#Joseph got a raw deal

[rogueslove]

Uncanny X-Men #336

[fandomfluffandfuck]

Dom Bucky, Sub Steve.

Steve wants a Prince Albert piercing but is worried about word getting out about Captain America getting his dick pierced. Bucky asks Tony, who has a guy for that (of course he does) and arranges for a discreet professional to pierce Steve in their floor at the tower. Bucky kisses Steve while the piercer works and swallows down the hurt little sounds Steve makes.

Whenever they get a whole day to play, Bucky strips Steve down and keeps him naked all day. Keeps him hard and wanting. Attaches a little jingly bell to the Prince Albert so he can hear Steve wherever he’s crawling in their apartment. He can hear when Steve’s dick twitches as he calls him a good boy, smacks his ass, slaps his face with Bucky’s dick. That little jingly bell is the sound of a very happy Steve, right where he wants to be, at Bucky’s feet.

First, okay, so, whenever I hear about stucky and piercings, I think of "Titanium (I'm Bulletproof, Nothing To Lose)" by sassbandit which isn't sub Steve and dom Bucky, but actually Bucky getting re-acclamated to his own body after HYDRA with piercings and just 🤤 So, I highly recommend that.

Second, GOD, you mentioning Bucky kissing Steve while it happens lights up the sadist part of me so bad 😮‍💨😮‍💨 like--

I can't fucking stand it. Christ.

This got longer than it was supposed to (when doesn't it? it's me, lmao) also, obviously, pain kink under the cut, so if that's not your thing, this isn't for you

Just imagine how tears would be pouring down his cheeks in streams by the end--he's so sensitive, and, yeah, Steve has experienced a lot of pain in his life, in his body, he can deal with pain silently when he needs to, but he doesn't need to here not with Bucky. Plus, Steve's not... never... he's never had it centered right there like it is with this piercing. And it, it feels so intense. More intense than choking cock rings restraining him, taking his decisions away from him mouth-wateringly, more than thick sounds fucking deep into his cock where his body knows it shouldn't be, setting off these weird, incredible warning bells in his head, more than Bucky squeezing his balls until he chokes on a sob, pain curling deep into his gut and tugging on him hotly, and even more intense than Bucky's fingers cruelly flicking the head of his cock, making it hit against his rigid abs, getting him messy with the spray of his own dripping pre-cum, such a filthy, wet boy, all too eager for the hot, molten pain. It's a fucking lot for Steve to take--getting pierced.

So, tears overflow from his blue eyes like a gorgeous fountain. He looks straight out of a painting. Untouchable. Masterful. Alexandre Cabanel's own. Pale, marble skin with all that redness and wetness transforming his eyes to be ever bluer, glassier. Staring up at Bucky like big, round jewels. He looks so innocent--so helpless.

And, fuck, Bucky loves it.

But it's not just his wet eyes and spasming chest with barely stifled sobs that have Bucky in a chokehold. It's his mouth, too. Steve's lips are glistening wet with spit from how he continues to worry his bottom lip between his teeth and run his tongue over his lips, too. He's just trying to hold in his little sounds but, actually, all he's successfully doing is making himself look more affected--more debauched and wanting, strung out from the anticipation and pain. His lips look plush and fat and wet just like they do when he's finished sucking Bucky off; his throat raw, mouth buzzing. The tip of his nose is red, too. All that crying. Poor thing. Blushing, heated, so overwhelmed, all at once dangerously attractive and snugly adorable. He's fucking--

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

He is temptation.

The things he could convince Bucky to do. The things he has convinced Bucky to do. Anything. Everything.

Steve's turned into this shivering, whimpering, and gasping thing from having his dick pierced. A precious bit of submission enwrapped in thick muscle and smooth, pale skin unmarred by all the pain he's taken--willingly and unwillingly. He's so, so strong. But he's a contradiction. Steve has always been. So commanding and bossy but so, so willing to melt and follow like a fucking dream under the right hands--under Bucky's hands. It makes Bucky want to do so many delicious, good-bad things to him. Just--holy fuck. Bucky could weep, having him like this.

Steve.

His submissive.

Bucky wants to swallow him whole. Christ.

Ever since the serum, Steve's been super needy and super sensitive, and now is no different. Shivering. Whimpering. Gasping. He just can't not fucking squirm and writhe. He might even beg to be held down as it happens because he wants it, he wants it so bad, and he needs to be good for it, but he's not sure he can. Not by himself, at least. Every little touch feels so big. He keeps gasping and flinching, his body twisting, contorting, all that muscle rippling, poetry in motion. His abs are clenching, quivering--coiled up. He's sweating through his tight, tight t-shirt and his pants have gone missing. It should look silly, but it doesn't because it's Steve It's devastatingly attractive instead. Like a wet t-shirt contest, cold water making his shirt transparent and his nipples achingly hard, all too obvious through his shirt. But it's not water. He's just submerged in submission and he likes it, he likes it so fucking much.

All the attention.

The touches.

The cold metal against his dick is like Bucky's arm but so unlike it, too. The sharp points of needles remind him of the danger of Bucky's glinting teeth during particularly mean blowjobs that bring him to his knees, head lolling back, lashes fluttering. The gentle praise and check-ins this God-sent piercer is doing with him are similar to what Bucky does when they try something new. He's so safe. He feels safe. And it's why he's letting go. He wants this fucking piercing more than anything. He wants it just like he wants Bucky to have him, control him, and make all the decisions for him.

So, before and after the piercing, Steve is curled up into a little ball, turning toward Bucky for comfort.

Before it happens at all, he has to be hard for the piercer to know where to properly place the Prince Albert on him (you don't really have to be hard, at least as far as a Google search tells me, but, shh, let's pretend because it's hotter, lmao) and so, of course, Bucky is the one to get him nice and ready, stroking him off, clenched tight in his metal fist, metal like the piercing he's about to get. Steve's breath keeps hitching, unsteady and rough, he's trying not to moan, and trying not to get too worked up, too. He can still cum so easily, even after all the years of having the serum running hot and thick through his veins. He's trying not to moan because he's so, so aware of the fact that the piercer is right there, practically whistling to themself, letting Bucky get Steve ready in peace, the utmost professional, but it's so embarrassing, too. He's hyperaware of their audience and the fact that Bucky doesn't even need to jerk him off for more than a mortifying few strokes because, God, he's been looking forward to this forever. It's too easy to get hard, it'd be so easy to trip over the edge, make a mess that would be so obvious, and then stay hard because--because he wants it. He needs it.

After, when he has it, fucking finally, Steve curls into a ball again. Now he's definitely crying. Really crying. Tear tracks obvious down his flushed cheeks. He's sobbing from the exhilarating pain. Flying high, eyes squeezed shut. Chest heaving. Hurts so good. His tears wet Bucky's shirt and the thin, intimate skin between his neck and shoulder as his fists squeeze at his shirt, the seams groan with his shaky strength. His bottom lip can't stop quivering as his hot little mouth hangs open dumbly. His knees are drawn in so close, curled around his throbbing, throbbing, throbbing cock. The tip of his cock feels so hot and inflamed. It's all he can feel, all he can pay attention to, completely locked in the moment and aware of every nerve in his dick and balls. Lit up. Electic. The way the pain drips like lava down his shaft and pools in his balls, it feels like someone's shoved a cattle brand into his guts--awful and torturous and so fucking good that he can't stand it. He literally couldn't stand if he tried, instantly, he would crumble back to his knees, wilting into himself, curling up, all divinely hurt.

Oh, God.

He wants it to be healed already. He wants Bucky to touch him again and not to do the aftercare for him like they already negotiated, he wants Bucky to touch him. He wants to cum. He wants to know how it feels when Bucky tugs on his piercing with his fingers and worries it between his teeth and the sound it makes when it hits against Bucky's metal hand. He wants the familiar rhythm of his tight fist and the new tink tink tink sound of metal on metal underneath it. He wants it. Of course, he cries 'cause it's overwhelming--all that ache--but he cries because he's already so frustrated by the healing process, too (typical Steve). He wants to touch it. More importantly, he just wants Bucky to touch it.

Please!

When they get home, Steve just cries harder, sobbing, barely restraining himself from thrusting, humping, and jerking his hips into frustratingly thin air when Bucky lays him out on his back on their bed, peeling his clothes off him, slow and gentle, to take a look at what they've just had done. Slithering between his spread thighs, Bucky's breath is hot and humid against his sweaty skin as he examines him up close and personal, using his strength to keep Steve's twitching thighs spread mortifying wide, making room for himself and his big shoulders. He doesn't touch. He just looks and expertly dodges Steve's wild, frantically bucking hips. Steve wants in his mouth so fucking bad. He's so achy and tender, it's all he wants. It wouldn't be long, he just--just for a second! He wants--

Please, please, please!

He knows he doesn't get to tell Bucky what to do, he doesn't get what he wants unless Bucky wants to give him what he wants but he can't help it! It's raw and molten hot and he feels so, so alive. He's a goddamn mess.

Uhh...

What?

I think I blacked out writing that. I'm not taking prompts yet, I still have a few weeks of school left for this year. But, um, clearly, this just hit the sadist in me too hard, and I couldn't resist.

As for the aftermath of a bell on Steve's pierced cock? Jesus Fucking Christ. Yes.

I don't think I can think about that without blacking out and going on another rant, so just know... Y-E-S. I agree.

[dimensionhoppinghybrids]

After the kidnapping of Joseph, Moriko and Miran, things had been for a word, intense.

Specifically with the siblings.

Desire was quietly seething in his own way, Aestas for her right was gearing for a fight and looking for the biggest missiles she could take in her cargo, and Ivy was worried and melancholic.

Bellum.

Well, Bellum was angry. Yet that didn't really give full weight to his anger. To his emotions.

What he felt was more like a slowly creeping rage.

And as the days went by without his brothers return, it got worse.

He tried to drown it out with music, with work, with even fights.

Nothing helped. Helped him at least.

He had always been told that he had a berserkers mindset.

He thought more with his fists then his mind. Violence and his resolve through violence were things that spurred him on. To those that had kidnapped Joseph, he would be called simple, or a moron in many ways. To normal society, he was a violent thug that saw the whole world as his enemy.

To himself, he was simply himself. He owed no one his reasonings nor his worldview.

In those days he quietly seethe and tried to drown his anger with purpose and loved ones.

It didn't work.

It got so much that the one time he tried to work, he hit the hammer so hard that it broke, the sword he was forging broke, and the anvil broke.

He was heaving. He hadn't even realised he had lost himself in the fury. He was in such a fugue that everything had a red haze of anger. He just knew he had to work. And yet everything felt like it was worthless in what he needed.

His soul burned.

It burned with a fury he couldn't explain, his rage its fuel. It felt like it would never ever stop.

Snarling, the noise he made so guttural and feral, that it came out wrong.

It didn't sound like him at all. And what he didn't feel was the heat. The heat of the forge was surpassed, and the heat he produced was so much that it made the things not resistant or warded against it pop and deform.

What made him realise something was wrong was the pop of the windshield of his cars pop, crack and fracture.

That alone told him something was wrong.

When he tried to step outside, it just got worse.

Immediately the heat hit everything and everyone outside, causing the water types asked to be around Bellum's home, just in case, to spray him down with water.

It didn't help. It just made his soul burn hotter.

So, he left. Left after seeing those that couldn't deal with it get on their knees and struggle to breathe.

He didn't know where to go. He couldn't go home, couldn't see Vivienne, or Ivy, or anyone.

He even feared to see Levi in fear hed just hurt him or make trouble.

So, he asked his porter to find the hottest place that could hold him.

To just go somewhere where he couldn't hurt others.

It found what he needed.

After that, he didn't know what else to do. He wandered for a day or two. He felt listless, twitchy and irate, even as rivers of magma and the few things that could live here strolled about.

They thought him an easy meal.

And for a while. Just a while. The satiation for violence was fulfilled.

But only for a while. He still felt aimless, so he explored. He fought, he even smashed. Venting his anger, and finding nothing that could release it. It was like a choking vine around his neck. And the more time he wasted, the more it felt like it was strangling him.

His red haze grew even more. Getting darker, deeper in its color. Coagulating like spilled blood.

He ate the beasts that attacked him. Raw and succulent. From meat to bone and marrow.

He became like a beast in of himself as his fury took over, leading him to fight some of the biggest fire breathing monsters this planet had.

He lost himself for days. He didn't know how long it was, but when he awoke again to his senses, he was covered in blood, covered in gore. Both his own and not.

And he stood before a gate. A gate of a mass of stone. It was unadorned. Lava dripping from crevices that dripped out from the inside. It opened with a slow creak of its own. Bellum walking in slowly and haltingly. His footsteps treading marks upon gray ash.

Inside was lit with small rivers of magma, the halls formed of stone and obsidian.

He didn't know where he was. But the halls he stepped into felt worn, ancient. Made by hands that had lived long, long ago.

But that escaped his care. He didn't care. He just knew he was burning up.

The heat in his soul felt like a sun. No, a sun finding a final supernova.

He felt like if he didn't calm this sea of fury, it would drown him.

It was so hot around him, it made the magma around him grow hotter and hotter.

And yet he walked. Not knowing why, but feeling it was important.

He walked until he came to a circular room.

He looked up, and saw the gaping maw of a mountain. Then looked around him.

A pathway led to a circular dais. The dais surrounded by cooled magma. And in the center of that dais was an anvil made out of a material he didn't know.

It was matt black. Kinda like obsidian, but he knew obsidian, and it wasn't that.

It was a metal so black, it felt like it could take any light and snuff it out.

He didn't understand why it was there. But something understood why he was there.

Forces he didn't understand, or perhaps again, simply didn't care too, found him. Nothing in particular showed itself, but beside the anvil was set a stack of various ingots.

Orichalcum, adamantium, and whatever metal there was that he didn't know. But what he knew, this forge, it called to him.

He found a hammer made of the same dark black metal, he stared at it in his haze, his instincts as a smith gently hefting it up and down, feeling its weight.

It was perfect.

In any other case, he would've been suspicious. He would've been wary.

Right at this moment, he didn't care.

He looked around, trying to find where to put the pieces of metal into a forge. He couldn't find anything.

He looked around him, the ire in chest burning hotter as he found a forge without a kiln or anything to heat the metal. His surroundings burned so hot that he began to smack the anvil with the hammer, every curse available coming to his strained throat as he cursed this place, cursed everything in as vulgar tone of voice in a inhuman snarl.

The act itself only made sparks and clashes with the anvil. Neither hammer nor anvil broke, even as he hit it with full immense force.

The hear around him did something though.

The ground around him rumbled, and the cold magma beneath him cracked, and began to glow under his feet.

More cracks formed as the magma flowed and started once more. Bellum's heat. He himself, burning now so much that it reignited the.. volcano? Around him.

He looked up again. Seeing unfamiliar stars in the mouth of the volcano.

For once in his aimlessness, he wondered where he was.

Then the moment passed as it became unimportant.

What because important was the dais that was big enough to hold him.

So he wade towards it, the magma beneath him after he had wandered around in his anger, slothing like quagmire as it tried to drag him down. It was only so deep. Maybe around his knees, but no more. He didn't let it drag him down, and he climbed up the dais, and he went back to the myriad of metals. He had never been good with using these for various reasons. He never had the heat for one. Technique om the other.

But today he didn't care.

He plunged the first bar he grabbed into the magma, and tested the heat hed need.

At first it was too little. Not enough.

Then, too much. Ruined bar. He threw it away.

He tried again, and again until he got it right.

Then he started. At first, he went at his normal tempo, but it wasn't enough. Then he added more force. Then more.

CRACK.

Too much. It broke. Again, and again, until he got it right. Didn't feel right. Throw it away.

Then he tried the new metal. It difficult to heat up. Stubborn. Mean. He plunged it in, didn't heat. Plunged it for longer, didn't heat. He then shoved it in with anger, putting all his fury into it and bringing it back.

Hot.

It glowed with bright cherry red glow, and Bellum started to wail on it.

It refused to bend, so he hit harder. It was a risk since he had no tongs. Only his hands. So it was both a risk and a reward. Because he was hitting hard enough to break his own bones if he hit himself.

He didn't care.

Sparks flew, and the sound of metal hitting metal reverberated in odd cadences and tangs.

Bellum hit and hit as it formed.

Bellum was an avid fan of music. And music even helped in forging to keep a tempo.

But he had nothing to listen too, nothing to put over his ears. Afraid it would burn it he took it. The only thing he had was the porter because that was enchanted to withstand his heat. Or so he hoped.

It mattered little in that moment, because he only had one thing on his mind. A kine he had heard from a song that belonged to a shooter game.

While he didn't play the game, he had listened to the music.

The words from the music came to his ears and he remembered the track.

KAR EN TUK. KAR EN TUK.

That phrase had repeated. Rip and tear. Rip and tear. He had looked up the meaning. The backstory for that was weird and strange, but the words resonated with him. Especially now.

He want to rip and tear. To rip the flesh of his foes and tear them apart like a wild animal.

So that is what he instead did do this piece of metal.

He hammered into it with that mantra in his head.

Rip and tear. Kar en tuk.

He didn't know how lomg he had been at it. Or how many times he had repeated. It had been a haze. A haze of work, and fueling the metal with his fury.

The more he worked, the more he pushed into it and the more it drank.

He was now polishing it with... with magma. He held it like one would hold a piece of sandpaper and going over it to give it a shine.

He looked over what hed made. It wasn't a pretty piece. It was a sword with hammer marks. Sure it looked okay, but the metal had been a piece of work. But that was why he was going over it, smoothing it out. And as he worked, it seemed to even out a little.

Then, he... he had to do the hilt, guard and pommel.

He felt considerably calmer, and the orichalchum, which was a more copper like color didn't feel so bad. He made the rough outlines of what he wanted. Then paused.

He felt so much calmer. Like he'd put everything into his work and into the sword.

He looked at it fully.

It was black, yes. But it had veins of fire in its form. And those veins came from a gem. As wide about as his ring finger, and it was on the tang. Just above where the cross guard would go.

In his haze of a sudden calm, he blinked at it.

He knew he was done here.

Putting the hammer back on the anvil, he looked at this place, looked back up the stars. He wondered again what this place was. He didn't know. And only knew that his time here was over.

He took his porter out, its somehow cool casing giving a reassurance, and he activated his destination to home. Of course not forgetting his pieces hed yet to finish.

It was quiet at the forge. Deathly quiet. He didn't mind. He took out sandpaper, and he began to sand, polish and even out the crossguard and pommel. It took time. That was fine.

Then he picked out a wood. It couldn't be any wood.

He went over and over. Then picked out wood that looked charred and blackened. He blinked. He didn't remember getting that.

He decided it didn't matter. He used it. Again this took time, Bellum didn't know how long. Just knew hexwas out of it for a while.

When he came back to his senses, the blade was done.

The bronze like orichalcum seemed to glow with the red gem. The black and glossy look just made the veins stick out more with the bronze, and he had wrapped it with a thick leather that was as black as could be.

He blinked again. He had just worked automatically for.... he didn't know how long.

What he did know, that when he was finally done. He put it aside, and collapsed on his desk.

Out cold.

[best-chaotic-neutral]

The Lyrics to The Night Joseph Went Crazy, a WIP

Down in the bunker, all the Peggies prepping guns

For the collapse to come, and this realm to end

When The Father busted in, nearly scared 'em half to death

Had a rifle in his hands and some Bliss on his breath

From his beard to his boots, he was covered with ammo

Like a hipster punk asshole kind of Rambo 

And he smiled as he said with a twinkle in his eye

"Merry Christmas to all, now you're all gonna die"

The night Joseph went crazy

The night The Father went insane

Realized he'd been gettin' a raw deal

Something finally must have snapped in his brain

Well, the bunker is gone now, he decided to bomb it

Everywhere you'll find pieces of Feeny and The Cook

And he tied up The Chosen and he held them all hostage

And he ground up poor Nancy into Peggie sausage

He got a chemist and baptist with an old German Luger

And he slashed up Judges just like Freddy Krueger

And he picked up a flamethrower and he barbequed the angels

And he said a big ol’ prayer to send ‘em straight up to heaven

The night Joseph went crazy

The night The Father went nuts

Now you can't hardly walk around the compound

Without steppin' in peggie guts

There's no National Guard and no FBI

There's no van from the Eyewitness News

No helicopters circlin' 'round in the sky

And the bullets are flyin', the body count's risin'

And everyone's dyin' to know, oh Joseph, why?

My my my my my my

You used to be such a decent guy

Yes, Deputy, now Joseph’s doing time

In a federal prison for his infamous crime

Hey little friend now, don't you cry no more tears

He'll be out with good behavior in seven hundred more years

But now Jacob’s in therapy and John is still nervous

And the cult all got jobs working for the Postal Service

And they say Miss Faith, she's on the phone every night

With her lawyer negotiating the movie rights

They're talkin' bout, the night Joseph went crazy

The night The Father done flipped

Broke his back for a voice in his head

Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped

Whoa oh, the night Joseph went crazy

The night The Father went insane

Realized he'd gettin' a raw deal

Something finally must have snapped in his brain

Whoa oh, something finally must have snapped in his brain

Tell ya, something finally must have snapped in his brain

it's obvious to me that it needs work, especially with the rhyming. I fucking suck at rhyming. But Tumblr, if we can polish this up and make it really good, I'll sing it for y'all.

[influencermagazineuk]

Jeremy Strong Confirms Role in Springsteen Biopic and Shares Favorite Album

Jeremy Strong, known for his role as Kendall Roy in the hit TV series Succession, has finally confirmed his appearances in the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere. After months of speculation, the actor shared in an exclusive interview with NME that he would indeed be part of the highly anticipated film. Strong would also appear early in May, when there were reports he would appear in the show as Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen's longtime manager. At that time, this had not been confirmed, but Strong has since confirmed he is signed up for the role. As part of this exciting news, Strong also spoke about his relationship with Springsteen's music. Jay Dixit, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons When asked if he had a favorite Springsteen album, he named the 1982 release Nebraska, a raw and introspective collection of songs. "It just always spoke to me, there's a melancholy to it," he said. "I am doing Deliver Me From Nowhere, but I'd always felt that way about that album.". There's a story to it that comes from a really deep place in him, and you can feel that. Of course, this was nothing new for Springsteen, but Strong also said of Van Morrison's 1968 masterpiece Astral Weeks, that it was another album that held a special place for him. "It's transportive and it's pretty perfect," he said. His musical tastes reveal real appreciation for albums that go deep into emotions and introspection, all the kind of characters he so often plays on screen. In the same interview, Strong is featured alongside Sebastian Stan, his co-star in the movie The Apprentice, that is hitting theaters this week. *The film traces the rise of Donald Trump from his early career working at New York as a tycoon in real estate. He plays the role of Trump, while Strong plays Roy Cohn, the scandalous mentor of Trump, with a scandalous lawyer resume who once clerked to senator Senator Joseph McCarthy during the anti-communist trials of the 1950s. Already, *The Apprentice* has generated controversy, particularly among the current president's defenders; it is viewed as a hatchet piece about Trump. Trump took to social media to denigrate the movie and even went as far as to comment on 12 April on his Truth Social platform: "A FAKE and CLASSLESS movie written about me, called The Apprentice (Do they even have the right to use that name without approval?), will hopefully 'bomb.'" Despite the commotion, though, Strong remains adamant that the film is not about demonizing the guy, but rather to present an honest account of history personified. "That's not about vilifying him or belittling him," he explained. "We are trying to tell an accurate story of these historical figures." Strong and Stan said this film tries to address the complexity of the relationship between Trump and Cohn, while giving insight to the political landscape then. Strong further detailed how close the U.S. actually blocked The Apprentice because of its controversial subject. He said that it nearly got blocked and not shown in America. That's really unsettling and worrying," he said. "Even though we narrowly escaped the jaws of censorship, it almost tipped the other way. It's very dark to my mind. The prospect of the film being banned was a chilling reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by filmmakers when dealing with politically sensitive topics. Ironically, the controversy surrounding the film may end up making people watch it more. Strong added that contentious subject matters in the film will attract audience who are curious to see how it portrays Trump and Cohn. "I think more people will see it because of the controversy," he said. But more people should see it because I think it's essential if you care about this election or the United States, or for that matter, the world right now. In addition to their insights into the politically and socially charged ramifications of The Apprentice, Strong and Stan, in tandem, also appeared to keep things lighthearted by including some light moments of working together. One such that came particularly to mind is the time Stan auditioned for the infamous Spider-Man Broadway musical of 2010. Though the musical, overseen by U2's Bono, was generally speaking called a flop, Stan still seems to chuckle at the memory today. Overall, from Deliver Me From Nowhere to The Apprentice, Jeremy Strong's future projects represent versatility at its finest. He has already played a legendary music manager; next, he takes on a polarizing figure in the midst of national politics. Strong is drawn to complex, multi-layered characters and maintains a passion for storytelling and commitment to music-all things that add depth to his work. Read the full article

[frontproofmedia]

Mayfield is Baking Something Special in Tampa

By: Joseph Correa

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When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unexpectedly signed Baker Mayfield to a one-year deal during the offseason, the football world raised an eyebrow. After all, he has often been labeled as a full-blown NFL draft bust. However, as we fast-forward to Week 6 of this season, Mayfield has done something remarkable: he's got the Bucs perched at the top of the division and dreaming of bigger things.

Now, when you dissect Mayfield's skill set, it's fair to say he doesn't boast the jaw-dropping physical attributes of some of his peers. He is blessed with something other than Justin Herbert's raw talent or Lamar Jackson's electrifying speed. You won't find him threading the needle like Patrick Mahomes, nor can he launch the football like Josh Allen. What sets Mayfield apart isn't something you can put a stopwatch on or measure in yards or inches. It's heart and guts.

True leaders emerge from the pack in a sport as violent and grueling as football. Mayfield might not be the flashiest quarterback in the league, but his tenacity and willingness to leave it all on the field cannot be overstated.

Over the course of his career, Mayfield has faced a revolving door of offensive coordinators, a less-than-ideal situation for any quarterback, let alone one in his sixth NFL season. However, his partnership with the Buccaneers' new offensive coordinator, Dave Canales, seems to be working wonders. Canales has crafted a well-balanced offense that empowers Baker to take control, getting him out of the pocket to execute the kind of throws every quarterback relishes.

The Buccaneers' offense might not win any beauty contests this season, but they're grinding it out through the challenging moments. What's truly remarkable is the impact Mayfield's resilience has on his teammates. Each time he gets pummeled and rises right back up, it's like a jolt of electricity coursing through the squad. In their recent victory over the Bears, he escaped multiple would-be sacks, displaying an iron will to stay upright.

Add to that his impromptu scrambles, where he's unafraid to lower his shoulder into defenders or sacrifice his body, and you've got a player who sets the gold standard for grit.

Following a bye week that allowed Mayfield to grow even more comfortable with the offense, he's heading into an unexpected NFC afternoon showdown with the Detroit Lions. This presents another opportunity for him to showcase his talents to the coaching staff. But at this juncture, it's evident that the entire team has fully embraced the "Baker experience." In recent times, that term was often associated with turnovers and a stagnant offense. Not anymore. Mayfield is now equipped with the most talented supporting cast of his career, backed by a coaching staff encouraging him to be himself.

With each passing week, as we witness Mayfield bend but never break, throwing touchdowns, orchestrating impromptu magic on the field, and igniting the sidelines with his unyielding spirit, it's becoming apparent that Jason Licht may have just pulled off a heist.

There's a lot of football left to be played, but for now, Baker's intangibles and influence are in full view, and Tampa Bay is a better football team because of it.

Feature Photo: Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

[soupbabe]

Heard you wanted to be spammed with requests-

So uh- Idk if you do platonic headcanons but- maybe platonic Stardust crusaders with a pillar crusader? Doesn't matter what,,, gender the bby pillar person is,,, just,,, sweet pillar babe who's tall af- and totally acts like a doofus at times---

You dont have to do this tho uvu

Stardust Crusaders + Pillarman! Reader HCs

It says Pillar*man* in title, but reader will be gender neutral, I think that's just the species (?) name! Also I like doing platonic requests so I don't mind doing this at all ! <3

Joseph Joestar

He met you around the time he met Santana

You were stuck in the same Pillar as the youngest pillarman, also playing the role of a guard dog before you were turned into stone

The main difference between you and your (uh forced adopted?) brother is that your face broke out in a huge smile and giggles filled the room when he booped your nose and told you to be happy

You were loyal to Kars, but throughout the time in Battle Tendency that decreased due to the realization that he never cared about you and did abandon you without thought

Joseph was there to comfort you through it and you helped in defeating Kars in return

After BT, you were sent to be studied at the Speedwagon Foundation and years later they were able to replicate the red stone of Aja for you

Ultimate Y/N ! Ultimate Y/N !

Sunburn no more

You became a nature deity, similar to Kars

First thing you did when the study was done was prank Joseph into thinking that the Ultimate Lifeform came back

Although it didn't work all too well, your forced down smile and stifled giggles definitely wasn't a sign of Kars, despite the mighty wings you sprouted

You lived with Suzi Q and Joseph for the majority of your new life and you adored being apart of their lives

Also they did make you babysit Holly numerous times even though you had no idea what a human baby looked like until now

Should've learned their lesson when one time you were caught making a rough sketch of what would have been a traditional pillarman tattoo on a 10 year old Holly, claiming that it's needed for her to grow up big and strong like you

Although you weren't a stand user, you had experience fighting ancient supernatural beings stronger than some stand users and you were a deity among men. Joseph didn't wait to take you with him when he found out that Dio was making a return

When Holly got sick and it was clear the crusaders had to go to Egypt, you didn't hesitate to sign up. It was a rare time that you were serious and your loyalty to your aged best friend shined through. You loved his family and you saw Holly grow up, of course you'd be there for him

Throughout SDC, you mostly just laughed at him (mostly during the fight with Mariah) and cracked jokes with him to ease tense situations

Also that bit at the end of the show where he pretended that Dio possessed his body?? He got that from you and you both laughed while Jotaro gave you both a glare

Iggy

Oh my god you barked back.

Y'all gossip with each other in dog, you're a nature deity, of course you can understand him perfectly

Added bonus of your powers is that he naturally relaxes with you

Sleepy gremlin

Jotaro Kujo

It took him a while to warm up to you

You were raised by Kars and Esidisi, dealing people who come off as cold and have occasional outbursts of anger come natural to you

He first doesn't think of you as anything when he first saw you

It wasn't until you sized him up, easily towering over the 6'5" teen, his eyes widened in astonishment a little

He has no problems with you, you're respectful to his mother and you respect his privacy for the most part

You're real bonding moment was when you made a lame, but fairfly obscure, fish pun when beating up the stand user of Dark Blue Moon

You both talked about marine life, he was genuinely interested in your experiences with ancient marine species and types of life before evolution made them what they were today

Although he doesn't like the happy go lucky types of people (they remind him of his annoying fangirls) you'll be the exception

A moment you both really became friends was in the Steely Dan fight

You shot your hand up in excitement, offering to aid in beating the hell out of the cocky bastard that mistreated Jotaro and Joseph

It was a good moment for you both to have light hearted banter and you ended the fight with a smile and a high five

Although persuading Joot to do the high five went more like: "Jotaro please" "No." "Pleassseeeeeee" "*sigh* Leave me alone after this."

I thank that you can't see stands. I can only imagine the endless lighthearted fights you and Star Platinum would have, you both giving each other proud smiles of how strong your friend has become

Noriaki Kakyoin

You gave a welcoming and cheerful aura when he woke up at the Kujo household

Out of all Crusaders, I do like to think that you would think of Kakyoin as more of a little brother

Probably because you miss Santana a bit tbh, red hair and a more reserved personality?? Easy for that to happen

Although you do make sure to keep that distinction between the two separate beings, gotta be healthy bby

You were one to always encourage him to get more out of his shell and be the friend he deserved

He would encourage you to speak about Pillarman society/culture when you both roomed together

One time you pranked him by giving him a handful cherries and giving him a tiny jumpscare when the cherries actually did turn back into your hand

Sometimes you both make fun of Polnareff together </3

Jean-Pierre Polnareff

,,,,big tall gentle giant? Oh my god he would've melted for you at first

He flirted with you first thing after the fight with Avdol, only to be immediately shut down with your laughter

It's not the first time someone hit on you, but his attempt was so cheesy and bad that it was funny

Don't worry he didn't keep on flirting with you though, it was clear that you weren't interested

That and you told him that you were over 1000 years old

You both were outgoing so it wasn't a big surprise that you two got along so well

He actually enjoys your tales of past fights and how it was like not being able to be in the sun for the longest time

That and he asked for hair care tips, your hair is very beautiful to him and to keep it as such even when you were turned to stone? Impressive

You both are dumbasses together, but you're the one to save his ass all the time

Especially during the first fight with Hol Horse, guns can't kill you and even then your skin can create a harsh shell to soften the blow

You just laughed it off, said that it tickled, and encouraged Polnareff to chase after the (now) frightened cowboy

You and Polnareff also have a lot in common too and you both are able to be for each other when it comes to Polnareff's grief over his sister and you technically being the only pillarman alive

Omg Y/N I can't believe you have yourself an emotional support himbo I'm jealous

You're also a wingman/wingwoman for him, years and years of experience (and using Joseph in his younger years as a "what not to do" reference) led you to being the perfect helper in getting whoever Polnareff wants

Muhammad Avdol

He's read about the Pillarmen, but he never thought that they were actually real

So when he met you he was flabbergasted

You and Avdol's friendship is like him unintentionally parenting a 7 foot 5 year old on one of those kid leashes

He knows that almost nothing can cause you great harm, but he still worries

Because of that his favorite form of hanging out with you involves chatting over tea or showing you foods you might not be aware of

In all honesty, it's greatly appreciated since your diet switched from vampires and humans to absorbing like 2-3 raw cows every other week. Your "palate" is not as expansive as you may think

While in India, you were able to buy some Henna and Avdol was very open to you giving him a mock Pillar tattoo

He wore it with pride and was very greatful

Sometimes when he gets homesick you make your arm into a chicken, and although it isn't the real thing, he appreciates it

You also show him ancient Pillar rituals too and it's his favorite thing to listen to

In return, you bother him to show you how to read tarot and tell him about (in your words) "occult business~"

You balance each other out and Avdol cherishes you greatly

When the mission to Egypt was over, he did name a chicken after you btw

[peachscribe]

peach’s winter booklist 2021-22

it’s the end of winter break for me you know what that means!! and if you don’t, here’s the gist: over my break, i try to read as many of the books i own but have not read yet as possible, and then i compile them in a list that includes the book, a spoiler-free summary, my thoughts on it, and the rating i give that book out of ten

winter 20-21 // summer 21

without further ado, let’s get into it!

1. Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink

the guy behind notorious podcast welcome to nightvale brings you this! a book following the protagonist keisha, who, after her wife mysteriously disappears and then mysteriously reappears in the background of tragedies broadcast on the news, takes up a job as a truck driver in order to search for her wife. however, as keisha dives deeper into her search, she begins to become hunted by monstrous beings determined to stop her from uncovering the conspiracy that corrupts the system as she knows it. i started this book during the semester and got about halfway through before becoming too busy to return to it, but, boy, am i glad to have finished it. this is a fantastic book that features lesbians, people with anxiety, people of color, and so many other marginalized people as heroes and as people who deserve to live happy lives. this book is the epitome of americana to me: it has the long drives, the beautiful and terrible freedom, the community banding together, the corruption, the ugly and hardly hidden underbelly. this is a book that knew what it wanted to say and said it.

9/10 had me at the lesbians, kept me at the wonderfully done horror-social-commentary

2. The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

one of my all time favorites (the arsonist) was also by stephanie oakes, so obviously i had to check this one out (and coincidentally was sold to buy it the same way i was sold to buy the arsonist - telling myself not to buy it, reading the first page, and being inevitably drawn in). this book follows minnow bly as she awaits parole in juvie for assaulting a man and attempts to reconstruct the world in her own terms after the cult she grew up in went down in flames. an fbi investigator propositions minnow with a deal: he can help her get parole if she’ll spill the secrets of what really happened the night the cult burned and the prophet mysteriously died - however, minnow may not be so ready to part with those secrets just yet. this is oakes’s debut novel and goddamn what debut novel - it’s an absolutely riveting read; i read it all in one sitting with only one break. it’s sad and it’s angry and it’s hopeful and it’s loving and it’s about growth and love and violence and anger and growth and love, etc etc. stephanie oakes just has a wonderful knack for writing complicated stories that leave you wanting to see the world in a new way.

11/10 it left me feeling just a bit empty and that’s just how i like it

3. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

good god where to begin. ive read two of wein’s novels before (the pearl thief and code name verity) and thoroughly enjoyed them both so i knew this one would have me too. rose under fire is a novel that takes place during world war II and follows the story of american ata pilot and budding poet rose justice. ambitious and passionate, rose gets captured by nazi airmen during a routine cargo transport gone wrong and is imprisoned in the infamous concentration camp in ravensbrück. just like code name verity, rose under fire is an epistolary novel told mainly through rose’s journal entries, which are sprinkled with poems she writes about her experiences. wein writes in the afterword that this is a fictional story but only the little things are not true - all the atrocities rose witnesses, experiences, and hears about from her found family in the camp are real, documented things that happened in the war. this is a raw and real story determined to tell the world about the women in the camp - the starving, angry, loving, stubborn, heroic, human women - and the violent cruelty committed against them that even still could not beat out all the hope. i will admit the beginning of the novel read a bit slow to me, but it was nice to see familiar faces from code name verity and pearl thief, and by the time the novel hits its second section, it moved and gripped me hard without letting go.

9/10 i love wein’s knack of writing unique women and their powerful friendships

4. Verity by Colleen Hoover

hm. okay so verity is about struggling writer lowen ashleigh who gets hired to finish a book series written by a successful woman named verity crawford who got into a debilitating car accident and is unable to continue writing. jeremy crawford, verity’s husband and a grieving father, invites lowen to stay at the crawford home to sort through the mess of verity’s home office to work on the series, but things get complicated when lowen finds a disturbing manuscript written by verity about her and jeremy’s life and the deaths of their children and begins suspecting that verity may not be as deep in a vegetative state as everyone thinks. also, of course lowen and jeremy have some chemistry, so that complicates some stuff. now. okay. let’s address the elephant in the room that is how awful it is to have a thriller-esque novel have a main plot point revolve around an ‘evil’ person possibly faking a disability. it’s clear to me that the main voice in the text acknowledges, like, basic human decency on how to treat people with disabilities, but i personally feel it’s not clear/apparent enough and i honestly feel the entire premise is just icky. now. onto my non-elephant: i was under the impression this book was a very intense thriller but, uh, it’s not really. it’s definitely creepy and messed up for sure, but if you’re looking for a super bone chilling thriller, this may not be for you. also, i never found myself liking lowen. there were times where i almost did, but she read very ‘quirky different introverted not-like-the-other-girls’ at times and also she sucks at making rational decisions which may be on purpose due to the nature of the novel - everyone in the book is fucked up (except for the kids, probably) and is terrible at making good decisions. the end twist was pretty interesting but i think i was just expecting more from this book than it was willing to give.

2/10 it read like a lifetime movie to me. kind of terrible but interesting enough to finish

5. The Martian by Andy Weir

yes, like the movie the martian starring matt damon. it’s a great movie, so ive always wanted to get my hands on the book, and now i have! if you haven’t heard of the martian, basically it’s the story of astronaut mark watney who, through a series of unfortunate events, ends up alone on the surface of mars with no way of contacting his crew or nasa who all believe him to be dead. with limited resources in an environment where anything that can go wrong will go wrong, mark fights to survive using his skills as a botanist, his natural “fix-it” attitude, his talent in engineering, and his gallows humor coping mechanism. if you really enjoy the down and dirty of hypothetical space problem solving, this book is chock full of it. it tries its best to explain in layman’s terms but there was honestly just so much information and not enough STEM understanding in my brain to comprehend a lot of it. that being said, in between the extremely realistic (im assuming - all the science jargon could’ve been absolutely meaningless and i would be none the wiser) problem solving explanations, there are pockets of humor and very real depictions of grief, compassion, and the innate human urge to try to help someone out, and i really liked that.

6/10 good experience but i personally would much rather watch the movie that read the book again

6. D: A Tale of Two Worlds by Michel Faber

what a weird, charming little story to kick of my new year. D is about the sudden and strange disappearance of the letter ‘d’ from the world - conversation, street signs, you name it. dhikilo, our main character, is the only one who seems to notice or care about the absence of the letter, even when the absence of the letter leads to other more concerning disappearances, such as the neighbor’s dalmation and even the local dentist. in search of answers, dhikilo ends up at the home of her old history teacher, professor dodderfield, and his faithful dog, nelly robinson, who inform her that she may be able to stop the dastardly theft of ‘d’s if she travels with nelly to the mysterious world of liminus and faces the ruthless dictator gamp, who is using the ‘d’s for his own selfish purposes. this story is a wonderland of satire told in the inviting and warm tones of a child’s bed time story and nods to a bunch of other notable literature - most prominently the narnia series and the works of charles dickens.

7/10 creative, witty, and heartfelt

7. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

if you’ve read my other book lists you may recall me reviewing a queer historical fiction novel that i absolutely abhorred with every ounce of my being due to how much i hated the main character. well, i am so pleased to inform you that this queer historical fiction novel is everything that book isn’t, and therefore im in love with it. the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue follows main character monty as he attempts to tour europe in one last hedonistic hurrah with his best friend (who he is secretly in love with) percy before percy leaves to go to law school in holland. however, the tour kicks off to a rocky start and is quickly derailed as monty, percy, and monty’s sister felicity find themselves stranded in france and hunted by highway men. separated from their resources and on the run, the three must figure out what exactly they’re being hunted for, how to go about solving that particular crisis, and what exactly may be waiting for them on their dreaded return to england. as i stated before, i absolutely love this book - it gave me everything i wanted from genre-defying surprises, pirates, and romance, as well as nuanced and thoughtful depictions of race, disability, and sexuality during the time period.

10/10 this is one hell of an adventure novel

and that’s all for the 21-22 winter break! i know i didn’t read as much as i have in past breaks, but i will admit this break has been trying in a multitude of ways and im still proud of myself for reading this much. im also very proud of myself for really experimenting with genres this break! i feel like i got a really wide variety of taste testers for a lot of different kinds of books, and even though i may not have enjoyed all of them the same amount, i still think the experience of reading and trying new genres is still very valuable to me.

i hope everyone had a great holiday season, and i hope everyone has a fantastic year!! check out one of these books if they sound interesting and let me know what you think<3<3

[vasiktomis]

Pomegranate, Chapter 18: Quiet Earth, Part II.

John Seed x Female Deputy

Rating: Explicit.

Read it on Ao3 here! Notes: Co-angels @honeysides, @shallow-gravy, and @lilwritingraven all provided immense support while I toiled over this chapter, which I am forever immensely thankful for. Never would've been able to give people second-hand embarrassment like this without y'all enabling me. As always, thank you for reading!

WARNINGS: Canon-typical violence. Sexually-explicit content. An angry cult leader with performance anxiety. You know the drill.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The comparative tranquillity of Seed Ranch had a way of making Cora feel like time was moving slower than it should have. In all seriousness, the chain-reaction of their escape from Fall's End was still firing, but without the gunshots and the shouting, approaching the property felt more like being in stasis. It was too still. Too unassuming.

The Project members awaiting John on the steps of the property were vigilant about a thorough, yet strangely distant reception of the man, as if they’d been hard-wired to anticipate his moods; warmly welcoming him home, but giving the man such a wide berth that one might have assumed he was carrying a live grenade.

Cora supposed he was at least consistent in his inconsistency; just as volatile toward his allies as he was his enemies. She wondered if the serenity of the ranch was a natural element of John's sect; whether they simply cared enough about the man to know his boundaries to the inch - or whether such a light-hearted environment was manufactured deliberately and specifically around his temper.

The Deputy’s presence did well to break the façade, however. It brought with it a range of cautious exchanges from the followers that ushered them into the home; some in fear of re-living the bedlam of her bunker escape, and others casting stern looks between her bare midriff and their leader’s refusal to leave her side.

She noticed it, too - how he stuck to her like Velcro.

It was only after she was administered pain medication and had her wound dressed (they’d been gracious enough to re-dress the haphazard bandaging on her hand, too) that John abruptly took his leave, excusing himself to apparently more pressing matters. Cora was simply confined to the foyer, drifting in and out of snoozing consciousness on one of the couches in front of the fireplace.

All in all, the mental and physical exhaustion of conceding defeat to the Project proved in all honestly a little boring. The blonde had expected she might break down once she was left alone. It seemed about the right time for it, and yet, all she felt was tired. Was it the cult who had done this to her? Run her so ragged that only anger remained?

Ideas of escape waxed and waned with cultists moving in and out of the space periodically to check in on her, lessening in their hostility with each passing visit until their warnings not to cross them turned into beratements over her refusal to sit still, for the love of Joseph.

In her restlessness, she sorted through thoughts and memories, deciding on the conclusion that while yes, today had been devastating, she’d long since thrown away her capacity to recognise it. It had been so long since she’d spared herself any emotion beyond rage that everything else felt only vaguely different. She might’ve broken down, had she not forgotten how to do such a thing. Trying only gave her a stomach ache, and so she resigned herself to waiting it out, growing more and more impatient with how undramatic this aftermath had turned out to be. How her captor had left her so unceremoniously after being declared victor.

Maybe he was similarly nonchalant about all this.

...No. That was impossible. He'd probably just excused himself to go dance a celebratory little jig. Perhaps he'd stepped through a hornet's nest in doing so, or been ambushed by coyotes. Something beyond mere choice that warranted the excuse to disappear like that.

The skylights in the ceiling changed hues over the course of what felt like hours, however, and John did not return.

It felt weird, being in his home without him present. It felt weird being fussed over by house staff who muttered for her to stop picking at her bandages while she lay across his furniture, warmed by his fire. It felt weird that her exposure to Sharky and Jess had finally led her to identify that the strange smell she’d always detected in the Baptist’s home was unmistakably raw cannabis.

Eventually, the clatter of plates and bubbling conversation drew the Deputy away from the couch and around to the other end of the foyer. The gigantic table she’d only ever seen stacked high with bibles in the past now carried an assortment of food, picked at by passing cultists like a barbeque line while they chattered away.

Watching them almost felt like watching her family back in Brooklyn. Waiting out the messy crossed streams of conversation in hiding until the coast was clear and the kids could swarm the reward of food without the labour of having to hang out with the adults. It was strange, how they mimicked a family, when the only similarity Cora could gauge between them were the logos printed on their clothes.

The spying didn't last. One pair of eyes flickering to her quickly became ten, and Cora's heart rate skyrocketed. Instinct kicked in. Eyes combing over each Peggie around the table for weapons. Hands reaching for her own absent holster and emptied pockets.

The group did not respond in-kind. Apparently, they were too preoccupied with loading up their plates to deal with a leader of the Peggie-killing movement in their space.

Cora didn’t buy it. Not straight away. Not until her gaze darted around the rest of the room, weighing up which of the Baptist’s gaudy home decorations might be most effective at bone-crushing and-

“Look who’s got her colour back.”

…

What?

The same cultist who spoke up - a woman - one of the group who’d been at the church earlier, gestured at the table. “Hungry?”

What?

One Peggie with a particularly heavy beard slid a plate over the table toward Cora. Two younger girls over his shoulder giggled to each other.

“Do you think we should offer her a shirt?”

“I’m not that brave. Leave it to John.”

“Anything fresh is all from the garden.” The bearded Peggie spoke, pulling Cora’s scowl away from them with a smile.

She inspected the table. Undersized apples and strawberries. Home-grown, by their imperfections. Multi-coloured silver beet and slightly burned sweetcorn. Homemade bread piled an end of its own, surrounded by a selection of preserves in blank jars. All of it, against her will, served as a reminder that she’d only ingested coffee today. This was bizarre, but she was hungry. Not to mention the Resistance diet consisted mostly of canned spaghetti.

Gingerly, the Deputy picked at one of everything, and while the group of cultists continued chatting, she stood awkwardly by on the side-line, trying to figure out the most efficient means of eating corn while still maintaining a hostile air about her and lot letting slip that it was fucking delicious.

Apparently tearing into the thing wasn't adequately frightening. The same talkative man split from the party to approach her, ignoring the roll of her eyes. A spot of shine glided over his bald head while he moved around the table, and as he neared, he gave her a moment to squint at him.

There was something familiar about that overbearing air.

“We’ve... -”

“Met.” He confirmed. “Briefly.”

“When?”

“Months ago now. I, uh, almost baptised you.”

Cora chewed the inside of her cheek, considering that. Somewhere in the back of her mind the memory of wet rocks beneath her feet swelled with the lapping of shallow waters. Just tap my arm if you need to come up for air.

He shrugged at her silence. “You were pretty Blissed-”

“No, I remember you.” The Deputy mumbled, turning her attention back to her food, intent on keeping it there. It didn’t last long. A hand stretched out before her, and with a laboured, full-mouthed sigh, she shook it.

“Andrew. Glad to see you again.” He offered.

“Okay.”

The silence was as painful as she’d hoped to make it, but tragically, he was resilient.

"Andy works, too-"

"Andrew's syllabically identical and perfectly sufficient. Where's your boss?"

“Upstairs, working.”

“And he’s asked not to be disturbed.” One woman interjected. “So don’t get any ideas.”

Cora blinked at that. Then, plate still in-hand, she spun on her heel and made for the staircase.

Behind her, the group exchanged a collective look of panic.

"Ma'am?"

"Sister?"

"Hey!"

“We’re not allowed up there!”

“Perfect." Cora grumbled back, already ascending the steps. "Then you don’t have to worry about following me.”

The second storey of Seed ranch was dead still in comparison to downstairs. A hallway presented a quiet stretch of closed doors and branching hallways that led out to balconies, part way between residential space and tactical efficiency.

Back in the day, she’d assumed the Baptist just had a thing for doors. Looking around at the space now, it was clear that John was well-aware of how many enemies he’d generated thanks to his work.

The crackle of a radio up ahead drew the Deputy’s attention, and as she drew closer, a hushed curse.

“Pick up. Come on, pick up.” John murmured. Then, in a brand new tone: “Joseph. Brother. I need you to call me back. Please, it’s been - just...whenever you can. I’ll be here.”

She found him beyond a cracked doorway, hunched over a desk. His fingers smoothed through damp hair hair, tugging, jaw clenched and brow furrowed.

The door creaked as Cora pressed against it, and in the time it took for her to cringe at the noise, John had sat up straight, shifting out of whatever private mood she’d spied him in. He blinked up at her, inhaling deeply, reeking of uncertainty.

She felt it too. Of all the scenarios to catch him alone in, the blonde hadn’t expected that she’d be brandishing sourdough.

A moment passed. Both of them trying to feel out this new territory.

“Hey.” Cora eventually muttered.

John exhaled. “Hi.”

“Brought food.”

He looked away. “Deputy, pleased as I am that you’re making yourself at home, I asked for privacy.”

“Since when did you value privacy?” Cora asked, pushing into the room and seating herself on the desk. The tired irritation on John’s face when she set the plate in front of him was worth the day of boredom already. He glanced up at her, and she responded with a wolfish smile.

“You have corn in your teeth.” He mumbled, relenting, posture slackening. “And you’re getting blood flakes on my desk.”

The Deputy tried not to look so hurried about picking. “Isn’t that a garnish in Japan?”

“That’s fish. You’re thinking bonito.”

“I know what I’m thinking.”

Another pause.

“Is that what you thought you were filleting in the church? Bonito?”

Annoyed silence.

“It was Nick.”

Finally, John scoffed, glaring at her, offering a reluctant nod when she flashed her teeth to confirm she’d gotten rid of the food in her teeth. “You are so funny.”

“Thank you. Eat something.”

Cora watched the man regard the plate in front of him.

“How generous of you to take a bite out of everything first." His gaze landed on the shredded corn cob. "Except for that. That,  you demolished."

"Yeah, well." Cora plucked up the same piece of bread he'd been reaching for. "Why're you hiding up here? Thought maybe you would've starting laying on the torment by now. Not...brooding."

"Brooding."

"Yes."

"Pardon me for needing to adjust to having a murderer in my home."

Cora hummed at that, casting a look around the room. "Took you about 2 seconds to adjust to a murderer's tongue in your mouth-"

"Deputy." John spat, pushing the plate away from him in a final display of denial. "Please, leave. I'm busy."

“No, you’re not.” Cora bit back. “I want to know what your plan is. Now you’ve got me, what’s next? What’s the point in me sitting around on your couch all afternoon? You don’t leave me alone, ever, and now that I’m here you want me to make myself scarce?”

The Baptist's jaw rolled in annoyance, and when Cora shifted her legs to face him easier, he jerked away from her, avoiding contact. “You’ve grown too accustomed to being in the spotlight." He grumbled.

“Stop avoiding the question.”

“What question?”

“What’s your deal? What's the plan? What happens now?”

“The plan is to get back to work. My apologies if your assumption was that you were the main goal of this valley, but there are dozens of things that require my attention-“

“Like sitting by the phone for your brother for hours?”

John paused at that. Something old and familiar flashed over his expression, and he stood from his seat. “You’re jealous.” He accused.

Cora’s lip curled, ears running hot. “You’re wasting time, and I want to know why.”

“Is that why you're nosing through my business? If I gave you details - what I'm working on - what the next step is - is that a strategic win for you?" His palms slid against the desk, planted on either side of her legs. "Or is my lack of undivided attention so awful to you that anything to help rationalise it would do?"

Something in her celebrated that look on his face. The renewed confidence in his attitude. It enraged her, but it was scores better than his absence.

She scowled, but she didn’t pull away when John leaned down into her space. It didn’t work the way it used to. Now it didn’t feel close enough. Now she wanted to part her legs and pull his hips against her.

It was a discomfort she’d never known before, and now, even with her wounds dulled, it almost felt painful. She wanted to know what the plan was. She wanted to plan an escape. She wanted to have just this one little victory if this was the end of the line. If he was going to convert her, then she could at least undermine him by ruining his faithfulness. It might destabilise him enough that she could find some advantage to getting back to Fall’s End. That would make it okay, if it were all driven by strategy or revenge. Her curiosity would be sated.

But then, as if he could hear her thoughts from the sheer volume of their demands, John drew away from her.

“You should shower.” He muttered quickly, snatching the radio from the desk. “Across the hall, on the right.”

He didn’t look at her as he left the room. He didn’t look back when he disappeared down the hall and made for the stairs.

Cora glared ahead at the space he'd left emptied.

What a fucking coward.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Despite her soured mood, Cora had done as she was ordered. She spent all of two minutes rinsing the old blood from her skin, and another ten reflecting in quiet judgement over the bottle of 3-in-1 sitting in the shower caddy with her. Maybe she should've allowed herself the opportunity to warrant having to bathe here earlier. Maybe she'd have developed more of a sense of disgust for the man if she had.

The clothes she’d arrived in were still stained, but it was an improvement. Less of a sensory distraction while she sorted through her thoughts, at least.

While the Deputy dried off and re-dressed, the haze of pain relief began to lighten, and she was able to focus on cobbling together some kind of a plan to get herself out of Seed Ranch. She might have conceded defeat, but the hideous tattoo marking her sternum didn't mean she was suddenly going to behave. Especially if her captor was refusing to even the playing field and let her know what the hell they were supposed to do now.

Whatever John was keeping from her, it was urgent enough that his entire demeanour had changed. What did he need from Joseph so desperately? If it had anything to do with the Resistance, or if had anything to do with Joseph coming here, the Deputy intended to put a stop to it.

If John Seed’s intention was to avoid her, he should’ve thought twice before locking her in his home. Ensuring that he’d keep his distance, however, was the easy part.

The real goal would be getting him away from that radio.

Descending the stairs, Cora found John in solitary silence in the foyer. There was no sign of the Peggies serving up supper anymore, and the dining table had been cleared.

John was alone, sitting on the couch by the fireplace with his head in his hands, no less agitated than when she’d first found him. The hand-held sat close by on his left. In front of him on the coffee table was a landline phone that hadn’t been there previously.

He didn’t notice her at first. To his credit, she didn’t announce herself until a creak of the stairs did it for her. Then, the snap of his gaze toward her was instant. Hyper-vigilant.

Cora reached the first floor. “Where’d everyone go?”

“Minding the perimeter.” John answered, making space for her to take a seat but keeping himself faced away. “You’ll be pleased to know that your troop is still yet to be captured. Little doubt they’re aware that you’ve been brought here. Even less that they’re on the hunt for you, given the state Fall’s End was in when we left. Boshaw seemed happy enough to blow up half the town to get to you. Shorty."

There was no mistaking his bitterness at the nickname.

When she approached, Cora found a folded Project sweater sitting where she intended to. John’s jaw rolled when she slowed to glare at the thing.

Still, he refused to look at her.

“Put it on. You’ll freeze.”

“I’d rather not look like one of you when the Resistance comes to rescue me.”

“You are one of us, now. Almost. Once you’ve pledged yourself to the Project, they needn’t consider it a rescue effort any longer.”

Cora huffed in response, pulling the sweater over her head and slumping into the couch. “You sound a lot less happy about that than I’d expect.”

“I’m fine.”

Stonewalling. Now she was beginning to understand how annoying it was when she did it.

“I’ve made enough of a career out of it to know what you look like when you’re not fine.” The Deputy remarked.

“I think I preferred it when I was asking all the questions.”

“I think you preferred me when I was tied up in a basement.”

That comment caught a glance. Amusement, unnoticed on her part.

“So, what - you’ve been sitting beside a radio all day and somehow weren’t inclined to terrorise me? Or were you just that busy arranging flowers for my Atonement?”

“Are you feeling stood up?” John asked. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were projecting, Deputy.”

Her ears flushed hot. Immediate rage flooded pitted in her stomach, but as much as the blonde would have liked to get up and stomp elsewhere, she had little other option without any better ideas.

Right now, this was all she had.

Channelling her inner Adelaide.

Cora inhaled, swallowing back a cursory retort. “Both work.”

In her periphery, John ceased all movement, staring straight ahead.

All she had to do was pressure him enough to move away. Then it was over. She’d been rejected by him before - anticipating it happening again shouldn’t have needed to feel as gross as it did.

“Maybe I think you got scared, not having me under your control.” She went on, finding the words already prepared on her tongue as she turned toward him. “You seemed like you were enjoying it when it was you-”

“-and then you punched me in the face.” John cut in stiffly.

“Didn’t deter you.”

“We shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because it’s against the rules.” The clip in his tone signalled a warning. Then, an impatient sigh escaped his nostrils. “And you said it yourself: it was a mistake.”

He wasn’t going to look at her. There was no pulling at his attention while he could hide her in his periphery.

“Is that why you’re upset?” She made a quiet move to touch her fingers to his forearm, but he pulled away with a scoff.

“If you’re trying to buy time -”

“Are you frustrated?” Cora pressed on. His shifting had given her enough leeway to get herself between him and the phone, and she took her opportunity, sliding down to kneel between the couch and the coffee table. Directly in front of him. “Knowing what people say about you?”

John finally inclined his head to sneer down at her, but if he had anything he was intending to say, it was silence by the bob of his Adam's apple. A gulp. His breathing was the only audible sound in the room, barring herself; shallow and staggered.

Almost there.

Cora kept her eyes on his. She wouldn’t lie - despite sitting at his feet like this, she could still gauge the power that she held. That while, yes, there was a spark of disappointment that came with watching him ignore her advances, there was also some odd thrill in watching the man who’d made multiple attempts on her life struggle so much. Knowing that, even with her unarmed and kneeling - even with all his connections and soldiers, and everything he'd done to her - he was powerless.

He’d taken her freedom, but she could get that back. She’d compromised his loyalty to dogma. Nearly made the tallied notches on his arm into a lie. He'd have to start again from the ground-up. He'd be middle-aged before he found the same progress.

“Now that I’m atoned. Now that no one’s watching.” She sat up, drawing closer to his thigh, inwardly cursing at his refusal to move away this time. “All that work you put into catching me, and now what? Nothing?”

“Deputy.” John growled, low and dangerous.

“You want this.” Cora concluded, watching the flush of red bloom from beneath his collar and the flex of his jaw while he grit his teeth.

“There are bigger things at stake right now-”

“And even now that you have me, you’re too scared to do anything about it.”

John inhaled a swift breath, averting his gaze. “That’s beside the point.”

“You want this."

“Would you quit it? You’re wrong.”

Finally, the Baptist shoved himself out of the couch, back-stepping several paces until he was half-way across the room. Once he’d gotten himself to a safe distance, he regarded the Deputy once more, gaze cold and angry while she cycled through unknown victory and equally unknown disappointment.

He wasn’t going to be made to give in.

“You haven’t been atoned. Not yet.” John breathed, turning on his heel and marching into the kitchen.

Cora stared at the doorway he'd escaped through. Now was her chance.

One...two...three...

Okay. He wasn't coming back in a hurry. She'd successfully scared him off.

There was no time to waste.

While the faucet ran in the next room, Cora twisted around, snatching the phone upside down and hastily unclipping the cable from the device. The dial-tone cut to silence. Communication blocked, but cord hooked up to the damn thing was already conspicuous without  evidence of tampering. She couldn't just discard the cable.

There was no way John wouldn’t notice its absence when he returned, and so the Deputy did what any effective home invader would do.

She bit down on the cord, close as she could to the adapter, chewing hard until grinding wire snapped between her teeth. When she plugged the cable back in and set the phone straight again, the machine remained dead, but intact.

Good. That'd buy some time.

The radio was next. Rather than switch the device off, Cora tuned it a few notches, finding a dead station and placing it back right where John had left it.

Done.

Sabotage successful. If Joseph had any intention of making a call-back soon, he’d be going unheard. There was no telling how long it would last, but unless the Baptist was stocked on landlines, half of his communications were disabled entirely.

Cora exhaled, inviting in the momentary relief. Being kept here was one thing. Having to be in the same room as Joseph Seed was another dimension entirely.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” She called, rising to a stand and following the Baptist’s trail.

No response.

When Cora entered the kitchen, John was dabbing his neck with wet hands. The moment he sensed her, he grumbled a sharp curse, bracing his hands against the counter to keep from facing her.

“Is this the plan? We just sit and wait?”

His shoulders seized. “...Yes.”

Cora stalked past him, finding a counter of her own to lean against, finding her own patience dwindling. Coiling irritation at the very notion of Joseph having so much sway over the Baptist that he could seemingly halt time.

“So what’s the point in taking me? In bringing me here?” She spat.

“Disregarding our personal rapport, it’s no small matter, having you here.” John ground out. “My family will want to know-”

“Have you tried calling Jacob?”

Something twitched in John's expression. A button, pushed. Dispelled rage.

“The Father  will-”

There was no holding back the snarl that brewed in her throat. Hitting its boiling point. He did  have that much sway over the man. They were sitting here in stasis, all because of him.

“Are you that fucking sad? We’re stuck here just because you need to hear Joseph tell you how well you did? A whole fucking resistance effort just blew up half of Fall’s End. You caught  me. Dozens of people are dying, and all you can do is sit by the phone?” Cora demanded, scowling while his muscles trembled. “Are you serious?!”

“WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO, CORA?!”  John bellowed, head snapping around to fix her in place, eyes blazing. The sheer volume of him froze her to the spot. "Did you assume that you were somehow different from anyone else the Project takes in? That your place here; that you're even alive  had anything other to do than Joseph requesting it? Did you think that you'd somehow slipped through every possible crack in the system for any reason beyond this path being carved specifically by the Father? Because, frankly speaking, YOU HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

The Deputy didn't reply. She couldn't.

Not that it would've mattered.

John, it seemed, was far from finished.

“You're so selfish. One moment you insist on making your own salvation impossible. The next, you assume you can simply start calling shots." He bit, voice already hoarse from yelling, but with no less poison. "You think I enjoy waiting around for whatever order comes next? That I enjoy you waltzing around my home, eating my food, whining that I'm not doing enough  for you? After all the wrath you’ve wrought - after all the death and the destruction - you’re still so fucking entitled to assume that I’d throw aside my loyalty to the Father. All just because you’re here, and not even by fucking choice.”

Cora swallowed, calming the nerves that egged her on to snap back at him. "I didn't - I don't - "

After a moment, the hostility thinned. John's shoulders sagged.

"I know it's not optimal. It might not seem like it, but we're lucky. Things could be a lot worse for both of us, but on Joseph's order, they're not. It's his wisdom that made you being here even possible. So yes; the plan right now is that we sit and wait."

John turned toward her, then. He looked positively miserable.

“What happened last night…can’t happen again.” He explained. “It doesn’t matter that you’re here now. I’m the Baptist. Joseph is my brother. There’s nothing he doesn’t know, and there’s nothing he won’t find out. We need to do everything we can to stay on his good side.”

He did have a point. As much as she wanted John to be the last of her enemies, he was only one of three, and likely the lowest ranked of the Project's leaders. Pushing John to defy a higher power was unwise.

Her job was done, anyway. There was no more need to pursue him. Curiosity didn't matter. Want didn't matter. No meant no.

“Okay.” The Deputy croaked finally, nodding.

John raised his eyebrows, unconvinced. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” She attempted a smile. "Water under the bridge."

He returned the expression. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Great.”

“Cool.”

They both stood still, watching each other for a long moment.

Then Cora’s heart sank, and she felt herself detach from the counter. John did the same, marching toward her while she advanced on him with equal urgency.

Her fingers found the front of his shirt just as his found her face, and his mouth was on hers in a heartbeat. For all her rationalisations, the blonde reciprocated immediately, clutching him closer, humming into his kiss with a pitch she’d normally find mortifying.

“I’m sorry.” John breathed, hardly breaking away long enough to put the words together before he was kissing her again. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean that."

Cora nodded, barely able to formulate a response against him. Every word she reached for melted on her tongue, completely enraptured by the heat of his mouth and his desperate hands not knowing whether they wanted to grip at her hips or keep cradling her jaw.

She didn’t even know she’d been walked backward until she felt the cold countertop hit the small of her back, and then - much more pleasantly - the warmth of John’s body pressing against her front. She gasped, winding a hand into his damp hair and slipping beneath his shirt with the other, pawing at whatever skin she could access and drawing another one of those pitiful sounds she’d pulled from him last night.

“Wasn’t - ah, fuck,” the Deputy choked, not anticipating the Baptist’s impatience when he dipped his head to kiss her neck, arms coiling tight around her waist, “Wasn’t a mistake.”

"Fuck no." John moaned against her throat, tongue barely darting out to taste her skin. “Won’t hit me this time?”

“Not this time.”

He pulled back then, leaving a half inch of aching dead space between them. Swallowing back a pant and looking at her directly. Like he was weighing up every possible pro and con about this scenario. Cora stilled, trading hesitation with the man, sobering for all but a few fearful seconds.

“If you don’t-”

“Don’t.” John breathed. “Just let me commit this to memory.”

“I mean it.”

“Deputy, you have no idea - how many times I’ve -...how much damage this could do."

Cora shifted under his gaze, searching impatiently to find which direction his resolve would fall. "I can keep a secret."

Amusement tugged at the corner of his mouth, breaking through apprehension.

“You want this.” She murmured.

“God, yes.”

He kissed her deeply, holding her steady through the shiver sent through her as his tongue slid across her bottom lip. Then, as soon as it felt like they were picking back up where they’d left off, he pulled back again. The grin he flashed at her frustration pulled a little noise of protest out of the blonde, and when she chased his mouth, he held her still.

“For the sake of being on the same page,” He began, “you do, too, right?.”

What a ridiculous assertion. What kind of answer was he hoping to gain from that? He already had her consent; did he really need the pride of knowing how badly she wanted this too? It wasn’t even something she’d actively considered, anyway. She’d have to think about-

“Yeah.” Cora breathed, ragged. “Yes.”

John settled into a more comfortable smile, and while the eye contact wasn’t something she could uphold for long, Cora mirrored the expression.

Then, a sigh rolled out of the Baptist. “Thank fucking Christ.”

She didn’t have time to chuckle at that.

His mouth was back on her in a instant.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“What’d I tell you?” Jess hissed, looking Sharky up and down while she waded toward him through torn up asphalt and cement debris. “What’d I tell you about making a fucking idiot of yourself?”

Sharky traded a look with Hurk at that. The man was nearly unrecognizable from all the dust clinging to him.

“I thought we did pretty good.” The arsonist defended.

“The town’s half blown-up, dipshit.”

“We did real  good.” Hurk weighed in.

He wasn’t wrong. They didn’t even kill nobody they weren’t supposed to. There’d been bumps in the road, sure, but all in all, things hadn’t been a total disaster. Once you translated that into the kind of situation they were in, total disaster  was actually kind of...well, awesome. Especially once the Cougars had arrived.

Sharky hadn’t heard word from over East since they’d left, but things must’ve been mighty fucking boring up there at the County Jail for a whole fucking convoy to come charging through town.

He’d never seen so many baseball jerseys in one place, let alone jerseys toting assault rifles.

There wasn’t any chasing leftover Peggies out of town once they’d shown up. It was a purge so quick and so direct that the blonde understood a little better why Shorty had been so pissed about not getting the extra help earlier.

Everyone had found their way back to each other pretty quick once the chaos had died down. As luck would have it, Kim had been walking Boomer when Eden’s Gate had arrived. She’d managed to get a couple of the general store clerks to safety and found a cattle shed to wait out the fight about a mile up the road.

It might’ve been the adrenaline getting him going, but Sharky could’ve sworn her tits were even bigger than yesterday.

Grace and Mary May reunited quick, but disappointingly did not  start making out. Instead, they helped Kim cart Nick and Pastor Jerome off to Dr. Lindsey.

After they’d rounded up any remaining hostages, the team made their way back to Sharky as the stand-in replacement for the Deputy. That part didn’t surprise him. He was  best mate, after all...after the dog, at least. The part that did surprise him was that the Cougars seemed to do that same.

Tracey surveyed the wreckage on her way toward the group with Sheriff Whitehorse and that tight-lipped Marshal in-tow.

“Jerome says Stammos got carted out with John’s people.” The woman announced. “They took the road down to the airport.”

“Then unless they’re plannin’ on looping back around, they’re probably headed to the ranch.” Adelaide replied.

“Probably a smart move after last time.” Hurk added.

The Sheriff inclined his head, incredulous. “Last time?”

“Long story.”

Sharky watched the disappointment pass over Whitehorse’s face. Must’ve felt shitty; losing all of his employees to the cult.

“I tried chasin’ ‘em down, Sheriff.” He said.

“And given how you’re dressed, Boshaw, it’s no surprise they were so quick to leave.”

“Okay. Ouch.”

“So what’s the plan?” Jess asked.

Tracey was already turning back around, headed for the truck she’d arrived in. “We keep liberating.” She answered. “Stammos called us to take back the valley, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

“John’s ranch is almost the Southernmost point before the border.” Whitehorse elaborated. “If we do everything right, he won’t have many friends left to help him cross it once he gets word of us coming.”

“Sounds like the same plan as last time.” Adelaide commented.

“No stone unturned.” He affirmed. “Same as last time. Take care of John the same way we took care of Faith and bring our girls home.”

The Marshal, however, didn’t look as happy about that option. Dude always hated taking the long way around. “And what if John’s taken care of your Deputy before we get there?”

Sharky exchanged a look with the others.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

John’s fingers tangled in Cora's hair, hurriedly tugging out the damp tie and wincing when a caught snag caused the Deputy to hiss. “Sorry. Sorry.” He muttered, breathless.

“You’re - you’re certain this is okay.” She huffed against him. If there was any acknowledgement of the apology on her part, it was only in how she clawed at his vest, dragging his mouth back to hers.

“Not at all.”

“What about your -” A gasp briefly did the trick of silencing her, but then: “What about your brothers-”

“Please don’t mention my brothers right now.” John whined.

Cora eyed him. “Door’s locked?”

John stifled a chuckle at that. “No, why would it be?”

Cora eyed him dangerously.

“I’m kidding." He defended. "What, you think I let people walk in and out of here unannounced?"

“Fucking prick.”

“Obviously, I’m kidding. You’re a-aaah…” His retort dwindled when the blonde’s hands slid down his front, stopping short of the hem of his vest and creeping back up to his collar again. He pulled back to glare. “A captive.”

“And you’re sensitive.” She replied, simply.

“7 years is a long time.” John’s own hands fell from her hair, slipping down her sides until she couldn’t feel them anymore. “Not sure how much I can...handle.” That last phrase came cautiously. Awkwardly.

The blonde’s fingers traced back down while she listened, more quizzical than apprehensive at the warning.

To her, that sounded more like a challenge.

"What."  John grunted at the smirk that played on her lips.

"Just the audacity of you asking for mercy."

A shiver worked its way out of him when she went lower, ghosting over his hips and then back up again. Deliberately avoiding the ever-insistent graze of an erection against her stomach, sporadically tensing against denim confinement whenever her hands got close. Every reminder of it sending a fresh wave of heat through her.

“Seriously-”

“Mr. Seed, either we carry on like this, or you fuck me. Right now.” The Deputy spoke low, watching the Baptist’s pupils dilate more with each word. “Either way, we’ll find out how much you can handle, but 3 years is also a long time. I’d hate for only one of us to break a streak.”

John stared, dumbfounded.

Then, his hands reappeared, tugging around her waist, wrenching her up and onto the countertop. Her wasted no time pushing her knees apart, drawing near enough between her legs that she could reach for his belt, but not close enough that she could find the friction she was looking for. His fingers pawed her thighs, then gripped hard when her fingertips ghosted over the bulge that impatiently jutted between them.

“Ah. Shit.” He shuddered, folding down to balance his forehead in the crook of her neck, holding onto her like she was the only thing keeping him standing. Cora found that she liked the idea of that. Ten times the amount of experience she had, and yet here he was, barely functional.

She pressed her palm against him, content with the hitch in his breath and the little jerk of his hips. A responding, dulled twitch pressed back. Through the obstruction of clothing, it was impossible to get a sense of him, but biology didn’t discriminate. She wanted him in her.

“Doing good.” Cora murmured against John’s temple, running her fingers through his hair in reassurance while his dug into her thighs in a vice grip.

“So good.” He choked when she slowly began to move back and forth. “So - so good. Feels - ah, fuck - let me -“

Maybe a little too quickly, Cora pulled herself closer to the edge of the counter, tugging John’s unbandaged hand further up her thigh and hoping he’d get the message while she busied herself with his belt.

She knew his smirk too well to mistake it for anything else when she felt him hum against her throat.

John straightened, pulling Cora’s attention back up to him. Lo and behold, he was looking as arrogant as ever; as if he hadn’t just been whining at her mercy. “Deputy, have a little patience.”

“After all that ranting about giving, you sure are selfish.”

“Oh, so you were listening.” He grinned, tracing a thumb back and forth over the junction of her hip. “Tell me, what happened to my little ranger who loved to play by the rules?”

“Hypocrite.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Hurry up.”

John flinched when Cora’s hand shoved beneath his still-fastened pants, palming him through his underwear. He managed to hold strong, though, even if his voice near-cracked. “Or what?”

“Or John Seed’s gonna come in his pants.”

Again, he twitched in her grasp, but his movement remained torturously slow.

Realisation hit the Deputy at his resistance.

He was getting a kick out of this.

He was testing her.

“How crazy does it drive you, not having total, complete control?" He asked. His thumb reached the seam of her pants, almost too light to feel. She still throbbed all the same.

"You're an asshole." Cora growled.

“You know, I always suspected you got off on that.”

“Evidence suggests it might be the other way around.”

“Answer me, Deputy.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’ll do just that if you don’t cooperate.” John tutted at her frustrated ineptitude at deciphering his belt buckle. “Are you really in a position to be calling the shots?”

Cora stopped to consider that, locking to his gaze with a scowl. Why did every interaction with him have to feel like a chess game?

Fine.

Not breaking eye contact, Cora simply pulled her sweater over her head in response.

John’s gaze broke immediately. He tried to recover, but the damage was done. There was no picking his composure back up after the attitude slid from his face and left him with nothing but prying eyes and a slackened jaw.

“Well,” He croaked, “when you put it that way…”

“Help me with this.” Cora urged, still tugging at his belt. He acquiesced immediately, although with the two of them hastily fumbling with the same mechanism, the extra help wasn’t much better. John swore under his breath, pulling out of Cora’s reach while she clicked her tongue. “Does that thing double as a chastity belt?”

“It’s not my fault we have a single functional hand between us.”

“You stabbed me first.”

“For God’s sake - fuck - got it.”  John sighed, finally unbuckling the monstrosity, rushing back to the blonde’s reach. She dealt with her own belt while he hurried with his jeans, tattooed fingers shaking. The moment he’d succeeded, his hands flew to her waist, revering bare skin and savouring her impatience for him to touch her where she wanted to be touched.

She would have cussed him out, had his teeth not grazed her lip, refreshing the taste of him with his tongue slipping into her mouth - right as his left hand wriggled it way into her pants and pressed.

Cora saw white for a second. Untouched nerves awakening in a frenzy that had her gasping into that bastard’s mouth. Jesus, she could feel  the grin on his face.

“Hm. Hypocrite.” Came the reminder, followed by a strangled noise when her fingers enclosed around his cock; separated still by underwear, but gripping him all the same. His body shoved against her, crushing their arms between them in the attempt to find his way closer - to find more. “Ah - shit. Careful-”

A knock from beyond the kitchen sent a collective jolt through both of them, and John’s head whipped around in a panic.

“W-...what is it?!” He called, voice cracking.

“John, have you got a minute?” A deeper voice Cora didn’t recognise responded from outside.

“Doubt I’ve got more than ten seconds.” The Baptist hissed to himself. “I recall saying emergencies only! Ask yourself - is this something I need to find John for, or can I find my own way?”

Christ. He spoke to his followers the same way she spoke to hers.

“O-okay. Sorry.”

John didn’t reply. He simply turned his attention straight back to Cora, stroking up and down along the material of her underwear. His cock twitched impatiently in her hand, at odds with his leisurely pace. “You’re soaked through.” He taunted, but the tremor in his voice delivered it as a revelation.

Cora’s brow furrowed. She stroked once, sweeping her thumb over the head of him. “Speak for yourself, Baptist.”

A grunt sounded from the man. His hands moved quickly, yanking her to the edge of the counter and gripping at her pants. Tugging the material down and off her legs while he dropped to his knees on the floorboards. The Deputy’s initial instinct to draw herself together and hide from scrutiny was jarred by the way the Baptist gaped between her legs. Like closing them would be some cruel disservice to him. So, she let him stare. Held still while he drew close, dotting a kiss to her knee and shivering when his beard skimmed her inner thigh.

“Thank you for wearing white.” John murmured, stroking a careful thumb over the cotton, leaving only aching want in his wake.

“That a religious thing?” She tried not to croak, raising an eyebrow.

“Not in this circumstance. Just...thought about it.”

“Oh. You just - casually speculated on the colour of my underwear.”

“Something like that.” He continued the action. Back and forth. Up and down. Trying to find the same spot as earlier. For all his enthusiasm, however, he was still out of practice and just as impatient as she was. He’d draw close, but any hitch in her breath pulled his gaze up to her face, searching for praise and losing his place in the process.

When his mouth suddenly descended upon her, though, fingers giving up their place to yank the material to the side and grant him direct access, the Deputy found herself uncomfortably on the complete other end of the spectrum. From not enough, to way, way too much. A squeak shot out of Cora, and her legs clamped shut on John’s skull just as her fingers gripped his hair in an attempt to pry him away from her. Both actions earned a separate “Ow,” from the man.

John pouted up at her. “What?”

“Stand up.” “I like where I am right now.” He protested. “You’re not shy,  are you? I want  to-”

Cora tugged at him anyway. “I don’t want you to practice on me. I want you to fuck me.”

John blinked. “Okay - not shy.” He pulled himself back to a stand, averting his gaze while she guided his hips back between her legs. “I’m - er - it’s just…-”

He bit back a resigned curse when her fingers circled his erection once again, passing over the noticeable slick of precum on strained cotton.

“Just what?”

“I'd like you to - enjoy it." The admission came. "And I’m not going to last.”

“Good. I'll enjoy that just fine.” Cora replied, earning a questioning look. “Won’t look so smug anymore when you’re coming in record time.”

John's expression darkened at the challenge, but his hands shook as they swatted her away, struggling to manoeuvre the fly of his underwear into just  the right position.

Anger was still the quickest way to get through to him.

“Just you wait." He warned. "I’ll-“

She cut him off with a kiss, pulling his hips against her, and his threats evaporated. They were pressed too close for her to see, but his cock grazed the hem of her underwear, finally pulled free. Then, John’s fingers hooked around the material, pulling it to one side.

The Baptist held her gaze, brow upturned like he was worried.

Was he nervous?

“Ready?” He asked.

He looked...kind of pretty like this. Pupils blown. Lips a little swollen. Hair all messed up. Eye-contact wasn't so uncomfortable when he looked this wrecked.

She nodded. "Yeah." The pitch of his gasp matched hers when the head of him slid with dangerous ease along the wetness of her cunt. All she could focus on was the heat of him. The blunt press, drawing closer and closer to her entrance until he was finally lined up. The ache of resisting muscles and relieved nerve-endings when he pushed forward, torturously slow, concentration and bliss fighting for equal real estate on his face, and okay,  he was exceptionally pretty like this.

A tiny little 'fuck'  crept out of John when Cora sighed at the feeling, insistently encouraging, tugging. She needed more. It wasn't fair. Didn't fucking matter how long for; she just needed to feel him. All of him.

Then, when he was barely two inches in, another knock at the door pulled her out of her stupor.

“John? I spoke to Andy. He says it’s an emergency.”

John froze. Then, his eyes scrunched shut in a long-suffering grimace, and once again, his forehead dropped to Cora’s shoulder. Frustration radiated from him, infecting her within moments.

"Has he been out there the whole time?" She grunted.

"Christ." The Baptist sounded almost amused at that. He pulled back to offer a half-smile.

He had to investigate.

Cora, meanwhile, had no patience for his imminent departure. Her legs locked against his hips, but he was gently prying himself away already, muttering repeated, gasped apologies at her protests.

“I’ll be right there!” He called back, already resetting his belt. “Give me a minute.”

“Are you kidding?” Cora hissed, sliding down from the counter.

“I’ll be 30 seconds. I swear. Then we can - we can go upstairs, and we can stay  there. Emergency or not.” John assured her, punctuating his words with kisses wherever he could land them while she struggled to multitask between receiving and yanking her pants back on. Then, he pulled away completely, stumbling out of the kitchen on visibly shaky legs.

Cora took a moment to silently lament before heading back out into the foyer, buckling her belt while she surveyed the space in an attempt to distract herself from impotent fucking rage.

John murmured away with someone outside, half-visible through the gap he’d left in the door. His arms had crossed, but with his back to her, she couldn’t discern his mood any further.

Nonetheless, her concern grew, and when the man said his goodbyes with a nod and entered the building once more, the Deputy found it had good reason to.

John passed through the room, not sparing her a glance. He snatched the radio he’d abandoned on the coffee table, but to her fleeting relief, simply clipped it onto his belt and moved on.

He’d turned pale.

“Hey.” Cora frowned, following him to the trophy cabinet where he began rifling through memorabilia. “What’s going on?”

“We have to leave.” He muttered, unboxing a small case. It rattled as he shook the content into his hand. 38 Specials, most making it to his back pocket, some clinking to the floor, forgotten when he moved on to withdraw his revolver and tucked it into the back of his pants. “Now.”

John continued hurrying about with Cora hot on his heels, unable to really do anything but watch him build a collection of valuables on the dining table. His coat. His keys. A particularly raggedy old bible. He made some effort to conceal the zip-lock bag he pulled from behind the décor on the mantle; definitely the source of the odour that permeated the foyer.

They traded a look - critical on Cora’s part, and John rolled his jaw while he shoved it out of sight, irritated. Perhaps embarrassed.

“Did you know?” He huffed.

“Mr. Seed, I studied in Colorado. I know what a half-bag looks like.”

“Did you know about the Cougars?” John’s voice hardened. “According to the Chosen, there’s one hell of a convoy inbound from the North. Did you know?”

Oh.

Fuck.

“Oh. Fuck.” Cora noted, still too dazed to even bother lying. “I called them in.”

They actually came?

“Wonderful.” John had stopped to run a hand through his hair. “Truly. Thank you.”

“Well sure, but I don’t see what good they’re gonna do you. They’re probably here to-”

“Sarcasm, Cora.”

“That makes more sense."

John started to pace, then, relenting. Dispersing his temper. He tugged the radio from his belt, holding it to his chin. “Joseph, for God’s sake, come in.”

Half a minute passed by. The little curses under John’s breath became more punctuated until his patience thinned. He angled the dial, and then stopped. Examining the station he’d been using, incredulous.

His gaze flickered to her for a split-second, eyes narrowing, and Cora’s stomach coiled.

Shit.

He knew.

She winced while the Baptist strode past her, anticipating his approach to the phone, investigating an absent dial tone and her now-obvious tampering. He turned the machine over, holding up the ruined cord for her to see.

"Your handiwork, Deputy?" The smile that spread over his face was sharp as ever. The mask was back on.

Perhaps this hadn't been her best plan.

She should've let him go down on her when she had the chance.

[strawberry-metal]

Alright so I was just having some late night ramblings about the au and the power level of witches and warlocks in it with Kaz. I decided to share the ramblings here so you guys can have an idea of the strength scale. I got permission from Kaz to post this!

Side note: If you don’t know, Aine is the Fairy Queen in Irish folklore.

As a reminder, the ranking scale of a mage from weakest to strongest, to literal bullshit levels of strength are:

Recruit - Novice - Advisory - Veteran (Only 10% of the population makes it here) Your own Rank (About 1% of population) - Council (Only 5 members)

Ramblings:

Me:

Granny Ann: Move aside Midori. Midori: But Ann, even in that form you're still old- Granny Ann: THE WORLD IS MINE!! Yoma: OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK Midori:

Kaz:

SHE'S NOT TRAPPED IN THERE WITH IT, IT'S TRAPPED IN THERE WITH HER

Me:

SHE DIDN'T LIVE THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO BE THE BOTTOM BITCH. Btw as I'm sure you noticed Hanyuu's placement-

I'm sure we made it abundently clear that witches and warlocks are one of the most powerful beings in the universe in our au. I'm gonna make it that dragons are one of the few that can rival a high ranking mage's power~

Kaz:

Yeah, that sounds good~

Me:

Any other magical being: Can go head to head with lower rank. Mermaids: If a mage is trapped in their domain they can deal with low rank, mid rank if they're competent Fairies: Can go head to head with mid rank Fairies with the blood of Aine: Can go head to head with mid and high rank Dragons: High rank? Council? Finally, a worthy fight.

And now… stand users: I dunno it fuckin depends on your stand :v

Kaz:

So basically, Dragons are here to keep Granny in line. XD and oh yeah, stands range from Heart Lock to FUCKING MADE IN HEAVEN

Me:

Hamon users: Low rank, but if they're competent like Joseph, Lisa Lisa, and Kazuno, they can also go head to head with mid rank. If they're a hamon user with a stand like Joseph…uhhh I'd still say Mid rank because high ranks and above are literally just bs levels of powerful XD

Kaz:

Hehe, nice~ that's still a lot of power to be able to take on! Witches and warlocks have their OWN world and power scale for a reason XDD

Me:

Yeah exactly X'D

In range of stands? Star Platinum could go mid. He could also do high but it'd be a headache and a half.

Gold Experience Requiem. I say Requiem because this is the only way I could say you could confidently kill a high rank witch without being a magical being yourself. GER could go against high rank. Probably survive a council encounter but he'd have to be really lucky to actually land a hit on any of them. The only one I think he could actually hit is Fernande because of her big ass spider body.

Made in Heaven: laughs in resets the universe Well, Granny Ann would probably challenge him as the only "survivor" if hes going against her specifically. I doubt there would be a winner here, they're even.

However, since Star Platnium Requiem is literally canon in the au, once SP reaches Requiem he could probably go head to head with the council but I don't think he could go higher than Fernande and Jurgen.

As a refreshers, the council order is:

Granny Ann: Time

Ayane: Hope

Giglio: Despair

Jurgen: Fortitude

Fernande: Illusion

This being order of power with Ann being the oldest, Fernande being the youngest, and Ayane being in the middle. Giglio is Ann's granddaughter and the only reason Ayane is stronger is because of her raw talent. (She's also Ann's favorite thus explaining why she can rebel against the council without being killed.)

Kaz:

They'd have to be saying their prayers though. Star isn't to be trifled with in his normal form.

Ann plays favourites, no dignity.

Me:

Lmao XD

And I guess I might as well say this as I have revealed fae blood in the human world existing because fairies be fucking humans lmao:

Yasha and Saki: If brought to the dark realm their fae blood would awaken and they'd be the normal fae level

Shanna and Rose: They have the blood of Aine flowing through them so they'd be awaken as royal fae level

Does this happen? I have no plans to make such a thing happen but it is still fun to think about~

Thank you for coming to my power level Ted talk in the Dark Realm lmao

Kaz:

Yeah, of course! What ifs are a part of the fun~

End notes:

Sometimes, coming up with more lore consists of late night ramblings and what if conversations mostly from my side, and Kaz telling me if it’s good or hot doo doo.

[diwatera]

LGBTQ+ Movies I Watched Recently (Part 2)

Happiest Season (2020) dir. Clea DuVall

Short Summary: Abby plans on proposing to Harper when they visit Harper’s family for the holidays. Her plans get derailed when she learns that Harper hasn’t come out to her family yet.

Why you should watch it: Not gonna lie, Mackenzie Davis drew me to this movie; I’ve been in love with her ever since San Junipero came out. Add Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy to the mix and I’m sold. If you want a sapphic romance with a happy ending, this one’s for you. 

Été 85 (2020) dir.  François Ozon

Short Summary: Alexis recounts his six-week love affair with David during the summer of ‘85. 

Why you should watch it: If you love 80s aesthetic and music, you definitely should watch this. The movie made me nostalgic of that decade and I wasn’t even alive back then! It’s a whirlwind summer romance reminiscent of Call Me by Your Name but with a more devastating twist.

Getting Go: The Go Doc Project (2013) dir. Cory James Krueckeberg

Short Summary: An obsessed college boy pursues his internet crush through the pretext of making a documentary about him.

Why you should watch it: The script and the acting are the one-two punch of this film. The writing is incredibly genuine, and both of the actors’ performances made the lines feel even more natural. I’m not the biggest fan of mockumentary-style films, but this one felt like it was a recording of my own life. Hyper-obsessive college grad with a Tumblr blog? Might as well have called out half the population of this damn site.

Pihalla (2017) dir. Nils-Erik Ekblom

Short Summary: Miku and Elias find themselves, and each other, during a summer in the Finnish countryside.

Why you should watch it: I’m a sucker for gays in the countryside™ and although this one is not quite up there with God’s Own Country and Call Me by Your Name, it still makes for a good watch. Miku as a character and his relationship with his parents was chaotic and fun. His relationship with Elias felt really natural and dreamy. 

You, Me and Him (2017) dir. Daisy Aitkens

Short Summary: Olivia, a mature responsible lawyer, wants to have a baby, but her girlfriend Alex isn’t ready for the responsibility. Things get even more complicated when their flirty neighbour, John, joins the picture. 

Why you should watch it: It is one of the most feel-good lesbian romcoms I have seen in a while. But I warn you, there are some dark parts that can really sneak up on you. Yeah, it’s hilarious, but damn it made me ugly cry, too. Oh, and if you want to see David Tennant as an alpha male douchebag, here’s your chance. (CW: **spoiler alert** p̶r̶e̶g̶n̶a̶n̶c̶y̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶s̶ )

Giant Little Ones (2018) dir. Keith Behrman 

Short Summary: Franky and Ballas have been best friends since childhood, both on the swimming team, both incredibly popular. But after an incident during Franky’s birthday, they quickly fall apart and Franky falls from grace.

Why you should watch it: I think the film captures just how tumultuous coming-of-age stories are. Franky is going through his own journey of self-identity, and I’m happy that the movie didn’t rush in with labels. The conversation Franky has with his dad at the end also hits hard.  (CW: physical assault, allusions to sexual assault)

Our Love Story (2016) dir. HyunJu Lee

Short Summary: A fine arts student meets an attractive bartender, and the two women begin an intimate relationship.

Why you should watch it: It’s a very intimate love story that isn’t rushed or dragged out for too long. We definitely see Yoon-Jo and Ji-Soo’s relationship bloom from start to end, but it’s not mind-numbingly boring to watch. Raw and unembellished, I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a realistic portrayal of wlw romance.

Die Mitte der Welt (2016) dir. Jakob M. Erwa

Short Summary: The film follows Phil and his relationship with his family, his best friend, and a newcomer at his school, Nicholas.

Why you should watch it: This is technically a second watch for me, and I’m glad I rewatched it, because I was able to catch some glaring red flags that I missed the first time. I love this movie in spite of all the heartache it caused me. The story, especially the deal with Phil’s family, struck a chord in me. And the shots! Visually stunning as well! 

Les Amours Imaginaires (2010) dir. Xavier Dolan

Short Summary: Marie and Francis’ friendship is put to the test when a beautiful boy called Nicolas comes between them. 

Why you should watch it: Watch it for the visuals -- the colors, the costumes, the cast. Seriously, the actors included here may as well be kept in the Louvre: Xavier Dolan, Neils Schneider, Monia Chokri, hell, even a cameo from Louis Garrel! Dolan said it himself that this is a shallow film, but it’s worth the watch just to see Neils Schneider wearing heart-shaped glasses.

Closet Monster (2015)  dir. Stephen Dunn

Short Summary: A creative and driven teenager is desperate to escape his hometown and the haunting memories of his turbulent childhood.

Why you should watch it: Right off the bat, I am going to say that this film is dark. I tried watching it back in college but tapped out within the first ten minutes because something traumatic happens. Then I tried again about a week ago, finished it this time. It’s actually a very moving film. It’s violent and gory in some parts, but also ridiculous and wholesome in other parts. IT HAS A TALKING HAMSTER NAMED BUFFY! BUFFY WAS THE STAR OF THIS MOVIE FOR ME. (CW: gay bashing/sexual assault)

Straight Up (2020) dir. James Sweeney

Short Summary: Todd and Rory are intellectual soul mates. He might be gay but she might not care.

Why you should watch it: The dialogue in this film is undeniably sharp and witty. Loved the fast-paced back and forth between the two main characters as they discuss relationships, sex, gender, and more. James Sweeney and Katie Findlay’s chemistry just pulled you into the screen. It was funny, it was sweet, it was heartwrenching, it was great! (CW: allusions to sexual assault)

Latter Days (2003) dir. C. Jay Cox

Short Summary: A promiscuous gay party animal falls for a young Mormon missionary, leading to crisis, cliché, and catastrophe.

Why you should watch it: I saw this in santiagonex’s top 20 LGBTQ+ films with happy endings, and I honestly thought it was gonna be a feel-good watch. Instead, I got a rollercoaster melodrama filled with early 2000s gay culture, religious guilt, buttcheeks, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Needless to say, I got more than I bargained for. (CW: self-harm, conversion therapy)

The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Blythewood

Short Summary:  A covert team of immortal mercenaries are suddenly exposed and must now fight to keep their identity a secret just as an unexpected new member is discovered.

Why you should watch it: Okay, I was debating whether I should include this here, because it’s not necessarily an LGBTQ+ film as much as it is an action film with queer characters. I decided to include it, because JESUS! I have never seen such respectful and well-written representation of queer characters and relationships. Joe and Nicky are the most unproblematic couple in history. PERIOD. Pray for sequels, everyone. This is the kind of representation we deserve in mainstream media. 

. . .

Click here for more LGBTQ+ film recs

[kylosgenesis]

Teardrops on Fire

Synopsis:

Steve Rogers is the last Alpha of the an almost extinct Lycan pack. With only less than 100 members left. Steve must produce an heir to ensure the species survival and reduce the chance of attacks from others. Omegas are rare, and betas have a hard time producing children. Steves reality is finally setting in as his obligation of producing an heir faces a major set back.

Reader is the last suitable omega to mate with Steve, due to the fear of her daughters fate in the pack, her mother kept her hidden from the pack after her own exile. Only her mother, and Bucky's family know of her existence. Bucky is Steve's right hand man, and the packs best warrior! He and the reader developed a friendship and bond over the years, but age forced them to become distant.

What happens when she presents and her first heat cycle comes? Her body is in excruciating pain and a strong fever quickly overcomes her body. Facing the fear of her daughters possible death, her mom calls on the only person who can save her at this point, Alpha Steve! Bucky and the alphas friendship will be tested. The reader will be faced with her love for Bucky or her duty to the pack.

Chapter warnings : descriptions of death, abuse, blood, and mentions of miscarriage.

Chapter 2: Honey I tried

“When did it start?” Bucky was holding on to the edge of his kitchen table.He felt nauseated with the thought of her, sick and yearning, He couldn't even picture what she had grown up to look like, A part of him was scared of his own emotions.

“It hasn’t yet!”

“ At least not as of this morning.” her mother was breaking apart! Bucky could tell she was very scared and exhausted! He knew that her daughter's well being must've weighed heavily on her, he could see the physical manifestation of her pain. In just a few hours her nails had been bit to the core, and her tears streaks had left vivid and raw tracks around her cheeks.

“Buck! I know this is a lot to ask, but you have to tell Steve! Were worried she wouldn't make it otherwise. This will be her first heat”

He’d almost forgotten his mothers presence in the room, cause he turned around and met her eyes, tears streaming down her face. She'd grown fond of her friend's daughter over the years. After her own kids had left to form their own lives, she could still go to her and relive some memories of her little ones' younger days.

“I know! I'm still wrapping my head around it, but I know what I have to do” agitation surrounded his voice. He didn't know when his heart started to feel like it wanted to jump out of his chest or when he gripped the glass of water that was left on the table so hard it shattered, but it was evident that he wasn't going to be getting any rest that day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bucky parked his pickup in front of Steve's house. It was the largest house in the village, it wasn't Steve's choice, but he'd inherited it from his father, and his father had inherited it from his father before him. Being the house farthest away from the city limits, but right in the middle of the village meant Steve was protected, but could also be easily accessed.

Looking back at his passenger seat he saw Winnifred with her mom cradled upon her shoulder, comforting her best friend through the probably the second hardest day of her life.

“You should stay here Ma, I'll go get Steve” I know he’ll be happy to see you, but I still don't know how he'll react to her'' He opened his tool box on the bed of his truck and pulled out a large fleece blanket. Neatly folded he handed it over to his mother.

“Just keep her company till I come back”

The lights in Steve's house were on, but Buck could hear the sound of wood being shopped and Steve's grunts coming from the back of the property. As he reached his best friend's view, he took a deep breath. It was all gonna be different now, for all of them.

Steve had a large pair of headphones in, and was clearly a few songs deep into his playlist because when Bucky came around the corner; Steve almost lost a hold of the axe he was holding! Lookin at Buck he lowered his bulky headphones and stabbed the axe to the soft moody ground next to the small uncut piece of wood he was about to turn into lumber.

Steve's hair was not as long as Bucky's, and he had taken a liking to a neatly kept beard.

He grew it out as a joke at first! Clint dared him to grow it for a month, and after a month he'd grown fond of the style.So for the past year now, Steve looked less like a young soldier, and more like those lumberjacks from the cheesy romance novel covers his sister Rebecca loved to read.

“Hey Buck, didn't expect you around so late” Steve combed his hair back with his fingers. A nervous habit Bucky had noticed since childhood, especially when he had a lot on his mind.

“Couldn't sleep?”

Bucky was concerned for his friend, momentarily forgetting the reason for his sudden visit.

“ Banner called! Wanda was there earlier today, she wasn't feeling well. Turns out she was pregnant, and didn't know it!

“Steves that's awesome, when is she due ? we need to celebra…” as he looked into his best friend's eyes he saw the pain behind his look.

“She was miscarrying at the same time she found out she was pregnant, Buck. That's the third pup we've lost this year.I don't know how we're gonna get through this, It's getting harder and harder to keep everyone safe, and pretend we're not gonna be extinct in 50 years”

“Steve…” Steve's gaze was filled with a mixture of tears and rage. He took everyone's pain personally. And hearing about Wanda had awoken an unease within his soul. He couldn't fight the problem! How could a man used to protecting and fighting, deal with a problem that didn't require a fight?

“There’s an omega! She presented this morning!

“Who is she?”

“Remember Katerina? She … uhh … after she was exiled from the pack, she had a daughter!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20 years ago

“We can't just let him die! We have to take him outside the walls! Someone out there can help him”

Joseph was the second in command to Benjamin Rogers. Two of the strongest alphas the entire western district had ever known. Both feared together, but explosive apart.

Benjamin had fathered a son 7 years earlier, a frail boy. He was often sickly and his future wasn’t promised! He wasn't meant to live much longer, the boy had once again woken up sick. A high fever overcoming his small body.

Benjamin had changed after his wife's death, he blamed the boy for Sarah’s death. A man that was once kind, and dedicated to his family, now lived like a wandering dark shadow inflicting cruelty against anyone that disagreed and crossed his path. His pack was strong! But there was no harmony, only fear.

Sarah had been a beautiful alpha as well as Benjamin. She had a hard time carrying Steve to term, at 7 months she fell bedridden and two weeks later, she had a seizure that compromised her pregnancy. Benjamin himself had to cut the boy out of his dying wife. That choice, as his wife laid there lifeless , covered in blood, and cut open like an animal awoke a demon in Benjamin. He saw death in his son's eyes, that is why he could never love him. He could never care!

Katerina took care of his young baby like her own, she had struggled to have a baby of her own so when Joseph came home holding a still bloody wailing baby, she fell madly in love with the small bundle in his arms.

The boy was small, but smart! He picked up words as young as a few months, and as a toddler he was incredibly gifted. Steve excelled in art, and even knees bit of music. Katerina loved to sit down and play piano! A young Steve would lean into her side and follow suit to her fingers on the side of the pano with his small hands. Joseph and Katerina watched him grow up, and took care of him.

Steve got sick often, but nothing too serious!

One day as she prepared breakfast she had a feeling of dread on the pit of her stomach, she ran upstairs to check on Steve and found him comatose on the bed!she wailed as she held her adopted infant son to her chest. Joseph came running to her after hearing her screams. He picked up the boy from her hands and loaded him into the car, with Katerina at his side he headed to Benjamin's house.

That was the first time Benjamin had seen his son since his wife died, his son himself nearly dead!

"Please Ben! He needs help! There's another pack two hours away, they have a doctor that can help him. She can heal him for good, please open up the walls so we can go to her! They both pleaded with Ben for hours, but to no avail!

The man was already covered in anger and reeking of alcohol, “Don't you dare challenge your alpha Joe! If I find out you defied me and left this territory you will never be allowed back”

Katerina couldn't let her boy die! With that warning in heart, she and her husband plotted to get little Stevie outside the pack territory, and to that doctor.

Behind Ben’s back, and knowing the consequences in his heart Joe called the Alpha from the neighboring pack, the other alpha had the resources ready for them to arrive in the morning. His doctor, a witch, was ready to give little Steve the life he deserved.

In the early morning of the night they sped their way through the woods. Once they reached the border a car awaited Rina, a beta from the fury pack was ready to take them to their pack.

Ben had closed the pack off to treaties when his wife died, he believed the world was dangerous and the pack was better off without interruptions, he couldn't even save his wife! His pack did not deserve to be mercied, they didn't deserve to live if she couldn't. So Ben slowly watched his pack become secluded and lost.

In the morning Ben, even drunker than the night before, had shown up at Joe's doorstep demanding to see the boy. Fully convinced he'd be dead by now, when Joe failed to produce an explanation as to why his wife was gone and so was Steve.

Ben lost it!

He called a pack meeting on which he publicly executed Joe, whether it was a display of power or just pure psychopathic joy. Joe’s death left the town broken, when Katerina came back with a healed Steve, she found herself widowed and exiled.

As a last sick jab into Joe’s heart even after his death, Ben took Steve!

As the years went by Steve forgot his early years, he forgot Joe and Katerina!

Steve remembered stories of his betrayal, her exile! How their actions forever changed a pack. He grew up kind, giving, and strong! Even if Steve didn't experience or know much love from his father, he was full of it!

And thanks to that witch both Katerina’s little growing heartbeat and Steve were stronger than ever!

Tags:

@austynparksandpizza @exposition-belongs-somewhere

[duhragonball]

Battle Tendency Liveblog: JJBA Ch. 105-108

“Master Kars has taken a fighting stance!   I... I wasn’t expecting tongue...”

Hey, remember Wammu?   Well, he’s dead now, so the only Pillar Man left to worry about is the leader, Kars.  His army of vampire slaves don’t like this, so they try to bumrush our heroes, but Lisa kills a few of them, then threatens to destroy the Red Stone of Aja unless Kars honors their agreement. 

And Kars is cool with that.   He only took off his headdress and exposed his antennae to prepare for the next one-on-one fight.   He then kills his unruly henchmen to prove that they don’t speak for him.  Moreover, Kars is now willing to fight Lisa Lisa.   Earlier, he said that he didn’t like fighting women, but now that he’s seen her in action, he’s on board with the idea.

But he doesn’t want to fight in Skeleton Heel Stone, where Joseph and Wammu squared off.   Instead, he chooses the Piza Berlina Temple, right next door to the S.H.S.  Apparently, after a hard day of chariot racing, the winners used to come here to worship their gods and drink the blood of the losers. 

It’s weird to me that Kars and Wammu should be so familiar with this place, and carry such an abiding respect for it.   I mean, they’ve viewed ordinary 20th Century humans with utter contempt, dismissing them as backwards primitives.   Santana disassembled a German rifle like it was easy, and he’s supposed to be the big dummy in the Pillar Men.   That’s how little they think of 1938 technology and civilization.   The Hamon users in this story only get a bit of respect because they‘ve become worthy adversaries. 

And yet, the Pillar Men seem to be a lot more respectful towards ancient humanity.   Esidisi knew the writings of Sun Tzu, if not the man himself.   You’d think he’d just ignore or devour Sun Tzu sooner than look at him.   And you’d think Wammu would have wanted to fight in the traditions of his own culture, but instead he’s all into this ancient human racetrack.    It can’t be because it’s old.   Compared to Wammu, it’s positively brand new.  

On the other hand, these guys are the last of their kind, as we’ll learn in a few chapters.   Human culture is the only kind the Pillar Men have gotten to see, and it’s been that way for about a hundred centuries now.   If Esidisi wants to read a book, he’s pretty much going to have to tolerate human authors, because that’s all that’s left.   And if Wammu wants to admire a sporting arena, he’s stuck with places like these, built by those pesky “primitives”.  

Joseph asks Lisa to let him fight Kars instead, since he’s still worried about her being a woman.   Also, he believes Kars is weaker than Wammu, so he should be able to defeat him.   But Lisa insists on handling this, and she strips down to this circus outfit.    That sounds like I’m making fun of it, but I’m not.   It looks pretty badass, but also period-appropriate. 

The fight is very short.  Kars pulls some sort of disappearing act, then emerges from one of the stone surfaces of the temple, trying to slash at Lisa from behind with his blades.    But Lisa has it scouted, and she wraps her silk scarf around Kars’ arm, charges it with Hamon, and kills him, wham, bam, thank you ma’am.  

And then the real Kars emerges from the same stone, and stabs Lisa in the back.   Somehow, Kars disguised one of his vampire minions to look just like him, right down to the blades in his arms, and sent that flunky out as a distraction.    It’s a cheap trick, and a complete 180 from the honor displayed by Wammu in the previous fight.  Kars doesn’t care.   He doesn’t care about dishonoring Wammu’s memory, nor does he care about breaking his word.   The only thing Kars cares about is getting the Red Stone of Aja, and now he has it. 

Unfortunately, this takes Lisa Lisa out of action for the rest of the story.  Kars hasn’t killed her, but she’s too badly hurt to do anything from here.   That kind of sucks, because Lisa’s such a cool character.   A friend of mine once complained that Lisa got a raw deal in Part 2, and we should have gotten to see her get a big fight, on par with Joseph vs. Esidisi, or Caesar vs. Wammu.   I can’t really disagree with the sentiment. 

However, I have a hard time figuring out how such a fight could have been worked into the story.   She couldn’t beat Kars, for Pete’s sake.   He’s the final boss of Part 2, so it sort of falls to Joseph to do the honors.  And she couldn’t beat Wammu or Esidisi, because Joseph was the one who needed the antidote to their poison rings.  Lisa could have lost to either of them--the way Caesar lost to Wammu-- except she’d have to die, which would spoil the big reveal of her origin story.

So maybe there needed to be an extra Pillar Man in the cast?   Not Santana, because he’s too weak, but maybe Kars’ group has a fourth guy named Talqingedz or whatever.  So Lisa Lisa could mop the floor with that dude... and then what?    Would it really carry any dramatic weight for her to defeat a guy like that?  A Pillar Man so ancillary to the story that the plot would flow just as well without him?    When you get down to it, Lisa Lisa’s dream opponent for Part 2 just ends up looking like Wired Beck, a random jobber presented solely to establish her credibility as a fighter.   And we already got Lisa vs. Wired Beck, and clearly that wasn’t satisfying enough.   So Lisa Lisa vs. a Pillar Man probably wouldn’t have been much of an improvement.  

Nonetheless, I think it’s a valid criticism of Battle Tendency.  You come out of this story wishing we could have seen more of Lisa Lisa in action, and we just aren’t going to get it.   But the root of the problem isn’t that she didn’t get to fight more, it’s that she was presented as a fighter when that really wasn’t her role in the story.   She’s a teacher, training Joseph and Caesar in the ways of the Ripple, but more importantly, she’s an enigma.  Who is she?   What’s her connection to the Joestars?  To Straizo?   To Caesar?   Where did she get the Red Stone of Aja?   And so on.  

Her Ripple mastery makes her one of the strongest fighters on the board, but that’s just another piece of the puzzle.   I think there was a profile of Lisa Lisa in the manga that said her Ripple was three times stronger than Joseph’s.   But we never get to see it demonstrated, because that’s not the point.  We’re just supposed to wonder who this lady is and how she got so powerful, and where has she been this whole time.    I think this is also why everyone keeps writing her off as a woman.   It’s not just chauvanism, it’s intended to keep the reader off-balance.  One minute Joseph and the Pillar Men are respecting her power, and the next minute they’re dismissing her.    It keeps you guessing. 

I suspect this is one reason why Araki dealt Lisa Lisa such an inglorious defeat here.   Could Lisa have defeated Kars in a fair fight?   Yeah, I think she could.   But if she cleaned his clock, it would defeat the mystique of the character.   The same is true if Lisa lost to Kars in a fair fight.  We’d say “Oh, okay, she wasn’t quite as strong as Joseph, so that’s that.” 

Now, the other major reason for Kars to defeat Lisa Lisa like this is to demonstrate Kars’ main character trait.   He only cares about achieving his objective.   Wammu had his warrior code, and Esidisi had his devotion to his comrades, but Kars has only himself and his goals.   He had Lisa and Joseph cornered in the abandoned hotel, but they didn’t have the Aja Stone on them.   Lisa made that bluff about a bomb, and then proposed this contest to settle things.   Kars agreed, but not because he had any intention of honoring the agreement.  He just let things play out because he knew Joseph would bring the Stone to the battlefield, and even if Wammu lost, he would still have all of these vampires to back him up.  

That’s how Kars was able to defeat Lisa.   He used Wammu’s own honor to lull Lisa into a false sense of security.   After seeing how noble Wammu was in defeat, and how gracious Kars was in disciplining his vampires, she began to believe that Kars would fight her fairly.     That was Kars’ plan all along.   Once he had her isolated on the temple, with the Red Stone of Aja on her person, he made his play.    It’s dirty pool, but it worked, and that’s all Kars cares about. 

This makes Joseph super-duper pissed, but what’s he gonna do about it?   He’s way down there on the ground, surrounded by vampires, and his Ripple is weak from the fight with Wammu.    So now Kars can just watch from a safe vantage while his henchmen tie up the last loose end.  

But then, the Nazis show up, led by Stroheim, complete with a repaired cyborg body.  And Speedwagon and Smokey are here too, along with a fighting contingent of the Speedwagon Foundation.   And they came prepared too!  Everybody’s armed with UV emitters.   To be sure, ultraviolet lamps haven’t worked so well against the Pillar Men, but against ordinary vampires, they seem to do the job quite nicely.   

So while they clean house, Joseph climbs up to where Kars and Lisa are, and he’s ready to throw down.   Joseph has plenty of harsh words for Kars’ dirty tactics, but Kars doesn’t care.   This has all been a chess game to him.   The Ripple Clan, the vampires, even Wammu and Esidisi, they were all just pieces on a board, maneuvered and arranged until he could secure a path to victory with minimal risk.  

See, that’s the other thing about Lisa Lisa.   It’s very subtly expressed here, but Kars was clearly very worried about her.   He knew Joseph was a threat because he killed Esidisi, but he knew he could use Wammu to wear Joseph down.   But Lisa Lisa is even more powerful and experienced than Joseph, and she’s shrewd enough to destroy the Stone if cornered.    He knew he couldn’t beat her at her own game, so he let her think she was playing her own game in order to set her up for that sneak attack.   If Kars hadn’t done that, he’d be dead by now, or the Stone would be lost or destroyed.  

Likewise, I’m not sure Kars is confident about a fair fight with Joseph, even though he’s tired from fighting Wammu.  I mean, you’d think he’d just charge Joseph and cut his head off if he could, but instead he lures him into another trap.    Before Joseph got up here, Kars tied Lisa’s feet to a rope.    He made sure not to kill her, but only so he could use her as a hostage.   Kars tosses Lisa down, and Joseph has to grab the rope to keep her from falling to her death.

And the whole point of that was to keep Joseph standing still.   He can’t let go of the rope, so he’s in no position to defend himself.   Now Kars can just walk right up to him and kill him at his leisure.   As far as Kars is concerned, this is what fighting is all about.   Not a test of strength and skill like Wammu’s ideal, but the achievement of victory at minimal risk.  

And this is where we see Joseph exceed Lisa Lisa.  They both got suckered into Kars’ traps, but Lisa doesn’t have Joseph’s penchant for trickery and quick thinking.    She’s got more Ripple power, sure, but that doesn’t matter against a guy like Kars.   I’m starting to get the impression that Kars is a lot weaker than Wammu, since he fights so conservatively in this story.   He may not be able to afford to fight Joseph in any other way.   

So how in the hell can Joseph get out of this one?   Well, first he tries to kick Kars to keep him away.   Kars just cuts his leg, along with a section of rope that was in the way.   Joseph’s Ripple is so weak that the kick did nothing. 

Then Joseph sets his own scarf on fire and talks about how he has a plan, and it’s so awesome that he can make this work before the flames reach his body.    Kars thinks this is just desperate posturing, and all Joseph seems to do is swing away.    Kars thinks he’s trying to get some distance so he can recover his Hamon energy.

Then Kars cuts the rope, since Joseph won’t stand still and get murdered.   

And it backfires, because Joseph did more tricky rope tricks!   Hermit Purple, bitch!

Basically, that very first bit, where Joseph tried to kick him, even then, Joseph had a plan.    He got Kars to cut a section of rope, which he then used to tie his own leg to the rope holding Lisa Lisa.   Then he goaded Kars into cutting the rope so Lisa would fall, not realizing that Joseph had her secured with his other rope.   Also, that other rope got caught on Kars’ own foot.   It’s complicated. 

Oh, wait, I forgot to talk about chess.   Okay, so earlier, Kars was gloating about using Lisa as a pawn to achieve checkmate.   It’s a good analogy, but I’m pretty sure chess was invented within the last 2000 years.   In other words, Kars literally slept through the entire history of the game.   So for him to be talking about it now, I have to assume he learned about chess during that month while Joseph was training.   That kind of sucks.   Esidisi and Wammu were running around trying to find the Red Stone of Aja, and Kars was probably chilling out in Switzerland playing chess and drinking hot cocoa all night.   Wotta heel.

Then Joseph pulls himself back up with his scarf and uses Overdrive against Kars’ blade.  Joseph’s Ripple is so strong that he just powers right through, destroying the blade on Kars’ arm like it’s no big deal.  That’s interesting, because when Joseph first saw Kars’ blades, he worried that he wouldn’t be able to block them, and now it’s Kars who wasn’t strong enough to block. 

Maybe “Light Mode” was more of an illusion than a genuine power?  I mean, the blades are super-sharp, but I never understood what difference it made for them to be all sparkly, unless it’s a psychological trick to demoralize the enemy.   It definitely worked on Stroheim, and it worked on Joseph for a while, but I don’t think Joseph’s gotten that much stronger since their last encounter.   

Anyway, the Ripple worked, and Kars’ entire arm explodes.   Yeah!  Then he falls off the temple, and Joseph loosens the rope to help him on his way down.    Cool!  Then Kars lands on a bunch of spiky rocks, the same gruesome fate he intended for Lisa Lisa.   Yeah, how’s that taste, Kars?   You loincloth-wearin’ piece of crap?  

So... yeah, we won!  Great job everyone!  Except for the Nazis, they can all go fuck off and die in a fire.   Smokey’s feeling a lot better about everything, so he asks Speedwagon about Lisa Lisa.   See, earlier, Lisa revealed to Joseph that she was the baby that Erina rescued at the end of Phantom Blood.   But Erina told Smokey about the same baby back in New York, and Smokey knows that Lisa Lisa is Joseph’s mother.  

Except, Erina told Joseph that his mother died of a disease when he was a baby, so how can Lisa be alive and a Ripple Master?   Speedwagon agrees to explain, since Smokey took care of Erina while he was away, but he insists that Smokey not reveal any of this to Joseph, because it’s Joestar family business.  

I hadn’t really considered it until now, but this is the first time we’ve seen Smokey and Speedwagon interact so far.   They’ve gotten to know each other off-panel, and they seem to have a bond over their shared respect for the Joestars, so it lulled me into thinking they’ve appeared together before this.    Anyway...

The origin of Lisa Lisa isn’t all that complicated, actually.   She was raised by Straizo and became a Ripple warrior, while Jonathan and Erina’s son, George Joestar II, joined the British Air Force in World War I.   George and Lisa fell in love, married, and had a baby, Joseph.  

The catch is that there was one last zombie from Phantom Blood.   Speedwagon and Straizo thought they got all of Dio’s zombies, but one of them was very clever and managed to stay hidden.    He just made sure to eat his victims’ entire body, so as not to leave any physical evidence.   Also, he faked a disability to excuse himself from any daylight activities.    By the 1910′s, he had successfully infiltrated the RAF as a Major.  

So George learned of this, because he knew all the Phantom Blood lore from his wife and mother.    But George never had any Ripple abilities himself.   He may have had the potential for it, but he was never trained, and I guess he didn’t develop it naturally, the way Joseph did.  

So he tried to gather evidence to expose the zombie Major, but his plan backfired and the zombie killed him instead, then covered up George’s death by reporting it as a plane crash.    Speedwagon and Straizo investigated this, but before they could act...

Lisa got wind of it and took matters into her own hands.  She killed the zombie major, but she did it in front of another officer.   The authorities knew nothing of zombies or Stone Masks, so they just thought she murdered an RAF officer in cold blood.    So she had to leave Britian as a fugitive, and she’s been living in exile in Italy ever since.    The Speedwagon Foundation has been trying to clear her name, but I doubt there’s whole lot they could do about a case like this.

And there you have it.   Erina was so heartbroken over the death of her son and the exile of her daughter-in-law that she asked Speedwagon to never tell Joseph what really happened to his parents, and to keep the Ripple a secret from him.   Of course, none of that really worked, because Joseph developed the Ripple on his own, and Straizo and Stroheim forced Joseph to develop those abilities even further, leading him directly to his long lost mother.   Erina wanted to protect Joseph, but she couldn’t save him from his own fate.    Smokey starts crying, and I’m like “same tbh.”  

This ties back to a point I made early on.   When I watched the anime, it seemed kind of random to introduce Smokey, then drop him for most of the story, then bring him back at the end.   But now, it makes a lot more sense.   He was a viewpoint character, but only so far as the stuff about the Joestar Family.   All the fighting and Ripple stuff could be done without Smokey, since Joseph could function as his own viewpoint character for that part.   And while it’s kind of weird for Smokey to be absent for so long, it helps that he seemed to feel the same way.    He clearly went out of his way to join Speedwagon on this mission to Switzerland.  He simply cares about the Joestar Family that much.    He couldn’t sit in New York and wait for an update.

Anyway, Lisa’s going to be okay, and the vampires are all dead, and Kars is slowly dying from the Ripple wound Joseph gave him, so it looks like we’re all finished here.   Stroheim decides to put Kars out of his misery by shooting him with high-intensity UV rays.   Maybe that’s overkill at this point, but we might as well let Stroheim have his fun.

Oh SHI--

So yeah, Kars had the Red Stone of Aja this whole time, but he only just now decided to use it.   That’s because the Stone will only amplify the power of his special Stone Mask if there’s a powerful light source.    This whole fight has been happening at night, so Kars had to wait until morning to try this little stunt.  But Stroheim has helpfully supplied a bunch of UV lamps, and those work just peachy, thanks.   Fuck Stroheim forever.

And just like Dio and Straizo before, the Stone Mask digs bony protrusions into Kars’ brain, but this time the mask has the Super Aja powering it, so Kars stands to gain even more power, turning him into... what exactly?  

[uomo-accattivante]

I recently came across a bunch of press articles and photos about Oscar Isaac that are so old, they appear to be out-of-print and pre-date social media. Considering they were probably never digitally transcribed for internet access, I’m guessing that the majority of current fans have never seen this stuff.

Even though a lot of these digital scans are challenging to read because they are the original fuzzy news print, I think there some gems worth sharing with you guys. Over the next several weeks, I will transcribe and share those gems on this page. Hope you enjoy them!

Let’s start with this fantastic 2001 profile piece done before Oscar was accepted into Juilliard:

South Florida’s rising star isn’t just acting the part

By Christine Dolen - cdolen@herald.com

February 4, 2001

As fifth-graders at Westminster Christian School in Miami, Oscar Isaac and his classmates were asked to write a story as if they were animals on Noah’s Ark. Oscar turned in a seven-page play – with original music – from the perspective of a platypus. Then he starred in the production his teacher directed.

He hasn’t stopped expressing himself creatively since. Today, Isaac is one of South Florida’s busiest young theater actors, and certainly its hottest. And not just because he’s a slender five-feet nine-inches tall with an expressively handsome face and glistening brown eyes.

Since making his professional debut as a Cuban hustler in Sleepwalkers at Area Stage in July 1999, he has played an explosive Vietnam vet in Private Wars for Horizons Repertory, a pot-smoking slacker in This Is Our Youth at GableStage, another Cuban on the make in Praying With the Enemy at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the entrancing narrator of Side Man at GableStage, a Havana-based writer in Arrivals and Departures for the new Oye Rep and, most recently, a young Fidel Castro in When It’s Cocktail Time in Cuba at New York’s Cherry Lane Theater.

Beginning Wednesday, he’ll be juggling five roles in City Theatre’s annual Winter Shorts festival, first at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, then at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. But that is not all: During the two weeks he is doing Winter Shorts, he’ll also be playing dates with the punk-ska band The Blinking Underdogs (www.blinkingunderdogs.com), which features him as lead singer, guitarist and songwriter.

Oh, and he just got back from auditioning for New York’s prestigious Juilliard School of Drama.

All this for a guy a month shy of his 22nd birthday.

Sure, you could hate a guy who’s that talented, that charismatic, that transparently ambitious. But the people who have worked with Oscar Isaac don’t. On the contrary, they’re all sure he has it – that magical, can’t-be-taught thing that transforms an actor into a star.

Playwright Eduardo Machado, who put in a good word for Isaac at Juilliard, says “he does have that star quality that makes your eyes go to him. It’s great that someone with that talent still wants to train.”

“He has a star quality that’s rare in a young actor,” adds Joseph Adler, who directed him in Side Man and This Is Our Youth. “Without a doubt I expect to be hearing great things from him.”

‘I JUST LOVE CREATING’

Isaac, who also makes short films, can’t say exactly why he was attracted to acting. He just knows it makes him happier than anything, that it’s what he was meant to do. And he’s been doing it since he was a 4-year-old putting on plays in his family’s backyard with his sister Nicole.

“I just love creating, whether it’s music or films or a character on a stage. I love taking people for a ride,” he says. “In Side Man, every night I would love being that close to the audience. I felt like I was talking to 80 of my closest friends.

“I could feel what the audience was feeling.”

His powerful, mournful-yet-loving monologue near the end of the play, he said, “worked every night. I knew it would get them. I’d hear sniffles.

“But it had less to do with me than with the atmosphere [created by the playwright and director].”

You could understand if Isaac, surrounded as he is by praise and possibility, had an ego as burgeoning as his career. Instead, he channels the positive reinforcement into confidence about his work.

“He has such a charm and an ease onstage, but he’s very modest,” says New York-based actress Judith Delgado, who shared the stage with Isaac in Side Man. “He’s hungry. He’s got moxie. I was blown away by him.

“He saved me a couple of times. I went up [forgot a line] and that baby boy of mine came through. He’s a joy.”

FORGING HIS OWN PATH

The son of a Cuban-American father and a Guatemalan mother, Isaac was never a stellar student. But he found ways of turning routine assignments – like the Noah’s Ark story – into creative challenges.

His science reports were inevitably video documentaries underscored with punk music. He acted through middle and high school, though he had a falling out with his drama teacher at Santaluces Community High in Lantana over his misgivings about a character. When she refused to cast him in anything else, he got his English teacher to let him play the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors his senior year.

His skepticism about authority and love of playing the devil’s advocate have long made him resist doing things the usual way. His post-high school “training” consisted of one semester at Miami-Dade Community College’s South Campus (where he met his girlfriend, Maria Miranda), touring schools playing an abusive character in the Coconut Grove Playhouse’s Breaking the Cycle, and working as a transporter of bodies at Baptist Hospital, where he absorbed the drama of people in emotionally intense situations.

“It was the most magnificent dramatic institute I could’ve attended,” Isaac said. “I was able to observe the entire spectrum of human emotion, people under the most extreme duress. I was mesmerized watching the way people interacted with each other in such heightened situations.

“I learned everything about the human condition, and it was real and harsh and brutally honest.”

Yet even given his propensity for forging his own path, something nudged him another direction while he was in New York making his Off-Broadway debut in December. Walking by Juilliard one day, he impulsively went in to ask for an application. Though the application deadline had passed, Isaac persuaded Juilliard to accept his, noting in his application essay that most of the exceptional actors he admires had acquired “a brutally efficient technique” to enhance their talent by studying at places like Juilliard.

Though he won’t know whether he has been accepted until the end of this month, his audition last weekend went well, he says. He did monologues from Henry IV, Part I and Dancing at Lughnasa, adjusting his Shakespearean Hotspur to a more fiery temperature at the suggestion of Michael Kahn, head of Juilliard’s acting program – though not without arguing that Hotspur wouldn’t be speaking to the king that way.

Isaac, not surprisingly, loves a good debate.

Adler, GableStage’s artistic director and a man who is as liberal as Isaac once was conservative, savored the verbal jousting they did during rehearsals for Side Man.

“He knows exactly how to pull my chain,” Adler says with a laugh. “Intelligence is the cornerstone of all great actors, and he’s bright as hell.

“He has relentless ambition but with so much charm. He’s very hard to say no to. He has incredible raw talent and magnetism that is very rare in a young actor along with relentless energy, perseverance and ambition. I see his growth both onstage and off. He’s mature in both places.”

Part of his growth, of course, will necessarily involve dealing with the rejections that are part of any actor’s life. His career is still too new, his string of successes solid, so it’s anyone’s guess how failure will shape him. But director Michael John Garcés, who picked him for When It’s Cocktail Time in Cuba after Isaac flew to New York at his own expense to compete with a pool of seasoned Manhattan actors for the role, believes his character will see him through.

“Oscar is realistic, but he’s so willing to go the whole nine yards,” Garcés says. “He didn’t go out when he was in the show here. His focus earned the respect of the other actors, some of whom have been working in New York for 30 years.

“He hasn’t had a lot of blows yet, when the career knocks the wind out of you. But he has talent, determination and focus, and if he has perseverance – my intuition is that he does have it – he could achieve a lot.”

FAMILY TIES

His father and namesake, Baptist Hospital intensive-care physician Oscar Isaac Hernandez, couldn’t be more proud. (Isaac doesn’t use the family surname in order to avoid, in his words, being “put in that Hispanic actor box.”)

“I’m ecstatic that he’s probably going to be going to the most prestigious drama school in the United States,” he says. “School will help him focus his energies and give him discipline. He’s got the raw material and the drive.”

Isaac’s mother, Maria, divorced from his father since 1992, is a kidney-transplant recipient who acknowledges that she’ll miss her son if he moves to New York. But, she adds, she wants him “to live out his dreams. He amazes me every day. He calls me every day. I’m very proud of him.”

Even the other guys in The Blinking Underdogs are fans of Isaac’s acting, though it could take him away from South Florida just as the band appears to be, Isaac says, on the brink of signing a recording deal (it has already put out its own CD, The Last Word, with songs, lead vocals and even cover photography by Isaac.

“Oscar’s the leader of the band, a great musician who amazes me and motivates us,” says sax player Keith Cooper. “I’ve been to see every one of his plays. He’s a phenomenal actor.

“I completely buy into his role in every play. As close as I am to him, I forget it’s Oscar.”

His South Florida theater colleagues credit that to Isaac’s insatiable desire to learn and grow.

Gail Garrisan, who is directing him in Donnie and One of the Great Ones for Winter Shorts, observes, “It’s not often that you find a young actor who is willing to listen and who doesn’t think he knows everything. He loves the work.

“He really brought the young man in Side Man to life. When I saw it in New York, it seemed to be the father’s play. When I saw it here, I felt it was his [Isaac’s] play.”

Oye Rep’s John Rodaz, whom Isaac calls “the best director I’ve ever worked with,” gave the actor his first important job in Sleepwalkers at Area Stage. They met when Isaac came to see Area’s production of Oleanna and the actor, knowing Rodaz ran the theater, introduced himself.

“He has so much energy and such a sparkling personality,” Rodaz says. “He knows how to move in the world. He seems to take advantage of every situation in a good way; he’s not a cold, calculating person who’ll stab you in the back.

“[But] he wants it so badly. Everything he does, he’s the leader. When I was 21, I was taking naps.”

Rodaz coached Isaac on his Juilliard monologues and found the experience energizing.

“I got chills just watching him. That happens so rarely. I was so exhilarated when I came home that I just had to go out and run. You just know he’s got all the tools.”

Christine Dolen is The Herald’s theater critic.

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[whump-tr0pes]

I need to gush about Honor Bound for a bit, I apologize for how long this might get, but I figured it can’t be too wrong to show gratitude for something you hold dear! I found Honor Bound through the “Bleeding through the Bandages” chapter in book 4. I got into whump around that time, mainly as a coping mechanism for my own pain, and I saw that chapter pop up on my dashboard and I didn’t really consider it was part of a bigger story and I needed a distraction so I was like, might as well. And then it ended up being the best depiction of what I was feeling that I’ve ever read; not just the pain, but the frustration, and the exhaustion, and the mind-numbing boredom shown in other chapters too. I read the previous chapters of book 4 and then decided I wanted Context and also More Sam and then I read the first three books in two days. And then I reread them all in one day because I needed to reprocess the journey that was. And then I reread all of them again with book 4 when it finished, and then religiously followed book 5 through the worst time I’ve ever had, and reread the previous books multiple times as 5 was updating as well. Needless to say it quickly became my comfort series, and on multiple occasions waiting for a new chapters was one of those little joys that kept me going. I am so, so thankful I found it when I did. The Honor Bound family is like no other found family, at least to me. All of them are such complex individuals, but their interpersonal relationships are just so deep and meaningful and each is so incredibly unique, I could honestly write essays upon essays analyzing each one. And the way you connect everything and weave tropes into the overarching plot is just Insane, it’s truly like you’re… retelling a story that actually happened, you know? Like these are real people and real stories. Because I can’t com prehend how you come up with some of this stuff. And there are so, so many “cinematic” moments that are just. So raw and hard-hitting and just stay with you. Big and small moments alike. The Ryan reveal, Joseph Stormbeck’s death (best death scene ever by the way?? I’ve told everyone I know about it when I read it I was absolutely in Awe. Never recovering from that), every moment between Sam and Isaac (I also have a sibling who I’m not technically related to by blood but would like, probably die for, so I just really appreciated everything about them and we need more stories like theirs) (and also every time Sam called Isaac out. Good for them), Sam talking Gavin through his caning holy shit that was a religious moment, Gray’s slowburn adoption of Gavin and when Gavin decided he wanted to be a Uriah (and how his initial thought to getting asked what he wants to be called was “Moore”. And then he was like “Well fuck.” Love that dumbass), just every single thing Finn ever did for the family, Finn and Ellis and Gavin’s monologue about giving Finn a concussion (!! chills!!) and their reunion after Coleen, Vera and Tori and the Work Song scene??, Vera and Tori lowkey adopting Edrissa and Edrissa’s character development and her rants about pretty things and her and Sam and Zachariah’s adorable Young Love that made me so giddy right along with them and Sam and Zachariah’s meet-ugly (I mean it was kinda sweet), Gray being the parental figure we all needed, and Nata and Zelda and Nata helping Sam (and now Gavin!!) and Vera being so proud of her puppy. Also, Isaac and Gavin’s relationship…Insane. The most dramatic enemies to lovers and I love them for it. Invented love. It’s so crazy to read the beginning and see how far everyone’s come and think about everything that has happened from that one Whumptober prompt. It’s a lot but it also makes so, so much sense. I can’t imagine a version where Isaac and Gavin aren’t together in some way (and since I started out of order, when I realized it was a enemies to lovers I was really excited to see how all of that happened. Especially after reading the first book, because it (1/2)

(2/2) was like, how the hell are they gonna get from point A to point B. No way those are the same characters, how is this ever going to get justified? And then Gavin ended up having the best character development Ever, and I love that, I love that he had to work for it and that we as the readers have to work to love him too, because it pays off). And now the ending of book 5! Oh God. On that note, you’re so good at writing villains; making them human and also absolutely detestable and killing them off in the most satisfactory way tailored to them. There was never a point after a major arc where I thought “oh, I wish this had happened instead of x, I wish this had gone this way instead”. Also, to go back on the topic of pain (physical and mental both)! The way everyone copes with it differently, it’s the same thing but it’s unique to the person dealing with it and that’s so clear in your characters, and I also love, love how you made a point of showing how pain changes people because that’s something that I find so often gets ignored, whether voluntarily or not, even in whump. But, yeah, pain definitely changes people. And that’s not always bad, and it’s not always drastic, but it happens and it’s not a shameful thing. Everyone breaks. And HB made me believe that I was allowed to break, and that it’s still possible to live a life you think is worth it. And I won’t even get into how much it’d taught me about friendship and family and how it made me reflect on my own relationships with my loved ones (especially Isaac’s perspective, oh God). It’s just such a rewarding journey. That’s the best word to describe it, I think. And this latest chapter: “The sun shone brightly on the hood of the car, so bright Isaac almost had to close his eyes. The wind moved through the trees that swayed on either side of the lane. Isaac rolled his window down, and he could hear the birds calling to each other, and the sound of the wind rustling the long grasses that smelled so green. With each heartbeat, Gavin relaxed in his arms, his head falling against Isaac’s shoulder, his breaths becoming deep and slow again. A tear rolled down Isaac’s cheek, and he hid his smile against Gavin’s hair.” That image. It’s so vivid and visceral. It gives me the exact same feeling as spring after a long winter (which is…super fitting, actually). It’s that moment of pure contentedness when you realize it’d all been worth it. I don’t know, it just really, really struck me, and I’m so glad the book ended on that note. Despite knowing more hurt awaits, even that feels okay, because happiness will always find a way to seep through. And God, do they deserve that! It’s gonna be heartbreaking when their story ends, but I also know it’s gonna feel right. Like a peaceful retirement. Just, thank you for sharing this world with us, Athena. I hope you’re aware how meaningful this story is to so many of us. And being able to follow it in real-time and hear your inputs and chat about the characters and scream in the comments and reblogs is such a privilege (and being able to read it for free at all? Five books (six counting Vera)! For free! Though I will be getting books 1 and 2 soon hopefully actually). I cannot wait for book 6 and I Will be crying about book 5 until then (and long afterwards, most likely). And I wish you all the best in everything you take on next.<3

Wow, I... wow. I had to set down my phone and just sit in silence after I read this. I’m just... so humbled and amazed that you were able to connect so much with the story and the characters. I’m so glad that you saw something of yourself, and that you were able to find comfort in it. I find comfort in them, too, just knowing that the characters are there when I need to write them. 

It’s important to me for things to turn out ‘right.’ That’s part of why I write whump: the bad guys can be defeated, the good guys emerge safe, and love prevails. Writing Isaac and Gavin’s love story was absolutely the biggest surprise for me, it really did feel like I was the last to know. But I treasure them both so much and I love writing them. The family is so fun to explore, with each relationship being so different from the other. I’ve poured so much of myself into this story and into every single one of the characters. 

Book 6 is going to be such a challenge. It’s the last book in the series, and the one that’ll (hopefully) tie everything together. I’m giving myself a little break, but I’m also a little scared to start it because once I start it, then each chapter will be closer to the end, and then it’ll be over. I have a few more things in store for the family but at the end, I hope they’re safe, happy, and together. These characters mean more to me than I can say and I’m so happy I’ll have you with me along the way.

[praphit]

“Project Power”- Add it to the list, Jamie :)

In these tense times of protests, economic woes, demon sperm,

and mad scientists giving us advice on how to stay safe

(Psssh, plus he’s a Nationals fan? Smh... that monster), 

it's natural for us to call out for a hero. 

I know that I'm first on your list (If you don’t know, get it together, I'm practically "Black Dynamite", especially since I haven't seen a barber in forever)

, and I'm flattered, but I'm a busy man. Much like common sense, I may not always be around to lend a hand.

You might want to turn to The Avengers, but 

- yeah. They're kinda done without a leader.

NEXT!

Batman? 

But is it the old, sad Ben Batman?

- or... 

... whatever the hell this is? Batman has got issues right now.

NEXT!

Politici... Ha! Sorry, I can't even... Ha! Just no.

NEXT!

Firefighters!

Sure, but unless your place is on fire or you're having a bachelorette party, they won't be of much use.

Somehow, next up is Jamie Foxx.

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, but there he is - "Project Power".

Let's look at the official description of the movie shall we - 

"A former soldier teams up with a cop to find the source behind a dangerous pill that provides temporary superpowers."

Seems like it should be a fun, yet awful movie right??

I'm not even gonna bullshit you. This movie is awful, but not in the fun way. It's a Grade F, and that's that.

For starters, the trope-filled story never gets off the ground. I still don't know why or how it doesn't, but I was never invested in this flick. There's no depth to it. It's just those two, and a teenager, bypassing law enforcement to tackle the war on drugs.

This war starts with a character named "Newt", played by music artist (previously a rapper) / actor, Machine Gun Kelly. 

There are certain actors that consistently make poor choices for movies that they're in. It's to the point where if you see them in a trailer, you know that the movie is going to be bad. Now, he's not one of those actors, because you can't call what he does "acting". But, he is always one of the reasons why the movie he's in will be bad.

If you're unfamiliar with his bad choices, here's a brief recap:

*Making music *Beefing with Eminem

(this is not a pic of him from the movie, it's what happened to him once Em launched his diss track at MGK

 - goodbye "rap career")

*Dating Megan Fox

Even his character made poor decisions.

*Here's him drinking a big gulp, obnoxiously loud during a drug dealing meeting (I imagine Trump doing that in meetings).

*Then, his character has his own name written on his own door, WHEN THE COPS ARE LOOKING FOR HIM!

That's just amateur back-in-the-day cartoon villain stuff, right?? Back when they had giant evil lairs.

Plus, he can't be a very good dealer, being that we don't see all that many people using this drug. If this were real, I imagine that everyone would at least try it; especially the way our world is going right now. Granny would replace the hard candy in her jar with power pills.

I could go on and on, but I digress.

Joseph Gordon what's-his-face was good,

 but like most of the characters in this movie, he was one dimensional.

He's a renegade cop who will doing anything to get this ridiculous drug of the streets. Anything includes taking the drug himself to even the odds. The other cops know that he's doing it too! How do they see him doing something blatantly against the law that they serve and... oh wait.

Then, they've got the black teenage girl, who's facing real systemic racism, who focuses way too much on her rap skills rather than school work.

Whom adults also feel to need to take out of school and put her in life-threatening situations.

And Jamie Foxx... 

let's just review a few of the times in which he played an action role.

That’s him a lil behind Josh Lucas. Who’s that, you ask? - exactly.

Here he played a sick violinist... I think. It’s been a while. But, I remember him physically fighting with Robert Downey Jr (him in the back), so we’re adding to the action list:)

Here he is behind another white dude. And a another movie that we forgot about.

Here he is behind the white dude again... at least we know that white dude. 

Lemme look at the poster for “Project Power” again - 

aaaaah, see, now it makes sense to me why Gordon Joseph whatever-his-name-is looks so confused in the poster.

He’s like “Jamie, aren’t you supposed to be behind me?”

There are a few more, but we’ll end with this one...

Yeaaaaah... *sigh* Yeaaaaah. Let’s put that back in the vault.

Idk...

Somehow Tom Cruise, who's almost 60 and 5 foot 2 is so much more believable as an action star than Jamie Foxx.

Don't ask me how. It's one of the great mysteries of our time.

Oh right! - There WAS “Django Unchained”,

 but that had the absurdities of Quentin Tarantino and some comedy in it.

Maybe if they didn't take "Project Power" so seriously it would have worked.

I mean it's about drugs that give people temporary superpowers.  Drugs already give people powers (kinda):

1) Super Balance - idk about where y’all live, but here in Baltimore, there are leaners in every alley way exhibiting this power.

2) The ability to make your problems dis... well, not really disappear, but... you get the idea.

3) And loss of teeth! How about that one??! Pick them up, and use them as projectiles? YEAH!

But, these SUPER powers in the movie are more like speed, strength, fire, ice, all of the regulars.

The effects at times were good, 

but at other times it looked like a bad video game; with the dumbass boss fight as well.

Don't waste your time, people. I was hoping for Funny-Bad, but I got Sad-Bad. You know?? I kept thinking "*sigh* Oh, Jamie."

Have any of you seen "The Boys"? 

(a dark, but funny take on superheroes)

They could have done something like that. Jamie Foxx is hilarious, and that Gordon Joseph guy is pretty funny as well. Be creative. Be raw.

But, nope. They had to tell us a serious tale of a world where drug addicts have super powers, and comedians are our only hope for protection.