#Wait for so soon in October 2019!

[tothosewholisten]

Forever Healed | TUA insert

Chapter: 00

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Masterlist

…

On the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989. 43 women around the world gave birth. This was unusual in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began.

Sir Reginald Hargeeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible.

He got seven of them, yes seven.

..

MARCH 21, 2019

I have to be at least somewhat proud of myself for lasting this long. I thought as I sat on the bus, not everyday you are born with magical powers and are destined to save the world from evil. Yes, hearing myself think that sounds crazy. But that's normal in my life.

I had reached my stop after a half an hour of sitting with my earbuds in, listening to nothing at all. I just wanted to seem unapproachable on the sketchy city bus.

My destination was a terribly designed office building, the space was so crammed and ugly it made me want to turn right back around and get on that bus again. But I didn't because I was trying to convince myself that this would be good for me, but I didn't believe my words.

I was about to have a therapy session with some middle-aged white lady who has glasses and tell her all of my life issues, starting every week at 5pm..

It's not like I had anything else going on, I haven't had work for days now. So I thought I'd give it a shot.

The waiting process made me anxious as hell, I finally got the courage to walk up to the front desk and gave the man who sat there my name. And now I have to wait for this lady to get done with some other patient.

I sat on a chair and frowned, like she is really going to be focused on "my" problems and not the 30 other people she sees today.

I swear it was only a second into me zoning out when I heard my name yelled. "Y/n L/n? It's so nice to meet you!" A woman said, when i looked up at her i saw the exact lady i was describing earlier to the closest details.

I let her lead me to a smaller room that looked way better than the lobby. It had two chairs, a water machine, some fidget items and a large window view of the city. Gloria, I learn to be the name of my therapist, asks me to sit with her.

She clears her throat, "I know this is our first session so you may not be the most comfortable sharing details. But I'd like to know a little bit about you if you're okay sharing."

“Well, I’m 29 years old and a home care nurse.” I say slowly. Hearing the words leave my mouth I knew I haven’t amounted to a lot in my years.

"Oh wow, 29? I would've never guessed that Y/n, you don't look a day over 21" Gloria complimented me i give her a tiny smile in return.

I'm not sure why that is, I get that a lot in my working field. Older women saying that they wished they looked as young as me.

"That's a great start for today's session." She smiles, "A little bit me is, you know my name already but I'm 56 years old since Monday. I have 3 children and a cat named Mr. Furball."

I regret what i said earlier because I think I already like Gloria and not just because of Mr. Furball. But the fact that she has a calming sense about her. I find myself listening to what she's saying, and I rarely do that with people nowadays.

"But I would like to hear more about your upbringing, how’d you become the fine young lady you are today?" She says.

Oh, she wants to hear about my childhood. I mean I knew she would ask but so soon, I'm worried about saying anything. So I told her that.

"I'm worried about opening up to someone about my past cause well I've never done it before." I said.

She hands me a cup of water. "That's okay Y/n, we can take it at your pace."

“I grew up in a small house with my mom and dad until I was twelve. When I was scouted by Reginald Hargreeves because of my unique abilities. And I've been there ever since I was 18 when I moved out to live on my own.” I waited for the burst of confusion I was about to get from Gloria. Not everyday one of the Umbrella Academy walks into your office.

“Oh wow…” she says, eyes wide. “You're one of those superheroes? That’s amazing wow.” She nervously chuckles “I’m sorry I’m normally not this shocked about things, and I hear a lot on the daily.”

“It’s okay” I say, staring at my hands.

She clears her throat. “I'm sure being apart of the Umbrella Academy was big but could you tell me about your life before that?”

I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, pictured my childhood in my brain and opened my mouth.

"Well, I'm sure to this day my father still thinks that my mother cheated on him, due to his "daughter's" virgin Mary-like creation since they were just newlyweds. He held it against my mother all of her life." I took a sip of water and continued.

"I'm not sure why he turned to alcohol. But that turned out as you could expect. He turned on everyone around him and acted like a beast. He regularly attacked my mom for anything she did wrong. But what made him more angry was that his freak of a daughter could heal her mother, after every beating."

"My mom told me before I left I had made her so much happier and in her words. She didn't even question these strange occurrences; she knew her baby was special." I smiled a bit.

I could tell that Gloria was painting a picture in her head of what I was describing too.

"And by the age of 8, I was standing up to my father, even if it didn't end so well. I'd get the beating instead but by the next day, my bloody body would be as good as new. On the surface at least, I had lots of internal issues from that time. But none of that stopped my father from trying to get equal with me.." I stopped talking after that.

My eyes could only focus on my right hand as it was picking at my left hand's skin. It was a habit I picked up as soon as I started to use my powers because I knew my skin would be right back to normal in the next few minutes.

"That's awful y/n I'm so sorry." She frowned. "Would you be okay with continuing?"

I blink up at her. “Yes, that would be okay,” I said. “Then there was this one day..”

..

17 YEARS AGO

“In five, four, three, two. This is Jim Hellerman, reporting live for channel 2 News outside of the Capital West Bank at Main and Sixth. A group of heavily armed men stormed the bank not three hours ago and took an unknown number of hostages.”

That was the big news update of September 2002, I remember. Well I don’t really have to think about it much because I was there with my mom at the bank. She planned on making some deposit when we were screamed at, not to leave by a man who had his gun pointed at us along with so many other civilians. He taped us up and told us to stand in a corner.

That was the first and only time I feared for my life. Police didn’t want them to start shooting, so they didn’t come into the building. Meaning that we were on our own and could die at anytime

One of the armed men walks into the scene unfolding. Sirens blaring, people getting shoved around and threats being made to the innocent.

“Now you’ve put me in a position where I gotta do something I don't want to do. Hmm?” He said talking to another person on his walkie talkie.

My mom brought me closer to her trying to use her body as a shield if things went south. And to us we thought they were about to be.

But strangely, a girl walked up to the man. She’d looked to be around my age in a school uniform and cartoon mask. Her loose curls bounced in the wind as she skipped up to him.

“Shit!” He screams putting his device down. Not noticing the girl until a few seconds after his outburst. “Hey, get back with the others.” He told her, trying to sound intimidating but she didn’t seem to fear him at all.

“I heard a rumor.” She spoke out.

He bent a little to reach her height and get in her face. “What? What did you say?”

She leaned in and cupped her hand to mimic whispering in his ear but loud enough for all of us to hear. “I heard a rumor that you shot your friend in the foot.”

Without any hesitation he did what she commanded and shot the nearest armed man who happened to be trying to rough up my mom. We screamed as he kept shooting.

“We just heard shots from inside the bank. It’s uncertain if any hostages have been harmed in that.”

“There’s some movement on the roof. Possibly law enforcement.”

A loud crash and a boy landed down from the roof. It was crazy he wasn’t harmed at all from that high distance. He was also wearing the same mask and uniform as the girl but he had blond hair. From where he landed he jumped on one of the robbers and started beating him to a pulp, and then throwing him out a glass window.

“Looks like one of the armed robbers had been thrown from the bank.”

Another boy with brown hair runs in from the opposite doors as the girl and yells. “Guns are for sissies. Real men throw knives.” He then threw one of his knives and it curved in the air hitting a robber no where close to where the knife had originally been heading. It was incredible.

“I've been in many hostage situations like this, and it can escalate very quickly.”

The original man hops on a table pointing his gun out at the two of the before seen children plus another one. “Get back you freaks” he says walking back and forth in fear.

“Hey, be careful up there, buddy.” The knife boy calls out.

“Get back now!” The man screams.

“Yeah, I wouldn't want you to get hurt.” The girls mocking voice says.

Right before my eyes another boy teleports behind the man, sitting criss-cross on the table. “Or what?” He said calmly.

The man turns around and shoots at him but before the bullets could hit he teleports again. This time standing up with his arms crossed, clearly not impressed. But the man tries to shoot again.

“Ooh! That’s one badass stapler!” The boy laughs. The man no longer had a gun anymore but a stapler placed in his hand by the kid instead. The boy shoves the stapler into his face and the big man falls back, head hitting the floor before his body does.

“Although there’s been no activity for a few minutes, we’re gonna stay live on location to make sure we don’t miss a thing. In this hostage situation at the Capital West bank.”

The five already counted for children make way for the last and shortest one to make his move. “Do we really need to do this?” He talks quietly.

The blonde one replies to him. “Come on, Ben. There’s more guys in the vault.” So his name was Ben huh?

Ben sighs, “I didn't sign up for this.” Before walking into the room with more people. Large black tendrils illuminated the room as men screaming could be heard behind the door. And a beast roars but then the sound stops and Ben walks out again, this time covered in blood and guts.

He breathes heavily. “Can we go home now?” I felt bad for him.

The kids untied our hands and told us to run. And once it was clear to go my mom started to run out of the doors thinking I was right behind her.

“Now we see the hostages. They— They’re free. They’re scared clearly but they do seem to be unharmed.”

But I was behind her trying to help this older woman who’d slipped on the floor. As I was helping her, the kids walked out too.

“People are coming out now. It’s not the armed robbers. These are schoolchildren in uniforms with masks on. Jim Hellerman, Channel 2 News.”

But there was one not accounted for robber, the one from earlier who had been shot in the foot. I started to run out and call out to my mom who was outside. When the man got up from the floor, cocked his gun and shot at the kids.

Fortunately, he missed them but the bullet hit me.

Questions being asked to the children stopped when they saw my body flail onto the floor outside of the bank doors. I was shot right in the chest. There was blood everywhere and it started to leak over to where the kids were standing. They turned around to see where it was coming from..

Everyone looked horrified and there was a bunch of screaming. Mainly from my mother who was wailing as she ran over to hold me to her chest screaming for me to wake up. And that will be engraved in my memory forever after this day, I never wanted to hear her like this ever again.

Police started to rush over but in a matter of minutes, a miracle seemed to happen. At least to the city that is. There was a yellowish glow around my chest and the blood seemed to have reversed back into my body. Even the stains on my blue dress were gone. The bullet even spit out of my chest; it was truly witchcraft.

My eyes then shot open as I started to breathe in and out.

I don't exactly remember what I felt during those moments but I'm sure I left those people around me stunned. After all this was their first look at powers.

I couldn't care what the paramedics were talking about above my body. I was focused on the 6 children looking at me bewildered as well as the old-looking man with them and whatever my mom was saying at the time.

I was put on a stretcher and rushed to a hospital for evaluations after the pandemics came but they never found anything. It was like everything was perfectly reattached.

But as I was leaving I could see the news reporters zeroing in on the kids trying to get the details on how these children saved the bank from thievery.

“Our world is changing.” The man spoke to the crowd. “Has changed. There are some among us gifted with abilities far beyond the ordinary.” He said looking back at the children. But they weren’t paying attention, some were staring at my ambulance and some eyes were on the ground.

“I have adopted seven such children. I give you the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy.”

I now realize thinking back, the seventh person he was talking about was me..

..

PRESENT DAY

My mouth felt like it was moving faster than my brain so I took a pause and chugged the rest of my water cup.

Once again Glorias eyes were wide open. As she took some notes down in a notebook I never noticed beyond this point.

"Uh once I got home I remember the house phone noise filled my house with its nonstop ring, the other person on the phone would change my life forever when he came in.”

“And who was that person?" Gloria asked.

"Reginald Hargeeves, eccentric billionaire and caring father from what the public knew.." I rolled my eyes.

"So I'm guessing it wasn't really like that" she asked carefully.

"He was never a father really, more like a hard state-national basketball coach." She wrote that down.

"I guess it was a hard decision for my parents to make well, my mother. My father was ready to give me up as soon as Reginald stepped foot in my small house."

"And I'm sure they thought there was nothing bad about the offer they were given, he promised I'd be raised in a steady environment with the best schooling and my powers would be used for the greater good. And in exchange, my parents would get a large sum of money for my absence."

"What were you doing during this?" Gloria worried.

"I think I was just sitting right there next to my mom actually. I definitely didn't understand at that point what was happening to me. Still thinking about the events of that day.”

"And then I was being taken out of my only home in the blink of an eye. I resisted the people taking me, starting with screaming and then kicking and then running. Back to my mom's arms, Reginald himself had to pull me away from her. The deal had already been struck and there was no taking me back."

Now looking back at my hands I could only see small teardrops on my palms. Gloria reached for a tissue from the other side of the room. "Thank you," I said as I wiped my eyes.

"I like to think that my mom was upset that day but the memory has already started to fade as I reached adulthood.

You know after that day I was no longer 'Y/n L/n' no, I was known by my new name.. Zero Hargeeves."

..

I decided that was the end of my story, at least for now because I couldn't place the pieces together anymore. I was full-on sobbing at that point.

Gloria decided to bring up something more light to talk about next but I don't remember what it was because I'd zoned out and thought about the cat she'd told me about earlier.

The two hours seemed to fly by because the last thing I heard her say was if I didn't have anything else to talk about then that would be the end of the session. My legs seemed to move on their own as I walked out of that building. I would come back at the same time next week and honestly, I think therapy was for the best. I forgot about how I felt about all these things for the longest time.

I started the journey back to the bus stop, stopping to look in the windows of shops.

Shops like bakeries and bookstores and other things like that. Until I came to a stop in front of a store with a TV sticking out in the window.

My eyes scanned the screen and they went wide. The lady on the news had a somber expression as someone died. I was feeling sad for the person's family, but then I read the red-blaring headline.

The person who died was Reginald Hargeeves...

...

Aug 14 update:

If you'd like to be added to the tag list for rest of the series (starts at chapter 10) say taglist in the comments!

[crimethinc]

“Wait…but there’s no broken glass or even graffiti.”

“And?”

“I mean the shelves are all empty. Did they just evacuate all the merchandise?”

“Haha what?! No. We looted it, the whole neighborhood. Well, women and children first.”

“And no one destroyed…anything?”

“Listen, we don’t want them to get a bigger insurance claim. Besides, if things keep going the way they are, that building may soon be ours.”

“I hope so. I can’t imagine things ever going this far in the states. Good luck with your struggle.”

“NO. No no no, brother—OUR struggle. You’re here. You’re in this. Tell people.”

“I don’t even know how I’d explain this to anyone back home.”

“Explain it like this: neoliberalism was born in Chile, and here it will die.”

On the 4-year anniversary of the 2019-2020 revolt in Chile…

Wed., October 18, 2023

7:30 PM

@BCCtucson

101 E. Ventura St.

[lucedilunax]

Pittsburgh - J. Marino

THE TRILOGY OF LOVE PART I

next part

pairing: John Marino x fem!reader

summary: John and Olivia just moved to Pittsburgh. How their separate celebrations in the same bar bring them together?

warning: mentions of toxic friends and family, mentions of covid, argument

words: 2.6k

note: first chapter is here! enjoy it❤️‍🩹

masterlist

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July 2019, 19 years old Olivia moved to Pittsburgh. In August, she was starting college. That was a huge step for her because Olivia’s home city was Monterey. At first, she was mortified about moving out on the other part of the country but she knew it’s the best for her to change the environment and cut off her toxic friends and family if she wants to work for big corporations in finances. None of them supported her decision, thinking that she’s gonna fail but she was motivated to prove them wrong. As soon as she made new friends from her group in college, Olivia started going out to bars just to take a break from her busy life in college and work.

August 2019, 22 years old John left college ranks and signed his first NHL contract with Pittsburgh Penguins. That was his chance to make big things in hockey. All his focus was keen on this sport. Just like Olivia, he wanted to succeed. he had still two months to go around the city to find good spots for dinner, coffee or after-match celebration, before start of the season in October. He was hanging out with his teammates that was helping him to adapt to Pittsburgh’s life before all his focus will be put on hockey.

September 2019, Olivia and John met in one of the bars. She came to celebrate her promotion at work with friends and he was with his teammates to celebrate big win in preseason game. When John saw her sitting at the bar, his world stopped. She looked beautifully just by sitting and sipping her drink. In that moment, he decided to ditch his friends and make a move.

“Hello there, I saw you sitting all by yourself. Do you mind if I join you?” He asked very politely.

“Hi, well I’m waiting for someone…” She said rudely thinking it’s another drunk man that wants to hook up with her but when she turn around and saw John, she changed her mind.

“But a company would be nice”. She said smiling now.

“I’m John and what’s your name?” He reached out his hand.

“I’m Olivia, it’s really nice to meet you”. She shook his hand.

“So Olivia, tell me, what are you doing here?”

“I came to celebrate my promotion with my friends but they are running late like always”. She laughed at this fact.

“Oh congratulations! Where are you work?” John said with a huge smile.

“I’m working in a coffee shop as a waitress but one of the managers decided to quit the job so I got the role now. Okay, but enough about me. What are you doing here John?” She asked.

“I’m here with my friends to celebrate a win but when I saw you, I knew that I have to talk with you”. She blushed at his confession.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you but I don’t want to keep you away from your friends and celebration”.

“It’s not a problem Olivia. I’m already spending with them every single day so I think they are fine without me for now”. When he ended his sentence, she saw her friends coming through the door.

“Well, it was nice to talk with you but my friends just came”. She told him.

“Wait, before you leave, here’s my phone number”. He took napkin and wrote his number.

“Thank you. It was nice to meet you John. Have a nice night”. She left and run to her friends.

Her friends saw her talking with a guy and decided to ask.

“Who was it? Spill the tea Liv”. Jade asked exited.

“That was John. We talked for a couple minutes before you came”. She said smiling.

“Why does he looks familiar?” Ben asked.

“I don’t know. All I know is that he came with his friends to celebrate a win. Whatever that means”.

“That’s John Marino! Rookie in Penguins. You just talked with a hockey player.” Arthur screamed.

“Yeah, whatever. Can we start celebrating? I really want to get drunk today and celebrate Liv as a manager”. Becky said and Olivia laughed.

The next day, Olivia was debating if she should text John. After she learned that he’s a hockey player, she was scared to make a move. She called Jade for the emotional support.

“I don’t know if I should do it. Yes, he gave me his number but what if he only wants to hook up with me? Or what if he did it just because he felt sorry for me and wanted to be nice?” She was panicking.

“Liv, calm down. Just write to him something like it was nice to talk with you. Everything’s gonna be fine. Trust me”.

“Okay, but if he will laugh at me and my desperation, you are dead”. Jade giggled at her words.

Olivia decided to sent him a short message.

“Hi, it’s Olivia from the bar yesterday. It was really nice meeting you and sorry that I suddenly ran away. Hope you had fun with your friends tho”.

After couple of minutes, she got response.

“Hello. I thought you never gonna write to me haha. It’s fine that you ran away, I get it. You wanted to celebrate with your friends and not a guy that you just met. How about grabbing coffee so we can meet again and have a proper conversation?”

“I would love that! How about tomorrow at 11am in the coffee shop next to the bar we met?”

“Perfect! Can’t wait to see you”.

Olivia smiled at his text and already started picking up her outfit for tomorrow. She was at the coffee shop punctually but John was running late. After 10 minutes, she thought he was just messing with her and decided to get ready to leave, when John run through the door. When he saw her in her coat, he said.

“I’m so sorry Olivia for being late. I had training earlier and had to do an interview. I completely forgot to send you text that I might be late because the minute I left locker room, I went to the car to be here as fast as I could”. He said breathing heavily.

“It’s fine. At least you made it when I was still here because I was about to leave”.

“As a payback, let me pay for your coffee”. He proposed.

“You don’t have to do it”.

“But I want to so tell me what would you like”. He insisted.

They’ve talked couple hours about their lives. Olivia told him why she moved out all the way from California to Pennsylvania and about her interest in finance. John told her about his times in Harvard and he tried to explain hockey to her. They quickly became very comfortable with each other. After the coffee, John decided to drive her back to her dorm and from now on, they talked with each other every single day.

When John had time, he was picking her up from work so she doesn’t have to come back at night by herself. When she had free evenings, she was attempting his hockey games. They gained feelings for each but none of them wanted to make a move thinking they might ruin their friendship. Everything changed in February 2020.

Pittsburgh played against Tampa Bay Lightning. Penguins lost the game 4-2 and John’s ended up with broken cheekbone. Olivia couldn’t attempted this match but when she found out about his injury, she freaked out. The next day, she went to his apartment to check on him and when she saw how miserable he is, she knew that she has to take care of him. At first, he didn’t wanted to be burden for her but she insisted to help him. Olivia was trying to be there for him as much as she could with her crazy schedule in college and at work. Thankfully, it wasn’t that bad but still she was always checking on him. In that moment, John knew she’s a keeper.

When COVID hit in America, Olivia’s life changed. She couldn’t get back home in Monterey and she couldn’t stay in her dorm. No hotels were taking guests and no one was there to rent her apartment. She was stuck in Pittsburgh without place to live. In desperation, Olivia asked John if she can stay at his place. He was more than happy because he was also stuck in Pittsburgh all by himself. She felt guilty that he’s paying all the rent because she lost her job so she decided to pay him back by cleaning the apartment and cooking for him. Every evening they had movie nights. She was teaching him how to prepare meals and he was teaching her how to drive a car. They acted like old married couple. Everything they’ve been doing felt natural for both of them. After a month, John finally found the bravery to talk with her about their relationship.

“Hey, you have a minute?” John asked.

“Yeah, what’s up Johnny?” She called him by the diminutive of his name that he loved to hear.

“I was just thinking about what we are”.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we live together, you are caring towards me and…” He paused.

“And?” She was confused.

“I have a feelings for you Liv. You are the best thing that happened to me since I got here and I was just wondering if you also have feelings for me”. He said on one breath, scared of her reaction.

“I also have feelings for you Johnny”. She admitted.

“Please say that you’re not joking now”. He said thinking that she’s just messing with him.

“Does it looks like I’m joking?” She grabbed his cheeks and kissed him.

“No… Does it means… Well no, I’ll just ask you. Would you like to be my girlfriend?” He asked shyly.

“I would love to be your girlfriend”. She said.

“Can I kiss you again?”

“You don’t have to ask, you are my boyfriend now”. When the words left her mouth, he thought he’s gonna pass out. He put his hand on her cheek and kissed her. The kiss was full of love. When they finally pull out, they looked on each other and started laughing.

“You are adorable Johnny”. She said to him and he blushed.

Olivia never returned to her dorm. She decided to live with John. This was a huge step for them but they knew that it’s the best solution looking on their schedules. First year of their relationship went smoothly. It was year full of love and support. Both of them were grateful to have each other. In 2022, they had a crisis. Olivia was putting all her focus on her final exams. She was graduating in May and couldn’t attempted Penguins games. At first, he was understanding but with time, he was tired of this and wanted her to attempted at least one game each month.

“I just don’t understand why you can’t come to my games”. He said when she haven’t showed up... again.

“I’m trying to graduate! I have to study hard to get the best marks and results so I can get my dream job.” She answered honestly.

“So your dream job is more important than me? Got it”. He said with venom in his voice.

“That’s not what I said John and you know it. I’m always watching your games in TV, I just don’t want to waste half of the day just to sit at the stadium and look pretty. I want to be productive”. She started getting mad at him.

“You know what? I’m leaving, I can’t this conversation with you right now”.

“Typical, always running away instead of having a conversation”.

“It’s better for us if I leave now before I say something I might regret later. Trust me”. He said heading into front door.

The moment he left, Olivia broke down with tears. She felt like a bad girlfriend for not supporting him. She decided to take a shower and go to sleep knowing that he won’t return for the night. The next morning, she woke up alone in the bed as she expected. Olivia decided to go and make herself a cup of coffee. To her surprise, she saw John making breakfast. When he heard her steps coming to the kitchen, he turned around and went to approach her.

“I’m sorry love for what I said yesterday. You didn’t deserved that. I know how stressful you are about your finals and I shouldn’t been so hard on you”. He said, voice filled with guilt.

“No, you are right Johnny. I should come to your games, I was a bad girlfriend for ignoring you…” Before she could finish her sentence, he stopped her.

“No. Stop right here Liv. You are an incredible girlfriend. I can always feel your support and I really appreciate the fact that you are watching every game even when you have to study”. He said truthfully and continued.

“I guess I was a little bit jealous that other guys have their girlfriends and wives with them”.

“Trust me, if I could, I would drop everything just to go and watch your games”. She said.

“Can we just forget about the fight and eat breakfast?” John asked.

“With pleasure Johnny”. Olivia said and kissed him.

After Olivia’s graduation, they finally had all the time for each other but their honeymoon haven’t lasted long. In July 2022, Penguins decided to trade John to New Jersey. He didn’t know how to tell her that.

“Liv, we have to talk”. He said when he came back.

“Are you going to break up with me?” She asked scared.

“What? No, never. Why would you think that?” He said surprised at her reaction.

“Well, you said that we have to talk with very serious tone”. She felt ashamed for even thinking about that.

“I don’t want to break up with you Liv, but you might not like what I’m about to say”.

“Okay…” She was confused.

“They traded me to New Jersey”. He sighed. She was looking at him before she spoke.

“What are we gonna do now?” She asked with tears in her eyes.

“I don’t know love. I was thinking that maybe you’ll come with me to New Jersey? I mean, nothing keeps you here anymore. You graduated and with your brain and degree, you can easily find a job there. Plus it’s super close to New York and Wall Street where you want to work”. John said, hoping that she’s gonna agree to move out with him to a different state.

“You really want me there with you?” She asked shyly.

“Well of course I want you there with me. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. What have you thought? That I’ll leave you here and try to handle long distance? John was surprised by her question.

“I don’t know. It’s a huge step for us and our relationship and I guess I was scared.” Olivia said embarrassed. He went and grabbed her cheeks so she can face him. He looked into her eyes and said.

“Liv, you know that we barely see each other when we live in the same apartment. I don’t want to risk losing the love of my life just because of the trade”. He poured every emotion in his speech.

“So what do you say? Will you move with me to New Jersey?”

“Yes!” She said excited.

“Looks like we are stuck togehter.” He said and she laughed.

“Oh I love you so much John Marino. Can’t wait for the new chapter.” She said.

"I love you too Olivia". He leaned down and kissed her.

But they don’t know, how tricky the next years are gonna be for them in New Jersey and how many problems they’ll face. Can their relationship survive this?

---

Thanks for reading, appreciate it💕

[just-an-assbutt]

Fred Vasseur: The possible Champion-maker?

Okay, this is an analysis I did, it’s kinda crazy, but I don’t know, maybe anyone else agrees. It basically hypotheses how a series of conversations and decisions could lead to a Ferrari Championship soon and how Fred Vasseur has a pivotal role on everything.

Hang on, it’s a long road.

Where did this come from?

In 2022, Charles was close to win the championship. He started off the season amazingly, pressuring the new world champion and earning Ferrari valuable points. But the second half of the season was a disaster masterclass: between Charles’ mistakes and Ferrari’s terrible decisions, the championship slipped away. There was a breaking point that I believe gave Charles the last push:

This was terrible. Ferrari had screw up and after that Mattia had the audacity to scold him like a child on international television. He knew he wasn’t Nepo Boy, but he probably never expected to be disrespected like this so lightly. To give more depth to this analysis, let’s talk a little bit about who appears to be Charles Leclerc.

A kid with a dream

Charles Leclerc was born on October 16, 1997 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, to a hairdresser mother and cars enthusiast father. His mother, Pascale and his father Hervé got together when her oldest son, Lorenzo, was around 2 years old. From this union came Charles and younger brother Arthur. Hervé was not only a fan of racing, he got as far as driving in F3, but he had to drop that dream. Living in Monaco without being as wealthy as the top of the food chain, Hervé relied on Charles’ grandparents to sponsor Charles’ racing career. The grandparents were wealthy and while Charles and Arthur were little, they were able to support both of their grand kids.

Time passed, Charles ended up being great, and the wealthy grandparents weren’t wealthy enough for the next step. So Hervé decided to get his son a sponsorship, he contacted his friend Bianchi, who had his son Jules in a great position with Ferrari Academy at the moment. Jules was a star in the making, so when he approached Ferrari to take a look at Charles, they said yes. Like that, one of the Leclercs got the money and support needed, the other had to wait. Arthur ended up having to quit karting for some time because the money they had wasn’t enough. His background marked something, he would never be one of them, so will have to work hard to be someone.

At this stage of life, Charles learned something: The only way up is surrendering yourself with the right people.

The teammates

Charles made it to Ferrari in 2019, to take the still warm seat that the last champion of Ferrari left, Kimi Räikkönen. But the big shoes weren’t the difficult part, Sebastian Vettel, four times World Champion with Red Bull Racing, became his teammate. Even though DTS made it look worse than it was, it’s still true that the two drivers pushed each other a lot, which was great to bring better results. The car was not the greatest, but it still delivered and the drivers got the chance to do their jobs. And they did it great, compared to what the standard could be next to the Mercedes-Hamilton dominance. In the two seasons they raced together, Charles proved Sebastian that he was different, that he had that something that made him special. Even though Charles out performed him, Sebastian really grew fond of him.

In 2021, Sebastian moved to Aston Martin and Charles got a new teammate: Carlos Sainz Jr. Things got complicated for Charles here. With Sebastian, Charles had something important which was pull. Even if the other had been with Ferrari for years, Charles was the little prince in the making. He may didn’t have many sponsors, he may have come from a less privileged background than Sebastian, he may not be a World Champion, but he had made contacts inside Ferrari with his hard work. Once he’s father got him Jules, Charles made a lot of friends thanks to his raw talent, dedication, discipline and determination. But he didn’t actively searched for contacts that could make his career better.

When Carlos Sainz Jr. son of Rally World Champion Carlos Sainz Sr. came in the picture, Charles learned the hard way that he was not playing at the same level. Carlos had a lot more sponsors, experience and better friends. Carlos grew up filthy rich and privileged, he was friends with the best there is in motorsport, he was the incredibly talented son of a Champion and he was given the best opportunities since he was in the womb. Charles didn’t have that and when the time came, it made a difference. The sponsors that gave Ferrari the money weren’t interested in him, they were looking at Carlos, and the fact that the Spaniard was not a bad driver didn’t help. When Charles started leading the championship in 2022, Carlos was way behind him, and the money weighed heavily compared to Charles’ talent. Mattia Binotto made the decision of developing the upgrades of the car towards Carlos’ preferences on the second half of the season, breaking up the relationship he had with Charles.

The right man

Even though second place is not bad, Charles couldn’t help but see Max Verstappen, long time rival, become World Champion twice, being the same age than him. When things got bad in 2022, Charles decided to listen to his father’s teachings, because the only way up is with the right people. He spoke to Fred Vasseur, who used to be his Team Principal in Alfa Romeo when he first started. If we look at it from outside, Fred was essential in Charles pass to Ferrari, helping him look good with a car that wasn’t the best. They were a good team together, so if we can see that from outside, he surely noticed that himself. Fred was the start of a change that would make Charles worthy of his Ill Predestinato title. Fred had half a year to pull all of his strings and get things done, starting by convincing Ferrari to let go of Binotto and hire him. Charles only had to be a good soldier and do what he was told.

The trifecta of a Champion

I. The person:

Charles had a persona outside the driver and something important is to understand that that persona along the racing driver is what gets you the best sponsors and connections. But your personal life can also be distracting, so sometimes you need to let go of people you may don’t want to, but have to. Charles broke up with a girlfriend he had for 3 years, whom he shared an apartment with and who seemed to be the one. People liked her and his cute ‘normal boy’ life was good to attract fans, but a girlfriends consumes time and attention which doesn’t translate in money. Probably, one of the first things that Fred told him was “loose the girlfriend”. Why? Because he was a 24 years old and he had to focus on his career, he didn’t need a personal life, at least not a real one until he got things done. Here is where Charles public persona started to grow. In December of 2022, Charles dumped his girlfriend, who he may have loved, but not as much as his (and his family’s) career. He became more popular thanks to being single and since the sport was raising in popularity too, he benefited from that.

He started to get assisted in everything that meant PR, he got a better stylist, made better investments with his money and got a girl that wouldn’t take up time. I really like Alex, but you’ll understand with this analysis why I think they might be PR. Regarding the clothing, he started showing off great labels on his instagram page and that gave him engagement. This helped his overall popularity even more and raised his value outside the track and the motorsport world. His millions came to good use when he decided to invest in a good PR team, but not only that, he created his own ice cream brand, why do that? Easy, he needs the money and the contacts that come with enterprises. This deal gives him a secure income outside the motorsport industry and the chance of becoming the business man that can interact with the others (that put their money on drivers and teams) it gives him the status in the business world.

But all of this falls off with the wrong girlfriend. Charles made a bond with his fans through his ‘normal boy’ image, the boy who played games, dated a hometown girl and had a hairdresser mom. Along with his loyalty to Ferrari, this type of image is something difficult to drop out from. People associate humbleness with core traits of a person, dropping that would mean becoming a sell out or worse, a traitor to his working-class fellow fanbase. He can’t date a model, he can’t date a famous girl, because it’ll look bad, but he can’t also date for real because he was told not to. So his PR agency got him the perfect one: Alexandra. She’s an elegant hometown girl, who has her own family money and career, and manages a low profile. She’s everything he needs, she can enjoy the lifestyle, make good money, keep up her career and he doesn’t need to worry about her and their relationship. She’s not dependent on him and she knows the upper class world and how to handle it. She doesn’t need maintenance or training and she knows how to play her part. She also seems very friendly and they probably get along well, which makes things easier. It’s a win-win situation, he keeps his image and she can enjoy the lifestyle while still doing her things.

Leo was the latest winning move, Charles is old enough for kids and people expect that from him (it works with Max’s image) but he’s not going to have a kid with Alex, so a puppy is the best next move. It gives him the chance to shine on a better light and he likes dogs, so it all works out well. His fatherly ways towards younger drivers, like Ollie or Aurelia, also help a lot to sell this image of maturity and leadership. He’s the driver number one, the loyal boy to Ferrari. This added to the ‘Lestappen Gate’ from 2023 only reinforce the idea of Charles being Ill Predestinato. He fights for the championship, he’s a team player, he takes the youngsters under his wing and when the chance to a seat on Red Bull’s rocket ship arose he still stayed loyal to Ferrari. He started to become an icon.

He has it all: the popularity outside motorsport, the contact with the business world, the love from his fans and the loyalty from the Tifosi.

II. The team:

Fred got Charles on the right path to freshen up his public image and raise his value, now he had to give him the team to pull off a championship. 2023 was still a season of change, but the first win in a long time came in Singapore, ruining a perfect season from Red Bull and giving a little peek of what they were on to. But the win came with the wrong driver, for Fred’s whole project at least, and it made the rest of the steps a little bit messy. For everything to work, Fred needed Charles and a legend. Why? Because he needed to be able to have a win-win situation at hand. Making Charles the first world champion since 2007 would be great, but making a legend in motorsport do it instead also works. The main point is to win again, and do it with a ground breaking gameplay, so either the Golden Boy wins or a legend retires in greatness. Carlos Sainz Jr. has to go.

Fred talks with Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal and Lewis Hamilton. Toto needs the seat for a younger talent (probably Kimi Antonelli) and Lewis is ready for the last bit of his career as a driver. Fred’s proposal is perfect, Toto gets his young lineup and Lewis gets the chance to pull a Schumacher. The news gets leaked very early on, probably by the Sainzs who lost in all of this scheme and need to better up Carlos’ image to get a new seat, and the whole deal backfired a bit. They solved it, Carlos understood that playing the cards he was playing wasn’t good for his career and Ferrari’s PR team worked hard to solve the problem. Now Fred has the legend and the kid, he needs to work inside the garage. He did a literal purge of incompetence, better mechanics, better engineers, better staff, better everything. He got the sponsorship from HP, that gives Ferrari everything it needs to never have to look at a price twice. It pays Lewis and it can pay a posible Adrian Newey. He took out Xavi and brought Bryan, a guy that was already on the team and that could be the thing Charles needed to perform better. The pitstops became faster and cleaner. The strategies got more efficient.

He started building a new, better team. One that can bring Charles to the top or Lewis to a path of redemption before retirement.

III. The car:

There’s just one thing missing in all of this, which is a championship winning car. The SF-24 is not a bad car, that’s among the many reasons why Carlos won in Australia and Charles in Monaco. Also why they been getting a lot of podiums and Ollie could pull off such a great race. But for it to be the best car, Fred needs two things: 2026 regulations and Red Bull to fail. Here comes the last part of the project that Fred still hasn’t accomplished yet and where this analysis shifts to a more speculative approach. 2026 regulations assure Ferrari a new opportunity to build a better car, their remarkable quality is the engine, which is what makes a difference in Qualifying for both Ferrari and Hass. But the car has some issues with aerodynamics, they solved that a bit, making the SF-24 a lot less of a tyre eater than the SF-23, but it still can get better. Solving this issue could guarantee a great qualifying pace and great race pace, converting that into wins with the right strategy.

But the regulations aren’t the only thing that could help, they also need get someone that can make that ideal car a reality. Adrian Newey is the man for that, not only because he’s the best, but also because taking him to Ferrari would mean that Red Bull loses one of his biggest assets, naturally leading to a drop in performance. This closes the gap and can even mean surpassing Red Bull, which is the dominant team at the moment. McLaren kind of hick-hacked this part of the project, bringing a great car this year, but Fred still has the chance to come out victorious by the end of 2025. If he gets Newey by the end of 2024, he can assure the downfall of Red Bull and the championship-winning car for 2026.

A man with a plan

If everything plays out as I stipulated, Ferrari could win a championship in 2026, even maybe 2025. This win can’t only be seen as simple success, it’d be a historic achievement in Ferrari’s lifespan and a game changer for everyone involved, specially Fred. Whether the championship is won by Lewis or Charles, the man that brought it home would be Fred. As Schumacher-Todt did before, F1 would never forget this moment, Ferrari winning again after almost 20 years.

All of it thanks to a man with a plan.

Let me know what you guys think!

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

Chapter 10

Summary: The interrogation of the Butcher begins and Rory suffers through the decision of using a woman and child as bait

Warnings/Tags: Minors DNI - torture, threats of violence and bodily harm, physical violence, emotional manipulation, references to character's PTSD, John Price is his own warning (and honestly, Rory probably deserves one too at this point), morally gray/questionable characters, includes dialogue from the game

Pairing: Captain John Price x Fem!OC (3rd person POV)

Word count: 4.6 K

[AO3]

October 31, 2019 18:27 - St. Petersburg, Russia

The sound of fists pummeling into flesh echoed through the old warehouse’s decrepit back office. Lights flickered above, casting shadows of the rusted industrial caging around them on the walls. Spiderwebs draped in dust clung to the corners of the room, the must of a water-damaged basement ever pervasive. In the middle of the room the Butcher sat tied to a chair, receiving hit after hit as Yegor attacked him with all the grace of a meat tenderizer to an old steak. Grunts and groans tumbled out of both men as the briny scent of sweat and the metallic tang of blood permeated the air. Rory rubbed at the inner corner of her eye with her free hand, the other holding her cigarette to her lips as she leaned against the wall in the corner, sighing out the smoke into the already stuffy room, bored by a tactic that wasn’t going to work against a man like the Butcher, yet it always seemed to be the go to move – punishment, a show of strength – all it ever did was bolster the resolve of the person being interrogated and tire the person who was swinging at them like a punching bag. 

She glanced over at Price who stood there like a guard dog, his presence alone acting as a threat as he glared at the terrorist in their midst, his arms crossed, a scowl deepening the lines in his face. They were getting nowhere. Rolling her eyes, Rory stared up at the ceiling before opening the door to wait out in the abandoned warehouse’s main floor for the time when her skills would be required. They always were.

Her cigarette half burned down, Garrick approached her having just returned from a bathroom break. His dark eyes scanned over her before drifting back to the door in the hall. “Still going at it, eh?” He asked. “Yep.” Bringing the cigarette to her lips, she took another drag. “One or both will get tired soon enough.” “You sure about that?”

Looking up at him from under her brow with a knowing smile, her stare told him everything he needed. She had been around the block a few times when it came to interrogation proceedings, it was second nature to know when a prisoner was going to bend, bow, or break. “Let’s just say my money isn’t on the Butcher to give in first.” His brow knit together tightly, jaw clenching, unhappy at the idea that their prisoner wasn’t being given his due. “You’ve done this sort of thing before?”

She tilted her head to the side, not giving too much away. “You could say that, yeah.” Her warm eyes steering back to the younger sergeant. “Sort of built a career on it.”

“On interrogations?” Garrick looked at her the same way everyone else always had, yet to meet the real her, blindsided by the slip of the wool.

“If that’s what you’d like to call it,” she replied sarcastically, “Military certainly does.”

He leaned against the wall beside her, pulling out his own cigarette from his pack and lighting it. “So, you’ve… tortured people then?” Garrick spoke the word as if it was something blasphemous, a hushed whisper slipping past his lips regarding the unspeakable.

“Terrorists,” she argued with a sideways glance. “Not just people. Makes me sound like some sort of sick bastard otherwise.”

His gaze wandered over to her, narrowed eyes looking out from under a lifted brow. “There’s a distinction?” 

“Has to be,” she said, rolling the smoking cigarette between her fingers. “You learn to cut that part of yourself off – seeing them as another person – If you don’t, well…” Rory’s words trailed off and she took another drag of her cigarette, but the meaning was clear. “Word of advice for you, Garrick,” her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper, “You might think that the police and the military have their similarities: a chain of command, following orders, the apparent “good guys”. But Special Forces is a whole other beast. Fewer rules, no watchdogs, more things kept off the record than even the government knows about. And your only moral judge through it all is the person who happens to be in charge. If you’re given the opportunity to step away – take it. The nightmares aren’t worth the trouble, trust me.”

Kyle shifted uncomfortably on his feet, trading the weight back and forth as his face contorted after exhaling a lungful of smoke. “I take it you’ve seen some shit,” he said softly.

“That’s putting it mildly,” she scoffed, a smirk curling her lips. “I’ve taken part in enough missions to know that there are things that you will see, hear and do in this line of work that will never leave you. They become a part of your personality, and every soldier has their way of coping with it. For me, it’s too many fags, slapping a smile on my face, and burying myself in work. For others, they close themselves off, make themselves hard. And others still, well… they hide away.” She glanced over at Kyle offering him a gentle smile. “I just don’t want you to reach that point, is all. Not if you don’t have to.”

“I appreciate that, Sergeant,” he said with a nod, swallowing thickly as her words settled on him like an anvil on the chest. “Anyway, you better head back in there.” Nodding towards the door she just came from, back into the pit of a room where grunts and groans emanated from. “I’m sure Price is expecting you.” Dark eyes roamed over her, lips pursing as his brow furrowed. “Sure you’re alright?”

Stretching her neck from side to side, she slumped back against the wall, a hand shoved into her coat pocket. “Yeah, just psyching myself up for the main event.” Giving him an encouraging smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes, she flexed the joints of her hand that started to lock in her pocket, the slight tremor something she had learned to hide. Gaz grimaced out a weak smile and headed down the hall towards the heavy door that led to the interrogation room. Passing Price as he exited the room, a scowl engraved into the lines of his face as he turned the corner and found Rory snuffing out the burned down butt of a cigarette. “You hidin’ out here?” Price asked in a low gruff.

“Not hiding.”

With narrowed eyes he looked her over with his unreadable stare. “You’re quiet.”

Rory huffed out a laugh, shaking her head. “Think I have every right to be, John.” Her eyes refused to meet his. “Nik told me about the package. The wife and child. When were you going to tell me?” She mentioned the fact quietly, out of earshot, as she lit a new cigarette, the dancing light of the flickering flame reflecting in her eyes as they rose to stare at him. “Were you waiting until I couldn't back out? Just another classic Captain Price manipulation tactic, eh?”

He didn't move, didn't falter, not even for an instant. Arms crossed over his chest, jaw set tight, Price was a foreboding presence that seemed to tower over her. “You know we have to do things like this, Rory.” His voice was kept low, flat. No flares of emotion in his tone. This was John at his most terrifying, ruthless and uncompromising, expecting his soldiers to either fall in line and step up to follow his lead or prove themselves unable to keep pace. 

“I'm aware.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a drag of her cigarette. “Doesn't make me feel like any less of a fucking hypocrite though.”

“How – it's not your call, is it?” 

“I can turn my conscience off for a lot, haven't quite gotten there with women and children yet, John.” Hiding the shake in her hand by slipping her lighter into her jacket pocket. “Not after the things I've seen,” she muttered under her breath.

He glanced down to where her hand receded and she knew he had caught on, but he didn't show it, his stare more steely than usual as it cut through her frailty. “Don't have to explain the reasoning to you though, do I?” He tipped his head to the side, jaw lifting. Dominant and imposing. Challenge in his tone. That cold, unflinching stare from powder blue eyes that could twinkle with so much mischievous intent when they were in private. 

“No.” Blunt. Direct. The way they spoke to each other belying all the love they had for one another when free from the strict collar of rank and duty.

“That's a good girl.”

“Don't give me any of that patronizing bullshit right now,” she snarled, jutting her fingers that held the cigarette between them toward him, punctuating her words with a stabbing motion with her hand.

His eyes didn't narrow, there was no furrowing of his brow, he stayed still. There wasn’t even a clench of his jaw or a tic of the vein in his forehead. The stone mask was all he was presenting to anyone at the current moment. “You'll do it though, won't you?” He husked, holding her gaze captive, testing her limits.

“Yeah,” she said bitterly. “Always do. Wouldn't be the first interrogation you've had me take the lead on, now would it? Even if our methods differ.”

He chuckled darkly, the cold gleam of the merciless predator that resided inside him rose to the surface for just a split second. “Didn't pack the plastic or the brass knuckles this time, love.”

“Ha!” She responded acerbically. Her gaze flickering over to the young sergeant Price had taken under his wing, lingering in the hall, before returning to the man before her. “You sure you want the Sergeant taking part? Might be a little green, don't you think?”

“He'll do fine.”

“As long as he does what you say…?” Her large hazel eyes lifted from the spot on the floor she was silently glaring at to look up at him. Normally warm and gleaming with life, her stare was now darkened by what was expected of her, the black spots on her conscience visible in the depths. There were a lot of shitty things she’d been asked to do in her career, it made it worse coming from the man she shared a home and bed with. 

Price nodded, not replying with words. There's always more to what he didn't say than the words that were spoken. His body language never conveyed much either when he was like this, the eyes hardly giving anything away. But there was the underlying threat of the fact that John knew he was a rarity in this world, the things he did weren’t always easily digestible by others’ standards, he carried skeletons in a closet that went deep into dark recesses, and with that came the fact that there was a heavy gravitational pull that emitted from him, one that drew others into his world and either tainted them with his way of thinking or they were spat out and deemed unwilling, too weak to enter his orbit. It was the worst part of him, and one she tried her best to ignore despite falling prey to it herself. Two years with a man like that had irrevocably changed her, she was the lamb to the slaughter no more. 

“Right.” She tossed her cigarette to the floor, stomping her boot down on it, crushing it into the cement below. “Well, this ought to be interesting.”

“Sure you can handle it?” The little added push, pressing her buttons and playing the right notes to get her to fall into step with him in this monstrous dance.

 She snapped back to looking at him, her glare easily conveyed how much she wished he’d piss off right about now. “Do you have any reason to doubt?” Rory had no fear of offering her own challenge towards him, she was one of the few who ever would.

He turned his head a little as if to shake it, his lips pursing slightly. “Never.” Reaching up, his calloused fingers brushed the wisps of smoke curling around her face away, and he gently tugged on the strand of hair clinging to her cheek, pushing it behind her ear. “Impossible to doubt you, my girl.”

“Fucking hell,” Rory scoffed, “You are such a piece of work sometimes.” Shaking her head and shoving her hands into her coat pockets, her eyes lifted to the ceiling with a heavy sigh as she headed back to the interrogation room.  Once inside, she nodded at Yegor, directing him to set up the folding chair leaned up against the wall while the Butcher stared at her with a look that could kill, bloodied and bruised but unbeaten. “And what are you going to do,” the Butcher taunted. She knew better than to interact, simply meeting his jeer with silence. Shrugging off her coat, she folded it neatly in half and draped it over the table by the door. With her back to him, the gun tucked into the waistband of her jeans was on show, the light glinting off the metal. Cracking her neck from side to side, she stretched her fingers like a pianist, about to compose a symphony using a man’s own will and fear as her instrument.

It wasn’t long before the door was shoved open and a woman and child were pushed into the room.

“Ousa, Amon?”

The genuine surprise on the Butcher’s face was a nice little starting fracture for Rory to get to use to break him, one that could be chipped away at easily. A father’s love for his child was a powerful thing, a hell of a tool – no wonder Price was willing to use it.

Bullied into the awaiting folding chair set up at the Butcher’s side, his wife and child were forced to sit there, bags shoved over their heads by the Russian in the room. Their trembling figures were enough to set off the right dominoes inside Rory’s head.

“Hey! Be careful with them, you son of a bitch.” As she prepared to begin the interrogation, she noticed Garrick enter the room behind Price and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her shoulders hunching as the stress of the job coiled around her. The young sergeant had no idea what he was getting himself into, no idea of what expectations would be set upon him now. 

Price’s rumble echoed in her ears, “You wanted the gloves off? They’re off.” The subtle manipulation he could wield so easily, turning a person’s own intentions against them, paving their way to hell. A path she had begun to walk along before she had ever met him and he only helped usher her further forward.

“What did you do? Your own son is here. Your own child,” Ousa pleaded with her husband.

“He’s got no problem hurting children… isn’t that right, Sergeant?”

“None,” Garrick replied.

“Shut up,” the Butcher spat.

“What have you done? You promised you’d keep this away from us.” Ousa held her son close to her, cradling him in her arms. And at the sight, Rory’s stomach dropped, bile crawling up the back of her throat. Her hands shook as she gripped the table in front of her, taking deep breaths to steady herself. Sweat formed on her brow and at the back of her neck, dampening her hairline. The tension building, her demons and the loyalty she held at odds, warring inside her head. Blood rushed in her ears as she tried to find that bit of controlled silence that she squared away, that little place where her humanity didn’t seep in and make her question her motives and her next steps.

“Captain, I can’t do this,” Yegor said, backing out, knowing this was a line he wasn’t willing to cross. 

God, why couldn’t she say the same. 

“You’re excused.”

The heavy metal door shutting behind Yegor made her flinch, her nails digging deeper into the wood of the tabletop. Flashes of memories of mothers and children wailing to be saved, reaching out for her, replayed on a loop in her head. The scent of perspiration that filled the musty little room wasn’t helping her either, adding on that extra sensory level that she knew wasn’t just a figment of her past.

“What are you going to do to us?” Ousa asked, her voice a weak cry from beneath the bag over her head. 

“Nobody is going to do anything to you, my loves,” the Butcher assured her. “If you hurt my family, I will burn your fucking corpse, do you hear me?” He threatened, glaring between the trio.

Rory pressed her hand to Gaz’s arm as she entered the fray. “You really don’t have to be here for this,” she whispered. Her last ditch effort begging to save himself from a life that had left its marks on her and Price. Do as I say, not as I do.

“I’m good, Sergeant.” 

The determination in his eyes was enough to tell her that she wasn’t winning this debate. That much like her he had a drive that led him, no matter the consequences. Rory nodded and moved towards the Butcher. Staring him down, usually warm and lighthearted, she shifted into something cold and distant. 

Her attention focused on the wife, Ousa, the material of the bag over her head sucking in and out with each of her struggling breaths, muffling the sound. The easiest way to affect a man, to start loosening the threads that bound him, was to ruin him in the eyes of his wife. To sow the seeds of doubt, of mistrust. Break the bonds between them. Divide and conquer.

Approaching with slow, steady, even steps. Stalking. A wolf in her territory, ready to claim her kill. Rory leaned down towards the woman, hand resting on the back of the chair, the smooth purr of her voice near Ousa’s ear. “Did you know your saint of a husband has a little nickname he goes by?” She hummed. “Calls himself ‘the Butcher’.”

“Shut up. Don’t you speak to her.”

Hazel eyes flickered up towards the captive across from her, his hands bound to the arms of the chair, struggling against his restraints. Undeterred, she continued pouring poison in his wife’s ear, “He may pretend to be a good man with you, some sort of revolutionary, a husband and a father. But if you knew the things he did…” 

The only reason her conscience let her continue this. She had read the report from the attack on the embassy. A father shot in front of his wife and child, the son shot in the back in cold blood. The cruelty of man. A repugnant act.

She slid away from Ousa and crept closer to the Butcher, staring him straight in the eyes. Looking into the very soul of a man capable of the lowest of the low, as far as she was concerned, without fear or intimidation. She had met plenty of men like him throughout the history of her career, many of them ending up in the same position he was now – strapped down to a chair and at her mercy. 

“Women, children – they don’t matter to him. Your husband, the father of your child, is an evil bastard.”

“I’m going to kill you.” He spat at her, a long string of spittle hanging from his lip. “Cut your fucking head off.”

Wiping the back of her hand down her cheek, her sleeve sloughing off the saliva that ran down it in a streak, her hand curled into a fist at her side. 

“Sergeant, shoot his wife,” Rory commanded Garrick.

Shaken, Kyle looked between her and Price, met by the hardened stoicism of two soldiers who had seen their fair share of the dark side of missions. The things that weren’t written down in the records, redacted and masked by black ink. 

With a gun aimed at his wife, the sweat began to show on the Butcher’s brow. His breath was little more than sharp pants as the pupils of his eyes shrunk down to pinpoints even in the dim light. “No , don’t harm them, they have nothing to do with this. Please. Leave them alone, they have no information for you.”

“We want Hadir and we want the gas. Where are they,” Price questioned.

“You cannot fix these things, they will happen,” the Butcher breathed, shaking his head as he tried to dissuade his captors. “Nothing here will change that.”

Leaning in toward the Butcher, her breath fanning over his face, Rory placed her hand on top of his son’s head, fingers softly stroking the bag with the gentleness of the lamb she exuded. “You can make this easy, you just have to tell us what we want,” she spoke with an easy confidence, belying the turmoil that churned in her gut. “Either that,” her voice dropped to a quiet whisper, meant only for the Butcher to hear, “Or I can snap the bones in your son’s legs so he’ll never walk properly again.”

The hitch in his breath was the last proof she needed that her prey’s wall was about to come tumbling down. Pulling back, her hand slipped to the gun tucked in her waistband, and she lifted it, pointing it at the wife’s head.

Quiet tension filled the room, her finger resting precariously on the trigger. The practiced balance of tendons and muscles required by a sniper leading her hand. Giving the Butcher a sideways glance, Rory’s weapon never once left its intended target. “I’ll count to five, shall I?”

“Fuck you.”

Bang. The loud thunderous blast of a gunshot reverberated through the room, eyes squeezed shut as multiple high-pitched screams filled the air and a  smoking hole was left in the wall a few inches away from Ousa’s head.

“Next one won’t miss,” Rory promised.

“Fuck you!” Cutting between the interrogator and her bounty, Price grabbed Amon, wrenching him from his mother’s arms, severing any last shred of safety the captives may have felt about their situation. As the child shrieked, shivering in the Captain’s grip, Ousa – even blind – reached out for her child as if she felt the very heat of his body. 

“Listen to me! Listen to me,” the Butcher pleaded, “Karetka Theater.”

“Lying. Lying,” Price reprimanded him. Strain between all parties increased, emotions steadily rising. A thermometer in a summer heatwave and the glass was ready to crack, letting the toxic mercury spill forth. Fear was entirely palpable, a taste Rory could catch on her tongue – bitter and sickening, mixing with the acid that crept up her throat. Her free hand flexing at her side, her senses all heightened, brought to their extremes.

“I am not! I swear to you, I’m not!” The Butcher fought with his restraints once more, the tendons on his arm rising as his hands squeezed into tight fists below the ropes. A man brought to his knees at the unspoken threat of his child’s endangerment. “The gas is there. Karetka theater. I swear to you.”

“Where’s Hadir?” Garrick questioned.

“The young blood? You’re too late to stop him. Go Sergeant. Save some fucking Russians. General Barkov will already be dead.”

Tossing the child back towards the mother, the pawns he had procured no longer needed, Price headed for the door, brushing past Rory as she initiated the safety and slipped her weapon back into position behind her. “Hadir – he’s going after Barkov. We’re done with him,” he commanded, glancing back at the captive terrorist. 

“Russia and the West will go to war…and leave our land alone.” The Butcher panted in his seat, finally able to catch his breath as the adrenaline that had flooded his system began to slow within him, his chin pressed to his chest. A broken man sat before them. “I told you everything. Do what you want with me, but let my family leave.”

“Come on,” Rory said quietly to Garrick, her hand on his arm giving him a soft squeeze, breaking him out of his stare held on the Butcher. “It’s over.”

She met his eyes, knowing what was likely already going through his head. A person’s first interrogation, even as a mere witness, wasn't a simple thing to sit through. It left an indelible mark. Lacking any of the fantasy of movies or tv, parts of a person broke right along with their prisoner, twisting. It was the part she had wanted to protect him from. 

“Garrick, let’s go. That’s an order,” she said, wrapping her hand around his wrist and pulling him from the room back into the hall, grabbing her coat from the table as they left their three hostages, held in place and awaiting the arrival of the authorities.

Making their exit, they were met by Price and Nikolai discussing the next steps in the hall. 

“Gas is at the Karetka theater. Secure it and call it in, you know the drill.”

“Will do. Cruiser is yours, it’ll get you out of the city.” Garrick was quick to follow after the Captain, whereas Rory hung back, slipping her coat back on. Her jaw clenching, a tightness in each one of her nerves that left her worn down, exhausted. Brushing her hand through her hair, she raked her fingers through her roots. The cold scowl she had worn in her dealings with the Butcher had yet to fade from her features. Neither had the constant replaying of her memories inside her head, an abhorrent time loop with new horrors, new guilt, now weighing on top.

“Hadir is at Barkov’s estate. He’s going to kill him.”

“And start the world war.’

“Not if we get him first,” Price said, heading towards the police cruiser waiting there for them. “Garrick, get in the car. Cover us.”

Rather than joining the two soldiers, Rory walked right past the waiting vehicle and headed towards Nikolai and his van. Price’s eyes narrowed, following her path. “Where the hell are you going?”

She paused, her breath released in a sharp exhale before glancing back over her shoulder at him. Her jaw held tight, there was fire in her eyes as she stared him down. “I’m not SAS, I’m SRR, and my transfer was under Kate’s orders.” Her molars ground against one another, straining to keep her control, to stop herself from breaking down right there and then. “I’ll find my own way, Captain. Good luck with Hadir.”

Noticing the flicker of a furrowed brow from Price, Rory said nothing more and turned back towards the white van Nikolai had climbed into, receiving a nod from the Russian as she pulled open the passenger side door and joined him inside the cab.  

She had never defied orders before, not like that anyway, and she had never been quite so quietly cold towards the man she loved and lived with either, but things changed with this mission. It wasn’t the first time she had stood up to John, likely wouldn’t be the last either, but rather than the usual heated debate they shared, this was more aloof. The surreptitious, underhanded machinations of Price had taken a toll on her. She was no stranger to his scheming, the calculated way he handled things, clandestine missions and rules broken cunningly all in a bid to maintain control of the pieces on the board. But to use her skills in concert with her traumas – that was a stunt she couldn’t simply forget and move on from, nor could she forgive so easily.

[havenmoon1369]

It's Personal- Chapter 1

November 23, 2023- Tennessee

It's Thanksgiving day at Drew's house. A lot has happened in five years but all for the better, he was in the kitchen helping his wife cook the fixings for their turkey dinner and reminiscing the things that happened over the past five years. He met his wife Amber when she started working for the WWE as a hairstylist in 2019. It was the old cliché of love at first sight, they began dating and a few months later Drew introduced Quinn to her. Quinn and Amber immediately took a liking to each other since they bonded over art and video games, and it was nice having a woman around since Quinn's real mother took off when she was nine years old. Drew knew immediately after he was going to marry Amber. He proposed to her Christmas day 2019 and she said yes. Soon after Drew became WWE champion at Wrestlemania but couldn't celebrate properly due to the pandemic shutting everything down and no fans were in attendance. He was happy to celebrate the win with Amber and Quinn however, and they celebrated every time he defended and won his championship matches. Amber and Drew tied the knot in October 2021, they wanted to get married sooner but decided to wait until things with the pandemic and their careers calmed down a bit. Quinn was changing a lot during these years. Her interests in art became something she wanted to pursue in life outside of school and she was an amazing drawer. She won many contests in school and in the state. She decided in high school she wanted to be a tattoo artist and took all the art classes she could. Drew was so proud of how far she had come since the traumatic year of 2018, she had her anxiety under control, her nightmares were few and far between, and she was looking to a brighter future. In 2022, things slowed a lot for Drew, he was mid-carded for awhile until he got a chance to fight for the championship in Wales at Clash At The Castle, he was so happy because he could wrestle in front of his family who came from Scotland and win, but it didn't turn out that way. He lost the match due to interference and he was mid-carded once again and stayed that way all the way through to middle 2023. In that time though Quinn turned 18 and graduated high school, she chose to go to the university close to home to study Art and begin looking into tattoo apprenticeships once she had a good drawing portfolio made, Drew and Amber were so proud and excited for her. Drew got another championship match at Crown Jewel but failed to win it again, and he began to turn heel not long after leading up to Survivor Series. 

"Honey, you okay? You seem distracted." Amber asked Drew, "Oh just got a lot on my mind right now with Survivor Series this weekend and Christmas right around the corner." Drew assured her. "Speaking of Christmas, any news if your family is coming from Scotland?" Amber asked, "No unfortunately not, there's just too much going on right now. I really hate that they can't come though, we haven't seen them since Clash At The Castle, but I'm glad they'll be here for Wrestlemania, always thinking positive nowadays" Drew said as he went to kiss Amber. Just then they heard the front door open "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Quinn yelled out, "In the kitchen!" Drew answered back, she walked in there and hugged them both. "Smells good,  when do we eat?" Quinn asked, "In about an hour, Stephen and Erin are joining us this year" Drew said, "How's uncle Stephen doing? Any news when he'll be back to wrestling?" Quinn asked, "No news yet, neck problems you always have to be careful with, you think you're doing good and then one wrong move you're in worse shape than before" Drew said. "You don't think he's going to retire do you?" Amber asked, "Stephen? No! That Irish brute will wrestle until his limbs come off" Drew said laughing, everyone else laughed as well. "Well I'll be up in my room, let me know when it's time to eat" Quinn said. "Hang on Quinn, you are coming with us to Survivor Series this weekend yeah?" Drew asked, "Yeah as long as I get to say hi to Rhea." Quinn said with a big smirk on her face, "Mhhhmm, of course." Drew said sarcastically as Quinn went upstairs to her room. "Leave her alone Drew, she's got her favorite wrestlers who aren't her dad or her uncle Stephen" Amber said hugging Drew from behind, "Now she likes Damien Priest, Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso. Time flies when you're not looking, she's grown up on us" Drew said turning to hug his wife. "Pretty soon you'll be walking her down the aisle and we'll be grandparents" Amber said jokingly "I'm not ready for that yet, besides I don't think she has a boyfriend" Drew answered, "You never know!" Amber said with a sarcastic tone in her voice, "What's that supposed to mean?" Drew asked intrigued", "Oh Drew I'm just joking, now let's watch some TV and relax before dinner okay?" Amber said, pulling Drew into the living room. While sitting there waiting for Stephen and Erin to arrive, Drew was lost in his thoughts again, but he was thinking about how everything was going smoothly with his career and how the future looked clear for him to eventually become world champion again. Nothing was going to get in his way, or so he thought. 

November 25, 2023- Survivor Series

Quinn was in the crowd watching the matches while Amber and Drew were backstage. Amber was working, doing everyone's hair while Drew was warming up for the match. Once Amber was done she went out and joined Quinn and waited for Drew's match. He was wrestling with The Judgment Day in a Wargames match. Usually she would give Drew a good luck kiss before his matches but he had been called into a meeting with a bunch of other wrestlers tonight. Drew came out and was put into a cage with other members of The Judgment Day and they would be let out every so often to go into the match. Once it was Drew's turn, he stormed the ring and began the fight but Quinn and Amber noticed he was a little bit more angry than usual. "What's up with dad? It looks like he's gonna have steam coming out of his ears any minute" Quinn asked her mom, "I don't know honey but I didn't get to see him before coming out here, maybe he's just overplaying it a bit" Amber said trying to reassure Quinn. They continued to watch the match until Drew and The Judgment Day lost, not long after Drew left very angrily without even catching a glimpse at his wife and daughter, just then the referee came over to Amber and Quinn and told them Drew wanted them to go backstage immediately, they both knew then something was really wrong. 

Amber and Quinn made their way to the locker rooms and saw Drew coming out in a hoodie and shorts over his wrestling tights. "Baby what's going on, the referee told us to come back here and you looked pretty pissed off in the ring" Amber asked, "We're leaving right now, I'm not sticking around" Drew said in his deep angry voice, "Dad what's wrong?" Quinn asked but before he could answer they all heard a familiar theme song playing and the crowd going crazy. It was CM Punk's theme, he had returned.

[itsvivace]

— VIVACE . . THE DISCOGRAPHY . . !

VIVACE is a fictional thirteen-member girl group formed by the survival show I-Doll, where seventy contestants competed for a chance to debut in a group under the company I-Teen Media. VIVACE is split into three active sub-units, but today, we’ll be talking about the main group’s music, which has captured the hearts of fans worldwide and solidified them as one of the best Kpop acts of the current generation. VIVACE has stated that they want their music to be reminiscent of the older generations in Kpop and music for girls all around the world to feel empowered by.

— 2019 - 2020 . . ORIGINS OF A SUPERSTAR . .

After the finale of I-Doll, I-Teen Media announced that VIVACE would debut in mid-September, leaving fans in anticipation of their upcoming debut. VIVACE officially debuted on September 17, 2019, with the self-titled mini album “VIVACE” consisting of five tracks, including the title track “Gee!”. VIVACE debuted with 63K album sales and Gee! charted #22 on the global charts within the first 24 hours. Gee!’s cute sound and second-gen influence attracted even more attention to the group, and by the end of the first week, both the title track and album topped the charts at #1.

With their debut a huge success, many waited for VIVACE’s first comeback, announced to be released in December of the same year. On December 12, 2019, their first single album, “QUEENDOM,” was released consisting of three tracks, including the title track, “Royalty.” Royalty captivated fans for its themes of self-love and upbeat lyrics but wasn’t enough to get it to more success than “Gee!” with Royalty charting #48 on global charts and QUEENDOM earning 15K album sales, a lot of netizens were saying VIVACE was one-hit wonders and would end up flopping after this comeback.

VIVACE would take a small break and focus on their sub-unit releases until they came back on July 5, 2020, with their second mini album, “SUMMER VACAY,” which consists of five tracks, counting the title track “Drunk In You”. Despite the low reception of “QUEENDOM”, SUMMER VACAY instantly trended for its catchy songs and fresh sound, which earned the album 98K album sales, and the entire album charted in the top ten on the global charts. SUMMER VACAY was known as the uprising of VIVACE and the start of their international stardom.

By their next comeback, VIVACE had become one of the biggest Kpop acts of 4th Gen, especially with all of the popularity their sub-units were getting. Their third mini album, “PAPARAZZI”, was released on October 24, 2020, with the album consisting of six tracks, including their breakout title track, “RUN”. RUN was a darker, more mature sound than what VIVACE usually did, but it ended up going viral just from the teasers alone, earning the album 283K sales and 8 million views in just the first 24 hours. Fresh off RUN's success, VIVACE released their first digital single, “Ladies Night”, on December 25, 2020, as a Christmas gift to fans. The song charted #2 on Melon and went #1 on global charts.

— 2021 - 2023 . . LIVIN’ IT LIKE A STAR . .

VIVACE took an almost year long hiatus as a group to further focus on sub-unit releases until they finally made a comeback with their first full album, “CELESTE”, on September 17, 2021. CELESTE is a two year anniversary album with thirteen tracks, including the title track, “YES, YOU”. CELESTE introduces a retro theme, which, despite not having done so before, fans say sounds authentically VIVACE. CELESTE sold 1.4 million copies, a huge jump from PAPARAZZI, after gaining an insane number of fans during the group’s hiatus. The entire album charted within the top 20, and the top 5 spots on the charts were all VIVACE. Fans refer to this era as the start of VIVACE’s prime.

With VIVACE releasing only CELESTE in 2021, fans went into 2022 hoping for a release sometime soon; they got their wish when VIVACE released their second full album, “MY IMPACT”, on April 19, 2022. MY IMPACT is an album consisting of 11 tracks along with the title track, “The Boys”, where VIVACE talks about their impact on the kpop industry and also empowers women not to let gender discrimination hold them back from their dreams. MY IMPACT sold almost 9 million copies, the most copies VIVACE has sold to this day, and most of the songs off the album charted within the top 10. MY IMPACT ended up being the most successful era they had so far with them winning Song Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, and almost winning Album Of The Year for 2022.

On November 13, 2022, VIVACE released their fourth mini album, “ALL I ASK”, consisting of six tracks, including the title track, “SAVE ME”. The album has a slower, elegant sound than some of their previous releases, earning the album 7 million album sales and the title track charting #3 in Korea and #9 internationally. ALL I ASK is known as one of VIVACE’s forgotten eras, a lot of fans even think VIVACE themselves don’t remember the album.

As a collaboration project with the Barbie Movie, VIVACE released “Barbie Girl”, their fifth mini album, on June 10, 2023. The album consists of five tracks, including their first English title track, “VALENTINE”. VIVACE promoted the album completely in the United States, and the album sold 7.8 million copies and charted #1 on iTunes. VALENTINE ended up being the end credits song, which attracted even more international fans to the group.

VIVACE’s most recent release, “1-800-LOVERGIRL”, is their second single album, released on December 29, 2023. It consists of three tracks, including the lead title track, “YOUNG LOVE.” 1-800-LOVERGIRL sold 6 million copies, and the title charted #2 on Korean charts and #5 on global charts. As of July 2024, VIVACE has not made any news on a comeback, including with any of their sub-units, leaving fans wondering when VIVACE will make a comeback.

[softspiderling]

softspiderling masterlist

collection of EVERYTHING I’ve written so far. Everything that is on this blog. the fandoms are chronologically ordered, most recent are up top.

drabbles

fics

we always find a way (to make it out alive) | read here beacon hills holds a lot of bad memories for you. you’re still not sure how you let yourself be persuaded to go back.

fics

boy you write your name (I can do the same) | tba

series

1989

drabbles

how you first met (and how you became more)

you're dating (but no one knows)

you're married (but in secret)

you pick him up from the airport

fics

songs about girls (like you) | read here Jake has finally returned from his mission.

how do you love somebody else? | read here the one where you and Jake are exes.

get like me | read here the one where you defend Jake's honor.

five kisses | read here five kisses with Jake

never knew (that I could fall so hard) | read here You and Jake are friends. Just friends

wingman’s best friend universe

all the fics below are part of the same universe, but can be read as stand-alone fics!

hooked from hour one | read here the one where you share a mutual friend, but are unaware of it

baby, you down? | read here your best friend is a naval aviator, but apparently so is the guy you've been dating? Yeah, funny how life works.

cruel existence | read here you get hurt at work and Jake spirals

drabbles

you're married (but in secret)

fics

summer days (drifting away) | read here Bradley bumped into you at the beach and then just keeps doing it

speak now (or forever hold your peace) | read here it’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life.

cross my heart (hope to die) | read here it’s easy to fall in love with Rooster. It’s a bit harder to be in love with him.

drabbles

natasha "phoenix" trace

you're married (but in secret)

pete "maverick" mitchell

he likes you (but in an annoying way)

fics

pete "maverick" mitchell

do you believe in love at first sight (or should I walk by again) | read here the one where you keep running into Maverick.

bradley "rooster" bradshaw x jake "hangman" seresin

period troubles | read here their daughter gets her first period and Bradley and Jake lose their minds

spinning out (waiting for ya) | read here the one where Kinsley gets stuck at school and Bradley struggles trying to calm Jake down.

fics

you mocha me crazy | READ HERE Summary: an encounter at a coffee shop leaves you with more than a cup full of coffee

summer days | READ HERE Summary: it’s just one of those rare summer mornings. They were Tom’s favorite

five signs you’re too close to your boss | READ HERE you liked being the personal assistant of the CEO of Holland Enterprises. But sometimes you wondered if you were too close to your boss.

dance your worries away | READ HERE Summary: when you signed up for a beginners ballroom dancing class with your boyfriend, you hadn’t expected to be standing without a dancing partner. But then again, life has a funny way of working out

things you left unsaid | READ HERE Summary: having casual sex with Tom despite having feelings for him? What could go wrong?

put in love and don’t give up | READ HERE Summary: honestly, you never pegged Tom for the kind of guy that ghosts people, but here you are. Ghosted.

will you find me (afterlife) | READ HERE Summary: the five stages of grief start with denial and it didn’t seem like Tom was going leave that stage anytime soon.

honest feelings and bad timing (COMPLETE) | Teaser | One | Two Summary: It’s always been you, Tom and Harrison. A package deal. But sometimes things change.

series

swanky fortune (in progress) last updated on 31st of October 2019

Teaser | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight| Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven

Summary: When you clicked the ‘donate’ button on the GoFundMe page, you never would have expected to actually win. But are you going to take advantage of the opportunity or will you embarrass yourself in front of your celebrity crush?

of broken promises and heartbreak (COMPLETE)

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR

Playlist (with songs including: Crazy To Love You, Rescue Me, Sucker and Never Really Over)

Summary: It’s been six years since you and Tom broke up, six years since you’ve last seen each other. A lot has happened, Tom got insanely famous, making countless billion dollar movies, attending one red-carpet event after the other. But now he was attending one event, he wasn’t sure he was ready for. Your wedding. And he wasn’t attending as your groom.

fics

need a ride? | READ HERE Summary: just because you were at a country club, doesn’t mean you had to behave well

Talk To A Stranger! | READ HERE Summary: you liked talking to strangers. Well, when it’s not in real life, that is.

no air | READ HERE Summary: Short breath, panic flooding through the veins, sweat trickling down the sides. Peter knew the symptoms of a panic attack just all too well after a fight with a certain villain from space. Didn’t mean he knew how to prevent them, though. Luckily, you were by his side to help.

series

heavy burden (Silk/MCU AU) hiatus

Teaser | Part One | Summary:you liked to live your life like you want it, but there was always someone who stood in the way of that. Always.

[snek-panini]

At long last, I have a new book to share! Feels like forever since the last one. This is Vita Nova, a fantastic Good Omens fic by @philoomenaa that I asked to bind way back in October. It took me a while to get here and I learned several new techniques for this bind but it was so very worth the wait. It's an excellent pre-season 2 story from 2019-2020, involving the fandom's favorites dealing with an unexpected bout of both humanity and memory loss. It's just...really really good and I love it.

More photos and process talk under the cut! There are a lot of details to see with this one.

One of the things I learned for this bind was homemade book cloth. I used the heat n bond method and had pretty good results with this satiny bronze cloth that I found in the Joann's remnant bin. The making of the cloth was fairly straightforward but it handles very differently to regular book cloth. The satin is really slippery and absolutely would not hold a crease at the hinge. I think it also shrank a little at the gluing stage? Which sounds weird but I left my usual amount of space for the corner turn-ins but still had teeny tiny gaps on three of the corners, which has never happened to me before. I also had an issue with glue seepage when I applied HTV to the cover and spine. You can see this in the images above, and here in the spine photos:

Part of the reason it has that fancy art nouveau frame on the cover is an attempt to hide this. I think it's the heat press re-activating the heat n bond to cause it. I found out two things here: that fabric requires less press time than book cloth or cardstock, and that if you move the heat press slowly but constantly like an iron it is way less likely to do this. I was super disappointed that it happened but now, a few days later, it doesn't seems so bad. I guess some items just come with a little personal history already baked in.

Here, have some more glamour shots:

The geometric endpapers were chosen specifically to go with this cloth. I found them at the same craft store and knew I had use them together, they look so incredible. And I learned edge gilding for this project! It was very annoying. The final result here is with heat transfer foil, and I did about six tests on scrap text blocks before I got a result I was at all satisfied with. I tried rub n buff (great coverage, not shiny enough, kept coming off on my fingers even after curing for 2 days) and an actual gilding kit (flaked off as soon as I separated the pages). The heat foil still has some patchy spots but was by far the best-looking result. I also learned double-core end bands for this project! Because I wanted some kind of match for those opulent endpapers and didn't want to settle for just two colors. I think they came out pretty well for a first try and I'll definitely be doing them again.

Couple of photos of the ribbon I chose for the bookmark. It's probably a little too wide for a book this length; you can see in the end band photo that I had to fold it in half to get it to lay in the spine properly. But it looks so good with the other design elements that I couldn't resist. Luxury all the way on this one.

Speaking of luxury, have a look at the interior:

From left to right, we have the title page, the ornament I chose for the chapter numbers, and the scene break divider. All the images came from rawpixel with just the lightest amount of editing from me. The chapter image is the same as the star on the title page, but I made it gray and took out the center to turn it into a frame for the numbers. The cloth and endpapers really set the tone for this one all the way through, and all the other design choices followed from there. It's really gorgeous, guys. I love it so much.

And that's it! That was the last work in progress I had from 2023, and I'm so pleased to have finally finished it. Hope you like it, AMidnightDreary!

[amour-de-tous]

🎶 It's that time of year 🎶

Where I make a fundraising plea that, hopefully, I will someday not need to make. Short of it: My SSI disability decision is ~ongoing~. The judge gave me the option of applying for another hearing to introduce new medical evidence (have had several new doctors visits/tests), which she would grant "if she did not intend to rule fully favourable". She granted the new hearing, which means she planned to deny (again). So still waiting on SSI. Still unemployed (since early 2019) with no way to make any income at all. Had a fall in early October that exacerbated existing medical conditions and seems to have precipitated some new ones (new types of pain in my ribs and stomach that have not gone away) and is making even menial tasks like showering, making food, and even just sitting up almost impossible for the last few months. I have spent a lot of time unable to leave my bed. My mother and caretaker had a very scary medical event happen in early December that incapacitated her for a while and made things like laundry not even able to be done for some time. It was a cancer scare and it was extremely stressful (the tests have come back clear but she is still experiencing symptoms). There have been so many medical expenses for me lately, just to try and manage pain (hundreds and hundreds spent on CBD, sleep aids, accessibility aids, masks so I can at least attempt to be safe at necessary medical appointments, the list goes on and on). Even groceries are more expensive because with my immunocompromised status we still can't go into a store, and curbside is more expensive and charges fees. My whole Dental Situation is ongoing; my implant is in but I need one more oral surgery and then the actual tooth. That will be at least $2k yet, and I will cross that bridge when I schedule that (it was supposed to happen in July, but I flared so hard I couldn't get out of bed so that did not happen). All of this to say: friends, if you can send me anything, I would greatly appreciate it. I know I keep saying "this year was really hard", but by talos this year was really hard. :\ Hoping that, someday soon, I can be the one helping other folks out again. As always, please use friends and family so paypal doesn't take fees out. Writing it without the . because tumblr hates links: paypal DOT me/CNMsmiles

[youngveinsworld]

Do you know why they took take a vacation off Spotify?

i don't :( i do have a theory though! the last time that take a vacation disappeared from spotify was 2018 when jon reissued the album to add the deluxe tracks. the young veins instagram page has been teasing a vinyl repressing for a while now, which looks like it's going to have a different cover (see this picture from one of the stories jon posted):

if you compare it to the deluxe edition album cover you can see that the text has been moved around and the photo of jon and ryan is more defined than it was.

my guess is that they are going to put the album back on spotify soon with this new cover and maybe remaster the songs with higher quality audio? because if they were just going to change the album cover you don't need to take the whole album off spotify to do that. i guess it's also possible that he'll add some demo versions or more bonus tracks instead of remastering the songs, but it's not as likely.

last time jon removed take a vacation from spotify it was gone for three months (from around the start of october 2018 until mid january 2019). jon wrote in an instagram comment that the vinyl repress should be out by the end of this year, so that would probably be the latest that it will be back, but hopefully we won't have to wait that long.

[ashleander]

BLOG ANNIVERSARY (KIND OF....)

It’s been a year since I revived this little blog of mine with this silly piece on that day! I created this blog in 2019 but I barely used it and there used to be only CRK content 💀, it'd be 5 years old by now sheesh… This date means a lot to me! I used to post art while the account was on its first days! My passion stopped a few years ago due to mental health issues but I think it was for the best to wait until I had a maturity for it...that was until PT was a thing and I haven’t left haha… I was so scared posting my art back in the day since it’s been a while. Little did I know that this would be the start of a new journey! ♡

After seeing others notice my work, I became more active (esp. after October and onwards) and now I’m here! We’re only halfway through the first full year of constant art posts! This was one of best choices I ever made! Not only did it help me grow as an artist but as a person! ♡

The growth of this blog feels surreal to me! I never thought there’d be so many! The follower count here went from 15 to 250-ish as if now! Ya’ll are so sweet and talented, I swear! I feel so grateful meeting ya'll! I really should open myself more! 😭❤️ ♡

I’ve never thought I’d felt so seen and I'll always know someone is out there to support me and my work! Most importantly, it accomplished one of my biggest art goals: to connect but also to uplift other people! It’s so fun seeing how much my art has evolved! You can definitely see the improvement! There were some ups-and-downs but I learned overtime not to go hard on yourself and be proud of the things you make! Never have I ever had such a large creative outlet in such a long time! I feel so proud of my accomplishments and I haven’t felt this excited in years! (the reblogs/comments especially but anything really shaldldaskdl, I think my fam knows that I tend to get extremely loud when it happens, haha)! ♡

Thank you everyone for checking out this silly blog! I wouldn’t be here without ya! It reminded me of the things I loved doing and I’m glad I’m back to it! Here's more to come, I will keep doing my thing! ♡

Here’s a small drawing to celebrate! I’m already having a great time at vacation and I’ll be back soon! ♡

[nyappyforeverbr]

アンティック-珈琲店- AN CAFE

LIVE CAFE 20th Anniversary FINAL

"NYAPPY FOREVER o(≧∀≦)o thank you all cafekko, thank you all staff"

2024.1.05 LINE CUBE SHIBUYA

2024.1.06 LINE CUBE SHIBUYA

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

On January 5th and 6th (2024) AN CAFE held two performances at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA (Shibuya Hokkaido) ending its 20th anniversary festivities. Both presentations were broadcast online via the Zaiko platform.

So, as expected for these presentations, Miku's excitement was at full steam, of course, it was the "end" of a year full of activities related to the band's anniversary, where there was the release of new songs, a live blu-ray and several participations and collaborations with stores and brands in Japan

In both presentations, the members wore shiny black suits, in their faces it was possible to clearly see the feeling of accomplishment and happiness for the meeting that began in January 2023 at Zepp Haneda. Even Miku, who usually can't hold back her melancholic tone when remembering that after these shows the band's future is once again uncertain, showed a smile with every pause between one song and another.

The setlist was different for each day, for the 5th it was a special set, after all, it was the vocalist's birthday, so songs that hadn't been performed for a long time came to light, such as "Koukai~koukai", "Koritsu Hospital" and "Omocha", in addition to the song "ichigo" which is always present in his birthday shows.

For the 6th, the song selection featured classics from the band's career. At the opening, the cafekkos went crazy with 'Maple Gunman' and 'Touhikairo'. Other hits were also present, such as 'Tekesuta Kousen', 'AROMA' and 'Snow Scene'. The special point was the performance of 'Orange dream', in which Miku dedicated it once again to the former guitarist and main founder of the band, Bou. At both shows the band played their new song, 'Fly Again', released in October 2023.

Finally, the last song presented on January 6th was 'Sekai ni tatta hitotsu no nukumori', a ballad with a strong message of "protecting who you love", which from the first keyboard notes played by Yuuki, took Miku to the top of emotion.

Now, AN CAFE returns to its hiatus status that began in January 2019. Still, the final message from each of the members at the end of the performance was "We will definitely see you on An Cafe live soon" and "Let's meet get together and do a show again." Although no dates were previously announced, the feeling was that, at some point, An Cafe will get together again. We have to wait and be well until this moment comes.

Pictures by Takehiro Suganuma

[naradivision]

Hypmic OC Halloween Party 2023 🎃 ~Part II

Disclaimer: Please note that these are not the actual titles to the songs, I just made them up of course. All these songs obviously belong to their respective artists.

And the OCs mentioned belong to their respective creators as well!

*see more notes from the part 1*

Meet the Halloween Shuffle Teams!

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Team R-rated B-Boy

Ren “Vox” Nakashima

Rintaro “Ignis” Himuro

Raiden “Tesla” Otoha

Ryuko “Mista Z.B.” Umemoto

#7 Parade of Horror ☠️

Real title: Bad Monster Original by UraShimaSakataSen Fun fact: This Shima is that same SHIMA who voiced Zen Gaho from paralive...

Team Heroic Youngsta

Joey “Joker” Kurusu

Saji “Street Dog” Buranka

Ryūnosuke “Fist N Fury” Sekiguchi

Haruto “Pheonix” Hirabayashi

#8 Justice In Action! 🚨

Real title: PANDA HERO Covered by mafumafu x nqrse x luz x soraru | Original by HACHI ft. GUMI Fun fact: HACHI the Vocaloid-P is later known as Kenshi Yonezu

Team SolaLune Fairies

Lola “Aphrodite” Takahashi

Evelyn “SPIRIT” Rose

Moriko “Carnopus” Himawari

Miku “Hex 13” Shirazuki

#9 Who’s the Fairest? 👑

Real title: ECLIPSE Original by Raon x DAZBEE Yeah, sorry again for not making the number of voice casts matched... They just look gorgeous together XD

Team Pop★Teen Sensation

Kanade “Spooky” Alarie

Criss “Paradox” Hiromi

Kirara “Cupid” Suzuki

Ririko “2cute!” Akihara

Makina “Screen Shot” Setsukura

#10 Supa☆Supa☆Halloween

Real title: Happy Halloween Covered by MORE MORE JUMP! ft. Kagamine Rin | Original by Junky ft. Kagamine Rin

[At the moment after the girls have already returned to the backstage, suddenly, the thick and hazy mist from nowhere then emerged into the stage from all directions, fogging over the entire scene as if it was curtain in the theater]

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the wonderful night of October the 31st,

...At long last, we’re going to reach the finale.

[Starting off with the sound of bells resonating in distants, the prelude music began playing before the hazy mist became dissolved —revealing the obscure figures of people standing there in the midst of stage]

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Team Curtain Call

Queen card

Kunio “Arsene” Kurome

Iwao “TRIXT4R” Masuda

Sanyu “MC Rogue” Inouye

Naoki “Stage Queen” Hamasaki

Mitsuru “Odette” Tenjo

Saigo “Tsukumogami” Fuyugami

Nishio “24/7” Tokishou

#11 To the Final Act 🪄

Real title: Finale Original by XYZ 2019 (luz, senra, mafumafu, soraru, nqrse, meychan, araki, un:c)

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Wait— Wait,

Even if this night is going to end soon, how should we forget something really really important…?

Yeah, we haven’t even got our treats yet!

If you want them, then why don’t we go get some?

C’mon, stand up & sing along~~

Team Bakemono:)

Asahi “SWEET-T” Tomoharu

Kohaku “KANDATA-KUN” Meguno

Taria “Misfit” Chinen

Honoka “Maniakin” Ajisai

Ayaka “Marionette” Kagawa

After Story: Are Ghosts Real?

Real title: 異世界混合大舞踏会 (I Wanna Be Your Ghost) Covered by StarLightPolaris (You Kisaragi, Relu, Coe, Kuni, Kottaro)  | Original by Gen Hoshino Unfortunately, you can only find subtitles in the original video

In this night where ghosts will emerge,

But they’re not all that bad

Ghost are real, you know? 

But they’re not as scary as the living!

They’re always watching from the sidelines, so don’t you forget,

Farewell mortals, and take care :P

🎃 Live Reports & Behind the scenes Pt.2

According to the interview from some audiences after the reveal of 6th’s and 7th’s cast, they thought it’s funny that team Bad Boy felt oddly cool to them, while on the other hand, team Hero were also cool but with even more chaotic vibes than the previous one —Everyone did wonder in unison that what went through the organizer’s head when they decided to put them together. Well, Raiden and Saji were the only exceptions since both of them were naturally pretty dedicated to their team titles.

Raiden got a bit carried away as he started laughing like some maniac by the end of his show. And in consequence of that, his temporary teammates were just… letting him be before all left the scene like nothing happened.

Since the beginning of the 9th show, the ladies of team “SolaLune Fairies” were seen solemnly walking out of the backstage with a dark long veil covering most part of their face and their outfits. Each of them were also noted to hold a bouquet with different flowers. Lola were red tulips, Evelyn were blue roses, Moriko were sunflowers, and Miku were moon orchids. But once the first beat of the song dropped out, they suddenly changed their moods and threw their veils away ...showing off their party dresses which were delicately designed just for each of them (ultimate kudos were given to those from the costume team). Thus, the true catwalk showdown began! 

After all the teasing to throw their bouquets to the audience like in the wedding, it was still unknown who those ladies decide to give their bouquets to at the end. Maybe it was their lover/ bestie or etc. Who knows anyway? But as the show title hinted, they might probably give it to their fairest…

Before the 10th show starts, the camera caught Kanade having a high-five with Lola in the same fashion as those two boys from the first half. 

Despite not being much active around these days, Hana Izanami (@snowmantita) was spotted coming here in secret to cheer for her friends.

The 11th show was obviously one of the best highlights of this event, given 6 of them were actually the famed performers to begin with! In addition, Queen card was the one who planned most details of the performance herself. Besides, some of them were really going all-out to the point where they attempted to compete with each other even. No wonder this show received very loud applause as a result, just like their team’s name implied.

There was one funny moment getting leaked out from the backstage. It was the photo of two gentlemen who literally had no idea why they were put in the same line with other talented showmen in the 11th show. Saigo seemed to be deep in thought about how much the staff have spent on props and special effects, while Nishio… He was caught flirting with other participants —Well, let’s hope that he wasn’t flirting with the wrong person there.

Despite the chill and anti-climax vibe that was very contrast to the intense impression from the previous show, the final show performed by team Bakemono was unexpectedly the children’s most favorite! Why was that? The secret of success not only lied in the lyrics of the song, but also its cute and catchy choreography. Moreover, they had also brought in the massive number of candies to throw into the crowd.

And due to some interviews with the parents, they told that this show truly deserved to be the closing show as it was in fact spoke the moral of this spooky event… 

Before the show started, it was a record of five of them chatting with each other. And although it was all according to the script, Asahi confessed that they had retaken it so many rounds he actually lost count of.

And just as the name of their team indicated, they were all wearing the yokāi costumes! For example, Asahi was the Oni, Kohaku was attempting to look like Kasa-obake (even if it came out rather funny), Taria was Karasu tengu, Honoka had animal ears so maybe she was bakeneko or kitsune, and Ayaka wore triangle headband with a kimono to represent the yurēi ghost.

From what live reports said, despite being the performers of the show, both Asahi & Kohaku were noted to really enjoy their time the most —These two spiritual(?) twins loved throwing candies like they’re playing with snow, while Honoka and Ayaka might seem a bit stiff due to their not so great experiences with people. However, Taria was the one making them warm up and enjoy the moment just like other children did —Who else would understand the kids best if not someone with a children’s heart?

Live reports by

Snowflake Sentinel News, Yoichi Shujo

Verne Publishing-house, Nellie Yukimura 

◀︎ SEE THE RECORD FROM PT. 1

Amazing OCs mentioned above are from:

@kobedivision @katsushika-division @chiyoda-division2 @suginami-division @kanazawa-division @megurodivision @naha-division @nagasakidivision @saitama-division @okinawa-division @gion-division @minato-division03 @kyoto-division @akihabaradivision @urayasu-division @nakanodivision @akihabara-division03 @kumamoto-division @sapporo-division @fukuokadivision1 @naha-division @nerima-division @naradivision @echizen-division @ota-division @gion-division @sagadivision @tokyo-division (@snowmantita) @hamamatsu-divison

P.S. Apologizing if I missed out some divisions or have made anyone sound OOC —I'm trying lmao.

...Happy Halloween & hoping y’all enjoy it :)

[dykehayleywilliams]

may I ask about the mitski curse or is it secret knowledge

*LONG POST INCOMING* It all started in 2016.

I've been a Mitski fan since 2014 when First Love/Late Spring premiered on Stereogum and desperately wanted to see her live. The chance finally came after I moved to New York; I had tickets for her show in February 2016 at The Knitting Factory. But then. A freeze hit the city that weekend, resulting in a pipe in the shitty apartment bursting so I missed the show because I had to wait for the emergency repair guy to come by. Okay, well that's a bummer, I though. I've been waiting for almost two years to see Mitski but surely I'll get another chance. July 2016. I was living in Texas for the summer, a few hours away from Austin, where Mitski had a show scheduled. Perfect! I can drive up to the show! My old, barely functioning truck can handle the drive! It did not. My car broke down two hours outside Austin.

November 2016. Third try to see Mitski in a year is the charm, right? Oh wait, I waited too long to buy a flight to my grandma's for thanksgiving and I had to fly out the day of the Mitski show because every other flight was $500 more expensive.

By 2017 I was starting to get worried. I had tickets to see her April 2017, but I got horrific food poisoning and couldn't get out of bed for three days.

I didn't get another try until late 2018 on the Be The Cowboy tour during her 4 night residency at Brooklyn Steel. Except Mitski's popularity had blown up significantly and I couldn't get tickets when they went on sale the first three shows. BUT THEN a fourth show was added, on a Monday night, and I finally got tickets! Perfect! Until I had a final project for one of my classes scheduled the same night that I could not miss without failing the class, and I desperately tried to find tickets for another night but none were available for under $300.

At that point I was convinced: I was cursed. There were no tour dates I was even able to TRY to make, and then in September 2019 Mitski played Summer Stage (two weeks after I moved from New York) and announced it would indefinitely be her last live show.

October 2021: Mitski releases Working for the Knife and announces a tour. The closest tour date to where I was living was 8 hours away, but I fought for my life for tickets and was determined I would finally break the curse.

I got COVID two days before Mitski's Denver show in March 2022.

BUT WAIT! Mitski was announced as one of the openers for HSLOT's European stadium leg! And my friends and I planned a bar trip to Scotland that lined up with the weekend of Harry's show in Glasgow! Okay, maybe seeing Mitski as an opener at a stadium show isn't ideal, but I was desperate. Except, of course, the stadium entry was a complete mess, and we didn't get into the show until the very end of Mitski's set. I had finally seen her live, but for 8 minutes and at what cost.

I wasn't happy, but I told myself it wasn't the end of the world because I already had plans to see Mitski at the All Things Go festival in October, so redemption would come soon enough. Then Hurricane Ian hit and my flight to DC that had a layover in Orlando was cancelled the day before I was supposed to leave. At that point, there was nothing I could do but laugh. Why did I think it would go any differently this time? No. I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped wayyyyy too much money on a different flight to DC with no layover. That flight was delayed by 5 hours, but I made it. Nothing was going to stop me.

Mitski's set starts. We're in the pit, I'm 5'2" so I'm on my tip toes, straining my neck to keep my eyes on Mitski. And then. Everyone's BeReals went off during Francis Forever and the crowd became a sea of phones. I was crushed. I had broken the curse, but 9 years too late.

[mercerislandbooks]

A Pleasing Terror

Brad is taking over the blog today, sharing his passion for horror and his lovingly crafted Haunted Bookshelf (all his own original artwork!) — Lori

Brad: Each October, as the air turns crisp and the nights grow longer, I share my love of ghost stories with our customers by adorning one of our display tables with spooky artwork and spookier tomes. I call it The Haunted Bookshelf. Cue howling wind and clanking chains!

I can trace my love of horror and Halloween to my years growing up in suburban New Jersey. In the early 1970s New York’s WPIX broadcast a program called Chiller Theatre, a repackaging of 30s, 40s, and 50s horror movies hosted by Zacherley. To this day I can remember the thrill of terror I felt watching a floating skeleton back actress Carol Ohmart into a pool of acid in The House on Haunted Hill. I was so freaked out that I had nightmares for weeks. I couldn’t wait to see more. And, while I loved the Frankenstein monster, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy, it was haunted houses that I looked forward to visiting most.

Unfortunately, the majority of haunted house movies are cheats, with the “ghosts” exposed as conniving relatives, greedy prospectors, or bumbling bank robbers by film’s end. Even my beloved floating skeleton is revealed to be a surprisingly complicated puppet, manipulated and voiced by Vincent Price. Eventually I discovered that the authentic haunted houses I craved were found in books. I’m sure my horror library started with Stephen King, but soon I was adding H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, and many more.

Let us begin with arguably the 20th century’s finest ghost story writer, Montague Rhodes James. Between 1904 and 1925, James penned 4 slim books of ghost stories which have been collected in two annotated volumes, Count Magnus and other Ghost Stories and A Haunted Doll’s House and Other Ghost Stories. The first time I read “Oh, Whistle, and I Will Come to You, My Lad”, I got actual goose bumps when the specter made its startling appearance. Unlike the subtle haunts in tales by Henry James and Edith Wharton, M.R. James’ ghostly manifestations manifest! Often horribly. As the author himself remarked, in the essay “Ghosts—Treat Them Gently!”:

...our ghost should make himself felt by gradual stirrings diffusing an atmosphere of uneasiness before the final flash or stab of horror. Must there be horror? You ask. I think so.

Agreed!

Carmilla is the classic lesbian vampire story, written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in 1871 and responsible for as many imitations as there are stars in the night sky above the heroine’s gothic Austrian schloss. However, the 2019 Lanternfish Press edition is a different beast, with an introduction by novelist Carmen Maria Machado, restoring a disturbing backstory to this often-told tale. Or does it? I am hesitant to ruin the fun here, so I will just say that if the term Borgesian means anything to you then this edition belongs on your bookshelf next to the original text.

Finally, as we move back through literary time, we arrive at The Oceans of Cruelty: Twenty-Five Tales of a Corpse Spirit. In this ancient Hindi story, retold here by Douglas J. Penick, a hapless young king, in thrall to an evil sorcerer, must bear a corpse spirit on his back as the grotesque husk whispers stories into his ear. Not unlike Princess Scheherazade’s stories from The Thousand and One Nights, the corpse spirit’s tales are full of moral lessons, family dramas, and occasional horrors. Not only is this book charmingly weird, but Penick’s introduction, about the stories his mother read to him as a child, is wonderful.

So, thank you for visiting the Haunted Bookshelf, and as Zacherley would say: Goodnight Whatever You Are!

— Brad