#I actually spent time with mom and watched more episodes of Ghost Hunt

[moon--vixen]

Glimwood diaries

December 23rd, 2020

with toy day right around the corner I decided to wear something extra fun today.

I found the square full of smiling faces and warm drinks. I would have loved to sit with them and enjoy my own warm treat, but there was still work to be done.

but, at least with working today, that means I can get a certain someone back on his feet and home in time for toy day.

and speaking of, while I was gathering his sandy little parts,

I finally got one of the last two DIY cards I needed!

I spent most of the day cleaning out the flowers again,

and hunting down more balloons.

and finally, I got the very last one! I don’t have to worry about them anymore!

so I headed home and got to work!

I have no idea where I’m even gonna put yet another tree, but I made some anyway!

the wallpaper I set up in the basement sure looks great though. really brightens up the place.

I nearly forgot to make today’s snowman too, but I got that all squared away without too much effort. well, any more than usual lol

but I think I’m going to reward myself by turning in early,

and settling in for a movie with a warm drink of my own.

now all I have to do is decide, Rise Of The Guardians, or Nightmare Before Toy Day?

[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 3--Hunted.

 Most of you lovelies already realize this, but my thoughts tend to zig and zag quite a bit, lol.  So.  To save some of you the headache and spare you from seeing spoilers you’d rather not see yet, I’m again placing them behind a cut.  

First things first.  I have totally turned into Yvette Nicole Brown with her TWD notebooks, lol, and I’m not even sorry.  I just felt like it would be fun to go back when the final episode is in the books and see how well my thoughts from these early episodes line up with what I’m feeling when we say our (not-so) final goodbyes.  

But that’s enough about that. Let’s get to this thing.  

It really is insane how very much I love Melissa McBride.  Just hearing her doing the previously on TWD recap voiceover makes me ridiculously happy.  

Cole!  Dude!  We hardly knew ya.  

Not gonna lie.  That first shot of Maggie in all the chaos reminded of a shirt I’ve seen.  It says--”Well, well, well.  If it isn’t the consequences of my actions.”  

I have to hand it to Angela and the rest of her team.  These opening scenes--on all 3 episodes--have been BOMB so far.  They really hook you in right away.  At least IMHO.  

I realize I’m behind the game on this little tidbit, but how much do I adore the fact that Dog is now in the opening credits?  

Okay.  Alexandria might look like it’s been on some kind of post-apocalyptic bender but all our girls are looking beautiful as ever.  Maybe it’s Maybelline, lol.  

I love to see Kelly and Carol still gravitating toward each other.  It really speaks to each woman’s heart.  Carol wants to make amends so badly and Kelly just has the most lovely, warm, forgiving heart.  

Carol’s point about Alexandria still needing the horses to help with the heavy lifting and pointing out the walls and rebuilding won’t matter quite as much if they’re limited by their  hunger and what they can physically lift on their own isn’t wrong.  But I’m sure the same viewers that were okay with Daryl and Co. going out on Maggie’s suicide mission (using the same reasoning) and saying it made sense for the bigger picture will pretend not to recognize that the same element is there in Carol’s desire to go out there and look for the horses.  You know.  Because it was Carol’s idea and not that of their fave(s).  

Aaron, Man.  Or maybe I should say Angela.   You just had to put a pit of dread in my belly mentioning Buttons like that.  RIP, Buttons.  You deserved better.  I’m still traumatized.  

Look at all the babies bonding.  Look at RJ getting to sit at the big kid table.  

“My mom always comes back.”  She damn well better.  Those babies need her.  Until she does, though, Uncle Daryl and Aunt Carol (and Aunt Rosita and everybody else) are going to be there.  

Anyway.  Poor RJ.  He barely ever gets any lines, lol.  

Hershel and Judith are obviously the mini-adults in this group and baby Rhee is already more cynical and jaded than his sweet daddy was until they reached Alexandria and the wheels started to come off.  

So.  Does Maggie just think everybody’s already dead here or what?  Hmm.  

You know.  Any building can be creepy AF when the lights are off and it’s dark, lol.  Any building.  

So much darkness so far this season.  I’m going to have to invest in some blackout curtains.  I just know it.  

Where are all those stairs leading?  Why am I thinking of Hitchcock?  Am I mixing up my scary, suspenseful movies?  Probably.  

Of fucking course, Maggie dropped her flashlight.  Thank goodness she had that lighter at the ready just before Ghost Face Reaper took a swipe at her.  

Is that Father G with a screwdriver impaled in his thigh?  Listen.  These people deserve a Mega Bottle of pain killers and a week just vegging out in a soft, luxurious bed.  

All these horror movie tropes.  Some of them are cheesy, yes.  But I’m totally here for it.  

LMAO.  That’s it, Maggie.  A good old punch in the nuts works every time.  

Alden really is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.  

Negan is still Negan.  Self-serving and looking out for number one.  But I believe the man really does feel the group is his group too.  He’s like that long lost, sketchy uncle nobody wants to acknowledge much less invite to the dinner table, but that bond?  However thin?  Is there.  

I am both hating that Maggie is being forced to work with the man that murdered her husband (my baby Glenn) and finding it fascinating the lengths she’s willing to go to survive.  This your plan, Angela?  

Rosita and Carol!  How sad is it that the last really significant scene I can remember the two of these women sharing was way back?  Before Rick and Co. attacked Negan’s outpost and Maggie and Carol were subsequently taken?  If only the show had done more of these kind of scenes.  

How much do I love all the girls working together?  Gimps would never.  They’d all be stuck back at Alexandria minding the kids and the community.  

Shallow aside--Rosita is so pretty in this scene.  

Rosita being worried about Carol honestly makes my heart hurt, because it’s about damn time more of them actually did.  Her saying Abraham is trying to tell her something in her dreams is interesting.  Angela sure loves her dreams, doesn’t she?  

Where are Daryl’s dreams, hmm?  No.  Seriously.  I guess they want to give some viewers plausible deniability until the bitter end.  

“Really?  We’re just gonna go toward the screaming?  Cool.”  Hahaha.  You know.  Even the smart people in horror movies sometimes bite it, Negan.  Just saying.  Maggie really does need to “stop running up the staircase” when she could just run out the front door though, lol.  

Poor Duncan.  I think you could have been another Tyreese, Jerry type for me.  

WTF does this show have against horses?  Those poor creatures.  

Kelly is totally me right now.  I’d be freaking inconsolable.  

Carol needed that hug.  Thank you, Magna.  From the bottom of this tired fangirl’s heart, thank you.  

Why give us that beautiful, golden shot with the horses when you’re planning to stab us through the heart later and twist the knife.  Oh.  Yeah.  That’s exactly why.  

Oh snap!  Father G’s delivery when he tells that Reaper “I’m not.  God isn’t here anymore.”  Cold as ice.  

Judas.  That the Reapers’ work.  Or.  Damn.  Either way, that’s harsh.  

Back to what Alden was saying.  All these oprhaned children.  Who’s going to take on Adam if he dies?  That poor kid has had a rough go of it.  Knowing that, makes you wonder what Alden was thinking volunteering for the suicide mission.  

Omigosh.  There went Agatha.  Terrible way to go.  Right, Beatrice?  

I’m sobbing.  Carol with the horse.  That hurt my baby so much but she hurt herself for her family the same way she has been doing since the Prison.  Melissa Mcbride?  When she cries, I cry.  Every effin’ time.  Aaron being there just made it hurt more.  But at least someone was there to see how and really take in how she continues to break pieces of herself off to keep her family as whole and safe and happy as she can.  

Rewinding a minute--that Magna and Carol conversation.  I get Magna’s reasoning too.  I do.  But Angela is just making everything so dire right now so that the sun when Connie is ultimate found shines a ltitle brighter.  

Those babies know they’re eating horse.  I could never.  

That’s got to be a different Coco.  She’s even smaller.  But she’s gorgeous.  

Fucking finally.  Angela having the other characters notice after an eternity of being blind to it, just how much Carol sacrifices of herself for them.  It’s so long overdue and I imagine Rosita’s even more worried for Carol now.  It’s a shame it’s taken 11 seasons.  My baby’s had blood on her hands trying to keep her family safe and whole and happy and fed for a long damn time.  So heartbreaking watching her try to scrub the blood away.  

Sweet, sweet hug that Kelly gave Magna.  She’s such a sweetheart kid sis to all of them, isn’t she?  

Interesting place of refuge.  A gutted church.  A visual symbol, Angela, of where Maggie and the rest of our people are now perhaps?  

“It’s easy for you, isn’t it?  Being reckless with sombody’s life...”  Maggie.  Maggie.  Those words would have hit so much harder if we hadn’t spent the majority of the last 2.5 episodes watching you ignore sound advice just because it came out of the mouth of somebody you (justifiably) hate.  

But will Alden be there when Maggie and Negan get back?  That is the question.  Or will he eventually Lucille himself?  

That little bit of lineup Negan music to remind the audience of Negan lovers and sympathizers that he once took great pleasure in murderously swinging a bag at people’s heads was a nice, subtle touch there.  Like agree with her or not, Maggie  is literally left to rely  on the hope, however small it is, that Negan has changed just enough that he won’t try to finish a job he taken on years before--killing what’s left of her.  

Oh lawd.  Next episode sees the return of a character literally nobody asked for.  How excited am I not?  

Dog better not be harmed or so help me.  

Now for Angela’s weekly explanations of WTF she/there were thinking because they been doing this plausible deniability thing so long some people out there watching with biased, muddy stan glasses can no longer separate head canon from canon.  

Is Maggie worried at all about Daryl or does she just assume his superhero powers are in full effect in this episode?  

“You can’t really say it wasn’t going to happen anyway.”  Not Angela pointing out that simply laying the blame for literally everything bad that ever happens at Carol’s feet isn’t the answer.  Say it louder for those in the back.  Alpha was going to do what Alpha wanted to do.  

“There is love there.  There is respect there.  However, there’s also frustration...”  You damn skippy.  Friendships and human relationships are complex AF.  Like Carol. She’s honestly one of the most complicated characters on this show and any show, IMHO.  That’s what makes her so memorable and such a lightning rod for discussion.  

I know I might be in a minority, but I really feel like they need more of those little scenes between the kids to keep things real.  

Kang saying she always feels like she’s going to get murdered in a staircase or parking lot is relatable, funny, and sad all at the same time.  It’s a girl thing.  

Why is Carol’s story giving me Dark Knight vibes?  Like I feel like she’ll gladly shoulder the burden of their distrust, their hate, or their judgment as long as the hard choices she makes keeps them safe.  And she’s still ultimately going to come back to save their asses even when they forsake her.  Just like Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Am I reaching too far, lol?  Because sometimes I do that.  

Anyway.  This is the third episode of the season and the third episode in a row that I mostly enjoyed.  I don’t know if I’m just so relieved and happy to have all the characters and my show back or what, but overall?  I’ve been pleased with the episodes and found something to love in all of them.  

There’s a much stronger horror vibe woven throughout Season 11 so far.  I feel like it’s a return to the roots of the show and I like that.  Literally none of the characters are making perfect choices and this viewer is here for it.  My only complaint so far is there hasn’t been enough Carol but what we’ve been given has felt like a gift and significant in a way that Gimps’ version was not.  Also?  I really hope the trend of the ladies working together and supporting each other continues because they rule the TWD world, lol.  

Hope you enjoyed at least some of my TWD word vomit.  

Until next episode.  

[salvatoreschool]

Vampire Diaries Universe: The 25 Best Characters, Ranked

For the first time since 2009, we’re entering a fall season devoid of any new offerings from the Vampire Diaries universe. And like Stefan Salvatore without his daily diet of forest friends, we’re insatiable.

Like so many longtime TVD enthusiasts (those of us to whom the word “thesmatos” really means something!), we’ve spent much of quarantine revisiting the weird, wonderful universe — from Mystic Falls to New Orleans and back again. We’re suddenly spending a lot of time with characters we haven’t seen in years. And we’re having a lot of feelings about them.

In celebration of the franchise’s 11th anniversary, TVLine has assembled another totally non-controversial ranking, this time of the 25 best characters from the Vampire Diaries universe — a category that also includes familiar faces from The Originals and Legacies. (In Legacies‘ defense, the franchise’s latest offshoot hasn’t been around as long to endear itself to us, but that didn’t stop four Salvatore School students from making their way onto our list.)

In lieu of new content from the TVD universe this fall, TVLine is looking back at our 25 favorite characters from the entire franchise, including stand-out favorites from its two spinoffs.

SPOILER ALERT: This ranking discusses major plot points from all three shows. If you haven’t finished The Vampire Diaries (Season 1-8), The Originals (Season 1-5) or Legacies (Season 1-2), proceed at your own risk. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

25. VINCENT GRIFFITH

Thanks to the magic of body swapping, the Mikaelson siblings have inhabited multiple physical vessels throughout the years, but none have remained in the family’s orbit quite like this Southern gentleman. Powerful, thoughtful and downright Shakespearean in his delivery (Yusuf Gatewood, ladies and gentlemen!), Vincent always has the greater good in mind. And as we learned in The Originals’ series finale, he helped Freya and Keelan pass that good along to the next generation.

24. LANDON KIRBY

Even though we’re still getting to know him, there’s already so much to like about this pure-hearted Mystic Falls townie. Not only is he the franchise’s first-ever phoenix, but he also looks like he could pass for Damon and Elena’s offspring — and that’s never a bad thing. We could tell he had a long future in this universe the moment he danced with Hope in The Originals’ final season. (So far, so good!)

23. JENNA SOMMERS

Like so many paved paradises, we didn’t fully appreciate what we had with Jenna until she was gone. Her death marked the end of Elena’s innocence — which is saying a lot, considering she was still mourning her own parents when The Vampire Diaries began. And if we’re being honest, Jenna was the ghost we were most excited to see again in the series finale. (For the record, Joseph Morgan has apologized on Klaus’ behalf for killing Jenna several times.)

22. TYLER LOCKWOOD

The First Son of Mystic Falls was kind of a jerk when we met him in The Vampire Diaries‘ first season. He was arrogant, aggressive and reckless — so it actually made perfect sense when he was revealed to be a werewolf. Fortunately, Michael Trevino’s character developed a little more nuance from that point on, especially via his Romeo and Juliet romance with Caroline. (After everything that’s happened since 2013, can you believe that they were once in a love triangle with Klaus?)

21. JEREMY GILBERT

Elena’s little brother (er, cousin?) went through a number of different, wonderful phases during his tenure in Mystic Falls. We loved him in The Vampire Diaries’ earlier seasons as the human embodiment of all things emo (he literally dated a ghost!), and we… um… appreciated his unexpected evolution into a shirt-ripping, wood-chopping vampire hunter.

20. CAMILLE ‘CAMI’ O’CONNELL

The Clarice Starling to Klaus’ Hannibal Lecter, this brave bartender was able to tap into the show’s darkest, most complicated character’s psyche in ways that no one named Mikaelson (or even Forbes) ever could. She helped him conquer a number of his demons in the few short years they spent together on The Originals, and like most people who play a significant role in Klaus’ life, she suffered the consequences. (Side note: Are we the only ones who really dug Cami as a vampire? Justice for that short-lived story arc.)

19. SHERIFF ELIZABETH FORBES

Of The Vampire Diaries’ many maternal figures, none put us through the emotional ringer quite like Caroline’s mother. We weren’t her biggest fans in the show’s early seasons, given her penchant for hunting the undead (including her own daughter), but hey, what was this show if not an endless series of redemption arcs? Also, if you don’t get a little choked up when Caroline felt her mom’s presence in the series finale, you don’t have a soul.

18. FREYA MIKAELSON

The long-lost fifth Mikaelson sibling was a little rough around the edges when we first encountered her on The Originals, but the poor woman was in the midst of escaping a centuries-long imprisonment, so we cut her a little slack. And we’re glad we did, because Freya has since become one of the strongest, most inspiring and all-around likable characters in the Vampire Diaries canon. #FreelinForever

17. MARCEL GERARD

While it’s easy to get swept up in Marcel’s charm and swagger (we were robbed of a second karaoke number, by the way!), it’s important to remember just how far back his time with the Mikaelson family goes. When you consider that Klaus literally freed Marcel from slavery and raised him to lead New Orleans as his right-hand vampire, it adds a whole other layer of tension to their passionate power struggle on The Originals. Though he’s treated like an unofficial Mikaelson sibling, Marcel often feels like more of a Mikaelson than Kol — and definitely more than Finn.

16. REBEKAH MIKAELSON

Arguably the funniest (and most glamorous) member of the Mikaelson family, the woman Damon once referred to as “Barbie Klaus” never fai to tell it exactly like it was, beginning with her thoughts on then-lovebirds Stefan and Elena. (“Honestly, I don’t get you two as a couple.”) And Bex only became more complex as the years went on, from her desperate desire for humanity to her undeniable love for Marcel. Just don’t call her insane — she prefers “spontaneous.”

15. ALARIC SALTZMAN

In hindsight, Alaric’s journey from hot history teacher to hot headmaster of a supernatural school makes perfect sense. Still, it was impossible to predict back in The Vampire Diaries’ first season just how much of an impact the man formerly known as Warner Huntington III would have on this franchise. A drinking buddy to some, a father figure to others and a literal father to a lucky pair, Alaric has truly woven himself into the fabric of this universe like few others. (That said, we still wouldn’t recommend dating him if you value your life.)

14. SHERIFF MATT DONOVAN

Only one full-blooded human survived all eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries, and you’re looking at him. The pinnacle of mortal goodness, this blue-eyed patriot hasn’t always been on the same page as his vampire brethren, but that’s only because he didn’t want to see any more his friends and family get eaten. And we can sympathize with that!

12-13. LIZZIE AND JOSIE SALTZMAN

Asking us to choose between Jo (by way of Caroline) and Alaric’s daughters is an impossible task, which is ironic, considering the Gemini twins are literally destined for a fight to the death on their 22nd birthday. Besides, these sisters have always felt like a package deal, from the moment we witnessed their birth on The Vampire Diaries to the day we reunited with them as teenagers on Legacies. (They also popped up in The Originals’ penultimate episode, putting them in the prestigious category of characters who have appeared in all three series.) Despite their inherent connection, Lizzie and Josie really have grown into two very different people, a journey we hope will continue for years (and shows) to come.

11. MALACHAI ‘KAI’ PARKER

The fact that this remorseless, pork rind-loving psychopath ranks so high on our list speaks volumes about actor Chris Wood, who brought a refreshingly sassy vibe to The Vampire Diaries’ sixth season. The guy was so likable, fans were even ‘shipping him with Bonnie… as if that poor girl hadn’t been through enough already! You also have to give Kai points for longevity — even after his head got knocked off, he managed to make two encore appearances on TVD (Season 8) and Legacies (Season 2).

10. HOPE MIKAELSON

As we mentioned with Lizzie and Josie earlier, we feel like we’ve watched Hope grow up before our eyes… because we have. Given the epic circumstances surrounding her conception, birth and upbringing, an adult version of this character had a lot of hype to live up to, and Danielle Rose Russell has proven herself more than up to the challenge. Imbued with her parents’ best qualities, Hope’s power and passion make her both a formidable foe and an invaluable ally. Besides, Legacies showed us what the world would be like without Hope, and it was not a good place.

9. HAYLEY MARSHALL

We can’t even think about this fierce, fearless mama wolf without shedding a single tear. Hayley’s story was basically one long tragedy, from her complicated marriage with Jackson to her tumultuous relationship with Elijah. And then there was her untimely demise in The Originals’ final season, which… actually, let’s not talk about that. From the moment she gave birth, Hayley’s heart belonged to Hope, and it was in her most extreme maternal moments that Hayley’s true strength was on display. That’s how we’ll remember her.

8. ELIJAH MIKAELSON

Suits? Pressed. Hair? Immaculate. Vocabulary? Thicc. With his smooth moves and cunning intellect, Klaus’ extremely respectful brother could do it all — well, except keep the people he loved from meeting horrific ends. (Seriously, this guy’s track record for dead lovers is right up there with Alaric’s.)

7. BONNIE BENNETT

Simply put, this is the witch you want in your corner when things go south. Endlessly powerful and selfless to a fault, Kat Graham’s character spent eight agonizing seasons sacrificing herself — often literally, hence her multiple deaths — in order to keep her friends and family safe. No amount of bloody noses or dead boyfriends could stop this badass from crushing her enemies.

6. CAROLINE FORBES

Getting smothered to death was honestly the best thing that could have happened to Caroline, who evolved from a basic, boy-crazy cheerleader into a bad-ass vampire overnight. And that was just the first phase of her franchise-long evolution into the empowered, globe-trotting mother of two she is today. She’s also responsible for all of The Vampire Diaries’ memorable musical moments, from her sweet song for Matt to her devastating performance at Sheriff Forbes’ funeral. (Now if only she’d pay her old pals at Legacies a visit…)

5. ELENA SALVATORE

She may not have Katherine’s chaotic flare, but Elena deserves credit for carrying much of The Vampire Diaries’ dramatic and romantic weight for six years. And for that pink hair she experimented with in Season 4. On top of that, Elena also rolled with the punches better than almost anyone. (You’re vampires? I’m a doppelgänger? Now I’m a vampire? Now I’m human again? Now I’m in a coma? Sure, let’s do this.)

3-4. DAMON AND STEFAN SALVATORE

Two sides of the same brooding coin, these brothers were as proficient at breaking hearts as they were at breaking necks. And while their love triangle with Elena will remain the stuff of TV legend, their relationship as brothers was revealed to be the real heart of The Vampire Diaries in its final two seasons. Honestly, it’s too hard to choose between them, so we’re not going to.

2. KATHERINE PIERCE

Come on, when were you not excited to see this leather-clad lunatic on your screen? Deliciously twisted and infinitely more interesting than her human doppelgänger, Katherine was behind many of The Vampire Diaries’ most jaw-dropping twists, from her iconic encounter with John(’s bloody fingers) to her long-awaited return in the series finale. Honestly, putting Katherine on hell’s throne in Season 8 was merely a formality — she was always a queen.

1. KLAUS MIKAELSON

The man, the myth, the legend. To think that the monster who slaughtered poor, defenseless Aunt Jenna on The Vampire Diaries is the same person who gave it all up to save his daughter on The Originals… well, there isn’t a clap slow enough to commend that kind of growth. (Again, Joseph Morgan is very sorry about the whole Jenna thing!) By the time Klaus evaporated on the streets of New Orleans, it felt like we had explored every conceivable nook and cranny of his existence, from his traumatic childhood to his fatal romances — and we relished every second of it.

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

And I’m back from my midseason finale, continuing my journey to decipher how and why a show about two sexy brothers who hunt ghosts aired on television for over a decade. It’s Supernatural! 

Back in 2009, when I rushed head long from “Salvation”/”Devil’s Trap straight into “In My Time of Dying” (Kripke, you’re being a real bitch with these titles), I was not the TV connoisseur who writes tumblr posts about ancient shows that you read before you. The cliffhanger at the end of “Devil’s Trap” is good enough that it didn’t matter that I’d just crossed the threshold from the first season into the second season. What mattered was that Dean was dying in the back seat and holy shiz, they crushed the Impala?? So I popped out one DVD disc and happily plugged in the next without stopping to think what a new season might mean.

Of course, I knew second seasons were precious. You watch Firefly ONCE and you know the fear of a Show Cancelled Too Soon. Supernatural, apparently, was on the edge of cancellation after season 1, but it’s renewal coincided with the birth of the brand new CW, a network built from the ashes of The WB and UPN respectively, that was in need of nightly programming to fill up the air. So Supernatural was saved (aha) from the Cancellation Bear and remained in it’s (primo) Thursday night time slot, 9pm warning label in-tact. 

What do we say to the Cancellation Bear? Not Today!

That’s not to diminish the importance of it’s renewal for season 2! Depending on what network or cable channel (or year), only something like 20 - 30% of freshman shows get renewed for a season 2. To be fair, if every show that aired in the fall got renewed in the spring, there’d be no time slots left for new freshman shows the following fall, so something’s gotta give. SPN getting a season 2, even if the odds were a little more in their favor than they might want you to think, is still pretty miraculous, especially for 2006. Remember, this is pre-streaming services acquiring original content. In 2006, Netflix was a rental service that focused on mailing you DVDs. Via the U.S. Postal Service. And they wouldn’t officially start acquiring distribution licenses for broadcast shows (let alone their own content) until 2007 - two years after SPN started airing. In the early 2000′s, there were fewer opportunities for television shows to make it in front of an audience because there were fewer options for watching television. I’ll say it a hundred times - Supernatural is a DINOSAUR. 

So what do you do when you’re gripped tight and raised from cancellation after your first season? Well if your Supernatural, you start off with one helluva bang.

Maybe more of a wallop. 

As should be obvious by now, I watch a lot of supernatural and Supernatural-Adjacent television. I love a Season One, but very often those shows start to go downhill in Season 2. Why? For the simple fact that your characters are too good now. They’re too powerful. They’ll never be as vulnerable as they were in season 1, and if there’s no vulnerability, there’s less concern about their survivability. I’m not as invested in these characters because I’m not worried about them anymore. There’s not tension of will they/won’t they - you know they will, in the end, overcome. Of course, the solution to this conundrum is to level your villains up alongside your heroes. The trouble with that strategy is you end up with ludicrously, laughably super strong villains that lose their grounding in reality. This is a problem I foresee for SPN post season 5, but I haven’t gotten there yet, so I’ll leave that alone for right now.

So for me, what Supernatural does at the start of season 2 is genius. Think about the end of season 1 - our boys lose. They straight up failed. They had one goal - kill the demon that killed their women mom/wife and girlfriend - and they did not even remotely do that. They’re beaten, they’re bloody and now, just when we think they can’t lose any more, they lose some more. 

I’m gonna be real honest here, this was a real turn on for me Sammy.

First it’s Baby. For two boys who hop from cheap motel to cheap motel, I think it’s safe to say that the Impala is basically their home. They lose the fight and then they lose their home. That’s rough.

Also, Bobby, I love you, but WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S SCRAP?!?!

Next, they almost lose Dean. Dean is the only thing that’s keeping this family together and he is donezo. He’s so gone, a Reaper is concocting an elaborate hallucination to get him to come to terms with his imminent demise. Which honestly, is a very nice thing for this Reaper to do, but also bb, don’t you do it!

You gotta hand it to this Reaper, she really knew allll the right buttons to push.

Next, we lose the Colt. They have one (1) weapon to use against the Yellow-Eyed-Demon and John gives it away. Is he also finally acknowledging that his children require his love and care? Yes. Is this the shittiest decision he’s ever made, even if it is to save the life of his firstborn? ALSO YES.

Pretty damn stupid, JOHN.

And finally, in the last 5 minutes of the episode, we lose John Winchester himself. And this bitch ain’t coming back. He’s gone. He’s gone for good. Sam and Dean spent months searching for their father, building up this legend of a man, and we as an audience spent months right along with them, only to watch him die in the first episode of season 2! Sam and Dean don’t start out season 2 back at square one, they’re back at square -10. Sure they know who the bad guy is now, but they don’t know how to find him, don’t know how to kill him, and the only person who did know can’t help them anymore! And to top it all off, they don’t even have a ride back from the hospital!

JK, we all know Bobby came and picked them up and took him back to his place, he’s the Real Hero of this show. 

Also, I’m getting ahead of myself here but I’m on a roll - John’s last words to Dean are basically a threat that oh yeah, you have one more thing that this war on hell will steal from you. If you can’t save your brother, you’ll have to kill him. Sure John. Sure. Dean’s definitely gonna do that, John, you bitch.

And they don’t just write this loss off. Over the next three episodes we see how deep this failure goes. Sure, our guys are still out there, doing their thing, killing evil sonsabitches, but damn they are torn up and they are not handling it well. 

Listen, I don’t know what your viewing experience is like, but the recaps on my dvd play this scene every episode for the next, like, five episodes. 

“Everybody Loves a Clown” is a very clear attempt to get back to normal. So clear that they even say it in the episode somewhere, but they have a lot of climbing to do before they get anywhere near normal. They’re driving around in a minivan, they’re taking cases from strangers, they’re living as carnies - their whole world is upside down.

We get another low blow in “Bloodlust.” Dean learns that a) no one can replace his father and b) that Monster doesn’t necessarily mean Evil. So at the end of the episode, when he asks Sam, “What if we killed things that didn’t deserve killing,” you feel it like a gut punch. Dean doesn’t even get to keep his own faith that he’s doing the right thing anymore.

Hey buddy. While you’re down on the ground, we thought we’d kick ya a little bit, OK?

And then we round that out with “Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things,” a nice zombie episode that is definitely not about the zombies. Sam and Dean are still grieving the death of their father in a very real way and I actually think Sam’s idea to visit their mom’s grave is really nice. He obviously took several psych courses and is handling grief in a much healthier, mature way than Dean. That being said, when he starts to go all Psych Major on Dean, even I want to slap him in the face. And then that whole attitude really bites him in the ass when Dean finally does open up and he realizes he’s not qualified to therapize this shit.

Oh no, it OK, don’t be cry!

See, we as the audience know that John Winchester traded his own soul to save Dean’s life, but Dean was in a coma with a Reaper, so there’s no way to know what Dean knows. But that bitch is astute and he figures it out. The Colt gone, their dad gone, and that horrible wrong sensation when he woke up in the hospital all point to the fact that John’s final gift to his son was the crushing weight of guilt. Dean knows that John should be here with Sam, would be here with Sam, if it wasn’t for Dean. And since a demon was involved, Dean probably suspects where John is right now. And that is something that he is just gonna have to carry for the rest of forever. I mean, I love Dean and I’m glad he’s still here, but that’s a real dick move John. 

John Winchester. Ruining Lives from Before and Beyond the Grave. 

Notice the change in this season - with the exception of the Yellow Eyed Demon, these first few episodes are not about the monster. These are Feelings Episodes, ooey gooey Feelings Episodes, that just use the monster-of-the-week to get characters to deal with their inner traumas. This is SPN saying they’re not gonna stay on the surface of this show, they’re gonna dig deep and focus on Character Substance over the Horror FX Style. And in season 2, that still feels fun! As an audience member plowing through these episodes, I was thrilled that this was the direction the show was taking. I was also thrilled that all these episode end with Dean staring dramatically into the middle distance, just some A+ cinematography there gentlemen, great job. 

In order, Ep 201, 202, 203, 204. I was not kidding. 

I’m also noticing, having written all this down, that these are some very Dean-centric episodes. Like, it’s very heavy on the Dean. Which I’m not mad about, but I just think it’s real funny considering that Sam was definitely our lead protagonist/entry point into season 1.

Now though? This is honestly my biggest fear as I continue my quest to make it through the entire series. I know how it ends. I have a tumblr account and sometimes I like spoilers to prep me for what’s coming, so I know how this all shakes out. And I think the reason that I sort of gave up on the series was because at some point, these Feelings episodes get too heavy. If all your characters are always bogged down by grief and guilt and loss, at some point that’s not enjoyable to watch anymore. You’ve gotta give them a win at some point. A real win that doesn’t come with caveats like Dean sold his soul to the devil, or, Sam’s locked in a cage with the devil, or really anything involving the devil at all. 

So while I’m enjoying season 2 still, I am worried that my enjoyment level is gonna sink as the series goes on. But that’s still a ways down the road, so in the meantime, have more of Dean staring dramatically into the middle distance.

[no-te-lo-voy-a-dar]

Sibling Jealousy - Chapter 5

Fic’s Summary: Reader has known the Winchesters for a long time, almost two years before Cas entered their lives. After that, since Reader was the only one actually teaching the angel about humanity customs and stuff like that, properly, they developed a closer relationship, on the parent-kid way. But it was never verbally acknowledged. Now, with Lucifer’s child on the way, life stabs some sense and realizations onto Reader, but there’s no time for feelings in this house.

Author’s Note: This is mainly a fic with the purpose of developing a family relationship with the characters, of mutual support, and I don’t plan on adding romance for Reader, because that’s not my final goal.

Pairings: Castiel/Reader (Platonic), Jack Kline/Reader (Platonic), Dean and Sam Winchester/Reader (Platonic)

Warnings: Usual canon violence and conflicts, as well as injuries and blood mentions, emotional struggles such as feeling unloved, like an outcast, low self-esteem issues and if you think something else should be mentioned let me know.

<<Last Chapter - Next Chapter>>

Chapter’s Author’s Note: Yes so, a long time has passed, and well, I still am halfway through the next chapter, and I’m still kind of stuck on the same episode from season 13...not having a supportive team for school work sucks u all, don’t be like that. Hope you enjoy this, and remember, comments are highly appreciated, and if you see a typo let me know, it helps me improve ^^

Chapter Five: Therapy and Emptiness

Word Count: 3,170

It’s been almost a week since the discussion on the map room took place, and Dean had been really silent the whole time, while Sam had made small talk to you and Jack, borrowing him a computer he didn’t use all the time.

Jack was spending most of his days on his bedroom, the first two with you teaching him to make his bed, how to work the computer and a few lessons on how to heal people when you bumped against some equipment on the makeshift gym, where you were spending up to three hours divided along the days, a coping mechanism that allowed you to let steam and anger out and left your body tired enough to almost black out at night after touching your bed.

So far he’s been able of healing (yet not every time) from paper cuts to small scraps you had made on your hands while sharpening swords, blades and knives with a sharpening rock - because you also found the process soothing and kind of relaxing, but your mind still wandered making you lost focus, ending on said cuts.

Yet, you told Jack to not tell Sam and Dean about the healing, and when he asked why you were going to lie, you told him the truth...mainly because he still didn’t have a concept of morals good enough to just know why.

“If we tell them you are able of healing injuries, they are not even gonna listen to the fact they are small ones, much less to how exhausted it makes you. They are probably going to expect you to heal their deep cuts, and claw marks and everything they get from hunts. And one, you are not ready yet, second they haven’t earned a right to be healed by you after all what they’ve made you gone through. Maybe Sam, but he’s on thin ice.”

“Ice? But, the floor here is not thin, is it?” Ah, another thing you’ve been up to has been teaching Jack the meaning of some words and expressions, like right there.

---

The moment Sam told you to get ready because you were going hunting, you immediately asked who was going to stay with Jack.

“No one. He’s coming with us.” He seemed unbothered by his idea, proud even.

“Come again? Jack is going with us to a hunt? Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“He could use some fresh air, and being coped up in here is not going to help him (Y/N). We all need to go out a little.” He almost sounded like he was both asking for permission and just announcing the facts…

“Have you talked to Jack already? What does he thinks about this? Does he wants to tag along?” Even if his answer was a yes, you would be having a talk with Sam to tell him how not just because Jack looked old enough to be on hunt meant he was mentally prepared to be on them.

“Yes, I went to him after talking Dean into letting him come along. And he wants to be good, and with hunting we save people.” He shrugged as if it was the most normal and obvious thing.

“Fine. But we have to make sure Dean doesn’t throw him into the fire line.” You rolled your eyes at the idea, but you were also frowning, so Sam just gave you a grateful smile before going out of your room and telling you how you were leaving in 30 minutes.

You still were going to have to talk to Jack after this, letting him know how things could go wrong. Just, warn the kid.

---

As usual you were riding on the back of Baby, but Jack was with you this time. You weren’t surprised he wasn’t in a suit, since he barely had clothes (Dean didn’t allow you to take him into town just to get some for him, so you had to go out and get a few things in hopes they would fit and he would like them), but when Dean slammed the car’s door closed you flinched. You could almost touch his despise for Jack.

The first lady’s information didn’t really help, and after finding out Jack had gotten out of the car, you quickly went to close it before getting inside the crime scene, where they were staring at a blood stain, and talking about going to the grave of the wife to salt and burn what seemed to be a ghost issue, or a revenant.

You weren’t so sure it was either of those options, and you told them that, but you were ignored. Well, Jack did pay attention, but he didn’t know a lot about monsters so he couldn’t back you up or give his own opinion...not like Dean would let him anyway.

As night fell, you went to the graveyard, and took the shovels out of the Impala’s truck.

After explaining to Jack why seeing the inside of the grave was of relevance in this case, Dean put him to dig, and went to grab a beer from the car.

Sam went after him, telling him how he was transforming into their dad. You shivered at the memories of John, for both your experiences with him and the stuff the brothers told you about...mainly Sam, but you could see the aftermath of said stuff on Dean almost every day.

You decided to keep Jack company and actually help him, since neither of the brothers seemed like they were going to help after screaming at each other.

---

Well, the grave did had a body, which left the two main options to just a vengeful spirit.

Sam helped Jack out of the hole and Dean helped you after he saw you were kind of struggling. The soil wasn’t as compacted as you might think okay? I kept crumbling beneath you.

“My mom could be a ghost?” You weren’t sure if what you heard on Jack’s voice was fear or hope.

“No, we burned the bodies. And what burns, stays dead.” At least Dean was kind of talking to Jack…

A quick glance at the green eyed brother told you he meant Castiel. You burned Castiel’s body. And that was his way of accepting Cas wasn’t coming back.

You had to swallow the lump on your throat, and went back to look at the flames consuming the body inside the giant hole.

---

Turns out, it wasn’t a ghost nor a revenant, as you suspected.

Another person ended up dead, and you had to go to the police station to get more information, finding out all the victims had the same therapist, and deciding that giving her a visit had to be the next step.

The only issue was, how to see her and get to talk to her and see if you could gather more information, more clues about the case and what you were up against.

The solution? Going in as a family and pretend you wanted the family group program.

What could go wrong, right? Right.

Everything could go bad.

First, Jack almost blew your cover at saying he had lost his mom when you all were asked who you’ve lost, issue Sam fixed by saying you all where siblings. Then, after said incident, Dean ordered Jack to not speak unless he told him to, at which you pushed Dean off of Jack.

Inside the room, Sam and Dean took the couch closer to the therapist, while you and Jack took the one across them, yet slightly more afar from Mia, and you could feel how rigid Jack was, and you weren’t even sure if he was paying attention to what was being told on the room.

...But maybe that was for the best.

The therapist quickly wanted to address how Dean handled things, and without warning, Sam and Dean started almost shouting at each other, about how Sam didn’t want to accept Mary was dead, and then about how Dean at least had a relationship with her and how Sam just wanted to hold onto the hope of having the same if Mary was alive.

Welp, that went great.

Sam stormed out of the living room like place, closing the doors behind him, leaving a very awkward silence behind him, which was quickly filled by Dean drinking from his whiskey wine pot bottle, earning a glance and scoff from Mia.

“What? Got a problem?” Please don’t anger her, please don’t anger her...

She first scolded him about his anger issues, and how it wasn’t her business if he wanted to fix that up or not, but she told him about how he directed his anger at everyone around him.

“Jack? The poor kid can even look at you. Look at him he’s terrified of you.” You glanced at him, and saw how indeed he tensed even more at being mentioned in the conversation yet not asked anything directly.

“And (Y/N)? I can see you probably boss them around, if you even acknowledge them to begin with. They don’t feel comfortable here with you, yet stands you because of...I’m going to guess because of Sam and Jack.” Ok, what?

You sent her a confused and undignified look, because well yes, you were bossed around, and got along better with Sam, and now that Jack had joined you did felt like drifting more apart from Dean but you...well, Dean didn’t really spent time with you before if Cas wasn’t around, or if you weren’t watching a movie, because that didn’t involve a lot of talking.

...You didn’t like to think about not really fitting with the Winchesters the latest years and now this woman has brought up all of your doubts to the surface again. Thanks.

“Jack? Pff, we are just peachy, right kid?” Dean’s voice did scare you, like he would snap at any moment.

“Just peachy.” Jack’s reply was a copy of what Dean said and sounded almost robotic.

“And (Y/N) is just fine, if they didn’t like us they would have run away a long time ago. Sam sure did for a while.” Dean didn’t even look at you, at neither of you, and took another swing of the alcohol.

Actually you’ve wanted to leave the brothers since a while ago and go with Cas, but since he always went back to them, to Dean, it wasn’t really an option. And even after all these years you really thought you’ll end up being part of their family again. After all, before Sam left for college you felt like family.

The sound of doors slamming open cut your thoughts and sent you standing up and pulling Jack with you, instincts ticking in.

“Careful! She’s a shifter!!” Screamed Sam while pointing a gun at Mia.

Now you put Jack behind both Sam and you, taking your own gun out. That one didn’t have silver bullets, but they would slow her down enough for you to pull your silver knife from your belt.

Turns out a creature read you all so easily. Well, that couldn’t be good.

---

After deciding Mia might be telling the truth about wanting to help people, Dean and Jack went to check if it was true she was somewhere else when the first murder took place, while you and Sam stayed behind, checking the footage to see the eyes of everyone who came in and out.

You didn’t really wanted to leave Jack with Dean, but Sam reassured you it was fine.

Since your computer was slower than Sam’s, you decided to go get some water and stretch your legs, and when you came back Sam was gone, Mia informing you that Buddy, her ex, was acting as one of her patiences and Sam went to the address in hopes of finding him and killing the shifter.

Great, he left without a word.

Your face must have shown your hurt, because the therapist answered your unspoken question.

“He told me to let you know he was gonna be fine, and needed you here for whenever your brothers were back...but, the four of you...you are not really siblings, are you?” You let a dry chuckle leave your mouth.

“Nah, just Dean and Sam. Neither Jack nor I are blood related. Dean and Sam, we used to be closer before, as if we were actual family, but, at some point, a distance started forming, and even when it gets slim at moments between one of them and me, there’s always this, feeling, of how if they had to choose they would save each other, leaving me to perish.” It had happened before, that one time they left you in a vampire’s nest. They proclaimed they didn’t know you were held hostage, but Sam was there with you before you were taken.

Talk about trust issues. Castiel was the only one who made sure the three of you were safe and healthy most of the time, taking special attention to you.

“You lost someone too. If their mother isn’t yours, then who did you lose?” When you blinked, you saw how your vision got blurry with unshed tears.

“Uh, a friend of them? Us? He’s older than me, and, well, might as well say it out loud now. I saw him as a father figure. Castiel, he uh, sacrificed himself to save us all, including Jack, and I did get to say bye, but not like I wanted. And I haven’t been able of mourning him, we haven’t had time to rest since…” You stopped talking as soon as you hard the Impala engine outside, and went to wash your face.

You heard Dean being told by Mia about Sam going out, but you didn’t heard Jack requesting Mia to have a chat.

When you got out of the bathroom, you heard shushed voices from behind a door. Recognizing Jack’s you walk closer, and hear him talking to...Kelly? But, she was dead and...oh.

Mia took Jack’s mom form and he was not talking with her. At least what Mia was telling him was good, actual advice and good words.

You left a sigh of relief out, realizing how bad Jack’s been doing, and well, at least he was getting help.

You started to get up, after you heard Jack thanking Mia, but you were soon yeeted threw against and through the door, crashing against a lamp and a small table, and finally landing hard against the floor, bleeding cuts covering your left arm.

When you lifted your head, you saw Dean knocking Jack out, and then he came to do the same to you.

---

You woke up at the sound of Jack screaming, your blurry vision seeing Buddy flying by that energy Jack created, and Sam on the room’s door.

You were just starting to notice your hands were tied when everything was already over: Mia refused to kill you, Sam had shoot Buddy, the room was all bloody and destroyed and you saw Jack was not very conscious.

After being released, you stepped as far from Dean as you could without looking like a scared, kicked street dog, and went to check on Jack, who was already getting better.

Mia insisted on the four of you to get out, that she would take care of everything (meaning the body and the room), but Sam and you weren’t so sure. It was Dean the one convincing you to leave, and the first one to walk out of the room, Sam following close behind but stopping when he didn’t heard steps behind him.

You saw Mia talking to Jack, and the later giving her a hug. Unconsciously, you hugged yourself, trying to find some comfort. Jack looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, meaning the conversation he had with Mia-Kelly did worked.

You were just left feeling emptier than before.

After Jack let her go, he went to walk past you, standing besides Sam.

You looked at Mia, who had a raised eyebrow, making you realize you were still hugging yourself.

“I’m just a little cold, the blood loose dropped my temperature a little.” You made a dismissive gesture with your hand, but you could see you weren’t fooling her. Maybe she was prepared to be a therapist after all.

“Talk to them, you are not alone.” You barely heard her, and nodded to let her know you did.

As if that was easy.

---

When you got back to the Bunker, you went straight to the sink on the kitchen to clean your arm again, since it was closer than the bathroom.

You were redoing the bandages when Jack came in to get a glass of water, but as soon as he got in, Dean came in too. The tension on the air raised tenfold immediately.

Jack and Dean exchanged little ‘hey’s, but neither was looking at each other.

“Listen kid, you saved Sam back there, I’m grateful...you did good back there, okay? Good job.” You saw the exchange, and noticed how Dean was really trying to look ad Jack, and the almost newborn Nephilim gave him a little smile, nodding.

You now knew the one knocking Jack and yourself out was the shifter, but it triggered the fear you had against Dean from his demon and Mark of Cain days, so when he walked past you, patting your shoulder, you couldn’t help but flinch.

Dean noticed, but didn’t say anything, just murmured a soft ‘sorry’ before leaving the kitchen, probably to find Sam.

Jack, on the other side, went to sit in front of you, and asked with a calm and quiet voice tone.

“Uh, (Y/N)? Are you alright? Does your shoulder hurts?” he was really concerned for you, so maybe you should be honest. After all, he still needs to learn about lies and you didn’t want to be the one teaching him that.

“My shoulder is a little sore, but that’s not why I flinched. Part of my mind thinks Dean will throw or hit me again. I know a few hours ago it was the shifter the one that knocked us up, but my instincts haven’t caught up with that yet.” Okay, you weren’t lying, just leaving certain info out. He didn’t need to know that. Not yet anyway.

He hummed and nodded, understanding what you meant, stood up to pick another glass and filled it with water. You were about to tell him he could use the same glass when he offered it to you.

“Drinking water is vital after losing blood, right?” 

“Water is important in general, but yes. Thank you, Jack.” You washed both glasses after finishing yours and then called for Jack.

“Let’s use the fact I’m already covered in cuts to keep practicing your healing skills, shall we?” the kid glowed at the idea of practicing not hurting people, and catch up with you on the alley.

Maybe not thinking about Cas, but focusing on good things might help you…

.

.

Sibling’s Tag List:

@carryon-doctor-lock @theferretkids @sapphysaph(idk why i can’t tag u m8) @hazelle-uvu @tiggytaylor​ @a-door-into-my-mind @crazy-obssesed-fangirl @ladymarvelite

(If you wanna be added, please say so in the comment’s section of THIS post)

[justatiredghost]

Unsolved Academy Ch6

It’s time for Klaus and Dave to film the next episode of their ghost hunting show! Unfortunately, there are some unforeseen consequences waiting for them. - Both Vanya and Ben were filming today; they were working on their editing, trying to make things more dynamic or whatever, Klaus wasn’t really sure. He wasn’t very involved with that part of the process, he was mostly in charge of the social media side of things and let Dave and Ben and sometimes Vanya take care of the editing.

“Okay, let’s get this party started!” Klaus said, punching the air in his excitement.

This was promising to be a great episode and he couldn’t wait to get going. They took their positions in front of the old building and the moment Ben gave the signal that they were ready, Dave launched into the introduction.

“Hey everyone, we’re back with a brand new episode. Sorry we took such a long break there, but we have a special treat for you all. Today we are joined by two famous actresses! Welcome, Allison and Claire Hargreeves, so glad you could join us today.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here, thank you for having us,” Allison said with a radiant smile.

“I’m not famous,” Claire objected.

“Yet,” Dave said. “So! Tell us what we’ve got here, Miss Hargreeves. Allison,” he clarified.

“Well, this old abandoned office building behind us has had a surprisingly dark history. Even after it’s closing there have been rumors of ghost sightings. That’s why it was chosen for the location of our new movie.”

“Ghosts Like Us, a lovely romcom starring our very own Allison Hargreeves,” Dave said. “I can’t wait to see it!”

And I’m not just saying that because I’m dating your brother.”

“Well thank you,” Allison laughed.

“Seriously, he’s a big fan,” Klaus said.

“One of the first things I did when I got here was marathon all of your movies,” Dave said.

“And we’re definitely going to have a watch party when this one comes out,” Klaus added.

“Oh, god,” Allison said with an embarrassed laugh.

“But back to the task at hand,” Klaus leaned down, resting his hands on his knees so he was closer to Claire’s level. “Claire! I heard you’ve been allowed to wander around the set. Have you seen anything strange?”

“I don’t think so,” Claire said doubtfully. “I think I saw a ghost in the basement while I was exploring when I wasn’t supposed to be.” Looking guilty, she glanced over at Allison but avoided eye contact. “But that might have just been one of the actors in makeup, I’m not sure because mom was calling me and I had to go. And it’s creepy down there.”

“Here’s hoping we get to see whoever it was again tonight,” Klaus said. “Now, I know Dave here, giant nerd that he is, usually gives the rundown of the history of the building, but since this one’s yours, why don’t you go ahead, Allison.”

“I’d be happy to,” she said. “Like I mentioned, it used to be an office building, but freak accidents kept happening, people getting hurt or dying. I mean, it’s an office building, it shouldn’t have been that dangerous.”

“So we’re thinking a curse, ghosts, or OSHA violations?” Dave asked.

“Exactly,” Allison laughed. “No one was arrested, but I’m not sure that really means much. Regardless, enough people died that the company had to close up shop. Several other businesses have moved in over the years, but they all eventually moved out after suffering high casualties as well. None of them ever made it a full year.”

“Well, seems like there’s certainly plenty of reasons for the place to be haunted,” Dave said.

“That’s for sure. The story goes that the main ghost spotted here is that of a repairman who died when the basement collapsed in on him. They didn’t find his body for weeks. He’s said to slam doors and push people down stairs”

“Great, well, let’s go piss off a ghost! Maybe if we’re really lucky we’ll get him to chuck us down a few stairways!” Klaus said, throwing his arms in the air.

“Cut,” Ben said. “Great job everyone. Especially you, Claire.”

“I did okay?” Claire asked.

“You bet you did,” Klaus said. “Are you trying to steal the spotlight?”

“Maybe,” she replied

“That’s my girl,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Come on, I think Uncle Diego is here to pick you up, I’ll give you a piggyback ride to his car.”

“Aw, can’t I stay?” she asked.

“Sorry, honey, it’s getting late and it’s a school night,” Allison said.

She seemed disappointed, but was giggling again by the time Klaus ran her over to her ride.

-

“Now, there’s a lot of filming equipment and props already set up, but check this out, this was here when we first arrived.” Allison pointed out a large bulletin board as they entered, filled with notices and flyers.

“Hell yeah, Taco Tuesday!” Klaus said.

“Oh nice,” Dave said, looking over his shoulder. “Any chance we can get in on that? Although I guess the business putting it on is probably long gone.”

“Unless you want ghost tacos. Probably not that appetizing.”

“No not that,” Allison said with a long suffering sigh. “That.”

Above the lunch schedule was a notice with ‘Warning’ written at the top in large red letters.

“‘The owners of this property are not liable for any injuries or damages that occur after business hours’,” Dave read.

“Is that even legal?” Klaus asked.

“Aw man,” Dave said. “That ‘s gonna make it kinda hard for us to sue them if we get killed.”

-

Allison was amazing at this, full of energy and enthusiasm, weaving stories, the three of them able to play off of each other with ease. Klaus had no doubt this would be one of their more popular episodes and he was having a blast. They could definitely learn a thing or two from her and he made a mental note to talk to her about lessons or something later. If nothing else maybe she could recommend some improv classes. Maybe even get them a much needed discount.

“Hey, thank you for this by the way,” Klaus said during a lull as they swapped out the batteries in the equipment.

“It’s nothing, really,” she said, waving a hand. “It didn’t even take any convincing on the producer’s part. She seemed pretty excited about the whole idea. Maybe because I let Claire do the asking.”

“Ooh, roping your daughter into doing your dirty work, hmm?”

“Oh not at all, this was all her idea!” Allison said proudly

“Wait, really?”

“Of course! She is a big fan, after all. I should be thanking you guys though, this has been a lot of fun.”

“We’re glad to have you,” he said, hand on her arm, glad that they were getting the chance to be closer after all these years. He’d missed what they used to have.

-

“Down this way is the basement,” Allison said, leading the way. “Apparently police have already searched but some stories insist there are still bodies from missing employees buried under here.”

The dark was a familiar thing to Klaus. Of course it was, his dad had locked him in enough mausoleums over the years that it was pretty much a home away from home. He was getting better, though, now that he actually had the support system for it, working on how to deal with the fears and the nightmares instead of just trying to force himself to endure until the panic attacks kicked in. Sure, he still slept with a nightlight on, but that was part of the point, getting to choose for himself when he faced it.

He still hated the dark and he probably always would. And as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he hated it more than usual. He was just hit with too much, too fast. It was dark, so dark, and the air was filled with the smell of mildew, damp and thick. It brought with it memories, clawing hands grasping at him, voices begging and screaming. He’d apparently never be free of his nightmares of graveyards.

But there was more. The mold and the dark, the low ceiling and the walls that seemed to push in on him made him feel like he was trapped in a tiny motel room again, shoved into a closet for hours, tortured and tortured until he could barely remember what it was to be anywhere else. He staggered back, overwhelmed, and almost bumping into Vanya. Dave was at his side almost immediately, steadying him.

“Woah, woah, hey,” Dave said, rubbing his arm soothingly. “You okay?”

Klaus looked  to Vanya and somehow she looked the way he felt. He had done his best not to think about the little box Luther had locked her inside, it was too terrible to even imagine. How many days, how many weeks had she spent trapped in there when they were children, with nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat?

“Vanya?” Dave asked, spotting her expression as well. He glanced between the two of them, obviously concerned.

“I think you guys can handle this bit without us, right?” Klaus said.

He didn’t want to pull out of Dave’s warm and comforting arms, but he couldn’t leave Vanya like this either, so he took her hand and led her back up the stairs, back into the light. They’d been in musty places before, of course they had, it was practically their job now, so Klaus wasn’t really sure why this out of all the places they’d visited was the one that did it. Maybe it was just too much all at once.

It was probably the same for Vanya. She had a strong stomach, so few things bothered her and as far as he knew, she wasn’t all that claustrophobic. Klaus was angry with himself that this was getting to him so badly, and no doubt she felt the same. She held the camera tight against her chest and Klaus stretched in the newfound freedom of the wide hallway, breathing deeply as the others filed back up the stairs behind them. Allison went to Vanya, but she waved her away with an embarrassed smile

“Hey,” Dave said, rubbing Klaus’ back and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“We’re fine, all good,” Klaus said, leaning against him briefly. “Why don’t you guys just film this bit without us?”

“Are you sure?” Dave asked, looking between the two of them. “We can stay here for a bit, or we don’t even have to do the basement, we can just do the rest of the building.”

“We’ll be fine,” Vanya said, mustering up a reassuring smile.

“See?” Klaus said. “Now off you go, you have an episode to film.”

“Okay,” Dave said, popping his collar and turning to the others. “Let’s go get this ghost. Punk won’t know what hit him.”

“Punk?” Klaus echoed, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, Claire is gonna  be watching this episode. I’m trying to keep things PG.”

“Right,” Klaus said with a fond smile as he straightened Dave’s collar, folding it back down, before giving him a gentle shove in the direction of the basement. “Just go already.”

He knew Dave was being silly on purpose, trying to make him and Vanya smile and Klaus loved him for it. He had the same impulse, to make others laugh when they were upset. Having someone else do that for him instead, knowing Dave would always make sure he was able to smile, meant more to him than he thought it could and he probably had a ridiculous grin on his face as he watched him leave.

“I appreciate the thought,” Allison said to Dave with a laugh as they headed downstairs.

Vanya slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor so Klaus dropped down beside her. He let out a heavy sigh, resting his head back against the wall. Thankfully he hadn’t had a full blown panic attack, but he still felt rattled. He just focused on his breathing, trying to calm his pounding heart.

“Thank you,” Vanya said, voice small.

“No sweat,” he replied, flashing her a smile. “I don’t really like dark, cramped places either. With how often we were locked up, I’m starting to wonder if dad had some sort of obsession.”

“Wait, you were locked up too?” she asked, horrified.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, glancing away and waving a hand dismissively. “You know dad, it was no big deal.”

Klaus had a problem with not talking about things. He had never seen much of a point, everyone had their own problems they were dealing with, they didn’t need Klaus’ on top of that. So instead he’d always just made jokes, exaggerated and tried to make people laugh. In the end, people stopped believing anything he said. Even on the few occasions he truly did go to them for help. At some point he just gave up trying, assuming none of them would care. Except maybe Ben.

Dave cared, though, and he wouldn’t let him do that. Klaus was getting better at not just trying to hide it all away, but that didn’t mean he was as open with the rest of his family. That was a much longer work in progress, there were still too many bridges to rebuild there. Besides, he still didn’t know how much he should share, it still felt like they probably didn’t want to know. .

“Knowing dad, I kinda doubt that,” Vanya said, leaning over to bump against his shoulder. He smiled at her, grateful. “Did he build a box for you too?”

“Nah, it was a crypt for me,” he said.

“What the fuck,” Vanya whispered.

“It was only overnight. You got kept in your little prison for weeks, right?”

“Still fucked up,” she said.

“That’s fair,” he said, climbing back to this feet to stretch. “Thankfully, he’s dead now so we can leave whenever we want.”

“What, you want to go get ice cream again?” she chuckled.

“Unfortunately I’m on the clock, you can take me out next time.”

“Deal,” she said, standing to join him when they heard the others approaching.

They were laughing and talking as they climbed the stairs and Klaus couldn’t help but smile. Once he once might have felt left out but right now more than anything he was glad they were all getting along. Knowing he actually had a place and wasn’t going to get abandoned helped too. He knew Dave and Ben especially would never do that to him. He had a place here, and people who cared about him.

-

“Overall that was a pretty uneventful night,” Klaus said, stretching.

“Yeah, did you even see any ghosts?” Dave asked.

“Well,” Klaus glanced over at the only ghost in the room. He was standing around awkwardly, face an unpleasant blue. “No historical ghosts, but there is a guy who died out back choking on a sandwich.”

“A sandwich? Well that’s not ideal,” Dave said.

“It would have been nice to see a ghost that could confirm the stories but I think we still got a pretty good episode,” Allison said.

“It’s almost time for us to get out of here,” Vanya said. “Shall we get packed up and head out?

“Roger that,” Dave said, giving a solute.

They all started grabbing bags and equipment, carrying it outside to the car. Dave ran up to Klaus before he could do the same, hand on his arm to get his attention.

“What’s up?” Klaus asked.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, all good,” he said with a smile and was surprised to realize that he meant it. He brought his hands up to rest on Dave’s shoulders, always seeking to physically reassure, for both of their sakes. Sometimes these things could take a day or so to really hit him, and he supposed that was still possible, but he really did feel okay right now.

“What was it?” Dave asked.

“Just-- all of the basement,” Klaus said gestured broadly. “I didn’t realize the mustiness would get to me so badly. I guess that’s what happens when you’re tortured in a shitty motel.”

“Oh, love,” Dave said, pain in his voice as he cupped Klaus’ face, thumb brushing across his cheek.

“I’m fine, really,” he said, leaning into the touch before placing a quick kiss to Dave’s lips.

“I wish I could take your nightmares, you have too many,” Dave said.

“No way I’d let that happen,” Klaus scoffed. “You already have plenty of your own.”

“Fair enough,” Dave laughed.

-

It was a little sad, having to say goodbye to Allison and Vanya. It was one of those nights Klaus just didn’t want to end. He waved as they drove away, putting his arm around Dave as he leaned into him.

“Hey, we should go get breakfast,” Klaus said.

“Is it breakfast or dinner at this point?” Dave asked. “Either way, I could eat.”

“Oh, shoot,” Ben said, counting bags in the trunk of their car. “I think I left a mic upstairs. Hang on, I’ll only be a sec.” He sprinted off towards the house.

“Aw, he took the keys with him,” Klaus said as he tried the door. They leaned back against the car together, hand in hand as they waited. Dave leaned over and kissed his shoulder.

That’s when Klaus saw it; a familiar figure crawling across the grass towards him, leaving a trail of blood, most of his face missing as he screamed in agony.

“No,” Klaus said, flinching into Dave as he averted his eyes. “I didn’t summon you, how are you here?”

“What is it?” Dave asked, wrapping an arm securely around him.

Klaus wanted to fold himself into those \arms and disappear, but the screaming was loud, too loud, it was everywhere. It went beyond sound, in his very skull. It shouldn’t be like this anymore. Normally if Klaus poured enough of himself into a ghost it became more solid, more human as they regained awareness, but something was wrong, it felt too terrified, too frantic. How--

No, it couldn’t be. His grip on Dave tightened and he felt frozen to his very core.

“Dave, I think-- I think we’re in trouble.”

“What?” Dave said, looking around quickly and Klaus could see him slip back into the role of the soldier, assessing the situation, looking for cover. He knew Dave hated that that still happened on occasion, they both wanted to forget their time in the military, but right now Klaus was grateful for it.

“The ghost from the crime scene is here, but there’s no reason for him to be. Unless the person he’s attached to is also here.”

“I thought he’d been attached to a location?”

“That must have changed somehow. Unless buildings have suddenly learned to move, in which case I think we have much bigger problems,” Klaus said, unable to stop himself from falling back on jokes.

“Does that mean his killer is here?” Dave asked, horrified. “But why? How?”

“I don’t know, maybe they somehow found out that we talked to the cops and followed us? Ohhh wait, shit,” Klaus said, smacking himself on the forehead. “I may have kinda sorta accidentally talked about it on our blog.”

“Really?” Dave said, but he looked impressed instead of angry. “You’ve been doing great with that, by the way.”

“What can I say, I’m a natural when it comes to social media,” Klaus said although he didn’t feel proud at all. “The people love me. But right now we should probably get out of here”

“Come on,” Dave said, turning back towards the house. “We should probably go find Be--”

As Dave reached the back of the car, a figure stepped out from behind it, swinging a crowbar. Dave tried to dodge, but it came in too fast, clipping the side of his head with a sickening  thud. Klaus’ blood ran cold in horror as he watched Dave smack into the side of the car and crumple to the ground. He could feel bile rising in the back of his throat, sick with dread. No no please, his mind screamed, he couldn’t lose him, not again.

He screamed Dave’s name and made to scramble to his side, but the stranger was faster. He stepped over Dave, standing between them, as he raised a gun to point at Klaus. He was a large man, wearing all black and even had on a balaclava which would have made Klaus laugh if the circumstances had been different. Right now, though, he needed to act. He reminded himself that he was the target. If Dave was still alive, he might just be able to get away so long as Klaus could provide enough of a distraction.

“Don’t even think about running,” the murderer said, apparently reading his mind.

Without even waiting for a reply, he fired the gun. Pain shot through Klaus’ leg as he stumbled to the ground, a snarl on his lips. He tried to focus, to find something he could use to his advantage. And then he spotted Dave moving, quietly and carefully dragging himself to his feet. He was alive! Klaus tried not to let the relief show on his face as he stared down his attacker.

“You’re the idiot who almost got me caught?” the masked man said with a laugh.

“Normally people at least have the decency to be impressed by the whole talking-to-ghosts thing,” Klaus said, hoping to keep him talking, keep him occupied.

“Pathetic,” the man said. “Well, as much as I’d love to make this nice and slow and painful--”

As he took aim, preparing to fire again, Dave launched himself at the killer, knocking the gun to the side just as it went off, firing a shot into the grass only a few feet from Klaus. Dave was bleeding from a wound along the side of his skull and he was obviously unsteady on his feet, leaning into the killer as they grappled for the gun and Klaus knew they only had a matter of seconds before this went south.

He could try to hobble over there and help, but what if he didn’t make it in time? Or what if the two of them weren’t able to overpower the murderer? Movement caught his eye and he spotted the ghost of the victim still there, hovering just behind them, hand reaching through his murderer as if he was trying to help and Klaus knew exactly what to do.

Acting fast, he channeled every ounce of energy he could into that ghost. It practically fell forward onto the killer, blood pouring from the missing section of his skull, a horrible grin on what was left of his face, his jaw only half attached. The murderer gasped in horror and headbutted Dave who collapsed immediately, stunned. Now that he had the gun free, the murderer turned it on the ghost, firing shot after shot into it. The ghost didn’t even flinch. He was already dead, what was that supposed to do? He just laughed, a horrible gurgling sound.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Klaus lurched to his feet and scrambled forward. He might hate fighting more than anything else, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t good at it. He grabbed the murderer’s wrist that was holding the gun and jabbed him in the throat with his free hand. As he doubled over, Klaus twisted the man’s wrist and managed to rip the gun free, sending it flying out of his hand and well out of reach. The murderer stumbled back, gasping and choking.

And then he drew a second gun from his coat.

You have got to be kidding me, Klaus thought.

Before he could even take aim with the new gun, the murderer was ripped off his feet, pulled backwards and up into the air. Klaus, Dave, and the ghost all looked up to see Ben’s monsters rip the murderer apart, raining bits of blood and gore all around. Klaus had already seen this happen too many times before and took the opportunity to kneel beside Dave, helping support him and checking his injury. Just as quickly as they appeared, the monsters receded back into Ben who immediately ran to their side.

“Are you guys okay?” he asked, breathing heavily.

“Wow,” Dave said in awe. “That,” he pointed at half of the corpse of the killer lying nearby, “is gross. But that,” he pointed at Ben, “was fucking awesome! You have got to teach me that sometime.”

-

(Next chapter)

[darthstitch]

Castlevania Netflix Season 2 Review: All My Bloody Tears

Yeah. Uh. SPOILERS. MASSIVE GINORMOUS SPOILERS. Consider yourself warned.

I'm kind of a complete mess as I write this because PAIN! PAIN AND SUFFERING! TEARS! BLOODY TEARS!

While it's not without its flaws, the second season of Netflix's Castlevania is incredible and lives up to the promise of Season 1. This, gentlebeings, is how you set up a sequel and leave the audience wanting more, but still walking away satisfied with what we've currently got.

The Good Stuff

The thing about Castlevania - as the game series by Konami - is that it's pretty much a patchwork quilt of everything goes. Think your favorite fan fiction peeve on AO3, the ones with the ten million tags before you even get to the goddamn story. So on one hand, it's got its clear inspiration from the classic Hammer and Universal Horror renditions of Dracula. But the game series is Japanese, so you have your beautiful anime-esque artwork by Ayami Kojima and the obvious anime influences.

I've played a few of the games, but I'm not going to claim gamer-god status. I just play for the fun of it and I don't hesitate to use walk throughs as a map of sorts, basically figuring out where to go, because the general castle layout is set up like a labyrinth and it is INSANE and FUN at the same time. So far, I've played and finished Symphony of the Night and two of the GBA ones: Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow. I'm still trying to master the ones on the NDS. But basically, the premise is the same: You're the hero/heroine, you need to enter the big spooky castle, gather weapons and/or spells to make you stronger and add to your abilities, take down monsters and Major Bads - including Death Himself - and hopefully prevent Dracula from resurrecting and covering the world in Eternal Night. The main timeline basically has Belmonts, assorted Not-Belmonts who also hunt vampires and of course, pretty, pretty Alucard.

Then, there was your AU timeline in which Gabriel Belmont goes to defeat a Big Bad and becomes DRACULA ... and Trevor Belmont is his son, a.k.a. Alucard. Yeah, wrap your head around THAT one.

In short, Castlevania canon is fucked. To quote our Trevor, "Snake-fuckingly insane."

So Warren Ellis does the smart thing and basically picks up what works from the "canon" and crafts a damn good story out of it.

The Disaster Trio that is Alucard, Trevor and Sypha, end up bonding even closer together and spend much of this series in the Belmont Basement...er.... I mean, "Hold," trying to do the game equivalent of gathering spells and weapons to storm the castle with. We learn a few more interesting things about the Disaster Trio. Trevor actually ended up losing his family at a way too young age. Sypha and her people have some pretty "interesting" views about God. Alucard has artistic talents and basically acts his real age, which is a traumatized snarky 20 something year old, who's barely holding on to his composure with his shiny fangs and claws. There are epic moments such as "Treffy" and I would absolutely LOVE to hear the Belmont family story that explains how the hell a book of "penis spells" ended up in the Belmont Family Library.

Seriously. Fan fiction writers, don't fail me now!

Also, Lisa gets a few more minutes to shine and break our hearts at the same time. This is the woman who managed to charm and get one Seriously Scary King of Vampires wrapped around her tiniest finger. She's snarky and sassy as before, but so real, so kind and just basically trying to be a decent person in a Crapsack World. She loves her husband but she knows he can be monstrous. She loves her son but as Alucard himself puts it, she wants him to be able to be himself, be happy and not be overshadowed by his father. Seriously, as long as each season gives us something more about Lisa, I'm gonna be content.

We also get introduced to a few more new characters, who basically make up Dracula's Court of Evil. Hector and Isaac are humans but sociopathic enough to despise their own kind and willing to take part in their death and destruction. They both have their requisite tragic and abused pasts. Hector, however, has an element of naivete that makes him an easy target for the machinations of Carmilla, the only general in Dracula's court who's figured out which way the blood's flowing and wants to make sure she comes out on top. Isaac, however, is somewhat the mirror of Alucard himself. This is the guy who gives his unconditional love and loyalty to Dracula and refuses to abandon him no matter the personal cost to himself or his remnants of a conscience or whatever he has that passes for a moral compass. I figure that it's there, it's just not one that I would recognize. Isaac is a scary, scary mofo and it looks like he and Hector are gonna be back for season 3.

In fact, if Isaac ends up becoming "Death" in this entire series, I'm gonna be evilly delighted.

And then, there's Godbrand, who is basically the vampire equivalent of YOLO. Basically, all he wants is to fight, fuck, drink blood and make boats out of things he shouldn't make boats out of. Generally, he just wants to have a good time, rule the world like a king and make sure the humans know their place.

So okay, let's give Carmilla her due. Evil? Check. Manipulative? Check. Sadistic, vicious and cruel? 10 across the board. In the absence of a Certain Fanged Someone taking a more active role in what should be "The War on Humankind," Carmilla wants to make sure she's keeping things moving, spinning her webs of intrigue and plans upon plans, thinking she's going to come out the winner and make herself the new Queen of the Damned.

Here's the problem. Dracula figures that out, easily enough.

Here's the OTHER problem. His Fanged Nibs is all out of fucks to give. He's done. Finito. Finished with everything.

Yeah, about that.

While the humor of this series is a gift that keeps on giving, the drama and the feels will DESTROY you.

You know that moment when you realize Dracula isn't just waging a war on humanity, he's waging a war to destroy all vampires too? Because in that moment when he lost his beloved Lisa, he hated not only humans, but he also hated HIMSELF. He hates the fact that his life of evil, wanton death and destruction, wrought this price on the person that he loved. And she damn well didn't deserve that treatment. He hates the humans who killed her but he also hates his own kind, who are just as monstrous as he is.

So when Godbrand basically asks him, "If we're killing all the humans, what are we going to EAT?" Dracula basically tries to fob him off with some excuse or the other. Yeah, His Fanged Nibs is a LYING LIAR WHO LIES. Also, this lying liar who lies is actually spending most of his time sitting, brooding and being HUNGRY. Because he's not drinking blood. At all. Any blood drinking we see from His Fanged Nibs is in flashbacks.

Let that sink in for a second.

Aluard accuses his father of basically doing history's longest suicide. Yeah. It is - Dracula wants to take EVERYBODY down with him.

The fight scenes are worth the wait. I was screaming when the classic "Bloody Tears" started playing in Episode 7, an episode that I'm gonna watch like ten thousand times more, because OH GOD THE EPICNESS OF IT. The sheer badassery. The fact that Alucard is actually the secret identity of Moon Moon.

And then, the final fight between Dracula and our Disaster Trio is just as epic as expected. Even when he hasn't drunk blood, the trio is outmatched and outclassed and this is where you remember that if Dracula had only roused himself long enough to give a flying fuck about something, Carmilla's head would have been rolling on the floor a long time ago.

But then: "My boy.... I'm killing my boy. This is your room. Your mother and I painted these walls, made these toys. Lisa.... it's our boy. Your greatest gift to me. And I'm killing him. I must already be dead."

GDI WARREN ELLIS HOW VERY FUCKING DARE YOU.

The only way they take down Dracula is because he basically wants to die. So he lets his son kill him and end his misery. And when his rotting, decaying, corpse seems to be reaching out to his son for some kind of last embrace, Trevor, thinking that Alucard's going to be hurt, takes Dracula's head off. Sypha burns off the remains.

And it's done.

Castlevania is a game with numerous endings, all depending on how you played the game and whether you got this artifact or what not. The series pays homage to it because Trevor bequeaths the Belmont Hold to Alucard and asks him to be the last defender of it and his father's Castle. It's not going to be Alucard's grave, but his home now. Trevor and Sypha wander off into the sunset, for more adventures and mischief and Alucard lovingly sends off his BFFs with a fond "Fuck you."

We check in with the villains who survive and of course, we know there's gonna be sequels, because, hey, that's kind of the point of each and every Castlevania game. There's always gonna be a new Big Bad coming around. And trust me, Dracula's gonna be back. He's not just going to lie quiet in his grave.

And just when you think you can end this series with a satisfied sigh, our very last moments are spent with Alucard. Who is haunted by the ghosts of the parents he loved so much. Who gets to relive one happy memory with his mom, who loves him with all her heart. And she's so proud.

And Alucard finally breaks down into heartbreaking sobs.

We grieve with him.

The Bad Stuff

Yeah, okay, so I need to get this explained. Why bother to have all these interesting character designs for Dracula's other generals AND NOT HAVE THEM TALK? I'm serious. Not one of these fascinating-looking vampire bastards HAVE ANY GODDAMN LINES. Netflix, FFS, DON'T WUSS OUT ON YOUR CHARACTER ACTORS. YOU CAN'T BE THAT POOR. GIVE THEM VOICES. PAY YOUR CHARACTER VOICE ACTORS. OMG.

They basically just get killed off in the end, but while we know they were pretty scary and formidable, we don't really know anything about them other than: Vampire, Scary, Dracula's General. They were just pretty much Red Shirts, because the heroes never did get to confront Carmilla, Hector and Isaac directly.

There was evidently so much story to be told here, like they seem to have come from all over the world, even as far off as China AND THEY'RE. NOT. TALKING. The only ones with any dialogue are Carmilla, Hector, Isaac and Godbrand and none of these guys even get to share screentime with the Disaster Trio. Godbrand doesn't even make it to the final battle.

I mean, if these guys were just going to be cannon fodder, then let's just use any of the voiceless Major Bads from the games. Put some requisite scary music and sound effects and let the Disaster Trio take care of them. Let them speak in mysterious archaic languages or whatever, since we're not going to care about them anyway.

The Conclusion

Apparently, this is gonna be a pattern for this series. It's going to be good, it's going to be GREAT but there's always going to be that ONE THING that would drive us batshit crazy. But not enough to wreck my enjoyment of it.

The best parts of this series is the faithfulness to character, the layers upon layers of motivations and feels you're going to uncover as you rewatch it, the fact that it's not afraid to put tongue in cheek and leave canon at the door, while still being true to the source material.

So. "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets. But enough talk! Have at you!"

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

Your Words On My Skin - Chapter 6

Bonjour, mes chers! I just wanted to clear up a few questions I've received about the time placement of this story. One person (on anon so I couldn't PM back) asked why I didn't just have Danny use the Infi-map. Well, that is for two reasons. One, most of season three is dead to me and the infi-map is the stupidest plot device I have ever seen. And two, when this story starts it's taking place after the events of The Ultimate Enemy, hence why he's never met Ghostwriter before. The Fright Before Christmas was canonically the first episode after TUE. With that out of the way, enjoy!

AO3 FFN

Don’t forget I’m doing more cool things on my Patreon all the time! I also have a Ko-Fi so consider buying me a coffee if you can’t pledge!

Summary: Danny Fenton was born with writing on his arms that proved he had a soulmate out there for him that was much, much older than his parents were comfortable with. The result was his skin being covered as much as possible and Danny warned that he shouldn’t look at the words or write any back. Danny has always been a little bit curious as to who his soulmate was, but he never thought on how curious his soulmate was about him.

<<First Chapter>><<Last Chapter>><<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Six

::

“You know, maybe he’s just searching for the right words.” Seeing Tucker ready to open his mouth, Danny quickly shook his head. “No, you’re right, he should have found the right words by now. Okay, then maybe he’s just trying to figure out how to let me down gently?” This time Sam gave a quiet sigh, Danny nodding. “Yeah, no, you’re right, Sammy, I need to have more faith in myself. Maybe-”

Blinking at the hands now covering his mouth, Danny looked to Sam and tried to look as annoyed as possible. Sam didn’t even flinch, the traitor. “You were rambling to yourself, again. It had to stop.” He hadn’t been- Danny really wouldn’t have called it- Ugh, god, he had been rambling to himself. “How long has it been since he last wrote to you?”

“Four days.” And again with his traitor best friends sharing looks that he wasn’t a part of. Seriously, why hadn’t they confessed they were each other’s soulmates, yet? He was absolutely certain Tucker knew, at this point. “He should have given me an answer by now, right? But, I mean- I haven’t even seen a ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’”

“How would you know if you saw one?” That… Good point. Danny may have gone a little overboard in trying to get Andrew to answer. He was pretty sure he was more ink than skin at this point. “Maybe he just needs more time, Danny. Time without his soulmate hounding after him for the answer.”

“I…” Yeah, okay, time- Danny could understand needing time, especially after meeting Clockwork and everything, but they had been writing back and forth for months, now. It- Danny didn’t like looking down at his arm and seeing nothing but his own writing. Jeez, was that how Andrew always felt? “I’m worried.”

“Hey, it’d be weird if you weren’t worried about this.” Tucker lightly nudged him under the lunch table, giving a bit of a smile. “It’ll work out. I mean, soulmates are soulmates for a reason, right?”

“Yeah- Yeah. I mean, something good has to come out of all of this, right?” Otherwise what would have been the point? “I’m sure he just needs a bit more time to think it all out.”

“That’s the spirit!” Wait. Staring at Sam and her grin, Danny slowly narrowed his eyes and she didn’t. She did. “Someone has to pick up the slack, here.”

“Alright, alright, you two are adorable. You know what we should be focusing on, though.” Watching as Tucker picked up his lunch meat with bare hands, Danny made a face as he heard Sam gag beside him. “This is our last lunch before Christmas break tomorrow.”

“And that means you’re trying to gross us out?” Danny shook his head as Tucker rolled the meat into a little ball and oh- Oh, no. “Tucker- Tucker, remember our last detention-”

Tucker, brave and stupid soul that he was, stood up, pulled back his arm, and launched the ball of meat right at the back of Dash’s head. Danny wasn’t sure whether to cheer or be horrified as silence fell over the room in that awkward way it did when spreading out from the epicenter of a disaster.

“You know,” Sam whispered quietly, “I’m kind of impressed by how much better his aim is.” Dash slowly stood up and Danny and Sam ducked under the table at once just as the cafeteria exploded into chaos. “Think I can get some of that lunch meat down Paulina’s shirt?”

“I think we won’t know until you try.” Danny watched as Sam beamed at him before scrambling into the fight, Danny content to stay under the table and sit this one out. He couldn’t believe it was already almost Christmas, though. It seemed like just the other day he had been starting high school and now he had been half-ghost for over a year and was turning sixteen in a few months.

The thoughts of just how much had changed were on his mind for the rest of the day and all his way home, Danny finally washing all the ink off his skin and writing the question a single time where it would be seen easily. He then may have gotten a bit impatient after a few hours because he asked the question again on the other arm - just to be sure.

That’s how he spent the next few days, filling up his skin with question after question and all of it was the same and why wouldn’t Andrew just tell him? It wasn’t- It wasn’t like he would turn Andrew away if he found out the truth. Did Andrew think that? Did Andrew think Danny would turn him away?

Like- Like yeah, okay, things might be a little awkward and complicated for a while, but they could figure it out, couldn’t they? Every one of their conversations and stories and exchanges had shown them both that they- That there was something there. They could work this out and still get along and figure it out, they just… They just needed somewhere to work from before it could be figured out.

Silence had damned them both and Danny was sick of it, now, and, come on. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to distance them like this and make them ill-suited together, right? Andrew was decades older than him and in France, but they… They had to be able to make it work to overcome stuff like that… Right?

Groaning and collapsing onto his bed, Danny had the overwhelming urge to scream into his pillow before he pushed himself back up. “Alright, Fenton. Just- Start small.” Right. Small steps. He could… He could wipe all these questions off and write an apology. That would get Andrew to at least say something to him, right?

Because it was Christmas and this… He didn’t want them to spend their Christmas angry and ignoring each other. Danny’s Christmases were shitty enough and he didn’t want to add a fight with his soulmate onto the list. So, he could go take a shower, wipe all these questions off, and explain to Andrew why he was so upset before apologizing. Even if Andrew was still upset, at least Danny would know that the other was okay.

Depending on the answer, this Christmas could actually be a good one! So, he would just- Thoughts halting as a shudder wracked his body and a wisp of cold slipped past his lips, Danny paused, blinked, and then groaned.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Of all the times for this to happen it was right as he was about to apologize to his soulmate? That was just… That was mean. Okay. Okay. He could be blowing this out of proportion. Maybe it was just Box Ghost or something and he could get rid of him quickly. “Alright, come on out! I don’t have time for this, today!”

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.” Startling at seeing Skulker in his room, Danny snorted and let the change take over him, already feeling better. At least he could get out some aggression. “Let’s end this now, whelp.”

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Ghost Zone’s lamest hunter. Haven’t you learned your lesson, yet-” An overheated blast of energy was shot at him and Danny just barely dodged, hissing as the blast clipped his shoulder and both burned his shoulder and his suit and that… What had that been? “Okay, guess you got an upgrade.”

“I’m not here for your pelt, whelp.” Oh? Something else, then. Okay. Danny was game. He could do with some plea for help or threat on his life. “Plasmius didn’t appreciate that stunt of yours a few months ago.”

“Stunt- Oh.” The password. The password that had ended up leading him to Andrew and that he had stolen to get into Vlad’s server and then he and Tucker had deleted just about everything they could. “Let me guess, he lost a few plans to kill my dad and marry my mom?”

“According to him he lost millions in business deals.” Oh- Oh, jeez. Danny wasn’t dealing with a pissed off Plasmius. He was dealing with a pissed off Masters. “It seems he wants to talk to you.”

“Ha- Aha! Right! Great! Why don’t we schedule an appointment for never going to happen and I’ll show up in his dreams. Sound good?” Danny was moving the second he heard the whining noise of guns charging up and ooh, his bed was pretty thoroughly destroyed, wasn’t it? Okay, okay, not important, he had an angry Skulker working for Masters after him and Jesus, Vlad’s revenge was always worse than any of Skulker’s hunts could ever be.

Wincing as he pulled on his shoulder, Danny phased down to the basement and started up the portal. He could at least hide in the Ghost Zone for a while, and, right. So much for having a decent Christmas.

::

“There has to be a right answer to this. Everything has a right answer.”  For once, Vidya was silent in his head and that was very much not helping matters. That was doing the opposite of helping matters! “If you’d like to chime in with some advice, now would be a brilliant moment to do so.”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. “See if I get you anything for Christmas.” A book narrowly missed his head from where it had been thrown and Andrew glared in the direction it had come from. “You had best put that back where you got it!” This time, the book did hit his head.

“Well excuse me for panicking!” Was he panicking? He felt like he might have been slightly panicking- Okay. It was okay. He could work through this. He just needed to think about this problem logically. He could tell Danny he was twenty-two, which he was, but that had the problem of not explaining why his writing had been so advanced when Danny was first born.

He could… What else could he do? He could always tell Danny his chronological age. Of course, that had the very severe backlash of making Danny run away from him all while calling the police- God, he didn’t even know how old he was some days. Perhaps in his late forties- Nope, no, thinking about it tended to make it worse. Okay.

Calmly and rationally. He needed to think this through calmly and rationally. Danny hadn’t pushed him away yet and he was already aware that Andrew’s age was… advanced. He wasn’t going to run if Andrew told him his actual age. That was good.

There was also the option, however, that he could tell Danny he was a ghost. Danny seemed rather open minded, so if Andrew gave proof then perhaps Danny wouldn’t think he was lying or just plain crazy. Great. Two choices, then.

Would he rather have Danny think he was certifiably insane or would he rather have Danny think that he was his parent’s age?

Groaning, Andrew collapsed on the nearest soft surface and contemplated using a book to render himself unconscious. “None of my books prepared me for this.” Because there hadn’t- There- Yes, alright, there had been a few cases of romantic soulmates with an age gap, but nothing with one of them being dead and having an age gap.

There was just… There had to be some way to fix this without hurting either of them. There had to be something out there to fix this mess, right? Nn… Maybe Randy would have some good advice.

It was a sad day when Andrew went to Randy for life advice, but, well. Randy screwed his life up daily, but he was careful to never screw up Andrew’s. At least, not too badly, which was about the best Andrew could ask for.

“Is he in the kitchen?” Vidya gave a little affirmative and the very strong feeling that he should just tell the truth, but Andrew easily brushed that last part off. “Randy! I need you to resist whatever foolish urges my next few words are about to instill in you!”

“Is this an urge in where I get my guns or one in where I resist the urge to tuck you away in your room and keep you from getting your heart broken?” Randy was stress baking again. Great. Andrew’s stress was so great it was getting to Randy.

“Neither. I need your advice.” Insultingly enough, Randy only raised an eyebrow at him. “Advice I plan on taking.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Randy ‘scolded,’ sticking something chocolate in Andrew’s mouth and honestly, how dare- Oh, this was good. “Yes, you should tell your mate the truth.”

“I didn’t even ask my question yet.” Andrew avoided Randy’s judgmental looks and instead moved to collapse into one of the kitchen chairs. “I just… There has to be a right answer to all of this.”

“Oh, Andy.” Randy gave him such a sad smile as he shook his head. “Love never has a right answer, frérot.” It certainly seemed- Wait.

“Did you just quote Heart’s Desire at me?” At the suspicious silence, Andrew scoffed and looked around for the nearest heavy object to throw at him. “You did. I can’t believe you just quoted my own book to me!”

“Okay, okay, there’s no need to throw things! I’m trying to make a soufflé, right now, and I need a calm environment.”

“I thought you couldn’t make-”

“Well I can, so shut the fuck up.” Ah, still a touchy subject. “Want some crème brûlée?”

“Are you just making every French desert you know of?” Andrew was already grabbing a spoon and squirming his way between Randy and the counter, happily digging into the desert. The sugar was perfectly crystalized to where it didn’t taste burnt, either.

“Right. You want some life advice?” Yes- No. Maybe. Quite possibly a maybe, on that one. “Start small.”

“Start small?” That… Hadn’t he already been doing that the whole time he had been writing to Danny?

“Start small,” Randy laughed, stealing Andrew’s spoon and next bite. “Explain that you’re too scared to explain. He’ll understand if you’re scared to tell the truth, Andy. He’s been understanding of everything else, hasn’t he?”

“I… I suppose.” Taking the spoon back, Andrew chewed on the next bites slowly before swallowing and sighing. “Do you really think he’ll understand?”

“Andy, the kid didn’t even try to push you when you said that you didn’t believe in technology. If that’s not true love, then I don’t know what it is.” Hiding a laugh, Andrew bumped his shoulder against Randy’s, Randy bumping right back. “You just… You need to admit you’re scared. Do you think you can do that?”

“For him I can.” Andrew had always been the type to hide his fear, but for Danny? He… He could admit that he was scared. If just to him, then Andrew could admit that he was afraid. “Right, then. What’s with today’s baking spree?”

“It’s a nice way to distract you from your fears and stress.” Well… That was true. “I also wanted to try and make a Christmas soufflé right for once.”

“You really need to-” Wait. “Christmas?” It wasn’t already Christmas, was it? He still had another week at least.

“Mhm. Happy Christmas Eve.” Shit. “Soo, what’d you get me for Christmas, then?” Aha, right, Christmas presents. Andrew could so do something. Maybe.

“It’s a surprise for a reason, Randall.” Andrew stole a few more snacks, easily dodging Randy’s swipes.

“You really are going to get fat if you keep this up!” Andrew only ducked back in to give Randy a quick, one-armed hug before fleeing with his treats. “I’m still upset with you!”

“I love you, too!” Right, right. Christmas presents. He could find Randy something in the library to give him, most likely, but Danny… Maybe for Danny he could finally explain why he had been avoiding him.

A Christmas spent talking with his mate sounded like the best Christmas he could think of, honestly. He just hoped he had the courage to start the conversation.

::

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Danny had thought going into the Ghost Zone would buy him some time to at least give Skulker the run around, but the ghost hadn’t even paused before following him in and now Danny was pushing himself to go as fast as he could because Jesus. He knew Skulker was powerful and all with that suit of his, but he had never- He had never really been afraid of Skulker.

He was- He was Skulker! He was like a step up from the Box Ghost, but Danny had never seen him this serious. The only time he had ever been scared of Skulker before this was the last time he had captured him for Vlad. It- Skulker was all about the hunt, yeah, but was he really this powerful when he was being serious about it?

Danny was already scratched up to hell and back from the blasts he had just barely been dodging - no doubt he’d need to find a new suit because no amount of sewing was going to fix this - and no matter how fast he went he could only just keep himself out of range of the more dangerous attacks.

Fuck- Fuck. He was going to be fucking skinned alive at this rate if he didn’t manage to find somewhere to hide- “The hunt is over, whelp.” For a moment it felt like he had been toppled over by something ramming into his back, and then Danny screamed as the pain in his back set in. It was like- Jesus, fuck, Jesus it was like his entire back was on fire.

He felt himself roughly land on something - rock? - before he was scrambling to his feet and bad- Bad idea, bad idea, that had been a very bad idea to move. Seeing Skulker come back into view, Danny tried to keep calm as he took a few steps back and okay. Breathe. It was Skulker. He could deal with Skulker.

“Get away from me, Skulker. We both know I would win no matter what you do.” Even Danny could tell that was his weakest lie yet. Skulker seemed to know it, too.

“I always wondered what you’d be like backed into a corner. Shame I have to drag you to Plasmius, first.” Aha, right, shame- Except no. Good. That meant Skulker would keep him alive- Jesus, what would an angry Vlad Masters do to him, though? This was so frustrating. He felt ready to just scream and charge and- Scream. He could-

“One last time, Skulker. Get back.” Could he still do that attack? That Ghostly Wail? He had managed twice when running around time to stop everything, but he hadn’t managed to pull it off since he got back. If there was ever a time to find out, then it was looking like now was it- Except that power took up all of his energy and Danny would be left defenseless if Skulker managed to survive it.

His best bet would be to push himself as fast as he could and find a place to hide until Vlad calmed down and called Skulker off, but that didn’t give him any ideas as to what he could do right now. Fuck. At least he knew that his Christmases were still cursed, he guessed. Fuck, okay, focus- Just focus. Focus, focus, focus-

Dodging the attack that came for him, Danny scrambled to hide behind- A library? Since when was there a library in the Ghost Zone- Ah, no time to think, didn’t care, hiding behind one of the pillars. “Get out here before I drag you out here, whelp! I’m sure Plasmius won’t mind a bit of you missing here and there!”

“Yeah, no thanks!” Ducking down to avoid the next hit, Danny swore under his breath and okay, think. “C’mon, Fenton, focus.” Library. He was hiding near a library- Could he get into the library and hide? He assumed a ghost lived here, but he didn’t know any ghosts that would live in a library- Well, Poindexter, maybe, if he had the choice. “Welp. Guess it’s the best I got.”

Making a break for the door, Danny dodged a rocket rather impressively, if he did say so himself, but he didn’t manage to dodge the fucking net. Hitting the ground and at least thankful it wasn’t one of those damn ones that shocked him, Danny squirmed and- Bad. That was bad movement. Everything hurt.

“It looks like I’ve finally caught you, whelp.” This… This couldn’t be it. He couldn’t have really lost to Skulker, right? That- That was insane. That- “I suggest you close those doors. This is none of your business.” ...What?

Twisting himself as gently as he could, Danny caught a glimpse of two new ghosts standing in the doorway of the weird library and oh, great. More ghosts that probably didn’t like him. One of them laughed- Ghosts had guns? Since when did ghosts besides Skulker have guns?

“Considering this is our territory, I think it is our business. I thought you didn’t like to break the Warden’s rules, Skulker.” Dangerous. That one was definitely dangerous. Kind of reminded Danny of Wulf when he was overly upset over something. “Hunting down children now, Skulker?”

“Hey! I’ll be sixteen soon!” As usual, he seemed to be completely ignored, the other ghost sighing and bending down with a knife and oh, great, he really was about to be skinned.

“Try not to move. I’m going to cut you free, now.” The voice was stupidly deep, but something about the tone told Danny that he wasn’t about to be hurt with the knife. Forcing himself to stay still, Danny looked back to where Skulker was arguing with the other ghost.

“I’m on a job for Plasmius. You know how that is, Mercenary.” Whoa, wait, what? Ghosts could be mercenaries? That was so cool! “Get out of my way.”

“Our laws are stronger than the word of some parasite.” Oh, hell yeah. Danny didn’t know what the hell any of that meant, but he was already starting to like these two.

“Just about have it,” the ghost cutting him free said quietly, sounding frustrated. “Did he start using steel nets?”

“Yeah, some of them he uses to shock me.” Danny was gratified to see this ghost looked horrified and, huh. Maybe these ghosts were sane. That was cool. He was pretty sure the only sane ghost he had meant before now was Clockwork. “How’s that other one when it comes to fighting?”

“Mm, let’s just say you don’t have to worry about us holding our own.” A few more ropes cut, and Danny was shooting out of the net at once, deciding to worry about the startled gasp from the ghost later.

“Hey, tin can! Can’t you even leave me alone on Christmas!” Seeing Skulker bring out a new weapon, Danny growled. He was so sick of these goddamn weapons. “That’s it.” Dropping down to the stairs, Danny glanced to the ghosts that had come out to help him. “Stay behind me.”

“And just what are you going to do on your own, whelp!” Sucking in a breath, Danny pulled on every scrap of power he had and screamed. It was like- Jesus, he never knew how to explain this power. Like being in the middle of a thunderstorm? It was like standing in the middle of a field with a crazy thunderstorm and knowing that none of the lightning would ever hit.

He made it about ten seconds before he felt his change snap around him and force him to the ground, Danny gasping for breath and so, so thankful that the Ghost Zone had oxygen. Slowly looking up, Danny felt himself pale as he saw Skulker heading back towards him and looking pissed. His suit looked like it was barely being held together, but it seemed like there were enough weapons left to still make his life about to be over.

Scrambling back and instead just falling over, Danny tried to push himself up before he paused at seeing a white ghost shield form in front of him and easily deflect Skulker’s attack. “Mercenary!”

Looking around, Danny almost jumped at seeing the ghost that had cut him free was kneeling beside him and looking at him with wide green eyes that looked as shocked as he felt.

::

Staring down at the teen in front of him, Andrew silently admitted to himself that he had no words to describe the situation he was now in. It was odd enough to hear Vidya warning him of ghosts fighting on her steps, but to come out and see Skulker and the infamous Danny Phantom curled up in a net and looking like he had taken one hit too many? That he hadn’t quite expected.

It was true that today was officially the start of the truce and Andrew was content to send Randy after Skulker as a warning, but cutting the teen out of that god-awful steel net to see words written across his skin that matched his own? That…

And now here the teen was, looking utterly and completely human, and staring at him with frightened blue eyes and a frown that looked two seconds away from becoming a snarl. “I can take care of my own fights.”

Oh, Danny. A precocious little thing with too much fight in him and bristling even when he had no power, was bleeding, and looked a few steps away from fainting. A quick glance down showed that he was wearing his coat, which, good. His skin was covered. No need to throw the teen into even more of a panic attack - which was what Andrew was quickly heading towards- Ah.

Skulker had been hurting his mate. His mate was Danny Phantom and was bleeding in front of him and looking more and more afraid as the seconds ticked by. Right.

“Look, just let me go, I’ll get out of your hair, we can let bygones be bygones, and call this a day and-”

“It’s alright,” Andrew said quietly, slowly making telegraphed moves before helping the teen up and supporting him as he almost fell. “We’re some of the saner ghosts, I’m afraid. No over the top fighting from us.”

“Thank god.” Danny slumped and lost near all tension in his body, Andrew easily keeping him propped up and staring at the words that coated his arms and peeked past his shirt. Words that asked the same question over and over and now… Now he could give Danny an answer, right? This was-

“Riters!” Ah, but first, they had some trash to take care of, it seemed. Feeling Danny flinch against his side as Randy’s shield vanished, Andrew quickly tucked him closer.

“Oh, Randy.” Andrew drawled, looking to Skulker and grinning as that suit of his floated back. “Refresh my memory. What day is today?”

“Well, last I checked it was Christmas Eve.” Randy was by his side in a second, guns already in hand and wicked smile on his face. How nice to see White Fang still loved a good fight. “Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Very. You see, I thought there was- Now, keep in mind, I could be wrong, but I thought there was a certain truce that all ghosts followed.” Andrew noticed that Danny was watching them curiously, relaxed a bit more now that Randy was in front of him. He probably wasn’t used to having people on his side. “Remind me of the truce, grand frère?”

“Of course, frérot. The Christmas Truce dictates that ghosts aren’t allowed to fight with other ghosts from the first seconds of Christmas Eve to the last seconds of Christmas. I do believe that includes half-ghosts, as well.”

“There’s a truce?” Aw. Danny muttered under his breath when he was confused, it seemed. “Sure would have been great to know that last year.”

“Randy, why don’t you teach Skulker a lesson on why ghosts shouldn’t fight during this time of year?” Andrew kept his tone light and pleasant as he turned to Danny to quickly check him over again. It didn’t seem anything was broken, and it looked like he could walk. That was good. “Make it hurt.”

“With pleasure.” A flash of pure white and a scream from Skulker and the two were already half a mile away, Andrew rolling his eyes. Honestly, Randy was far too much of a showoff.

“Would you like to come in? I don’t know much about half-ghosts, granted, but after that last attack it seems like you could use a bit of time to recover without worrying about what crazy ghost will show up next.”

“So instead I walk into the home of a crazy ghost I don’t know?” He knew Danny had fast responses, but Andrew had never seen his words when he was defensive and distrustful. It was fascinating.

“So better the enemy you know than the stranger you don’t know, yes?” Andrew had to hold back a laugh when Danny scrunched up his nose. Hardly a few minutes with his mate and already Andrew was falling more in love with him. “You’re tired, bleeding, and can’t shift back. At least stay until you can fly home without dropping out of the air.”

“I can change just fine!” Danny flashed a smug smile before it slowly dropped, and he cleared his throat. “Not, uh- Not that it’s any of your business. Why do you even care, anyways? This isn’t your problem.”

“Mm, would it make you feel better that the offer is only there so you stop bleeding on my front steps?” Andrew watched the teen almost jump before looking down and around at the pristine marble before he was huffing and glaring at Andrew.

“I am not bleeding all over your steps, man.” Right- Right. Okay. Just- Act calm and collected- This was his mate. And they were already getting along so well- Well… They were bantering? That counted in a way. “Look, it’ll only take me ten or fifteen minutes to get home. I’ll just wait out here for another five until I can change back. There you go. Problem solved.”

“Danny, you’re bleeding.” The stubborn little teen didn’t have anything to say about that-

“How do you know my name?” Ah. Okay. Right. Andrew was a storyteller. He could come up with a lie easily enough. Hopefully.

“You expect me to not know your name?” Andrew watched as Danny shifted, wincing as he jarred something. It took more effort than it should have to not reach out and help. “I believe everyone in our world knows of the half-ghost Danny Phantom.”

“Yeah- Yep. That’s me. Public Enemy Number One and all that. Walker start spreading my wanted  poster around, then?”

“You’re- No,” Andrew laughed, shaking his head and this precious, precious teen. “You’re the one who went through something horrible and still chose to be good. That’s more rare than you might think.”

“Oh.” Danny didn’t seem to be glaring anymore, but he was nervously looking over his shoulder now that it seemed Andrew wasn’t considered a threat. “So, uh, right. Okay. That offer to stay here still open?”

“It really is no trouble.” Besides, now he had an excuse to skip that awful party Randy had been trying to drag him to. “I can even help bandage some of the wounds you might have trouble reaching, if you want.”

“I… Right.” Danny gave him a look that could only be called calculating. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours, you know. Seems kind of unfair.” Oh- Oh! Right. Andrew had his skin mostly covered, so Danny didn’t…

“I’m…” Andrew stared at this shaking and scared teenager that was his soulmate and finally gave a warm smile. “Ghostwriter. My name is Ghostwriter.”

[greekowl87]

Fic: Supposed Ghost Stories

I found this image to inspire this fic and I couldn’t start my day until I finished it. I also love Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, don’t you? Tagging @today-in-fic and @fictober .  Set season six before ‘How the Ghosts Stole Christmas.’ Ever wonder why Mulder stole Scully’s keys in that episode?

Happy Halloween :)

Mulder shivered in the car of their rental as Scully passed him a fresh cup of hot coffee in a thin paper cup. He forgot how cold New England Halloween's could be, even beneath his jeans, long sleeve shirt, and heavy leather jacket.

"Turn up the heat, Mulder," she murmured. "It is freezing in here."

Mulder adjusted the temperatures on the heat as Scully sighed and leaned back in the seat. She closed her eyes, shivering trying to imagine herself physically fighting off the fall cold before she opened her eyes and took in the scene before her. Near to full moon that lit up the sky and stars everywhere. The abandoned dirt road which their car sat on was surrounded by eerie moonlight and fog. Essentially, it was the makings of a horror movie, Scully thought.

"Why did I agree to do this?" she questioned after a moment before turning to look at him.

"What?" he asked innocently. He attempted to bury himself in his coat. "Graveyard hunting?"

"Yes. I do not specifically recall you mentioning the exact terms. I do, however, recall you saying to the effect of 'Scully, want to do a historic tour on Massachuttes?' when you asked me to come up here."

"What? We aren't on a case. As far as I am concerned it is just two friends enjoying Halloween. Ghost hunting. In graveyards."

"Do I need to remind you we have a bad track record of casual outing in New England? You and your cockroaches three years ago and me with that doll thing last year in Maine?" she questioned. "I thought maybe, I don't know, something like 'Hocus Pocus.'"

"Salem. You wanted to go to Salem and see the museum?"

"Not necessarily. But is in a town with stuff to do and not on some side of the road in the middle nowhere." She huffed her cheeks. "So where are we exactly, since you know, we might as well make the best of it."

He smiled. This is one of the things he loved about her. She would always come with him, no matter where obscure place he would go. He gently took her hands and squeezed it affectionately. Scully closed her eyes at the contact of the instant warmth that came from him, wishing for him not to let her hand go. "Well, just for the record, I do appreciate you following me up here. I just wanted to let you know that."

She gave a snort and a small smile. "You know it is just to ensure I save your ass again."

"Always, Scully." He released her hand. "Spooky tonight, isn't it?"

She chuckled and narrowed her eyes in thought. "Is that the best pick up line that you have, Mulder?"

"I got more of them." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "But seriously, there used to be this old graveyard that Sam and I went to the Halloween before she was taken. It was one of those ghost tour things but I just can't seem to find it, honestly."

Scully gave a soft smile, touched. "Well, what other crazy Halloween traditions did you all have? I'll give you one of mine. When all of us were old enough to trick or treat, mom would make us do these group costumes. One year, we all were the Jetsons. Bill was George, Missy was Jane, I was June, and Charlie was Elroy." She chuckled in memory. "The wig I had to wear. Oh my god, I hated that thing. It was one of my grandmother's, I'm positive."

"Baby Scully as Judy Jetson," Mulder repeated disbelievingly.

"Mom has a picture. We can stop by at her home in Baltimore on the way back and I'll prove it."

"You have a deal," he laughed. "Sam and I never did anything like that but one time. She was three and I seven. I was Yogi Bear and she was Boo Boo. After that Halloween, I vowed to do my own costume every year. I've always loved Halloween though. That Halloween, I read her Washington's Irving "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and she wanted to go look for the headless horseman. So instead of going trick or treating, we went to a graveyard to look for it."

"But isn't it Sleepy Hollow technically in New York and not Massachuttes?"

"Very good," he smiled. "And yes but I wasn't going to ruin that for her. It actually is a Germanic myth that goes back to the middle ages. But Irving tale explains the Horseman was a Hessian mercenary from the Revolutionary War who had his head taken off by a cannonball."

"And did you find it?"

"No, but I scared her real good like a big brother is supposed to." His smile faded. "That was the last Halloween we spent together before she was taken."

A comfortable silence settled between them. Scully glanced at the clock on the dash. "What do you say we head back to the hotel, Mulder? It's one a.m. We can get some gas station grub and watch "The Blob" till sunrise."

"What? You don't want to see if any ghosts come a calling?" He was already turning the key on the car, restarting the idle engine back to life.

"I'm freezing, Mulder. My toes are ice cubes."

"I wanted to do something fun with you this year," he replied, "especially after last year."

The unspoken silence about the cancer.

"Well, unofficial ghost hunts may be fun, but what is, even more, fun is a warm hotel room and scary movies. Come on, Mulder."

Mulder switched the car into gear, gently easing off the gravel shoulder and back on the fog covered road. "It's a pity really. Tonight's weather makes a perfect atmosphere."

"I would rather watch a movie than experience it tonight. We're off the clock, remember?"

"Fine, fine," he conceded.

Mulder began to speed up slowly, wary of the fog and woods and the chance a stray deer barreling into their car. Scully leaned forward to switch on the radio on but frowned when all she could hear was static. "Hm. That's strange. We had a radio signal out here when we first arrived."

"Probably the weather."

As they drove cautiously along, with only the silence and the sound of the engine, hanging in between. But then the neigh of a horse that was loud, clear, and echoed otherworldly. Mulder glanced at Scully and slowed the car to a stop. "Do you think..."

"No. It is a ghost story, Mulder. That's all."

They heard the neigh again, closer and louder this time. She was the first to get out of the car, with her gun and flashlight in hand. "Scully!" he called as she slammed the car door and walked in front of the headlight purposefully.

Grabbing his own flashlight, he stood out in front of the headlights, shining his own flashlight out into the dark night. They heard a horse's neigh again. It was coming closer. Mulder's hairs were standing on end and, while it was highly likely it was nothing, he reached for his own gun. "It's probably a figment of my imagination."

"A figment that we're both hearing?"

Now they could hear galloping, the rhythmic noise of horseshoes cobbling the asphalt. "Mulder," she said cautiously. Her blue eyes darted to him. "This isn't funny. Stop joking around."

"Scully, this isn't me, I swear it."

As the galloping came closer, she raised her weapon. "Stop! I'm a federal officer!"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What good is that going to do?"

She flared her nostrils, smelling sulfur. What was burning? In a flash that blinded them, she saw the outline of a headless figure and a black horse. "The fuck..." Mulder began.

The headless figure swung a cavalry saber skillfully as the horse neighed loudly, standing on his hindquarters. Without thinking, Scully emptied her entire magazine into the figure which seemed unaffected by the hail of 9mm bullets from her sig.  Mulder grabbed her forearm forcefully and pushed her to the passenger side of the car. "Get in, Scully. Just get in!"

Not being needed to told twice, she rushed into the car as Mulder jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the gas. He maneuvered the car in quick j-turn as they sped the opposite way down the road. Scully kept looking behind her for the headless rider but saw nothing.

"Mulder," she breathed. "I think it's gone."

"I'm not going to stop driving until we're back at the hotel." He gritted his teeth. "I swear I had nothing to do with that. I honestly do think that was the horseman."

"Mulder that is a legend, a ghost story that is told on Halloween."

"Well, what was tonight?"

Scully arched an eyebrow. "Mulder, that is crazy. Just because it is Halloween..."

"Makes sense, Scully."

"I don't know what the hell we saw but it was not the headless horseman!"

"Suit yourself, but I'm not stopping until we get back to the hotel. Speaking of hotel, do you mind if I spend the night with you?"

"What? Ghost story scare you, Mulder," she teased. Truth be told, she was shaken up herself and thought it was a good idea. The look he gave her indicated he was completely serious. "Well, I suppose a sleepover and horror movie night might be doable."

"Well, then we better stop off and get some candy just to be safe," he said cautiously, easily navigating the heavy air still in between them.

"Yes," she agreed. After a moment, she spoke once more. "Mulder, the next time you ask me to go on a ghost hunt with you, you're going to have to steal my car keys in order to make me."

"I'll remember that, Scully," he answered, his thoughts already rolling in his head for what he could plan for her at Christmas.

[dawnfelagund]

Another 11-Question M-Thing!

(Okay, I literally wrote this weeks ago and just now realized I never posted it!!! WTH, Me??)

I called the last one 10 questions because, apparently, I can’t count! Or even recognize numbers on a list of questions that I then answer.

Anyway. I got tagged this time by @independence1776--thank you! :)

Rules: Answer the 11 questions, write 11 of your own, tag 11 people.

1) What’s a story that’s stuck with you?

This is a hard one. Having chosen to spend my life teaching writing and literature, obviously there have been many! I really remember, as a kid, absolutely loving The Black Stallion Legend. I enjoyed all of the Black Stallion series--I was a typical little girl, fascinated by horses--but Walter Farley took a dark turn toward the end of the series. The Black Stallion Ghost and The Black Stallion Legend were filled with macabre, mysterious elements. It’s probably the first time I was enthralled by what amounted to a speculative fiction story, and it really set me up for a lifetime of reading and writing speculative fiction--particularly horror and dark fantasy--myself.

Also, there was a map at the front of the book: the first time I remember reading a book that had one. Even now, if I open a book and see a map? It’s on! It biases me immediately in favor of the book. I think I spent hours studying that map. (I reread the book frequently, and it is on the shelf in my classroom library now.)

2) What’s your favorite song?

Yikes. That’s another hard one! Looking at my Felagundish playlist on Spotify, I’d say my favorites are “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, “The Last Unicorn” by America, “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel, “Muzzle” by the Smashing Pumpkins, and “Anna Sun” by Walk the Moon. Those are songs that I have adored for years and years without getting tired of them, that I will stop to listen to and then replay, so I think it’s safe to say they are my favorite songs.

My favorite new song is “The Sky Is a Neighborhood” by the Foo Fighters.

3) What’s your favorite secular holiday (actual or ridiculous)?

Halloween! I love things that are dark, scary, and creepy. I love horror movies and spiders and haunted houses and skulls. Mr. Felagund and I start celebrating Halloween on October 1; it’s a whole month to soak in those things. I could go on much longer.

4) Favorite place you’ve lived?

Northeast Kingdom, Vermont--where I live now. I was born and lived my entire life in central Maryland and chose to live here because it is easier to realize my values and ideals here. It’s also beautiful and, culturally, a much better match for Mr. Felagund and me, who are not about a hectic life with constant contact with strange humans but more about meaningful work and living in harmony with the Earth.

5) Do you want to visit space?

Not really. I mean, I doubt I’d turn down the chance if offered, but it’s not something I’ve aspired to. I love the Earth and am far from tired of it.

6) What’s your favorite resturant?

Dusit Thai, in downtown Newport. (”Downtown Newport” is hilarious, as anyone who came to the Mereth Aderthad will know!) I never thought I’d move to rural Vermont and have access to the best Thai food I’ve ever had, but here I am. They have amazing sushi too. I could eat there every day.

7) What’s your favorite recipe?

I’m not much of a cook--that’s Mr. Felagund’s household chore (he’s cooking dinner right now!)--but I used to make a butternut squash polenta with crispy sage that we both liked. And I do make ice cream; my favorite recipe I ever made was a pluot sorbet with red wine.

8) What’s your ideal birthday like?

I always enjoy when Mr. Felagund and I take a weekend trip for my birthday. We’ve gone to Ocean City a couple of times and, one year, we went to New York City. I don’t need gifts and definitely don’t want a party; spending a weekend away doing fun things and eating amazing food where I don’t have to wash the dishes afterward is my ideal.

9) Do you own clothing in your favorite color?

I do! My favorite color is red. I own a lot of red things. I’m wearing a red shirt right now. In fact, when I got married and my mom and I went to pick out a dress, my only stipulation was “no red!” because I wear red all the time. And guess what? I got married in red ...

10) Where’s your favorite place to go on vacation?

Ocean City, Maryland. I love the ocean and have so many memories attached to this particular stretch of ocean. When I look at OC with a neutral eye, I sometimes think I should have long outgrown it, but I haven’t because memories lurk at every turn. It’s one of the few things I miss now that I live in Vermont.

Last night, we watched episode 2 of the new season of Vikings and there was a scene with seagulls screaming in the background ... it felt like my heart actually twisted in my chest. I totally get the Elven sea longing. If I can go anywhere, it’s always to the sea.

11) Have you ever seen the Milky Way?

Yes, unless there are clouds, I can see it from my backyard.

Okay, I can’t get away with not making my own list of questions and pestering my own set of eleven people. Of course, if I tag you and you don’t want to do it, I’m not going to hunt you down and make you or even get upset about it. Just don’t do it. And if you look at this list of questions and think, “Rad! I want my followers to know those things about me!” then consider yourself tagged.

1. How did you happen to fall into Middle-earth? 2. What was the first fanwork you ever made? 3. If you didn’t have to worry about money or practicalities, what would you do with your life? 4. What inspires your creativity? 5. If you could visit any place in Arda, where would you go? 6. If you could live in any age of Arda, which would you choose? 7. If you could go back and redo your childhood or school years with the wisdom you have now, would you? 8. What is a mythical or imaginary creature that you wish was real? 9. If you were going to be stranded on a desert island for five years, what five books would you take? 10. If you could take one word out of the English language, which would you choose? 11. If I catch you wasting time, what are you doing?

I tag: @hrymfaxe, @heartofoshun, @grundyscribbling, @nimium-amatrix-ingenii-sui, @vefanyar, @feanorus-rex, @lordnelson100, @arafinwion, @jahaliel, @hennethgalad, @madtomedgar

[derangedangel]

A New Home - Theo Raeken

Summary: Takes place during season 6 episode 12. You find out Theo has been sleeping in his car and try to help.

Word count: 3,062

Author’s note: I kinda feel bad for Theo. Yeah, he killed Scott but then he got dragged to hell by his dead sister so... he’s sorta suffered. There will be a part 2. I have no chill so this is extra long and I couldn’t figure out how to finish it just yet. Also, this answers question I had like: What is Theo eating? What’s he doing about clothes? Werewolves need money too

Masterlist

It was late, or early depending on who you asked. There was only one week before you went off to college and you were hoping to enjoy your last few days of summer. But this was Beacon Hills and the town had other plans in mind. Scott and Lydia were already supposed to be at school, but due to one of Lydia’s premonitions they stayed behind. Stiles was already away in Virginia and you were more than ecstatic for your spastic friend. At least one of your friends managed to get out before everything went to hell again. You promised yourself you would get out too. There was a university two hours away that had a scholarship with your name on it.

Besides your car, the road you were driving on was empty. You were about 10 minutes from your house when you passed an old wore down building. You saw one of the deputy’s cars parked and a familiar looking truck. As your car pulled up closer, you realized whose truck it was: Theo’s.

After the ghost rider situation got resolved you hadn’t seen much of Theo. Actually, you hadn’t seen Theo since then. Honestly, you thought he left town. There was nothing keeping him in Beacon Hills. You decided to see what was going on, so you pulled over.

Deputy Grey was standing at Theo’s window talking to him. With all the supernatural activities in Beacon Hills and Stiles’ dad being the Sheriff, you and the pack spent a lot of time at the station so you knew a few of the deputies. You could see Theo sighing and rolling his eyes from his open window as you got out of your car.

“Hey Deputy Grey, how are things going?”

“Y/N, go back to your car and go home.”

“That’s not very friendly Grey. I just wanted to check on my friend Theo here.”

“Friend,” Theo questioned. He hadn’t talked to you in months and now here you were calling him your friend.

“Yeah, so what’s going on,” you turned at looked at Deputy Grey with a fake smile on your face.

“Y/N, go home-“

“Deputy, I’m sure Sheriff Stilinski would love to hear about what I saw you doing while you were supposed to be patrolling last month.”

Deputy Grey coughed a few times nervously before he spoke. “That’s not necessary. All your friend has to do is find somewhere else to sleep tonight and we can all go about our business.”

You scrunched up your face confused, “somewhere else to sleep?” You turned to look at Theo, “Theo, have you been sleeping in your car?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Theo tried to play it off. He didn’t want you knowing about his current living situation.

“Actually, this is the second time I’ve had to ask him to move his car.”

“Thanks,” Theo replied sarcastically.

You looked at Theo with sadness in your eyes. You felt horrible. Theo must have been living in his car since Liam brought him back. If Stiles were here, he would probably say Theo deserved it. He did kill Scott after all. But he helped with the wild hunt. And he helped protect Liam from getting taken. Damn you good conscience.

It was silent for a few seconds before you sighed and spoke again. “Don’t worry Deputy Grey, I’ll take care of it. Just go back to patrolling the area.”

The deputy looked between you and Then then made his way back to his car. You slipped your hands in your back pockets while you shifted your weight from your right to your left foot.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone, Theo? We would have helped you.”

“Would your friends really have helped, Y/N? They hate me.”

“They don’t hate you. Not really.” Even as the words left your mouth you knew Theo was right. “Well, define hate.”

“You know they don’t like me. I killed Scott. I put Lydia in a catatonic state. I pulled your pack apart. Why would you guys want to help me?”

“Okay, maybe everyone wouldn’t want to help you.”

“Like Stiles and Malia.”

“Exactly those two,” you agreed. “But you could have called Scott.”

Theo put his key in the ignition, starting up his truck. “Don’t worry about me, Y/N. Just forget this happened.”

You slammed your hand over the steering wheel stopping Theo from leaving. “I’m not going to forget this. You mentioned all the bad stuff you did but what about the good? You saved Liam from getting taken from by the wild hunt. And you helped Scott fight the ghost riders and that Nazi werewolf. If there’s one thing I’ve learned being in Scott’s pack its forgiveness. You saw firsthand how Scott worked with Deucalion, and he brought a whole alpha pack to town to kill the pack. And Peter Hale killed his own niece and we still tolerate him. Sometimes.”

Theo’s eyes searched your face. He couldn’t understand why you were here trying to convince him he was worth helping. Even when Theo was trying to tear Scott’s pack apart, he could tell there was something special about you. You probably experienced the least of Theo’s rage in the pack. Maybe it was because you were human, but so was Stiles. He just couldn’t find it in himself to hurt you.

“Okay,” Theo said.

“Okay?”

“You can help me.”

You pulled your hand back to rest beside the other on Theo’s rolled down window. “You’ll let me?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” you nodded your head. “So, I don’t exactly have a plan yet. Give me a second to think.” You turned your head looking out into the distance trying to come up with an idea.

Theo couldn’t help but notice how beautiful you looked in deep thought. You were nibbling on your nail trying to come up with a place for him to sleep, and Theo had honestly never seen anything so perfect in his life.

Theo was staring at you thinking when you suddenly turned towards him and yelled “I got it.” He tried to play it off like he hadn’t just been staring at you for the last few minutes.

“Okay, so this will only work for tonight until I can come up with something better. It’s too late for me to try anything else.”

“Alright, what’s the plan?”

“Don’t shoot down my idea until you hear the whole thing alright?”

“Okay.”

“So, you need a place to sleep that isn’t your car. Just for tonight, we can leave your truck at Derek’s loft. No one’s there and if Deputy Grey see’s your truck again at least he won’t find you sleeping in it.”

“So where am I going to sleep?”

“My house.”

“Your house?”

“Just tonight. My parents should both be asleep and they get up early to go to work. They won’t even know you’re there. Then we can figure out the rest tomorrow.”

“I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

You raised your hand in defense. “No. You are not arguing with me on this. It’s already late and I’m tired. And you don’t want to get on my bad side when I’m tired.”

“Alright. Alright. But just for one night.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t need you in my house for any longer than that. Now, get ready to follow me to Derek’s Loft. Then you’re going to ride with me back to my place.”

After a slightly awkward car ride later, you and Theo were at your house. You slowly opened your front door, careful not to wake your parents. Theo followed you as you creeped up your stairs to your room. Your focus was on the view in front of you so you didn’t see Theo watching your butt as you took each step.

You opened the door to your room then quickly shut it behind you and hit the lock. The last thing you needed was your Mom walking in and seeing a boy sleeping in your room. You tossed your purse down on the bed then went to your closet and grabbed your spare sheets.

“Alright,” you said as you laid the sheets on the floor. “You’re going to sleep here for tonight.”

Theo just looked at you not believing what he was witnessing. He was going to sleep in your room. Beside your bed.

“Don’t look at me like that Raeken. I would have set you up in the guest room, but all of my dorm stuff is in there. You can’t even see the bed with all my junk. The bathroom is right there if you need it. I’m going to shower then go to sleep.”

You went to your dresser and grabbed your pajamas. Most of the time you slept in an oversized t-shirt, but with your current roommate, you thought it was best to wear real pajamas.

Before you closed your bathroom door, you peaked your head around to tell Theo one more thing. “And no funny business Theo. I don’t need this coming back and biting me in the ass.”

“I promise I’ll behave,” Theo replied sitting on his makeshift bed on the floor. “And thanks, Y/N.”

“You’re welcome.” You smiled softly before you closed the door.

The next morning, your parents were long gone on their way to work by the time you woke up. You were never an early riser. Theo on the other hand had been up for quite some time. Since he was a guest in your house, he couldn’t just rome around. He sat on his makeshift bed on your floor looking around. He looked at all the photos on your walls with you and the pack. There was one with Lydia, Allison, and you at a school dance. Another one with you and Liam after a lacrosse game. Then his eyes landed on a photo of you between Scott and Stiles. You were in the middle of the two boys with a huge grin on your face with both boys kissing each check.

Theo couldn’t help but be a little jealous. He wasn’t just jealous because they were kissing you, but because you they could call you a friend. You were only helping him because you felt sorry for him. He didn’t have anybody.

You rolled over in your bed catching Theo’s attention. He thought you looked gorgeous. There was something different about seeing you first thing in the morning. There wasn’t any makeup on your face and your hair was pulled back. It was one of the few times you were at peace. He even thought the little bit of drool coming out of your mouth was cute.

When you finally woke up, you got up to make sure your parents were gone. You knew they had work, but with Theo in your house you were paranoid and couldn’t risk anyone finding out. You stayed in your pajamas as you cooked breakfast for you and Theo. You always said breakfast was the most important meal of the day and in order for you to figure out what to do with Theo, you needed a full stomach to think on. Theo sat at the kitchen counter while you flipped the pancakes. Once again, he just stared at you in amazement. Most people wouldn’t have thought much of someone making them breakfast, but Theo hadn’t eaten a good meal in months. He thought the world of you now and all you did was give him a place to sleep for the night and some food.

You turned around and slid a pancake on the plate in front of Theo. You grabbed your plate, syrup, and orange juice, and sat next to Theo.

“So,” you began speaking. “I was thinking I can’t just find you a place to stay. Like, you need money and stuff,” you said while chewing. “What have you been doing for food and clothes?”

“I’ve been getting by,” Theo answered pushing a piece of his pancake around on his plate.

You looked up and squinted at him. “hmm… that’s not a real answer. But,” you pointed at him with your fork, “that tells me everything I need to know. I’m going to get you a job.”

“What?”

You took a sip of your orange juice before speaking again. “There’s this saying my grandma used to say. ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.’”

Theo just looked at your curious, so you decided you should elaborate on your grandma’s quote.

“All it means is that I can’t just help you find a place to sleep. That’s not going to do you much good if you can’t support yourself so you can eventually get your own place and feed yourself. With that in mind, I have an Uncle that owns a hardware shop. It’s pretty small but maybe he can help.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Well, I already let you sleep in my room. I don’t see how me helping you get a job is any different.”

“Thanks, Y/N.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. I still have to talk to my Uncle first and see if he even needs to hire someone.”

You two sat in silence eating the rest of your breakfast for a few minutes before you thought of something. You scrunched up your face as you thought. “Thinking about it, the only werewolf I know that’s had a job is Scott. And I’m not sure that counts because he worked at the clinic before he was turned. But Derek and Peter don’t have jobs. And I doubt Deucalion had a job when he came here ruining everything.”

Your thought process was interrupted by your phone going off. Scott needed your help with the new supernatural problems going on, so you would have to leave Theo at your house.

“I have to go deal with some pack business, but I’ll be back later. I’ll talk to my Uncle before I come back. I have an idea for your living situation, but I need to make sure it’s doable before I say anything. I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“My hopes haven’t been up in months, so you should be fine.”

“Just stay in my room until I get back. My dad gets off around 5 and my mom gets off at 7. You should be fine, but just use your super hearing before you decide to use the bathroom or go to the kitchen, okay?”

“I think I can handle it.”

Theo was listening to your feet hit the floor as you walked to your room. The door slammed open and you saw Theo sitting at your computer desk.

“Come on, Theo. I found the perfect place, and my dad is going to be home soon. We need to leave before he gets here.”

Theo got up from his spot and followed you to your car.  A short ride later, you were pulling up next to Theo’s truck.

“Am I supposed to follow you there in my truck,” Theo asked.

“Just follow me.” You smiled over at Theo.

The original chimera followed you up the stairs leading to Derek’s loft. You pulled out a key from you bag and unlocked the door. You slid the big metal door open revealing the loft to Theo.

“Tada,” you said arms showing off the loft like Theo had just won a prize on the Price is Right.

“Tada what?”

“This is where you’re going to stay.”

“I’m staying here?”

“Yeah,” you said walking in. “Derek hasn’t been here in over a year. This place is just going to waste.”

“Why didn’t you want to tell me about this earlier,” Theo asked following you into the loft.

“Well, I didn’t have a key,” you looked away from Theo a little embarrassed. “I had to swipe it from Scott’s key ring.”

Theo smirked. There were worse things you could do than swipe a key from someone. But you were a good girl and Scott was your alpha. That, plus the fact you were doing all of this for him made him more attracted to you.

“Won’t Scott realize its missing?”

“He would… if I didn’t make a copy and put the original back on Scott’s key ring,” you answered smiling back at Theo.

“Beautiful and conniving.” Theo smiled at you and you blushed lightly. You shook you head when you realized what was happening. You were just helping Theo. You couldn’t be blushing at his words.

“Um, here’s a copy for you, and I have one as well.”

You stopped midway as you were handing Theo the key and looked him straight in the eye. “I’m trusting you, Theo. If Scott and the other found out about this-“

“They won’t,” Theo interrupted.

You stared into Theo’s blue eyes for a few moments before you spoke again. “I’m giving you another chance. Don’t make me look stupid.”

“I won’t,” Theo said barely above a whisper. Both you and Theo’s hands were gripping the key. You were a little scared that trusting Theo would come back and bite you in the butt. But the way he was looking at you now silenced that little voice in your head telling you not to trust him.

You let go of the key and slowly walked away from Theo. “Alright. So you’ll be staying here until you can get a place of your own. Oh,” you yelled and turned to face Theo, “and I talked to my Uncle. He didn’t really need any help but I convince him to give you a job. It’s just part time, but at least it’s something.”

“I- I don’t know what to say.” Theo was amazed you found a place for him to stay and a job.

“You can start with thanks.”

“Yeah, but you’re risking a lot to help me. Your friends don’t know what you’re doing. I’m staying in Derek Hale’s loft. This is worth much more than a thank you.”

“A thank you while suffice for now. And just don’t wreak Derek’s place. He may not be as mean as he used to be, but I’d rather not have him get mad at me for doing this.”

Theo just smiled at your kindness. “Thank you, Y/N.”

[yourdailykitsch]

TEXAS FOREVER Taylor Kitsch Is Not Game for a ‘Friday Night Lights’ Revival But the hunk formerly known as Riggins is having the time of his life breaking bad, first as a terrorist in ‘American Assassin’ and next as cult leader David Koresh in ‘Waco.’ Before he gave his best blue steel modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch, and before he rose to stardom as the brooding, hunky Tim Riggins on NBC’s Friday Night Lights, Taylor Kitsch took his fair share of hits. He—along with his two older brothers—were raised by their mother in a trailer park in his native Canada after their father deserted the family when Kitsch was one, and a devastating knee injury during his teenage years dashed his dreams of hockey stardom. Years later, after the modeling gigs dried up in New York, he found himself homeless, spending his nights sleeping in subway cars and sneaking into gyms to shower; after moving to L.A. to try his hand personal training, he spent four months living out of a tiny hatchback, with one of its windows replaced by a clear plastic sheet covered in duct tape. “Any time you can go through life and get hit or knocked down, it should help,” he says. “The journey of getting here was a pretty darn good test, and I’m still being tested each and every day.” Kitsch’s latest test comes in American Assassin, with the 36-year-old actor playing his first onscreen villain. He is Ghost, a shadowy international terrorist attempting to get his hands on a nuclear weapon in order to exact revenge on the U.S. We later learn that he was a former black ops agent who was left for dead overseas by his boss Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), an ex-Navy SEAL who specializes in asymmetric warfare. Ghost serves as a foil to Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien), a young man who, after losing his fiancée during a terrorist attack in Spain, attempts to single-handedly penetrate a terror cell and kill those responsible—only to then be recruited by the deputy director of the CIA (Sanaa Lathan) and trained by Hurley to kill for the red, white and blue. “I loved it,” Kitsch says of breaking bad. “I hope to do it a lot more, to be honest with you. It’s nice to create this guy and have free rein to make him how you saw. It strays away from ‘cliché’ bad guys. He is an American, it’s an attack that’s beyond personal for him, and on a certain level you kind of understand him—which I loved.” Assassin is gloriously over the top, and nobody seems to be having more fun than Kitsch and Keaton, who appear to be playing their own personal game of Who’s More Grizzled? In what is without question the film’s finest sequence, Kitsch removes his shirt to reveal the spoils of war before brutally torturing Keaton, yanking off his fingernails one at a time. “I got nine more! I like this!” Keaton barks back. The cinematic implication of a scarred villain torturing the two-time Caped Crusader was not lost on Kitsch. “I definitely saw it,” he chuckles. “You know you’re in good hands going to bat with Keaton, and the work he’s been doing of late has been just terrific. It was a big part of me signing on, and driving a scene like that with him was a lot of fun.” With a title like American Assassin and a truly bonkers normal-guy-hunts-terrorists premise, many feared that the film would succumb to crass jingoism at a time when a hawkish strongman with an itchy Twitter finger has the U.S. on the perpetual brink of global war. But Kitsch insists it’s “not just violence for the sake of violence” and far from fetishizes combat. “We show you the worst, most unglorified part of being an assassin,” he says. “Obviously it’s fictional, but you see the trauma that Dylan O’Brien’s character goes through personally, and you see the trauma that being in war brings. We take you down the worst part of that. It’s not like Bond, where you’re going, I want to be Bond! Nobody’s going, I want to be Mitch Rapp—this tortured, psychologically scarred young man out for vengeance.” With roles like Ghost, Bruce Niles in The Normal Heart, and the closeted Paul Woodrugh on True Detective, Kitsch has seemingly weathered the blockbuster storms of John Carter and Battleship and returned to his character actor roots. Just don’t expect to see him in a revival of Friday Night Lights. “I think there are still rumblings about that,” he says, laughing. “Pete [Berg] knows the answer loud and clear. We’re having dinner tonight, and even at dinner, I think he would more or less joke about it than ever be like, ‘Hey, let’s go back ten years and relive this moment that ended perfectly.’ You know, there’s just no point.” “Earlier on, even if you wanna start with Riggins, I was told, ‘He’s going to last just one season,’ and ‘you’re not a priority,’ so I’ve always been drawn to these character-driven guys,” he continues. “Bang Bang Club was an incredible story and still something that I’m very proud of. Then you take these big swings with winners like [Andrew] Stanton at Pixar and Pete [Berg] with Battleship, then you go into a Murphy [in Lone Survivor] that was a beautiful tribute to these guys. I feel incredibly happy with the work I’ve done—not just making the most of them, but staying scared and keeping myself off-kilter.” In that vein, Kitsch will next embark on perhaps his most difficult role yet: portraying David Koresh in Waco, a miniseries about the Waco siege set to premiere on the Paramount Network early next year. The show’s all-star cast includes Michael Shannon, Melissa Benoist, Andrea Riseborough, John Leguizamo, and Rory Culkin, and will run over six one-hour episodes. But Kitsch will be front and center as the charismatic cult leader of the Branch Davidians. And it sounds like he’s done his homework. “I met the nine guys that survived the last siege. After I read [survivor] David Thibodeau’s A Place Called Waco several times I got in touch with him and hung out with him a lot, and then spent a lot of time learning what Koresh believed in,” shares Kitsch. “Singing and learning guitar took up a lot of my time too, as did losing about twenty-five to thirty pounds to play him. I listened to hundreds of hours of Koresh phone conversations with the FBI, with the ATF, with child protective services, with his mom to watching sermons and videos of him growing up. It’s really the key to anybody—the past, and how he grew up.” He adds, “I will say that it’s going to bleed a lot of truth into what actually happened. What the media gave people at the time was incredibly one-sided, and they wouldn’t let the Davidians talk to the press or release anything. They’ve still withheld a lot of these FBI tapes. We’re going to shed light on what actually happened.”

[backwardblackbyrd]

autumn tag game 🍂 Tagged by @luna-canticum and @petticoated-swashbuckler (Which btw I love both of u) The last: 1. drink: water 
2. phone call: My mom!
 3. text message: “and thank u for sending it" I wanted my boyfriend to tell his roommate about queer ghost hunting group. They were communicating with lesbian ghost nuns and I had to share
 4. song you listened to: black me out by against me! 5. time you cried: literally about 2 hours ago, when I read an article about black poets lol 6. dated someone twice: back in high school and like that guy was a piece of shit and now the reason I typically do not date someone twice lol 7. kissed someone and regretted it: uh, I don't think ever actually. Not like, regretting the kiss specifically
 8. been cheated on: not to my knowledge
 9. lost someone special: well. That's a whole thing. Let's not get into it lol
 10. been depressed: oh buddy
 11. got drunk and thrown up: i! Actually haven't thrown up from being drunk before I've been like. Pissy drunk but I otherwise hold my liquor p well 3 favourite colours 12. Purple
13. pink
14. blue in the last year have you 15. made new friends: I think so lol
 16. fallen out of love: lol lets not
 17. laughed until you cried: definitely!
 18. found out someone was talking about you: ya
 19. met someone who changed you: yeaaaa well.
 20. found out who your friends are: uhh, yea I guess. The answer was way less that I thought lol
 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: yes! Quite often! general 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: I've known everyone on my fb list at one point or another. I hardly talk to any of them anymore tho
 23. do you have any pets: 1 Kenyan sand boa named Artemis, a western hognose named Charlie, and a cat named Jenny.
 24. do you want to change your name: I did when I was little but like. Now that I'm older I'm like??? Change it to what exactly??? I did try going by prince for awhile but hardly anyone actually called me that lol
 25. what did you do for your last birthday: spent p much the whole weekend with my boyfriend. We went for small road trip. It was cute
 26. what time did you wake up: i got to sleep in, I woke up at like 8am. I haven't had many days off in the last two weeks and I typically have to wake up anywhere from 3am to 5am for work so lol
 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: I was very asleep. I was so tired. I sleep so much yesterday like probs 12 hours lmao. Again, I've been working a lot
 28. name something you can’t wait for: Halloween!!!!!!!!! And for my daughter Artie to be done shedding so she'll go back to having her face out all the time
 29. when was the last time you saw your mum: literally like 5 minutes ago
 31. what are you listening to right now: an episode of Queer Ghost Hunters. They're on YouTube look em up
 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: possibly?
 33. something that is getting on your nerves: lol my job, I literally leave so frustrated every time I work
 34. most visited website: tumblr definitely lol with instagram being a close second
 35. hair colour: dark brown
 36. long or short hair: short. I can't keep up with my hair if it's long. I end up with bad cases of depression hair 
 37. do you have a crush on someone: the boyfriend, yes 
 38. what do you like about yourself: I like how much I love my snakes. Reptiles are really often neglected and I'm proud that I give my kids such good care. 
 39. piercings: I have 6 piercings on one ear, my lobe stretched on the same ear, and my conch pierced on the other ear. I also have my septum pierced and my lip technically is still open if I ever felt the urge to wear jewelry in it again
 40. blood type: not a clue, no idea
 41. nickname: i actually don't have one
 42. relationship status: dating!
 43. zodiac: taurus sun, libra moon, and sagittarius rising
 44. pronouns: She/her 
 45. favourite tv show: yikes all my go to tv shows are problematic faves; bojack horseman, it's always sunny in Philly, rich and moaty 46. Tattoos: only one; I got it when I was way too young to be getting tattoos but I love it. It's a clandestine bat like Pete Wentz's over my heart. Everyone always thinks it's batman and I'm like yea that's cool too 
 47. right or left handed: right first 48. surgery: haven't had one yet. Kinda hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible
 49. piercing: ears, I was really young when my mom let me get them, I genuinely don't remember my age 
 50. sport: uhhh I was in the volleyball club in middle school? 
51. vacation: uh mom and I went up to the mountains when I was a kid. I was way too young to appreciate it, I was bored as shit the entire time
 52. pair of trainers: Idek what those are so more general 53. eating: candy that's supposed to be for trick or treaters. Sorry kids 
54. drinking: water, I feel like I answered this already 
 55. i’m about to: finish binge watching queer ghost hunters and then find some other spooky thing to watch 
 56. waiting for: Sweet death, my guy. No, uh idk, the hygrometers I ordered to come?
57. want: to be done with college and to have a better job already
 58. get married: that doesn't interest me
 59. career: one that pays enough money for me to afford being alive and to have my own place and the animals I want to own lmao which is better 60. hugs or kisses: im a Taurus and I have so much Venus energy in my chart, like. Gimme all of it 
 61. lips or eyes: both
 62. shorter or taller: I've dated both and like, it's mostly irrelevant to me
 63. older or younger: very close to my age or older. And by very close I mean like, 1 year, 2 might be pushing it
 64. nice arms or nice stomach: strong arms and a tum is ideal
 65. hook up or relationship: I've always wondered how I'd feel about a hook up, but the reality is I'm a relationship type person.
 66. troublemaker or hesitant: i used to be a trouble maker. My mental health is shot to hell now so I'm much more hesitant than I used to be. Which is. Unfortunate have you ever 67. kissed a stranger: i have wanted to before, but haven't 
 68. drank hard liquor: absolutely, I'm vodka aunt these days
 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: I temporarily lose glasses all the time. I've had one pair permanently lost, I'm p sure I know what happened to them tho
 70. turned someone down: yes lol
 71. sex on the first date: no
 72. broken someone’s heart: yea
 73. had your heart broken: yea but not by anything I didn't cause myself
 74. been arrested: no and let's hope I never do
 75. cried when someone died: yea
 76. fallen for a friend: absolutely. Almost exlcusively do you believe in 77. yourself: sometimes. Not as much as I ever have, but definitely more than when I was like, in grade school
 78. miracles: yea
 79. love at first sight: Nah
 80. santa claus: no
 81. kiss on the first date: yes lmao 
 82. angels: they don't fit into my personal belief system but I know they're real for other folks other 83. current best friend’s name: Allyson! 
 84. eye colour: like, mine? Brown
 85. favourite movie: under the red hood, and kikis delivery service @jasoncorpsedotcom and @sacredheartssclub and @automaticmachinetangerine and @volantamasis only if y'all wanna! It's long so I understand if not lol also p much any of my mutual support are welcome to say I tagged them if they wanna do this :)

[fyeahwynonnaearp]

What Just Happened?!?: Let’s Pretend We’re Strangers (S02E05)

So many things happened. So many things are happening. So many feelings were felt and so much screaming at the TV was done.

New Character(s)

Ewan (@unrealfehr): Volunteer firefighter by day and cult leader by night. Likes big shiny axes, red cloaks, bird masks, and working out.

Juan Carlo (@The_Real_ShaunJ): Re-introduction of the mysterious mechanic/watcher(?). Still uselessly helping and provides more questions than answers. Has a teleporter!Truck? because he drove in with it and disappeared with it.

The Order: A cult of volunteer firefighters whose motto is ‘Praesidium et Conservatio’. Under the (sometimes) guidance of Juan Carlo, they help protect the Ghost River Triangle.

Monster(s) of the Week

Miksun, or The Goo™: Have apparently infected a crap ton of people that The Order had to hunt down and kill. Put down by Peacemaker, but is it fully gone?

Final Thoughts (No Spoiler)

Game changer indeed. 

Although The Goo™/Mikshun was the focus of the episode, so many little things happened that may ripple out and have huge repercussions in the future. It was such an intense episode and, as of now, I have watched it three times. Back to back. I am emotionally drained.

Honestly, before watching this show I take one or two or three shots of Fireball and after the show I chain-smoke like Doc Holliday and hug myself to contain all the feels.

Jump into the rabbit hole for some spoiler-filled rants, theories, and fun!

10 Things That Happened/I Learned

1. Ewan and The Order - ‘Praesidium et Conservatio’: We find out that the Purgatory Volunteer Fire Department (or VFD, which makes me giggle because Lemony Snicket) has an impressive battle axe collection, hunts down Goo-infected citizens, and likes nachos as an after-beheading snack. Based on Ewan and The Plate™, it seems that The Order used to have a relationship with the Earp heir. Now in possession of The Plate™ and open to partnering with Wynonna, we will probably see more of Ewan (or FitBit, as Melanie likes to call him). How The Order and The Squad™ will butt heads will be very interesting and I’m ready for The Squad™ to have help because IDK if people remember/realize, but The Ghost River Triangle is a huge freakin’ area.

2. Nicole, the kicked puppy. The first-half of this season have completely REKT the Officer. Goononna was especially in top-shelf form with the emotional beatdown. I expect Nicole and Wynonna to clash because Nicole is clearly the (mostly) by-the-book rookie and Wynonna is the free-spirit protocol-lel-what-protocol Black Badge Deputy. Perhaps Nicole never understood how or why Wynonna got to be in the super secret government agency and was maybe a bit jealous, but damn! Goononna definitely knew her weakness and insecurities and hit where it hurts the most. I’m excited to see how they move on from this and how they form a relationship outside of Waverly. (I’ve read somewhere that Nicole was constantly being mean and a bit of a bitch to Wynonna; I honestly will have to rewatch, but I don’t remember Nicole being an outright massive bitch to her.)

3. IN MEMORIAM: AGENT JEANIE LUCADO.Goocado, or goo-infected!Lucado: Head exploded. Tentatively dead because regeneration is a thing and where the hell did her body go?!? 

4. Doc Holliday has a new car. It is red and has a cassette player and I wonder if he constantly avoids eye contact with Nicole while at the station because she knows he doesn’t have a driver’s license and definitely has an unpaid speeding ticket.

5. Purgatory Fair 1952. The plate is important enough that it was hunted down, wanted by BBD, and people were killed for it. It was definitely important to The Order. Not only does it bare their seal, but it might be connected to the broken seal because Ewan was talking about it to JC and it seems they are also responsible for maintaining it.

6. “I will shoot anybody for you”. Not only is Nicole whipped, but this line just cements the notion of the Officer being loyal to Waverly despite her position as a police officer. It might be nothing, or it could be the overarching struggle Nicole will face throughout the season and beyond. Being a good cop matters to her, and being involved with Waverly could mean ignoring things for The Squad, covering things up, and breaking protocol and maybe the law. And, I think we know how she feels about covering things up. I’m excited for this ride because this could be such a wonderful character development storyline and gives their relationship depth and substance many shows ignore. Because Nicole will never ask Waverly to be someone other than herself, but Nicole might have to change and compromise her morals for the woman she’s totally not-in-love with.

7. Hot Uniform for Officer Haught. Is Nicole being Lexa-levels of extra with her new uniform? Gone are the khakis and barely-buttoned long sleeves and the has-anyone-seen-me-this-season stetson. Enter the Black Widow-inspired, Alex Danvers-might-steal-this long-sleeved form-fitting zip-up top and is-this-gay-enough vest and no-really-is-this-too-gay boots and the I-am-a-gay baseball cap. I love it. I do. It would be equally horrifying and funny if the entire Purgatory Sheriff Department changed uniforms because Officer I’m-Too-Haught-For-This hates khakis, but I hope the department also forked over the cash for the super expensive extra-lightweight concealed body armor to wear under that tight-fitting top. Because Officer Haught did not ask for the most gay, hot, are-we-sure-this-is-not-a-sexy-cop-costume uniform just to be a bullet magnet.

8. MISSING: BLACK BADGE HQ. Honestly, I’m confused about the actual organization of the...well, organization. It is introduced as a joint task force between the US and Canada, even the badge shows both flags. Like, cool. But is Moody (AKA Orphan Black’s Art Bell), the Head of Black Badge or is he only in charge of the Purgatory/Ghost River Triangle branch or whichever branch is overseeing Purgatory? When Dolls, Lucado, or Jeremy mention HQ, do they mean the place where Dolls was broken out from? Because that means BBD HQ is near the Ghost River Triangle. So when Jeremy says Black Badge is gone, does that mean just the HQ/where Dolls was being held? Are there more BBD sites like in the comic books? Where are the other agents?

9. Waverly and her ‘dark corners’. Is Waverly an Earp? It’s the question that can be easily answered if only the Earp Sisters didn’t have major communication issues. In all honesty, all it takes is one over-due conversation and a saliva swab, then one DNA test later we get our answer. But, no. Waverly will probably never ask Wynonna “so, our mom was pregnant with me, right?” and Nicole probably won’t overstep and compare the Earp Sisters’ DNA behind Waverly’s back. I just want this issue to be resolved before Waverly crumbles under the pressure of meeting Wynonna’s expectations of what being an Earp entails. Because this season shows us that Wynonna does give being an Earp so much meaning and expects Waverly to act accordingly and this might cause issues between them and it might be hard to remember, but they just found steady footing with each other. If Wynonna keeps expecting certain things out of Waverly all in the name of being an Earp while Waverly is struggling with the idea if she even is an Earp, we might have the Earp Sis angst-fest we don’t really want but we might just actually love because it means they come out of it (hopefully) stronger together.

10. Baby Earp, the game changer. There’s a divide in the fandom: Pro-baby storyline and what-the-fuck-no!-pregnancy-storylines-ruin-everything. No matter what camp you reside in, you must admit and eventually realize that this baby-bump of a game changer is going to be the catalyst for several major character development. 

Wynonna: No longer can she numb herself and drown her issues in whiskey. Even though she says her job is to protect her baby sister, we have to remember that she’s been MIA for three year prior and have been mostly absent from Waverly’s life. Yes, she was placed in a mental institution when she was 14 and has been in juvie at least once, but she also willingly spent time away from her sister and ran with the Banditos, a gang that was mentioned in season 1 and explored in the comics. Wynonna joined a gang which could have placed Waverly in danger. With a baby, Wynonna has to be responsible for another life and now has to actually think about the possible consequences of her actions.

Doc: The chance of Doc being the father is really high. Let’s assume that he did get his best friend’s great-great-I-actually-forgot-how-many-great-grand daughter pregnant. Because he’s been established as somewhat traditional, in the loosest sense of the word, he will want to meet the duties and obligation of being a father. That means he can’t really just take off anytime he wants. It means being open and having an honest line of communication with Wynonna, which can be hard for him and his Slytherin ways. While he does let Wynonna be Wynonna, I think that will change when he learns he’s a father. Also, he might start actively searching for a way to reverse the Stone Witch’s curse on him. Meaning, he might have to dig out Constance from the salt flats and OMG is she still out there or did someone dig her out?

Dolls: As much as I would love for DocWynDolls to be one happy polyamorous family raising Baby Earp, there is a good chance that Dolls might feel the need to take a step back and let Wynonna straighten out her priorities. He will be there for her, absolutely, but he might emotionally distance himself and choose to focus his attentions on BBD and figure out how The Squad will continue without a government agency backing them and how to proceed without the power of a badge and probably start figuring out what exactly he is. 

Waverly: Protective acting-like-the-big-sister Waverly will be adorable and fluffy and amazing to watch. Waverly questioning her role and childhood and how she was treated will be heartbreaking and will make me leak from my eyes. I think Waverly will be worried about her place in Wynonna’s life now that there will be a baby. Waverly is so used to being pushed to the side that she probably won’t talk about her concerns and will just keep supporting and helping Wynonna. On the other hand, a baby Earp can just be the prompting for Wynonna to start reminiscing and talking about a Baby Waverly and the biological origins of Waverly will finally be settled. 

Nicole: A part of me hopes she won’t get shut out and Waverly will start incorporating Nicole into her life and that Nicole will help Waverly with pregnant!Wynonna, but I can see her being shut out. Again. I can see Nicole figuring it out for herself (like always) and subtlety helping Wynonna by giving her food and giving her coffee, it’s caffeine-free of course, but Wynonna won’t know that. I really hope Nicole gets to be involved in some capacity because it will be just one more thing that would strengthen her relationship not only with Waverly, but with Wynonna as well. 

Overall, I am happy this show is still true to itself. Some people have said that the show doesn’t treat its villains as actually villains and it all ends up being anti-climactic. To those people, I say to you, this show is not the episodic procedural of monster-of-the-week and one big bad a season kind of show. This is about the people that have to deal with those monsters and demons. This show is about their relationships with each other. It’s about how they grow as people and how they deal with their issues and personal demons. Sure, demons are killed. But unlike other shows, our heroine still questions her humanity and still have issues with the fact that she is destined to kill, whether they are demons or creatures or humans-turned-demons.

It is often overlooked and no one talks about it enough, but I think we need to remember that even though these revenants and demons are all trying to kill her, Wynonna Earp still tells them to “make your peace” and sure she sends them to hell, but she tries to make sure they get some semblance of peace in the afterlife. 

[stacks-reviews]

Must Reads Special #2

Welcome to the second special edition of Must Reads. 

This months episode: Stacks Favorite Movies.

--Balto “An outcast half-wolf risks his life to prevent a deadly epidemic from ravaging Nome, Alaska.”

It has been a very long time since I last watched this movie but I remember renting it a lot from the local video store. My mom even got onto me once because I kept picking it almost very time my sister and I spent the weekend at our grandparents. Not surprising really. What little kid wouldn’t love a movie starring a dog with his goofy polar bear best friends as he saves a town and gets  the girl he had a dog crush on? And the fact that it is a true story. Though it would many more years before I found out just how true of a story it really was.

--Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer “After his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment.” “Hoops McCann has the name but not the talent to carry on the family basketball tradition. He’d rather earn an art school scholarship by writing and illustrating a love story. This summer in Nantucket he’s going to get the necessary romantic experience...The annual Nantucket regatta sets the stage for Hoop’s bid to earn his lady’s love and a larcenous land developer’s party sets the stage for an attack by Godzilla.”

Yeah, this is actually two movies but I can’t think of one without thinking about the other. My sister and I watched both of these every weekend that we stayed at our grandparents house (after I stopped watching Balto all the time). At least once a day the whole weekend. They only have two things in common: John Cusack stars in them and they were directed by Savage Steve Holland.

Both are great comedies with a long list of lines that I quote regularly. It is also in watching these that we realized anything is possible when your in a montage. Including learning how to ski. In Better Off Dead you have a very persistent paper boy who only wants his two dollars, plus tip. Two brothers that will always challenge you to a race, a singing cheeseburger, and two very useful lines for getting out of something (”I gotta go, the Christmas Tree is on fire” and “See... the problem here is that...my little brother, this morning, got his arm caught in the microwave, and uh...my grandmother dropped acid and she freaked out, and hijacked a bus full of penguins.”).

In One Crazy Summer you have hilarious cartoon scenes starring a rhino searching for love but being thwarted by the cute and fuzzy bunnies, getting gassed by chili, and an attack by Godzilla as only Bobcat Goldthwait can. I love these movies.

--Ghost and the Darkness “Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer star in this tense, terrific and true adventure set in 1896 East Africa. There two lions on a man-eating rampage have shut down the construction of a railway. The beasts hunt for sport rather than for food - and they have an almost supernatural knack for knowing what traps await them. Big-game hunter Remington and construction engineer Patterson set out to stop these unstoppable monsters.”

Based off a true story that I became obsessed with. Even did a paper about it when I was in middle school. I also own the book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by John Henry Patterson which details every encounter he had with Ghost and Darkness along with details about hunts he went on during the rest of his time in there. Everything that happens in the film really did happen. Although, there are some scenes that didn’t actually occur until after Ghost and Darkness were shot.

But I should elaborate first. In Tsavo, Kenya two mane-less male lions killed over 90 railroad workers over the course of 9 months (although that number is up to debate but we mostly have Patterson’s journal to judge by). Before Patterson’s arrival many attempts where made to scare the pair away but did not succeed. They tried campfires and bomas but the lions would ignore the fires and would climb through or leap over the bomas. They didn’t fall for the traps that Patterson set. Ultimately they were stopped but it wasn’t easy. If I remember correctly it took about 9 shots to killed the second lion. I can’t remember how many it took the first lion. There are a few theories about why they attacked and ate people but it is still being debated.

The first time I saw the movie I loved it. Still do. 

--Indiana Jones A series of films following archaeology professor; Indiana Jones, as he searches for lost artifacts.

A very poor description for a great film series. Except for number four.  From favorite to least favorite it goes Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and then Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. 

That order because Last Crusade is just fantastic, so is Lost Ark but I have never been overly found of that last scene (I think it scared me the first time), Temple of Doom third mostly because of that was the one of the original trio that we watched the least. And Crystal Skull last because the alien idea was pretty fun but I would have preferred it to have been about an items with more historic importance (although Temple of Doom didn’t focus on one either). Plus, for just about every movie there is usually that one scene that universally people don’t mention around those who they know haven’t seen the movie yet. Because you just have to see it for yourself. You don’t want to ruin it. And then there’s the scenes that we don’t mention because it was just that bad. And Crystal Skull has two of them. Overall, it isn’t a bad film but it is the weakest in this series.

I watched the original three a lot growing up and I still watch them at least once a year. There’s action, humor, history, and Harrison Ford. Really you can’t go wrong with these films. 

--Little Miss Sunshine “Father Richard is desperately trying to sell his motivational success program...with no success. Meanwhile, ‘pro-honesty’ mom Sheryl lends support to her eccentric family, including her depressed brother, fresh out of the hospital after being jilted by his lover. Then there are the younger Hoovers - the seven-year-old, would-be beauty queen Olive and Dwayne, a Nietzche-reading teen who has taken a vow of silence. Topping off the family is the foul-mouthed grandfather, whose outrageous behavior recently got him evicted from his retirement home. When Olive is invited to complete in the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant in far-off California, the family piles into their rusted-out VW bus to rally behind her - with riotously funny results.”

By far my favorite dysfunctional family movie ever. It is funny and sweet and sad. The family is on some hard times but agree to all take Olive to the pageant. With the prospect of selling Richard’s motivational success program along the way. But of course nothing is ever that easy as their van breaks down and now they have to push it in order for it to start. And it just gets worse from there.

But they grow together and become closer than before. And I’m trying really hard not to give spoilers but it’s proving difficult. On all of these really. So I’ll leave it at this. It really is a very good dark humor film. Abigail Breslin is adorable in it as Olive. She stole the show. And her dance routine at the end. I would highly recommend watching the whole movie instead of looking up the routine online; though I won’t stop you if you do. It makes its impact so much better.

[some1foundme]

Linstead Fic: More Than Meets the Eye

Title: More Than Meets the Eye

Author: Some1FoundMe

A/N: For those of you who left comments, thank you so very much for your feedback.  Hopefully this chapter makes up for the fact that the first chapter was just a more in-depth look at the episode from Jay’s POV rather than an actual post-ep.

Read on AO3 or ff.net

Knocked the Family Right Out – Part 2

He’s nearly given up on her by the time the knock comes at his front door. 

“Hey.”

The smile on her face is forced, guarded, and he hopes that – as he holds the door open for her – she’s here to talk.  Her eyes fall to his bare chest, to the sweats hanging low on his hips, and the shift in her expression is miniscule.  But he still sees it. 

“How’d it go at the Cliffords’?”

Erin shuffles heavily to his couch and drops onto it, head falling back as a sigh escapes her.

“It was a relief, you know?  Telling that little girl that we caught the bastard that did that to her… It was worth the trip.”

He takes the seat beside her.  She immediately moves closer.  Her head falls to his shoulder and he wraps an arm around her.  Her eyes still closed, she visibly slumps against him, their bodies pressed together from head to toe.  She settles.  Relaxes.  And there’s a flare of pride that swells in his chest at knowing that he can help her, that she’s comfortable enough with him to let her guard down. 

“I expected you a while ago.”

She huffs softly.

“I know.  I just – I- “

He turns and presses a kiss to her forehead.

“It’s okay.  I was just worried.”

She doesn’t apologize for worrying him.  Inching closer, her small cool hand slides across his chest until she’s wrapped around him.  He doesn’t question her.  Doesn’t push.  He knows better.  He’s experienced enough of his own trauma.  Faces his own demons daily.  This case affected her on a deeply personal level, the ones with the kids usually do, and he can’t blame her.  They’d all taken this one to heart because the animals disturbed enough to rape an innocent little girl deserved worse than jail time.  At least Hanley’s dead.  The sick fuck.  Between what he’d done to Carolyn Clifford and what he’d tried to do to Erin.  Jay doesn’t regret for a second pulling the trigger.

They go to bed with very little fanfare.  He leads her into his bedroom and helps her out of her clothes, pulling one of his t-shirts over her head gently before brushing loose tendrils of hair from her face.  He can’t deny that he would love nothing more than to make love to her, to do what he can to chase away that last bit of tension that lingers in her frame, but that isn’t why she’s here.  She burrows beneath the heavy blankets on his bed and he crawls in next to her.  She’s in his arms immediately with her face buried in his chest, her warm breath ghosting across his skin.  Her exhaustion is evident in the way that sleep claims her almost immediately and it only take a few minutes for him to follow her under.

The sharp sting in his cheek wakes him abruptly.  He blinks into the darkness for a moment, awareness slamming into him the moment he hears the soft whimpers from the woman beside him.  He sits up quickly and angles himself so that he’s leaning over her.  He doesn’t touch her right away, he doesn’t want to startle her, and he keeps his weight off of her as much as possible.  She’s thrashing slightly, her head rolling on the pillow, her chest heaving.  The nightmare that she’s enveloped in doesn’t want to let her go.

“Erin.  Erin, come on, wake up.  Babe, you’re safe.  It’s alright.  Wake up.”

A distressed sound leaves her and he feels it like a knife to the chest.  It’s clear that she’s terrified.  That whatever images her mind has conjured in sleep are almost too horrible to bear and he can’t sit by and watch her suffer any longer.  He knows firsthand what kind of damage those nightmares will do to a person.  He’d barely survived his own when he’d come home. 

Carefully and with a steady hand, he brushes the strands of damp hair from her face.  His fingers travel along her jaw and down her neck, gently, reverently, until he can wrap them around her shoulder.  He shakes her, only a little, just a tiny movement, and calls her name again.  She doesn’t come out of it, not right away, but her thrashing slows, her body stills, and he knows that he’s getting through to her.  He squeezes her shoulder again, rubbing his thumbing soothingly along the dip in her collarbone.  The changes in her breathing alleviate some of his worry.  She’s no longer panting, no longer gasping for breath, and even though it’s still too rapid to be considered normal, it makes him feel better.

“Erin.”

Her eyes blink open slowly, those golden brown eyes that convey so much, that look right through him most days, look up at him in confusion.

“What?  Wh – what’s wrong?”

Her voice is strained, a combination of sleep and the lingering remains of her nightmare, and he sighs.  He wraps her in his arms, drawing her close, and rolls until he’s on his back with her lithe body sprawled on top of him.  She’s tense, stiff, in his embrace for a long moment before she finally relaxes.

“You were dreaming.”

It’s Erin’s turn to sigh.  She burrows closer and he knows that she’s trying to hide from the conversation but he isn’t going to let her.  In his first few months after deployment when his own nightmares had been awful, talking about them had been the most difficult thing.  And while he certainly hadn’t thought so at the time, he knows now that, as difficult as it had been, it had actually helped him move on.  Talking had helped him heal.

“Today wasn’t the first time that I – that I’ve been in a situation like that.”

Her confession doesn’t surprise him as much as he thinks that it should.  He knows a little about her past, about the kind of kid she’d been when Hank had taken her in.  She’d done a lot of questionable things and she’d spent her time with some shady fucking people.  He has no doubt that her life had been threatened before.  Hell, he’s seen it happen on the job more than once.  But there’s a pit in his stomach telling him that that isn’t what she means.  She isn’t referring to Hanley’s knife at her throat.

“I was fourteen.  This guy that Bunny was dating he – he brought her drugs one weekend.  They were both on a bender.  Spent two days nearly unconscious on our couch.  Well, Bunny did.  Jack, he … he had bouts of lucidity.  And he had it in his head that because I was there, I was free game.  It was Sunday morning and I came out of the bathroom and he … he cornered me before I could get back to my room.  He grabbed me, t-touched me.  I fought as hard as I could to get away.  Eventually in all of my screaming, my mom came to.  She stopped him before anything could really happen, pulled a gun on him actually.  I locked myself in my room after that.  That was only a few weeks before Hank found me.”

The rage that he feels isn’t quite like anything that he’s experienced before.  He’s been afraid for her, has worried like hell over her wellbeing and her state of mind, but this unbridled desire to hunt down this bastard and put a bullet between his eyes is new.  He wonders if she’s ever told this story to Voight.  If she has, then Jack whatever-his-last-name-is, is most likely dead or in jail already.

“The nightmare?  That’s what it was about?”

She shrugs.

“I could’ve been that girl.  I could’ve been Carolyn Clifford.  I got lucky.”

He shakes his head, thankful that she isn’t looking at him, and wonders how in the world she can talk about her childhood like this.  Voight and Camille taking her in was definitely the best thing that ever happened to her.  Before that… before that he isn’t sure how she survived.  He isn’t sure that he would have.

“If you ever need to talk about it, if a case ever hits too close to home for you, I’m here, Erin.  You can talk to me.”

She nods and he feels her breath ghost over his bare skin as she sighs again.  He lifts his hand to her head, his fingers combing slowly through her hair.  It doesn’t take long for sleep to claim her again but this time he doesn’t follow.  Instead he finds himself staring up at the darkened ceiling of his bedroom saying a silent prayer to a god that he isn’t sure he believes in, thanking him for the incredible woman in his arms.