#ITS TAKEN TONS OF LIVES. ITS ILLEGAL BECAUSE IT KILLS

[taboo-night-xxxx]

i dont think i need to say this here bc tumblr is tame but m just gonna. put it out there bc of the experience i just had !

if u support [checks notes] the legalization of drugs. block me rn

[smytherines]

I often wonder if I would feel differently about The Staircase Scene if I had seen SAF when it first came out in 2016. The first time I saw it was probably around October or November of 2023, and like... the context is different now.

Whatever we want to say about the personal story arcs of these characters (and I know I'm in a tiny minority because, for me, killing Owen does not constitute a satisfying close to Curt's arc, that's totally fine), there is the very real issue of the sociopolitical context that this scene takes place within- both in their time (1961) and in ours.

One very cool thing about SAF is that, in order to understand these characters better, a lot of younger queer folks end up learning about the Lavender Scare, about Executive Order 10450- which officially prohibited gay people from working for the US government- for the first time. That's an incredible, precious thing to me. Yay queer history! It's important!

The show itself never addresses the fact that both the US and UK governments had very public, very brutal campaigns equating homosexuality with communism with being a traitor to your country. But if you want to understand these characters, and especially write fanfiction, you're really incentivized to teach yourself some fundamentally important aspects of queer history.

In the 54 Below concert, before singing Not So Bad, Brian Rosenthal talks about how when they were developing the show they thought N@zis were more or less a thing of the past, that they're fully aware of how differently that song might be taken now after an escalation into a more open embrace of fascism in the US. And they're absolutely right about that.

But I think that's also perhaps an issue with the staircase scene, or at least it is for me. Obviously homophobia and transphobia were not "fixed" in 2016, they were still massive problems resulting in violence and discrimination and brutality. But institutionally, at least, you could look at the situation and point to some things that were gradually getting better.

In 2016 trans youth in my state were legally allowed to receive gender affirming care. In 2024, they are not. It's not that homophobia and transphobia went away and then came back, but there was a very real resurgence of the use of the media and of governmental power to inflict pain on queer & trans people and chase them out of public life- bathroom bans, gender affirming care bans, Don't Say Gay laws, trying to make drag illegal, equating queer and trans people with pedophilia. There has been a big cultural shift back towards the same kind of violent governmental moral panic that our beloved Curt & Owen would have lived under.

Whatever we want to say about these characters and this story (and there's tons of fascinating debate there), there is still the base of a gay man killing his ex-lover ostensibly to protect US foreign policy objectives. Killing the man he loves- or loved, at least- to protect the secret that he is gay. And that hits different for me now.

I watch that scene and it is heartbreaking on a personal level, but its also heartbreaking as a queer person who just wants to scream "your government will destroy you for being gay, you don't owe them shit!"

Owen tries to explain that the surveillance network is happening, that the future won't wait for Curt to catch up. Barb has been saying she's working on the same thing for the US government the entire show, but Curt just kept ignoring her. And I just want to say "Curt, honey, what do you think your government is going to do to you with that surveillance system? Do you think you're useful enough to keep around even though you have sex with men? Because I promise you they will not care."

It feels tragic to me because on some level it seems like Curt would actually be safer with another gay man having control of all the world's secrets than he will be if the government he has dedicated his life to gets their hands on that same technology.

And the thing is, having a tragic ending doesn't make the show bad. This show is great. This scene is spectacular. It makes you think, it makes you feel things, it does all the stuff that great art is supposed to do. Absolutely none of what I'm saying here is meant to denigrate the show as a musical or a story or even a queer story. I hope it doesn't come off as me saying "actually this show is bad," because I don't feel that way at all.

Clearly I live and breathe this show. That's why I spend all my time on here analyzing every scene, every frame, every facial expression. I love this show so much that I can't help but deconstruct it and look at all its component parts- including the sociopolitical context both now and in 1961. Because that context, despite never being explicitly mentioned, is important to our understanding of these characters.

I love these characters so much that it's actually pretty difficult for me to watch A2P7 anymore, because the staircase scene is so emotionally devastating to me that it's hard to try to swing back into that more comedic tone (even though Spy Dance is a certified bop).

I'm not even sure what my point is with all of this, other than to say that Spies Are Forever is a show that is great and fun and funny as written/performed, and becomes gradually more emotionally devastating when you rewatch it or when you understand the subtext of it. When you can engage with the themes of gender and sexuality, surveillance and technology, trauma and trust, and tease out even more satisfying theories around this show.

So yeah. It's a musical. It's about spies.

[greensimp]

Gyutaro Reader Insert AU Idea #2

Gyutaro AU: Merpeople/Sirens

Gyutaro would be an eldritch horror of a siren. I would say he’d weigh about two tons, despite being extremely boney. What he lacks in fat he makes up for in bone density and muscle. He’d be long and sinewy, probably close to the length of a school bus or two.

Despite his size, he’s as close to the perfect predator as they come. His long and flowy, yet severely damaged green fins allow him to disguise himself as kelp or pollution. He’s a master at the stalk and kill method of hunting, but even better at the wait and ambush. The only indication that you’d get that you’ve entered his territory is a pair of glowing, orange and red eyes stalking you from afar. And if you’ve seen those eyes, you’re as good as dead already. The best you can do for yourself is pray to whatever god you believe in to make it a fast and painless death.

He'd loathe humans, because they’d be the reason he would be one of the last of his kind. They’re the reason his sister was taken from him. In a world where sirens exist, it would be a no-brainer that humans would exploit the hell out of them like they do other sea life. Gyutaro is thin because his normal food sources have been decimated due to bycatch and overfishing. His body is in constant survival mode, and he’s had to struggle his way out of countless fishing nets over his near century of life. Said fishing nets are the reason why his once beautiful fins are full of holes and tears.

His main motivation is vengeance. He’ll rip apart any human he sees in the water. Ume won’t be avenged until the human race goes extinct.

There have been sightings of him, although it is very rare to capture a picture of him and live to tell the tale. As well as the camera that took the picture (there are quite a few polaroid cameras, phones, and other picture-taking devices he’s collected as trophies over the years). There’s even a surprisingly accurate oil-painting a sailor did of him half a century ago.

While siren hunting had been made illegal internationally, that doesn’t stop poachers from trying to hunt him down. He’s like the ultimate prize. The last siren. What most of them are unprepared for is just how unnaturally powerful and large he is for his kind. He can tear through a fiberglass hull like paper with his claws, which is exactly the kind of boats most poachers take into the open water to avoid getting caught by the coast guards, navies, or even the satellites.

Despite all of his horrifying characteristics and behaviors, he is said to have the most hauntingly beautiful call in the entire ocean. Not much is known about what siren calls mean, but it is most likely a song of grief. If you hear it, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s near, as the sound waves can reach thousands of miles from its source. However, no matter where you are in proximity to him, his call will almost certainly bring even the toughest of men to tears. Nothing can match the decades of loneliness Gyutaro has had to endure.

How will the reader win the heart of this Gyutaro? What will they have to do to even survive two seconds next to him? Once again, that will be up to YOU for now.

If this post gets 200 likes, I’ll share the Gyutaro siren designs I drew a couple of days ago that gave me to inspo for this AU idea.

[thewertsearch]

You are always up to your nook in the newest and hottest games. It is hard to walk around the place without squishing them. Whenever that happens you are screwed, and you have to grow a new one from scratch. Or just pirate it you guess.

See, here’s the thing. I know the idea of ‘pirating’ a grub is probably just a throwaway line, but the implications here are killing me.

Like, ok, a game is stored on a grub, which is an ambiguously living thing. These creatures serve as biological storage, which you have to grow yourself. Presumably this at least saves on cost, since you can cultivate these grubs in your own home.

But apparently if you pirate a grub, you don’t have to grow it. How the hell does that work? Is he physically ordering these illegal, black-market game grubs to his house, or is he loading a pirated copy of the game onto an already existing grub? Why does he need to pirate the game again, then, can’t he just load it from a backup? Why grubs, Alternia?

Ahem.

GC: OBVIOUSLY YOU WERE GOING TO SET UP RED AND BLUE TEAMS COME ON TA: you dont know what im going two do, stop being as though you can read my mind. TA: its not a power you have, your strengths are being blind and tricking people about stuff.

Terezi essentially does read minds, but it’s not a power - she does it the hard way, with actual logic and intuition.

That, or she’s got some Seer of Mind magic working to her advantage - but I like the former explanation better. I love superpowers, but you have to give your characters actual skills, too, or they’re just a vessel for your worldbuilding.

GC: HOW EXACTLY ARE WE SAVING THE WORLD? TA: i dont know yet. TA: i just know what ive seen in my visions. TA: that the world will end and our whole race dies and this is how we save it.

So, which untrustworthy well of knowledge is our latest oracle drawing from?

The Horrorterrors generally dispense whispers, but there’s no reason they couldn’t also show him images. We don’t know what they’re capable of.

As I mentioned before, Sollux could be awake on Prospit. This is just the kind of ‘technically true but misleading’ stunt that those clouds would pull. 

He could be getting information from the ‘imminently deceased’ - aka, one or more of the millions of Alternians who are about to die by meteors. He could even be tapping the other Players for information, because, as he points out in a second, they’re all going to die, too.  

Whatever’s leading him, I don’t think he’s being quite as badly misled as I thought. Sollux is fully aware that the world is ending today, but he seems to be under the impression that Sburb can prevent or mitigate this somehow. 

In principle, he’s correct, in that it can save twelve of them, but it can’t save their entire race. Like - technically, yes, they could probably Paradox Clone the troll race back from the brink with Veil tech, but I really don’t think that’s sustainable. They don’t have a planet any more, for starters. 

No, Sollux is obviously missing a ton of context here. If he knew what was actually happening, he wouldn’t be facilitating it. 

TA: i am going two die. TA: i mean we all are. TA: but especially me. TA: i am going two get my ass served two me twofold.

I mean, he’s not wrong.

All the trolls are going to die, but all of them - save one - will survive, as well. It sounds like only Sollux will die for real.

He was alright when he was helping Terezi and GA out, so he was either resurrected, or his second death isn’t until much later. 

TA: but before i die, im going two go blind like you. TA: it has two happen like that. TA: im not sure why, but i think its like... TA: fulfilling some requirement for a true prophet of doom.

If Sollux isn’t a Space Player, by the way, I think he’s a Doom Player. The guy’s all about doom, which seems to hang over him like a dark cloud.

Prophet doesn’t match the single-syllable pattern of all the Classes we’ve seen, and the otherwise obvious Seer is already taken by the Mind Player. Like I said, it’s be a little too messy if Titles could double up like that, so I think he’s something else. 

TA: in order for the visions two be right, that has two happen, and the universe will make sure it will.

Poor Sollux. Knowing about the predestination doesn't make things much easier, does it? It doesn’t stop you looking over your shoulder, it just means you know exactly what you’re looking for. 

[hewhofightsbythesword]

precious cargo: part two - thomas shelby x Hispanic reader

“Family meeting. Now.” Thomas Shelby called out as he entered the Garrison’s snug.

At the sound of this voice, Aunt Polly could tell her nephew was once again up to no good. But then again when was he not? “Thomas Shelby has had an idea once again. Watch out.”

“Tommy, I’m not doing that again. I will not be made a fool for you. I said the last time was the last time and I meant it,” Finn stood his ground prematurely.

Ada scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. “Jesus Christ, Thomas. What the hell are you doing to our poor Finn?”

“What? No, not that,” Tommy waves off the youngest Shelby brother. “I’ve received a call all the way from America.”

“What the fuck do the Americans want from us, brother? What did you do?” Arthur accuses.

Tommy stands up and rubs his eyes in frustration. “Everyone fucking listen to me. No more interruptions. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can end this family meeting.” Silence filled in the room for a few seconds. “Now, as I was saying: I got a call from America, but it wasn’t the Americans. The Mexican mafia called, and they’re calling in a favor.” A big fucking favor, Thomas thinks to himself.

“You are just the gift that keeps on giving. First the Russians and now the Mexicans.” Polly shakes her head.

“What do we know about them? Can we even trust them?” Arthur asks.

Thomas ignores his aunt. “The Mexican mafia is ruled by the y/l/n family. They go by la familia. Recently, they started several expansions into America. The Don’s people called me some nights ago about his daughter, y/n.”

“y/n y/l/n. I know her,” Michael says.

Tommy doesn’t bother to look at his cousin, slightly annoyed he knew more than he did. “And what is it that our Michael knows that we don’t, eh?” Thomas keeps a stoic stare at the wall in front of him.

“We met during one of my business trips to New York. She recognized our name, said her family owned some businesses near the ones we do. We never kept in touch, but I’ve heard stories about her.”

“What kind of stories?” Ada asked, half afraid for the answer. Just like everyone else in the room, she knew how much her big brother could never resist a challenge that guaranteed some danger. Add in a pretty face and Thomas was lost.

“I hear she’s taking over after Don, not the eldest brother, Santiago.” Arthur feeling this Santiago’s pain from an ocean away stood to pour himself a drink in hopes to mask his suffering.

“And you know what, Tommy?” Michael continued to press him, “She reminded me of you.”

“That’s enough.” Polly places a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Go on, Thomas.”

“She had a run in with some Italians in New York, more specifically Enzo Changretta.” The atmosphere in the room stiffens. “She alone has received the black hand and needs protection.”

“Why have these meetings if you already very clearly have made up your mind?” Polly spits.

“So I can say to all of you that y/n y/l/n is on her way as we speak.” Sounds of disapproval rang out through the snug.

“Fuck, Tommy. This isn’t some backstreet gang. It's the Changretta's. Look around you. John is not here. Michael almost died. You almost died. What can the Mexicans do for us that we can’t already do for ourselves?” The voice of reason called out.

“I have me reasons.” He takes a heavy drag from his cigarette.

“And of course you won’t share what any of them are with any of us.” Ada crosses her arms against her chest.

“La familia are not the kind of people we want to owe favors to, Polly,” he points to her, “It’s better if they owe us. If they owe us, we control the narrative and we have ourselves a new ally. As we all know, allies come in short supply these days.”

“And?” Polly eggs on.

“And they’re fucking rich.” Michael reveals before Tommy can.

“And they’re fucking rich,” Tommy echos, “The y/l/n’s own the majority of their country’s petroleum businesses. They help supply America, except the Italians are now threatened.”

“Who the hell made it your job to play the middleman?”

“It is not my job. It is our investment.” Thomas, having enough of his family’s obvious disapproval, stands up to leave for the night. “y/n y/l/n is coming and we will all protect our investment.”

Over the next few days, all Tommy could think about was you and about your family. He wondered how you would look, how you would talk. Were you any different from the few Americans he has met? Thomas does not recall a time he has met someone from Mexico. You were obviously smart; smart enough to move large amounts of petroleum from your home country to America. His sources told him it was all your doing, all your strategy. He couldn’t help but to think if perhaps Michael was right. Was there some truth to his teasing? She reminded me of you, he remembers.

And of course Thomas Shelby wouldn’t be Thomas Shelby if he didn’t entertain the idea of the y/l/n’s making up a story to take his ever-growing empire. The chances were low, sure, but not zero.

Thankfully Tommy no longer had to torture his mind with any more questions and hypothetical situations about his soon-to-be visitor. Today was the day y/n arrived in Birmingham. His men would be there for your arrival so that they could escort you to Arrow House. Tommy figured only the best for his best investment.

Upon your arrival, the first thing Tommy Shelby noticed about you was your demeanor. You walked in his home with your head high and squared back shoulders. There was not a single trace of worry or fear coming from your face, at least none Tommy could clock. Anyone who could see you would not know there was a mafia hit on your head. But then again, they would also not know you were soon to head your own mafia. When he first heard of you, he didn’t know you were rich. When he did know, he didn’t know exactly by how much. Standing before him, all Tommy knew was y/n y/l/n was rich by a fuck ton. That was just the immediate aura you gave off.

Maids automatically surrounded you, taking your luggage and coat. Even through the crowd surrounding you, your eyes could be found fixating one thing only. Blue. So much fucking blue, you think to yourself. Your eyes never left who you could only assume was Thomas Shelby. And you knew you would not get far in this unfamiliar country with only assumptions. As soon as the crowd cleared up, you decided to take initiative.

“Hello, you must be Thomas Shelby. I’m y/n y/l/n.” He shakes your outreached hand.

“Please, call me Tommy.” His deep voice rings out, demanding to be heard as always.

“Tommy,” you say, trying out the name on your tongue. Tommy kept his eyes on you and no other words were exchanged, a comfortable silence falling upon the two strangers. “Tommy?”

“Yes?” He manages to croak out.

“Do you think I could have my hand back?” Tommy still enveloped his rather large hand in your small one.

Quickly, he drops your hand in embarrassment as if he had just been burned. Tommy couldn’t help but notice the warmth of your palm leaving him rather fast. He has met many rich people. Too many, his Aunt polly would say. But none like him. None like you.  

“Why don’t we go to my office and have a drink. We can talk there.”

Tommy wasn’t one to show any facial expressions, you soon realize, but it was all in his words. It was in that moment you knew Tommy Shelby didn’t like to ask for things, even as simple as a drink. He demanded. In your world full of coke, guns, and sicarios, you were used to being the one to make the demands. Given almost any other circumstance, you would have taken action against it, but not now. Not to Tommy. All your feet could do was follow him.

“Tell me everything leading to the black hand.” He demands again as he hands you a glass of whiskey. “What do the Italians want with you other than have you dead?”

“They want what’s mine,” you simply say as you hand him the black hand letter.

“The petroleum businesses?” He asks. His eyes skim over Enzo’s signature.

“That’s not all. We also deal guns in large quantities to our allies. For the past year or so we’ve moved both the legal and illegal side of our businesses to America. We cross state lines where the Italians reside. At first, we were warned. Didn’t listen. They tried to rough up a few of my men. Didn’t work. None of it will work,” you say that last part a little more to yourself than Tommy.

There was something eerie about receiving the black hand. To you, it was all bad vibes. It was the malo ojo. It carried evil energy and a haunting presence. This was something Tommy knew too. Although he would have different opinions on what it carried, it was all the same feeling in the end: eery.

“Are you armed?” He goes to reach for one of his cabinets behind his desk.

“No, I have men for that. The sicarios do the killing.” He slides the gun across the desk. All you could do was stare at the weapon and so could Tommy. His eyes would switch to the gun, then to you, then back to the untouched gun. “We’re living in modern times, Tommy.”

“You are free to conduct the appropriate business here as long as you have that gun and my men too.”

“I just said I have my own men. I don’t need your Peaky boys following me too. Thomas, it was never about your protection.”

Tommy’s eyebrow slightly rises, starting to feel irritated. The motive was now clear to Tommy. It was never about the Peaky Blinders protection but about the land. The y/l/n’s had the potential of being a superpower to the world because of their oil. If they really wanted to, they could knock a few Italian heads on the way. They just couldn’t do it in America. The American government was so different and so were its people.

The Yankees still believed in their government and what was right and what was wrong. And killing was wrong. The Mexicans were too gruesome, too brutal. All you and your family wanted to do was eliminate the threat, and its name was Enzo Changretta. Mexico would want the whole family, women and children alike. In Birmingham, the cops were dirty; all paid by and loyalty to Thomas Shelby. You knew the value of loyalty, thus you knew the value of Birmingham. It wasn’t a city. It was fucking empire, and in his empire killng was allowed.

“You want to draw them out and kill them on my land.”

You down your drink in one large sip, letting out a soft sigh. “Sometimes, Tommy,” so we’re back to Tommy, “killing is a kindness.”

Michael was wrong. y/n was not like Tommy Shelby. Right then and there, he decided you were an extension to himself. You were Tommy Shelby.

“You are still in clear danger.” He yells out to you as you leave his office and the gun behind.

“And I still prefer my bullets over your razor blades.”

It was never about your protection.

Tag List: @apollonshootafar

[jawabear]

If you are doing requests right now can I request either 15. “It’s just a scratch” “you got stabbed” “it didn’t go that deep though” or 16. “Oh well! Thank god they missed anything vital! It’s not as if you lost a ton of blood or anything” with either Javi or Frankie? Only if you have a chance to get to it. Thank you so much! I love your writing!

Germany 2012 (Frankie Morales x Reader)

Not my GIF

A/N: Once again, I’m so sorry that this took so long Anon! But I hope you like it! I went with Frankie because I had this idea for a while and I haven’t written for him in a bit. I hope that’s okay. I have no idea how the army works so it’s probably in correct and notice how I didn’t really used a lot of Tom because F that guy. Readers code name is “Wolfgang” don’t ask me why, I just like it. But it doesn’t play a massive part so you can read it as something else if you want :) hope you enjoy! Sorry for any mistakes. Stay safe.

Genre: angst, fluff, smut

Warnings: fem!reader, injury detail, stabbing, violence, guns, usual army things, mentions of a fear of heights, body self doubt, smutty things, but it’s Frankie so it’s soft

Summary: a mission in Germany back in 2012 set the beginning for their relationship after an unfortunate event

Bullets were flying everywhere from both sides. The men they were after greatly outnumbered, six against what they gather to be 15 or maybe more. All heavily armoured and holding machine-guns that seems to have infinite ammo.

The mission had started out normal for them. An easy recon mission. All they had to do was check the area to find the guy that was dealing in Illegal weapons trading, only to enter if it was clear. As if they were going to follow that, regardless of if it were clear or not they would still go in to look for the guys, find out the information about who he is selling to and then proceed to kill him. But things quickly turned south when one of the guards spotted Santiago as he got into position. The guard had run inside the house yelling that there were intruders and then the shoot out started.

“Fuck, we’ve got to get to higher ground to take these guys down! From this cover we can’t shoot them, we’re to low down” Redfly said down the radio.

“Any one see an vantage point?” Santiago asked.

(Y/N) looked around and spotted a sturdy looking tree to her left, if she could climb it and find a good branch she could take them out easily with her sniper to allow them in. “I’ve found a tree” she reported through her radio “I can get up there and take them out”

“Do it Wolfgang” Ironhead said, she knew that he had nodded but obviously she couldn’t see it.

“Wolfie, you sure?” Catfish asked as he grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving.

She smiled at him and nodded “I’ll be fine Cat” she assured him “cover me”

“You got it” he nodded, releasing her. He continued his shooting and she ran over to the tree he had spotted. She examined it for a moment and began climbing it to perch on the thickest branch she could spot. She lost her footing a few times which strained her wrists as she gripped at its rough bark. She ignored the scratches on her hands and aching in her wrists as she pulled herself up into the branch.

She pulled her sniper from her back and held it in position looking down the scope and lining it up with each member of the gang they were after. Bullet after bullet she shot and they dropped like flies to the ground. “Nice shooting Wolfgang” Pope complimented. She could hear the branch below her crack the longer she stayed there, she tried to pick up her pace but the cracking was starting to worry her.

“The front is clear” (Y/N) spoke down the radio “Redfly, Benny, you’re good to make your approach” she said.

“Making our approach” Redfly told them.

“Cat, Pope, you’ve still got a few ahead, I’ll try and take them out but-“ before she could finish the brach broke out from under her. She was quick to grab the smaller brach above her, her legs gripping the thick truck of the tree “shit” she muttered.

“Shit? Wolfgang what happened?” Catfish asked frantically down the radio.

“The branch snapped” she looked down, she was quite the way up. Her heart pounded against her chest. In all the action she hadn’t realised how far up she really was. She was scared of heights. “Fuck” she panted, her voice shaky as she tried to pulled herself up. She suddenly felt faint, her hands sweating. She managed to pull her self up into the other branch, she grabbed another one above her and tried to steady her breathing as she scoped the men who were still blocking the path for Pope, Catfish and Ironhead. But she couldn’t help but think of how large the distance from the ground to her was. Her hands shaking, she struggled to get a clear shot. “G-guys, I can’t get a clean shot” she said, her voice still shaking “I’m-I’m to h-high up”

“Don’t worry Wolfgang, we got it” Benny cut in. Multiple gun shots were heard and she guessed that the last of the guards on the outside had been taken down.

“Pathway clear, heading into the house” Pope confirmed.

“(Y/N), stay where you are” Cat’s soft voice came through her ear.

“O-okay” she stuttered with a nod she knew he couldn’t see.

He was soon standing at the bottom of the tree “(Y/N), jump” he ordered as he held out his arms.

“Are you crazy?” She questioned him.

“Trust me (Y/N), I’ll catch you, I promise” he assured her. She swallowed thickly and looked down at him. It was such a long way down. She regretted climbing up that damned tree. She gripped the branch tighter in her hand “(Y/N), I swear to you. I’ll catch you”

She took in a deep breath and tried to drop her self down a little bit so the jump wasn’t as high but as she made her decent her foot sleep as she lost grip of the tree and fell. She let out a soft scream as she fell, but she fell against something soft, something that definitely wasn’t the ground.

(Y/N) opened her eyes that she didn’t realise were closed in the first place. Her face pretty much pressed against Frankie’s who lay below her, his arms securely round her waist “I told you I’d catch you” he smiled to her.

“Are you okay?” She asked him softly, her hand brushing a few leaves out of his hair.

“Yeah, are you?” He asked in the same tone, his eyes flicking between hers.

“Mhm” She hummed as she nodded.

“Alright guys, enough playing around, get in here” Pope’s stern voice came in their ears.

The two laughed softly and she rolled off him. They both stood and made their way into the large house. They all regrouped in the large living room that was completely empty, they made sure she was okay and she assured them that she was.

“No cars have left since we got here and we knew he was here. He’s not among the dead so he has to be in here somewhere. He’s clearly hiding” Ironhead summarised the game plan “find him, secure him, we get the information and we take him out”

“Right” everyone nodded and went their separate ways throughout the house being careful not to make a sound.

The floors seemed to creak loudly due to the silence through out the large house, one small noise seemed to echo in every room. She gripped her pistol tightly in her hand as she scanned every room she passed, making sure to check for any off looking areas or enclosed spaces that he could be hiding in.

She made her way into what appeared to be one of the many bedrooms. She looked under the bed and between the sheets, and he wasn’t there. She looked inside the walk in wardrobe and he wasn’t there either. There was another freestanding wardrobe on the other side of the room. She thought it was strange and cautiously walked over to it, but he wasn’t there either. She let out a huff and turned to walk out of the room but then see heard wood scraping across the floor. She turned sharply and saw their target emerge from behind the wardrobe.

Before she could reach for her gun she head the flicking of a knife and the target charged at her. (Y/N) was a master in hand-to-hand combat but she was too caught of guard to gain her composure and fight back. The knife went straight through her side making her groaned.

As he charged at her, his shoulder rammed right into her chest knocking her back wards but she instinctively grabbed hold of him pulling with words to her and she stumbled backwards into the landings barrier. Breaking through the weak wooden beams, the two tumbled down to the floor below them, she landed on an awkward angle, her arm was definitely out of place but she tried to ignore it.

She managed to flip them over and climb on top of him. (Y/N) held him to the floor her hands wrapped around his neck and her knees trapping his arms, the knife long forgotten back upstairs.

“Guys, I got him” she spoke through the radio “by the door”

“Coming to you” Pope said.

She heard footsteps racing towards her and they all appeared, guns at the ready “nice job Wolfgang” Redfly complimented.

She got off him and pulled him up to his knees, Benny got behind him and tied his hands being his back. (Y/N) stepped away for a moment, she placed her hand on her side where the knife had cut into her, she knew it wasn’t going to kill her but it certainly wouldn’t do her any good if she left it bleeding out. She grabbed a bandage from her belt and lifted her shirt slightly, the others were too busy with the interrogation to notice her injury. She hissed in pain slightly as she wrapped the bandage around herself. It was at this point that she began to realise the pain in her arm. As well her wrists from climbing the tree. She grit her teeth and jumped slightly at the gun shot. A body hit the ground.

She looked at saw the Redfly had put a bullet in their targets head, none of them seemed bothered so she guessed they had got everything they needed. She pushed herself off the wall and stumbled a little bit.

“I think we’re good to go” Pope announced with a nod. Everyone else agreed and they soon left the house and made their way back to the large car they had arrived in.

She tried to hide her pain on the drive back but she could feel her blood seeping into the bandage and spreading. Her head fell back against the car and her hand went to her hip “You okay there Wolfgang?” Benny asked, Frankie snapped his head in her direction.

She lifted her head and gave him a soft smile “Yeah, I’m fine” she assured softly. She lifted her hand seeing it was stained red with her blood “just a scratch”

“That’s more then just a fucking scratch (Y/N)” Frankie stated firmly. He carefully lifted her shirt seeing it was almost black with blood, most of it drying already “Santiago, we need to hurry. (Y/N)’s hurt” he spoke down the radio to the driver.

“Right, on it” Santiago agreed.

“I’m fine Frankie” she strained, she jolted back slightly when his finger traced over her wound “I’m pretty sure it missed anything vital. It didn’t go that deep”

“Oh well! Thank god they missed anything vital! It’s not like you’ve lost a ton of blood or anything. Not like you’re going to bleed out here is it” he retorted sharply making her feel more guilty then she already did. He grabbed her hand and held it firmly against her side in hopes to slow the bleeding.

It didn’t take them long to get back to the safe house they had been assigned to. Frankie lifted her into his arms bridal style and brought her into the house, placing her on the sofa and lifting her shirt up further.

Ironhead took his place, taking over with cleaning her wound. All the others could do was watch. “Why didn’t you fucking say anything?” Benny asked angrily.

“By the time I realised we were already fucking leaving” she said back to him. A lie of course.

“But you had enough time to bandage yourself up!” Santiago yelled “you should’ve fucking said something”

She didn’t respond to them, she pressed her lips together and looked away from the to Will who had finished up with bandaging her now clean wound “luckily, you’re right. It did miss anything vital. You’re going to be fine Wolfie” he assured her.

“Thanks Will” she thanked him with a soft smile. She went to push herself up but used her damaged arm and it sent her right back down to her back. She whimpered and hissed at the strange pain that shot through her arm.

“What is it (Y/N)?” Frankie panicked as he came to her side next to Ironhead.

“I landed on my arm when I caught the bastard. Fell from the second floor to the first” she explained through gritted teeth.

They carefully pulled her up to a sitting position and Frankie ran his hand over her shoulder lightly feeling that it was dislocated. “We got to push it back in place” he said.

“Oh fuck” she sighed. The two boys swapped sides. Will put his hand onto her shoulder and Frankie grabbed her hand giving her something to squeeze when Ironhead popped her shoulder back into place.

“You ready?” Will asked her.

“Just do it” she said, her grip tightening on Frankie’s hand.

“Alright. 3...2...-“

“Shit!” She groaned out as he popped her arm back into place.

“There” Will said “should be back to normal now, just try not to move it to much for now”

“Thanks Will” She thanked him again. Always thanking him for something. She looked to Frankie and gave him a soft smile and released his hand. She stood, she looked to Pope and Benny who stood looking away from her, “I’m going to take a shower” she announced quietly as she left the room. She held her side as she walked down the hall into the bedroom she had been staying in the past two nights.

It was dark by the time she had showered, taking her time due to her injured arm and side. She hand re-wrapped the bandage around her side and began putting her clothes on when the door opened and Frankie walked in. He quickly backed out when he saw she was just in nothing but a pair of shorts. Luckily, her back was too him. His face was bright red. She let out a soft giggle and pulled on a loose fitting shirt before walking to her door and opening it.

“Hey Cat” she smiled. He jumped slightly and turned to face her.

“Sorry (Y/N), I should’ve knocked” he apologised.

“It’s okay” she chuckled and waved off his apology. She stepped to the side and allowed him into her room, closing the door behind him.

“How you feeling?” He asked her as he sat on the foot of her bed.

“Alright” she shrugged as she sat beside him “as good as one can feel after they’ve been stabbed” she laughed.

“I’m sorry for the way Santiago and Benny spoke to you earlier. And...I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you. We were just...scared. Scared that it could’ve turned out a lot worse then it did”

“It’s okay Frankie. I know they didn’t mean anything by it. I know you didn’t mean anything by it either. All of you were just looking out for me, and I greatly appreciate that. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but I thought I had it sorted..”

He rested his hand on her bare knee. “You shouldn’t have gone up that tree, you know you’re scared of heights”

She nodded “I know” she admitted “I guess...I was just so caught up in everything that...I just didn’t think. And I feel like I fucked everything up. Getting stabbed, dislocating my arm...falling out a fucking tree...”

“You didn’t fuck anything up” he told her “you got him. No mission is perfect, no one leaves without injury. Remember last time? Santiago crushed his ankle, we had to carry him back, but we got through it”

“Right” (Y/N) managed a small smiled “still, I’m sorry...” she rested her hand on top of his. He flipped his hand over and interlaced his fingers with hers “thanks for catching me” she looked at him, their eyes meeting.

“Of course, I’ll always be here to catch you” he whispered to her.

“Frankie...” she whispered back to him. They slowly leaned closer to each other and soon their lips were touching. She squeezed his hand and lifted her free hand to his cheek.

The kiss was sweet but it didn’t last long. They both pulled away from each other but their foreheads still touching. “(Y/N), I think we’ve been doing this silent dance for a while now”

She smiled at him and giggled “I’m glad we both acknowledge how terrible we are at hiding our feelings” He laughed at this. She bit her bottom lip and looked at him through her lashes “could we..maybe...” she ran her hand down his chest.

“Yes” He said all to quickly “but..I don’t want you to think-“

“I won’t think anything Frankie” she assured him with a soft kiss “we both acknowledged our feelings. And we both want this...right?”

“Yes (Y/N)” he nodded. She smiled and kissed him again. He removed his hand from hers and began working himself out of his jeans, sliding them down his legs and kicking them off. She pulled back from him and moved onto the bed. He stood and pulled off his shirt, dropping it to the ground. She bit her lip again as her eyes raked over his body. He was perfect.

She noticed how his chest was dotted with scars, reminded of missions. Most of them she could also remember, one of them was when he decided to be a human shield for her, jumping in front of a bullet that could’ve killed him.

He crawled onto the bed above her and kissed her again. Her hands found their way into his hair and gently tugged on the strands keeping his head against hers. She hummed against his lips and his tongue dragged across her bottom one. She opened her mouth and their tongues danced together. He ultimately won over her and his wet muscle explored her entire mouth, claiming it as his own. He then pulled back from her lips and trailed his kisses down to her neck. But she didn’t want that, she wanted to taste him more.

She pulled at his hair, his head leaving her neck and he smirked at her before pressing his lips to hers again. His rough hands slipped under her shirt and ran up her body, behind careful to miss her injury. He gently grabbed her breasts in his hands and she moaned softly into his mouth. His thumbs ran over her nipples and she whimpered. He was then quick in pulling of the shirt and tossing it to the floor.

She prevented him from leaving her lips, her eyes squeezing shut, she didn’t want him to see her. She wasn’t exactly proud of her body. She couldn’t see any beauty of it. “Baby,” he whispered against her lips “why won’t you let me see you?” He asked.

“It’s nothing nice to look at” she mumbled.

“Please...” he whispered, barely audible. She swallowed and released him from her arms. He pushed himself up to his knees. Now it was his turn to gaze on her body. He ran his fingers lightly over the few scars she had picked up in her career. Given time, he could probably recall how she got each and everyone. “You’re beautiful (Y/N)” he whispered down to her “so beautiful...”

He placed a gentle kiss to her lips and then moved his mouth to her nipples, bringing her left into his mouth while he rolled the other between his thumb and index finger. “Fuck Frankie” she whimpered “god, it feels so good to be touched again”

“When was the last time someone touch you like this (Y/N)?” He asked her, his lips trailing down her body, placing warm kisses over her stomach.

“M-maybe, about five years ago?” She guessed, she couldn’t really think straight. She had dreamed of having Frankie like this with her, and it was so much better then she ever imagined, she didn’t want to think about any of her past lovers, none of them mattered to her, the only person that mattered to her in that moment was the man above her who was loving every inch of her body.

“Well,” he muttered as he brought his lips back to hers, his fingers hooked under her panties and toyed with them for a moment “we can both end our five year streak” he smirked.

She nodded quickly and he slid back down her body, pulling her panties with him. He held her legs open before she could even try to close them from embarrassment. “You’re already wet” he commented with a smirk. She covered her face with her hands and let out a soft groan “baby,” he said softly as he pulled her hands from her face “let me see that pretty face. I want to hear every noise that comes from that pretty mouth” he placed her hands in his hair again and hooked his arms around her thighs.

He brought his mouth down to her wetness and nudged his nose against her a few times before dragging his tongue between her folds. She let out a moan as her head fell backwards “fuck” she whispered. He licked her slowly again and again. Each time she would have the same reaction but her eyes slid shut as she sunk into the feeling.

“You taste so good baby” he complimented “so delicious” she loved the way he looked between her legs. Licking her wetness as if she were his favourite flavour ice cream or something. As if he hadn’t eaten anything in years, five years.

“You feel so good baby...” she hummed as she dragged her fingers through his hair “making me feel so good...”

“Let me make you come” he mumbled.

“Yes...please” she whispered. He pushed his mouth against her and sucked harshly on her clit, his tongue throwing it side to side. She moaned and panted with every flick of his tongue, his hips rolling against his mouth. He removed one of his arms from her thigh, she whimpered when she felt one of his thick fingers press against her hole “F-Frankie” she stuttered, he hummed and slipped his finger inside her “fuck Frankie” she moaned and gripped his hair. He began pumping his finger in and out of her “wh-What fuck what if the g-guys h-hear?” She panted.

“They won’t baby, they’re drinking outside” he assured her, as if on cue a loud laugh erupted from outside. He slipped another finger into her and curled them inside her.

She groaned loudly and rolled her head back biting her bottom lip “oh baby” she moaned “I’m so close..”

“Hmm...come for me, Mi amor” he enticed her, his tongue attacking her clit. Her grip tightened in his hair, holding his mouth closer against her.

“Fuck fuck fuck” she cursed, her walls clenching around his fingers, his hips stuttering against him as she let out a shaky moan.

“So good...” he mumbled “so fucking good baby” her chest was heaving slightly as he pulled his fingers out of her, he lapped his tongue up her a few times. He moved his face from between her legs and trailed his lips up her body, this time only kissing her scars, his lips lingering on each mark. Frankie moved his face back to hers. He slipped his wet fingers into her mouth and she happily sucked on them while holding his wrist. “You’re so beautiful...you look so good after you come...”

“You made me feel so good..” she mumbled against his fingers. He pulled them out of her mouth and replaced them with his lips. Her hands came to rest on his cheeks “I want to feel you inside me baby...”

He nodded and she rolled him onto his back, climbing on top of him. She moved down his body and pulled down his boxers and threw them to the floor. She almost drooled at the sight of his length and how it was already dripping with pre-come. “Oh baby...” she whispered. Her tongue slid out of her mouth and licked over the tip of his length.

“Fuck...(Y/N)” he gasped. She took his length into her hand and began stroking him while sucking on his tip. “Baby, fuck, baby please...I just want to be in you” he begged softly.

She released him and straddled his waist. She positioned his length at her hole and slowly sunk down onto him. They both groaned at the feeling. Her hands were flat on his chest as she began to steadily bounce on him. “You feel so good Frankie...” she whimpered. He gripped her sides, just above her hips as he was weary of her injury.

“Shit, so do you baby” he groaned “so fucking tight”

She rolled her hips against him and he let out a loud groan. Her pace began to pick up and her nails dug slightly into his chest. Her breath came out in heavy pants, she took one of his hands and pulled it up to her throat. He slightly tightened his hand around her and a smile formed on her lips “so dirty” he growled “you like having my hand wrapped around your perfect neck baby?”

“Yes” she whispered, she groaned and gripped at him. He could feel her walls clenching around him, the squeeze made his head spin. “I’m going to come again...”

He flipped her so she was back on her back and he began to pound into her. She grabbed his wrist and choked out a moan of his name. He grunted with every thrust into her. “Make me come again...make me come around you” she panted breathlessly.

“I will baby, I’ll make you scream” she shivered at the deepness of his voice.

“Yes..” she whimpered. He slipped his free hand between their bodies and began to rub harsh circles on her clit “fuck!” She yelped, her back arching up, her chest hitting against his. “Fuck, fuck Frankie!” Her walls were pulsing around him, her face flushed red and her eyes beginning to water. “Fuck-I’m coming!”

“Yes baby, come for me” he grunted to her. Her nails dug into his wrist as she came, her head being thrown backwards. But his relentless pace didn’t stop, if anything he went faster. Tears began to slip from her eyes at the overstimulation and the lack of air in her lungs.

“Come Frankie, please come inside me” she whimpered. He thrust into her a few more times and released inside her, his hot come shooting into her.

“Fuck” he grunted. His hips stilled and he removed his hand from her neck and she drew in a sharp breath. His face fell into her neck.

She hummed, a smile on her face, her fingers gliding through his hair as he breathed heavily into her neck “a great way to end a five year streak” she giggled he just nodded to her “worth the wait...”

“Definitely” he mumble. He lifted his head from her next and placed a heavy kiss to her lips that slowly got softer as his breath came back. “Do you think..” he began, running his hand up and down her side “we could make this a thing?”

“Having sex?” She asked

“Well yes, but like...us...together”

“Together?” She smiled “you want to be with me?”

“Yeah..I really like you (Y/N). I think you’re amazing. You’re so beautiful and strong and you hold us all together. And I know that maybe it’s not a great time to get into a relationship but..I’m willing to try if you are”

She pulled him back down for a kiss and rolled him over so she was back on top. His arms wrapped around her waist and gently held her on top of his chest “I really like you too Frankie” she said as she stroked his cheek “I think we can make this work...I want to make this work...”

“I want to work too...but...we’ve been friends for years, I don’t want this to ruin it. Like, if something happened between us, I don’t want it to ruin our friendship”

She nodded and kissed him again “I can understand what you mean. Hopefully, nothing does happen to us, but if it does, I don’t think I could live without you in my life regardless of if we’re together or not. You’re my best friend Frankie, I think we can do this”

“I hope so. I’ve wanted to be with you for ages baby. I’ve wanted to hold you like this, feel you like this, I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first day we met”

“Please kiss me” he smiled and laced his fingers into her hair to hold her lips against his. Both of their hand now rested on his cheeks. She shifted slightly and felt his length move inside her. She giggled “I forgot you were still inside me baby”

“Me too, I was wondering why I felt so warm” she sat up but he desperate chased her lips by sitting up as well, his hands flattening on her back and kissing her again. “I never want to stop kissing you”

“Can you at least pull out of me?” She laughed. He groaned and shifted under her and pulled his length out of her letting out a harsh breath as he did. “Do you think we should tell the others?” She asked him, she rolled off him and led in her side, he too rolled over on his side, propping his head up on his hand.

“We probably should...” his eyes looked down her body and his hand grabbed lightly at her side, running his thumb over her skin. “But..I don’t know how they’ll take it. There are rules against this right? About dating within the army...”

(Y/N) hummed in agreement knowing he was probably right “How do you want to play this?” She asked quietly.

Frankie looked to the door of the room and thought for a moment. “Which ever way allows us to be together” he began before looking back to her “that’s the way I want to play”

04/02/21

Taglist: @linkpk88 @phoenixhalliwell @lunaserenade @harrys-stan (let me know if you wanted to be added to or removed from the list)

[fictionadventurer]

Top 5 unpublished stories (unfinished, in-progress, etc. yours or others' - things posted on tumblr fit, but not indie or traditional publishing)

To be clear, I’m limiting this to:

Works that have at least a partial scene drafted. If it exists only in outline or in idea form, it’s ineligible. There has to be some writing for me to reread and like.  

Stories that are not current WIPs.

So, in no particular order, here are five favorites that I’m fond of.

(Warning: Very Long Post)

1. Airship Sleeping Beauty.

In this world, parents buy fairy gifts for their children at birth. Most people are limited to two or three. Seraphina Crowne (please call her Sara) was gifted with twelve. Her impoverished parents had friends among fairy kind who were able to bend the rules to give this child enough gifts to survive in their harsh environment. Thus, Sara has everything from enhanced beauty and grace to strength and speed and musical skill, which makes her an unstoppable force of (super)nature. She loves a challenge and decides to support her parents by becoming a sailor on a flying sailing ship, where she rockets up through the ranks.

Our POV character is Jack Sanders, who serves under her as second lieutenant. Jack has spent years struggling through the ranks with only one unsuitable fairy gift. The father who chose his gift was an insomniac, and gave his son the gift of helping people fall asleep. Surrounded by people with more useful skills like strength or navigation, Jack languished as a midshipman for years until he served under a captain who realized the greater uses of his gift. Jack hates Seraphina Crowne, assuming that she’s the daughter of a rich man who has enough money to bend all the fairy gifting rules for his precious princess.

As they travel through a tropical land, they run into many adventures, and Jack starts to respect Sara. He learns that she comes from a much less privileged background than he’d assumed, and they slowly become friends. Then one day, they’re taking a day of shore leave on a flying island when they get into a fight with some local ruffians. Sara falls over the edge and is impaled on one of the metal spikes that serve as a barrier between the island and the open sky. But she doesn’t die. She climbs up with a gaping hole through her torso, and the should-be fatal wound heals within hours.

Sara is forced to tell Jack her greatest secret--she actually has a (highly illegal) thirteenth gift. Her mother’s greatest friend among fairy kind was a fairy who was banished from the guild for giving gifts that were too powerful. This fairy wanted to make absolutely certain that her friend couldn’t possibly lose this child at a young age. Her gift to Sara was that she would die by being pricked on the spindle of a spinning wheel--which means that nothing else can kill her. Not disease, injury, old age--she is invulnerable as long as she stays away from spinning wheels, which is easy to do in this industrialized age when your average person has never seen such a thing.  

Jack promises to keep Sara’s secret and they return to the ship. But Jack isn’t the only one who heard her confession. There’s a local airship pirate who supports his business by adopting infants and getting them the illegal fairy gift of being able to transform into birds. One of these bird-children also heard Sara’s story, and they inform their pirate father, who make plans to attack the ship and take out its most powerful asset.

I never finished the story because the climax falls apart. The pirates were going to attack and stab Sara, but Jack is able to stall her death by putting her to sleep--and I could never figure out a way to save Sara without it feeling cheap and predictable and/or detouring into a completely different plotline that takes us away from the story. But I think of the rest of it as one of the best fairy tale retellings I never wrote.

2. Faraway House

This one is my middle-grade portal fantasy for adults. Mara meets Adrian, a mysterious, magical man whose house sits in a space that connects to three different universes--ours, one that has a more medieval fairy tale vibe, and one that’s more steampunky and involves lots of chimeras and people with animal traits. People in need of help tend to fall into this in-between space, and Adrian lets them stay at Faraway House for as long as they need.

There are tons of characters who drop into this story and provide little subplots, but my favorite part was an overarching plotline involving Adrian and Mara. Adrian, who was originally from the fairy tale world, was the evil magician of every childhood nightmare, a powerful man who did all sorts of horrible things to people. He became obsessed with immortality and eventually got it--at a great price to the rest of the world and to himself. He was caught, stripped of a lot of power, and left to live his long life and see the consequences of his actions. He spent a few centuries wandering the three different worlds and undergoing a ton of character development. As a newly humbled man, he was given charge of Faraway House, since his magical talents would be valuable to keep the area and the portals stable. Now, he’s the nicest, sweetest guy you’d ever want to meet. He rarely tells anyone about his past, and most people wouldn’t believe it if you told them.

Anyhow, after Mara’s been staying at Faraway for a long time, she and Adrian go through a portal that links to Adrian’s home universe. They soon realize that it links to his world several centuries in the past, when Evil Adrian was at the height of his power. And he’s very interested in Mara, because her adventures in Faraway have given her some kind of magic that will help him reach the Well of Immortality (or something like that--it’s a very nebulous, fairy tale idea). Unfortunately, taking this magic will kill Mara, so Older Adrian does all he can to save Mara. He succeeds and gets her back home. But his younger self is still on the lookout for her, and he eventually makes his way to Faraway, where he drains the magic and escapes, leaving Mara dying.

And I know this is the most cliche way to end this, but I like my stories predictable and cheesy, and Older Adrian ends up saving Mara by giving up his immortality, which kills him. It’s all very Disney-moving. The story ends with Mara being made the new caretaker of Faraway. And I give away the ending because I’m never going to write this, but I’m still fonder of this story than it deserves.

3. The Island

Anne of Green Gables meets fairy tales.

The Island is a place full of magic. Amphibious mermaids swim along its shores. A fairy forest fills the heart of the Island. Selkie live on the tiny islands off its shore. Pixies cause trouble in the farmyard’s back garden. It’s amazing to the relatively low-magic areas of the rest of the world, but it’s all part of daily life to the farmers and fishermen who live here.

The Fairy’s Daughters, a retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, had the most words written in it, but I think I’m fonder of some of the shorter sketches set a generation earlier that highlight little bits and pieces of the world. I started with the tale of Lizbet, an ordinary orphan girl living with her aunt who befriends Gideon, a half-fairy boy who eventually becomes the town’s magical doctor. Their friends include the widow lighthouse keeper who tries to adopt an orphan boy and is surprised to get Amy, who’s a girl--and a mermaid. There’s Captain Avery, a fierce-looking old sailor with a gentle heart and a surprising amount of experience with magical creatures. There’s Auberon, a fairy prince and eventually king who’s racist against humans, spends some of his younger years traveling in human lands to import human-made products, and becomes even more racist because of it.

I think my favorite thing in this universe are the sylphs. I borrowed Andersen’s idea of the “Daughters of the Air”, and made my sylphs into invisible, benevolent creatures who do good deeds for people, and can accomplish magical feats far beyond what any fairy can do. The sketch I reread most often is a scene where Amy, out for a swim in a storm, is rescued by a sylph who has taken a human (though translucent) form, and gets invited in for tea by Amy’s grateful friends.

It’s a fun universe to play in, but not one that I’m very good at finishing stories in, so I think it needs to stay as a pretty aesthetic and a fun sandbox.

4. Clever Anne

A retelling of “Kate Crackernuts” set in a non-magical Regency-esque setting. Anne is the beautiful, intelligent daughter of a duke. Kate is her bold, daring stepsister. They are deeply devoted to each other, but Kate’s mother hates Anne for being so much more beautiful than her daughter. She gets one of the servants to push Anne into the embers of the fire, leaving her face badly burned. Kate throws a veil over Anne’s face and gets her out of the house, insisting they’ll go off to make their fortune.

Anne was childhood friends with a young man who, through a convoluted succession crisis, unexpectedly finds himself on the throne. They stumble upon him in their travels, and find themselves able to help him by investigating the mysterious behavior of his half-brother, who resents that he was passed over for the throne and may be plotting something sinister. I was never able to figure out a good political-intrigue parallel to the “dancing all night with fairies” portion of the plot, so it never got written. The only really good scene I wrote from this story was the moment where Kate finds out about Anne’s injury and insists on leaving the house. But even in that one scene, their relationship is so strong and so vivid in my mind that I love their story even if I never finish it.

5. The Beast’s Mechanic

This is the one on the list that’s closest to being a WIP. I actually edited some of the beginning in March. It’s a sci-fi take on “Beauty and the Beast” set in a world where two planetary empires are at war. The war destroyed Monique’s father’s shipping business, forcing the whole family to move to a desert planet where they run a small spaceport. Monique is a top-notch mechanic, her sister Gemma is a pilot, Gemma’s twin Joanne stays at home to take care of the house and the two youngest siblings, and Leo is a seventeen-year-old rapscallion who is desperate to join the war as soon as possible.

Their world is upended when, for the first time in years, their mother wants to meet with them. A former starship captain, she and her husband disagreed over the war, and she left the family years ago to join the war effort. But now her starship is in for repairs and she wants to take some time to reconnect with her family. There’s some controversy among the family--do they really want to open these wounds again when they’ve finally moved on?--but Monique the peacemaker insists that, even though it’s impossible for the whole family to make the trip, her father should take the chance. He goes to meet his wife, but on the way there, his spaceship breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and he’s rescued by the Beast, an infamous cyborg outlaw. He also breaks important equipment on the Beast’s ship, and is only able to keep from being thrown out of the airlock by insisting that his daughter can fix it.

Monique nearly does, except that the authorities show up just before she’s done with repairs, forcing the Beast to take off with her in the ship. She comes to learn that the Beast is far from an evil criminal and has been helping people wronged by the government, and she helps him get home to his family (in the enemy empire), but her patriotic starship captain of a mother takes all of these events in very much the wrong light.

I’m very fond of this story for the ways that it avoids some of the usual BatB retelling tropes. There’s much more to this story than the romance, and little focus on the mystery of how the Beast became a Beast, and there’s much more focus on family. The Beast hasn’t even shown up yet, but I’m just incredibly fond of Monique’s family and their everyday working-class life on a desert planet. I hope I can make more progress on it someday.

[librarianbusdriver]

[Text made illegible by stabbing.]

When I really wanted to go to the bar. The bar... Big surprise. You sure spent a lot of time in bars. Ted: Well, that's just we did back then. Me, marshall and lily, Barney, We all used to hang out at this one bar Called mcclaren's. But then, one night... Why don't we go to mcclaren's? Let's go to mcclaren's. You guys talking to each other? Nobody's listening? What's wrong with mcclaren's? Mcclaren's is bore-snore. Ted, tonight we're going to go out. We're going to meet some ladies. It's going to be legendary. Phone five. Ted: I had no idea why I hung out with barney. You didn't phone five, did you? I know when you don't phone five, ted. Come on. We always to go to mcclaren's. Yeah, 'cause mcclaren's is fun. Mcclaren's is this much fun. What I'm offering is the chance to have... This much fun. See, you say that. You say it's going to be this much fun, But most of the time it ends up being this much fun. This much fun is good. It's safe. It's guaranteed. This hand gesture thing Doesn't really work on the phone, does it? No, it doesn't. ( Tires squealing ) Get in the cab. Marshall, you, too. I think lily and I are just going to... I understand. Get in the cab. Why can marshall say no? Uh, because he's getting laid. Consistently. Ted, ted, ted... You keep going to the same bar. You're in a rut. And I am a rut-buster. I'm going to bust your rut. It's not a rut, okay? It's a routine, and I like it. Ted, what's the first syllable in "rut-tine"? Peace out, suckers. All right, so what's this legendary plan? First we've got to pick someone up at the airport. Okay, I'm out of here. Estaban, doors. ( Doors locking ) Okay, we just do this one little thing, And the rest of the night is ours. Why do you have those suitcases, And who are we picking up? I don't know. Maybe her. Or her. ( Chuckles ) Wait, so when you said you were going To pick someone up at the airport, You meant you were going to "pick someone up" At the airport? Scenario: A couple of girls fly into town Looking for a fun weekend in nyc, When the meet Two handsome international businessmen Just back from a lucrative trip to japan. Sample dialogue: "you have a wheelie bag? Well, I have a wheelie bag." You've got to be kidding me. False. Sidebar... Tuck in your shirt. You look sketchy. I'm sketchy? Trust me, it's going to be legendary. Don't say "legendary," okay? You're too liberal with the word "legendary." We're building an igloo in central park. It's going to be legendary. Snowsuit up! Ted, ted, ted... Right here. This is happening. Now you can either put the bags on the carousel now, Or you can listen to me give you A really long speech Convincing you to put the bags on the carousel. Your move. Ted, since the dawn of time... Mankind has struggled... That night, marshall had a ton of studying to do. So lily went out with robin... Who was new to new york and looking for a friend. I'm so glad we finally get to hang out, just the two of us. Yeah. You sure you're okay giving up your Friday night To hang with an old, almost married lady? Oh, please. I'm so sick of the meat market scene. Guys are like the subway. You miss one, another one comes along in five minutes. Unless it's the end of the night and then you get on anything. Hey-oh! Compliments of that guy. Really? Sweet. Oh, for you it's $6. Oh, yes, that's one drawback to being engaged. I'm sure that's why he didn't... [Text made illegible by stabbing.] To refine our back story first. How did we...? Ted, you klutzy great guy you. Hey, I'm barney. Hi. My god, are you okay? I am so sorry. It's fine. No, you were shaky on your landing. I give you a 9.2. Ooh. Hi. I'm ted. Look, I'm really sorry that we have to hit and run, But we've got a plane to catch. Where you headed? Philadelphia. Philly? That's where we're headed. You are? Well, then we'll see you on the plane. Yes, you will. Follow them. Ticket's on me. [Text made illegible by stabbing.]

( Phone ringing ) Whazzup, ted? Are you all right? Yeah. Hey, guess where I am. I'm on a... Ready? Plane to... Ready? Philadelphia. [Text made illegible by stabbing.]

Let's go talk to those girls. Whoa, whoa, the seat belt sign's on. Ted, you've been living your whole life in a seat belt. It's time to unclick. Sir, the seat belt light's on. Yeah. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Well, I grew up in park slope. Oh, I love park slope. When did you move to manhattan? You're from park slope? Uh, no, she is. So where are you from? Heaven? Yeah, I'm a ghost. I died 15 years ago, like that pickup line. Hey-oh! God, I'm so sorry. Oh, believe me, I've been there. I have this line that I use when guys come... Check it out. Hey... You take this one. I'll save it for the next one. ( Chuckles ) So what brings you guys to philly? We're visiting our boyfriends. I think hers is going to propose this weekend. Isn't that great? So great. So there we were: Stuck on an airplane to philadelphia With two very un-single girls, [Text made illegible by stabbing.] crowding your junk. I'm not gonna take off my ring. Wouldn't you be jealous Of guys swarming all over my beeswax? Oh, yeah, you know me... I'm the jealous type. Any goon so much as looks at you, I'll sock him in the kisser. [Text made illegible by stabbing.] Bye. Robin! Robin! Hey, I'm over here. ♪ G-g-goin' to philly! Marshall, don't come to philly. But we're on an adventure. We're on a tarmac in philadelphia. Crazy... Adventure. Fine. No! No! The night has just started. Look, airport bar. Flight attendants. They'll get your tray table in its full upright position. Say what?! Passengers mosby and stenson, please come with us, gentlemen. Keep your hands where I can see them. Barney, I am going to kill you. Don't say you're gonna kill someone In front of airport security. Not cool, not cool. This is an outrage! We are international businessmen On very important international business trip. I demand you release us immediately! You demand?! No, no, no, no, no. He does not demand. We-we-we-we have no demands. [Text made illegible by stabbing.] Okay. Yeah, I'm calm. I'm totally calm. We've got footage of you placing two bags On jfk carousel 3, [Text made illegible by stabbing.] We are international businessmen. [Text made illegible by stabbing.] Now, please let us go Before we miss our international business meeting. Can't remember the last time I saw an international businessman With an untucked shirt. In addition, we received This footage taken over the last few months. Believe it or not, that duffel bag thing worked. The truth is, my friend... He does this thing where he goes to airports With fake luggage to pick up girls, And we followed some here to philadelphia. That-that-that's it. That's all this is. [Text made illegible by stabbing.] We at least get to call our lawyer. Exactly! We have a lawyer? Listen to me... you're both american citizens. Don't let him pull any patriot act voodoo. You both retain the right To refuse to answer any questions So don't say anything until I get there, all right? Okay. Good-bye. ♪ Philly! ♪ The adventure continues ♪ destroy! It's ridiculous in here. Why don't we go somewhere else? No, this place is great. What are you doing? What? With your lips and everything? My lips are always like this. You had to play the race card. Oh, relax, ted. We didn't do anything wrong. And, b.T.W., we'd be out of here by now If you had tucked in your shirt. Go ahead, jfk. What is the baggage status? They're clean. It's just a whole bunch of condoms. And a powerbar. You're free to go. Ted: Don't come to philly. Man, I'm almost halfway there. Yeah, we just got released And we're heading back on the next flight. Uh, meet us at mcclaren's. Maybe we can still make last call. Can't we just, just... No, we can't just. We're going home. We're going to sasha's. Who the hell is sasha? Sasha. She's having friends over for drinks at her house. It's gonna be legen... Wait for it... And I hope you're not lactose-intolerant 'cause the second half of that word is... Dary! No. Legendary. Legendary. That sounds awesome. No,

marshall, we're going back. Fine. Hold on. I have another call. ( Beep) Hello? Marshall, we're going to sasha's. No, we're not. Ted, ted, ted. Right here. Yes, we are. ( Beep) Sorry, buddy... two against one. Ooh, look, a booth opened up. Really? Yeah, I thought we could Finally go talk... And you're not Listening to me, so I'm going to walk away. Yeah, yeah, booth. Hey. Hey. I'm engaged. Yeah, I'm sorry. I took my ring off. It's very, very sweet of you To come over and talk to me, but I just... Yeah, I'm gay. I just came over to let you know That you sat on a grape. Oh, damn it. Ted: So barney and I hit the town. Philadelphia, pa. Our first and only stop: Sasha's party. ( tv blaring ) So, uh... You're sasha's friends, huh? You know it. ( Whispering): You guys, keep the volume down. You're gonna wake my grandpa. Who wants hard lemonade? Philly! Shh! ( softly): Philly. Back at the bar, girls' night out Wasn't going as robin had hoped. ( cell phone ringing ) Lily's phone. Robin, uh, where's lily? She's, uh... Is she talking to some hot guy? Oh, you can tell me. It's totally cool. It was my idea. Hell, I told her she could take the ring off. Really? Well, I thought it was kind of weird, But if you're cool with it, yeah, uh, it's off, And she's talking to some guy. Do you want me to go over and... No, don't interrupt. It's awesome. So, the ring's really off, huh? It's awesome. Well, just tell her I called. And tell her that she is... Awesome. ♪ Really, really awesome ( weakly ): ♪ our relationship is built on mutual trust ♪ I can't breathe. ( Iaughing ) You hear that, ted? Dana works security at the liberty bell. I do okay. Wow, it must be really well cordoned off over there. Do you ever go behind the rope and touch it? Only all the time. You ever, like, stick your head inside it? Yeah. You ever lick it? Nope. I have never licked it. Hmm. I bet nobody in history has ever licked the liberty bell. If someone were to pull that off, I dare say it would be... What's the word? Well, this is my stop. Legendary. Ted, legendary. Barney, I'm going to the airport. Sasha, thank you, and, uh, Tell your grandpa I'm sorry I walked in on him in the bathroom. I'll get some club soda for that stain. Lily, I thought tonight was about us hanging out. Just fending off the advances of that totally hot guy. Dude, I think that guy is gay. Oh, I know that guy is gay. It's just, marshall and I have been together for nine years. I haven't been single since high school. You want to be single? You want to fight off loser guys all night? Does that seem like fun to you? I guess I just wanted to throw this net back into the ocean And see how many fish I could catch. So far, one. One gay dolphin. And marshall. Lily, all these girls here tonight Are all hoping to catch what you've already got. You're right. I know. Hey, do you want to go get coffee And have an actual conversation? If by "coffee" you mean "cheesecake," then yes. Hey, I got that club soda. Let's see that booty. Oh, thank you so much. You want to mess, pal? That's my fiancée's hot backside that you're dabbing. Marshall, no. Baby, please, don't ever take that ring off again, No matter how awesome I say that it is. It's okay, man... Back off, hombre! I'm not that afraid to fight you. You want to test This guy, be my guest, come on. Marshall, he's gay. Oh, thank god. I've never been in a fight before. You don't say. Ted: So, it turned out Uncle marshall really was the jealous type. Unfortunately, that guy's boyfriend... Also the jealous type. Hey! Could have licked the liberty bell. We're going to the airport. Bong... Bong... Bo... Why do I hang out with you? Why? All I wanted was to have a regular beer At my regular bar with my regular friends In my regular city. Ted, ted, ted. You're not even looking. No, I'm not. Look, our forefathers died for the pursuit of happiness, okay? Not for the sit around and wait of happiness. Now, if you want, You can go to

the same bar, drink the same beer, Talk to the same people every day, Or you can lick the liberty bell. You can grab life by the crack and lick the crap out of it. That was beautiful, man. Thanks, leonard. Ted, you're missing out on a valuable life lesson here. Look, I don't need you to teach me how to live, okay? I know how to live. If you want to go lick the liberty bell, Just go lick it yourself. No, it has to be the two of us. Why? Why do you need me? Because you're my best friend, all right? You don't have to tell me I'm yours, But the way I see it, we're a team. Without you, I'm... I'm just the dynamic uno. So, fine, if you want to go home, Then we'll go home. ( Sighs ) Fine. We'll go lick the liberty bell. Good 'cause we're here. I had no idea how barney Redirected the cab without me knowing, And by god, we licked the liberty bell. You know what it tastes like? What? Freedom. No, actually, it tastes like pennies. Oh, my god. Did you guys really do that? We really did. And that was when I realized why I hung out with barney. I never got where I thought I wanted to go, So, that girl you were talking to... That was mom? Kids, every story in a man's life Is like a dot in an impressionist painting... So that's a no? Yeah, that's a no. ( Kids sighing) [Text made illegible by stabbing.]

Hmm...? The manufactured world around me falls apart! A fanged smirk plays across my lips, as I know, here and now, that a kind Samaritan is granting me...

Freedom!

WHAT THE FUCK????

FREEDOM? WHAT??? HUH???????

[schiste-argileux]

Idw Prowl is an evil SOB (took him two years to send the Wreckers to Garrus-9 and help Maxy (who was protecting all the war crimes the Bots did), put Maxy’s torturer and a war criminal on board the Lost Light cuz why not, sent Pharma to Delphi knowing it was DJD territory)

Prowl... Prowl’s creation and competence in his area of work is astounding. He is brilliant, creative, and defiantly apathetic of this world. But, he is very human in his own way. IDW Prowl is selfish, yet not. He is a unique in that aspect because most people make decisions like his for the sole reason of benefiting themselves. But Prowl’s sole reason of existing is to create PEACE. 

Peace. Peace can only be done when people are complacent, happy, and satisfied. When things are stationary. Stable. 

But life is never stable. Elements desire to form bonds, yet are almost always leaning towards to instability... Prowl’s form of PEACE is a world where there is no fighting. But everything sentient requires to fulfill its desires. As long as there is desire, people will fight. 

A world of PEACE would be a world of full control, there are no surprises, no change. Safety, routines, and constants. No creativity, no development... nothing. stagnant. 

But I must admire Prowl’s tenacity and dedication to this world! 

He sacrifices everything for the sake of the directive, preserve cybertron, PEACE. He sacrifices his morals (Robot Gets Bullied By a Human), his dignity (Recent News, Cop Accepts Orgy For The Means of Establishing Peace, his body (Recent News, Cop gets Molested by A Spider for The Autobot Cause), and of course, thousands of lives (Not Recent News). :D Prowl respects and understands that there will always be chaos and instability, and he is so very flexible around it all! He literally can maximize everything and anything he has. He is the embodiment of consequentialism with a lil dash of politics. I wish my group project members were 1% as productive as him! Prowl tries to put everything black and white, and he gets upset when things get far more tricky, and wants to get everything in control so people can stay safe and remain in peace and not fight! And that’s a respectable goal! Control can be good, it means one understands and is able to retain themselves and the thing they are controlling. But Prowl doesn’t want to accept that there are things out of his control. And Prowl likes to think he’s justified when he controls the uncontrollable. 

I mean, yeah, if he didn’t do what he did, the autobots would have been six feet under A LOT EARLIER. Optimus is not a good leader, preserving organic life over his own soldiers? Psh. Look at Spike, he’s got valid points and can I understand why he left the ‘bots. Prowl’s probably thinking everyday, DAMN, OP, WHY R U SO DUMB. LISTEN WE NEED TO FEED OUR SOLDIERS AND PRIORITIZE OUR SPECIES LIVES INSTEAD OF THIS FUCKING CARBON BASED CIRCLE. HELLO??? And literally Prowl could have been like I’m gonna get ya assassinated so I CAN HAVE IT MY WAY. But Prowl was BORN for the RULES. To follow, to MAKE PEACE. Killing the prime figurehead is against that, even if it would make his life way easier! (hence, not that selfish and also sad that your life is the rules. That’s a short leash, but he makes due)

Honestly I feel bad for Prowl. Must suck to be so big brain that everyone hates you when you say the truths (but also you could learn some more tricks from Jazz to be nicer and hide the truth, but that’s scary because a nicer prowl means more people he can trick and use. Thanks Prowl for being so straightforward! Now people can avoid you easier). He's so straightforward about things that need to be done, he’s in constant denial about the grey area of life!

That’s why when Spike slapped Prowl with reality slaps, Prowl lost some of his shit. Remember, nearly everyone had the edgy depressed time in their teens or young adult years where you realize the world is truly unfair and nothing is black and white? Yeah. Slap that on a 6+ million year old robot with a battle computer and is capable of big brain CPU-age, and was literally built for the sole purpose of enforcing rules and making peace? And no one really cared about Prowl enough to understand him and his background. So Prowl goes through his angst moment alone with his huge titties, frustrated. THIS. IS. WHY. YOU. COMMUNICATE. YA DINGUS. 

Prowl doesn’t become a school shooter like Pharma cuz hes got bigger brain and a lot more power and control over himself, but he literally becomes Shadow The Hedgehog (Even if the world’s against me I’ll fight like I’ve always have). HE’S GONE ROGUE. MA’AM, SIR, THE FUCKING OREO COOKIE HAS TRANSFORMED AND ROLLED OUT.  like. OP was the one thing holding prowl back, which was good! But now prowl’s on the roll and bumblebee is too nice and passive to hold him back. + the bombshell brainwash? feels so bad. being prowl sucks. because Prowl is a necessary evil. 

At least he’s wonderfully blunt about his goal to create a peaceful cybertron, which makes it easier if you want to avoid him or smth. meanwhile you have fake people IRL that smile their way through and then slit your throat and you won’t even know it was them (hey jazz, no offense, but that’s what spec ops does). Fakers are the scariest enemy, but Prowl is still a threat, just not as big as a someone who fluffs you up on a balloon and then pops it. Prowl would just be like, hey, you’re really useful, come over here in my white van i wanna show you something and then maybe you get destroyed. But hey! You were the one with the highest chance of surviving compared to other people! Isn’t that great? You’re so skilled WOW. (Prowl gets punched. Again!) Prowl represents the necessary evil in society. We WILL ALWAYS HAVE EVIL people in this world. But Prowl is a far better evil than people who do evil for their own selfish reasons. It’s like how we have law enforcers and politicians . It’s basically giving them legal rights to do illegal things (lmao). BUT we need them regardless. We need those people to get their hands dirty, possibly killed, so that people can live in innocence and peace. 

I don’t think Prowl ever realized that he was a necessary evil, and when Spike showed him that, he was bitter. But he accepted it. Which I respect because most people can’t be bothered to understand themselves and just throw themselves in denial, and point fingers for their flaws. Prowl sucks up and understands who he is, and he makes the best of it to achieve his goal.  I mean, honestly? Prowl is probably a miracle worker. Not in a Ratchet sense. But look at the way modern governments run, nothing gets done, everything is stalled because no one has the guts to make sacrifices. Prowl would have gotten a shit ton of things done, man, and take quick efficient action. Even if he sacrifices many things for it.  (Warning. I do not condone any taking of lives, NO ONE has the right to judge whenever a person should live or die.)  Prowl reminds me of 秦始皇 (Qin Shi Huang), the king who unified China and sacrificed millions to make the Great Wall, canals, and road systems that last to this day. If it wasn’t for these accomplishments, China wouldn’t have been what it is today. Was it a good thing? For the future residents of China? Hell yeah. But the costs? Those are sins that can never be erased, and they are horrible and shouldn't be done ever again. Was it necessary? Perhaps. But that’s another discussion. Is Prowl evil? Depends on your definition of evil. Perhaps he’s justified, perhaps in his world, he’ll go down as the Qin Shi Huang of the Cybertronians. Regardless, Prowl like Pharma, is an EXCELLENT example to study on public ethics, and administrative officials should analyze him and learn from his mistakes and sins.  I think Prowl is not evil in a sense that he wishes to harm others, but evil in a sense of his apathy. Prowl is a necessary component to a functional society (someone to plot, to use people, to enforce rules even if some are sacrificed, someone who can get their hands dirty). He lives a terrible and sad fate, and I do not wish ANYONE to live a life like Prowl’s or look up to Prowl. Yes, he’s so clever and brilliant, but that kind of power will make you the loneliest person on Earth.

Thanks Prowl for taking the entire load of sin on your shoulders! Big MVP! You get nothing from the world except hate and contempt.  I would go on about him more but I have IRL stuff to do. I love Prowl as an example to tell people that MODERATION. COMMUNICATION. AND COMPASSION are important factors to have a healthy and good mental state. Prowl is the perfect example of someone who doesn’t want to empathize (haha so many people are like this today), who doesn’t want to try to use more braincells and friends help to make better plans that are more moderate and not extreme, and who doesn’t want to talk to anyone thinking its a waste of time or have difficulty explaining things.  BUT I LOVE G1 PROWL because he has far more patience and manners, and doesn’t take a darker, route for his goals. awhohdohd he’s baby,,, i wish all cops had patience and manners and in general open-minded yet cautious enough not to be taken advantage of,,,, perhaps then we wouldn’t have so much polarization and fighting with authority in this world.... 

uwuwwuwuwuw they did prowl so dirty in idw WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ;____;   Again, you are welcome to disagree or agree! I wrote this really quickly so I’m sure there will be points that could be clarified or edited. Prowl’s really complicated and I do not like to talk about current IRL problems, but Prowl represents a lot of problems in society. And I think it’s critical if we try to look at both perspectives to get an understanding on WHY people do these things, and is there a solution to AVOID making those same mistakes? There’s a couple of controversial things in this short essay I wrote, esp. about cops IRL. So feel free to have at it! Or ignore it! Whichever is more comfortable for you! Thanks for coming to my ted talk! Again, Prowl is a bad influence and a sorrowful life to live. please do not try to be like prowl. xD I won’t intrude on you if you do, because you have a right to live the life you want as long as you’re not hurting other people’s interests and wellbeing! 

[elliethesuperfruitlover]

tw/venting

so im once again randomly sad at 1:30 and honestly i hate it. i always seem to get really just down and upset during the early morning. (probably because i need to be sleeping) but this is stressful to be honest. im feeling a ton of guilt that i shouldnt even feel bad about. right, so we all know that im how old? a minor, and like.......im fine with that. im fine being this age. but like....i feel like im carrying feelings for things that dont even have to do with me. some people are like “yeah, i dont want minors interacting with my content” and for some reason, i always wonder if it has something to do with me. it doesn’t, but i feel this secondhand guilt for some reason, and it hurts. and i know it’s really selfish of me to do that, and im victimizing myself with this. i always obey the “MDNI” on people’s posts, but sometimes i feel like i did something bad. like with smut, specifically, i completely understand why people wouldn’t want minors interacting with that, it makes so much sense.

then i start feeling really upset about how i literally write smut, and read it. im starting to feel like there’s something wrong with me for having written smut, and had a specific audience read and react to it. i sometimes feel gross for just wanting to read smut. and a lot of the fandoms i read smut for may have the “MDNI” on it, which is fine, but after that, I feel this deep trench form, and it’s the worst thing. i just feel like im weird, and dirty for wanting to read smut about characters. and here comes the argument of me, a minor, reading smutty ass fanfiction about grown characters, in some scenarios. of course, i imagine myself older, above legal age, but that doesn’t stop the nasty feelings I feel. and with characters that are my age, or around my age, like with my hero academia, like sure, i crush on sero and everything, but i feel awful about reading smut for him. or even thinking about smutty things.

this also briefly dips into how i interact with my mutuals’ fics, particularly the smuttier ones. i think ‘oh god, am i being gross by interacting with this’ and i know that if they have an issue with me interacting with their fics, they would say it, clearly, and explain what needs to be explained. and i love that. but i always feel like im the weird one here, like im the odd one out, i guess because of my age. and i absolutely love and appreciate that they’ve created a safe space for me. it’s just an internal thing that’s really bothering me. and i absolutely love my mutuals as well. and i know that they also love and appreciate me, i guess i just feel that guilt.

and i know that it’s completely normal for kids my age, and teens to think about, and sometimes desire sexual things. and i know that it’s fine to explore those thoughts. sometimes, though, i just feel like im being a hypocrite. i. e. some shoes marketed towards teens, such as euphoria, and riverdale (off the top of my head, not biased) portray teenagers that might not be accurate. i don’t know what it’s like to be y’know present in a high school, and there, but for my own experiences, at least, i feel like it’s not true, or at least not in all of its glory. im like the outlier for a lot of that stuff. and i know it probably exists in some places, but i feel like this is how society views teens, and what they expect from us. i feel this odd pressure to be everything that society expects me not to be. and on some posts and stuff, i see what seems to be a bit of a disdain for kids of my generation, or at least gen z and i just kinda freeze and panic. i go “oh god, do they think this of me” “do they hate me” and i know that they don’t but it’s this lingering thought of “this is what they think of other kids in the same group as you”. i know it doesn’t represent the entire view but i just feel like i cant say anything, or bring it up. it makes me feel like im the problem.

anyway, i feel like i can’t do some of the things that i want because im scared of what people will think of me. like, sometimes i just feel hot, y’know and of course, send nice photos to a pal or two, but i’d never post that shit publicly. why, you might ask? because im a minor, and just because i feel nice about myself doesn’t mean that i need other ppl being gross about it. some people always say “these teens are always posting stuff all over social media. they share everything on there.” one, yes, we do, some people should know better. but also, two, this is new, people are being misled, mistakes are going to happen. plus, when you dont have that outlet to do other things, you go where you may feel safer to do something. it may not even be the best choice either. i agree that teens shouldnt post everything to social media, but i also believe that we should be allowed to make mistakes too? and have a bit of fun (where it’s morally correct, im not talking about driving people to suicide, or posting nudes (or semi-nudes on insta when you’re 13, that’s just wrong) anyways. i just feel like i cant do anything bc im gonna get shit for it, and further promote an agenda, but at this point im kinda starting to tear myself down about other people’s opinions, and that’s shitty.

also i feel like teens cant do shit in GENERAL, but that’s another conversation for another fucking day.

i always try to keep my opinions and everything at bay, because i hate when conflict is directed at me. and i dont like the panic of waiting for someone to text, or message me when i had what could be considered a hot take. i feel like i cant disagree, or think differently. or even sometimes just speak my mind because im scared of the repercussions. so i kinda just shut up, and stay in my little corner, and i absolutely hate that. but i also dont like being vocal about my opinions because of the fear that it produces.

and also sometimes some of the shit that people come up with im like......okay, i feel like i cant joke about. like when i talk about “MILF dennys” or “DILF buffalo wild wings” I DONT WANT TO BE A MILF, NOR A DILF. i dont even want kids, so ahaha. i say that shit as a joke.

kids, get future milf out of your bio, unless you put a “/j” or “/hj” after it. also, you don’t want to be a sex worker, or a stripper. im pro sex-work, but don’t look at that as your ONLY job option. that shit gets people killed, or tortured, and mistreated. if it’s a joke, it’s a joke, but it’s a dangerous choice, and it’s your grave bestie. and no, people contradicting you isn’t sexist, or misogynistic UNLESS IT’S LITERALLY THAT. people can be like “i think your opinion is a little harmful, ngl” and you can respond respectfully and be like “do tell, im open to  listen” and not go off about someone not supporting your choices. if it’s something that you can avoid, do it. IF IT’S ILLEGAL, DONT DO IT. like, prostitution is illegal where i live, so if yall try to do that shit, dont expect to be given special treatment. people already see kids, women, and sex workers as what? OBJECTS. you’re nothing to people who may be incarcerating you one minute, and calling you for a 5 minute hookup the next. it’s not empowerment to be on places, and letting yourself be groomed and taken advantage of by nasty ass people who need to be locked up. i understand that you should be able to do what you wan, and wear what you want, but there’s some disgusting people out here.

and it’s also the usual shit bothering me, the pandemic, school, my brother saying fatphobic stuff, yada yada. i want a HUG. and i need to sit in someone’s lap for god’s sake anyways.

im also pretty sure that it’s NOT normal to have this many extreme changes in mood. like i was fine earlier yesterday but as soon as i see one thing that hits too close, im upset so....anyways.

also yes i feel bad about this because i really need to talk to someone about these issues, instead of y’know, letting them pile up and haunt me until im emotionally unavailable because i hide my feelings. this is further promoting other people’s view of teens oversharing on social media. but to be honest, people are going to hate gen z, and teens for a lot of shit. and i cant stop them from doing that. i can, however, keep myself out of their line of sight and dont cause issues about it. anyways, im gonna go rewatch some invincible (wow 3rd time now). and try to keep my mind off of wanting to be in someone’s arms while we make out. :) 

[newstfionline]

Monday, March 15, 2021

Call of the wild: Great outdoors is great escape in pandemic (AP) For those venturing off the beaten path, be advised—it’s a little crowded out there. By nature’s standards, anyway, as the great outdoors has become the great escape. Hiking trails, parks and other open spaces were packed in 2020 with a cooped-up population searching for fresh air during the coronavirus pandemic. Locked down, shut in or just fearful of crowds, people took up hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, camping, tennis and golf—to name several—in significant numbers. 8.1 million more Americans went hiking in 2020 compared to ‘19, according to a preview of an upcoming outdoor participation report from the Outdoor Foundation, the philanthropic wing of the Outdoor Industry Association. 7.9 million more went camping last year. 3.4 million more participated in freshwater fishing. The foundation’s research also reflected a decline in inactivity for most age groups and across all income levels.

U.S. airport passengers hit highest level since March 2020 (Reuters) The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1.357 million U.S. airport passengers on Friday, the highest number screened since March 15, 2020, as air travel begins to rebound from a pandemic-related drop. Covid-19 has devastated air travel demand, with U.S. airline passenger demand down 60 percent in 2020 and down 63 percent in January. But with a growing number of Americans getting vaccinated, demand and advanced bookings have started to rise in recent weeks. Friday’s numbers were still down 38 percent over pre-Covid-19 levels.

Winter storm closes roads in Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska (AP) A powerful late winter snowstorm intensified over the central Rocky Mountains on Sunday with heavy snow and wind leading to airport and road closures, power outages and avalanche warnings in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. The National Weather Service in Wyoming called it a “historic and crippling” winter storm that would cause extremely dangerous to impossible travel conditions through at least early Monday. Major roads southeast of a line that crosses diagonally from the southwest corner of Wyoming to its northeast corner were closed Sunday, including roads in and out of Cheyenne and Casper. Farther south, a record of over 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow had fallen just outside Cheyenne by noon Sunday, the weather service reported. A SNOTEL site at Windy Peak in the Laramie Range reported 52 inches (1.3 meters) of snow in a 24-hour period ending Sunday morning, the weather service said.

FEMA to help manage unaccompanied minors at US-Mexico border (AP) The Biden administration is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the United States by illegally crossing the border with Mexico. Government figures show a growing crisis at the border as hundreds of children illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico daily and are taken into custody. The Homeland Security Department is supposed to process and transfer unaccompanied minor children to the Department of Health and Human Services within three days so that they can be placed with a parent already living in the United States, or other suitable sponsor, until their immigration cases can be resolved. But more children are being held longer at Border Patrol facilities that weren’t designed with their care in mind because long-term shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services have next to no capacity to accommodate them. Children are being apprehended daily at far higher rates than HHS can release them to parents or sponsors.

Spanish Police Seize Submarine Built to Carry Drugs (WSJ) Spanish police Friday said they had seized a 30-foot long narco-submarine that could carry 2.2 tons of narcotics, a sign of the lengths cartels are going to transport illegal drugs to the booming European market. Police said they discovered the narco-sub in Malaga on Spain’s Costa del Sol last month as part of an international police operation that led to the arrest of 52 people and seizure of more than 400 kilos of cocaine, along with other illegal drugs and cash. The vessel was made of fiberglass and plywood and powered by two 200-horsepower engines, although it had never sailed, police said. Narco-subs are semisubmersibles that float mostly below the waterline and have long ferried cocaine from Colombia to Central America. In 2019, Spanish law enforcement discovered a narco-sub off Spain’s Atlantic coast, confirming persistent rumors that they can reach Europe.

Italy prepares for an Easter lockdown as Covid-19 cases grow exponentially (CNN) Italy is facing another lockdown, as the government attempts to contain a recent surge of coronavirus cases, marred by the presence of new variants. Half of Italy’s 20 regions, which include the cities Rome, Milan and Venice, will be entering new coronavirus restrictions from Monday, March 15. The measures will be effective through April 6, according to a decree passed by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s cabinet on Friday. In regions demarcated as “red zones” people will be unable to leave their houses except for work or health reasons, with all non-essential shops closed. In “orange zones,” people will also be banned from leaving their town and their region—except for work or health reasons—and bars and restaurants will only be able to do delivery and take-away service. Additionally, over Easter weekend, the entire country will be considered a “red zone,” and will be subject to a national lockdown from April 3 to 5.

Born in Soviet Exile, They Might Die in a Russian One (NYT) Long lines of people waiting to buy milk, toilet paper and other essentials disappeared from Russia decades ago. But one line has only grown longer—the one Yevgeniya B. Shasheva has been waiting in. For 70 years. That is the time that has passed since her birth in a remote Russian region. Her family was sent into exile there from Moscow during the height of Stalin’s Great Purge in the 1930s, when millions were executed or died in prison camps. Throughout the past seven decades, Ms. Shasheva says, she has been waiting to move home to the Russian capital. A 2019 ruling by Russia’s Constitutional Court ordered that the government make this happen, mandating that such “children of the gulag”—around 1,500 of them, according to some estimates—be given the financial means to move to the cities from which Stalin banished their parents. But the process has stalled completely, leaving Ms. Shasheva with nearly 55,000 people ahead of her in line for social housing in Moscow. So she waits 800 miles away in Nizhny Odes, a town so far off the beaten track that wild bears appear regularly on the streets.

US-Turkey reset faces long list of hurdles (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has toned down his anti-Western and anti-US rhetoric in an apparent effort to reset the rocky relationship with his NATO allies, but so far he’s been met by silence from U.S. President Joe Biden. Nearly two months into his presidency, Biden still hasn’t called Erdogan, which some in Turkey see as a worrying sign. By contrast, former President Donald Trump and Erdogan spoke just days after the 2016 election. Ties between Ankara and Washington—which once considered each other as strategic partners—have steadily deteriorated in recent years over differences on Syria, Turkey’s cooperation with Russia and more recently on Turkish naval interventions in the eastern Mediterranean, which U.S. officials have described as destabilizing. Despite tensions, many within Erdogan’s government were hoping for four more years of the administration led by Trump, who had a personal rapport with Erdogan and didn’t give him any lectures about Turkey’s human rights record. Biden drew ire from Turkish officials after an interview with the New York Times in which he spoke about supporting Turkey’s opposition against “autocrat” Erdogan. Analysts say it’s going to be very difficult to reset the relationship, given the range of issues where the two countries don’t see eye to eye.

At least 39 killed in Myanmar district after Chinese factories burned, media say (Reuters) Security forces killed at least 22 protesters in the poor, industrial Hlaingthaya suburb of Myanmar’s main city on Sunday after Chinese-financed factories in the area were set ablaze, according to local media. A further 16 people were reported killed elsewhere in Yangon and other parts of Myanmar and state television said a policeman had died in one of the bloodiest days of protests against the Feb. 1 military coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. China’s embassy said many Chinese staff were injured and trapped in arson attacks by unidentified assailants on garment factories in Hlaingthaya and that it had called on Myanmar to protect Chinese property and citizens. As plumes of smoke rose from the industrial area, security forces opened fire on protesters in the suburb that is home to migrants from across the country, local media said.

In China, millennials embrace Spanish (NBC News) Yilin Ye, a student from Anji, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China, is spending time abroad at the University of Zaragoza in Spain. Ye, 25, said she first started learning Spanish after having heard about its “excellent reputation.” She said she feels she takes on a slightly different persona when she speaks Spanish. “It’s a really beautiful thing, really fascinating,” she said. “When I’m speaking Chinese, I’m more calm. When I’m speaking English, I’m probably a bit more open, and when I speak Spanish, I’m very ‘wow.’” Just how popular is the world’s second-most-popular spoken language in China? There are about 50,000 Spanish speakers in China, a figure scholars say is growing by the year. “The Spanish language is making waves in China,” Lu Jingsheng, an author and national coordinator of Spanish for the Chinese government, said in an interview.

China Eases Visa Rules for Foreigners Who Get Chinese Vaccines (Bloomberg) The China-made vaccine is becoming the ticket to enter the mainland. China said it will ease visa application requirements for foreigners seeking to enter the mainland from Hong Kong if they have been inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines made in China. Foreigners visiting the mainland for work will face less paperwork in visa applications if they are able to show they have received vaccines produced in China. With the vaccine certificates, these travelers will also be able to skip the requirement for a Covid-19 test or fill out a travel declaration form. The rule also expands the scope of applicants eligible for a visa due to humanitarian needs, such as taking care of family or attending funerals, if they have received Chinese vaccines. Other applicants should still follow the earlier visa procedure, according to the statement.

Mysterious attacks on at least a dozen tankers carrying Iranian oil are reportedly due to covert Israeli operations (Business Insider) Israel has used water mines and other weapons to sabotage at least a dozen tankers carrying Iranian oil and bound for Syria, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which cited US and regional officials. In violation of US and international sanctions, Iran has continued trading oil with Syria. Israel is reportedly concerned that the profits from these sales help fund terrorism in the region, and has targeted the tankers as a result. These tankers tend to carry hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil, per the Journal. A shipping professional told the Journal that Israel conducted three strikes against ships carrying Iranian oil in 2019, and a separate shipping professional said six ships used by Iran were targeted last year. There are not any known instances of ships being sunk as a result of these suspected operations, but at least two were forced to return to Iran. The alleged Israeli attacks may represent a new front in the conflict between these two historic adversaries.

[taco-night-frenzy]

More Detective Luigi ideas

so I’m finally starting up the sequel to Mario is Missing. Hotel Wario. Yeah? That’s cool. Good job me. Finally going.  Anyways, then I started thinking “WHAT ABOUT A DIFFERENT STORY” because I hate myself. Basically because I always sort of... forget about the Yoshis from Mario. Not so much forget, but also wonder what I can do with them writing wise. It’s not like there’s many deep Yoshi characters you know? It’s mostly just Yoshi.  BUT THEN. Got to thinking. BOSHI. Dude. BOSHI. And the baby Yoshi from Thousand Year Door.  ANYWAYS here’s the ‘LORE’ that I’ll probably never write since I’m still a LONG way away from finishing Hotel Wario...

------ So some kid comes to Luigi’s dang office right. Needs help with stuff. It’s the Yoshi kid from Thousand Year Door. He goes by Gonzales, naming himself after his hero.  So Gonzales isn’t a baby anymore, but he is still a kid. He’s got an eggshell on his butt and Luigi is like “is that still your ... eggshell?” And Gonzales is like “no its a fake, i just really liked the aesthetic”  Oh, by the way, Gonzales can speak English because he can in Thousand Year Door even though most Yoshis only speak in Yoshian. (You know, like this.) Luigi explains he’s taken some Yoshian in school because it was an easy language to learn for him so he understands Yoshis much like Mario did. Mario learned to talk to Yoshis because he’s always been a fan of Yoshis.  So, Gonzales telling Luigi about the Yoshis in New Donk City. Everyone always pictures Yoshis as happy-go-lucky lazy idiots who don’t worry too much, and for the most part, that’s true. But on New Donk, in the city, it’s way harder on them. You can’t just live wherever you want, eat whatever you want, where ever you want. People here expect even Yoshis to get a job and work. Most Yoshis struggle with this, mostly because they can only speak Yoshian and are just in general... well they’re little dinosaurs with baby arms.  There’s a Yoshi service that a lot get by with. Call up a Yoshi and pay them a fee to get you where you want in the city. ride em and whatever.  The big problem though is YOSHI COOKIES. Yoshis generally are hungry bastards, right? Gotta eat. They love sweets and treats and just about everything. Yoshi Cookies are basically and literally drugs to them. Gonzales is in a gang with Boshi and they sell illegal Yoshi Cookies.  Yoshis get addicted to this stuff. Most of the time, its not even real drugs, they’re just SO YUMMY that Yoshis will do ANYTHINg to get them. Spend all their coins on Yoshi Cookies instead of rent and stuff like that. Leaves em messed up. Then there’s the REAL hard stuff. Yoshi Cookies baked in with Honey Syrup. If Yoshi Cookies were addictive before, this stuff is MENTAL. Gives Yoshi’s a ton of energy too, but mostly just makes them hungrier and want even more Yoshi Cookies. 

Mystery would probably be... someone’s been killing Yoshis. That’s fucked up right. Luigi’s like “that’s fucked up” but he doesn’t say that because it’d be fucked up if he did.  Luigi agrees to help Gonzales and they get into the underbelly of the Yoshi Gang. Run into Boshi and this guys NOTHIN like other Yoshis. He’s tough as hell and he’s a mean Yoshi Cookie seller.  Oh, by the way, forgot to mention, important lore. Luigi notes how the Yoshis talk a lot with their tongues and body language. Their little dino hands aren’t good for much, but they help get a point across. Luigi is naturally good at understanding mumbling grumbles and putting the pieces together since he’s a mumbly guy too. Also he’s like “I’ve got a decent tongue I guess. Now that I’m getting popular, I see people make drawings of me with overly large tongues and I’m kind of insulted by it and don’t get it, but whatever.” Talkin’ bout SPEED LUIGI of course.  Anyway Boshi is a bad dude, super bad. BUT he’s not the leader. Luigi and Gonzales go to see the Yoshi Gang Boss and... and... it’s BEEG Yoshi. That’s right. That big fat Yoshi from Mario RPG beta art that wasn’t used? That’s the leader.  He’s like (WHAT THE YOSH ARE YOU DOING HERE) but generally to everyone else he just sorta sits there and looks like a big cute fat Yoshi. He’s shouting insults and cussing and saying how he’ll kill anyone that goes against him but again... he’s Beeg Fat Yoshi so its funny. And uhh... that’s all I got. I wanted to ramble. One day I’ll look back at this and say “yeah I was never gonna write this” or!! OR! Maybe ONE DAY I’LL LOOK BACK AT THIS AND IT’LL ALL BE WRITTEN AND I’LL SAY “LOOK HOW I WROTE THIS SO LONG AGO. WOW GOOD JOB ME.” that’s it that’s ... that’s all. I love you bye.

[cromulentbookreview]

Endlich! Ein Grund zur Panik.

“You were at Bywell on the first of Frostmonth. The day the lights went out all over Aeland. The day the Great Haunting started. The day when our soldiers were cured of a madness that tormented them. The day the Amaranthines came to Bywell. I know you know what happened that day. You were a witness. Or maybe you were a participant.” - from the ARC of Stormsong

I seem to be reviewing naught but sequels lately, so, as you might be aware, when reviewing a sequel, there will inevitably be spoilers for the first book. So. You’ve been warned. 

Oh my god oh my god oh my God oh my God oh my God OH MY GOD.

The wait is over! It’s STORMSONG! By C.L. Polk! The second book of The Kingston Cycle is here! 

So. Witchmark is one of my favorite books that I’ve ever read, like, ever. C.L. Polk’s debut novel not only knocked it out of the park, she knocked it out of Earth’s atmosphere. Somewhere, out there, a baseball is going to pass by the International Space Station and the astronauts are going to be like “hey, who tossed a baseball out of the airlock? Damn it, Sergei, we talked about this!”

I think my metaphor has strayed a bit. My point is, I really liked Witchmark. My copy is up on that special shelf I have reserved for my All Time Favorite Books. Witchmark is one of those books that, once I started reading, I literally could not stop. I’m a slow and easily distracted reader, so finishing a book as fast as I finished Witchmark is a rare thing.

Needless to say, I might just have been a wee little bit hyped for Stormsong.

Just a little bit.

I mean, I did pre-order my copy the minute it was announced to be on sale on Amazon back in November of 2018. I may have taken to Twitter to beg Tor to send me an ARC (they didn’t, I do not blame them). I may have let out a fangirlish cry loud enough to break the sound barrier the moment an eARC became available on NetGalley. I may have obsessively refreshed my kindle app for, uh, several minutes waiting for the file to transfer.

And then I opened the file.

And I couldn’t read it. Some sort of glitch rendered the format of the eARC practically illegible.

You know that episode of The Twilight Zone where Burgess Meredith just wants to be able to read his books in peace, but can’t? But then the nuclear apocalypse happens but he’s stuck in a bank vault and when he comes out, he’s the only dude left alive and he finally - FINALLY - has the time to read and...he immediately breaks his glasses?

Opening that illegible file felt just like that. It broke my poor little fangirl soul. So I complained. A lot. To an embarrassing extent. I think I must have re-downloaded that file at least fifty times, hoping each time that the file would magically reformat itself to legibility. When it didn’t, I gave up and moved on to other things because that’s how my attention span works. Brief flares of outrage followed by “meh.” The wheel in the sky kept on turning and then, it became 2020 and I was like, “fuck it, I want to read Stormsong.” So I went to NetGalley and downloaded the book...again.

And, what do you know, it had magically reformatted itself to legibility.

(Well, not magically, I’m sure some poor tech person at Macmillan/Tor-Forge spent a great deal of time finding the glitch and fixing it. I really hope they didn’t get yelled at because some insane fangirl complained a great deal on the internet... yeah, I’m a shitbird).

Anyway! After all of that, I finally got to read the book. I forced myself to take it slow - I couldn’t just swallow it whole like I did Witchmark and then be left with the agony of waiting for another book. Nope. I made myself savor Stormsong.

Told from Grace’s POV, Stormsong begins right where Witchmark left off: Miles, Grace and Tristan have destroyed the Aether network (Aeland’s power grid) after learning the truth of where all that clean energy came from, namely, human souls, harvested from those killed during the war with Laneer. In fact, that’s the whole reason for the war - gotta keep the lights on, so just start a war to produce more dead, then force imprisoned witches in the asylums to process the souls of the dead into energy so you can flick your light switch on and off at night for fun. And, you know, have heat and power factories and such. The public has no idea where aether came from, they only know that it seems to be gone and now they have no heat in the middle of winter.

Only, its worse than that. Grace, as a Stormsinger with the power to manipulate the weather, senses a massive, hurricane-sized storm just off the coast of Aeland. The storm, when it hits, will bring subzero temperatures and tons upon tons of snow onto a country that now has no heat or electricity. Thousands risk freezing to death and, with the last harvest ruined by a snowstorm, even more risk starvation.  

Then there’s the Amaranthines - the immortal, God-like people who are kind of like this world’s Interpol. They want Aeland to answer for their atrocities. Queen Constantina, however, doesn’t believe she’s done anything wrong. So Grace is thrown headfirst into a political maelstrom, between the Queen, the crown prince Severin, the Amaranthines, and an increasingly outraged public. Then there’s the beguiling Avia Jessup. Avia abandoned a life as a wealthy heiress to pursue her dream career as a photojournalist, and she’s damn good at it. So good, she’s close to discovering exactly what it was that kept Aeland’s lights on. A secret Grace knows could destroy the nation. 

But maybe exposing the truth wouldn’t be so bad?

When I finished Witchmark, I bemoaned the fact that it would be a very long wait for the next book. But holy shit is the wait worth it. Stormsong is absolutely phenomenal. It is a worthy follow-up to Witchmark and a magnificent continuation to The Kingston Cycle. The whole book is beautiful, magical, and romantic - it’s everything you’d want in a sequel - the story is carried forward with a fresh perspective, but not all the loose ends are tied up, and there’s some great setup for a third book which I am now dying to read. I loved getting to see thing’s from Grace’s perspective. As much as I love Miles, he lives in a world of very black-and-white morality, whereas Grace lives in a world of gray. Miles doesn’t have to deal with the political ramifications of his actions, but Grace does. She has to deal with the Queen and the Crown Prince and the Amaranthine Grand Duchess Aife...oh, and her and Miles’s awful father, Sir Christopher Leland Hensley, who, despite being in prison, still seeks to exert control over Grace. 

The romance between Grace and Avia is absolutely lovely - it’s not the slow burn that was Miles and Tristan in Witchmark. Tristan and Miles were strangers who met and then fell in love. Avia and Grace have known each other for a long time, they ran in the same circles their whole lives, and it wasn’t until Avia was tossed out by her father that the two of them lost touch. The mutual attraction was there, but neither ever acted on it. It’s the events of Stormsong that that turn the spark into a flame, and it’s absolutely delightful to watch. Seriously, every time Avia and Grace are together you just want to:

My only complaint is that the ending is a bit abrupt - it ends in the middle of the action, and you just want to scream “no, it can’t end there, there has to be more, right? RIGHT?”

Hopefully there will be more. I absolutely need more. Witchmark ended in almost the same way - the main action has ended, but there is still a lot left to wrap up. For now, though, I’m going to dig in my heels and prepare myself for another wait. Waiting is hard, but the payoff is often oh, so sweet. 

Still:

RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone who loved Witchmark, who wants a fantastic F/F romance, or who just loves Edwardian-style steampunk-y worlds with magic.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Homophobes, people who dislike fantasy/fun/romance, people who are just the worst in general. 

RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2020

RATING: 5/5

TOTALLY UNBIASED FANGIRL RATING: 500,000,000,000,000/5

GIF RATING: 

ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR SEQUEL: Olympus Mons

[kathrynethegreat]

@random-emerald-thoughts: said In response to this post. Now I’m hella curious about your thoughts on the other seasons.

Totally!  I will post the notes I have for season 2 below. Notes for season 3 will follow in another week, and season 4 a week after that most likely.

Like with season 1, I didn’t write full episodes, just some general details, and the notes assume you’ve read the novels to some extent. Have questions, just ask! Also, not that it matters, but season 2 is my personal favorite of the four seasons.

To those of you who have written to me about this project, thanks for all of the kind words and PMs. It really means a lot. 

To those seeing this for the first time and have no idea what this is, the original posts are here:

OVERVIEW

SEASON 1 SUMMARY | SEASON 1 DETAILS

SEASON 2 SUMMARY | SEASON 2 DETAILS

SEASON 3 SUMMARY | SEASON 3 DETAILS

SEASON 4 SUMMARY | SEASON 4 DETAILS

Below the cut is the following information for Season 2 of The Rape of Europa:

Additional Information about each episode and the real crimes that inspired some of the stories

Artwork featured in each episode

A couple pieces of Fan Art that didn’t make the cut for the Season Rundowns.

Flashbacks featured in each episode

General Season Arcs / Information / Themes

General Clannibal info (Last season saw the Doctor and the Agent on rocky ground after a moment of passion and ultimately rejection.)

A full summary of the third to last episode of the second season -  episode 2:13 Whoso List to Hunt. Heavily inspired by Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.

Season 2 General Notes / Arcs / Themes:

The second season deals heavily in the father/daughter bond or lack thereof. Clarice’s relationship with her father - one she remembers fondly and talks about with Lecter frequently, and Molson Verger’s terrible and loveless relationship with his daughter Margot, which Clarice struggles to understand.

A major theme in the season is forgery. This is shown both in actual art forgeries but is also repeated with the duel identities of Clarice Starling / Elizabeth Chase and Hannibal Lecter / Dr.Fell, with Dr.Fell and Elizabeth Chase being “Forgeries.” of their real selves.

This season further explores Hannibal Lecter's Background. Last season we learned that Hannibal Lecter’s sister was eaten - but this season we learn that he also ate her.  The first season dealt with the parts of Hannibal Rising that deal with the war - and while this season still has some flashbacks to what happened, this season deals with the second half of Rising, which focuses more on the murders and the search for lost art from Lecter Castle.

The two Johns. Clarice’s relationship between both Lecter and Brigham deepens in this season. Brigham is shown to very clearly be in love with her. She is not in love with him, though she is great friends with him. There is a “will they or won’t they?” surrounding both Clarice and Lecter AND Clarice and Johnny.  Since Lecter is still undercover as Dr.Fell, she is essentially stuck between Dr.John Fell and Johnny Brigham. Two very different people, Johnny is all that is good and honest and Lecter is...obviously not. Clarice knows she should be happy with Johnny and not be drawn to Lecter, but cannot find her way around it. She struggles with this in each episode this season.

Please note that Clarice doesn't reveal Hannibal because she's been properly threatened by Chiyoh. She knows Chiyoh, now head of a Japanese Yakuza absolutely has the capability to kill her - as well as Johnny and Ardelia.

Hannibal helps Clarice because he needs her help in return- he needs access to the stolen paintings records she has as a member of the Art Crime Team. He also needs help tracking down someone who has changed their name - someone he has been hunting for years. Clarice insists she won’t help him find someone just so he can kill them.

Hannibal is living in France this season, traveling across Europe as needed depending on where his own investigations into his family paintings take him. He runs into Clarice here and there. While both characters are shown in each episode, they do not spend every single episode together.

The Memory Palace. We see this concept come up, and frequently we see Lecter think, reason and remember via his mind palace, via art pieces in his internal “Gallery.”

SEASON 2, EPISODE 1 : Chiaroscuro

DATE: January 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Clarice - Discussing Lecter's file with Crawford, discussing the Victim who is still alive "On a ventilator"

Hannibal  - When Hannibal Looks at Leda and the Swan, he has a quick flash of kissing Clarice in season 1, immediately followed by a flash of him telling her Typhoid and Swans come from the same place, immediately followed by an unwanted image of Micha being chased by a Swan and Hannibal chasing it away.

Hannibal - Hannibal studying with Jakov. Jakov asks if Hannibal Lecter wants to remember everything. Jakov teaches him about the concept of the Memory Palace.

Clarice - Clarice speaks with Chiyoh (this flashback is meant to take place in between season 1 and season 2 - it is not something we saw happen in season 1)

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Leda and the Swan by Rubens, Louvre museum, Paris, France

Kouros - Artists Unknown / Possible Forgery, owned by the Getty Museum in real life, but owned by Molson Verger for this narrative

NOTES:

M.J. Verger is heavily, heavily inspired by the real-life John Paul Getty, his museum, its fraudulent background, and the Getty kidnapping. 

Iraq will be invaded soon (Desert Storm), and several Art Historians and archaeologists did, in real life, consult with the U.S. Military about what areas they should avoid bombing, as they did not want to destroy any major historical heritage. In this story, it is Clarice who is consulting with the Government.

Clarice remembers a discussion she had with Chiyoh just before she left Japan (this scene was intentionally not shown in season 1 - it is meant to have happened in between the seasons.). Chiyoh is calm but serious, and she tells Clarice that she cannot hurt Hannibal Lecter. Chiyoh has bribed the Japanese government. The Japanese government holds Dr.Fell in bad taste...and are bitter to not get to indict him against his art crimes, but they have no idea the real story they are inadvertently covering up - they have no idea they are granting immunity to Hannibal Lecter.  Dr.Fell’s books are clean...there is no reason for anyone to investigate him. Dr.Fell has nothing on paper that anyone can prove. And only Clarice and Chiyoh know his true identity.  She threatens Clarice with her life - and the life of her friends, that she does not reveal Lecter’s identity. Clarice knows enough to know that Chiyoh will make good on her promise. Clarice manages to convince herself continuing to keep his identity a secret is okay - after all, Dr.Fell helped her with many cases. He’s been more help to her than a hindrance. Maybe even Soah might not have been taken down without the important information he gave to her. She uses his helpfulness over the past year to try to convince herself she is okay with not turning him in - for the time being. She also knows if she turns him in, she’ll be ignored.  She tried to turn him into the FBI several times and was rebuffed (thanks to Paul Krendler). Clarice also knows that if she reveals Dr.Fell’s identity, that she will have to stop using Elizabeth Chase as her own identity. Elizabeth already has heavy contacts around the world that know about what happened with Hiroshi Soah...to take down Hannibal Lecter, is to reveal Elizabeth Chase and undo a lot of important work she has done and is still working on (especially with the Gardner case). Clarice acknowledges she will not reveal his identity, and Chiyoh continues on. “I won’t let you hurt him,” Clarice again says she will not reveal Fell’s identity.  “No.” Chiyoh says again, “I won’t let you hurt him.”  Clarice suddenly understands. Chiyoh doesn’t want Clarice hurting him emotionally either. Chiyoh is well aware of Lecter’s growing affection for Clarice, but it is the first time Clarice has been confronted by another person with the fact that Lecter likes her.  Chiyoh does say that if Lecter chooses to reveal HIMSELF, that she will consider their deal null and void.

Despite his dislike of Clarice personally, Paul Krendler finds himself attracted to her. He calls rather drunk and asks her out on a date. She knows he is married and turns him down. He is not pleased. (The novel says that Krendler called to ask her out during the first week of Desert Storm, so I’ve tried to keep the timeline the same when I can). She is worried that her rejection of Krendler is only going to make her life worse.

An anonymous tip comes in about some forgeries for the Verger Museum. (The Kouros, specifically) Once it is investigated, Clarice very quickly finds that it’s the tip of the iceberg...the museum has TONS of problems. Some pieces may have been forged. Some pieces may have been stolen outright. Some may have been purchased through not entirely illegal means. There may be some tax fraud going on...but the amount of investigation each piece takes, the amount of paperwork involved is monstrous.  Clarice - though still on the Gardner case - will be on the Verger case for almost the entirety of Season 2 - with information leading her into the path of other smaller cases along the way.

We do not yet know where the anonymous tip came from. We will find out later in the season. 

Clarice realizes that the man she is investigating is the father of Mason Verger - a name she recognized from the Lecter case.

Hannibal Lecter is shown to be living in Paris, but traveling around as Europe as needed while he searches for what he is looking for. At one point in this episode, he makes his way down to the basement of the Louvre (dressed as an art conservator) and casually snags a few small, lesser pieces for his home. (The basement of the Louvre is indeed filled with hundreds of items not on general display).

While in the Louvre, Hannibal sees Titian’s Leda and the Swan, which causes him to remember his time with Clarice. He remembers kissing her, and then he remembers a moment in which he scared away a swan that had frightened his sister, Mischa.

Chiaroscuro, the title of the episode is the use of strong lights and darks to contrast a composition. This, of course, is shown in art but is also represented in the two sides of our story - in the honest people on Clarice’s team, and the dishonest ones of Verger’s.

January 12 – Gulf War: The Congress of the United States passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. January 13 – Singing Revolution: Soviet forces storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence. This may be briefly mentioned as news in the background. It’s, of course, relevant to Hannibal Lecter’s interests...

January 15 - The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm

January 16 - U.S. serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men. Clarice is interested in this and frustrated that she doesn’t get to be involved in this case.

January 17: Operation Desert Storm is launched and the first air attacks are launched on Iraq and Kuwait. 

SEASON 2, EPISODE 2: Wiedergutmachung

DATE: February 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Painting of the upstairs bedroom, hiding with Micha and drawing her hand, Hannibal sings quietly Ein Männlein Steht Im Walde to her

Hannibal - Painting being wrapped by Simonetta and put in the wine cellar with the other paintings.

Hannibal - Family abandoning their castle to go to the lodge in the woods

Hannibal - A Flash of the deserters and their dog tags as they call each other by name over the fire. Emphasis on Grentz.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Grand Canal in Venice - Canaletto, Getty Collection

The Bridge of Sighs Bernardo Bellotto,  Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon

Grand Canal in Venice - Francesco Guardi - Frick Art Museum

Various other assorted paintings from the Lecter Castle collection. No others are specifically mentioned in the book, though it is mentioned there are others. Just shown as an assortment of beautiful pieces.

NOTES:

The word Wiedergutmachung means restitution from crimes committed by the Nazis.

The Art Loss Register is Begun in 1991 in London (In real life). Clarice is closely consulted and involved in this (for this story’s purposes)

Clarice meets Verger's Curator for the first time. There is a lot of build-up. The viewer might feel it's going to be Hannibal Lecter, since last year he was curating for Hiroshi Soah, but it is revealed to be Trebelaux.

Pierre Trebelaux is one of two characters from Hannibal Rising who gets a reprieve from being killed (in the novel he has no first name given). He only lives a few brief pages in Hannibal Rising before being killed- in this instance, I’ve let him live a long healthy life...for now. We will see him in flashbacks and get a better idea of why he is important.

Trebelaux’s character (who again, barely appears in Rising before dying, and thus we don’t know much about his personality) is heavily influenced by Jiri Frel, a curator at the Getty Museum. Frel is credited with the expansion of the collection of antiquities for the Getty, and he was involved in a number of controversies including a tax manipulation scheme to buy artifacts of dubious provenance. He also had a tendency to purchase items that were fake. Frel studied in Paris (like Trebelaux). Following the Soviet invasion, Frel emigrated to the U.S. He expanded the Getty collection heavily. He designed a tax evasion scheme where fictitious donors paid to an intermediary to get tax reductions for donations of artifacts they’ve never seen. 

This episode marks the first time Hannibal Lecter actually reaches out to Clarice asking for her help (beyond just keeping quiet about his identity). He has seen her work for the Art Loss Register, and he wants to access it. It’s Government only at this time, and she cannot grant it. He is looking for some of his family’s lost artwork and gives her some of the specifics. She says she will keep her eyes open.  He gives her the name Grentz and says his last known whereabouts was Canada, and she takes note.

Clarice goes to visit Verger at his English country home in Kent after her trip to London regarding the Art Loss Register. There she meets Trebelaux, as well as Margot. Clarice notices there is a lot of tension with Margot and Verger and witnesses small instances of verbal and even physical abuse directed at her by her father.

Clarice eventually learns that Margot has let her father know that she is a lesbian, and he has written her out of his will. It should be noted that re-writing his will was a favorite pastime of John Paul Getty in real life.

When discussing the Verger collection with Verger and Trebelaux, Clarice sees The Grand Canal by Canaletto and realizes it is from Lecter Castle. She doesn’t say anything but begins to dig into things. She lets Lecter know but asks him to let her handle it.  In real life, this painting is, in fact, a part of the John Paul Getty collection.

The character of Grentz is the second character from Hannibal Rising that gets a reprieve. The novel ends with Hannibal going to his taxidermy shop. For our purposes, I am going to propose that when Hannibal went to kill him, he simply wasn’t there. He’d already moved away. Hannibal has been searching for him ever since. He is the last one of the deserters from the lodge that he has not managed to track down and kill. 

So Hannibal Lecter’s goals are 1: reclaim paintings, which he’s done a little bit already (in Japan) and 2: find and kill Grentz. 

February 9 – Singing Revolution: Voters in Lithuania support independence.

February 17-  Operation Desert Storm is launched and the first air attacks are launched on Iraq and Kuwait.

February 27- Victory Declared in Iraq

SEASON 2, EPISODE 3:The Spoils of War

DATE: March 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Quick shot of Hannibal's dead parents (which we saw last season) followed by a shot of Hannibal reaching for Mischa to keep her from going out to their mother and the wolves.

Hannibal - Hannibal is thrown into the barn with his sister and a young Albanian boy

Hannibal - The Albanian boy is taken away, and there is suddenly food...

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Terracotta lion from Shaduppum

NOTES:

March 15 - Four Los Angeles, California, police officers are indicted for the videotaped March 3 beating of Rodney King during an arrest. This is not relevant to the story, but would be big news for the F.B.I in general, and would be mentioned in the background.

March 15 - Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights. This event would also be HEAVILY mentioned in this episode.

We see Verger and Trebelaux speaking with Clarice, being kind and charming. Later we see them talking alone, arguing. From the conversation, it is clear that both men are very guilty, but Verger is angry “You said it was all foolproof.” They discuss how they are going to figure out the problem of the museum being investigated. They begin hiding some paperwork and agree that once they’ve secured everything, that the best thing to do is to play along with Clarice, to act as if they are as cooperative as possible and deny as much as possible.

Miranda Pilcher is offered a sculpture by an art dealer. It is from Iraq, and Miranda immediately has her guard up. Before calling Clarice, she does a little bit of digging. She calls some curators from other museums. She finds several museums have purchased similar items recently - all from different dealers.  Miranda is concerned and calls Clarice Starling. Together they discuss each piece, each museum that purchased something, etc. 

Hannibal Lecter is present in this episode, but he is back in France and is not interacting with Clarice. We see more of his life in France and more of his flashbacks.

The pieces are all too alike...the timing is strange. Miranda wonders - could these be pieces pilfered from Iraq during the recent Desert Storm? Clarice agrees that it is indeed very suspicious. 

Clarice interviews the art dealer, who insists that he is above board and has done nothing wrong. Clarice finally uncovers several layers of buyers and must travel around the world to interview them, hoping to find a common denominator.

Johnny travels around the world with Clarice to help with the interviews. It eventually comes out that Jack asked him to be by her side for her protection. She is a little piqued at this but glad that Jack is thinking about her. She confides to Johnny how much she wishes she could be working for Behavioral Science. None the less, Clarice assures Johnny that she doesn’t need any protection. He lets it slip that he cares deeply for her, and she does not know how to respond.

This episode flows heavily into the next episode....

SEASON 2, EPISODE 4: The Director of Idolatry

DATE: March 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Mischa is ill. Hannibal feeds her like a bird. Hannibal holds her and sings Ein Männlein Steht Im Walde

Hannibal - Mischa is taken away, Hannibal's arm is broken

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Human Headed Winged Bulls and Reliefs from Dur-Sharrukin

Terracotta lion from Shaduppum 

Statue of Sanatruq, king of Hatra

Plaster with boar relief

Wall relief from Ninevah featuring an Assyrian soldier

NOTES:

This episode is heavily influenced by Khaled al-Asaad. He was an archaeologist and head of antiquities in the ancient city of Palmyra, a position he held for 40 years. Though he was active during the second Iraq war, I’ve placed him earlier - with Desert Storm instead.  In real life, he helped to evacuate the city’s museum. He was captured and tortured in an attempt for to get him to reveal the locations of some important pieces that he had hidden.  He was beheaded, and his body was hung from a traffic light, with a placard on his body declaring him the “Director of Idolatry.”

There is a discussion about the Curator of the Iraqi museum, the fictional Kasim Amari (based on Khaled al-Asaad) and his death in the newspapers. The art world is horrified. He was killed some months before.

Clarice receives a letter from Kasim - it is dirty and battered and clearly has been in the mail for a while before reaching her, having been written before his death.  She opens it and it begins with “If you’re reading this, then I am no longer on this earth...”  He goes on to give her clues to the whereabouts of the artifacts that he has hidden.  Of course, he has coded the message with clues - lest the letter falls into the hands of the wrong people.

Clarice and her team journey to Iraq, uncovering clues, decoding messages, interviewing people all in the hopes of finding where the various pieces have been hidden.

Johnny and Clarice grow increasingly close in this episode, looking at art, admiring the culture and food, etc.

Tensions are high in the region, and though the war is officially over, it is dangerous. Clarice separates from her team for a moment in a city square, and when a bomb goes off, Johnny struggles to find her. After a frantic search, he finds her shaken but unharmed. In a moment of relief, he kisses her and she does not pull away, but when they finally part, it is clear she is unsure.  She tells him she needs some time.

Ultimately the different paths each piece of art has taken are uncovered. Each one went through a series of art dealers, etc in an attempt to put anyone who wanted to steal or destroy the pieces off the scent. In the end, they discover many of the pieces were, in fact, offered to the museums at the request of the curator - in hopes that the pieces would remain protected for years to come. The pieces Miranda feared were looted weren’t looted at all, leading to complicated questions about the role of Museums.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 5: Nécessaire

DATE:  Early April 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - One of the deserters tries to get Hannibal to eat, he is shown only as a hand and a voice. We do not see his face.

Hannibal - Bombing and abandonment of men in the lodge.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Ein Männlein steht im Waldem - a song by Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben

The Stolen Kiss - Fragonard, Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg, Russia

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Antonio Canova, Hermitage, Russia

Nécessaire by Peter Carl Faberge (Missing, but found by our characters)

Twelve Monograms by Peter Carl Faberge, Hillwood Museum, Washington D.C.

Rose Trellis by Peter Carl Faberge, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland

Gatchina Palace by Peter Carl Faberge, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland

Pelican by Peter Carl Faberge, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia

Rock Crystal by Peter Carl Faberge, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia

Czarevich by Peter Carl Faberge, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia

Red Cross with Imperial Portraits by Peter Carl Faberge, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia

Lilies of the Valley by Peter Cal Faberge, owned by Viktor Vekselberg in real life, owned by Aleksander Sokolov in this narrative

Hen by Peter Carl Faberge, owned by Viktor Vekselberg in real life, owned by Aleksander Sokolov in this narrative

Renaissance by Peter Carl Faberge, owned by Viktor Vekselberg in real life, owned by Aleksander Sokolov in this narrative

 Rosebud by Peter Carl Faberge, owned by Viktor Vekselberg in real life, owned by Aleksander Sokolov in this narrative

 Imperial Coronation by Peter Carl Faberge, owned by Viktor Vekselberg in real life, owned by Aleksander Sokolov in this narrative

NOTES:

The character of Aleksander Sokolov is heavily influenced by the real-life Russian Viktor Vekselberg, who owns several Faberge eggs. 

This episode takes place around Easter for the Russian Orthodox Church (A week after Clarice would recognize Easter).

 There is a discussion of the Imperial Eggs and the fall of the Czar. There is some discussion about the great love between Niki and Alex and the love between Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna.

Aleksander wants to purchase every Faberge egg in the world. He owns several already, but he wants them all to be displayed in the Hermitage in hopes of bolstering Russia’s place in the art world and world in general.

Not all of the Imperial Eggs are in existence. Some were destroyed, but the Nécessaire made it through the revolution and was seen at an exhibit in 1949 at Wartski’s. In June 1952 it was sold to “A Stranger.” No one knows who purchased it, and Aleksander wants Clarice to find out...

Along the way, we learn a bit more about the other eggs, as well as additional Russian history.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 6: Still Life

DATE: April 14, 1991

FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Hannibal comes out of the woods in chains

Hannibal - Hannibal is taken back to his castle - now an orphanage

Hannibal - Hannibal wakes from the night screaming. The next morning he stands by the moat - it is devoid of swans.

Hannibal - Hannibal sneaks into the wine cellar and sees his paintings are all gone

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Burghers of Calais by Rodin, France

The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Wheat Field with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Still Life with Bible by Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Still Life with Fruit by Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

NOTES:

In April 14, 1991, twenty paintings were stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. This episode doesn’t merely take the event as inspiration - it puts our characters directly into the event itself. Since the paintings were found a little more than 30 minutes after the theft, the episode will show the theft and recovery in real-time.

This episode is also heavily inspired by the opening scene of the remake of The Italian Job. A good heist, a good chase on foot and by boat through Amsterdam rather than Venice...

Hannibal is in France attending the opera, visiting galleries, eating good food, drinking good wine.  When looking at the Burghers of Calais, he has a flashback to his time in chains. When drinking wine he flashes back to seeing his wine cellar emptied of its hidden paintings, etc. This attempts to show that though he is trying to live a quiet life, he stands on shifting sands due to his background. 

SEASON 2, EPISODE 7: The Forgery

DATE: May 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Hannibal forges a letter from an allergist saying he is allergic to chalk dust.

Hannibal - Hannibal gives the forged letter to his professor.

Hannibal - Hannibal is allowed to be seated at the back of his classroom where he draws all day.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Forgery in question is this episode is not a real piece but is a similar piece to Frans Hals Portrait of a Gentleman.

NOTES:

This episode is heavily inspired by a 2018 case in which Sotheby’s sold Portrait of a Gentleman by Frans Hals for eleven million dollars to real estate investor Richard Hedreen. Ultimately it was determined that the painting could be a fake and Hedreen sued. There are also other similar cases that involve both Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

For the purposes of our story, the buyer is a French Billionaire. He sues Christie’s, and the F.B.I. Art Crime Team is brought onto the case to determine if the painting is a fake, and if so where it came from- the fear being that the original collection it came from could contain additional fakes. Clarice wants Ardelia to come onto this case for the legal red tape, but Ardelia lets Clarice know that Christie’s has hired her as their lawyer, so a serious conflict of interest arises.

If the painting is a fake, the other question is - where is the real one? Digging through the provenance, Clarice tries to answer that question and ultimately comes upon an entire collection that was painted as a forgery.

In order to gain information into some people’s private Collections, Clarice must continue to pose as art dealer Elizabeth chase. Playing a fake person, while investigating fake art makes her wonder about the nature of forgery within herself. On one hand, she must lie and pretend to be Elizabeth Chase for her job, but on the other hand, it comes very easily and often times she finds out she’s NOT lying about things, but actually being more herself when she is Elizabeth Chase than when she is Clarice Starling. Is she a forgery? Is Elizabeth the forgery? 

Clarice only continues to question herself when a letter from Hannibal Lecter arrives, asking many of the same questions.  If she finds that she wants what Elizabeth Chase wants, then maybe she is Elizabeth Chase. Maybe Elizabeth is who she would be without constraints, without worrying about what other people thought, etc.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 8: The Plunder

DATE: July 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Hannibal is selling his paintings to get through medical school and sees the Guardi at a Gallery

Info Flashback - The Gallery owner goes to Trebelaux and tells him the Guardi is "Hot."

Info Flashback - Trebelaux goes to Milko, asks if he has any more paintings from Lecter Castle. We see a quick shot of him looting them all from Lecter Castle, before he says he can't get them into the country, but that he has a plan...they have to wait until his ailing father dies.

Hannibal - In Medical School, Hannibal's professor tells him what to sketch. He stays up late sketching a flayed cadaver - the face in the sketch is that of Milko

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume

Adoration of the Shepherds, Giorgione - the National Gallery

Grand Canal in Venice - Francesco Guardi - Frick Art Museum

Other various stolen pieces of artwork from WWII adorn the walls of the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume

NOTES:

July 1 - Telephone service goes down in the cities of Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and San Francisco due to a software bug. About twelve million customers are affected. 

I have used the above-mentioned event as the basis of this episode. In this episode, it is a full power outage - not just telephones.

During the power outage, there are reports of a theft at the National Gallery. Several people saw suspicious activity and others saw someone remove a painting from the wall. The museum was emptied when the electricity went out, so only a few people outside, and some staff inside witnessed anything.  Since the power was out, nobody could call the police, and all sensors for the artwork did not work without electricity, nor did the security cameras. There is no evidence of the theft, beyond a few people claiming it happened...though none of them can confirm just what painting was taken...

The other problem is that there doesn’t seem to be any painting missing from any of the galleries.  Clarice must determine if there really was a theft, or if perhaps a fake was put into the real paintings place.

Investigating the museum’s security to try to determine where the thief may have entered, how the museum’s software works, when it does actually work, etc, Clarice reaches out to Margot Verger who owns and operates a software company. (in the novel she writes software for exercise equipment) since she has been disowned by her father.

Margot is a computer wizard. and Clarice ultimately winds up discovering the fact that it was, in fact, Margot who plotted the theft at the request of her father, who plans to hold it in his private collection.  Hoping to get back into his good graces, she agreed.

Instead of just taking down the Museum’s system, Margot figured it would be less suspicious to take down the power for the entire city. Having written the software the city uses for traffic lights, etc, she was easily able to hack into the grid and take it down for a short time.

This episode draws parallels to the plunder of Lecter Castle with the theft of the National Gallery.

Clarice threatens to turn Margot in, but Margot convinces her she will help Clarice get the evidence she needs to convict her father, despite all evidence leading to Trebelaux. We learn it was Margot who made the original anonymous call about her father’s museum.  They agree to work together if Margot will steal the painting back again. Put the real painting back and give her father the fake, as well as give Clarice information on the forger so she can arrest him.

We see flashbacks of Lecter in medical school, drawing the faces of the men in the lodge. 

SEASON 2, EPISODE 9: Craquelure

DATE: July 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Hannibal closely observes the Guardi painting in a gallery as a young boy. He looks at the stains. He flashes then to a memory of his mother telling him the marks are called “Foxing.”

Info Flashback - Trebelaux speaks to a man (we see only his back) about several paintings. He offers a great deal for the Italian ones.

Hannibal - Hannibal goes to visit the stolen paintings. He asks about the painting with Mischa's handprint

InfoFlashback - Trebelaux removes Mischa's handprint

InfoFlashback - Trebelaux sells the painting to the mysterious man. They strike up a conversation, and he says he could use him to help him start his museum. The man thanks Trebelaux, gives him his card, and Trebelaux replies "My pleasure Mr.Verger."

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Caves at Lascaux, emphasis on the handprints

NOTES:

In this episode, we learn that Trebelaux sold one of Lecter’s paintings to  Verger years ago, and that is how Verger and Trebelaux met.

Clarice dons her alter ego once again, befriending thieves she knows have likely stolen a piece of art. She attempts to become friendly enough with them that they ultimately want to show it to her to impress her. This takes several weeks. Ultimately they want to show it to her, and she must determine if it is a fake before she can get a warrant.

In order to determine if a painting is a fake, she has been studying photos of the original piece and memorizing its Craquelure - it’s a distinct pattern of cracks. By memorizing this - or a small portion (often a corner) - a painting can be identified as the real thing.  

We see flashbacks to Hannibal Lecter identifying his artwork by the foxing on the matte surrounding the painting. Another identifying feature is Mischa’s handprint, which is on the back. All of these elements authenticate his piece, but Trebelaux removes Mischa’s handprint, making the piece more difficult to claim. 

SEASON 2, EPISODE 10: The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

DATE: August 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Hannibal goes to visit his painting and is told he's been removed from the list, the painting was claimed by someone else

Info Flashback - Trebeleaux and Milko discuss Hannibal Lecter and agree he needs to be taken care of

 Hannibal - Hannibal works late in the lab, sketching. Milko comes in, there is a fight. We do not see all of it, nor do we hear all of their conversations.  Milko says something that clearly upsets Hannibal greatly, but we see this from afar.. (We will find out what he is told in the season 2 finale)  Milko is placed in the cadaver tank and drowns.

 Hannibal - Milko's father dies in Lithuania. The remaining paintings from Lecter Castle are placed into his casket. (In the novel it’s Dortlitch’s father)

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Ghent Altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck in Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium

Mammelokker, seen above the Belfry in Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium

Assorted paintings from Lecter Castle put into the casket of Milko’s father.

NOTES:

This episode about the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck, which is an absolutely stunning piece. Its secondary name is “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.” for which we get the title of the episode, because who am I to pass over lamb imagery for this series?

The Altarpiece has been a part of THIRTEEN crimes and has been stolen SIX times over the years. It is the most stolen piece of artwork in the world. Each time it was found or returned (in one instance by the Monuments Men in WWII), except for once...in 1934 the panel entitled “The Just Judges” or “The Righteous Judges” which has never been found. Jef Van der Veken (an art forger) painted a replacement for the piece, which is what you will see if you visit it today. 

 The thief of “The Just Judges” tried to negotiate its ransom via letters, but was unsuccessful. 

Comically,  A witness spotted two people leaving the cathedral that night with a panel-sized package wrapped in a black sheet tucked under an arm. This witness ALSO happened to be participating in a completely different robbery - of a cheese shop across the street from the Cathedral.

The investigator on the case back in 1934 also did not seem terribly concerned...he himself covering the theft of the art AND the theft of the cheese shop - reports say the officer seemed to be more interested in the Cheese shop theft.

The thief of the altarpiece panel was almost certainly Arsène Goedertier, a stockbroker heavily active in the church.  No one really knows the motive, as he didn’t need the money (he was wealthy). In his desk, on his death were found carbon copies of the 12 ransom letters, and a 13th letter that was never sent. The 13th note indicated that the panel was safe - but that it was hidden somewhere that nobody could access without attracting the notice of the public. 

Obviously the above is insane, completely true and too good to pass up and not use. So...for our story The Bishop of Ghent has heard much about Clarice Starling and the works she has managed to recover with her team. He reaches out hoping that she might be able to help solve this long-forgotten case.

Hannibal Lecter, of course, is prying around being his own annoying self. At one point he pulls Clarice into a confessional in the cathedral to tell her some information. A tight and intimate space and a lot of sexual tension.  Again, she is not amused. He, on the other hand, is constantly amused by her.

At one point they are in the cathedral talking about the case, about the artwork, and Clarice mentions the original officer in the ‘30s did a shoddy job because he was distracted with the cheese shop, to which Hannibal Lecter replies “In his defense, it is an excellent cheese shop.”

Johnny sees Clarice and Dr.Fell speaking and approaches Clarice, confused. He knows that she has worked with Dr.Fell before, but the last time was in Japan - when Dr.Fell knew her as Elizabeth Chase. Clarice explains that Dr.Fell now knows her real identity, and has been very helpful in helping her navigate the art world.  Johnny is unnerved. He cannot prove Dr.Fell was involved in any of the crimes in Japan alongside Soah...but he heavily suspects that he was. 

I had two problems to solve with this episode.  1. We don’t really know where the painting is, but I need to “Solve” this case somehow - at least fictionally.  2. Hannibal Lecter’s paintings are hidden in the coffin of Milko’s father...his casket taken over the border of Lithuania and buried (above ground) in a crypt in Sweden. How the HECK will Hannibal figure THAT out?  It is not ever resolved in Hannibal Rising.

Both of these issues are solved with the same case.  Ultimately, Clarice and Lecter are having a discussion about her father, and she mentions he was buried with his hat, but not his star. She pauses for a moment.  “Wait...wait!”  Clarice realizes what has happened. She checks with the church, and finds that Goedertier is buried in the crypt beneath the church...they have him exhumed, and sure enough, he has been buried with the stolen panel. The case is solved...but now Hannibal Lecter is spurred onward. Clarice’s discovery makes him wonder...could the same thing have happened to his paintings? He begins to do some digging into the families of the men he has killed.

The episode ends with Hannibal Lecter going to Sweden and entering the crypt of Milko’s father...he opens the coffin, and sure enough - his paintings are there. He is pleased. He writes Clarice a lovely letter. It doesn’t go into specifics of how she helped him - but he indicates that she’s been instrumental in helping him find something that belonged to him.

August 19 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is put under house arrest while vacationing in the Crimea during a coup. The attempted coup, led by Vice President Gennady Yanayev and seven hard-liners attempting to usurp control, collapses in less than 72 hours.

August 20 - Dissolution of the Soviet Union: More than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup that deposed President Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Mammelokker sculpture is shown in this episode and is meant to be foreshadowing to Clarice offering her breast to Hannibal Lecter like at the end of the novel (Spoilers - eventually!)

SEASON 2, EPISODE 11: Operation Atilla

DATE: September 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Mischa in her bathtub, among the cabbage roses and bubbles. Hannibal watches over her.

Hannibal - The Lodge, Hannibal is ill. A quick flash of Mischa's bathtub, water boiling in it

InfoFlashback - Trebelaux removes Mischa's handprint

Hannibal - Hannibal goes to visit his painting and is told he's been removed from the list, the painting was claimed by someone else

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Kanakaria Mosaics

NOTES:

Please note that Operation Atilla in this instance DOES NOT refer to the Nazi occupation of Vichy, France, but instead the actions of the  Turkish armed forces during the invasion of Cyprus in the 1970s.  What followed was looting of Cypriot Orthodox Churches on a level not seen since WWII.  Most notable, some Kanakaria Mosaics and frescoes were sold to museums around the world.  People like Aydin Dikman and others have managed to get rich off of the looting of old churches and selling pieces to museums. 

When a church collapses in Cyprus due to a terrible earthquake, Clarice Starling knows that Hannibal Lecter will not be able to resist going. In the past, during times of war, earthquake, other acts of God, looting often becomes a problem. Clarice journeys to visit with government and church officials in an attempt to figure out a wide-scale plan to keep items from leaving the island.

When visiting one of the churches late in the evening after some official discussions with the government and local police, she runs into Hannibal Lecter. She is not surprised or caught off guard. She figured he would get there eventually. They banter a bit about his collection of church collapses and walk around the rubble. She asks him if he’s at all upset over the loss of art? He seems unphased but admits that the events of Operation Atilla in the 70s were unfortunate. 

As the sun sets we hear a noise in the rubble. At first, they think it’s an animal of some kind and continue their discussion, Lecter pointing out a mosaic at her feet that intrigues her. After another moment he pulls her behind a tree - someone is walking in the rubble of the church.  She peeks her head around the trunk of the tree and is shocked to see it’s Pierre Trebelaux and two of his workmen. Her eyes narrow, and she tells Lecter “It’s one of the men I’m investigating. Verger’s curator - Pierre Trebelaux.”  Lecter pauses and asks her to repeat the name. As she does so he peeks around, immediately recognizing the man. We have quick flashbacks of scenes we’re already previously seen - Trebelaux letting a young Hannibal know his painting has been claimed by someone else, and the removal of Mischa’s handprint from his artwork.

Clarice is immediately aware of the change in Lecter’s demeanor. “What is it?” He tells her that’s the man who sold several of his family’s paintings away, despite him already having a previous claim on them. He makes a move to step out from behind their hiding place.  Clarice grabs him and begs him to stop - to please not kill Trebelaux. She’s been working on the case for months. This incident is just the thing she needs to put him away. 

Lecter grabs her by the wrists, angry, hissing at her. He tells her she’s made the grave mistake of becoming complacent, of forgetting who he is and what he is capable of. Clarice stares him in the eyes, not afraid. He cools after a moment and releases her. She then asks him to promise to let her handle Trebelaux - and she promises him that she WILL take care of him. She won’t let him get away with any of it. Not the issues with the Verger Museum, nor any of the crimes committed against his family. Lecter reluctantly agrees. Clarice doesn’t speak her hesitation, but ultimately she isn’t sure if the Doctor will be able to keep his promise.

September 2 – The United States re-recognizes the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and the US government reopens the embassies there.

 September 6 - Singing Revolution: The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states.

September 17 – North Korea, South Korea, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 12: Ein Männlein steht im Walde

DATE: December 1991 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - The orphanage - A child taunts a smaller child. Young Hannibal retaliates.

Hannibal - Hannibal is punished for his misbehavior, and is told he is "No longer the Lord of the Manor."

 Hannibal - Hannibal shares his candy with a smaller child.

Hannibal - Simonetta stashing her jewelry in a boar's head and declaring "Pearls before swine."

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Ein Männlein steht im Waldem - a song by Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben

The painting that was destroyed is not real in this episode but would be a portrait painted by the real-life Russian painter Vasily Ivanovich Surikov.

NOTES:

Ein Männlein steht im Walde refers to the song that Hannibal would sing to his sister. It literally means “The Little Man in the Woods.” In this episode, we see Hannibal in the woods walking towards the lodge.

December 23 - Clarice's Birthday

December 25 - Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union, from which most republics have already seceded, anticipating the dissolution of the 74-year-old state.

December 26 – The Supreme Soviet meets for a final time, formally dissolves the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War. All remaining Soviet institutions eventually cease operation on December 31.

We see Lecter visiting his Ancestral home. He cannot go inside as it is an orphanage, but he walks around the grounds at night and has memories of living there as a child, as well as memories as an orphan.

Hannibal visits the lodge in the woods. He finds the boars head in the rubble on the floor, removes its false back and pulls out a handful of his mother’s jewelry.

This is Ardelia’s first appearance in an official capacity on Clarice’s Art Crime Team. Having a background as a lawyer, she will be brought in to deal with legal issues - she is not generally on the ground with the rest of her team, and thus does not run into Dr.Fell like the rest of her team occasionally does.  Ardelia, obviously, would know him, because she’s the smartest person in this story.

This episode is heavily inspired by a plane crash off the coast of Nova Scotia, which took place on Sept 2, 1998. Onboard was a priceless Picasso, which was ultimately lost at sea.

Germany and Russia argue over the ownership of the painting. The events dissolving the Soviet Union make the case less than cut and dry. Ardelia is shown to not be intimidated AT ALL by Government authorities of Russia or Germany. She is actually...kind of more of a badass than Clarice.

This episode explores the idea of ownership. Does anyone ever really own artwork? And if so, who owns it? What happens when its country of origin is no longer a country? What happens when governments change, laws change, when the ower dies, etc?

Lecter writes Clarice a letter wishing her a happy birthday as he travels to his ancestral home. He doesn't tell her where he is specifically, but he references the events happening with the fall of the USSR and says that for many the war was not over until this day as the cold war followed so swiftly on the heels of WWII and that for some the war may never be over -  that its ramifications can and still be seen through history. 

Along with the letter, Hannibal Lecter has included an extraordinary gift for Clarice - a beautiful necklace. Clarice does not yet know, but the necklace belonged to Simonetta Lecter. The stones from the necklace have been in Simonetta’s family for hundreds of years - once owned by Caterina Sforza.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 13: Whoso List to Hunt

DATE: January 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - Simonetta Lecter stashing her jewelry in a boar's head and declaring "Pearls before swine." (We’ve seen this flashback before. It is repeated in this episode to re-establish where Clarice’s necklace came from)

Hannibal - An Injured deer with an arrow in its side, Mischa being taken away

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Whoso List to Hunt, a Poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt

The Swing by Fragonard, The Wallace Collection in London

The Halt During the Chase, by Jean-Antoine Watteau, The Wallace Collection in London

The Grand Canal in Venice - Canaletto, Getty Collection

Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger, owned by the Royal Trust, in the collection of Molson Verger for this narrative

Greensleeves, a song by Henry VIII

Wound Man by Hans von Gersdorff

The Allegory of Passion by Hans Holbein, owned by the John Paul Getty Museum. 

NOTES:

This episode is HEAVILY influenced by the poem Whoso List to Hunt by Sir Thomas Wyatt. The poem uses the metaphor of a hunter perusing a deer. The deer is hard to catch. The hunter is lagging - and the king has claimed the deer, putting a necklace around its neck. The poem is typically believed to depict the relationship between Sir Thomas Wyatt, Anne Boleyn, and Henry VIII, with Henry staking his claim on Anne, and Wyatt knowing he must give up.  The poem will be recited in the episode, and it will become clear that Johnny = Wyatt, Clarice = Anne, and Henry VIII = Lecter.

This episode also features a piece by Hans Holbien entitled The Allegory of Passion. A little bit of info about this piece - it shows rider upon a horse. Notes on the painting are as follows: Being carried away by love is one thing. But being absorbed with animal-like passion is quite another. It’s the latter kind that was, and frequently still is, frowned upon. The rider looks us in the eye and clings himself to the manes of the horse. He rather seems to enjoy himself. The panicked look of the animal tell us that this ride is not going to stop anytime soon. Wild animal passion is set loose. From the motto at the bottom of the painting, we can tell that this really is an allegory of love and not just a depiction of a horse ride gone wrong. ‘E cosi desio me mena’ (‘And so desire carries me along’) is a line rather similar to one of the poet Petrarch’s (1304-74) Canzoniere.  Of course, this represents Lecter - who throughout the entire series is depicted as an animal seducing a human (Dream of a Fisherman’s Wife, Leda and the Swan, The Rape of Europa, The Allegory of Passion)

Though John Paul Getty lived in America, he had an English country home where he kept his mistresses.  Once again I am taking inspiration from Getty - Molson Verger, an American who also has an English country home for the same purpose.  It’s also a great place for hunting. In this story, it is located in Kent - not far from Hever Castle - the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.

FULL EPISODE SUMMARY:

Clarice officially turns over her information to the F.B.I regarding seeing Trebelaux looting a church in Cyprus. Molson Verger, outraged that Trebelaux has been caught, fires him. Threbelaux doesn’t take it well - knowing full well that Molson is firing him to make it look as if he is the only one who is guilty - and not both of them. Trebelaux yells, screams and threatens revenge, and ultimately is removed from the premises - though not before snagging a recently acquired Holbein, The Allegory of Passion, as well as Lecter’s Canaletto. 

Trebelaux settles in a small cottage nearby the estate, anxiously awaiting an impending trial where his guilt will no doubt be assured.  We watch him begin to formulate a plan, making calls, writing letters...

Molson Verger, in an attempt to do his best to continue to look like he is being supportive of the investigation against his museum calls Clarice Starling and asks if she would like to visit his English Country home for an old fashioned English Country House Party - interesting guests in the art community, some deer hunting, lots of food and alcohol, and of course...what would a house party be without the occasional dalliance? And of course, Verger would be happy to discuss any further information about Trebelaux over the weekend as well...he wants transparency, after all...

Clarice doesn’t think this would be very professional, but when she talks to Johnny about it, he thinks it might be a good opportunity to look at the situation a little closer. Up until now, they have met with Verger in an official capacity, and only briefly. Maybe if they are with him for a long weekend, he or one of his art friends might drop interesting information - or maybe they might have time to search through the house for any incriminating records.  Clarice agrees that there is merit to this and agrees to join the House Party.

Clarice and Johnny arrive and are shown to their separate rooms. When Clarice comes downstairs, she runs into Margot Verger. The last time she saw Margot was in Washington D.C. when they made an agreement. Margot tells Clarice she knows why Clarice is there, and that she wants to help in whatever way that she can. She knows Trebelaux was guilty, but she thinks her father is using Trebelaux to take the fall - she firmly believes that her father is also guilty. Clarice says a good opportunity will present itself, and that she appreciates Margot’s help. 

Most of the guests have already arrived and are in the billiard room drinking before dinner.  Molson Verger takes Clarice into the room and begins to introduce her to people. She is shocked when she finds that Dr.Fell has somehow made the guest list. He smiles at her, and she is incredulous. After some small talk with a few other people, she heads over to a corner and motions for him to come to her, which he does, offering her a glass of wine, which she takes.

She asks Lecter if he is there to kill Trebelaux - if he is, he’s too late - Trebelaux is no longer in Verger’s employ. He tells her he’s well aware of their agreement and shrugs her question away. He says he is here looking for the Canaletto, but it seems Trebelaux ran away with it when he was fired. She then asks him, despite his cosmetic changes over the years, how on earth he managed to not be recognized by Molson - after all, Lecter attacked his son Mason years ago.  Lecter mentions that Molson spent the majority of Margot and Mason’s childhood in England enjoying the company of his mistresses and his art collection while his children lived in America. He never attended the Lecter trial.

Margot walks into the room, and Clarice is concerned.  “How does Margot not know it’s you?” she asks.  Dr. Lecter takes a sip of his wine and leans against the window. “Oh, she knows,” he says.  Clarice raises her eyebrow. She confesses Margot is helping her, and that even if Margot hadn’t known Lecter’s identity, she had some leverage she could have used.  Lecter shakes his head. “Tsk, tsk.”

Later in the evening, Clarice speaks with Margot. Margot admits that she rather likes Dr.Lecter. He was a good therapist to her during a terrible, terrible time in her life. She reveals some of the things Lecter told her to comfort her, and Clarice is oddly moved, looking across the room, locking eyes with Lecter as she continues to speak to Margot. Clarice knows how badly Margot was treated by her brother, and she has witnessed first hand the cruelty her father subjects her to, and she is glad to know that someone was kind and honest with her when she needed it most. 

The next day, preparing for the hunt, Clarice and Lecter manage to speak to one another again.  Clarice mentions that Margot shared some information from her therapy sessions with him. Lecter says that if Margot has chosen to share, that is her right, but as her doctor, he would never reveal anything about their sessions without her permission.  Clarice is further moved and asks if he would ever reveal the things they’ve discussed about her father, the lambs, etc. He says he would not, that it is all stored in her medical files - he points to his head.

Johnny comes downstairs and interrupts Clarice and Dr.Fell. He is rather short and impolite with Dr.Fell. He had been watching them the night previous. He is not Dr.Fell’s biggest fan. He doesn’t think he’s honest. He also has to admit he doesn’t like the way Clarice and Dr.Fell act when they are together.

Everyone heads out to the hunt - some on foot and some on horseback. Clarice canters up to Dr.Fell’s horse and they begin talking about Hannah. Dr.Lecter tells her about his own horse from his childhood - Caesar. The Doctor has not confided much to her about his personal life beyond the fact that his family was killed and his estate pillaged, she doesn’t know the details. She is curious to learn something about him.

During the deer hunt, Hannibal Lecter suffers a flashback to the wounded deer in the snow. Clarice only notices that he seems to be breathing a bit heavily. He excuses himself from the hunt early. The rest of the hunting party doesn’t seem concerned. The hunt - after all - is not for everyone. She sees the body of the deer, and she herself is unsettled and turns back to the house. Brigham watches Clarice depart, knowing she’s going in search of Dr.Fell.

Back at the house, she goes in search of Lecter. When she finds him, she cannot quite bear asking him if he is alright, but dances around the subject, hoping her presence will be enough to convey her concern.  

Lecter is seated in one of the drawing rooms at a harpsichord playing Greensleeves. He tells her a bit about the composition, saying it was said to have been composed by Henry VIII for Anne Boleyn, but this more than likely not true. Anne Boleyn’s home, Hever Castle, however, is only a couple miles away - he thinks perhaps Verger has a Holbein sketch of Anne Boleyn at the house - perhaps they could find it?  He tells her a bit about Holbein and Anne Boleyn as they walk through the various drawing rooms looking at Verger’s art. He tells her of Thomas Wyatt, of the poem Whoso List to Hunt. “A very different kind of hunt.” he says, referencing the hunt from earlier in the day. They then discuss the Holbein The Allegory of Passion, which Trebelaux supposedly nabbed before being fired. “Being carried away by love is one thing. But being absorbed with animal-like passion is quite another.”

That night is another formal evening. Clarice is beautifully dressed with an emerald necklace around her neck. Dr.Lecter is thrilled to see her wearing the necklace he had given her. Clarice is comfortable in formal wear, and ultimately very happy hobnobbing with all of the rich people of the art world who are at the party. She is laughing and having a delightful time.

Johnny stands in the corner in black tie, but fuming. He finds himself jealous and disgusted. He goes to Clarice and pulls her aside and tells her this isn’t like her - that despite not being undercover, she’s acting more like her other identity, the haughty, snobby Elizabeth Chase. Of course, this is not the first time Clarice has considered this - a letter from Lecter months before essentially confirming the same thing. Angry, she tries to deny Johnny’s accusations, despite knowing them to be true. When he asks her where her necklace came from, she is silent and Johnny understands. He understands that Dr.Fell has given it to her and that the necklace is Dr.Fell’s way of declaring that Clarice belongs to him - at least as much as Clarice can ever belong to anyone or be tamed  (There is written her fair neck round about,'Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am, And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.)  He realizes that Clarice also has feelings for Dr.Fell, something she denies, though privately is conflicted.

The next morning when Clarice and Lecter bow out of the second Deer Hunt, Johnny is angry and heads out, annoyed that she is choosing to stay behind with Fell.  As soon as everyone is gone, Margot comes downstairs and the three of them break into Verger’s office. Margot stands guard outside of the office in case someone comes back.

Clarice and Lecter go into the office and begin to rifle through things. As they work,  Clarice tells Lecter of her discussion with Johnny about Elizabeth Chase and that Johnny believes Dr.Fell to be in love with her. Lecter looks across the desk at her. Clarice looks away nervously.  Lecter then says that Johnny is jealous - that Johnny is in love with her. Clarice says that’s absurd.  He looks at her again, serious - “Surely you know when a man is in love with you?” he asks. Again she looks away nervously. He asks if she loves Johnny.  She does not respond. He asks if she wished she did love Johnny.

Verger’s desk is a beautiful 18th-century piece with many hidden drawers and compartments. Clarice mentions a similar one sold at Sotheby’s recently, and she had the opportunity to observe it in person. Lecter is pleased with her knowledge. His impression grows when she finds a secret compartment. Unfortunate it is locked, but Clarice uses a hairpin to break the lock. Lecter is delighted. Clarice grabs the paperwork inside, but they do not have time to look through it before Margot whispers that her father is coming back.

There is no time for them to exit, and Lecter pulls Clarice into a 16th-century Armoire. In such cramped quarters, they are very aware of one another physically, their bodies pressed close to one another. Clarice is very much aware she is sexually attracted to the Doctor - something she’s been trying to deny.

Margot goes into the office and tries to distract her father. Eventually, after some discussion, she is successful and he leaves the room with Margot in tow.  Lecter and Clarice hold back in the Armoire for a while to make sure the coast is really and truly clear. She whispers what an odd house party this has been. He says it seems pretty typical - a house party often finds people stealing moments in dark corners. He kisses her.  When they part he tells her house parties also often see people bed-hopping and knocking on people’s doors at night- the question is, whose door will she knock on tonight? He is, of course, referencing both Johnny and himself.  He kisses her again, and when they part a second time he asks her to “Come to me tonight.” She is silent for a long time. “He’s better than you.” She says, about Johnny, trying to convince herself. “He’s good, and honest and kind.”  Lecter agrees, Johnny is all of those things, and he himself is none of those things.  “You and he have nothing in common.” She says. “Ah,” he says, kissing her again, “That’s where you’re wrong.” She pulls away after a moment, overcome, and rather than respond, she opens the door of the armoire and leaves.

That night at dinner, Clarice finds herself very much tempted. She cannot stop thinking about Lecter and she’s angry at him for seeing through her so easily. She’s also angry with Johnny for confronting her about her behavior. She watches Lecter over the burning tapers across the dinner table and he looks at her hungrily. Johnny notices and is still jealous.  

Later that evening, after much wine, discussion, and singing, people begin to make excuses to leave the room in pairs and go upstairs. It is clear that most people at the party have paired up with someone. 

Pacing around her bedroom in the evening, Clarice finally goes out into the hall and stands in front of the bedroom doors of Dr.Lecter and Johnny, eventually knocking on one of them.  We see the inside of the room and the back of its occupant - but we cannot quite see who it is.  Clarice goes to him and kisses him passionately.

After a moment, we ultimately see that it is Johnny. He is confused at first, but she asks him “Isn’t this what you wanted?” and he admits that yes, of course, he wants her.  Clarice, unable to bring herself to go to Lecter, instead sleeps with Johnny while thinking of Lecter.

The next morning when Clarice goes downstairs, one of the servants tells her that Dr.Fell departed early that morning for the continent, but that he left a package for her. She is handed the small package, unwraps it, and discovers it is The Allegory of Passion. She knows something horrible has happened to Trebelaux.

Pierre Trebelaux’s body is found in the woods where the deer hunts have taken place the past couple of days. He is pinned to a tree and displayed like Wound Man.  Clarice immediately knows that it was Hannibal Lecter’s doing - and that he must have killed the man late in the night - just after she chose to go to Johnny’s bed instead of his.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 14: The Sacrifice of Iphigenia

DATE: February 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Clarice - Watching TV with Ardelia, and seeing Senator Martin, desperate to get her daughter back 

Hannibal - Young Hannibal goes to a Canadian Taxidermist (Grentz) with the intention of killing him. He is too late - Grentz has already moved elsewhere.

InfoFlashback - We see Trebeleaux, some time between being fired and being killed by Lecter. He is speaking to a man and discusses kidnapping Margot.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Mask of Agamemnon

The Sacrifice of Iphigenia,  François Perrier

NOTES:

This episode is heavily inspired by the Getty kidnapping of 1973, in which John Paul Getty’s grandson was kidnapped and held for ransom. Getty, cheap and uncaring did not want to pay the ransom, despite being incredibly wealthy and easily able to do so.

Margot Verger, despite being disowned by her father, despite trying to help Clarice plot her father’s downfall, is none the less always trying to find ways into her father’s good graces in an attempt to be written back into his will (see episode 2:8 The Plunder). Her father has recently purchased a couple of expensive pieces from Greece, and she agrees to be the one to escort the art to America to the Verger museum now that Trebelaux is no longer in his employ to oversee the transfer.

While heading back from Greece, Margot is captured by several Sardinian criminals (Carlo, Mateo, Tommaso, and Piero, who appear in this storyline earlier than they do in the novel Hannibal.) At first it is believed that kidnapping had to do with the artwork, but in reality, it had to do with Margot. It is soon uncovered that Pierre Trebelaux, before being killed, hired the Sardinians to kidnap Margot in an effort to get revenge upon Verger.

Clarice - and really the world - are horrified by the kidnapping. It is major world news. Clarice is still talking with Verger every now and then, as his case is ongoing. She wonders if there is anything the F.B.I. can do to help - even if her Art Crime Team Division obviously would not be able to help with a kidnapping- maybe another section of the F.B.I could?  Of course, she quickly is reminded by the F.B.I. that the United States doesn’t negotiate with kidnappers, terrorists, etc, so the fact that Margot is an American Citizen doesn’t really help them - there isn’t much that they can do, unless Verger is willing to pay the ransom privately, which he is legally at liberty to do.

Clarice is aghast when Verger receives a ransom note and refuses to pay it. She thinks of her own relationship with her father. She also thinks back on the Buffalo Bill Case - of how desperate Senator Martin had been to get her daughter back, and she just doesn’t understand how Verger wouldn't simply write a check when he has plenty of money to do so. This causes her a lot feelings about her own father, and she finds herself very close emotionally to this case. Dangerously close. 

Clarice paces back and forth, talking to Johnny, furious at Verger, but unable to confront him. Eventually, she comes upon the idea of manipulating Verger into letting her go after Margot by making him believe that she is going after the artwork. After all...that’s what her division of the F.B.I does, isn’t it?   Would he be willing to pay the ransom for the art and not his daughter? Though there isn’t really a ransom out for the paintings - Clarice convinces Verger she can get the pieces back with his cash.

 She manages to convince herself that if she rescues both Margot AND the paintings, then she is still essentially doing her job and not stepping on any boundary issues. However, she knows she cannot drag her other agents into this. What she is doing would be frowned upon and she will not let them take the heat for it. She’s hoping that it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission - after all, if she’s successful on both fronts, clearly no one will complain?

Hannibal Lecter has been moving throughout Europe, perusing some leads on some artwork from Lecter Castle. Knowing the Trebelaux stole a good deal of his art has helped him gain a few leads in where some of his pieces might be.

Trebelaux, upon being fired, stole several pieces from the Verger Collection - Among them, the Canaletto from Lecter Castle, which he sold to Verger years before back in France, and Lecter had been looking for in Whoso List to Hunt.

Trebelaux went on to sell the Canaletto to another dealer in the hopes of getting enough money to disappear without a trace.. Obviously, he was not successful, having been killed by Hannibal Lecter before he could get anywhere.  Still, Lecter was able to track down to whom the Canaletto was sold..

Tracking down the Canaletto, Lecter is about to kill the dealer who purchased it from Trebelaux, but the dealer begins to beg and spill all kinds of information in the hopes that Lecter will spare his life.  Did he know this Trebelaux fellow was being investigated? Lecter wants to know. Yes, but he needed the Money - he figured he could sell the Canaletto for a lot more than he gave Trebelaux for it. Plenty of museums would be interested in.  Then Lecter wants to know if Trebelaux told him anything about any other paintings from Lecter Castle?  The dealer isn’t sure -  Trebeleaux had mentioned the Verger case, had mentioned wanting to get even, and had mentioned the kidnapping of Margot while transporting artwork into the U.S. What artwork, Lecter wants to know.  The Dealer says he isn’t sure about that - it had something to do with a mask?

Lecter politely thanks the dealer for this helpful information and walks away with a pleasant smile. The dealer breaths a sigh of relief at having gotten away alive.  After a moment he looks down and finds he’s been stabbed and is bleeding out. He didn’t even feel the knife go in.

Lecter has been mildly disturbed by the kidnapping. He likes Margot well enough. But now that he knows that stolen artwork is involved - he knows Clarice will not be far behind. Due to her background and need to save the lambs, he also knows that she will be trying to save Margot, and in order to do this, she will have to essentially pretend to be going in for the paintings. He decides to look in on Clarice and Margot...

Margot is shown putting up quite a fight with the kidnappers. She’s frightened, but she is smart and strong and not easily broken. She gives them the artwork and asks if they will let her go. The episode ends when they let her know that they didn’t kidnap her for the artwork - they kidnapped HER. Piero has a quiet moment with her and tells her not to worry - they mean her no harm as long as her father pays the ransom in a timely manner.  They lock her in a room and she cries alone, knowing her father doesn’t love her and that she’s doomed - her father will never pay the ransom. 

Despite being heavy-handed, Verger is meant to represent Agamemnon, and Margo represents his daughter Iphigenia. Agamemnon offends the Goddess Artemis and she retaliates by preventing Greek Troops from reaching Troy unless Agamemnon kills Iphigenia as a human sacrifice. Obviously, the beautiful Greek Mask of Agamemnon and the painting The Sacrifice of Iphigenia re-assert this.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 15: The Persistence of Memory

DATE: March 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Hannibal - While drugged, Hannibal experiences quick flashes of everything we've previously seen. Parents being killed. Mischa screaming. Hannibal's arm is broken. Hannibal in chains. Hannibal mocked by other children in the orphanage. Him killing Mischa's murderers. Grutas telling him Mischa was eaten - but we add to this a new flashback, we've not yet seen - We see Milko urging Hannibal to eat, and then we see Hannibal and Milko squaring off and Milko declaring that Hannibal also ate his sister.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Death of Marat by David

Abraham and Isaac by Rembrandt

The Persistence of Memory  by Salvador Dali

The Mask of Agamemnon

The Sacrifice of Iphigenia,  François Perrier

NOTES:

While Dali’s The Persistence of Memory is seen briefly in the episode, the title mainly refers, quite literally, to the persistence of Memory - Hannibal Lecter’s memories.

After some globetrotting and investigating, Lecter and Clarice both manage to find out where Margot is being held a prisoner in Sardinia.

Clarice finds out that both The Mask of Agamemnon and The Sacrifice of Iphigenia are for sale on the black market. Unfortunately, they are for sale through different dealers. She assumes this means that the Sardinians have already sold them. However, if they interview both people and find they have a common seller, she can trace back the location of the Sards. Johnny agrees to go undercover to get information on The Mask of Agamemnon with another agent, while Clarice once again poses as Elizabeth Chase alongside one of her agents, and meets a different dealer in another town regarding The Sacrifice of Iphigenia.

Clarice’s questions quickly anger the people she is speaking to, and it becomes obvious that the kidnappers have already sold The Mask of Agamemnon, but they have not yet managed to sell The Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Thinking she was speaking to a buyer - she quickly finds she’s talking to the original kidnappers.  Clarice goes for her gun, but it is too late - they grab her and place her in the locked room with Margot Verger. 

The kidnappers don’t know Clarice’s real name. They have Elizabeth Chase’s ID.

There is a bit of an argument amongst the kidnappers about the use of the gun. Clarice’s gun went off while they fought with her, and it could have alerted someone with the noise. 

The kidnappers, unsure if Elizabeth Chase came with anyone else, send a man to sit outside the building with a dart gun and keep watch. The dart gun makes less noise and takes someone down without killing them.

Margot is defeated and surprised to find Clarice having come to her rescue, even if she failed spectacularly in that rescue. Clarice says not to worry - that Johnny will come to their aid. He’s in another town, but he has a flight to meet up with her the next evening. Once she doesn’t show up, he’ll know something has gone wrong. 

Hannibal Lecter has figured out where Margot was taken through similar, but less honest avenues than Clarice, speaking to thieves and forgers and seeing if anyone knows anything. Nearby, he heard Clarice’s gun go off and was alerted to her location.

Clarice and Margot work to assess their surroundings and see what, if anything, they can use in order to aide their escape. They have a little food and water, a plate for the food, a single bed, sheets, the clothes on their back and not much else...the building doesn’t seem to be very big, and the door seems to have a fairly normal lock, but they don’t have much they can use to pick it. Clarice comes upon the idea of using the metal underwire from her bra both to pick the lock and possibly use it as a weapon. But they need to know how many men there are, what the patrolling issue is - has she taken notice of the times they come to give her food, march by her door, change shifts, etc?  They quickly begin to formulate a plan but are interrupted when they hear some commotion outside.  They race to the barred window but are unable to tell what happened.

A few minutes later Hannibal Lecter is brought in.  Piero notes that he will not tell anyone who he is. They have not figured out his identity. They throw Lecter into the room, and it is obvious that he is not well. He only manages a few words before losing consciousness. He has been shot with a tranquilizer dart.

Margot and Clarice had been close to formulating an exit strategy during a shift change, but now that Hannibal Lecter is with them, Clarice says she cannot leave him here alone.  Without Clarice’s help, there is no use for Margot to try to escape - they need the manpower.  Clarice hopes if Lecter can survive the tranquilizer, he can add to their manpower and help them.

Clarice worries - what if Johnny finds out she’s missing and comes alone, without reinforcements?  Johnny could be killed.  What if Johnny does rescue them and Lecter is still there - Lecter will be put into jail. She finds suddenly she isn’t sure she wants that either. What if Hannibal Lecter does not live?

Suddenly, we see a scene of Lecter standing in a gallery looking at a large painting of the Sacrifice of Issac. We hear footsteps coming down the hallway. He turns as Clarice approaches him. They both look at the painting together. “Do you think..” he asks, “That God wanted to eat Isaac?” Clarice is puzzled by the question, “No.” She replies, “The angel intervened in time.”  Hannibal Lecter turns to her. “Not always.” Suddenly the painting falls to the floor - other paintings on the walls begin to tremble. The walls suddenly fall away, the floor beneath them crumbling. It suddenly becomes evident that we are inside of Lecter’s Mind Palace, and its walls are crumbling. As they are pulled in opposite directions, Clarice reaches out to him, calling out to him, but the memory rips in half.

We cut back to their secured room, where Clarice is still calling out to Dr.Lecter. He is only half-conscious and whatever he has been given is clearly causing him to hallucinate. Clarice tries to calm him, grabs his hand, lays him down, but still, he writhes and screams. Sometimes he calls out names she does not know - Mischa, Jakov, etc. Margot mentions she was given the same thing Lecter was when she tried to fight her captors once - and that she had had terrible nightmares about Mason hurting her again.  As time goes on, Clarice realizes he’s not just hallucinating - he’s reliving memories. She’s panic-stricken - she is not afraid of him, but she is afraid for him as she tries to hold him back from accidentally hurting himself, as he screams about things she doesn’t understand.  Eventually, she begins to make connections about the things that happened to him, which only causes her more anguish. She has only seen the Doctor composed. The most un-composed she’s ever really witnessed were times he was angry. She’s never seen him afraid. She begins to understand how their pasts are alike.

The Doctor eventually recovers and the three prisoners plan their escape. Clarice picks the lock with her underwire metal, and with shards of glass from a plate of food, Lecter manages to cut Mateo. Carlo runs in and the sheets from the bed are thrown over his head. Carlo escapes with his life, but Mateo dies. Tomasso and Piero were a different shift and Carlo runs to find them on the other side of town, but it is too late.

Lecter, Clarice, and Margot manage to find the painting on the premises. Hannibal Lecter flees before the F.B.I. arrives. When Johnny arrives, he has The Mask of Agamemnon. Both pieces of art are safe and given back to Margot.

Margot returns safely home to give her father his artwork. He is in his bathtub and is pleased to see his art, but does not particularly care that his daughter is home safe. As her father leans back in his bath and closes his eyes, Margot Verger slits his throat.

Clarice, having rescued two paintings, as well as Margot Verger is a hero. Paul Krendler is furious at her conduct, furious that she manipulated Verger and the FBI into letting her take this case and rescue Margot when it was not her place to do so...but much to his dismay, he cannot do anything with her career. She is too well-liked with the press at this moment to strike her down...

[plaidamoosette]

From the Darkness- Part 2

Eddie Brock/Venom x Reader

Credit to the Owners of the Gif, and Marvel for the characters of Venom and Eddie Brock. 

Outline: You’re an investigative reporter. You’ve been living in the shadow of everyone else for too long. Every lead you’ve gotten was always turned down or rejected, only to pop up under the bylines of another reporter. Mainly Eddie Brock. But that would change. You’ve caught wind of a lead, something too big to ignore. But as you follow the trail of bodies to your target, will you get too caught up in your story? Maybe some things are not meant to come out from the darkness.

Warnings: um, none yet, mentions of violence and murder, adult words. I know nothing about investigative reporting so... I’m winging it! Gang violence? And just my writing errors.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading and supporting, let me know how you like it, and if you wanna be tagged! Please be patient, the next chapter will be more exciting!

Word Count: 3500+

Part 1 •

“Ah, Miss (Y/N), ain’t seen you ‘round here in a long time,” a blonde-haired man chirps from behind a desk, smiling at you as you push the large door open, entering the San Francisco Police Department.

“Jake, it’s nice to see you too,” you smile, taking his hand for a firm shake.

“Now, I know you didn’t come all the way over here to flirt with me,” he jokes, winking at you, and you shake your head.

“How’s your boyfriend, Jake?” The man shakes his hand in the air, and laughs breathily.

“Still open to a threesome.”

“Okay! And on that note, let’s change the subject!” Your cheeks flush instantly, earning you another laugh. “I need to ask you for a big favor.”

“Is it for another case?” He asks, standing up and guiding you around to the back of the precinct.

“Yes. And... it may possibly be a little... illegal.” You fidget with your fingers, and he nods, taking you to the desk where his boyfriend, Adam, was seated.

“Detective Kane,” you hold out a hand, and the man in question slaps a folder shut to jump up and snatch you into a hug. 

“(Y/N)! Where have you been? I need you to help get me another big case, like the last one!” He jokes, and you smile.

“I think I have just the thing. But, let’s talk privately, okay?” You look around, and he vigorously bobs his head.

“Of course, sweetheart, anything you need. Come one, we’ll go talk in one of the interrogation rooms,” with that, the pair of them lead you to a cold room, motioning for you to sit at the steel table. The chair was icy, and goosebumps immediately rippled across your skin.

“Sorry, it makes the suspects uneasy, better for interrogation,” Adam apologizes, and you gesture that you were fine.

You quickly whip out your notepad and your phone to record, adjusting your position so you were more comfortable in the hard chair. You tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, and click the pen.

“So... I need to know everything you have on the creature that has been leaving bodies all around the city.” You jump in, a look of shock taking over Adam’s face. 

“Wow, okay, we’re gettin’ right into it, I see,” he chuckles, and then rises from his chair. “I’ll go get the case file.”

“What do you know about it, Jake?” You ask the blond, and he shrugs, resting his chin in his palm.

“Not much. He’s kind of hard to track- but we do know that he kills mostly mercenaries. About five months ago is when he appeared-- killed a bunch of mercs, and a few SWAT members. Ate some of their heads too. The coroner said that whatever did it, it wasn’t human. The teeth marks indicate something that resembles a lion, snake, or-- as he joked-- a freaking dragon.”

“Is there any connection to Life Foundation?” At this, Jake frowns.

“No, why would you think so?”

“Well, Carlton Drake returns with some form of ‘special evidence’ with one of his rockets, and then six months later was shut down because of illegal human experimentation. There was rumors that he was killing people with a parasite, and one of them got loose... not soon after, bodies start showing up. Can’t be just a coincidence, right?” You defend, and Jake looks down.

“I never really thought of that, I suppose,” he mumbles, and then a manilla folder smacks onto the table in front of you.

“That’s all we got on this thing.” Adam states, returning to his seat, and you eagerly open it up.

First, you see paper-clipped papers, holding a passport photo, with a coroner’s report sheet for multiple victims, all mercenaries. Then, you find a series of witness reports, and a very grainy photo of what looks like a vaguely human-shaped inky mass.

“That’s the monster?” You ask, trying to make out its face.

“Yeah. That was taken on the security camera from the outside of the Network Tower. Apparently, it climbed the top, broke into office 4210, and then when it came down, it was confronted by the SWAT... before it got away.” Adam informs you, his voice echoing off the concrete walls, you eyes trained on the image.

“Wait-- 4210? That’s my bosses office... I remember hearing about his windows being broken, but I never heard a reason why... why would it break into the Network Tower? What about the cameras inside the buildings, I know they’re there.”

“SWAT used Tear Gas and smoke grenades, gassed the place out before the cameras could pick anything up.”

This causes your brows to furrow. That places had cameras that could see every angle-- so how is it that they completely missed a creature that’s about the size of a Tahoe? It didn’t make sense.

“Thank you, Adam... I’m guessing I can’t keep this?” You raise a brow, and he purses his lips.

“Sorry sweetheart, no can do.”

You nod your head, and quickly scribble down as much of the info as you could. “Thanks, I’ll keep in touch.”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), you helped me bring down the Morales gang. That was the biggest case I ever worked on, and it bumped me up to Detective. If you ever need anything, you can always call me.”

You smile, and rise to your feet to hug him... and then you get an idea. 

“You just gave me a great idea!” You squeal, and squeeze the both of them once more before rushing out the door. “Thank’s a ton!”

Okay, so... maybe this wasn’t the best idea. You bite down on your lip once more, before slowly removing yourself from your car. You were sitting in the vacant parking lot of a long-abandoned warehouse, about ten miles outside of San Francisco. Your palms began to perspire, and your heart jumped up a few beats.

Walking up to the door, you clench a fist and knock as hard as you can on the large, industrial steel surface.

knock-knock-knock...knock-knock....knock-knock-knock

There is a brief pause, before the door slides open with a loud creak, and a pistol is pointing at your face. You put your hands up, and smile nervously.

“I’m here to see Little.” You pant, eyes trained on the weapon. The gangster in front of you shifts on his feet before speaking.

“And who’re you?” He grunts, golden teeth glinting in the sunlight.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N). He owes me a favor.” You announce yourself, and his eyes go wide.

“Oh shit,” he huffs, and then tucks the gun into the waistline of his jeans. “Come on in.”

You release a breath, and nod, following the thug into the rusty warehouse. You travel down a few decrepit hallways, and he holds back a tattered black tarp for you, showing you into the center of the building.

All around you, rows and rows of tables lined the room, full of lab equipment, weapons, and more, each attended to by ruffed up looking gangsters, who all stopped to stare at you. 

“Hey Little-- you got a visitor.” The man announces, nodding towards you as a large man slowly turns around.

He quickly cracks a smile when his eyes land on your face.

“Well, shit-- never thought I’d actually see you again.” The man’s deep voice bellows, and he lumbers over to you, towering over your frame.

Little was the exact opposite. He stood at a ginormous 6′10, and probably weighed about 400 pounds-- of pure muscle. He was pretty dark skinned, but had striking blue eyes, and he and was the leader of the Neches Gang. You had no clue why people called him Little. He was anything but.

“Follow me, we can talk in private,” he grumbles, placing a beefy hand between your shoulders and guiding you away, carefully steering you into a small office space.

He settles into the chair, which looked like it was about to break. He clasps his hands on the desk, and leans forward.

“What can I do for you, (Y/N)?” Little was eye-level with you, despite the fact that you were still standing.

“I’m working on a story and... I need to get a hold of some security footage.” You straighten your back, standing tall. You needed to look strong. It would impress him.

“That may take a while... where from?”

“Well, I’m looking for a creature... he looks like this-” you pull out your phone, and open the photo you took of the one from the SFPD Precinct, “it was first spotted around an apartment complex... it left a trail of bodies. Mercenaries. Although, I don’t know who their last employer was. It... also broke into the place I work... the Network Tower... but somehow this was the only image that could be found from it. I don’t believe that. That tower is crawling with security cameras, there had to have been something that saw it. Could you find it for me?”

“That’s a lot to ask for...” Little mumbles, his hot stare boring into your eyes. You had to struggle to hold your ground, and not look away. “...but after what you did for me... consider it done. I’ve got some strings I can pull.”

You sigh in relief and flash him a smile. “Thank you, Little. This story... it’s going to be my big break.”

“That’s what you said when I helped you take down my rival gang. What happened with that?”

“My editor...”

“I can take care of him for you too, if you’d like,” Little jokes, and you laugh. 

“As nice as that would be, I wanna prove him wrong myself. I’m going to rub this in his face when I get the story published. Just... get me that footage?”

“(Y/N), I owe you a lifetime worth of favors. Because of you, my business has flourished, and I just took on some more warehouses... if you hadn’t exposed the Morales, and helped the police take them down, my Gang would be dead. So thank you. I’ll call you when I’ve got it.”

“Thank you, Little.”

The two of you exchange numbers, and hand shakes, and he quickly ushers you out, thanking you again, before sliding the door shut behind you, leaving you alone outside.

When you investigated the Morales Gang, you quickly uncovered a large underground empire, and managed to expose it to the police in time for them to get taken down. 

And although it was a huge deal, your editor basically drowned your story with others. Eddie Brock’s article on Drake got more publicity, and found popularity among the little people. And although you won a few awards from your paper, not very many people recognized your name. After all, it was just another case of gang-related violence. Not exactly a record-breaker.

But if you could bring to light the monster that was plaguing the city-- no one would miss it. If there’s one thing you’ve discovered during your time as a journalist, it’s that people are obsessed with the macabre. They’ll scramble to hear any bits of juicy gossip, to learn more about serial killers and murder.

Society has always been fascinated by gory deaths, and have even romanticized it in films and books. If you could tap into that, by revealing the inky monster to the civilians of San Francisco, then you could really get your name out there. Maybe even go national.

At least, that’s what you had always dreamed of. You wanted to become a big name, part of you wanted to because there weren’t very many big female names in the journalist world-- but you were going to change that. The other part just wanted to prove that you amounted to something. Despite what your family could ever say, you were going to make a name for yourself. 

In the meantime, you were going to busy yourself with investigating the witnesses that were listed in the file you’d read at the SFPD. Then, your final stop would be the Network Tower.

When you were finished with the final interrogation, you found peaceful solitude in your car. 

Some of the people were rude and slammed the door in your face-- others complained about the damage that had been done to their property from the beast, and others were still just in shock. 

Overall, you didn’t really get much. 

Apparently, a man was being chased by a few Tahoe’s, and even drones. Although, many of the drones had exploded. The man was riding a bike wildly through the streets of San Francisco, but if this was true, there would have been a police report of the car-chase in the file you read at the Department.

Some of the names that you had in your list were no longer living at their recorded addresses, and others refused to talk to you.

There was something in the back of your mind that sent off the warning bells. Something about this wasn’t right. Something was... off. Everything seemed too... clean.

Someone had to have cleaned up their mess, enough so that they couldn’t be traced. Which only drove you more mad with curiosity. You stashed your notebook in your coat pocket, and then wove through the heavy traffic, heading back towards the Network Tower.

When you arrived, you managed to find a decent parking space. But, as you were entering the building, a man stepped in your way.

“Ah, (Y/N), I was actually about to call you--” Eddie Brock stopped you with a hand, and you had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.

“Call me for what?” You hoped you didn’t sound rude, you had some important business you needed to get to.

“Well, I.. uh, we- I mean, I was wanting to ask you if you... would like to join me for dinner tonight, so we could talk about the Kasady story... I know Jack can be an ass sometimes, and he’s kept you in the sidelines but... I wanna ask you to be my partner. For this story, I mean. And, I thought we could talk over dinner.”

As usual, Eddie was sweating, beads of perspiration budding along his hairline the minute he opened his mouth towards you. You stood shocked for a moment, blinking, before responding.

“Um... sure... yeah... tonight?” You breath, and he smiles crookedly.

“Well, it is almost seven, I was hoping... now, if you’d like.”

“Oh, uh... yeah... sure. Can I just...” you pause, and then shake your head as a plan formed. “Sounds great! Let’s go.”

“Great, I’ve got a lot to go over with you,” Eddie chatters on, insisting that he drive the two of you to the restaurant, and you laugh, following him to his car.

After you place you order with the waitress, you hand her back her menu, before gazing back at Eddie. 

He’d taken you to a small diner, not too fancy or shabby. The place smelled like fresh burgers, and an actual jukebox was playing in the background, but the place was packed to the brim with other guests as they chattered about in low tones.

“So, I was going over some notes, and realized that I was missing a few things-” you hold up a hand, before Eddie could continue, a question burning in your mind.

“Before we start, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, yeah, anything (Y/N).” Eddie halts, waiting patiently.

“Um... remember when Jack’s office was broken into? And something broke into the Tower?” Your voice was growing higher as you spoke.

“Uh... vaguely, why?” Eddie clenches his jaw, shifting in his seat.

“I’ve just heard a few things... the Network kept that pretty quiet... what exactly happened?”

Eddies eyes flit around the building before he leans forward for a moment. “I heard someone was working on a story, and an active shooter got in there... had the SWAT called on him and everything. They kept it pretty tight cause the Network needed to protect the writer’s identity and everything.”

That didn’t make sense though... If that was true, there would be plenty of security footage on the shooter, and there would be a different police report... was Eddie lying?

“Okay, thank you.” You clench your jaw, and Eddie nods, leaning back in his seat.

“So, back to Kasady,” and with that, he continues with his proposition, asking you to recall details that he had missed during the interview.

Although, you had to fight to keep your attention on him. You mind kept wandering to the series of questions that were popping into your head. Why was Eddie lying? What really happened at the Network? 

Sure, you were just another writer for the Network, you know you’re not anything big, but for something like that, you should have been in the loop about information of an actual active shooter. You know your editor Jack had many enemies... but would he really lose the possibility for more money by keeping a lid on a story like someone breaking into the Network to come after him?

Your head was spinning in confusion, and really you just wanted to be home so you could take a minute to process it all.

“I know you’re not that into this... I’m sorry for dragging you out here.” Eddie stops talking, and you snap back into focus. You instantly feel bad when you spot his saddened eyes.

“What? No! I’m interested, I just... I’m sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” You defend, and then smile apologetically.

“Are you working on another story?” Eddie thanks the waitress as she sets down your meals, and you nod.

“Its... it means a lot to me, and I want to make sure I’ve got it perfect before I hand it to our Editor... it’s just that... it’s pretty big. A lot of information to sort through.”

“Even bigger than having an exclusive interview with the most notorious serial killer of this millennia?” Eddie smirks, and you nod. “Oh... well... do you need any help?”

“No. I need to do this on my own,” you busy yourself with your burger, and he shrugs.

“I understand that... a writer’s gotta do what they gotta do... this is a risky business, and there’s a lot of competition... I admire you for staying around as long as you have, and how dedicated you are to your stories.” Eddie praises you, and you couldn’t help the rush of heat to your cheeks. 

“Uh... thank you. I didn’t know that that meant much. To you, I mean.” You don’t look up at him.

“I’m hurt!” He pretends to hold his heart, and you let out a small laugh. “It’s my job to be observant. I know you’re a great writer. I’ve always been in your corner. Besides, we’ve been partners for a while now.”

“Thank you. That... means a lot. Coming from you, that is. Eddie Brock, the man who brought down the Life Foundation, and exposed the crimes of Carleton Drake.” You speak around a mouthful of burger, and he chuckles, shaking his head.

“And you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), who brought down the Morales Gang.” Eddie practically shovels the fries into his mouth.

“Not very many people know about that, though.” You shrug, picking at your food.

“And that’s for the better. A gang like that will hold a grudge, and the gangsters may be mostly imprisoned-- but they still have connections. Having your name kept anonymous is for the better. It’s pretty ballsy, going after something like that. Not very many reporters would.” Eddie pokes your hand, and you nod.

“I know... Still, I worked so hard for that, I made a difference... and yet, I’m still scrambling for scraps, fighting for a story that will help me... help me to... I don’t know.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve always had this dream of being an awesome reporter, with a full blown biography and books, maybe even one day running my own paper or something... But it’s like the stories I get are all just small things. I write them, and I’ve brought down corrupted mayors, brought light to dark deals and shady deaths, even uncovered that guy who was unlawfully evicting homes to make an underground casino... but I’m still not... known.”

“Why do you seek recognition so much?” You couldn’t find the strength to look Eddie Brock in the eyes. His voice was soft, hushed, you could barely hear him over the clamor of the diner.

Why did you? Eddie was forcing you to think about things that you preferred to keep buried. This was a side of you that you preferred for Eddie to not see. 

“What about you? What made you wanna be a journalist?” You quickly divert his attention, and he sighs, leaning back in his seat.

“I’ve always loved writing,” he shrugs, and then takes a bite of his burger, practically swallowing half of the whole thing. “Plus, its good pay, I’m damn good, and... I like bringing the truth to the people. The hard truths, even if they don’t wanna hear it. The people have a right to know, we can’t live in the dark with certain things anymore.”

He swallows hard, and you nod, your heart slowing down. You appreciated that he didn’t press the matter anymore, although you could see the glint in his eyes, the need, the desire that every reporter had, the urge to ask you for more information. But you weren’t ready for that, and he must’ve known. Maybe, he could even relate. All you could say was thank you. 

“Thank you for the food, Eddie. Although... I’m really... speechless to see you put away two whole burgers away like that... are you gonna get sick?” You poke his wrist after he careens back in his booth, belly expanded, puffing his cheeks full of air, sighing contentedly. 

“I eat for two.” He gives a crooked grin, and you share a laugh with him, shaking your head. 

“The Network doesn’t need its best writer dying early from high cholesterol,” you shake your head, and then slide the empty plate away from yourself, grabbing your sweating glass, and slowly sipping away at the water.

“Thank you. It’s nice to hear some praise, but... you need to praise yourself a little more, okay? You’re not going to get far if you hate yourself.”

“Okay, Dr. Phil,” you joke, and he glares playfully before rising to his feet, dropping a wad of cash onto the table top. He didn’t even wait for a ticket before practically pulling you out of the diner. 

Once you were safely back in front of your parked vehicle, you turn to face Eddie.

“Thanks again for the food, and the ride... and the advice.” You twist the keys around on your keyring, and he smiles, his soft eyes crinkling at the edges.

“Of course, (Y/N). Anytime, really, it’s no problem. Honestly... I just didn’t want to be alone tonight. But, hey, I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t worry about my story, focus on your own, okay? I’ll let you proofread mine tomorrow, to make sure your notes are all correct.” Eddie stuffs his hands into his pockets, and you nod before unlocking your car.

“Tomorrow then.”

With that, Eddie waves goodbye once more before slinking off to his own car, practically flying out of the garage. Something makes your stomach churn a little.

Eddie was nice and all, but you had to stay focused. Flesh out this story, and then you could... deal with Eddie. You take a deep breath and start the car, anxiously waiting for a chance to review everything you had gathered.

Taglist:

@lowkeyofsassguard @daddy-hardy @lunamusamelark @randomshizzles101 @marydragneell @smilexcaptainx @ashisthresh @crazyminnesotagirl @nicimixerxoxo @coffee-burglar

[jessilynallendilla]

THE CONCRETE MIXER

Witches cry out against Ettil who won’t fight with Mars against Earth, he encourages them. (good) His wife cries and Ettil explains that it’s foolish, Earth will destroy them. (yeah they have no immunity against the common cold) Outside he could hear the marching army. Ettil resolves to stay on Mars and read, (I would too) his father in law says he’ll be shot, “Who ever heard of a Martian not invading? Who!” p.210 Ettil shoves him out of the house only to be arrested and Ettil shouts his goodbye to his wife.

In his cell he watches the rockets take off. Another with Ettil’s illegal Earth books demands an explanation. Ettil says that’s the reason he won’t invade and to get it over with and shoot him. (badass) He points out the books are on Mars invading Earth, getting thwarted by a man named Rick, Mick, Bannon or Jick (what kinda name is Jick?) and failing. The official calls it treason, Ettil brings up that Earth has generations of children reading stories of Earth successfully defeating an invasion, Mars doesn’t. (point taken) Reading that gives them morale. “Their youth of reading just such fiction as this has given them faith we cannot equal.” p.212 The official says Ettil has a choice join the war or burn with his books, Ettil chooses to burn. (badass like that lady in Fahrenheit 451) As he watches his books burn in the courtyard, he sees his fearful son watching, (oh that’s low and cruel) he changes his mind.

As they march to the ship Ettil sees his wife crying, (does this woman do anything but cry?) the men are laughing and Ettil whispers that they’re off to destruction but changes to victory when someone overhears him. Everything about him is back on Mars but here you’re a robot to bring death to Earthmen. You’re already dead here. Ettil thinks it happened quick, one Earth rocket reverse engineered to make an invasion. And now they know all about Earth and its people, (from one rocket and not all our radio signals?) “And we shall pay the price for our brilliance…” p.215

They wait to attack when the silence is broken by an Earth radio signal. (see) William Sommers, president of a production company welcomes them. They renounced war and are unprepared for the invasion they welcome them and ask for mercy. Sommers calls them all brothers and the Martians think he is either mad or it’s a trick. (or both)

People waited at the tarmac, the Mayor, his wife, Miss California 1965, Miss America 1940, Mr. Biggest Grapefruit and the police holding back the crowd, a full welcome wagon band and rockets. The band plays California, Here I Come, Oh, You Golden State and Santa Clause Is Coming to Town with the lyrics changed to Martians. When they land the Mayor makes a speech about the benefit of the Martians, Miss America offers to kiss them, the band play How Do You Do, Everybody and Mr. Grapefruit gives them a two-ton truck of grapefruit. All of this starting at 1:30 and ending at 4:00. (well with the lack of professionalism aside at least they’re efficient)

One Martian is suspicious of all this and wants to kill them. (of course they would) All around people mingle and ask questions. Ettil says he can feel a subtle evil about this and they’re going to do something he can just can’t figure out what. “One huge mass of common men, loving dogs and cats and Martians equally. And yet-and yet-” p.219 The humans pass out free beer (it’s technically toxic to us what makes you think an alien you know nothing about can consume it?) and the Martians start to get sick on our food. (see no immunity) The assignor says they overdid their hospitality and orders them to town as other ships land.

They walk into town and get scared by women in a beauty parlor looking like undersea creatures. (is Ray Bradbury a Humans Are Space Orcs poster?) They would rush them shrieking, destroy their sensibilities and change them into husbands and working men who pays so they can come in here and eat their evil chocolates. (sexism mixed with space orcs) A few think they can control the women. (sexism) A few women call out to the Martians calling them cute, Ettil runs. (like you do)  

Ettil sits at the park still in horror of the movie theatre. A woman gets his attention asking if he wants to go see a picture, everyone else is. He asks if that’s all they do, she says what else is there and laughs at the thought of reading. (air headed ditz) They do drive around and Ettil should get the new model. Then she says all his talk makes him sound like a communist they don’t stand for that, (this was written during the cold war it was all Americana during this time) they’ve been good to the Martians and let them invade. Ettil says that’s what he’s trying to understand, the woman says it’s because they’re big hearted and walk off.

Ettil tries to write a letter to his wife but is interrupted by an old woman and a girl with a tambourine asking if he’s been saved. (oh no) Ettil is confused asking if they’re in danger. The woman goes on that he’s in danger of the worst kind and “We saved lots already today. I saved three myself, of you Mars people. Ain’t we nice?” p.223 (no no you’re not) Then ask if he’s been baptized, Ettil is confused and asks if that’s like being shot. The woman goes on of how he’s being sinful and had an ignorant upbringing in those Martian schools that don’t teach the truth just lies (you’re right we do need to teach religion in schools let’s start with Islam) and if he wants to be happy, he needs to be baptized. (no you don’t)

She goes on describing peace, quiet, milk, honey and laughter and Ettil blurts out that Mars is a great planet like she described. She stops and asks if he’s joking, he says no, and the woman goes again that she wasn’t talking about nasty Mars and that it’s his type that will boil, suffer and be tortured. (yes insult a person their beliefs and homeland that will get them to listen to you and come to your side) He cuts her off, “I must admit Earth isn’t very nice. You described it beautifully.” p.224 Then pleads ignorance when she gets mad again and calls him a heathen. (All My Friends Are Heathens~) She gives him a pamphlet to the church if he wants baptized and goes down the street singing loudly that she’s happy. (and is promptly arrested for disturbing the peace)

Ettil writes to his wife again, that he was naïve to think Earthmen would counter attack with weapons. There are blond, pink, rubber robots that live in caves. They have large butts. They are hypnotized to watch movies for lengthy periods of time. And their only muscles are in their jaws from constantly chewing gum. (seriously read the actual story it’s chock full of Humans Are Space Orcs content) They’ve been dropped like seeds into a concrete mixer, (tiiii-tlllle) that is this civilization. They won’t survive, killed by kindness and “We will be destroyed not by the rocket but by the automobile…” p.225 Then right on time, there’s a car crash involving Earthmen and Martians. Ettil writes the statistics of car crashes, people made into jelly, the horror. (yeah car accidents can be pretty nasty)

Blood is all over the highway. Halloween is one of their holidays and he thinks that’s when they worship the automobile or something about death. (Space Orcs) He sees the army trapped in cinemas, by gum and witches. The Earthmen are killing them with romance. Then he writes that he will try to escape and may die and wishes love to their child. Confused about it all he leaves the park only knowing if he stays, he would own things that keep him here like a wife and a car. He sees the haunted faces of Earthmen. (…really?) A limo pulls up to Ettil and a man invites him in where they can talk. Ettil does. (stranger danger)

R.R. Van Plank orders Ettil a Manhattan, he works for Big Studios, he shakes Ettil’s hand which Ettil thinks is a message and Plank tells him of his idea, a movie about Earth being invaded by Mars. (you think it will be popular with all that’s going on?) He keeps talking about how he can give Ettil money and women from his black book, (ew) Ettil mistakes that the talk of peaches is about fruit. Plank doesn’t understand and explains his vision of Mars’s silver cities, Martians dancing around fires and tall blond Martian women. (is this cultural appropriation?) He won’t listen to Ettil when he says that Martian cities don’t look like that, they don’t dance around fires and Martian women are dark. Plank starts calling Ettil other names like Mac, Billy, Roscoe etc. because he says Ettil is a woman’s name (how?) and then goes on about his idea of a Martian woman saving the ship from a meteor. (of course)

Ettil asks why Earthmen are being nice to them, “We invade your planet, and you welcome us-everybody-like long-lost children.” p.229 (this has implications of imperialism) Plank explains everyone on Earth is common, the Martians envied Earth cities and were lonely. (mansplaining to Martians) He reasons they came down for Earth’s cities and women (of course) and they welcome them. There’s profit to be made, movies, dolls, games etc. and all the things Earth can sell to the Martians. (are the Martians sure they landed on Earth and not Ferenginar?) Ettil asks what R.R. stands for, it’s Richard Robert, the Ettil asks if people call him Rick. Plank says yes and Ettil starts laughing that he doesn’t have muscles, a lean jaw or a gun, just money, a ring and is overweight. Plank gets offended (I think anyone would if you called them fat) and Ettil says he’ll be the one who’ll conquer Mars and Plank tells him that he’s just a businessman wanting to corner the Martian market with cartoons, perfumes, dresses and shoes. Ettil tells him they don’t even wear shoes. Plank calls them Oakies (what people called Dust Bowl refugees from Oklahoma basically he’s calling them white/trailer trash) and they’ll shame everyone into wearing shoes, then nail polish. (modern advertisement I see) He asks Ettil if they’ve got a deal starting at two hundred a week. Ettil says he’s sick on the Manhattan, he starts turning blue (ok I’m really interested to see what these Martians look like) and steps out for fresh air.

Outside Ettil asks if all this is the reason they were taken in, Plank says yes, anytime Earthmen can make a buck and he leaves Ettil with his card. Ettil doesn’t know what to do now, he sees the rockets and hears the night life including the common occurrence of a Martian having a nervous breakdown in the compound from all the over stimulation. (learn to pace yourself) Ettil walks to the ships, the guards are drunk, (clearly the best for the job) and he wonders how many in the year will die from liver cirrhosis, kidney failure and suicide. He has to make a choice, stay on Earth and make movies lying about Mars, or steal a rocket and return. (quite the difficult choice there)

He thinks of their ancient cities and ancestral graves having nightclubs and casinos built into them. (replace the Martian context with Native American) He resolves to go to Mars to his wife and son and read his books for a few years until they’re invaded by neon. Then they could hide in the mountains until tourists come with their cameras. “War is a bad thing, but peace can be a living horror.” p.233 (traditions start to die and culture is trivialized and used as tourist fodder) He sees a car full of teenagers speed by pointing and yelling at him. He runs and before it hits him he thinks it’s strange that it sounds like a concrete mixer. (the somewhat ambiguous way it’s written I don’t know if this was an accident suicide or murder)

@crackspinewornpages