walls around themselves, or maybe he couldn’t do it because he hadn’t paid enough attention because he was too busy being mad at them all the time for the first twelve years of his life. Things had been better as of late, but they still felt distant. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

“I do.”

“Do you? Because I—I get the whole surprise party thing. I do, that was a good secret. But you seem like you have so much going on and the second I walk in the room, you clam up and I feel like I’m bothering you.”

They hung their head, sighing deeply. “I’m not trying to exclude you, kid, I’ve just got a lot going on.”

“I love you, Ro, but I think you keep calling me kid because you can’t wrap your head around the fact that I’m growing up and I can handle the big-kid stuff,” he said, a little more anger in his voice than he intended. He took a breath to calm himself down and leaned a little closer to them; his shoulder bumped theirs as they slowly looked up, at him. “I just want you to talk to me. Even when I was a brat and you were being a jackass, I still loved you. I really admired you. I still do. It’s a little nicer when you’re around for me to hear the shit you’re excited about telling Alec or Clary.”

They nodded, listening to each of his words intently—he couldn’t tell what they were thinking about it, but they weren’t blowing him off. They listened this time, after the years he spent trying, in his own way, to get them to spend time with him. 

“I can’t fix things I did. And I shouldn’t have left you stranded like I did for so many years. I won’t justify it, I just…” they trailed off. “I’ll try. I’m not trying to force you out, I just don’t wanna bother you.”

He nudged their arm with his, snickering at their argument. “I’ll let you know if it gets to me too much. Call me once in a while when you’re in Idris, Y’know? Just tell me what’s going on. Come hang out with me once in a while—we both spend all our time buried in a book, come tell me about the latest one you picked up.”

“I think your comics are more fun than anything I’m reading lately,” they said teasingly. It was all law books and boring shit that he hated, but he’d listen if they told him about it. “But I’ll take you up on that. I’ll do my best.”

He nodded. It was quiet for a little while, the two of them listening to the noise from the city and enjoying the quiet. For a long time, they couldn’t sit quietly together—someone picked a fight, sometimes over something as small as breathing too loud. He had to admit, they were ridiculous. It took almost losing him for that to change. 

He laid his head on their shoulder; they didn’t move. 

“What do you say to a movie this weekend?” they asked. “There’s some new movie adaptation of a sci-fi book I read coming out. You down?”

“Sure,” he said, smiling slightly. They were offering, meaning they were trying to reach out. “I’m pulling the birthday card and saying you’re paying.”

“Am I now?” 

“Oh, yeah you are, you big fancy lawyer. You’re making Clave money, you can pay to take your brother to the movies and buy me popcorn.”

They chuckled and shoved his arm, making him sit up. It was gentle, though—much different than a few years ago. When they fought, it usually got physical, and they were quick to end it with a hit that was precise and just hard enough to make him shut up. He remembered a couple nasty fights Jace or Alec had to break up—he wasn’t above biting at ten years old. God forbid one of the adults had to. There was hell to pay. 

Things were calm, though. It wasn’t cold peace anymore, just…calm. And he was okay with that. They rarely argued, they talked more, even trained together sometimes. He needed a stamina rune to keep up with them on a normal day, though. Things were good between them, despite the communication issues, but he couldn’t help but worry something would change that. They’d never had a period of time this long where things were good. Almost like normal siblings. 

He spoke up about it, this time, rather than thinking and stressing over it. “Do you think things will be like this forever?” he asked.

Rowan looked over at him, but let the question hang in the air for a moment before they replied. “What do you mean?”

Jensen shrugged. “Things are fine. Not perfect, but…I’ve just got this weird pit in my stomach that something’s always gonna happen and it’s going to go back to what it was before. Before Clary showed up, before we met Magnus, before Dad…”

He noticed the way their jaw set when he mentioned their dad. They had a lot of conflicted feelings about him so he tried not to bring it up—they’d just started to try to mend their relationship before he died, and they were worried he died thinking they’d betrayed him, the entire New York Institute and their family there, as well as the Clave. He swore otherwise, but he couldn’t really guarantee what he thought, and as far as he knew, the only other person that knew their anxieties about that was Magnus. 

They took a moment to put the words together. “I think, no matter what happens, I’m going to try my best to be there for you. That’s important to me, and no matter the situation, I’m a phone call away, alright? I’ll pay for the international calls, I don’t care.”

He nodded. Neither of them could guarantee anything in the future, but the fact that they were willing to try was all the reassurance he needed. The older he got, the more he realized that trying was all they could do—all any of them could do. Just keep trying. 

Rowan pulled him in, wrapping their arm around his shoulders. He relaxed into them, resting his head on their shoulder again. It was rare they were affectionate like this—the most he got was them messing his hair up, most days—but he took what he could get and appreciated every moment of it. “I do love you, kid,” they said, voice a little tight as they spoke. “And I’m glad we got this all figured out. I mean, the best we can right now.” 

He didn’t react, just sat there, looking at the city. The city that raised him and gave him a family better than one he ever would have gotten in Idris, despite how much he wished things would have gone differently. He wished things were different a lot, but it was moments like these that reminded him the things he’d dealt with in the last sixteen years weren’t all in vain. 

[justmoreocs-writing]

01. Full name: Aoife Xia Dawnfleur (Hasset).

02. Best friend: Isabelle and Alec Lightwood – though, Jace is up there too.

03. Sexuality: Demisexual.

04. Favourite colour: Dark purple.

05. Relationship status: Single.

06. Ideal mate: Despite what Jace might tease her about, Aoife’s ideal partner is someone who can make her smile; someone who is kind no matter what life throws their way. She wants someone who can help her break down her walls, even if she protests it happening, because that’s the kind of relationship she’s never really had in her life, and she thinks there’s something romantic in it.

07. Turn-ons: Honesty is a big one for her. She has to admit as well that there is something ridiculously attractive about people who can play an instrument. If they can fight well too, then that’s a bonus.

08. Favourite food: Mashed potato. She loves it when there’s added ingredients too, like onion or cheese.

09. Crushes: Aoife’s not had many crushes. There was a vampire she once saw that she thought was very attractive, but she only saw him the once, and she never even learnt his name.

10. Favourite music: Aoife likes classical music, anything really where she can hear the instruments working together to make music really.

11. Biggest fear: That everyone will leave her. Aoife may not admit it, but the fact her parents abandoned her really took its toll on her. She’s terrified that others will leave her too, and that she’ll be all on her own one day.

12. Biggest fantasy: Aoife’s never really thought about it. That being said, she would love to see the Northern Lights; there’s something so magical about them, and even if she does travel, she’s never seen them yet.

13. Bad habits: Aoife’s not great at opening up, even to those who know her best. When she’s hurting she seems to take it out on herself in a way – training too much, or trying her best to ignore it – and that’s something that only seems to get worse the more responsibilities she’s given.

14. Biggest regret: That she never did more to try finding out more about her parents, and about how she ended up in the London Institute. While she wishes she could move passed it all, part of her wonders that if she’d done more to find out about it all growing up, she wouldn’t have been able to move on sooner.

15. Best kept secrets: Living with the Lightwoods it was occasionally difficult to keep secrets in general, but she did keep hidden the fact that she still slept with her blanket for a good few years (from the age of four to about ten) and nobody knew about it until she was fourteen. Jace went to wake her up one morning and gently teased her about it. Eventually she got annoyed and admitted to everybody about how long she’d actually slept with it for.

16. Last thought: Aoife was thinking about if she should go to London and make sure things are still alright there; and just to generally catch up with people there.

17. Worst romantic experience: Isabelle tried to take her on a double-date and it ended up with Aoife hitting Isabelle’s date in the face because he looked a little bit like a demon; then proceeded to give her own date a nosebleed when he went in for a kiss.

18. Biggest insecurity: That she’s a failure. Aoife lets tiny mistakes weigh heavily on her shoulders because she always thinks that there’s something she could have done better.

19. Weapon of choice: Batangas knives; she is constantly moving them, especially when she’s nervous or thinking about something.

20. Role Model: Hodge was a role model of hers, because he had changed so much after his time in the Circle. However, when revelations occur she begins to see people like Maryse and Magnus as her role models, because of how they deal with things. Not that she’ll admit to it – other than to the man himself – but she also is a little in awe of Benji because of his positive outlook on things.

[willowwrestles]

You play her so well, showing the fun friendly side of her that tries hard to like people BUT you also play the side of her that when she's had enough she's had enough and the straps come down. She respects people till they disrespect her and then she still tries to find something in them, some ounce of humanity left. I love how she's overcome so much and that she finally got the guy and the gold.

OOW: So, fun fact! I didn't know who Willow was until last year. Immediately I fell in love with her and her positivity. I think she's a great role model for people. I wanted to show the fun and friendly side. However, I wanted to show t's hard being little miss perfect. Because nobody is that smiley all the time. I've had so much fun dissecting her and truly testing how far I can take her. And I feel like how she's played out on TV and her relationship with Alec helps a lot in that regard.

[anothermalecblog]

Magnus: Madzie say shit today. Who taught her that?

Alec: Not me. I say fuck.

[kisilinramblings]

The ending scenes of Wishmaker had a lot of development and foreshadowing. 

On the positive note, both Adrien and Marinette are moving on. The theme of the future isn’t as scary for them anymore. They feel ready to tackle it on even though they were so lost at the beginning of the episode.

Adrien (as he is looking a picture of him with his mom) : I may not remember my childhood dream, but that’s okay. It’s time to focus on the future and find my inner music like Luka said.

Adrien steps forward and while he accepts part of his past, he decides that what matters is what is ahead of him. He sets himself in a quest to find himself. Which contrasts with his scene with Kagami inside the art club at the beginning of Lies where he thought he knew himself.

Kagami : These are all modeling poses. Try something that is more natural, more you.

Adrien : What about meow! Err.. I mean, now.

Kagami : No. You are not at all natural. 

Adrien : Yes, I am. I promise. This is the real me.

Kagami : No! It’s you when you are being silly.

Adrien : What if I’m being silly I’m really me?

Adrien has arrived at a point where he is questionning where he stands. He said so at the beginning of the episode. Both about his civilian and superhero sides of him.

Plagg : Don’t you want to continue to model?

Adrien : I don’t think so, Plagg. I’m doing it now because my father asked me to and I realize now I don’t know what else I want to do. I’ve never asked myself that question...

Plagg : What do you think of Chat Noir as a career?

Adrien : Well, since Ladybug keeps giving Miraculous out to other Holders, one day, she’ll probably won’t need me anymore.

Adrien realizes his life and role is either controlled or dependant of others because he personally doesn’t know what he wants for himself. And this is one of the reasons that lead for Chat Blanc’s akumatization to turn awry. Because he was torn and lost. Because the two most important people of his life were trying to influence him in opposite direction when he was in an extreme vulnerable mental state that didn’t allow him to think for himself.  And because he lost control of himself, his powers went out of control too.

And in that timeline, because he was living a dream, CB!Adrien had never mentally prepared himself to find his own voice before the reality punch him in the face.

Now, it is too early to say that Chat Blanc has been fully avoided, because there is still a lot of work to do, but after Wishmaker (along with Optigami, Sentibubbler and Rocketear), Adrien is on the right path to find his voice and find what he truly wants for himself.

As for Marinette...

Marinette (facing the choices ahead of her) : You know what? I’ve decided I’ll do it all! I’ll be Ladybug. I’ll design clothes, jewelry, furnitures, space rockets! I’ll be Luka’s best friend and I will love Adrien!

Fluff : But how are you going to do it at the same time?

The choice of Fluff in this particular scene is very clever. 

Fluff is the Kwami of Evolution and is heavily associated to time. Their Miraculous is a watch and their superpower allows their holder to time-travel.

But there is more to that. It is a recall to Timetagger. To a discussion Ladybug had with Bunnyx. 

Bunnyx : You can always count on Ladybug. With her around, every problem has a solution. 

Ladybug : How I ever get to be like that...?

Bunnyx : By growing up, Minibug.

This was how Marinette was. Unsure, overhelmed. But look at her now. 

Marinette : I don’t know how yet, but yes, I can do this!

She is boasting with confidence. She is accepting herself how she is. She is most probably chasing two hares at the same time, but she also accepts she will drop it sometimes too. She is confident she can rebound. But while I love how determined she is and isn’t scared of the unknown variables (for now), I cannot help but notice she appears to have forgotten something.

In her enumeration, she forgets to count Chat Noir, her partner. I am a bit worry about this. Being Ladybug means many things to her, but I’m afraid she is solely focusing on the duty of her job and doesn’t realize she is lacking on the human relationship aspect of her job with her partner. 

I mean, it’s great that Marinette loves herself now and feels she can face anything now. It’s a great step she has accomplished since the end of S3 and the show is not subtil about it at all xD Like...

Right after she has come to her conclusions, we get Fabulous Alec appearing on screen with the moral.

Alec : And now we are going to love one another, starting with everyone loving themselves! Because how are you going to love other people if you don’t love yourself?

And both Marinette and Adrien have accomplished that. They have evolved from the selves they were back at the end of Truth and Lies. But now, Adrien needs to build himself enough to face his father, but also to find his place in Ladybug’s team. And Marinette needs to have some important discussions with her partner.

And this is summed up in the ending card

Fabulous Alec is the manifestation of self-love and he reaches everyone with his light, shielding them from Shadow Moth. There are also music notes that creates a barrier. Because Luka’s music allegories have made an impact on both Marinette and Adrien. 

Marinette has her music note and it is as if she owns it. Adrien doesn’t have any note nearby him because he has just begun his personal quest.

We see Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting together while being watched over by Luka who now knows both superherores’ secret identity.

Also, please note where Adrien is place in the picture. He is at the bottom right. And it feels like Adrien is leaving the frame completely. And to be himself, he may need to continue to distance himself in the process. But it also places him in the complete opposite direction where Shadow Moth is. Adrien is heading in a different direction that Shadow Moth AKA Gabriel AKA his father might want him to stay. 

As for Marinette/Ladybug, she is not noticing the growing distance occuring.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (30 Oct-5 Nov 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😍👂‍ The Long Game (Game Changers #6) (Rachel Reid, author; Cooper North, narrator) - #1 this story runs concurrent to Role Model so I thought it was good to read it straight after #2 I love that we got such a great sequel, showing them working out some more relationship stuff (cause as much as I love a HEA idea, HEA's require intentional action) but mainly #3 I need zero reasons to reread Shane & Ilya, my forever faves

🥰 Dear Mr. Postman (odetteandodile) - reread - delectable 'marriage for insurance while secretly pining' fic. so much good pining in this.

🥰 The Lady And The Tiger (Shivadhverse #3) (Sam Starbuck aka @copperbadge) - just so in love with this delightful fluffy series!

😊 Piece of Cake: A Swanley Story (Swanley #2.5) (Valentine Wheeler) - super cute short queer romance, love to see a legit older MC

🙂 Study Hall (Alec J. Marsh) - D/s short story

😍👂‍ Howl's Moving Castle (Diana Wynn Jones, author; Jenny Sterlin, narrator) - this narrator was great and I adored that they gave Howl a Welsh accent from the jump

🙂 There Are No Wolves in California (Werewolves on the Other Hand…) (isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella), KioFox) - 49K, Sterek - pure wish-fullfillment of a bullied Stiles being rescued by a wolf pack

💖💖 +270K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Mise en Place (Draco_sollicitus) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 26K - reread - absolutely adore this omegaverse shrunkyclunks

In the Woods Somewhere (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 5.5K - wow wow wow! incredible monsterfucking fic with great feelings. love love love

Ink & Ivy (ToBebbanburg) - The Old Guard: Kaysanova, 28K - reread - lovely, soft, wonderful modern tattooist/florist AU

Where There's a Will There's a Way (xiaq) - The Mandalorian: DinLuke, 21K - reluctant accidental Mandalore Din & Jedi twink Luke - just oodles of fun

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Ghosts - s2, e5

Doctor Who - s12, e11

Doctor Who - Flux [s13, e1-6]

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

It's Been a Minute - Vampires are hot, y'all

Hit Parade Plus - The Bridge: Lost Hits vs. Legacy Hits

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Scary Stories from Real Places

Ologies with Alie Ward - Vampirology (VAMPIRES) Part 2 with Jeff Holdeman

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Witch Cakes

Hit Parade Plus - Give Up the Funk Edition

Hit Parade Plus - The Bridge: Chi-town, Soul Town

Switched on Pop - Scary Pockets funkify pop classics (with Lizzy McAlpine)

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Thompson Ice House

Shedunnit - The Shedunnit Centenary

It's Been a Minute - Sophistication and sexuality at 70 with Christine Baranski

Still Processing - Alien Superstar

Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster - Ep 3: Richard Osman

Vibe Check - Choose Your Fighter

Articles of Interest - American Ivy: Chapter 1

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Hacienda Napoles

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Synth War

Song Exploder - Iron & Wine "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"

Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster - Ep 9: Selasi Gbormittah

Into It - We Need to Talk About Marvel (Plus: What's Vinny Thomas Into?)

One Year Plus - 1942: The Day the Music Stopped

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Kasanka Bat Migration

Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster - Ep 99: Domhnall Gleeson

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Uncle Fester's Record Collection

Heavy Metal Halloween

Essential Hard Rock

Godsmack

Classic Disco Hits

Presenting Troy Sivan

[grapefruit-personified]

11 , 13 , 24 , 25 , 31

11. are you listening to music right now?

I am! I'm listening to "Devil Doesn't Bargain" by Alec Benjamin

13. how do you feel right now?

I'm feeling ok I guess, things have been not great today but I've had dinner and I'm finally home so that's making it a little better

24. height

I'm 6'0 even!

25. role model

Honestly probably, my mom, she raised me as a disabled single parent and somehow managed to thrive in her career for nearly 4 decades before having to retire due to said disabilities.

31. 3 random facts

I don't feel the effects of caffeine which sucks cause I work with coffee, I've made the deans list in college, and I have grey eyes which is apparently pretty rare

[stregoni-benefici]

I mean, why is there an assumption that Alec and Jane do not live good and happy life with the Volturi? Look at the shiny happy people, look at them:

Okay but, I need a Twilight AU where Jane and Alec we’re adopted by Carlisle and Esme, and they live a good and happy life with the rest of them.

[aceofpandas]

What-if for Season 4

So at the end of season 3’s episode “Ladybug” we see that Adrien "asking” Lila to get Marinette back in school and what not. Words are spoken and wow just look at how they’re spoken:

That line right there! Okay so I watched this episode in English and in [Latin American] Spanish and wow the way that line is spoken. Both voice actors really conveyed how Adrien would channel his anger. It’s not an emotion we really got to see in Adrien before but in both languages the barely contained anger is something I feel is in line with what we know about Adrien who controls and is conscious of his emotions. It got me thinking about how passive aggressive this boy really is and man oh man how I wish that it get’s worked into season 4. Passive aggressive Adrien Agreste vs. resident liar/manipulator Lila Rossi. Yaaaas sign me up.

Hopefully, this side of him is explored next season and we can finally give Adrien some rivals who can help us explore his character a little more. This ending suggests that Lila is completely in Adrien’s danger radar and he’ll be in Protect Marinette Mode (similar to his Protect Ladybug Mode). In fact, the scene pictured above aligns with his self-sacrificial tendencies that he has as Chat Noir. Lots of people have mentioned that agreeing to the photoshoot is him selling his soul,  but he also establishes that he won’t ever have a genuine friendship with Lila. Bring on the war!

I personally think that Adrien, who we know isn’t too confrontational, will take a subtle approach. And how can he do that? Well, he could channel his inner actor where he can certainly play the part of “friend” while simultaneously working to discredit Lila. 

Like you can not tell me that Adrien, who’s enrolled in a bunch of activities, was not enrolled in acting classes at some point in his homeschooled life. His mom was an actress, so it’s not like his parents would be against the idea of acting lessons. He was even the VA for his own superhero persona in canon’s LB+CN movie lmaoooo. Yes, he’s a model and very much loved by the people of Paris so perhaps being chosen for the role isn’t too surprising, but that also doesn’t mean he has no talent or training for it. Let’s be real, modeling could be the compromise to his parents wanting their son to follow in their footsteps. Modeling is the fashion from his dad and the art of perfecting his facial expressions from his mom.

And like even if acting lessons were never a thing, his mom was around in his life. We know basically nothing about the woman, so really we can speculate that she showed Adrien a thing or two about acting. Let’s say it was through her that Adrien learned to be expressive, to be not expressive, and to be anywhere in between. His mom could have taught him to roll with what life has to offer through ad libs and improv. Adrien we’ve seen to have a dramatic flair as both Adrien and Chat Noir, and he honestly controls his temper waaaay better than we give him credit. Sure he makes mistakes, but really he’s human and he does learn from them (now if only the writing could keep character development for its characters but yeeaaaah).

Here’s a scenario where Adrien can start his stop Lila campaign:

Adrien and Lila are interviewed about the recent shoot and you know questions roll around about how was it working with together, they’re classmates right, are the two dating, yada yada

Adrien answering and not even trying to let Lila get the first word in because the boy is on high alert and knows this girl will try to spin it in her favor

“Oh, it was surprising my father even thought of letting one of my classmates model with me. In fact, I didn’t even know Lila was interested in modeling. Still, it was interesting to work with someone new to the field.”

Which on the surface seems like an ordinary, polite response; appropriate of Adrien but it’s also everything Adrien needs to corner Lila. 

In all of three sentences Adrien says he played no part in making the photoshoot happen, effectively shuts down the possibility of dating Lila, and establishes to the public that Lila is nothing more than a classmate, one he doesn’t even know well.

Lila is annoyed but she’s not giving up because she’s under the impression that Adrien is far too agreeable and spineless therefore she writes him off as Not a Threat

Hahahaha jokes, Adrien plays on people underestimating him

“Well, I didn’t want you to think that I wanted to make it seem like I was using you because we’re friends and friends don’t do that.”

Or something along those lines I dunno

“That’s the great thing about our class everyone is so nice that we can all be friends. Lots of us are so creative and I love getting to know everyone. Nathaniel, Lila’s desk mate, is a great artist; sketching, painting, he’s your guy. He’s currently working on a superhero comic with Marc from the other class and I can’t wait for what else they come up with for the sequel. Ivan, who sits in front of Nathaniel, he’s a rockin’ drummer, and Rose, she’s another one of our classmates, killer voice and awesome lyrics. Her best friend, Juleka plays bass and I’ve actually modeled with her before. Nothing official, but since I know Juleka wants to be a model I honestly thought she was going to be the one I was modeling with for this shoot. Sure it wasn’t a huge shoot, but Juleka did such a great job. And the clothes we modeled were made by our everyday Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette, she’s also our class rep by the way, is such a brilliant designer! Did you know that she actually won one of my father’s contests? Her hat was adored by Audrey Bourgeois AND she was offered the chance to move to New York. And you know…”

Basically, Adrien ends up spending the rest of the interview talking about how much he knows about his friends and “gee it’s such a shame I don’t really know much about you Lila.”

Read: you aren’t special, I have more friends, and I actually pay attention to them.

Bonus point: Alec is the one who interviews them and he picks up on Lila becoming more and more frustrated with Adrien. 

Pretty in character for him to poke the bear *cough* Stormy Weather *cough* so for him to let Adrien take the reins of the interview for the sake of drama isn’t that much of a stretch.

Alec: What about Lila? 

Adrien: I don’t know, I really don’t want to get anything wrong so she can answer

The next day, the interview is the only thing anyone can talk about 

Adrien’s classmates gushing about how sweet Adrien is because he literally showed them that he really cares about them. 

Adrien remembering all this information about all of them and hyping everyone up on TV!!

Friends know each other’s dreams and likes and dislikes and Adrien isn’t known to have lots of free time, but him making the effort to remember all that about each person is flattering to the class

Let Adrien show how much he appreciates and admires his friends pleeeeeeease

Lila can be in the background plotting how to paint Adrien in a bad light 

But uhhh the class is going full Protect This Precious Boy at this point so your plan has to be fool-proof Lila

Bonus point: the class is now more sus of Lila after the whole Marinette-got-expelled-and-then-unexpelled (which is still fresh in their minds). 

No one get’s an expulsion reversed unless they’re innocent 

And dude Lila was in the middle of that whole mess. 

Whatever Lila did shows she has the power to get any of them expelled. 

If the kids aren’t at least wary of Lila in season 4, then the writers really be tripping because too many red flags around Lila for people to just wave them off.

In other news, Marinette starts to trend after enough of Adrien’s fans connect the dots that she’s the same girl who they chased around that time she and Adrien went to the movies

If the majority of Parisians weren’t convinced they were dating back then, oh boy they at least ship it by this point hahahaha

[pinkplantmakesstuff]

if there's anyone you haven't answered the list ask for yet, consider this a free space to do so! (otherwise, feel free to use this as a space to share any fun/random character fact you'd like! :D ) @kerra-and-company

Ahh ty @kerra-and-company! I'm actually gonna be SUPER cheeky and write about Timeslip AU for Pépin because I was going to do that at some point anyway and you've given me the perfect excuse too >:3c Some of the things are the same as Plantling Pép so I'm gonna be lazy and not change those, but some are different!

Full name: Pépin (??? I still haven't decided on one yet BUT it's his mother's maiden name. He ditched his father's surname after getting kicked out)

Best friend: In the 80's it was someone from one of the gay clubs he frequented and his coworker at the cafe! Then in the present it's Alec!

Sexuality: Gay

Favorite color: pink Pink PINK (BUT also lots of other bright happy colours! But mostly pink)

Relationship status: Taken! Eventually he begins a relationship with Tiu, though that takes a long time!

Ideal mate: Someone kind and caring, who let’s Pépin be himself and also helping him when he needs it!

Turn-ons: Oh same as with Plant Pép! There's a LOT that works for Pép!

Favorite food: Anything sugary and strawberries! He also likes Pizza and fast food a lot!

Crushes: Strong men who could easily manhandle him and also give him big cuddles.

Favorite music: LOADS of upbeat bouncy music! Lots of 80's music is perfect for him and he loves stuff like "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel. He also loves bouncy dance club music when he learns about that! Like Ke$ha's "Die Young" (Which is strangely fitting given what happened and how he ended up timeslipping 😅)

Biggest fear: He doesn’t acknowledge that he’s got any big fears, but he’s afraid no one will ever help him and he deserves his situation. BUT he also doesn’t need help because everything is perfectly fine!!!

Biggest fantasy: A dashing and charming man to sweep him off his feet and treat him well! He also wants to be able to do ballet again!

Bad habits: Pép fidgets a LOT and apologises a lot for stuff that isn't his fault .

Biggest regret: Whenever he does anything wrong.

Best kept secrets: How absolutely miserable and lonely he is, and how upset he was at being kicked out of his home. Also how he was being treated by Nathaniel.

Last thought: “Why is everything so loud and fast and busy in the future??? I just want to go home.”

Worst romantic experience: The reason Pépin timeslips; Nathaniel.

Biggest insecurity: Pép’s really insecure about a lot of things; How he looks, that he's annoying or stupid, his sexuality and his attraction to other men (He was born in the 60/70's and was a young adult in the 80's it was not a great time at all)

Weapon of choice: Doesn't really fit BUT because he was made to do rugby growing up he DOES know how to tackle someone twice his size.

Role Model: His mum! She was so kind and caring and happy, and always took the time to make him feel better. He hopes to be just as kind as she is! After being kicked out by his father he resented her for a long while, but in the end he just misses her, and is really upset when he's in the future he never got to say goodbye propely. (BUT it turns out she's still out there ALSO looking for him! And guess whose good at tracking people down? That's right, Tiu!)

[aion-rsa]

Best Corrupt Cop Movies to Watch After Training Day

https://ift.tt/3chCEB5

Training Day is one of the archetypal crime dramas of its time. It features a classic standoff between a young, fresh-off-the-street rookie police officer named Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) and his veteran partner Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). The older cop is ostensibly evaluating his young partner, but in actuality he’s breaking Jake hm down and trying to corrupt him–just as Alonzo himself, one of the great screen monsters of the past 20 years, is corrupt beyond all redemption. Here is a supposed officer of the law who acts more like a crime boss, ruling over his neighborhood with an iron fist.

The tension that burns at the center of the movie–will Jake be turned and will Alonzo get his comeuppance?–forms the bedrock of a classic dramatic scenario. The power inherent from being in law enforcement can be both a force for good and a weapon of evil. The ability to wield that power over the lives of so many others can lead anyone or any institution to a moral crossroads. And whether a single cop or an entire police force can stand up for what’s right or descend into a cesspool of rot and amorality has been the basis of some of our greatest movies.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but if you’ve recently had a chance to revisit Training Day on Netflix, then here are five more superb movies in which a lone cop goes head to head with that insidious corruption. All the movies feature drugs, guns, money, and sometimes sex; but in the end, the most powerful and dangerous narcotic of all turns out to be power.

Serpico (1973)

Legendary director Sidney Lumet’s classic 1970s police drama was one of several films that established Al Pacino as among the greatest actors of his generation, and kicked off a loose trilogy of movies from Lumet himself that focused on police corruption in New York City–others being the less iconic but equally brilliant Prince of the City (1981) and Q&A (1990).

Serpico is also the only film on this list based on a real person: Frank Serpico, a plainclothes detective who uncovered widespread corruption and eventually blew the whistle on it during his 11 years of service. In keeping with the true-life inspiration for the story, Lumet shot the film in a documentary-like style and chose some of the grittiest locations in New York City in which to work. Pacino himself met with Serpico several times, immersing himself in the character and his life.

The result was one of the first major American movies to tackle real life police corruption head-on, and what’s frightening is that there is no single villain for Serpico to go up against: it’s the entire NYPD itself, which came under extensive investigation thanks to the real Serpico’s actions.

Internal Affairs (1990)

Richard Gere stars in this Mike Figgis-directed film as Dennis Peck, a corrupt Los Angeles police officer and womanizer who comes under investigation by Raymond Avilla (Andy Garcia), an Internal Affairs officer intent on taking down Peck even as the department around him portrays him as a role model. But the wily Peck has other plans, including turning Avilla and his wife (Nancy Travis) against each other.

Set in pretty much the opposite of Serpico’s rough NYC environs, Internal Affairs, as its punning title indicates, is less about widespread systemic corruption and more about ideas of masculinity. Gere’s charm and sex appeal is put to wicked use as Peck fucks or threatens to fuck the wife of every man he crosses paths with, using that as a weapon to undermine them as men and leverage his power over them. Using his family as cover for his nefarious deeds–he has three ex-wives and eight kids to support–puts a dark twist on the idea of the male as the head of the household.

Garcia’s Avilla is flawed as well, racked with jealousy and anger management issues, which gives what could have been just a sleazy potboiler an extra level of complexity. And no amount of ravishing L.A. locations will wipe away the slime at the heart of this low-key thriller.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

The late Curtis Hanson’s masterful adaptation (with co-writer Brian Helgeland) of James Ellroy’s novel remains one of the best films of the 1990s, mixing fictionalized versions of real-life figures with indelible characters in a complex, suspenseful, and epic tale of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity.

The two cops at the center of the story are LAPD Sgt. Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) and officer Bud White (Russell Crowe); the former is upstanding yet aggressively ambitious while the latter is a blunt weapon used–unknowingly at first–by precinct captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) to advance Smith’s own ends. Also in the mix are a high-end prostitute (Kim Basinger), a jaded detective (Kevin Spacey), and a tabloid magazine editor (Danny DeVito), all of whom are caught in the LAPD’s web of corruption.

L.A. Confidential builds its story brilliantly to an explosive third-act confrontation between White and Exley that gives way to an even more thrilling motel shoot-out at the film’s climax. Relatively unknown at the time, Crowe and Pearce are outstanding while Basinger shines in a career-peak performance. L.A. Confidential takes the “cop vs. cop” scenario and drenches it in neo-noir style and Tinseltown sleaze, creating an unforgettable portrait of power gone mad.

Cop Land (1997)

An early drama from writer/director James Mangold–now known for films like Logan and Ford v. Ferrari—Cop Land stars Sylvester Stallone as Freddy Heflin, the sheriff of a small New Jersey town that is a bedroom community for a number of New York City cops. Although Freddy, who is partially deaf and perceived as somewhat slow-witted, reveres the cops and aspired at one time to be an NYPD officer himself, he becomes gradually aware of the rampant corruption among them. Eventually he must act.

Read more

Movies

Taxi Driver: A Look at NYC’s Inglorious Past

By Tony Sokol

Culture

The Real Goodfellas: Gangsters That Inspired the Martin Scorsese Film

By Tony Sokol

Stallone put on 40 pounds for the role of Heflin and his performance cast him in a new light as a serious actor after years of mindless action vehicles or Rocky sequels. Mangold’s screenplay may be too overly complicated for its own good, but the lonely small-town cop making a stand against the men he once looked up to is a poignant, haunting image. The film is also bolstered by great work from an all-star cast that includes Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, and Annabella Sciorra.

The Departed (2006)

Based on the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, The Departed is an operatic, grand crime thriller as only the great Martin Scorsese can do it. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Billy Costigan Jr., a Massachusetts State Police recruit forced to go undercover and infiltrate the gang of crime boss Frank Costello (an over-the-top Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile another State Police officer, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), is actually a mole for Costello inside the force, and the machinations of both Costello and the police eventually pull the two undercover agents–one good but troubled, one corrupt–into each other’s orbit.

Loosely inspired by real-life figures like corrupt FBI agent John Connolly and Boston crime kingpin Whitey Bulger, The Departed has more twists than a winding mountain road and all the double-crosses and betrayals can be tricky to navigate, even for fans of the Hong Kong movie it dramatically remakes, Infernal Affairs.

But Scorsese’s expertise with this kind of material leaps off the screen and his cast is impeccable (including a career-best performance from Mark Wahlberg and a scene-stealing turn by Alec Baldwin). While it can be a little on-the-nose at times–we’re looking at you, Mr. Rat on the apartment terrace–The Departed nevertheless conveys its cynical view of human nature with style, wit and manic energy. As it turns out, we’re all basically fucked up and vulnerable to being fucked with.

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[thanatosangels]

CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU DESERVE MUCH MORE!! 💜💜💜 Can I have 🌚 and 🌿 (for Mina)?

THANK YOU also - your Wessa edit? WHEEEEWW i love it so much omfg <333 and your latest Jordelia fic is absolute perfection, love <33

Mina headcannons -

she grows up hearing all about the beautiful Cordelia Carstairs. Jem makes sure she always knows his cousin, the one who saved the world, and Tessa wants her to know all about her sister-in-law, her sister’s parabatai, the one who wielded Cortana and saved her siblings lives, both with her sword and her love for them. Mina hears so much about Cordelia that when asked what she wants to be when she grows up, her immediate response is always “Cordelia!”. Jem and Tessa could not think of a better role model for their little girl.

Mina has SO MANY aunts and uncles and cousins. not biologically, obviously, but theres aunt Clary and uncle Jace - she knows she vaguely related to him, somehow - uncle Alec and uncle Magnus and cousins Rafe and Max, aunt Izzy and Simon (“I do not want to be referred to as uncle! it ages me!”) and cousin Emma. And then there’s all the Blackthorns, whom she adores but doesn’t get to see as much as she’d like because Kit ends up in tears whenever they’re mentioned, but Jules does send Jem and Tessa and painting of the Paris skyline to be hung in her room. And then there’s aunt Cecily and uncle Gabriel and aunt Charlotte and uncle Henry and aunt Sophie and uncle Gideon and all the cousins that she loves but can never meet, except in old photos and bedtime stories. Anyway, it takes literally years for her to get her head round her massive family but she loves them all the same. 

Max learns about magic before Mina obviously, because he’s older, but he takes great pride in showing her the ropes. Her warlock magic is way less potent than his but he never shames her, never laughs at her, never teaches her anything that she’ll never be able to do. On more than one occasion, Magnus and Tessa have ended up in tears because a) THEY’RE JUST SO DAMN CUTE  and b) they’re just so utterly happy.

Emma is overjoyed that another Carstairs girl can inherit Cortana. She pledges to teach Mina everything she knows and more, as soon as she’d old enough.

Mina is literally Kit’s best friend. He tells her everything, and its great because she’s not old enough to tell anyone else, not old enough to give hims dumb advice that he was going to ignore anyway, and also a really great listener. She understands, from a very young age, that she just needs to give him comfort when he’s pouring his feelings out to her, and he loves her even more everyday.

also, this is not a headcannon but a general question - do you think Jem’s time as a Silent Brother will affect Mina in any way? he went thought some powerful ass magic and combined with Tessa’s demon blood she could be one powerful baby, thats all i’m saying.