#Charles was a little harder to pin down and honestly I think it's because of the orange accent color lmao 💀 but once I got it in my head

[spacegirlsgang]

"Those memories are not why I choose to stay here! I still have a purpose. I'm a Dead Boy Detective!" // Charles Rowland, Dead Boy Detectives

[vizual-static]

DBDPromptober Day 1: Mirrors

First fic! I'll be putting this up on AO3 in the @dbdpromptober collection too in a couple days, but I wanted to start the month off with posting on the proper prompt day, so that means we’re on tumblr for the time being lol. Enjoy!

Blurb: “Oi! You’ll rip your arm clean off! Stop that now!” Charles steps around the edge of the book-laden desk to stand beside Edwin, who looks up at him with his own irritation. The furrow of Edwin’s brow is almost petulant, and there’s a half second where Charles thinks he might rip his own arm off out of spite. Instead, he rolls his eyes and reluctantly stops struggling against the manacle pinning him to the mirror.

Rewrite of the Ep 2 Dandelion Sprites London office research scene: Now with more Coming Outs! 

–

Closet Mirror

“Those tomes are perfectly understandable with a bit of study– If I could just–” Edwin pulls harder against the rippling surface of the standing mirror, wrenching his arm until Charles can practically hear the tendons of his shoulder groaning in protest. 

Concern shoots through Charles, blotting out the frustration that’s been building up over the last hour of dead end research. “Oi! You’ll rip your arm clean off! Stop that now!” He steps around the edge of the book-laden desk to stand beside Edwin, who looks up at him with his own irritation. The furrow of his brow is almost petulant, and there’s a half second where Charles is worried Edwin might rip his own arm off out of spite. Instead, he rolls his eyes and reluctantly stops struggling against the manacle pinning him to the mirror.

Charles puts a hand on Edwin’s shoulder, almost rubbing lightly at the muscle as if to soothe the ache of his over stretched limb before catching himself. He claps him on the shoulder a second time to still his hand. “I know it's driving you mental, mate, but you can’t go tearing yourself to pieces over this, can you? Here, see for yourself. Nothing on page 181 of big, blue Blood and Bone.”

Charles pulls the thick book across the desk, cracks it open, and holds it between them both for Edwin to check for himself. Charles isn’t even annoyed that Edwin keeps insisting he didn’t read the book right. He can tell his friend’s been off all day since the Cat King laid his caging spell, and some of his current misplaced annoyance is obviously from that. So if Charles can soothe that irritation by holding up every book for Edwin to inspect himself with those beautiful blue eyes–

Not going there, mate. Charles thinks to himself as he hoists the book up a little higher. 

Edwin lets out another sigh while leaning in closer to peer at the book. “No, no. I trust that you read it thoroughly,” Edwin says by way of apology, though his eyes do scan over the pages because he really can’t help himself. “I just can’t stand not being able to access the whole collection.”

Charles understands the feeling well enough. He thinks he would also be more than a little twitchy if he was magically barred from his bag of tricks. But there’s something else about how worked up Edwin is that Charles can’t pin down, and he’s pretty sure a certain feline bastard is at the heart of it. 

“Honestly, Edwin, can’t you tell me what really happened with the Cat King?”

Edwin stiffens beside him, not looking up from the book. “I have told you the lot of it. He was uncivil, garish, and I was taken off guard when he spoke close to my ear.”

“He whispered in your ear?!” Something flares hot in Charles’s chest, the embers of this past hour’s frustration sparking back up in an instant. He tosses the book onto the desk and turns to face Edwin fully. 

Edwin coughs and looks away. “Really, Charles, it wasn’t like that.”

Charles’s alarm only grows. “Wasn’t like what, mate? What did he do to you?”

“He did not do anything other than what I have previously described. There is nothing more to it,” Edwin snaps, flicking a cold look back at Charles. 

Charles’s jaw clenches as the urge to push it rolls over him. Charles wants to know what happened in the three hours Edwin was gone. Charles wants to know what that cat freak did to throw ever-perceptive-Edwin off his rhythm so much that he allowed for a magical binding around his wrist. Charles wants to know what he did to put Edwin so on edge. 

He takes a deep breath to smother the flames in his chest. “Look, I’m just worried about you, mate. Gotta make sure the Cat King doesn’t try any more funny business, but I can’t know how to fight the bugger if you won’t tell me about his tricks, can I?”

Edwin seems to soften a little, the rigidness seeping from his posture as he lets his mirror-arm go slack. He lets out a short breath. “I do not believe we’ll need to fight him. He just– As I said, he caught me off guard.”

Charles isn’t itching for a fight (okay, maybe he is), but this resignation from Edwin rubs him the wrong way. “You also didn’t think we’d have to fight the ‘docile’ nymphs in the Case of Singing Lake. Always better to be prepared if we have time to plan and research an enemy’s weakness, though, yeah?” 

“He’s not that kind of threat.” Edwin shoots back too quickly before his mouth presses into a thin line, and Charles can tell he would be pressing his fists together if he had use of both his hands. His voice comes out strange and tight as he continues, “I assure you, Charles, that none of the Cat King’s ploys would work on you. He seems partial to trickery, as you said, but knowing what we do now, I am fairly certain he would not be able to entrap you using the same mind games I fell prey to. Even after that single encounter, I also get the sense that he himself is not one for direct coercion or violence. Therefore, if and when we do encounter him again, I will simply have my mind more well fortified against his tactics, and you should be perfectly fine as you are.”

Charles still doesn’t like the cloudy picture of this “encounter” that he is beginning to fill in from his friend’s vague words. He huffs. “You’re so sure his ‘ploys’ wouldn’t work on me, are you? I’m flattered, mate, but even I know a trickster god could get in my head if he wanted.”

“I do not believe you would fall prey to his flirtations.”

Charles’s eyes widen, and something twists in his gut. “Flirtations?”

Edwin’s eyes mirror his, suddenly realizing he’s said more than he meant to. He opens his mouth mutely and closes it. 

Charles’s temper flares again, suddenly wanting to take a cricket bat to the Cat King’s lair and smash all of his bloody stupid shipping crates to bits, but as quickly as the rage comes, he pushes it deep, deep down. That’s not what this is about right now. 

This is about his friend– his best mate– and the implication laced under this whole bloody opaque conversation that Charles had been too dense to catch. Hell, apparently he’d been too thick to catch it for the past 30 years. 

He didn’t realize Edwin likes blokes. And that feels like the bit Charles can focus on to ease the tension that’s been brewing since they got back. That feels like the thing he can fix right now. Cause, well, Charles’s been keeping a bit of a secret too, hasn’t he? 

He leans back against the rim of the mirror, letting his head rest against the wood frame as he smooths out his features and gives Edwin what he hopes is a convincing smile. 

“You’re right. He’s not my type.” 

Edwin blinks and turns away, huffing out a nervous laugh before picking up a random book off the corner of the desk and flipping it open. “Right. Exactly.”

“Not that he’s not fit in kind of a Loki way. But I don’t usually go for dickheads who kidnap my best mate, so I should be safe.”

Edwin whips his head around, nearly dropping the book, and Charles springs up off the mirror to catch it, steadying it in Edwin’s hands. Suddenly the two boys are up in each other’s space, and Charles’s chest feels tight for a different reason. He drops his hands. 

Edwin is studying Charles with wide eyes, trying to puzzle through his meaning. If Charles could blush, he knows his cheeks would be hot under his friend’s pretty gaze. 

“Well, yes. Obviously. Though my assessment was based on the fact that you don’t usually go for– Or, rather– That you tend to express more of an interest in–” Edwin stumbles, like he’s editing himself midsentence, “... People like Crystal.”

Given the course of this conversation and, you know, 30 odd years of friendship, Charles knows the next part will be okay, but he can’t help the twinge of nerves that shoots through him either. Internalized biphobia is a bitch, yeah? He tries not to fidget, though, keeping a soft slouch to his shoulders to remain “casual” as he allows for this revelation. This is Edwin, afterall. And it seems the two of them share this too. 

“Girls, you mean?” Charles says the quiet part out loud. 

Edwin makes a soft noise of agreement, almost an afterthought, eyes still fixed on Charles with something between anxiety and the intensity of trying to solve a case. 

Charles forces himself to smile through the nerves. “I mean, yeah, girls are pretty brills. But blokes aren’t too bad either, are they? So, you know, if you need to factor that into your calculations about the Cat King. I could theoretically be wooed by a trickster god like him. If he wasn’t a giant knob.”

A small smile slips past Edwin’s guard, but he’s still quiet for a moment. As he searches Charles’s face for sincerity it grows wider, dimpling his cheeks in the most genuine smile Charles’s seen on him all day. It makes his insides go all soft seeing that smile.

“I will make note of it for future cases,” Edwin says, overly formal, of course, but there’s a conspiratorial edge to his voice like it's an inside joke. 

Charles half expects Edwin to pull out his notebook and write down these new “findings,” and Charles laughs to himself before lightly bumping Edwin’s shoulder. He feels warm and a little giddy with having told this to somebody after so long– his best friend no less– and having it go so well for both of them. 

They stay like that for a moment, shoulder to shoulder, Edwin looking down at whatever book he picked up and Charles looking out over their slightly messy office, not trusting himself to face Edwin head on lest his overwhelming fondness show up too plainly on his face. It’s a fondness he’s not quite willing to name yet. But he tucks that away to be examined later. For now he’s just pleased that he helped Edwin to relax a smidge, and let him know he’s not alone. 

Edwin makes a startled noise beside him, and straightens up, causing Charles to jump to attention in confusion. Edwin looks sheepish. “I just felt a tug on my sleeve back in Port Townsend. Likely Crystal. We should bring back as many books as we can carry and continue searching through them back at her apartment. Hopefully nothing too dire has happened with Niko while we were dawdling.”

Charles rolls his eyes at “dawdling,” but he scoops up an armful of books with a grin. “Right. Plus she can help us look through them too.”

Charles starts back towards the mirror before Edwin strains forward, reaching towards a book on the far end of the desk. “Be sure to collect the–”

Charles pauses and throws him a look, one leg already phasing through the mirror. “Oi! What did I just say about that arm?”

Edwin drops his outstretched arm with an exasperated groan, turns around, and passes through the mirror back into Crystal’s flat without another word. Charles just shakes his head fondly and follows.

[oddaodd]

· I Don't Go In For Sweets ·

Request: by a lovely anon "set after the events of season 3. Tommy can't handle the company, he's still grieving and he has to be there for Charlie so Polly tells him she knows a girl from a good family to get married He ends up agreeing (aunt Pol can be very persuasive) but even though he's married, this new girl isn't considered as a wife. He doesn't really make any effort but his "wife" understands, he's a widowed father who lost his first wife only a year ago. However since they are...in this, she wants to make her time as enjoyable as possible for the both of them and for Charlie too. But no matter what Tommy makes it a point of honor to not let her in, to not let her replace Grace so he ignores her, he works more, tries to spend as little as possible in the house. Reader stays patient, it will be alright and Charlie is making her quite busy anyway. One night, Tommy comes home completely drunk and maybe a bit high too, he can't even make it to his office. Thankfully Reader is still awake, she takes care of him and Tommy just...melts at how gentle Reader is, he may be able to keep his distant while sober but it's much harder in his state. He admits to her how he's been feeling and all. Ever since that night, something changed, Tommy feels some comfort, some solace being around her, she accepts him wholly, even his flaws, the bad side of his business and she tries to provide some sort of safe place for when it gets too hard." (I edited the request because it was very long, but I kept all essential parts in there)

Author’s note: I loved loved loved writing this and it ended up being SUPER long, but I’m very happy with how it turned out. As always, I hope you like it and have the loveliest of days!

Warnings: season 3 SPOILERS sort of, but not really, still read at your own risk. Arranged marriage, mentions of alcohol and drugs, angst.

·

“Thomas, you may not be able to see it, but you’re breaking apart” Polly spoke with a sigh as she lit a cigarette after everyone was dismissed from a family meeting.

Everyone had left Tommy’s office in arrow house rather gaily after receiving their fair compensations for partaking in the whole Russian ordeal, all except Polly, who remained where she sat, wishing for a word with her nephew

Tommy merely scoffed at her concern before lighting his own cigarette and taking a puff “I’ll be alright”

“And Charlie?” Pol pressed knowing Tommy’s mourning was not only affecting him, but Charlie as well. “What about him?”

“He’s fine” He said before turning around to look through the window, ignoring his Aunt’s heavy stare.

“You take too much after your mother” she sighed half angry half sad “she too loved pretending everything was alright and I don’t need to remind you where that lead her”

Tommy sighed deeply, he knew he could fool anyone. Anyone but Polly. “We’ll manage”

“Consider my offer” Polly said standing up and making her way to the door “Y/n is a good girl from a good family” she persuaded before leaving the room.

Tommy sighed at his Aunt’s words, he wasn’t ready to get married again even when he knew the woman he would be marrying was a nice one. He felt like he was spitting on Grace’s grave and he hated himself for even considering the prospect, but he knew a mother figure would be good for Charlie.

He spent the rest of the day pondering about Polly’s suggestion and remembering his own childhood in the shadow of the absent tortured presence that his mother had been. It didn’t take him long to decide he didn’t want that for Charlie, so that same night he phoned Polly.

“I’ll do it” was all he said before hanging up. There was no need for more words, Polly would know exactly what he meant.

Exactly a week later, Tom was standing in the altar of a church that was significantly smaller than the one from his first wedding. The fact that everything about this wedding was so obscenely different from his first did soothe his guilt a bit. And as he stood there he couldn’t keep his mind from traveling to the days leading up to his wedding to Grace. She had made sure everything was perfect and had made an effort to invite every single relative she could think of. She remembered her rambling on an on about fabrics, insisting that everything ought to be perfect when he in all honestly couldn’t care less, he just wanted to marry her.

All his thoughts vanished away with a poof when Y/n came into sight. And what a sight she was. She had insisted on doing her own makeup and on pinning flowers to her hair to compliment her headpiece and her elegant, yet simple white dress flowed almost mystically as her father gave her away. She had never imagined she would be marrying someone she didn’t know, but she wanted to look her best for getting married is not something people do everyday.

When she stood in the altar, she offered her to be husband a smile which he did not return, instead turning his attention to the priest before them. She mirrored his actions, her heart beating violently under her chest as the priest began speaking.

It all felt like a blur, she could swear it had only been a second since her father had given her away and yet, the priest had already uttered the dreaded “you may now kiss the bride”

Tommy barely brushed his lips against hers and soon the sound of everyone clapping invaded her ears. They had a small party afterwards in Y/n’s former house. Her parents had invited pretty much all of their acquaintances while tommy had only invited his close relatives.

When night fell Tommy was more than ready to leave “Are you ready to go?” was one of the few sentences he uttered to his now wife that night.

She again offered him a smile before saying “yeah just let me say goodbye”

The drive to arrow house was tense, although Y/n didn’t know Thomas very well she would tell he was unhappy. She wondered about what to say to him, but couldn’t come up with anything good enough and soon enough they were pulling over in front of Tommy’s stately home.

“Charlie must already be asleep, but I'll introduce you tomorrow” he said opening Y/n’s door for her.

“It’s alright” she said looking at him, not quite knowing what to do next.

“Your parents sent some of your belongings, I've already asked the maids to take them up to your-our room” he said

“Thank you, Thomas” she smiled as she walked into the big house not yet feeling close enough to him to call him Tommy.

His name falling from her lips caused an echo of bittersweet emotions to stir inside him but he masked it perfectly well as she introduced Y/n to the maids that went to the door to take their coats.

“Frances here will show you the way to the room” he said after having made introductions.

“This way, Mrs” Frances politely said.

Y/n began following her but stopped when she didn’t hear Tommy’s footsteps behind her own.

“Are you not coming?” she asked turning to look at him.

“Maybe in a bit” was all he said before he walked away down one of the many spacious hallways of the house.

After Y/n made herself comfortable in the room and changed into her nightgown she took the time to peek around the room like one always does when one is a strange place. After familiarizing herself with it she laid down in the big bed. She was nervous, she knew what happened on wedding nights. A small chuckle stopped at her lips when she recalled the stories her close already married girlfriends told her. If she hadn’t married a complete stranger she too would be looking forward to it.

Her thoughts ended up luring her to sleep after a while despite her nerves and the night went by in a ridiculously fast flash. The next morning she woke up alone and after getting ready she made her way downstairs. Tommy and Charlie were already in the dining room when she entered it.

“good morning” she said

Charlie immediately turned his attention to her, his eyes widening while his dad merely glanced at her while he muttered a “Good morning “ of his own.

Y/n sat down next to Tommy while he cleared his throat “charles, this is Y/n. We got married yesterday so she’ll be living with us from now on”

Charlie merely nodded in understanding before playing around with his food.

A tense air flooded breakfast until Tommy stood up, having barely touched his food and spoke turning to look at Y/n “I have to go now, if you need anything feel free to ask Frances”

“Alright” Y/n replied feeling a bit disappointed, she would love to get to know him, but she already knew it was going to be difficult.

“I have to go too” Charlie announced in a timid voice, interrupting Y/n’s thoughts. Despite her disappointment she understood, maybe he was just shy and his dad just reticent. They had lost a wife and a mother after all.

The first few days after that, Charlie avoided her nearly as much as his father did and Y/n remained in lonely patience until one night Charlie’s cries interrupted her focus on the book that she had just bought. She rushed to his room and called out his name as she entered not knowing if the boy would be comfortable with her or not.

“What is it?” she asked worried as she knelt by his bed.

“I miss my mum” the boy confessed looking at her with teary eyes as he clutched his blanket.

Y/n felt her heart give a small ache at his confession and in an attempt to comfort him she spoke “She’s not really gone, you know?”

“She’s dead” the boy sobbed.

“but people who die, don’t leave us. Not really anyhow” she said hesitantly rubbing his arm. “just because we cant see them doesn’t mean they are not here”

“I miss seeing her” he continued.

“Oh but you can still see her”

“how”

“before you go to bed just think about her, then she’ll visit you in your dreams” Y/n spoke as if she was telling a fairy tale.

“really?” the boy’s eyes widened.

“really” Y/n confirmed “But you have to think really really hard”

“I’ll try” Charlie said having calmed down a bit.

“very well” Y/n said as she stood up, but Charlie’s voice stopped her.

“can you stay till I fall asleep?”

After that night, Charlie hardly left Y/n’s side and she felt much better with his company for she was sure if he wasn’t there keeping her on her toes all day she would fall into a depressive chasm induced by her husband’s absence.

On the rare moments he was home she tried to strike up conversation with him over breakfast or late at night when he came home and she was burdened by insomnia. But Tommy only humored her with a few short responses before excusing himself or turning to face the other side of the bed.

It wasn’t only the fact that he avoided her as much as he could, but he also made it a priority to exclude her at all times. She was never invited into family meetings or night’s at The Garrison so she thought it was a miracle when tommy didn’t oppose to her planning Charlie’s birthday party.

She invited only Tommy’s family which instantly warmed up to her, noticing what a good influence she was and Polly wanted to slap Thomas for the way he had been acting throughout his marriage to Y/n. Almost feeling guilty for getting her into this mess.

When the party ended Tommy shut himself in his office like he often did when he was at home and though he had never given Y/n a reason to believe she was welcome in there of all places, she found herself allowing herself in after putting Charlie to bed.

Tommy looked up as she entered and let out a sigh before turning his attention back to some papers he had been reading.

“I noticed you didn’t have any” she commented not letting his sigh deflate her as she laid a plate with a slice of homemade chocolate cake on his desk. “it’s really good if I may say so myself” she mused sitting down in a chair opposite to his as she dug in with a fork in her own slice.

“I don’t go in for sweets” he stated.

“Not even chocolate?” Y/n tried, but tommy didn’t answer, instead he just shook his head.

“I still think you should try it, it’s not overly sweet, and…”

“is there anything you need?” he interrupted bluntly a bit harsher than he would’ve liked.

His tone caught her off guard and when she couldn’t come up with an answer tommy again turned his attention back to his papers.

“I wish you could let me in” She softly confessed after a few tense seconds.

“Well I wish we hadn’t married but I guess things don’t always go the way we want them to go”

Tommy knew he had crossed a line by the silence that again settled into the room. He looked up at Y/n with her parted lips and misty eyes. They exchanged glances for a second but instead of allowing him to see her like that any longer, she stood up setting her plate on his desk and walked away, only allowing a few tears to drop by when she was out of the room and his sight.

After that she stopped trying to get closer to him. He still loved his late wife and she understood, people in grief never mean what they say after all, but his words stung nonetheless.

She stopped trying to wait for him at night to see if he had gotten home alright and during breakfast she only uttered polite good mornings.

One night however, Y/n was yanked out of a peaceful sleep by a loud crash. She was on her feet in no time and after checking into Charlie’s room to see if he was alright she cautiously ventured downstairs. A few incoherent mumbles filled her ears before her husband came into sight, fumbling with his coat to get it off.

“need help?” she asked earning his attention.

“I’m fine” he said finally taking it off but as he went to take a step to begin walking the floor under him moved and he lost his balance, his knees crashing loudly against the wooden floor.

Y/n offered him a hand and helped him up. He smelled of whiskey and cigarettes, his hands were shaky, consequence of the snow, no doubt. “let’s get you upstairs”

“I can do it on me own” he slurred letting go of her hand.

“stop being so stubborn” she derided, snaking one of her arms around his waist as she helped him upstairs.

Y/n helped him into bed, tookoff his shoes and went to the bathroom to fetch a small towel and some cold water.

She dampened the towel with the cold water before dabing it gently on Tommy’s forehead. His eyes never leaving her face as she did so, making her grow a bit nervous. She continued, trying her best to ignore it until she felt his hand softly caressing her cheek.

“You are beautiful” he rasped.

“Stop it, Thomas” she said feeling her cheeks grow red when she felt a bit sad that he had to be completely drunk to compliment her.

Even in his drunken state he seemed to notice he was making her uncomfortable so he held his tongue until Y/n laid in bed next to him after turning on the lights.

“I’m sorry” he interrupted the silence “For the way I’ve been acting” the whiskey and cocaine making him more vulnerable and open “I guess I was afraid that if I let you in then she would disappear”

He didn’t expect her to answer, but then her voice came in a soft exhausted tone“ I don’t intend to replace her. You don’t need to act all defensive and secretive. Even if it’s not what you wanted, we are married.”

“I Know” was all he said.

Y/n expected him to withdraw more from her after showing himself that vulnerable to her that night but she was wrong. He began arriving home earlier, sometimes even asking if he could come along on the walks she and Charlie so much adored going on. And Y/n finally felt her marriage was going somewhere maybe it wasn’t based on love yet, but it was something.

One day she was at the stables while Charlie was taking a nap. She had always adored horses.

“I didn’t know you liked horses” came Tommy’s smooth voice causing her to jump.

“You never asked” she smiled petting a black horse as he walked closer to her.

“We could go out for a ride, I’m sure Charlie wouldn’t mind letting you borrow his horse” Tommy offered as he too began to pet the horse, his fingers brushing against Y/n’s for a brief second.

“I’d love to, but I am afraid I don’t know how to ride, Tommy” she said, panicking for a second after having called him that. But she rested assured as soon as he spoke again.

“Well that can be fixed” he said opening the door of the stall and guiding the horse outside.

“You mean now?” Y/n asked with a laugh.

“Got something better to do?” he asked walking out of the stable with the horse. Y/n observed tommy as he prepared the horse. She had never seen him so gentle and calm before and she only realized she had been staring when Tommy directed his attention to her to ask her if she was ready.

“I think so” she said going to stand next to the horse wondering how the hell to climb up. But before she had any more time to think she felt Tommy’s hands on her waist giving her a push that allowed her to pull herself up on the animal. It was a good thing she had chosen to wear slacks that day, she thought.

“Goodness this is high” she said nervously looking down at Tommy when he began guiding the horse to move in a slow walk.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall” he promised repressing a mirthful tone at her nervousness.

He guided the horse with her around the property in the crisp evening air and Y/n allowed herself to relax with every step the horse took. Tommy’s presence made her feel safe and protected and she found it increasingly harder to look away from his figure. She wondered if he could feel her eyes on him.

When the sky began turning soft shades of purple and orange the pair returned to the stables. When the time came from Y/n to come down from the horse, tommy helped her again. Y/n began to love the feeling of him touching her and when her feet touched the ground in front of Thomas, he didn’t remove his hands from her waist right away and instead fixed his blue eyes on her, not wanting to stop looking at her.

She too fixed her eyes on Tommy as she felt a silent gasp in the base of her throat. That was the way she would’ve liked him to look at her on their wedding day. Tommy then leaned in, almost as if he were asking for permission before he tenderly pressed his lips to Y/n’s.

·

@captivatedbycillianmurphy @peakyxtommy @nyotamalfoy @writeroutoftime @babylooneytoonz @slytherinicequeen @lilymurphy03

[anotherbeingsworld]

what are the reasons you love bryce?? give lots and lots of details please

HI ANON, OKAY. I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING A WHILE ON REPLYING! I was caught up with stuff and I just am quite busy lately but.. here goes!

Disclaimer: This is my opinion, and not my way to bring down other LI’s routes! They have their own touch and, this is what I got from playing Bryce’s route! 

Open Heart was supposed to be a diamond-mine for me from the start, as I just... finished playing other books and I was like...’ medical book’ sounds fun and grey’s anatomy-ish! And, well... I started and holy smokes, book 1 was one of my favourites. And, here comes the fangirling session!

Our first meet with Bryce, was amazing and hilalrious too? I  mean, MC bumped into him at the locker room being half naked lmao, what a sight for sore eyes? When I first saw him, honestly... he was gorgeous? Like.. he is like... so handsome and.. I just.. kinda fall for him for his looks first! I mean, the eyes first than the heart right?

Moving on to the pin-point, the supply closet scene. The fact Bryce came to check in on MC, and well... what came afterwards.. I knew he was a caring guy, and I kinda fell even harder, and.. well... MC took the chance to kinda make a move too quick and well, lets say MC is smitten to Bryce! I mean, besides all that ‘stuff’, I loved how Bryce tooks the time to be there for MC in a way, like.. somehow, made me love him even more as a character! 

ALSO, MAY I POINT OUT? HIS HAIR! THAT PERFECT HAIR? GOODNESS, HOW CAN ONE PULL THAT OUT! and, the fact he looked good in anything is one reason to like him more? 

And, moving on... the bar scene.. I mean, lets just say... I took the chance and well.. it was worth it!  He was a confident guy, and honestly someone who I wanted to be? Someone who doesnt care what others think, and in my fics.. MC was the opposite of him, and somehow... it mirrors it! 

THEIR SMALL MOMENTS WITH EACH OTHER !!! I am sucker for the little things trope, where their small adventures counts and, I loved the small moments as I play his route and, I know other LI’s have that too! Since, I am a bryce fan let’s say I am biased about it lmao! But, their adventures such as the bachelorette party after the common thingy is one of their spontaneous adventures that I enjoyed! And, MC got the chance to tell the party on their feelings towards Bryce somehow, makes it more worth it? The concert afterwards, playing copyrighted mario kart, the fries scene? And, seeing it without all the hook-ups and all, they definitely enjoyed their little adventures either its out or in the hospital! I headcanon MC and Bryce love to take random adventures together, either its just a drink at Donahue or a stroll on the charles? OKAY, AND THEM SINGING ‘ A WHOLE NEW WORLD’ TOGETHER AT KAROEKE AND, THAT IS JUST SO FREAKING PRECIOUS! They enjoyed each other’s company and, I loved them for that! 

Moving on, them being with each other during the dark times too. A parallel I see all too well between them, they are going to be there for each other. DESPITE. EVERYTHING. In Book 1, we see Bryce comforting MC (in my playthrough) after Mr.s Martinez’s death, where in the on-call room, he holds on tight to MC, as they sob. Bryce, being there for MC during the trial, and everything that leads to the end of Book 1, where the whole friend group has been there for MC. Bryce, was there and... I can imagine, those late night moments of reassure from Bryce when MC felt scared, and guilt. And, into Book 2. They are mirroring each other, MC was there for Bryce.  With everything going on, MC stood there to help him with Keiki, and MC had been there every step of the way until they send Keiki to boarding school. The fact, that MC went to his apartment because they saw how distraught Bryce was afterwards, MC being there for Bryce when they go to the mall, and MC helping Bryce with the boarding school thing with Keiki, until the end... and, in those moments I can see Keiki and MC bonding, talking about Bryce, relieving all the childhood memories together and, just laughing hanging out. Besides that, despite MC being the one who faced the trauma, seeing Bryce broke down.. and letting his guard down only with MC, shows how much they trust one another. I remember along the lines where Bryce mentions on his family reputation to MC ONLY! As, the premium scene from chapter 8 where the gang practiced baseball with Raf, he mentions on having an easy road at high school. It shows how much, he trusts MC on his life situations. And, the fact... the iconic scene from chapter 11 where his scalpel shakes, shows how much he worries about MC, despite if you romance him or not, shows that he really cares for MC, and wants to be there during the dark times and good times too. It’s a huge reason why I adore him, and his ability to be there for MC and vice versa.. it shows volume on their relationship.

OK. ALSO, he is an amazing brother. The way he learns to cook for Keiki, as he tries his best to make Keiki comfortable and, the way he wanted to be there despite the gap between them after all these years made me fall in love for him even more. He and Keiki indeed are one of my fav siblings in the choices universe, and seeing how Bryce gets sad on sending Keiki away, shows how much of their relationship had grown since Keiki arrived in Boston. 

HONESTLY, I thought he would be those guys where they would flirt a lot and well... become a playboy in a way? But, he proved me wrong. I know, he is not real but... his personality made me love him even more and, I mean... who wouldnt love one Bryce Lahela? 

And up to this point, Bryce definitely is one of my top fav LI’s in choices because of those reasons above and many more that I couldn’t think of! But, he is someone who i aspire to be in a way? His confidence? I want that in this life, and... seeing him being confident and just... him. I loved him more? And, his quotes.. iconic! ALSO, HE IS A SURGOEN? HE HAS LOOKS, BRAINS AND EVEN AAAAA, HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE HIM? 

ALSO, I KNOW YOU ASK WHY I LOVE BRYCE and I hope it fulfills the answer eventhough I am definitely focusing on MC X Bryce’s relationship more! But, their relationship growing from book 1 made me love him even more than before! And, he is definitely more than a pretty face! He is Bryce Lahela, and he had left an amazing quote for everyone.

‘Don’t cover up your greatness’ - Bryce Lahela. 

THANK YOU FOR COMING FOR MY TED TALK :))))))  and, thank you anon for letting me fangirl over the surgeon boy! <3

[the-blackholeus]

After Training (Henrels/Stickvin Lemon)

(Yeah, I finally managed to write it. It took me forever, but I finally made it. I hope you like it.^^)

Summary: After Charles came home from an exhausting training session, Henry decided to help him relax.

Charles let a sigh of pure relief escape his throat as he finally closed the door behind him, leaning against it, reaching up to let his hands run through his hair after he took his headphones off, setting them on the counter.

He slowly walked down the hall and opened the door that led to the kitchen, wanting nothing more than to drink hot chocolate. He groaned as his sore muscles complained as he reached up into the shelves, grabbing a mug before setting it on the counter. He sighed again, reaching for his shoulder, rubbing it gently in the hope to ease the pain.

“Charles?”

The young government pilot flinched at the sudden voice and turned his head into the direction where it came from, spotting a very special man leaning against the door frame.

Henry Stickmin.

“Hey Henry.”, the younger male greeting the older, and watched how a small smile spread across his lover’s lips as he walked over to him, waving a little bit before wrapping his arms around his shoulders, leaning down to press a kiss to the pilot’s lips. Charles smiled and leaned against his lover, snuggling into the sweater he was wearing before pulling back, continuing to make himself a hot chocolate.

‘How’s your day been?’, Henry signed and sat down on the kitchen table, letting his hand run through his messy hair. “Quite…exhausting, to be honest.”, the younger male sighed and reached up to rub his eyes. “Training was a nightmare, and I’m sore all over.”, he groaned and stretched himself, cringing when his muscles made noises that they were not supposed to make.

‘That sounds bad. What did you have to do?’, Henry asked, a curious, but also a worried glint in his eyes. Charles sighed and rubbed his neck. “It was training sensation today. General Galeforce wanted to know which of us would be fit enough to go against the Toppats, and so he prepared a mission for several teams to see which ones would be fit enough to accomplish them.”, Charles began to speak and grabbed his hot chocolate he just had made himself and sat down with Henry.

He took a sip before he continued, his eyes tried and his free hand rubbing the sore spot on his back. “I was in a group of three. We’ve been running, jumping, and fighting all day with only two or three breaks that lasted for five minutes. Everything is sore. I feel like I’m a recruit again.”, the younger male groaned, hissing when the tips of his fingers dug into a spot that was incredibly painful to touch today.

Henry made a humming sound and staring at him out of pitying eyes before he reached out and set a hand on his shoulder. Charles gave him a thankful smile before he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, groaning as his muscles complained.

God, he felt like he was a hundred years old.

The older male gasped and jumped his feet, setting his other hand on the other shoulder, wanting to help him up, but the young government pilot simply shook his head, declining his help. “No, thanks, Henry. I may be exhausted and sore, but I can still sit up by myself.”, he chuckled, but the (former) thief could hear that he was in pain. He watched as he took another sip from his hot chocolate, trying to think of something that would make him feel better.

His thoughts, however, were interrupted by the voice of his lover. “I guess I’m just a little bit out of shape. It’s been a while since the last training session that was this hard. We’re not “The Wall”.”

This made Henry blink, and he gave his lover a questioning look, which made him chuckle. “Since you’ve broken out of the complex the warden was so angry that he and his second in command have created a training plan that is beyond torture.”, he told him and leaned back a little bit. “I honestly feel a little bit sorry for the employees.”

Henry couldn’t hold back the laugh that was trying to force itself out of his throat, and the sound echoed through the room, reaching the younger male’s ears. It made him smile.

He always enjoyed it when he could make his lover laugh, especially since it was quite rare for him to do so. He watched as his lover signed an ‘I don’t.’ before he managed to calm himself down, wiping the tears off his face.

He chuckled, drinking a few gulps of his hot chocolate. “You’re impossible, you know that?”, he asked teasingly, giggling when the other simply shrugged.

---

An hour went by, and Charles continued to talk about his day, not really noticing that Henry wasn’t exactly listening. He was still trying to figure out what to do to make him feel a little bit better, but nothing came to his mind.

He sighed quietly, biting his lips as he tried to pay attention to the words his lover was speaking, but he just couldn’t. Idea after idea rushed through his mind and was immediately dismissed by the young (ex) thief because he didn’t think it was good enough for this beautiful angel that was sitting in front of him, having the biggest smile in the world on his lips despite at what the day threw at him.

He watched as Charles lifted his hand to rub a sore spot on his neck while talking something about climbing a cliff, and suddenly, an idea came into his mind.

He jumped to his feet, startling the young government pilot.

“Henry? Henry? I something wrong?”, he asked with a worried tune in his voice, and he watched as the older male walked over to him, leaning down. The (ex) thief shook his head and simply pressed his lips to his forehead before he gently wrapped his hand around his arm before gently pulling him with him. Charles made a surprised sound as he was dragged out of the kitchen and up the stairs, leading him to the bedroom.

He turned on the lights and gently pushed the younger man down onto the bed.

“H-Henry? W-what are you doing?”, he asked, gasping when out of all sudden, he felt rough lips against his neck.

The (ex) thief pulled back and smiled softly at him, forcing himself to cough a little bit before he forced himself to speak. “I-I’m gonna make you feel good after s-such an e-exhausting day.”

He could feel Charles shiver at his voice, and a smile made its way to his lips as he watched a grin appear on the other’s face. “Oh, really?”, the younger male asked, getting a nod from him. “Yeah.”, he muttered and pressed another kiss to his lips before he returned to his neck, beginning to nibble at his skin.

Henry smiled against his skin as the government pilot moaned loudly as he found that one special spot that made his lover always squirm with pleasure. He carefully dug his teeth harder into it, liking over the new mark he had left there, tasting a little blood. He pulled back to look at Charles's face, which was completely flushed now. Sweat was already sticking his brown hair to his forehead.

He leaned down for another kiss while he slowly began to unbuckle his boyfriend’s belt, his thin and skilled fingers already sneaking past the rim of his pants to feel his warm, sun-tanned skin. He nudged him gently, prompting him to lift his hips so that he could pull them off, exposing his strong legs.

As soon as he threw the piece of cloth into a far corner, he leaned up again and gently helped his beloved out of his shirt, pressing kisses all over his strong chest while doing so. He gently bit into his collarbone, making Charles groan quietly as he buried his teeth into his sensitive flesh before licking over the small mark he had left there, smiling up at him before pulling him up to lock his lips with his.

He slid his tongue inside of his boyfriend, letting it glide over his teeth while unbuckling his own pants, pulling them down as soon as he had the chance. They separated to pull off his sweater, exposing his scarred yet muscular chest, doing the same as he did to Charles shirt before pulling into another kiss, growling quietly as he felt the other’s hands on his back, exploring it.

Their hips ground against each other, and they felt their fully hardened members rub against each other through the thin layer of clothing. Henry groaned as he pulled back, licking over his lips to get the last bit of his lover’s taste before reaching down, pulling their boxer’s off with one swift movement.

Charles let out a soft moan as his erection got exposed to the cold air of the room, and he reached down, attempting to wrap his fingers around it, but he was stopped by Henry’s hand, who shook his head with a teasing smile.

Slowly, he slid down until he was eye to eye with the hard, pulsing member, which already leaked precum. He gave his lover a small smile before he leaned down, and gave it a long, slow lick with his tongue. The young government pilot cried out in pure pleasure as he did that and reached down to grab a fistful of his hair, pulling him closer.

Henry chuckled hoarsely before he gently closed his lips around the tip of his erection, letting his tongue run over the head, tasting the precum before slowly taking him deeper into his mouth until it slid down his throat. Charles cried out in pure pleasure as his hips jolted up, his hips jolted upwards, pushing it deeper into his mouth.

The (ex) thief gagged softly for a second before managing to relax his throat a little bit, beginning to suck softly on the pulsing flesh. The young government pilot moaned softly and set his hands on his head to let his fingers run through the short, thick locks of Henry’s hair. The taller male moaned softly at that, gently biting down on his lover’s erection, which sent a jolt of pleasure through the muscular body.

Charles whimpered, feeling a little bit ashamed that his orgasm was already approaching. He moved his hips, trying to get even deeper into his lover’s mouth, but after gagging a second time, Henry got enough and pinned his hips down on the bed.

He knew he was close to cumming, and so, he decided to toy around a little bit. He pulled back, letting his teeth scrape the sensitive flesh slightly, making sure not to hurt him, gently biting into the tip as soon as he got up there, letting his tongue run through the slit.

That brought the young government pilot over the edge.

With a cry of pure pleasure, he released his cum into his boyfriend’s mouth, who immediately started to swallow it.

He drank everything, only when he was sure that the orgasm of the other had passed, he pulled back, and looked up to give his boyfriend a gentle smile.

Charles panted heavily, his eyes unfocused, his face wet with sweat and flushed to the point where it could be mistaken for a tomato. After a few seconds, he finally managed to compose himself and leaned up, reached for his boyfriend to pull him into a heated yet loving kiss.

“That…was amazing, Henry.”, he panted, still exhausted from reaching his peak. He watched as Henry nodded, reaching up to wipe the saliva off his chin and his face before wrapping his arms around his neck, nuzzling his face into his neck.

“Are you ready to continue, or do you need a break?”, he asked hoarsely and licked over his skin, making him moan softly. Charles chuckled softly and buried his fingers into the brown locks of his lover, massaging him gently. “No.”, the younger male huffed and reached for the other male’s rock-hard member, which had precum already leaking from the tip. “I want you to continue.”

Henry bit his lips, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips while he reached for the drawer, opening it, reaching inside. He pulled out a small bottle of lube, grinning at his lover as he opened it as he dipped his fingers inside.

Charles watched, biting the inside of his cheek as his lover grabbed his legs, spreading them so that he could have easy access to his most private area. He pressed his lips to his as he carefully circled his hole with his fingers, carefully pushing one inside as he slid his tongue into the other's mouth. The younger government pilot moaned quietly as he tasted himself on Henry’s tongue, wrapping his arms around his neck as he began to thrust his digit in and out.

The older man broke the kiss, staring into the green eyes of his lover. “You alright?”, he asked, his voice thick with lust and desire. “Yeah.”, he panted, swallowing thickly. I think I’m ready for another one.”, he purred as he slowly inserted a second finger inside of him, waiting until he got used to it before scissoring him open.

He was careful as he did that, his eyes fixated on his loved one’s face, watching out for any sign of pain, but there was none. There was only pleasure. So, he dared to add another one, and began to search for a certain spot that would make Charles scream. He leaned up to kiss him as he massaged his walls, paying close attention to what they felt like, chuckling when he finally found what he was looking for.

The government pilot cried out as he pushed against his prostate, his eyes snapping wide open while pressing his hips against his hand, trying desperately to get more stimulation. The young man whined a little bit as Henry pulled his fingers out, giving him a grin before he kissed him.

He reached for the bottle of lube again and poured the cold liquid onto his member, spreading it with his hands before climbing above his lover. He pressed his lips against Charles’ as he positioned himself at his whole, starring into his lover’s eyes. “You ready?”, he asked, wanting to make sure that Charles really did want this and not just went along because he felt good.

The young government pilot blushed furiously and looked to the sight, making Henry worry for the split of a second, before he returned his attention back to him, a small smile on his face. “Yeah.”, he whispered as he leaned up, kissing him once again.

That was enough for Henry, he gently pushed in, letting his member slowly slide into the tight, warm cavern, feeling how those clenched around him, making the smaller male even tighter than he already was. As soon as he was fully seated, it took all of his will not to move, waiting for his lover to get adjusted.

Charles pulled back from the kiss and let out a sound that was a mixture of a moan of pleasure mixed in with a little bit of pain. His grip tightened as he buried his face in his neck to hide the sounds he made. After an entire minute, he gently moved against his lover’s member, urging him to move.

Henry groaned as he gently began to move his hips, pumping his erection in and out at a slow yet hard pace. His lips returned to his lover’s neck, gently sucking, and biting the flesh, creating a small purple mark as he kept his pace, hissing in pain and pleasure as he felt Charles’ nails dig into his flesh.

The young government pilot was moaning loudly, moving his hips upwards to meet his boyfriend’s thrusts. He bit his lips as he felt him speed up a bit, his hand reaching down to wrap around his neglected member, but before he could do so, he suddenly felt Henry’s hand swapping his away and wrap around his stiff length. He stroked in time with his thrusts, which made the younger male absolutely insane.

Henry grinned as he could hear Charles moans getting louder, and he increased the speed of his thrusts, his member hitting the one and only spot that made the smaller man cry out in pure pleasure. The (ex) thief made a sound that was a mixture of a chuckle and a moan as he pulled all the way out until only the tip of his erection remained inside of him, ramming himself inside hitting the spot again.

The young government pilot let out a scream and his grip tightened to the point of being painful as he repeated the action, abusing his prostate as best as he could. Chares was gone, lost in pleasure as he threw his head back, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Henry bit his lip at that wonderful sight, feeling himself slipping closer to his orgasm. He only needed a few more thrusts, but he wanted his lover to cum before him, so that he could see that god-like expression he always made.

He sped up his hand wrapped around his member and leaned towards him to lick his neck, searching for that one spot that would send a jolt of pleasure through him, hoping that it would be enough to send him over the edge. As soon as he found it, he bit into it, making Charles cry out, and release.

His cum squirted on Henry’s hand and both of their chests.

The (ex) thief hissed as he felt the walls around him tighten and released a moan as he shot his own load of cum inside of his beloved boyfriend, who whimpered at the sensation of the sticky liquid inside of him.

Henry groaned as he collapsed on top of his lover, his arms wrapped around him as they laid on the bed, panting violently. The older male gently pulled out, making Charles hiss gently as the empty sensation he felt now. He cuddled up to his boyfriend, huffing gently as he laid his head on his chest.

He smiled up at him gently, his face still flushed and sweaty, and to the taller man, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“I love you.”, the young government pilot whispered, making him chuckle. “Love you too, Charles.”, he whispered hoarsely as he leaned down, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before he settled down, enjoying the afterglow of his orgasm as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

[my-name-is-alice-ayers]

Chaos Theory pt 2

When the man had finished explaining, Charles let out a sigh, this had been a tolling day and it was barely lunch time. Piecing this together had been trying emotionally and even mentally for the three of them (four if you count Logan), “So you're saying... they took Raven's power, and what? They weaponized it?" Charles asked sitting up as he rubbed his hands over his face.

"Yep,” Logan nodded.

“She is unique." Hank spoke up, for the first time since they had entered the study, choosing his words cautiously as you sat in the window seat cross legged, a ball of the tension. For some reason sitting by the window seemed calming, until you heard what Logan had to say, now you contemplated jumping from the window.

“Yeah, she is, Hank,” Charles sighed looking over to you as you rolled your eyes, failing to agree with them.

“She’s a menace, sorry Charles, but she’s reckless and I always said she was going to get us all killed,” you pointed out.

Logan adjusted himself in the chair, as he began telling them more details of the future, “In the beginning the Sentinels were just targeting mutants, then they began to identify the genetics in non-mutants who'd eventually have mutant children or grandchildren. Then they started targeting everybody. Many of the humans tried to help us, it was a slaughter. Leaving only the worst of humanity in charge.”

You rose giving in to pour yourself a real drink as you watched Charles walk over to the other couch and sink in to the cushions next to Hank.

Logan continued, “I've been in a lot of wars, I've never seen anything like this. And it all starts with HER."

“Shocker,” you whispered under your breath, Logan raised an eyebrow at you making your cheeks flush again.

“Let's just say for the sake of... the sake, that I choose to believe you...” Charles spoke carefully glancing at you awaiting a reaction, “that I choose to help you. Raven won't listen to me. Her heat and soul belong to someone else now."

You felt it all over again, the emptiness that Erik had left inside of you. You felt all of their eyes on you as you bit your bottom lip staring at the ceiling to try and keep it all together. You closed your eyes trying to count slowly in your head (something Erik had actually taught you as a calming technique which in reality enraged you more), you could feel your emotions radiating off you like a heat wave, the tension in the room rising.

“Chloe, take a breath,” Hank spoke slowly. The more out of control your powers were the more it drove out other mutants. Even Logan shifted feeling his claws trying to break from the skin of his knuckles. Charles could even hear whispers of voices, returning as your pain amplified everything.

You shook your head closing your eyes as tears streamed down your face, your shoulders tensing as you gripped the molding on the counter, “She took everything...” you practically growled at them.

"Chloe, I know...and you’re going to hate me for this but that's why we're gonna need Magneto, too." Logan spoke slowly, lighting a cigar as he watched you cautiously.

“Erik? Honestly,” Charles remarked sarcastically.

“You know where he is?” You looked up meeting Logan eyes.

“Yeah,” he sighed as if it was nothing.

Hank narrowed his eyes looking between you and Charles confused at how passive he was acting.

Charles laughed even harder, "He's where he belongs." You could feel the anger radiating off him as he stood ready to stomp off.

"You're just gonna walk out?" Logan stood now confused, he knew mentioning Erik was going to set out Chloe, but Charles he assumed would be on board.

Charles smiled,”Ooh, top marks. Like I said, you are perceptive,” he waved his glass spilling some of the contents as he walked off.

“The Professor I know would never turn his back... on someone who'd lost their path. Especially someone he loved,” Logan replied confidently.

"You know, I think I do remember you now. Yeah... We came to you a long time ago seeking your help. And I'm gonna say to you what you said to us then...Fuck off!" Charles spat back.

Logan was quick as he angrily grabbed Charles, “Listen to me, you little shit. I've come a long way, and I've watched a lot of people die. Good people. Friends. If you're gonna wallow in self-pity... and do nothing, then you're gonna watch the same thing... you understand?"

You stood up now, "Let him go,” you demanded, “You can’t walk in here and expect all of this to erase the things they have done to us..to our family.”

Logan still held Charles as he turned to you,” You think I don’t understand but I do, but none of that petty shit going on between the four of you matters right now.”

You felt like he just smacked you, "Petty?Let him go. Now,” you raised your hands energy flashing all over you fingertips and Logan backed down, listening this time, letting Charles go, causing him to stumble back.

"We all have to die sometime." Charles turned his back, walking up the stairs, back into his room.

“I told you there's no professor here,” Hank stood next to Logan his hands in his pockets as he watched Charles sulk up the stairs.

"What the hell happened to him?" Logan was told this would be hard, but he never imagined Charles in this state.

Hank looked at you, “He lost everything. Erik, Raven... his legs.... We built this school, the labs, this whole place... then, just after the first semester... the war in Vietnam got worse. Many of the teachers... and older students were drafted. It broke him. He retreated himself. I wanted to help, do something... so I designed a serum to treat his spine... derived from the same formula that helps me control my mutation. I take just enough to keep myself balanced... but he takes too much. I tried easing him back... but he just couldn't bear the pain, the voices. The treatment gives him his legs... but its not enough. He's... He's just lost too much."

“Hank can you give us a moment,” you cleared your throat, signaling towards you and Logan. You had to admit your curiosity after all this was definitely piqued and you knew one extremely dangerous way to get to the bottom of it.

“I’m going to go check on Charles, don’t kill him Chlo,” Hank teased smiling at you as he walked out of Charles office, heading for the stairs.

“Can I see?” You leaned against the desk, your hands in front of you almost reaching for him.

“Excuse me?” Logan asked.

“You say you’re from the future, I want to see...whatever I can. Charles doesn’t have his powers but as you can see mine are in full force, it works better if it I have your cooperation,” you stated plainly as Logan walked over to you slowly.

“I have don’t this with you in a while...” Logan began stopping mid sentence, he hadn’t don’t this with you ever at this point. By the time you two met you had a much better control of your powers and you often spoke of this time as just a vague memory. Usually you two were in a more compromising position when you read his mind and he had a feeling that wasn’t what you were suggesting.

You didn’t have to read his mind to know what he was thinking, your cheeks flushed pink, “So in the future my power works the same, the more...intimate I am with someone the more I can feel or see,” you asked trying to piece it together. Logan nodded as he stood in front of you. “You say you know how I feel, but is that really true?”

“Yes, I’ve felt that heartbreak before, but it was an older wound, I supposed this might hurt more,” he pointed to your heart before he moved his hands over yours slowly as your fingers curled around his palms.

Your eyes flashed crimson as you locked into Logan, the memories were fuzzy but you could see bits and pieces, fragments of his past life...you could feel anger building inside him as he grew Into a man...but you were barely touching the surface.

“I can take it, just let go,” Logan muttered through clenched teeth as he braced himself.

You took a deep breath, letting ribbons of light come from your hands holding him in place, as you tip toed up to reach him. Your ran your hands over his beard, sliding them into his dark hair as you pressed a soft kiss to his lips, then it hit you like an earthquake.

You felt the full force of him past present and future, like a ton of bricks. If Logan hadn’t of moved to hold you up, you would have collapsed, your knees going weak. He had definitely been telling the truth, about Hank...about everything and even your future relationship.

You broke away from his grasp, coughing as you tried to catch your breath, falling against the desk, “Bloody Hell...”

“Did I hurt you?” Logan asked inspecting your body closely, there had been times his claws came out when you did this, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt you.

“I really thought you might be lying,” you held your throat, your pulse pounding against your fingers, “I’m so sorry Logan...” you closed your eyes trying to erase fifty years of chaos from your brain.

“You don’t have to apologize, we can change it... all of it...but we’re going to have to do it together,” Logan soothed.

“I don’t know if I can face them,” you cried, “it seems so...so human to be this weak...you’re right it’s petty...”

“Erik loves you, I know he can be an asshole, but one thing that he never stopped doing was pinning after you and fighting for you,” Logan smiled as your heart finally settled.

Charles walked back into the study, his voice slightly uneasy, “I'll help you get her. Not for any of your future shit, but for her."

“Fair enough." Logan nodded towards you, “I can’t get Erik without you, you saw that.”

“I'll tell you this, friend. You don't know Erik. That man is a monster. A murderer. A man who abandoned his family. You think you can convince Raven to change? To come home? That's splendid. But what makes you think you can change him?"

"I know I can’t, but SHE can,” he pointed at Chloe, “and because you and Erik sent me back together." He looked back at Charles and you wished he’d had his powers to see just a glimpse of what you had felt.

Charles jaw almost dropped as he looked at you, at a time that all four of you couldn’t be further apart, how the hell was that possible.

Logan turned to Chloe, "And they said you were the only one who could find a way to break through to Erik, and I think now you see that is true, Chloe. It’s going to take you and Charles to bring Erik back on our side."

“Oh this ought to be good,” Hank sighed.

[zarcake-writes]

Between Them

Hello everyone! Remember that little teaser I posted sometime back? Well, here it is! Just know, this is a little different from what I usually write. It’s written in first person pov, and it’s mainly a huge self-insert. Why? Well, bc I love both Arthur Morgan and Charles Smith, and I want to be sandwiched between them both lol. I plan to add more sections, but until then, please enjoy! 

Warnings: lemon (double penetration, oral, fingering, some spanking). Honestly, that’s all this is. 

The room is hot, but Charles’ skin is hotter. His breath comes out in puffs against my neck, occasionally his tongue runs along my skin or his teeth scrap my flesh. I know he’s left bites and dark marks along my neck and shoulders, I can feel the slight sting. His body cages mine against the bed, a hand is on my thigh while the other holds my hand. I’m limp beneath him, completely at his mercy.

He sits up and for a moment, giving me the chance to admire his body. Scars are scattered along his torso. There’s a bit of hair along his stomach that connects with his pubic hair. His chest and shoulders are my favorite part of his body, along with those nice legs of him. His beautiful hair is a sweaty mess. He smirks at my ogling and I swear he flexes a bit.

He brings my legs up and rests my feet against his shoulders. When he pushes himself back into me, I can’t help the wail that escapes my lips. I claw the bedding beneath me, trying to grab anything to give me a sense of stability.

His thrusts are slow and deep, almost lazy. But feel of his cock stretching me open, his firm grip on my ankles, and the look in his dark eyes says otherwise. There isn’t anything lazy about him. A hand travels along my body to my breasts, while a devilish look crosses his face as he tweaks a nipple. My response is exactly what he wanted.

My moans, his grunts, and the sound of skin slapping skin fill the small cabin. All else is drowned out, and for a moment, nothing matters. Until the front door opens and a familiar man steps through the doorway.

Charles reacts first. He throws himself over me and reaches for the gun near the bed. He freezes when he sees who’s standing at the door.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t know you two were busy. I’ll be outside,” Arthur says. His eyes linger on my body, but he’s quick to look away.

“Arthur, don’t go. Stay,” I whisper.

“I don’t want to intrude on you two.”

“Arthur, stay. We can stop if you’re uncomfortable. It’s cold outside,” Charles said. He’s breathing hard, and his cock is still hard in me, but the desire to make Arthur comfortable outweighs all that.

“You sure?” Arthur asks. He looks back and sees Charles has moved away from me. He’s covering himself with a blanket, but I’m still nude and my legs are partially open. Arthur’s eyes return to me, he licks his lips and swallows thickly.

“Yes. Come to bed with us.” My voice is sultry and low. It catches Charles’ attention, his eyebrows rise, but he makes no comment. Arthur is still, then he closes the door, and begins to remove his coat and boots.

Charles stays at the foot of the bed, the blanket still covers his body. I scoot over for Arthur, who takes a hesitant seat next to me. I cup his cheek, his eyes flutter shut and he leans into my touch. His skin is cold, his lips are dry, and the stubble on his face is rough beneath my palm. I notice a slight shiver in his body, not sure if it’s from the cold or because of what we’re going to do.

“Arthur, my sweet cowboy. Would you like to join Charles and me?”

“If… if it’s alright with Charles.” Arthur glances at Charles, who only nods his head.

“You have your answer.” I kiss him and he’s kissing me back. His hands are on my bare body, grabbing my waist and ass. I move his head to the side and place several kisses along his neck. His neck has always been sensitive, so I make sure to nip his skin. Arthur's soft gasps and whimpers are all the incentive I need. I want to see dark splotches on his sun-kissed skin.

He shrugs the suspenders off his shoulders and I begin undoing the buttons on his dark blue shirt. His broad, hairy chest is slowly revealed to me. A line of blonde hair travels down his stomach and disappears into his pants. His grip on my waist tightens suddenly. I look up at him and see he’s watching Charles, who is slowly rubbing his thick cock.

“Want to watch him fuck me?” I whisper in Arthur’s ear.

“You can take that thing?”

Charles lets out a laugh, clearly amused with Arthur's reaction towards his cock. I giggle and nod. “Yes. Want to see?”

“Y-yes.”

I put my ass in the air for Charles, making sure to keep my face near Arthur’s lap. Charles takes his position behind me and pushes himself into me. He’s slow and gentle, knowing I need time to adjust. His grip on my waist is firm and strong, just like him.

With every thrust, I’m moaning like a whore. Begging for more and whimpering how good Charles feels inside me. His hand grabs my hair and I’m pulled up to face Arthur. He’s leaning back against the bed, his cheeks and chest an adorable shade of pink. His mouth is slightly open as he rubs the bulge in his pants.

“Think you should help him,” Charles grunts in my ear. I nod and reach for Arthur.  

Charles slows his thrusts as my attention falls to Arthur. My hands pull at his pants, begging him to be free. Together, he and I pull his pants down and they’re thrown to the floor with the other article of clothes. His cock is now free and just begging for attention. It’s a bit longer than Charles’, but not as thick, with a dark red head that’s leaking precum.

Arthur watches with darkened eyes as I pump his cock. My tongue runs along the underside, pushing into that vein. When I take his head into my mouth, his mouth falls open. As I begin to bob my head slowly, Arthur's eyes flutter shut and his face darkens.

Charles thrusts are steadily increasing, no doubt aroused by what I’m doing to Arthur. My orgasm is building and it’s getting harder to focus on anything around me. Arthur and Charles notice this. Charles begins to pound into me harder and Arthur, ever the gentleman, pulls me off his cock and reaches down between my legs. His rough fingers find my clit and rub it just the way I like, the way I showed him.

As my orgasm builds, my moans grow louder. Charles is grunting and his fingers are almost bruising. Arthur is solid though, and I cling to his arm like he’s my only anchor to this world. When my orgasm washes over me, I don’t know whose name I moan. My world goes white and for a moment, there’s nothing.  

When I come back, Arthur is holding me, and Charles is no longer in me. His cum is hot as it runs downs the back of my thighs. A rag wipes my legs clean and I’m laid on my side. Arthur is still next to me, his hands run along my body. Charles sits at the foot of the bed, breathing hard and spent. His cock is growing soft, but a mixture of our cum makes it shine.

“Arthur, did you come?” I ask.

“No, sweetheart. Don’t worry about me. Just you rest.”

I manage to sit up and give Arthur a serious look. “No. Charles and I came, you deserve to as well.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I don’t want to push you.”

“You won’t. I want to take care of my boys.” I climb onto his lap and kiss him. He moans into the kiss, his hands grab my waist.

“Jesus woman, you’re insatiable.”

“Only for you and Charles.”

“Charles, you ok with watching us?” Arthur asks. Looking over my shoulder I see Charles watching us. He’s leaning on his elbow, a pleased look on his face.

“Yeah, I’m ok with this. Keep going,” he said.

I turn Arthur’s face back to me and kiss him again. My hips roll, and I rub my still wet cunt along his cock. The strangled moan from Arthur is music to my ears. I rise up just enough and he holds his cock up for me. I take him slowly, savoring the way he feels inside me.

He isn’t as thick as Charles, but he’s a bit longer and he does reach deeper inside me. When I could take as much of his as I could, Arthur gives me time to adjust. I move first, just a slight roll of my hips. His cock rubs against all the perfect spots in me. His moans were breathy and low like he's trying to hold back.

“Moan for me, Arthur. Let me hear from you, please.”

He does as I ask. Our moans and grunts fill the room. His body flushes and his back arches. I shiver as his rough hands run along my body, grabbing and squeezing my soft skin. I want to take my time, make him beg and plead to cum, but that desperate look on his face breaks me.

When I begin bouncing on him, Arthur almost loses it. He’s focused entirely on the image of his cock appearing then disappearing inside me. The look on his face, a mixture of lust and reverence, makes my chest warm.

I can feel my legs start to give out, and Arthur is growing impatient beneath me. “Arthur, help me.”

He grunts and pulls me down to his chest. His arms wrap around me, keeping me pinned against his body. I wail when he begins to thrust up into me. He’s taking me, using me, and I’m at his mercy.

His fingers dig into my sides hard enough that I know I’ll have bruises, but I don’t care. I can only focus on him pounding into me, and the spot in me that he’s hitting. My nails dig into his chest, and I whimper his name. He growls and tightens his grip around me.

I’m so close when he grunts, “Sweetheart, I’m gonna cum.”

“In me, Arthur. Please, I want you to cum in me.”

He growls as he continues to fuck me. My second orgasm hits me hard, and then he pushes up into me one last time. I barely hear him moan my name, but I can feel his hot cum inside me.

We both lay there, trying to catch our breath. His heart is pounding and he’s breathing hard. There’s a layer of sweat on our bodies, but I don’t move and he stays still.

I can feel myself starting to fall asleep when two hands rest on my ass. Glancing back, I see Charles is watching Arthur and I. He lifts my hips up just enough so that Arthur’s cock slips out of me. Arthur and I groan at the feeling. Charles lets out a pleased groan at the sight of Arthur’s cum dripping out of me.

“Arthur, you made a mess of her,” Charles says. There’s a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Well, she was asking for it.”

“That she was.” Charles pulls me up and asks, “You feeling up for another round?”

“You’re hard again?” I ask.

“Yeah. Watching Arthur fuck you got me hard.”

I turn to Arthur who is watching us with an excited look. “Arthur, you ok if we go again?”

“Sure. Come here.”

Charles smiles and pushes me back down onto Arthur’s chest. Charles raises my hips and pushes himself back into me. There’s a slight burn, but it’s forgotten as he begins fucking me. Charles thrusts are hard, and his hand comes down onto my ass. Arthur chuckles at my gasp and tightens his hold on me.

“Fuck her good Charles. Make her remember who she belongs to,” Arthur commands.

“Oh, she knows who she belongs to,” Charles grunts. He smacks my ass again and begins to fucks me harder.

“Yeah? You know who you belong to?” Arthur asks. He grabs me by the hair and forces me to look at him. His face is hard and stern. I always feel so small when he looks at me like that.

“Y-yes,” I manage to gasp out.

“Say it.”

“You.”

“And? Just me?” Arthur twists his hand and pulls more of my hair.

“And Charles. You a- oh fuck- Charles. I belong to you and Charles."

“That’s right. And after tonight, everyone we meet will know who you belong to.”

Arthur takes control of the situation. He tells Charles how to fuck me, when to speed up and when to slow down. When he gives Charles permission to fuck me as he pleases, it’s almost too much. Charles is rough and unrelenting; his groans and grunts are borderline animalistic, low and deep. It’s always a surprise when Charles gets like this. Despite the scars on his body and his size, Charles is always gentle with me, but now, that tenderness is gone.

When Arthur tells Charles to stop and pull out, it’s always when one of us is close to cumming. My whines and whimpers, my pleads to cum are ignored. Charles, always in control of himself, never begs. He is breathing hard and sweat shines on his body.

It’s during one of these torturous, orgasms denying moments that Arthur announces he’s hard again.

In my half-awake state, I glimpse the look on Arthurs' face. A moment later, Arthur’s inside me and begins to fuck me. After so many thrusts, he pulls out and Charles takes his place.

This continues for… I’m not sure. When one pulls out, the other takes his place. I realize with a thrill that both men are using me and I’m nothing but a hole for them to share and use.

At some point, Charles tells Arthur to stop, then climbs off the bed. I whimper and try to get Arthur to fuck me, but he stays still and growls at me to stop moving. His focus is on Charles, who is moving around the room looking for something. He comes back a moment later and takes his original position behind me in bed.

“Do you both trust me?” Charles asks.

“Course, Charles,” Arthur breaths.

“Y-yes,” I manage.

“If anything gets to be too much, for either of you, tell me and I’ll stop,” Charles said. Arthur and I both manage to nod.

Charles lifts me off Arthur and for a moment, I’m confused. Nothing happens, but then Arthur lets out a choked gasp. Looking between our bodies, I see Charles is rubbing oil along Arthur’s cock. His movements are slow and a bit shaky, like this, is the first time he’s jerked another man off. Arthur makes no objection, he simply lays there and enjoys Charles’ touch.  

When Charles is satisfied with how slick Arthur’s cock is, he turns his attention to me. Charles' oiled fingers slip into me, adding to my own slick. His two fingers become three, and then four.

Once I’m stretched open for him, Charles helps me back onto Arthur’s cock. Arthur’s arms wrap around my body and I’m held firm against his chest. After a moment, I realize what Charles has planned. The head of his cock is pressed against my entrance, and ever so slowly, is pushed into me. I gasp at the stretch, and Arthur let’s out a groan. It’s a tight fit, and Charles doesn’t attempt to force more than half his length into me.

The three of us don’t move. I’m afraid to breathe, Charles’ fingers dig into my skin, and Arthur’s jaw is clenched shut. Only when I breathe out and begin to relax does Charles move. His thrust is slow and hesitant, and I can’t help the moan that slips out of my mouth.

“Oh, she liked that, Charles,” Arthur gasps. Charles grunts in response and continues his slow pace.

At some point, Arthur begins to thrust up into me. And soon, both men are fucking me. When Charles pulls out, Arthur pushes into me. Their hands run along my back, fingers dig into my hair, and their mouths are on my shoulders and neck.

Trapped between their larger, sweaty bodies, I'm completely at their mercy. The only things I can focus on are their combined body heat and the sounds they’re making. Charles grunts are loud and deep, while Arthur's breathing is hard and the occasional moan slips past his lips.

With their combined thrusts, my orgasm is building again. It’s almost too much and is beginning to borderline on painful. I know I can cry for them to stop, but I don’t want them to stop. I want them to keep using me, to force me to cum again and again. I want them to use me until I’m a crying and weak mess. And they do just that.

Together, Charles and Arthur both bring one more orgasm out of me. I cry out at the painful pleasure they force out of me. A moment later, both men push into me and cum. Charles’ grip on my waist is harsh, and his groan is loud. Arthur squeezes me tight against his chest, his moan is low and shaky, almost like a whimper. I’m left limp and sore between them, barely able to focus.

Charles pulls out of me first. He lets out a low groan, no doubt enjoying the sight of my ruined pussy. I whimper at the feeling of cum oozing out of me. Charles climbs off the bed while Arthur rolls me onto my side as he pulls out. He winces and makes a comment, but I can’t make it out.

Charles wipes me clean, he hushes me when I gasp in pain, and helps me into a large shirt. Once everyone is cleaned up, both men join me in bed. The bed dips and shifts, and a blanket is pulled over us. Upon opening my eyes, I see Charles is in front of me. His hands take mine and kiss my knuckles. Arthur is behind me, his arm drapes over my waist, and he presses a kiss to a bite mark on my shoulder.

“My men,” I whisper. My voice is raw and my eyes feel so heavy. “You both take such good care of me.”

“Course we do. We care bout you,” Arthur said. His voice is thick with exhaustion, but his arm pulls me against his body.

“Get some rest you two,” Charles said. I nod and snuggle against his broad chest.

Between both men, I feel safe and warm. My body aches, and I know tomorrow I’ll be stuck in bed, but none of that matters. The world goes dark and I��m dimly aware of both men whispering and the feeling of fingers in my hair.

[cryptoriawebb]

WonderWolf + 2, 68

Rules: Send me two (2) tropes from this list + a ship and I’ll describe how I’d combine them in the same story. 

I have been having sooo many Wonderwolf feels lately. I miss them 3 They are perfect.

2. Royalty AU and 68. Heroic sacrifice.

Honestly I think these two can be combined XD I'm going to borrow elements from the Wonder Woman movie. Diana is a princess in an isolated kingdom: everyone adores and respects her and while she’s happy she feels the pull from the wider world. She isn’t sure why as she’s never been beyond the kingdom’s boundaries but something tells her there is more awaiting her life. Cue a disheveled and battle-damaged stranger who stumbles into their land. He’s disoriented and angry and has to be subdued by several soldiers before he finally passes out. The stranger is captured and kept in a holding cell (which is actually quite clean in Themyscira) until he awakens.

While the kingdom is run by women there are men among the common people so Diana has seen them before. She’s just never seen one like this. To everyone’s surprise, the stranger’s wounds heal overnight. When questioned about this as he awakens he’s immediately on his guard and surprises everyone again - revealing what look like bone claws coming from his hands.

The man’s name is Logan and through a series of aggressive growling and accusations reveals that this “precious little kingdom” is sitting on the outskirts of a wider war. Logan was a soldier-turned-rebel and scout when his home turned on people like him. He belonged to a group for quite a while, protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves and bringing supplies when he had a chance. However recently this underground society was discovered and sent running. Some made it out, some did not. It made it all the worse when he discovered his own brother may have had a hand in this.  Racked with anger and guilt, Logan left the small group he was able to save, entrusting them to a friend (and his partner) who possessed psychic abilities. He argued with said partner before he left, insisting there was a place *somewhere* people with “powers” (that probably have a different name in this story) might be safe. 

*Logan is older than he lets on and this is why he knows this. His memories are war-torn but his instincts hold firm.

Logan’s prickly aggression turns off many of Diana’s friends and her mother’s council. However, Diana can see the pain in his eyes and tries to lobby for him. While she nearly sways her mother, she can see Hippolyta’s hesitation. Taking matters into her own hands, Diana decides she will talk to Logan herself. 

*I’m sure her mother is aware of the broader world, although people with powers were thought to have died out a long time ago. Perhaps they did for a while...

Long story short the two of them manage to reach something of a civil ground. Diana starts to see that honest side she suspected - still gruff of course but as they get to know each other the weight Logan’s situation has on him becomes clear. They don’t trust each other completely but it’s a start. It’s also the start of a spark between them, although they won’t acknowledge it.

Much like the movie, Diana and Logan eventually sneak out of the kingdom together. They are given chase by her mother’s soldiers and there is a scuffle -- Diana even holds Logan back from attacking them. 

The journey is long and they’re left with a lot of time to talk. Logan is reluctant to talk but Diana learns how to communicate with him. He’s the sort that lets out his feelings/information through bursts of frustration and what sounds like self-loathing. Diana definitely starts to sympathize with him more--until he tries to belittle her kingdom and her people. She doesn’t agree with all of their decisions but knows there’s a reason for them. It’s very possible she and Logan get into a brief fight because of it. He probably starts it. You know it ends with her pinning him to either the ground or a tree or something. The sparks return and they’re harder to ignore. Logan is impressed by her and Diana’s heart bleeds a little more. 

At some point Logan lets on that he’s older than he appears although he won’t elaborate. 

I’m not entirely sure what happens in detail after this. They definitely learn to trust each other a lot more than especially Logan intended. They also learn to work as a team. 

Logan’s home looks abandoned when they finally arrive although there are signs of recent life. Logan reaches out with his thoughts and connects with his contact (Charles.) He brings Diana to him and - after being confronted and questioned by Charles’ partner (Erik) - are filled in about what’s happened since Logan left. Diana agrees to help, although she is still personally opposed to war.  During preparations, Diana and Logan finally act on that spark

I want to say at some point this hiding place is discovered, leading to a messy fight that ends in injury and in some cases capture. Logan’s brother is a part of it. Maybe Charles is one of the captured mutants which immediately turns Erik against Logan and Diana. The group divides - some survivors side with Erik and a scant few side with Logan and Diana. Erik leaves with plans to rescue Charles himself. It’s possible this also leads to a grief and fear- fueled argument between Logan and Diana. It may even lead to a “break up.” This is instigated by Logan. 

If the two do go their separate ways then it’s possible a handful of people side with Diana over Logan. Those who do she promises to bring to Themyscira where, as princess, she’ll assure their safety. It’s actually possible Logan leaves all those people with Diana as he just can’t deal with what’s happened and blames himself for unintentionally leaving a trail his brother could follow. He of course projects this onto her even though they’re both aware of what he’s doing. 

Diana will make plans to bring the people with her back...but in the moment her heart is broken. They regroup and figure out what their first next step should be. 

I’m not sure how they reunite but they definitely do - maybe Logan ends up trying and failing to break into the prison side of the castle, ending in his capture. Maybe Diana tries to and she ends up in a similar position (which is difficult given how strong and trained she is but not impossible.) Or maybe she sends these people off and decides to rescue the captured herself. It’s possible after calming down that Logan has a similar idea and they cross paths again by chance. It would actually be pretty cool if Logan uses some of the training he’s had with Diana to avoid being captured. Ooh if Diana crosses paths with him during a fight she might step in and that would be a great way to bring them back together. They’re already riding an adrenaline high which would dampen the risk of argument. The two of them then team up to save Logan’s friends. 

There is a huge and messy battle that mimics Logan’s escape from Stryker’s Island in Origins. I’m not totally sure how it ends other than at some point there’s a fight between Logan and Victor. Diana definitely steps in with a surprise-attack and it’s kind of a symbol of their united front (as opposed to Logan’s previous outlook that his brother is his responsibility.) 

I think Logan is the one who sacrifices himself here although I’m not sure how. I don’t think it’s intentional. Probably something about staying behind while she leads the forefront although it might unfold with them starting out in the reverse position. Logan trusts Charles and another close friend of his (Ororo?) and doubles back to help Diana. I’m not sure where Erik is in all this. Maybe he was captured or comes in with backup at the end allowing Logan and Diana to stay behind; they trust Charles and Erik to help the others. 

I don’t know exactly where the sacrifice comes in but I think it would be really sweet and heartbreaking if he cupped her cheek in a brief last moment of intimacy and said something similar to what Steve did in the movie. Ohey’re going to need Diana’s protection on the way to Thymiscera: there’s no way Hippolyta will welcome this group in without her. Logan will stay behind and try to clear out the rest of the soldiers. He promises he’ll be okay even though his eyes say otherwise. They kiss - because they must kiss - then they hug and as they do Logan whispers his real name to Diana, kind of passing the secret on to her. 

Maybe in an epilogue the group is seen finally reaching Diana’s home. They’re welcomed with skepticism and hesitation but when Diana steps forward with the image of a full “Wonder Woman” (albeit altered slightly to fit the style of this AU) there’s little question as to whether or not this group is trustworthy. Integration is a very slow process but they’re given a plot of land to start building a new life. 

Diana and her mother reunite although I’m not totally sure how that conversation goes down. Diana is grieving Logan of course but she wants to honor his memory. Maybe her mother comforts her saying that a woman can be strong and still mourn. 

I kind of want to say that as time goes on and the super-powered survivors begin to thrive again Diana, Charles and Erik - and maybe Ororo too - start talking about looking for and rescuing more people like them. Maybe one day as she’s making these plans there’s a commotion within her earshot. Everyone stiffens and Diana excuses herself to investigate (Erik tries to as well but there is a strict ‘no Erik acting on aggression’ policy XD)

Lo and behold, it’s Logan. He looks a little older now, greying at the temples and with a few scars on his face and shoulders, despite only a year at most passing. As soon as he sees her he withdraws his claws. They share a moment of silence, taking each other in. Diana has come into her own and for Logan it’s breathtaking. She calls his name, his real name and the two embrace and share a kiss

[junkyardlynx]

You like scary stories? Good. I’ve got one. Submitted for the approval of the midnight society, or whatever. Who fucking knows. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure it wasn’t just one shared fever dream between seven stupid kids. Except the part where the dream was real. Has to be real now that I think about it. Anyway. I’m rambling. About all I can do, right now. Haha. How sad. 

The year was 1998.

Good year.

Goldeneye came out in 1997, so it was really the year 0001 AG to me and my friends. We fucking loved Goldeneye.

I was seventeen and I lived alone in a small town in northwest Indiana. It’s farm country’s farm country. I’d been orphaned and bounced around since I was ten, but being nearly eighteen and relatively well-behaved was reason enough for the state to turn me loose with my inheritance. Quitters. You could stand at one edge of the town and spit to the other end. We had one bar, an elementary school, a post office, a vet, and a corner store. It sucked, but it was cheap and somewhat near the only living family I still had. I lived just above the post office and vet, which was probably the only really neat part of town, so I guess I had something going for me. Add a shitty 1988 Ford Probe bought at cost from a frustrated dealership into the mix and I was up street.  

My uncle Mike lived alone too, a forty minute drive away out by the county line road. He had a pretty nice farm house to himself after my aunt Sherry filed for divorce due to her own extramarital affair. I guess when you’re surrounded by woods on all sides and the only things to keep you company are a host of chickens, a couple turkeys, a goat, a dog, and a...fucking peacock, you kinda get antsy for some excitement. I suppose a two story barn and a grain silo aren’t exciting enough. Anyway. They hadn’t taken me in after my parents died because they had their own problems and I understood. Couldn’t force a kid on someone who wasn’t going to take proper care of it.

Mike was headed into the city for the weekend to shack up with this girl he was into. He did this from time to time, too awkward to ask her to move in with him and too shy to accept her offer, so they just had their trysts. Wasn’t really my business. He called me after I got home on Friday from classes and immediately launched into his request.

“Hey killer, I’m going to see Mary this weekend. Can ya hold down the fort for me? Just feed the animals once a day and don’t let Garfield eat anything dumb.”

“Uh, sure.” 

Garfield was the goat’s name.

I watched him eat the license plate off “Uncle” Van’s...van, once. His name was Van, he was a friend of Mike’s aaaaaand he owned a van. I guess life works like that sometimes, predictable and all. Anyway, Garfield would eat literally fucking anything near his big dumb idiot mouth, like most goats. 

“And uh, I think there’s a bunch of beer in the fridge that’s gonna go bad. Could you do me a favor and get rid of it, bud?”

I could hear the wink through the receiver. I grinned as I pinned the receiver between my shoulder and ear, rummaging around through the cupboards to find my little book of phone numbers.

“Oh yeah, sure thing. Wouldn’t want to have bad beer hanging around in the fridge.”

“That’s what I’m talking about. It better all be gone when I get back. Love ya, kid.”

“Love you too, man. Have a good weekend.”

With an audible click, the other line hung up and I was already dialing people’s numbers. Robert was first, as he was my best and most radically tight brother-man. 

“What’s up, Dingus Kong?” 

Ever since he was twelve, he had the voice of a full-time, carton-a-day smoker. I was honestly a little jealous.

“There’s a beer leak at my uncle’s and we have to plug it up. Call Louis and Alex and make their dumb asses come out. You know the address?”

“Hell yeah, dude. Can I invite Jay?”

“What do I look like, a cop? Of course you can. Saves me the trouble.”

“Cool, later dickless.”

“Peace.”

It wasn’t long until I’d roped Robert, Louis and Jay into things, along with Alex, Laura and June. Alex and Louis had been dating forever and were pretty much attached at the hip, while I had a thing for June. A very quiet, subdued thing, because I operated under the assumption that no one was ever interested and that any thought to the contrary was pointless and asking for trouble. 

We met up at my uncle’s house around 9. They’d pitched in and brought a shit ton of snacks but no one brought any actual food, so our diet that night was going to consist of...Natty Light, snack cakes and chips, pretty much. High school kids eat worse on a daily basis, so no one really cared. I remember being shocked at just how packed the fridge was with shitty Natty Light. Good thing I had good friends.

It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere - Louis and Alex were touchy in the corner of the living room, already a couple beers deep. Robert, Laura and Jay were playing Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 in the den. They had a penalty game where you had to drink when you died and if you were that fucking prick that picked Oddjob, you both had to take a drink at the start of the round and two when you died. It was fair, believe me. Fuck people who pick Oddjob. 

That pretty much just left June and I. We relaxed in the kitchen, shooting the shit and laughing at each other’s bad jokes. Sometimes we’d look out over the kitchen counter and down into the den / living room - the farm house’s design was always kind of odd to me, but I liked it. The whole house was a one story with a basement. You could come in through the glass sliding door and be right in the living room / den area, then turn right and go up four or five stairs to reach the bedrooms and the turnoff into the kitchen / office area where the front door was. The kitchen had a very open structure, with the sink looking down on the den, and you kinda felt like a commander if sat there and just watched everyone. So I did.

“Hey, Charles?” 

“What’s up?” 

I turned back towards June, taking another sip from that honestly kinda shitty beer in my hand. Ah, the taste of youth - cheap alcohol obtained through immoral or subversive means, like a really cool uncle.

“We should go out to the barn.”

“Why the hell and fuck not?” 

I put on some bravado, but honestly, my uncle’s farm creeped me out. I’d stayed here for the summer once and I swore I could hear things swaying in time with the tall grass as the sun started to die. An animal would go missing every now and then, but my uncle always shrugged it off as coyotes. Never really felt like coyotes, but who was I to disagree when he was the one that lived here all the time?

“Hey, everyone! We’re going outside, time to get up in the hayloft and be stupid.”

I heard a chorus of replies and the click-whrrr of a tube television being powered off, followed by a rowdy collection of feet stomping up carpeted steps. Everyone poured into the kitchen, grabbing things like twinkies and cold hot dogs and new beers. It wasn’t long before we took the party outside, flicking the floodlights on the house on for comfort as much as visibility. We ambled as a drunken mass, slowly making our way towards the faded red barn. 

I have no idea why the barn was so fucking huge, given that less then ten animals lived there. The space was equipped for a sizable amount of large livestock like cows and horses, but all that it held was a collection of idiot birds with too much love and not enough sense. A ladder leading up to the hayloft poked through a square, and we began our inebriated ascent. 

It wasn’t long before we settled into a circle, talking about nothing in particular on the warm wooden floor of the loft. June had taken a seat next to me, so of course, I overthought absolutely everything before determining there was no way she was into me because why would she be? She was way too cool and cute. It was obvious. 

Somehow, we got onto the topic of scary stories. Spooky scary skeleton time. I made up some dumb thing about a cannibal cult in the woods, but it wasn’t very thought out, so everyone gave me shit. Robert just thrust his beer into the air and yelled “WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE, IT’S ALIENS”, which got a laugh out of all of us. It finally came around to June, who began to tell us about La Llarona, a crying ghost lady in Mexican folklore. 

It was actually pretty spooky until you realized June was like, four foot fucking eight with the voice of an adorable church mouse, and then you were unable to take it seriously. 

We swapped a few more before silence descended on us, slow and natural. The workman’s lamps that I’d lit with a long trigger lighter burned, casting shadows along the walls and illuminating our faces. I smiled as I realized June’s head had come to rest on my right shoulder, feeling not unlike someone blessed by the attention of a regal crow.

“Dude. I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry, Illberto.” 

I waved him off with my left hand before looking around. Something was bothering me, but I couldn’t put my hands on it. Honestly speaking, it was kinda like someone had some bodacious body odor going on and tried to cover it up with some sort of perfume. I took as...well, as discreet a sniff as possible, trying to see if it was one of us. 

I don’t think it was, because the more I smelled it, the more I realized it smelled less like body odor and more like that strange stench of death. Sickly sweet, putrefaction rendering the body of something no longer alive into components for bacteria to consume. I kinda wrote it off as dead mice somewhere since I was an idiot at 17. (I still am an idiot, but I was a bigger idiot. Harder head. More impressively stupid. Anyway.) The smell was bothering me though, so I gently pushed June’s head off my shoulder and stood up.

“Since Mr. Crunch and Munch wants some food, I’m gonna run back to the house and grab some chow and booze. Anyone want anything in particular?”

No one really had an idea of what they wanted, so the group just started chanting “FOOD AND BOOZE, FOOD AND BOOZE, FOOD AND BOOZE” at me. I laughed and nodded, giving a sort of half-wave to June who just smiled at me the whole time as I went to climb down the ladder.

Too bad the ladder was gone.

I groaned in annoyance, turning around to address everyone.

“Very cool, who fucked with the ladder?”

“What are you talking about, brother-man?”

Louis piped up, head resting on top of Alex’s. I gestured dramatically at the square hole in the floor, then pantomimed the act of climbing the ladder.

“There was a ladder here. It’s gone now.”

“It probably fell, Charlie.” 

There went Laura, being the voice of reason. I shrugged in assent. Stop making sense, god damn it.

“I’ll just pull a Spidey-boy and jump down. It’s like, ten feet.” 

Something in my head kept telling me that people can die from slipping and falling on ice, but I ignored it. I just had to brace myself, land on my feet and not hit my brain cage. Really simple. 

I walked back over to the hole in the hayloft, sitting down and scooching to the edge. That fucking smell punched me right in the nose once again, pungent and sweet. I almost stop then, but I don’t really wanna look like a goon in front of June. Uh, June and everyone else, that is.

So I stuck my foot down into the oddly deep darkness of the barn below. 

Something wet and hot smacked against it, nearly wrapping around my exposed ankle.

I yelped perhaps the most pathetic sound known to man and physically extricated myself from the hole by leaping up and jumping back. Everyone laughed of course.

“What’s up, penis pump?”

Fuck off, Robert.

“Either the turkeys have really long and slimy necks now, or something down there just grabbed my fucking ankle.”

“Very funny, Charles.” Alex fixed me with a stare, assuming I was taking the piss out of everybody. Holy fuck, I wished I was.

“I’m serious, you assholes.” I’d thrust my right leg out, showing everyone my ankle and foot. A reddish brown goop clung to it, thick and viscous. The smell was emanating from it, and everyone seemed to have taken notice to it. Unless they started retching for a different reason, like my ankle being particularly abhorrent.

“Brother-man, dude, what the fuck is that?”

You’re asking me, Louie Louie?

“Yeah, that’s a negative Ghost Rider, I have no idea. I’m gonna chill up here for a bit, if someone else feels like Rambo, they can go down.” 

I took off my button up and used it to wipe the goo off of my ankle, but the smell seemed to have set in. I noticed a burning sensation on my skin that increased in intensity as I wiped, but it soon faded to a dull throbbing, becoming the least of my worries. In that time, Louis got up to check out the hole.

 He returned to where Alex was, face pale and stiff. 

That’s when we heard it.

“veerrrryfufufufu-”

The sound stopped, then started again. Almost like someone starting a sputtering car engine.

“Verrrrry cocococococo-cokkkkkkkkkhhssssh. Wshooo fufufufufuf. Wshoooo fufufufuckt wishlatter?” 

You ever have someone come up to you and say “hey, we need to talk” and you feel your stomach drop out of your body and onto the floor? 

Yeah, that. That’s the feeling I felt, but way worse. After all, someone wanted to know who fucked with the ladder. Someone who couldn’t string together two words if they wanted to, and they desperately wanted to.

We’d all crammed ourselves into the back of the hayloft, the seven of us together. Oppressive darkness clung to the places not illuminated by the lamps, and the long lighter lay a good ten feet away from us. No one moved to get it. We heard it again and again, some twisted mockery of a voice continually asking who fucked with the ladder. Then it asked again, in my voice.

“Very cool. Who fucked with the ladder?”

Everyone’s eyes were on me, and I shook my head wordlessly as it asked again, perfectly, matching my rhythm and cadence and tone. 

“Hey, if this is a joke because you thought the Goosebumps books were high literature, we’re gonna string you up by your earlobes dude.”

“Fuck off. It’s not. You think I got bored and recorded me fucking around before you all got here? With the tape recorder I don’t fucking own?”

I was hostile.

We were all on edge.

“I don’t know, were you man?”

“Don’t start with me, Robert.”

“Yeah, whatever, you’re a lazy piece of shit. I know you wouldn’t do this.”

“I swear to god.”

The tension was almost lifted until we heard that wet smacking again, like someone slapping a steak on pavement. It was hilarious until you realized it was probably either something dead being slammed around, or some part of the mysterious thing’s anatomy. The smacking persisted as it mercifully ceased it’s questioning, realizing it’s bait wasn’t working. Slowly, the wet squelching of flesh against concrete grew quiet and far away and the stench that pervaded the air began to thin.

I appraised everyone and jerked my head back at the hole in the hayloft.

“Okay. Okay. We’re gonna drop down and run to the house.”

“Is there any better option you have that isn’t ‘jump down and say hi to the crazy stinky murder rapist’ below us?”

“Not really, Alex. Sorry.”

“Alex and I can stay up here,” Louis offered, but she looked at him with her mouth agape.

“Are you dumb, Louis? I’m not staying in that barn alone with this thing. No, really, are you an idiot?”

I looked at Louis with a kind of knowing glance, knowing he was just trying to help out and allay her fears. Couldn’t really blame her, though.

“He’s just looking out for what you want to do. Anyway, we should all go. I’ll go down first and keep a look out while everyone comes down. C’mon.”

I honestly don’t know where I found the balls of steel I was now equipped with, but I was thankful. I think it was just this overwhelming sense of “we have to go now or something bad is going to happen.” Without giving anyone a chance to reply, I broke away from our little heard and took a running start at the hole, leaping down it before my rational mind could catch up.

I let my legs hit and then tucked myself into a roll to rob the fall of it’s momentum, coming up unscathed. I glanced around, greeted by deadly...nothing. Just silence. It wasn’t until I looked at the ground that I noticed it was covered in a thick layer of that reddish-brown goop, and it stunk horribly. I started to gag but I had the sense to bite it down. No point in putting more disgusting fluids on the floor.

“Jump down! C’mon!”

I shouted up and June practically leapt into my arms, so I caught her and set her down, giving her a tender smile. She was all of four foot eight and ninety pounds, so it wasn’t really a feat of athleticism. Of course, Robert came next, and my knees buckled as his six foot frame met mine with that peculiar rapport we had. 

“No smile for me?”

“I swear, dude.”

I swore a lot, apparently.

The rest followed in suit until eight of us stood in the barn, devoid of animals as it was.  I hoped they’d just run off or sought shelter, but another part of me said that wasn’t the case. I exhaled roughly and looked at our group before nodding.

“Okay, we gotta run. I don’t know when that thing’s coming back, but I can already smell that weird stink getting stronger. I think we’ll be safe in the house since we can look the doors and call the cops.”

“Wait, cops? Dude, we’re doing a little thing called underage drinking.”

Thank you for stating the obvious, Louis.

“Oh, yeah! Way better to get murdered and eaten. You’re right.”

“Point taken.” 

We all murmured our assent before taking one last look around. The lamps burned, slowly dimming as their fuel began to run out. I think we left the lighter up there. Not that it mattered, I guess. I reached out and took June’s petite hand, tugging her gently towards the house.

“Let’s go.”

We began to do an awkward sort of power walk, too scared to run and draw it’s attention but not intent on going any slower than we had to. Our group of seven began to cut across the field, towards the shining lights of the farmhouse. 

A horrific wet SMACK from behind us broke that fragile discipline that kept us calm. A plaintive sort of gurgling howl, like a tiger braying it’s dying cry inside of a charnel pit spurred us on, and I roughly pulled on June’s hand. Her fingers slipped from mine for a moment, but her strong and lengthy fingers found mine, slick with what I assumed was sweat. I didn’t bother looking back as the warm porch lights flooded my vision. I let go of the hand I was holding and turned around to regard our group of eight, making sure everyone was there.

Wait.

Eight?

June, Robert, Louis, Alex, Laura, Jay, and myself. Seven. I glanced at my hand, realizing it was slick with that peculiar fluid. I kept the gorge rising in my throat down, somehow.

Swallowing both vomit and my fear, I began to inspect everyone before herding them inside, one by one. There wasn’t a face I didn’t recognize, but there was an extra person here. I got June, Alex, Robert, Laura and Louis into the house before I realized it. 

There were two Jays.

“Hey Jake, come inside.”

Jay kinda gave me a weird look, wondering if I was actually an idiot. The right Jay, anyway. The other one just slowly started to walk forward.

“Hey, I said Jake come inside man. Practice your manners dude.”

My stare was insistent on the real Jay’s, begging him to come in and not make a scene. He shrugged and stepped inside, and only a moment later I was behind him, slamming the sliding glass door so hard I thought I’d shatter. 

The Jay that wasn’t Jay pressed it’s face to the glass and that fetid liquid began to pour from it’s nose as it’s now-malformed hand began to tap lightly on the glass. What looked like clothes began to slough off in thick puddles of what looked to be flesh, pooling on the patio.

“Come inside. Hey. Manners. Come inside. Hey. Come inside.” 

Robert had noticed what was going on and yelled in what I’m sure he’d want me to report was a very manly and commanding shout. Basically, he screamed like a little bitch. Everyone else noticed and booked it up the sort little landing to the second tier of the house, not willing to look at what was happening anymore.

I couldn’t look away. It gently tapped at the glass,  as a second figure approached from the darkness, eventually pressing it’s face to the glass.

My face.

I watched my own face melt away into nothing, forming a featureless expanse of skin with two unseeing and empty eye sockets. The me that wasn’t me tapped politely on the glass like a door-to-door salesman, asking to be let in.

That sure wasn’t fucking happening. In a haze, I waddled backwards, reaching for the phone that sat on the coffee table by the sofa in this 70′s decor mess of a living room.

It wasn’t there. The cord lay neatly on the table, but the entire phone was gone. It looked deliberate, which means that...well, it meant that my uncle took it with him.

Something clicked in my mind, but I buried it as I pedaled backwards slowly, approaching the display cabinet that held my grandmother’s prized compound bow. I heard from my uncle that she’d been an avid hunter into her 90′s and only passed due to the ravages of...well, a car wreck. I was never more thankful to have a badass relative I’d never met than when I pulled that compound bow out of the display cabinet and nocked an arrow.

Never mind the fact that the last time I went bow hunting was when I was like, twelve.

I stared down the two creatures, still begging to be let in in my voice. My hands trembled even as I began to draw back the heavy string. God damn, grandma, how strong were you? What the hell. 

I strafed up the steps, muscles in my arms screaming for release, but I told myself that they couldn’t come in unless they were invited. It was just a glass door, and these things weren’t dumb, apparently. I don’t know what they were. I’d met strange things in the woods around the house, but never anything like this. Obviously. The surreality of it all made it seem absurd to even question what they were. 

It wasn’t until I reached the kitchen with everyone else that I could slowly release the tension and lower the bow, though I kept the arrow nocked and ready. I gave everyone in the kitchen a wary nod as they huddled together, staying deathly quiet. Looking over the kitchen counter and down into the den, I could see one still tapping on the glass. The other was gone.

A soft knock at the door by the office let us know where the other had wandered off to. It repeated a broken string of words in my voice, asking to be let in, saying it was very cool. It’d be humorous if it wasn’t fucking terrifying. 

Wordlessly, I huddled everyone back into the hallway and lead them to my uncle’s room, unlocking it with the key I had. It was the furthest bedroom away from everything else and had a clear line of sight to the hallway, so if they somehow broke their self-imposed rules, I could at least take a steady shot. The door creaked open and the bedroom lay before us as I flipped on the light.

My uncle’s room was surprisingly sparse and barren. No personal effects remained and you could tell where the furniture had been moved in a hurry, like someone was looking for something. It gave the feeling of someone that wasn’t coming back, and the discontent in my heart grew. 

“Yeah, think he’s been moving stuff over to his girlfriend’s place.” 

I said to no one in particular, placating questions before they could come out. A barren mattress lay on a box spring in the corner.

“Let’s stay in here tonight. It’s not gonna be comfortable, but a couple of people can take the bed and the rest of us can take the floor. I’ll keep watch.”

“Charles...”

Robert sounded concerned for once. I laughed. I glanced back and his face soured before he smiled.

“Nevermind, you’re still a penis pump.”

Everyone, still slightly drunk and nervous, began to occupy their own space in the empty room. I sat against the open doorframe, bow laying on my lap, trained down the hallway. Minutes slipped into hours, and everyone began to pass into a light sleep.

Everyone except me.

The sight of the flesh sloughing off their mutable frames was burned into my mind. Not much sleep to be found after that.

Throughout the night, I heard taps all around the house, like a diligent inspector checking for termites in wood. If I strained my sleepless ears, I could hear my own voice rattling through the walls. The deathly sweet stench of the barn had returned, permeating my brain and setting up residence there. 

Once or twice, I thought I heard tapping and murmuring at the single window in my uncle’s bedroom, but surely that wasn’t possible. It was a good eight feet of the ground, as the room sat on the second “tier” of the house. I dozed for a moment and the tapping seemed to grow more and more furious, so I shook myself awake. I began to dig the bowstring into my finger, rubbing it up and down, fraying my own skin until it bled. 

I felt like I was going to go insane. 

A few long hours later and the sun began to rise, banishing the tapping noise with it and the scent after that. I rose, looking around at the sleeping faces of my friends, relieved. I looked around the empty room once more and went to close my eyes before I realized there was reddish goop smeared on the window of my uncle’s bedroom. 

I’d been watched, all night.

All of us had. 

How many had there been?

Enough to replace us?

Did it matter?

Adrenaline flooding my exhausted body, I crept around the house and checked every window, every door. They were all smeared with handprints, fingerprints, imprints of faces traced in that corpse-goo. My stomach roiled heavily, the beer and junk food of the night before threatening to come up.

We were supposed to be a sacrifice, weren’t we?

The copious amounts of beer. The lack of a phone. My uncle’s personal effects all gone from his room. I suppose the rest, even grandma’s bow, was replaceable to him. Including me.

I woke everyone up and told them we should leave. No one fought it, considering we’d survived the night by listening to me. It was a sort of hollow and empty accolade, but I’d take it. 

As Robert and June piled in my Ford Probe outside, I snuck a peek at the barn. Dark red stains and the remnants of feathers, fur and flesh stained the outside of it’s semi-dilapidated structure, as if the animals had been killed by being thrown at the walls in anger. I swallowed dryly, realizing what those wet thuds and smacks had been. 

We spent the rest of the weekend together, all seven of us. One night at Robert’s, the rest of the day at June’s. I tried several times to contact my uncle, but his girlfriend’s landline was disconnected and his emergency cell phone wasn’t picking up. 

Abandoned twice by the family that wouldn’t even take me in, I guess. 

I never found out what those things were. My uncle’s house was marked as abandoned and reclaimed by the bank, eventually being sold at auction for dirt cheap. I didn’t care. I’d stayed away from the forested areas and anywhere approaching natural, and even took to a vegetarian diet for a few months. 

Eventually the memory faded, and years later I had almost forgotten about it. Life went on, and I remained in that cozy little apartment above the vet’s office and the post office. 

Until tonight. 

When I smelled something sticky-sweet, like what the insides of a pitcher plant must be.

Where something tapped at the door to my apartment, begging to be let in. 

Where my own voice begged me to be let in.

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 6x07

I’m gonna come straight out and say that I loved this episode of Younger so damn fiercely that this week’s rambling recap will be a whole lotta gush and a whole lotta ramble because I have a LOT of feelings. Sometimes an episode of television lingers with you after you’ve watched it. It might be because something particularly memorable happened or because a plot point you’d been hoping for finally played out or the reason might be unclear, there was just something about it. This week’s ep, ‘Friends With Benefits’, was one of those episodes for me. I think it was the storytelling, the way this episode was written felt well paced, the moments of tension were somewhat contained but had room to draw us in and the emotional journeys of the characters were really palpable. Most importantly, these elements worked together to expand our understanding of the characters and I was not at all surprised to discover that Darren Star had written this episode.

Right from the get go this ep had me by my heart strings, with Diana and Lauren both pushing their press releases to announce the Millennial/Mercury news (Diana talking up only Charles, Lauren advocating for Kelsey, there was just so much about all this that was YES). Of course level-headed Liza saves the day with her wordsmithing, but I think we can all agree that Diana excitedly exclaiming ‘he’s here’ and rushing out of her office to greet Charles, much to the amusement of Liza, was the moment we didn’t know we were all waiting for. As Diana tells Charles that ‘it feels like all is right with the World again’ all I could do was internally scream 'same Diana SAME’ with a massive grin plastered across my face. Also, Charles + crew neck sweater + office = a combo I was not expecting but was also definitely not opposed to. Kudos to Darren for working the sale of Pound Ridge into the conversation, cue Diana’s characteristic lack of sensitivity as she reminds Charles that he poured his heart and soul into that place before advising that another marriage is probably best avoided by both of them (narrator voice: it won’t be). 

If anyone’s heart didn’t skip a beat when Charles greeted Liza so earnestly as she left Diana’s office then quite frankly, you should probably get that checked. FINALLY seeing these two in the office together, openly in a relationship, I tell you, I get giddy even thinking about it. Follow that with Diana flat out asking Liza if she ever feels like a wrecking ball and then blaming herself for hiring her was just SO Diana circa season 3 and honestly, it’s this kind of quality content that keeps me coming back for more. And no Diana, love is NOT blind, because anyone with eyes will tell you that as Liza enters Charles’ office and mentions that the box city may be covering the flowers someone sent, these two could not have looked more enamored with one another. There is something magical about this interaction, I know it was released as the sneak peek but it’s as though there’s a special kind of chemistry reserved purely for the office between these two and that palpability of emotion I referred to was evident as Charles was clearly moved by Liza’s gesture, not to mention her suggestion that they will go through the boxes all together. 

It feels like this whole season has been building towards getting these two characters to this place and honestly, I am a puddle because FINALLY we are seeing the sweet, loving, relationship that can just be. One of the things I loved about the storytelling in this episode was that it wove Charles’ growing resentment of the life he has been prescribed throughout, first evidenced by his reluctance to attend the Tuxedo Park Benefit. I really liked that he told Liza she’s off the hook if she wants and loved even harder her response that they can suffer together in evening wear, this woman is loved up to the eyeballs right here, even if her generous offer to sort through the boxes in her office alone included wanting to catch a sneaky peek at the manuscript she spotted earlier. Did I mention I could watch a whole episode of adorable Charles and Liza office interactions? 

Speaking of office interactions, can we talk about Zane who has apparently not only lost his ability to figure out how a coffee machine operates, but also his memory of how to behave in a workplace? Starting with his cocky assertion that he’s not going to be Kelsey’s problem (which I took to mean that Zane thinks Charles will be). I have to say, seeing Zane grow increasingly unhinged was a little amusing, particularly as Kelsey absolutely rocked it with boss mode activated this episode. Finally I saw her being a publisher, the meeting in which she outlines the need to each define their brands (lol at Diana’s 'I told her that’) was fab to watch and Zane’s impatient, 'Charlessss’ as Kelsey puts forward the idea of 'Exonerated’ being a better fit for Millennial was reminiscent of a spoiled child demanding his dad give him something he wants. He then throws an outright tantrum at the second meeting when Kelsey suggests that 'Arabian Sea’ (which looks like the actual worst btw) is not the book they should be releasing as their first title together (love Charles’ sextant joke and am so digging him in editor mode, including the awkward averting of the eyes after Zane storms out). Zane, dude, have some self respect. And respect for Kelsey and your colleagues.

Seeing Kelsey really hold her own in the meeting was great and I love that we saw her lunch time chats with Liza to give us insight into the journey she was on (again, the writing of this ep *praise hands*). Hearing Kelsey’s struggle to stand up to Charles and the respect she holds for him as her mentor was wonderful, as was Liza’s reassurance that Charles’ 'death stare’ was meaningless (not to mention smoldering) and that he respects her as publisher. I am so appreciative of the fact that we got to see the first meeting, in which Kelsey backed down, then the second meeting, in which she held her ground, to see the character growth taking place. I think it’s what made the manuscript reveal scene so freaking fantastic, I cannot even tell you how much I adore the way that all played out.  Here we have Kelsey, who has been working her way up to being confident enough to hold firm with Charles, FINALLY at a point where she is able to put her foot down. The way we are lead to think that Charles saying the manuscript Liza found is not something he wants to pursue is some kind of power play, before Kelsey firmly states that ’ as publisher, I am’, just makes the whole plot twist of Charles’s 'and as the author I most certainly am not’ one of the most satisfying/omg YESSSS moments this show has produced. I really hope the book gets revisited on the show and also, I know that we needed Liza not to know so we could have that divine final scene, but tell me Kelsey wouldn’t have immediately sent an all caps text screaming, 'I FOUND OUT WHO THE AUTHOR OF THAT MANUSCRIPT IS AND YOU GON DIE’.

You know who else was dying a little bit? Me when Diana rocked up to work in the most fab feathered hat, Liza dropped a Meghan Markle reference and we discovered that Diana was attending the christening of Enzo’s niece on Staten Island later that day (Diana’s 'it’s a low bar but I try to lead by example’ line, omg every week these lines and the delivery are too much). Can we just all agree right here and now that Enzo DeLuca is such a damn sweetheart, his 'you knocked it out of the park’ after Diana thanks him for complimenting her (p.s. she wanted to look nice for his family in case we weren’t clear on how invested D. Tout was in this relationship, I mean SWOON) was just so adoring. Diana poking Enzo’s sister in the face with the feathers kept the com part of romcom in play, as Enzo got up to fulfill his godfather duties and kissed his ex on the lips and I’m sorry but WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?

I tell you what is happening, the set up for the sister to inform Diana that Enzo pulls the pin on all relationships around the one year mark, emphasize the point that Diana Trout is NOT Amal Clooney (this whole convo was actual golden pieces) and to have the whole family out the front basically force the point that they want Enzo with Maria, including the ever OTT mother ensuring Diana is in prime position to be pushed into a bush. And why is this set up so darn glorious? Because as I mentioned earlier, we really got to experience significant junctures in various characters’ development this episode and here we see Enzo, who not that long ago was still living with his mother and very much making any decisions based on her approval, stand up for the woman he loves in the most wonderful way. The proposal was just so beautiful in its authenticity and spontaneity, in that moment Enzo realised as he said he hoped Diana would be in the family forever exactly what that meant and acted on it. Diana’s, 'is there a ring involved’ was every kind of perfect and seriously, these two are too much, I cannot wait to see the big Italian wedding with all the trimmings

While we’re on the topic of things that are garish, this week we also got to see Michelle again. But we’ll circle back to her in a minute, because before all these benefit friends start circling and being just too much, Liza and Charles enter the 'eighth  circle of hell’ having an actual conversation about work like couples do and seriously, I am simple folk and it’s these simple things, and I love the way Charles affirms that he intentionally didn’t wear a suit to the office because he was trying not to project authority and well yes, gush gush, it was all very excellent. Their whole convo was of course cut short as Bob and Julia spot them and yet another of my season 6 wish list items gets crossed off as Julia takes full credit for introducing Charles and Liza and Bob makes an unsubtle comment that that’s what they tell themselves anyway. I think my favourite part is when Bob asks Liza if she knows that Tuxedo Park is actually the home of the tuxedo and Charles has a 'I don’t think that’s right’ expression flash across his face. We all have one of those friends and the conversation goes from cringe to suffocating as all of a sudden Liza finds herself being included in plans to cruise to Singapore before the whole thing escalates when Michelle and Tom arrive. Getting these two in the same ep as Bob and Julia, I tell you, it was like the double jackpot of friends who are extra. Michelle is as subtle as a sledgehammer as she checks out Charles and Liza’s assertion that she has not been hiding him as there’s nothing to hide is re-emphasized by Charles, who reminds her that in this scenario, there really isn’t anything to hide, she can be herself, no lie about age or job or relationship is in play.

That is what makes this whole scene and the way the rest of the episode unfolds so good. Here is Liza, in a situation that she’s been yearning for, where she doesn’t have to lie and with the man she is in love with, yet instead of feeling free she feels trapped. Michelle further exacerbates things when she joins Liza at the table and once again has a dig at her relationship with Josh (Michelle really is kind of the worst. although between her truffle butter and Julia’s double balling I feel like there’s a potential friendship just waiting to blossom) and points out that Charles is a keeper. I did have a mighty chuckle at her 'oh my gosh’ when Charles took Liza’s hand though, in that moment I was also Michelle tbh.  Liza’s gnawing sense that she is once again becoming entrenched in a lifestyle she was happy to walk away from is confirmed when she arrives home to Maggie and reassured that it’s not exactly chocolate ice-cream like she had for 20 years, it’s more like chocolate choc-chip. Which Liza likes and I personally think is delicious and guava ice-cream does not sound like my wheelhouse at all, but this is not about me and I don’t know why but each time I’ve watched this ep (and it’s been a few times, I am high-key obsessed with it if you haven’t noticed), Liza taking her wine and the manuscript and sitting on the couch to read it up and gets me for some reason. I also can’t decide if that whole moment is a mood or a goal, but I think maybe it’s both at the same time.

Maggie heading out for the night with Josh and Lauren after 11pm further emphasizes the divide that is forming between the 26 year old life and the life Liza is currently leading. It is from this point that you get the sense as a viewer that Liza is actually stuck between these two versions of herself. I feel as though this episode, more than any other, showed her desire to take elements from each of these worlds to create her ideal life, but feeling overcome with a sense that it is not possible. Seeing Josh preparing his motorbike to sell, which Liza was certainly quite disappointed about (I have no doubt it was very representative of the freedom she felt with Josh and her idea of that life she lived etc), it is Josh who is moving forward and thinking of his future. I have to say, hearing Josh talking about Gemma is just too gorgeous, I am enjoying seeing this character have such purpose and focus this season. It is, of course, when Liza finds a photo of Pauline and Charles at the same benefit she just attended, that she feels she is seeing what her future with Charles looks like; reminiscent of her old life with a rinse and repeat of the life Charles led with Pauline (and we all know how that ended), and she decides to take Josh up on the offer of one last ride on his motorbike.

Sometimes I notice the music as I watch an ep and sometimes I don’t, but I absolutely noticed the 'we’re living in a fantasy’ lyric that played over the top of Liza getting onto the bike. I thought this was such an interesting way to highlight the fact that the 26 year old life that Liza knew no longer exists, other people have moved on, are at different stages in their own lives and she is, in a way, fantasizing about a lifestyle that is not necessarily a reality anymore, even if she wanted it to be. The conflict that occurred in this episode for Liza was internal and to convey that is no mean feat. During the conversation she has with Josh down by the water, her struggle is evident. As she recalls the story she read of an older woman and a younger man, Josh asking how it ends and her stating she doesn’t know, my heart actually hurt for her. While I appreciate that for some viewers this would’ve been a lovely ambiguous moment about where the Josh/Liza relationship may end up, in relation to the narrative that was unfolding I saw it very much as Liza being unsure where and how her current situation is going to play out, not indecision about her relationship or who she wants to be with. The whole scene is dripping with anguish to me, there’s the life that Liza wants and then there’s the man that she loves and the feeling that being with the man she loves traps her in a life she no longer wants.

Sutton Foster has the most incredible ability to make subtle emotion palpable, we get snippets of it in episodes every now and then, the awards dinner with Jay when she was overcome with that anguish and yearning for Charles when he was there with Pauline comes to mind, and this week as a viewer I could FEEL the journey she was on trying to reconcile these two worlds of hers. It was a wonderful example of nuanced writing and masterful acting coming together. It all really came together of course in the final scene of the episode and honestly, my heart is preemptively exploding just thinking about it. First of all, Liza looks next level incredible with the dress and hairstyle combo (yes Charles, 'wow’ is accurate). Charles’ teasing her about playing hooky so that Kelsey could read the manuscript she had found in his personal belongings was downright charming and as he explains that he is in fact the author and reveals his experience of having an affair with an older woman, you can see Liza wrapping her head around this new insight into him. When Charles expresses his understanding of what it’s like to be the young man in a relationship and also the desire and motivation of a woman in her 40’s to seek that out, Liza’s expression is one of both feeling seen and feeling exposed concurrently. As Bob calls Charles and Liza over to join the party, these two individuals’ journeys suddenly cross over and fall in sync.

Charles made the earlier comment about not wanting to go to the benefit, however Liza sees the picture of him and Pauline from years earlier and no doubt makes the assumption that no matter how much he dislikes it, he has always and will always oblige and attend such events as he has his whole life. What I love so much is that at the very top of the episode, Liza refers to Charles as having a career renaissance, which ties into the theme that has been woven throughout the season of Charles having the chance to start over and do something that is his own. In this final moment of the episode, as Liza looks utterly deflated, it becomes apparent that both Liza and Charles are feeling trapped in these past or preset lives that they actually don’t want. And suddenly they have the opportunity to break free together. As Liza asks Charles if they can promise each other not to do anything together in the future they don’t want to do, you can see her relief that Charles doesn’t want to attend the party either, however it is Charles showing her that he doesn’t want to be there that proves he really means it.

The significance in all this, I believe, is that Liza’s struggle has been that freedom and spontaneity only existed in the younger life she experienced and that most of the examples and experiences she has had of a forty-something life are devoid of that. As Charles and Liza run laughing down the street hand in hand and the episode closes it leaves us with the lingering notion that freedom isn’t something that’s attached to age, it’s a choice. It finally feels like these two characters are on the same page after so long and obvs I am utterly pumped to see what’s next.

I have said it numerous times throughout but overall, this episode was just stellar from start to finish. It felt like a pivotal point in the season that will really set the course for the rest of season 6 and there was such significant character growth and development for Kelsey, Liza, Charles, Enzo and Diana. The theme of spontaneity, with Liza seeking it out by leaving work to ride the motorcycle, Enzo proposing to Diana and Charles suggesting they run from the benefit, was so wonderful to see play out in different ways, especially as it was all the characters in their 40′s on the show who were being spontaneous.  ’Friends With Benefits’ has most definitely secured a place on my regular re-watch list. Now let’s hope we get to find out how that book of Charles’ ends…

[drbobbimorse]

I've seen you post about American Gods casting before and how you don't like the choices, so I'm wondering who would you have cast instead?

I actually had a whole fancast edit in the works but I got busy with college and personal stuff so it never got finished in time before the release of the show. Basically, I’m either indifferent or hate most of the casting choices, but there are a few that I actually really like (but its so few) so thanks for giving me an opportunity to share my own. 

Here’s all the fancasts I’ve had tucked away for three years:

Shadow Moon: Jason Momoa. No offense to Ricky but he’s not racially ambiguous like Shadow is supposed to be; at the prison, the guards ask him if he’s black (although that’s not the word they use), Mexican (also not the word they use) or Native American (pretty sure they said Indian but meant Native American). Now, Shadow is actually biracial (black and white) but the fact that his skin tone brings about questions like that, that people can’t pin him down to just one specific race, I really wished they’d chosen a more ambiguously toned actor. Not to mention, Neil said that he envisioned Dwayne Johnson during his wrestling career when he originally wrote Shadow so someone in that semi-lighter tone while obviously still being POC and muscular (cause all dudes do is weight lift in prison, apparently) was what I was going for with Jason.

“I think I would rather be a man than a god. We don’t need anyone to believe in us. We just keep going anyhow. It’s what we do.”

Laura Moon: Alexandra Daddario. She’s literally just described as being twenty-seven, long chestnut hair, and having bright blue eyes. As soon as I read about the eyes, Alexandra popped into my head and never left. She just has those bright kind of eyes that pop.

“I got eyes wherever my folk walk.”

Mr. Wednesday/Odin: Ted Levine. Reddish gray hair, stubble beard, grin with no warmth, craggily square face, grey eyes with one darker than the other since one is glass. He was one of the harder ones to fancast tbh. I jumped back and forth between so many different guys! I eventually settled on Ted because of that “grin with no warmth” line along with Ted being the type of actor who can go from being very nice and gentlemanly, just oozing charm, to straight up psycho killer. He can do both ends of the spectrum, making him the perfect for choice (to me) for conman Wednesday. My other choice was Brendan Gleeson.

“They made me. They forgot me. Now I take a little back from them. Isn’t that fair?”

Czernobog/Bielebog: Rade Serbedzija. Short, iron gray hair, groggily features, smoker, convict or soldier, Charles Atlas type. Peter Storemare does a nice job but, for me, Czernobog will always be Rade. Like Alexandra, he popped into my head while reading and never left. He’s the perfect choice to me, no one else come close.

“One blow is all it takes, one blow. That is the art.” / “Because, there is blood. But there is also gratitude.”

Zorya Vechernyaya: Cloris Leachman. Gaunt, old woman, birdlike. Honestly, the birdlike description originally made me think of Carol Kane but, the more I thought about it, it really made me think of Cloris. I was skeptical about fancasting her, since she’s mostly comedy, but the show actually cast her so it turned out I was on the right track!

“When the shadows are long, that is my time.”

Zorya Utrennyaya: Carol Kane. Old woman, smaller and frailer than sister, hair long and still golden, doll-like. Not gonna lie, her gig on Gotham sold me for her as Zorya U solely because of the hair and doll-like description.

“That is why you are a good fortune-teller. You tell the best lies.”

Zorya Polunochnaya: Imogen Poots. Youngest of the sisters, unlined skin, long white hair to waist, full pale lips. In my mind, all the sisters weren’t just stages of the day (morning, evening, midnight) but also stages of life of one person so I tried to pick actors that were close to each other in looks. I think I did okay with Zorya P and U and I know Cloris doesn’t resemble the other two, but there was literally no one else more perfect for Zorya V than her!

“All your questions can be answered, if that is what you want. But once you learn your answers, you can never unlearn them.”

Mad Sweeney: Joe Gilgun. Short bristly ginger beard, blue eyes, Irish but sounds American, almost 7′ tall, gap toothed. Later on in the book, the way Shadow describes with a “junkie shiver” made me imagine him as very skinny and wiry, almost gaunt so that played a factor in picking Joe, too. Just because he loves to fist fight didn’t necessarily mean that he was muscular like Shadow. Not to mention, Joe’s character on Preacher is exactly how I imagined Mad Sweeney, even down to the jacket with all the buttons.

“I’ll tell you something. You’re walking on hallows ground, and there’s a rope around your neck and a raven-bird on each shoulder waiting for your eyes, and the gallows tree has deep roots, for it stretches from heaven to hell, and our world is only the branch from which the rope is swinging.”

Mr. Nancy/Anansi: Bill Cobbs. Old black man. Now, Orlando is fantastic and I adore him but a lot of the Old Gods are described just like that: old! I believe this is because they weren’t being prayed to or given offerings/sacrifices as they had been in the past, which is the thing keeping some of the gods younger; the prayers and such are their life force, what they feed on. So, yeah, much as I love Orlando, he’s just too young in my mind. For flashbacks, he’s perfect as a young Mr. Nancy but just too young for the present day. My alternate choice would be Clarke Peters.

“I’m older than you and I’m smarter than you and I’m better lookin’ than you. I can get more pussy in an afternoon than you’ll get in a year. I can dance like an angel, fight like a cornered bear, plan better than a fox, sing like a nightingale…”

Mama Ji/Kali: Mita Vashisht. Hindi, dark blue gem on forehead, red sari. She’s not a major character in the book, not like Wednesday or Nancy are, but she’s still interesting with her necklace of skulls and charm bracelet of heads. Plus, she was feisty as fuck! I love Mama Ji so much, you don’t understand.

“…they will find me hard to catch, and harder still to kill.”  

Easter/Ēostre/Ostara: Miriam Giovanili. Green eyes, curvaceous (she talks about leaving New Orleans when she starts to waddle and the tops of her thighs rub together now), platinum blonde hair, slim hands, crimson painted lips, could’ve been 25-50 by Shadow’s estimation, tattoo of blue forget-me-nots on left wrist. The reason I went younger with Easter was because of how young she appeared while still being ancient like the other gods, again, due to the fact that she was still receiving prayers and offerings. Even though they weren’t to her specifically, as Wednesday points out, it still happens mostly in her name and on her day so she remains youthful. The platinum blonde hair Miriam had in the first 3 seasons of Galerias Velvet sold me on her as Easter, but she’s a curvaceous actress, too – unlike Chenowith.

“I’m telling you, I’m doing fine. On my festival days they still feast on eggs and rabbits, on candy and on flesh, to represent rebirth and copulation. They wear flowers in their bonnets and they give each other flowers. They do it in my name. More and more of them every year. In my name…”

Mr. Ibis/Thoth: Ben Kingsley. Crane-like old man, gold rimmed spectacles, Shadow says she’s seen black guy who look like him and white guys with tans that look like him. Another racially ambiguous character but he’s obviously meant to be Egyptian. Sadly, I couldn’t find any Egyptian actors that fit this description (lots of young actors out there!) and are still alive but Ben has played Egyptian characters before so he’s an okay second choice.

“You people talk about the living and the dead as if they were two mutually exclusive categories. As if you cannot have a river that is also a road, or a song that is also a color.”

Mr. Jaquel/Anubis: Peter Mensah. Very tall, dark skinned. That’s it. That was all we got for a descriptor so I had a lot of free reign over him. I settled on Peter, whose one of my favorite actors that is, I feel, under-utilized. Also not Egyptian but, to be honest, when I searched for Egyptian actors, all the men were either too young or dead for Ibis and none of them were dark enough for Jacquel. The thing is, Jacquel tells Shadow that him and Ibis have “got a little belief to be going along with”, which is why I chose actors who are (or appear in Ben’s case) middle-aged. They aren’t getting offerings and sacrifices like Easter or Bilquis to maintain their youth, but they still get a little something (from their work at their funeral home) so they aren’t as old looking as Wednesday or Nancy.

“Fighting’s not going to change a damned thing, because we lost this particular battle when we came to this green land a hundred years ago or a thousand or ten thousand. We arrived and America just didn’t care that we’d arrived. We get bought out, or we press on, or we hit the road.”  

Bast: Nelly Karim. When she’s human, Bast was said to have amber eyes, sharp nails and satin-smooth skin; as a cat, she has those same amber eyes, but she’s small and brown. Bast isn’t a major character in the book, especially not as human (literally just one scene), but I wanted to cast her regardless because there are actually a bevy of wonderful Egyptian actresse. Nelly just had those gorgeous lighter eyes that could easily pass for amber.

“All revelations are personal. That’s why all revelations are suspect.”

Bilquis/Queen of Sheba: Aïssa Maïga. Tall, black hair, braids, brown skin. I actually really like Yetide Badaki as Bilquis! She does a phenomenal job but I had no idea who she was when I started this fancast and I was already familiar with Aïssa so she won out.

“While you’re giving it to me, while you’re pushing that big hard thing inside of me, will you worship me? …Will you call me goddess? Will you pray to me? Will you worship me with your body? …Worship me, honey.”

Sam Black Crow: Devery Jacobs. Tangle of short dark hair, attractive yet mannish face, chiseled features, half-white (mom’s family is European Jew) half-Cherokee though Shadow seems to think she’s white (so she’s white passing), young, bisexual college student. Sam was another difficult character to cast, probably the hardest one after Wednesday, and I spent weeks scouring the web for an appropriate actress that could fit all the physical descriptors. I really wanted someone who was biracial and Cherokee at a minimum, but such an actress doesn’t seem to exist. Devery is Mohawk but every Cherokee actress I saw didn’t fit the other descriptors of Sam as close as Devery did.

“I can believe in things that are true and I can believe in things that aren’t true and I can believe in things where nobody knows if they’re true or not.”

Marguerite Olsen: Tonantzin Carmelo. Black eyes, brown-skinned, very long black hair, Sam’s older half-sister, half Cherokee (from their father) and I think half white (her great-grandfather came from Corsica). With so few descriptors, I had a lot of free reign like I did with Mr. Jacquel. I settled on Tonantzin not just because I think she and Devery do look similar, but also because I’m familiar with her from various projects. She’s a wonderful actress and she’s been out of the acting scene for awhile now, so I thought Marguerite would be a good way to get back in.

“I hope she’s dead. …Because the alternatives are worse.”

Chad Mulligan: Adam Bartley. Lanky, round apple-belly gut. Chad is just a nice guy! He picks up Shadow’s shady looking butt when he’s wandering around getting frostbite, treats him to breakfast, helps him find proper clothes for the wintery weather, a car, doesn’t send him back to prison! Chad is just a sweetheart! In my mind, I imagined him as Adam because I know him as a similar character (personality wise) on Longmire so, even though he doesn’t fit the physical description to perfection, to me, he can easily embody the character of Chad.

“You know the main part of police work, somewhere like this? It’s just keeping your head. Something happens, somebody’s screaming at you, screaming blue murder, you simply have to be able to say that you’re sure that it’s all a mistake, and you’ll just sort it all out if they just step outside quietly. And you have to be able to mean it.”

Richie Hinzelmann/Hinzelmann/Heinzelmann: Joel Grey. Old man. That’s it, the only descriptor. Well, the only physical descriptor. We know he drives an old Wendt Phoenix Roadster, but that doesn’t really help. But we know that he prays on kids so I went with who the majority of serial killers and kidnappers in the States are: white men! And no one does creepily deceptive, you-totally-wouldn’t-suspect-this-nice-little-old-white-man like Joel. My second choice is Jeffrey Combs.

“I figured that this country is hell on my kind of folk. It eats us. I didn’t want to be eaten. So I made a deal. I have them a lake, and I have them prosperity… Good kids. They were all good kids. I’d only pick ones I liked.”

Whiskey Jack/Wisakedjak: Saginaw Grant. Native American, clay red skin, long gray hair, sharp eyed, mouth like a knife slash, middle aged. Now, Saginaw isn’t middle aged but he’s got every other descriptor in spades so, to me, he’s the perfect Whiskey Jack.

“They’ll win. They won already. You lost already. Like the white man and my people. Mostly they won. And when they lost, they made treaties. They broke treaties. So they won again. I’m not fighting for another lost cause.”

John Chapman/Johnny Appleseed: Wes Studi. Bark colored skin, walks around barefoot unaffected by the cold, bad teeth. Honestly, there was no reasoning for fancasting Wes other than because of the fact that John seems to be Native American and Wes is yet another amazing actor who I feel is very under-utilized.

“Dame Rumor says that you’ve been out talking to all manner of folk, offering them all manner of things. Says you’re takin’ the old folks on the warpath.”

Harry Bluejay: Rudy Youngblood. Native American, blue jay tattooed the back of his right hand, multiple piercings in right ear. Like Whiskey Jack and John, Harry isn’t a character that affects the story in a major way but this is a fancast and there just aren’t enough Native Americans on the small or big screen. I would love to see the show expand on all these character’s roles like they have Laura, Mad Sweeney and our taxi driver.

“I’m not the old fox’s nephew. I wish he wouldn’t say that to people.”

Technical Boy: Jacob Wysocki. Fat young man, barely out of his teens, some acne, green eyes. I actually loved that the show changed up Technical Boy’s look. When Neil wrote the novel, the idea of Technical Boy was the idea of internet trolls: fat dudes living in their moms basement. But updating the character, modernizing him to be an internet punk of today, is actually a change that I like. But, since I started this fancast way before the show had even started casting, I went with the book description.

“Tell him that language is a virus and that religion is an operating system and that prayers are just so much fucking spam.”

Media: Gillian Anderson. Honestly, Media was the easiest fancast of all time. All I had to do was Google ‘actresses that look like Lucille Ball’ and up she popped, along with Debra Messing, but I think Gillian is that perfect blend of ruthless and seductress that makes up Media. And, hey, the show cast her so I know I wasn’t wrong.

“The TV’s the altar, I’m what people are sacrificing to.”

Low Key Lyesmith/Loki: Sean Harris. Orange-blonde hair, closely shaved, scarred smile. Sean’s role in The Borgias really helped me in my decision to pick him. Its funny, you can never seem to find a picture of him with the ginger hair without a beard; its either full ginger with a beard, or no beard and his hair is blonde or brown.

“You got to understand the god thing. It’s not magic. It’s about being you, but the you that people believe in. It’s about being the concentrated, magnified, essense of you. It’s about becoming thunder, or the power of a running horse, or wisdom. You take all the belief and become bigger, cooler, more than human. You crystallize. And then one day they forget about you, and they don’t believe in you, and they don’t sacrifice, and they don’t care, and the next thing you know you’re running a three-card monte game on the corner of Broadway and Forty-third.”

The Black Hats: Mr. Wood, Mr. Stone, Mr. Town, Mr. Road; honestly, any generic group of white guys that look alike works for them. Tbh, I kept picturing them as the Agents from The Matrix series.

[procellasdracon]

The Evolution of Erza Scarlet

This is in response to @thegreatrhapsode‘s post on what he would do for Erza Scarlet’s character in a re-write. Being an avid Scarlet fan myself, I couldn’t help but thrown in some of my two cents. My disclaimer: I’m not an impartial reviewer - I’m approaching this like I would a fanfic - what could make an interesting story. So yeah, this will be what interests ME. So, sorry-not sorry to anyone else who thinking what I have down here is trash. XP

Armors and Powers:

I actually love the idea of her having to go without those armors for a while for repairs or even reforged into a more powerful version. While they are broken, she'll find that she needs to increase her base stats more (like Zoro does) so she can train her physical stats even more, or her actual sword fighting technique. So the next couple of fights, she focuses on using just the weapons themselves instead of relying too much on her armor stash. A ‘retraining’ of herself of sorts. Instead of breaking up Natsu and Gray’s fights all the time, she joins in to keep her actual fisticuffs skills up to par. For her reaction and speed training, having Alzack and Bisca use their requip to shoot magic bullets at her might be intense enough for her to try.

Or hell, even another thought - learning how to capture her opponents blade by placing her own version of 'enchantment' on them. Whichever blades she can successfully enchant, she can wield with her telekinesis-like ability that she displayed when she first manifested her power and also when she brought down the Hall of Thunder. It would be a literal ‘Blade Steal’. This is where I thought ‘Queen of Blades’ could also become a later moniker of hers. It’s possible and if fits with her powers and skills. She enchants whatever item she desire with her magic and that is how she can bring it in and out of her ‘storage’ a la ‘ReQuip’.

Another idea might be one for her getting materials for the reforging of her old armor. The Flame Empress is easy - have Natsu help enchant it with his Fire Dragon Magic during the actual reforging of that set. The Black Wing and the Heaven’s Wheel can also get improvements but not as much as some others. Purgatory Armor should just be left out...that was freaking useless. To replace that one, she can go hunting for new armors and THIS is where she finds the Nakagami armor set or even a few other new ones. If her power is tied to her armor, then she should have been constantly upgrading her armor by reforging different pieces, inlaying lacryima into them - anything. Heaven’s Wheel is her favorite go-to armor? Have that thing double the amount of blades with that set and even make the swords more durable and able to shoot her magic energy through the tips or something - like her Photon Laser armor set. Honestly, Erza is properly OP just with a bit more application of the powers available to her from the start.

I think it would be amusing if she put on one of her old magic armor sets and it broke because she had too much power for it to properly channel. It would be nice if she didn’t have to rely on armor ALL the time.

Story and Goals:

Having a set goal is good - having an obscure goal like ‘to be strong enough to protect my family’ is ... okay. That sort of goal only works for the MC of the story but yeah... I wouldn’t have minded the ‘Wizard Saint’ goal if Natsu didn’t defeat Jellal in ToH like he did. The fight needs a bit more depth to it despite what it already represented. To me, having the Natsu vs Jellal fight represent her Past vs her Present+Future is pretty good symbolism in of itself. Power-wise... I think if she had helped out and it took both Natsu and Erza to beat him, it would lend a bit more weight to the ‘level of a Wizard Saint’ thing. Would also help solidify the fact that Jose rightly took her apart during the Phantom Lord Arc because he was that strong to be a ranked member of the Saints. Little things like that make the story easier for me to believe - maybe that’s just a ‘me’ thing. Maybe Erza didn’t want to become a Saint because she didn’t want to put herself on the same level as Makarov yet - that could also be a thing. She feels indebted to him and she doesn’t want to do anything to usurp his role to her in her mind. It may take Makarov himself to kick her in the ass to get her to try out for it. Pride of a father watching his beautiful daughter taking her rightful place in the world - nice moment right there. Gray may support her since he knows enough that Erza’s path may take her away from Fairy Tail. Natsu, however, doesn’t want her to leave and may even throw a tantrum or quietly ask if she’s just leaving them because she doesn’t like it here anymore which hurts Erza because she thinks the world of Natsu and even as bone-headed as he is, he’s important to her. They decide to have a battle - if Natsu wins, Erza stays, if Erza wins, she leaves and Natsu won’t say anything else. They fight and Natsu brings his ‘S-ranked’ game to this and Erza has to fight harder than ever before, not just because Natsu became stronger (flame of emotion, remember), but because she’s also undecided in her own heart. In the end, she decides to postpone her applying to the Wizard Saint position because she wants to go on more adventures and make more memories with her family. So Titania stays with Fairy Tail even though she’s at Wizard Saint lvl.

She may decide to help train Natsu and Gray to become S-ranks so that they guild will remain strong in her absence (another goal for her and also gives Natsu a path for increasing his battle power).

Not getting into Irene on that one... maybe if someone asks me, I’ll delve into it.

Relationships:

Okay, @thegreatrhapsode, you can tune me out here. XD Her relationships with her guildemates, her friends, Natsu and Gray and Wendy, and of course, Jellal. It should be very well known and well documented that I strongly dislike Jellal in this story - which is a shame because I will sing Seig Hart’s praises til the end of time. I like Seig even more than Shuda and Shuda was BAMF in Rave. Showing her becoming less strict is a good thing. I wouldn’t mind if she became the guild master and said many of the same things that Makarov said. That lil old man was essentially her father figure so it makes sense that she takes a lot of what he says to heart. So she becomes less stern and more accepting of those who don’t ‘live up’ to her old standards - instead, she may even do away with that line of thinking and encourage her fellow guildmates to live in a way that they can find out for themselves the reason for their magic, why they do what they do, and continue to live from day to day. She needs more time with Mira, Cana, and Wendy as well. Cana got shoved to the side and she really didn’t deserve that. Cana is one of the old guard, right along with Erza, Natsu, Gray, Mira, and Laxus - those are the core of the next gen of Fairy Tail. They should have a bond between them that is hard to pin down but probably the most sibling-like of any of the bonds in Fairy Tail. Sure, they may belong to different teams but for those 6 - I think they should be ‘That One Squad’ you don’t want to mess with. Like they should have been able to go up against the Oracion Seis... XD Okay maybe not, but hopefully you can grasp what I mean. As more and more people get added into the story (Lucy, Juvia, Gajeel, Thundergod Tribe, Wendy and Charles, etc), we should see that tight-knit circle growing in size but never losing it’s original strength of these people being the core of the Fairy Tail that the story is following. How they relate to Erza is that these are the ‘actual family’ that she relies on - everyone else is extended family. Hate to break it up into those terms but that’s how I see it. I’ll address Jellal before I get to Gray and then Natsu - personally, they all deserve their own sections - they are that important to Erza.

Jellal: Okay, real plot-talk here. I don’t like the fact that his redemption and his romance with Erza are essentially two-in-one. I don’t care how tortured of a soul he is or how good he was previous to the possession. Romance + Redemption is a disaster - especially if the romance partner ends up dying. If Erza died, there’s no where for Jellal to go but right back into darkness. Sure, he might do it in revenge of Erza’s killer if she died that way, but seriously, take Erza away and Jellal has no foothold to stand on - that is what makes him and the entire thing with Erza weak. I really don’t think Erza should have auto-switched to Jellal like she did - it was too sudden. Kinda makes you wonder why did she wait all those 8 years stewing for... *shrugs* Anyway, whether I like it or not, Jellal is very important to Erza - he gave her hope in what was her darkest time - I will never dispute this. And yet, he dashed that to pieces when he got possessed and went nuts, threatening her that if she ever got help to come back and free the others, that he’d kill them all. That should have had a much deeper psychological impact on her - much deeper than just a short arc for her to get over it and pursue a romance with him. *shakes fist at Mashima*. Damn it, I didn’t want this part to be a rant... Like I said in the above - Jellal is her past. Yes, he is both a bright spot and a dark smear on her past and her memories. And he should remain as that. She would want him to regain the light once more and that’s not a problem. But I think that he’d have a LOT to prove with her other than looking like a sad puppy and crying. As much faith as Erza showed Natsu during the Nirvana arch, why didn’t he ask her just who was Natsu to her - get her flustered a bit. XD I really would like a Jella/Natsu rivalry just because of the raw emotion that was shown in ToH. Sorry but actions speak louder than words and Jellal has 8 years to make up for. You’ll notice that I’m not referencing Ultear here - that’s because I don’t hold her responsible for that brainwashing in my head. I’m fully aware that it’s canon but Ultear has enough on her plate without throwing the huge mountain of crimes and ‘sins’ that Jelly amassed during that time. She should have been kept as a viable route for him to take as well. Either way, I think a fair bit of time needs to be spent on Jellal even being a continuing villain in FT or put him on the long, hard road of recovery. Either way, that’s something that he’ll have to make on his own and not rely on hiding behind Erza’s impenetrable aura of ‘Erzaness’ to defend him.

Gray: Gray is definitely the mature one between himself and Natsu. He is level-headed (for the most part) and can deal with complex things that Natsu either can’t deal with or just doesn’t want to. He and Erza can have long talks about different topics without it delving into fighting or annoyance. If she engaged in this with Gray more, it would do wonders for showing us how she sees him and vice versa. I really think that Erza should have taken both Gray and Natsu out with her on missions by themselves but Eisenwald was the first time she took both at once because she needed all their powers. But anyway, having Erza reveal that she trusts Gray with the hard plans because he can think his way through tough spots (like in Edolas with the key and the Dragon Cannon), would be a great set of moments for the both of them to learn just to what extent they see each other. Erza and Gray come off more like the older sister, middle brother type relationship but again, THEY ARE NOT BROTHER AND SISTER!

Natsu: I’ll... keep this brief... Or try to. First and foremost - THEY ARE NOT BROTHER AND SISTER SO ANYTHING ROMANTIC WITH THEM IS NOT  INCEST - PERIOD!!!! *huffs* .... There, glad we cleared that up. Now, even though I like Natza (perhaps a bit too much for some people) - them suddenly starting a relationship after ToH is a bit much...even for me. Like many have brought up - Erza sees Natsu and Gray as much her actual brothers as one could. It would take some time for the viewpoint to allow for her to see Natsu as something more. ToH provided enough to give that perception a brief rattle in my book but hey.... She thinks of him a lot - I mean A LOT. Likewise, he does things for her that make a good amount of people have to adjust their eyes to make sure of what they’re seeing. They can both strength each other and also hold the other back. They inspire each other - they believe in each other with a faith so strong, it defies all reason. Other writers and Tumblrs have brought up that Natsu probably reminded Erza of Jellal from their actual slave days and she wanted to make sure that he would be a man who would never succumb to darkness (and she succeeded in that). They both need more awareness of each other, but mostly for Natsu in order for any romance to kick over. If I did it, both Natsu and Erza wouldn’t even realize that they were in that sort of relationship. It would probably be towards the 2nd to last arc before Natsu realized that he lllllliiikes herrrrrr like that. Again, growth on his part as well but he needs to become more mature and also more aware of the more complicated aspects of life. And yes, I’m aware that Natsu has a LOT of growing up to do but I don’t want that to come at the expense of who he is and what he is to the story. Ugh... Keep it brief... So yes,  a slow burn for their relationship upgrade would be best. Asking for his opinion on more and more personal things, making him study/read more to bring up his IQ...things like that.

She doesn’t need an active romance to be Erza. She was fine before and she’d be fine after. Yes, I’m aware that she wants to become a bride and she wants to have a family and all of that - there’s no reason that she can’t have that. Like I said before, this is me thinking of it in a story and while I do prefer Natsu as her mate, I can ‘adjust’.

I really could keep on adding more to this but I gotta drop it right here. Agree - Disagree - that’s fine. It’s just my own perspective on how I see it. :p This is how I see Erza from the first 100 chapters evolving in a way that keeps with the original direction and still manages to make an impact with her.

[poemsbyneptune]

i’m dead set on figuring out my passion while the time allows it. my anxiety stops me in my tracks a lot of the time, snatching opportunities from me that were mines for the taking...i don’t want to live like this so i won’t, but it’s all a matter of continuing to figure out who i am to climb up another rung of the ladder.

•

WHAT DO I WANT TO BE?

i wish i could answer this but it’s heavily impossible at this current moment. my heart is in writing & helping others, so i’m not too concerned about walking the wrong path. i believe i’m where i’m supposed to be! i guess it’s just a matter now of gaining traction and connections to further my progress. what drives my sadness is not the fact that i don’t know what it is that i want to do, but that i wish i had the mental strength to devote myself to it. i should be far more invested in my studies than i actually am and i should be writing everyday if i really want to get somewhere. i tell myself this often but still don’t take the steps, and now i have 3 entire weeks to stop bullshitting. it’s a wakeup call and a call for relaxation. i’ve got to fight my urges. what i need right now is something similar to balance. i need a routine that’s going to get me closer to my goals without stressing me to death, and that’s where the intersection becomes congested, but i’m adamant on navigating my way through.

•

WHO DO I WANT TO BE FOR OTHER PEOPLE?

i have a lying disorder that shows itself more and more frequently with each day that passes. i don’t know why i lie so much; maybe to combat actually having to feel something real, because most of the time i’m lying to get out of a situation. i have got to start taking on things with pride & courage because this life is short and ultimately, everything i’ve lied about will mean absolutely nothing in months time. life moves so fast and i wish i were the type to embrace it, but i was born with the spirit of one thousand suns and the confidence of a squirrel. my confidence has grown over the years but the lies i tell bring it right back down to 0. this is backwards, faux progress that i no longer want. i’m ready to grow up like so many around me are too. the crazy thing is that all stable change starts with a fresh mindset. you have to rewire the way you think and learn how to accept what is for what is. this takes time and isn’t something i can rush, because rushing leads to lies and those lies are backwards progress. i don’t want to pretend to be someone i’m not anymore..it’s draining.

•

WHY DO I HAVE TO LET GO OF PEOPLE?

believe it or not, you cannot bloom when there are still pins in your petals. the thing with me is that i purposefully guide these pins into my flower and become upset when i find i cant move on with them. i should have let go of nina an entire year ago. i should have done the same with alisa, the same with charles, the same with anyone i’ve ever shared a romantic history with. but i didn’t, and now i’m years behind on emotional baggage. this is not to say that i still feel for these people because i know i don’t, but it goes to say that if i keep inviting the idea of them back into my brain, i can’t make room for others like charise, london, etc etc . but the biggest roadblock is india, because i don’t know if she’ll be the past or the present. and it’s not entirely her fault...the mixed signals irritate me, but they could be signs that it’s time to let go of her for good. the hard truth is that i’m attached to her because she was the first one to show me any flirtatious attention after nina left me. and that’s an okay truth to revel in, but not for much longer. do i have feelings for the girl? absolutely. but they’re nothing that i can’t manage with a little pushback. i need to invite new opportunities in. i need to be the prize. and she doesn’t treat me like much of anything...i’m only convenient on her time. she is a chapter that seems like it has no end because she is my latest obsession. but what i want to do different this time is simply put: i want to become unobsessed. and i know i can do it because i’ve subconsciously done it with others in the past. this situation is just a bit harder because she’s grown to be a normality in my daily life. man, it felt good to let all of that go.

•

WHAT DO I DO ABOUT BRANDON?

i’ve been putting this off for a while now. i love him to death and i’m not afraid to tell him that, but he singlehandedly destroyed our friendship in a matter of hours. he won’t let me go, and honestly i won’t let him go either. it gets confusing at this point because we both know that the bond will never be the same, but it meant something big to me that he apologized and is starting to come to terms with his truth. the only problem is that he believes i have to be in his life for him to settle that score, and i just don’t know if i’m comfortable with giving him a second chance. i feel hypocritical because i’ve done this for so many other people, but none of them were my best friend. the hurt means more when the love is so strong, and i admittedly put a lot of love into him, especially in the first year of us being friends. i really wish i had a clear solution for this but i don’t. i still can’t even wrap my brain around why it happened...

•

i’m writing these things down not to let them go, but to recognize them and finally acknowledge them for what they are: my personal problems. i cant keep pretending like everything is okay when on the inside there’s thick flames of hellfire. the more i put these things aside, the more scalding it becomes. when i open up and let them go, i’m doing just enough to fight back. i’m not saying that things are going to get easier, but i am in search of a clarity that has awaited my arrival for about 2 years now.

03/24/2020

[junker-town]

Hue Jackson is running out of excuses for the Browns being terrible

The Browns head coach is looking everywhere but in the mirror to figure out what’s wrong with this team.

What is Hue Jackson good at? If you ask the Browns head coach himself, he’d tell you that offense is his specialty. “That’s what I know,” he claimed last week, after an overtime loss to the Buccaneers. His declaration came with a promise to jump in and help embattled offensive coordinator Todd Haley “figure out” why the Browns couldn’t score enough points to win games.

They scored 18 points in a loss to the Steelers. Six of those points came with just 13 seconds left in the game and Pittsburgh’s defense in cruise control with a 33-12 lead.

So what exactly did Jackson do to help the offense this week? Nobody knows. Not even Hue Jackson!

When he was asked about those comments after this week’s loss, Jackson brushed it off.

“I don’t want to talk about or give [credence] to anything about last week,’’ Jackson said after Sunday’s game. “I said what I said out of frustration. That’s over and done with.”

There he was clearly annoyed that reporters had the audacity to bring up the declaration he made waaaaaay in the past, a whole dang week ago.

So how did this become a thing in the first place?

Let’s turn back the clock to last week, another forgettable Browns game.

They lost 23-26 in overtime to the Bucs. Following that game is when Jackson promised to insert himself into the Browns offensive decision-making.

“I got to jump in headfirst, all hands, feet, everything, and go figure it out; it’s just that simple. I think I have to. And I want to. That’s what I know. So I’m not going to continue to watch something that I know how to do keep being that way. That’s just the truth.

”That’s nothing against anybody in our building. I just think that’s what I do. And I think I need to be a little bit more involved.”

Nobody’s going to look at the box score and think the offense was great in that loss to the Bucs, but a steady diet of feeding Nick Chubb the ball and Baker Mayfield leaning on Jarvis Landry and tight end David Njoku did get them out of a 16-2 deficit in the first half to force overtime.

It’s not rocket science.

This was the best, most ominous part of his statement last week though:

“I’m the head coach of the football team. I will do what I feel I need to do to get this team where it needs to be.”

Was that Jackson taking a some responsibility?

Lol, you should know better than that.

Rumors of a firing emerge

A familiar thing happened Sunday morning, before the Browns’ inevitable loss to the Steelers — rumors of a firing emerged. This time it was Haley whose head was on the block. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Browns could fire Haley if the struggles continued. That was at least one potential solution.

But you don’t really have to watch every down of Browns football (god, why would you) to know that the problems go well beyond the offensive play calling. Everyone in the building suffers from football anemia. It’s endemic.

Jackson and Haley, to the surprise of no one who’s remotely familiar with either of them, are not getting along. You saw some of those tensions on Hard Knocks this summer. They got into an argument about resting players. The tension over how Jackson treats players, i.e. with a lack of discipline, is reportedly still causing problems.

Last week’s remarks didn’t sit well — surprise — with the rest of the team. A head coach publicly castigating his veteran offensive coordinator isn’t going to be well-received. Their infighting made things more difficult in the locker room too.

Hue Jackson always finds a scapegoat. Last season it was Sashi Brown, a front office guy taking the fall for Jackson’s 0-16 season. This time it’s Haley getting served up.

So what happened this week?

To hear Jackson tell it after the game this week, his involvement in the offense was no more than usual. That’s a very convenient thing to say after getting embarrassed by the Steelers, who themselves had a pretty embarrassing moment on that free kick they didn’t realize was a free kick.

The difference is that the Steelers bounced back from their gaffe. For Hue Jackson’s Browns, now 3-36-1 since he was hired, it’s a way of life.

It’s the usual list of conservative play calls, terrible clock management and undisciplined play that’s always dogged the Browns under Jackson, no matter which hapless schmuck coordinator had the misfortune of working for him.

On the first drive of the game, the Browns were doing a decent job moving the ball. They moved 69 very nice yards to the Steelers’ 13, where they had a third-and-3. Pittsburgh knew what was coming, Duke Johnson right up the middle. They stuffed him for a 3-yard loss, and the Browns settled for a field goal.

My personal favorite moment came at the end of the first half. The Steelers, leading 7-6, got the ball on their own 13 with 7:20 left after Baker Mayfield threw an interception. They used all but eight seconds of the remaining clock time on a touchdown drive that made it 14-6. Hue Jackson had all three timeouts to burn when the drive started, and he had all three timeouts left when the half ended.

Hue asked why he didn’t use timeouts late in the second quarter: Honestly I don’t even recall that.

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) October 28, 2018

Having a short memory is important for being a Browns fan. It’s a less appealing quality for the head coach.

When the Steelers got an, ahem, generous spot on that same drive, Jackson couldn’t challenge, but he could have called a timeout in the hopes to try and get the refs to take another look. Or if nothing else, a timeout just to give his defense a chance to collect itself before the Steelers converted the fourth-and-short on the next play.

Running out of excuses in Cleveland

Jackson’s short memory came in handy when asked about the drama last week too.

“Guys, I said what I said last week, and obviously, it had legs, but I never said I wanted to take away play calling. I said I wanted to help. That’s it. So today, now all of the sudden it’s this big ol’ thing because sure everyone’s going to look and say what’s going on?”

Whatever involvement he had in the offense this week, calling plays or just offering some helpful advice, it didn’t work. But because he had put that out there, it was that much harder to pin all the blame on the offensive coordinator. Jackson positioned himself as part of the solution, offered up a straw man and didn’t like being held accountable for the same terrible results.

Oh, and he and Todd Haley are fine too.

“There’s nothing wrong with my relationship with Haley,” he added.

Maybe not, but forgive me for not accepting that at face value. Some interesting reports began to circulate Sunday night, reports shedding some light on the two men’s disagreement over the offense.

Jackson, according to ESPN, reportedly wants the Browns to use more no-huddle offense, more quick slants and read options, plays designed to be a better fit for where Baker Mayfield is at in his first season in the NFL. Those kind of plays haven’t always worked either. And it probably doesn’t help that the Browns have a pretty bad group of receivers behind Landry. Haley prefers a more traditional offense, more dropbacks which can be a liability behind that offensive line.

Changing the arrangements on offense, we learned via Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports, would require permission from the owner, Jimmy Haslam.

Whoever was the source for those reports, they would appear to give Jackson a little cover for the team’s offensive struggles, despite his “help” this last week. Whatever his weaknesses as a head coach.

Jackson’s always been pretty good about getting his version of events into the media one way or another. He survives by creating chaos and then positioning himself as a victim and the one person who can clean it all up.

But this time it might not matter.

There’s someone else who has Haslam’s ear now: general manager John Dorsey. Not even a year into the job, he’s done a lot to help clean up the team’s personnel issues ... removing Jackson’s greatest excuse for his shortcomings in the standings. If the losing continues, and there’s no reason to think it won’t, all of the excuses and scapegoats won’t be enough to save Hue Jackson’s job.

It makes for another tough season in the Dawg Pound, but at least once that happens, the Browns can finally get a new head coach and on track to start winning.